Squash Milk

by Maria Theresa Maggi on January 28, 2022

I was recently reading a LiveKindly article about how mainstream chefs are being compelled into plant friendly and vegan recipes by the rising tide of interest in eating vegan. The article also touted young food influencers eating and cooking and foraging vegan–and in this mix, along with The Korean Vegan and Alexis Nicole (blackforager on instagram) came the name Carleigh Bodrug along with the mention of butternut squash milk as one of her creations–and an admonition not to knock it until you’ve tried it.

Always a fan of what the younger generation is up to, my curiosity was peaked, aided by the fact that it’s been hard to find the organic soy milk I regularly buy, and my laziness about making my own (long soaking period, removing skins, cooking, straining). So off I went to google “squash milk.” And lo and behold– easy recipes for squash milk. And though I didn’t find Bodrug and PlantYou with that first search, I did see you could make it without soaking the seeds or separating them from the orange fleshy strands they are tangled in.

I didn’t happen to have a butternut squash, either, but that didn’t stop me. I had two delicata squashes awaiting me from my last Misfits Market order, so I decided to cut one open for roasting, and if the seeds looked healthy, I would give them a milk making spin.

The recipe I read suggested adding two dates and 3 parts water, but I didn’t exactly measure. I seemed to have about a cup of seeds and goop, and so I used about 3 cups of filtered water. I also added one date, just for kicks. The result is surprisingly delicious, and as you can see the color is a light orange that reminds me of a fifty-fifty popsicle. It’s not as sweet and not quite as creamy as a popsicle of course, but it is lovely nonetheless. It approximates the texture of rice or almond milk combined, and it’s good enough to just drink from a glass if you are so inclined.

I’ve used mine in a kitchari recipe from Minimalist Baker that my son turned me onto, and this big giant pancake bake I make by putting a mixture of oats, fruit or squash and plant milk, coconut water, a little baking powder, soda, a dash of AVC and spices spun in the food processor to make batter, which I dot with blueberries and bake for about 35 minutes at 350.

I’m on my second batch of squash milk, and I love using the seeds in this very non-labor intensive way. I don’t have a high speed blender, just an old  timey Oster, and still it works great.

Keeping things easy but still nutritious is keeping me going through these challenging times, and fueling my new jogging practice. I hope you all are finding healthy vegan comforts as well. Let me know if you try this!

Maria (moonwatcher)

 

 

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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Marge Evans January 29, 2022 at 9:01 am

Happy New Year!

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2 Maria Theresa Maggi February 14, 2022 at 6:09 pm

same to you Marge!

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3 Veronica February 7, 2022 at 2:47 pm

Well, I’ll be! Squash milk. Interesting! I’m not a huge fan of squash, so I’ll probably pass on this one, but I love seeing all the creativity that’s out there. And I’m glad to hear that chefs are adding more plant based fare to their menus!

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4 Maria Theresa Maggi February 14, 2022 at 6:08 pm

Well, you really have to like squash to go for this one, so I totally get it! I agree it’s great to see the creativity and more plant-based fare. 🙂

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