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!

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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.

fruit trees and moving.

i recently got married and moved to guam! <3 this place is different, i tell you. not only is it hot, but the over-all feel of the island reminds me of when i used to live in the philippines when i was younger. there are a lot of trees so it's very green...and lots of opportunity to see the vastness of the ocean. So far, i've just been focused on acclimating to the weather and seeing what this beautiful island has to offer. one of them is deffinitely the fruit trees!

to my foodie delight, i've been blessed with having a cherimoya, soursop, calamansi, and mango tree in my front yard. there's also a plantain and a guava tree nearby so, not bad for a sampling of local tropical fruit. i've also come by some avocado, star fruit, coconut, and papaya trees on my little adventures exploring the island. one thing's that for certain though...i was really interested in doing something with the soursop fruit that seems to be always abundant. so far i've made some fresh juice, some smoothies, tea, and some pan de leche from just a couple of large fruits. tasting somewhere between a cross of strawberry and pineapple, this pulpy fruit is sefinitely more on the sour side. It's definitely a very tropical fruit and one that has a few health benefits including being an alterante treament for cancer! :O

Soursop Juice
(from Aunt Clara's Kitchen)

1 large soursop, peeled and seeded
1 1/2 quart of water
1 cup sugar (you may not use it all)
ice

Blend soursop with water. Seive and get rid of solids. Add sugar to taste, add ice and serve.

 

Soursop Pan de Leche
(adapted from Annie's Chamorro Kitchen)

1/2 cup soursop juice
1 tablespoon white, granulated sugar
1 packet (or envelope) active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 coconut cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter (or half a stick)
1/3 cup white, granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (start out with 3 cups; you might not use it all)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick melted butter (for brushing the rolls before and after baking)

1. In a microwave-safe cup or bowl, heat the pineapple juice for 30 seconds on high. Using an instant-read thermometer, let it cool until the temperature reaches 105 degrees. Stir in the 1 tablespoon sugar and packet of yeast. Set aside for about 10 minutes to proof (it will get all bubbly).

2. In a microwave-safe cup or bowl, heat the milk and 1/4 cup butter (about one minute on 100% power). Stir in the 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla extract. Allow the mixture to cool then mix in the egg.

3. In a bowl, place the flour, and salt.

4. Pour the milk mixture and the bubbly yeast mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix until a dough forms. The dough may still be sticky — this is perfectly okay; you want the dough to be a little sticky. On a floured surface, knead for about 8 minutes.

5. After 8 minutes of kneading, place the dough into a greased or buttered bowl (you can spray the bowl with butter cooking spray). Cover with plastic wrap then place in a warm place to rise until double in size. The amount of time it takes to rise will depend on how warm it is where you’ve place the bowl of dough. I usually turn my oven on to warm during the kneading process then turn it off just before placing the dough in it to rise.

6. After the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a clean surface and lightly punch it down. Roll out 28 balls; place them in a buttered 9×13 pan, with 4 rows of 7 balls. First, slightly flatten out a piece of dough. Next, form a small circle with your pointer and thumb (like you’re making the “ok” sign). Place the piece of dough underneath the circle and push it through, all the while making your circle smaller and smaller. The dough you push through will form a nicely rounded ball. Pinch the bottom of the ball closed.

7. Spray the tops of the rolls with butter cooking spray then cover with plastic wrap. Place the pan in a warm place to rise again, until almost doubled. When the rolls have almost doubled, remove from the oven (if that’s where your dough is rising).

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Gently brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Brush with more melted butter after the rolls are done.

thirsty.

infused waters. need to stock up on these and just put them in the fridge. :/