Tuesday, December 11, 2007

My afternoon pick me up

Here's a "Various Extra" treat for readers tonight. My afternoon pick-me-up today was

Rima's Chai!

It was delicious. You must try her recipe here. Ok, so I didn't follow it to a tea (get it?), but I followed its intent.

Basically I took several teas I had on hand -- some orange pekoe, some (gasp) Lipton, some expensive Green Tea -- and used them as my basis. Then I added some other stuff I had on hand like some Mexican manzanilla (chamomile), some "Honeysuckle Beverage" and a package of "Flower Drink," both from an Asian Market in Dallas. I then added some cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and a pinch of ginger. Put the lid on the jar and shook it vigorously to mix.

I boiled half a big mug of water, put two teaspoons of the mix in the tea strainer thing-a-ma-bob, and let it steep. While it steeped, I heated up milk with sugar. Then, in five minutes or so, I was sipping my way through my first experience of Chai and imagining what it must be like to hang out with Rima et al.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

um you didn't have two cups of chai? :-)
~sue

Bobbie said...

Put another cup down and I'll join you. It reminds me of Jeanette's "sgt. major tea" (my Iraqi friend when we lived in Lebanon). Her dad had been in the British army and she got the tea somehow from there. It was a really strong tea laced with milk and sugar. And delicious I might add :)

Rima said...

one of these days, i will win the lottery, get that beautiful old chateau in the South of France, and get all of us together to paint, gossip (yes, gossip!!) and share wine and tea...

yay, thanks for sharing this moment with us - sounds delicious (nutmeg! but of course...)

you're so energetic these days, i can hardly keep up with reading your blog, let alone think and vote on your photos!

love all of it

Hannah's Mom said...

YUMMY!!! Oh, that cup of tea looks so inviting this morning... it is very, and I mean very foggy and cold. Thank you for sharing this moment with us.

Bev said...

Never heard of this Chai. Googled it and it's Arabic, well it would be, wouldn't it! Sounds very nice, and hope it's a bit tastier than Green Tea which I drink for health reasons, but that tastes a bit foul, as things often do which are good for you. Sounds sugary, so should be. Certainly, among all those flavours, there should be at least one that everyone likes...lol

dianeclancy said...

Hi Debi,

This is a great photo ... you could probably get someone in a magazine to buy it.

The colors and textures are great!

~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog

Bev said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Debi said...

LOL. No, Sue. I heeded Rima's warning well.

Mom, I never knew that. I do remember tea as an integral part of life in Lebanon, though.

Rima, I love the recipe. Indeed, I had another spot of Chai last night. I was up until 1. Where were you when I wanted to gossip? ha

Hey Windy. I just remembered, I should have used that tea cup and saucer you sent me. I went for size (this is one of those mega cups) instead of beauty this time.

Bev, LOL. You couldn't be more right. Actually the spices blend pretty well so it's hard to pick out distinct flavors.

Diane, wow. Thank you for the compliment about the photo.