Almond Milk

"The hardest part about being vegan is having to wake up at 5am to milk all the almonds."

There's a lot of basic almond recipes out there and this is the version I make for my spouse. He loves cereal but his tummy can't handle processed dairy milk. And I'm quite happy to help us decrease our dairy intake.

1 cup raw unpasteurized almonds from Terra Bella Farm
spring water
2 1/2 medjool dates (or to taste)
a goodly pinch of sea salt
1/2 inch vanilla bean pod or a teaspoon of vanilla extract

Soak almonds in spring water for 12-24 hours (this makes the milk creamier).

In a blender, add almonds and enough water to measure 4 cups. Add dates and salt. Blend on high for 2 minutes. Strain with cheesecloth, or better yet, a linen napkin (this part takes forever because I want to squeeze all the liquid I can out of the cheesecloth - save that almond paste for other recipes). Scrape vanilla bean seeds into the milk and shake to combine.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups. Lasts about 3 days.

Organic Almond Sauce

Looking for uses for leftover almond meal from making almond milk, I did a little research into recreating a certain farmers market sauce with organic ingredients:

2/3 cup spring water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2  cup leftover almond meal (real raw almonds from Terra Bella Farm)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from my tree
3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic, from Schaner Farm
2 teaspoons bragg liquid aminos
1/2 dried new mexican chile
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Place all ingredients in a quality blender. Slowly blend for one minute, then blend on high for another minute for a smooth and creamy consistency. Store in the refrigerator.

Makes about 2 cups

Great for dippin' raw veggies and tortilla chips, or use 3/4 cup water for a thiner salad dressing.