Art, Meaning, Green Living & Health

Quick and Easy Hazel Nut Milk

Posted on 9/30/2014 1:54:43 PM by Susan Pitcairn - Comment on this
Topics: Environment | Healthy Living

Quick and tasty: Hazel Nut Milk!

A delicious and quick way to make your own plant based milk with minimal or zero packaging to boot. Takes 3-5 minutes, easily done while cooking a meal. This healthy raw vegan milk has a much smaller carbon/water/pollution/habitat impact on the earth than cow milk. AND, it lessens the suffering of dairy cows and calves, which is quite a lot. Yes, you can buy pasteurized dairy-free products in wax cartons, but this is raw, fresh, tastier and healthier, without leaching of that plastic (not wax) carton liner and packaging disposal problem. Plus, it is cheaper.

I was inspired to post this after watching the eye-opening documentary, "Cowspiracy." Animal agriculture is, it seems, the #1 contributor to many environmental problems.

Hazel Nut Milk

Fill a blender about 1/3 full with organic filberts (purchase in bulk). Cover with water and soak a few hours or overnight.

Add a dash of agave or other sweetener and a dash of nutmeg to taste.

Now blend til smooth. Strain thru a cloth bag or thin dish towel. Squeeze until all the liquid comes out. This creamy first squeeze can be used in tea or coffee. That's all!

For a milk substitute, dilute it to taste, (maybe 30% more) pour into glass pitcher or juice jar and chill. You want about 3-5 parts water to nuts. Using less up front makes it easier to produce a larger batch in one blender jar.

Use the nutty remains in several ways (or compost):

Nutty Taco Meat

Mix in olive oil, nutritional yeast, garlic, cumin, tamari to taste, maybe a bit of rice vinegar or chili peppers.

Eggs give it good flavor and cohesion, but that can be skipped. Saute in olive oil and crumble like hamburger. Heat with salsa in organic tortillas, folded (cheese optional). Remove and fill hot taco with finely chopped lettuce, tomato, cukes, avos, onions, olives, salsa etc.

2. Nutty Fudge: To the squeezed out hazel nut leavings, add cacao powder, a nut butter, agave or maple syrup, vanilla, maybe kahlua to taste. pressing it into a small tin. You can also add chopped nuts or dried fruit or coconut as you like. Cut into squares and serve.

AND....... A summary I made of various vegan substitutes you can make for milk, cheese, eggs and meat.