Homemade Almond-Oat Milk and Tofu

Ooo-la-la!

I've been all about hot cocoa and tofu scrambles lately.  I recently purchased a soymilk maker and tofu box, so there has been an abundance of different nut and bean milks and tofu in my fridge.  My favorite milk I have made so far has been an almond-oat mix. So creamy and yummy! I don't like any flavoring in my milks, so I don't add anything into it except the almonds and whole wheat oats.   And um, making hot cocoa with this is amaaaaazing.  I like to throw some cashews, almond milk, a chunk of this awesome 100% cocoa chocolate I got in Peru,  a couple teaspoons of sugar, and maybe a swirl of agave into the blender and then heat it up on the stovetop for some yummy homemade cocoa. Forget the powder stuff!  The cashews give the cocoa a really nice creaminess.  Now if only I had some Sweet and Sara's to go with...

Tofu scramble wrap, with tofu, mushrooms, red peppers, nooch, salt, pepper, garlic, and some Daiya mozzarella mixed in.

And the homemade tofu, omg!  I have kept it straight, using just soy beans so far, but plan to experiment with some other beans or maybe some seasoning right from the start of the tofu-making process.  It's really easy to make and comes out nice and firm and tasty.  It's quite the experience to eat the tofu while still warm, right after it has been pressed.  I haven't bought the packaged tofu in years, but have usually bought the little squares of tofu from the cooler in my local Asian market.  It had started to taste a little funny recently, like chemicals or cleaning products or something, so that prompted me to start making my own.  

So glad I invested! No more packaging and it will pay for itself eventually because nuts and beans are so much cheaper in bulk.   It does take some planning ahead to make the milk and tofu, as you need to soak the beans or nuts overnight.  And it takes a couple batches of soymilk to make a decent amount of tofu, although it is mostly waiting-time, not active prep.  I've gotten into a rhythm though, and have it down so it doesn't take up so much time to make it a couple times a week.   So far, I love the machine I got.  It takes about 20 minutes for a batch of the milk to finish and it makes approx. 2-2.5 cups at a time.  I'll usually make a few batches at a time.  I can't wait to make some seasonal or special drinks, like pumpkin spice, chocolate, and chai with them!