You can make Almond flour in the Wonder Junior Deluxe, according to willitgrind.com The Wonder Mill company's informational site. I am conducting an experiment, to find out all about it. I will be using the following to test the Mill.
Raw Almonds
Soaked Almonds (8-12 hours in filtered water)
Blanched Almonds (boiled 3 minutes, skins removed)
Roasted Almond
I have already tried blanched slivered Almonds, purchase commercially. They did make a nice Almond Flour, but I only had about 1/3 of a cup handy when I tried it, so I did not get any real details about the time it took or anything.
This morning I tried Raw Almonds, and at first it came out like super oily flour, then it caked up and refused to put any more out.
Roasted Almonds are going to make Almond Butter for sure! I will let you know. ;)
Friday, 25 November 2011
Friday, 18 November 2011
Easy Muffin Recipe - Gluten Free
I want to share this awesome recipe with you. It's easy, and we can eat them every single day (when we make enough!). You can make variations very easily according to what you use regularly in your kitchen.
Easy Muffins:
4 cups veggie pulp (carrots, apples, greens, anything you juice!)
3 cups gluten free flour *
1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil
3 eggs
1 cup honey (or less with Stevia)
1 T. baking soda
2 T. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp ea cloves and allspice (can be omitted if you don't have them)
1 T. vanilla
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Blend wet ingredients, then add dry and mix well. Stir in nuts. Grease muffin pans. Full for 18 large muffins, or 1/2 full for 24 smaller muffins. Bake one hour at 350 or until tests done with a toothpick. Note, they will not rise very much.
*A good combo is 1 cup Rice flour, 1 cup Tapioca Starch and 1 Cup Coconut Flour. We have used Almond meal and Coconut left over from making Almond and Coconut Milks.
Enjoy!
Easy Muffins:
4 cups veggie pulp (carrots, apples, greens, anything you juice!)
3 cups gluten free flour *
1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil
3 eggs
1 cup honey (or less with Stevia)
1 T. baking soda
2 T. cinnamon
2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp ea cloves and allspice (can be omitted if you don't have them)
1 T. vanilla
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Blend wet ingredients, then add dry and mix well. Stir in nuts. Grease muffin pans. Full for 18 large muffins, or 1/2 full for 24 smaller muffins. Bake one hour at 350 or until tests done with a toothpick. Note, they will not rise very much.
*A good combo is 1 cup Rice flour, 1 cup Tapioca Starch and 1 Cup Coconut Flour. We have used Almond meal and Coconut left over from making Almond and Coconut Milks.
Enjoy!
Monday, 7 November 2011
Coconut Oil, Butter or Milk with a blender - in my case the Ninja
Coconut Butter - The Flesh, including the fat from the coconut, creamed to a smooth texture.
Coconut Oil - The fat from Coconuts
Coconut Milk - The Flesh and usually water from a coconut
To make Coconut Oil, You can use dry, unsweetened Coconut flakes or you can use whole raw Coconuts. Youtube has some good demonstrations for opening a coconut efficiently, but be warned, even after I was sure I could do it, my first attempt was pretty sad. I think my knife was not heavy enough for the job. I did manage to get it apart fairly quickly, but it didn't look so nice and pretty like the videos.
First, I am going explain Coconut Milk. It's simple, and deliscious.
You can Shred Coconut or use shredded coconut, just make sure it has not had all of the fat removed if you use the flakes, and also make sure it is unsweetened. If your blender can handle chunks of raw coconut, don't bother shredding it.
1 Cup of Shredded Coconut
2 Cups of Water or Coconut Water
1-3 tsp Raw Sugar (unless using Coconut Water)
The Water should not be cold. Put everything in your blender and blend for about a minute. Strain through a metal strainer or mesh bag/nut milk bag.
If you chill it, the fats will separate. It is best served at room temperature.
Now, this is where the Coconut Oil comes in. Just chill it! The fats will rise to the top, and in a day or so you will be able to remove a round white puck of fat. If you are not going to use it right away, rinse it with cold water to remove anything that will sour. If you allow the drink to ferment, you will find more fat on it. The fresh coconut will yield more fat.
OK, so for Coconut Butter, it's a little different. If you have a Vita-Mix, you can make some of the best Coconut butter. I don't, but I can still make a version of it in my Ninja Master Prep. A food Processor would work better then a low powered blender for this.
Place 2 cups of the coconut flakes in the blender and Blend until it becomes a creamy substance. It takes about 10 minutes in my blender, and while you are not supposed to add any water, I did because it wasn't able to to make the coconut fine enough to bring out all of the oils. I put about 1/4 of a cup in all. You will have to keep stopping to push it back in the blades. I want to try again with adding extra Coconut Oil.
It wasn't actually so creamy, it was crumbly. It reminded me of Feta Cheese, so I seasoned it and enjoyed it with crackers. It was so yummy!
If you have a Vita Mix, you would probably want to use the tamper for this.
I will let you know if I do more Coconut experiments, and I am sure I will.
Oh, and don't throw out the flakes after making Milk. Use them in Banana nut Muffins. It is amazing!
Coconut Oil - The fat from Coconuts
Coconut Milk - The Flesh and usually water from a coconut
To make Coconut Oil, You can use dry, unsweetened Coconut flakes or you can use whole raw Coconuts. Youtube has some good demonstrations for opening a coconut efficiently, but be warned, even after I was sure I could do it, my first attempt was pretty sad. I think my knife was not heavy enough for the job. I did manage to get it apart fairly quickly, but it didn't look so nice and pretty like the videos.
First, I am going explain Coconut Milk. It's simple, and deliscious.
You can Shred Coconut or use shredded coconut, just make sure it has not had all of the fat removed if you use the flakes, and also make sure it is unsweetened. If your blender can handle chunks of raw coconut, don't bother shredding it.
1 Cup of Shredded Coconut
2 Cups of Water or Coconut Water
1-3 tsp Raw Sugar (unless using Coconut Water)
The Water should not be cold. Put everything in your blender and blend for about a minute. Strain through a metal strainer or mesh bag/nut milk bag.
If you chill it, the fats will separate. It is best served at room temperature.
Now, this is where the Coconut Oil comes in. Just chill it! The fats will rise to the top, and in a day or so you will be able to remove a round white puck of fat. If you are not going to use it right away, rinse it with cold water to remove anything that will sour. If you allow the drink to ferment, you will find more fat on it. The fresh coconut will yield more fat.
OK, so for Coconut Butter, it's a little different. If you have a Vita-Mix, you can make some of the best Coconut butter. I don't, but I can still make a version of it in my Ninja Master Prep. A food Processor would work better then a low powered blender for this.
Place 2 cups of the coconut flakes in the blender and Blend until it becomes a creamy substance. It takes about 10 minutes in my blender, and while you are not supposed to add any water, I did because it wasn't able to to make the coconut fine enough to bring out all of the oils. I put about 1/4 of a cup in all. You will have to keep stopping to push it back in the blades. I want to try again with adding extra Coconut Oil.
It wasn't actually so creamy, it was crumbly. It reminded me of Feta Cheese, so I seasoned it and enjoyed it with crackers. It was so yummy!
If you have a Vita Mix, you would probably want to use the tamper for this.
I will let you know if I do more Coconut experiments, and I am sure I will.
Oh, and don't throw out the flakes after making Milk. Use them in Banana nut Muffins. It is amazing!
Friday, 4 November 2011
Ninja Master Prep makes a Fabulous Carrot Delight!
So, yesterday was shopping day and we bought some organic carrots, a lemon and a piece of ginger. I was so exited to make a juice this morning. Check out this recipe:
2 Organic Carrots, quartered
Half of an Apple
1 inch of Fresh Ginger
Squeeze of Lemon and a little zest
A little purified water
Put everything in the Ninja Master Prep or any blender and pulse until it is smooth (about 1 minute). Strain through a wire strainer and a piece of loose weave cloth or use a nut milk bag. Squeeze gently until you have extracted most of the juice. it makes about 2 cups. Save the pulp for making muffins or go ahead and compost it.
Serve juice in tumblers with or without ice.
Cheers!
2 Organic Carrots, quartered
Half of an Apple
1 inch of Fresh Ginger
Squeeze of Lemon and a little zest
A little purified water
Put everything in the Ninja Master Prep or any blender and pulse until it is smooth (about 1 minute). Strain through a wire strainer and a piece of loose weave cloth or use a nut milk bag. Squeeze gently until you have extracted most of the juice. it makes about 2 cups. Save the pulp for making muffins or go ahead and compost it.
Serve juice in tumblers with or without ice.
Cheers!
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Awesome Sugar Free (Stevia) Hot Chocolate Mix / Mocha Mix
This is our best recipe for Mocha Mix using Stevia as the Sweetener.
1 Heaping spoonful of Cocoa Powder
1 Heaping spoonful of Whole Cream Powdered Milk *
2 Micro Spoonfuls of Stevia (White Powder)
1/2 tsp Nescafe Instant Coffee (Optional)
Put all of these ingredients in a mug and add hot water, stir and enjoy.
*Full Cream Powdered Milk is not usually available in chain supermarkets, but if yours has a good Asian or Mexican section you may find it. Otherwise, your Asian or Mexican store will probably carry it. It usually comes in a big yellow can, and is more expensive then Skim Milk powder.
You can easily use this recipe substituting the Milk Powder and Water for Hot Almond or Rice Milk. We most commonly add half and half or whole cream as you would with coffee.
Cheers!
1 Heaping spoonful of Cocoa Powder
1 Heaping spoonful of Whole Cream Powdered Milk *
2 Micro Spoonfuls of Stevia (White Powder)
1/2 tsp Nescafe Instant Coffee (Optional)
Put all of these ingredients in a mug and add hot water, stir and enjoy.
*Full Cream Powdered Milk is not usually available in chain supermarkets, but if yours has a good Asian or Mexican section you may find it. Otherwise, your Asian or Mexican store will probably carry it. It usually comes in a big yellow can, and is more expensive then Skim Milk powder.
You can easily use this recipe substituting the Milk Powder and Water for Hot Almond or Rice Milk. We most commonly add half and half or whole cream as you would with coffee.
Cheers!
Friday, 28 October 2011
Fail: Almond meal chocolate crust for gluten free Almond Milk Pudding Pie
Looks good doesn't it? Well, it could have been... but unfortunately the crust was soggy and the chocolate was bitter. The pudding was pretty good, but I froze it (not sure why) and it made the texture funny.
Crust
2 Cups of almond meal (left over from making almond milk)
1/2 Cup of melted Butter *
1/2 tsp Stevia **
1 TBS Chocolate Powder ***
Mix it together and form it in a 9 inch pie pan (like with a graham cracker crust).
Bake at 350 for 10 Minutes. Pour in the pudding mixture and cool. ****
* I use butter because it doesn't bother the people in my family who have trouble digesting milk products, but coconut oil would probably work great for a vegan diet or someone who can't tolerate any dairy at all.
** Stevia is not very good at overpowering bitterness. I would put a little bit of raw sugar or just leave it out next time. 1/2 tsp was to much.
*** The Chocolate could be left out or be replaced with Carob.
**** I would bake it hotter and longer. Maybe 400 for 15 minutes or until obviously crispy. Let it cool completely before pouring in the pudding.
Vanilla Almond Milk Pudding (adapted from Betty Crocker)
1/2 tsp Stevia
2 TBS Corn Starch *
1/8 tsp Salt
2 Cups Almond Milk
2 Egg Yolks
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 tsp Vanilla **
Mix Stevia, Corn starch and salt in a 2 quart Saucepan. Stir in Milk gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir at least half of the hot mixture gradually into egg yolks. Blend into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into crust and freeze to cool quickly. ****
* OK, so I think I forgot the vanilla, an extra TBS of cornstart would have helped *** and freezing it was a bad idea, but other then that it would have been good. Also, cooling it for at least 5 minutes before pouring it into the crust would have helped.
Let me know if you make your own adaptation of this gluten free pie. :)
Why Kitchen of the Opera?
It's about creativity, expression and inspiration in the Kitchen. Sometimes things don't turn out so good, but other times something new and exciting is created.
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