This is kind of random:
One of the things I miss in the OHMD is rice milk, of which I previously was a voracious consumer. Of course, my rice milk is produced in New York state and even if there were a local producer, the rice itself certainly is not grown within 100 miles. Then the other day, after cooking a batch of farro, and letting it sit for a while, I noticed that the excess liquid had turned whitish and creamy, so naturally the thought occurred to me about whether it would be possible to make farro milk. My mother told me a couple of months ago that when she was little they used to make rice milk in her home. You see, my mother grew up in WWII german bomb shelters, and - after the war - doing nightly raids into wheat and rye fields with mother, father and sister, armed with scissors, carrying home in her apron as much stolen grain and produce as they could under cover of darkness. And she still tells me stories of all the strange culinary inventions a starving population can give birth to. She definitely knows a thing or two about foraging and scavenging… So I’ll ask her if she remembers how to make rice milk, and maybe that recipe can be adapted to farro, too.
Posted on August 18th, 2007 by fulvio
Filed under: Uncategorized
Fulvio,
I’ve made almond milk and the process was fairly simple. You just put the almonds in a blender with water and chop, then let sit for 2 hrs and then strain through cheesecloth. Then you had to add some sweetening, or you can do it during the blending process. The Joy of Cooking has a recipe for it that says 2/3 c almonds to 1/4 cup sugar to 2 cups water.
There is no recipe for rice milk, but they also have a recipe for soy milk where you soak the dried soy beans overnight then do as above, but then you boil it with some more water before you strain it.
I read this a few days ago and it’s stuck with me as-this is what happens after a few weeks of eating local. Things get a little weird and a lot creative. And only weird because I have no idea what farro is. It makes me laugh and I think it’s wonderful. This from a woman who is growing kombucha on the counter. I have no idea what’s next!