Chai Concentrate

Wow, I'm blogging a lot lately! I'm also cooking a lot. Been working from home, so I have more time and energy to putz around the kitchen. FINALLY found a recipe for chai concentrate. I love chai, but I refuse to pay for the overpriced concentrate at the store, and splurging on it at a coffee shop is just an occasional thing (plus, it's always caffeinated at a coffee shop).

Here's the link to the original recipe, but I'm going to post my changes, and I'll probably continually refine this as I refine the recipe. So this is really for my reference, but you're welcome to it.

Homemade Chai Concentrate
Yields: 1 batch of concentrate, approximately 4 cups


4 1/2 cups water
8 bags black tea – (I used lipton)
2-3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup sugar (IF you're planning on using this as a cold chai. If hot, I would use much much less. I found this amount of sugar much too sweet this morning, and you can always you can add more sugar in a hot drink)
1 – 3-inch section of fresh ginger, cut into pieces
10 whole cloves
 10 cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
generous 1/2 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
1 tsp vanilla (optional) (I didn't especially care for it today, but tomorrow is another day)

Add the water and sugar to a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and put in the tea bags, spices, and cinnamon sticks. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Take out the tea bags and the big chunks of stuff, and let it cool for a bit. Add the vanilla now if you're using. Strain the concentrate through a sieve into a 1-qt mason jar. May need to use a funnel.

Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To serve, mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part milk of your choice. Heat for a warm beverage or serve over ice for a cold drink.

chocolate covered peppermint marshmallows

Every year about this time, I go on a candy-making binge. This year, I wanted something new, and was CONVINCED that the answer lay in marshmallows. I found a recipe for chocolate-covered peppermint marshmallows on the Washington Post. Halfway through the process, I had decided not to bother posting it to my blog. I was a bit disappointed. They were fun to make, but at that point I had just made the marshmallows (they were as of yet undipped) and I was a little underwhelmed.

Then I dipped them in the chocolate. Wow. Wowy wow wow.

The recipe is sort of long, (but they're not hard, it's just wordy) so I'm just going to give you a link and pray they never take the recipe down. I topped them, while the chocolate was still liquid, with some more crushed peppermints (I crushed them using a mortar and pestle, by the way). I don't know if it added to the flavor, but it looks pretty.

I simplified the cutting stage a little. Instead of sprinkling more powdered sugar on a work surface and then putting more on the top after flipping the mallows out of the pan, I just flipped the pan over with the parchment paper still on top (so, the paper kept the mallows from sticking to my kitchen). After cutting, I then tossed them with the sugar. Also, my lightly oiled pizza cutter worked great to cut them, I'm not sure if scissors would be easier.

Broiled Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnuts

From Mark Bittman's blog

Heat the broiler. Trim about a pound of Brussels sprouts and pulse in a food processor—or use a knife—to chop them up a bit. Spread out on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with two tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss. Broil the sprouts for about five minutes, until browning on the edges. Meanwhile pulse a handful of hazelnuts (or chop them). Shake the pan to flip the sprouts, add the nuts and broil for another three minutes. Sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and plenty of fresh parsley.

RESULTS: 

this was really good, and just a hair easier than the other Brussels sprout recipe I dig. Just be careful that brown on the edges doesn't turn into black all over--I had mine on the low broil setting and they charred pretty quick on the top rack. Next time, I'll be careful to only put them on the top rack for a minute or so, and then one rung below after that, especially after the nuts (I used walnuts) are added. To turn it into a full lunch, I tossed the sprouts with pasta, a little more oil, lemon juice, and some cheese (feta and parmesan). Yum! The pan didn't even need too much cleaning. Easy peasy.

Curried Cauliflower [with raisins]

From the Washington Post

Ingredients:

• 1 head (2 pounds) cauliflower (green leaves and stem removed), cut into 2- to 3-inch florets
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
• About 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 3/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely diced (1 cup)
• 2 teaspoons sweet curry powder, or more to taste
• 1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the cauliflower florets in a large, shallow roasting pan. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt and toss to combine. Arrange the florets in a single layer; it's okay if the fit is snug. Add 1/4 cup of the water. Roast for 25 to 35 minutes (start checking after 20 minutes), until the florets are just tender and lightly browned.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the curry-onion mixture: Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover with very hot water. Let the raisins soak for 10 minutes.
4. Use the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to lightly coat a medium skillet; place over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens.
5. Add the curry powder, 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Stir to combine, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Drain the raisins (discarding the liquid) and add to the skillet, along with the sugar and half of the remaining water (2 tablespoons). Stir to combine, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons of water if the mixture seems dry; it should be moist but not wet. Taste and add salt and/or butter if desired.
7. Toss the roasted cauliflower with the curry-onion mixture. Taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. Transfer to a shallow serving dish and let sit for 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

RESULTS:
Despite having a large spice container of curry, I haven't cooked with it much so I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get. Basically, this was awesome, and still awesome the next day for leftovers. Naturally, I left out the raisins, because raisins are disgusting. Also, after an initial attempt at roasting the cauliflower, I got impatient and just threw it in the saute pan with the curry and onions and butter and put a lid on that. The cauliflower steamed/sauteed pretty quickly then. Ideas to make it even better: lentils? chicken? Note to self: cook with curry more often.

more to-dos

These sounded amazing, comforting, and intriguingly useful to me, respectively.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/breakfast/recipe-baked-pumpkin-steel-cut-oatmeal-159872
http://leitesculinaria.com/46284/recipes-chickpea-soup.html
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/easy/recipe-poor-mans-parmesan-010184