Japanese Coffee Jelly

Japanese Coffee Jelly is one of those things that just takes me back directly to my childhood. Growing up in Japan, this was a "staple" and then when I went to visit Japan again when my sister lived there when I was in my twenties, I made sure I had some of these. Coffee Jelly, you say? Yes! It's coffee in jelly form. Some Japanese (not just Asian) markets carry them, but since the closest one is several miles away from home, I decided to make my own:

Needed:

2 cups room temp water

3 cups boiling water

2 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin powder

12 T white granulated sugar

4 T instant regular coffee

1 T Kahlua coffee liqueur (Optional)

Half and half or unwhipped cream

1. Start by boiling the 3 cups water. While waiting to boil, dissolve the 2 envelopes of gelatin in the 2 cups room temp water. This step is important because you must create the gelatin granules first to ensure a nice set texture for the product. You will get a texture like cold semi-soft jelly. Add the 3 cups boiling water and dissolve.

2. Add the coffee and the sugar. Dissolve well. Then add the Kahlua, if using.

3. Transfer the liquid into individual ramekins and take care not to fill to the brim. 

4. Let set overnight.

5. To serve, pour a little (or a lot) of half and half or cream over the jelly.

6. To eat, you can cube the jelly (like I usually do) or merely scoop the jelly with cream on your spoon. Enjoy!!

Notes: This recipe yielded approximately 12 servings in small ramekins above. The number of servings will depend on the size of the ramekins, but best to keep small as this is coffee.

French Toast Casserole

On special occasions (like my wedding day) and on holidays, our someone in our home makes it a point to make a special breakfast. Mommy made this one many Christmases ago and it just reminds me that the holidays are here. This Thanksgiving, I gave it a go and it was simple! I found the recipe here. We love Paula Dean here at home and we hope you will like this recipe, too.

So delicious! If you don't finish all for breakfast (like we never do), it's still good quickly re-heated up in the microwave to go with that afternoon coffee.

Buko Pandan Salad

Buck Pandan Salad is a type of fruit salad not typically made with canned fruit cocktail but of "buko" meaning young coconut in Tagalog, and "pandan" an aromatic leaf used in Filipino cooking. It mimics the holiday fruit salad with the use of cream and condensed milk.

Having had some recently at a friend's house, I was again intrigued on how to make this dessert salad and finally gave it a go. After researching on the internet on ways to make it, I've put my own spin on it. In a good way. I tried it with tapioca pearls and "kaong" and while it is really a personal preference, it does not change the end result much.

The main requirement for this recipe is an Asian grocery store for most of the ingredients (with the exception of Knox) can be found in the Asian grocery store.

There are several ways to make it, but I've found the following works best for me:

Needed:

1 box of Knox gelatin (you will use all 4 small envelopes in the box)

3 c water, room temperature

1 c boiling water

1 1/2 t pandan flavoring (can be found in your local Asian grocery store or Amazon!)

8 drops green food coloring

1 large can Nestle table cream (approximately 13 oz)

1 can condensed milk (approximately 13 oz also)

1 bag shredded buko or young coconut (frozen from the Asian market)

1 c cooked small tapioca pearls, optional

1 large bottle kaong, optional (see link above; also found in your Asian market)

1. Make the gelatin. Place the contents of the 4 small envelopes into a bowl and mix with the 3 cups of room temp water. Mix until you start to form a soft gelatin. Then, pour in the 1 cup of boiling water and mix thoroughly.

2. Add the pandan flavoring and stir. Add the food coloring and add more, if needed, to suit your liking of green-ness.

3. Refrigerate overnight for best results. I found that it is not enough to just wait until the gelatin hardens. It's best if it's hardened overnight because the mixing of the other ingredients will make a soft gelatin break.

4. While waiting for the gelatin to harden, drain the buko from the packaging. Also, if using kaong, drain from the bottle. Mix the kaong occasionally to ensure most of the syrup is drained. If using tapioca, cook according to package instructions and drain.

4. Once the gelatin has hardened, cut into small squares. I like my squares about 1/4 inch square. Transfer the cut up green gelatin squares into a large bowl.

5. Add the table cream and condensed milk to the gelatin squares. Also add the drained buko and if using, the tapioca pearls and kaong. Mix thoroughly.

6. Let chill in the refrigerator and then enjoy!