Golden Milk Latte

In the last few days, I've had a pretty bad flu. The worst part is not the fever or using tons of tissues, but the continuous coughing in the middle of the night and which is even worse: I was not able to sense tastes and scents for days... In the past, it was so bad when it happened but since almost everything is around food in my life it's like losing your eyesight. So awful to feel absolutely miserable and lost in the kitchen... even if I tried to eat very aromatic ingredients I was not able to sense anything. To boost the recovery I tried to make my immune system stronger with a homemade Golden Milk Latte and enjoy the beneficial effects of turmeric.

I remember when I saw one of the most powerful episodes in Chef's table dedicated to Grant Achatz. He is the co-owner and head chef of the molecular gastronomy castle called Alinea. With his talent, the restaurant earned the 'Best restaurant in America' title by Gourmet Magazine in 2006. Then things turned upside down when as a result of the treatment he got against his stage 4 tongue cancer completely destroyed his taste buds so Achatz lost his ability to taste in 2007. You can imagine...

Since I've seen his story, it burned into my thoughts. Even we - not 3 Michelin star chefs - are suffering when we temporary lose this basic sense when we get flu. You know you have to eat to do not become weak, but it's so difficult to crave anything when you know that food will taste nothing after you have a bite.

When his treatment ended, Achatz's ability to taste came back slowly, taste-by-taste... a little bit like if you would have to re-learn how to walk, he had to experience tasting from zero but this is how he understood tasting on a new level and learned a lot during this period. He is a real idol, who really deserved to receive the 'Best Chef in America' title from James Beard Foundation in 2008.

Now I can sense some scents and the limited amount of flavours... but still suffering and cannot wait to get things back to normal.

Ingredients

Golden milk latte blend

1 tsp turmeric
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch black pepper
Cardamom, star anise, nutmeg - optional

Golden milk latte drink

400 ml whole milk or coconut/other plant-based milk
Fresh ginger - grated
2 tbsp honey - raw Italian honey with Alpine flowers by From Field and flower
1 tsp coconut oil

Instructions

Mix the spices together to get a blend. You can make more and store your own Golden Milk Blend in jars and it could be an awesome edible present for your foodie friends.
For the drink in a food processor add this amount of blend together with the milk, ginger and mix it well. If you do not want to get your food processor to become yellowish, just put the things straight into a pot and whisk them for a few minutes.
Pour the mixture into a pot and heat up but do not boil!
Add the coconut oil.
Pour into cups - strain if you wish - and add some honey or any sweetener.