Randoms and Almond Milk

Just a few random thoughts have been floating in my mind lately and thought I would share.

1.  I have started listening to podcasts on the drive home from work.  This is because my 1-1.5 hour commute time would result in probably listening to the same song (whatever is popular at the moment), at least 3 times.  My friend recommended a few popular ones that she likes to listen to, but I have found 2 that I have become obsessed with.  I literally can't wait to the drive home the next day so I can listen to more!  First is The Alton Browncast.  I have been a huge fan of his Good Eats days, have a few of his cookbooks and an avid Cutthroat Kitchen watcher.  I love his humour and nerdiness in explaining the science behind food.  Each episode Alton interviews a 'celebrity' chef, has a food of the day, and a recipe relating to the food of the day.  The second is My Life As a Foodie.  Each episode focuses on a different food, and there's usually a recipe that is linked to it.  I'm still in the very early episodes (circa 2007).

2. A pickle is a mature cucumber.  This one cracked me up.  I couldn't stop laughing at work.  Yes I was listening to the Alton Browncast (And the Winner Is...).  Some of my coworkers found it funny.....others looked at me like what are you talking about.

3. Some people (they label themselves "Foodies") wonder WHY I blog about the restaurants that I blog about.  The restaurants I blog about usually are not necessarily high end fancy restaurants and are not listed on the top of any restaurant list.  I don't think that theres anything wrong with going to and blogging about restaurants that are hole in the walls, or in general affordable good food.  In fact, most of the restaurants that serve really delicious food ARE hole in the walls.  It is also not that I cannot afford to eat at the pricier restaurants.  I have eaten at 3 and 1 Michelin starred restaurants.  And to be honest, I'm not sure I would go back to those restaurants.  For me, expensive restaurants do not necessarily give me feeling of satisfaction or comfort that I am looking for in a meal.  In one of the podcast I listened to, the best feeling that a chef/cook can give someone is the feeling of bringing back that person to the past where they first ate that item, in general feeling of comfort.  That is something that I totally agree with.
I am a simple person who appreciates the simplest of foods.  My favourite "meal" (breakfast is my favourite meal), is a slice of freshly baked crusty bread (non toasted since it's fresh) with butter, with a farm fresh soft boiled egg and a good cup of coffee.  In my opinion, it's easier to make a complicated meal (flavour wise, you can always do some hiding), than to keep things simple and bring out the clean and natural flavours of food.
The restaurants, bakeries etc that I blog about are mostly the every day places that people can choose to go to on a whim.  You don't need a special occasion or a special reason to visit.  No food snobs required.

4. Almond Milk
I usually buy my almond milk from Costco.  And no, I am not drinking it because I am lactose intolerant.  I am simply just looking at milk alternatives.  My favourite brand is Aureeva.  They come in 4L bags.  I try not to buy any of the cartoned soy/almond/coconut milks because of the sodium and preservatives, but I do have a carton in the basement as back up.  And as of late, I cannot find it at Costco.  I have seen it at T&T, but never actually bought from there.
The reason why I like Aureeva compared to So Good, or Silk is because of the texture.  Aureeva has a thinner texture (similar to Asian soy milk), and is unsweetened.  It just seems more natural.  So Good or Silk has this weird thick texture and is super white in colour, which leads me to believe that there must be some additional ingredients that have been added to make it that texture and colour.  To prove my point (mostly to myself), I decide to make my own almond milk.  I found a recipe online and it's super simple to make.

Take 1 cup almonds and soak them in water overnight.  The next day, rinse the soaked almonds and put them in a blender.  Add in 2 cups of fresh water, and blend for 2 minutes.  Strain the mixture through a cheese cloth (or in my case I used a handkerchief).  Simple as that.  The ground almond mixture I dried out in the oven, and mixed half of it into my granola I was making and the other half went into bran flax muffins.  Just a note tho, in the fridge, the almond milk may separate, just give it a good shake and it's good to go.

Almond Milk

Now back to studying.....