First of all I wanted to say a big congratulations to Rebecca. Her little boy came earlier than expected but he is doing well and I am just so happy for her. May he continue to thrive and they get to go home soon.
As for me I am coping well in the heat now. Thanks mainly to air-conditioning and Wimbledon. Oh yes. My afternoon dose of legs up in the cool has just been made a load more enjoyable - yay for Wimbledon!! Though I keep falling asleep just before the final climax of a nail-biting match and then have to look up on the internet who actually won. During my Wimbledon naps I have dreams of Pebbles on Wimbledon centre court hitting powerful forehands down the court and the commentators discussing her impressive serve-volley combination. I hope this is not a sign that I am going to be one of those pushy-my-kid-must-be-a-child-prodigy-mums!
For those of you interested I have included my almond milk recipes below:
ALMOND MILK
This will make just under a litre of almond milk (though it depends on how creamy you want it). Take half a kilo of almonds (unsalted, unroasted, with their shells on). Put in a bowl and pour water over them to cover. Leave overnight. This is to soften the almonds but also to remove the bitterness from their skins. It is not necessary to remove the skins or blanch the almonds. Next morning pour out the water and rinse the almonds. Place the soaked almonds in a food processor or blender. Pour on about 3 cups of water. I find this to be a minimum. If you want more almond milk, it will be slightly less creamy, then pour in more water. Since almonds are expensive I prefer to add more water and get more milk - it is still creamy but less rich. Then blend for a minute or two. You want all the almonds to be in small pieces. Put a sieve over a bowl. Line a sieve with a muslin or cheesecloth and spoon the almond mixture and liquid into the cloth. With clean hands squeeze the cloth around the almond pulp and let the milk run into the bowl. You may have to do this in several batches. Save the almond pulp as you can use it for other recipes. Pour the milk into a sterilized bottle or jar and chill in the fridge. It's delicious on its own or you can add some honey to sweeten if you wish.
ALMOND MILK POPSICLES
Mix the almond milk with some honey to taste. Make sure the honey is full mixed into the milk. Then pour into ice-lolly moulds and freeze.
ALMOND MILK ICE-CREAM
Heat half of the almond milk in a heavy based pan on a low heat. Add a cinnamon stick and half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Meanwhile whisk three egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of honey until the mixture is pale and thick. Gradually whisk in the warmed almond milk (remove the cinnamon stick first). Then pour the almond-milk custard back into the pan and warm over a low heat, stirring constantly, you want it to remain smooth. Once the mixture had thickened (so the egg is cooked) take off the heat. If the mixture starts looking like scrambled egg take off the heat and whisk vigorously until it is smooth. Chill the custard. (I put a glass bowl in the freezer before I start and then pour the custard into it to speed up the chilling process). When the mixture is cool add the rest of the almond milk. You can also add some cream if you like. You can also toast some of the left-over almond pulp and add this too. Then pour into an ice-cream maker.
DATE AND ALMOND BALLS
This is a great way to use the leftover almond pulp and it makes irresistible healthy sweet snacks. Take around half a kilo of dates and remove the stones. Place them in a food processor. Add 1 or 2 cups of almond pulp depending on your preference. Add 2 tablespoons of carob powder. Add 2 tablespoons of ground linseeds or ground pumpkin seeds. Add a splash of water. Blend. It should become a sticky mass, if it it is too dry add some more water and continue to blend. Toast some of the remaining almond pulp and pour it on to a large plate. Take a tablespoon of the date almond mixture and roll it in your hands into a ball, then roll it in the toasted almond bits to cover. Repeat this until you have finished all the date almond mixture. Chill the date almond balls in the fridge. Eat when deliciously cold - they have a gorgeous chocolate truffle consistency.
