I don’t have a coffee habit.  In fact, I don’t even like it.  Which, I suppose, is good for me, given the relative cost of feeding a daily Starbucks-addiction.

Instead of coffee, my tastes run towards tea.  And lately, as the Fall weather has turned gray and cool, I’ve turned towards the friendly spices of a chai tea latte.  Unfortunately, the cost of a chai tea latte can rival the cost of any quadruple-hyphenated drink at the coffee shop.  And sometimes, the drink isn’t even that good.

One solution is the packaged chai mixes found in the grocery store.  The mixes are pretty good and will make about eight cups of chai, depending on what kind of milk to chai ratio suits your tastes.  I’ve found the mixes in almost every large grocery store.

Another solution, a better solution, is to simply make your own.  After searching the Internet for recipes, I found two contenders.  Unfortunately, the first recipe was a complete and total disaster; the concentrate was too bitter and too sweet — a combination of having too much sugar and too much tea in a recipe with too little water.

The second effort, though, was rewardingly delicious.  The cinnamon sticks and crushed cardamom produced an inviting aroma, particularly when paired with the fresh cloves and whole ginger.  The seeped Lady Grey tea — a personal favorite — was the finishing touch.

After making the concentrate, I quickly combined a cup of the concentrate with a cup of milk, and reheated the combination for the perfect Chai Tea Latte!

chai concentrate

Recipe adapted from LiterariTea.

PREP TIME: 2 minutes
COOK TIME: 5 minutes
YIELD: Makes Four Cups of Concentrate

WHAT TO GRAB:
1 quart cold water
4 bags of Lady Grey Tea (or any other black tea)
2 large (or 4 small) cinnamon sticks
12 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Combine the water, teabags, cinnamon sticks, ginger, cardamom pods, and cloves in saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for five minutes.  Strain the concentrate into a mixing bowl, and stir in the vanilla and sugar.

2. To store for future use, pour the mixture into a container and refrigerate.  To make a hot chai tea latte, combine 1 cup of concentrate and 1 cup of milk, and heat as desired!  Top with whipped cream and chocolate or cinnamon sprinkles for a particularly warm and welcoming treat!

Mornings here in Cincinnati – the new headquarters of Judicial Peach - have been surprisingly cool, making the early morning walk to work all the more inviting.

But as the days goes on, the sun heats up the city sidewalks, letting you know that the days of summer have not yet set on the cityscape.

Which makes a blueberry smoothie the perfect after-work treat.  It’s ready in a matter of minutes, and the cold glass of frozen fruits helps usher in a cool evening of relaxation.

In other news, I have finally finished unpacking.  The kitchen gadgets are now safely out of their boxes and ready for use!

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

PREP TIME: 2 minutes
COOK TIME: 2 minutes
YIELD: Serves 2

WHAT TO GRAB:
1 tray of ice cubes
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
2 frozen bananas
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon honey

HOW YOU DO IT:

Before you get started, place two glasses in the freezer.  Empty a tray of ice cubes into a blender.  Crush the ice.  Place the remaining ingredients into the blender, and mix until all the ingredients are smooth and well-mixed.  Enjoy!

Predicting another hot weekend in Saint Louis, I decided to freeze a pineapple and two mangoes.  The next day, when the mid-afternoon sun hit, I was ready.  I ran each fruit under some hot water to loosen the skin, diced the fruit, and then dropped them in the blender to make a cool lassi.

Lassi is an Indian drink with a yogurt base, that can be either sweet or savory.  Mango lassi is probably the most traditional sweet lassi, but you can also find a strawberry lassi.  On this hot Midwest weekend, I made a

Mango Pineapple Lassi

PREP TIME: Overnight Freezing Recommended
YIELD: Serves 4

WHAT TO GRAB:
2 mangoes
1 pineapple
1 cup yogurt
1 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cups crushed ice (optional)

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Place four tall glasses in the freezer, just before you start working.

2. Skin the mango and pineapple, and cut into segments.  Reserve four pieces of pineapple for garnish.  Add the mango, pineapple, yogurt, milk, sugar, and cardamom to the blender.  If the pineapple and mango were not frozen, you can add crushed ice.  Blend until the ingredients are smooth and well-mixed.

3.  Garnish the tall, cold glasses with a piece of pineapple, and serve cold!

If you have a good mango recipe, submit it here.

This is my pick-me-up drink. In law school, I used to reward myself with one of these at the end of every final exam. Now that I’m working, I don’t make this drink nearly enough. But when I am feeling, lethargic, grumpy, or just plain sick, this does the trick. There’s just a certain comfort that comes with drinking a cold smoothie out of a tall glass.

Keep this recipe in mind the next time you’re having one of those days!

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: Serves 2

WHAT TO GRAB:
1 cup of plain, non-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (1 orange)
2 to 3 tablespoons of honey
2 bananas, broken into quarters
1 pint of fresh strawberries (about a cup full)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 3 cups crushed ice

HOW YOU DO IT: