GCE2012: Best Chai Yet

CHAI NUMBER ?? (10/30/12)

I've been modifying the last recipe since the 5th of October and I think I realized what was missing: creaminess.  So this time, instead of just milk, I added a little bit of coconut milk and some heavy whipping cream.  The spiciness is there, it's sweet but not overwhelmingly, and it's creamy.  Folks, we have a winner.  Something I've memorized and would be happy to serve any guests.

Ingredients:

• 4 whole cloves 
• 6 cardamom pods 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cups water 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 1/2 cup milk 
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 
• 2 teaspoons black tea (again, mine was infused w/ chocolate)

Instructions - Mix spices and water, bring to a boil, then let sit 5-10 minutes.  Add in milks and sugar, bring very close to a boil, stirring a lot.  Add tea and steep to your preference (3-7 min).

Discussion:

• Ari: I think this turned out really good - creamy, spicy (but could be a little spicier).  Satisfying.  I'd rate it a 4.7 or 4.8.
• Luke is harder to convince.  He said around 4.3 because he can't taste the spices as much.

Jose Antonio Vargas on Immigration

Instead of watching the presidential debates tonight, I'm reading this article, something that lets me think about immigration rather than be filled with anger toward the two men "debating" and avoiding answering questions.

Quotes from Jose Antonio Vargas' Time Magazine article called "Not Legal, Not Leaving:"

• I am now a walking conversation that most people are uncomfortable having. (Pg. 1)
• The probusiness GOP waves a KEEP OUT flag at the Mexican border and a HELP WANTED sign 100 yards in, since so many industries depend on cheap labor. (Pg. 2)
• Of all the questions I've been asked in the past year, "Why don't you become legal?" is probably the most exasperating. But it speaks to how unfamiliar most Americans are with how the immigration process works. (Pg. 3)
• For all the roadblocks, though, many of us get by thanks to our fellow Americans. We rely on a growing network of citizens — Good Samaritans, our pastors, our co-workers, our teachers who protect and look after us. As I've traveled the country, I've seen how members of this underground railroad are coming out about their support for us too. (Pg. 6)
• Though roughly 59% of the estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are from Mexico, the rest are not. About 1 million come from Asia and the Pacific Islands, about 800,000 from South America and about 300,000 from Europe. (Pg. 6)
• According to the Office of Immigration Statistics at DHS, 86% of undocumented immigrants have been living in the U.S. for seven years or longer. (Pg. 7)
• There are no overall numbers on this, but each day I encounter at least five more openly undocumented people. As a group and as individuals, we are putting faces and names and stories on an issue that is often treated as an abstraction. (Pg. 7)

• Technology, especially social media, has played a big role. Online, people are telling their stories and coming out, asking others to consider life from their perspective and testing everyone's empathy quotient. Some realize the risks of being so public; others, like me, think publicity offers protection. (Pg. 8)
• I am still here. Still in limbo. So are nearly 12 million others like me — enough to populate Ohio. We are working with you, going to school with you, paying taxes with you, worrying about our bills with you. What exactly do you want to do with us? More important, when will you realize that we are one of you? (Pg. 9)

Occupy!

I co-wrote a letter to the editor about the Occupy movement and I want to post it here as well.  It was printed in the Daily Illini at my alma mater UIUC.  From almost a year ago, 10/24/11:


Occupy Wall Street has gone global. People worldwide are frustrated with corporate control over our governments, over our human rights, over our environment and over our lives. People from Hong Kong to Chile, from Spain to Central Illinois have peacefully occupied public spaces to create a place where they become empowered again, where their isolation is broken and their voices heard.

Occupying is creating a space to discuss our grievances and realizing we are not to blame for the economic crisis; it is about literally taking a stand for a real democracy, protected from corporate influence. It is about putting the power back in the hands of the people — the idea upon which our nation was founded. We, the students in our generation, have not known anything like standing up against the government in our lifetimes, so we urge you to experience it first-hand instead of being fed pre-fabricated ideas by the media.

We challenge you: Talk to your parents, your teachers, your friends, and develop a solid opinion of what is wrong in our society.

Ask yourself: Do you think corporations should have the same rights as people? Do you want to be ruled by a government that bails out multinational banks instead of to-be-homeless mortgage-owners and to-be-unemployed students in debt? Do you want a government that prefers waging endless wars than rebuilding public schools?

Don’t buy into the mainstream media’s accusation that the Occupy movement has no clear goals. We’ve published clear documents with goals all over the place (see occupywallst.org), and local Occupations have our own specific goals, suited to address local issues.

You have a better solution? Join the Occupation and make your voice heard.

Ari Sahagun, Francisco Mena, Damian Reyes,
graduate students and junior in LAS

Gandhi quote

GCE2012: Chai #7

CHAI NUMBER 7 (10/5/12)

Ingredients:

• 4 whole cloves 
• 2 cardamom pods 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1.5 cups water 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 
• 2 teaspoons Black tea 

Preparation:
Modified (added more milk; reduced tea and sugar) from Masala Chai recipe on this page:
In a mortar, crush the cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon. Transfer the crushed spices to a small saucepan, add the water, ginger and pepper and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Add the milk and sugar to the pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the tea. Cover and let steep for 3 minutes. Stir the chai, strain it into a warmed teapot or directly into teacups.

Picture:

Chai #7: Rated "close to a 4" out of 5

Comments:

• better than the last one
• not much body
• good taste - not too much tea, with mild spices - not much flavors
• liked one with strong spiced flavors
• milk/water balance ok, but could always be more creamy

Ratings:

• Luke: close to a 4
• Ari: likewise, not bad: 3.9 ?