chai

Today was a city day. We hopped in the car and drove east for this event. Joey had done some behind the scenes crafting for our friend who was vending, and we went to support and have a day of hipster craftiness. We can almost swing that look, except with the overwhelmed kids we were torturing by making them take another circle around the reclaimed sweater mittens and feathered headbands. It seems that young hipsters do not have children in Boston, and we had the icy stares of many to prove it. With the teary girls and zonked girls, we’re not so hip at all, no matter how many pieces of our own clothing we have silkscreened. And although the man playing Pixies covers on his theremin really really loud (did you know how a theremin could rock? I certainly didn’t) was admittedly sort of awesome, it didn’t really help the overwhelmed state. So we bought the little one a crafty hip unicorn wand, and the big one a kit to make something hip for herself (that’s all she ever wants), and we did our best. Then we got some bad Thai food and hit the highway.

I am happy to be home. The truth is, I seem to be more and more of a country girl (although I guess that’s what I’ve been all along) and squeezing myself and both the girls into tiny city bathrooms and trying to get Rosie not to lay on the bathroom floor while Sadie tries to pee without touching the toilet is too much for me. Why are city bathrooms so small? Does no one in the city have a small child who needs help from an adult in the bathroom? I like the country because there is enough space out here that architects don’t seem to feel guilty about making bathrooms just a little bit bigger.

All in all, though, the day was a fair success. I must say, I think we only really made it through because of our afternoon yesterday.
For the first time this year, it snowed. Joey and I actually paid a babysitter so we could go to the hardware store, and we really got our money out of that hour. We walked around town, and the snow fell on all the tourists and on our eyelashes, and we were all happy. We came home, and the girls were outside in the snow, and then they came in and I made chai and popcorn which we ate by the fire. This morning, the girls were up at 6:30, and they spent a good hour rolling around in the two inches of snow on their own before we got ready for our city day.

So it seems that the our home in the country gave us the strength to make it through our exciting city day. Thank you home. Thank you snow. And thank you chai.

Chai
(this is the recipe that I’ve been working with for a while, but Eilen just put up a nice one in the comments to the granola post, so do take your pick… I haven’t gotten to try hers yet)

serves 4

4 cups water
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 cinnamon stick
15 cloves
5 cardamom pods
10 black peppercorns
one orange, unpeeled, cut into circular slices
1 cup milk
honey to taste
3 black tea bags (3 heaping tablespoons loose black tea) or, if you are caffeine free or are making the chai for children you can use either decaf black tea or my personal favorite, celestial seasonings caffeine free tea, which is an herbal approximation of black tea

Combine the water, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns and orange slices in a pot. Bring to a boil, and keep it going at a low boil, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by about a third. Take the pot off the heat, add the tea, cover, and steep for 3-5 minutes. Put a strainer over a bowl or measuring cup, and strain the liquid. Return to the pot and add milk. Rewarm and add honey to taste.