pulp and a new word

If you haven’t attempted home made nut/seed/bean milk before… I highly suggest you do.  It’s pretty fun.  Fun for me being the obsessive compulsive frugal fanatic that I am – I save a heap of money, plus pocket all the pulp that the milk is squeezed from.

Far out, who am I?  The previous sentence is embarrassing.  I actually don’t care how boring I sound.

I like knowing exactly what is going into what me and my family are consuming.  When I say my family, I mean me and Misty… let’s just say Viper isn’t too keen on my weirdo kitchen creations.  Viper is pretty healthy, plus he has a very physical job… but he loves his burgers, chips, beer and chocolate.  Nothing wrong with any of these in moderation, of course… but with 1.5kgs of M&Ms in our freezer, Viper is struggling with the whole moderation notion.  Really, he should be a fat man.  He introduced me to a new term too.  ”Cuppy.”

Viper: ‘I’m feeling kinda cuppy after this weekend.’

Lou: ‘What?!?!”

Viper:  ”I’m feeling kinda cuppy.’

Lou:  ’What?’

Viper:  ’Cuppy… you know, Cup-cakey.’

Lou: ‘What?’

Viper: (Getting annoyed with me now and my lack of Viper-language skills) ‘You know, too many cupcakes.’

Lou: ‘Where did you get cupcakes from?’

Viper: ‘Arrrrrrrrgh’  (I have pushed him to the edge of annoyance here, which I take quite a bit of pleasure in).

I suggested he eat more “Lou-style” meals this week to combat his “cuppy” feeling, to which he said, ‘I’m not eating that alien poo stuff.’

I’m not one to push my eating habits on another…  it’s just disrespectful, and I can’t stand it when any one tries to tell me what to do.  I eat what’s best for me… and give Misty the best I can – one day he will be able to choose for himself, but hopefully I will make an impact on the way he eats.

Back to the milk… OK it does take a tiny bit of effort, but this morning I made 2 litres of soy milk and 2 litres of almond milk in under 30 minutes.  Plus it cost me less than $3.  Not bad, not bad.  I usually stick (sort of) to this recipe.  Gena has some fantastic ideas for using up the pulp you are left with…. particularly with the glory that are almonds, you don’t want to waste any of it.  I’ve made a few chocolately treats here and there.  Today, I went the savoury route…. inspired by the lovely Nora and her lentil creations.

 

• 1C red lentils (dry)
• 1/2C almond pulp
• 2/3C water
• 3/4t sea salt (If you have sodium problems like me, you will add more)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3C water

1. Pulse lentils in your food processor until it turns into a “flour.”  My machine isn’t the most powerful, but chunks of lentil are fine, as the red variety are quick cooking.
2. In a small bowl, mix together lentil dust, almond pulp, 2/3C water and season WELL – if you don’t put in enough salt it will be super bland.  Lentils tend to soak up the seasoning a lot.  A herbal sea salt blend is a good call here for added oomph.
3. Let the mix soak for an hour in the fridge.
4. Add the final 1/3C water, and pour into a silicone pie dish or lined baking pan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 170 degrees C… or until firm to the touch.
6. Let it cool down for a while in the dish before trying to flip out.

The lentil flat bread is very plain… it’s designed for many many flavoursome toppings.  I made the weirdest dip to dunk my bread in today.  So weird, but so good… spinach, black turtle beans, nutritional yeast, miso paste, raw garlic, maple syrup all blended together with the usual seasoning.  Salty, savoury, a touch sweet – exactly what I needed.

Viper’s got topped with crumbled feta and fresh oregano and popped under the grill…. we also munched some with this pumpkin and avocado spread.

Hopefully this will counter balance Viper’s feeling of “cuppiness.”