A steaming cup of golden milk is like a warm hug on a cold day. It's just the thing to lift your spirits and provide you with a sip of comfort when you might be needing it - the gift of turmeric's healing properties in liquid golden form. (Skip to recipe.)
This time of year is always a bit bittersweet for me: so sad that all the joy and wonder of Christmas is over, but looking forward to the luminous beginning of the new year ahead and all the thrill a fresh start entails.
Our Christmas was special and warm and wonderful, even if I was in the grips of a savage cold/flu for the first week of the holiday. My throat was on fire, a constant headache pounded, and my body ached all over, but my kiddoes were all home and the family felt complete again. I didn't pull out as many holiday decorations this year, and we only decorated the tree two days before Christmas, but you know what? I kinda liked that. I liked the house with less clutter and less holiday doodads all over the place. When the kids were little it was fun to decorate every single room and every corner with Christmas cheer, but maybe that era has come to an end.
I liked the simpler feel of only a few special Christmas decorations about. Instead of hauling out all fifty nutcrackers in my collection; I just put a couple clusters of them on top of the piano.
Instead of big red bows at the corner of every door frame; just a few strands of pine garland and twinkle lights over several pieces of furniture and looped around the stair rails.
A few angels tucked in another corner and my mom's crocheted snowflake mobile hanging in the living room and our home was festive and ready for the season.
The beautiful bonus is that there's much less frippery to put away now. Our tree will come down this week (we always leave it up until after the 6th, which is Epiphany or Three Kings Day), and then the house will be ready for a whole new year, a whole fresh start.
Part of that fresh start is getting myself healthy again after the nasty cold invasion. During the full onslaught of symptoms I kept things moving along with my mom's homemade cough syrup and lots of hot honey, lemon, and ginger tea. But now that the worst symptoms are gone and all that's left is a tight chest, I'm finding that hot mugs of soothing golden milk latté are getting me on the road to healing. The great anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric (aided by its sidekick, black pepper), combined with the antibacterial power duo of honey and cinnamon, make this a drink that's not only comforting, but healing as well.
Any time you feel the first tickling of a cold fluttering in your throat, make yourself a hot mug of golden milk, or up the ante with a full blown golden milk latté.
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Kitchen Frau Notes: Ceylon cinnamon or true cinnamon is milder and sweeter than regular cinnamon, and more healing properties. If you can get it, use it in this golden milk latté, but if not, just use regular cinnamon (only ½ teaspoon).
Coconut oil's healthy fat adds a richness and unctuousness to this warm and spicy beverage.
A dash of black pepper is important for increasing the bio availability of turmeric.
Regular Golden Milk
- milk of your choice (plant-based or dairy milk)
- turmeric to taste (start with a ¼ teaspoon per cup of milk)
- honey to taste
Warm the milk and stir in turmeric and honey to taste.
Golden Milk Latté
- 2 cups (480ml) vanilla almond milk or any other kind of plant-based or dairy milk + ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120ml) water
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon (or ½ teaspoon regular cinnamon)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon honey (or more or less to taste)
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the milk to a simmer, then simmer for 1 minute. Watch it carefully as it boils over very easily if left unattended. (Believe me, I know!)
Stir, then divide into two mugs and serve hot.
Makes 2 servings.
Guten Appetit!
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Nicoletta
Your decorations in the house looked beautiful! I am sorry to hear you were not well. Hope now it is passed. What a wonderful golden milk, we love it and un'ultima I was there we had it almost every night with Loreto. Will try your recipes
Margaret
Thanks so much, Nicoletta <3. My cold is still hanging around, but the worst of it is over. Golden Milk is a comfort in the evenings here, too. Christmas was lovely and relaxing - hope yours was great. Greetings to you in beautiful Roma!
Sina
Dear Margaret,
hope you're feeling better already!
I think this Golden milk latte will come in handy at our house since some family members reported symptoms of a cold ...I'm not sure if the kids will approve of this spicy beverage though 😉
Oh, and I finally got around to making your Cottage Buns, they were a big hit with my gluten-free friend, yay! So thank you for this recipe, published almost one year ago!
All the best to you in this winter days, Sina
Margaret
Aww, thank you for you health wishes, Sina. Yes, the cold is mostly gone, just a lingering and annoying tightness in the chest that will hopefully also slink away soon. I'm still treating myself to Golden Milk most evenings and it's so comforting. Just put a tiny pinch of pepper in and maybe it won't be too spicy for your kids - you never know. Their tastes can be so surprising sometimes.
So glad your friend liked the Cottage Buns - your message reminded me to make some, too, since I've got some cottage cheese in the fridge right now, and I'd kind of forgotten about them. I tend to to make certain things often for a while, and then they slip into the background for months until I suddenly think of them and I get onto a streak of making them again. Happy Winter to you, too. We're in the depths of it now, with long hours of darkness and lots of snow (but thoughts of spring will be stirring soon, I know).