Limoncello Coconut Cake

This is an idea I came upon from a Bon Appetit cake recipe. You will need to reduce two cans of unsweetened coconut milk to 1 and 1/2 cups and then chill before making this recipe. It makes a really delicate cake.




2 cups of cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups of sugar
3 large eggs
1 vanilla bean seeds
1 lemon zest
2 tablespoons of Limoncello
1 cup reduced coconut milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then sift your dry ingredients in bowl and set aside. In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light. Then add your eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between adding the eggs. Then add the lemon peel, vanilla seeds, limoncelleo, and reduced coconut milk. Now add the flour mixture and mix very shortly, until light. Pour mixture into cupcake tins or a pan of your choice. For cup cakes it will only take 18 minutes. Set cake aside and let cool. Makes twenty little cakes.


1 cup of unsalted butter
3 cups of powder sugar
1/3 cup of reduced coconut milk
seeds from another vanilla bean
zest of one lemon
1 cup of toasted coconut
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of Limoncello
1 tablespoon of lemon juice

To make the frosting you will cream the butter until light and smooth. Then add the vanilla seeds, reduced coconut milk, salt, limoncello, lemon zest, lemon juice. Then add the powder sugar and mix until light. I use a piping bag to ice my cakes. It makes for a quick and professional job.








I have had great luck with plant starts sold from Seattle Tilth.  


 They will be having their Harvest Festival on September 10th. It is a little late for planting, but come see their harvest!

Chicken with Applewood Smoked Olives and Lemons

1 chicken with skin, pieced as you like
2 lemons, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of grape seed oil
1 1/2 large onions, sliced
1 jar of applewood smoked olives, halved
sprigs of lemon thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon of Herbes de Provence
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
3 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
salt and fresh black pepper
three tomatoes, quartered

Heat your oven to 475 degrees. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Then you will heat a non stick large skillet with oil until smoking. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Remove from pan. Add the onions to the pan and saute for a few minutes. Then add all the ingredients to the pan.

 Bring to a heavy simmer. Then place in the oven until the chicken is done or 160 to 165 degrees. This is a rustic dish from Provence. Enjoy the dish with crusty french bread.