Chai Tea Latte

It would seem that quality chai tea is much easier to make than the coffee shops make it out to be. It's so straightforward that I suspect you'll soon be making it every morning like I am. Plus, you don't have to think about what's in the pre-made mix in a cardboard box the coffee shop dumped into your cup.

Ingredients:
2 inches of fresh ginger, thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch)
3 cinnamon sticks
14 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods
1.5 teaspoons black peppercorns
6 cups cold water
7 tea bags (black tea preferred)
2 cups 2% milk (if you want ultra-creamy, go for whole milk)
1/3 cup golden brown sugar, packed

Directions:
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium saucepan (make sure it is large enough to hold 8 cups of liquid without making a mess). You will strain the mixture in the end, but I recommend placing the smaller spices in a tea ball (peppercorns, cloves, cardamom) so that it will be easier to strain (or just scoop like I did--whatever makes the least mess!).

At any rate, you combine those first 5 ingredient and then add the cold water. Set this to high heat and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, remove from the heat and add your tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the bags, squeezing the liquid from the bags--that's good stuff!

Add the brown sugar and the milk and set back on high heat and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, turn off the heat. At this point you can either strain the mixture, or, if you used the tea ball, then you can remove the ball and just scoop out the cinnamon sticks and ginger slices. Then, enjoy your masterpiece!

There are definitely variations to this. If you prefer yours sweeter, add more sugar. If you like more of a bite, add more peppercorns (I would not go past 2 teaspoons though). Starbucks now has a chocolate chai tea latte, so add some cocoa nibs to your tea ball. That will probably be my next attempt at this.

Note: You may have noticed I don't care about my writing. The point of this blog is the food and the therapy that comes from making it, and enjoying it. If you want quality writing, read Shakespeare.

Black Bean Chili with Lime

With temperatures plummeting recently, chili just felt like the right thing to make. Now, I'm definitely not a vegetarian, but I do enjoy a good black bean chili. Black beans are hearty and healthy (assuming you watch the sodium content in canned beans), plus they take on the flavors of spices very well.

Ancho chili powder provides the right amount of spice, but also a great smokiness, so I definitely wanted to use it. Cumin is a classic spice in chili, so I wanted to maintain that flavor as well. I also added epazote, which is a Mexican spice with a hint of sweetness, but a mild flavor; somewhat like a sweeter version of oregano. Lastly, I decided I wanted a little more heat so I added some aleppo pepper, which is a Turkish pepper, that comes crushed rather than in a powder.

With the heat of this chili, and keeping with the Mexican theme, the lime adds brightness and acidity to the chili and brings it all together. I was very pleased with how this chili turned out and will definitely make it again.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons ancho chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons epazote
1/2 teaspoon crushed aleppo pepper
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 sweet yellow onion, chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper, chopped
3 cans low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans low-sodium diced tomatoes
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 2 limes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Remove black beans from the cans and rinse well. Remove the lids from the cans of tomatoes and set aside, retaining the tomatoes in their juice. In a small bowl, combine ancho chili powder, cumin, epazote and aleppo pepper. Set aside. Peel the garlic cloves and chop the garlic finely, setting it aside when done. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. When oil is heated, add the onion and bell pepper, cooking until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and spices and cook for another 1-2 minutes, mixing constantly. Add tomatoes and beans and continue to cook, mixing them into the onions and spices. Add the lime zest and juice, reducing the heat to low and simmering for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon the chili into a bowl and top it with chopped avocado. Enjoy!

Herb Roasted Pork Loin with Roasted Apples & Brussel Sprouts and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

As the temperatures continue to drop and leaves change into beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow and even purple, I can't help but get excited about fall flavors in food. Many fruits and vegetables are coming into season: apples, pears, pumpkins, squash and greens of all kinds. Fall is my favorite food season because of the warm, earthy flavors that characterize it. It is with this emphasis that I created my first meal of recovery.

Using The Flavor Bible as my guide, I set off to determine complementary side dishes for my pork meal. I already knew herbs that would go well with a boneless pork loin, specifically rosemary and sage, so the next step was to create side dishes. I selected apples, brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. The apples and sweet potatoes are in season now and should complement the pork nicely. The brussel sprouts I had in my refrigerator and needed to be used. I admit that isn't the best reason to choose to work with them, as they do have a strong flavor of their own, but it is what it is. If I had a greater personal income, I could afford to arrange a perfect meal every night, but that is not reality for me or most people. Frankly, I see nothing wrong with using what resources you have available to you. It just makes sense.

Here are the flavors that I chose to emphasize with each dish. For the pork, I chose fresh rosemary, fresh sage, black pepper, kosher salt and olive oil. I wanted to add strong, herbaceous flavors, without overpowering the natural flavor of the pork. For the apples and brussel sprouts, I kept these just as simple. I chose granny smith apples because of their nice crispness and acidity. I roughly chopped the apples and brussel sprouts, added them together and tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped bacon. Finally, for the mashed sweet potatoes, I added butter, maple syrup, apple cider and a touch of cinnamon to add warmth and spice.

With my flavors chosen, I ventured into the most challenging part of this process: determining how much of each to add to the dishes. How much rosemary would provide enough of its flavor without overpowering the pork? How much maple syrup would bring out the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes without making them too sweet? To be honest, I guessed. I thought about past recipes I've made and my knowledge of each ingredient, and from there I made a decision as to how much to use. I also sampled all the food while I cooked everything and added more if necessary, taking notes along the way, as any chef I've seen on television has done. I never expected this recipe to be perfect on the first try. I just wanted to create something new and truly my own. With that in mind, I present the ingredients for each part of the meal.

Pork
2 pound boneless pork loin
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt (coarse)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup apple cider

Apples & Brussel Sprouts
3 medium granny smith apples, cored, peeled and cut into 8 sections each
1 pound of brussel sprouts, rinsed and halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices cooked, chopped bacon

Sweet Potatoes
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
1/4 cup apple cider
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Prepare all ingredients as shown above. Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix rosemary, sage, black pepper and salt in a small bowl. Rub pork in olive oil, then with the herb mixture. Set the pork on a rack in a roasting pan. Add the apple cider to the pan.

Combine the chopped apples and brussel sprouts in a bowl. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Add the bacon and toss again. Nestle the apple and brussel sprout mixture in with pork in the roasting pan, forming a "moat" around the pork as shown below.

Place a meat thermometer into the pork, so that it is approximately in the middle of it. Put the roasting pan in the middle of the oven on the center rack. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until the pork has reached your desired temperature. The temperature standard for pork is at least 145°F, with well done being around 160°F. I usually cook mine to about 155°, as it will continue to heat up a bit further after it is removed from the oven and resting. When made in this way, I usually see a touch of pink in the center with plenty of amazing juiciness throughout. A 5-10 minute rest is key to attaining juiciness of the pork.

While the pork is cooking, add the chopped sweet potato to a pot of boiling water. Boil until the pieces are soft, testing with a fork. Drain the water from the pot, and add the cooked sweet potato to a medium bowl. Add the butter, apple cider, maple syrup and cream. Beat with a handheld beater until potatoes are thick, but creamy, adding additional cider or cream as needed. Add the cinnamon and beat thoroughly to incorporate. Cover with foil to maintain warmth until the rest of the meal is ready.

When the pork is at temperature, remove it from the oven and the pan, placing it on a carving board. Cover it with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. After this time, slice it into 1/2-inch thick pieces.

Place the apple-brussel sprout mixture on a serving dish, and place the sliced pork on top of it, as shown below.

Lastly, ENJOY!

In reflecting on my meal, my first thoughts were this:
1. The pork was cooked perfectly! It has a wonderful juiciness throughout, and the rosemary and sage add a beautiful earthiness that complements the pork wonderfully.
2. The brussel sprouts were mushy and I knew better than to make them this way. There are two ways to potentially avoid this. First, roast the apples and brussel sprouts separately on a baking sheet in the oven. This can likely be done for about half the time it took to cook the pork (but check frequently to avoid burning). The second option is to keep the apples & brussel sprouts in with the pork, but to not add the apple cider to the pan. The cider, while it added juice, was not necessary since the pork and the apples both provide moisture while they cook. Though the brussel sprouts were mushy, they had phenomenal flavor because they absorbed the juices from the pork and apples. I will likely try this latter method the next time around.
3. The sweet potatoes were fantastic. They had just the perfect amount of sweetness and spice, to balance the overall earthiness of the whole meal. The apple cider added to the potatoes helped to tie every aspect of the dish together.
4. I would definitely make this meal again with some slight changes, including those provided. I think a dessert that highlighted similar fall flavors would be great, such as an apple pie or something with pumpkin.

The Backbone of My Creativity

As I start my culinary recovery, I wanted to point out a phenomenal book called "The Flavor Bible." It is written by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg (on sale for around $20 on Amazon). It is purely by chance that I happen to come across this book in the first place. A few years ago when Borders Bookstores were going out of business, I ventured immediately to the food and cookbook section. This one caught my eye with its simple tagline, "the essential guide to culinary creativity." The flavor matching guide is the best part of the book; providing hundreds of pages of flavor affinities in order to maximize each cook's culinary creativity. It is with this book that I base my culinary creativity in the posts to follow.

Thank you for viewing my blog and I hope you enjoy what is to come. My recovery is but a great adventure and exploration of life. To further discover more about myself, using food as my medium, is but an added bonus. Enjoy!