Quote of the day.....

Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world.

- Tien Yiheng

****

Spice Girl

I am a massive tea lover with a bit of a fetish for accumulating teapots and different kinds of teas. I have a pot of tea permanently on my desk at work which I sip all day and a selection of teas that I dip into as the mood takes me. There is something very ritualistic about partaking of tea which really appeals to me. I love all kinds of tea, but I particularly enjoy herbal teas - the fresh zing of lemongrass, the decadent sweet aroma of rose petals and the pure, clean taste of Sencha. But in winter, the one tea that is guaranteed to make me sigh with contentment is Chai. I love it's warming spices, including cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom, and I find it is a fabulous afternoon pick me up.


The flavours of Chai really lend themselves to be used in cooking and the following recipe is a super easy but decadent tasting sweet dish, that can be eaten with natural yoghurt for breakfast or served as an exotic dessert with double cream and a sprinkling of pistachios. I used a lovely fragrant organic Chai for this recipe that I recently discovered at the health food store. You can find out more about it here: http://www.chai.com.au/

Winter Fruit Compote with Spiced Chai Syrup

You will need:

Assorted dried fruit (I used prunes, dried apricots and white figs for this one)

2 cups strongly brewed Chai (without milk)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons orange rind

Method:

Gently simmer all ingredients until the syrup reduces by about half

Cool and serve at room temperature

****