Rosemary's
Recipes & Remedies
Warm Spice Drink

This is from Rosemary Nightingale, author of Squaw Valley Herb Gardens Recipes & Remedies Book.

Warm Spice Drink
This drink is like chai - but without the caffeine.
To 1 cup water, add a pinch of clove, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1 crushed cardamom seed (green cardamom is best).
Boil for several minutes.
Add 1 cup almond milk or organic soy or rice milk.
Add a drop or two of vanilla extract and honey or sugar to taste.
Delicious in the morning instead of coffee.

History Cloves, Ginger, Cardamom, and Cinnamon  
Cloves - Warm, pungent and aromatic, cloves are the immature unopened flower buds of a tropical tree native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. It is a strong stimulant and carminative and used to treat nausea, indigestion, dyspepsia and temporary relief from toothaches. The oil of the clove is used in pharmaceuticals, as well as fine perfumes, and flavored cigarettes.

Ginger - Spicy, warm and stimulating to the system. Ginger is a key ingredient in Asian and Indian culinary dishes. Ginger’s been cultivated for thousands of years in China and India. Taxed by the Romans as far back as the second century, it’s been warmly received as a culinary spice and provides the added benefit of aiding digestion, soothing upset stomachs and stimulating circulation. Fresh ginger root is beneficial and used in easing colds and flu.

Cardamom - Pungent, warm and aromatic. Cardamom is one of the world’s ancient spices. Originating in India and used in wedding ceremonies. Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds to clean teeth. The Greeks and Romans used it as a perfume. Traditional Indian medicine used it as a digestive aid and as a fat reducer. The Vikings discovered it in Constantinople a thousand years ago and introduced it into Scandinavia where is remains popular to this day. Cardamom is an expensive spice, second only to saffron. Today it is used in curry, coffee, cakes, bread, and flavoring sweet dishes and drinks.

Cinnamon - Fragrant, warm and sweet. Cinnamon is the brown bark from the cinnamon tree, one of the oldest spices known. Mentioned in ancient scriptures, it was used in Egypt as medicine and to flavor drinks. Recorded in one of the earliest books on Chinese botanical medicine it’s popularity continued through history. Cinnamon's unique properties claim lessening blood sugar levels, to relief of onset of a cold or flu, when mixed with some fresh ginger to proven anti-microbial properties.