Matt's Almond Milk

Our good friend Matt is in town visiting from Hawaii. He's a nutritional ninja in his own right, employing the same whole food, caveman style of eating that we love. He brought with him some great ideas, including how to make your own almond milk! It's a delicious addition to coffee or tea and we're pretty sure it would make a tasty egg nog-like drink. We'll keep that in mind to experiment in the winter...

Ingredients
3 Cups of almonds
Water
1/2 tsp salt

Step One: Soak the almonds in water for at least one hour or overnight if you've got time.

Step Two: Drain off the water

Step 3: The 3 cups of almonds will now have swelled to 4 cups. Take half the almonds (about 2 cups) with 3 cups of water and blend thoroughly, for about 3-4 minutes.

Step 4: Pour the milky mixture into a tight mesh strainer. We used a paint strainer bag, available at a hardware or paint store for less than $1.


Step 5: Squish the living bejeezes out of that bag to get every last drop of liquid out. Repeat the blend, strain, and squish steps one more time with the other half of the almonds.

Step 6: Add the salt to the final liquid (about 2L) and shake-shake-shake. Once you place it in the fridge to cool, it will separate into 3 layers. You'll only have to mix it to reincorporate once, Matt says, and it won't separate again.

You can save the remaining almond meal and use it as filler in burgers or meat balls, as a thickener for a sauce, or in place of flour for a crust or dough! Any other ideas what to do with the remains?? Post suggestions to comments