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.

summer refresher: raspberry limeade

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. I'm not going to get too down on this weather since after weeks and weeks of blissful sunshine, I'm sure the tinder dry forests and thirsty crops could use a bit of moisture. But back when it was hot outside, my friends and I took a little roadtrip to Westham Island for a little berry picking. You can read all about our trip on Hag's blog, The Urban Repast. My own version will come out next week on the Food Network blog. I'll keep you posted for when it makes it's debut.

But, oh the berries! We picked lots of them: raspberries, boysenberries, tayberries and black currants. While picking, I had dreams of berry pies, baked goods studded with ruby goodness, and even just the thought of tossing them into some granola and yogurt made me giddy. But the very first thing I made from the raspberries when I got home was some raspberry-limeade. Judging by colour alone, the ruby red liquid is truly stunning. Taste-wise? Oh boy, it's good. Really, really good. Refreshing and not too sweet (but if you prefer a sweeter -ade, please add more sugar syrup!), it's the perfect refresher for a hot day.


raspberry limeade
1 c fresh or frozen raspberries
1/3 - 1/2 c simple syrup*
3 juicy limes, juiced
5 c cold water

Puree the raspberries and put juice into a pitcher. Discard seeds. Add in lime juice and simple syrup and cold water. Stir and taste making any adjustments to sweetener or lime juice. Serve over ice.

* Simple syrup is an equal mixture of water and white sugar combined over heat to make a syrup. It's simple! I usually take 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar and mix them over medium-high heat until it just starts to boil. Once it completely melted, remove from heat and cool. I store it in a jar in the fridge to use for all kinds of drinks.

toast me: the working girl's lowball

A little while ago, I spent a fews days doing graphic design work in an office. When Friday came around, I was ready for a good, strong drink. I mixed up these babies and it was like pouring heaven into a glass. At the time I didn't have a martini glass (I've since rectified this error), so I just used a short glass which I nicknamed a lowball. This drink is juicy, tart and provides just the right amount of kick. The rest of the evening was beyond pleasant...listening to music and reading books. TGIF, indeed. This drink is also pink so it makes for a lovely drink to have on Valentine's Day. So go ahead, toast yourself, toast your loved one or toast your cat. C'mon get happy!


the working girl's lowball
juice from 1/2 an orange
juice from 1/2 a lime
cranberry juice (I eyeballed this...but I'll guess 1/2 - 3/4 c)
1/2 t sugar syrup
1 oz Grand Marnier
3 oz Vodka
ice

Mix everything in a pretty silver cocktail shaker and then shake, shake, shake. Pour into 2 glasses and drink up at your leisure.

the giving is good.

Cornelius found a small grocer near the library where he works that sells bottles of pop shoppe pop (an old beloved soda company from my childhood). We downed the pop (mmmm, black cherry!) and I decided to fill up the bottles with something of my own making. So part of my Christmas giving included bottles of ginger syrup. I made some labels with directions on how to make your own tasty gingerale or ginger beer and found the very necessary corks to stop the bottles. Yummers!

ps. Love the photo? It's taken with my very new digital camera, a Canon Powershot SD300! Cornelius gave me the best Christmas gift ever. Actually, I say that every year.

ginger syrup
3 c water
2 c sugar
1 large piece of ginger (just larger than the palm of your hand), cut into matchsticks
2 large lemons, juiced
rind from 2 lemons
a few cardamon pods
salt & pepper

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves. Add ginger, lemon juice, rind, cardamon, salt & pepper. Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep overnight. Strain and chill. To serve, add 1/4 cup of syrup to a pretty glass and top with soda water and ice. It should keep for about a month in the fridge.