After last Wednesday's Beechworth ride whilst having lunch with some of the guys the conversation turned to beverages and who was having a coffee etc. I had already had my quota of 2 coffees a day but decided I would indulge myself for a third. This started a discussion on who drank what when,after I commented that I allow myself 2 coffees in the morning but in the afternoon I make Chai it was suggested I add the recipe to the Blog.

So below is the way I do it but there are endless other variations. I learnt how to make it from 2 of my sisters and have pretty much stuck with their recipe ever since. I generally make around 1 litre each batch and that way I've got enough for a couple of days. 

Ingredients for my brew,you don't have to be exact with this.

700ml water 
300ml milk
40 cardamon pods
1/2 stick of cinnamon
2 tablespoons fresh ginger
Black tea.
Big tablespoon honey.

I put around 700 ml of cold water in a decent size saucepan and whilst it's coming to the boil I roughly crush the cardamon pods and the cinnamon in a mortar and pestle but you can also just roughly chop them up with a knife,I also cut up the ginger finely but don't make too much work out of it. Add the cut/ground up ingredients to the water and simmer for around 5 minutes.
The add the milk and the black tea ( 4 tea bags works well) but I like loose leaf tea and put in around 3 decent teaspoons. Heat the mixture back up but don't boil it. When hot add the honey more or less depending on your taste. You can also use sugar if preferred. Then strain the liquid into a jug and pour yourself a cup and enjoy. You can fiddle around with the quantities of the various ingredients depending on your taste

So now, next time your at a folk festival and walk past the Chai tent, you can take comfort  in the fact that you know how to make the real stuff or maybe go in and see how they it.

I've been reading an interesting book called "The Big Book of Endurance Racing and Training" by Dr. Philip Maffetone.
I've been enjoying the book and it has made me think differently about quite a few things. One of these being what we fuel our bodies with and then expect to perform well in endurance events. I've just made my first batch of "Phil's Bar-The Ultimate Healthy Snack" Phil says it can be used during competition and pre and post event as well as a healthy snack and even a dessert.It's a complete meal-low glycemic carbohydrates-that include protein and good fats. It contains Almonds,cocoa,shredded coconut,honey,vanilla,salt,water and powdered egg white. I couldn't find powdered egg white yesterday so used whole egg powder instead. I couldn't help but lick the bowl and I think it's going to be a winner. It doesn't need to be cooked you just place it in the fridge to set.

Recently I was telling one of my friends I was going to make my own energy bars from a recipe I had seen in Bicycling Australia magazine. Now I think his comment was something like, "you have got to much time on your hands".Now I don't know about you but to quote from the movie The Big Lebowski "I take comfort in that". Well the thought finally came to fruition this afternoon and the added bonus was licking the lid of the condensed milk tin took me back to childhood instantly (my mother is a seriously good cook). Luckily I had a nice cold Cascade Premium lager to sip on to bring me back to the current moment and keep me on track with the recipe otherwise I may have been lost to childhood memories of scones and roast lamb forever. 
Here is a photo of the finished product on the cooling rack and I reckon it tastes pretty good too( you always have to taste a couple of crunch bits that break off) . Will be able to see how effective they are as energy bars with some pretty decent training rides coming up in the mountains later this week. 
And as this is my first post for 2011 I wish anybody with enough time on their hands to be reading this a happy and prosperous new year with good health and plenty of lovin'