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.

the common cold

It's been a week of extremes and craziness. We had a small electrical fire due to a hack wiring job from a previous tenant. We found a new place to live for April. I've been baking and cooking up a storm. And now I've got my once-a-year cold. My head has grown 3 sizes too big and Kleenex and honey and lemon tea have been close company. This afternoon I'll switch things up to include a fresh ginger and honey tea just cuz I'm crazy like that. Other home remedies are welcome. A real post when I'm feeling better.

a nice hot cup of tea

I love chai tea. The first time I tried it about 10 years ago, I declared it was like having cake in a cup! Oh my, it was sweet and rich and full of spice, instantly comforting and wonderfully cozy. While popping a commercially prepared chai tea bag into a mug of hot water can be just what you need, making your own tea from scratch is a whole new experience in itself. It's simple to make and I get to use my mortar and pestle to crunch on down those green cardamom pods (totally satisfying!) It smells great while it simmers away on the stove and it tastes even better. The best part about making it yourself is that you can control the sweetness and richness. I use skim milk and a big dollop of honey and found it perfect. Enjoy this nice hot cup of tea!

chai tea
4 c water
1 3" chunk of ginger, peeled & sliced
8 cloves
1/2 t black peppercorns
10 cardamon pods, slightly crushed
1 large cinnamon stick, broken in two
3 bags orange pekoe tea
1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2 T honey

In a medium sized pot, bring water, ginger, cloves, peppercorns, cardamom and cinnamon stick to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Strain liquid and return to pot. Add tea bags and let steep for 5 - 10 minutes. Remove tea bags and add milk and honey. Return to heat and simmer for a few minutes until steamy. Serve in big mugs.

southern hospitality

Last night I felt inspired enough to make an entire meal with drinks, a main course, a couple of sides and a dessert. It even had a Southern theme! Unfortunately, my camera died before I could take a photo of everything plated, but rest assured, it was a sight to behold. Truely.

The first undertaking was drinks and since it was a southern meal, I decided to make some lemon iced tea. I don't like to add a lot of sugar, so please adjust to your own taste buds.

lemon ice tea

• I set my kettle to boil
• put 2 orange pekoe tea bags in my pitcher
• added the juice of 2 lemons and the hollowed out lemon carcasses (for extra lemony flavour, dontcha know)
• dumped in a 1/4 c of white sugar and poured the boiling water over the whole lot. I topped up the pitcher with cold water and stirred everything around. When the tea bags had finished their steep, I removed them from the pitcher and just let the mixture cool on the counter before refrigerating

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With my drinks taken care of, I was onto part two of this southern feast:

pulled pork sandwiches
I didn't really know what I was doing since I came up with this one on the fly, but it turned out nicely. Cornelius commented that this tasted like real barbeque, so I think I did good.

I took a pork loin and marinated it with a lot of crushed garlic, some chipotle powder, cumin, mexican chili powder, dried thyme and a bit of salt. After a couple hours of fridge-sitting, I popped the entire thing into a small covered roasting pan and into the oven for about an hour at 450 degrees. I then mixed together some ketchup, yellow mustard, honey, brown sugar, worchestershire sauce, cider vinegar and some xxx hot sauce and poured it over the pork. I dropped the oven temperature to 350 degrees and cooked it for half an hour before taking it out of the oven and shredding it all together into one big shredded porky mess of tasty goodness. Back in the oven for another half hour before we served this on whole wheat hot dogs buns (seriously, it was all we had & the meal didn't suffer from it one bit).
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I figured a potato salad was in order and I wanted something nice and light tasting. I had bought a whole wack of lemons (14 for $2) earlier in the day, so I figured I'd make up a lemon vinegrette and see what would come of that. The results? So fresh and tasty that the world "incredible" came up more than once.

incredible lemony potato salad
6 small yukon gold potatoes in their skins
2 stalks of celery with leaves, diced and leaves roughly chopped
1 large lemon, juiced and zested
1/4 c olive oil
1 t honey (or white sugar, if vegan)
1 t dijon mustard
1 small bunch of basil, torn
1 T capers
pepper and rock salt

1. Boil potatoes whole in their skins until done. Cool slightly and cut into large cubes. Place in bowl. Add chopped celery.

2. Mix together lemon juice, olive oil, honey and dijon into a dressing and pour over potatoes.

3. Tear basil leaves over top of salad. Add capers, lemon zest, freshly ground pepper and rock salt. Mix. Cool in fridge until ready to serve.
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I've posted this recipe before, but it's so good that I have to post it again. An Everybody Likes Sandwiches first. It's that good. Actually, this time I used less lemons (last time I used 2), but even with just 1 fat lemon it was all good. It's the perfect snack or side dish for hot weather because these beans are eaten icy cold so it's the perfect foil for the heat of summertime.

Lemony-Garlicy Green Beans
1 lb of fresh green beans, trimmed
2 cloves of garlic, minced (1 clove if you aren't among friends)
1 fat lemon, juiced
2-3 T of olive oil
rock salt

1. Steam the green beans until bright green and crisp. You don't want to over cook these. Crisp = delicous! Drain and rinse in cold-cold water. At this point, I put the beans in the freezer just to get extra cold while I mixed the dressing.

2. For the dressing, mix the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil together. Transfer beans into a nice serving dish and pour dressing over top. Return to the fridge for extra coldness. Sprinkle generously with rock salt and serve. It's better than chips. Seriously.
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Okay, I lied about making dessert. I was fully planning on making a rhubarb and strawberry cobbler but after such a feast, Cornelius and I decided that adding dessert would be way too much. So we played board games and sipped homemade ice tea instead. I think we made the smart choice. The rhubarb can wait another day.