Happy Tuesday! The rainy weekend left me shivering and a little sad, so I embraced the bad weather (as Canadians do. Yes Aussies, take some notes) and used the opportunity to make some of my favourite soul-warming winter drinks. The turmeric latte is plucked straight from our menu at Local Press – yes, I’ll be sharing our ‘not-so-secret’ secret recipe! The second is one I spontaneously whipped up one evening, while on a mission to make something delicious with whatever I had on hand. I promise, this spiced cardamom latte is memorably delicious yet so simple. 

First, you need nut mylk. By mylk I mean non-dairy milk. How to make nut mylk with almost any nut (or seed) in less than 10 minutes (not counting overnight soaking)? Read on.

Step 1) If you have a good (or decent) blender – follow through. If you don’t skip to step 5.

Step 2) Soak almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts or pecans (whichever! Just choose one of two or all of them!) in water overnight (or for a few hours at minimum). This is done to activate the nuts and make them more digestible + healthier for you! Add a dash of salt.

Step 3) Drain and rinse the soaked nuts. Add them to a blender with water. The ratio for nuts to water is 1:2 (no matter the quantity). Add a few pitted dates if you’d like, or even a drop of maple syrup or sweetener of choice. Blend blend blend baby. 

Step 4) Using a cheesecloth or fine muslin cloth (or a nut milk bag, which we stock in store and online!), squeeze the milk so that you are left with the solids (nut pulp) and the creamy nut mylk. 

Pssst. Nut pulp is a great base for granola, bliss balls and many raw vegan desserts! Please don’t throw it out – it’s great stuff!

Step 5) No fancy blender? No nuts? Just use nut butter! Whisk a tbsp of almond butter (or other) with a cup of water and a pinch of salt plus a sweetener of choice for a super quick and easy almond mylk!

Spiced Cardamom Latte:

Break up about a tbsp of cardamom pods using a mortar and pestle if you have one. Otherwise place the pods under a clean tea towel and roll over them with a rolling pin. Separate the seeds from the pods and drop them in a small pot. Add 1-2 cups of nut milk to the pot and heat over medium heat. Add honey and serve!

Turmeric Latte: 

First, make your turmeric latte powder. Follow these ratios to make the desired quantity. 

1 part ground ginger : 2 parts ground cinnamon : 4 parts ground turmeric.

Add a pinch of ground pepper for its health benefits (it helps your body better absorb the turmeric’s magic!)

Mix in ½-1 teaspoon of latte mix into 1 cup of nut mylk (depending on how strong you like it), heat in a pot over medium heat, add honey or sweetener of choice and serve!

Enjoy your warming Winter elixirs!

Written by Olivia St-Laurent