Cashew milk

It's the day after Thanksgiving and, as usual, I feel like I overdid it yesterday with too many rich foods.  So, it's time to cleanse.  No, I'm not talking about a juice diet or getting a colonic.  I just mean that the foods I eat for the next couple days are going to be lighter, less salty and I'll be avoiding dairy in everything other than my morning coffee.  The problem is that I like milk in my oatmeal.  The solution is homemade nut milk following instructions from the book Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stepaniak.

Here's what you need:
blender
coffee grinder
fine mesh sieve
3 cups almost boiling water
1/3 cup raw nuts (I used cashews)
2-3 tbsp sweetener, depending on the nut you choose (I used 2 tbsp brown rice syrup.  Maple syrup works great too.)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

 Instructions:
1. Grind the nuts to a fine powder/paste using the coffee grinder.

2. Blend the ground nuts, sweetener and flavoring extract with 1/2 cup of the water.

3. Add the rest of the water 1/2 cup at a time and continue to blend.  Take care when blending very hot water.  Don't use a blender that is too small and fill it no more than halfway.  Be careful of the steam when removing the lid.  Use a low speed.

4.  Pour contents of the blender through the sieve, stirring the milk to help it get through.

My sieve isn't very fine, so I add cheesecloth to the straining procedure.

5. Place the contents in a storage container and keep in refrigerator.  It will keep for about a week.  Shake the milk before using.