If you’ve already mastered homemade nut milk,  now is the time to graduate to the next nondairy milk level – one that involves sprucing up the mix with more interesting ingredients.

Enter: lavender rose almond milk. This recipe is a floral rendition of the vegan milk alternative. It can be used in all the places you’d normally use almond milk – oats, cereal, baked goods, smoothies, and coffee – and will add just a kiss of lavender and rose accents in which a discerning palate will surely luxuriate.

Let this lavender rose almond milk recipe be just the beginning of your trek towards flavored nut milks. Lavender and rose pair very well together and leave a delicate brush of aroma to your otherwise plain almond milk. Feel free to replace the almonds with any other nut, and if want the lavender and rose flavors to be stronger, simply add more of them, a pinch at a time.

For this recipe, I use dried lavender and dried rose petals, but you could use fresh lavender and rosewater if you prefer them. Simply replace the dried lavender with a sprig of fresh lavender and the dried rose petals with a tablespoon of rosewater.

Lavender Rose Almond Milk Recipe

Makes about three cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw almonds, soaked in water overnight
• 3 cups water
• 4 Medjool dates, pitted
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
• 3 pinches dried lavender
• 3 pinches dried rose petals

Directions

Drain and rinse the almonds. Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend for 30 seconds, or until the almonds have completely broken down.

Pour the mixture into a nut milk bag over a pitcher or bowl. Squeeze the bag until all of the liquid has been filtered from the pulp. Store the pulp to use later as a base of a vegan and gluten-free cookie or cracker.

Store the lavender rose almond milk in a sealed pitcher and keep on hand for all your milk needs.

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The post Nondairy Milk Goes Floral: Lavender Rose Almond Milk Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

Indulge in a little bit of DIY pampering by learning how to make rose water for cleansing, toning and softening your skin – or use it in the kitchen!

Rose water has been made and used for millennia, at least since the Islamic Golden Age when it was used as a perfume and beverage. In modern times, the purifying and skin softening qualities of those silky rose petals have turned rose water into a beauty ingredient coveted not only for its lovely fragrance. Rose water is one of the gentlest astringents, making it the ideal cleanser and moisturizer for sensitive skin. Rose water is also still heavily used in Persian, Middle Eastern and Indian cultures for culinary purposes.  It is often found in desserts such as baklavas, Turkish delight, cookies, ice cream and several drinks such as teas and lassis.

This simple recipe can be used with any type of fragrant rose petals. Damask roses and heirloom climbing roses are the most popular varieties for rose water, as they produce ample blossoms from summer to early fall. If purchasing your rose petals from the store or online, look for dried, organic damask rose petals (Rosa damascena). You’ll want to make sure to use organic petals as the harsh chemicals sprayed on conventional roses are definitely not good for your skin.

How to Make Organic Rose Water

Ingredients
4 quarts fresh organic rose petals or 3 quarts dried organic rose petals
Water
Ice cubes

Equipment
Large pot with an inverted lid  (canning pots work well)
A brick that will fit in the pot
A quart size glass Pyrex bowl

Method
Place the brick inside the pot. If you have harvested or bought whole roses, pull the petals off of the center of the flower and place them in the pot. Fill the pot with enough water to just cover the rose petals and the brick. Put the pot on a burner and place the glass bowl on top of the brick. Place the inverted lid on the pot and bring the water to a boil.

Once the water has reached a boil, place a heap of ice cubes on the lid. This is essentially the way a still functions, as the steam from the boiling water rises, hits the cold lid, and condenses in the middle of the lid. The condensed rose water then drips into the glass bowl and retains the essential oils from the rose petals. Keep the water boiling for no longer than 30 minutes, after which you can take the pot off the heat and let it cool. You should have a little less than a quart of rose water in the glass bowl. Once the rose water has cooled down, store it in a glass jar with an airtight lid out of the sun.

Use the rose water to make your own facial toner, perfumes and delicious, floral desserts. Try the same method for making other flower waters such as lavender water or chamomile water and combine them for unique scents and flavors.

Image: Myrtle Glen Farm

The post The Essence of a Rose: How to Make Rose Water appeared first on EcoSalon.