no more milk (recipe: almond milk creamer)

I love that we can get rich, raw goat's milk from a friend rather than an anonymous supplier. This is a true privilege. We can see where those animals live and know fully that they are treated well and given what they need to thrive. I stretch a half-gallon over a week, applying it to oatmeal and smoothies and creamy soups. I try to treat this resource respectfully, understanding what it takes out of an animal to both nurse offspring and be milked for human benefit.

So it is with some sadness that I've realized I can't partake of this milk myself.

I've known for a long time -- since I first went vegan and cleared up some health problems -- that I can't handle cow's milk. When I moved away from veganism in favor of ultra-localized food production, I tried raw cow's milk since many people can handle it better (pasteurization destroys enzymes needed to digest lactose and also disrupts proteins and minerals). If anything, the raw stuff made me sicker, faster -- within a day I had a raging sinus infection that didn't quit until I gave up the milk.

Goat's milk is supposed to be much more tolerable for a number of reasons. The fat globules are smaller, more akin to human breastmilk, and therefore more digestible. There's less lactose, and a vanishingly small amount of casein, an irritating protein. I hate to drink milk and rarely use it in any other way, but I started using this milk in my coffee, hoping that I could handle it. The sinus infection took a few days to hit, but hit it did, and accordingly it also went away when I stopped using the goat's milk in my coffee.

What seems clear is that straight milk in any form -- from any animal, and whether raw or pasteurized -- causes major upset for my respiratory system. This is a serious consideration for me because I have asthma and a history of sinus tumors, both of which can be traced to milk consumption. So for the most part, I don't use many dairy products.

This isn't much of a problem for me except that I love my daily cup of (locally-roasted water-process-decaf organic fair-trade shade-grown rainforest-certified why yes I am an outrageous snob) coffee. It's one of those small pleasures that starts my day right -- and it requires a splash of the white stuff. As a vegan, I used Silk soy creamer. But I'd rather avoid Silk, and soymilk in general, for many reasons, among them that Silk is a terrible company to support. The ingredient listing for a carton of soy creamer includes flavoring, stabilizers, thickeners, and preservatives. And those little cartons create quite a lot of waste.

I've tried oat milk, rice milk, and hemp milk with varying degrees of success; hemp milk is the absolute worst, as the pulp sinks straight to the bottom of the cup. I used diluted coconut milk for a while, and that was probably the healthiest option and also fairly waste-free since I made my own, but eventually I found the flavor off-putting. Finally, I tried almond milk.

Why haven't I used this before? Well, because I never buy it. I don't like shelf-stable milks, and store-bought almond milk contains just as much "junk" as any other kind of non-dairy product. For a while, I made my own, but I fell out of the habit. When I realized I couldn't handle the goat's milk, I started making my own almond milk again, and that's how I dumped it in my coffee one day and found that it works perfectly. It doesn't separate, unlike hemp milk; it has a great neutral flavor, unlike oat milk or coconut milk; it's substantial, unlike rice milk. And it's environmentally friendly, being largely waste-free. My chickens love the leftover pulp.

If you're curious about cost, I buy local, organic almonds for $7 a pound and each pound contains almost 4 cups of almonds. So a pound of almonds will make at least a gallon of milk. Shelf-stable non-organic almond milk usually costs about $3 a quart, so you'll definitely save money if you make it yourself. (For comparison, our goat milk is $12 a gallon; the raw cow's milk from our co-op is at least $15 a gallon.)

I've played around and created other flavors, but vanilla is my favorite, and the other flavors need some work, so I won't post them for now.

I strongly recommend obtaining a small cotton or muslin bag (often sold as a nut milk bag or sprouting bag) or several layers of cheesecloth so you don't end up a bunch of pulp in your coffee cup. I use these bags, which are very affordable. The 2-lb. size also works well as a produce bag.

Homemade almond milk lasts 3-5 days in the refrigerator, so I make it in small batches.

Vanilla Almond Milk Creamer
1 c. whole almonds
2 c. water
2-4 T. maple syrup (or another sweetener), optional
seeds from a vanilla bean, or 1 T. vanilla extract (fair-trade)
pinch of salt

Put the almonds in a large bowl and cover them with at least twice as much water. Let the almonds soak overnight. (This step isn't essential, but very helpful.)

Drain and rinse the almonds. Combine the almonds with water in a blender. (Use 4 cups to make regular almond milk.) Blend until the almonds are broken down. Strain through a cotton or muslin bag, pressing out all of the milk.

Rinse out the blender and replace the milk along with the salt, syrup, and vanilla. Process to combine. Store in a glass container for 3-5 days. Enjoy!