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Homemade Almond Milk

1 cup Raw almonds 2 cups Water: plus more to soak the almonds

Instructions: In a medium bowl, put the almonds and add cold water to cover by about 1 inch. Let the almonds soak overnight uncovered. Drain the almonds, discard the soaking water and rinse them thoroughly with cold water. In the bowl of a blender or food processor, add the almonds and the 2 cups of water and blend on high for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides as needed and blend for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the nuts are finely ground, and the liquid is white. Line a colander with a fine-mesh nut milk bag or a square of cheesecloth and place it over a bowl. Pour the pureed almond mixture into the nut milk bag letting the liquid run through into the bowl. Squeeze the bag to get as much of the liquid out as you can. If you like you may add a touch of honey for sweetness, or vanilla for flavor. The longer you soak the almonds the creamier the resulting almond milk will be.

Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Mixture

Instructions: 1 3/4 cup whole oats (gluten free) 1/2 cup tapioca flour (aka tapioca starch) 1 tsp xanthan gum (optional, but helps it bind)

Put 1 3/4 cups of oats in your blender and turn it on until the oats grind down to the texture of flour. (This will take about 1 minute depending on the power of your blender). Pour the oat flour into a wire mesh strainer or a flour sifter and sift over a large bowl to take out the large pieces of bran. (Discard the large pieces of bran or use in another recipe). Measure out 1 1/2 cup of oat flour and put it into a bowl. (This should be what you have left after sifting out about 1/4 cup of bran). Add the tapioca flour and xanthan gum to the oat flour and stir well until it is well mixed.

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