Suddenly, I want to make my own almond milk. Why “suddenly?” Every morning I drink matcha latte made with soy milk, but this morning I am out of soy milk, so the time has come for backup. I have made almond milk only one other time in my life and it wasn’t good, primarily because it separated and I tried to thicken it with. . . things. It ended up a slithery goo, making the separating nut milk much more tolerable. But at that point, I didn’t have time to make it again. Much time has now passed. Today is the day to try again.

Almond Milk

1 cup almonds – rinsed well
Add enough hot water to cover them and let soak over night (8-12 hours)

After the soaking is done blend the following in a blender until completely liquified:

• Soaked almonds, drained 4 cups water (different from that used for soaking)
• 1 vanilla bean (cut in small pieces, or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla)
• 2-3 dates (or other sweetener)
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (Note: Penzey’s cinnamon is wonderful)
• Dash of sea salt

After blending, pour mixture through a mesh (preferably a nut milk mesh; pantyhose are not quite as romantic in cooking) Store in a container that is easy to stir since it separates.

So that’s the Almond Milk, and frankly, it is wonderful! I made a little cup of matcha latte with it and, well, it was fantastic! Now the question is what to do with the three cartons of soy milk that are now in the refrigerator since Gordon went shopping at Costco while I was making this milk! This is where Kierkegaard comes in. After boiling the water and letting the almonds soak, I turned to a book by Merold Westphal entitled Kierkegaard’s Concept of Faith. I had read quite a lot of Kierkegaard’s writings while doing my PhD at Emory, but not much since then. My current colleagues will be gathering for a book club around the book this afternoon, so I have a little more to read before going. According to Westphal, Kierkegaard’s concept of faith has many facets, like a diamond. In fact, Westphal counts twelve – definitions of faith. I’m not sure this is the time or place to identify all of them, except to come closer to what faith might be for me. So I will discuss a few of them:

• Faith is a “task of a lifetime.” Like love or doubt, faith is one thing now and something quite different years from now, but it is still faith. There is nothing that comes after it, except a deeper form of itself. I like this idea, but somehow the word “task” does not fit with this concept. A “task” is something one checks off. It does not linger over time unless one fails at fulfilling it. So “task” is not the correct word, in my mind.
• Faith is “trust in divine promises.” It is not simply resignation, but has an element of hope in it.
• Faith is “the highest passion.” Passion is understood here to be more than emotion or feeling. It has to do with character and the core of one’s being exerting its energies toward what is meaningful. The musician is passionate about music; the dancer about dancing. The person of faith is most passionate about faith; it is “the highest passion.” Interesting, – not the “greatest” passion, but the “highest.”
• Faith is “the willingness to be oneself before God.” This one stumps me – to be “oneself” before God, not just to be “before” God, but to be a certain way before God. It seems that for Kierkegaard it is important to have a personal relationship with a personal God. Hmmmm.

That leaves Kombucha. Gordon just came in my office and announced time for our Sunday night film together, so my story of Kombucha will have to wait….