Roobois Chai Tea

I do like to start my weekend morning with a cup of Chai. I find it hearty and nourishing, and at the same time very relaxing to sip on my cup of tea.

I have been experimenting with different variations of spices and like this version the best. I use Roobois tea and almond milk, but this can be substituted with black tea and regular milk. I grind up a batch using my mortar and pestle and then steep up my tea when I am ready for a cup.

Chai mix

1 tbsp ground ginger

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp cloves

1 tbsp cardamom pods

1 tsp all spice

Method:

1. Using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, grind all the spices.
2. Store in a container. This should make about 3- 4 cups of chai

Chai tea

1 tbsp chai mix

1 tbsp roobois tea

Method:

1. Add 1 cup of milk to a pot. Simmer on medium low heat. Add 1 tbsp of chai mix and 1 tbsp of roboois tea. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
2. Use a tea strainer, to strain the milk into a cup.

I usually add another cup of milk to the roboois chai mix. I find the second cup to be as delicious as the first. Play around with the amount of chai mix. If you like it less strong, then add less chai mix to the milk.

Parmesan Garlic quick bread

This bread is quick to make and freezes really well as well. I usually make a double batch and freeze one loaf for the week. The garlic, green onion and parmesan cheese, gives the bread a nice savoury taste. We have been slicing the bread and melting cheese on the slices in our toaster oven.

Ing:

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups multigrain flour

1 tbsp ground flax seed

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (reserve ½ tbsp.)

 

Wet ingredients:

¾ cup buttermilk

3 tbsp melted butter

1 egg, beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp green onions, sliced

 

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. Beat wet ingredients together. Add dry ingredients. Mix till  just combined. Do not overwork the dough.
3. Shape the dough. Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese on the dough.
4. Bake at 350 F for about 30- 35 minutes.

 

Bread

One of my projects for 2013, is to be able to make bread that is healthy and delicious. I also need it to be relatively easy and not too fussy to make. I  found a recipe for multigrain bread from the Canadian Living site [http://www.canadianliving.com/food/multigrain_bread.php]

Even though there are a few steps in this recipe, it is relatively easy. You can do a step and then do your errands/ chores and come back to it.

As I work away from the house during the day,I also experimented with making the bread over a couple of days. I made the starter one evening and continued the next steps, the next evening after coming back from work.  I then shaped the dough and froze it. I took out the dough the night before I wanted fresh bread. Put it in a covered bowl, and kept it in a draft free area (my pantry with the door closed) and baked it up in the morning. Just make sure that the dough is thawed and soft again. I found this to be a relaxed way to have bread when I wanted to.

My variation from the Canadian Living recipe was instead of shaping it as a loaf, I made it round and made slashes on the top of the bread and sprinkled oats on it. I felt this made the bread look more rustic. This multigrain bread is a rather dense, hearty loaf. It is great for dunking in soups or casseroles. It is best eaten warm or toasted.

Not so sinful but delicious Cinnamon buns

I look forward to vacations, because it usually means some rest and relaxation, lots of delicious food, and time with family. We are off on a short summer vacation tomorrow, and I thought it would be nice to make up a batch of cinnamon buns for breakfast. These  buns definitely are not the healthiest breakfast that one could have, but I think it has a nice balance between indulgence and being healthy. For a special treat, these certainly fit the bill. These buns are very soft and fluffy and just divine when eaten warm. I do not add a glaze to the buns, because they are really quite nice and sweet enough without it. You could add nuts/ raisins into the cinnamon butter if you like. An alternative to the cinnamon could be ground clove powder.

Ing:

Dough:

2 tbsp instant yeast

1/2 cup milk, 2 % (warmed slightly)

6 eggs

4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Method:

1. Mix yeast and warm milk together. Let it sit for 5 min.

2. Add eggs. Mix.

3. Add in whole wheat and plain flour, 1/2 a cup at a time and mix, till incorporated.

4. Add in sugar and then butter. Mix until well incorporated.

5. Set aside, in a draft free place for about 2 hours.

 

Cinnamon butter:

ING:

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain flour

3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together until well combined.

Note: I do not put a lot of the cinnamon butter into the buns. If you like more butter, just double the recipe.

 

Assembling the buns:

Method:

1. Divide the dough into two.

2. Roll the dough out on a floured surface.

3. Trim the sides, so that you have a nice clean edged rectangle.

4. Spread the cinnamon butter on  the dough.

5. Roll the dough to form a jelly roll. You can either roll the dough from the horizontal side or the vertical side, depending on how thick you want your buns to be.  If you want them to be thinner, roll horizontally.

6. Cut the dough into even pieces. Place the cut side up in a pan lined with parchment paper.

7. Bake for 18-20 mins at 350 F, until golden brown.

Makes about 20 thick rolls.

Enjoy!

Healthy and delicious oatmeal pancakes

I enjoy eating pancakes for breakfast on weekends, and especially for special occasions. However, once I tried these pancakes, I could not go back to just plain buttermilk pancakes. These pancakes have oatmeal in them which make them more hearty. Since these pancakes, have to be made from scratch, I usually make up a batch of the dry ingredients. In the morning, all I have to do is mix the wet ingredients with one cup of dry ingredients.

We celebrated Valentine’s day yesterday and to make this pancakes a little more special for the kids, I added chocolate chunks to part of the batch. I love eating these pancakes with bananas and strawberries.

These pancakes keep really well. Leftovers can be frozen or refrigerated for the next day.

Oatmeal Pancake Mixture

Flour mixture (can be stored in an airtight container- will make 6 batches)

Ing:

3 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups flour

3 tbsp brown sugar

6 tbsp baking powder

6 tsp salt

3 tsp cinnamon

 

Ing:

1 ½ cup rolled oats

2 cups milk

1 cup flour mixture

2 eggs

¼ cup canola oil

1 tbsp ground flax seed

 

Method:

Mix rolled oats and milk. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes.

Add in eggs, oil and flax seed. Stir.

Add in 1 cup of flour mixture.

Preheat pan. Spray cooking spray.  Pour batter according to the desired size of pancake. The mixture is a little runny but will stop spreading in the pan after a  few seconds.