Almond & Cashew Milk

Vanilla almond milk:2 cups raw almonds
4 cups water
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp simple syrup or agave nectar

Lavender almond milk:2 cups raw almonds
4 cups water
1/8 cup dried lavender
1 tsp liquid honey

Camomille cashew milk:
2 cups raw cashews
4 cups water

1/8 cup camomille flowers
1 tsp liquid honey
 
Soak the almonds and cashews ahead of time (minimum one hour for the cashews, six hours for almonds). However I soaked both for up to 10 hours and they were fine - the longer the better.

You will notice the nuts retain water when they bloat and the water disappears. You can still add more water once this happens if you'd like to soak them longer.

     Soaked cashews

     Partially blended almonds  

Strain whatever water is left from each bowl of nuts. In a blender or Magic Bullet blend the almonds and cashews (separately of course) with the appropriate ratio of water. I chose a 1:2 ratio to create a medium creaminess (the equivalent of 2% cows milk). You may need to separate portions depending on the size of your blender.

    Milk produced from blending

    Straining
Blend until a liquid-y paste forms, then transfer into cheesecloth or a sieve bag. Squeeze with your hands to strain the milk into a bowl until no more liquid is produced. I like to run the nuts through a second time, blending and adding another half cup of water to yield as much as possible.

Transfer and divide the milks among mason jars according to how many and how much of each flavour you want to create. To flavour the vanilla almond milk, make a slit down the whole length of the vanilla bean, opening it up so you can scrape out the grains and mix with the milk.

    Vanilla bean

    Let the grains soak in the milk
To let the flavour take full potential, let it sit overnight before drinking. Shake it at least once.

The next day, blend the vanilla bean milk with your sweetener. I don't bother straining out the grains since they aren't that noticeable while drinking.

   Bruised lavender

     Camomille flowers
To flavour with lavender and camomille, slightly bruise or crush them to release flavour and scent. Add to your milk and let sit overnight, shaking it occasionally. The next morning strain from milk then blend with honey.

These milks only last for about four days at their best, so don't make in large quantities. Store in air tight containers or jars and always keep refrigerated!

Inspiration for this post: http://luxirare.com/scented-almond-milk/