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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Raw Vanilla Almond Milk, and Spaghetti "Bolognese"




I'm a girl who loves her cereal. I love carbs, especially when they come from grains. I've had this box of hemp granola cereal for so long (btw, Nature's Path cereals are incredible!!), but no mylk. I've been trying to cut back a lot on soy. I do enjoy it, but I know that too much is not good for you. I can honestly go weeks without it, and if I had to, I could stop eating it. But I still love it.
Anyhoo, as a transition from soy, I had thought about making my own almond milk, rather than buying it. Not only would it be so much cheaper to make it, but also so much healthier. Not implying that store-bought almond milk is bad for you, but I definitely believe a smarter choice is making it raw.
Sooooooo I made vanilla almond milk to go with my granola :) I used another of Ani's recipes, but I replaced the vanilla bean for some vanilla extract. My mom and my brother both actually enjoyed it more than cow's milk! (And my mom is a tough cookie to crack.)
As for the spaghetti...my brother went vegetarian for 2 weeks awhile ago, and my mom had bought some veggie "beef" (from Yves Cuisine) for me to make him some spaghetti. Well, I was in school, and never had the time until now. Since I have been "hired" to do the cooking (yeeaaah free rent for making dinner every night!!), I decided to try making this. I'm going to be honest, I was nervous. I've made vegan spaghetti many times, but never tried to replace the meat. I just used veggies. And, well, my mom loves her beef. My brother is easier to please, but my mom knows what she likes.
Knowing full well I had a challenge ahead, I wasn't shy in using various flavours. I generously doused my sauteed veggies and "meat" with lots of minced garlic and seasonings. HOLY CRAP it was so good!! My brother had devoured half his plate of food before it hit him: there's no way I would cook and/or eat meat, so this couldn't be meat! My mom was also shocked! She loved it also. After some self-restraint on licking his plate, my brother went back for another large helping. I was worried about leftovers. Silly me :)

Raw Almond Vanilla Mylk
Ingredients:
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates
1 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
5 cups of water

Directions:
1) Blend, baby, blend ;) Store in your fridge. No one likes warm mylk.

Spaghetti "Bolognese"
Ingredients:
1lb pasta noodles
2 tbs coconut oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced (yep, I did)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
sea salt, to taste
italian seasoning, to taste (or use a mixture of dried basil, oregano, etc.)
1 package Yves Cuisine Original Ground Round ("beef")
1 jar of your favourite pasta sauce (I believe I used roasted garlic)

Directions:
1) Boil water and cook noodles acoording to package directions. Duh :) Set aside.
2) In a large pot over medium heat (don't use a frying pan), saute garlic in coconut oil until browned and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.
3) Add celery and carrot, and sautee until tender, 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt and seasonings.
4) Add the veggie ground round. Break it, but before mixing in with the veggies, generously season again with sea salt and herbs. Incorporate well with veggies.
5) Add sauce and reduce heat to minimum. Stir, and let everything heat through.
6) Scoop yourself some noodles, some sauce, and dig in :) Watch out for spaghetti face.

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