A couple months ago, my friend Shuey taught me how to make homemade soy milk.
Since then, we've made it every week.
It's a great alternative to cow's milk because it's...
...delicious (even Kalan likes it, and he's usually not a fan of soy);
...cheap (50 cents for a week's supply);
...healthy (full of protein);
...pretty easy to make (see recipe below).
Ingredients:
1 C soybeans, soaked in water overnight
Water
Sugar or honey to taste
Vanilla to taste (optional)
Directions:
1. Put the soaked beans in a blender. Add about twice as much water as beans. Blend well...a few minutes at least.
2. Pour the bean/water mix into a large pot, using cheese cloth to strain it. (I couldn't find cheese cloth so I use a cloth bag Shuey gave me). Squeeze all the milk through the cloth, leaving the bean leftovers in the cloth. You can squeeze about 2 cups of additional water through the bag to get even more milk.
3. Set the bean leftovers (called "okara") aside to use later, if you wish.
4. Bring the milk to a boil and let simmer for several minutes. Skim off foam that forms. Stir frequently to prevent a film from developing on the bottom.
5. Turn off the heat. Add sugar/honey and vanilla to taste.
6. Enjoy hot or store it cold in the refrigerator up to 4-5 days. Use like regular milk.
Make sure to wash out your bag or cheesecloth so you can re-use it later.
You can use the leftover okara in many ways. We've used it to make GF bread (which was awesome), and last night I baked it as a dessert crisp topped with fresh peaches (also yummy). I'm looking forward to experimenting more with it.
Thanks Shuey, for teaching us the art of soy milk-making! We miss you. :)
