Homemade Almond Milk

homemade milk!

It's so easy to make fresh almond milk that you'd have to be crazy not to do it! Making your own milk feels like having a cow in your backyard.
The good thing about making your own milk is that you use no packaging. Just buy almonds in bulk. A cup of almonds is also lighter to carry than a pack of milk (which makes a difference when you bike n' shop like me).

Proportions
1 measure of raw almonds
4 measures of water
(some recipes call for a date, but I like it just plain)

Equipment
Food processor
Fine mesh sieve
A big bowl
A container for the milk

How to proceed?
Sprouting
I make milk with raw sprouted almonds, which are more nutritious, healthier and easier to digest than unsprouted almonds. You might have difficulties finding truly raw almonds, since the Almond Board of California now requires growers to sell their production pasteurized (and most almonds in this country come from California), but my coop carries (imported*) unpasteurized raw almonds.

Fill a jar with almonds and water and soak for at least 12 hours. (Keep the jar in a place that won't be hit by the sun or get too hot). I usually soak the day before I want to make the milk.

Crushing
Pour water and almonds in a food processor. (Soaked almonds are much softer and easier on your blades than unsoaked ones). Blend.

crushing the almonds

Draining
Drain through a sieve.

no udders required

Voilà! You now have delicious, nutritious almond milk.

Bonus: the almond pulp!
You can use it in cookies or breads recipes, or simply eat it with your morning porrigde, in a yogurt, etc.
I make fake bacon with it, by mixing it to (a little bit of) oil, wheat tamari and smoked salt, laying it flat on a baking tray, and roasting it in the oven (for an amont of time that I forget). I used it on salads and it is astonishingly tasty.

breakfast: almond pulp, cashew yogurt, blueberries on a quinoa + fruit porridge

*I know it's not very locavore of me, but it feels healthier and more natural. And pasteurization uses energy too, I guess...


An article on nuts. And another one.

Spring Delight: Baked Tofu in a Lemon and Dill Marinade

Spring delight

For Spring, something fresh and light like dill and lemon is a great idea. I love the delicate and strange taste of dill combined with the tangyness of citrus.
I made it a base for a baked tofu marinade, and it turned out simply delicious accompanied by a simple casserole of brown rice, lentils and fresh vegetables.

Time
The tofu needs to drain and then marinate for at least a few hours. I find it easier to make it the day before and let it sit overnight. Since the recipe calls for cooked rice and lentils, I cook a big batch of both beforehand, for this dish and other purposes. Otherwise the prep time is pretty short.

Ingredients for 2
2 blocks of firm tofu
Prep: drain tofu by wrapping it in a clean towel and sitting some weight (plates, books...) on top.

this marinade is also a great salad dressing

Marinade
2 lemons (or one lime and one lemon)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh dill, cut in small pieces
I clove of garlic, minced
pepper (to taste)
Put everything in your food processor and blend.

You should end up with more marinade than you need, but you will use it to flavor your side dish (It's a great salad dressing too).

Place drained tofu in a container and fill with marinade. Let sit for a few hours or overnight. I usually don't refrigerate it because things don't soak as well when they are cold.

freshly baked

Side Dish: Spring Rice and Lentils Casserole
1/2 cup green peas
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1 onion, minced
1/2 cup green or black lentils, cooked
1 carrot, diced
2 stems of celery, diced
1/4 cup of dill, finely cut
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper (to taste)

Turn the oven on at 400˚.

Cook the green peas in water (it should only take a few minutes)
Chop onions, celery, carrots (you can put other veggies like pearl onions, spinach, etc...)
Mix everything together with olive oil, season to your taste.

Put marinated tofu and rice and veggie mix into a casserole dish. Cook in oven for about 40 minutes.

You can serve the tofu on a bed of fresh spinach leaves. Place the remaining marinade on the table, to be used as dressing for the greens or to be sprinkled on the casserole: it's tasty!

Savannah's Spring Detox Tea

tea time still life:
herbs, almond galette and a good book

Not long ago, I ran into Savannah in the spices and herbs section of my favorite coop, Rainbow Grocery. Her and her friend seemed to be having so much fun picking up bulk herbs from the big jars that I wondered what kind of witches' brew they were going to make. As it turns out, they were making detox tea. I was myself shopping for spices to make a cleansing soup for Spring (modeled after my Winter detox chorba, but with Spring veggies) so we exchanged recipes*.

I love this tea, mostly because of the licorice. In fact it's so good that I ironically find it pretty addictive. I usually brew a big pot on the stove and keep drinking it all day when I'm at home. Or I transfer it to my crockpot so I can always enjoy a hot cup.

Savannah's detox tea**
2 parts burdock roots
1 part red clover flower
2 parts dandelion root
(for mucus, phlegm:)
1 part fennel seed
1 part fenugreek seed
½ part licorice root

Apart from being fabulous and awesome, Savannah Knoop is a talented local fashion designer from San Francisco, and Tinc, her business, is green! Check it out here. And if you like good stories -and juicy Hollywood revelations- read her inspiring memoir, Girl Boy Girl, how I became JT Leroy, on her impersonating the infamous young queer writer.

one of Savannah's Spring o9 creations

* My favorite part of the story is when we ran into each other that very same night, "detoxing" at a bar with hot toddies!
** Found in Paul Pitchford's Healing with Whole Foods

Give up disposable containers for Lent!

my faithful waterbottle

This year, because I am following a food almanach inspired by popular traditions, I decided to do something for Lent. I have never, ever, done anything for Lent -and I come from a Catholic background. "Giving up something" sounds abominable and so dramatic: deprivation, self-inflicted pain... what's the point?

You may also look at it from another angle. Many cultures and traditions include a fast and a time of reflexion in their calendars. It's healthy. No need to be religious to celebrate Spring as a time of renewal. Cleansing, getting rid of the superfluous, the clutter, making space for the new: that's pretty positive -even necessary. It's not about depriving our bodies, inflicting pain to ourselves, but, rather, about re-centering our priorities, coming back to a more simple, sane life, even for a short while.
By giving up the old, the worn out, we make space for the new (ideas, habits, joys, excitements, etc.) to enter our lives.


I have a suggestion for y'all this Spring: something to give up that will both make sense and give you a lot of karma points. For Lent: give up disposable containers!

Here are a few ideas and suggestions. You might want to follow them all, for 6 weeks, until Easter or forever, or you might simply want to give up one item, for just a week. Whatever you do makes a difference and will probably inspire you to do more.

Please, also bear in mind that, although we do have a responsibility as individuals, big companies which give you no choice but to purchase items wrapped in thick plastic have a huge role to play in the gaïacide, and, to this day, are not held accountable for their part in the global mess we're in. Let's put the blame on them too. They should pay for their mess, that might make them reconsider their packaging addiction.
We also live in societies that impose a lifestyle which gives us no time to stop, think and be sensible. It seems that we are always in a rush in our busy lives: ready-made, packaged foods are thus very appealing. It's our whole system that we have to rethink. Perhaps you can ponder upon this during Spring.

Suggestions
- Plastic bags. Those awful suckers are everywhere! To avoid them, just... don't take them! Put small purchases in your bag, or carry them in your hand. That's one plastic bag saved! A good thing to do is to always carry your own grocery tote bags with you (in your day bag, your purse, in your car). At all times. They're so light you won't feel them. That's one effortless way to act responsibly!

You can also just say no to all the small bags, for fruits or veggies. Reuse the ones you brought back from your last grocery shopping trip. Stop discarding your bags after one single use: that's crazy! Instead, wash them if they seem dirty, and use them again... and again and again. I use and reuse the same bags about 30 times. Can you imagine how much plastic I save? Just carry a couple with you everyday, for spontaneous purchases, and grab a handful before going grocery shopping.

Souvenir from Brooklyn:
a hot-looking thermos cup (with a screw top!) from Gorilla Coffee

- Paper and plastic cups and dishware. Make sure you say "for here", or insist on a ceramic or glass cup, when ordering a beverage at the counter. If you want your drink to go, or if you patronize a coffeeshop which uses only disposable cups (those places still exist, even here in San Francisco!), just bring your own beverage container. It can be a thermos cup (please, for your own safety: no plastic on the inside! Always stainless steel!) or a regular ceramic cup, or even a cute glass jar with a lid. Use reusable silverware (ask for a metal spoon if they don't have any available).

- Bottled water. Not only do these inocent-looking little things pollute the environment when made and discarded, but haven't you heard it's unsafe to drink from plastic? That the chemicals in plastic end up in your water and then in your body? (read here -sorry about the disturbing animal testing part- or here) I am not a scientist and don't want to spread false rumors about plastic (some say it's not so toxic), but one thing is sure: disposable plastic containers are terrible for the environment. Get one of those sleek metal bottles right now, preferably stainless steel (i'm not a fan of aluminium), and fill it with the freshest filtered tap water.

Bamboo cutlery set, the holder is made of recycled plastic bags
by Conserve, an Indian NGO

- To-go boxes. Seriously, people: styrofoam, plastic and even paper containers are not planet friendly. When you eat out, why don't you bring your own glass or metal container? For my doggie-bag needs, I bring a simple jar, or a cute/cheesy Japanese thermos container that I got for a couple of bucks at a thrift store. Afraid to look stupid? If you have image insecurities, let me tell you one thing: if the rest of you looks cool, I bet your glass jar will look cool too, so go work on your style... What looks really stupid is you killing wildlife in the ocean.
You can also get a really cool looking stainless steel container, like an Asian lunch box.

For your Chinese take out: lunch box, 19th century (found here)

More modern: stainless steel containers (found here)

If you want your food to go, that's harder. When ordering at the counter, hand them your own container. Don't be shy! Just smile and think of all the dolphins and albatrosses you are not killing! If you didn't bring a container: why don't you take a seat and eat there? You needed a break anyways...
You want food delivered? Just go and get it yourself already! A little walk will do you good! What do you mean: "It's too far to walk/bike"? You mean you are actually ordering from places that are going to use gas to bring food to you? That leaves me speechless.

a few containers

- Don't buy packaged food. That's the hardest one, I know, because you feel you don't have a choice... However, you do. Some stores are really packageholics (Yes, you, Trader Joe's... Are you insane?), and you don't have to support that. Shop at places where you can buy in bulk (and reuse your own bags). Shop at the farmers' market. Get an organic box. Buy unwrapped soap bars, not liquid soap in plastic bottles. When you consider buying an item, along with price and efficiency, take packaging as a criteria.
The best thing to do is to cook as much as possible from scratch. It's simpler than you think, even for the kitchen-challenged! The perks: you avoid all the bad ingredients in processed food. It's good for you and the environment. With a little common sense and practice, you can prepare things that are simple, fast, healthy and delicious. Just go one step at a time.

My tips:
The best way to green your lifestyle is to take on new habits. Make conscious living a second nature, a reflex, something you don't have to think about, something that's not a drag. Make it easy on yourself!

There are lots of things that could be a drag if you had to think about doing them (drying yourself after showering, grabbing your keys when you leave, zipping up your pants, tying up your shoe laces, closing the door after yourself...) however, your mind has accepted them as part of your routine, your mind doesn't rebel and just does it out of habit. Train yourself to do the same for containers.

What worked for me:
I really trained myself, like a dog, or a kid! I don't have to remember to bring containers to the store: it's a reflex now. I store plastic bags at the same spot, and just grab a handful of them when I go grocery shopping, just like I grab my keys before leaving the house. I do the same for other containers. When a container is empty (let's say a bottle of tamari, a coffee tin) I put it in a special place, by the plastic bags. That way, when I go and get my plastic bags, I automatically think of taking those containers with me. (It's like a shopping list, with containers to fill up instead of written items to cross out.) I am very lucky: I shop at a place that allows me to buy almost everything in bulk, unpackaged (and that includes beauty and household products). I'm sure you have a co-op somewhere near your house: check it out.

Even better... for the hardcore
I thought I had to buy certain foods packaged, like plant-based milk. Guess what: I don't! I now make my own organic almond milk! And it's simple and cheap!
I don't buy canned tomatoes. Nope. I had frozen some farmers' market bought crushed tomatoes last summer, and I have some sundried tomato flakes. I also don't find it necessary to use tomatoes off season. There's plenty of seasonal foods to chose from. If you really want tomatoes all year long, why don't you can or freeze some yourself next summer?


Room for improvement
I don't think anyone can be "perfect". I do love the taste of Earth Balance on my toast (or melted on my popcorn...) It does come in a nasty plastic container, though. I just don't eat it everyday, and cover my toast with homemade hummus or nutbutter spreads (that I can buy in bulk at my coop!) instead.


Just so you know, I bike and walk everywhere, and I do carry containers with me. It does require a little more planning, but I believe it's worth it. An unexpected bonus came out of this: I am today much more organized, in my life in general, than I was when I was less conscious.


One last word about "recycling".
When I moved to the US a few years ago, I realized that people weren't throwing things away anymore, they were "recycling" them. I love how the English language has a creative capacity to make a verb out of a noun (to "google" something instead of "looking up on Google", for instance) however, this "recycling" thing was a totally different matter to me and really rubbed me the wrong way. I do come from a first world, loves-to-waste-ressources country, however, it could never match the wastefulness of the US. Wasting is like a religion here. So when I see people drinking out of a plastic bottle and then discarding it and calling it "recycling", I can't help but think it's a tad hypocritical. The only way someone can "recycle" an item is by giving it a second chance, by making something else out of it. Otherwise, it's called "throwing away in the recycling bin". Then, the item might or might not be taken to a recycling facility that can make something new out of it. I'm sorry to break it out to you, but this process is wasteful too: it uses energy (to transport and transform). It's very simple-minded to think we're good to nature because we throw our containers in the "green bin". The only way we can be good to nature is to lower our impact, and the only way to lower your impact is to consume less, and that has nothing to do with discarding things in the right trash can.
---
More to read:
Ocean + plastic = sad, very sad...

Mardi Gras Fritters

It's Mardi Gras! Mardi Gras, i.e. Fat Tuesday, is celebrated in many countries worldwide. It's the last day of the Carnival extravaganza: people go wild, drink plenty and eat ultra rich. Fried foods are de rigueur. In France, we make beignets, made of fried dough or batter. Beignets actually go by many names, according to the region: bugnes near Lyon, bottereaux in the West (Bretagne, Vendée, Deux-Sèvres, where my family is from -my grand-mère makes delicious bottereaux), etc.

There are lots of savory options too. In Brazil, you can eat acarajé, black-eyed peas fritters. In Martinique, where Carnival is also celebrated in style, I remember making delicious breadfruit fritters, my inspiration for today's fried treat.

I wanted savory fritters just like these breadfruit fritters, i.e. not an item dipped in batter but, like potato latkes, or falafel: everything mixed together and fried.

I had leftover textured soy protein (TSP) from a trashy and delicious Tater Tots Casserole (thanks Shauna!), and it's what I used. TSP is a little disturbing at first, because it really looks and feels like ground meat, a little chewy. It takes exactly the taste that you give it. You DO have to give it a taste, with spices, tamari, onions, etc., orelse you end up with little sponges... I usually use it in vegan Bolognese or in hachis Parmentier. It a fun texture to play with.

Dry TSP

I made my Mardi Gras fritters with TSP, onions, mushrooms and spices. It was both festive and tasty.

But before we proceed, here's a haïku, just for you.

winter is ending
Mardi Gras left us sated,
nice layer of lard

(I can't wait for Lent)

Ingredients

TSP mix:
1 cup dry TSP *
7/8 cup water (or, if you buy packaged TSP, as much as the label says)
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp wheat-free tamari **
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped spring onions (optional)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp caraway seeds (otional)
a pinch of Cayenne pepper


fritter mix
1 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1 tsp arrow root or potato starch

+canola oil for frying

In a big bowl, mix 7/8 cups of water with 1 cup of TSP. Cover.

Slice onion and sauté with oil in a pan. If it sticks to the bottom, add 1 tsp tamari, or more. When the onion is translucent, add rehydrated TSP and the rest of the tamari. Mix. Cook for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, spring onion, ginger, garlic, spices and sauté until cooked (minimum 15 minutes).

Cooked and sautéed TSP + friends

I ended up with about 2 cups of that mix.

Make the fritter mix: garbanzo flour + arrow root.
Mix flours and TSP and form a wet ball.

The raw stuff. I felt like Jeanne Dielman.

Make patties and throw in medium hot oil. When it's brown, it's done.

Cooked fritter and raw patty

* Suggestion: If you can't find TSP, use lentils instead.
** It doesn't have to be wheat-free, of course, but that way, you can make the whole recipe gluten-free.

suggestion: here, on a fresh spinach salad,
with a lemon-olive oil dressing sprinkled with homemade "bakin' bits".

Bon appétit! Bon Mardi-Gras!

Jeanne Dielman, making vegan Mardi-Gras fritters.

Heart-Shaped Power Bars

Look, I'm not really a Valentine's Day fanatic. I usually make sushi and have people over, coupled or non-coupled. I know it's a commercial institution more than a celebration of true love (normative love at that).
However, I chose to put Valentine's day in my food almanac (even though I believe every day should celebrate love!) I am also a bit of a cheeseball. So it's a good day to post a recipe for heart-shaped power bars.*

Just a little reminder: all those V. Day chocolates and flowers that you are supposed to buy are often grown and prepared in totally unethical conditions, and that's the very opposite of love. (Read here for chocolate, and here for flowers)

My treats were made with love, by me, and not by a child slave. The ingredients, healthy, human- and planet-friendly, were purchased at a store that guarantees the ethics of its origins. What does this mean? I get hella karma points!

Almond-Medjool Dates Power Bars
I used this recipe before, to make a raw pie crust. I simply changed the presentation and made a bunch of little hearts using a heart-shaped cookie cutter.



Ingredients
1 cup organic medjool dates (pitted)
1 cup raw almonds
1/2 tsp salt

Blend all ingredients together in food processor to form a paste (warning: it takes a while, and can be hard on your FP). Flatten paste on a flat cookie tray. Store in the fridge for 1/2 hour.
Cut with a cookie-cutter. Voilà!

Offer around and empower your loved ones!

*I am perfectly aware that power bars cannot, by definition, be heart-shaped. If you have a problem with this, just cut the paste into bars, what can I say?

Crêpes for la Chandeleur

Today is la Chandeleur, aka Crêpe Day in the French Cooking Almanac.

"A la Chandeleur, l'hiver prend fin ou prend vigueur" (At Chandeleur, winter ends or gets stonger). Chandeleur (from "chandelle", i.e. candle) marks the return of light, the lengthening of days: winter will be over soon. (In English, it is know as Candlemas, although I met no one here who had heard of Candlemas. Here's some Christian Wiki-info for you, and some pagan info. This page has proverbs).

To help you be patient and bear the cold, the best thing to do is to enjoy what winter is good for: greasy and heavy foods.
Traditionally, in France, families and friends gather together to make crêpes.

Crêpes used to be the poor person's fare: a simple mixture of flour and water. Nowadays, many recipes include animal by-products, but that is unnecessary. If you hear people say that real crepes have to contain eggs, milk and butter, it's simply not true: that's just the way they learned. "Real crepes" just have to be round and flat...

There are two types of crêpes: savory or sweet. Savory crêpes are made of buckwheat (a gluten-free flour), and sweet crêpes are made of wheat.

To stay true to the origins of crêpes, I made a very basic and recession-friendly recipe.

batter in a jar

Crêpes
ingredients for one crêpe
¼ cup flour (buckwheat or wheat)
¼ cup liquid (water, almond, rice or soy milk, or half water-half milk)
¼ tsp potato starch
¼ tsp sugar (for the sweet crêpes)
1 pinch salt
+½ tbsp oil for cooking

what you need
1 non-stick or well-seasoned cast iron pan
1 jar with a lid (or food processor)
1 paper towel
1 bowl for the oil
1 wooden spatula

Put all the ingredients (except the oil) in the jar. Close the lid and shake well until you have a smooth batter. (You can also do this the lazy way: in the food processor)
I don't even let it sit (but you might want to do it if you can).

Shake it, shake it!

Pour some oil in a small bowl. Heat up the pan. Dip a paper napkin in the oil and apply at the bottom of the pan. Once it's hot (after 20 s.) pour batter in pan, rotating the pan to make sure that the batter covers the whole surface. Like this:

It goes "Pshhh!"... Beautiful...

If you encounter difficulties, just use the spatula to spread the batter evenly.
Cook for about one minute, until the batter is compact, no longer liquid.

This one needs a few more seconds.

With a wooden spatula, delicately unstick the borders of the crêpes. Shake the pan horizontally: the crêpe should be loose.
Flip the crêpe, either with the spatula or by throwing it in the air, the way we like to do it in France.

Hold the handle in one hand and a coin in the other hand.

Make a wish. Flip.

If the crêpe falls back in the pan,
your wish will be granted. And you will be prosperous.

Great flipping job: prosperity is in the cards for 09!

Voilà!

Put your crêpe on a plate and top with any filling you want on it. Savory filling for the buckwheat crêpes, sweet filling for the wheat crêpes.

Don't overfill them: it's not a burrito!

Fold. Eat.

Yum!

Ideas for fillings
Sweet:
The basic filling is butter and sugar: make it Earth Balance and agave sirup. It's delicious... if your veggie butter is salty: even better! In Bretagne, the land of crêpes, people typically eat salted butter.
"Nutshella" (That's what I call my vegan version of Nutella)
Nutshella and banana (a classic...)
Butter and jam
Any type of sweet spread (I made almond-fig paste)
Butter and apple sauce
Cooked apples and raisins
etc.

Savory:
Veggie Butter
Sauteed or creamy spinach
Sauteed or creamy mushrooms
Butter and caramelized onions (OMG...)
Leek (I made creamy cumin leek, which was delicious)
etc.
Basically: anything you feel like or have in the fridge. Just make sure it doesn't come in big chunks: you need to ne able to fold and close your crêpe. Crêpes are NOT burritos!

Invite friends, have them flip crêpes. Light candles. Enjoy the smell of fried foods on your clothes and in your hair all night.

It's also great for breakfast, and for a dinner on a tight budget.

NB: for all of you gluten-intolerant folks, the good news is that buckwheat crepes ARE gluten-free (read about buckwheat here). I don't know if crêpe restaurants mix flours, though, so I would ask. You can also use buckwheat to make your own pancakes, quickbreads... The taste is different than white flour, but what's wrong about that?