Lactose Intolerant? Try Homemade Oat Milk

For those of you out there that can't tolerate cow or goat milk because of a lactose intolerance, you often end up seeking out alternatives and come across things like overpriced oat or rice milk. Well here's a cheap and easy way to get a better quality, better tasting, version of what's in stores, without all those pesky preservatives.

It really is the easiest thing to make. All of the ingredients are most likely already in your kitchen.

All you need is:

1 cup Porridge Oats (not instant oats)
1 tbsp Demerara Sugar, Honey or Agave Nectar (sweeten to taste)
1 tsp Olive or Sunflower Oil
6 cups warm water



Once you've got all the ingredients just add them in any order and blend for about 10 seconds. The mixture should turn white (like in the picture). If it's still clear your water isn't warm enough. Then strain into a pitcher and you're done. Use in hot and cold cereals or drink it straight.

For a stronger flavor and thicker oat milk let it set for about 30 minutes. You can also make your own rice or almond milk too. Just follow the same instructions as above only add 2 cups cooked brown rice or 500g ground almonds instead. Let the almonds set longer than the rice or oats to get the full flavor.

Cajun Chicken Salad

Even though I'm the most creative (ahem) chef in my household, I still need inspiration from time to time. I had such great luck with Kylemore Acre's "Awesome" beef stew mix that I thought I'd give this cajun chicken rub a try.



These, and a couple breasts of chicken, are all you need to make it. Just mix the packet and oil in a bowl and saute on medium heat. It's not a spicy mix so you can add chili flakes or Tabasco sauce to the mix.

For a dressing I only had balsamic vinaigrette but a ranch or blue cheese would have been better. The vinaigrette made it low calorie and better for people watching their fat intake.

Salad Ingredients

Romaine Lettuce
1/4 Avacado
3 Cherry Tomatoes
4 Broccoli pieces
4 Mushroom
1 Carrot

Add or replace any ingredients you like. Make sure they are all fresh and washed thoroughly if they aren't organic.

Mixed Berry Crumble Pie

My finest creation yet. Tomorrow being Valentine's Day and all, I got inspired to make this mixed berry crumble pie. I wanted something red but not loaded with food coloring or fondit. I was going to attempt a spelt chocolate cake, but chickened out at the last minute, and it's not red. Plus I've gotten really good with making pie crusts. So I bought loads of fruit and voila!

Mixed Berry Crumble Pie Recipe

Crust
2 cups spelt flour (1 white, 1 whole grain)
1 cup butter
1/2 cup water
pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients and knead into a ball. Flour counter top and roll out dough with rolling pin. Place into pie pan and shape. This will make a thicker crust. Half the ingredients for a thinner crust.

Filling
2 punnets strawberries
2 cups cherries
1 punnet red raspberries

Chop cherries and strawberries. Cook all berries in a skillet on medium heat. Cover to allow juices to cook out of the berries causing a sweet syrup in pan, about 3 minutes. Pour into pie crust.

Crumble
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup demerara sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle on top of berries and bake at 200 degrees Celsius (roughly 400 Fahrenheit) and cook for 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on it. Once the crumble has darkened it's done.

To finish off this perfect pie I also made a whipped cream topping. In a food processor combine 400 ml whipping cream with 2-3 tbsp demerara sugar and whip. You could also have vanilla ice cream, but it's still a bit cold for that. Enjoy!

Spelt Soda Bread

Went to the grocery store today to pick the spelt soda bread I've gotten addicted to. Decided to check the price this time and saw that the tiny loaf I've been buying costs 3.50. In times like these, becoming the baker I've never been has become more of a necessity. Here is the result of my latest attempt at baking.

Here's where I found the recipe and cooking instructions. Instead of putting sesame seeds (which I was out of and didn't realize it) I added about 1/3 cup each of pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds and a 1/3 cup of sweetened oats. All giving it an amazing taste, more protein, and a small amount of essential fatty acids. The recipe called for molasses but I put treacle instead (all I had). It gave the bread a cinnamon taste that my husband noticed right away. A perfect complement to my favorite spread, peanut butter. And the last change I made was to put buttermilk instead of regular milk.

You can go by the recipe verbatum or use it as a guideline and get a little creative like I did. Sometimes I can read a recipe and get a taste of the results before even baking it. If I think I won't enjoy it, I'll tweak the ingredients to my liking.

Update on my seedlings. Went and checked on them and noticed I'm getting really long thin stems. I don't think I'm over watering them and the second I saw them start I removed the greenhouse top to avoid this very thing. I just hope they get stronger before I plant them outside. If not, I'll just plant them deeper to support the stems. Sound like a good idea? Would anyone do anything differently?

Quick Delicious Recipe That's Healthy

So I made this fantastic version of Peanut Thai sauce. Here are the ingredients (Note: you can/should use organic whenever possible)

Natural Peanut Butter (should have peanut, salt, and oil)
Olive Oil
Tamari or Soy Sauce
Fresh lemon juice
Red Pepper Flakes
Water

The order of ingrients goes from most to least. The peanut butter is a majority of the sauce so use at least 1/2 the jar for 2-3 servings. All other ingredients use to taste (usually just a teaspoon to a tablespoon each). I like it spicy so I add more pepper flakes than some. Have fun with it. Its delicious and with enough water added it makes a nice thin sauce to sauteed veggies and Chinese noodles. Other options would be adding organic free range beef or chicken, shrimp, or even tofu.

It takes all of 5 minutes to make once it's heated and smooth. Be sure to watch it closely because the sauce can burn easily.

When you make it let me know how it comes out.

Enjoy!