Almond Milk, The Grocery-Shopper's Favorite

By this point, I have been making my own milks long enough to know what I like and what I don't. Almond milk has sparked perhaps an unnecessary amount of rage in me. This is in part due to the fact that the almond milk you buy at the store is heavily processed, full of fillers and pretty devoid of natural nutrition. Too many people think it's so natural and healthy that they give it to their babies and toddlers instead of human milk. For the longest time, I wouldn't consider making almond milk because I was sure it would be as nasty as the almond milk I've bought at the store. I don't like it. Again, it's the carageenan getting my goat (or almond, as the case may be).

As it turns out, homemade almond milk is a perfectly acceptable drink. I prefer cashew milk, because the cashews are softer and blend smoother. But, if you love almonds and you can't get cashews for whatever reason, you are fine to make almond milk. Let's get started.

There seems to be a couple of different schools of thought about making your own almond milk. Some prefer the slivered almonds because they're cut in pieces and have the skins removed. Others prefer the whole almonds because it's more natural. I chose slivered because I thought I would have to strain less out at the end.

Take your cup of raw, slivered almonds and soak them overnight. If this was a video, there would be a time-lapse and then I would magically open the fridge and the almonds would be nice and soft. You, on the other hand, will have to wait awhile. Once they're soaked, drain and rinse them. Toss them into the blender and turn it to high.

Once you are developing a nice almond paste, add some water. Start with one cup and blend on high for a minute. Then, add the remaining three cups and blend on high for another two minutes. Run it through your strainer and store the milk in an airtight container in your fridge.

After blending, I noticed something interesting. The almond milk wasn't crunchy or fiber-y, like coconut milk is if you don't strain it. And actually, the first time I strained it, it pulled very little out. But, when I drank it, the texture was gritty and not at all to my liking. I strained it a second time, more slowly, with the same strainer, and pulled out about a half-cup of byproduct. The texture was far better the second time. But, if you were really determined to use all that you produce, and you didn't mind it being a little gritty or chewy, I suppose it would be fine.

Almond Milk
1 cup raw, slivered almonds (plus 1.5 cups water for soaking)
4 cups water
Soak almonds in a bowl of water for several hours. Drain and rinse almonds. Blend in blender until softened. Add one cup of water and blend for one minute. Add remaining water and blend on high for about two more minutes. Strain to desired consistency. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

Egg-Free, Casein-Free Brownie Batter Ice Cream

No t-shirts were harmed in the making of this dessert.

As I sit, writing this blog post, I am eating this amazing ice cream cone. Last week, while I was messing around and figuring out egg-free, Paleo brownies, I had an epiphany about brownie batter and ice cream. You see, I love ice cream made out of cake batter. But my husband, who has had food poisoning twice from undercooked eggs, does not want anything raw and eggy to cross his lips.

It dawned on me that if I could use my egg-free brownie batter to make a mixture for ice cream, it would solve the problem of raw eggs. Plus, it would give an extra recipe for those people out there who can't have eggs. As it turned out, this recipe is much easier to put together than the cashew dark chocolate ice cream I have made before. I don't think the other one is particularly difficult, of course. But when I've tried to explain it to people, they've shut down the minute I say "make a custard." You will see how simple this one is.

First thing is to get the milk ready. Put the two cups of cashew cream and the 2T coconut oil in the blender. Blend the two on high for a couple of minutes. This makes sure that the fat is fully incorporated and doesn't freeze into little pieces. It's not terrible when that happens, but the texture is slightly off-putting.

Once that's done, pour the cashew milk mixture and the ghee into a saucepan. Substitution: Of course you can use EVCO instead of ghee. That would make this recipe truly vegan. Warm over medium heat. Get the rest of the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. If you want it to taste more like milk chocolate than a deep, rich chocolate, use less cocoa powder. Then, you will slowly incorporate them into the warm cashew milk and fat mixture.

Whew, the hard part is over. Wasn't that exhausting? All you have to do now is put it into a heat-safe container, cover and stick in the fridge until the temperature of the mixture reaches 40 degrees or less. Easy tip: if you are impatient, like me, you can cool the mixture pretty quickly by whisking it in the bowl while said bowl is floating in a larger bowl of ice water. Just make sure that you don't get water into the mixture, or it will be wasted.

Once it's cool enough, go ahead and put it in the ice cream maker and follow the directions. This makes a little over a quart of ice cream. If you used regular sugar (or even possibly coconut sugar) instead of maple syrup, you may have just made the first dairy-free ice cream that did not cost more to make at home. By my count, I paid about $3.25 to make this at home. That's quite a deal.

Egg-Free, Casein-Free Chocolate Ice Cream

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/8 cup tapioca starch

5/6 cup maple syrup (or 1 cup sugar)

1/3 cup ghee

2 cups cashew cream (1 cup cashews)

2T coconut oil

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave, just enough to warm it. Mix with the cashew cream and blend on high until completely incorporated. Mix first three ingredients together, set aside. Use less cocoa powder to make it more of a milk chocolate flavor than a dark chocolate flavor. In a saucepan, melt ghee (or more coconut oil) with the cashew cream/coconut oil mix. Once they get warm (not very hot), start whisking in the dry ingredients. Once they are completely incorporated and smooth, remove from heat. Transfer to a fridge-safe container. Cover and cool until mixture reaches 40 degrees. Prepare according to ice cream maker directions. Makes about 1.25 quarts.

Egg-Free, Paleo Brownies

OK, so the brownies I was making in the winter were a big hit. But, then I had this friend who was like, "Holly, my family cannot have eggs. What can you do for us?" And, I'll admit, going egg-free has given me pause. Dairy is easy to replace, I have found. Gluten isn't even that hard. But eggs? Eggs have been the final frontier. I am finding more and more that you can't just replace eggs with some kind of egg replacer willy-nilly, and expect the recipe to be great. A lot of times, making a recipe egg-free necessitates reconsidering the whole process.

Back to the brownies. My friend has a family full of chocolate fiends, and she just found out they can't have eggs anymore. She needed brownies, stat. And, this recipe came out as a result. I am using ghee, which makes these brownies casein-free but not fully dairy-free. Unlike my other recipe, I didn't use wet coconut fiber. And this time, I added some tapioca starch. This is because I used maple syrup instead of refined sugar. That makes this recipe technically Paleo.*

The recipe is actually pretty easy to put together. The trick is that you want to incorporate some of the dry ingredients into the fat over heat, which will help emulsify the mixture and make the rise easier in the oven (since you are not using eggs). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start with your ghee (Substitution: EVCO works just fine here) and melt it on the stove in a saucepan with the milk. I used cashew milk for this, but honestly it's up to you. While you do this, mix half of the dry ingredients into the maple syrup and set aside.

Then, you mix the other half of the dry ingredients in with the warmed milk/ghee mixture. Once it has been fully incorporated, remove from heat and whisk the two mixtures together. Add chocolate chips, as desired. Prepare the cupcake tin by oiling the cups with ghee or coconut oil. Scoop the batter into the cups. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

That's it! It is nice to have some tasty desserts that accommodate the needs of a variety of people on elimination diets. I hope to add more in time.

*I have read much in the way of discussion about the Paleo diet and chocolate chips. While I buy that cocoa powder is technically Paleo, most commercially-available chocolate chips are going to have something in it that is not Paleo-friendly. It is not my job to make you stick to your diet. So if you think you can use your Paleo chocolate chips in these brownies, fine by me. If not, these brownies are absolutely delicious, with or without them.

Egg-Free, Paleo Brownies
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup coconut flour

1/3 cup ghee
3/8 cup alternative milk

3/4 cup maple syrup
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
Chocolate chips to taste

Heat up the ghee and milk in a saucepan. Mix in half of the first set of dry ingredients. Once incorporated, remove from heat. Pour all remaining ingredients into mixing bowl. Mix together, then mix with warm concoction. Once totally incorporated, scoop into cupcake tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Makes 9 brownies.