Chai

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The Auckland contingent of Polly Put the Kettle on had a Chai making get together the other day. We made chai, ate food, sat on the back deck and watched ducklings.

chai.jpg

We’ll be providing chai as well as other refreshments at KiwiBurn next year. We were thinking that we’d have to try out a few different recipes before finding the perfect chai. Not so, this one is great. Using soy means it’s also vegan friendly (anyone know if vegans eat honey? If not I guess we could replace the honey with brown sugar).

Rowena served the chai on a cute little tray in cute mugs purchased at an Op shop.

Put the following in a pot:

1 Tbsp anise seed
6 green cardamom pods
12 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4″ ginger root, sliced thin
1/4 tsp black pepper corns
2 bay leaves
1/2 cinnamon pod
7 Cups water

Boil 5 minutes, then steep 10 minutes:

Add:

2 Tbsp Rooibos tea (or your favourite) then bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes:

Add:

6 Tbsp honey or brown sugar
1 Cup soy

Serve!

Red Wine and Garlic Lentil Soup.

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This soup is my entry in the annual super soup challenge hosted by Running with Tweezers.

The soup is rich and thick and reminded us of christmas stuffing (errr, in a good way I promise!).

It’s based on recipe from “The Cooks Encyclopedia of Soups” by Debra Mayhew. I’ve simply added the red wine and rice vinegar.

And as Thomas said when he finished eating it “It’s a keeper!”

lentil-soup.jpg

I challenge anyone who has yet to experiment with lentils to make this dish.

ingredients

  • 1 cup of red lentils (rinsed, they don’t need to be soaked.)
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsps of olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsps of dried oregano
  • 6 cups of vegetable stock
  • 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tbsps of red wine
  • chunky sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Put all the ingredients in a pot except for the vinegar, wine, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then return to a simmer. Simmer for around 40 minutes. Add the vingear, wine, salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.

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