Homebrewed Chai Latte

Oh yes I did. And the aroma wafting through the house is nothing short of divine.

I have prepared my first batch of homemade chai in my new Little White Kitchen.

Remember back in July of 2011 when I posted my original chai recipe to Dance While You Cook?

Do you also remember how I gave you general directions for making this homemade chai and told you to experiment around to find the perfect blend to suite your taste?

Now that I'm all moved-in to my new home out in the country, I wish to share with you my favorite blend for this homemade Masala Chai. I have been making this recipe for years and the mix of spices I'm about to describe make for a cup of perfection each and every time.

Judith's Masala Chai Concentrate

Ingredients:

8 cinnamon sticks, the 4-inch sticks, crushed into chips

3 TBS whole cardamom pods, crushed

2 TBS whole cloves

2 TBS fennel, crushed

   or 4 whole star anise

   or both

2 TBS whole black peppercorns

3 TBS chopped ginger, crystallized

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper, or less if spicy drinks aren't your thang

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice organic sugar

5 heaping TBS loose-leaf Assam black tea, caffeinated or decaf—whatever your preference

16 cups water

The Preparation Method:

First and foremost, have everything measured out and ready to go.

Then, in a large stock pot, dry-roast the first five ingredients over high heat: 8 crushed sticks cinnamon, 3 TBS cardamom, 2 TBS cloves, 2 TBS fennel, and 2 TBS peppercorns.

Roast only until fragrant. Do not smoke the spices. They should not change color. Usually two or three minutes max.

Immediately pour water into the hot pot with spices. Keep heat on high. Add chopped ginger.

Boil with vigor until the water has reduced to half. For me this is usually about 30 minutes or so. I have an easy method for determining when you've reached the halfway mark. Either it's too late, or I'm just plan lazy, so I'm not going to tell you about that here. Refer to my original chai post in July 2011 to learn more about this technique my Dad taught me when learning to make Lithuanian Krupnikas. But I digress. Krupnikas is for another day, another time.

Back to the chai. Once the water level reduces to the halfway point it is time to remove the pot from the heat source, add 5 heaping TBS loose-leaf Assam black tea and 1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper. Mix well and let steep for five minutes. Don't let it steep a second longer. The tea will become bitter and that will ruin the whole effort.

Immediately strain the spices and tea contents from the chai concentrate. Combine the hot chai liquid to the 1/2 cup of sugar. Stir well. Cap tightly. Refrigerate. The concentrate keeps for one week (give or take) in the refrigerator.

To serve: Use one part chai concentrate to one part milk or milk alternative. I'm crazy for Almond Milk in this chai latte. Heat on the stovetop. Do not allow to boil. And done.

I sure hope you enjoy these fall mornings with a warm cup of home brewed chai as much as I do.

Instead of a song tonight, I thought I'd attach photos of a few scenes from my new location.

Simple Joy ~ Gavin DeGraw

It's Monday. Time for Simply Joy.

I tell you what... nothing has brought me more joy over the past two weeks than this man's music. I can not stop listening to it. I can not stop singing it. The words run through my head as I sleep. The nananananana's are rolling out of my mouth upon waking. I have not seen an artist that has moved me like this in—hmmmmmm—ever.

The more I hear of his music, the deeper I fall into it.

Gavin DeGraw. Yes.

Here's a taste of the glory...

Or try this one. The soul of the music shines through profoundly here, friends.

I'm not done yet. Check out this most fantastic Sam Cooke cover. Good God this is great!




Now if you've made it this far, you're in for a special treat. This next song ROCKS. I've been somewhat paralyzed in performing my daily duties thanks to this song. I try to leave the house, but I can't stop dancing, singing, and proclaiming my love of life... over and over and over again. Wow. What is happening to me?

I could not find a video that does justice to the blow-your-mind quality of this song. So here's the audio. Turn it up. And jam.

Music for You Kjersti

Hey Everybody.

I know it's been awhile since my last post.

Lots happening over here in The Little White Kitchen. In fact, I have a new little white kitchen. Hence the lack of posting over the last many seasons.

Moving takes it out of ya', I tell you. Still lots happening, no time for posting just yet. More to come soon. Or later. Or not. Not sure yet.

But for now, I promised Kjersti that I'd share great music whenever I find it. Somehow I've never been exposed to this artist before last weekend when I saw him preform at a festival and I stumbled upon this song on Spotify and have now listened to it 15 times over and keep hitting repeat. That makes this song Kjersti worthy.

Girl, from across that great big ocean, this one's for you...

Amos Lee - Supply and Demand

YouTube link: Amos Lee - Supply and Demand

 

Sweet Potato Casserole

You could say I am getting a head start on next year's Thanksgiving recipe postings. Or you could say that my Thanksgiving recipe posting planning went the way of most things I attempt to plan, straight to pot. 

Either way, this recipe is hands-down one of the favorites at our Thanksgiving table every year. It's such a hit that I typically make it for Christmas dinner as well. Maybe you will too.

This recipe finds its origins with our dear friend, Dr. B, who is from the South. Before I met Dr. B, I never had a sweet potato casserole. A cryin' shame. 

About a decade ago he brought it to a Thanksgiving potluck at church. Upon request, he passed the recipe along to me from his mother. Whom I'm sure was passed along the recipe from someone else after attending a Thanksgiving potluck at church. 

My point here is twofold. Despite the fact that I'm a Yankee [proven by my 22% Dixie score on this here Advanced Rebel-Yankee test], this recipe is Southern through and through. And despite that I've made some changes to accommodate our special gluten and dairy free diet, good recipes always have a way of getting passed down from homecook to homecook. This is one of those recipes. Dixie disclaimer: I reduced the amount of sugar in the casserole by half... and it still tastes like dessert to me.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 stick butter (or butter alternative such as Earth Balance)

1/2 cup milk (or milk alternative such as Almond Milk)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 cups canned sweet potatoes

Topping

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup self rising flour (or 1/2 cup of your favorite gf flour mix + 3/4 tsp baking powder)

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

On Top of the Topping

1/3 stick butter (or butter alternative such as Earth Balance)

The Preparation Method:

This recipe is super easy. Literally two steps and done.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix filling ingredients together with a handheld blender. Distribute mixture evenly in a well greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Mix topping ingredients together.

Distribute topping evenly over the sweet potato filling.

Place pads of butter evenly over the top. Cover with tin foil.

Place in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove foil covering. Continue cooking for another 15 minutes or until the topping is nice and brown.

Serve as a festive holiday side dish, or even as a gluten and dairy free dessert. Scrumptious!

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Gavin DeGraw has been blowing my mind lately. I can not get enough of his music, specifically his 2011 album Sweeter. If you have not heard this yet, you need to. There is something so remarkable about this man's music. Please, please, I beg of you, go listen to his album on Spotify right this instant.

But in keeping true to the holiday spirit, I am compelled to play a little Christmas jingle for you. Gavin DeGraw displays his musical prowess here singing Merry Little Christmas.

Simple Joy ~ Holiday Loves

The fast approaching Thanksgiving holiday is making me all sentimental about the joyous things this season brings with it. 

I'm not crazy for mall shopping, movie theaters or unmanageable bills come January 1st. Instead, my favorite parts of the season come with great simplicity and a whole lot of love.

Homemade (gluten and dairy free) lasagna full of heritage and heart.

Magical buns of delight (gluten and dairy free, of course) that find their home in my earliest holiday memories.

Sugar nuts, to keep up my endurance and stamina through all the busy-ness next month brings.

Let us not forget the Lithuanian Krupnikas parties!

A warm mug of homemade chai to share with neighbor friends on cold winter mornings.

And last but not least, the magnificent joy that comes from watching little children play endlessly in the snow.

Thanksgiving Tagine

I present this recipe as an alternative to all the traditional Thanksgiving fare you're likely planning this week. Tagine is a nice gluten-free and vegan option to present on your Thanksgiving table for your guests with special diets. Totally untypical, I know, but with the squash and carrots it has a festive flair about itself. It's super easy to make the day before, and in fact, becomes more delicious after it sits in the refrigerator overnight.

Should you choose not to replace your T-Day favorites with this Moroccan classic, my tagine will make a fantastic recipe for Saturday night's dinner once you've grown completely annoyed with all the holiday leftovers.

Here's to a great week of preparation for giving thanks abundantly!

Thanksgiving Tagine


Ingredients:

2 TBS grapeseed oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup raw unsalted cashew halves
1/4 cup raisins
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
14 ounces vegetable broth
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 cube crystalized ginger, or 1/4 tsp ground ginger

The Preparation Method:


Heat grapeseed oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Add onion and garlic, cook until softened.

Add all other ingredients. Stir well. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes until all vegetables are tender as evidenced by how easily they are pierced with a fork.

If you and gluten don't agree, serve with quinoa. If gluten is your friend, serve with the traditional couscous.

Enjoy!

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Speaking of non-traditional holiday delights, I found this remarkable Christmas tune (go figure) the other day. Seeing as Thanksgiving is just the gateway to Christmas, and Moroccan Tagine really has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, I thought this Hawaiian Christmas jingle would be an appropriate video to accompany this dish. Yay for Brushfire Records just released second Christmas album This Warm December, A Brushfire Holiday Vol. 2 !!!! Such quality music.

Jack Johnson - In The Morning

Jack - In The Morning from Brushfire Records on Vimeo.

Simple Joy ~ Cool TV

Just the other day the hubs and I were having a discussion about MTV. What the heck ever happened to music television? Why did it have such a short life? Whose idea was it to play endless reality television in place of rad music videos?

As a youth, I'll admit I had a major addiction to the 24-7 feed of videos streaming through that glass screen in my living room. I'd spend days on end lazing around on the couch watching and waiting for more Bon Jovi to come on. And more Guns 'N Roses. And more Poison. And more Skid Row.

Gosh, those were the good days. I still love music videos. Perhaps you've noticed?

Boy was there a treat in store for me last week when I traveled to Canada for a business trip. Flipping through the channels in my hotel room, I came across something so fantastic I nearly dropped the remote. A channel devoted to playing all music all the time. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

Apparently, someone else had been asking the same questions that we'd been pondering.

The Cool TV even hosts theme shows just like I remember them. Remember Veejays? Martha Quinn was always my favorite. Ahhhhhh. The good ol' days.

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I'll spare you the potential pain it could cause to watch one of those artists I mentioned from my good ol' MTV watching days and instead send some old-timey feel good music your way.

Ricky Nelson - Hello Mary-Lou

Simple Joy ~ Anticipation of Winter

Seasons change, feelings stir.

Pretty soon, we'll all be wearing the boots with the fur.

These kids are eager with the anticipation of winter.

With it comes warm mugs of liquid chocolate and skiing fever.

Bring it on!!!

Apple Spice Muffins (Gluten Free)

The fall bounty is in full effect. Apples of every kind line the market aisles. Big ones. Small ones. Juicy ones. Tart ones. Red ones. Pink ones. It's apple mania, people!

Why not make use of fall's most notorious fruit in some fluffy gluten-free muffins? Besides, baking this treat today will fill your home with a heavenly aroma. Why not! Let's not waste another minute...

Apple Spice Muffins (Gluten Free)

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients = Large Mixing Bowl

3 large eggs

3/4 cup applesauce

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp apple pie spice

Dry Ingredients = Small Mixing Bowl

1 1/2 cups sweet white rice flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

Filling

1 sweet apple - peeled, cored and diced

The Preparation Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the three eggs well. Add remaining wet ingredients. Stir together until well blended.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Fold gently to combine. Do not over-stir. Stir just enough to make the dry ingredients wetted. Gluten-free muffins are temperamental. Don't go agro on 'em, folks. Be gentle. And kind. If you take your time, the muffins will be gentle and kind right back at you.

Just like the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Buckwheat Muffins I posted last month, stirring too much will cause your muffins to turn out tough. And like I've said before... nobody likes a tough muffin. A tough cookie, maybe, but not a tough muffin.

Have the peeled, cored and diced apples on hand.

Begin filling the muffin cups just halfway. About a tablespoon of batter will do. We're going to fill the center of the muffin with the diced apples and finish up with another tablespoon of batter on top.

With a technique like this we might as well call this recipe Spiced Apple Surprise Muffins.

Once all the apples are tucked nicely inside each muffin cup, bake in a preheated 350 degree oven approximately 18 minutes (give or take) until a toothpick inserted to the center of the muffin comes out clean. Don't overcook. This also leads to tough gluten-free muffins, friends.

Enjoy!

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Raise your hand if you love Mat Kearney as much as I do. Ah-ha, I knew it. See, that's why we're friends.

This song is so flippin' fantastic it deserves a three-peat listen-to. Amazingly enough, the video is approximately twelve times more fantastic than the song by itself. How hard is that to accomplish? Go, Mr. Kearney, Go!

Mat Kearney - Hey Mama

(Special note for my readers who receive Dance While You Cook posts via email: I realize you may not be able to play the videos I've been posting from this email. You probably already realize this, but just to be sure I thought I'd mention it. Click on the link at the top of the page to get through to my website so you can see the videos play.)

Simple Joy ~ Traditions

Happy Halloween!!! 

Today marks one of my favorite days in the whole calendar year. Not because Halloween is my favorite holiday. For it is not. In fact, I believe I was born missing a gene for creative costuming. Those with a flair for Halloween costumes have a special gene, you know. She is not I. 

However, I have much joy on this day because Halloween marks the beginning of a wickedly intense holiday season spanning the next 62 days. 

In addition to the multitude of winter festivals and holidays fast approaching, we celebrate a few birthdays in our family throughout this season as well. 

My favorite part of all of this are the various traditions that surround each and every one of these celebrations that occur over the next two months. 

I wait all year long for this day, October 31st. Most importantly because of the fact that once Halloween night concludes, at exactly 12 o'clock midnight, Christmas music will magically turn on in my house and won't stop playing for 55 days straight. I'm not joking. Ask my husband. And then do me a favor and try to convince him that this is a good thing.

Monster Mash aka Spiced Apple Pot Roast

Every year on Halloween it is my tradition to make a pot roast. Returning home from the day's crazed activities, we all could use a hot and hearty meal before we head out on our sugar bomb quest for the evening. 

This spiced apple pot roast—also known as Monster Mash because of the way it looks when it's finished cooking—is perfect for All Hallows' Eve. 

Don't be alarmed by the mushy mashy nature of the apples and spices when all is said and done. That's the nature of Monster Mash.

Monster Mash aka Spiced Apple Pot Roast

Ingredients:

3 pound pork shoulder roast with plenty of marbling

4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored, halved

1 (12oz) bottle hard cider

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

salt and pepper, to taste

The Preparation Method:

1) Put chopped onions in the bottom of a crock-pot. 

2) Place pork shoulder roast over the onions. (You may choose to brown the pork shoulder first for more flavor. I omit this step because it turns my crock-pot cooking day into a stovetop cooking day, and I don't like that. Besides, my mother-in-law makes the tastiest pot roasts on the planet and she never browns the roast. I'm attempting to follow suit.) Sprinkle roast generously with salt and pepper.

3) Sit half apples on top of the meat.

4) Pour hard cider over meat. 

5) Mix together sugar, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle everything with sugar/spice mixture.

6) Set crock-pot on low heat and cook for 6-8 hours.

7) When done, the apples will have turned to spiced apple sauce and the meat will fall apart with the touch of a fork.

For the Visual Learners Among Us:

Crisp fall apples.

Well marbled pork shoulder roast.

Choose any one of the yummy hard ciders in the fall line by Woodchuck. I used the "Fall" brew for this recipe.

I can't get enough of onions soaked in the juices of an all-day pot roast. Therefore, I choose the largest onion I can find.

Mix these fall spices together for the topping.

Peel, core and halve the apples. I used Granny Smith, but am very curious how my favorite Honeycrisps would do in this recipe.

Layer 'em all up.

Pour the hard cider in.

Sprinkle, sprink, sprinkley-dink.

6-8 hours on the low setting in the crock-pot. Done. Talk about the "Easy Button".

This dinner should fall apart at a touch.

And there you have it. The Monster Mash for All Hallows' Eve. Enjoy, and have a safe and spooky holiday!

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And now... a slightly spooky and very kooky video for 1962's Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett.

GFCF Halloween Candy

The Halloween countdown is ON!

My kids have been anticipating Halloween night for a couple of weeks now, each day with an estimation of the days 'til Halloween — we'll go from 20 days away to 15 days away to tomorrow — almost overnight. But that doesn't matter, when the day hits, we'll all know it.

The mounds of candy the little munchkins collect is enough to choke a dead horse. ( <<< That's a saying from my past. Do people still say that?)

But besides choking a dead horse, the candy that enters my home presents a slightly deeper issue in a house that has multiple food allergies for adults and children alike — namely gluten, dairy and corn.


Mainstream Halloween candy sans gluten, dairy and corn is hard to find. Actually, it's impossible to find. I know it's possible to find some items that are both gluten and dairy free, but not corn free as well. Almost every single item at the bottom of those plastic orange pumpkins will contain corn syrup. (Unless the old lady next door dropped a penny in the bucket. But that's a different story entirely.) What to do? What to do?

In the past, we've shot from the hip to make our best guesses about potential allergens in the candy. That said, we all agree to let the corn thing slide for just the evening, knowing full well that adverse health reactions will likely result in the morning. And every year, just days after Halloween, we find ourselves managing a decently sized allergic reaction. What to do? What to do?

After all the trick-or-treating is complete on Monday night, we'll come back to the warmth of our living room to do The Great Candy Swap. This was always my favorite part of the whole Halloween experience. Trading candy with my brother on the dining room floor of our 100 year-old spooky Victorian house would leave me with great satisfaction over securing the bestest of the best in miniature sugar bombs. I don't want to deprive my children of this most grand experience. We need to have fun with the trick-or-treating and mitigate our risks at the same time. What to do? What to do?

Preparedness. Preparedness is the answer. Or at least I think it might be the answer. I'll let you know how it all works out on November 2nd.

The quest to achieve preparedness has lead me to research. Research is the answer. Or at least I think it will be the answer.

So I took to the world wide webs in an effort to have a "sugar bomb plan" come 8pm on Halloween night.

This is what I found to be most helpful:

Jane Anderson, the Celiac Disease Guide at About.com, has done a nice job of outlining all of the mainstream gluten-free candies we can expect to see in our children's orange plastic buckets. Her list was updated in October 8, 2011. Thank you, Jane.

Taking it a step further, Alison St. Sure at Sure Foods Living has put together a comprehensive list of the top 8 allergen ingredients in (most) mainstream candies. I'm really diggin' this list because I can easily reference an item and determine if it contains the specific allergen I need to know about. Thanks to all of Alison's hard work, this list is easy-to-read and print ready, albeit long. I plan to print this list out and highlight the items that work for us. I'm going to post it on my front door, back door, chicken coop, kitchen cabinets and above my bed for quick reference. Not really. But maybe if I did, this great info would enter through osmosis and save me some time as we prepare for this busy day.

The gluten-free dairy-free candy I'm most looking forward to this year... Airheads. Children, guard your buckets. Goodness, I think I might be an addict. Someone save me.

Braised Collard Greens with Coconut Milk

Last week I showed up to teach my childbirth class raving about a delicious collard green recipe I made for dinner that night. My husband and I virtually inhaled an entire head of collard greens in two minutes flat. I will admit, this behavior was quite shocking for both of us. Leafy greens have not been a strongpoint at our dinner table recently. Errrrrr, I mean, ever. 

In class that evening, the topic was prenatal nutrition. I mentioned the amazing properties of collard greens and the benefits for pregnant women and their growing babies. When discussing a healthy and well-balanced diet in pregnancy, I talked on the topic of "Eating Smart". The bottom line is if you choose your foods wisely you will pack the most powerful punch into each meal. This way you get all of your essential nutrients without turning eating into a chore.

Fresh cooked collard greens contain the following essential nutrients:

Calcium & Magnesium — Essential to proper functioning of muscle contractions. (Hello, Uterus!)

Potassium — Is known to relieve pregnancy related muscle cramps. (Good Evening, Charlie Horse!)

Folate — Reduces the risk of anemia for the mother & supports rapid growth of the placenta and fetus. (Hello, Healthy Little One)

Vitamin C — Fights infection and helps to build a healthy placenta. (Welcome, Most Amazing Temporary Organ in the Human Body!)

Vitamin A — Contributes to healthy skin and mucus membranes. (Hello, Amniotic Sac!)

Choline — Helps fetal brain cells to develop properly. (Ahhh, Genius!) 

Not only do collard greens pack a punch, but the coconut milk in this dish offers quite a bit of benefit as well. Coconut milk contains healthy fats and is known to be anti-carcinogenic, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-viral. 

Good heavens! You have to try this recipe. Go for the organic greens at the market and prepare them as soon as possible. The collard greens will turn bitter if left to sit in the refrigerator too long. Also worthy to note, the smaller the leaf on the collard green, the milder the flavor. 

Let's get started...

Braised Collard Greens with Coconut Milk

Serves: 2

Prep Time: approximately 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 TBS grapeseed oil (or olive oil)

1 bunch collard greens, torn into pieces away from the stem

1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 TBS fresh squeezed lemon juice

Salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste

The Preparation Method:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Wash the leaves of the greens from all dirt and sand. Wash well. Gritty greens are never very tasty.

Tear the leaves apart away from fibrous stems. Dispose of the stems. Set aside.

Slice the yellow onion thinly. Set aside.

Juice that lemon. Set aside.

Once the water is boiling, add some salt and the torn greens. Cook for 2 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Heat grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions. Gently salt and cook about 5 minutes until soft and translucent, stirring often.

Add the well-drained collard greens. Gently salt and cook about 2 minutes, stirring the entire time.

Add 1/2 cup coconut milk and 1/2 TBS lemon juice. Stir well and gently simmer about 5 minutes or until tender.

Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!

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Oh boy, this sounds good!

Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile — Attaboy (Live)