• Cover Irish moss with water in a jar and let it soak for 30-60 minutes until it plumps up. Rinse it thoroughly to remove salt.
• Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds with the tip of your knife.
• Bring 5 cups of water, cinnamon, vanilla bean pod and seeds, and mace to a boil then add Irish moss and let it bubble for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover the pot and let the Irish moss and spices steep for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture into a bowl and discard what is left in the strainer.
• Pour 4 cups of the prepared Irish moss into a 1/2 gallon mason jar. Then add milk and maple syrup. (If using dates to sweeten, remove pits and blend them with the milk first in a blender until smooth). Grate some fresh nutmeg into the jar. Cap the jar and shake vigorously until everything is evenly mixed and incorporated. It should be thick and creamy.
• Pour into glasses and top with a spoonful of coconut cream, fresh grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground cinnamon to serve. Enjoy!

Making nut/seed milks from scratch:

• For this nog I like to use a 50/50 combination of raw jungle peanuts and raw almonds. You can experiment with combos that you like, such as cashew, hemp seed, coconut, pumpkin seed, etc. Basically any nuts or seeds you see fit. Other non-dairy milk works fine too, such as oat, soy, rice, etc.
• Soak 2 cups of raw nuts/seeds in water overnight. If using flax seeds do not soak or rinse them, but rather add them in when you go to blend. Rinse and drain.
• Blend nuts/seeds on high with 4 cups of water. If mixture seems too thick add a bit more water until you reach your desired consistency. Strain milk through a nut milk bag or a extra-fine cheesecloth. Squeeze the cloth to release as much milk as you can.
• Refrigerate milk in a mason jar until ready to use. I find that homemade nut/seed milk is best used the day it is made.