We leave next week to spend Christmas in England... I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! Being as my father is from London, many of my family's Christmas traditions are centered around very British customs. I've never spent Christmas in England, but have dreamed of doing so my whole life!

Is there anything better than a good candid?! Loved photographing this family! Their joyful spirit was absolutely contagious and I came away from this session with the biggest smile on my face. Moments like this are priceless!

Is there anything as satisfying as a cold, creamy glass of milk with a sweet treat? My husband would say coffee beats milk each time, but I disagree! Nothing takes me back to childhood faster than a cookie dipped into a tall glass... As an adult, cow's milk just isn't quite as appealing as it once was. Don't get me wrong--I'm not totally anti-dairy! I just try to limit my intake and when I do consume, I prefer it come from happy, healthy heifers who get to roam green pastures and aren't pumped up with hormones and antibiotics. Unfortunately, milk from lady cows who meet the former criteria can be tricky to find, so I did some research on non-dairy alternatives that would taste just as delicious in my iced cafe con leche.

Soy milk was out immediately. The phyto-estrogens alone had me running for the hills! My hormones don't need any boosters like the ones found in soy milk. Canned coconut milk is beyond delicious, but it is pure fat. The texture is very similar to heave whipping cream, so it can be a little heavy for everyday use. The coconut milk found in the refrigerated section looks thick and lustrous, but (to me) tastes like water. Not to mention that just like store-bought almond milk, it contains a carcinogen which has been linked to cancer and is known to cause severe colon inflammation! If you don't believe me--Just check out the ingredient list and look for 'carrageenan' and then check out this link to a Prevention Magazine article which (much more eloquently) outlines reasons to avoid this icky additive!

All this to say, one day I overheard a couple of ladies talking about making their own almond milk. I googled recipes in a flash and realized not only is it ridiculously simple, but with a few tweaks to the standard recipe found through an easy Google search, you can make it creamy and with a touch of sweetness just like in real milk! Please keep in mind that since this is unpasteurized, it goes bad after a few days, so drink up and make lots of small batches! This batch provides about four cups of milk.

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Recipe:

2.5 Cups of raw almonds rinsed, then soaked uncovered overnight in filtered water
4 Cups of filtered water
1 Heaping tablespoon of raw honey or B grade maple syrup
1 Tiny pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of good vanilla
1-2 Tbsp of full-fat coconut milk

What you'll need:
Blender
Cheesecloth folded in thirds
Fine mesh strainer over a large bowl

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Rinse the soaked almonds and pop them into your blender. Add about one cup of the filtered water and blend away--Slowly adding water as needed to make a very fine paste...

Ok, so here's the thing: I am a frosting lover. I adore it. Revel in it. Glare at people who eat around it. The one caveat is that it must be good frosting. I hate the fluffed-up, lardy atrocity which garishly sits atop grocery store vanilla cupcakes. It's too sweet with zero depth of flavor. For our wedding my sweet Momma and I made all the cakes and held a 'Piping Party' the day before the wedding, where some ladies very close to my heart came to help decorate our tasty creations. If you are wanting a frosting that pipes like a dream, holds up all day, and doesn't sweat--you cannot find a better recipe than Smitten Kitchen's Swiss Buttercream. It is pure divinity. The only change we made to it was using salted butter--It provided the perfect snap needed to take this smooth frosting from tasty to fantastic! Trust. It is good.

However... It is not perfect for every baked confection. Sometimes you don't care so much about perfect piping... Sometimes you just need a frosting that will stand up to the fudgiest, most overly indulgent cake you've ever made... I had a moment where I remembered that browned butter and honey are some of the best things I could ever put in my mouth... And this frosting was born out of sheer need for something that tastes like a mix of toffee and heaven, with a nutty finish that has haunted my very dreams ever since... 

1 Stick of Salted Butter
1 TSP Vanilla or 1 Vanilla Bean split and scraped
1.5 Cups of Sifted Powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup of Wild Aged Honey (the crazy thick and creamy spreadable kind)*
1.5 -2.5 Cups of Smitten Kitchen's homemade ricotta which has been drained for two hours (easiest and move impressive recipe ever). I would advise adding cheese slowly, 'to tatste'.**

*Honey has different levels of sweetness, so your use might need to be 'to taste' (darn!). If you wish to omit the honey--It tastes just as good using 2 Cups of powdered sugar.*

**Buying ricotta works just as well--Just make sure to drain it over some cheese cloth so it is nice and firm--OR you can easily and very tastily use cream cheese in place of ricotta.**

Place butter in small saucepan and cook on medium-high heat for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a nice nutty brown color.

Being careful to avoid pouring in the burnt bits, add browned butter to mixing bowl over powdered sugar, vanilla, and honey and mix until combined.

Let cool COMPLETELY (this can be a lengthy process, but I promise it is worth being patient) before mixing in the ricotta or cream cheese. Mix until smooth and totally creamy.

Spread, pipe, or just eat it right out of the bowl!

Since we returned home from our amazing trip, I've been taking it verrrrry easy, thanks to a severe concussion... A couple of days after we got home, I was cooking dinner and had the stove fan going at full blast. Now--This vent/fan is not delicate. It is loud. Obnoxiously so. It vibrates. A. Lot. I had placed some big cast iron pans that had belonged to my Grandma on the shelf above/touching the vent. Wellllll... The vibration from the fan caused the biggest pan to fall right off the shelf, and right onto my head! I am finally starting to feel a bit better, but it was pretty awful. Even now--over ten days later, just going for a walk outside makes me dizzy and tired. It feels like the world is moving a lot faster than my brain can process... My sweet Navy has been so gentle and has been taking great care of me. I just hate feeling so out-of-it! At least now, I can carry on a conversation without forgetting what we were even talking about!

Moral of the story: Don't be a goose--Pans belong on low shelves that don't vibrate!