winter warmth: hot spiced tea

It's finally starting to feel like winter here which is rather lovely. All we need is snow and I'll be running about throwing snowballs with glee. Snow is pretty rare here and the fact that forecasters are predicting the white stuff has me all excited and is definitely helping things feel more like the holidays.

The other night we put up our tree and listened to a few of our favorite Christmas records on the hi-fi. To help us get a little more festive, I decided to make a nice hot chai to warm us up and get us in the holiday spirit. Since it was well into the evening and the lighting in our apartment is in a sorry state, I couldn't get a good photo, so a quick drawing will have to do. Pretend it's scratch n' sniff.

I made a very similar tea a couple ago but consider this a tweaked version (although both versions are rad). Instead of using honey, I used piloncillo, which is a Mexican unrefined brown sugar made from sugar cane and shaped into a cone. This is a lovely spicy warm drink that tastes as cozy and sweet as we all should be. Let the holidays begin!

Want other holiday beverages? Try these winter warmers from my archives.
Chai Tea
Hot Buttered Rum
Vegan Peppermint Hot Chocolate

hot spiced tea
3 c water
1 3" piece of ginger, cut into large discs
4 black tea bags
2 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves
5 green cardamom pods, slightly crushed
1/2 t black peppercorns
2 c milk
2-3" chunk of piloncillo, chopped (or a 2 T honey)

In a large covered saucepan, bring the water and ginger to a boil. Lower heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add in tea bags, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom pods, and milk and continue to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes until fragrant and dark. Taste. If not strong enough for your liking, let simmer longer. Strain to remove solids and whisk in piloncillo or honey and return to heat so that the sugar melts into the tea. Divide into mugs and serve hot.

puddin' n' tain

When I have leftover rice, I usually end up making some fried rice, a cold rice salad or fried rice patties. This time, I decided to experiment with making something sweet. I was all set to make some totally faux-horchata but at the last minute decided on rice pudding instead. I've made rice pudding before with arborio rice using a custard base, but this recipe is a bit different as no eggs are necessary, so it would be really easy to make this dessert vegan by using rice or soy milk instead of dairy. For me, this dessert manages to kill two birds with one stone: not only do I get to use up leftover rice, but I also can finish up my open can of coconut milk leftover from last night's peanut sauce. This pudding thickens up quite nicely and resembles the kind of coconut rice pudding dessert found at Indian restaurants. I love the taste of cardamom here and the crunch of the almonds adds a nice twist to this creamy, coconutty dessert.

coconut rice pudding
2 c cooked long grain rice
2 c skim milk
1 c half & half cream
1 1/2 c coconut milk
1/2 c white sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground cardamom
1/2 c raisins
1/4 c coarsely chopped almonds

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 cups of skim milk with the rice over medium-high heat. When the mixture starts to boil, lower heat and stir until thickened, about 5 minutes.

2. Add in the cream, coconut milk, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom and return heat to medium-high. When mixture boils, stir for a few minutes and then lower heat to a simmer. The milk will start to evaporate and the mixture will thicken. Stir occassionally, making sure the mixture isn't getting too hot (ie. sticking to the bottom of the pan!). Stir in raisins and almonds, shortly before removing from heat. Remove pudding from heat when mixture is just shy of rice pudding consistency. The mixture will thicken up when cool. Place pudding into a large bowl and cover with cling film touching the surface to prevent skin. Serve at room temperature or cool.