Vanilla-Honey Tapioca Pudding

When people hear that I grew up as an only child, they often ask I if you liked it. They as if I know any different – or have any perspective on what it's like compared to having siblings. I want to answer--I want to have an answer- but I do not. Instead, it was just me, and as an introvert, that never bothered me much. I certainly never had to compete for the last pudding cup, which my mom would often keep in the fridge (always tapioca). 

Tapioca pudding is ridiculously easy to make. No joke, it's as easy as soak, simmer, set. Serve it with fresh berries in summer, or even a touch of homemade cranberry sauce in winter. Vanilla-Honey Tapioca Pudding!

Vanilla-Honey Tapioca Pudding

Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free,    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Tapioca is naturally grain-free, made form tapioca root. Use small tapioca pearls to make this pudding.

Serves: 4   |    Total Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• ⅛ teaspoon salt (or 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt)
• 1/2 cup small pearl tapioca
• 1/2 cup honey (or 1/2 cup sugar, depending on preferences -- honey will lend a honey taste to the pudding)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Put the milk, cream, and tapioca pearls in a medium sized sauce pan. Allow to sit for 30 minutes for quick cooking -- or overnight (covered, in the fridge) for normal tapioca, to hydrate.
2. Place sauce pan on stove over medium-low heat. Add honey, and stir. Warm slowly until the milk is almost to a simmer, stirring frequently to avoiding tapioca sticking to the bottom, and cook until tapioca is fully hydrated (this will vary depending on type of tapioca -- quick cooking tapioca will only need 5 minutes, while regular could take up to 45).
3. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside. When tapioca is hydrated, use a ladel to scoop a ladel of warm milk mixture into the egg, whisking quickly to temper eggs. Then, pour eggs into sauce pan, again stiring quickly to avoid curdling. Cook for 3-5 minutes more, until mixture thickens. Pudding should coat the back of your spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Pour into airtight container and cool in fridge 2 hours or until ready to server.
4. Divide the pudding among glasses and top with fresh berries, nuts, or marmelade.

Pork Chops with Cherry Wine Reduction Sauce

I always get a little antsy when it comes to waiting for things to come into season. Case in point: this recipe that boldly features cherries. And cherries are coming! They are. But right now it's May and cherry are still weeks away. 

That's the trouble with cherries--you spend so much time anticipating them, and when they finally come it's nearly impossible to make up for the rest of the year. You can eat them every day for a week straight but you still won't be sick of them. That's what waiting does -- it makes things even better than they are. 

But since we won't be dining on bags of cherry for months still, I made this cherry wine sauce, which used cherry preserves rather than fresh cherries and comes out of the pot sweet and tart and savory,  making you want to lick the spoon and the pot and everything else. What can I say? I'm impatient. 

Impatience doesn't always work out for the best, but this time it did. You know those cherries they put out at the store, loooong before cherry season begins? They're not really sweet, not quite a deep red, and not quite ripe yet? Don't buy those. You will be sad. Those no-yet cherries will spoil your appetite for cherry season early. But this sauce--oh, this sauce- it's just the beginning, and will have you licking your plate in glee. 

Serve it over seared pork chops, cauliflower mashers, a bed of spring arugula. Add a side of sautéed mushrooms. Dinner: 🙌

Pork Chops with Cherry Wine Sauce

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free,    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

This sauce is perfect for when you’re ready for summer before it’s summer.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 4 pork chops, thin cut
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil OR 2 pats butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup cherry jam (I chose one that is 100% fruit)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup fruity red wine
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• Optional: rosemary for garnish

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, heat 1 teaspoon or coconut oil (or half the butter) over medium heat until melted. Add the minced shallots and garlic, and sprinkle with the salt. Sauté until the shallots are transparent.
2. Add the wine and honey and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the jam and the pepper until the jam is dissolved. Simmer for 10 more minutes until sauce has thickened. Sauce will coat a spoon once thickened.
4. Remove from heat and set aside while you cook the pork chops: heat the remaining coconut oil/butter in a large skillet. Heat over medium-high heat and swirl pan to coat in the oil. Pat the chops dry with a towel, and then place in pan. Sear on first side for 3 minutes (cook time is for thin-cut pork chops with no bone — extend this by a few minutes for thick-cut or bone-in chops) and then flip and cook on the second side for 3 more minutes, or until the meat is cooker through and no longer pink in the middle (check with a knife).
5. Serve pork chops hot and spoon cherry wine sauce over each chop. Optional: garnish with rosemary.

Humarsúpa - An Icelandic-Style Soup

1/12/2019 Update: I love this recipe. It’s been on the blog for years, and my photography has come a long way, so I gave it a face lift — same recipe as always, though!

I've been waiting for the right moment to make this soup. A day when everything outside just feels chilled and frosted over and the wind is whipping at the windows.

When we visited Reykjavik this summer, there was a full-blown wind storm gusting us from little shop to little shop. It forced us to accept every offer of free coffee, and left us chilled to the bone. By noon, we were begging for soup. We wandered down to the pier and found a boater’s hut serving Humarsúpa. There were plenty of tables outside, but all were vacant as all the customers huddle inside to evade the wind.

We ordered and found a seat at an old wooden cafeteria-style table, fishing nets and other sailing equipment (which I maybe could’ve named, if I new better), hung from the ceiling and the walls as decoration.

So…

What’s humarsúpa?

It’s a creamy soup made with langoustine (langoustine is a type of prawn similar to lobster, known as the “Norway Lobster”) and potatoes and a touch of curry powder. It’s a bit like lobster bisque, though langoustines are lighter in flavor.

And if you’re thinking, But where can I find langoustine? You’re in luck! I buy it in the frozen foods aisle at Trader Joe’s — imagine that! It’s already shelled which makes putting this soup together a breeze!

This soup is lighter than most chowders, with a broth base and a cup of cream. (You can use coconut milk for dairy-free). I don’t use a roux to thicken it, it doesn’t need it — but if you are looking for a much thicker soup consistency, you might want to add a roux to the beginning.

The curry powder makes each bowl a bright yellow color, a little splash of sun on the greyest day.

On that most windy day, sitting on the edge of Reykjavik’s coast, that soup was exactly what we needed — there could not have been a better thing to eat.

Every time I make humarsúpa I’m immediately taken back to the grey views in Iceland. Nostalgia in a bowl!

Humarsupa

Published November 28, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yield: 10 cups   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 yellow onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 russet potatoes, diced (2 if they are small, about 2 cups diced)

2 carrots, diced

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/16 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 cups chicken or fish broth

1 cup heavy cream or 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk for dairy-free

1 pound frozen, peeled and precooked langoustine tails (Available at Trader Joes)

3 tablespoons fresh chives, minced

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in the bottom of a soup pot on medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic, and stir, sautéing until onion is just starting to turn translucent.
2. Add potatoes and diced carrots. Add curry powder, cayenne, salt, pepper, and broth. Place lid on pot, and simmer soup for 10 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add frozen langoustine tails and cream. Stir, place lid on pot, and gently simmer for 5 more minutes.
4. Stir soup, and turn off heat. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with fresh chives. Serve hot.