Your Very Own Chai Latte

I've been engaging in a love affair with Chai tea for almost five years now. One of my roommates is quite capable in the kitchen and, on a bitterly cold New England day, encouraged me to attempt to make my own chai latte.

I used whatever I found in my kitchen, but I'm sure it would have been better with whole milk.

I went for a 50/50 ratio of steeped tea to milk. That decision was not a good one.

Look at how delicious that froth looks.

Cinnamon + Nutmeg on top

Ultimately, the drink was way too milky and did not have much chai flavor going for it. I'll go with a B for effort, though.

21

A few gfs and I went away for the weekend and cooked a full dinner with dishes picked from those that were popular in the 1920s. Thankfully, we had two experienced chefs with us and they took the reins.

And we had a version of "bathtub gin" because, well, of course we did.

Better Than What the Kids Be Selling

Towards the end of my study abroad time in Jordan, temperatures were getting into the high 80s and we started drinking a lot of mint lemonade. A few members of my host family were very good at throwing this together and it's too bad I never asked for the proportions because I haven't been able to replicate it as well as I would like.

The easy part about this is that you can use whole lemons. No peeling or squeezing. Just chop them up into fourths or so and throw everything into the blender.

Next, grab some mint. We have our own growing out back and this amount wasn't quite enough. I ended up grabbing about three more sprigs.

Throw everything together with some water and mash away. You can also put the sugar directly into the blender or food processor, but I found it easier to add later (directly to the pitcher) as that allows you to add to taste.

Pour everything through a strainer into a pitcher or glass. Add as much sugar as you think it needs.

What you end up with is a light and minty lemonade that I thought was pretty darn good.