Lawzenj: A spicy & cold home-made lozenge

What’s up y’all? I hope you’re feeling well, and that if you aren’t, these soothe your throat and make you feel better:

Ingredients:

The skin has good health properties, too. Just wash it first 🙂

3-inch/6-cm fresh ginger root – sliced with skin

2 ounces almond milk

2 TBSP lemon juice

(¼ – ½ a cup) A bunch of honey. Like… enough & then a bit more.

2-5 Mint leaves (optional)

1-inch/2cm fresh turmeric root with skin (OR an ⅛ (eighth) tsp turmeric powder)

⅛ – ¼ tsp natural vanilla (optional)

Fresh lemon or lemon juice in a bottle are both okay to use. Use what you have 🙂

Equipment:

Pot or microwave

An ice tray or two

Microwavable dish/ a dish that can take hot-ish liquid,

Blender OR mortar & pestle.

Measuring spoons, a knife for the ginger & the foam, and perhaps a cutting board.

You’ll definitely need a freezer or freezer-like conditions 🙂 A source of fire for the pot, or electricity for the microwave. 🙂

What To Do:

Using a microwave (or a pot), heat up the milk for 45 seconds or less (microwave 1100W), OR until warm enough to help dissolve the honey when blended.

OPTION 1: ***If using a mortar & pestle, add your fresh ginger and turmeric roots to the mortar, along with the mint (if using it.) Mash it all up until it’s mashed to your satisfaction. Put it in a measuring cup along with the warmed milk, vanilla (if using it), and lemon juice…all the ingredients. Stir well and follow Steps A and B

OPTION 2: ***If using a blender, add all the ingredients in it, including the warmed milk, and blend. The outcome will be a bit liquid-y and lumpy with foam on the top. You may choose to use the knife to keep the foam back when pouring the mixture into the ice cube tray.

STEP A: Add the mixture to the ice cube tray; leaving only a bit of space.

STEP B: Freeze for an hour (if using smaller cubes)

Enjoy!

What I did in the picture, is add honey to the ice cube tray before putting the mixture in it. I hadn’t attempted freezing honey before, and though I suspected it may not work, I decided to try it. Although it did not freeze, the kids liked to put it on top of the Lawzenj and eat it as an extra sweetener. The Lawzenj will kick you in your mouth a little (it’s a tad spicy), but its health benefits & taste are definitely worth it. I’d say to add more honey to the mixture and don’t do what I did. They might look better, too 😀

You can make the measurements different depending on what you want to taste more.

Let me know how you like it.

Love,

Sophia