I sometimes buy rice based “cheese” from my local Whole Foods, but lately I’ve been wanting to experiment in the art of making my own dairy free cheeses from scratch. I’ll admit, I was hesitant to endeavor at first. It looked complicated and I could just see myself ending up with a big lumpy untasty mess. Wrong! I’m so glad I took the plunge–and it was actually one of the easiest things to make.

I followed this basic recipe from RAWmazing.com for my first try (with some of my own deviations) and have to say I’m pretty impressed. Next time I’ll probably try to play with the flavors a little differently as the garlic taste was a bit heavy for my taste. The texture was nothing short of amazing and creamy though, and I ended up eating half the batch in one sitting–a perfect summer treat with brown rice tortillas and juicy organic blueberries.

Homemade Almond Nut Cheese (adapted from RAWmazing)

(This recipe is free of dairy, gluten, soy, peanuts, legumes, wheat, and eggs. Vegan/Vegetarian).

• 1 cup almonds (soaked in water overnight, then peeled of the skins)
• 3/4 cup filtered water
• 2 tablespoons lemon
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• Ground/dried basil, parsley, or herbs of your choice to make an herbed cheese.

After the almonds have been soaked, drained, and de-skinned, combine with the rest of the ingrediants in a high speed blender. (I do not recommend using a food processor unless it is very strong and doesn’t leak). Blend until smooth and creamy, which may take a few minutes. Use a cheese cloth or nut milk bag to pour the mixture into and squeeze out the excess moisture. Take the remaining cheese like part and place it in the fridge overnight. You can use a mold to hold the shape or just put it in a pretty dish to set. If you want to form a rind, RAWmazing suggests you put it in the deyhydrator for a few hours.

My new dairy free go-to.

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