Hemp milk, straight and Indian style

Today was a stressful day for me. I had to head down to my new school board to see what teaching jobs were available after the people on the priority list had their choices. Ah! The joys of moving and changing school board… I wouldn’t say that everything I have done so far is out the window, but me not being on the priority list anymore is certainly not something I was looking forward to. Let me know how the teaching employment system is in your country, but I can safely say that what we have in Quebec is pretty stressful and keeps teachers in a precarious state for many years.

That being said, I knew what was coming, so I decided to prepare a comforting drink for when I would come back from that day of waiting and stressing so that I could relax a little before taking the car to the big city (more on that soon!). I decided to try making hemp milk because we haven’t received our fridge yet, so milk has been a scarce resource in the last few days. Here goes!

Here is what you need:

• 1 cup hemp seeds hearts
• 1 cup water + 3-4 cups water to be used later
• sweetener of your choice (optional, I didn’t use any)

For the spiced version:

• 1 tsp orange blossom water
• 4 cardamom pods, crushed open
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorn
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• dash of vanilla extract

Here is what you do:

1. Let the hemp seeds soak in 1 cup of water for a few hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
2. If you are doing the straight version, place the hemp hearts in your blender along with 3 or 4 cups of water depending on how thick you want your milk to be. Blend until smooth. Add the sweetener if you want. You can strain the milk if you want it to be extra smooth, or enjoy as is!
3. If you want to make the spiced version, place 1 cup of the water you want to use (1 out of 3 or 4 total) in a small pot and mix in the cardamom pods, peppercorn and cinnamon powder. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain and set aside. Process the hemp hearts with the remaining water, orange blossom water and vanilla extract in your blender until smooth. Strain the milk and add the spiced water and sweetener (optional). Give a quick stir and enjoy!

This is really simple and perfect if you are out of milk, or looking for another plant-based alternative. The spiced version is very rich and is great if you enjoy chai tea. The orange blossom water gives this spicy drink a refreshing side while also complementing the cardamom very well. This is great warm or cold, so you can enjoy it anytime! And look at how white it is!  Let me know what you think!

Pour faire ce magnifique lait aux graines de chanvres, voici ce dont vous aurez besoin:

• 1 tasse de graines de chanvre écallées
• 1 tasse d’eau + 3-4 tasse d’eau à utiliser plus tar
• Édulcorant de votre choix (optionnel, je n’en ai pas utilisé)

Pour la version épicée:

• 1 c. à c. d’eau de fleur d’oranger
• 4 gousses de cardamome, ouvertes
• 1/2 c. à c. de grains de poivre noire
• 1/2 c. à c. de cannelle en poudre
• Quelques gouttes d’extrait de vanille

Voici ce que vous devez faire:

1. Faire tremper les graines de chanvre dans 1 tasse d’eau pour quelques heures. Filtrer pour retirer l’eau et rinser.
2. Pour la version de base, mettre les graines de chanvre dans votre mixeur avec 3 ou 4 tasses d’eau selon la consistance de lait que vous préférez. Ajouter votre édulcorant et mixer jusqu’à ce que toutes les graines soient pulvérisées. Si vous le souhaitez, passer le lait au travers dans tamis pour le rendre crémeux. Voilà!
3. Pour la version épicée, porter 1 tasse d’eau à ébullition. Ajouter la cardamome, le poivre et la cannelle et laisser frémir pour 5 minutes. Retirer du feu, filtrer et réserver. Mixer les graines de chanvre avec 2 ou 3 tasses d’eau, l’eau de fleur d’oranger et la vanille. Ajouter l’eau épicée et bien mélanger. Encore une fois, il est possible de filtrer le lait pour obtenir un résultat plus crémeux. Voilà!