Growing your own milk--minus the cow!

Don't have space, time, money or zoning to raise a cow or goat? Neither do we. Not to mention we are lactose intolerant. Goat dairy would work, but there are no raw goat dairies in the area, and dairy shares can be expensive.

I have been buying rice milk for years, but one day I plucked off that little plastic cap and said "No More!" I imagined all the possible places that plastic cap could end up, and none of them seemed positive--the landfill where it would be shifted by sea gulls and the elements from trash day till doomsday, or on a seafaring barge blown overboard and into the belly of a large endangered sea mammal or a coastal raptor.

I asked myself "do I really want to feed my family milk that comes packaged in a plastic or wax coated carton, manufactured in a factory, and trucked hundreds of miles to our grocers cooler?" An emphatic "No!" arose from somewhere deep within.

Now, we have not yet tried to grow our own supply of seeds and nuts for the milk--presently I buy in bulk from our local Food Cooperative, which is pretty affordable, depending on the type of seeds or nuts. But conceivably we could. I will be planting sunflowers and pumpkins this season for the express purpose of making seed milk. Can't wait to see how they yield. In future, when we can afford it(or when I learn how to propagate one)we will plant a black walnut tree.

The following is a recipe for the most scrumptious non-dairy, potentially self-produced milk ever:

1 Cup of any single or mix of seeds and/or nuts you like and have, i.e. almonds, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans, etc.

Water for soaking

4 Cups Water

3 pinches of Sea Salt

*3 Tbsp Sweetener of choice(Honey, Agave, Brown Rice Syrup)

*1/4 tsp Almond Extract

Ingredients with an * omit for savory dishes that call for milk.


Soak the nut/seed mixture in the refrigerator overnight, in enough water to cover. In the morning, strain the nuts and put them in the blender with two cups of water. Blend on high for a couple minutes. Strain the blended nuts through a wire mesh strainer. (Use cheesecloth for a seriously sediment-free milk, but it takes a long time and costs more for the cheesecloth.) Save the "nut meats" you have strained off the milk, stored in the freezer or refrigerator, to use for baking--I make soda bread with mine.

Rinse out blender and put in 2 cups of water. Add sweetener, sea salt and almond extract. Blend briefly. Add this to the milk and stir. Take a sip. Smile with delight. Store in clean jars in the refrigerator. I don't know how long it stays fresh. When I make it, it is consumed so quickly that I've never had to find out.

Stay tuned for some "nut meat" bread recipes.