Making Almond Milk

Take 2 cups of raw, organic almonds (organic are recommended, but not required). Soak in a bowl of room temp water for 8 hours. The water should cover the almonds completely (the soaking removes protease inhibitors--which inhibit digestion-- and begin the sprouting process of the nut which makes the almonds more enzymatically "alive"). Rinse the almonds using a strainer or colander (notice the amount of excess "gunk" that is in the water--now you don't have to consume that stuff). Place almonds in blender using as much as 5 cups water and as little as 3 cups depending on how thick you want your final milk to be. A Vitamix or Champ blender is preferable as I blew out 5 regular blenders from making almond milk daily over a 3 month period. Blend until the almonds are completely pulverized--I usually count to 27. Place nutmilk bag over an adequately sized pan or bowl. Allow all contents to fill the bag. Carefully remove the bag from the bowl's rim, being sure to not let any of the insides come out. Cinch the bag at the top. Holding the top closed with your non-dominant hand "milk" the bag like you would a goat, or a cow, or a...well whatever it is is you have milked. Once all liquid is squeezed from the bag, squeeze more to get that extra rich almond yummy still left in the bag. Place bag of almond pulp in soaking bowl. Rinse blender of all first round remnants. Place clean almond milk liquid in the blender. Open section of real vanilla bean using a sharp blade to splice the bean in half. Scrape deeply at the beans inside shell to remove the precious, delicious brown vanilla seed. Carefully balance the knives edge on your way to the blender and place seeds in the liquid. Go back and scrape the bean more--its o.k. if some of the outer bean shell is used in the mixture (Sometimes vanilla bean seeds get under your fingernails--get them out and eat them). Add a generous amount of sweetner of your choice (soaked and pitted dates, raw honey, agave, maple syrup). Blend again until lovely white foam is prevalent at the top of the liquid. Pour, enjoy, refrigerate. (Raw cacao can be added for chocolate lovers at the vanilla sweetner stage). And what to do with the almond pulp? Make bread. That recipe is forthcoming.