Homemade Soy Milk

 Soy milk is really easy to make and doesn't require any expensive equipment. The best part of making your own soy milk is that you can control what goes into it. For this recipe I use non-gmo soy beans.

what you will need:

soy beans soaked in water for a minimum of 8 hours, drained.
11 cups water

a blender 

a fine mesh bag or a few layers of cheesecloth and a colander.

a large pot
a stove or other heat source

measure out three cups of soy beans that have been soaked for 8 hours and drained. Put them in a blender and add 3 cups of water. Blend until it looks frothy and then pour into a mesh bag set over a large pot, or set the colander over the pot and layer cheesecloth inside the colander pour into that being sure to catch all the soy bean pulp. Place the pulp back into the blender and add 3 more cups of fresh water and blend and strain. Once again place the pulp back into the blender and add 2 cups of fresh water and repeat the blending and straining process.  You may discard the pulp at this point.

Strain the liquids again. Put into the pot and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil you can add your own flavorings. Continue boiling for about 3 minutes and skim any foam that forms at the top. After skimming the foam if you taste the milk and it still taste raw then reduce heat and continue to simmer until that taste is no longer noticeable.

Tropical Steak Salad

1 ny strip steak 

marinade:
honey
juice of lemon wedge
soy sauce
worchestershire sauce or fish sauce
garlic powder, oregano, paprika
lemon zest and naval orange zest 1/4 teaspoon each

salad:
hearts of romaine
1/2 salad cucumber seeds removed halved lengthwise and sliced.
1/2 naval orange wedges
1 dragon fruit halved lengthwise and sliced
1 plum tomato, halved lengthwise and sliced

dressing of choice: raspberry-navel orange sesame oil vinaigrette
1/4 cup raspberry-walnut vinaigrette, store bought
tsp of honey
tsp mustard
juice of one half naval orange and zest
lemon zest to taste
sesame oil

marinade the strip steak for a minimum of one hour till steak is room temperature. Then cook the steak on a grill pan until medium rare. when steak is done add marinade and bring to a simmer, then add some vinegar to deglaze off heat. pour marinade over steak and let rest till cool enough to handle and slice against the grain of meat.

Construct the salad and lay sliced steak over salad. garnish with one slice of dragon fruit and drizzle with 1/4 of the vinaigrette. Serve with vinaigrette on the side.

Inky Octopus Risotto

Well I created this recipe back in December '08 and Ive decided Im going to make it again but with some variation. (new recipe will be added later)


It all started with a trip to our favorite oriental supermarket and a package of baby octopus. This sent my mind into overdrive trying to come up with something special to make. I love greek octopus appetizers i also love rice. So after I researched more than i needed to I combined what i love and what i came across on the web. This recipe uses the basic ideas behind bringing out the best flavors of octopus and risotto, combining them to create a dish that "dances across the pallet for a taste bud ballet".

1 approximately 400g package frozen baby octopus
1 lemon, juice and zest
olive oil
2 tbsp of Rotel Hot diced tomatoes and habenaro
oregano
2 chicken thighs
2 cups rice
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 large tomatoe chopped
1 red bell pepper
1 andouille sausage
1 italian sausage
freshly grated parmesan reggiano cheese
cilantro for garnish

clean octopus by removing the beak from center of the tentacles, slice the head open, flip inside out and carefully remove ink sacks, reserving them for later. Slice each octopus in half lengthwise. Place in a bowl and cover with lemon juice, lemon zest, rotel tomatos, olive oil and oregano, then cover and marinade for 3 hours to over nite.

Slice the red bell pepper into 1/2" strips. slice andouille sausage in half length wise, decase italian sausage (if necessary), debone chicken thighs. using a hot hinged contact grill (like a George Forman style grill) grill vegetables and sausages until finished. remove from grill, cut sausage into smaller pieces set aside. Then grill chicken until finished, remove and cut into smaller pieces. and then pour marinated octopus, juices and all on grill, and cook for 3 minutes or until the ends of the tenticles have a nice char. If you are using GF grill reserve all the juices that run off while cooking. When everything is done on the grill begin making the risotto.

For Risotto:

Place reserved ink sacks and 1 to 2 tbsp of water in a blender and blend into a thin paste.

In a large shallow pan on medium high heat, place olive oil, onions and half of the diced tomatoes and cook until tender. Stir in ink mixture and then stir in rice, cook for 1 minute stiring constantly to cover all the rice with ink. add broth little by little and stir making sure to keep the rice evenly colored. continue doing this until all broth has been added. stir constantly to keep rice from sticking to the bottom. Add sausage, red peppers and chicken and juices reserved from grilling. cook until rice is tender and creamy. at the last minute stir in grilled octopus, sprinkle with grated parmesan and place under a broiler for 2 minutes to melt the cheese and crisp the top.

To Plate:

Place desired amount in bowl being sure to get an equal amount of sausage, peppers and chicken. each dish should have more octopus in it as this is the star ingredient of the dish. Sprinkle with a some diced tomatoes a sprig of cilantro and more parmesan cheese.

serve and enjoy!