We're working on a book on All Vegan Comfort Foods here at Planteaterbooks.com, so this recipe will be a part of that project. Enjoy!

I go through a lot of soy milk, so when I learned how easy it is to make it at home I was thrilled. Here is the recipe I have developed by combining a rice milk and almond milk recipe into one. This totally dairy-free, vegan milk is both light and smooth, and can be made thicker or thinner according to your preference. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
1/2 cup raw almonds, soaked for about six hours
4-6 cups of water
1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
pinch of salt

Directions:
1.  Wash brown rice to be sure it is clean and free from particulates.
2.  Combine 2 cups of water, oil, and salt in the pan you use to make rice and bring to a boil, then add the washed brown rice.
3.  Keep on high heat until it begins to boil again, giving it the occasional stir. Then lower heat and simmer on very low heat for about 3 hours. There will be more water than you need to make regular rice, so it will be soupy. Stir the rice soup occasionally and make sure it doesn't dry out. There should be about half rice, half water in the pan in the end.
4.  Add the almonds that have been soaking into the rice and continue to cook for 15 minutes or so.
5. Take the rice and almond soup and pour into a blender and add water so that the ratio is 1:1 water to rice. You can perform this step in a couple stages, if you'd like.
6. Blend on high speed for a minute or two, or until the soup achieves a milky-white and smooth feel. You can add more or less water, depending on desired thickness.
7. Pour your fresh rice and almond milk into a container through a fine strainer and place in the fridge to chill. (Straining is especially recommended if your blender is not very powerful, or if you like a smoother texture.) Now it is ready to be used in all the ways that you would use dairy milk.

Variations:
- You can use any kind of nut available; cashews are another favorite of mine.
-You can scent the milk with a few drops of vanilla, vanilla syrup, molasses, or maple syrup for added kick and sweetness.

The first time I made this non-dairy milk  recipe, I thought I had made way too much and that I would never be able to consume all of it, but I found myself using it all within days and then making more.  Now, I make it about twice a week and use it almost daily to make fruit shakes, oatmeal, or just ot enjoy with some vegan chocolate cookies like the ones I blogged about below. I haven't bought commercially produced non-dairy milks since I started making this recipe, and I love love love having fresh, high quality "milk" on hand for a fraction of the cost of commercially available alternatives.