Homemade Brown Rice Milk

I grew up in a town geographically isolated from many food trends and dietary necessities. When I decided to go vegetarian at age 12, there were few options for me beyond frozen peas, a stray tub of tofu, and rice milk. So, yes. Before I started sipping Homemade Almond Milk or soy milk or other substitutes at all, I drank my share of sweet, shelf-stable rice milk.

Have you ever noticed how rice milk -- Rice Dream, for example -- as oil has an added ingredient? In fact, the mention is kind of weird, as it lists "Safflower Oil and/or Sunflower Oil and/or Canola Oil” -- I mean, which is it? I guess they add it for mouthfeel -- texture. And otherwise, the ingredients in rice milk aren’t anything to be wary of. Still, I like homemade best for price point and full control of ingredients.

So, I started making my own.

HOMEMADE BROWN RICE MILK
Once you get the hang, feel free to double the recipe.

What you’ll need . . .

• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 4-5 cups water

Pssst: You don’t need to cook rice specifically for this recipe. Leftover Coconut Rice (minus all the extras) would be interesting! I’d just say make sure the rice isn’t old (signs of spoilage, mold, etc.) before blending. 

Method . . . 

1. If you’re using rice that’s already cooked, make sure it’s cool then combine with the water and let sit for an hour to let the flavors mingle.
2. If you’re making your rice fresh, you’ll want to remove it from heat and pour in the 4 cups of water (5 if you want a thinner milk) and let cool and sit for an hour or two. Do not skip this step -- otherwise, your milk will turn out quite goopy.
3. Either way: Place the rice + water mixture in a VitaMix or Ninja Blender -- and pulse. 
4. At this point, you can add in any extras like a splash of vanilla extract, maple syrup, and even cinnamon. I’ve even read of people pulsing in pitted dates for natural sweetness.
5. Blend for around 3-5 minutes and then strain into Ball jars or another container using cheesecloth or a sieve. 
6. Just FYI: My French Press Almond Milk trick DOES NOT work as well for the semi-solids in this rice milk recipe. 
7. Use within 5-7 days. 

(I made a big batch!)

NOTES: 

• Stephen likes this rice milk alone or on cereal -- no sweeteners or spices added.
• I actually prefer using this milk in baking and save Homemade Almond Milk for drinking, etc.
• Whatever you do, this milk is suitable for most sensitive tummies.
• You can also make RAW Rice Milk. I just haven’t tried it yet.
• I use the leftover rice bits in my veggie burgers, which I hope to share with you soon.

And tomorrow I’ll be back with my recipe for this delicious “buttermilk” cinnamon swirl bread made using this homemade brown rice milk! It turned out beautifully . . . and I have a huge stash of it in my freezer. Well, a dwindling stash, I should say.

Behold!

Oh, and if you want to see my diary from 1998, click over to Writing Chapter Three today!

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Coconut Jasmati® Rice: Review + Giveaway

Rice. I love rice. It's something I always want on the side but rarely make ahead of time. Of course I know there are (simple) ways around this, like cooking in bulk for the week, however -- to me, rice doesn't taste as good unless I make it on the spot.

So, when I was given the opportunity to try out RiceSelect^™'s Jasmati rice, I had no excuses.

Jasmati is a "long grain American grown jasmine rice”. It has almost exactly the same sweet, enticing aroma and subtle nutty flavor of exotic Thai jasmine rice. The grains are "snowy white, soft and tender" -- perfect to accompany any stir-fry or even as a centerpiece to a meal of its own.

You can read more about this tasty grain on the RiceSelect website.

Here's what I made with it:


COCONUT-LIME JASMATI RICE
* would work with whatever is your favorite rice, too

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup RiceSelect Jasmati rice
• 1 can (15 ounce) full fat coconut milk 
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup reduced fat coconut flakes (regular works, too -- this is all I had in the pantry)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, to taste
• salt, to taste

Method . . . 

1. Place the rice, coconut milk and water in a pot and bring to a boil (or, as Stephen always says, a "Susan Boyle").
2. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20. Let sit off the heat -- still covered -- for another 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Fluff + then add in the other ingredients and mix until well incorporated.

I also added peas for some extra flair. About a cup -- and Ada absolutely loved this as part of her lunch the next day. Gobbled it right up!

Now, I'm not a rice expert, but I feel like a lot of the kinds we have around the house take at least 40 minutes to cook (brown rice, maybe? am I just doing it wrong?). I like that this cooks in about half the time and has so much flavor. It will really liven up our meals.

Have you tried Jasmati? How would you incorporate it into your dinnertime routine? Share your answer in the comments below and you could win a $100 Visa gift card.


\ \ \ / / / Sweepstakes Rules: No duplicate comments \ \ \ / / /

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b: Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c: Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d: For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 4/15/2013-5/15/2013

Be sure to visit the sponsor's brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers reviews and find more chances to win!

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Vegan Shamrock Shakes

I'm going to start out this post with a confession: I've never actually consumed an entire McDonald's Shamrock Shake. Blame it on my early lean toward vegetarianism -- which kept me out of the golden arches chain after age 12. Or just my own elitism. Yeah. I'm a food snob. We all have our things.

I've sipped, though. So I get the crush everyone seems to have on this frosty treat. But at over 600 calories per 16 ounce serving (but who's counting calories?) . . . and all that fat . . . I just don't think it's worth the indulgence. Until now!

We made our own shakes this weekend after attending our city's super early St. Patrick's Day parade. But we made 'em vegan -- so less fat and guilt. And they taste amazing. Minty, refreshing . . . and you don't need to find yourself green with envy. You can make the shake, too!


What you'll need . . . (for four hefty servings)

• 8 large scoops vanilla soy or rice ice cream
• 2 cups regular or vanilla soy or rice milk
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 to 4 drops green food coloring

Method . . .

1. Put all ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend. Add more milk substitute or ice cream to achieve desired consistency.
3. Enjoy. And add some chocolate syrup if you wish.

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Puddin' on the Ritz: Purple Sticky Rice Tart

This weekend's kitchen adventures were plentiful and quite varied. Take this vegan purple sticky rice tart, for example. In honor of National Pie Day (Saturday), I thought I'd make something with a crust . . . but I didn't quite feel like making a full-fledged pie. And I also knew I wanted to explore the Private Collection some more. (If you haven't already, check out last week's Richard Simmons-related post: Pie in the Sky: Vegan Coconut-Carob Pie.)

Richard doesn't say much about his recipe for Snow White Coconut Rice Pudding. There isn't some hilarious story about its origin . . . nor some wildly embellished description of its flavor.

This pudding is so pure, so white. About halfway through the classic movie, there's a scene where Snow White is making lunch for the Seven Dwarfs. Look carefully-you'll see the pudding on the table. (pg. 132)

But his version -- a Snow White pudding -- looked too, well, vanilla for my tastes. And pudding alone doesn't totally satisfy me . . . so I decided to add a tart crust made with a very special ingredient, something I've never baked or cooked with before: lavender! I think you'll agree, this tart topped with frozen raspberries does Richard's recipe justice . . . while also kicking it up a notch -- 2010-style.





What you'll need . . . (for the crust)

• 1/3 cup raw cashews (or walnuts, pecans, or any other soft nut)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup date sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (or margarine)
• 1/8 teaspoon Salt (pinch)
• 1/2 teaspoon lavender
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Method . . .

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil (or margarine). If you're using coconut oil, you don't need a ton of heat before it melts. So go relatively low.
3. Add the vanilla and date sugar (or brown sugar); mix well.
4. Simmer over a medium-low heat and allow to simmer for 2 -3 minutes. (I had to mix continually.)
5. In a food processor, combine the cashews and half of the oats, until well ground. Add the remaining oats, lavender, and salt; pulsing to combine.
6. Empty the dry mixture into a medium sized bowl and pour the hot syrup over it.
7. Once the crust mixture is well combined, transfer to an 8 inch tart pan.
8. Spread out and evenly press the mixture along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (I found it was helpful to press with a piece of plastic wrap so it didn't stick to my hands.)
9. Bake for 5 minutes. Then put in the refrigerator to set, about 20 minutes or just while you prepare the filling.

What you'll need . . . (for the rice pudding filling)

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked purple rice (or black rice or regular rice, if you can't find any)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 (14-ounce) can regular coconut milk
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Method . . .

1. Pour water into medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the rice and cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 35 minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well to combine, and continue to cook the mixture over low heat until all of the liquid has been absorbed (about 15 to 20 minutes).
4. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and place the pudding in the refrigerator to chill.
5. When chilled (but not SUPER chilled or it'll be hard to pour), gently pour into your pie crust. Top with frozen raspberries (or mango, I just didn't have any) and sesame seeds.

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How to Store Bulk Foods

So, the results are IN for the giveaway. And I'll post the lucky winners a bit later in the morning. Why wait? Anticipation, of course!!! This morning I want to talk food storage with you. If you're embarking on a journey of healthy eating at the start of this new year, you may find yourself stocking up on more dry bulk foods like quinoa, couscous, oats, granola, brown rice, dried beans/lentils, wheat pastry flour, coconut flakes, nuts, dried fruit, carob chips, etc. Many of these ingredients (if not all of them) can be bought in bulk -- and you can save some major bucks in the process.

You may also be searching for a way to store all those goodies you're cooking up. A plate topped with tin foil (my old preferred method) simply doesn't keep the kind of seal you need. Stale energy chunks are gross. I know from experience. How exactly can you store everything and keep it fresh? Just follow these simple steps!

Contain it. There are a variety of storage containers available on the market today. My favorite are the Oxo Pop Containers. However, a 10-piece set will set you back $100. I have some I've received as gifts or snagged up at Home Goods for a little over half the price. But, at least for me, it isn't realistic to store everything (and we have a LOT of bulk ingredients) in the posh canisters. So, I pick some of my very best ingredients . . . and they get to live the good life.



Contain it . . . for less. For everything else? I swooped up the plastic tubs you see above for less than $4.00. And actually less than that. I went to my local discount store and got the rectangle containers for $2.00 (but there are two others you don't see pictured) and the round ones also for $2.00 (and they came with three others). The oatmeal tin has lentils in it. I like to reuse, too! I find that my oatmeal tins and cardboard tubs (or glass jars from fridge items like pickles) work well for anything, really. Because, again, you can but everything in bulk and save. So, if that rolled oats package is still in good condition, fill her up again next time you visit the grocery store!

Save the date: All dry items can safely be stored for six months to a year. When I last visited my parents' house, I noticed all kinds of dates written on their boxes and containers. This is their sophisticated system of keeping track. No so sophisticated, right? So, it's easy. Write the date on the container . . . or keep an inventory log somewhere with those details. That way, there will be no question if something has gone sour.

Give 'em a name. This tip goes along with labeling the date. Sometimes it's difficult to remember what something is. Especially when you're trying new things (we had this problem with quinoa recently) . . . or when you need to choose between like-looking flours. What Stephen started doing is putting labels on the tops of our containers with what's inside, as well as any cooking instructions we need to follow. It's better than searching Google every night.



Keep it cool. Dry bulk foods stay fresh best in dry, cool conditions. It's that simple. So try to keep 'em away from moisture (so maybe not near the oven or sink or dishwasher). If you have a pantry, that's great. If not, a good cabinet shelf should do just fine.

These are just a few steps we follow to keep everything organized and fresh. But I'm sure we don't know everything there is to know about this important process. One other thing I neglected to mention is that you can take your containers with you to the grocery store and fill them up in the bulk foods section. Just make sure you take the tare (weight of the empty container) before weighing the contents.

That's all for now. I'm off to make pizza dough for our dinner tonight. Stay tuned for the giveaway winners!

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