Almond Milk Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C. Raw Organic Almonds
• 2 C. Water
• A pot
• A blender
• A mesh strainer

Directions:

Step 1 – Blanching The Almonds
Bring about 1 cup of water to a boil in your pot. Drop in your almonds. Let them boil for about 3 minutes and then pour everything through your metal mesh strainer so that the water pours out and you’re left with just the almonds. Pour the almonds out onto a plate and let them rest for a few minutes until they are cool enough to touch with your hands.

Once the almonds have cooled a bit, simply rub off their papery skins and discard the skins. That’s all there is to blanching and the end result is the lovely, creamy nut meats, ready to be turned into almond milk.

Step 2 – Making Almond Milk
Put the blanched nuts and 2 cups of fresh water into your electric blender. *Make sure you put the lid on. Blend them until you’ve crushed as many of the nuts as you can and the milk is creamy white and thick. You may have to stop and start the blender, picking it up off the base and shaking it from time to time, as the nuts can get stuck under the blades.

I want to note here that if you use more water/less water or more nuts/less nuts, you can control the exact creaminess of the milk. A higher proportion of water produces a thinner milk, and a higher proportion of nuts produces a thicker one. My proportions in this almond milk recipe results in a milk that I feel is just about right, but you can experiment.


Step 3 – Straining The Almond Milk
Holding your metal mesh strainer over a receptacle – a jar, a bowl or wide-mouthed container of some kind, simply pour the milk through the strainer. Set the pulverized nuts aside. You can strain the milk twice if you want to be sure you’ve gotten out all of the little particles of nuts, but I only strain once. There are fancy bags and other devices for straining nut milks, but we don’t have these around our house and any fine-gauge mesh strainer seems to do the job just fine.
And that’s it. You now have homemade almond milk! It could hardly be easier to make.

Notes:

source: Vegan Reader

Caramel Apple Cider

Stove Top. Serves 4

Ingredients:

Cider:
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup brown sugar
3 cups apple cider
½ cup water

Caramel Whipped Cream:
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar


Directions:

1.Bring the cream and brown sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cider and the water and raise the heat to medium high, heating just until the cider begins to steam, about 4 minutes.
2.Divide among 4 mugs.
3.In a small chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the brown sugar until soft peaks form.
4.Add 2 tablespoons of whipped cream to each mug.
5.ENJOY!

Notes:

Sprinkle cinnamon over the whipped cream and add a cinnamon stick for a bit of extra flavor and a twist!
Add ice cream with a drizzle of caramel sauce instead of making the whipped cream

source: Family Fun

Carmel Apple Cider

Stovetop - 50 minutes. Serves 4

Ingredients:

Cider
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups apple cider
1/2 cup water

Caramel whipped cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar


Directions:

Step 1
First, bring the cream and brown sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cider and the water and raise the heat to medium high, heating just until the cider begins to steam, about 4 minutes.

Step 2
Divide among 4 mugs, top each one with 2 tablespoons of caramel whipped cream (recipe follows) and serve immediately.

Step 3
Caramel Whipped Cream: In a small chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with the brown sugar until soft peaks form.

Notes:

Going to use this to teach my Home Ec students some fun holiday drinks!

source: Family Fun

Homemade Lemonade Concentrate

Stove Top - mix

Ingredients:

1-1/2 c white sugar
1 c water
8 lemons (1-1/2 c juice)

Directions:

In a saucepan, stir together 1½ cups of white sugar and 1 cup of water. Heat until the mixture boils and the sugar is dissolved. Let cool.

Meanwhile, juice 8 medium-sized lemons until you get 1½ cups of juice. You may need to strain your juice if you have pits or too much pulp. Once the sugar syrup has cooled a bit, add the juice, stir, and then put in a plastic container with a lid in the freezer. This is about 3 cups worth of concentrate. Freeze solid. Can be stored for up to 6 months.

On a hot sunny day when you feel like a lovely drink, defrost the concentrate. To make a big jug, mix the entire 3 cups of concentrate with 3 cups of water. Fill glasses ¾ full, and top with ice cubes or fizzy soda water. To make only one glass, combine equal parts concentrate with water, and keep the rest of the concentrate in the fridge for later.

Notes from source:

You can freeze raspberries, blueberries or cherries in ice cube trays to add color. Fill the trays halfway with water, put in the fruit (which will float), and freeze. Once solid, you can top up with additional water to cover the fruit, and freeze again.

Variations: Mix lemonade with cranberry juice and soda water ... mix equal parts iced tea with lemonade ... float a bit of rosemary in your lemonade ... mix lemon and orange juice to make the concentrate ... grate a bit of the peel into the concentrate to intensify the lemon-y flavor, and strain before serving ... add a shot of your favorite alcohol (tequila, vodka , or white rum)...

And congratulate yourself. You're not drinking a lemon-lime mix that is "10% real juice". You're drinking the real thing :)

source: One Roast Vegetable

Butter Beer (non-alcholic)

Microwave - 60 seconds. Serves 3

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Place milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave again for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot, but not boiling. Remove milk from microwave.
Place butterscotch chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and return to the microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
Pour melted butterscotch into warmed milk. Blend with a hand mixer until well-combined and frothy. Pour into mugs and serve. Makes 3 servings.

Source: SLtrib

Free Coffee Samples!