COFFEE-AZUKI GELATIN

Steps:

• In a bowl, stir together gelatin and coffee until gelatin dissolves.
• Add extract (if using), milk and an, and stir.
• Pour into a 9x13-inch pan or glass coffee cups.
• Refrigerate until firm (overnight).
• **Making an with canned aduki beans - It adds a couple of hours to the prep time to make the an yourself, but it can be difficult to find if you don't have a good Asian market nearby or you may want to make it yourself so that you can control the sweetness (I make it myself for both reasons). Drain and rinse 2 (15 oz) cans aduki beans (I found them at the whole grocer; kidney beans work in a pinch, but they won't be exactly the same). Bring to a boil with enough water to cover by 1-inch and 1-2 cups of your favorite sweetener (I use 1 1/4 cups raw sugar). Reduce heat and simmer until the beans are soft (just starting to fall apart) and there is little water left (add more water if it cooks off before the beans are done - about 90 minutes). At this point you have Tsubu-an (red beans simmered with sugar).
• For tsubushi-an (red beans simmered with sugar and mashed): roughly process the beans in a food processor (or mash with a potato masher), adding water if needed to bring the beans to a paste consistency. I add half of the an to the dessert at this point, and press the rest.
• For koshi-an (red beans simmered with sugar and mashed, with husks removed): Strain tsubushi-an through a sieve to remove the bean husks and make the paste smoother.