Homemade Almond Milk

Recipe: Basic Nut Milk

Source: Bon Appetit

Time: 12+ hrs inactive time, 15 minutes active

Ease: 2

Taste: 8

Leftover Value: 10

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer! 

Milk has never been my friend.  Our relationship dates back to my grade school years when my mother would force me to drink a lidded Tupperware cup (the tall one) filled with white milk on the drive to school.  We were always early, so if it wasn't finished by the time we reached school I was forced to stay in the car sipping instead of playing outside with the other early students.

There is a lot being said about milk these days.  

'Go organic!' 

'Go for the fats!  Drink whole milk!'

'Don't drink real milk at all.  Go soy, go almond!'

Frankly, I could care less about any of these stands.  It was a mixture of seeing the article in Bon Appetit magazine and a friend who cannot drink milk suggesting that I try using almond milk if I wanted to cook something for him involving milk as an ingredient.

The article I read was incredibly comprehensive, it explained so much that I felt confident I would be able to make the best almond milk ever.

The list of ingredients and limited number of steps is what really got me though.

Almonds, salt, agave syrup...done.

The only problem with making your own almond milk is that it takes a massive amount of waiting.  If you want almond milk immediately, you'll have to go to the supermarket and buy it.

Take a cup of almonds.*

*Note: You can also use hazelnuts, pistachios, pecans, walnuts, cashews, or peanuts.  I'm interested in pistachio milk...it sounds amazing.

Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with about 2" of water.

In order for the milk to be less gritty and more silky the almonds need to soak at least 12 hours.  I didn't plan my time properly, so mine soaked for 20 hours.  

Just look at the difference in the clarity of the water...

Here is an important point that you absolutely do not want to miss.  This liquid should be drained and discarded.

No one wants to drink almond milk made of musty soaking liquid.

Put the soaked almonds in a blender with the salt, agave, and four cups of very hot water.

Hubby and I bought a Ninja last Christmas because it seemed like a great deal and a major necessity at the time.  It sat on top of our fridge, in the original box, until this month.  

I guess it would have been worse if we waited until after this Christmas to open it.

As life would have it, I've used my blender at least five times in the past week.

I'm not sure if my water was too hot, because during the two minutes of blending it frothed a little.

The recipe suggests using a fine mesh sieve to strain the nut remnants.  I don't know where my brain was, but the above picture seemed to me like the proper amount of remains to have after blending a cup of nuts.

It wasn't until I cooled the milk and went to transfer it into a carafe that I found at least another half cup of this nut pulp scattered at the bottom of the bowl.  My suggestion, and what I plan to try next time, is to use a cheese cloth or paper towels to catch the nut pulp and drain the milk into the bowl.  It works for coffee grinds when I make iced coffee so I can only imagine it will be the perfect solution to this problem.

No matter how much you strain, the recipe states, some of the nut pulp will settle at the bottom.  If you've ever purchased almond milk at the supermarket and thought you detected a piece of a nut among the smoothness of your drink--this is why.

I found the texture of the milk to be similar to one percent milk.  The hint of almond flavor was not overpowering, in fact I found it to be refreshing.*

*And I never, ever, find milk to be refreshing.

The major point and purpose of my making almond milk was to see if it changed the flavor when used in a recipe originally calling for milk.

That night, I made Whole-Wheat Macaroni and Cheese* and loved it!  There was no noticeable difference from if I had used regular milk and even though I knew the secret to the milk I had used I could not detect even a hint of an almond flavor, and neither could Hubby.

*The quest for the perfect mac and cheese continues.  Hubby did not like this one--at all.  I used a sharp cheddar and sort of kind of forgot that he prefers a mild one.  I'll be trying it again, keep your fingers crossed for me.**

**And yes, we mix hot dogs into our mac and cheese like we are five-year-olds.  I don't care what the world says about hot dogs, I'm going to continue loving them anyway.

I also used the almond milk in hot chocolate.  I know it isn't quite hot chocolate season, but to celebrate the cool feel of fall I thought, why not?  

Using almond milk in hot chocolate definitely exposes the nutty flavor more than in macaroni and cheese.  As I sipped, it reminded me of a Ferrero Rocher.  If you enjoy those chocolatey delights, then you should enjoy almond milk hot chocolate.

The almond milk was an overall success.  If you can find almonds at a cheaper price--wholesale perhaps?--it is far more worth it than picking up a container at the supermarket.  

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Recipe: Peanut Butter Granola Bars
Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/peanut-butter-granola-bars-recipe.html
Time: 1 hr 30 min (15-25 minutes prep time, depending if you need to toast your almonds or not)
Ease: 4
Taste: 6
Leftover Value: 8
Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

I'm always interested in discovering if there is a way I can make at home something I usually purchase prepackaged.  The whole craze over the massive consumption of preservatives in most American diets doesn't help much either.  It does kind of irk me that something like a granola bar, that you think you are being healthy by eating, could have some of the same bad for you things in it as Twinkies.

However, on the other side of the fence there is the issue of cost.  I refuse to make my own free standing granola because I've found that unless you plan on chomping on the same five-pound bag of granola for the next month, it is something that is simply more cost effective to purchase prepackaged.

Nuts are stinking* expensive!  And naturally, they are one of the items higher on the list of things you should eat.

*Sorry to use such foul words.  But I speak the truth.

These peanut butter granola bars were fairly inexpensive to make.  The slivered almonds were the priciest item, however, I already had them on hand so it worked out for me.  The almonds are supposed to be toasted.  I have a hunch the entire recipe wouldn't have crumbled to pieces if they had not been toasted.  Of course, rule follower that I am, I toasted mine.  The almonds were well toasted by five minutes, unlike the eight to ten minute time the recipe gives.

Instead of old fashioned oats, I used one minute oats--and here's why: price.  This might have created a texture difference in the final result of the bars, I'd have to try it out with old fashion oats to know for sure.  While they were able to be cut up easily, they didn't have that stiff quality that an ordinary granola bar has.

Oh, and I added extra chocolate chips.

I couldn't resist.

Something odd I noticed, and this might just be me, was that the peanut butter flavor was overpowering on the day I made the bars.  The same was not true the following day.  The flavor seemed to have mellowed out and blended better with the other ingredients the longer they sat.

As a homemade alternative to the basic store bought granola bar, I'd say these are a keeper.  My favorite part was that they didn't require too much work.  With the exception of toasting the almonds, the process was basically three steps: 1. Mix everything together, 2. Bake, 3. Cool.

When I'm making something that I know is going to be on the healthier side, therefore not something that I'm going to eat and become giddy with a sugar high, I find that easy is best.  If it's easy to do and the taste is better than cardboard, chances are I'll try it again.