Monday, February 13, 2012

Baking by Weight

Helpful site for baking by weight!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Almond Milk

I've gotten into homemade non-dairy milks as of late, first it was pecan milk, then coconut milk, and now I'm at almond milk. After some hesitation, I recently bought a nut milk bag. Previously I had used a sieve to strain out the pulp, but even that leaves you with a slightly grainy texture, so I decided to take the plunge.

The thing I love most about using a nut milk bag is the speed. The one I purchased suggested using your hands to squeeze out the liquid from the solids which is much quicker, and releases more liquid in my opinion, than simply allowing the liquid to drain on its own (as I had been doing with the sieve method). Not to mention, the nut milk bag yields a much creamier milk.

Almond Milk

1 cup raw almonds
water for soaking
4 cups water
1/2 vanilla bean
3 pitted dates
  1. Place the almonds and soaking water in a large bowl for 8 hours or overnight.
  2. Drain and rinse the almonds well. Combine almonds and remaining ingredients in blender, blend until smooth.
  3. Place nut milk bag over a bowl or storage container, then pour blender contents into the bag. Allow milk to strain for several hours or squeeze the bag by hand to extract the milk.
Stays fresh for 2-3 days, if you can hold onto it that long!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Mindful Eating (Article)

This is something I really want to try out. Even as I was reading this article, I was drinking a smoothie and realizing how very little attention I pay to the food I am eating. I end up missing out on the tastes and textures, the care and attention that went into harvesting and preparing the ingredients before me.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Cookie Troubleshooting

Homemade cookies can be challenging. Sometimes your standby favorite cookie recipe(s) can be finicky, who's ever baked a batch and been disappointed when they were too flat or browned too much? Not to mention when trying out a new recipe, it's difficult to know whether the results will be worth it.

I stumbled upon this website which troubleshoots 10 cookie problems and how to correct the issue! (Scroll down to the "Problems" section.) Of course, by the time you've reached many of these results, it's too late to salvage that batch of dough, but at least you'll know for next time. Time to make a batch of cookies!