Monday, November 30, 2009

Dandy Dandelion Chai

*** If you like the bitter taste of dandelion roots, you can chop then roast them, and add them to spices to make Chai - to roast the roots, chop them finely, but not too finely, and place them on trays to toast in your oven. I put the oven at 250,which seemed too hot, so reduced it to 200 degrees, and left the oven door ajar to allow steam to escape. It took 1 and 1/2 hours to dry and toast the roots, and they needed to be stirred frequently. To 1 cup of dried dandelion roots, add: 6 Tbsp Fennel or Anise seed 36 green Cardamom pods 72 Cloves 6 Cinnamon sticks 1½ tsp black peppercorns 12 Bay leaves To make the chai, put 2 tsp. of the mixture into a small pot with 1 cup of water, add some fresh ginger slices at this point, if you like. Simmer for 5 minutes, steep for 10, then strain out the spices. Reheat in the pot with 1 Tb. honey or brown sugar, and 1 - 2 Tb. milk or cream The bags of Chai can make sweet Yule gifts, too.

1 comment: