Saturday evening was our first Mom's Meet, I think it went pretty well. Like me it wasn't very organized, but we tried some milks and nibbled on food, some people stayed for a cookout after which made for a very nice evening.
We sampled four different Almond Breeze Milks; Original, Vanilla, Almond Coconut and Almond Coconut Unsweetened. We tasted and talked about which we liked, which we didn't and why. Once we were done we filled out a questionnaire that reflected the majority.
Taste was the biggest attribute that we judged by, followed by texture. It was agreed that the Vanilla had the best taste out of the flavors tried. The Original came in second. We were also in agreement that the Almond Coconut had an unpleasant taste, but it worked really well in the recipes that I made. So for cooking purposes it was great. We all agreed that we don't know if we would have a big glass of any of the milks, but then again non of us seemed to drink big glasses of cows milk either (at least those who I asked). So here is a quick break down of the four we tried, in order of best to worse:
1. Vanilla Flavor
2. Original
3. Almond Coconut
4. Unsweetened Almond Coconut
Side note: I didn't pickup the chocolate flavor because they didn't have it our local grocery store, but we all thought the chocolate flavor would probably be really good. I may have to pick up a carton just to try.
As for me, personally, I would and may continue to by the original or vanilla for myself. It was much cheaper at Trader Joe's then it was at my local grocery store. Those were I only two stores I priced out, and were almost a dollar different.
The recipes...both were good. The chicken was really good, even my husband and son enjoyed it. The muffins, I thought could use less almond extract, but were good.
Coconut Cherry Muffins
(from Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Blend Recipe Collection)
1 cup Almond Breeze Vanilla Almondmilk Coconutmilk
½ cup cherry preserves
3 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. almond extract (Next time I would use half of this, it was a little too strong for my tastes)
1 egg
2 cups prepared GF baking mix (I used Gluten Free Bisquick)
2/3 cup shredded coconut
½ cup sugar
½ cup dried cherries
Chopped Blue Diamond Oven Roasted Almonds (optional)
Preheat oven to 400*F and spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper wrappers. Whisk together Almond Breeze, preserves, butter, extract and egg in a medium bowl. Add remaining ingredients stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into prepared muffin cups (they will be very full) and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Coconut Curry Chicken
(from Almond Breeze Almondmilk Coconutmilk Blend Recipe Collection)
1/2 cup minced onion
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp. sesame oil
1-1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (I may use more next time)
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 lbs. thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Cilantro leaves and sesame seeds for garnish, optional
Place Almond Breeze, onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, curry, red pepper and garlic in a gallon-size zip top bag; squeeze gently to mix. Add chicken and seal well. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Grill or broil for about 5 minutes on each side or until nicely charred and cooked through. Sprinkle with cilantro and sesame seeds, if desired.
You can find more recipes on the Almond Breeze website, here.
No comments:
Post a Comment