Cocktail Hour: Almond Milk Horchata Cocktail

I love, love, love the versatile Mexican drink Horchata (and the Vampire Weekend song by the same name, btw) and when the weather gets warm, I start craving some of that sweet goodness. But the drink is traditionally made from rice and I’m attempting to eat (and drink) more cleanly these days (yeah, yeah, I know alcohol isn’t clean either. but I’m trying to be more realistic here). So I hit the AFL Test Kitchen to see what I could craft up and I’m pretty happy with the result, if I do say so myself. And not having to soak and blend rice makes it much simpler. Now kick your feet up and pretend you’re beachside.

p.s. for a brunchy version, add 1 shot espresso to each serving or try adding the Horchata Cocktail as a creamer to our Cold Brewed Iced Coffee. Or, if you want to get really crazy, use it as the base in our Almond Milk Chia Seed Pudding for a yummy dessert (I tried it without the rum, it’s delicioso).

Almond Milk Horchata Cocktail (A Feteful Life)
(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients

–  6 cups unsweetened almond milk
– 1/2 cup raw honey, melted
– 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
– 6 ounces favorite dark rum (about 1 ounce per serving — adjust as you wish)

Directions

Add all ingredients to a pitcher and combine. Pour over crushed ice into glass. Enjoy.

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Shrimp Summer Rolls + Sweet/Spicy Cashew Sauce

One of my absolute most favorite foods is sushi. And almost every time I order from my favorite DC takeout joint, I get shrimp summer rolls with spicy peanut dipping sauce. But I’m trying to take it easy on the rice and soy, so I haven’t had much sushi lately. And that’s meant not a lot of summer rolls either. I decided that there must be a way to make relatively “clean eat” summer rolls and so I researched and shopped and chopped until I found the closest clean substitute I could. And they are delish!

Now, because one of my favorite things about summer rolls is the gorgeous transparent rice wrapper, I kept them. If you want these to be completely clean/paleo/primal, you can use a large green leaf instead (collard green or chard are my favorites to use as wraps generally, but a lighter green would probably work best with the flavors here). The rice wrappers took a little bit of practice, but they were surprisingly forgiving. I used my favorite crisp veggies, but these are so versatile, you can pretty much use whatever you want. I also subbed kelp noodles for the rice noodles traditionally used in the rolls — they were SO crunchy and really soak up whatever flavor you add to them. I actually think they might be my new favorite thing and can’t wait to try them in other Asian dishes (and they’re totally paleo compliant!). For the kicker, I came up with a fairly “clean eat” sweet/spicy cashew dipping sauce to take the place of my beloved peanut sauce. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s pretty flipping good.

Shrimp Summer Rolls + Sweet/Spicy Cashew Sauce (A Feteful Life)

Ingredients

Summer Rolls

• 12 – 15 rice wrappers
• 1, 12 ounce package of kelp noodles, rinsed and drained
• about 40 shrimp, cleaned, deveined, cooked and cooled (I bought mine pre-everything)
• 4-5 mini cucumbers (also called Persian cucumbers — you can use regular cukes, you just won’t need as many)
• 3 carrots, peeled, end trimmed
• 2 bell peppers (I like red and yellow for the color)
• 2 avocados
• 1 large bunch of fresh mint

Cashew Sauce

• 1/2 cup cashew butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Tamari or Coconut Aminos
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp Sambal Olek (Asian chili paste)
• 1 tbsp sweet Thai chili sauce (this isn’t paleo, but if you want to leave it out, just up the Sambal Olek and raw honey a bit)
• 2 tbsp raw honey
• hot water to thin sauce, as needed

Directions

Summer Rolls

• Julienne vegetables and wedge avocado, and set them up in a row for easy access. Place kelp noodles, shrimp, and mint within reach as well.
• Wet a tea towel or cloth napkin and set on a flat surface. Fill a shallow pan with water and place nearby.
• Place one rice wrapper in water pan and soak for about 20-30 seconds (until it just starts to get soft). Remove and carefully place on wet towel.
• Place selection of vegetables (I used two julienned pieces of each) in middle. Top that with a bunch of kelp noodles, then 3 – 4 shrimp, 1-2 avocado wedges, and a few mint leaves. Fold in ends, then roll up from right to left.

Cashew Sauce

• Place all ingredients in a microwaveable bowl and heat in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well.
• If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of water and stir well until you reach the desired consistency.