Friday Favorites? More like Sunday favorites. Friday came and went and I never even once thought about blogging my Friday Favorites. I have three this week...

1. Chai Tea. I have always been one for "food phases" as I call them. Times where I can't get enough of a certain food. I have peanut butter phases, grapefruit phases and right now a chai tea phase. And that can be an expensive one. Fortunately, my brother in law Dan gave me a recipe for do it yourself chai tea, and it's wonderful. You do have to play around with it a bit until the spices are exactly as you like them.

Chai Tea

3 quarts water
20 tea bags (I use lipton but you could used the equivalent in loose black tea)
2 tbsp cinoman
ginger
cloves
allspice
cardamom - this is the most important ingredient, don't try making it without, it can be rather hard to find, I found my local food co-op the cheapest

Use generous helpings of the spices. After you have made it a few times you will know exactly how much you like. Simmer all this together in a big pot for about an hour, then strain it into a juice container (you will never be able to use this for anything else other than chai tea, I labeled mine chia tea only). When you are ready to drink, use about 2/3 tea and about 1/3 milk or soy milk and microwave or steam. Enjoy! Oh yeah, add sugar or honey, I use about three tsp for a big mug (I admit it). This lasts me a whole week, and I drink it every morning.

2. This American Life

All right, I am an NPR junkie. I really like to have something noisy around, it helps me work, and NPR, though liberal through and through, as my husband likes to remind me, is interesting to me. I love a good story, and This American Life has entertaining, witty, real-world stories. Listen sometime, you will bust a gut. Some of my other favorite programs are A Prairie Home Companion, Splendid Table, and Car Talk.

3. A Charlie Brown Christmas By Vince Guaraldi Trio
A must have for any Christmas music collection. Need I say more?!