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I have been tweaking this Chai Tea recipe for a couple weeks and I love it – you can add more or less of any of the ingredients to get just the level of spice that you prefer.

10 cloves
10 green cardamom pods
10 peppercorns
2 cinnamon sticks
1 inch piece fresh ginger – sliced
fresh ground nutmeg
pinch of fennel seeds (optional)
fresh lemon balm leaves (optional)
2 heaping teaspoons yerba mate or darjeeling tea leaves
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups water
2 cups milk
sugar or honey to taste

Makes 4 cups.

In medium saucepan, add two cups water, all of the spices and bring to a boil, keeping covered. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, again keep covered.

Your house should be smelling amazing by now.

Take pan off the heat, add the tea leaves and lemon balm and steep covered for 5-10 minutes.

Add 2 cups milk, whole for the real deal and 1% for a skinny, vanilla and sugar (or honey) and bring to a boil, stirring regularly as to not burn the milk.

Strain through a mesh strainer and pour into cups. Breathe in and enjoy!

Melony was kind enough to get me a subscription to Real Simple magazine and I absolutely LOVE the recipes!

I made the black bean soup for an afternoon dinner yesterday and Dean and I really enjoyed it. Here is the link:

Black Bean Soup with Roasted Jalapeno Salsa

Here is my favorite new recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup – I usually go sans tortilla.

3 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (smallest package of chicken breasts you can find)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbl dried parsley
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 jalapeno – diced
1 small onion – chopped
3 cloves garlic – minced
1/2 cup celery
1 small red bell pepper – chopped
1 small orange or yellow bell pepper – chopped
Hidden Valley small package dried ranch dressing mix – use to season to taste (adds salt)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomato
1 can mexican salsa – something with good flavor
Swanson’s chicken broth – add enough as needed after you have added all other ingredients
Lime wedges. fresh cilantro, fresh diced onion, shredded Monterrey jack cheese, avocado – for set ups at the table.

In large soup kettle, cover chicken breasts with water, add pepper, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder and cumin to water and boil for one hour. Remove breasts from broth and shred in bowl with two forks. Strain broth for fat and put back into soup kettle with shredded chicken. Add all other ingredients and simmer for 2 hours covered.

Serve with set-ups table side

Mmmmm…this is so good and cooling for the summer. Dean has roma and grape tomatoes in the garden this year and neither of us have yet cultivated the taste for eating tomatoes raw (give me ketchup and salsa and I am all over it)….so I have been looking for ways that we can fix our crop into dishes that we will actually eat. After eating in Dallas this past week and having this salad as a side dish, it was fun making my own version. Next time, hopefully we will have some of our own tomatoes harvested, but was able to use our own basil.

Recipe basics:
Roma or grape tomatoes, halved
Fresh mozzarella balls, halved
Red onion, minced
Fresh basil
salt, pepper and olive oil to taste

Some veg for the Grandma Saari chicken salad for Mothers Day tomorrow

This is an awesome meal during these incredibly hot months, eating it actually makes you feel cooler. This recipe is an adaptation of the chicken salad that my grandma made for my mom and I the last time I was up in Duluth, MN.

1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup diced bell pepper (green, red, orange – one or all three for more color)
2 cups seedless purple grapes – halved
3 chicken breast halves – baked (20 min @350 degrees) – cubed
4 cups (dry) organic Fusilli – or any kind of pasta you prefer – cooked of course
1 cup mayo
Garlic salt, onion salt or dried shallots and pepper to taste

Mix together in a large bowl – refrigerate and enjoy!