Saturday, June 12, 2010

I Make Milk. What's YOUR Super Power?

Day 163.

When I was nursing my youngest daughter, nursing shirts with that slogan were popping up all over the place. I wanted one. I never got one.

The same slogan popped into my mind when I made soy milk yesterday. I do so love stickin' it to The Man by not buying processed foods. So it felt empowering to be able to make my own milk. Plus, as I've shared with you before, dairy doesn't agree with me. Nothing gross... I just experience chest congestion and cough for hours and hours. So it's nice to have dairy alternatives to fall back on.

(although I do love me some cheese...)

Anyway, I bought some soy flour this month, because...well...because it was for sale right next to the graham flour that I had on my list, and I thought it would be fun to try something new. :) Sometimes that's all the motivation I need. I've been using it in breads and as a thickening agent. I noticed a recipe for making soy milk from it on the side of the bag, and thought I'd give it a go.

It worked. But it needs work. I'm looking for a cost-effective source of organic soybeans to use at home. Until then, I'm willing to play with the flour. Learn from me here.

Soy Milk from Soy Flour

What You Need:
  • 1 cup soy flour
  • 6 cups water
  • sweetener of some sort
  • some salt
How it's Done:
  1. The directions say to bring 6 cups of water to a boil, then slowly add in a cup of soy flour, stirring constantly. I say, bring FIVE cups of water to a boil. When it's boiling, combine the soy flour with the last cup of water to make a slurry, whisking until all the clumps are gone. I should have gone with my gut here and treated it like gravy but I went with the directions. Add your slurry to the boiling water and reduce heat to medium. Oh...the directions also don't tell you to use a large pot because soy milk bubbles up very, very quickly when you add the flour to the water. So use a large pot.
  2. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. I would say keep an eye on it because mine created a crusted layer on the bottom of my pot. Could be because I didn't mix the flour with water before adding it in. As a matter of fact, I'm sure that's what went wrong.
  3. Strain through a mesh strainer into a pitcher.
  4. Add sweetener. And salt. The recipe doesn't call for salt but it really does need a pinch. I used vanilla and honey to sweeten this batch. I am going to play with sweetening in the future.
  5. Refrigerate immediately for several hours before serving.
Now, there are people who think soy is very, very bad and won't touch the stuff. In huge doses (like, 6 servings per day or more), it can be less than good for you. But for folks like me, who cook from scratch and don't have any soy in their diets coming from processed foods (soy's in so many things that if you intend to truly avoid it, you had better cook from scratch), soy milk is just fine. But do your own research, and draw your own conclusions. I won't debate the merits of soy with you. It works for my family. :)

Coming soon: More soy milk, and rice milk. Someday, perhaps almond milk, though that would be awfully hard on my budget. So I might do it only once. Rice milk, though...that's affordable. :)

10 comments:

Yenta Mary said...

Boy, are you ambitious! I have never tried this before, but you've given me some motivation ... :)

foodfloozie.blogspot.com

M @ Betty Crapper said...

I tease my mom and sister that soy milk is not milk at all and that they need to start calling it Soy JUICE. Doesn't sound as appealing that way, does it?

Good for you for making it at home.

Samara Link said...

Wow! You kinda rock. :)

Made your black bean stuffed bell peppers last night. Your food has been a bit of a fixture around here lately.

Michelle said...

::blushes:: Thanks for the kudos. Soy juice...hmmm... Yeah, soy milk sounds better.

Samara, I'm so glad you're enjoying my recipes. I have found that beans work very, very well as a beef stand-in. Try black beans in your next spaghetti dish. Plain spaghetti sauce with black beans, tossed with spaghetti...yum.

Unknown said...

You can't see me, but I'm bowing to you right now! I'm not worthy!! You are amazing Michelle! Love your willingness to just do it! I'm not a soy milk fan, but who cares, it's not about me.. it's about you and your super powers! Well done!

Michelle said...

LOL Too funny, Jenn. :o)

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I've never even tried soy milk, whats it taste like? Nice job Michelle! I want to try this too, I bet it would be rockin' in a smoothie!

Michelle said...

It depends on what you put in it, Andrea. It's very plain and mildly bean-y to me.

Out of the Box into the Kitchen said...

just water and soy flour? how intriguing! maybe ill try it sometime...although i tend not to eat/drink it for reasons you suggested.

Joy @ Joy Of Desserts said...

I never realized it was so easy to make. I've never come across a recipe for it before. I think you are right about adding vanilla and a sweetener. Maybe try brown sugar. It should add a nice flavor if it's not overpowered by the soy itself. My #1 concern with soy is making sure I buy it organic. You made me smile about "sticking it to the man." It's especially true with soy (one company controls about 90% of the soy supply).

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