To cheese or not to cheese...

....that is ALWAYS my question.  And usually I go with CHEESE!  But if you know me, or followed my posts, I have been trying to break up with cheese for a while.  I've become too dependent on it in my cooking, and although I'm not lactose intolerant, I know that I feel better without it.

So..... today in class I made an almond milk, and when you strain the milk, you get this "almond meal."  When I dumped it into a bowl, it immediately reminded me of ricotta...the look, the texture, the consistency.  Man, does everything remind me of cheese?????

If you've never made nut milk, it's super easy.  Two ways to do it.  You can soak the nuts overnight; now, I'm not good at that.  The only thing I really do well ovenight is sleep....and I'm GOOD at it.  My friend Sue once said when I bought a hammock for the backyard, "Yeah, that's all you need - another place to sleep!"  I think she was still jealous that I slept all the way from SF to Hawaii, while she sat next to my mother, who also couldn't sleep, but I'm SURE could talk.

Anyway, if you're not a pre-planner like me, you can blanch 1 cup of almonds in boiling water for a few minutes and then drain and rinse.  Then slip the skins off and put in a blender with 3 cups of water and let 'er rip for a while until completely smooth.  A Vitamix is perfect for this, if you're lucky enough to have one (I am not....boooo).  Then press the milk through fine cheesecloth (a paint strainer from Home Depot works even better and can be used over and over), and you are left with the almond meal.

Most people will throw that away.  Don"t do it!  Add some chopped fresh herbs (I used thyme and rosemary), a couple pinches of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a 1/2 teaspoon of nutritional yeast (there it is again - stop making that face!) and you have a delicous, dairy-free ricotta. 

Use it in lasagna or anywhere you would use ricotta (like on a spoon.... a BIG spoon!).  I served it up on crackers and wowed the crowd.....love when that happens.

Two treats in one.  The almond milk isn't something that would ever replace a nice, big, ice-cold glass of milk for me, but I do like it in coffee, a smoothie or over my granola or cereal.  That's just me.  You can add vanilla, cinnamon and/or stevia to sweeten it up - and that way, I know a lot of people who like to drink it.  I still remain true to my California cows for that tall glass of milk....

Feeling a little nutty

I wish I could take credit for this one, but it's a recipe from Bauman College's Natural Chef curriculum.  I'm back in the fold, working as the kitchen manager at the Penngrove campus, and it makes my mind and my belly happy, happy, happy.  It's great to be able to essentially go through the Natural Chef program again without any of the stress I felt as a student.....and have them pay ME this time!  Even better, is getting to experience all those delicious recipes again;  recipes like this Nut & Seed Cream Sauce.  It's a fantastic, dairy-free cream sauce, much like an Alfredo.  Great on pasta (obviously), on roasted veggies, over grilled chicken, served cold as a dip.....heck, you could put it on a shoe and it would be delish!  I need all my shoes, so I tossed it with spaghetti squash, fresh English peas and toasted walnuts.  They only changes I made to the sauce were that I used my French Herb salt to give it more flavor and finished it with a healthy pinch of freshly grated nutmeg - buy the whole nutmeg and shave it with a microplane.... soooo much better than the ground nutmeg in a bottle.

If you've never cooked spaghetti squash, give it a try, especially if you have kids.  It's a great way to get extra veggies into them in a familiar kind of way.  Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and bake it cut side down for 30-45 minutes at 375, depending on the size of the squash.  When the squash is cooked through it will give gently when squeezed.  Let it cool, and then scrape out the flesh with a fork.  Simply toss with sauce and any other ingredients you'd like.....

Nut & Seed Cream Sauce

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil
white pepper to taste

Add all ingredients besides oil and pepper to a blender and puree until smooth.
With the motor running, drizzle in the oil.
Transfer to a saucepan and simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes until thickened and warmed through.
Season with white pepper to taste.
Try not to eat the whole thing yourself!