from scratch friday: green smoothie

Yet another use for my batch of homemade almond milk!

Two weeks ago I made a batch of green smoothie cubes after seeing a few posts on pinterest about them.  

I didn't really follow a recipe, just threw a big pile of kale into my blender with whatever random fruit I had in the kitchen.  This batch had one peach, one mango, one banana, 1/4 cup coconut milk, and a large bunch of kale.  I blended until I had a smooth bright green purée and froze it in ice cube trays. 

Green Smoothie
(serves one)

4 green smoothie cubes

one banana

juice of one orange

4 chunks frozen pineapple

3/4 cup homemade almond milk (or milk of choice)

Blend all ingredients until smooth - add more almond milk to achieve desired consistency. 

Enjoy!

I'm heading to the Indiana State Fair today with one of my oldest friends from NC! So excited for a weekend full of good things: Fair today, farmers' market and open sew tomorrow, canning peaches on Sunday.  Happy Friday :)

~RLM

all about almonds

I recently gave up dairy and grains as part of a larger healthy eating initiative (more on that later), and almonds are a big part of filling those gaps in my pantry and diet.

I hate DIY recipes that leave you with a lot of waste.  Making almond milk at home is a two-for-one deal: after your milk is strained and ready to drink, the leftover bits can be dried and used as flour!

Homemade Almond Milk & Meal

Step one: Fill a bowl with two cups almonds and enough water to cover the nuts + one inch. The almonds will absorb the water and expand. Set in fridge (or on counter) for at least 8 hours. I left mine overnight.

Step two: Drain off the gunky brown water and rinse.

Step three: Using a blender, add 1/2 cup soaked almonds + 1 cup water and blend on highspeed for 1 minute.  Remove to a large bowl and repeat until all soaked almonds have been used up.

Step four (optional): Add flavorings to the collected large bowl of milk - I used 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp cinnamon, but this is unnecessary. Return to blender in batches to mix in flavorings.

Step five: Strain. The almond milk will still be fairly gritty at this point. Set up a fine metal strainer over a large bowl to drain.   I lined my strainer with an old thin dishcloth, but cheesecloth works well too. You can express milk from the strainer by pressing with a spoon or gathering your cloth and squeezing.

Step six: Refrigerate almond milk - I ended up with five cups of milk, which will be good for 4-5 days.

Step seven: Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.  Spread the collected almond bits from the strainer or cloth and allow to dry in a 150 degree oven for three hours.  I heated my oven and then let the pan dry overnight with the oven off.  Remove to a food processor to grind the almond meal to a uniform fine texture - you just made almond flour!

Banana Chocolate Almond Shake
dairy, gluten, sugar free
(makes one serving)

1/2 cup ice cubes
1 frozen banana (in chunks)
3/4 - 1 cup fresh almond milk
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp almond butter

Crush ice in blender, then add remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

~RLM

stifado

I fell in love with this dish during my third or fourth summer in Athens, determined to eat more than cheap gyros and Byzantino's tortellini.  After years of failed attempts, I have finally made a stifado that tastes like it does in my memory. It will never be as good as in Greece, but it's the best I'll do in Indiana. This was also quite simple, I love anything that involves mixing a few ingredients and letting my crockpot do the majority of the work. 

Ingredients

2.5 pounds beef chuck or arm roast - mine is local, from Schact Farms

2 cups pearl onions

1/2 cup tomato paste - I used frozen from last year's garden tomatoes

marinade:

3/4 cup red wine

4 tbsp wine vinegar

2 tbsp minced garlic

2 bay leaves

5 whole cloves

12 allspice berries

s&p 

Let the meat marinate for at least 6 hours. Transfer beef and liquid to crockpot.  Add just enough water to reach the halfway mark on your roast. Cook for 6 hours on a medium/high setting.  Halfway through the six hours, stir the tomato paste into the liquid and add the pearl onions.  When meat and onions are cooked, remove roast from crockpot and trim away the cooked fat, break the meat into small chunks.  Pour the remaining liquid and cooked onions, with the chunked meat, into a large baking dish.  Cook on 400 degrees for 90 minutes, until liquid has reduced and the onions have carmelized. 

Enjoy over plain rice or mashed potatoes.

~RLM

from scratch friday

I draw a lot of inspiration from my internet friends and their crafty endeavors.  One of my favorite blogs for ideas and tutorials is In Color Order. I've used Jeni's Lined Drawstring Bag tutorial at least a dozen times, it is the perfect quick project and is SO USEFUL.

I've made drawstring bags as gifts for friends, for knitting projects, and to hold my cameras on my recent trip to Greece.

It is the perfect size to hold my camera, remote, and extra lens - and keeps everything snug and secure in my purse. 

This week has been a little crazy, and the weekend will be crazier still - tomorrow we have the Broad Ripple Farmers' Market, the Indy Vintage Arts Marketplace, and I'm taking madre to Party in the Park w/Head & the Heart.  At some point though, I have to find the time to make a new batch of laundry detergent b/c we've run out - I'll be sharing that "recipe" next week.

Happy Friday!

~RLM

a few of my favorites

It became habit a few years in to my adventures in Greece, to walk around with my camera aimed at the doors, windows, and gates because they feature such beautiful little details. 

The bright colors or intricate loops and swirls are so fascinating to me.  (It's not exactly common to see a beautifully scrolled iron gate on a front yard in my neighborhood.)

 

And I love all the blue. The bright blue against the stark white against the caldera in the background. There's nothing quite like it.

 I'm very slowly going through these photos. Full time job + summer produce season + sewing all the tank tops = not much time for photo editing.

Back tomorrow with a from-scratch post.

~RLM