Saturday, August 30, 2014

Almond milk and Almond pulp pie crust

     If there is one thing that really drives me nuts it is additives that are completely unnecessary. One additive that I have taken a recent grudge against is carrageenan. Carrageenan is an emulsifier. It is technically natural as it is derived from seaweed or a type of sea kelp (I can't remember which at the moment). It has no taste, no smell and no nutritional value. The only thing it does is keep products mixed. It has been linked to ulcerative colitis and connective tissue disorders among other things. You can do your own research on it if you really want to know more.
     Carrageenan is found in many products people use daily. Yogurts, cocoa mix, salad dressings, juice drinks, pudding mix and almond or other nut milks are among the products I know for a fact often contain this additive. I have also seen in on the ingredient list in candy and fruit snacks. It's not something every brand uses so you really need to read the labels.
     My kids and husband all have trouble with dairy so my girls have decided they would prefer not to drink milk except on a rare occasion. Joe on the other hand is harder to sell that idea to, he loves whole milk even though it doesn't love him back. The expense of almond milk in the store is horrible. Most brands have carrageenan in it as well. I refuse to go there.
     I began making home made almond milk about a year ago. I heard it was easy to make at home and way cheaper. I looked up several recipes and decided on a method that worked best for me. I buy raw almonds at Costco where it has been the cheapest place to buy so far. I have also learned that it is pretty easy to make just about any nut milk you like using basicly the same method. As of right now I will not recommend making coconut milk. I tried and what I ended up with was bizarre. Maybe some day I will get there.

Almond milk recipe:
                                  1 cup raw almonds
                                  filtered water
                                  1 pinch of sea salt
                                  sweetener of your choice (sugar, stevia, coconut sugar, date sugar)
                                  pure vanilla extract
                                  *1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa power if making chocolate flavor

Supplies: Blender with large cup (not a bullet blender), Nut milk bag or fine cheese cloth, pitcher

Directions: Soak almonds overnight in a bowl with water covering the top of the almonds by about a half inch. Set in fridge overnight but not longer than a day. Drain soaking water from almonds. The soaking water is great for plants. Place almonds in blender and fill blender with filtered water. Place lid on blender and blend on highest speed for about 1 minute. Let pulp settle and then repeat the process several times until the pulp the settles looks very fine. At this point you have plain unsweetened almond milk that could be strained and used. I prefer the flavor of the vanilla almond milk. Before straining add each ingredient and pulse blender a couple of times. For vanilla: add 1-2 teaspoons to taste and add whatever sweetener you enjoy a little at a time so you don't over do it. My preference is the coconut sugar or the stevia. I once tried using honey and it was a disaster. Add about a pinch of sea salt of table salt. It improves the flavor but it also seems to help it last a bit longer in the fridge. If you like the chocolate I would go ahead and puree the mixture once more making sure cocoa powder is mixed well. Place nut milk bag over pitcher and strain contents of blender into the pitcher. When most of the liquid is drained gather the bag in your hands and squeeze the heck out of it until you can no longer get liquid from the pulp. Store for up to a week in fridge. You must stir or shake the nut milk before using as it does not have an emulsifier.

   A nut milk bag is reusable and can be washed in the laundry. The pulp from the almond milk can be used in many recipes. There are several different ways of storing the leftover pulp if not using immediately. You can place un-dried pulp in a freezer bag, squeeze excess air and toss in the freezer until a later date, this is best used in quick breads and cookies. You can also dry on a cookie sheet on the lowest setting stirring occasionally. You must keep a close eye on it so as to not overcook it. I do not care for this method, it is far too time consuming. If you really want a dried pulp it could be done in a food dehydrator. I still prefer the freezer method.

     My favorite thing to do with the almond milk is to make a pie crust. I do not have an exact recipe for this and may amend it later but for the moment here is my basic recipe.
     
Ingredients: Almond pulp from 1 batch of almond milk
                    About 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil (maybe more is your pulp is dry)
                    2 Tbsp of brown sugar
                    1/2 tsp salt
Mix all ingredients directly in a pie pan using a whisk or fork. Press mixture into pan with fingers or the back of a spoon. Try and keep the thickness even on bottom as well as the edges. You can either toast the piecrust in the oven for a few minutes at about 350 or you can refrigerate it until it is firm. This crust is great for custard based pies. Leave out the sugar if you wish to use it as a quiche crust. As pumpkin season is nearly here I find myself looking forward to my no bake pumpkin pie for breakfast. I will be posting that recipe very soon. TTFN!!!!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Mayo That Actually Tastes GOOD?

     I am always looking to try something new. I love making something I would otherwise buy at the store. I love reinventing a recipe to suit my needs. I love showing my kids where foods come from and having them participate in the process.
     This spring we began our chicken adventure. I have wanted to raise chickens most of my adult life and finally after years of pestering my poor husband he gave in. He is very talented in building things. I asked for a little chicken "shack"of sorts. Nothing special just a shelter and fencing around the run to protect them from the bald eagles that fly over our house nearly every day. He built a chicken palace. The run is completely enclosed with bird netting and our girls are safe.
     At first Joe was not in love with the chickens. He did not spend a lot of time out there with them and took the "yeah they're cute but someday they will be dinner so don't fall in love with them" attitude. One of our chickens was attacked by the others, hen pecked. In the attack she lost most of the skin on her head and neck. I was sad. I totally cried. Joe was angry with the other birds for hurting one of their own kind. I told him maybe we should put her out of her misery. I really didn't know what the right thing to do was. Joe insisted we give her a chance to recover. I was scared for her for a long time. We had to separate her from the others. I kept her in a make shift home under our apple tree. She seemed as if she wouldn't make it but I could tell she liked her home under the tree. She got well enough that she wanted to be near the others so I moved her home next to the run and she was happier. Recently we have been letting her roam the yard when we are out there and giving supervised time with a couple of the others at a time. Her head has healed almost entirely, she just needs to grow back her feathers. Soon she will need to go back in the coop with the others. Winter is just around the corner and she could potentially freeze. Joe goes out and sits with her and the rest of the chickens almost every day. They have become his peaceful time. He thanked me for pressing the issue because he has grown to love our urban farm.
     Our girls give us 8 eggs most days! With an abundance of eggs we have been blessed to be able to share with friends. Providing for my family and sharing with those in need has always been my goal. When you have so many eggs you can be creative with what you use them for. I have never been much of a mayonnaise person. I find the smell repulsive and have even gagged at the taste. I have heard from people about how home made mayo is so delicious. I thought "yeah sure if you like that nasty stuff." I was thumbing through a recipe book that was given to me by a friend and in the very back was a recipe for mayo. It was a few simple (and cheap) ingredients. I figured I would give it a try since my hubby is a big mayo fan.
     I checked out several recipes to compare ingredients and set out to make it. As always I change recipes so that they suit my needs. The results were delicious! Here is my final recipe:

       Basic Mayo Ingredients:
                                                1 whole egg
                                                2 Tbsp lemon juice (you can use 1 tbsp. vinegar if you prefer)
                                                1tsp mustard (the original said powder, I used regular mustard)
                                                1/4 tsp salt
                                                1 cup of cooking oil

Using a blender, I preferred my bullet type blender for this :  Combine all ingredients (reserving 1/2 cup of oil) into the blender cup and turn on medium speed until ingredients are creamy looking. Add 1/4 cup of the remaining oil, blend for 30 seconds then add the remaining amount and blend until thick. That is it!
*variations: you can add herbs or spices or a sliver of onion to your mayo while blending and customize it to your tastes.  Also, I noticed that they are selling sriracha flavored mayo in the store, go ahead and add sriracha to plain mayo and see what you think. You may just go head over heels.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Macaroons for Kiersten

     My middle daughter Kiersten recently had an awful stomach flu. She is a very thin little girl and when she doesn't eat much for a half a week it shows. I took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with a typical stomach virus. That was good news. She was prescribed the typical BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast) along with "let her drink Gatorade and sweetened tea". Well that was nothing new to me, standard good advice. Then the doctor surprised me. She said that she wasn't sure why but for some reason macaroons were found to help aid in relief of diarrhea. The key was to have "real macaroons with real coconut."
      After we left the doctors office I headed to the store for some Gatorade and some macaroons. I was shocked at how much a smallish container of macaroons cost. $11, you have got to be kidding me!!!! I just couldn't do it. By reading the label I could tell they were loaded with garbage, super high in sugar and unpronounceable preservatives. I figured I could make them way cheaper and way better. I grabbed a bag of coconut and a case of Gatorade and went home. My entire purchase was less than $10.
     A little digging and I rounded up 3 recipes for macaroons. Each was different in some way, one was for almond macaroons, one for chocolate macaroons and one for plain. The trouble with the last two was that they called for wheat flour. I do not eat wheat. It makes me extremely sick. I figured that by changing things a bit I could create tasty gluten free cookies. The recipe became a combination of the almond and the plain macaroon. The results were heavenly.
    Here's my recipe:
                               4 egg whites
                               1/4 tsp salt
                               2/3 cup sugar
                               1 tsp real vanilla extract
                               1/2 cup almond flour
                               3 heaping cups of coconut

  In a large bowl beat egg whites with and electric mixer until foamy; beat in salt, sugar, vanilla and flour. Add coconut and stir until combined.
  Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a well greased cookie sheet (I used coconut oil) , spacing cookies about 1 inch apart. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the cookies are golden browned. Let cool a bit and then transfer to cooling rack.

       The cookies were enjoyed by everyone, especially by my friend who has a profound hatred of coconut. These macaroons were said to be the best anyone of them had ever eaten. My daughter Kiersten does not like coconut in general but in desperation to feel better she nibbled a couple. She started feeling better after a couple of hours. Was it the macaroons? I have no idea for sure but she was feeling well enough to return several times to the kitchen to snag 2 or 3 each trip. I indulged her for the day happy to see her eating again.

     So there you go Sara, my macaroon recipe. Happy baking!

My Inspiration

        Earlier this summer I met up for coffee with my dear friend Janessa. We hadn't seen each other in over a year. We had so much to talk about we were there for about 3 hours. She had moved out of the area to become a missionary and had so many exciting things to talk about. As usual we talked about just about any topic we could cram into our visit. One of the topics we discussed was nutrition on a budget. Being a missionary is not financially rewarding so making healthy food choices can be really challenging. I really identified with that situation because when I was just starting out with my little family we lived on ramen noodles, mac and cheese, hot dogs and even lunchmeat on a good month. I wish I knew then what I know now. There are so many more nutritious and budget friendly options out there.
       After my 3rd daughter was born I decided to take charge of my health  and my life. I was nearly 100 lbs over weight and miserable. I literally had to retrain my brain to think "am I hungry, thirsty or bored" every time I opened the fridge. I began eating healthier after my baby was diagnosed with a cows milk protein allergy. What that meant for me was no more dairy. Cows milk protein is passed through a woman's breast milk and goes to the baby. The first week I did okay, then my neighbor brought over a pizza for us. Totally a sweet thing to do! I had stir fry and cried. Ok, I was hormonal and I love stir fry but it was really hard to give up dairy. When I got on the scale the next week I had lost 5 lbs without trying! That gave me motivation to start paying more attention to what I was putting into my body. In about a year, between nursing a baby, watching what I ate and exercising on my gazelle I lost 60 lbs total from my post pregnancy weight.
      It has been 4 years since my daughter was born and I have kept off all the weight I lost. I do keep fighting that last 5-10 lbs but for the most part I have been the same weight. I have been asked by many people about how I lost the weight and for recipes and how to get started. I am not a trained professional. I have no formal education in any of this stuff but I do read. I read everything from health magazines to books on how to heal your body nutritionally. I love that God made our bodies to be able to change, to be transformed. As a mother I have experienced having a baby, a whole other person grow from my body. I have given birth and then my body healed and became mostly normal again. I have been weak with illness and have built my immune system and body to be stronger and healthier. We were made to change.
      My goal as of right now is to lead by example. I have 3 beautiful daughters whom I love more than life itself. My hope is that I can encourage not only my girls, friends and family to make healthy life choices but maybe many other people as well. All I have to offer is the knowledge I have gained through trial and error and lots of reading.
     I dedicate this blog to my beloved friend Janessa and to my 3 beautiful girls. You are my inspiration for doing this in the first place. I love you guys.