a touch of spice

well folks, this post has been a long time coming. chai. oh, masala chai. words cannot express the love. all i know is that the first time i got a whiff of the spicy tea, my love affair with chai began. for a commercially available chai, celestial seasonings and tazo have to be my favourites. celestial seasonings has some hickory flavour added to it and it sometimes that bothers me. when it does, i just turn to tazo. i am one of those people who prefer their chai heavily spiced, and tazo does just that. plus they source their spices ethically and have several campaigns to give back to the communities where they get their tea. see their super cool website here. you all know that i can rarely resist a non-fat chai latte from starbucks. they use the tazo chai concentrate for their lattes. it doesn't have the same intensity as the teabags, but.. it's so rich and delicious that i'll take it!

spices are so prettttyyyyy

one thing i like about making my own masala chai is that i can adapt it to how i'm feeling at that moment. if i've got a sore throat, i'll generally add more peppercorns, or if i'm wanting something super sweet, i'll add more cinnamon. also, every batch you make comes out slightly different! the key is to play around with spices and see which combinations you like the best :)
the recipe below makes enough for 1 large, moderately spiced mug of chai

what you need:
1 stick of cinnamon
1 inch piece of ginger root
1 star anise
7 cloves
7 whole peppercorns
10 cardamom pods
1 or 2 teabags of plain black tea (or 2 tbsp loose)
2 cups water
1 cup milk
honey or sugar to taste

a cup of chai makes any study session a little more bearable!

step 1:
peel and thinly slice your ginger root. lightly crush your cardamom and cloves (peppercorns too if you want it spicyyy).
step 2: 
add water and milk to a pot with your spices and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and lightly simmer for 10-15 minutes.
step 3:
add in your teabags and let steep for 3-5 minutes, depending on how strong you want it. strain really, really well into a mug and enjoy!

oh, hey, look what mug came in the mail!  : )

i decided to make this juuust as it started to hail/rain outside, perfect timing! i also settled down to watch the movie a touch of spice/politiki kouzina, which also finally came in the mail! it was pretty much a perfectly spiced afternoon. for those of you who haven't heard of/seen the movie, come over right NOW so you can watch it! it's the story about a boy who lives in istanbul, who's grandfather is a spice vendor and teaches him that life and food both need and a touch of spice. cute and funny all in one movie. what else can you ask for?

a hot mess

as i mentioned earlier in my dad recently came over to vancouver to visit, and we defs hit up costco, where i bought a big pack of skinless and boneless chicken thighs! finally, i don't have to live off tofu for the rest of the year! now, i know chicken thighs have a bit more fat than chicken breast, but i like them better because they don't dry out as easily, plus they are less expensive! the difference between breast and thigh is the fibre type of the muscle. i could go on a huge rant about muscle types but i'll try and keep it as simple as possible (that's hard for an HKinner who likes muscles...) and just for your knowledge, there are tons of subcategories for fibre types, these are just the basics!

different muscle fibres: dark spots are type I; light spots type II

so, to start. chicken thighs are dark meat, and are made up of type I or slow-twitch muscle fibres. this fibre type is special because of its resistance to fatigue, which is important for basic movements (think: posture, walking etc). they also contain more myoglobin than type II fibres. these proteins provide a more efficient way of oxygen transportation, which, as you can imagine, is important for muscles that are constantly in use.
on the other hand, chicken breasts are white meat, and are made up of type II or fast-twitch muscle fibres. these fibres fatigue quickly, but can exert more force and energy than type I. and... that's all i have to say about them because they're just kind of boring.

in my books, dark is better. it's got more iron (3x as much as raw spinach), zinc, riboflavin, niacin and thiamin than white meat. plus, the little bit extra fat content in dark meat really just makes is juicy, and furthermore contain omega -3 and -6 fatty acids.

anyways, i made some hot honey brushed chicken thighs, and they were sooooo good! the recipe below was enough for my dinner and lunch the next day. so, this chicken is super spicy, and also super messy. i ended up with the powder mixture all over the kitchen table.. i guess my tossing skills aren't quite there yet? needless to say, i will definitely be making this one again!

what you will need:
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed chili flakes
1 skinless, boneless chicken thigh
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp chicken broth (or cider vinegar)
1/2 zucchini
1 cup frozen green beans
2 tsp olive oil

step 1:
pre-heat oven to 375. combine the first 5 ingredients into a small bowl and stir. cut up your chicken thigh into small, bite-sized pieces, cleaning off any extra fat. plop the chicken pieces into the bowl and toss, ensuring they are completely covered.
step 2:
chop up the zucchini and place into a cooking dish with 1 tsp olive oil and place in oven. take another cooking dish and cover the bottom with 1 tsp olive oil. place in chicken and put in the oven as well. combine honey and broth (or cider vinegar) into a little dish.
step 3:
after 3 minutes, flip chicken over. after another 3 minutes, take chicken out and brush them with honey-broth mixture then put them back in. repeat in 1 minute intervals until mix is gone, then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan. add in the cup of frozen green beans into pan.
step 4:
when chicken is crispy and the beans and zucchini are cooked, take out and plate. enjoy!

spicy and slightly messy dinner