Spicy Chai Tea

Clockwise from top: whole black pepper, star anise, cloves, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, whole cinnamon, ground cinnamon, ginger, cardamom pods

Recently I visited with a friend in her sweet garden apartment for tea.  I had not seen her in a long time -- months? a year? I had just learned that she's expecting a baby in February -- a little boy. When I walked in I was enveloped by a warm, comforting smell and the loving energy of her home. I felt at ease, like we had seen each other just yesterday, like all was well in the world. It only got better as we relaxed into cushions to catch up over a cup of hot tea.

She served this chai (or something similar). It was mid-day and I enjoyed it with black tea, a nice caffeine pick-me up in addition to the energy-boosting kick from the spices. She enjoyed hers with rooibos red tea. The nice thing about this recipe is that a tea bag is added to each individual cup at the end, rather than boiled together with all the chai spices. The chai spices infuse as they boil in water to make a spicy, deeply fragrant and flavorful base that is poured over the tea bag of your choice.

Chai with a green tea bag, milk and honey

Today I gave it a try at home. It worked like a charm: our apartment filled with the comforting smell of the holidays, of baking, of celebrating and relaxing with loved ones. I highly recommend giving this a go -- the simple preparations are largely rewarding. And the chai base can be used with your tea of the moment: tonight I used green matcha tea. Black teas or roobois are also great. Add a little milk and honey, sit back and forget your woes. It's the perfect warming treat for the chilly weather, and the perfect tea to share with a friend.

Another reason to love this recipe is that it's flexible: ingredients can be eliminated, increased, decreased or substituted based on your taste and/or what's in your spice collection. How do you like it?

Chai Tea
makes 4 - 6 cups of tea
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon whole black pepper
2 star anise pods
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 or 2 sticks whole cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 2-inch knob of ginger, cut into 4 - 6 pieces
6 - 8 cardamom pods
8 cups water

Directions:
1. Heat the water with all the spices over medium-high heat until water comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer 30 minutes to an hour or more -- the longer the more flavorful.
2.  Place the tea bags of your choice into mugs. Strain the chai tea mixture into each mug. Steep for the appropriate amount of time (about 5 minutes for rooibos; 1- 3 minutes for green; 3 - 5 minutes for black).
3. If you want, add a splash of milk and some honey or other sweetener to taste.

Keep warm and enjoy in good company!

Cucumber Cooler Cocktail and a nod to Decatur, GA

Over Labor Day weekend we headed across the country to see my sister's new home (and puppy!) in Decatur, Georgia and road-tripped with my family up to western North Carolina, where I was born. It was a great visit -- both for the company as well as for the flavors. I like to ask around to see what's up with the local food and drink scene when I go somewhere new. The south did not disappoint us. Neither did the puppy:

Sparkling Strawberry Mint Limeade

This Sparkling Strawberry Mint Limeade is a refreshing, family- and party- friendly drink to get you through hot summer days. Fresh ingredients and some bubble from the club soda make an ultra-cooling and delicious treat. Looking for something boozy instead? Add a shot of vodka or rum and you're set.

Strawberry Daiquiris

It's almost always strawberry season here in California... but I rarely go strawberry picking.  It's about an hour to the nearest you-pick place, and with an awesome farmers' market (or two, or three) each week, I usually don't even think about it.   But a friend at work was telling me about picking over 60 pounds of strawberries (and blackberries and ollalieberries) and I got the itch.  This weekend we went to the coast and picked the morning away.  Afterward, back at home while I thumbed through cookbooks for galette, pie, ice cream and short cake recipes, my boyfriend, Bill, got right to work in the kitchen.  He came up with this luscious cocktail in no time -- and it is fabulous.  It's not too strong, nor too sweet, and the fresh strawberry taste and aroma is unbelievable.  (If you haven't been in on Bill's other cocktails, I recommend checking them out!)

Watermelon Mojitos

Watermelon mojitos have come to the rescue on a couple hot, hot days -- what a winner for a refreshing, delicious summer cocktail!  The first time I had this drink it was thanks to my brother's girlfriend, Cat, who found a recipe while flipping through Ina Garten's, How Easy Is That? cookbook.  Cat and my brother were visiting from the east coast just in time for 95- 100 degree weather here in California.  I have to give her credit for rallying, despite the sluggish heat, to gather the ingredients and blend together this great cocktail.  

The Magic of Sun Tea

Sun tea after 8 hours in the sun

The sun is finally out!  After weeks of being stuck in a cold, gray cloud, the tomatoes are springing to life, squash blossoms are trumpeting and it's perfect weather for making sun tea.  Sun tea is really one of the simplest things to make (if the sun's out).  It is so lovely to have in the fridge, and it mixes well to make other refreshing summery drinks.

To make a batch of sun tea:

Fill a 2 quart mason jar with filtered water.
Add 8 tea bags (we use plain black, but you can make it with herbal, or with a couple handfuls of fresh mint, lemon balm or other herbs).
Extra flavors to experiment with: a couple cinnamon sticks or pieces of ginger
Place in a sunny spot for about 8 hours.  Remove tea bags.
Chill in the fridge.

This is refreshing all on it's own, but here's a lovely after-work drink that mixologist Bill came up with: 





Summer Sun Tea Cooler
1 1/2 cups chilled sun tea
a few fresh mint leaves
1 ounce vodka or rum
1/2 - 3/4 ounces raspberry (or other flavor) Torani syrup (to taste)
squeeze of lime
ice

Muddle the mint leaves briefly in the tea.  Mix or shake all the ingredients and serve over ice.
(Bill has Torani syrups on hand for making special coffee drinks.  I imagine this would also be delicious w muddled fresh raspberries and simple syrup)

raspberry and coconut sun tea coolers

Prickly Pear Margaritas

While perusing the extensive produce section of a nearby Latino grocery store, I was impressed with the beautiful pyramid of magenta prickly pear cactus fruit.  I went home and googled prickly pear.  I discovered that this cactus, a true cactus, is the Opuntia, native to the Western hemisphere.  The paddles as well as the fruit are eaten (I see those sold as nopales).  I've seen the fruit and even had uncomfortable encounters with them in the wilds of coastal Georgia (of all places).  But what the heck do you do them?  I came up with lots of hits for jams, candies, lemonade and even pie.  And... bingo: margaritas!  Cinco de Mayo is a perfect excuse to make and consume tequila, and Prickly Pear Margaritas would make it a real celebration.

Brunch cocktails

Oro blanco grapefruit

Brunch is one of my favorite meals.  I love that I can sleep in and not be late.  I can choose breakfast-y or lunch-y.  AND -- It's not too early to have a cocktail.  The Mimosa and Bloody Mary are go-tos with my normal brunch crowd.   It was time to branch out, especially if it meant I could utilize ingredients that I have in abundance.  This past week I had piles of lemon verbena branches from pruning this lovely-smelling herb.  I also had hundreds of pounds of citrus -- specifically grapefruit.  I'll be contending with the citrus for days (months? years?) to come, thanks to Bill's trees.   Ok -- challenge of the week:  brunch cocktails that feature lemon verbena and citrus (grapefruit!).