Just Another Day In Paradise

Almond Milk Recipe- How to Make Almond Milk

1 cup whole raw almonds (not toasted or roasted, etc) $1.10 per cup (A 3 lb bag of raw almonds is 9 cups and costs $9.75 at Costco)

4 cups water, more if desired

a pinch of salt

honey, to taste

1 tsp vanilla extract 

Soak the almonds in some water for 8-12 hours.

After they have soaked, drain the water and blend all the ingredients on high in a blender. 

Strain milk through a nut milk bag, linen towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out the excess almond milk.

What’s left in the towel is almond meal. 

Pour in a glass jar and refrigerate for an hour or so. Enjoy! 

Makes 4 1/2 cups

How to make your own probiotic (lacto-fermented) food

Begin with a jar of milk kefir. 

Set a stainless steel mesh strainer in a large glass bowl and line it with some cheesecloth and pour your kefir into the strainer.

Let it drip for a few hours. 

When it is has completely stopped dripping, pour the the liquid whey into a clean glass mason jar and store in the fridge. It will keep for about 6 months.

The white creamy stuff in the towel is kefir cheese. Add any herbs, spices or other ingredients or use it just as it is. It can be used in recipes as a substitute for sour cream, cottage cheese or cream cheese. It should keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

You can now use the kefir whey to ferment condiments such as salad dressing, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup. You can also add it to salsa, bean dip, vegetable dip and even potato salad or pasta salad. Kefir whey is a wonderful way to add vitamins, enzymes, and probiotics to your diet.

Benefits of lacto-fermentation

Chicken a la king

To celebrate today's feast of Christ the King, our family will be having chicken a la king for dinner. This is one of those recipes which are just perfect for a Fall evening. It's very simple with very little ingredients, but so hearty and delicious.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup chopped cooked turkey
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium low heat, cook butter until golden brown. Saute mushrooms until tender. Stir in flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, and cook until slightly thickened. Stir in heavy cream and turkey. Reduce heat to low, and cook until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with fresh buttermilk bicuits over rice or egg noodles.

Fruit infused water kefir

For the past few months I have been making water kefir for our family, but the kids haven't been drinking it as much as I would like because it's a bit plain- there is not much flavor to it. Fortunately, last week I saw this lovely Takeya Fruit Infusion Jug on Amazon and I immediately fell in love with it. :) It's leak-proof and it has a screen to hold back the fruit while pouring. I decided to strain the water kefir into the infusion jug after it has fermented overnight and I started adding raspeberries, lemon slices, ginger slices and fresh mint from our garden. It looks so pretty too! This has been the perfect solution to my dilema. Now the kids and I drink all 66 oz. every day and every morning I make a fresh batch of water kefir. 

Here are some benefits to drinking water kefir.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Buttermilk Icing

 

Photos taken by my daughter Adrianna

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing bundt pan
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-ounce can; not pie filling)
• 3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs

icing:

• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons well-shaken buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Make cake:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bundt pan generously, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together flour (2 1/4 cups), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, 3/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla in another bowl.

Beat butter (1 1/2 sticks) and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, then add eggs and beat 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth.

Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top, then bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 15 minutes, then invert rack over cake and reinvert cake onto rack. Cool 10 minutes more.

Make icing:

While cake is cooling, whisk together buttermilk and confectioners sugar until smooth. Drizzle icing over warm cake, then cool cake completely. Icing will harden slightly.

Source: Epicurious

Homemade pesto

Harvest your basil. This picture was taken after I harvested most of the basil. :)

 Pick the leaves of the stems and wash them under cold water.

Chop the nuts, oil and garlic in a food processor. Add the basil, salt, pepper and olive oil into the food processor and mix until it becomes a smooth paste. 

Store the pesto in jars in the fridge for about a week or freeze it for 3 to 6 months.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1 1/2 cups pine nuts
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (leave the chesse out if you plan on freezing the pesto)
• 1 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Homemade spaghetti sauce

Ingredients:

10 lbs. organic Roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup fresh oregano., chopped

2 large sweet onions, chopped

1/4 cup sugar

10 cloves of garlic, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tbs. lemon juice in each jar

Directions:

In a large stockpot, combine the tomatoes, onions, sugar, salt and pepper, garlic, olive oil, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in each hot jar. Ladle hot mixture into jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 40 minutes in a boiling-water canner. Yield: 7 quarts.

This is my own homemade recipe. Enjoy!

Kefir pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 kefir
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into kefir. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Baked Rockfish for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter

This morning as I was meditating on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, this rockfish recipe came to my mind. It seems so appropriate to make fish today and since the name Peter means "rock" it would be the obvious choice for today. :-)

Ingredients:

5 cups fresh spinach

2 (6 ounce) fillets rockfish

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup vegetable broth

2 tablespoons minced fresh dill

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 lemon slices

2 onion slices

1 teaspoon butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

2. Layer the spinach in the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Lay the rockfish atop the spinach. Scatter the tomatoes around the fish. Pour the broth into the dish. Season the fillet with the dill, garlic powder, lemon pepper, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Place the lemon, onion, and butter on the rockfish. Cover the entire dish with aluminum foil.

3. Bake in preheated oven until the fish flakes easily, 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Gifts for the 12 days of Christmas- repost

Here is something new we started doing a few years ago. We give the kids small presents until the Feast of the Epiphany. On January 6th, the Three Wise Men leave the kids a present to be enjoyed by the whole family. It's a tradition we have kept from my childhood in Puerto Rico.

ON THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...a partridge in a pear tree. Sorry, but we can't find the partridge, so we are giving you some pairs in pears.

ON THE SECOND DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...two turtle doves...but dont' have any...will candy turtles do? (Give them a box of candy turtles)

ON THE THIRD DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...three French hens...well, we don't have any French hens. How about this chicken game? 

ON THE FOURTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...four calling birds...we can't find those calling birds though! Here is a book they left behind before they flew off (Best Ever Paper Airplanes)

ON THE FIFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...five golden rings, but sorry, we're too poor for golden rings, but how about this ring toss game?

ON THE SIXTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...six geese a laying, but we know you don't really want the mess of six geese all over your house, do you? How about this Goose Egg speed game they left behind?

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...seven swans a swimming! OK, we looked for the swans, but couldn't find them, but we did find some bubble bath they used while they were swimming.

ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...eight maids a-milking. Here is some hot cocoa we got from the eight maids -- we think they must have been milking some brown cows! (Make them a cup of hot cocoa)

ON THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...nine ladies dancing...Here are some canes used by the nine ladies who were out dancing all night! (How about some candy canes?)

ON THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS: your true love gave to you...ten lords-a-leapin' - here are some leaping frogs who will teach you about 4 different rain forests. (Leaping Lilypad Game) 

ON THE ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...eleven pipers piping, so here is a pipe of your own, have fun with it, but don't "blow" the whole day! (A bubble pipe and bubble solution)

ON THE TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS, your true love gave to you...twelve drummers drumming, but we figured twelve drummers drumming would take up way too much room, so we drummed up some pencils to make school more fun for you. (Drum Stick pencils)

Marygrace's beautiful cakes

Last month Marygrace and Adrianna took a Wilton cake decorating class and they learned a lot from them. We had a different cake every week. Good thing there were lots of feast days and birthdays last month. We sure took advantage of it :-) Here are all the cakes she made for us.

1 cup vanilla?

Please join Cheryl at My Thoughtful Spot for the Loveliness of Baking Fair on Monday. It's sure to be a lot of fun! Here are some ideas for the Fair:

favorite recipes
fond baking memories
baking failures you can laugh about now
your best baking tips
pictures of your set-up
how you organize your baking supplies
how you learned to bake
baking traditions in your home

I've chosen to write about "baking failures you can laugh about now." I'm not much of a baker. So it's no surprise that the first cake I tried to make from scratch did not turn out that great.

I decided to make a cake for one of our children's feast day. I had all the ingredients laid out, or so I thought. I had never heard of "vanilla sugar" before this day. So, when I read 1 cup "vanilla sugar," I somehow did not see the word sugar, and put a whole cup of vanilla in the cake batter. You can imagine how incredible the house smelled after the cake was done. The cake looked more like a chocolate cake, instead of vanilla. We were only able to eat very tiny pieces at a time, becaus it was so rich.

Here is our famous "vanilla cake" recipe. : )

1 c. vanilla sugar
6 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 c. dairy sour cream
4 stiffly beaten egg whites
Fluffy white frosting

Prepare vanilla sugar. Cream together 1 cup vanilla sugar and the butter. Add vanilla. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating just until mixed. Fold in beaten egg whites. Turn into 2 greased and lightly floured 8 x 1 1/2 inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean 30 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool thoroughly and frost with fluffy white frosting. Spread top and sides with tinted coconut.

Here is our favorite cookie recipe. This is the easiest, and very inexpensive cookie recipe ever, and they are so good:

Fluffy Lemon Drop Cookies

1 box lemon cake mix

1 tub Cool Whip

1 egg

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix cake mix, Cool Whip, and egg together until a sticky batter forms. Spoon drop into powdered sugar and roll into balls. The balls should be small because they spread out as they bake. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until light brown. They will feel like they aren't done, but they harden as they cool.

Meatless recipes for Lent- Week 1

I will be hosting a "Carnival of Mealess Meals", Lenten edition, for the next 6 weeks. Meredith, at Sweetness and Light will continue to host, It's Four O'Clock, Do You Know Where Your Dinner Is?? after Easter. I will be posting meatless recipes, some of which can easily be done with, and by the children.

Feel free to leave me a link to your post on my comments, and I will add a link on my post.

Kristen posted these delicious recipes for Lent: JAC’s Carrot Soup, Cilantro Corn Chowder, Spicy Grilled Salmon.

Here are some links to more of her wonderful recipes. I can't wait to try them:

Fettuccine with Seitan & Sugar Snap Peas

Chickenless chicken Salad

Spinach Things

Minestrone

Here is a recipe from Sacy in MI. My kids are really looking forward to this soup.

Clam Chowder

6-7 russet potatoes (peeled and diced)
4-5 ribs celery (chopped) optional (I always use them)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
2-6oz. cans chopped clams
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half & half (I use half this amount and the rest milk)
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

In a saucepan, add the potatoes, celery, onion, and salt.  Add the juice from the clams, reserving the clams.  Add water to barely cover and cook until tender.
Do not drain.

In a small saucepan, melt the margarine.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.  Slowly add the half & half and cook until thickened.  Add the garlic salt and clams.

Pour the sauce into the pot of potatoes.  Heat the chowder over low heat for 5 minutes.  Serve hot. 

Serves 6-8  (In our house, this usually serves 4, so I often double the recipe.)

Here are my recipes for this week:

Cheese Quesadillas- This recipe is very easy to make with children:

1 can cheddar cheese soup ½ package taco seasoning 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix the soup and taco seasoning. Cover half of a tortilla with sauce and then top with cheddar cheese. Fold the tortilla in half and grill on each side until lightly browned.

Garnish with sour cream. Serves 6-8 people. Serve with refried beans and/or Mexican rice for a complete protein.

There are about 6 grams of protein per serving when divided into 6 servings. Add ½ cup of refried beans = 8 grams of protein, or ½ cup of rice = 3 grams protein.

Cajun Seafood Pasta

2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme 2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1-1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2-pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1-pound dry fettucine pasta

Directions

1 Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
2 Meanwhile, pour cream into large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just about boiling. Reduce heat, and add herbs, salt, peppers, onions, and parsley. Simmer 7 to 8 minutes, or until thickened.
3 Stir in seafood, cooking until shrimp is no longer transparent. Stir in cheeses, blending well.
4 Drain pasta. Serve sauce over noodles.

Our "new" Antique Pot Rack

Saturday morning, my husband and I went antique shopping, and found this amazing antique pot rack. The one we had before blocked the ligthing too much. This one is perfect for our kitchen. I love it! Now the kitchen is finally bright enough.

Here is the front view:

And here is the side view:

This is the one we had before. It's beautiful, but it was right under the lights. We're going to put it in the basement, where we'll make a small kitchenette sometime next year.

Menu for 02/05/07- 02/11/07

During the cold winter months, I try to have a schedule of meals to keep us warm and cozy. It's been a struggle lately, since our oldest daughter has been suffering from I.B.S. Now that she is on a special diet, we can get back to "normal."

Mondays- Soup

• Cicken and Sausage Gumbo

Tuesdays- Crockpot

• Italian Tortellini

Wednesdays- International

• Sloppy Joes

Thursdays- Pasta

• Pasta with Ham in Alfredo Sauce

Fridays- Meatless

• Pasta and Cauliflower

Saturdays- Pizza Night

• Chicken Fajita Pizza

Sundays- Casseroles

• Scalloped Potatoes

Top 5 pantry items: beans, rice, pasta, potatoes, and lots of spices.

Meatless Friday Carnival

Marybeth  suggest the easiest recipe for the kids to make, giving us moms some free time to juggle everything else that needs to be done. It's definately one of my favorites; grilled cheese and tomato soup. It's staples from her dh and her childhood!

Kim at Everyday Graces submitted this delicious southern style recipe . The kids can easily make this in a zip.

Tina at Mary's Muse submitted these two recipes. I think I'm going to make the Black beans and rice for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Black Beans and Rice

6 cups precooked black beans with liquid
2 teaspoons chicken or vegetarian bullion
2 teaspoons cumin
3-4 garlic cloves, minced or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes

1 cup blanched green peas
1 cup fresh chopped tomatoes
2 scallions sliced thin
  lowfat sour cream

Combine beans, boullion, cumin, garlic, bay leaves oregano, onion, green pepper, lemon juice, and canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil; cover and let simmer on medium-low temperature for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

This goes well with basmati rice.  Serves 6-8 with no leftovers.

Chickpeas a la King

Saute:

1 cup chopped onions
1 red or green pepper chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons canola oil

Sauce:

3 cups garbanzo liquid
1/2 cup cashew pieces
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
2-3 tbls chicken or vegetable boullion
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tbls onion powder
1 tbls corn starch
1 cup carrots, sliced and blanched
3 cups frozen peas
2 cups cooked garbanzos
1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds

Saute the vegetables. I like to use a large wok-like frying pan. Combine 3 cups of water or garbanzo liquid, cashews, sesame seeds (half the time we forget these), chicken or veggie boullion, garlic and onion powder, and cornstarch. Blend several minutes until smooth. Pour blender mixture into sauteed vegetables and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let simmer until sauce thickens. Add blanched carrots, frozen peas, garbanzos, and almonds. Heat thoroughly.

Again, this recipe is great with basmati rice.  Serves 6.

Now for my own contributions: I love baked potatoes with sauteed vegetables. We most often use mushrooms (cooked with garlic, oregano, and basil in olive oil), broccoli, and carrots. We put either a homemade gravy or cheese over this concoction.

Servant2theKing posted this recipe on the 4 Real Forum. This would be perfect for a potluck.

This is a meatless dish we call Zucchini Stew (or Murkwoood Pasta; named by our boys for the melted cheese on top):

1 or 2 large Zucchini/ (quartered lengthwise, with skin on, then sliced very thin)
1 or 2 large Summer Squash/ (prepared same as zucchini)
3-4 Portabella Mushroom (or any other mushroom)/ finely chopped
1 Onion (red onion or vidalia are nice)/ quartered and finely sliced
1-2 Red or Bell Pepper/ quartered and finely sliced
3.6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or 2-4 T minced garlic
1-2 T Garlic pepper, or other seasoning
Saute in butter or margarine

Cook 1-2 lbs. tri-color rotini pasta al dente while above ingredients are simmering in a covered skillet until very tender.

Drain pasta. Place in large serving dish, cover with sauteed vegetables. Toss 1-2 cups of your favorite cheese on top and serve. You can make many variations, adding or deleting vegetables according to what you have on hand or whatever is in season. We sometimes add fresh or canned diced tomatoes. This is really good the next day, hot or cold. If it's not Friday we sometimes toss finely chopped chicken or ham, and even real bacon bits, on top.

And finally here is my recipe. It's quick and very easy:

Chile Rice Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
    * 2 cups cooked white rice
    * 1 cup milk
    * 2 eggs, beaten
    * 4 oz. can chopped green chilies or jalapenos, well drained
    * 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix rice, milk, eggs, chilies and 1 cup cheese in large bowl. Pour into greased 1-1/2 quart glass casserole dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes until set.