NYC's East Village - Dietary Restriction Heaven

NYC is a wonderful, vibrant place with innumerable food options - and as a general rule, I've tried to explore as many as possible... the spicier and more foreign, the better! But sometimes I wish I could enjoy some of those classic American foods: macaroni and cheese, ice cream - dairy central. Enter the East Village. Generally the territory of the young and hip, it's also (consequently) where you can find foods and merchandise that might ordinarily serve more of a niche market.

I had done some research, and been pleasantly surprised to find that S'MAC was advertising "Vegan and Reduced Lactose Mac & Cheese." Intrigued, but dreading the possibility of soy, I clicked through. A coconut milk base, they said! That settled it, I was going in. And while I was in the neighborhood, I wanted to leave with some non-dairy ice cream courtesy of Stogo, just a few blocks away. According to their site, there were several soy flavors, but also some made with hemp, and some made with coconut milk.

Once at S'MAC, the girl at the counter clarified that truly vegan mac & cheese would not have any cheese at all. "But you have goat cheese?" They did. OK then, vegan base, goat cheese, and some add-ins. It was fantastic - my only regret was not having gone for a larger size.

Later in the evening, I wandered into Stogo, noting that only in NY would there be 2 other ice cream vendors around the corner (one was an artisanal ice cream truck). I was disappointed to find that there was no Maple Walnut Hemp ice cream, but the Mango sorbet and the Coconut Vanilla were amazing. Mental note: time to buy So Delicious Coconut Vanilla ice cream to keep in the freezer at home.

Quick and easy coconut dessert

I've been craving dessert that I can just pull out of the freezer and maybe defrost a bit.... and everything has dairy or soy. Yes, of course I could head to a health food store - but I was feeling creative. I wanted a quickie coconut pudding/custard - and I was sure I could achieve it without too many ingredients. Plus, I had just discovered the Filipino version of dulce de leche - they call it coconut jam, and it's made of coconut milk and sugar. I needed an excuse to use it as a topping!

A couple of notes - first, the final texture is pretty chunky for a pudding or custard, so purists may be disappointed. Second, I purchased my desiccated coconut at the same Asian supermarket where I found the coconut jam - I'm not sure American markets have it as finely shredded.

Quick and easy coconut "pudding" -

1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup finely shredded/desiccated coconut
1/2 cup honey/agave/sweetener of choice, to taste
1/4 cup Filipino coconut jam (matamis na bao) to use as topping

Blend the coconut milk with the next two ingredients, pouring the shredded coconut in bit by bit until you achieve desired thickness. Once you're satisfied with the taste and texture of your mixture, you can decide how you want to freeze/store it. I poured mine into small covered bowls, so I could defrost as needed. And of course, the coconut jam - I used a knife to swirl it across the top of each bowl.