Tutorial: Make Your Own Delicious Walnut Milk!

Hi, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got a tasty treat for those of you who are looking for a way to boost their nutrition, cut fat, and lower cholesterol. Or, if you're like us, make something tasty for people who are lactose intolerant!
                                               
First, an odd fact: did you know that while approximately 15% of Caucasians are lactose intolerant, up to 50%-80% of Hispanic/Latinos are? (East Asians have the highest at reported nearly 90%... which made me think of all the Asian food dishes I know and realize almost none of them have dairy. Interesting.)

Hazelnut milk, about $8 a quart.

When our pediatrician first suggested testing our oldest daughter for a milk allergy, I thought that was something he always did with babies who were colicky. But then he told me that studies have shown Hispanics to be much more lactose intolerant than Caucasians. Luckily, none of my children have inherited any milk allergies, but my husband can only handle dairy in small amounts.

Almond milk, about $6 a quart

  That wouldn't be a problem except that he LOVES dairy. Ice cream, cheese, milk, yogurt. Everything that is made from cow milk, he craves. The good news: he also loves goat milk (which is easier for l.i. folks.) And the better news is that he thinks nut milks are delicious.

Walnut milk $14.99 a quart

The bad news (again)? It's SUPER expensive. Walnut milk is 14.99 a quart in some places (like Amazon). We have six kids and I cook on a budget. I just can't imagine spending $14.99 for something you can drink in a day or two!
So, I was thinking of all the walnuts we have and decided to try and make my own.

I know these are hazelnuts. But I also had a whole bunch of hazelnuts around and decided to try two different varieties.

 So, rinse the nuts you have, if they're whole. No need to peel. Put them in a heat-proof dish and cover with boiling water. Add a few squeezes of lemon juice and a few shakes of salt. This is important. Every tutorial I had mentioned this and I decided to believe the people who wrote, "Don't skip this. It helps soften the nuts AND it brightens the flavor. Otherwise it tastes like mushroom water." Yuck. Mushroom water does not sound appealing!

 We had several canning jars full of shelled walnuts. (We also have a whole garbage can full of last year's nuts in the shed, curing for this year!)

 Let the nuts sit in the boiling water for several hours. I added a few more cups of boiling water to the bowls every now and then. Some people soak the nuts overnight, but most tutorials said a few hours, so that's what I tried first.
Strain the soaking water and put the nuts into a blender. Then for every one cup of nuts, add four cups of water. Some people use filtered water. I didn't think it really mattered since our water is pretty good.

 Blend for several minutes or until the water is light and frothy.

 If you have cheese cloth, great, but we'd just ruined our last one by letting it sit in red cabbage (don't ask) overnight. So, a pillow case also works. (Clean, naturally.) Place the pillow case over a large bowl.

 Dump everything into the pillow case. Doesn't look too appetizing!

 Carefully lift the case and let the walnut milk run out. You can squeeze the bottom to get the very last drops.

 This was pretty thick and I added a few more cups of water to the milk after I took this picture. It really was rich and creamy. I put some in fresh brewed espresso right away and it was INCREDIBLE. So good!
Anyway, at this point, some people put in a drop of vanilla and some honey, or other sweetener. I put in 1/2 tsp of raw sugar (cow's milk has sugar so although we knew it wasn't going to taste like cow's milk, I still wanted it to taste like MILK).

 You can see how creamy it is.

 The flavor reminded me of agua de orchata, a rice drink my husband makes sometimes, so I decided to put on a dash or two of cinnamon.

 OH MY WORD. Delicious! My husband drank the whole thing and had NO issues at all. His stomach wasn't cramping and there was no nausea. Plus, it has great nutrition, low fat, and helps lower cholesterol? YAY! He's a pretty active guy but he's pushing 50 and we've got to keep that heart healthy!

 So, the hazelnuts were waiting patiently.

 I could tell this batch would be different.

 It looks very rich and frothy.

 This was before I diluted it a little further with some water but you can see the darker color. It smelled heavenly even before the vanilla. It reminded me of the best hazelnut coffee creamers, but without any chemical taste.

The kids said this one was their favorite, maybe because it was so flavorful, but I think I like the walnut milk. My husband had a second glass of this one and said he really couldn't choose between them. 

So, there you go! It's super quick and easy to make your own nut milks if you have the curiosity, or the need, for a non-dairy alternative in your house. It can last up to a week in the fridge and a lot of people use these milks for their smoothies... but outs disappeared in hours. YUM. Now I'm wondering about granitas and other frozen deserts. Maybe I'll try that next!

Until next time! Be sure to stop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway, my other author page Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things That Last. We've been super busy with state testing, college stuff, baseball, a woolen mills tour, and an alpaca farm visit, but I hope to finish my newest historical in the next few weeks. (Wouldn't it be great to have an alpaca on the cover?? No?? Ok, fine...)

Vintage Memories and Paleo Loaf aka Fruitcake

We used to get a box of goodies from my grandmother. I think I waxed poetic before about the fudge and date nut cookies. But I love, absolutely loved the fruitcake cookies and fruit cake. Guess that makes me a bit weird. Fruitcake is one of those things that folks either love or hate. But for me, it is all about stoking memories of  bygone times by making vintage recipes.

I am all about vintage these days as I will be starting an etsy shop sometime in the new year focused on table top arrangements designed to invoke memories of the past of whatever decade. Gotta balance out the writing with a different kind of creativity. My market will be those who love vintage and also those who want something to spark conversation and memories with relatives and friends in nursing homes or the hospital.

The picture of me and my sisters in buns inspired the search for an angel with the same hairdo. The ornament on the top of the tree is from when I was little.

 
Isn't it funny how a recipe, a picture, a statue, a scent bring the past rushing back?

Did you have one of these?

 

Or did you have these on your Christmas cupcakes at preschool?

Did you have one of the mass produced fruit cakes that was all fake corn-syrup soaked fruit at Grandma's?  Or was it just about getting a candy cane at her house?

Here is a recipe that evokes the memory of fruitcake but is better for you and good to eat in the first place. None of that corn syrup-laden almost fake fruit. (Though I do miss the glazed cherries in all their red neon glory.) So you can make a new fruitcake memory! Maybe a better one, depending on who you are!

 

Gluten Free Fruitcake (adapted from celiac.com)

Note: You can make this recipe more paleo (low carb) by deleting some of the fruit and all of the sugar. If you sub out the fruit, be sure to add in the same amount of nuts.

1/4 cup orange juice

1 cup dried cherries

1 teaspoon lemon rind (dehydrated) or 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon rind

1 teaspoon orange rind (dehydrated)

1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup figs and 1/2 cup chopped dates (or any combination to make 1 1/2 cup dried fruit)

1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1 cup chopped almonds (or any combination to make  2 cups nuts) 

1 cup gluten free baking mix

1/2 cup sugar (or none if you want to rely on the sweetness of the fruit)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, beaten well

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Put cherries and peel in orange juice to soak thirty minutes. Then drain, reserving liquid for later by storing in fridge.

Combine fruit, rind, and nuts.

Sift baking mix and salt.

Add to bowl and mix well.

Make sure the fruit and nuts are coated by the baking mix and looks like this!

Lightly stir in beaten eggs to moisten but don't over mix.

Spoon mixture into a buttered parchment lined large loaf pan. Drop pan on counter to get rid of air bubbles.

Bake at 300 for 1 1/4 hours to 1 1/2 hours (or longer) depending on how hot your oven runs and if you use a non-stick pan. Test with toothpick.

Immediately after taking the pan out of the oven, pour reserved orange juice over the loaf while hot.

Cool in baking pan for 30 minutes.

Transfer to wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

So what do you make this time of year that evokes a memories of Christmas or holidays long past? Have you gone paleo and are good during the holidays or do you set aside restrictions in your diet for the holidays?

Of Pinterest and Pumpkin

I love pumpkin.  You can tell by my Pumpkin: Hue, Chew and More Pinterest Board:

 

I love the color (notice Yankee Belle's background). Well, I must love the form too because I even love white pumpkins. I love decorating with pumpkins inside and out .

I even love little punkins like this one and his daddy before him. It's a tradition in our house to take pictures in the pumpkin patch:

My grandson back in the day

My son back in the day

Sniff, they are both so grown up now.  Well, if you count five grown up.  I know I am not old enough to have one my son's age. Ack!

My grandson has already started begging for pumpkin pie. He takes after Grandma Juju. Any recipe I can get my hands on, I'll try. Oh, but then there are those allergies again. I've learned ways to modify all things pumpkin, dress them up and make them just as luscious as the pins on my Pinterest boards.

I miss a good pie crust but haven't been a fan of fake ones. So I make a nut crust for my "baked pumpkin." It's simple as...well, PIE.

Nut crust:

Put 1/2 cup pecans and pulse til ground. Add one cup almond meal or enough almonds ground in a food processor to make a cup. Pulse again. Add two tablespoons cold butter and pulse til mixed thoroughly. Place in pie plate or glass dish and place a piece of waxed paper over it, spreading over the bottom of the plate.

If you are fixing a refrigerated pie, you can bake the crust at 350 for 10-15 minutes until toasted. Do NOT over brown.  Cool before adding other ingredients.  

 
If you are going to bake your pie ingredients, just pour the filling over the top of the crust and bake as directed.

Healthier Pumpkin filling:
I used a recipe for the filling off the Libby's can for guidance, but I make it healthier. I use the egg whites instead of whole eggs, a half cup skim milk rather than a whole can of evaporated milk, and most importantly, I've reduced the amount of sugar. I have gotten it down to half a cup but it takes time to get used to eating pie that almost tastes like a vegetable rather than solid sugar. Adding vanilla can also help.

4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup skim milk
1 can pumpkin
1 T pumpkin pie spice or more to taste
1 dash salt

Beat eggs.  Add sugar and spices and beat again til well mixed. Add pumpkin and milk and beat until blended.

Pour into crust and back for 15 minutes at 425 and then lower to 350 for 40 minutes. You don't want the crust to burn.

To make it really pumpkiny, top with pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

 

So are you a pumpkin fan? A Pinterest fan, especially with ? Feel free to look my boards up on Pinterest and share your feelings about pumpkin! A great fall vegetable or greatest?     

Power Balls and Broken Bones

The GAL has a challenge on her hands and it’s an unexpected one at that.

This is my father in law's childhood wheelbarrow, aka "Bone Breaker."

A couple of weeks ago, the above antique toy fell on my crossed legs. Actually my father-in-law's childhood toy wheelbarrow was thrown down by a certain two year old. But what grandparent is going to rat out her grandchild?

You know the rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."  Well, the two year old didn't have the attention getting vocabulary words she needed so she threw the wheelbarrow at me instead.  Bless her. It's tough going from being the baby to becoming the middle child.

The wheelbarrow hit the end of my femur. I swallowed words but didn't swallow my tears. My five year old grandson kept running into the bathroom and getting squares of toilet paper to put on my booboo. He's going to be a doctor some day. I just know it. So proud. 

I broke down and went to the doctor when the pain kept getting worse. X-rays told the tale. Think cracked hard-boiled eggs.

It’s what the end of my femur looks like at the moment.  A cracked hard-boiled egg shell.

Now you might think you don't have to pay attention to this post because your bones are fine. I have osteoporosis due to decades of thyroid supplement use and probable gluten issues.  But the doc says  “regular” people also dent their bones all the time. No one eats as much calcium as they should.

As far as my own healing process, not much to do but take anti-inflammatories and eat high calcium food to help in the healing process. I can't take calcium pills. They, like so many meds, have ingredients that spell allergy trouble for me.  

What foods are high in calcium? Some little known facts:

Smelt - The fish not the metal production process. Sardines too. But you have to eat the little bones (sticks). Nope, not going to happen for me.

Condensed milk - two tablespoons give you 10% of your daily requirement.

Sesame seeds and almonds (stones if you will) - who knew an ounce has almost as much calcium as a cup of milk?

Arugula- if you eat a salad made with three cups, that is almost 400 mgs.

Now there are more common calcium boosters: Milk, cheese, yogurt, almonds, broccoli and dark leafy green veggies.

I have the common calcium boosters covered.  What intrigued me the most was the seed and nut idea. I need a snack to keep my blood sugar regulated. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone (or a few). I'd make Power Balls.

No, no, no. I didn't go out and buy a lottery ticket. But I might be able to afford one now! Power BARS are an expensive snack to take hiking or rely on. Most cost over a $1 a bar, more if sold individually. Ah, but Power Balls are a different story.

Power Balls, some without coconut for my friends who are not fans.

Homemade Power Balls, Raw Balls or Nut Balls are the latest craze in the raw food world. Raw food means you stick as close to natural states in food. No cooking to take out the nutrients. Power Balls are the perfect snack when you just need a little something to keep you going  or a snack to take hiking. Yay, it's almost hiking season again. And I plan on being healed up and ready to go.

As with most of my recipes, I looked at a bunch of recipes on Pinterest and adapted them to make my own version. The great thing about Power Balls is you add a dab of this and a dab of that. Some folks like to add a bit of coconut oil. Some like to add honey. Some add a nut butter. Some soak their nuts to make them bind better (ewwwwww! I just couldn't do it.)  I just wanted to keep the calcium high and the sugar lower than some of the recipes.

Going nuts! You'll have plenty leftover for the next batch. They won't last long.

 Julie's High Calcium Power Balls

15-20 small pitted dates (fewer if they are larger)
1 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sunflowers
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (you can also use honey or maple syrup but I wanted the calcium)
Dash salt (if you like a sweet and salty taste), optional
Coconut, sesame seeds, cocoa powder or confectioners sugar for coating, optional

Step 1: Chop dates and then process in a food processor or blender until they almost make a paste. Remove and put in mixing bowl.


Step 2:  Add almonds and pecans to processor, pulse gently until rough chopped. Add to date mixture. Stir to distribute dates in with nuts or use your hands.


Step 3: Add sunflowers and pumpkin seeds.  Mix again.

Step 4: Add sweetened condensed milk, salt, and stir until evenly distributed.

Step 5: Using a tablespoon measure or cookie scoop, drop balls in coating, rolling around to coat.

Step 6: Place on parchment or wax paper and place in freezer for at least one hour.

Step 7: Transfer to airtight container and store in refrigerator one week.

Makes approximately 20 one-inch balls.  One ball equals one serving.  

So what is your favorite high calcium food? Have you ever broken a bone? Recited the rhyme Sticks and Stones more often than you'd like?