Have you ever...?

...made your own almond milk? I've never had store bought almond milk. I had been hearing and reading about it so I checked out a box of it at the grocery store, and there was a whole bunch of un-caveman-like stuff in there in addition to the almonds and water. Turns out, it's even easier than I expected to make your own. How easy? This easy:

1 cup almonds (whole, slivered, whatever you have)

3 cups water

Equipment: blender, fine mesh strainer, cheesecloth

If possible, soak the almonds in a bowl of water for 1-8 hours. If not possible, don't worry, this is not going to make or break your "milk". Put almonds and 3 cups of water in a blender, and let it go on high for about 30 seconds. Line a fine mesh strainer with a couple layers of cheesecloth, set it over a bowl, and dump in the mixture. Let it sit for 40-60 minutes until fully drained, then give the cheesecloth a good squeeze to get out every last drop.

This is just a basic recipe. If you

want it sweetened you can throw in 4-6 dates before you blend, or use your sweetener of choice. You can add some unsweetened cocoa powder. I like it with some cinnamon and nutmeg- it tastes like horchata. To be honest, since I've never had store bought almond milk, I have no idea how this compares. It could be horrible. But I'm 99.3% sure that it's not.

The real reason I thought to make this recently is because I wanted to make a smoothie and thought I would try something different than my usual coconut milk. I used 3/4 cup almond milk, 1 very ripe banana, and 6 strawberries.

Oh, and don't throw out the almond meal that remains after the straining. You can use it as a crumb topping for a fruit/berry cobbler:

Mix almond meal with a couple tablespoons of fat (ghee, butter, coconut oil), 1 egg white, 1 tsp cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.

In a baking dish combine desired fruit (peaches, fresh or frozen berries) and the juice of 1 lemon. Spread the almond topping over the berries and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes- until the top is golden brown. Let cool before digging in. I imagine you could eat this for breakfast with a little almond milk poured over it... like oatmeal!

Look at that. Three recipes in one post.