Golden Tea Latte

Happy 2018!

I promise I haven't suddenly jumped on the "clean food" wagon. I am, however, starting out the year on a fairly healthy note, with this hot, turmeric, tea and almond milk concoction, aka "Golden Milk" or "Haldi" or "Turmeric latte" or whatever other name you want to give it. It's got caffeine and turmeric and healthy nut fats to help counteract whatever I've done to myself over the last few weeks.

(I'm looking at you, Christmas brunch, but the extra tortilla(s) and helping(s) of refried beans were soooo worth it.)

(And I might like Bloody Marys now.) 

But, at least for the next few days, I'm trying to be a little nicer to myself, so I started January 1 off with a big, steaming mug of this golden latte, and I think it was the right decision. Plus, it's an easy, no-fuss, dump, stir and simmer situation that I can get behind, especially as someone whose main hot beverage routine involves only boiling water and a tea pot.

I first encountered golden lattes at the Whole Foods in Arizona, when I was visiting last Thanksgiving. Something about the earthy turmeric and spicy ginger just sang to me. I spent two shopping trips for groceries exclaiming about my latte, which I'm sure was a huge help to my Dad, who just wanted me to confirm what kind of chorizo we were supposed to be buying.

I still haven't found a latte quite as excellent as the one they make at that Whole Foods, and I'm assuming it's because of whatever ginger syrup they are using that others aren't. My Whole Foods doesn't serve them, so for now, I can't do more research. But I'm glad to say this one comes close, with the happy addition of black tea (my second oxygen), but also a good amount of ginger. 

Trust me, these may play of the turmeric, but the ginger is what is gonna make you love it.

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Golden Tea Latte

Adapted from Tejal Rao

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 cardamom pod
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 peppercorns
• 1/2 tbs honey
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 black tea bag

1. Add water, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, pepper and honey to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the milk and the tea bag and cook until steaming. Strain into a mug and enjoy while hot.

Notes:

• It can seem like a bit of a pain to mix all of these ingredients each time you want to enjoy this latte, but there are people out there easing that pain. Sarah Britton at My New Roots has a recipe for a big batch of the turmeric mix, and for Christmas I was gifted with the easiest cheat of all, turmeric concentrate. You could just mix equal parts concentrate and milk, add a tea bag, and be done!

Smoky Hot Chocolate

When I was in New Zealand in July, my mom and I got stranded in Queenstown for an extra morning. I think we were both secretly glad about this because, aside from the hassle of waiting on the airline to find us a hotel room in a ski town during the first snowstorm of the season, I don't think either one of us was ready to leave. It was stunningly beautiful in the mountains, and plentiful access to New Zealand pinots was keeping us warm enough. 

The only thing though, is if you aren't skiing or bungee jumping, you can pretty quickly run out of things to do in Queenstown in the mornings once you've done the luge, the jet boat and Fergburger. So we hopped the bus up the mountain roads to nearby Arrowtown, a little strip of touristy shops built around the remains of an old gold rush town. The little street was cute and quaint, but it was also freezing. We decided to walk over to the old Chinese mining camp, but halfway there, I stopped in my tracks in front of a chalkboard detailing what sounded to me like the perfect hot chocolate. 

I didn't say anything, but immediately turned left into the bar, where I just pointed back at the sign and said to the nice bar lady, "I want two of those, please." My mom had no idea what I had ordered, but she kind of got it as we both watched this lady start up some kind of smoker apparatus, light up some pieces of manuka wood, and waft it all into two full cups of hot chocolate. She handed over the cups, each garnished with a toasted marshmallow, and we distractedly continued on our way to the mining camp, because ohmygod. 

Sure, the camp was a cool historical site, and we marveled at the clapboard shacks and huts and sighed over the rough life these miners lived, but literally every 30 seconds one of us would exclaim over the hot chocolate, because every sip was a reminder of how good it was.

It was rich and creamy and wonderfully warming, but the smokiness was really what made it. It made me feel like I was carrying around a little drinkable campfire in my cup, as the chocolate and hot milk and smoke combined into the most delicious, warm treat on a 30 degree morning.

I took one sip and knew I was going to try to recreate it at home, I just had to wait until it was wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere. Unfortunately, I have neither a smoker nor access to manuka wood, but I do have access to the tea shops in Chinatown, where I knew I could find some lapsang souchong to use instead. The smoked tea is often used in smoked duck and other dishes where a smoky flavor comes through, so why not in my hot chocolate?

The tea infused the hot chocolate with a subtle but unmistakable smokiness, which cuts through the richness of the hot milk and two kinds of chocolate. It's not quite a campfire in your cup, but it's as close as I could get, and that was pretty darn close. 

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Smoky Hot Chocolate

Makes 4-6 servings

• 3 tbs lapsang souchong, divided
• 3 tbs dutch process cocoa powder
• 3 cups whole milk
• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate
• 3 tbs sugar
• mini marshmallows, for serving
• unsweetened whipped cream, for serving

1. Bring 3/4 cups water to a simmer in a small pot, add 1 tbs lapsang souchong, remove from heat, cover and steep for a few minutes, until fragrantly smoky. While steeping tea, bring the milk to a simmer in another small pot and add the remaining tea. Remove from heat and let steep.
2. Strain the tea from the water and the milk. Bring the water back to a simmer. Whisk in the cocoa then add the milk. Bring to a simmer, whisk in the chocolate and sugar and then whisk until creamy, about 5 minutes. 
3. Serve immediately, with whipped cream and mini marshmallows, toasted if you like.

Susan's Margaritas

Just in time for Taco Tuesday!

I know Thursday was technically the last day of summer, but I can never tell if margaritas should be considered summer drinks or not. I know they get consumed a lot around the beginning of May, and they always feel like an outdoor beverage to me, but I’ve had my fair share served indoors in all seasons, so I suppose it’s more of a personal preference, really. 

Also, I know many oranges are considered winter fruits but what about limes? I should look into this.

You could maybe consider these fall drinks if you consider Practical Magic a Halloween movie and want to celebrate a month early by reenacting the midnight margaritas scene, sans creepy singing and ghost ex-boyfriends. And definitely don’t drink tequila someone left on the porch.

In any case, I think we are allowed to drink tequila when we please (just responsibly!), and today I please to extend the feeling of summer through the end of the week/month, if that’s ok with you. It helps that temps here this week feel extremely summery and I want an icy cold beverage with a citrus punch and a healthy amount of tequila. I’ll even accept a salt rim! A float of fizzy water on top for extra bubble and fun is ok by me too.

So what’s special about these margaritas? If you ask my friend Susan, namesake of these drinks, she would tell you that the ratio she gave me for lime juice: tequila: cointreau is a pretty standard mix for bartenders. That might be true, but from the first time she served me one of these at her house a few years ago, they’ve been my favorite margaritas, less for how faithfully they follow a fruit to alcohol measurement than for how refreshing they taste.

It’s all in the floater of fizzy water. You can use whatever carbonated water you like, sparkling water, mineral water, club soda, etc. The point is, a healthy pour of it over the drink, up to a half & half mix, gives the drink an effervescent quality that’s delicious to drink, and more often than not removes the need for any agave or simple syrup, which makes these margaritas less cloying and heavy on the palate than what you might find served to you in a bar, or from a store-bought margarita mix. It’s addictive and delicious but fair warning, these are strong, with a 3:1 ratio of alcohol to fruit juice, so make ‘em small and sip with friends, and don’t be shy with that fizzy water!

Also, I will tell you, I recently discovered that if you replace some or all of the fizzy water with a float of champagne, nobody, and I mean nobody is gonna be mad at you.

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Susan's Margaritas

For one drink:

• 2 oz tequila
• 1 oz cointreau
• 1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• agave, to taste
• fizzy water, for topping
• lime wedge, for garnish if desired
• salt, for garnish if desired
• Tajin, for garnish, if desired

1. Mix together tequila, cointreau and lime juice, taste and add agave as needed. Run a lime wedge around the rim of your serving glass and dip in salt and Tajin if desired. Pour in margarita mix over ice and top with a generous float of fizzy water of your choice.

Mega Party size:

• 4 cups tequila
• 2 cups cointreau
• 2 cups fresh squeezed lime juice
• agave, to taste

1. Mix all together and taste, adjust sweetness with agave as desired. Can be made up to a day ahead of party time, but should be consumed within a couple days, while the flavor of the fresh lime juice is at its best.
2. To serve, pour over ice in individual glasses and top with fizzy water (or champagne)!