Dandelion Chai Latte

I am slavishly devoted to coffee. It's goes beyond just a morning ritual for me, it's an all day love affair. So when I recently started to read up on the affects of caffeine on the central nervous system, I couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of my reliance on this stimulant. So, I took the ill-advised step of going off it, cold turkey, for a day shy of a week.

Day one post-quitting, I was plagued with a headache bordering on a migraine, all day. But the next day, my body seemed to have adapted, but the ritual-seeker in me needed something new to hang my virtual hat on. Herbal tea is okay but there's not much funl in tea the way I make it (a tea philistine, I use bags.). So I turned to (I can't believe I am typing this) Dandelion Chai Latte. And I was pleasantly surprised and very pleased.

Has it filled the coffee void? God, no, don't be silly- could anything?! But it's great to be able to switch it up now and again and have this spice filled drink as a caffeine alternative. I adapted the recipe from Supercharged Foods to suit my tastes.

You need:

6 or so cardamon pods
1/2 tsp clove powder
1 star anise
1 cinnamon quil
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 Dandelion tea bags
1 tablespoon honey
500ml milk

Use a mortar and pestle, or the back of a teaspoon and a saucer, to crush the cardamom and star anise. They just need to be a little smashy to release their flavour.

Put all the herbs into a saucepan with the milk and honey and bring gently to the boil, add the dandelion teabags, then reduce heat and simmer, lid on, for a few minutes.

Strain.

I left it to cool, then mixed with plain milk and frothed to get a latte consistency.

Now... I rate the flavour highly, but this is a little too long and involved a process for me to make regularly, so on day two, I doubled the quantities and froze it in silicone pods for a quicker solution.

Chicken curry

Ingredients
3 free range chicken breasts
Onion
Garlic
Spinach leaves
1 zuchini chopped into rounds
1 carrot chopped into rounds
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
2 tablespoons each of cumin, turmeric and curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tin organic coconut cream
2 tablespoons tomato paste
The juice of one lemon
Scant handful of sultanas
Scant handful of almonds, plus extra to chop&top
Oil for frying.

In a tagine, heat the oil and add the onions, garlic and spices. Stir until combined. Dice the chicken and add to the pan. Fry until browned then add the tomato paste and coconut cream. Next come the veggies (minus the spinach) so add the carrots and zuchini, then the sultanas and almonds. Place the tagine lid on and cook for around twenty minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Remove lid, add lemon juice, spinach and cabbage and stir. Serve topped with chopped almonds and greek yoghurt.