Chai Tea Mix

My wonderful neighbor, Laura Davis, gave me this recipe.  It's perfect for rainy weather, like today.

Laura and her family are very religious Christians. They're mainstays of their church, Wesley United Methodist Church,  helping out at the weekly soup kitchen. Laura's husband Todd sometimes preaches, and he and their kids, Amelia, Evan and Marty, often play music for church functions.

Hanukkah fell soon after I moved in, around 2000. And soon after, small gifts from "The Hanukkah Man" started appearing each of the 8 days at my doorstep.  Sometimes I'd hear giggles right before the gifts appeared - Amelia, who was 4 around then, was too excited to keep a secret.

I started having the family over for latkes and gave the kids Hanukkah gelt every year during the Festival of Lights, and Laura helps me shop for the synagogue Hanukkah party every year - she's much better at finding tczakhas than I am!  And every Christmas morning, I stop by with gifts Santa carelessly loses from his sleigh as he crosses my yard.

I think it's fine proof that different religions can live in peace.

Ingredients:

1 C nonfat dry milk powder
1 C powdered non-dairy creamer
1 C French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 C sugar or splenda
1 1/2 C unsweetened tea (this is optional.  Personally, I prefer to make tea, and use the rest of this mixture as a sort of creamer.)
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp allspice

Combine ingredients in large bowl. Blend 1 cup at a time in a blender of food processor until it's a fine powder.

To serve: stir 2 heaping tablespoons into a mug of hot water.  Or tea, assuming you skipped the unsweetened tea ingredient.