Masala Chai

I have always disliked Chai Tea, or rather hated the store bought, prepackaged stuff that came from the grocery store after being on the shelf for God knows how long.  I feel like maybe I didn’t give Chai a fair chance, and I will try anything at least twice, one time just to try it, and a second time just because I might like it the second time around. Instead of going out and buying a different pre packaged Chai Tea or Syrup based Chai Latté, I thought I would pull out the big guns out and make it from scratch.  This Chai is absolutely, soothingly spiced and aromatic. I used fresh ginger and added lemon peel, although I don’t think lemon peel is a traditional ingredient, and topped it off with freshly ground cinnamon.

Ingredients 1 serving
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/8 tsp cardamom seeds
8 whole allspice berries
1/4 tsp peppercorns, Crushed using the back of a large knife
1/2 – 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 strip of lemon peel
grated nutmeg to taste
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup water
contents of 1 black tea bag
brown sugar to taste

Combine all the aromatic spices in a small pot with the water and milk over a low- medium heat and scald the milk for about 7-10 minutes. Add the tea leaves to the liquid and let the infuse for another 5 minutes or up to 10 minutes depending on how strong you like your Chai.

Strain the tea into a mug, add sugar to your liking and top off with freshly ground cinnamon.

Jam Thumbprints

I have made these tender and crumbly Jam Thumb Prints in the past and they are just these real simple and real delicious little cookies. For this recipe I used raspberry jam and plum butter and they both worked great with this type of cookie, although I really still prefer the raspberry ones :)  Unlike Martha, I place the jam in  the indentations made in the dough prior to baking, opposed  to afterward.

Ingredients ( Jam Thumb Prints from Martha Stewart Magazine, Special Issue; Holiday Cookies. 2001)

1/4 pound (1 stick ) of butter
1/2 cup + 2tbsp  granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 +1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds finely ground
1 large egg white lightly beaten
1/2 cup jam or preserve

Preheat oven to 325*f.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the 1/2 cup of sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix to combine. And flour and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together.

Combine the ground almonds with the remaining sugar. Form the dough into small 1  inch balls, dip in the egg white followed by the ground almond mixture, place on baking sheet.  Make small indentations in to the dough balls using your finger or the bottom of a thick wooden spoon. Fill the indentations with the jam or preserve. Bake for 10- 15 minutes until lightly golden around the sides.Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Tangerines and Custard Apples

My Mother was super excited to find these a few days ago, at the Portuguese fish market of all places, they are Tangerines and Custard Apples ( coracoes negros – black hearts  in Portuguese) These were imported from Terceira, one of the small Azorean Islands that my family is originally from and where my parents immigrated from. Needless to say these brought back a lot of happy feelings and “saudades” ( home sickness ) for Mother. The Tangerines are soo fragrant and the custard apples are said to be sweet / sour although I cant say for sure since I’ve yet to try one! they are still ripening and will probably be a few days before we get to crack one open.

Gingerbread Squares

Gingerbread has got to be one of my type of favorite cookies, with a side of creamy 3% milk. When making this Martha Stewart recipe, I slightly adjusted the amount of spice that I added. I halved the recipe but doubled the ginger just because I especially like a spicy gingerbread cookie.

Ingredients ( Gingerbread Cookies from Martha Stewart Magazine, Special Issue; Holiday Cookies. 2001)

3 cups flour
.5 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 pound (1 stick of butter)  at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses

In a large bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add the spices, egg, and molasses, mix to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda mix until combined. Divide the dough in half and chill for 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 350*f.  Line several baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Remove the cookie dough fro the fridge and let stand for a few minutes. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick.  place the rolled out dough on a piece of parchment paper and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes to chill and become firm.

Cut the dough using whatever shaped cookie cutter your heart desires or use a fluted pastry wheel  to cut the dough into squares as I did. Bake on the lined baking sheets for 8 minutes, and not a minute more! or they will burn, as did my first batch
Let the cookies cool on a wire rack before transferring to an airtight container.

Ginger Snaps and Cream Pudding

This is probably the easiest dessert that you will ever make in your life. This is a variation of a dessert that my sisters Godmother makes. The first time I had said dessert was at a family party and I liked it so much that a few days later I had a dream that I was eating a treasure chest full of it. Long story short, the lady was kind enough to give me her recipe which is made with bolacha Maria ( Maria Cookies). Here Ive made it with Ginger Snaps just to add a touch of Christmas feel to it and the result was dream worthy <3

Ingredients for 4 – 6 servings
250ml whipping cream
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
15 ginger snaps, crushed

Whip the cream using the whip attachment of an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Add the sweetened condensed milk and continue to whip on high speed until firm peaks form.

Layer the whipped cream mixture alternating with the ground ginger snaps ensuring that the last layer is the ground ginger snaps.  At this point the dessert can be eaten if it is a last minute dessert, otherwise place in the fridge so that the cream mixture firms up.

Note: You can also make this dessert in individual glasses or bowls.

Sopa da Titia

 

 So a few weeks ago I made this simple red pepper and potato based vegetable soup, I had my Mom send some over to my sisters house and My Niece  the cutie loved the soup. She is probably the soups biggest adorer. The original I made took Israeli couscous, unfortunately I have none in my pantry at the moment and used alphabet pasta instead. In addition to this soup being yummy, it is also a healthy soup, loaded with veggies…

Ingredients serves 4-6

1 red pepper, diced
4 stalks of celery, sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced + 1 medium potato peeled and diced, saved for later
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2.5 L chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups broccoli florets,
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/3 cup +2 tbsp small pasta
1/3 cup milk
1 heaping tbsp all purpose flour

Place the pepper, celery, 2 medium potatoes, garlic, and stock in a large pot and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Remove the pot from the heat.

Puree the soup in a blender or in the pot using a hand held blender until smooth. Add the remaining diced potato, broccoli, grated carrot, and pasta to the soup and continue to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally  until the vegetables and pasta are tender.

At the last minute, combine the milk and flour in a small bowl, pour into the soup and simmer the soup for 2 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of dry basil.

Beef and Barley Risotto with Asparagus

 

 This dish can certainly be made using risotto rice, but I like the texture of the barley in place of the rice, you’llbget a whole lot more flavor with the barley as well. The beef I used, had had other plans prior to me deciding I would use it in a risotto and so it had alreadybeen marinated for 2 days in red wine, garlic , and malagueta. You dont have to marinate the beef before using, but you will add that much more flavour if you do.

Ingredients, serves 3-4

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

150 g beef cutlet, marinated

½ cup pearl barley

½ cup small pasta, like orzo

1 medium onion, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

225g white button mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 Litre of beef stock + more if needed

1 bundle of asparagus, trimmed and cut into large pieces diagonally

Chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat, brown the beef cutlet about 2-3 minutes a side, set on a plate to cool, slice into bite size pieces.

Add the barley, and pasta to the pot, stirring for 2 minutes, browning the pasta and barley. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms to the barley and pasta stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes.  Slowly add the beef stock, scraping the bottom of the pot to get all the browned bits off.   

Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus pieces, parsley, and the cooked beef. Simmer for another 15 minutes or until the asparagus is cooked the way you like it.  At any point during simmering you may or may not have to add a little extra beef stock if the stock simmers off before the barley is cooked, I like to add just a ½ cup at a time.