At Least I Learned Something Here

Oh, is that a spiffy, new kitchen tool?! Sadly, no. If it was, it would be the best kitchen (or anywhere else) gadget ever.

Occam's Razor

–noun

The maxim that assumptions introduced to explain a thing must not be multiplied beyond necessity.

Basically, the simplest answer is usually the best. I think I learned that today--finally--with this recipe. See, this is not necessarily a new recipe for me. By that, I, of course, mean not new at all. I've made it once before aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I didn't learn from my first experience. Before I get into that, let me show you what I made.

Chai Tea Latte

2 individual tea bags

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1 cup water

1 cup milk

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp refrigerated French vanilla nondairy creamer

Whipped topping and ground nutmeg, optional

Place the tea bags, cinnamon, ginger and allspice in the coffee filter of a drip coffeemaker. Add water; brew according to manufacturer's directions.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the milk, brown sugar and creamer. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through and sugar is dissolved. Pour milk mixture into mugs; stir in tea. Dollop with whipped topping and sprinkle with nutmeg if desired. Yield: 2 servings.

Problem #1: I do not own a coffee maker. I don't generally drink coffee unless it's mixed with lots of milk and chocolate. I suppose I could buy one for the purposes of making such drinks, but it's just not real high on my list of priorities. Problem # 2: I LOVE chai. Love it like I love air to breathe. I would drink it every day if it were not so expensive at Starbucks available to me. So what do I do about these problems? I do what the women in my family do best: I get creative!

The main issue with making this recipe sans the coffee maker is high chance of having your drink full of leftover spice powder. The first time I made it, I thought to myself, "I'll line my sifter with paper towels to strain it!". Did you know that paper towels are absorbent?Like my apparatus, or, in this case, apparati? Don't act like you're not impressed. :-) Well, needless to say, the paper towel idea was not very effective. Next time around, I thought, "I don't have a coffee maker, but I can use coffee filters!". Please, do not judge me too harshly. My brain did finally begin to connect the dots...after a while. Well, that didn't work either. I don't really understand why not this time, but it didn't. Then my husband got in on the action.

"Hey, hon. What if you put the coffee filter in your strainy-thingy?"

Problem #3: I listened to my husband. Love you, Mike. :-) This was just as (not) successful as the prior attempt. Then, my brain went, "Screw this, just use the sifter by itself!". Eureka! It worked! I now had lovely, spice-bit-free chai tea for myself and my chai loving friend who was coming over later on with his girlfriend. Her position on chai is currently unknown.

All in all, this is a really lovely drink that is sweet, hot, and spicy all at once. I hope you will give it a go and that you end up liking it as much as I do.

Cheers!

~Dana~