My Recipe for Chai Tea

The Father's Day before last I created a chai tea kit for Travis. I bought a bunch of bulk spices and packaged them up with two lovely chai cups from the Tao of Tea in Portland, Oregon. Anyway, it has taken till just now to actually use any of the ingredients to make some chai. I have secretly been using the whole nutmeg for a while, however. I love fresh nutmeg.

In my Chai Kit I included:

Anise seeds

Star Anise

A Vanilla Bean

Whole Cloves

Whole Nutmeg

Cinnamon Sticks

Crystallized Ginger

Cardamom Pods

Whole Black Peppercorns

In addition to the above ingredients, I had on hand some allspice, one of those 4 pepper medley grinders and some fresh ginger.

I also used "sada chai" from the tao of tea. Strong black tea of any sort would work I imagine.

My method:

Basically, I approached this concoction willy-nilly. I used a tablespoon of anise, a star or two of star anise, part of the now dried-dead vanilla bean, a tablespoon of whole cloves plus some extra, you know, for good measure, a three second shave of the nutmeg, maybe longer if you like it spicy, a cinnamon stick, two slices of the crystallized ginger and three slices fresh ginger, another tablespoon of cardamom pods, a pinch of allspice, and a tablespoon of whole pepper corns. I also ground two rotations of the pepper mill in that mix. So, this part is experimental. You can adjust the amounts to your taste. I think next time I will add more nutmeg. You just want it spicy and fragrant.

Boil that mix in three cups of water for five minutes. Turn off heat and let steep for ten additional minutes. Next I added two or three tablespoons of the black tea curls. Here is where you can use tea bags or lose black tea. Just make a strong brew as you will be diluting this mixture with milk. I brought the spices and tea to a boil and reduced to a simmer for five minutes. I then strained the ingredients with a handy kitchen mesh screen Travis brought to our relationship. I love him for the strainer. Here is a picture of the strainer:

Return to pot and add two tablespoons of honey (more or less to your sweet desires) and stir. To the brew add two cups of milk. I prefer soy milk for some reason. Only in chai really. That is of course up to you. Heat to desired temperature and enjoy!

If you prefer iced chai just don't heat milk and add ice.

Ah, so good.

BIRTHDAY SALE!

Hey, hey! It's my birthday on the Fourth! Come celebrate with me! 25% off orders from my shop when you mention "birthday sale" in notes to seller. Oh, yeah, and free shipping, as always!

Happy July 4th everybody, everybody! Hope it is full of family, fun and fireworks.

In My Dream Garden...

I would grow:

the most gorgeous hydrangeas...

magnificent morning glories...

the

sweetest sweet peas...

mounds and mounds of irish moss...

bushels of delectable strawberries...

Sunny daffodils all year long...

The brightest poppies...

lush lavender for luck...

peppermint as well...

Perhaps a mini rose or two...

And I would grow Rainbows and magic and love.

and you would all be invited to have a picnic in my dream garden.

Have a Sunshiny day!

Olibella

Time now to promote my newest creative endeavour: Olibella.etsy.com

Olibella is a handmade hair clip and accessory boutique for girls of all ages. The shop is run by my friend, Agnieszka, and me. Though my role is more of a moral supportive one, I have been working steadfast on some new items in order to reap the rewards, I mean, pull my weight. Julylamoon will stay my main focus as jewelry is my passion, however. I just thought it would be fun to expand into the world of hair flair.

Right now we are in the beginning stages of setting up shop and listing items. Agnieszka spent the last two months busily making items for Olibella during a recent visit with her family in Poland. While she worked away, I busily sat in front of a pile of ribbons and rhinestones just daydreaming. Someday my daydreams will pay off big time. Just you wait. It is gonna be good.

Until then, please feel free to stop by and have a look at our, ahem, mostly her, okay all her creations. Many of the handmade felt embellishments are one of a kind and exclusive to Olibella. We would love to have you stop by even if just for a look.

p.s. To all my loyal followers, all two of you, get pumped for an upcoming blog giveaway! I had intended to have a giveaway sooner than now but, that would have required I blog more often than on a whim.

Yoga

I have never felt healthier in my life than when I practiced a hundred days straight of Bikrim yoga. My good friend Ingrid introduced me to hot yoga about four years ago. It took about six months for the benefits to wear off when I had to quit due to schedule conflicts. I really should have reconsidered my priorities then. The benefits being that I had very little stress despite living with several roommates and taking engineering classes at Humboldt State. Oh, and I had a crazy, crazy boss. Yoga pulled me through. Eventually however, the pressure of being a good college student, working full time and trying to demand boundaries from my roommates took its toll.

Later, I went on a fabulous detox diet which included eating a ton of garlic! Yum! Funny, I just realized that the guy I was dating at the time never complained about the garlic but the guy before that totally resented the yoga class. Hot buff girl or stinky garlic girl, take your pick. Perhaps because he was a ocean fisherman that he cared little for smell? Ah well, that is a story for another time. The detox was almost as beneficial as the yoga. I had great skin and no heartburn the whole diet. And I slept really well. Oh, and I had an even crazier boss during the detox. Maybe I was symbolically ridding him from my system.

All this yoga detox thought came about from some recent horrid pictures taken on my Memorial Day wine fest with Portland friends posted by those same friends on my facebook page. Great, now everybody knows that I only post the really flattering pics of myself on my profile (did someone say photoshop?). Granted, it is unfair to judge yourself when the pictures were taken midday without make-up, little sleep and with a slight hangover. But, still! Even under those conditions one cannot hide the love handles spewing over the sides of her skirt. Sigh...

I have been to the gym, like, four whole times this year. So, I am, you know, making an effort to get healthy. Yeah. And, apparently, this thing called "cardio" actually contributes to weight loss. K, whatever. Maybe I could get off the computer for a few minutes a day and practice yoga with my baby. She has already demonstrated her desire to get started.

Isabella showing off downward facing dog.

Here is an additional link to some Bikrim yoga poses: http://www.yoga-108.net/bikram_postures.htm

Found Browsing the Etsy Forums

While working in food service, before my current position as mom (extraordinare), I often experienced similar ridiculous situations in which people tried to argue prices of food for sale. "Um, 45 cents for a donut? Outrage! You should be ashamed of yourself...", "I want the soda for free then!", and "Make that a heavy pour, your tip depends on it" etc. My usual response was to smile and/or use sarcasm.  So, when I watched this youtube montage I laughed out loud because it really hits home with me. 

I am not sure how people learned to be this way. I guess it works for them. I don't have the gall. Even as an exchange student in Thailand ten years ago, where the cultural norm is to haggle over goods, I just paid the extra couple of baht so as to not deal with the stress. Maybe I don't want people to think I am a cheapskate. Not to judge those who do ask for a discount. Just don't be a jerk about not getting your way. And don't make the lowly minimum wage employee feel like they ruined your whole life because they have no control over what the business charges. Please.

On with the show:

Cowboy Wisdom

I listed some cowgirl earrings today and just for fun I looked up some cowboy lingo. I found some great cowboy sayings that I should probably heed. I suggest saying them in your best Old West accent. On to the cowboy wisdom:

Never miss a good chance to shut up.(serious note to self)

Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.

Don't corner something meaner than you.

You can never tell which way the pickle's goin' to squirt.(this one is oddly amusing to my dirty, dirty mind!)

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Don't worry about bitin' off more'n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.(hahaha!)

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Speak your mind, but ride a fast horse.(very good advice for me)

Never drink unless you're alone or with somebody.(okay, if I have to!)

Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's good to know what it was.

Don't judge people by their relatives. (please)

The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.(hmm...but that is really no fun)

Don't squat with your spurs on. (lol!)

So, yeah. I had a good chuckle at all of these. Oh, and say you want something from my shop. Well, just mention this post and maybe your fave quote here (or at checkout) and I'll give you 25% off any item.