Almond Milk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you don’t prefer to consume dairy and looking for an alternative, almond milk is perfect for you. I’ve been using organic store bought almond milk for couple a while but even that has a very long ingredient list that is difficult to pronounce. So, I started to make my own almond milk. I doesn’t stay more than 3-4 days in the refrigerator but it tastes yummy and I know what’s in it!

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds
2 cups water
2 pitted dates (optional)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla (optional)
water to soak the almonds

Directions:

  1. Soak the almonds overnight or at least 8 hours, drain and discard the soaking water.
  2. Bland the almonds, 2 cups of water, dates and vanilla in the blender container and blend them until smooth.
  3. Strain the blended almond mixture using a cheesecloth or other strainer, I use a nut milk bag.
  4. Put it in a glass jar and keep it in the fridge.You can add more or less water according to your taste for consistency of your milk.

    Enjoy!

 

Curried Meatballs (Gluten Free)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe is adapted from http://everydaypaleo.com website. I changed it a little according to my taste.

Meatballs:

3 lbs ground beef (I use organic, grass fed meat)
1 cup finely diced onion
1 cup apple finely diced
1 egg
2 tablespoons curry powder
½ tablespoon sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

  1. In a large bowl, place all of the meatball ingredients and mix well using your hands.
  2. Form into meatballs just a little bit bigger than a golf ball and place into a large glass baking dish.
  3. Bake for 25 minutes.  Makes approximately 24 meatballs.
  4. While the meatballs are cooking prepare the sauce!

Curry Sauce:

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon raw organic honey (I didn’t use honey because I don’t like sweet tastes much in the dishes)
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth instead)

  1. In a large skillet saute the garlic in the coconut oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add the honey, curry powder, and tomato paste and whisk together.
  3. Add the broth and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth.
  4. Bring to a simmer.
  5. After the meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the sauce in the skillet and coat well.
  6. Cover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Serves 6-7.

Enjoy!!

 

Cream of Greens Soup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last weekend we decided to go out of the town to visit a friend for couple of days. I had to put all the fresh vegetables in the freezer before we left. When we came back, I decided to make a soup with those frozen vegetables. You can use fresh or frozen vegetables, you can even use the leftover vegetables from the previous night.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 mins
Yield: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
3-4 garlic cloves (chopped)
1 small potato (small cubes)
1 bunch chopped spinach
1 bunch collard greens
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
¼ cup yogurt or fresh cream to season

Directions

  1. In a large frying pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat about 5-6 minutes until they become soft and translucid.
  2. Add potatoes and stir periodically until they become soft.
  3. Add spinach and collard greens and cover. (I had those at home but you can use any green leafy vegetable you want) Cook about 10-15 minutes, stirring periodically until all vegetables is slightly soft and cooked.
  4. Place all ingredients into a blender, add the broth and blend until smooth.
  5. Put them in a pot, add salt and pepper or any other spices you want to add.
  6. Cook in medium heat until you start seeing the bubbles and turn the heat off.
  7. Whisk the yogurt in a bowl.
  8. When you serve the soup, put one tablespoon of yogurt (or fresh cream) to season.

Enjoy