Crap! It's Cold! Idea #1

Yesterday was a blistery, wintery, wet, dark Melbourne day. My poor sister in law Nicole had just arrived from sunny WA and I don't think she knew what struck her!! As a rare enjoyer of these cooler months, I thought that over the next few weeks I would share some ideas (some creative, some not) to help you embrace this cooler period. So next time you're thinking "Crap! It's cold!" why don't you try...

CONDENSED MILK CHAI TEA

This is simply the best. thing. ever. Now before I go any further, I want to make it clear that this is NOT my idea, it's somone elses, but so yummy and easy that I feel like it would be wrong of me to keep this awesomeness to myself! I recently borrowed (from Ash, another sister in law) Pip Lincoln's book, "Sew La Tea Do" as there was a dress pattern I wanted to try. Towards the back of the book were a few recipes, and this Chai tea is hands down the best thing I've done in a while.

INGREDIENTS

1 X 395 G CAN OF SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK
1 TEASPOON GROUND CARDAMOM
1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
1 TEASPOON GROUND GINGER
1 TEASPOON GROUND NUTMEG
1/2 TEASPOON GROUND PEPPER
1/2 TEASPOON GROUND CLOVES
1 STAR ANISE

MIX ALL THE INGREDIENTS TOGETHER IN A CONTAINER AND POP IT IN THE FRIDGE.

TO MAKE A YUMMY CHAI TEA, SIMPLY MAKE YOURSELF A STRONG CUP OF BLACK TEA, AND THEN ADD A SPOONFUL OF THIS MIXTURE TO YOUR MUG. (WHEN FEELING EXTRA SWEET, I ADDED TWO.)

I KEPT THIS MIXTURE IN THE FRIDGE FOR OVER A WEEK. I'M NOT SURE HOW LONG IT WILL ACTUALLY LAST, BUT IT WILL GO QUICK BECAUSE IT'S SO YUM!

What better way to warm yourself up on a cold day? (To top it off, try getting everyone in your family out of the house and enjoy your tea on the couch with a heavy doona and a Jane Eyre DVD. Unlikely, but a girl can dream, hey?)

One last thing, Mr. Coleman and I decided a few years ago to never buy Nestle products, based on a few ethical reasons. To put it simply, they're not a very nice company, to the earth and it's people. This has never been a problem except for condensed milk, as it's been very hard to find any other brand that makes it. For a while, I used the black and gold home brand from our local independent supermarket, but we try not to buy too much home brand either. We are lucky enough to live in Footscray (inner Western suburb of Melbourne) with a very high South East Asian population. Every second shop in Foostcray sells this Thai brand of Condensed milk. I'm not sure if you will be as lucky as us in your local area, but I thought I'd at least put it out there for the next time you're shopping.

For more info on why Nestle should be avoided check out:
http://www.oxfam.ca/news-and-publications/news/coffee-companies-doing-little-to-help-struggling-farmers/
http://info.babymilkaction.org/
http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/communities-think-outside-bottle

MEZZ XOXO