Category Archives: Wonderful

Chai on my mind

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What’s not to love about a great chai tea?  Most coffee shops make chai tea with similar ingredients, one specifically-chai concentrate.  Chai concentrate makes for creating a delicious chai tea quickly.  It contains a blend of teas accented with sweet cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and vanilla.  After it is combined with steamed milk, it creates a hard to beat combination-or so I thought.

Here in Kenya, they make their chai just a little differently.  It seems to be a staple throughout the country.  Dormans Coffee for one, provides chai tea for a morning and afternoon teatime every day for all employees.  It is made in massive amounts and no one misses it when teatime rolls around.

Although chai concentrate makes a killer chai, I personally believe the fresher the better.  If you want to try the Kenyan way at home, check out this recipe (this is a large batch and from one of the amazing women who makes it at Dormans):

Ingredients:

  • 6 cups water
  • 7 teaspoons tea leaves (or five bags)  black tea
  • 6 cups milk
  • 10-15 teaspoons sugar (to taste)

Directions:

  1. Heat together water and tea leaves in a saucepan.
  2. Boil 10 minutes and add milk.  Heat to near boiling.
  3. Strain leaves.
  4. Add sugar to taste.

Teatime Chai at Dormans

Maybe you can drink  it with the  Chai Shortbread Cookies with Pink Salt recipe H recently posted.

xoxo

-s

Chai Shortbread Cookies with Pink Salt

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Aw Fall, time for Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin anything. To be honest, I love pumpkin flavored things and I’m especially a sucker for those lattes, but sometimes I get a little burnt out on the pumpkin. When I was tasked with bringing dessert for family dinner the other night and knew we were having pasta, I went with cookies. I figured they would be a *little* lighter then anything else.

S and I have been able to talk pretty frequently while she is in Kenya via imessage or email and she reminded me what a huge part of the culture chai is there.

So, thinking of S, when I found this recipe for Chai Shortbread Cookies, I was excited to test it out.

I used Caffe D’Amore Chai Serenity Mix that my friend K gave me awhile ago, but any chai powder mix will work.

When I tasted the cookies once they were done baking, I didn’t think they had super strong chai flavor, so after spreading the chocolate on top I decided to add a pinch of the powder plus a sprinkle of salt. For the salt, I used Pink Himalayan from World Market because it has a milder flavor and I like pink.

The sprinkle of chai mix on top added intensity, but using actual chai tea leaves would make it even more flavorful.

Think I’ll eat one of the extras over an afternoon tea tomorrow.

xx,

-h

GoPro Video: Dreams

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I’m a little obsessed with the GoPro YouTube channel. I know this video is older, but I love the part where young Lily interviews Kelia. “What’s it like to be beautiful and famous?”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSJPZ_DQooo]

xx

-h

Dog Halloween Costumes

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MAN, I love a dog in a Halloween costume. It is hilarious.  I saw this picture of my friend Katie’s dog Walter on her Tumblr recently and fully LOL-ed.

I just googled ‘Extra Large Dog Costumes’ and nothing inspiring showed up. So I went to Etsy next. No cool full costumes showed, however I did find this awesome halloween dog bowtie from the Charlie Hearts Diesel shop.  They have a ton of really neat dog accessories including dog scarfs (adorable) and high end beds (made out of recycled soda boxes).

Wouldn’t Judge look stunning and so very festive in that bowtie?

xx

-h

Jalapeno Jam

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I always say, when life gives you Jalapenos, make Jalapeno Jam. Wait, I never say that. But when your coworker gives you a huge bag full of spicy jalapenos, and another bag full of thai chiles, you can’t just eat them raw. You’ll die. Well maybe you won’t, but you won’t be comfortable or happy. So, take those peppers and add a bunch of sugar, some vinegar, and some pectin and you have jam.

Seed and slice red and green bell peppers into chunks.

Wash and pat jalapenos dry.

Half jalapenos and remove the membrane and seeds on most of them. I left some in tact to add some extra spice. When you are doing this I would recommend wearing plastic gloves. I did not do that and regretted that decision later.

Here’s my secret ingredient. Half and take the seeds and membrane out of one thai chile. Whew those babies are spicy. In a food processor pulse the peppers together until everything is juicy but some peppers are still small dice size.

You will need 1.75 oz of pectin, Sure-Jell sells it in packets this size, but I decided to buy this because it was cheaper, so I weighed it out. Oh snaps, I forgot to take photos of the rest of the process. 

I finished the jars with labels from Cottage Industrialist.

Judge wants to know what 1000 Wonderful Things is up to and if he can have any. He’s pretty food obsessed, and no Judge you can’t have Jalapeno Jam.

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Addiction.

Jalapeno Pepper Jam
Makes 16-4 oz jars

  • 4 cups of seeded, membrane removed peppers (about 12 jalapenos, 1 thai chile, 1 green bell and 1 red bell)
  • 1.75 oz of pectin
  • 4 cups of sugar
  • 1 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Prepare a boiling water canner, sterilize jars and lids.

In a large pot combine ready peppers and vinegar. Gradually stir in the pectin and bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Add the sugar and salt and return the mixture to a boil. Cook this for an additional minute or until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour into prepared jars, wipe rims, and put lids on. Process in boiling water for 15 minutes.

Let it sit overnight or until all the tops have popped. The lids popping is by far the best part about canning things.

If you’ve never used a water canner, be sure to read up about what the best strategies are because it’s not exactly as easy as making a grilled cheese.

My favorite way to serve this jam is with crackers and cream cheese. The cream cheese cuts the spiciness of the peppers, same reason everyone tells you to drink milk if your mouth is on fire from hot sauce competitions with your siblings. Oh, you never did that? Huh.
The final product will have some chunks of the peppers and have a golden color.

Enjoy

-h

Shoesday: Gwyneth Inspired

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Ever since I saw this photo of Gwyneth Paltrow rocking relaxed jeans, a grey sweater, and red booties I’ve been obsessed with tracking down a pair of my own and copying her outfit. Here is what I found – don’t be surprised if next time you see me, I’m wearing those little red boots.

Gwyneth Inspired

Zara sweater
zara.com

Ecote bootie boots
urbanoutfitters.com
xx
-h

Brunch

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I love breakfast. Give me any kind of morning delicacy and I’m happy – french toast is one of my favorites. I love them all, omelets, eggs benny, waffles, hash browns. Yum, yum. When I was in high school, I had the privilege of spending time with my friend’s family in Whistler every winter. Her dad was famous for making pancakes on mornings before skiing, and he would always make too many. When everyone was stuffed and heading toward the rooms to get ready to head out for the day, he could be heard in the kitchen, “Panner, anyone, panner, there’s still a few left!”

I always find myself saying that same thing when I’m making breakfast on mornings when we have guests in our house.

Anyways, seems like breakfast these days has evolved to brunch out. Usually accompanied by a mimosa or bloody mary and sometimes ending with a Sunday Funday.

If you ever get a chance to snatch a bloody mary from a St. Regis Property. I absolutely recommend it. This one is from our visit to Park City last winter and includes black lava salt on the rim, wasabi foam on top, complete with syringe of Worcestershire and horse radish you inject yourself.

Want to take the more casual bloody route? Try a bloody mary bar, giving  you options to spice it up or mellow it out, plus add enough veggies to justify calling the drink your salad for the day.

Anyways, drinks or no drinks at your brunch, be sure to take time to relax and enjoy the company you are in. And, don’t worry, if you don’t get your laundry done when Sunday brunch turns into Sunday Funday, there’s always Monday night for that.

xx

-h

Changes

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As H mentioned, I have ventured to Nairobi, Kenya.  I arrived just a few hours ago and the current time is 1:35am.  The thirty hours of traveling and ten hour time change has left me severely jet-lagged and unable to sleep.

This year has brought a lot of change for me.  I think that if you would have asked me this time last year what I was going to do after graduation, I never would have said moving to Kenya for the Fall.  This opportunity sprung on me, so I took it.  Unaware that when the time came to actually go, I would be shaking in my boots.  I can tell you that four hours into my three month stay I have felt an array of things; mostly scared and lonely, but also very excited.

I will keep everyone updated, especially when I see this place in the daylight.

xoxo

-s

Nacchoooooooo

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Sometimes when you’ve had a few too many to drink the night before you need comfort food that will put you back on your feet. For me, that is usually some sort of Mexican delight including cheese. Last weekend, I decided I needed some nachos but we didn’t have any chips. *Dramatic groaning and noises.* R said he would go to the store for me but I was being a baby, “noooo, it’s fiiiine”. I remembered that in the freezer we had a huge stack of corn tortillas and decided this was the perfect opportunity to heat up some oil and make my own chips.

It’s pretty simple, heat oil in a heavy bottom skillet such as a cast iron until when you drop a fleck of tortilla in it sizzles. Cut your tortillas into chip sized pieces. I started by doing quarters and then decided sixths would be better. Fry 4-5 pieces at a time, flipping after 30-45 seconds and transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and lime juice and let cool.

Then you know what the next steps are. On a baking sheet, layer chips, cheese, whatever meat you like (in this case – SHRIMP!), tomatoes, olives, green onion, etc. The key to good nachos is in the layering. You don’t want to eat the first chips off the top and then get to the bottom and have chips without cheese melted on them. That would be sad. Bake until all the cheese is melted and serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and hot sauce.

Happy nacho-ing.

xx

-h

Tuesday….Newsday

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I’ve been brainstorming what kind of shoes I’m lusting for for the past couple of days, and although there are several pairs, I thought that it would be more fitting to share some exciting news. So today instead of Shoesday, I’m here with Newsday. Tomorrow, Sarah will be leaving for perhaps her greatest adventure to date. She will be embarking on the internship of a lifetime in Kenya working for a coffee company.

I know that there is some lingering nervousness paired with excitement that she is feeling right now. I think that anyone who has made a decision that is new, knows that feeling in the pit of your stomach. There is always the fear of the “what ifs” but traveling is the best way to learn a lot about how you handle those moments of unknown. I’m so proud of how far S has come in the past year and how she has grown and developed professionally. I can’t say how jealous I am that she is taking advantage of this opportunity. S will update on her 3 month long adventure here on 1000 Wonderful Things. I can’t wait to read her posts.

“You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.” ~ Ella Maillart

xx

h