Saturday, February 24, 2007

Cold and CHAI!

So, it got up to almost 70 here on Wednesday. It was NICE! Then last night and today the temps have plummeted and we are back down in the 30's at night and low 50's during the day. Now, I am not saying that it couldn't be worse (Cleveland is 24 degrees right NOW! - brrrrrr) but a 20+ change in temp in 24 - 28 hours is a bit much, no?

So, I woke up this morning really cold and decided I needed some Chai. Chai warms me to my bones better than anything else I can think of or drink. I think it's all in the spices. The combination gets everything warm from the inside out. AAAHH! ;-)

I was mixing up my chai mix when I realized that I don't think I have shared that here on the blog. So, here it is:

Instant Chai Mix

1 tsp ground Ginger
1 tsp ground Cardamom (you can get it at most grocery stores or World Market)
1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground Cloves
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk (I use the Fat-free kind)


Mix all the dry ingredients together. Place the sweetened cond. milk in a container and slowly add the dry ingredients mixing in well and thoroughly. Keep mixture refrigerated in an air-tight sealed container (I use gladware or tupperware).

OK, so now that you have this sugary concoction, how do you use it? Simple, simple.

1. Brew some strong tea (I like to use strong Black tea but any tea is good. I have even used your basic Lipton tea. I also think you probably want to stay away from 'flavored' teas as the flavors may compete with each other.

2. Add mixture to your tea to taste (I use about 1 1/2 tablespoon per a big mug of tea).

3. Mix thoroughly and ENJOY!


YUM-O!

3 comments:

Jennifer said...

Oh wow - that sounds amazing right about now! I don't usually get the Chai from the coffee shops because I assumed it was super-high in calories/fat, but this definitely sounds do-able. How long is that mixture good for?

Thanks sooo much for sharing and thanks for the info about the socks, too! I hate that blogger makes the emailed comments come from a no-reply address now, so I can't just hit reply on the comments I receive :o/

Sourire11 said...

Ok that sounds fabulous. I drink black tea all the time in the winter and I've tried sweetening it with honey but it totally doesn't taste right... so now I've been drinking it with a little milk. Your chai concoction sounds waaay better than milk, though! I'm so going to do this the next time I go grocery shopping! Thanks so much for sharing.

And I agree with jennifer about the blogging thing - how annyoing we can't just hit reply anymore. boo to that.

Michelle B said...

You Chai recipe is FAB-O I made it up the other day..had to get the cardamom and it is delious...I've even put it in coffee! Great! It tastes VERY similar to the Chai I order at Kashmir Palace, a Indian place in North Olmstead!!!
Thanks for Sharing!!!!!