Coconut Cream Date Caramel

Thick, rich and naturally sweet, this coconut cream date caramel is made with Medjool dates. This no-cook recipe is fast, easy and accidentally vegan! 

A couple of years back, I bought some dates to make a recipe that only called for a few. I don’t even remember what that was but it must have been worth it or I wouldn’t have bought the whole pack.

The dilemma: What to do with the rest of the dates? This coconut cream date caramel was perfect. Creamy, smooth and not too sickly sweet. Even better, it is vegan so I was able to share it with a friend who can’t eat dairy. 

Coconut Cream Date Caramel

This recipe makes just a little less than 1 pint jar will hold, 1.9 cups or 450ml. The finished caramel weighs 1.23lbs or 560g. Assuming the coconut cream can has been sitting on the shelf for a while without being shaken, the thickest part of the cream will have risen to the top. That’s what you want to measure and use.

Ingredients

15 Medjool dates – about 12 1/2 oz or 355g before pitting

1/4 cup or 60ml unsweetened coconut cream from the top of the can

1/3 cup or 80ml date water from soaking

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste

Method

Use a sharp knife to cut the dates in half. Remove and discard the pits and any hard bits (adhering fruit stalks) on the stem ends. 

Put the pitted dates in a heatproof bowl and cover them with hot water. Leave to soak for about 10 minutes.

Open the can of coconut cream from the bottom, if possible, and pour off the liquid and save it. 

Measure out 1/4 cup or 60ml of the thick cream. Make up the correct amount, if necessary, by adding a little of the thin cream. You can use the rest in another recipe, like a saucy curry.

Drain the dates, reserving 1/4 cup or 60ml of the soaking water. 

Add the pitted dates to a food processor along with the coconut cream, soaking liquid, vanilla and salt. 

Process until super smooth, scraping down the food processor occasionally. 

Spoon into a clean jar or covered vessel and store in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or longer. Let your nose guide you. 

This is lovely spread on toast, spooned into yogurt or warmed and drizzled over ice cream. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 3rd edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter D. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the D recipes below:

• Chocolate Covered Sandwich Cookies with Dulce de Leche from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Coconut Cream Date Caramel from Food Lust People Love
• Dalithoy, Konkani Style Dal from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Deviled Egg Charcuterie Board from Blogghetti
• Dirty Shirley Cocktails from Jolene’s Recipe Journal 
• Dragon Paneer Roll from Magical Ingredients
• Ricotta Gnudi with Creamy Mushroom Sauce from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Keto Dairy Savory Crepes with Almond Flour from Sneha’s Recipe
• Parmesan & Cheddar Pimento Corn Chip Dip from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice 
• Sesame Dandelion Greens, Siguemchi Namul-Style from Culinary Cam
• Sticky Toffee Swirled Cookies from A Messy Kitchen

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

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Popcorn-Crusted Chicken Tenders

The perfect finger food, popcorn-crusted chicken tenders are flavorful and crunchy with a buttered popcorn coating. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

If you have been reading here for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of Costco and shop there regularly when I am in the States but I must confess that, IMO, their microwave popcorn is terrible. So many kernels left unpopped that it’s ridiculous. 

I bought my husband their enormous box of microwave popcorn a few years ago as a surprise treat and we ended up throwing most of it away. Did we have an old batch? The expiry date said otherwise. Truly, I didn't know what to think. If you’ve had a different experience, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe it's improved?

After trying many brands (Act II, Pop-secret, Orville Redenbacher, Jolly Time, etc.) we’ve finally decided that Orville Redenbacher original butter is the best value for money with the number of kernels that actually pop vs price and flavor. (Also no PFAS in the packaging these days.) So that’s what I used in this recipe. If you use a brand that tastes good and pops more reliably, I’d love to hear about that too! 

That said, you can also use stovetop popped corn but then you won't have the buttery flavor in the crust. 

Popcorn-Crusted Chicken Tenders

This recipe was adapted for one on All Recipes that was meant to be cooked in an air fryer but having baked similar dishes in my oven, like my oven-baked butterflied shrimp and salt-and-vinegar-chip crusted cod fingers, I cranked up the temperature and it worked great. Crunchy chicken outside, tender tenders inside.

Ingredients

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon mustard powder

Several generous grinds black pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

14 oz or 397g chicken tenders (about 8)

1 bag Orville Redenbacher butter microwave popcorn or your favorite brand

1 large egg + pinch sea salt

Method

Use a sharp knife to remove the thick white tendon from the tenders. 

Dry them thoroughly with paper towels then season them with them with the salt, paprika, mustard powder and black pepper. 

Toss them with the cornstarch to make sure they are seasoned all over and completely coated. 

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line a baking pan with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Pop the bag of popcorn according to manufacturer’s instructions. Open and leave to cool then measure out 4 cups or about 35g of popcorn into a plastic bag and crush it into crumbs. 

In a large bowl, beat the egg well with the pinch of salt. 

Dip the seasoned chicken pieces into the beaten egg.

Then add to popcorn crumb bag and shake to coat.

Place the coated chicken on your prepared baking pan. 

Bake for 8 minutes in your preheated oven. 

Turn the chicken over and cook for an addition 6-8 minutes or until golden and cooked through. 

Serve hot and crispy with your favorite dipping sauce. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for and/or with popcorn in celebration of National Popcorn Month! Many thanks to our host Camilla from Culinary Cam. Check out the links below. 

• Beurre Noisette Popcorn Balls, A Bubbly, and Other Popcorn and Wine Pairings by Culinary Cam
• Bourbon Popcorn Trio by Our Good Life
• Caramel Popcorn by Sneha's Recipe
• Nacho Cheese Popcorn Seasoning by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Parmesan Thyme Popcorn with Browned Butter by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Popcorn-Crusted Chicken Tenders by Food Lust People Love
• Popcorn Granola Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet and Salty Popcorn Snack Mix by Making Miracles

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Family Favorite Tuna Salad

Hard-boiled egg yolks mashed into the mayo/mustard mixture mimics the flavor of homemade mayonnaise in this delicious family favorite tuna salad with a hint of onion.

In my family, tuna salad and chicken salad are both made with hard-boiled eggs. That’s just the way we’ve always made them and I didn’t realize that not everybody did until I was fully grown up because in the south, we all add eggs.

The first time it was brought to my attention was when I made tuna party sandwiches to share at a non-profit board meeting of the American Association of Malaysia, scheduled for lunchtime. All the board members brought finger foods so we filled our plates and the meeting was called to order. 

All of a sudden, the president of the board exclaimed, “Who put tuna in their egg salad?” “On the contrary,” I responded, “I put eggs in my tuna salad! You don’t?” She declared that from then on she certainly would, and after a good laugh and a discussion about who did and didn't put eggs and where in the States we were from, we all got back to business.

Not a very scientific poll but it seemed that those from the southern United States always add eggs. Those from the north or midwest mostly don't. Please leave me a comment yay or nay on eggs in tuna salad and where you are from. I'm just curious.

Family Favorite Tuna Salad

I grate my onion so that there aren’t little crunchy bits in my tuna salad, which I abhor. Grating the onion also creates some onion juice, giving the salad a nice onion flavor throughout. If you don’t mind little crunchy bits, feel free to mince the onion instead and, bonus, you won’t have to share your tuna salad with me.  

Ingredients

4 eggs, hard-boiled, cooled and peeled

1/2 cup or 115g mayonnaise

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1/4 small onion

2 cans (5 oz or 142g) tuna chunks in brine or spring water

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne, depending on your spice level

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) fine sea salt

Method

Cut the egg whites around the circumference of the yolks. Remove the yolks and put them in a small mixing bowl. Set aside the whites.

Mash the egg yolks with a fork, adding in a few spoons of the mayonnaise.

Once the yolks are relatively smooth, add in the rest of the mayonnaise and mustard. Mix until completely homogeneous. 

Grate the onion, making sure that you catch any juice which should also go into the mixture. You can do this on a saucer with a regular grater or directly into the mayo bowl with a microplane. 

Add the black pepper, cayenne and salt and stir.

Using a sharp knife, cut the egg whites into irregular pieces, adding them to the bowl. Stir well. 

Open your cans of tuna and use the lids to drain the water, squeezing a little. You don’t want the tuna too wet or the tuna salad will be runny. 

Add the tuna to the mayo bowl. 

Stir gently to mix it in. It’s nice to still have some small chunks of tuna so try not to mash it too much. 

Taste the tuna salad. Add a little more salt and pepper, if desired. 

This tuna salad is perfect as a sandwich filling but it can also be served with crackers or used to fill a ripe tomato or an avocado half. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing sandwich recipes to celebrate National Sandwich Month. Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the links below.

• Caramel Pulled Pork Banh Mi Sandwiches by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Chicken Caesar Wraps by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Family Favorite Tuna Salad by Food Lust People Love
• Grilled Cheese Extra Ordinary by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Hung Curd Veggie Sandwich by Sneha's Recipe
• Pie Iron Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches by Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sunflower Pesto Turkey Sandwich by Our Good Life

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Easy Pastina Soup

This Easy Pastina Soup is comfort food for when you are under the weather and need something delicious, rich and nourishing, made with chicken stock and vegetables, and, of course, tiny pasta aka pastina.

It's been quite a while so I can’t remember if it was me or someone else in my immediate family that was feeling under the weather, in fact, it might have even been my neighbor. But I was texting with a dear friend and she sent me the recipe she said she always makes when her family is sick. 

I had all of the ingredients so I made it right away. It was sooo good that it became one of my favorite go-to soup recipes whenever we are feeling poorly as well. The soup is rich and full of vegetables and flavor, a true delight with the tiny pasta aka pastina.

Easy Pastina Soup

This soup is very forgiving so I haven’t given exact weights for the vegetables. Aside from the garlic, the amounts of the other veggies should be more or less similar but if you have a little more carrot and a little less celery, don’t stress over it. That said, the one onion in my pantry was tiny, so I also used a shallot to make up the difference. 

Ingredients 

10 1/2 cups or 2 1/2 liters chicken stock

1 yellow onion

3 celery ribs

3 carrots

4 garlic cloves

salt as needed

freshly ground black pepper

1 cup or 200g pastina, drained (any small pasta shape, such as orzo, little stars, or tiny macaroni noodles – macaroni will weigh less, being hollow)

Parmesan or Pecorino Romano to serve

Method

Peel and chop your carrots and onion. Peel and slice your garlic. Chop the celery ribs. 

Add the stock to a large pot and heat over high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Bring the contents to a boil.

Once the broth is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and semi cover the pot with a lid. 

Cook for 45-60 minutes or until the veggies are all super soft and the quantity of liquid has reduced. Taste for seasoning and adjust with some salt, if needed. 

If you have a hand blender, remove the pot from the stove and puree all of the vegetables directly in the pot.

If you don’t, use a slotted spoon to transfer the veggies to a blender, along with a couple of ladles full of broth. Blend until the mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the blended mixture back to the pot of broth and stir. 

Give the whole pot a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Meanwhile, in another pot, boil the pastina in salted water. Drain and return to the pot to keep warm. 

To serve, add a generous serving spoonful of the cooked pastina to the bottom of a bowl then ladle the soup on top. 

Sprinkle with some grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. (I totally forgot this step for the photos!)

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 16th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter P. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the P recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Easy Pastina Soup
• Sneha’s Recipe: Grilled Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Peas and Pepper Pasta Salad
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Pasta and Pea Soup
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Pineapple Salad
• Blogghetti: Easy Pumpkin Pie Crescent Rolls
• A Messy Kitchen: Maple Pecan Fudge
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Pasta with Preserved Lemon
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Peach Crumble Pound Cake (Cake Mix Recipe)
• Culinary Cam: Brunede Kartofler (Danish Caramel Potatoes)
• Magical Ingredients: Pepper and Cheese Dip
  
  
  
  

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup – this post! 

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Milk-Roasted Chicken

This Milk-Roasted Chicken is made with the deliciously odd combination of lemon and milk which creates the most tender chicken and a divine sauce. Add mushrooms and baby new potatoes for a one-pot meal.

I first started making a version of this chicken after watching Jamie Oliver’s show Oliver’s Twist way back in 2002. The episode was called Big Grub for Big Boys and Jamie was cooking for his local rugby team. 

The original calls for sage instead of tarragon and fewer cloves of garlic, and no mushrooms or baby new potatoes so you could make this without them but I do love a one-pot dinner. 

Milk-Roasted Chicken

This recipe, as mentioned above, is adapted from one of Jamie Oliver’s. It can also be found in his cookbook, Happy Days with the Naked Chef. Below I have given the amounts of mushrooms and potatoes I used this time. Know that if you want to add more or less of either, it’s all still good. Can’t find fresh tarragon? Use your favorite fresh herb. Thyme or even rosemary would be delicious.

 

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs or 1.5 kg)  

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 

4 oz or 113g butter 

1 cinnamon stick 

2 big sprigs fresh tarragon 

1 lemon

8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed 

2 1/4 cups or 540ml milk

5 1/2 oz or 156g baby button mushrooms

1 lb or 450g baby new potatoes

Method

Preheat the oven to 375°F or 190°C, and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Cross the chicken’s legs and secure them together with string or silicone bands. 

Season the chicken generously all over with salt and pepper, and fry it in the butter, turning the chicken to get an even color all over, until golden. 

Start breast down and don’t try to turn it until you can move it slightly, about 7-8 minutes. If you try to turn it too soon, before it’s lovely and brown, the skin will stick to the bottom of the pot.

Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate. 

Jamie says at this point, “throw away the butter left in the pot which will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, which will give you a lovely caramel flavor later on.” I must confess, I just couldn’t do it. 

Throwing away butter goes against my very ethos regarding cooking. Have you ever seen a French chef throw out butter? Oh, hell, no. They add more! 

Strip the leaves off the tarragon and set aside a small pile for garnish later. Use a potato peeler to remove the lemon zest thinly in big pieces. Peel the garlic and hit the cloves with the side of a knife to crush them slightly. 

Juice your lemon, but leave a little bit in one rind for squeezing over the cooked chicken.

 

Add the cinnamon stick, bigger pile of tarragon, lemon zest and garlic to the pot. Give it all a quick stir. 

Put the chicken on top, breast side up and pour the milk and lemon juice around the sides. 

Add in the cleaned mushrooms.

Roast the chicken in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Baste with the cooking juice from time to time. 

Add in the new potatoes and roast for a further 45 minutes. 

To serve, squeeze the last of the lemon juice over the chicken and sprinkle on the reserved tarragon.

If you serve from a platter instead of the pot, make sure to include the juices from the pan in a gravy boat on the side!

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 13th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter M. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the M recipes below:

• Food Lust People Love: Milk Roasted Chicken with New Potatoes and Mushrooms
• Blogghetti: Movie Night Charcuterie Board 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Mango Bread Pastry - No Bake Dessert 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Mocha Milkshake 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Maple Pecan Madeleines 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Steak and Mushroom Bites 
• A Messy Kitchen: Mini Lemon Cupcakes with Marionberry Frosting (Doctored Cake Mix)
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Moong Dal Salad | Kosambari
• Magical Ingredients: Mint Mascarpone Dip 
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Pineapple Ketchup Ground Turkey Skillet Meatballs 
• Culinary Cam: Mini Peach Galettes

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken – this post! 

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