Time Off

Our time off from school has been quite productive, but today instead of cleaning out the frig I opted to relax. The weather has been nice today and the kids have been outside all day...one of the reasons I schedule our down time in fall and spring. While the twins were outside climbing trees and making an assortment of salads (which they expect us to eat), I made homemade chai tea. Yummy. Of course I had to clean some...the spice cabinet was wiped down and rearranged. Here's the chai tea recipe. I used orange and cinnamon black tea bags since I didn't have an orange.

Homemade Chai:

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

6 whole cloves

6 cardamom pods

1 piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and thinly sliced

zest of 1 orange

4 bags of black tea

1 c. whole milk

1/3 c. sugar

Place the 1st 5 in mortar using a pestle to crush.

Transfer pieces to a saucepan. Add orange zest and 3 c. water. Boil and then simmer 10 mins.

Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep 5 mins. Discard bags.

Add milk and sugar and bring to simmer until sugar dissolves.

Strain the chai. Discard solids.