It’s a quiet sick day at home. Animals are snoozing happily in the shade and I’m cozy on the couch, tending my feverish, achy self with guava juice and noodle soup and comforting mugs of creamy chai tea.
My friend Jack makes the best chai tea I’ve ever had. He makes it when our group of friends goes camping, and it tastes absolutely heavenly made in a little cast iron pot over the campfire.
For my own chai tea recipe I add star anise and fresh ginger to the usual spice mixture of cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, and cloves. Some people like whole peppercorns as well, but I don’t fancy it. And today I’m using whole leaf green tea instead of the usual black to boost the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
A batch is simmering on the burner right now. It’s such a comforting aroma and all those spices have such wonderful healing properties that it’s a lovely drink for someone feeling rather dreadful.
During these quiet moments I’m taking time to read good things, like this snippet from Susannah Conway’s recent 40th birthday post sharing things she’s learned in her first forty years:
“I believe that by being the best and most healed version of ourselves
we can truly make a difference in the world.
I’m not an activist or politician,
and I’m not able to have any direct impact
on the areas of the world where help is needed.
But what I can do is make a difference
in the small pocket of the world I call home.
I can live with integrity and be honest about my feelings,
even when they hurt.
I can put my whole heart into my work
and pay forward the generosity that was shown to me
when my world fell apart.
I can look after myself,
knowing that by healing my own hurts
I won’t be passing them on to anyone else.
In a society like ours,
filled with so many emotionally wounded people
acting out their pain,
this is possibly the most important work we could ever do—
heal our hurts so we don’t pass them on.”
I love that so much. And this gorgeous piece from Rainer Maria Rilke:
“I beg you…
to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart
and try to love the questions themselves
as if they were locked rooms of books
written in a very foreign language.
Don’t search for the answers,
which could not be given to you now,
because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is, to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps then,
someday far in the future,
you will gradually, without even noticing it,
live your way into the answer…”
Now it’s time to add the tea to my simmering pot of spices.
Wishing you a beautiful, cozy weekend filled with good, quiet moments and things that nourish your soul.
xo
Chai Green Tea Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon whole cloves
4-6 green cardamom pods, crushed
10 allspice berries
3 slices fresh ginger
2 pieces of star anise
4 cups water
1 tbsp loose leaf green tea (or more if you like it strong)
whole milk and raw sugar or honey, to taste
Directions:
- Add spices and water to medium-size pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Simmer, covered for 15 minutes.
- Add loose leaf tea, remove from heat, and steep 3-4 minutes until it reachs your preferred strength.
- Strain into a large, favorite cup, add sugar/honey and milk to taste.
- Sip slowly and savor every drop.
I am hiding out with a cuppa and biscuit as well. Hiding from the cleaning task downstairs. Sorry you are sick today and I hope all those spices do the trick.
Good for you, @budgetjan:disqus 🙂 Sometimes we NEED to hide away, don’t we? 🙂 xo
I am sorry to hear you are feeling under the weather Krista. Some warm chai and curling up with a good book is what I would prescribe as well. I do love chai tea as well, but have never made it myself. The first job I ever had when I moved here, one of my clients was Indian and she would make me a cup every day, long before I realized or even knew what it was. I enjoyed it then and I enjoy it now,
How wonderful to get fresh chai every day!! 🙂 Such a gift. 🙂
Sorry to hear you are unwell. I love Chai tea, I’ll have to try your recipe!
Thanks so much, dear @f04901f79d0f78bb284b8f2aaea5e760:disqus 🙂 I will make some for you soon! xo
I’m a big fan of homemade chai. I always, without fail, have cinnamon, cloves and ginger in there, but the rest is more fluid. Sometimes there is cardamom, sometimes star anise, sometimes nutmeg. Often there is honey and every so often there is milk – it all depends on my mood and what comes to hand from the cupboard first. I hope your tea is making you feel better. xoxo
Mmm, I haven’t tried nutmeg yet, @d2c5288256f8dea1a3c79d49a939a968:disqus ! I need to add that to my next batch for sure. 🙂
I have never had chai tea…I may have to try some now. I am especially in love with your Poppit mug. That is going to make me smile all day. You are so very loved.
It is pure comfort in a cup, dear @knittingthemoment:disqus 🙂 Seriously. I love it. When you come to visit I will make us heaps of it. And you shall sip some from your very own Poppit-ish mug. 🙂
So sorry you are feeling unwell Sweets. Sending you cyber hugs. I’ve also been reading lots about the health benefits of chai tea; I must try your recipe xxx
Thanks so much, @twitter-178266953:disqus XO I’m doing heaps better today and just about to make another pot of chai. 🙂
I just recently discovered the chai tea…OMG the smell of the cardamom is delightful when I am drinking it-I can only imagine fresh made chai tea.
Hope you are feeling better.
Isn’t that smell pure bliss, @4051406338aaef5dd8bf9775f8ab662d:disqus ?? YUM!! 🙂
Here’s hoping the tea helped, my friend…
Thanks so much, @UlyssesSRant:disqus 🙂 I’m doing much better today. 🙂
Mmmm – nothing better than a perfect chai!
It really is pure comfort, @inspiringtravellers:disqus
Chai tea is one of my favourite things, but I have never made it myself – I think I will now! Your photos, as ever, are utterly charming and inviting. Get yourself better, dear! xxx
Thank you so much, darling @katyabroad:disqus 🙂 I hope you love your very own chai mix. I’m utterly smitten with it. 🙂
Yum! Chai tea is perfect for a sick day. Hope you’re feeling better.
It sure is perfect, @twitter-286462118:disqus 🙂 I am nearly over that awful cold/flu now. Yay!! But I’m still making more chai today. 🙂
Krista! This is one of my favorite things to play with recipes for. 🙂 We have a batch that turned out wonderfully…forgot to write down the recipe though. So glad to have yours to try. I hope all is well for you down there. We miss you dearly and think of you often. With love, Robin
I would love to try yours, dear @google-9db32c294b0cb30c06c25eefd18dc701:disqus 🙂 Wouldn’t it be lovely to be cozy at your house, sipping chai and talking for hours?! Love and miss you very much too. XOXO
Get well soon friend! xo {hugs}
Thank you, dear @Cailins:disqus XO
Oh no – hope you feel better soon… That 40th birthday post is absolutely wonderful – a blueprint for how I want to live my own life.
Isn’t it so so good, @76b7f5617f998f38e3daf83409eb82fb:disqus ?? I absolutely loved it. 🙂