Blue Milk: Plant-Based

I loved dairy as a young girl. I grew up drinking raw (unpasteurized) milk. It was sweet and had an extraordinarily strong aroma. After years of overindulging, one day at 9 years of age after an incident with some very mature cheddar I gave up dairy.

I stopped consuming dairy products for years. After moving to England, I slowly reintroduce dairy back into my diet but still did not enjoy drinking milk. I was in a new country and the foodie in me wanted to try everything. Dairy products in England were much more affordable than back in Zimbabwe. I could eat ice-cream every day and Pizza was no longer and an occasional road trip treat (I had eaten Pizza only once before moving to the UK but that is a story for another day).

Fast forward to 2020, Veganism is now in vogue and I have access to all kinds of plant-based milk alternatives.  The only problem is good quality plant-based milk is unsustainably expensive. I enjoy making smoothies, hot chocolates and pina colada. I realised If I made my own milk, which is amazingly easy and inexpensive I would be happier. I now enjoy good quality milk at a fraction of the cost of shop-bought milk. Also, better for the environment I might add.

I hope you give this recipe a try. It is a cashew coconut blend. I love the smell of coconut but not in everything and I find the cashew balances it out whilst also adding another layer of nourishment and creaminess.

Ingredients

1 mature coconut

1 cup cashews (soaked overnight)

1.5 litres water

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Method

Rinse soaked cashews and place them in a blender.

Carefully crack coconut out of the shell and peel the mesocarp (the brown inner layer) leaving the white meat. Cut the coconut meat into small chunks and place them in the blender.

Add vanilla, water, and blend on high speed until smooth. Pass the milk through a nut milk bag or a clean tea towel. Repeat this process twice. Pour into a sterilised bottle and store in the fridge for as much as 5 days.

Enjoy…