27
Sep
Posted by Milk Is For Cows in Uncategorized. 1 Comment
My submission for the Supermarket Competition
I have developed an irresistible ice cream line designed for ice cream lovers who can’t handle dairy, soy, gluten, or refined sugars. It is so good that my friends don’t know it is free of all that junk and my husband eats a pint faster than I can replace it!
Here is the info I’m told you need from me to be considered:
Katti Powell, Singing Teacher
347.852.2447
An irresistible, organic, all-natural ice cream line designed for ice cream lovers who can’t handle dairy, soy, gluten, or refined sugars that is so tasty you won’t know it is missing the usual ingredients! The base of each flavor is made from my homemade all-natural and organic almond milk. So far, I have made 8 different flavors but I have many more up my sleeve! -Pictured: Double Dark Chocolate (left), Strawberry (right)
1
Jun
Posted by Milk Is For Cows in Uncategorized. Leave a Comment
I participated in this amazing thing called Foodie Pen Pals created by Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean where we each are assigned a pen pal and we have to send a package of goodies to them. Yesterday was the day we were supposed to post about what we received from OUR Foodie Pen Pal!
I sent a package to Cheri of HealthyGirlGamer and had SOO much fun compiling it. My package came from Kat of Dudette Here and it was packed with TONS of goodies and some recipes I can’t wait to try!
Here is a picture of all the yummy goodness she managed to squeeze into my package:
Seriously. Do you believe all of that came out of the little envelope at the top of the photo?!? It was like a clown car!!
Kat was so creative with the gluten-free, soy-free vegan that I am and I know it was probably a challenge!! She made me a delicious chocolate macaroon using only cacao powder, coconut , and maple syrup. What a nice touch!
She sent me a banana nut bread Larabar – one of my faves, two DELICIOUS fruit leathers, an assortment of teas, some seaweed snacks (which is something I’ve never tried before), some travel flax seed, some wheatgrass powder – which I’ll probably use in a smoothie, and probably my favorite thing of all – a bag of banana chips. I don’t know if she made the banana chips herself but they ROCKED. I’ve actually never been a fan of banana chips but these were insane. I think I inhaled them. In some bites, they tasted like potato chips. I kept having to look to make sure they were actually bananas!! Ha! SOOO good.
She sent me a really cute card and in it included two recipes: Pumpkin Seed Butter and Garbanzo Bean Burgers. My mouth is watering just typing out the names. I will definitely have to try these out and post the results some time!
Thanks so much, Kat for such a great package of goodies!
I’m going to take a month off and do it again the next month. So worthwhile! 🙂 Thanks, Lindsay, for such a great idea!
19
Mar
Posted by Milk Is For Cows in Recipe. Tagged: basil, chard, coconut oil, collards, garlic, ginger, greens, hummus, kale, Mediterranean, olives, quinoa, tasty, tasty greens, vegan, vegetarian. 2 Comments
Yum. That’s all I have to say about this dish. Okay, not really. I actually have a lot to say about it. My regular version of Greens & Grains is a staple in my house and we have been known to eat it as many as 4x each week, but THIS version of it is totally different and ridiculously good.
When I first got into eating greens I was SO into them. I could eat them raw, steamed, and with or without a sauce. I was in love. I even ate them for breakfast. I was amazed at how energized I felt after eating them and how much flavor they had. I also loved how versatile they were and how each green I tried had its own totally unique flavor.
My husband… well let’s just say he didn’t exactly share in my enthusiasm. I don’t even know exactly what it was about them that he didn’t like but he just couldn’t stomach them. I made a yummy sesame dressing for them but it didn’t help. I made a very vibrant and healthy salad with them and he couldn’t finish it. I was so frustrated. Then I found a recipe for how to make greens taste insanely good. Basically, it was full of zingy flavors and required turning them into a paste so they were like a sauce more than a main dish. I knew I had to try it and when I did, it was an instant success. I’ve modified the recipe since then about a zillion times and added so many things to it that when I look at the original recipe it is not even familiar to me. I also used to make a recipe my husband hated just about as much that involved various Mediterranean ingredients tossed together in a collard green as the wrap. It was so delicious I couldn’t believe he didn’t like it. The fact that he LOVES this recipe is really quite miraculous.
This recipe combines a huge variety of greens that have bold flavors with bold herbs & spices, earthy grains, fresh vegetables, and zesty fats. My mouth is watering just writing that sentence.
Now, I’m not gonna lie – you’re going to see the recipe and think, “holy hell, this must dirty a million dishes and take hours and hours to make”. It’s not true. I broke the ingredients of the recipe down into categories so it would be easier to understand in the directions. Truth be told, this masterpiece only takes about 30 minutes to create and it uses 3 pans, a food processor and a bowl. Not a whole lot different than a homemade pasta dish with a crazy good pink sauce… okay, okay, I’ll post that one some time too.
And let’s talk about the grain for a minute too. I love, love, love quinoa. But once I tried the tri-color quinoa we have at my local natural food market, I won’t go back to the plain stuff. I’m serious. I’m sure this recipe will taste just fine with the plain white quinoa but the tri-color is so hearty and earthy tasting that if you can find it, it’s totally worth the search. I mean look at this stuff…
Okay, you’re right… it just looks like colored sand or something. But it is so tasty and delicious, I promise. In fact, sometimes the flavors are too bold to pair up with certain dishes – that’s how good it tastes.
I suppose I should also share my recipe for homemade hummus. I make a raw hummus that doesn’t even use chickpeas. Instead, it uses almonds, sesame seeds, umeboshi plum paste, a ton of garlic, and grapeseed oil. Mmm… next time.
Enough with the mouth watering already, let’s make some Mediterranean Greens & Grains.
First, you will want to start your quinoa cooking because it takes the longest. Then, we’ll start steaming our greens. In the pot we have a steamer basket filled with a beautiful combination of greens, herbs, and seasonings. We have kale, swiss chard, spinach, cabbage, basil leaves, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic and kombu. This all gets steamed until it is nice and soft.
Next is the really fragrant part. In a skillet, we saute some red onions and ginger in some coconut oil until the onions are tender and then we add in some cumin. While the onions are softening, we throw the contents of the steamer basket into the food processor and blend it all until it turns into a dark green paste. Add the paste into the skillet with the onions and a little bit of moisture from the steaming pot and mix it all up together.
Then we get out a big bowl and toss together some tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives (chopped as finely as possible because my husband doesn’t like them so I have to sneak them in!), and more garlic. You can even add in some more red onions if you like (I do). Season those with a little salt and pepper and then add in the greens and the cooked quinoa. Toss it all so the flavors are evenly distributed and then scoop into a serving bowl or onto a plate. Top with a dollop of hummus and enjoy!
Recipe:
MEDITERRANEAN GREENS & GRAINS
18
Mar
Posted by Milk Is For Cows in Recipe. Tagged: almond milk, blueberry pancakes, breakfast, dairy-free, pancakes, teff, vegan. Leave a Comment
It’s so nice to get up on a Sunday morning and have the whole day ahead to plan. But we had a late night so we slept in… A LOT.
So we decided to have pancakes this morning (afternoon) – it’s sort of a weekend tradition in our house. I wanted blueberry pancakes but forgot to buy the little wild blueberries so I had to use the regular ones which are ginormous.
My husband suggested I blend them to make the size of the blueberries a non-issue. It was a brilliant idea and it produced the most beautiful purple batter!!
I also used teff flour because it is one of my favorite tasting grains and adds a natural sweetness. For sweetener we used a little bit of sugar and a ripe banana.
My husband mans the griddle so I can give lots of details about the batter but not so many about the pancake making process itself. We use a griddle that sits on top of two burners and we usually set the heat to just below half (which is number 4 on our stove). The batter was a little fussy and stuck to the griddle a little more than usual but we managed to turn out some nice pancakes despite the stickiness.
When they were ready to eat, we glazed them with a little coconut oil and topped them with sliced bananas. So tasty!!
Try them out and let me know how you like them! See the recipe below.
Purple Blueberry Pancakes
12
Mar
Posted by Milk Is For Cows in Recipe. Tagged: almond milk, banana pancakes, breakfast, cacao, chocolate banana, chocolate ice cream, milk recipes, raw, vegan, vegan chocolate, vegan chocolate ice cream, vegan ice cream, vegan recipes. 2 Comments
Did I mention that I’m vegan? We vegans eat lots more than carrots, berries, and wheatgrass juice.
Today is my husband’s birthday and we celebrated yesterday with his request of double chocolate banana pancakes. He also is an ice cream fanatic so I whipped up some homemade chocolate ice cream to have later. To start this day of non-dairy goodness, we first had to make a batch of almond milk (recipes for all of these things will be at the bottom and also can be found in the “recipes” tab).
I love making almond milk. I used to buy it in multiple half gallon cartons at a time. That was back when we were doing a lot of meal replacement with smoothies. Now we have sort of a weekend tradition of pancakes and otherwise we have chia for breakfast every morning. Both of these require the use of almond milk. At the beginning of the year, I was advised to try eliminating gluten, soy, and corn from my diet due to a ridiculously annoying rash I developed. At first, I thought, “what the… really?!? NOW what am I going to eat? I’m already vegan!!!!!” I had no clue it would be so easy. But it meant no more store-bought almond milk. Turns out it is way cheaper, easier, and tastier to make it at home. It starts with the part I always forget – soak the almonds the night before. If you don’t remember to soak or if you don’t have the time, you can always blanch the almonds for 3 minutes in boiling water. Either way is fine but you have to choose one or the other because they are the only ways to get the skins off the almonds.
“I’m sorry. Did you just say ‘get the skins off the almonds’?”
Yes. I know what you are thinking but I promise it is worth it. And getting the skins off the almonds is SOOOOO easy. I was skeptical too and thought I’d be peeling almonds all day and never getting to drink the milky deliciousness. It takes no time at all. Oh, and don’t try to skip this step because with the skins on, your milk will taste extremely bitter and you’ll end up with about 3x as much pulp to strain. Anyway, to remove the skins, all you do is squeeze the almond between your thumb and the finger of your choice and it will slip right off.
Removing the skins from the soaked almonds is so easy.
Once the almonds are skinned, fill your blender with 5 cups of filtered water and add 1 cup of the skinned almonds to the blender. To add a hint of sweetness to your almond milk, pit a couple of dates – I prefer medjool dates – and throw them in the blender too. I put the blender on the “liquefy” setting and let it run until it is white and the particles are hardly visible, which is about a minute or two. Next comes the straining part. Some people only strain once but I’m particular about grit so I strain twice. It’s worth the extra 30 seconds it takes, I promise. I bought one of those sets of strainers that comes with 3 different sizes which is perfect for this task. I strain the first time into a bowl with a pour spout and the second time into the 1/2 gallon jar I keep it in.
I usually make 1 batch, make my pancake batter, and then make a second batch and that fills up my 1/2 gallon jar. If you don’t want to make pancakes, you can make less milk or get 2 jars. The whole process (minus the overnight soak) takes about 10-15 minutes. Super easy.
1/2 gallon of homemade raw almond milk sweetened with medjool dates.
Let’s talk pancakes. I make up pancake recipes every week so if you are looking for some inspiration in the pancake department, look no further. Today I’ll tell you how I made my double chocolate banana pancakes. Try ’em – you’ll love ’em.
A friend of mine introduced me to the grain “teff”. “Weird,” I thought. Until I tasted it. OMG. Okay, when I was a kid, I was ADDICTED to things like Wheat Thins, Wheat Chex, and Wheaties (hmm… any thoughts why I may have a gluten allergy? duh!). Teff tastes like Wheat Chex and I’m in love with it. You can cook it like a hot cereal or you can make flour out of it (or buy flour made from it which is what I did) or you can make a zillion other recipes with it (www.teffco.com has loads of recipes). So our pancakes were made mostly with teff flour and just a little bit of brown rice flour.
Another friend of mine has a raw artisan chocolate company so I buy organic raw cacao powder from him. It’s so tasty and makes the best stuff. Check him out at: www.eatchocolateconspiracy.com. So in with the flours goes some of the tasty cacao powder. I also threw in a couple of tablespoons of sugar – by the way, everything I use is organic but I am lazy so I’m not going to use that word every single time – and some baking powder. I use a baking powder that doesn’t have any gluten or corn in it. A little cinnamon and nutmeg add a nice flavor to the mix as well. Whisk that all together and then we’ll add the wet stuff.
Back into the blender, put some almond milk and a couple bananas and watch them whir together into banana frothiness. Pour that into the dry stuff and mix it together with a rubber spatula. Then I slice a banana in half lengthwise and then in half lengthwise again. Then I cut it so 4 little chunks come off into the batter at a time. Add some vegan chocolate chips or cacao nibs to the batter and stir it up. I usually find that I have to add more milk to thin it out.
My husband runs the griddle so my instructions for this part will be minimal. But I have a picture!!
Pancakes on the griddle
He puts a little coconut oil down on the griddle before pouring the batter. He lets them sit for quite awhile before flipping them otherwise they get really messy. We have a really wide silicone spatula he uses to flip them. We keep the cooked ones on a plate locked up in the microwave while he is making the rest so they don’t get cold.
Sometimes we top our pancakes with a little coconut oil or some fresh fruit or some shredded coconut and sometimes we eat them plain. These didn’t need any help at all so we ate them plain. Deliciousness.
Double Chocolate Banana Pancakes - enough for an army.
While he was making pancakes, I started working on my ice cream. I made double chocolate ice cream which is his favorite. We don’t have an ice cream maker so I do it manually – once it’s all made I freeze it in a shallow dish and stir it about once an hour. It’s so good.
So here’s how I did it. The bulk of it happens on the stove. I know, right? Ice cream on the stove? What? Yeah, that’s where it starts. So I put together some cacao powder, some sugar, and some almond milk into a 2 quart sauce pan and heat it over medium heat stirring constantly with a whisk. I really want to try making this with medjool dates instead of the sugar but that’s not something I’ve tried yet. Before I do that, I whisk some potato starch in a cup with some milk and let it sit to thicken. Once the cacao mixture has come to a boil, I add in the starch mixture and let it thicken the whole mix for about 5 minutes. Then I pour it into a shallow tupperware dish – get some with some “cahones” so it doesn’t melt – and put it in the fridge while I eat my pancakes.
Once it has cooled, I add some chocolate chips and stir it up and throw it in the freezer for about an hour. It looks like pudding at this stage and is very tempting to eat it just like that. And your house will smell like a confectionery house. For days. It’s awesome. About every hour, remove it from the freezer and stir it in a circle to loosen it from the edges and mix up the ice crystals with the unfrozen parts. It is usually very fudgy and you will want to eat it all right then. Resist.
That's what I'm talking about. Double chocolate vegan ice cream.
It is hard to appreciate the creaminess from this photo because it looks so chunky. Straight out of the freezer it is pretty hard. You will want to let it sit for a few minutes before scooping it into your cup. It is so rich we usually only have about a 1/4 of a cup.
Enjoy.
Recipes:
Almond Milk
Double Chocolate Banana Pancakes
Double Chocolate Ice Cream
Milk Is For Cows... 