true chai

Chai is my favorite hot drink. When made right, chai is a deeply flavored, sweet and spicy tea with milk and sugar. This leads me to a dilemma: if coffeeshops can make all kinds of delicious coffee drinks, why can't they make good chai? I've never had a cup of chai at a coffeeshop as good as what I make at home (I just tried chai at my husband's favorite coffeeshop in town and was again let down). It always tastes like it started as a flavor powder that they mixed with warm milk, then topped with steamed milk. It's not really brewed tea, just some powder stirred into milk. Disappointing. I have, however, had some good chai at a few local Indian and Pakistan restaurants. I guess I'll have to settle for getting my chai there or at home.
Here's my recipe for good, full-flavored, real chai (serves 1):
Mix one cup water and one cup milk. Pour into a small saucepan.
Heat the mixture, stirring often, until it gets foamy and little bubbles appear around the edge.
Add 1 Tablespoon Frontier chai black tea (I discovered this at our local organic/natural foods market). Stir for a few minutes over heat, then cover tightly and turn off heat.
Allow tea to steep for 10 minutes or to desired strength (I like it to turn a deep brown color).
Strain chai into a mug. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Add sugar as desired. Enjoy.

colorful goodness

It's so pretty, I just want to cook with it. And then take pictures of it. And, of course, eventually eat it. I made Sweet Peppers with Pasta for dinner tonight. I think the colors of the peppers were the best part of the dish--it really ended up tasting like a nice warm pasta salad, but not much else. I added garlic scallions from our CSA share plus fresh basil and oregano from my little herb garden. And, of course, good freshly grated Parmesan, which covers over a multitude of sins.
The old cooking magic is back! Last night I cooked a Thai beef and asparagus curry for dinner and then made dessert starting at 9:30 pm. Usually the only thing I'm starting then is the process of getting ready for bed. I made stovetop chocolate pudding--such an American standby--from the Joy of Cooking (a recent gift from my mother). It was amazingly easy and fudgy and delicious and helped to use up the extra milk we have currently (my husband and I bought milk on the same day). Since we were impatient for dessert, I put the pudding in the freezer for a fast cool-down and we ate it 15 minutes later, still warm in the middle. But oh so good.

chef's block

I haven't posted in 2 1/2 weeks, and I think it's because of something new for me: I'm tired of cooking. Well, not tired, really, just not cooking anything new or exciting. The last few weeks my main goals in cooking have been to use the ingredients we already have and get dinner on the table as quickly as possible. Thus, a lot of pasta and rice dishes, and nothing with any really exciting ingredients. My husband has been doing all the inventive stuff recently--including some great experimentation with Gorgonzola cheese.
Anyway, the end of my chef's block may be in sight due to a new development: tonight was the first vegetable pickup for our CSA share. And what happiness--leeks, carrots, watercress, lettuce, garlic scallions and asparagus, all ours to eat! I came home and right away made leek soup with watercress to celebrate. Such a fresh taste in the mouth.
Speaking of CSA, I wanted to mention a new term I heard recently in the New York Times Style Magazine: locavores, defined as "a coinage combining "local" and "omnivores"; a subset of activists who eat not just politically, sustainably and seasonally, but extremely locally--all the foods they consume should be sourced within a 100-mile radius of where they live." Of course this movement was started by people in Berkeley, California, where it's much easier to eat locally than, say, in western New York. But check out the website anyway for inspiration: www.locavores.com.

ramps (wild leeks)

The first taste of spring! We collected these beauties from the woods behind my in-laws' house, while visiting them this past weekend. Our harvest lasted for two meals. Last night my husband cooked Provencal Chicken Breasts with Rosemary Orzo. Tonight I made Potato Leek Soup with Cheese. Oh, the joy of cooking with produce fresh from the earth!

homemade bread

Mmm...a loaf of homemade bread. I made this last week for a friend who recently had a baby. I took a meal to her and her husband. I made a hearty vegetable soup and oatmeal bread (both from my Simply in Season cookbook), and took along fruit salad and brownies for dessert. It was good to make bread but I could tell I was rusty at it--I let it rise too much and it turned out airy and too light for my taste. I like bread to be nice and chewy and thick. Still, it looks tasty, right?