A Question and Your Thoughts About Alternative Milks

On tonight's menu from last week's cook-ahead work, another easy dinner -- chicken in BBQ sauce over brown rice. The chicken was previously cooked, chopped and added to some sautéed onions then frozen in broth. I've added some BBQ sauce and seasonings for flavor. The rice was also previously cooked and frozen. I microwave it to reheat. With the entree we had canned green beans, steamed carrots, and an eggless applesauce cake for dessert.

On to the topic of the day:

I would like your input on some questions about alternative milks.

You all do a lot of research yourselves on many topics. So I thought I'd turn to you to enlarge my own body of knowledge on alternative milks. As I've mentioned many times, I'm lactose intolerant. While I can "cheat" on other intolerances, dairy is the one that I just can't cheat on. I can eat hard cheeses, and I'm so glad for that. However, I can't do dairy milk. 

I'm looking for liquid sources of protein and calcium that are suitable for use in smoothies, puddings, and sauces. For many years I've used soy milk. I think I've been fairly satisfied with soy milk. But I know there's controversy on soy. So, my first question for you: what is it about soy that you feel would be bad for health? Is it GMO or pesticide/herbicide use in growing soy, or is it in the processing of soy? Or is it something else about soy?

For my next question, I've been exploring other alternative milks. I used to use almond milk and occasionally rice milk. Rice milk is very low in protein, so I don't use it any more. I'm now allergic to several tree nuts, including almonds, walnuts, pecans, and cashews. So the nut milks, while a good source of protein, don't work for me either. Have you read about or tried any non-nut alternative milks that are high in protein and contain some natural calcium? Have you tried a milk that you thought had a particularly appealing taste? Have you tried one that you thought was awful?

Just to note, I'm not looking to make my own alternative milk. Instead, I'm hoping to find a ready-made milk/drink that I can buy locally and then alternate with my regular non-GMO powdered soy milk.

Your knowledge and suggestions are very appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Making Candied Orange Peel in March With December Oranges

Tonight we had Tex-Mex beef over rice. Both the seasoned beef/peppers and cooked rice were made a week ago and kept in the freezer until today. I added some salsa to the beef as it reheated and seasoned with salt to taste. With the beef over rice we had orange segments (leftover from making candied orange peel) and steamed frozen spinach. Tasty and easy.

I talked about making candied orange peel several years ago in this post. I still make some every year, but thought I'd post about it again. This morning I was cleaning out the garage fridge and came upon 3 oranges that I had bought in December for using in candied orange peels. The oranges were surprisingly still in great shape. So, today I made the candied peel. 

Making candied citrus peel is a great kitchen task for when you have a couple of other chores that will keep you close to the kitchen for an hour or two. For me today, I also baked sandwich bread and cleaned up the nearby family room while the orange peel was simmering.

The post referenced in the above paragraph also has some "instructions" on how I peel an orange to get good, cut sections of peel (with non-ragged edges) using a spoon. 

Candied Orange Peel

After washing and peeling oranges, cut narrow strips of the peel (outer orange part as well as inner white), then simmer them in a pot of water for 10 minutes. Drain, refill with fresh water, and simmer again for 10 minutes two additional times. Drain one final time.

Rinse the saucepan and make a simple syrup of 1 part water to just over 2 parts sugar. For 3 large oranges, I used about just under 3/4 cup of sugar in just over 1/4 cup of water. Heat and stir until sugar is dissolved completely. Add the drained orange peel strips and simmer for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring often, until the strips have absorbed almost all of the syrup. In the final 3 minutes, you'll need to stir the strips continually, to insure none scorch on the bottom of the pan.

Remove the candied strips from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and spread on a sheet of waxed paper or a Silpat liner. Allow to dry out overnight. Roll in powdered sugar, if desired.

We eat some of this candied orange as is. But most of it I dice and freeze to use in baking, like in sweet breads, muffins, and cookies or in stewed fruit such as prunes. The candied peel keeps frozen for a couple of years.