Today, since I still have the deep fryer out from the piroshki, I'm going to try something traditional: The Salvation Army's donut recipe from WWI. Except I'm going to add a medievel/vegan/lazy-Californian twist: I'm out of milk and can't be bothered to go to the store just to get one cup for the recipe. But I have a medieval recipe for almond milk, and a jar of crushed hazelnuts, which should work just fine and add a nice flavor to donuts.

Here are the recipes:

WWI Donuts - Makes approx 15 - 20 donuts

Ingredients:

• 4 cups plain flour
  
• 1½ tsp salt
  
• ½ tsp butter
  
• 4 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 egg
  
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
  
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
  

Method:

Put flour in shallow pan, add salt, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar. Rub in butter with fingertips. Add the well beaten egg and milk and stir thoroughly. Toss on floured board, roll to one-fourth inch in thickness, shape, fry, and drain. Dust with a bit more sugar.

Almond Milk

In the Middle Ages, milk would not stay fresh, especially in the summer, so this basic was used as it kept for longer and was not prone to curdling. It is high in fats and can even be churned to produce a butter. There are a number of references for it throughout literature which refer to the use of both almonds and walnuts.

• 225g (8oz) Ground almonds
  
• 450ml (16 floz) Boiling water
  

Combine almonds and water.
Steep for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Sieve the mixture or use a blender until all of the ground almonds are combined.
Produces: 450ml (16 floz) almond milk.
To make Walnut Milk simply substitute walnuts for almonds.