Cashew cream

In my quest to find alternatives to everything... You know, just to mix it up... I discovered various recipes online for this bad boy.  Like every other recipe, I can't just do it the way it's written in other recipes, I came up with this based on what I learned, what I had in the kitchen and what I like.

Cashews are a great source of calcium and magnesium, which build and maintain healthy teeth and bones.  They're also a great source of omegas!  Cashew flesh is really soft making it a great nut to play with creating various textures of cashew milk and cream.  Unlike almonds, where if you didn't strain the meat out of your almond milk you'd end up with minuscule cashew pieces that land in the back of your throat and make you cough for several minutes... Cashew flesh blends up totally smooth.

Check out this recipe for vanilla cashew cream!  The texture ends up being similar to yogurt.

What you need:

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews (not roasted)

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 tbsp raw honey

Soak cashews in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes (cover cashews by about an extra inch of boiled water to account for absorption).  Strain out soaked cashews and add all ingredients to a blender.  Blend until smooth.

I would encourage you to play with this recipe!  You can add some orange juice and zest to the mix to create orange cashew cream, for example!

My favourite way to eat this is over fruit for dessert :-)

Bon appétit!

Talia

Delicious, Creamy Coconut Milk!!

I recently started a new job and have had to consider tree nut allergies when I am creating in the kitchen for the next day's meals.  If you've seen any of my recipes, you'll probably notice that I use a LOT of tree nuts.  Cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans... I have many mainstay recipes that require these items.  Not the least of which is my almond milk, which I traditionally use to make overnight oats (my fav!!!).  I enjoy a switching things up and challenging myself to come up with alternatives for things, so I do not view this as a bad thing but rather an opportunity to find new alternatives for my tree nut mainstays.

Enter: coconut milk!
Coconut milk has a really creamy texture which I attribute to the natural oiliness of the coconut flesh you will use to make it.  It's extremely easy to make and there are so many ways to prepare it.  You can even use it to add richness and a hint of coconuttiness to your morning java!

Here's what you need:
1/4 cup raw, unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup water

Simply soak the coconut in water for at least 15 minutes (longer is better).  Put the coconut and the water you've soaked it in into a blender and blend for at least 2 minutes.  This is where coconut milk differs from traditional nut milks.
1. The coconut flesh doesn't need to soak as long as nuts do to make nut milk.  Preparation time for coconut milk is minimal.
2. You do not need to discard the water you soak the coconut in, blend the coconut flesh in the same water you soaked it in.

I like to flavour my coconut milk by adding 1 pitted date or a tablespoon of raw honey to sweeten.  I also add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.  You can also toast the coconut before making milk out of it to mix up the flavour a little bit.  There are so many uses for this: I love adding my fresh, home made coconut milk to my morning smoothies!!