Warm Cardamon and Honey Milk

Warm dairy-free milk is steeped with cardamom, with honey and vanilla added to sweeten and flavor it.

Cardamom, vanilla and honey gently sweeten and flavor a glass of milk. Heated until just warm, it is the perfect soothing cup of milk. The flavor profile is based on a “Persian Love Cake” that I baked years ago for a friend’s bridal party. It had the same spices in it, and I really loved it. Cardamom is sometimes called the “queen of spices” and was held in high esteem in the ancient world. I hold it in high esteem in my modern world because it is so delicious! It was traditionally thought to improve digestion and the sweetness of breath, but beyond that it has an exotic, slightly spicy-yet-sweet flavor that is unique. You can replace the vanilla with a few drops of rose extract for an especially Persian flavor profile.

If you could use some relaxing, nourishing warm milk after a busy morning… try this.

You can make this dairy-free by using almond, rice or coconut milk too.

Cardamom and Honey Milk

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk of choice
• 8 green cardamom pods, smashed and the brown seeds removed to use (about 1/2 teaspoon of the brown seeds)
• 3 teaspoons honey (I used local and raw)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the better quality the better as the flavor really comes through)

Cooking directions

1. Combine the milk and cardamom seeds in a small pot and heat until just warm. Take off the heat, and stir in the honey. Let steep for 5 minutes.
2. Add the vanilla (if you want your milk hot, rather than warm, you can reheat at this point) and then pour through a small fine sieve into two cups. Serve right away, for two.