Almond butter!

I have a thing for nut butters. I feel that the taste is enhanced and the smell, oh, it is amazing!

Following my very very favourite homemade peanut butter, I wanted to experiment with other nuts (well, peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes, but you know what I mean...).

Almond butter

2 cups almonds roasted (bleached, with skins, whatever...)
a pinch of salt
2 tsp stevia

* Put everything in your mixer and blitz.
* It may take some time and it will look coarse before the oils start being released.
* Hang in there...
* When it is creamy, stop and taste. Adjust for sweetness and blitz a little more.
* Put it in a jar.
* Don't look for excuses to open the jar...

(Imagine adding a little melted chocolate to this mixture.....)

Enjoy!

Louise.

Daring Bakers - May 2014!

Our host this month was Renata from Testado, Provado & Aprovado!. As she is from Brazil, she chose a traditional recipe for small cheese bread bites: PÃO DE QUEIJO.

The best part? They are gluten free!

The recipe calls for tapioca starch or potato starch, both of which I couldn't find here in Athens. So, Renata suggested that I could use potatos.

I played around with the idea and I followed the recipe for fake Pão de Queijo, using dried instant potato mash and corn starch.

Fake Pão de Queijo
recipe adapted by me

50ml milk
45ml water
15 gm butter
100 gm corn starch
100 gr instant dried potato mash
3 gm baking powder
salt, pepper and paprika to taste
70 gm grated graviera cheese
1 egg
3 tbsp olive oil

* Preheat oven to 180°C.
* Boil the milk, water and butter together.
*In a bowl, mix the potato mash, the corn starch, salt, paper, paprika and baking powder.
* Pour the hot milk mixture over the dry ingredients and stir.
* Add the egg, olive oil and cheese, stir until well combined.
* Make little balls with lightly oiled hands and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
* Bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.
* Serve warm or cool.

 

 They have a nice warm color. Underneath they are baked a little more, so the bottom is crunchier.

I kept some dough and warmed the toaster, made a dough pattie and baked it for a minute or two.
Fantastic, because it is even crunchier!

Soft little balls of cheese heaven with a litlle bit of crunch and spice (from the paprika)! My husband loved them so much, I had to make another batch!

I wonder, though, how we could make them sweet!? I do have a sweet tooth...

Really great challenge Renata! Thank you!

Louise

Almond flour!

I generally try not to throw away food. I am careful on what I buy and when I will consume it, so that it won't rot in my fridge. I also try to use leftovers.

When I make my almond milk, there is a good amount of coarse almonds that are left in the cheesecloth. Never throw this away! Make almond flour!

It comes in handy for me because I try to eat gluten-free whenever possible and that means that I have to make my own gluten-free foods, at least most of the time.

It is very simple to make!

 It is very coarse. Half the job is already done!

 I have a little helper!

* You must put it in a pan lined with foil, so that you can remove it easier.
* Also, try to straighten it because it needs to dry very well! If you leave any lumps, then there will be moisture left, which you do not want.

* Place it in a preheated oven (100oC) for minimum 1 hour. After that keep checking to see whether it has dried through out.

* Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely.

If you want this coarse texture of almond meal, stop here. However I do one more thing.

* I grind the almond meal in the coffee grinder, so that the final result resembles the thin texture of regular flour. I do this purely because I like the texture and I am more familiar with it.

* Store it in a glass jar in the fridge or in your cupboard. I do the latter with no problems at all.

I have used it in these Flourless Brownies and in this Orange Almond cake. Both gluten-free!

Enjoy!


Louise!

Late spring garden!

Spring is already here in Athens.
But up in the mountains, it is running late. The flowers are just starting to bloom!

 This is a lovely lilac tree my mom has in the garden!

 Poppies and chamomile!

 These are some sort of purple chrysanthemums, but I cannot be sure...

 Apple tree flowers...

Peach tree flowers...

I love this time of year, when you actually see Nature's beauty!

Louise!

Homemade Almond milk!

I am trying to follow a more healthy diet.

So, in that spirit, in the mornings most days I have protein shakes for breakfast, using almond milk, not dairy.

I was a little sceptical at first, the idea of non-dairy milk was too strange. But I liked!

Almond milk is expensive and also sweetened with sugar, so I had to do something for that.....

Homemade Almond Milk

1 cup almonds
3 1/2 cups water
1 vanilla bean
cheesecloth

* The night before put the almonds in water.
* Next day, when you are ready to make your milk, rinse the almonds very well.
* Put them in the blender along with the water (I use filtered water) and the vanilla bean chopped.
* Blitz, don't be afraid of it!
* Take your cheesecloth and lay it inside a large bowl.
* Pour the almond - water mixture, gather the cheesecloth carefully on top, lift and start squeezing.
* You want to strain as much milk as possible.
* Pour your milk in a glass bottle and store in the fridge!

 (excuse the light...)

 It is frothy.

Ready!

It is, perphaps, the easiest thing you can make yourself and without all the preservatives found in the store bought ones.

Oh, delicious, too!


Louise!

Cauliflower mash - healthy and low carb!

Trying to eat healthy whenever you can is hard at first. And by that I mean it takes a little time to adjust your ways.

One of the first things I did was to replace the potato mash with cauliflower mash.

Seriously, I haven't used potatoes again. In fact, to me, it is a personal success, because G. now eats cauliflowers. Applause please! (he wouldn't touch it, ever...).

It is very simple to make.

* Boil your cauliflower florets with 1/2 onion in medium heat, until all the water has been absorbed.
* Drain very well (leave it in a sieve for a little while).
* Put it in the food processor along with butter, salt, pepper and dry garlic, quantities are measured according to your taste.
* Blitz until you have a puree.
* Serve with some pink Himalayan salt, while it is warm!

I like this salt coarse, it is very pretty on food!

Enjoy a healthy low carb side dish!

Louise!

Daring Bakers - April 2014!

Our challenge this month was - fitting to this time of year - Easter Breads!

Our host was Wolf from Wolf's Den.

As I am starting to experiment with gluten free recipes and gluten free flours, I chose an Easter Bread recipe that I found in a little book of selected gluten free recipes called appropriately "the little book of Gluten-Free Baking" by Bromleigh House.

Easter Bread with cranberries and choc chips - gluten free

slightly adapted

55 ml warm water
60 gr granulated sugar plus 2 tsp
1/2 tbsp dry active yeast
125 gr gluten free flour mix (with xanthan gum)
100 gr buckwheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
20 ml olive oil
55 ml warm full fat cream
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla
a little lemon and orange zest
juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 orange
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips


* Grease a small loaf pan and cover the bottom with parchment paper. Grease that, as well.
* Combine the warm water, 2 tsp sugar and the yeast and set it aside until foamy.
* Mix together all the dry ingredients.
* Mix together all the wet ingredients and the zests.
* Slowly add the wets and the yeast in the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If it is too dry add some more warm water or juice. The dough will be soft and sticky.
*  Stir in the cranberries and the chips.
*Put the dough in the prepared pan and let it rise in a warm place.
* Preheat the oven to 180o C.
* Bake for 35 - 40 min. If the top is browning fast, cover with tin foil.
* Let it cool on a wire rack in the pan, just run a knife around the sides first.

Notes:
i) I don't use extra xanthan gum, because I don't really like it. The final product is a little crumblier, but I don't mind.
ii) The buckwheat flour doesn't rise much.
iii) I don't use vegetable oils, as it calls for in the original recipe, EVER!
iv) The choc chips I used are not gluten free. I am not intolerant, so I didn't mind. I just try to avoid gluten whenever possible. If indeed you are intolerant, just make the necessary adjustments.

It is quite tasty! A little on the dry side, which I attribute to the buckwheat flour.

Thank you for this challenge Wolf!

Louise!