Barista I am not (or is it now?)

Linds,

I have been on a latte kick. I just figured out that it is possible for me to make them. So far I have used skim milk, soy milk, and almond milk. My favorite is still skim milk but soy isn't far behind. The skim milk makes such a nice foam that I can make

MILE HIGH LATTES!

Skim milk

So this post is going to be a bit of a picture show for you, but I am pretty sure you will like it. You'll laugh. You'll smile. You'll nod your head. That's probably about it. 

So Mile High latte was my first EVER attempt at making my very own specialty coffee beverages. I over did it on the foam (obviously) and might have dumped the cinnamon.

Almond milk

This is my second latte ever, the almond milk one. You can see that the foam is kind of pitiful in comparison, but is actually more realistic, huh? I didn't even spill the cinnamon this time. It tasted ok, but the almond milk didn't really make me feel indulgent. I didn't get the creaminess and the nuttiness was a little off-putting.

Alright, you are now to the good stuff. Third latte attempt with soy milk.

Many lessons learned here.

Most important one, use a deep bowl when creating foam.

Second lesson, moisture control workout shirts are excellent for all your latte mistake needs. That milk wiped right off.


The soy milk was pretty good. Paul Dear even drank one of these. That's why the fluid level is so low in the cup. I kind of made an empty offer, and he called me out on it. Also, I spilled the cinnamon again.

HOWEVER, I have started thinking outside the box. This time I thought, I bet Linds has fresh nutmeg that she would grate on top of her latte. Was I right?

Soy milk

Finally I have come to my post title--cashew milk latte. I went to the dreaded store (Wally-World) today and found some fun stuff. The grocery store in town has not started carrying the cashew milk yet and I have been wanting to try it so badly. The almond man on tv speaks to me and controls what I buy. (You would totally get that if you watched tv). Anyway, when I saw it in the dairy case, I HAD to buy it. 

I used this latte as my post workout snack. Not that I workout hard enough to warrant a snack. Tonight was arm night. I'm trying hard to take it a little easier on my hips and knees, so I am adding in strength training days. Again though, I didn't workout hard enough to need a refueling snack. Mostly I needed something to keep me out of the pantry and cashew milk is a good option for that. One cup has 60 calories, less than 1 gram protein (sorry), and about 2 teaspoons of sugar. 

Here it is. Wah wah wah waaaaaah!

Cashew milk

Not even a tiny bit of foam produced. I did choose to take this chance to show off my AMAZING flea market find cup. This Ralph Lauren cup was only a quarter! I found it online for $15!!!

The cashew milk is good in the coffee though. I find it an acceptable coffee creamer replacement. It has much more body than almond milk has and lacks the wateriness that skim milk has in coffee. So this latte experience wasn't a total bust.

This is how I have been making my beverages. Tell me if I could be doing something better.

1. First I brew strong coffee (like 4 cups water to 1/8 cup coffee). Right now we have Cafe Du Monde which is a French influenced coffee with chicory.

2. Then I heat my milk to steaming in the microwave. I use 1/4 cup milk for each drink.

3. Next I use my electric hand mixer to create the foam.

4. By now my coffee has finished brewing and I pour my cup about half full. I pour the milk and foam on top of that and always, always dust with cinnamon. 

5. Clean up all the milk splatters before Paul Dear sees them and bans me from making lattes. 

6. Enjoy my caffeinated beverage. 

Alright, now you can tell me how I shamed myself.

Extreme hunger means it's quinoa time!

Dear Sis,

Today, I worked a brunch. This means I ate “breakfast” at 10:30, which in turn means I suddenly realized I was starving at 4. What’s a girl to do who does not believe in keeping heat-and-eat foods?

For me, quinoa and eggs are almost always the answer. They both cook very quickly, and I feel like I am doing my body a favor eating them. They also have the benefit of always being in my pantry. As you know, I love high protein foods, so this seems a perfect combination to me.

As with most of my recipes, I don’t actually ever measure. So be warned that the amounts given are to my taste buds and not yours. Adjust for yourself!

(Eaten with some Pomegranate Oolong tea, lightly sweetened with clover honey)

Quinoa and Brussel Sprout Salad

¼ c quinoa (whatever color suits your fancy)

6 T water

1 c shredded brussel sprouts

3 oz cooked garbanzo beans

2 green onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, sliced

2 t olive oil

2 T craisins

1 T sunflower seeds

2 pepperoncini, minced

1-2 T violet balsamic

1 t EV olive oil

Bring water to boil. Add quinoa. Simmer until water is absorbed. Remove to whatever bowl out of which you are planning to eat.

Heat oil in the same pot in which you cooked the quinoa. Add sprouts, green onions, and beans; then season with some Maldon salt and fresh cracked pepper. Sauté until the sprouts start to brown a bit. Add the garlic and cook 1 min.

Add everything to the pot and stir to combine. Pour back into your eating bowl and top with some goat cheese. A poached runny egg is lovely on top.

Notes

*This dish combines several flavors and textures. This makes each bite interesting and a journey. One forkful you get the sourness of the cheese plus the sweetness of a craisin plus the texture of the quinoa. The next bite consists of salty sunflower seeds and some chewy spout. Then there’s a pop of heat from the pepperoncini. Food should never be boring.

*I used an incredible violet balsamic vinegar that is so scrumptious it’s drinkable. Any time you are not cooking the vinegar, you need to pull out the best balsamic you can afford. A plain, high quality balsamic would be delightful, but you may need to sweeten it with some honey or agave. I would recommend any fruit flavored balsamic as being a good foil for this dish.

*To save some money, I buy a lower quality extra virgin olive oil with which to cook and then a top shelf extra virgin olive oil for non-heat applications.

*You can eat this cold, hot, or lukewarm. I am usually eating it lukewarm, since I don’t have the organization to make this before work, and I’m too impatient once I get off work to wait for supper.

I know you make variations of quinoa salad all the time, but this is one that surpassed my usual salad. Delish!

BLT on wheat(berries)

Linds,

I know you must be missing warmer weather up there in the North Land, so I made this dish in honor of you! To me there was not a more summery food than a BLT sandwich with Miracle Whip when we were growing up.

As you know, I have an ABUNDANCE of wheat berries in my freezer, and out of my abundance there have come many, MANY new uses for wheat berries in the Kitchell household. Paul Dear likes to use them in the place of bulgur wheat and make tabbouleh. I have added them to my meatless loaf , and while this is delicious, that recipe was not one that needed the additional fiber boost. Let's just say on meatless loaf night, it is a good thing we finally have two bathrooms.

Anyway...

As I was saying, this recipe came to me last summer when I had not only an abundance of wheat berries but also an uncommon amount of tomatoes to use. I had been finding turkey bacon at the Dollar Tree and a little this, a little that, and one thing led to another. I now have a high fiber, high protein salad!

First of all, I really should have wiped down my counter first. Secondly, shouldn't I serve this with something orange?

I love cooking the wheat in the slow cooker overnight or while I'm at work. I use a 3:1 water:wheat berries ratio (with an extra half cup of water just because) and set the cooker at medium low overnight and medium-ish for work.

Now for your health Dear Sister, please do not eat wheat berries for three consecutive days; BUT do eat this salad at least once in your lifetime. I served it with a little ranch dressing so I would get that creamy mayo/Miracle Whip feel, but it would taste good with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing too.

1 1/2- 2 cups mixed greens
1/2 cup cooked wheat berries
1/4-1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 slices turkey bacon
dressing of choice

Overall, this salad has 240 calories (without the dressing), 12 grams protein (!), 8 grams fiber, over 100% DRI for vitamin K and 25% of vitamin C. I could have bumped up the protein even more if I had a packet of ranch powder. I would have mixed it with my plain nonfat Greek yogurt and thinned it down a bit with some milk. Protein and calcium city!

The negatives I see with this salad are that it is high in sodium from the turkey bacon, and it is low in vitamin E because of the salad dressing choice. I'm still deciding if I would want to add a teaspoon of canola oil to my dressing. It would add 5% DRI vitamin E and help me absorb my vitamin K better.

It's decided! I will add this in the future!

A Thousand and One Welcomes!

Since Kit took the time to introduce herself and welcome you, I figure that means I should as well. So here it goes!

Home-body, voracious reader, hot beverage lover, movie buff (particularly Sci-fi), professional chef, wanna-be gardener, and fan of singing as loudly as possible (high ceilings are the best thing ever). I may also be extremely sarcastic.

I live in the back woods of Minnesota, which means the closest grocery/shopping is a 45 minute

drive. I also have a degree in culinary arts and cook professionally. However, after cooking at work all day, the last thing I want to do is spend a few hours on supper.

Therefore, most of my home cooking involves foods that have a longer shelf life, that can be prepared in 30 min, and that are somewhat healthy while satisfying my inner foodie desires. The tangent of this is that I LOVE cooking. So I do occasionally get in my kitchen and spend all day on a meal just for myself. But these impulses are fairly rare, so you can generally expect 1-2 person meals that take 30 minutes-1 hour.

All that being said, thank you for coming to spend some time with us. We are excited to share our food passions and sometimes randomness with you.

Food science rules!

Linds