Ras al Hanout Spice Blend

Ras al Hanout is my all-time favorite spice. It is perfect by itself or in combination with just about everything. You can sprinkle it on everything from roasted vegetables and hummus to popcorn! It’s an all in one complex and warm spice. Ras al hanout is my everything.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp jeera/cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp cloves
• 1 tbsp caraway seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp star anise
• 2 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 nutmeg (whole)
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder

Recipe

Take all the whole spices, and toast them over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until they all become aromatic. Let them cool before grinding.

Once your spices have cooled, throw them in a grinder, and pulse until they are mostly ground. (The cinnamon sticks usually give me problems as my grinder is far from industrial, so I like to break them small pieces.)

I made the mistake of putting my turmeric in the grinder with the other spices, and now my grinder will always be yellow!

Now grab your container (preferably glass or the turmeric will stain it forever) and add your coriander and turmeric to it. Take a funnel and a small sieve and sift the spices you ground through the funnel and into the container. As you go, dump the not fully ground spices into another container to re-grind at the end. Once everything is sifted, grind the remaining spices, and sift into the container again.

Now shake everything in your container together to insure the spices are evenly distributed. Your ras al hanout is ready to enjoy!

Creamy Chai

My creamy chai is definitely a warm comforting drink. Filled with spices and tea as any chai is, this creamy chai is excellent as is or with espresso giving it that extra caffein kick. My chai is definitely not a traditional simple chai, nor does it have a super special blend of spices. But it is delicious and fairly tasty and quick to make.

Spice Blend for 1 Serving

• 1 heaping tsp ground cinnamon*
• 1/2 tsp allspice*
• 1/4 tsp ground dried ginger (fresh will give more kick)*
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg*
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper*
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/8 tsp vanilla powder*

Ingredients

• 2 tsp black tea leaves
• spice blend
• 3/4 c water
• 1 1/4 c almond milk*
• 1 tsp agave*

Recipe

First, put your water in a small saucepan on the stove over high heat. To it add your tea and spice blend. Boil this mixture four around 3-5 minutes depending on how strong you like your tea.

At this point, you can add your milk straight to the pan to heat, or if you like that “latte feel” like me, you can warm your milk in the microwave for a couple minutes and froth it in a french press like the percolator “latte” recipe. After I warm and froth the milk, I strain the tea and spices into my cup (the water should have reduced a little now to make this more of a concentrate) also adding the agave and pour in the milk. Viola, you’re ready to enjoy!

*Even if you have almost none of these spices, you can make a chai; it will just be more traditional which is also good! A traditional easy chai is black tea, cardamom, ginger, and milk. Easy as that. Adding sweetener, what milk you use, and how you make your chai are all totally up to your taste buds. Have fun with this recipe!