Two-Step Almond Milk

2 cups soaked almonds (soak in salted water overnight)
2-4 cups additional water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract OR a pinch of vanilla bean pod seeds
salt to taste (usually a nice pinch does it)
3 dashes cinnamon
sweeten to taste (1-5 Tbsp maple syrup)

Step One: Soaking – Step Two: Blending

Step One: Place your raw almonds in a large bowl. Cover them with water – then add about 1-2 inches more water. Add a few dashes of sea salt. Gently mix salt into almonds. Place on counter or in fridge to soak overnight. At least 8 hours. Note: if doing cashew milk, you only need to soak for about 4-5 hours. But almonds are quite firm and require at least an overnight soak.

Step Two: When your almonds are soaked – drain the brown soaking water. You don’t need to rinse your almonds – just get rid of the soaking water. Then grab your ingredients.

want to blend your nuts in small batches at first. Place about 1/2 cup of almonds in your high speed blender.  Add in about one cup of water. Blend on low, then move to the highest setting. Make sure the lid is on tight. Blend for about 1-2 minutes – or until you notice your blend getting silky smooth. Tiny bits of brown are fine. Add more water if your mixture is too thick. You can customize the thickness to your own preferences. Continue blending in batches until you have a large container of almond milk.

Lastly, add the almond milk back to the blender – add in your seasoning ingredients. Blend on low. Do a taste test and adjust flavor ingredients as desired. The last step is to strain your almond milk through a fine metal strainer. Or for the silkiest of milk, strain through a nut milk bag – similar to a tightly woven cheesecloth.

Store your milk in the fridge. Consume in a few days. Shake before each use – some natural settling may occur.

You can also try this with a wide variety of nuts – and even soy beans.

Found on the family kitchen..