My Sundays typically embody my "Susie Homemakerness". I putter around my apartment stripping sheets from my bed, starting loads of laundry, tidying up and cooking for the week. It is not uncommon for me never to leave my apartment on Sundays. I run my errands and go grocery shopping on Saturdays so, unless someone is forcing me to be social, I change out of my pajamas only to put on a new pair of pajamas. So classy. If I really want to "over share", I typically listen to polish polkas or "Sounds of Croatia" on local radio stations while doing all the aforementioned chores. It makes me feel connected to my ethnic roots and reminds me of a time when these sort of activities were what women were expected to do - now I just do them because I enjoy them. I can sense the feminists gathering their stones which to cast upon me.
In the kitchen queue today was homemade granola for the week to take to my staff and fresh vanilla almond milk. Whenever I look at the ingredients of almond milk in the $4 cartons at stores, I am discouraged to find it is not simply filtered water, almonds, and whatever is used to flavor it. Therefore, I decided to buy a $2 "nut milk bag" (go ahead and laugh, I sure did) and make my own. I buy almonds in bulk at Sam's Club and keep them in my freezer. The 9 cup bag is typically $15 and so much more economical than buying almonds in traditional grocery stores or specialty food shops. I soaked about 1.5 cups of almonds in filtered water overnight. Today, I drained them, rinsed them, placed them in my food processor with two dried unsweetened dates and some high quality vanilla extract (I wish I had a vanilla bean instead: memo for next time). Adding enough filtered water to just cover the almonds, I cranked on my processor and pulverized it. A few times, I scraped down the sides of the bowl and added water until I had the consistency I liked. When making almond milk, it seems to be a balance between getting the most milk out of your almonds while maintaining fantastic flavor. It will be a personal preference how much water you add. I dumped the mixture into my nut milk bag and squeezed away into a carafe below. Is it weird that it felt like I was milking a nut milk cow's udders? I then let the bag hang over the cup so gravity could do its thing. Once I buy my hydraulic press for juicing, I will press the almond mixture versus squeezing - it'll make getting every drop of milk out of the nuts easy peazy. Results: super easy, super delicious, personalized based upon my taste and no weird ingredients or preservatives I don't know how to pronounce. Whoopie!
Moving on to the granola. Many of my coworkers give up bread, pasta and flour during Lent as a "feat of will power strength". Therefore, once Ash Wednesday passes, my options for treats diminishes immensely. Granola is a good "go to" because it fits the restrictions and my boss likes it. Win win. I don't really have a recipe. I make it up as I go. This time, I combined oats, unsweetened coconut flakes, chopped raw cashews and chopped raw almonds in a bowl. With my hands, I mixed in a tablespoon of coconut oil and local Ohio maple syrup. I spread the mixture out on two half sheet pans and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, stirring once. Basically, just watch it and when you start to smell it and it turns golden brown, you are good to go. To the hot granola, I added chopped unsweetened dried cranberries and apricots with a couple more splashes of maple syrup. I then put the pan back into the oven, which I had turned off, and left the door ajar. This allows the newly added maple syrup to dry out a bit and the flavors of the fruit to mix with the oats without them melting. Let cool and store in an airtight container.
I also experimented with making vegan "cookie cakes" with my leftover almond pulp from the milk. Not so sure about them. I need to research recipes as there are loads of ideas of how to use the precious stuff left over on the web. Well, I better get back to my puttering, my laundry, my cleaning, and making my dinners for the week. Also, I may or may not go to the mall and buy this makeup I've been eyeing, which I totally don't need but since it is busy season I can claim "I deserve this" and "I should treat myself" in order to justify it all. I just have to be back in time for the red carpet specials. I don't really care about the awards. I like dresses. Really pretty dresses.
What do you fill your Sundays with?
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