French Press Matcha Green Tea Latte

I have a secret obsession with Starbucks Green Tea Lattes.  This wouldn't be an issue if I didn't live in the Starbucks capitol of the world with Starbucks literally everywhere.  The biggest offender seems to be the Starbucks walking distance from my work.  It also wouldn't be an issue if a tall soy Starbucks Green Tea Latte wasn't $4.  After stumbling across this gorgeous post on making a cappuccino with a french press, I thought why not try the same method to make my beloved green tea latte.

I started by filling my mug with vanilla soymilk.  I typically don't buy soymilk and prefer almond milk instead, but the creamy texture and vanilla flavor of soymilk are perfect for this recipe.  

 

Pour the milk in a small saucepan and heat over very low heat.  If you're in a hurry, try heating your milk over medium heat and whisking it constantly to be sure you don't burn it.

 

Once the milk is hot, whisk in roughly 1 tablespoon of matcha green tea powder until smooth.

 

And this is where the magic happens - pour the milk into your french press and attach the lid.  Vigorously pump the french press for about 30-60 seconds until you reach your desired level of frothiness.  When I did this, my milk actually doubled in size.  Taste your latte and add sweetener if you wish.  I liked mine just the way it was with the vanilla soymilk.

Enjoy a perfectly-frothed lazy morning latte.

Recipe:

-12 oz plant-based milk of choice

-1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder

-optional: sweetener of choice

Heat milk in saucepan until hot, being careful not to burn milk.  Whisk in green tea powder and pour into french press.  Quickly pump french press until milk is foamy and enjoy!

Holidays

For Easter, my family had a potluck brunch.  We missed R (he's working in Shanghai right now) but had a nice celebration.  My contribution was based on the Asian Noodle Salad recipe from Beauty Detox Foods, although I did alter a few ingredients.  You start by using a julienne peeler to slice zucchini, carrots, and an apple.  (If you want to have really fancy noodles, use a spiralizer.) 

I added a whole bunch of chopped cilantro.  I would also recommend onions here, but left them out for my brother.

The dressing recipe is called Asian Tang (also from Kimberly Snyder's new book.)  It's a blend of miso, soy sauce, ginger, lime juice, red pepper flakes, and water.

I mixed everything and added walnuts on top.

This salad was a real crowd pleaser. It got better as it sat for a few hours.  Tune got some belly rubs and naptime after brunch.

And now switching gears to Thanksgiving - wait, what?!

Yes, that's right.  I've wanted to post this for a while, and am adding it on to a "holiday" post.  For the last couple of years that I've lived near my brother, we've tried to make a tradition of the two of us (and our SOs) getting together on the morning of holidays for breakfast.  It's special to have some sibling time before the entire family gets together.  Last Thanksgiving, James hosted and made breakfast burritos.  I brought some overnight french toast and we were stuffed before we even made it to Thanksgiving dinner.

This burrito had hashbrowns, black beans, spinach (and eggs for the non-vegans).  We topped it with hot sauce and it was delish.  And this post wouldn't be complete without a picture of the chef himself.  What are sisters for? :)

 



Watermelon Fresca

It was a hot and beautiful day here today which calls for some sunbathing.  I spent hours laying out and finishing up Gone Girl.  (Good book, terrible ending.)  All that time in the sun meant I was hot and dehydrated.  I decided to make watermelon fresca to cool off.  Most fresca recipes include sugar, but you really don't need it here.  This watermelon was very sweet on its own.  I started with a 5lb watermelon and cut it in half.

Then I started to cut the rind off.

Tune was hot, too, and happily gobbled up a bite of watermelon.

I cut the watermelon in cubes to make it fit in my blender, and then blended until smooth.  

Today is laundry day and Tune is having one last nap before the sheets are washed.

This is the finished product. (Yes, I drink out of jars with the label still partly attached.)  

Ingredient:

1 watermelon, chilled

Directions:

Blend until smooth and enjoy

Variations:

-add fresh mint or any other herbs that sound good

-watermelon margarita anyone?

-pour in popsicle mold and make pops

Chickpea Flatbread with Pesto

I was craving something different and heartier than my usual salad/roasted veggies/quinoa bowl for dinner, when I found this recipe.  A delicious chickpea flatbread with homemade pesto.  After watching this video and this video, I was motivated to make pizza.  I figured I could turn the flatbread into a pizza crust, and have pizza and salad for dinner. 

I started by making the tomato sauce described in the videos.  I just roasted cut tomatoes and garlic - no oil needed.

Then I mixed the batter for the flatbread.

The batter calls for almond meal.  You might try subbing another flour or making your own almond meal.  Generally, almond meal is pretty expensive.  The only exception I've found to this is Trader Joe's.

Flatbread cooking and tomatoes roasting.

Ingredients for homemade pesto sauce.  Pictured below is basil, almonds (I would typically use walnuts or pinenuts, but any nut will work), sea salt, and apple cider vinegar.

Spread the blended pesto on the flatbread.  Variation: instead of making a spreadable pesto, make it thicker like they do in the video.  This will create a thicker cheese-like texture.  The reason I chose not to do this is because I wanted the pesto flavor to evenly coat the pizza, instead of bits of it scattered.

Leave your blender dirty.

Add the roasted tomatoes and garlic, and blend.

Something magical happenes when you blend roasted tomatoes and roasted garlic.  This sauce was so flavorful and creamy, and it only has two ingredients!

Extra pesto and sauce for leftovers/eating by the spoonful late at night.

Add sliced onions and bake until just a few minutes, until the crust is firm and the sauce has set.

Julienne chard/kale/spinach etc and toss with leftover pesto thinned with some vinegar.  Serve this alongside the pizza.

This is an awful picture, but I served the salad right on top of the pizza and added an avocado. 

Ingredients:

Flatbred (adapted from Veggie Nook):

-1 c chickpea flour

-1/4 c almond meal

-1 c water

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix all ingredients well.  Grease a dish (I used a pie pan), pour in batter, and cook at 400 degrees from 25 minutes.

Tomato Sauce:

-4 roma tomatoes

-5 cloves of garlic

Put ingredients in an ungreased pan and bake until browned.  Blend.

Pesto:

-basil leaves

-apple cider vinegar

-nuts of choise

-sea salt

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  To make a thicker cheese-like pesto, use very little vinegar.

Bake flatbread.  Spread on sauces, onions, any other toppings and bake until crust is firm and sauces are set.  Serve with a side of salad.

Variation:  Make flatbread batter, slice red onions, grease a pan, lay red onions in pan and pour batter over.  Added any herbs or seasonings you desire.  This is flavorful enough to serve plain, alongside a salad or soup.

Red Lentil Pancakes

These pancakes would be great for any meal or snack, but we happened to make them for breakfast.  They are inspired by this recipe.  You start by soaking lentils overnight, and blending them with chia seeds (in place of eggs), water, and spices.

I added about a quarter of an onion, a thai chili from our garden, and some Eat Well Salts.

Stopping for a little snack before breakfast is ready.  It's normal to eat chocolate before breakfast, right?

Some of the spices we added to the blender.

And try not to spill tumeric on anything as it stains everything it touches.

Blend until smooth, adding water as needed.

Cook like pancakes.

Top with honey, or ketchup, or avocado, or hot sauce, etc.

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils, soaked overnight and drained

2 tbsp whole chia seeds (I did not grind them first as the original recipe called for)

1 Thai chili pepper, or any other pepper/spice to give desired level of heat

spices to taste: garlic powder, tumeric, curry powder, garam masala, ginger, etc

Blend all ingredients with 1 1/4 c water.  Pour onto greased pan over medium heat.  Cook until bubbles form and pop.  Flip pancake over and cook for a few more minutes until golden brown.  Serve with whatever toppings you desire!

Variation:

Try adding a little more water and making a crepe instead.

Beach Walk, Sangria, and Freezer Soup

On a beautiful winter day, we decided to explore a local beach that we had never been to before.

Lots of tide pools to explore.  Bonus - I didn't fall once while climbing over all of those rocks!  I had a rough landing or two, that Ryan politely pretended he didn't see.

The striated pattern in the top left was a house!  

After a long, hot day we thought sangria and crosswords on our porch was an excellent idea.  We stopped at a new grocery store that Ryan has been eyeing, Lazy Acres, and were pretty impressed with the selection of products.  They had a giant bulk section, which is the biggest thing we were hoping for, and even purchased tea towel bags for future bulk purchases.  Their produce selection was awesome, thus making Lazy Acres a great replacement for our usual Whole Foods shopping trips.

For the sangria, we mixed one bottle of red wine with one bottle of sparkling lemonade.  We added strawberries, blueberries, sliced apples, and ice.  It was super simple and delish.

We both enjoyed it, and Tune was thrilled for cuddle time on the porch.

Maybe a little too thrilled....

We then decided to make a large batch of soup so we could have leftovers.  

Start by washing an assortment of greens.  Here we used one bunch of collards, one bunch of kale, and one bunch of spinach.  We forgot to use the brussel sprouts on the right side of the photo, but don't worry, they will make an appearance in a later post.

Chiffonade greens and set aside.

Slice a couple large onions and one to two cups of sun-dried tomatoes.

Slice any other veggies you like.  We added carrots as well, and steamed yams would be great, too.

Rinse lentils and wild or brown rice (rice not pictured).  You could also use beans, but they should be cooked first.

In each tupperware, we started by adding some lentils and rice.  Then added the non-green chopped veggies (carrot, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, whatever else you are using), then topped with greens. 

Ooops, forgot about garlic.  Add that to each tupperware also.

Cover each tupperware with water and freeze.

You may be wondering why we haven't actually cooked the soup.  Feel free to cook your soup, let cool, then add to tupperware and freeze.  For me, I just feel like it takes too much time to cook, cool, and freeze so I add ingredients that will cook quickly when the soup is heated.  (That's why I recommended using cooked beans and cooked potatoes instead of raw.)  When I need a quick dinner, I dump the frozen block of soup in a pot, cover, and turn on low to medium.  Once the lentils and rice are cooked, it's ready!  Experiment with flavors.  Flavor-wise, this recipe is pretty bare bones.  In ours, we had some frozen cubed of pesto so we added a couple of those in each tupperware.  Get creative and enjoy!