Vegan Cooking with TLC

Nut milks are great for a variety of purposes. I like different ones for different recipes. I made cashew milk to test in a recipe I'm working on in which other nut milks seem to overpower more delicate flavors. It also worked wonderfully to make a cold brew latte . Variety is important as is knowing how ingredients interact with one another. Many times nut milks and other plant-based milks can be easily substituted for one another in a recipe. It's important though to know how the flavors will interact with one another when making substitutions. Sometimes the only way to find out is to experiment, so play with the options. That's right I'm encouraging you to play with your food. Cashew Milk 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews 4 cups water Soak cashews overnight. Pour cashews and soaking water into blender . Blend, slowly increasing speed to high, until well blended. Place a nut milk bag in a large mouthed pitcher . Pour liquid into nut mi...

Like hazelnut milk , almond milk tends to be a fairly consistent recipe across the board. It is however a wonderful alternative for milk in myriad ways. I use it on a fairly consistent basis. It takes a bit longer than hazelnut milk because there is the necessity to soak the almonds first. Some people say you don't have to soak them, but I didn't like the consistency or the flavor as much as when I soak them. Almond Milk 1 cup raw almonds * Water to soak the almonds 4 cups water Place almonds in a small bowl and pour between 3-4 cups of water over the almonds. Allow to soak 8-12 hours. Drain water off the almonds. Rinse the almonds. Place almonds in a blender, such as a Vitamix . Add 4 cups of water. Blend until the liquid turns white increasing the speed slowly. Place a nutmilk bag in a pitcher and pour blended almond mixture into the nutmilk bag. Twist the bag wringing out as much liquid as possible. Place almond pulp from the nutmilk bag ...

I use hazelnut milk quite often. It's great for baking as well as for lattes, "bisques", oats, and cereal (aka granola in plant based milk). One reason I use hazelnut milk so often is because there's no need to soak the hazelnuts! This means I can bake something last minute without needing to wait for the nuts to soak. Hazelnut Milk 1 cup raw hazelnuts (preferably organic) 4 cups water Put hazelnuts in blender (I use a Vitamix blender .) Add water. Blend until the liquid turns white with few flecks of nuts still visible.   Place a nutmilk bag in a pitcher. Pour liquid into nutmilk bag. Lift slowly allow the liquid to drain out. Twist the bag and push the nut pulp into a ball at the bottom. Squeeze and twist to wring out as much liquid as possible. Pour milk into a container with a lid, so it will not absorb flavors from the fridge. Also, this will allow the milk to be shaken if it separates. Refrigerate. Put pulp into a storage container and refriger...