Warm half and half and natural cane sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat once you see steam rising from the surface of the half and half.
Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the half and half mixture along with the vanilla bean pod and crushed cardamom pods (cardamom seeds and all). Cover and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture with a fine-mesh basket strainer, return to heat and rewarm.
Meanwhile, add gelatin to a medium-sized bowl with 6 tablespoons of cold water. Lightly whisk to combine and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Pour the warm half and half mixture over the gelatin and and whisk gently until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
Divide the mixture into 8 small glasses (or cups, bowls, ramekins, wine glasses, etc.). Chill until firm (at least two hours).
Finish by topping each Panna Cotta with Spiced Poached Peaches, fresh fruit or a drizzle of your favorite dessert sauce (chocolate, caramel or fruit).
Notes
* Don’t have a vanilla bean or cardamom pods? You can use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and a heaping ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom instead. If you are not using the whole spices, be sure to skip the 30 minute steeping period (paragraph 2).