Tools of the Trade: "milk"

Everyone cooking without dairy has their favorite substitutions for dairy products.  Every cookbook I've read on the subject so far seems to rely heavily on soy based products.  Soy is for sure useful, especially because it has a decent amount of protein in it that is generally lacking or greatly less in other non dairy products, but I don't like to use it in general.

My personal favorite is coconut milk.  It is rich and fatty (the good for you kind) and neutral enough in taste that you can use it in place of milk.  It's fat content is high enough that you can use it in place of cream without sacrificing mouthfeel.  It bakes up well and makes some pretty rockin oatmeal.

When you're looking for coconut milk, find one that does not contain sodium metabisulfite (used to keep the milk white) which I think makes it taste like the can.  My favorite brand by far is Whole Foods 365.  It's organic and usually cheaper than every other coconut milk except the stuff I can buy at the Vietnamese grocery that's like $.79 but tastes ONLY like the can.  When I'm not near a WF, the Thai brand is also quite good.  I use both lite and regular--lite for everyday cooking and regular for when I want extra creaminess.

Mark Bittman has a recipe for your own coconut milk in his most excellent book, How to Cook Everything.  In his typical gentle cynicism, he writes, "You can buy coconut milk in cans, but it's relatively expensive and, for me at least, more trouble than it's worth.  On the othe hand, a pound of dried coconut costs about $2...and will make gallons of coconut milk, thick or thin, with little effort."  To be honest, I haven't really had much success with this, though I own an awesome blender, but then I was trying to make less than the recipe makes, which usually isn't a good idea in a blender.  Seriously, I really need to try this again...

Speaking of oatmeal:

~E's Morning Oatmeal

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
pinch of salt
1/2 cup coconut milk--lite or regular
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp allspice
a good does of honey or agave nectar (maybe 1 T)
1/2 cup fruit--fresh or frozen (I used peaches this morning)

Combine everything except the fruit in a small pot over medium low heat.  Consume a few cups of tea and read something interestingwhile it cooks--it needs to cook maybe 10 minutes or so.  You can poke it with a spoon once in a while if it makes you feel better.  When the liquid has been absorbed and it's all thickening up, at the fruit and stir.  Voila!  Tasty oatmeal.