Vegan Milk Part IV: Flax-tastic!

Other vegan milks:
Part I: Hemp
Part II: Almond
Part III: Rice


Now that I have made three somewhat decent non-dairy milks, I decided to try something a little different and make a flax seed milk. It seemed like to make a non-dairy milk you really just need a seed or nut, soak it overnice and then process with water and strain. The hemp and almond milk were really good. The rice milk was not quite perfect the first time I made it with short grain rice, but switching to long grain and it worked really well.

I figured I should start experimenting. My experiment today was flax seed milk. Now looking back, I should have saw this happen. When I soaked the flax seed overnight, the result was very similar to a flax egg. (more on flax eggs here). It was gooey and sticky and immediately thought that it probably wouldn't make the best milk.

©iStockphoto.com/Eric Naud

However, I followed through and finished the recipe. Here it is:

Flax Milk

• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 3 cups water
• dash of salt
• 1 tsp of maple syrup

As with the other milks, take your seeds and soak them for 8-12 hours. Next, drain them and add them to your blender with the water, salt and maple syrup. Blend on high for 3-4 minutes or until it is smooth. While it's blending set up the straining system (Large bowl with a strain resting inside, cheese cloth covering the inside of the strainer.

pour the flax mixture through the cheese cloth and let it strain. You can pull up the corners of the cloth and squeeze the liquid through. Once strained, test and adjust the sugar and the add more water if it is too thick.

So, I am undecided on this one. I found the end result to be a bit sticky. It would not be a milk I would put on cereal or just drink a glass of. On the other hand, this was really cheap to make (About $2 to get enough seeds to make a litre of milk) and it worked well in my smoothie and in a muffin recipe I made.

I guess in the end it depends on what you use milk for. So far, if I wanted a milk that was an all-purpose and could drink a glass of, bake with, and use in a cereal, the Almond is my favourite so far. However, I really use my non-dairy milks for smoothies more than anything and it has been fun switching it up. The flax milk provides a lot of nutrients at a low cost. It's high in omega-3 and has been thought to lower cholesterol. It is high in fibre and people think that it has disease fighting power! It has a unique taste and was a great addition to my morning smoothie. So if you can get over the funny consistency, give this one a try!

Up next in the non-dairy milk... Sunflower seed!

Vegan Risotto, Take One, Take Two

This week, I decided to try out vegan risotto. My first time making risotto ever and from what I have read, it is not really hard to make, just takes a little TLC to get it right. I thought I had aborio rice hanging around in my cupboard for the longest time and I figured, what better time than now to give it a try!

I am going to just come out and confess now. I made a few mistakes. I did not follow a recipe. I did not use the correct rice and I did over cook it a little bit. Let's start at the beginning...

Lesson number 1 - Always, always check that you have all ingredients before you start cooking. I was sure that I had aborio rice in my cupboard. I have seen it there so many times and every time I think, I should make a risotto. Now that that time finally came, the rice was nowhere to be seen. Had I checked that I had all my ingredients before starting; I could have gone to the store, or just put this one on hold. Because I didn't, I had to make do with what I had, which was long grain brown rice. This brings me to my second lesson learned...

Lesson number 2 - If you do not have the correct rice for risotto... do not use long grain rice! I really should have done a bit of online searching on this one. I knew as I was making the decision that it did not feel right. As it turns out, you really shouldn't make risotto unless you have the correct rice. If you must make a substitution, you need a short grain rice. Long grain takes much longer to cook and it just doesn't have the gluten to get the correct texture. In the end, you'll just end up with a labor-intensive pilaf.

Lesson number 3 - Make your own broth. I thought that this one was something that would be like most recipes. yes, it is nice if you have the time to have a hearty home-made broth to use, but in a pinch a store-bought broth will be just fine. I felt that the final product was much too salty. And this is coming from a person that loooves salt. If I did this recipe again, I would definitely make my own broth.. or at the very least dilute the store bought one a little bit.

Now after all these lessons, I did come up with a decent risotto and even the botched attempt that I made was not too bad. It just wasn't risotto. I urge anyone that has not made a risotto to give it try. There is something really relaxing about turning so much attention to your food. I turned on some blues and silenced the phone and actually turned off the world around me. It was truly a nice zen moment which happens so rarely these days.

Here is the recipe:

Wild Mushroom Risotto
Serves about 6, takes about an hour

• 8 - 10 cups of vegetable broth, homemade if possible
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup of rice
• 1 small onion, chopped (I used a red one)
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup (or more) of mushrooms (I used a variety pack from the farmers market. Use what ever your faves are)
• 1/4 cup of chopped sun-dried tomato
• 2 Tbsp on nutritional yeast flakes or vegan Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp of chipped parsley, for garnish

First get your broth on the stove and heat it over medium low heat so it is simmering. While waiting for the broth to heat, prep your veggies and have them ready. Take a large pot and heat over medium heat and add the oil. Once the pan is hot, add the onion and stir it around for a couple minutes, until it is translucent. Next add the carrot and celery and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften.

If the pan is a bit dried, add a little more oil. Now, add the rice and stir really well. Let the rice toast in the pan for about 2-3 minutes. Once the rice is well coast and a bit toasted pour 2 ladles of the vegetable broth and start stirring.

The trick to a good risotto is to keep it moving and never let the pot go dry. Continue to add a ladle or two of broth once most of it is absorbed. Continue to do this until all the broth is absorbed into the rice. When you pour the last bit of broth in, add the remainder of the mushrooms, the sun-dried tomatoes and stir until the broth is all absorbed. Test the rice and if it is still not cooked, add more broth or water and continue to stir.

Finally, add the nutritional yeast, if you are using it and the parsley and serve immediately with a good wine and some greens.

After all that stirring, you have earned it!

Vegan Milk Part III: Rice

Vegan Milk Part I: Hemp

Vegan Milk Part II: Almond

I am very excited to be on part three of the vegan milks. Unfortunately, my camera died last night and sadly I have no pictures now until further notice. Sad.. yes, but really milks seem to look pretty similar and the way they are made follows a pretty simple formula. The only thing that seems to change is whether you need to soak or cook down the grain, nut or seed before you pulverize and strain.

Photo Credit: http://www.thaitable.com

I thought this would be my last vegan milk to try, but I realized that with such a basic formula; I can really take anything I want and attempt to make a milk with it. The mad scientist within me is rejoicing!

Before I get carried away with what is coming up, let's get to the next vegan milk on the menu: Rice

Rice milk seems so easy. I figured you just soaked and processed like the almond milk. I found out, however, this is not the case. Most of what I read said to cook the rice from anywhere from 1 - 3 hours and cool it before making the milk. So after much reading, I decided on the following recipe.

Vegan Rice Milk Makes about 1 litre

• 1/2 cup rice (White or brown, long grain preferred. I used white)
• 6 - 6 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla or a vanilla bean
• 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup, brown rice syrup or agave
• pinch of salt

To make this recipe, set aside some time. First take your rice and combine with the water in a large pot. Bring it to a boil and then simmer on low heat for one hour. After the hour is up, give it a good stir, add the vanilla and stir again. Cover and let it cool off completely.

once cool pour the mixture into your blender and blend for 1-2 minutes on high. While it is blending set up your straining station. Have a large bowl ready with a strainer resting on top. Cover the strainer with cheese cloth with enough that you can pick up the corners.

Next, pour the mixture through the cheese cloth and strainer. Pick up the corners and squeeze all the liquid out. Once all the liquid is in the bowl add the maple syrup and more water if it is too thick. Stir well and put int he fridge to chill before serving.

Photo credit: http://www.milkworld.info

Now, before you go making this I have to share some concerns I have. First this was the first time that there was no sediment left over when I strained the milk. The milk on first glance seems a bit glutenous and a little thick. I added another cup of water to thin it out a bit. Second concern is that using white rice seems to make it sweeter then I was hoping. I think thinning it out with the water will help though.

I am leaving it overnight to see how it does. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: Well it is morning now and the milk is icy cold. The consistency is still not quite right. It is a bit too thick, but I think anymore water would make it lack flavour. The taste is right, however. I know I am close... Perhaps using white rice was the mistake? I really only used it because I have a big bag of white and don't really eat it. I am a brown rice girl all the way.

On the plus side, this recipe made more milk than the others did and I don't think the straining station was necessary as it didn't really catch anything.

Stay tuned for another update, I am going to redo this one with Brown rice and see what happens.