Amazing Chai Recipe

I don't usually blog recipes because I'm not so "at home" in the kitchen. But living in S. Asia has forced me to get a little braver and a lot more experimental. Basically, if I miss something, I have to look up options for making it myself and tweak the recipe, if possible, based on what we can easily/cheaply get here. We can get a good deal of import goods, but I try to stay away from the import stores as much as possible as they aren't friendly on the budget.

So "chai" is a daily staple here. But "chai" is simply Hindi for "tea" and there are all sorts of variations. My favorite here, is masala chai (most people's preference) which is tea with milk, spices, and sugar. The richer tea is brewed with milk (no water at all), fresh spices, and plenty of sugar. I've found a variation I like to make for myself and for company, but I still miss "american chai latte". Like the Starbucks or coffee shop variety that is full of amazingly flavorful spices and vanilla.

Especially with the mansoon rains and cooler temperatures, I've been wanting lots of chai. But it's an effort to make it fresh everyday, just for me and Kit. So I found a solution to my homesickness for Tazo or Big Train Chai concentrate so I can make chia latte's at home easily.

This recipe is so great, whether you live in Asia or US, I recommend trying it b/c it's SO much cheaper then paying $3 a pop at a coffee shopt or even buying the $4 concentrate at the grocery store. It is easy to make and you can tweak it per your preferred taste and sweetness desired. Here's the link so I can't take any credit for it. I follow the recipe almost exactly, except I use whole black pepper balls rather than ground because I don't want left-over bits flouting around. I also try to lessen the sugar a little.

Tasty Kitchen's Spiced Chai Concentrate

I know I'll especially appreciate this recipe around Christmas time as the aroma for fresh cloves fills the house. I also love having it on hand, in the fridge, ready to pour me (or a guest) a hot or cold version at any time.

Here's some pictures of the process.

The ingredients

A beautiful brew

The finished Chai Concentrate

Lesson in Love

I have to share a sweet story about Jackson yesterday. We spent the morning at the zoo and had a good, but tiring outing. (I will have to blog later about that) On our way back home we stopped at Dominoes to eat lunch. (The Dominoes here have tables and chairs inside to sit and eat at). While we waited for daddy to get food, Jackson and I sat down at the table and Hudson was asleep in my arms. A young girl came and stood at the window we were sitting by and was begging for money.

Now, this is an everyday accurance here. Poverty is rampant here and the children who are victims of it are often necessitated to beg all day to help provide for their family, (or if they are orphans, they are forced by their exploiter). Living in a culture where poverty is on every street corner and you can't pretend its in some far off land, has been tough. We don't have the answers figured out by any stretch and we are still weighing out how our family should respond to the overwhelming amount of needs here.

Because it is normal life here, our boys are growing up seeing it everyday. We view this as a blessing and pray that God uses it to produce thankfulness, generosity, and compassion in our children's hearts. But we know that they will respond according to the way they see us respond. And in all honesty, I haven't always responded in a way I want replicated by them. But THIS day, I was very proud of my son.

Jackson saw the little girl and lifted his hands to say he didn't have any money. He then asked me if I had any, which I didn't, and said "Mom, can't we just give her a little bit?" So he went and asked his dad for some change and took it out to the young girl. A few minutes later, an even younger girl came by. A precious 4 year old with bare feet, tattered dress, and the most beautiful eyes. He again went and asked his dad for more money and took it out to her. She didn't leave and was signing to us that she was hungry. We signaled for her to wait and when daddy came to the table, Jackson proceeded (by his own inititive) to take her a couple bread sticks, then a slice of pizza, and then a cup of sprite. By the end of it she was feasting on the side walk with quite a smile on her face.

We told jackson that what he was doing was honoring God. That his kindness and compassion towards her was sharing God's love. He said "most little kids in India don't believe in Jesus" and I said, "well they probably have never heard of him." So he said, very matter-of-factly, "well do you think I should go tell her about him?" So then he went out side and sat with her, trying in his way, to tell her about Jesus. After we said good bye, we climbed in the car and he exclaimed, "I wish she was our baby, I wish we could take her home with us." (We felt the same way but tried to explain why it wasn't possible).

I hope and pray that he always has this kind of compassion and conviction to not only show God's love to the needy in deed, but also share Jesus with them in word. That was a gift from God, showing us that He is at work in Jackson's heart, and also a teaching moment for us that our children will mimic our treatment of the "least of these."

The Dr. is in

While daddy was away, we had to get a little creative with how we were going to spend our time. Jackson has been talking a lot about being a doctor (he's played it at a friends house a lot lately) and one morning, wanted me to be his patient. His aunt Nini sent some bday and christmas gifts with grandpa that we've been saving, but she gave me permission to crap them open early if needed. Well it was definitely a good day to have a surprise toy, so I pulled out the Dr. outfit she sent and the boys spent the rest of the day taking turns being Dr., nurse, and patient. It made for some fun bonding time with them. Now Hudson periodically runs up to me and says "mommy you're sick, you need shot." Or he'll look into my ears and say, "oh you are very badly". Here's some of the cuteness...

Giving brother some shots

Jackson looks a little nervous

Stethoscope and telephone in one!

Little Doogie Houser

Pretty happy to have his Dr. outfit

Ready to make rounds

Grandpa's visit #3

One of the last things we did with grandpa during his visit, was take him up to a nearby hill station. We went a couple months ago, but the scenery was much more lush and the waterfalls were flowing this time. We didn't do too much venturing (forts, dam, etc) because grandpa's leg is still healing from surgery, but we did make it up to the look out. Unfortunately, our promises of seeing wild monkeys were broken. For some reason they weren't hanging out, begging for food, like they normally are. Minus the trash, crazy traffic (even on small mountain roads), and crowds of people giving us lots of looks, it was a good trip! We were glad grandpa got to see some of the beauty this country offers, but I think he got to see more than he wanted in terms of garbage, crowds, traffic, and poverty. He saw more evidence of why India is such a land of extreme contrasts. 

Lion Look-out (with more trash and less monkeys then last time)

The men of my life!! 

Kids weren't in a posing mood. See the waterfall off to the right of me?

Amazing view and lush greenery. 

You can see the lake on the top of the hills. They were much fuller  now that monsoon is in full swing.

We tried out the horses this time which they boys were so excited for. They've been hooked on Toy Story 2 & 3 so we named these two horses "bulls eye" and gave a few "yodle-eh-hee-hoo's" 

He actually road with this nice man, but we got a few poses in by himself. I was proud of him for trying it and liking it. It was his first animal to ride!