- If you are looking for a vegan, vegetarian, or veg*n-friendly restaurant, try Happy Cow. It will also find "health-food stores" for you, if you're in the market for something just off the mainstream.
- Annie just made her first batch of soymilk and okara with our new soy milk maker.
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| Step into the milking parlor, soybean. |
Okara ("honorable pulp") is what's left after you milk the beans. Beans are less-resistant to milking than some cows, and rarely try to kick you, especially once they're honorable pulp. I just sensed an analogy: when we're done milking cows we turn them into honorable pulp, too. I'm sad now, and I blame you, okara! We use a lot of soymilk, and are open to using okara, so here's our chance. With soymilk near $6 a gallon, we expect to recoup our investment.
- We also got a little blender, because we were craving smoothies.
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| I'm cute, right? |
Oh, you guys, it is raining here. It's been cloudy for hours. Sorry, I don't mean to be a duck about it, Pacific Northwest.
You Canadian RVers: do you blog once you get home? I haven't even met most of you, and I miss you already.
53 comments:
It can't be as aesthetically pleasing as milking a real cow. Can't imagine getting my hands around a soy bean. :P
But then, it's more pleasing than thinking about composting toilets...
Sez you!
I've never milked a cow, so I have no basis for aesthetic comparison. It does seem more finicky to milk a bean.
Having absolutely no desire to milk a cow or a soybean, I really can't compare. And we use so little milk that I guess it doesn't matter. And those Canadians had better keep blogging while they're at home.
Jim and Sandie, if it helps you decide, there is less poop involved in milking a bean.
RV Blog World will be vewwy, vewwy quiet if they all stop.
I have a mini blender that I use to make "green smoothies". What will you make with the okara? Soy cookies? Soy bread?
Maybe you can sell soy milk to the other boondockers.
Hey, I like the way you're thinking! A cottage industry. Okara has no flavor of its own, so you can add it to almost anything, including cookies and bread. Annie fried some up tonight, kinda like polenta.
I milked goats twice a day for nearly 20 years... it might be interesting to milk a soy bean... wonder how many t... never mind... I will be interested to hear how those smoothies taste... I don't like milk shakes at all... anyway... I'm looking forward to a followup on this
Well maybe you got nothing but I sure got something from this blog. Lots of GOOOOD information with cool links that are just like the ones I can't and you can.
Now you must report on how this machine works that milks soybeans. And are these organic soybeans? Isn't that the only way to avoid GMO?? Isn't that stuff illegal in Europe? Are they really smarter than we are? That can't be true can it??
Sharon: just one.
The smoothies taste like fruit, or a mild sorbet. Tangier with OJ, smoother smoothie with soy milk. We will press on and expound later!
Okay.. I keep forgetting to ask... Are you thinking of having a compost toilet in your RV? We had a compost toilet in our home and they sure require a fair amount of maintenance... wouldn't even consider it in the rig.
Why does the title of this blog post sound vaguely familar?
And thanks for turning me onto the little blender. It's ridiculously inexpensive and just the thing I've been looking for.
Ha, Sherry! And, Blogger won't even let me show you how to do it!
< a href = http://directionofourdreams.blogspot.com/ > In The Direction of Our Dreams < / a >. Now, just remove one space everywhere inside the brackets.
Yes, the beans are organic, non-GMO. I'm sure you're right that we can't escape GMO otherwise. I wonder how it is that European governments are not so influenced by industry? Is it because Monsanto et al. has so many separate entities to deal with that they don't concentrate their efforts there.
Ha Steve! It must have stuck. Hope you like the blender; it's good for us, so far, and compact.
[Judy, I'm so sorry for what follows. Sometimes I just gotta.]
Sharon, we do have a composting toilet. It's a Nature's Head; what kind did you use? Ours is remarkably trouble-free, except that we must empty the urine bucket about every two days. Annie and I agree that it's in the top-two favorite mods we've made to the Duck. We've been using it for two years now.
You can tell these are your loyal followers: not an eyebrow raised anywhere about milking beans.
We know what's next; MAGIC beans.
RC, I have a few extra I can sell you. And, I'm pretty sure there are rolled eyes on the other sides of the screen.
Ours was a SunMar... the muldron (sp?) was on the level below. It needed "rotated" every day. Eventually the "residue" would be in the pan below the muldron. We just ran off our grey water so didn't have a septic system. BUT.. when we knew we were going to rent our place, we put in a septic system... a flush toilet... a heat pump "furnace"... and our wood burning furnace and wood burning cook stove became history.... too much work for most renters to be responsible for. But... hmmm... a compost toilet in an RV... I'm going to have to check that out!
Wow, Roxanne, you say ya got nothing, and then you milk it for all its worth.
I just checked it out! It'll also milk almonds! I like almond milk... use it all the time. outstanding!
Kinda pricy right now though... what fun
You left out fly swatting... Always fascinated me watching cow's tails swat flies. You ever do that?
Sharon, if you ever want more info from our perspective, I love, love, LOVE talking about our composting toilet. Just email us to spare Judy. :D
Ha Sue! I've bean expecting you.
Yep, Carolyn, it will milk nuts, too. But, if you unplug it before bed you should be safe.
I do do that, but not with my tail.
"Honorable pulp" I'll never be able to drink soymilk again. (Good thing I don't like the stuff.) I own one of those little blenders, for the 3rd time.
LOL, Gaelyn, I thought you were gonna say you'll never eat hamburger again, but maybe you already don't? Have you owned it three times because you like it so much, or because it doesn't last?
Yep, the blog goes out every day whether we're traveling or not. Nuts eh.....
Glad to hear it, you guys.
Don't like soy milk, don't like almond milk, but I did just make a pie crust with almond meal - does that count for anything? I do know how to milk a goat!
Definitly bookmarking the link to Happy Cow. One of my long range concerns is finding good food outside of the SF Bay area.
Yum! I like pie crust!
I used to like cow milk a lot, then I made my living whoring ... I mean WORKING for the NYS dairy industry as a milk microbiologist. I haven't been able to drink it since then.
Merikay, I was thinking of you when I saw it.
When we vacationed in SF, the only vegan meal we found was at Squat & Gobble. I think that was in the Castro, but I think they have other locations. Where do you like to eat in your area?
Hey, We LIKE our cloudy days up here in the Pacific Northwest. It gives us a chance to show off our wool socks and Birkenstocks.......
About half way through your post I realized it was OKARA not OKRA. The thought of a soy milk/okra combo was about to cause me to jog to the composting toilet . . .
I have the exact same model of soy milk machine, but I make almond milk instead. Love it!
And my Vitamix is going to be in the rig when we hit the road. The other items that are a necessity - rice cooker, crockpot and 5 qt Le Creuset pot.
Yup...I blog year round!
We use to be vegan ( for close to 28 years ) but when we started coming down to Mexico we added cheese and eggs ( I felt very very sinful eating my fist egg after so many years ), and now fish. You can only carry so much soy product in an RV.
Ish, you just made me wistful for Ithaca. I love how Birks are 4-season footwear.
HA! Yellow Rose - you made me snort.
Page, I'm glad it holds up well to use. We want to make some nut milk, too. Do you use the almond "okara" for things? We did get rid of a lot of small appliances before we hit the road, knowing we'd be relying on the genny, but solar gives us some leeway.
Twenty-eight years, Contessa! That's wonderful! Was it that you couldn't find enough to eat as you lived in Mexico?
Wow. I learned a lot just reading this post and comments !! Am interested in the compost toilet. Will have to look up info on it or email you with further questions.
It must take a lot of almonds to make any milk. I love almond milk the best. I wonder tho how you milk them. I suppose you soak them first?
and, how about the soybeans. How much does it take to make a cup of soymilk? I too have been worried about GMO. Some people say that all soy in America is GMO. I like soy but try to cut down on my intake of it whenever I can.
By the way , there are a lot of good vegan/veggie restaurants in SF. I am surprised you only found the one.
Are you still in Quartzsite?
SusieQ, Annie is looking it up right now ... 1-1/2 cups almonds = 6 cups almond milk. It's a raw recipe. They soak 12-16 hours.
Soybeans: ~3/4 cup of soybeans soaked 8-10 hours = 6 cups soymilk.
We were surprised, too. I remember us looking online and everything. It may be because we were staying near the piers, and people expect everything to be seafood?
Ask away about the potty. Indicate how much, uh, detail you want. Like, are you intrigued with the concept, or are you ready and you want to know nitty-gritty. Like that. We can roll either way.
Oh, and yes. Still in Q.
Wow, amazing that that small amount of nuts can make so much milk !!! SF has a very famous vegan rest. called Cafe gratitude. But there are others as well. Berkeley has more tho. Did you make it to Berkeley?
We had a compost toilet on the 9 day river trip I went on down the Colorado river. Well, I believe they had more then one. There were 28 of us. Anyways,I was amazed at how much they hold. and yes, I want the nitty gritty. LOL. How long can you go without emptying? Where do you empty? Does the waste just compact down ?? Does it smell??? Sorry, but we used the one outdoors and I didnt notice that.
No, we didn't get to Berkeley. We could have happily stayed a long time, but it was a short trip.
We dump the vault about every two weeks. It compacts down to about 15 pounds. I would say that, at two weeks, it still smells, but not like 15 pounds of poop.
In a perfect world, we dump into a special composting bin located on our 80 acres. Since we don't have a special composting bin, or 80 acres, it goes into the garbage with the diapers, dog poop, and cat litter (in general - we don't yet wear diapers, nor live with a dog). We start with 1.5 - 2 gallons of a matrix - either peat moss (very cheap, bulky, and non-sustainable) or coconut fiber (more expensive, convenient, renewable). There is a crank to "flush" with each use.
This toilet separates urine, and we dump that every two days, except right after beer has been on sale.
What kinds of smoothies will you make with that blender? :)
A daiquiri is a smoothie, right??
The best vegan I get is at the Good Karma Cafe, & the second best is at home. ~Mary
We used to have a favorite - it was the Smart Monkey Cafe in Ithaca (NY), but they closed down, so we left town.
We tried making soy milk with our vitamix but just didn't have a good way to strain it. This looks pretty interesting.
Janie, Annie just strained with with an ordinary kitchen strainer.
Mine came with a nice shallow strainer. I froze some of the pulp. I figure almond pulp would be good in cookies or a sweet bread. Most of the pulp has ended up in the compost.
Yeah, I think ours did, too. That's what Annie used.
This Canadian will continue to Blog - well that is except on the days she's not in the mood to Blog !! LOL
Yay! Glad to hear it.
I grind my own hamberger. And, no they don't last.
We use soy milk on cereal and I use it in cooking. The soy milk you make (tongue twister?), does it taste like Silk, etc? We like Publix Greenwise (organic) soy milk... and it's cheaper than Silk!
Never tho't to make our own, but I'm warming to the idea. Also: How difficult is it to make and is it easy or not to obtain the soy beanz?
We liked Greenwise when we could get it. The WalMart brand of soy also claims to be organic, and is good.
I think there are ways to tweak the prep so that it tastes the way you want it to taste. Soaking longer makes it taste beanier, from what we read, so I'd prefer a shorter soak. Annie says it was easy to make, and takes around 20-30 minutes in the "milker." We used the sample they sent, and ordered more organic beans from LauraSoybean.com. We're nowhere near any kind of Whole Foods or similar. Bob's Red Mill makes a small container of beans, too, for convenience.
I've used it in my coffee and cereal, and Annie has baked bread with it, and it's good. First batch is beanier than I'd like, but still not bad.
Ohhhh, Ok-A-ra. I read it as okra at first. Can you milk okra? Now you'll need to make a trip to Okra-homa to find the truth...
Oh NO! So bad! Yet, I love it.
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