Make Your Own Almond Milk

Ever since my daughter was a baby she had a problem digesting lactose.  She drank goat milk as a young person.  We got the milk from a friend who milked goats.  It is an acquired tasted that I never acquired.  Over the years we would go back to cow's milk, but there were always issues with it.  My husband doesn't tolerate cow's milk very well either, so we eventually turned to lactose free cow's milk, lactaid and now almond or coconut milk.  Milk is the same as everything else in our food supply, we don't really know what is in it.  One day I watched Dr. Oz make Almond milk.  It was super easy.  He said purchased almond milk is only 2% almonds and has stuff added to it for flavor.  It also has ingredients which probably extends the shelf life.  Have you ever looked at the expiration date on a carton of almond milk?  It lasts for months.  That is when I started to make our own almond milk.  It tastes better.  It actually tastes like almonds because it is 25% almonds and the rest is water.  Nothing else is added.  You could add vanilla or a little sweetener, but we prefer it plain.  My husband is the only person I know who eats his oatmeal plain with milk.  He doesn't add sugar, raisins, cinnamon or anything else.  To me it's like eating wallpaper paste, but that's how he likes it.  I like it loaded with sweetness.  I won't even eat it unless I can doctor it up a bit.

Almond Milk

To make a quart of almond milk you soak 1 cup of plain unsalted almonds in 4 cups of filtered water.  I use the almonds with skin on because I like the fiber in the leftover meal.  Plain blanched almonds would also work as long as they aren't bleached or treated.  Even if you don't make almond milk, almonds should be soaked to eat.  It makes them much more digestible and therefore you get more nutritional value from eating them.

Organic almonds soaking in plain water.

Let the almonds soak to soften them up.  I have read some recipes that say to soak them for an hour.  I usually soak for at least 8 hours.  You can soak them for 24 hours if you can't get to them before that.  When the almonds are soaked, drain off the soaking water and add the softened almonds to a blender.

The soaking water gets discolored so pour it off.

 
Add back 4 cups of fresh water.  Blend on high until the nuts are completely blended.  It only takes a couple minutes.  At this point you have almond milk with ground up nuts in it.  You want to remove the almond meal by pouring the milk through several layers of cheese cloth, a fine sieve or a nut bag.  After the milk is strained, the almond meal is left behind.  Originally I used a metal fine mesh strainer but couldn't get all the milk out so the meal looked very wet.  This is how it looked coming out of a fine mesh strainer. 

 

 

 

I purchased a nut bag to better strain the milk.  A nut bag is a tightly woven cloth bag designed to strain the milk, but it can also be used to strain tea, coffee, broth, or anything else you want to get the debris out of.  It washes easily.  Purchasing one was well worth it.  It cleans up easily after all of the milk is squeezed out and the meal is removed.  The instructions say to store the unused bag in the freezer to prevent any bacteria growing on the bag.  It seems like an excellent idea.

This is the brand I bought, but there are many on the market.

The finished milk which looks just like "real" milk.

The almond meal that comes out of the nut bag is much drier and dries completely quite quickly.  After it is dried, I just save it in the refrigerator and sprinkle it on yogurt, cereal or I put it in baked goods for added nutrition.

I dehydrate the meal but a low oven will dry it just fine.

The dried almond meal saved from making the almond milk.

I made a loaf of Banana Bread today and put in 1/2 cup of Almond meal.

Let It Snow

A lot of snow has fallen all over the country recently, but the one place everyone expects a lot of   snow is Wisconsin.  We haven't received much this winter.  After Christmas we had one snowstorm.  I'm not sure how much snow we got that time.  My husband wasn't feeling well and his snowblower didn't start, so we just drove over the snow in driveway to pack it down.  I don't think it was a lot.  Yesterday the weather people predicted an inch or so of snow which we don't even count as a snowfall.  When we woke up to a few inches, we were surprised.  It was a pleasant surprise.  It was beautiful.  The trees, bushes and bird feeders were blanketed with snow.

Snow on the deck railing at the break of day.

Snow on the bushes.

The snowblower is running and my husband is clearing the driveway.

There is snow on the woodpile.

A Mourning Dove is wondering where the food is.

They went to sit in the tree to wait for me to clear the feeders.

The black eyed junco is also waiting.

The water in the heated dog dish never freezes and provides water.

A deer came out of the woods to see what she could find.  She looks like her front right leg hurts.

The weather people reported we got 8.5 inches.  It didn't seem like that much so we even got out today.  A stinkin 8.5 inches of snow wasn't going to stop us.  We went on an adventure with our daughter's mother and father in law. We got a lot of great bargains.   It was a wonderful day.

More snow is predicted in a few days.  I don't mind at all. 

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Don't Throw Away Your Lemon Peels

About three weeks ago I blogged about a raw lemonade I made.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2016/01/raw-lemonade.html

I warm the lemon juice and drink first thing in the morning.

I make it everyday, most of the time without the sweetener or essential oil.  We drink it first thing in the morning to get our day started out right.  Fresh lemon juice is wonderful for many reasons.  I'm not sure I believe the hype that says drinking lemon juice will cure all that ails you or cure diseases.  I do know it makes drinking water in the morning easier for me.  I drink it when my coffee is brewing which is what I really look forward to in the morning.  Drinking lemon juice is hard on the tooth enamel so I figure I am rinsing my mouth afterward with the coffee.  Coffee drinkers will say anything to justify the habit.

In the blog about raw lemonade I also mentioned how I zest the lemon instead of peeling it.  I have plenty of zest in the freezer so instead I cut the peel off and save it. 

 Be sure to wash the lemons well before you cut the peel off.  Organic lemons are better, but it isn't always possible to get them where we live.  I use 14 lemons a week.  I let the peels air dry until I have a batch.  Then I put the peels in a food dehydrator and finish off the drying process.  This same thing could be accomplished in an oven set on a low temperature or just wait until they air dry completely.  Finally when the peel is completely dried, I put them in the blender and grind them into a fine powder.  I think a coffee grinder would also work.  Some of the lemon’s richest nutritional properties are in the rind.   Lemon peels are full of antioxidants, flavonoids, vitamins and minerals.  The lemon peels have twice as much Vitamin C in them than does the fruit.  Lemon essential oil is made from the lemon rind, not the juice.  This process also work with oranges or other citrus fruit.

This powder is a completely natural source of vitamin C.  It is much better for you than taking a Vitamin C tablet made out of ascorbic acid.  At least I usually feel something that occurs naturally in food is probably better than something made in a laboratory.  I could be wrong, but I tend stay away from fake things.  I could go off on a tangent at this statement, but I will stick to my topic.

I put the powder in food or a hot drinks.  It doesn't dissolve completely but I like it very much.  I especially love it in yogurt or my drained kefir. I have been draining the whey off of the kefir.  This leaves behind a thick creamy product resembling plain yogurt but with more probiotic properties.

I realize some of my hair brained ideas aren't for everyone.  I probably won't live any longer than anyone else, but as long as I think I'm trying to do the best I can, I feel better.

Our Big Year Seeing A Snowy Owl

As some of you know my husband and I have had a really good week.  Mid January in Wisconsin can be pretty quiet and low key.  It is a time to stay inside to keep warm and snack too much.  I always gain weight in the winter.  It is easy to hibernate, but it isn't the best thing to do.  That is why we like to take drives around the country side in search of winter scenes and wildlife.  The eagles and winter birds are active this time of year.  They are easy to see because the leaves are off the trees, and the birds are more visible because they have to work a little harder to get food.  We heard eagles were hanging out at a nearby lake that hadn't frozen yet.  On one of our drives, we discovered where some eagles were spending time.  Two separate days we saw this fellow watching patiently for food.  As Spring approaches we see more eagles on our property but there haven't been many so far.

We also saw a couple young eagles waiting in the trees looking for their next meal.  The young eagles don't have the white head or tail feathers yet.  That happens when the eagle is about three years old.

Then the icing on the cake happened.  We saw a bird that we never thought we would see.  I told my daughter and she said "this is the big year".  I said "yes, I guess so".  She told me she was referring to a movie she watched with Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson.  It was about a year long competition to see who can spot the most birds.  The movie was called The Big Year.  That is what she was referring to.  I hadn't seen it or even heard of it, so I looked on the library website.  The movie was available for check out and so we did.

It is a cute little story.  I am a terrible movie viewer.  I can't concentrate enough to keep track of complicated story lines and a lot of characters.  This movie is simple with a good message about what is important in life.  The elusive bird in the story is the Snowy Owl.  They saw hundreds of different birds but the most sought after bird was the owl.  This week my husband and I saw two.  I thought it was the same owl on two separate days, but it turns out there are two separate owls in the area.  I was told I was very fortunate to see two separate owls in a lifetime.  I told my husband that even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then.  It wasn't anything we did, we were just at the right place at the right time.

The first sighting of the snowy owl was off in a tree.  I got this picture.

As we approached, he flew off across the field.  You can see through the trees how large he is.

If you look carefully you can see him sitting at the very top of the tree in the middle of the picture.

Another local person was luckier and captured this awesome shot.*

* I have asked permission to use this photo.  I have not heard so I am thinking it is ok with her.  If I need to delete it, I will.  Hopefully before winter is over, I will be able to get a similar picture myself.

The next day we were out shopping and decided to swing by the area on the way home.  I just wanted to get another glimpse of this amazing owl.  If I had my choice, I would go everyday.  We managed to see the owl again.  I thought he looked darker but then thought the other one we saw was probably hunkered down so we couldn't see the markings.  I posted the picture on a local birding site and learned that we had seen two separate birds.

We saw this heavily barred snowy owl near dusk.  Apparently this owl had not been spotted in this area.

I feel very fortunate to live where we do.  We may not have a lot of shopping opportunities or fancy restaurants, but we can see nature at its finest.  With the lakes not freezing as quickly this year, many varieties of ducks, geese and even swans can be seen at any time.  We have indeed had The Big Year within a few miles of our home.

My Family Escaped The "Escape Room"

 
Imagine living in a small town of 1,192 people in South Central Wisconsin in the winter.  The temperature this morning was minus 8.  It was the coldest day we have had so far this winter.

 
It is a Sunday, and there is not much to do.  I don't look at living in Wisconsin's cold clmate as much different from living in the Southern climates in the summer.  In both places it is difficult to do any outside activities.  It is dangerous to be outside in extreme heat, just as it is dangerous to be outside in minus zero temperatures.  In both situations a person needs to do something fun and safe.  Today we did just that.  A while ago my daughter participated in an activity for her job.  It was called the Escape Room of Wisconsin.  It was meant to build trust and team building among co-workers.  She loved it so much, she signed up for six people to do a family oriented escape room on January 17, 2016.  Little did we know today would be so cold and that it would be a perfect day for such an activity.  The six who participated were my husband, my daughters and three of our oldest grandchildren.  I came along for the ride.  The thought of being locked in a room caused me a little panic so I stayed out in the waiting room.  I was able to watch the whole process on a TV screen and hear how they were solving the puzzles.  I couldn't understand why they found a flashlight and needed to use it because it looked so bright on the TV screen. Afterward they told me it wasn't bright in the room and was very dark and hard to see.

What I viewed on the TV screen.  They weren't aware I was watching.

The general idea of the Escape room is that you choose a room you would like to escape from.  The room my family picked was called Escape Snape.  It was geared for families and based on the Harry Potter character.  It was kind of ironic because the actor Alan Rickman, who played Snape, died this past week.  I'm not sure if you need to know about the Harry Potter stories to escape this room, but I think it helped. 

Next you are put into the room and the door is locked.  You have to search for clues by solving puzzles and using logic to find the final way out of the room.  You have 45 minutes to complete and escape.  The better you work together and communicate, the faster you can escape.  The owner sits and watches on the TV monitor to make sure you are on the right track, and to make sure everyone is safe.

Some groups make it out, others get out with help and some need to be let out at the end of the 45 minutes.  It is fun no matter the outcome.  There are other rooms which are a little harder and require even more logic and puzzle solving skills. 

or

 
New rooms are added regularly so you can come back at another time.  When you are finally out of the room, they take fun photos to post on Facebook.  It was a great day for everyone, including me.

The Calendar Fiasco

 
I am in a winter rut.  It seems that everything I touch lately has turned to mush.  Nothing makes much sense, but for some reason I'm not depressed or even in a bad mood.  I just can't figure out why the stars are not aligning or the sun of life is clouded over a bit.  I know it happens to everyone every now and then.  Just read some Facebook posts for one day.  Facebook is the new National Inquirer.  There is a lot of information, but not a lot of accuracy.  You can't believe a large percentage of things posted.  This is why I'm not surprised over my latest fiasco. I'm annoyed, but not surprised.  It started early in December.  Many of my friends have suggested that I make a calendar.  I take a lot of pictures and many of them are of our local wildlife and scenery.  It occurred to me that instead of sending Christmas cards, I would make a calendar to send.  I got together a dozen photos from different times of the year.  I assigned the photos to a month and decided on a format.  Then I started searching for the best deal.  I searched and searched but most of the calendars would cost in excess of $20 per calendar.  I found some for around $7.50, but I wanted to order several which added up to too much money for the quality of the calendar.  After all, a calendar is only good for one year and gets thrown away.  Then one day I saw a Groupon.  Groupon is an internet company that connects consumers and businesses.  It is a way for local companies to find buyers.  I had success with ordering Groupons and thought they checked out the companies they make available.  The company I used to print the calendars was not a local company, but I was lured in by the product.  It allowed me to create affordable wall calendars with my own pictures.  I started with ordering ten (10) calendars.  It cost $50 with the shipping.  Five dollars each wasn't too bad.  I ordered on the 7th of December.  When I placed the order, it was slightly confusing but the code I had from Groupon was for ten calendars, so I wasn't too worried.  I even emailed the company to make sure the order was correct.  I got an automated response that they had received the email.  I even tried to call the company but got a message that they were having technical issues with the phone.  Oops, RED FLAG.  I decided to trust that everything would be fine.  I waited and in about 10 days got an email that my order had been shipped.  I was anxious to get the calendars and even bought big envelopes to mail some out as soon as the order came.  I waited and waited again, and finally on Christmas eve I received my order.  The trouble is it came in a tiny little package.  No wonder the package was small.   I received one (1) calendar that was creased and on very very bad quality paper.  For my $50, I received one ugly calendar.

I was pretty upset.  I have ordered hundreds of items over the years from many different companies and have never had this type of problem.  When there is a problem, businesses are usually very cooperative to make the situation acceptable.  Over a period of time, starting on December 24th, I have called and emailed the company at least six separate times in addition to the initial phone calls and emails.  I have never gotten through on the phone and have gotten the same automated response to my emails.  I decided to quit dealing (or not being able to deal) with the company and contact Groupon directly.  That was not easy either.  To actually find a phone number and email address requires being a pretty good detective.  I got the number and called.  I did talk to a person but had to be transferred to another department.  Then I waited on hold listening to the loud music and messages.  The message stated that an email address should be used unless the phone call was an emergency.  It wasn't an emergency at that time, so I hung up and emailed Groupon.  They were very nice, but required many emails asking questions and me giving them details.  They said they would contact the business and the business would be in contact with me.  I didn't hear a word and nothing happened.  As of today Groupon has given me credit for the price I paid, less the shipping.  The problem with that is it's a credit, and I have to order something from them to use the money.  I imagine I will order something at some point, but I didn't get the cash back and I have not heard a word from Printerpix.  Never order from this company unless you are ready for a fight.  I had read some reviews, and they weren't terrible.  Now looking into this company in depth, I have found I am not the only person having issues.  It remains to be seen if I will ever hear from Printerpix.  Hopefully I will, and if I do I will come back to this blog and update everyone.  I don't expect to hear, and I will never order from them again.  It is no way to run a business.

In the past I have gotten some beautiful calendars from Walgreens and Shutterfly, but they were expensive.  Next year I will research better and hopefully end up with a quality product in a timely manner for a good price.  Now I just have to be sure I don't fall on the ice or burn our dinner and things will be fine.

 *UPDATE*  Two months after my order was submitted, I received nine more calendars.  They blamed me for not putting the right amount in the item box, but in reality it was a glitch in their system.  Several emails and a lot of hassle was not worth it, but it is behind me and I did receive the calendars. 

Make Your Own Cough Syrup

In following with my last blog about making raw lemonade, I saw another recipe using a fresh lemon.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2016/01/raw-lemonade.html

 I didn't create this recipe, I found it on this link.
 http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/natural-cough-syrup.html 

If you don't want to read the whole link, I will paraphrase it.  It says if you get winter colds and don't like the Big Pharma cures, a good holistic medicine is pineapple.  You can use it for a cough syrup or a tablespoon a day for a healthy boost.  It says that pineapple has a special enzyme that controls mucus and inflammation in your throat and sinuses.  The enzyme is bromelain and has anti-inflammatory properties.  You must use fresh pineapple including the core to get the most bromelain.  Canned pineapple or pineapple juice don't contain the beneficial bromelain.

Other ingredients in the recipe are ginger which is also an anti-inflammatory, lemon which is filled with vitamin C and raw organic honey.  An optional ingredient is a little cayenne pepper for its pain relieving properties.  I left the pepper out mostly because I didn't have any.   More details on each ingredient are included in the original article. 
 
A batch of this syrup keeps in the refrigerator for a week to 10 days. You can take it as often as needed – even if you haven’t felt a cough coming, you can use the combination of pineapple, lemon, ginger, cayenne and honey to help prevent bacterial and viral attacks on your immune system.

This recipe yields about 1 cup.

Cut two thick slices of fresh pineapple.  Remove the peel from the outside of the pineapple but leave the core intact.
1 Tbsp raw honey
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
A thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced or rough chopped
1 lemon – juiced  I used the whole lemon with the peel taken off.

Rough chop the pineapple, including the core which is especially healthy.
Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
The mixture is now ready to use, but if you want a smoother syrup, push through a mesh strainer.

Keep in the refrigerator and take as needed.

We are testing this on my husband who has had a cough for two weeks.   Hopefully this will be a good alternative to other syrups which have side effects.  Even if it isn't that effective for the cough, it can't hurt unless you are allergic to one or more of the ingredients.  Snopes.com says that they couldn't find proof that pineapple juice is more effective than cough syrup, but they haven't tested this special concoction with all the other super foods added. 
 

Raw lemonade

Recently I read a recipe for a drink that was supposed to be healthy, boost your immune system and fight infection.  It said that lemons are rich in nutrients that can accomplish this plus they support digestion and cleanse the liver.  I thought it sounded easy and promising.  It is also a great substitute for drinking sugary high calorie soda pop.

The simple ingredients are two lemons, raw local honey, water and lemon essential oil.  The recipe says to peel two lemons.  I didn't want to waste the flavorful peel so I zested the lemons and cut off some of the white pith instead of peeling.

Raw lemonade

2 lemons peeled (I zest and cut the bitter white pith off)
2 cups of filtered water
2 Tablespoons unfiltered honey*
10 drops of lemon essential oil

Slice the prepared lemons and put all the ingredients in a high speed blender.  Add a few ice cubes and blend until smooth.  I used a Vitamix on high speed.  

It tastes delicious, and if it is half as good for us as it is supposed to be, that would be fantastic.  I imagine you can heat this lemonade if you stir in the honey later.  Heating honey too warm destroys some of its antibacterial properties.  It is very refreshing served on ice.  Adding a little booze wouldn't hurt either if you like an alcoholic drink once in a while.

*A word of warning with using raw unfiltered honey.  Some people can't use it.  My sister has a severe allergic reaction from it.  We think it is because all the pollen remains in the honey when it isn't filtered.  I felt terrible the first time I recommended this honey to her and she reacted. 

Use raw honey with caution.

Silicone Lids

I don't know how many of you are getting away from storing leftovers in plastic containers.  It never occurred to us that using empty plastic containers to store leftovers was a bad idea.  That is what we always did.  In fact, you still see cartoons showing people searching in the refrigerator for the butter, but all the containers look the same so they have to look in each one. Only one has the butter and the rest have other things.   I didn't think anything of using an empty lunch meat container or a cottage cheese container.  Now the trend is to use glass or at least a BPA free plastic.  Apparently bad cancer causing chemicals can eventually leach or migrate out into the food.  Heating food in plastic seems to increase the amount that's transferred to food.  Migration also increases when plastic touches fatty, salty, or acidic foods.  I have glass storage containers, but they seem to disappear or I don't have the proper size.  That is why I was so happy to get the gift I received from my sister this Christmas.  They were Silicone lids.

They work great.  How many times do you have a serving or so of something you don't want to throw away?  Now I can put it in a cereal bowl or any bowl or glass and put on a silicone lid.  The suction formed by pressing down, forms a seal.  It can be reheated with the lid on.  It's much easier than covering with foil or saran wrap, and they are reusable.  The best part is that you don't have to search for a lid or cover that fits.  As we know, all containers have a different size lid even if they look similar.

They seal so well I picked it up even though the instructions say not to do that.

This size seals a cereal bowl perfectly.

I have a lot of silicone items.  I have spatulas, cake and muffin pans and now these lids.  Hopefully they will continue to be deemed safe for future use.  I have eliminated my old plastic food containers which also eliminated some clutter.  These lids snap together for storage and take up very little room when not in use.  So far, I really like these silicone lids.  Anytime we can eliminate even a minuscule amount of bad chemicals from reaching our bloodstream, I'm all for it.  There are so many things we have no control over.  Even the food we eat is tainted more than the food we had fifty years ago.  It's too bad everyone can't grow their own food, but that isn't possible plus the seeds are probably treated anyway.  We only can help where we can and hope it's enough.  I think adding too many extra vitamins and supplements or worrying about everything only messes with the body's ability to regulate itself.  Enjoy life or it will be over before you're ready no matter what you eat or drink (within reason).  Someone once told me that moderation is the key to life.

My New Year's Resolution

When I first started writing this blog, I posted some trail camera pictures of me wearing my pajamas and wearing my husbands boots.  It was fun and some people started calling me Big Boot instead of Big Foot.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/11/fox-on-trail-camera.html  and http://www.thecabincountess.com/2013/01/critters-of-night.html  We joked about how I looked in some of the photos.  http://www.thecabincountess.com/2014/03/this-weeks-action-on-trail-camera.html Today I caught another picture of myself and posted it on facebook.

I posted this picture in a feeble attempt at humor and to bring back Facebook to what I thought it was when I joined.  It used to be posts about our friends and personal experiences.  It used be filled with family pictures and interactions.  Now there is a very small percentage of that.  I don’t want to see all the tragedy in the world, disfigured individuals, people struggling with all kinds of diseases and people bashing.  Have you checked the facts or truly believe what is being posted?  I have learned I can’t eat anything or drink anything except lemon juice, turmeric or vinegar.  Everything else will make you sick or kill you before your time.  I don’t care who you want for President or if you want to carry a firearm.  You aren’t going to change my mind and I’m not going to change yours.  It will just make me feel angry and my ideas will do the same for you. We all know that we won’t win fame and fortune for liking a post.  All it does is put you on a list to see more stuff on your newsfeed that you may not care about. People can’t possibly like everything they say they like. Facebook has become a platform for people who like everything and are happy all the time or sympathy seeking individuals who need reassurance and attention.  Is this their true self or just an image they want to portray?  So, my New Year Resolution is to only post things I value.  I will truly be sympathetic of a family tragedy or illness, but I don’t care if your second cousin twice removed stubbed their toe.  I love seeing your children, grandchildren and family weddings but not some photoshopped unbelievable photo.  I don’t mind some of the cartoons or jokes.  There are some words of wisdom, but it takes hours to sort through.  Emails have become the same thing.  Everyday I go through and delete without reading hundreds of emails.  I’m sure I delete some important or interesting things, but I don’t have time or the attention span to read every one.  I save the emails from people I know unless your name is Macy or Kohl’s.  I will read your private message and I will reply in a reasonable period of time.  Some will think I’m being negative, but I’m just being is realistic.  With so much junk being posted I often miss things I really am interested in.  It would be nice if Facebook would have a personal page and a separate sharing page.  Until then let’s take our Facebook back to sharing our personal lives.

Happy New Year to all my friends and family and to any of you who read my blog, but I haven't met.  Please continue to post your family stuff.