Nut Milk - Step 4

And that`s what the seeds look like (in comparison to the original) when they are ready:

Blend with water (about twice the volume of nuts and seeds, adjust according to desired consistency) and dried fruit:

Strain through Musslin Cloth (nut meal is edible!):

Return to Blender, and add more dried fruit (for sweetness), vanilla and coconut oil to taste:

Done:

Nut Milk - Step 3

When the seeds start to look like this,

it`s time to soak the Brazil nuts.

PS: Not all seeds change their shape, but they should all swell up in size, and you may see little sprouts.

Make your own Nut Milk - Day 2

Next, wash and drain the seeds and leave them in a warm place to sprout.

Sprouting time varies, depending on temperature. Sunflower seeds will have a distinctive v-shape when ready to use (photo follows). Please remember to wash the seeds once or twice a day to avoid them going off!

Make your own Nut Milk! :) - Day 1

Although I was always told that it was easy, I shied away from making my own nut milk for a long time, until I was taught how to do it as part of a Raw Food Cookery class and could also convince myself that it tasted absolutely delicious! I have made it a few times since. This time, I`ll let my camera follow every step and blog how to do it. If I can do it, everyone can!


First of all, here`s your ingredients:
- approx 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (or other seeds)
- approx 1/2 cup brazil nuts (or other nuts)
It`s okay to use only seeds or only nuts, but nuts taste better and seeds are easier to digest, so I like to mix to get the best of both! :-)
- dried dates or raisins
- vanilla extract
- coconut oil (optional)

You will also need a good blender (I use a smoothie maker with good results) and musslin/cheese cloth.
The preparation takes 3-4 days if you sprout the seeds first, as I do, but you may omit this step if you wish.

First step: soak seeds over night, or 8 hours.

 

Roasted Onion Flowers

• Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.
• Peel onions and cut into 8 pieces, leaving root intact, so each onion is still in one piece.
• Arrange onions onto an oiled baking tray, pour a little oil over them and season with salt and pepper.
• Bake onions until they have opened like flowers, approx. 20 min.
• Add some balsamico or sherry vinegar and and spoon over some of the oil which has collected in the tray.
• Grill for another 15 minutes.

Supposed to be good with steak, but I had rucola salad with mozzarella.

(from The Vegetable Bible by Sophia Grigson, see book recommendation below)

Vegetable Bible

One of my big passions is cookery books.

I`m sure I`ve got one on most topics, apart from meat (which I don`t eat).

This one here is half cookery book and half reference book and invaluable for me

if I, yet again, find something in my organic vegetable box which I don`t usually buy

and don`t quite know how to prepare this.

Apart from offering two or three full recipe suggestions for each vegetable

Sophie Grigson gives lots of other suggestions on how best to prepare them

and what other food will best compliment its flavour.

Home grown vegetables only.

Wild Garlic

Wild garlic may be harvested from mid March to mid May.

It can be found in forests and fields. It`s got broad, dark green leaves and white flowers similar to the violet ones of chives. It announces itself through a punget odour of garlic, but if you are still not sure about whether to pick it, just tear off a bit of one leaf to smell and taste. Voila!

Last year, we made soup (recipe courtsey of organic box scheme), but we didn`t like it that much, so I`ve been browsing the net, combined two recipes found there and preserved the wild garlic in olive oil: simply wash and cut the leaves and blend with sufficient olive oil. I`ve added mustard and black pepper.


Excellent with smoked or graved lax, hard boiled eggs, cold beef and potatoes.