Recipe: Raw Cashew Milk

"Never cry over spilt milk, because it may have been poisoned." -W.C. Fields

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stopped drinking traditional bovine milk at about the same time that I became a vegetarian...which was about six years ago. In the same way that I suddenly realized that all of those soda beverages were nothing bunch a heap of nasty (read: shitty) chemicals, I came to the conclusion that there might be something a little strange with consuming the milk that was intended for bovine youth. For a long while I switched around between soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, oat milk, and even hemp milk. None of them were really excited me all that much and were merely passable...with the one exception being hemp milk...which carried a completely revolting flavor. I was also fairly unimpressed with the freshness and quality of the milk alternatives as some were only marginally healthier than organic bovine milk. Fortunately, I don't have any of these problems any more...all thanks to discovering the benefits of homemade raw nut milks.

I first started making my own raw cashew milk about three or four months ago...and I have been incredibly impressed how wonderful of an alternative it has been. Here is a step-by-step recipe for creating your own unique batches of nut (cashews, almonds, walnuts, macadamia) milk.

Ingredients
3-4 cups Filtered Water
1-2 tablespoons Vanilla
1-2 tablespoons Raw Honey
1-2 pinches of Celtic Sea Salt

Equipment
1 Blender
1 Large Bowl

Steps:
1. Soak 1 Cup of raw cashews with 1 Cup of filtered water for 24-36 hours. Some people prefer a shorter soaking period, but I have found that soaking them for this longer period makes for much smoother and richer nut milk. Also, make sure you are getting raw nuts...roasted/salted/cooked nuts will not work well in this case. Change the water out and rinse the nuts once a day.

2. Rinse your soaked nuts very well...at least three solid washes to get out any nasties that may have been floating about. Once they have been soaked well and rinsed off they should look like this.

3. Place the soaked nuts in a blender and pour in 1 cup of filtered water. Blend well for at least a minute. Once this has been blended up well is should appear thick and smooth.

4. At this point you will add your desired ingredients. I add my vanilla (liquid or bean works great) and raw honey by sight. As you get more comfortable with making your own nut milk you'll discover just how much vanilla and raw honey you like. (Some people prefer medjool dates or agave syrup in place of honey.) Add the pinch or two of Celtic Sea Salt...it's not used for taste, but as a thickening agent. It really makes a big difference to add this high-quality salt!

5. Add 2 cups of filtered water if you like your nut milk thick and creamy, or add 3 cups of filtered water if you like a more watery texture to your milk.

6. Blend it all well for at least a minute, but more preferably two or three minutes.

7. Pour it into a sealable glass container and it will stay good in your fridge for at least a week. Enjoy it with cereal, granola, or drink it straight!

End notes: Cashew milk tends to come out a little creamier than almond or walnut milk, so some people like to strain the little nutty pieces out of those types...it's never bothered me, and actually adds some texture to your cereal, but straining is an option albeit a wasteful one if you don't consume the strained mush. Also, high-quality ingredients tend to yield high-quality nut milk, and vice-versa. Experiment and share you variations!

So how did your nut milk turn out? Did you find it to be a better alternative than bovine milk or conventional alternatives like store-bought soy, rice, and almond milk?