homemade oat & almond milk

Milk. You, bovine delicacy.

Oh. You. I really want to love you. I really do. But you keep on doing me wrong. I try to rectify our love.

But the fact of the matter is, you don’t love me back. I know you have tried. By making such wonders as 10 year cheddars and sweet puddles of burrata.  Milk mixed whole fat, half & half in my coffee making the most perfect shade of khaki.

I tried so hard to love you that I even dedicated over a year of my life to hocking your wares. I watched you transform yourself into an endless array artisan cheeses that I lovingly tended. Trimming, wrapping, trimming, breathing, presenting. I learned so much about culture, both dairy cultures & the human cultures that surround great cheeses.

I learned a lot, also, about how not good for this body milk does. My cholesterol: through the roof & up to astral universe. Digestion, eh, sluggish. Sinuses, wrecked. I can still feel the faint flutter of my cholesterol threatening from my arteries & the bloated belly that, you know, it’s just not cute.

I am not alone. There are a lot of us that don’t do dairy well. Let’s be honest, soy milk is not the best & only alternative. I just really don’t like the legume appeal of it in my coffee. I have come to love almond milk, though it curdles & separates too readily in hot liquids. And while I know this doesn’t mean it tastes bad, it just looks gross. I once had oat milk that I loved. Why not mix them? Why does no one do that?

Then I realized I always have these cravings to have a bowl of oatmeal. And it is always just that: A Bowl. I never finish the whole box. I decided to make my own oat milk, why not?  And you know what? I really, really like it.

It is a very versatile milk. You just have to want to work for it a bit. Its sort of a vegan-ified rite of passage, while I aspire one day to drink milk that I have myself procured from either a cow or goat, for now, I am happy to say I can make my milk from scratch.

Its incredibly healthy, also, but that is a mere bonus. Because it is made with rolled oats, it thickens nicely, so it works beautifully in recipes that straight soy or almond milk will not. I get my little almond & oats fix for my health. And I can save my lactic moments for a sumptuous piece of excellent cheese or a perfect scoop of gelato. Let’s face it, these are far better show of dairy power.

Sometimes I  make it every week, sometimes not so much, but when I do, I am very glad I did. This week I made it with cashews. Also, delicious. It takes a day to make & there is something very rewarding about it. I like that it doesn’t have any added sugars or creepy binders. And I like that it’s as satisfying to make as to drink.

I like that I can flavor it however I want to. I like that I don’t have to worry about how the cow was treated. I like that my heart is happy with it. I like that I get to have a delicious cup of coffee tomorrow morning with oat & almond milk. And maybe next week, I’ll have oat & pecan milk. Endless.

home-made oat milk

what you need:
pourable storage container
a good blender
fine mesh strainer
flexible spatula
patience

ingredients:
1 1/4 cup rolled oats, preferably organic
1/2 cup raw almonds (or cashew, or walnuts, or cooked brown rice, even)
3 cups cold, very clean, filtered water
optional:
-1/2 tsp sea salt
-1 Tbsp agave, honey or maple
-cap-full of great vanilla

how to make it:
- if using any optional flavorings, dilute those in the water
-put oats & nuts in clean glass or re-usable plastic container
-pour cold, immaculate water over, and seal container
-leave to soak for 8-12 hours, if it is somewhere that it can get direct sunlight, cover it with a cloth to block light
-once soaked, use a slotted spoon to lift all of the solids into the workbowl of your blender
-puree on the highest setting, add a little liquid as needed, it is best to start with a thick sludgy texture so you can get it pureed fine enough, blend anywhere from 5-10 minutes in intervals, scraping sides & stirring as needed, until you get a thick wet puree
-gradually add water & blend until very viscous, almost like a pureed soup.
-over a medium bowl, strain the milk through a fine mesh strainer in batches, be sure to press firmly on the oats to get all of the liquid out.
-you can either discard the solids or eat them*
-adjust thickness of milk by adding water if it’s too thick.
-this will keep up to 5 days, refrigerated & sealed

* i have made the leftover solids into a breakfast cereal by simmering it for a few minutes with slivered almonds, some honey & milk over a medium-low heat for a few minutes. i have also dried it in a low oven & folded it into pancakes like oat flour. i store it in the fridge. it is also good dried used as a binder for turkey burgers. still experimenting with the stuff.