The Mother of Invention

Over the weekend, I ran out of coffee filters. Apparently I use these really specific coffee filters (unbleached brown basket-type) because I haven't been able to find them in my normal day-to-day living. It seems I have to actively seek them out, but in the meantime I've devised this method worthy of this site's name:

1) I put the kettle on with the amount of water I use, measured by the numbers on the outside of the auto-drip's carafe (which inconveniently do not directly correspond to the U.S. or metric standard).

2) I measure out and grind the coffee and place the grounds directly inside the carafe.

3) When the kettle whistles, I pour the water over the grounds and steep for a few minutes.

4) I use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the grounds as I pour it into a glass measuring cup.

5) I pour a cup of coffee and prepare according to my current coffee preferences, which recently I have had to adapt to my current non-dairy lifestyle. (No steamed milk, no half & half; instead, a combination of vanilla rice milk and a drop of the refrigerated Coffee Mate French Vanilla.

While this produces excellent coffee, superior to that which emits from the auto drip, it is what I'd call a pain in the ass. Plus, the supposed benefit of not using the tree-killing basket coffee filters is somewhat balanced by the amount of water it takes to wash the various implements this process uses. Also, the black sludge that is left in the strainer, at the bottom of the carafe, and at the bottom of the glass measuring cup is just ugly.*

What's an alchemist to do?


* The recent "Green Issue" of ReadyMade Magazine advises sprinkling used coffee grounds in houseplants as a cheap fertilizer. But how long can you do that? I've already sprinkled two days worth of coffee grounds in the relatively few houseplants I have. Maybe I'll place some in a hose sprayer bottle and water some outside plants...

Cheap-ass silkscreen

Hey, I love my Print Gocco, but this is a viable alternative at a very, very low cost. I'm all for frugality (even if only in theory), so if you're feeling adventurous, try this:

http://www.livejournal.com/community/craftgrrl/3674467.html?thread=32252771

Adventures in Gocco-land

Some notes on my recent Print Gocco run:

1) The ink dries very quickly on the screen. Keep alcohol wipes handy to wipe the back of the screen an dissolve the dried ink. Also, wipe up any stray ink in the work area.

2) Wearing an apron is a smart idea especially if, like me, you are prone to wiping off your hands onto your clothes.

3) I don't think one is meant to save the screens, but in a burst of frugality, I managed to clean the ink from the screen by wiping it with the Riso Cleaner, and then using a wet tea bag (just happened to be there) to unclog the printing area of the screen. I was hoping the tannic acid would help, and it did.

4) when printing, use a firm hand to press the stamp down evenly, then hold it for a few seconds to let the ink penetrate the fabric

Almond Milk

One of our cars is broken, so I couldn't run out to Wild Oats as planned to pick up some almond milk, so I decided to make my own.

1 cup roasted almonds (roast raw almonds in oven at 300-350 for half hour-ish)
4 cups filtered water

Soak almonds for a few hours, or overnight. Pour in blender and blend. Strain through cheesecloth. You will have to squeeze the cheesecloth in order to extract all of the milk from the almond pulp. Sweeten to taste with honey or maple syrup.



So then I tried to make pignoli cookies out of the leftover almond pulp. As I was not using any form of measurement, I failed miserably. I wish myself better luck next time.

Coconut Rice Pudding With Berry Rhubarb Salad

Mmmm mmmm good. Made this for a friend's party and it was a hit! Substituted soy milk for the cow's milk to make it vegan and carambola for the rhubarb because there wasn't any rhubarb. Plus, I subbed whipped coconut milk for the cream, which turned out I think to be totally optional. I doubled the recipe, so there was a lot left over (little goes a long way), and Peterson made it into -- what else -- ice cream! Yay!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup arborio rice
Two 14-oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Strawberry-Rhubarb Salad:

1/2 pound fresh rhubarb, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup or more sugar
1 pt. strawberries, hulled, sliced
3/4 cup whipping cream, softly whipped

Preparation:

For pudding, blanch the arborio grains in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse and drain again. Combine the blanched rice, coconut milk, cow's milk, sugar and split vanilla bean in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the rice is very tender and the liquid is thick enough to leave a path on the back of a spoon when a finger is drawn across, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Stir often, as the rice may scorch, especially near the end of cooking. Remove vanilla bean and cool pudding completely.

For berry salad: Toss the rhubarb with 1/2 cup sugar or more to taste in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or until sugar's dissolved and pink syrup has formed. Stir in sliced berries.

To serve, fold whipped cream into the cooled pudding and serve with strawberry-rhubarb salad.

Yield: 6 servings
Preparation: 2 hours (long simmering)

Recipe by chef Heather Ho of Boulevard restaurant in San Francisco, Calif., as it appears in The Secrets of Success Cookbook by Michael Bauer (Chronicle Books, 2000, $19.95

Avocado variation

I tried the avocado variation on the coconut milk ice cream today, but I used an entire avocado and nearly 3/4 cup sugar! Holy mama is it rich! It's like Häagen-Daz. It's all the fat. Boy howdy is it yummy. Here's the recipe:

1 can coconut milk
1 Haas avocado
3/4 cup sugar

Blend ingredients together using hand blender, or if you don't care about lumps, mash together with fork. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (about 20-25 minutes). Transfer into airtight container and freeze for a few hours to firm it up.

Next variation on this variation: a [somewhat] lighter version omitting the coconut milk and just using the avocado for the fat content. Substitute honey (slightly warmed to make it runny) for the sugar. Tiny bit, maybe 1/8 cup soy milk... Or maybe a chunk of silken tofu to add some body. Hmmm...

Note about avocado ice cream: Filipinos enjoy their avocados sweet, not savory (like guacamole). I like it both ways!

Vegan "Ice Cream"

I'm not vegan, but this ice cream recipe is. It's made with coconut milk.

Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk (unrefridgerated)
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Procedure:
Open can of coconut milk. Pour contents into bowl. Whisk in sugar to taste (when frozen it tastes less sweet, so adjust sugar to slightly sweeter than you like it). Add vanilla and stir until all sugar is dissolved and coconut milk lumps have dissipated. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers directions for freezing ice cream (about 20 minutes). Enjoy right away for "soft serve" or put in container and freeze for additional time to firm up the ice cream.

Variations:
Ginger ice cream: Replace vanilla with 1 Tsp. freshly juiced gingerroot (optional) Add in coarsely chopped crystallized ginger to the last 5 minutes in the ice cream maker.

Maple ice cream: Do not shake can of coconut milk! Open can, and scoop out separated solids from the top. When you get to the liquid part, pour into measuring cup to measure amount and then set liquid aside for use in other recipes (it's great in your latte). Measure out as much maple syrup as there was coconut milk liquid, and add to the solids. Whisk together. Note: the maple syrup replaces the sugar in the recipe so you don't have to add additional sugar.

Notes:
The brand of coconut milk I use is a Thai brand called Aroy-D. The can says has a coconut milk content of 55%. A Taste of Thai coconut milk will also work well for the above recipes, but it is more expensive. Other brands I've tried are for some reason too thin. The trick to finding a good brand is to look for one that will coat the back of a spoon thickly without running off to fast. This is the same standard by which a regular ice cream "custard" is made.

Some more variations that I will be experimenting with:
Pina colada: Add dried pineapples at the end

Chocolate: Melt dark chocolate bar, whisk in with sugar. Chill before using ice cream maker.

Avocado: 1/2 avocado per can. The higher fat content may need to be counteracted with more sugar.



This method is so much simpler than regular homemade ice cream, yet yields such a great texture that I may be willing to forego regular ice cream altogether!

The recipe can also be doubled and still fit in a regular 1.5 quart ice cream maker but I prefer the smaller batches so I can experiement more.

Project repository

I hope for this blog to be a place where I can quickly "jot" down random thoughts before they are forever lost in the madness of daily work, life, etc. Project ideas, recipes, home remedies, tips.