Junque Food: Attempting Sweet Potato Chips

photo from www.examiner.com

This was originally posted in my other blog: Paleo Lifestyle in the Real World

 I'm always up for trying a Paleo version of junk food.  When I saw this recipe for homemade salsa with sweet potato chips, I knew I'd have to try the chips. I've made my own salsa before, and it's fine, but until my own tomatoes are ready for "salsifying," I can wait patiently.

But I couldn't wait to try to make chips. Crispy, crunchy, salty chips. Mmmm....

Sorry, I got lost for a second there.

I apologize, but I didn't take pictures of the process, but if you click the link above, the Amazing!Paleo chick does a great job of showing the process.


Thankfully, we'd recently purchased a mandolin to make even slicing of the sweet potatoes easy. I am not a precision slicer.

I followed Amazing!Paleo's directions to the letter, and was mostly happy with the results, except my chips did not all get crunchy. I waited for them to cool down, like the directions said, but several stayed limp, especially on the middle of the bigger chips.

So tip #1: I learned is that the skinnier the potato, the better off you are going to be for the crispiness factor. The wider the potato, the longer it's going to be to make them crunchy. Or you're just going to have to deal with limp chips. No Bueno.

Tip #2: The recipe on the blog says 10 minutes, give or take, on 375F.  The next time I try these, I'll do it longer at 325F. Lower and slower would DEFINITELY the way to go. I was in danger of incinerating my chips if I left them in longer than 12 minutes.

But I have to say, that despite the edges of a lot of the chips being burned, and the middles not being crunchy, the sweet potato chips tasted AWESOME. Seriously.

I will be making more of these. They will be a welcome addition of a treat to our Paleo Lifestyle.

Enjoy.

Junque Food - Almond Milk & Flour, part 2

It doesn't look pretty, does it?

It's the paste left over from blending soaked almonds with water, this is what is strained out of the almond milk.

I had heard that this paste could be dried and made into almond flour, or as a protein powder for smoothies, etc.

Of course, when I went looking for a recipe to do that, all I could find was people using slivered almonds, or taking the skins off the soaked almonds in order to make it more "flour" looking.

I didn't do either. I should be hanged as a bad example.

I took the leftover almond paste and spread it thin-ish onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and let it dry. This took about 3 days. Then I pulsed it in the food processor until fine. And it looks like this:

So it's not all white and pretty like everyone else. I bet it can still be used just like other almond flour.  And I will use it, and let you all know if the skin makes it bitter or whatever.

I wonder what I should make?

I could use it to coat fish, or make cookies (eventually, I don't think I have enough to make a batch yet. this is about a cup and half that you see in this picture.

Or muffins. The list is pretty endless.

And I need to make more almond milk.  That's right I didn't tell you about the Almond milk itself.

It's fabulous.  I didn't sweeten it, because I wanted to try using it in scrambled eggs. The store bought almond milk is all sweetened with "cane juice," which is code for sugar. Sugar comes from canes, people. Don't let those labels fool you!

But I digress.

Store bought almond milk is too sweet to make scrambled eggs. So I figured I'd test it out with homemade unsweetened almond milk, and it worked just peachy! I can have creamy eggs again! Woo Hoo!

Now, the Paleo blogs I've been reading have made good use of  blending dates into a paste and using that to sweeten things. I even saw a recipe for making coffee creamer using either almond milk or coconut milk, and sweetening it with date paste.

I am going to try this as another way to get off the commercial creamer that I am addicted to. If I can, that will be the last bit of corn syrup that is OUT of my diet.

And then I will do the chubby girl dance, for sticking it to the man for their totally yummy, but ultimately horrendous for me commercial foods.

*nods*

I know this blog is not very coherent, but I'm not quite awake yet this morning.

Musings from the Junque Pile with a little Junque Food thrown in.

Nothing much happened in the gardens this past weekend. It was stormy and rainy and just blech-y.  I was hoping to get my tomatoes and peppers outside and into their warm and comfy wall-o-waters, but it was not meant to be.

Instead, I cleaned up after animals (you can't have 3 cats and a dog and have no smells in the house, I don't care who you are), did a mountain of laundry (that I still have yet to fold), and the hubster and I took turns shaving and trimming the dog (I swear she's part wookie, and smells like one too).

Sunday I concentrated on cooking for the week. I made an awesome pot of refried beans there's no frying don on them, so I don't know why they are called that, except it sounds much better than "Mushed Pinto Beans."  They were totally NOM. I say that, and I don't even like pinto beans. Or much of any bean-y type thing, for that matter. Except Green Beans, and even those can get bean-y if left on the vine too long. Trust me, I know.

But I digress....

I made 2 loaves of bread.  I wanted to make it handmade instead of in the bread machine. I guess I felt the need to knead, if ya know what I mean.  I used a 1/2 combo of whole wheat flour and white flour, with a few teaspoons full of flax seed.  I also covered it in sesame seeds while baking.  The loaves weren't as fluffy as I'd have liked them to be, but I don't think they are super dense either. I'll find out tomorrow when I make myself a sandwich, or toast.

I also made beef tacos for dinner. Seemed fitting, since I'd made the beans.  I love tacos in any form. Fish Tacos - have I shared that recipe with you guys? If not, I will...totally a great recipe, and quick and simple.

Back on track...

I also made a bowl of Tuna salad for lunches.

We are also defrosting a set of pork chops and I just had DaHubster get some hot dog buns, so pretty much all the dinners, with leftovers for lunches are all set this week.

I feel pretty darn good about that.

Not bad for a crappy rainy weekend.

And if you are still with me...I give you: KITTY CAM! Live kittens, go watch!