Sunday, May 12, 2013

Homemade Almond Milk, 2 ways


Homemade almond milk has to be just about one of my favorite things to eat/drink.  Once you try it made from scratch, it will be hard to drink it out of a carton again.  However, almonds ain't cheap!  I usually only make it on weekends around here.

Recipe #1 is for delicious, drinkin-while-you-eat-cookies almond milk.  It tastes like dessert!!

Soak 1 cup raw almonds, 1/3 to 1/2 of a cinnamon stick, and 2 cups water in a bowl for 12-24 hours.  Keep the bowl out at room temp, but throw a dish towel over it to prevent dust or dirt from getting in.  By soaking the almonds for up to 24 hours, you are gently fermenting them.  Foods fermented in your own house provide the best probiotics for you (this can also be done with oats for oatmeal).  After 12-24 hours, throw everything (water too) into a blender and add 2 more cups of cool water.  Blend on high till all the almonds are pulverized, then squeeze everything through a nut milk bag.  Don't forget to put a bowl under the nut milk bag!  Sweeten to taste with raw agave nectar (I use about 1 tablespoon), and place in a jar with a lid.  Store in the fridge--I like it best after it's been chilled for a few hours.

Recipe #2 is much faster to make.  I don't really like having it straight out of the glass as a drink, but rather like it best in recipes for smoothies--or other recipes calling for almond milk.  You can actually use any nut in this recipe (hazelnut, brazil nut, etc), so play around and have fun.  (Did I just suggest you play around with your nuts and have fun?  Well I guess I did.)

In the blender: 1 cup raw almonds, 1 tablespoon dried shredded (unsweetened) coconut, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 4 cups water, and a pinch of sea salt.  Blend on high till the almonds are pulverized, then run through the nut milk bag.  That's it!

Both of these versions will keep for 3 days.  Shake well before serving.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Smoothies 2013

I know, I know--someone says "Vitamix" and you either A) roll your eyes because you don't have one (but secretly wish you did) or B) jump up and down as your eyes turn to hearts because you do have one.
Well, my eyes are hearts.  I generally have a smoothie or fresh juice for breakfast every day.  Usually I make at least a quart, so I can sip on it all morning.  Or divide the quart in 1/2, and have one in the am and one at around 3pm.  A 3pm smoothie or fresh juice will totally get rid of the mid-afternoon slump.
Here are a few of my favorite smoothie recipes from 2013:

Chocolate Cherry
2 cups coconut water
handful of spinach leaves
1/4 cup raw cacao nibs
1 banana
1/2 bag (2-3 cups) frozen pitted cherries
splash of vanilla

Speedy Grapefruit
2 grapefruits, peeled (of course I like the ruby reds from Texas)
handful of ice
squeeze of honey, to taste

Favorite Green
1/2 bunch kale
2 bananas
2 cups water
1/2 bag frozen pineapple

A Soup, Not A Smoothie Actually
1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/4 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
pinch of sea salt
(3 minutes in the vitamix will warm this.  If you have a regular blender, just lightly heat after you blend)

Favorite Juices of 2013
grapefruit/orange/lemon
and
watermelon/strawberry

Prepare: Put ingredients in the vitamix in the order listed above--the order is very important for nice blending.  If you are vitamix-less, just do whatever you normally do with your blender.  For the juices you can use a juicer (here's what I use), or just run your juice through a nut milk bag after vitamixing.

NOTE: I realize we are only in the 5th month of 2013, but I think my smoothie/juicing follows a fiscal calendar, starting in the Fall.


Monday, May 6, 2013

Coleslaw--your versatile friend.

To me, you can judge a restaurant by it's coleslaw.  Big awkward slices of cabbage mixed with mayo does not a coleslaw make.  Remember, cabbage is a leafy green, and we need to think of coleslaw as a salad.  A delicious crunchy bite of something cool and green to have in between courses of spicy food (bbq, tacos, etc).  I don't even put mayo in mine (gasp!)--I am a firm believer that coleslaw should be vinegar based.

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup white vinegar (or half white vinegar and half cider vinegar)
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp salt

Mix the above in a large bowl, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the following ingredients to the bowl:

1 cabbage, finely shredded
1 small bell pepper, minced
1 T. minced pimentos
1 small vidalia or sweet onion, minced

Toss well and mix.  Transfer to a ziplock bag and refrigerate overnight.  This coleslaw gets better the longer it sits, and it can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.  

GOOD WITH: bbq, beans, tacos, sandwich filling, hot dogs, veggie dogs, burgers, seafood.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Infused tequila and vodka (yeep!)

Back in March I spent a few days in the wonderful city of San Antonio.  I love that city, and man do they love their food.  While there, I learned how to make infused spirits from the good folks at The Fruteria.  Although I am still working out the spirits-to-mixers ratio, I thought I would share what I've learned so far, so that you can get a jump on your summer cocktail planning.

Alcohol: Vodka or tequila, a full bottle.  Now, I was afraid to use the super cheap stuff, so I went mid-range and chose Sky Vodka and Sauza Silver Tequila.  Sky has a simple clean flavor, and I've always trusted Sauza.

Fruit: You can use any fruit combination you want, or single fruits.  Following the recommendations from The Fruteria and my own concoctions so far, here's a few to start you off with:

  • 1 pint strawberries/ 2 bananas/ 2 cinnamon sticks (tequila)
  • 1/2 pint strawberries/4 plums (vodka or tequila)
  • 1 english cucumber (vodka)
  • 1/2 cantaloupe/ 1/2 honeydew melon (tequila)

(I've got a lemon infused vodka infusing away in my kitchen right now.  I'll let you know how it turns out)
Make sure your fruit is washed, scrubbed, chopped, and peeled/pitted/stems removed.  Also, you will need a large jar (I use a 1/2 gallon mason jar) that has either been run through the dishwasher or sanitized with boiling water.  Put your fruit in the jar, then fill it up with the alcohol--making sure you add enough alcohol to completely cover the fruit so it's swimming around a bit.  Some will float to the top, but that's ok.  Put a tight fitting lid on the jar, and put it in a corner in the kitchen--away from heat or kids.

After 4-5 days, strain the liquid into another jar and discard the fruit.  Well, you could eat the fruit, but just be sure you are staying in for the night and don't have to drive or do anything responsible.
At this point, you can repeat the whole process and let steep for another 4-5 days if you want the alcohol to have a nice strong flavor.  I usually am too lazy to do that, so my alcohol has a light flavor.  It will keep beautifully in the fridge for a long time.

You really need to put some thought into the drink you are going to mix with this stuff.  The Fruteria told me they only use fresh squeezed fruit juices, tons of ice, and NO syrups, added sugars, or anything artificial.  I think they are right, it would ruin the flavor.  Usually, you can just fill a margarita glass with a lot of ice, squeeze a few oranges and a lime or 2 in, and then add your shot.  If you have a juicer, fresh pineapple juice adds a nice balance to the orange and lime.

For the cucumber vodka--mix it with seltzer water, fresh mint leaves, and a small squeeze of lime.
I think when my lemon vodka is done, I am either going to mix it with pineapple juice, or break some rules: seltzer and (gasp!) raw agave nectar.

Greatest (and easiest) cooked salsa ever.

I saw my sis-in-law make this a few months ago, and I was blown away by how good and easy it is.  For the record, I'm not sure I am making it exactly the same way she did, but who cares!  It's really yummy, and isn't that all that matters?  Now let's get to it:


  •   1 container grape or cherry tomatoes (I think the orange ones taste the best) or 1 pint fresh from your garden
  •   1 clove garlic
  •   1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (from the can--I freeze the leftovers)
  •  A little olive oil
  •  salt, to taste

Turn the heat to medium-high on the stove, and throw a non-stick pan on the burner.  Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan (or use broth if you are avoiding oil/extra fat) just to coat the bottom.  Throw the garlic clove in.  When the garlic is fragrant, add all the tomatoes at once (don't burn yourself!) and toss around the pan a bit.  Keep the heat up pretty high while you cook the tomatoes, remembering to shake the pan here and there so they don't stick.  When the tomatoes start to look roasted (browning a bit here and there), salt them and turn off the heat.  Throw everything in your pan directly into the blender, and add the chipotle pepper too.  Turn that blender on high till the salsa is smoooooooooth.  Done.
(NOTE: If you are spice-sensitive, you may want to use 1/4 or 1/2 a pepper instead)

I LOVE this salsa with baked corn chips, or as a sauce with burritos, avocados, or on wraps.
It will keep in the fridge for about 4 days, but it won't last that long because you will eat it quick.
My dude puts it in fish tacos with a vinegary cabbage slaw and sliced avocados.