...lucky 7...

HORCHATA! Ole'!

Hmmm...That is me trying to sound latin. Anyhow, I made the most delicious mexican version of this latin favorite. A drink called horchata. You have probably tasted it in your favorite mexican restaurant, and man, if you haven't , you have gotta try some of this delicious cinnamon rice milk. (It is dairy free!) It tastes like a cinnamony-sweet, almost like a thin vanilla milk shake, but a lot different. It makes you feel good when you drink it! (Especially if you are pairing it with hot food.)

Horchata
2 cups long grain white rice

1 cup raw almonds, skins removed

2-inch piece of cinnamon bark (or 2 tsp ground mexican cinnamon)

8 cups of water

3/4 cups of sugar

1 vanilla bean (or mexican vanilla extract about 2 tsp.)

Grind the rice into a fine powder (a blender works perfectly). Remove the skins of the almonds by blanching them in boiling water: Drop the almonds in boiling water, scoop them out after about 30 seconds, and after they have cooled, the almonds should squirt right out of their skins when pressed between thumb and forefinger. Combine the ground rice, blanched almonds, cinnamon, and the seeds that have been scraped out of one vanilla bean, with 3 1/2 cups of water and let sit overnight, covered.
The next day, pour the mixture into a blender and puree until smooth, adding an additional 2 1/2 cups of water. Strain the Horchata using a strainer and cheesecloth. There will be a lot of solids. Press them against the cheesecloth-lined strainer to get out all of the liquid, but don't stop there. Pick up the cheesecloth to form a pouch and squeeze out every last drop with your hands.

Rinse out the cheesecloth, and the bowl you are working with. pour the horchata through one more time to catch any missed grains. The final step is to add additional water to thin out the drink. Add two cups cold water (or more to your liking) and the sugar. mix till dissolved.

serve the horchata over ice cubes.

So this is a little involved, and requires quite a wait, (over night) but the end results are FANTASTIC, and I promise if you follow the directions you will be amazed at your accomplishment! ( I know I was!)

So, what are you up to today?

It is gonna be a busy one here! Getting the boys ready to camp out with Dad this weekend, I am making a sign/banner, for the kids to run through at their first soccer game of the season TONITE. GO SHARKS!! and I must get it together so I can hit the scrapbook Expo on Saturday! Yeah!

Well, gotta get the kids off to school! E wants his head shaved into a mohawk and dyed green for the game, so I better put on my blinders and be efficient today. (Do you think that they have that green spray junk at Tayor Maid? Hope so.)

Later!