Improved Almond Hemp Milk

So...I've been making my almond hemp milk for over 6 months now and have learned a trick or two that has resulted in an even better product! I didn't think it could get better before, but boy was I wrong.

Tip 1: Blend all the ingredients (including sweetener) before running it through the nut milk bag.

This should have been obvious to any seasoned nut milk makers, but I had not a clue. The result is a silkier, smoother milk which heats beautifully. Not to mention there's no pesky pulp left in the bottom of the glass.

Tip 2: You can add more water without compromising the flavor of the milk.

I have found that adding an additional cup of water stretches the milk at least another day for me and I don't have to make as many batches.

Tip 3: A masticating juicer can help you make nut milk.

If you have a masticating juicer like I do, I like to run the nuts and seeds through the machine with water like I'm making juice. This started out of laziness to avoid my least favorite task of milk making: straining the nut milk bag. But I also feel like it gets more out of the nuts because of how dry the resulting pulp is. I also like how much quicker the mixture strains through the nutmilk bag after adding sweetener.

I have updated the instructions below and included a second set method for making this delicious milk.

Almond Hemp Milk

Ingredients

• 1 C raw almonds, soaked overnight
• 3 tbsp raw hemp seeds
• 4-5 C water
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 3 Medjool dates
• Pinch of salt

Method #1

1. Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender, blending until smooth, about 45-60 seconds.
2. Strain the liquid in a nutmilk bag or fine sieve.
3. Pour in a pitcher or container for storage and refrigerate. Use within 5 days.

Method #2

1. Using a masticating juicer (such as a Breville Slow Juicer or Hurom), slowly run the almonds and hemp seeds through the juicer while pouring 2 cups of water through the machine.
2. Once the nuts and seeds are done, pour the remaining water through the juicer to flush out any remaining nut milk.

Pour the nut milk into a high speed blender along with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth, about 45-60 seconds.

3. Strain the liquid in a nutmilk bag or fine sieve.
4. Pour in a pitcher or container for storage and refrigerate. Use within 5 days.

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How to Cut an Orange

It's prime citrus season again which means specials on all kinds of oranges and grapefruits. I especially love heirloom navel oranges and they make a great snack or after meal fruit. I didn't learn there was a "good" way to slice oranges until last year, so I want to pass the favor on! It reminds me of the time I learned how to cut a pineapple....mind blowing still.

I used to cut my oranges horizontally, but then I discovered you should cut them laterally first to get the nice segments. A quick Google search popped up this great tutorial on the process: My Favorite Way to Cut an Orange. You will be an orange slicing hero in no time!

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DIY Sprouting Jar

I've been wanting to make my own sprouts after spending an insane amount on some tasty prepackaged organic ones. I finally bought the seeds months later but opted not to spend even more money on a large sprouting jar. Cost aside, where would I even store it? Sprouting jars are pretty tall, which allow you to sprout a lot at once, but the large size seems cumbersome to fit in a cupboard. So I came up with this homemade solution using two things I have in my kitchen: a leftover glass jar and an in-mug tea strainer.

The photo below shows the sprouts prior to draining during a twice a day rinse. The tea strainer is great because it allows water to easily get in and drain out.

Find a glass jar with a mouth sized appropriately for your tea strainer; I used an old pasta sauce jar. Put your sprout seeds into the jar, put the tea strainer over the mouth of the jar, then moisten, drain, sprout, and rinse your seeds per the sprout packet instructions!

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Food Science - Green Carrots in Carrot Cake!

It's a little concerning, to say the least, to discover green bits in carrot cake you made just the day before. I was afraid my carrot cake cupcakes from yesterday somehow went bad in 36 hours; Google to the rescue!

According to this article, carrots are sensitive to pH and change color after coming in contact with baking soda. You can prevent it from happening by mixing in your soda thoroughly, or cutting back the amount.

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Make Simple Steamy Foamed Milk at Home

There's nothing quite like enjoying a fresh latte or cappuccino with its rich, foamy milk. And making it at home seems almost impossible; gadgets like the frothing wands are great, but yet another single function thing you may not want cluttering your kitchen.

I inadvertently stumbled upon a new method for getting frothy, steamy milk at home while making myself a warm fall drink. Try it for yourself, all you need is a blender and a microwave (the stove would probably work just as well).

Steamy Foamed Milk

Ingredients

• Milk
• Sweetener or flavorings, optional

Method

1. Add milk and sweetener/flavoring, if using, in a blender and blend at high speed for 15-30 seconds.
2. Pour mixture into a large microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. Milk will foam and build 3-4 plus times in volume, so choose a large enough vessel.
3. Heat milk to desired temperature, about 1-2 minutes.
4. Alternatively, heat the milk in a large saucepan over medium to medium high heat until desired temperature is reached.
5. Serve immediately as is or with coffee/espresso.

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How to Pit a Cherry (Without a Fancy Tool!)

I love when I find great tips in unexpected places. I came across this one on Lifehacker to pit a cherry using a wooden chopstick and a bottle.

Basically you take a cherry, hold it upside down over the top of the bottle and then poke the cherry pit and stem out with a chopstick. The bottle catches all the pits and stems and you’re left with a whole cherry!

I had never considered getting a cherry picker until my friend Tammy showed me her really cool one that uses a canning jar; a much better tool to pit several pounds for cherry preserves than a handheld model.

I bought some cherries at the neighborhood farmer's market today and tried the technique out.

How to Pit a Cherry (Without a Fancy Tool!)

Ingredients / Tools:

• Empty, clean glass bottle
• Clean wooden chopstick--no splinters!
• Cherries, stems removed

Method:

1. Take a cherry and up it on top the bottle, stem side down.
2. Poke the cherry with the thick end of the chopstick to push the pit out.

The cherries splatter some juice making a bit of a mess, but it works! Not as efficient as a dedicated machine, but just as effective.

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Multigrain Rice

I've had a 1kg bag of a special 6 grain blend rice in my pantry for probably a year now, using it ever so often when I wanted something different from plain white or brown rice. I used the last of it not too long ago and then set out to make my own version, hoping to never go without it again. The rice has a great, hearty texture to it and a gorgeous purple color from the black Forbidden rice that stains the rice as it cooks.

The Kagayaki 6 Grain Rice I had contained black rice, purple barley, hulless barley, rye berries, red rice, and short grain brown rice. Quite a variety to hunt down in a bulk food section. Unfortunately, while I wasn't able to source all the exact ingredients at my local store, I came out with a pretty nice variety and the result is just as delicious and pretty as the original. Feel free to mix up your own variety, though I recommend to keep the black rice for color.

Hand-blended Multigrain Rice

Multigrain Rice

Ingredients

• Short grain brown rice
• Spelt berries
• Red hard winter wheat berries
• Pearled barley
• Black (forbidden) rice

Method

1. In a large bowl or container, combine equal parts of each ingredient and stir until well blended.
2. To cook, combine 1 part rice to 1.5-2 parts water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until water is absorbed. Alternatively, cook in a rice cooker. Fluff with fork before serving.

So far I've had this rice a couple times since making it up and I really love it. I can see this quickly becoming my new standard "brown" rice!

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Taco Night!

There are many things I love about taco night:

1. It's a "build it yourself" type meal, so everyone can pick and choose their favorite ingredients.
2. The ingredients look so fresh and pretty all set out on the table.
3. This is a great way to highlight seasonal produce with sliced veggies and homemade salsas.
4. It's fun!

To have your own taco night...

1. The ingredients:
• Small corn tortillas, wrapped in damp paper towel and warmed in microwave
• Shredded meat (slow cooked and seasoned chicken thighs/pork shoulder/beef roast) or beans
• Grated cheese
• Veggies (shredded lettuce, green onion, tomatoes, cilantro, radishes, etc.), the more varied in color, the better!
• Salsas, hot sauces
• Sour cream
2. Gather up small plates and bowls for the ingredients. Split the ingredients between the dishes, mixing up the colors as much as possible. I put the bright yellow cheese against the dark greens, and the bright pink and red against the cilantro and scallion greens. Jars of salsa, sour cream, and hot sauces go out as is.
3. If serving alcohol, crack open some beers or make up a pitcher of margaritas. Perhaps a round of tequila shots for the more adventurous??
4. Sit down and enjoy! Encourage people to use their hands to grab ingredients--this is not a formal occasion ;)

Any leftovers make for great next day lunches or dinners. I like to use my leftovers to create fresh salads, quesadillas, or Chipotle-style rice bowls.

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Pizza...at the table!

My new favorite way to serve pizza: straight from the cutting board at the table!

As someone who doesn't own a pizza cutter, I've taken to cutting my pizza on a wooden cutting board, from which it was a natural progression to take the board straight to the table to serve. Works great because everyone can just dig in and get what they want, grab an extra slice or two, all without getting up. Granted, this does make it easier to stuff yourself, but that's why the salad is served along side at the table as well, right?

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Baking by Weight

Helpful site for baking by weight!

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/master-weight-chart.html

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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!

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Pantry Storage Recycling

I love buying stuff in bulk bins at the grocery store. I can buy small quantities of recipe specific ingredients and replenish my stock of staple ingredients without spending a fortune. Only problem is my pantry quickly fills up with plastic bags full of ingredients, sometimes unidentifiable if I forgot to write the item name along with the bulk code. My solution? Instead of buying those (expensive) plastic storage containers, I reuse glass jars. Even canning jars work great for this.

Rinse the jar clean and peel as much of the label off as possible. If there's any remaining paper or adhesive left, soak the jar in water and vinegar overnight, then scrub again. If the jar and/or lid have any lingering odors, soak in vinegar (otherwise your food will absorb these flavors). Wash and dry the jar and lid thoroughly, then label and fill with dry goods.

I also save large drink bottles (bottled juices often come in these) to store cold drinks, like homemade iced tea, nutmilk, or smoothies. Small spice jars store seasonings, simple syrup, or salad dressings, all of which are handy to take and use at work.

Above is one shelf of my pantry. I love this method because I can easily see the items that I have and what needs replenishing.

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The Key to Good Cookies...

I've inadvertently "tested" it myself dozens of times. It's a hard lesson to learn and adapt to, and it'll vary depending on the recipe--the texture/moisture, recommended oven temperature, baking sheet used, etc.

What am I talking about? Not over-baking your cookies!

Someone brought in cookies to work this morning and of course I grabbed one. I'm partial to my own cookies above a lot of others, but these were delicious. The secret? They were perfectly baked, still nice and moist in the middle.

My advice is to watch those cookies closely, as there is a very fine line between perfect and overcooked. Martha Stewart advises to cook until golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, leave on the sheet for a couple minutes, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

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