Homemade almond milk

I tried almond milk for the 1st time last week and it was delicious. When I was at Whole Foods I was reading the labels and there a few things in there that aren't to good for you. This is also including the "organic" brand.


Well good news. When I was going thru my recipe boxes I came across an almond milk recipe. I was shocked that I had this recipe and excited I came across it.


So back to Whole Foods I go. I bought the blanched almond shivers and some extra cheese cloth....just in case I didn't have enough.


Ingredients:


3-4 cups water
2 cups almonds
1 T vanilla extract
2 T honey
Dash cinnamon
Sprinkle of salt (optional)


Just an FYI this is a 2 day project.


Ready, set, go......


Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with water - Set out on the counter overnight - Strain the water and then place the nuts into the blender and add 1 1/2 cup water - Blend until it's a paste - Once you have a puree, add in the cinnamon, honey, vanilla and salt -  Add in 2 1/2 cups water - Blend until it becomes frothy - At this time, taste the milk and add any more flavoring that you need.


Place your cheesecloth over a strainer above a bowl and pour in the milk - Use a spatula to push on the pasta to get any extra milk out - Once the paste looks chalky, remove the cloth and squeeze the extra milk out - Chill and ENJOY!


Here's some extra notes:
When making this, the milk can look chunky and that's going to be ok. Keep blending till it becomes the puree.


Once its a puree and after adding the spices, try just using the 2 1/2 cups water, if need be add the extra 1/2 a cup.


If you are wanting a sweeter milk use more honey. If you want more of a rich flavor, add a little bit more vanilla and another dash of salt.


If you don't have a metal strainer (or like me, couldn't find yours), you can attach the cheesecloth to the bowl using a clip. I took a picture to give you a visual.


I used a mini strainer over my bottle just to catch anything extra.


You can throw alway the almond paste reminas or you can put in the over and make almod flour. You would use this in place of flour and SO GOOD when making cookies.


Turn the oven up to 250 degrees, once its preheated turn down the oven to warm. Put the paste on a foil sheet and spread out - cook for an hour and stir the flour around every 15 minutes - Cool and than use a flour sifter and sift into a airtight container.