I have been allergic to cow’s milk my entire life, but since the doctor discouraged my mother from breastfeeding and I was born before baby formula was invented, they had no idea what else to do but to feed me milk. And so my health suffered until I was an adult and finally realized I was allergic — and therefore addicted — to milk.

But there is something in the body that yearns for dairy and for cheese – perhaps a need for the probiotics. There are valuable digestive enzymes in cultured products, so it was a wonderful day in my life when I learned an easy way to make raw, dairy-free sunflower seed cheese. This is what I do…

I use organic sunflower seeds. You can test them to make sure they are organic by rinsing them, soaking them overnight and then giving them a day or two to begin to sprout. If they sprout, you can safely assume they are organic and safe for you to use to make cheese. If a lot of “dirt” is in the soak water and they don’t sprout, don’t use them for this cheese.

Briefly grind a cup or two of rinsed, organic sunflower seeds in a coffee grinder or blender. I don’t grind them long because I like the little chunks in my cheese. Then I put the ground seeds in a bowl and add water to a thick milkshake consistency. Finally, I put the bowl, uncovered, on the counter and stir the mixture two or three times daily.

In two to four days (depending on the weather), when the mixture is “airy” — light and full of bubbles — it will taste tart, like cheese. At that point, I like to add kelp granules and dried dill weed.

The longer it sits out, the more cheesy it will be, but you don’t really want to overdo it.

Store in the refrigerator. Cover lightly; do not tighten the lid. The culture needs air to breathe.

Sunflower seed cheese is great in a wrap, on crackers, bread, or as part of a salad.

Once, I put it in the back of the frig and forgot it for months. It got REALLY “ripe” and when I scraped off the black and tasted it, it reminded me of roquefort cheese. It was delicious on my salad.

You can also add the contents of a probiotic capsule to make your seed cheese cure faster… or use nuts, like almonds, rather than sunflower seeds.

My wish is that you will try this and enjoy it. I inspired myself… on the way now to the kitchen!