_raVen_ Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Main thing to remember is that 2 C water:1/2 C nuts will give you a basic milk. The rest is up to you; you make it more nutty, thinner, thicker, sweeter, etc.; do it to your taste. Hopefully you have a good blender ********* Okay, long and verbose; but that's me at times Some raw nuts come with that flaky little jacket covering them which can contribute to a bitterness sometimes. Some peolple call for blanching the nuts with these (like almonds), which is dunking them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then removing them to cool. Then rub all the nuts in a dry towel and the skin comes right off. This is often done just to make the milk white instead of light beige. You'll have to decide what you like. Some nuts are not truly raw because their shells are so hard they must be steamed to open; for example, most pecans, pistachios and cashews are not; you must buy them in shell to be sure, or trust raw-foods companies,such as Nature's First Law. The test would be if they actually sprout. I'vepurchased theirs, and they do sprout. So, if it matters to you, there's a resource. The majority of recipes seem to agree on the ratio for a general 'milk: that is 2 C liquid to 1/2 C Nuts or seeds. Variations are up to you -- sweetness, thickness, texture, various additions. Adding bananas (other fruits), dates (or other dried fruit -- apricots, raisins, etc.) will make them thicker than a liquid sweetener or sugar. You could also roast the nuts for a different and more intense nut flavor. Add tofu to cut down on fat, or commercial milks, etc. Maple is really yummy, if raw isn't a concern; otherwise you can get raw agave nectar, dark agave nectar, yacon syrup, (there's another one, but I can't remember right now )But all are good; I've tried them. Yacon is more of a dark syrup; agave is light and honey-like. For raw chocolate, then you'll need raw cacao Just nuts blended with dates to taste is enough, really. There are a lot of recipes that call for various ingredients for various purposes: flax, lecithin, gums or other thickeners; cocoa; or superfoods, like, cacao, maca, mesquite powder, (see below for descriptions and sources); protein isolates, etc. Their purposes vary. It's up to you! Do what you like. Blend bananas with water to taste is basic and simple; or blend with nuts for a banana nutmilk. Bananas with dates is sweeter. You can also blend banana with a juice or fruit, if you like: Strawberry milk is yummy! Soaking some nuts makes them more nutritious and easier to digest. They must be raw to soak (look up a chart online)Basic rules: do not soak macadamia nuts, pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans --If the nut has a hard shell, they don't need to be soaked; If the nut has a soft shell, soak, if that helps. If not, it's no biggie anyway It's up to you; but it's not "necessary." ___________________________________________________ Here are some to help you; all are from online or sent by internet "friends." Some additional notes and adjustments by me on some of them : Basic: 1/2 cup raw nuts or seeds2 cups pure water1 tbsp pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener (optional)1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)Pinch of Salt (optional, to taste) ---- Coconut Milk 1 cup water1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut meat (preferably fresh) Blend ingredients thoroughly and strain if desired. **If you do use a fresh coconut USE the coconut water! It is SO good and sweet. (if it's not good and sweet, the coconut is not fresh; but the meat may still be usable). It is also my favorite truly natural "gatorade"; and it is excellent as a drink for after a work out, providing electrolytes in perfect balance. **--- Coconut-Almond Milk 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut1/2 cup whole almonds2 cups water1/8 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon vanilla2 cups cold water Blend almonds and coconut with one cup of water until very smooth,adding as much water as necessary to blend. Add remaining water andblend. Strain through a cheesecloth or very fine mesh strainer if desired.Add remaining ingredients according to taste and desired thickness.Chill. --- Velvety Vanilla Cashew Milk 1/3 cup organic raw cashew nuts1 Tbsp. flaxseeds1 tsp. lecithin granulesStevia or sweetener of choice - to taste1 1/2 - 2 tsp. vanilla extract - use good vanilla3-3 1/4 cup waterpinch of cinnamon -- Nutmilk: 2 cups of water10 almonds10 cashews1/4 cup of maple syrup Put everything into a blender; blend on high; strain -- Basic Nutmilk: 1/2 cup chopped nuts (cashews, almonds or other nut os your choice,raw)2 cups water, best if warm1 tsp. honey or other sweetnervanilla wxtract (or almond if you wish) Blend nuts and all other indredients in a blender until smooth. Strainmix and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can use the strained materialas a thickener for a soup or stew as long as its not too sweet. It is ashame to throw it out so find a way to use it. At the very least throwit in the compost heap not the trash. -- Cashew Milk 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces 1 tablespoon maple syrup(sweetener of choice)2 cups water 1. Combine cashews with 1 cup water and sweetener in blender. Blend onhigh to form a thick cream.2. Slowly add remaining water and blend on high for 2 minutes. Strain ifnecessary.Yields 2 cups.---- Basic Almond Milk serves 2-4 people Ingredients 2 cups almonds (soaked for about 6-8 hrs) 4 cups water Sea salt to taste How to: Blend everything till smooth. Strain through a nut milk bag or cheese cloth. -------- Vanilla Brazil Nutmilk: 1 c. nuts to 4c. wateragave syrup (and/or stevia to taste)vanilla (to taste, I'd say, start with 1/4 tsp) 1 tbsp. of coconut butter (a.k.a coconut oil.) Blend. Strain, if desired._____ Fruitmilk ideas: experiment, if you wish. Use with nutmilks to make them milkier/ creamier. (I *love* pearmilk!): Banana Milk1 date, peeled and seeded, or 1 tsp maple syrup1 cup pure water1 large, ripe banana, peeled Cantaloupe Milk:1 ripe cantaloupe, peeled, halved and seeded Honeydew Milk:1/2 ripe honeydew, peeled, halved and seeded Watermelon Cream:2 to 3 cups watermelon chunks, seeds removed _*anything blended to heck will get creamy * _______________ These are a little more fancy recipes, if you you ever happen to buy any of these ingredients. I like Mesquite, raw cacao and maca myself; but they can be an acquired taste, and they should be used sparingly -------------- Almond Milk 1C Almonds2C Water1/2C Young Coconut Water2tsp Tree of Life Mesquite1/2tsp Celtic Sea Salt Blend almonds with water using a high speed blender such as a Vitamix. Strain mixture through a sprout or nut bag. Blend resulting milk with rest of ingredients and serve. Resulting almond meal can be dehydrated and used for essene breads. _from Tree of Life rainbow green cuisine. ----- Almond Mesquite Milk 1 C almonds, soaked 12 – 48 hours3 C coconut water1 T raw mesquite powder1 t cinnamon Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth; strain in a piece of cheesecloth, a nut milk bag --Chocolate Nut-Milk (*you could add spices to make any chocolate milk a Chai, or instant coffee for a mocha*) 1 liter (4 cups) of coconut water 20 raw cacao beans (preferably peeled) 10 raw cashews 3-5 tablespoons of carob powder and/or maca powder (maca is a powdered root from Peru that is an amazing high-protein superfood aphrodisiac, strengthener, and fertility enhancer)3-5 tablespoons agave nectar 2 tablespoons of hempseed oil 2 tablespoons of coconut oil/butter 2-3 pinches salt (good quality)2-3 sprinkles of cinnamon Blend all ingredients by David Wolfe ___ There are also tons of recipes online; just type in "nut milks" or "nutmilks" and you'll find a lot. They are basically the same,though; you'll find more unique stuff from "raw" sources. **Frozen bananas make excellent bases for shakes and malts. They are also good for raw icecream base (scroll down to see it ** Here is a pic of some walnut milk I made. I actually prefer it without sweetener for the taste of a regular milk; I think it's delicious that way. I would only use sweetener for a specific reason or for guests However, bananas, dates, agave -- all are good choices.I've even used good-quality tea as a base instead of water. Lighter are best. A good Jasmine tea is SO good in a creamy nutmilk like cashew -- reminiscent of bubble tea. A splash of rosewater or orangeflower water is llovely for a Middle Eastern milk (and great in tea, by the way) Unstrained Walnut Milk: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Walnutmilk_unstrained.jpg Strained Pecanmilk: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Pecanmilk_strained.jpg Pecan Chocolatemilk: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/xocolatl_pecan.jpg Nutmilks will separate if you choose not to add lecithin, gums or other emulsifiers; just shake before using : http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Nutmilk_separate.jpg If you don't want to hassle with cheese cloth (and who does?) you can buy a nut bag which is really just an inexpensive (like 99-cents some places) paint strainer bag; you can also use some clean pantyhose ; or buy a good-quality, fine mesh strainer like this: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Fine_Cone_Strainer.jpg For a less expensive one, but smaller, a very, very fine tea strainer (for powdered teas) is okay; just takes longer: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a247/Raven_PZ/Food%20Album/RAW/Fine_Tea_Strainer.jpg _________WHEW! I think I covered it If you need any resources or have any questions, just lemme know ! Also share your experiments/successes and failures! Okay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaVegan Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Wow a thread dedicated to me Thank you very much. I tried just bananas and water last night, not to good all by itself.I'll try some of your milk recipes.Thank you, again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_raVen_ Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Ah, well were the bananas really ripe? If you want an intense flavor and for them to be sweet they have to be nice and ripe. I've taken a pic of everything at some point They should be at least this spotted, if not more:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v391/Strixy/Food%20Album/RAW%20FOODS/Bananas_n_Apples1.jpg Or perhaps they needed some dates or other sweetener? Maple syrup? Agave nectar? Dash of salt? Splash of vanilla? These additionals might help if using bananas that aren't too yummy. You can usually save any 'milk by adjusting to taste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Whoa Raven! You should write a book on the subject, I'd buy it! Even though I'm not MontanaVegan, I appreciate the post, so detailed . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontanaVegan Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Hi RavenThey were very ripe, black on the outside just getting dark on the inside.They were long past just spotted.I'll try some of your recipes soon.Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_raVen_ Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Haha, hey Crystal! I have been vegan so long I've accumulated a ton of stuff These are some of the raw 'milks I have; I didn't create these, by the way.(I noted from where they came; the ones I knew, anyway) All my recipes are mostly cooked recipes from the past (like the ones I have on VF); I don't cook anymore, though ... unless it's for company, that is I make raw 'milks just by throwing stuff together to my taste. Okay, MV, guess you don't like banana milk, then If you want, I have some non-raw vegan milks stored away too. Let me know if you want those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Okay, long and verbose; but that's me at times But oh so informative and useful! I'm planning to experiment with some nut/seed milks to replace the rice or soy milk I use now (once I use them up). I though almond, sunflower and sesame sounded like a good combo (for calcium and vitamin D). Every try a combo like that? (I thought I'd make a small amount of each of the separate 'milks,' then play mad scientist and try different combos until I hit one (or more) that I like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_raVen_ Posted June 8, 2006 Author Share Posted June 8, 2006 Thanks Kat! (is it wrong to call you "kat"?) I love mad scientists! Be sure to come back here and post your results! I've made some raw "cheeses" with sunflower seed combos -- sunflower has an element to it that makes it good for cheesey stuff. I'm not a big fan of them, however. It is so fun to experiment, though If I were more into raw recipes, I'd be all over it I've just gone very basic and simple. Strange, too; since, when it comes to cooking and baking, I love complicated recipes I happen to love sesame milk. I realize it is an acquired taste, though. It has that chalkiness; but I've always liked that from sesame. Anything sesame is Mmmm...ooh, like halvah. Using hulled versus unhulled will make a difference too; the latter rendering a slight bitterness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Thanks Kat! (is it wrong to call you "kat"?) I don't mind. It's better than some alternatives , and rather appropriate, since I live with 5 felines! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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