A traumatic crunchy experience AND oat milk

I've been gone forever! Wow, my last post was in September. I'm sorry, y'all. I'm back now. I know you missed me.

I recently made kombucha. It was probably one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I mean, have you ever touched a SCOBY? *dry heave* They are just... gross. Almost like a mucus plug.

Yes, I went there.
Anyway, the kombucha was delicious and I'm starting my second batch tomorrow.

Moving on.

I've recently sworn off driving due to a near death experience. Which means that I'm currently refusing to drive anywhere, even the store. UNLESS my client goes into labor. In which case, I will risk it and drive to her. Long story short, we were out  of milk today. I have a preschooler, a toddler, and a baby. They all like milk. Only one still likes boobie juice.

I had recently read about rice milk and saw a DIY post about it. I'm a little on the fence about the rice milk thing so, I didn't want to try making that. As luck would have it, I was also out of almonds, coconut, and basically any other nut or seed that can be used to make a milk alternative.

*bing* That's the light bulb blinking. There's a massive sign that says I'm a genius right there above my head. Can't you see it?!

So, I dug out the oats in my pantry, a large bowl, a mesh strainer, a blender and a couple measuring cups.

First things first, measure out 3 cups of oats (steel cut or old fashioned only!) and cover them with water in your large bowl. Let them soak for 30 minutes.

Strain them (you can reserve the soaking water for a bath) and then rinse them REALLY well. If you do not rinse them enough, you'll get slimy milk. Ew. Just when you think you've rinsed all the slime off, rinse a bit longer.

Combine the oats and 9 cups of water in a blender. You may have to do this in batches. Pulse for 3-4 minutes. Now, I just strained in my mesh strainer over a bowl and then bottled in quarts & a pint jar. BUT, there is some residual pulp in my milk. So, I'd recommend using a flour sack towel or a nut bag to strain yours.

 We made chocolate and vanilla flavored oat milk today. Unsweetened and unflavored wasn't bad but, it will take some adjusting to.

To make chocolate, just add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder and 1/4 of your sweetener of choice. Vanilla: Just add 2 tablespoons vanilla extract and 1/4 cup sweetener of choice. You can adjust sweetener to taste.

This is such a simple milk alternative recipe, costs so little, and you can get multiple uses out of it. Oat milk to drink, soaking water for a bath, and leftover pulp for baking! You can dehydrate the pulp and make oat flour, use it as a binder in meatloaf, add it to breads or cookies, etc. I used it as a binder in salmon patties tonight and I still have some leftover in the fridge.