I love making this milk for a number of reasons. It's raw, sweet, creamy and nutty. High in plant based protein and superior to animal sources, the leftovers fill your pantry with almond meal and flour which are my favorite substitutes in creating gluten free dishes. If you make unsweetened almond milk, the dehydrated meal can be used in place of bread crumbs and flour in savory things. Otherwise, I use it in cookies, brownies, pie crust, french toast, oatmeal and granola bars just to name a few! It fills your kitchen with this delicate aroma when it's in the oven. Compare the costs of buying almond milk, meal and flour to one bag of almonds. The math is a no-brainer to make it all yourself. I posted another how-to a while back that you can refer to here if you need another reference. I highly recommend ordering a Rawsome Creations nut milk bag online. These are fair trade, made by hand in Bali, Indonesia. A portion of the profits are donated to the Bumi Sehat Birthing Center and Yayasan Widya Orphanage there. Read Brenda's story and order yours here.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups raw, organic almonds
4 cups filtered water
1 tablespoon orange blossom honey
1 tablespoon bee pollen
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or raw vanilla bean paste scraped from the pod
pinch of sea salt
DIRECTIONS
Soak the almonds for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight. I do this right before I go to bed so that I can make it in the morning for breakfast - so fresh! It's just as delicious at room temperature. The flavors are stronger and the essential oils are fragrant. Drain and rinse the almonds. Put them into a blender and add just enough water to get a thick slurry. Add the honey, bee pollen, sea salt and vanilla and blend well. Slowly add the rest of the water until everything is incorporated. Set out a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
Take your nut milk bag or several layers of cheesecloth and put it into the opening of a large, widemouth jar. Pour half of the milk through the filter. Gather up the fabric and slowly squeeze the liquid out until the almond meal is dry and crumbly. Pour it out onto your sheet pan. Repeat with the other half of the milk. Crumble and spread the meal out on your pan and pop it into the oven to dehydrate for about 30 minutes. Give it a stir about half way through so that it dries evenly. Allow it to cool completely before storing it in a glass jar in your refrigerator. If you want this to be flour, put it in a food processor for a minute.
Want ideas on how to use the flour | meal? Check out these posts to see how I did!
ENJOY!
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