Run Report: If it wasn't for a tremendous amount of guilt this morning, I think I would have skipped my run. Why? Well, it seems that I'm getting pretty bored with my running. I've been running the same routes for my weekday runs for 3-4 weeks now. As many songs as I have on my iPod, I think I've listened to them all about 17 times now. It's not that I am hating the run... it's just that I'm tired of the same thing over and over...and over! Most of the time, I'm just like, "Am I done yet?!"
It doesn't help that my knees were seriously mad at me after my 10.5 mile run this past Saturday. I had to run the parking lot to avoid the rain yesterday (Sunday) and my knees seriously hurt. I mean, I don't mind feeling pain/discomfort while running, but when the pain sneaks its way into my everyday life, something's wrong. I was planning on maybe taking today off since they were hurting, but wouldn't you know it, they felt fine this morning. I was almost disappointed! It would've been the perfect excuse. Oh well.
The heavy guilt of missing a planned run weighed heavily and kicked me out of the house to start my run. I actually left the iPod at home and just ran with my own thoughts. Scary! Anyhow, I knocked a 5-miler out and am hoping to find some new routes or trails to run on. After all, I had a good 10.5 mile run this weekend and it was mostly better I think because I got to see some cool new places. Maybe I just need a change of scenery...
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What's Up in the Kitchen: Well, I don't have a cooking challenge yet to post. Hopefully I'll have some good stuff to share tonight. I plan on making shredded chicken enchiladas, spanish rice and some honey cornbread. I did want to share a old/new favorite beverage. I say "old" because I've had a version of it dozens of times, but it's "new" because now I am having the authentic version of...Chai Tea!
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What's Up in the Kitchen: Well, I don't have a cooking challenge yet to post. Hopefully I'll have some good stuff to share tonight. I plan on making shredded chicken enchiladas, spanish rice and some honey cornbread. I did want to share a old/new favorite beverage. I say "old" because I've had a version of it dozens of times, but it's "new" because now I am having the authentic version of...Chai Tea!
While I am NOT a coffee drinker, I do like tea and my absolute fave is Chai Tea, which is nearly the only thing I will get from Starbucks or Arabica. Anyhow, even though I've tried all the different versions of chai tea from the grocery store, nothing came even close! Well, last weekend, my neighbor from India showed me how she makes her authentic Indian Chai tea. OMG... better than Starbucks could even dream of!
The secret ingredient is a spice mix called Tea Masala which basically translates too...tea spice! Here is basically how she made the tea (and how I do now too!):
Ingredients:
1/2 part water
1/2 part milk
1 tea bag per serving (basic Lipton is perfect)
1/2 teaspoon Tea Masala* for each serving (or more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom for each serving (optional)
*Special note regarding the tea masala: My neighbor said that each company that makes tea masala may have a different mix of spices. She says the best tea masala is by "Badshah". I found it at my local Indian food store. I got a 3.5 ounce box for under $2.00! Just think how many cups of Chai Tea I can make with that whole box versus one cup of Chai Tea from Arabica for $4.00! Well worth it! Here's a pic of the box in case your interested in finding it.
As you can see, the tea masala has already made it's way into one of my canisters! It's a keeper! Oh, one more thing... in my recipe above, I just use 1/2 teaspoon of the tea masala. It took 2-3 cups of trial and error to come up with that. You may like more or less spice, so adjust accordingly.
Directions:
1. Take the cup you are going to drink from and fill it 1/2 way with water. Dump water into a pot and boil the water.
2. Once water is boiling, add the Tea Masala. (You will get huge bubbles when you do this. Be careful to watch the pot the whole time it is on the stove -- you don't want it to boil over! When it starts to foam up, close to the top of the pot, just remove it from the heat, lower the heat, and then put it back on.)
3. Drop in 1 tea bag per serving.
4. Allow to boil for a little bit. Add ground cardamom if you have it.
5. Take the cup you are going to drink from and fill it 1/2 way with milk. Add it to the tea. Allow to boil but WATCH CAREFULLY -- don't let it boil over!
6. Add sugar to taste -- I add 1T.
7. Pour into your drinking cup, allow to cool and enjoy!
I'm sure there may be easier ways to make it. In fact, on the back of the tea masala box, it just says to add 1 teaspoon of the spice to a cup of tea and add milk if desired. That may work, but the way my neighbor showed me makes a yummilicious cup of tea, so I ain't changin' a thing! (That may have to change once school starts again. I'll have to find a way to make this in my microwave!)
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