Chai Spiced Party Punch

The theme for this past weekend's TV segment on Global Calgary was a Chai Spiced Party Punch. Originating from India, Punch derived its name from the Hindi word "panch" meaning five. Traditionally this drink was made up of sugar, water, lemon, spices and other fruit juices. When it was subsequently transported to England and other western countries, it started taking on many other forms.

To stay true to this versatile and easy to make party drink, I wanted to create a recipe using five healthy and delicious ingredients, one of them obviously being spices!

Watch the video here to catch more of my personal tips on when to use whole versus ground spices and how to get more out of using your spices with one simple storing tip!

Chai is also traditionally Indian and means "tea" but in modern times we relate it to more of a spiced tea made up of warming and digestion enhancing spices. The below versions allow for both a caffeine free version and not.

Chai Spiced Party Punch

Serves 2-4

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of no added sugar Apple Juice

1 cup of no added sugar Pineapple Juice

5 Spice Sanctuary Coorg Cardamom Pods, slightly cracked open

6 Spice Sanctuary Cloves

1 Tbsp  Unrefined organic Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 Tsp Spice Sanctuary Ginger Powder

1/4 Tsp Spice Sanctuary Nutmeg Ground

1/2 Tsp Spice Sanctuary True Cinnamon 

1/4 Tsp Spice Sanctuary Coorg Cardamom Ground Seeds

1 cup  Coconut Water or brewed black tea

1-2 measures of Rum or Brandy (optional)

Lemon and Orange Wedges to garnish

How to Make:

1. Pour the apple and pineapple juices into a pan and add in the whole spices and a few twists of a good black pepper. Bring to a boil.

2. Next, add in the apple cider vinegar and remaining spices and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes to fully allow the spices to both infuse and impart into the juices.

How to Enjoy:

1. If serving cold, let the spiced juice cool completely before, straining into a punch bowl and then adding in some cold and naturally sweetened coconut water and (alcohol) adding the citrus slices to garnish. The longer you leave the spices in the juice, the better!

2. If serving hot, turn off the heat and add in a cup of brewed black tea, before straining, adding in the alcohol and transferring into a crock pot, adding the citrus slices and keeping it warm.

The name says party but really you can enjoy this anytime!

7 Amazing Warming Spices to Use This Winter!

Last Saturday, I made my second TV appearance on Canadian television which was very exciting!

This time, the theme was winter warming spices. I am all about versatility when it comes to everything, especially food and so what better way to showcase 7 amazing warming spices in a dish that  can then be deconstructed and made into at least 3 other dishes too! I have included the recipe below.

Here are the 7 spices I used and a brief description of why they will help you get through winter!

1. Cinnamon

This beautiful spice is known to create internal heat, improve blood circulation as well as lower blood sugar levels. Make sure it is True Cinnamon you are using though!

2. Cumin Seeds

Naturally high in Vitamin C, this earthy aromatic spice has been long used to help ward off colds and coughs. Cumin Seeds are also high in iron so helping to improve energy too.

3. Cardamom

My favourite spice of all time can be used in savory and sweet dishes. Excellent as a digestive aid and also helps to open up the respiratory channels. Add crushed pods to rice or grind the seeds and add to desserts, fruit salads, nut butters.

4. Red Chili

Chili, as you might expect, raises body heat but also helps with increasing metabolism and acts as an anti bacterial. Chilis are also naturally high in Vitamin A and C so another great winter spice!

5. Cloves

Cloves are known to improve blood circulation and ease digestion too. Great to steep in a tea or infuse into a rice or dessert dish. Remember my tip for good quality: because the volatile oils are predominantly in the heads, make sure the heads are intact and they should float vertically in warm or hot water.

6. Nutmeg

Nutmeg is extremely warming but needs to be used in small quantities and it should be tested for aflatoxin and ochratoxin at source if possible.

7. Nigella Seeds

Nigella seeds (aka Kalonji seeds) are universally versatile. Add into salad dressings, yogurt dishes, rice, roasted veggies or onto lean meats and into stews and curries and dips. It has the most powerful plant based antioxidant compound in it so one to have in your spice cupboard for sure!

Why not grind a little bit of each of the above spices for a unique winter Garam Masala!!

Warm Apple & Butternut Squash Salad

(serves 2) (Gluten Free)(Vegan) 

 

2 cups  Butternut squash, cut into 1” cubes 
1/4 tsp Spice Sanctuary Red Chili Ground
1 tsp     Spice Sanctuary Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Spice Sanctuary Nigella Seeds
1 Tbsp  Grapeseed or olive oil
2 Tbsp  Coconut Oil
8           Spice Sanctuary Cloves      

1     Golden Delicious Apple, skin on but cut into small 1” cubes 
1 tsp    Spice Sanctuary True Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Spice Sanctuary Nutmeg Ground
1/2 tsp Spice Sanctuary Cardamom Seeds, Ground

1 Tbsp  Hemp Seeds
Pomegranate arils and parsley to garnish (optional)
Method:

1.     Preheat the oven to 400F. In a bowl, coat the squash with the red chili ground, cumin seeds and nigella seeds first before adding in the oil and mixing it all well. Season with a little sea salt before transferring onto a baking sheet and roasting in the oven for about 30 minutes until you can put a skewer through them with little effort. Make sure you turn them over every 10 minutes to ensure they do not brown too much.

2.     Meanwhile, in a pan, heat the coconut oil on a medium heat. Add in the cloves and allow them to simmer in the oil for a minute or so to allow the volatile oils to release. You should be able to smell the cloves at this point.

3.     Then add in the apple cubes and gently cook for a couple more minutes.

4.     Next, add in the remaining spices and continue to cook down until they just begin to soften, usually only another couple of minutes. There should be some residual spiced sauce left.

5.     Transfer the butternut squash and cooked apples into serving bowl. Sprinkle in the hemp seeds for a protein boost and toss well so that the sweetness of the apples melds with the heat in the squash. Drizzle over any remaining spiced coconut oil and garnish with some chopped parsley and pomegranate arils and enjoy immediately.

Other Deconstructed Dishes:

1.     To make a delicious heartwarming soup, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk and 1 cup of water into a blender together with the cooked apples, squash and hemp seed and blend until smooth. Heat again prior to serving.

2.     Use just the cooked apples for a smoothie or breakfast dish or cook down further to make a spiced apple pie filling or reduce even further for a sugar free applesauce.

3.     Add just the cooked squash to curries or stir fries. Or serve the squash as a side to any dinner.

Bon Appetit!

10 Back-To-School Spices & Herbs for Lunchboxes

Looking for inspiration to make the kids' lunchboxes more interesting and varied? Want to start introducing your kids to spices in their meals? Want to aid their digestion and boost the antioxidants in their meals?

We've put together just a handful of suggestions on how to incorporate spices more into your kids' diets and make their lunchboxes so delicious they'll come back empty every day!

Sandwich Spreads

• Pureed Avocado with garlic, salt and pepper
• Fruit chia jams with a hint of cardamom to ease digestion
• Hummus with cumin or even a more traditional Moroccan spice blend in it
• Pesto with some nigella seeds added into the mix

Snacks

• Peanut Butter mixed with some True Cinnamon with Apple Slices
• Fruit Salad with a Maple Syrup and Sweet Delight Spice Blend dressing
• Banana Bread using some aflatoxin free nutmeg

Drinks

• Flavoured Water with fresh Mint & Cucumber
• Mango smoothie with a hint of cardamom
• Fresh pressed Pineapple Juice with black pepper
• Orange juice mixed with a little ginger and nutmeg

There you have it.. at least 10 spices and herbs you can easily use to tasty up your children's lunchboxes!

Meeting the Spice Farmers

Wow, it has been over a year since we've posted a blog! This hiatus was not because we had nothing to write about but the total opposite..we were extremely busy building up the business and spreading the Spice Sanctuary spice love!

We started this year with 55 retail locations across Canada stocking our spices and a fabulous trip to go and meet the farmers who are growing our increasingly popular products! Apart from learning so much about how far organic farming has come along in India and of course seeing the spices in their sapling form to ready for harvest, the one thing we took away from our tours was just how much love, effort and skill these farmers dedicate to growing such beautiful spices. Their infectious smiles and warm hospitality was only a tiny glimpse into the love they pour into their farms and crops. No wonder we feel so much more connected to our products and more appreciative of their freshness and journey.

Meet Farmer Dehra AKA the King

He owns a small farm near a windfarm in southern Indian growing organic ginger. The ginger is then washed, sliced, sun dried and then powdered. Did you know that the ginger crop takes up so many nutrients from the soil that, once harvested, ginger cannot be grown in that same plot of land for a few years? This means Farmer Dehra has to be so versatile in what he grows on this plot in future years and hope that the yields will be good.

Meet Farmer Joy and his daughter

Farmer Joy has a 2 acre farm growing ginger and turmeric. Both of these spices are from the ginger family so grow in similar soil conditions. Turmeric takes about 9 months to grow and when the leaves are dry, the roots are ready to harvest. Shortly after, it is boiled for many hours before being sun dried (what the daughter is holding) and powdered.

Meet Farmer Shruthi, the Cardamom farmer

Farmer Shruthi's farms are in the Coorg region of India where the best Cardamom in the world is grown. Who knew that cardamom needed such skilled pickers for it to be the best quality - the difference between the inside of your cardamom pods being black seeds or gray or brown seeds is all down to the picker knowing which pods are ripe or not. The pods are then dried and graded by size and volatile oil content, bold grade being the best available.

Meet Farmer Ganesh

Farmer Ganesh owns a beautiful farm with his family and brother. They, like many farmers, utilise intercropping. This means they learn to grow different crops among different trees and soil conditions to optimise yields. Here we saw organic nutmeg, bananas, vanilla, turmeric, tamarind, lemongrass, dragonfruit and more!

We met so many other farmers and saw how organic composting and manure is made and even visited a biodynamic farm where the crops are grown using an astrological calendar and other prescribed methods and the crop yield has multiplied by 30%. There is only word to describe this experience. 

Amazing.

The Art of Balancing Spices

Have you ever wondered what to do when you put too much of a certain spice into a dish or how to flavour a dish such that you can distinguish between the different spices you have used?

Just as one would pair wine with cheese or food with wine to optimize our eating experience, the same is true of spices. Knowing which spices go well with each other can be crucial to getting an overall balance in flavour in any dish. You wouldn't eat a dish that is too salty or too bitter and nor should you eat a dish where one spice overpowers everything.

The lawyer in me likes to compartmentalize things and so with spices, this is exactly what I do. The taste buds can easily identify the sweetness, saltiness, sourness, bitterness and savouriness in a dish. In similar fashion, I like to split my spices into five easily identifiable tastes:  Hot, Pungent, Tangy, Sweet and Mild. They are also in top-down order of the proportions (little-more) in which, in most but not all cases, they should be used when combined with other spices.

Hot - Often but Little

As the name suggests, these spices are the ones with the most piquancy and heat. They are also most prone to overpowering a dish. Hot spices such as chilis and black pepper are known for their health benefits and antioxidant properties so wherever possible, these should be used often but in small doses. The Mild spices and a natural sweetener would be good ways to counter a dish with too much heat.

Pungent - Always and in Equal parts

Pungency is most associated with aroma and the sense of smell but it is also an apt description for the next level of spices in our chart. Spices such as cardamom, cloves, saffron, cumin would fall under this category. There really should be sub-categories as each spice in this category has a different flavour and level of pungency. Cloves would be more at the stronger and more menthol end while saffron and cardamom at a more sweeter and lighter end. However, none of these spices have any heat but they are still strong in flavour and so it is really important to keep proportions equal or as close to equal when using more than a few of the pungent spices in a dish. The key is to get a beautiful balance of flavours and if a dish has twice as much cloves or cumin as cardamom, the dish would be menthol and earthy but lack the aromatic sweetness of cardamom.

Tangy -Occasional and Enough

If you have already used hot and pungent spices, a dish may call for some sourness to take the edge off the spices a little. The spice equivalent to lemon or lime would be curry leaves, tamarind, sumac or amchur powder. Again, as with the pungent spices, the tangy spices are individual in the strength of sourness they would bring to a dish. Sumac and amchur powder are at the lighter citrusy end of the spectrum with tamarind being at the opposite end. Use these when the occasion calls for it in a dish or spice blend and just enough to add tanginess into the flavour pot.

Sweet - Alone and More

Spices such as cinnamon, rose, nutmeg and vanilla are typically associated with baking or desserts and so no wonder these are appropriately allocated to the 'Sweet' category. That said, these spices are also just as effective and flavourful in savoury dishes when used in the right proportions and context. The other beauty of these spices is that they can easily be used on their own in so many ways without needing any other spice to accompany it. The Sweet spices also marry very well with the 'lighter' Pungent ones too such as cardamom and saffron.

Mild - Necessary and Most

The likes of turmeric, coriander and fennel  form part of this group of spices. These spices maintain their individual taste and tones but when combined with other spices, they tend to take a back seat in a dish - either not seen, not tasted or not overpowering. This, of course, means one can use more of these in proportion to other spices and coriander, especially, is a great countering spice with too much cumin or hot spices.

Not every dish requires a spice from each category but a good balance can be just as effectively achieved by some of the following combinations:

Hot + Pungent + Mild  

E.g. Chili + Cumin + Coriander

Pungent + Sweet + Mild 

E.g. Cardamom + Cinnamon + Fennel

Pungent + Sweet

E.g. Saffron + Rose

Hot + Sweet + Tangy + Mild 

E.g. Chili + Cinnamon + Amchur + Turmeric

Pungent + Tangy + Mild

E.g. Nigella + Curry Leaves + Turmeric

What pairing combinations do you use?