Homemade Horchata {dairy-free}

I've always been such a sucker for good horchata. And despite the fact that I'm now the proud owner of an Irish last name, my middle name's still Montes, and I'm still 1/2 hispanic. Also cinco de mayo is like really soon. 

I love the fact that horchata is naturally dairy-free. It's the perfect combination of creamy and refreshing; definitely a treat. And until yesterday I had never made my own. I did a bit of research and found 1. it's super simple. 2. basically all of the recipes call for the same ingredients, just varying in their proportions 3. it's shockingly similar to homemade almond milk, though much more flavorful. 

Basically you soak almonds, rice, water and a cinnamon stick overnight, blend them all up the next morning (yes, cinnamon stick and all. I was skeptical too), pour the mixture through a cheese cloth, add water, sweeten, and wah lah! The result is much creamier and much more decadent than what you would get in a restaurant. 

Homemade Horchata {dairy-free} 
Makes 4.5 cups 

2/3 cup uncooked long grain brown rice (see notes), washed 
1 1/4 cup almonds, blanched 
4 1/2 cups water, divided 
3" cinnamon stick 
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon agave, or sweetener of your choice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) 
cinnamon for garnish

If you are unable to find blanched almonds (skins removed), boil a medium pot of water and toss your almonds in for about 1 minute. Transfer the almonds to a bowl of cold water and pop off the skins. Note - this is actually the most time-consuming part of the whole recipe. 

Place rice, blanched almonds, 2 1/2 cups hot water, and the cinnamon stick in a medium bowl. Cover, and let sit over night or up to 12 hours. Pour the ingredients into a high powered blender and blend until completely smooth (yes cinnamon stick and all). Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer/cheese cloth/milk bag (I used a milk bag) and discard the pulp. 

Pour the liquid back into your blender, add two cups of cold water, vanilla, and agave. I recommend starting with about 1/4 cup agave then adding more one tablespoon at a time if desired. I found 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon was enough for me but if you're used to the super sweet restaurant style you could add up to a cup. 

Serve over ice with a generous dusting of cinnamon. 

Notes: 

• I used long grain brown rice but you could use any type of white or brown long grain rice. What exactly is long grain rice? I had the same question. Examples include basmati, carolina, jasmine, or texmati. The Kitchn has a great article discussing a taste test they did using different types of rice. They concluded that brown rice provided a more nutty flavor, while the white tastes more authentic but a bit chalky. Feel free to try whatever you have on hand. 
  
  
• I couldn't decide whether I liked the horchata with or without the vanilla extract, so it's totally optional. 
  
  
• You could definitely sweeten with maple syrup or honey instead of agave. I even considered coconut sugar. If you wanted to, you could use regular sugar, though I'd probably recommend incorporating it into a simple syrup with some of the water.  
  
  
• I want to find a way to re-use the leftover almond/rice/cinnamon mixture. I'm thinking bread pudding of some sort? Has anyone ever done anything like this?

Green Citrus Smoothies + Thoughts on Eating Seasonally

I, like many of you, finally found myself sick with the first cold of the season last week. The combination of travel and lack of sleep did me in. Also, it's that time of year. I found myself sitting at home with a stuffy nose and a foggy head trying to pull myself together enough to be able to teach. Working while sick is rough, but when your work is teaching yoga, complete with demonstrating handstands and not being able to excuse yourself to blow your nose because that would be both awkward and really embarrassing, it's really rough. So I do the best I can, sub out classes, and attempt to heal myself with food. 

The more I think about food, and specifically seasonal food, the more I marvel at how masterfully designed our planet is. Am I getting too spacey for you? Hear me out, because maybe, like myself, you've never really sat back to think about it. It's no coincidence that watery cooling fruits like watermelon and juicy peaches pop into season when everyone is parched by the heat of Summer. It's no coincidence that when the sun goes down early and the seasons change to windy, often turbulent Fall that grounding, hardy, root vegetables like squash, carrots, and potatoes spring up to give us the exact stability most of us lack in the Fall. And it's no coincidence that citrus explodes right during the time of year everyone has colds and needs that extra boost of vitamin c. The earth literally gives us exactly what we need exactly when we need it. It's growing all around us, we just have to open our eyes and utilize it's resources. Mind blown? Mine was. And don't even get me started on how much money you save when you embrace what's in season. Strawberries in February? Common Valentine's day, get it together. This year we did pomegranates . 

But seriously. It's all about the citrus right now and the timing could not be more perfect. Thank you God/Universe/Divine Spirit/Whatever you choose to believe. It's no coincidence I tell you. 

So today I'm sharing my favorite green citrus smoothie packed with mandarins, spinach, kale, and frozen pineapple. I've been making some version of this pretty much all winter, throwing whole oranges and grapefruits in my vitamix. Because whole citrus can be finicky, I've had the best luck with clementines and mandarins, probably because they have less pulp and fewer seeds. I'll occasionally throw in additional fruit I have on hand, and sometimes add greek yogurt for creaminess - though when I have a cold I avoid dairy like the plague. And this smoothie is fantastic for cold season. You've got your vitamin c from the oranges, and bromelain from the pineapple which apparently helps reduce mucus and clear sinuses (yum!), and spinach + kale which are packed with protein and vitamin A. Woohoo! 

Green Citrus Smoothie 
Makes about 1 quart 

1 medium banana 
1 small handful Kale, de-ribbed (about 5 large leaves)
2 large handfuls baby spinach 
1/2 cup frozen pineapple pieces 
4-5 small mandarins or clementines, peeled
1 1/2 cups almond milk (or any other non-dairy beverage) 

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. 
 

Creamiest Vegan Hot Chocolate

My definition of hot chocolate was forever changed a little over a year ago while visiting Prague. Prague is known for a lot of things, but of those things in my opinion, their hot chocolate is the most life-changing. We drank it a least once a day while we were visiting and with each sip I remember thinking "oh my god, this must be straight up heavy cream mixed with a chocolate bar" because literally it was that thick, creamy, and rich. We're not talking some weak-ass american cocoa powder mixed into milk, or worse, water, with marshmallows so stale they barely constitute as food. This stuff was the real deal, and it put every hot chocolate I'd had beforehand to shame. 

Obviously I knew we had to re-create it at home, so a couple weeks ago when I discovered that the hot chocolate pellets we'd taken home as a souvenir were looking a little worse for the wear, I knew we had to use them fast. So late one night while my husband was in the shower, I whipped it out. When I looked at the directions, and saw that it recommended over a cup of chocolate per half cup of whole milk, I figured that had to be a typo and thinking it'd be best to preserve this precious chocolate I used way less. When Nate got out of the shower and found out what I had done he was pissed and preceded to make his own following the instructions exactly, despite the massive amount of chocolate and small serving size. His was better. A lot better. 

A couple days later he made us the remaining chocolate but confessed that he'd combined his whole milk and my almond milk together. I don't drink milk, for a lot of reasons, so I skeptically sipped it down, determined to make my own version, completely dairy free. 

I knew I wanted to keep the high percentage of chocolate, but I wanted a creamier consistency than store-bought almond milk alone would give me. It needed cream. Coconut milk! Seriously, that stuff is magic. And because I wanted dairy-free chocolate that meant it had to be dark and seriously rich. So rich it became bitter. I wanted to avoid pouring sugar in, so I went for my favorite sweetener of choice- maple syrup. Perfection. The result is chocolatey. Super chocolatey. You absolutely cannot taste the coconut or the maple and are just left with the creaminess and sweetness they each provide. I've made this what feels like a dozen times this holiday season for vegans and milk drinkers alike and everyone loves it. And best of all, it tastes just like some brilliant person melted a chocolate bar in heavy cream, poured it in a mug and called it hot chocolate. Genius. 

Creamiest Vegan Hot Chocolate 
Makes 5 1/2 cups; Serves 4-6 

Hot chocolate: 
3 cups almond milk 
1 can full-fat coconut milk 
7.5oz dark chocolate, roughly chopped (see notes)
2 tsp vanilla extract 
4 tbsp pure maple syrup 

For the coconut whipped cream: (optional) 
1 can coconut cream, refrigerated (I use the Trader Joes brand) 
1/4 tsp vanilla extract 
3 tbsp powdered sugar 
pinch of salt 
cocoa powder for dusting (optional) 

Heat almond milk and coconut milk in a medium saucepan, I used cast iron as it retains heat well for serving. Once the liquid comes to a full boil turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate. Continue to stir until completely melted, then add in vanilla, salt, and maple syrup to taste (see notes). Depending on how warm you like your hot chocolate, you may need to reheat slightly before serving. 

To make the coconut whipped cream pour cream into a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, if it's started to separate that's ok - it will incorporate again, and whip on medium speed for about two minutes until fluffy. Add in vanilla extract, sugar, and salt and whisk for another minute. Adjust to taste. 

Pour about 1 cup of hot chocolate into each mug - this stuff is seriously thick so a little goes a long way. Top the hot chocolate with whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder before serving. 
 

Notes: Contrary to what I'd previously thought, just because it's not milk chocolate doesn't mean it's vegan. So if you're wanting to keep this completely dairy-free, check those labels carefully. I ended up using Trader Joe's "Pound Plus" dark chocolate bar with 55% cocoa. If you go darker than that you will most likely need to up the amount of sweetener you use to combat the bitterness. I found 4 tablespoons of maple syrup made it just right, not sweet, but also not bitter. If you're into the super dark, bitter, more "european" chocolate flavor you could totally reduce the amount of sweetener as well. 

You're more than welcome to put alcohol in it too! My dad had his with Kahlua and I'm sure bourbon would be great as well. 

Served cold this stuff is a whole different beast. I've inevitably had extra a couple times so I pop it in the fridge. It's shockingly as good cold as it is hot.