I Love Coffee Shops, But Not Coffee

I reworked this from a previous drawing I did.

There is something about coffee shops that draws people.  They are cozy, inviting, a break from the world.  Everyone mellows out and gets along.  Not so with religions, politics, and nationalities.  Yet, all religions, political views, and nationalities come together in coffee shops.

My husband drinks coffee.  I drink tea.  I have never noticed any warfare between coffee drinkers and tea drinkers.  In fact, my husband and I support each other’s habit.  I don’t think one could attribute it to the caffeine.  Pepsi and Coke products both have caffeine, but there are cola wars.  People are most adamant about their preference.  I remember I was too, when I drank Pepsi.  That was so long ago it seems, but not long enough, as I wish it were one of those habits I never picked up.

Finding good coffee shops on our travels is one of the first things.  There was a coffee shop in New Orleans I found most inviting.  It was Dee’s Coffee Shop.

http://www.deescoffee.com/

Recently in Raleigh, NC, I found another one – Third Place Coffee House.  It was really a quick trip in and out because it was next to the pizza place we were eating at.  I loved their chai.  https://www.facebook.com/thirdplacecoffee?sk=info

One of my favorite ones is Café Collage at Venice Beach, California, which I previously wrote about on my blog.  http://athursdayschild.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/bagel-heaven/

Then there is Starbucks.  No links needed.  I often wonder why Starbucks is so popular.  I have often thought the original Starbucks was in Atlantis, and all past life Atlanteans are coming together there.

 

 

Craving Cupcakes and Tea

Cooking Together

Chris joined me in the kitchen to make his better ever day sweet potato chips. I made wraps using cream cheese, Gorgonzola cheese, salad greens, tomato, cucumber, shredded purple cabbage, sea salt, and mixed hand-ground pepper. We also had some leftover brown rice with beans seasoned with Indian spice.

Afterward, for the first time, I made Chai latte Frappuccinos. That was my first attempt. They tasted very close to Starbucks.

Earlier in the day I cleaned out two kitchen cabinets, moving all the tea we had into the cabinet just above my teapot. Why I didn’t think of this sooner I don’t know. It’s unreal how much tea I had. I’m a collector of tea. I guess I’m of the belief that tea solves everything. Have you ever seen in soap operas (although it’s been so long since I’ve seen a soap opera, so maybe this still isn’t the case) how a cup of tea is suggested during a bad moment? For me, it goes equally as well with the good moments and any form of dessert, or in the case of Chai lattes it is the dessert.

 

 

I’m thankful we sometimes cook together.

Thankful for Simplicity

On some days like today it’s the simplicity that counts.  It’s having enough wood on the porch within easy reach to feed the wood-burning stove in these frigid temperatures.   It’s having good reading material and being able to brew a nice cup of tea (actual leaves) found in a tea shop, Tea Gschwendner, in Raleigh that my daughter and son-in-law took us to – organic China Oolong Kwai Flower and finding cookies you forgot about to go with it.

It’s finding an online world at your fingertips: all the Slider and Outer Limits shows, and old black and white movies to watch and “The Mahabharata” to read at your own convenience.

It’s having your husband work from home and not having to worry about him driving on snow covered roads, but treading the snow covered woods appreciating the beauty of nature.   It’s preparing a special dish for him – an experiment – potato pizza.  It’s decorating the Christmas tree together.

Comfort and Cure in Chai

One of my indulgences (I won’t lie and say it’s my only one) during the day is a hot chai latte.  In warmer weather I take it outside on the deck along with a book.  And, in cold weather, curled up in front of the fire, it’s just more perfect.

I have been an avid hot tea drinker since childhood, starting out with sassafras.  Native Americans used sassafras as a blood purifier.  My mother boiling the roots, making it for me, was one of those cozy childhood memories. In my college days I discovered oolong at a Chinese restaurant.  Several decades later oolong is still my favorite.  I recently discovered a great tasting oolong – Prince of Peace.

There are some great benefits of oolong tea which include:  controlling fat metabolism in the body thus reducing obesity, removal of harmful free radicals, help with eczema, promotes good bone structure, may help with cancer and type 2 diabetes, and is a great stress buster.  Have you ever noticed in those stressful moments on soap operas everything stops to brew a cup of tea?  There are also zero calories in a cup of tea.

I discovered chai lattes quite by accident or coincidence or synchronicity, whatever term you wish to give it.  I was seeing someone off at the airport during the days when you could actually do that.  We had some time and ordered drinks from Starbucks.  I had ordered a regular tea but was given a chai latte by mistake.  I was hooked.

I started out using Oregon Chai at home.  You could make it with water, fewer calories.  It was sweet tasting.  But over time I turned lacto-vegetarian.  This cut out many desserts for me.  I was acquiring a lessened taste for sugar.  Starbucks eventually came to our area, and the Tazo brand grew on me.  It was less sweet tasting to me than Oregon Chai.

My husband and I also during the last few years have had the opportunity to make many Indian friends.  One friend in particular made a truly amazing cup of chai and gave me her recipe:

Authentic Indian Chai:

Ingredients:

Milk – 1 cup
Water – 1 cup
Ginger – 1 tsp, grated or 1/4 tsp ginger powder, if you like mint you can put 5-6 crushed mint leaves.
Cardamom – 2 whole, pounded or 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
Sugar – to taste
Tea – 2 tsp

Method:

1. In a small pot, add water and grated ginger, sugar to taste.  Allow it to come to a boil. Add cardamom    powder, tealeaves and let it come to a rolling boil.

2. Add in milk and again allow it to come to a boil, stirring in between.

It’s the ingredients in chai that provide the benefits.  Cinnamon is helpful in diabetes and lowering blood pressure, as well as preventing cell damage.  Ginger has been used to treat upset stomach, diarrhea, arthritis, and heart disease.  Cardamom, like ginger also aids with digestion problems.  It has also been used for asthma and other respiratory problems.  Cloves, although, not in the above recipe is often used in chai.  Cloves have proven beneficial in toothaches and have shown antiseptic qualities and can be used to kill intestinal parasites, fungi, and bacteria.

While I can’t say chai really absolutely cures any illnesses, in my own humble opinion it can have at least a temporary uplifting effect on the blahs.  I’m thankful for tea time.