To cheese or not to cheese...

....that is ALWAYS my question.  And usually I go with CHEESE!  But if you know me, or followed my posts, I have been trying to break up with cheese for a while.  I've become too dependent on it in my cooking, and although I'm not lactose intolerant, I know that I feel better without it.

So..... today in class I made an almond milk, and when you strain the milk, you get this "almond meal."  When I dumped it into a bowl, it immediately reminded me of ricotta...the look, the texture, the consistency.  Man, does everything remind me of cheese?????

If you've never made nut milk, it's super easy.  Two ways to do it.  You can soak the nuts overnight; now, I'm not good at that.  The only thing I really do well ovenight is sleep....and I'm GOOD at it.  My friend Sue once said when I bought a hammock for the backyard, "Yeah, that's all you need - another place to sleep!"  I think she was still jealous that I slept all the way from SF to Hawaii, while she sat next to my mother, who also couldn't sleep, but I'm SURE could talk.

Anyway, if you're not a pre-planner like me, you can blanch 1 cup of almonds in boiling water for a few minutes and then drain and rinse.  Then slip the skins off and put in a blender with 3 cups of water and let 'er rip for a while until completely smooth.  A Vitamix is perfect for this, if you're lucky enough to have one (I am not....boooo).  Then press the milk through fine cheesecloth (a paint strainer from Home Depot works even better and can be used over and over), and you are left with the almond meal.

Most people will throw that away.  Don"t do it!  Add some chopped fresh herbs (I used thyme and rosemary), a couple pinches of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a 1/2 teaspoon of nutritional yeast (there it is again - stop making that face!) and you have a delicous, dairy-free ricotta. 

Use it in lasagna or anywhere you would use ricotta (like on a spoon.... a BIG spoon!).  I served it up on crackers and wowed the crowd.....love when that happens.

Two treats in one.  The almond milk isn't something that would ever replace a nice, big, ice-cold glass of milk for me, but I do like it in coffee, a smoothie or over my granola or cereal.  That's just me.  You can add vanilla, cinnamon and/or stevia to sweeten it up - and that way, I know a lot of people who like to drink it.  I still remain true to my California cows for that tall glass of milk....