Pumpkin spiced chai
I imagine you'll laugh at me if you live in, say, Colorado. So let me tell you that when I say "cold", I completely understand that, living in Southern California, I have absolutely no ground to stand on. Unless you count the Pacific in January. "Cold" in Los Angeles is not cold in Nova Scotia. I know this because I've been to Nova Scotia in the winter and I thought I was going to die. Just like I thought that frostbite was imminent last Thanksgiving when I was in Boston. And in Connecticut. And in New York for new years eve. In fact, I grew up in Scotland where it gets damn cold. I get it, Southern California isn't cold. Except, well, it's cold. I think your blood gets thin living in a place like this. So thin that when it hits 50 degrees my toes shrivel up and my hands don't work anymore. Cold enough that I swear my bones are turning to ice. Ice, I tell you. In my old apartment, before I had a bathtub, I'd put the shower on and curl up in a ball lying on the floor, while the hot water hit me. I'd like like that for 45 minutes, until I felt less like an ice cube. Less like I was frozen solid. But now I have a bathtub. So I'll light some candles and switch off all the lights, and make a tea sachet with some nice spicy herbs (ginger bath? Yes please!) and lie there until I'm cooked. Then when I get out, I'll make myself a pumpkin spiced chai (inspired by my friend Darcey showing me this link), and curl up on the couch with my new knitting project.
Now, if you're one of those [weird] people who hates pumpkin pie (I'm married to one of them), then you'll hate this. It's like a pumpkin pie in a mug. That said, I love pumpkin pie. Love it. Think about it the second the weather gets cool. And now I can have it in a mug whenever I want it.
Pumpkin Spiced Chai
3 tb canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp sucanat
pinch cayenne
3/4 tsp pumpkin spice (or 1/8 each of cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, cardamom, clove)
1 tb ghee (optional, but it gives it a lovely sweetness and increases the tonic effects)
In a saucepan, heat up all the ingredients until hot enough to drink. Whisk, if necessary, and serve.
Another great variation is to add a shot of espresso-- Pumpkin spice lattes!!
This post is a part of the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop and Fight Back Friday.