Kokosové Rezy - Slovak Coconut Coffee Chocolate Bars

This pastry is made famous by the Pampered Panda  and Mocha Gorilla. The coconut reminds us of Tahiti and the coffee hints of the bars in Florence Italy.  In Italian bar means coffee shop not an alcoholic joint in English. Kokosové rezy has 3 layers of yummy for the tummy. Oddly enough I could not find coconut flakes in Tahiti. I guess if I was baking there then I would freshly grate the coco.

Gather these ingredients so they warm to room temperature.  

3 sticks of unsalted butter

9 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 16x21x1 baking sheet with parchment paper.

[Layer 1 - Coconut Bottom]

9 egg whites

300g sugar

200g unsweetened finely grated coconut

6 Tbsp Flour

Seperate 9 eggs. Put egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer. Put the egg yolks in a sauce pan. Set the yolks aside. 

Whip the egg whites with the whisk attachment for about a minute until slightly frothy. Then add sugar. Whip on high for at least 5 more minutes. 

Turn off the mixer. Add coconut and flour slowly. Mix at lowest speed for 30 seconds to a minute. Pour dough into sheet. Spread evenly.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until light gold color. Take out of oven and cool.

[Layer 2 - Coffee Cream]

9 yolks

130g sugar

 2 tbsp cocoa powder

 1 tbsp fresh finely ground coffee beans

100ml strong brewed coffee 

 

Mix all into the egg yolk sauce pan. Cook on low heat slowly for 15 minutes until thicken. Drawing a spoon across the bottom of the pan to check thickness.

Let cool for an hour. Whip 2 sticks of butter in a new bowl with hand mixer.  Pour the coffee cream mix into the whipped butter. Mix thoroughly. Then spread on top of the bottom layer. 

[Very top chocolate layer]

113g Chocolate (dark or milk)

1 stick of butter (113g)

In a microwave safe bowl add the butter and chocolate.  I prefer 70% dark chocolate to reduce sweetness. Melt in microwave for about a minute. Mix and spread on the very top of the sheet.

Kaveu - Loco Coconut cray cray

Im not sure if this snail is marine or terrestial. His name is Frederique.

A hermit crab lives inside this shell.  

Their appendages evolved to form a flat surface over the shelll opening. Maybe its to preserve water.

This little feller came out of his shell to say hi.

These guys will grow big enough to climb and eat coconuts if left undisturbed. On the smaller less inhabited  atolls they grow to a few kilograms. After a few years they became my lunch. At Chef Irène this 690 gram guy costs $65 USD. The meat tastes just like crab flavored coconut. I put the rice in the tail to soak in the innards which tastes a bit like uni and coco butter.

Leave any questions about coconutiers below. (pronounced Koko Nut tee aye in French)

Update: A day later his bigger cousin Rudy visits. I left a coconut out and he crawled in.

Update: In the PM even bigger cousin Rougeina came out of the ocean and on to the deck. The shelll now weighs 1/4 pound. This could be the last shell. She could be big enough to go shelless and start climbing trees for food.

Zuchini Toastie

We start with just 3 simple ingredients. Fry zuchini in olive oil. Lightly toast the thin baguette slices. Rub garlic on them.  Smear some cream cheese and add some black pepper. Yummy for the Pampered Panda's belly.

Leonardo

Leonardo was adopted from the Walnut ARF. He <3 his car rides. Being his chauffeur is the best job ever.

We found some riped blackberries at the marina.

All the riped figs got plucked by my felllow suburban foragers.

2019 Papeete

My blog on the famous Papeete market and the sushi joint will be up in a different blog. Here's the map of the 3 areas.

We walked towards the ocean to catch the sunset.

The main waterfront road is Boulevard de la Reine Pōmare IV. It's named after the queen.

November 29th 2019. Tonight is 1 week into the summer down in the southern hemisphere. But the French are Catholic and celebrate with some Christmas decorations just like the USA.

The French Navy is here.

At 6:30PM the waterfront area is full of families enjoying the food truck festival.

2019 Tahiti Wakame Sushi Restaurant

Great local joint

My wife and I were hungry and the resto was walking distance from our hotel. The surrounding area isnt that nice but we came here for sushi not tourist suouvenir shops. I spoke in French that we would like to pay by credit. Apparently the staff immediately knew I was American and referred me to Dominique the owner who lived near San Francisco for 6 months. He speaks excellent English. The plates on the conveyor belt have covers to keep away insects. We came in at 5:30PM. Around 30 minutes later it was almost filled with locals. That's my standard of a resto when locals frequent a place rather than one time tourists. We had 12 items from the conveyer belt. Salmon, tuna, and local fish nigiri and sashimi, and rolls. We did not order the specialty rolls which ranged $14-$20USD. We had 12 plates x 650xpf was the cost or $75 usd. The crew gave us a larger specialty and two spicy tuna hand rolls gratis (no charge). The crew made french fries for the families with kids. The sushi was good and we plan eat here again on our next trip.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294352-d13570482-r730013858-Wakame_Sushi_Bar_Grill-Papeete_Tahiti_Society_Islands.html#

2019 PPT to SFO Returning Home

The journey was long. We left the hotel at 5AM and go to PPT in 10 minutes with almost no car traffic. The lines to check in was so looooooong. I was selected to have my backpack searched and my bWdody swabbed for explosive chemical traces. Well that was slightly unconfortable. 

There are so many beautiful islands under us. Some are for sale! I think I can squat on one of these for my retirement. This picture is the wing of our A350. These beauties are made from carbon fiber and the trailing edges resemble sanurai swords.

We "decollage" take off around 8AM after a 40 minute delay due to stringent security screenings. No doubt caused by the terrorist attack in London.

We "aterrer" landed in SFO at 6PM

I dont have a picture of the monitor showing the external camera during touchdown. But the wind from the ocean was so strong that the plane was not parallel with the runway. The nose was noticeably pointed towards the wind. The pilot skills and plane design were incredible.

Suburban Foraging - 20191021

Leo is training me for the Tour de Tahiti. He is conditioning me for the rigors of the south Pacific. We often drive to the park or a near by area for a new adventure. Dog is my co-pilot, yin to my yang, Maverick to my Goose, and calm to my storm.

We often find many plants and some edible. Today we find olives by Mom's gym.

We pickle the olives in salt and vinegar. Should be ready in a couple of months. I think we can package the brine and sell to wealthy cyclists as a cure for cramps.

Slovak Biscuits - Pagáče

Pagáče is a Slovakian staple. The phonetic spelling is Pah Gáh Chay with an accent aigu on the second syllable. It has lard cracklings..aka bacon. Mmmm bacon. I often eat these when visiting Slovakia.

Rising Dough.

Ready to eat.

Blue Berry Coffee Cake

I will be in Tahiti soon so there won't be any baking then. So I am baking a lot this Autumn. Today my pastry of choice is coffee cake. Adam brings this treat weekly to feed his crew. He's retired from being a professional amateur category 4 cyclist and returning to the office. No more 30 hours per week of training and chatting on the NCNCA FB page for him. Though he still dreams of speaking French, eating pate and riding in the Tour of Tahiti. Quelques reves ne mortent jamais. Some dreams never die.

Fresh berries. I've got the blues!

I have very delicate feminine hands that bake with care.

I tasted and tasted until it's almost gone.

Hello World

Hello world. I am the Pampered Panda. Come with me and explore the world of travel and baked goodness.