Nut Milk

My mom introduced me to this recipe last week at my sisters house and I really like it!!  For the most part we don't use cow's milk around our house, and we usually have soy milk on hand, but this is super easy and probably not that expensive!  Next time I go to the store I am going to price it out!!

Nut Milk (1 gallon)

1/2 C Raw Almonds
1/2 C Raw Cashews
1/2 C Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1/4 t. Salt
1/2 t. Xanthan Gum
Maple syrup or other sweetener if desired

Rinse cashews and soak with almonds overnight.  In the morning, blend nuts and coconut with 4 cups of water.  Once well blended, strain 12 more cups of water through the pulp using a spoon to mix the pulp and help push the water through.  Once this is finished scoop out the pulp and remove the towel from the pitcher.  Now add the salt, xanthan gum and sweetener to the milk.  Mix well and chill before serving.  The xanthan gum adds a little thickness to the milk so that it feels less watery.  This is a lot of milk which we use pretty quickly so just half it if you don't want so much!!

If you make this nut milk, I would LOVE to know what you think of it!!

This is the pulp that I am straining the water through into the pitcher

Here is the finished gallon of nut milk.  I will use the pulp of the nuts in the bread I make today

Granola

So my Sister-in-Law wanted our granola recipe and I failed to get it to her in a timely manner so she found one elsewhere.  While talking about it, she said that her husband doesn't like coconut so she altered the recipe to have less, or none at all.  I am afraid she will have to alter this recipe too because my family likes coconut, and not only is there coconut in this recipe, I add coconut flavoring to give it a little more flavor!  Anyway, here it is...

1 2lb 10oz box old fashioned rolled oats
2 C unsweetened shredded coconut
2 C wheat germ
1 C whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1 C raw nuts of choice, chopped
2 C dried fruit of choice

Mix all of the above except the dried fruit in a LARGE bowl and blend the following in a blender till smooth.

1 C chopped dates
3/4 C oil
1/2 C honey
3/4 C water
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
1/2 t. coconut flavoring

Mix wet and dry ingredients together till well blended, and bake at 250 stirring every 20-30 minutes till lightly browned and dry.  Remove from oven and add 2C dried fruit.  Let cool, and store in airtight container.  If you add the fruit before it is done cooking, it has a tendency to dry out and become tough.  So adding it right after coming out of the oven still allows it to get warm and kinda stick to some of the other ingredients without it becoming too tough to chew!