tea, made strong and spicy.

Lately, I've been on a chai schtick. That warm, spicy tea is the perfect solution to the biting cold we've been having as of late. While any hot drink would've been fine, chai has always been my go-to for whenever it gets cold. What can I say? I've been in love with chai ever since the first time it's ever touched my lips.

Since I love chai so much, I find that buying a cup or two (or three!) a day started to get pricey. And when we moved to Guam and no decent tea house was in sight, desperate measures called for making my own chai at home. Thankfully, I was able to find key ingredients like cardamom on the island and decided to make my own "instant" version using several different recipes as a guide.

While the convenience of adding hot water to the "instant chai" was great, I found that getting spice sludge at the bottom of each cup was unappetizing. Even with a fine sieve, granules of cardamom, cinnamon, and pepper drifted to the bottom, soaked up the water, and formed a layer then went in my mouth, ruining those last few sips of the chai that I could've enjoyed. Not only that, the use of highly processed non-dairy powder and instant tea really bothered me . . . what was I really drinking?

When we got back state-side, I once again had access to coffee and tea houses. I drank chai steeped from actual tea leaves and it was heavenly! But those places are still hard to get to since we're currently in a small town and I find myself confined instead to store-bought bags of chai packets. After the last purchase I made and finding it lacking in both taste and flavour, I decided it was time to make my own.

I like my chai spicy. With lots of pepper and cinnamon, a good amount of cardamom, and enough licorice to round out the flavors. So when I was hunting for a recipe, this was a great starting point. I tinkered with the spice portions to suit my taste and added a bay leaf and star anise for good measure. I'm not a fan of nutmeg, so I swapped that with some allspice instead.

This turned out lovely. The spice was strong, but not aggressively so, with just the right amount of bite. The added vanilla extract made this aromatic in the best way and I loved that I knew what went in this chai. No weird chemicals, no weird powders, just spices, tea, and a good amount of milk. THIS is what good chai tastes like!

---- o o o o ---- 

Spicy Masala Chai
(adapted from Lands & Flavors)

For the Masala:
10 to 12 tbsp strong black tea leaves (Ceylon or Irish Breakfast)
6 cinnamon sticks
15 pods green cardamom, seeds only
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
5 whole allspice berries
1 pod star anise

For the Chai:
1 cup evaporated milk, half and half, or thick coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
2 inch piece of ginger, sliced
1 large bay leaf
sweetener, to taste
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

 
Combine tea and spices and coarsely grind to make masala. Place in cheese cloth or coffee filter and tie off the ends with kitchen twine to make a bag. Set aside.

Add milk, water, ginger, and bay leaf in a 2 quart saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Once the milk comes to a boil, add the masala bag, sweetener, vanilla extract, and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer chai for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent the milk from scorching.

After the chai has steeped, remove from heat and strain chai with a fine sieve. Serve hot with a stick of cinnamon in mugs or in glasses over ice. Bring remaining chai to room temperature before storing in the fridge to keep for up to a week.

going moroccan...

Surprisingly, when I decided to do a Moroccan theme for tonight's dinner, the hubby liked it a lot! The idea popped into my head when I saw the bag of lentils that I had bought to try a recipe out. I've never tried making lentils before so this seemed like a good recipe to start with. I'm all for quick and simple. :)

Looking over the ingredients list, it kind of reminded me of something I made before. I really liked the flavors but I wasn't too sure if the hubby would. But I decided to say, "Fuck it!" and then thought of what to make with it. So googled "Moroccan" and saw this salmon recipe and decided to give it a go. Made a few changes along the way, but not too much. Pretty tasty and now I have spice to make some hummus! Yay!

Moroccan Baked Salmon
(adapted from SparkRecipes)

For the Spice:
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tbsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp crushed cardamom
1/2 tsp crushed anise
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

For the Salmon:
4 oz wild skin-on salmon fillet
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Moroccan spice

Make the Moroccan Spice:
In a spice grinder or mortar, combine all the "spice mixture" ingredients, grinding well to a powder. Remove 1 tbsp of the mixture for the salmon and store remaining blend in a tightly covered container for later use.

Make the Baked Salmon:
Line a small baking sheet with foil. Combine olive oil and reserved Moroccan spice mixture then spread on flesh side of the salmon and place skin side down on lined sheet. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450F and bake fish 10-13 minutes, to desired level of doneness. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil before serving.

 

Lentils with Smoked Paprika and Coriander
(adapted from How To Become A Vegan Domestic Goddess)

3/4 cup dried lentils
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp butter
cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
handful of parsley, chopped

Place the lentils in a sauce pan and add the water and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil on high then turn down to the lowest heat. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until al dente. Drain.

Heat some oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add in the onions, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper, cook until fairly translucent. Add in the garlic, cook for 2 minutes then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes. Add in the drained lentils and frozen peas and mix. Throw in the smoked paprika and parsley and mix well. Taste, add in more salt and pepper if needed.

To serve, spoon the lentils in the serving dish and sprinkle more smoked paprika on top.

learning how to cook.

my sister has always had trouble with cooking. try as she might, everything that she does is either under-seasoned or just plain off. in an effort to boost her cooking skills, she looked to her favorite food for inspiration: mediterranean food.

maybe it's something about the rice...or maybe the meat...or maybe even the wonderful mix of spices that this cuisine offers...whatever it is, mediterranean food has always been her favorite. every time that we have "ethnic" night for dinner, it's been her go-to for dining out. but after a while, she started to want to be able to cook as well as she was eating. it's been a tricky journey for her to learn how to taste her food and knowing the basics of preparing the ingredients that she loves. and with the help of her newly found favorite cookbook, tonight she made us a meal worthy of all her efforts.

 

Chicken With Caramelized Onion and Cardamom Rice
(from Jerusalem, c/o The New York Times)

Time: 1 hour, plus 30 minutes’ cooking and 10 minutes’ resting
Yield: 4 servings

3 tablespoons sugar (40 grams)
2 1/2 tablespoons barberries, or use currants (25 grams)
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (2 cups/250 grams)
2 1/4 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (1 kilogram), or 1 whole chicken, quartered
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 cardamom pods
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
2 long cinnamon sticks, broken in two
1 2/3 cups basmati rice (300 grams)
2 1/4 cups boiling water (550 milliliters)
1 1/2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves (5 grams), chopped
1/2 cup dill leaves (5 grams), chopped
1/4 cup cilantro leaves (5 grams), chopped
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (100 grams), mixed with 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

1. Put the sugar and scant 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, add the barberries, and set aside to soak. If using currants, you do not need to soak them in this way.

2. Meanwhile, heat half the olive oil in a large sauté pan for which you have a lid over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion has turned a deep golden brown. Transfer the onion to a small bowl and wipe the pan clean.

3. Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and season with 1½ teaspoons each salt and black pepper. Add the remaining olive oil, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and use your hands to mix everything together well. Heat the frying pan again and place the chicken and spices in it. Sear chicken for 5 minutes on each side and remove from the pan (this is important as it part-cooks the chicken). The spices can stay in the pan, but don’t worry if they stick to the chicken. Remove most of the remaining oil as well, leaving just a thin film at the bottom. Add the rice, caramelized onion, 1 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Drain the barberries and add them as well. Stir well and return the seared chicken to the pan, pushing it into the rice.

4. Pour the boiling water over the rice and chicken, cover the pan, and cook over very low heat for 30 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, remove the lid, quickly place a clean tea towel over the pan, and seal again with the lid. Leave the dish undisturbed for another 10 minutes. Finally, add the herbs and use a fork to stir them in and fluff up the rice. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot or warm with yogurt mixture if you like.

 

Mixed Bean Salad
(from Jerusalem c/o The Guardian)

If you can't get yellow beans, just double the amount of french – it won't be a "mixed" bean salad, but it'll still be damned tasty. Serves four.

280g yellow beans
280g french beans, trimmed
2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 0.5cm strips
2½ tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp extra
50g capers, rinsed and patted dry
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
10g roughly chopped tarragon
20g picked chervil (or a mixture of picked dill and shredded parsley)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Salt and black pepper

Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Bring a large pan of water to a boil and add the yellow beans. After two minutes, add the french beans and cook for four minutes more. Refresh under cold water, drain, pat dry and place in a large bowl. Toss the pepper strips in a teaspoon of oil, spread on an oven tray and roast for five minutes, until tender. Remove and add to the beans.

Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the capers (be careful, as they'll spit) and garlic, fry for 20 seconds, then add the seeds and fry for another 20 seconds. The garlic should by now have turned golden. Remove from the heat and immediately pour over the beans. Add the spring onion, herbs, lemon zest, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and some black pepper, and toss to combine. This salad will keep well for a day.

moroccan heat.

in the past few weeks, my sister has been moving in with me and the best friend. and just like our previous sixteen years of life together, we were once again sharing a room. it's crazy how much one person accumulates things that make up their surroundings. a candle dish here, a couple chairs there...pretty soon we realized that with already two people's worth of stuff in the apartment, her things was *not* going to fit.

the solution?

well, we had to get rid of a lot of things. it was a very hard lesson of letting go and deciding which was garbage and which ones were definite keepers. and coincidentally, this exercise of "letting go" was also an existential metaphor for dealing with her recent break-up. and with that meant time in the kitchen to push back some memories and make some new ones that were just a tad less painful.

my sister can sometimes be very delicate when it comes to matters of the heart. but food, especially ethnic food, could always bring up her spirits when she's in a slump. since we had an excess of shrimp from both of our houses combined, we scoured the internet for something "exotic" to make that didn't stray from our existing pantry items. we found two winners...a recipe for shrimp and something to make with barley. the result? sweet and spicy moroccan shrimp with savoury spiced barley and brussels sprouts salad.

Tip: Make the salad first then shrimp to prevent the seafood from overcooking.

 

Sweet and Spicy Moroccan Shrimp
(from A Teaspoon of Happiness)

1 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
1 1/2 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp oil

1. Mix seasonings and flour together in a small bowl.

2. Toss the mixture with the shrimp until evenly coated. (i added a little bit more olive oil here to thin out the paste the spices made with the shrimp)

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

4. Add the shrimp to the pan and fry until thoroughly cooked - turning occasionally (shrimp should be completely pink).

 

Savoury Spiced Barley and Brussels Sprouts Salad
(adapted from MiNDFOOD)

1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch saffron threads
1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/4 - 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1 1/2 cups barley
3 cups chicken stock

1 lbs Brussels sprouts, halved

2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, thickly sliced
1/2 cup oil cured olives

1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
2 spring onions, sliced

Combine spices and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of stock to the side then cook barley according to package directions using the rest of chicken stock. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, steam Brussels sprouts in the reserved stock in medium heat until the pot is almost dry. Add the olive oil and onion and cook until the onion is slightly translucent. Add the spice mix and the olives and sauté until fragrant. Add the cooked barley and cook additional 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the parsley and spring onions, tossing to mix. Serve warm or hot topped with the sweet and spicy morocco shrimp and a small drizzle of olive oil.