Mmm. Chai tea. What’s not to love? On cold rainy days I get the urge to brew a big pot of chai tea and wear fluffy socks. Ya know? There are some amazing chai blends out there, but making your own can be really fun. It’s also easy, and you probably have one or two of the spices in your cupboard right now.

Traditionally, masala chai is made with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, pepper and black tea blended with milk and honey. I like to add a bit more spice with nutmeg, star anise and sweeten it all with a touch of vanilla. It’s also traditionally brewed over a stove, but this blend is just perfect for a tea pot or press.

There isn’t any hard or fast rule when it comes to the proportion in which you use your spices, or even which ones you choose to use. If you’re not a big fan of cardamom, leave it out. I will say that with spices, the fresher, the better. But if you can’t find cinnamon quills or fresh ginger, use cinnamon powder or dried ginger powder. Add dried apple, orange peel or cranberries to make Christmas tea. Mmmm.

Masala Chai Blend

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons black tea

1 tablespoon ginger

2 teaspoons cardamom

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

the tiniest amount of star anise possible!

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Mix it all up and add to a pot of freshy boiled water. Let steep for three to four minutes. Serve with warm milk and honey. You can scale up this recipe and keep it in an airtight jar, away form direct sunlight. If your willpower is strong enough, it should last for several months.

I like to start by breaking up a couple of cinnamon quills. You could use a mortar and pestle for this, but I’m tough and macho and like splitting them open with my fingers.

Add ginger. I’m making this masala mix to use later, so I decided to opt for dried ginger chips. You can use fresh ginger, or the powdered kind. Or, you know, whatever.

Cardamom smells lovely. You can use the whole pods, or the tiny black seeds inside. Grocery stores will sometimes sell both kinds. I like the pods because they’re a pretty shade of pistachio green.

Cloves can be overpowering, so beware of using too much.

Like cloves, star anise can be really overpowering. Break off bits of the star a piece at a time. A little goes a long way!

Grate your nutmeg using a microplane, or just use the powdered kind. It has such a spicy sweet smell.

I used a black tea that had bits of vanilla through it. Then I mixed up a big bowl and scooped it into cute paper bags to give away as gifts. Now my friends can have something warm to drink the next time it’s cold and rainy!

Are you a fan of masala chai?

Inspired by Luxirare, I thought I would try my hand at making my own vanilla extract. It’s very easy and works out to be so much cheaper than the stuff you buy in the supermarket. Even imitation vanilla extract is expensive these days.

I used 42 below vodka and Tahitian vanilla beans from the Natural Vanilla Store. Before you begin, make sure that you’re using clean utensils and that the jar for your extract is sterile. Elaine shares three very easy ways to sterilise your containers here.

The vanilla beans were sooo fragrant! After I opened the bag our whole apartment smelled amazing. I slit them open lengthways to allow the seeds to infuse more readily. I felt like a lecherous old lady with sticky and delicoius vanilla innards all over my hands. Yesss.

I used one vanilla bean for every 50ml of vodka and then added one more for good luck. Pour the vodka in, seal the jar and leave in a cupboard somewhere for four weeks.

 Wait a bit…

 …Four weeks later and you’re all done! Decant the extract into cute little bottles. It also makes a lovely gift!

After agreeing to swap valentines cards with the wonderful Mermaid from P!NK I realised how close valentines day really is! This means lots of love hearts & the colour pink – which isn’t exactly everyone’s idea of a turn on. Valentines day means different things to different people. Find a way to celebrate (or not celebrate) in your own style. Here are some of my favourite valentines day gift ideas form Etsy. Some are cute & some are dirty. Some are sweet & some are smutty. Spread the love your way! Enjoy!

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1. Penguins! I like the simple & graphic black white & red on this card. It gets the message across without flowery words.

2. Heart shaped pasties. These are pretty awesome. Especially when paired with the ruby red eye patch! Rrrawr!

3. Kissing coupons. No more waiting in line to buy tickets!

4. Love potion pendant. Slung on a sterling silver chain, this is perfect for your chemistry class crush.

5. Framed Felt. Speedwagon! & Narwhals in love! Awesome!

6. Valentines day card. The message inside this card gets straight to the point!

7. Heart plushie. Anatomy & felt, a match made in heaven? Give them your heart. Really!

8. Zombie love letter T-shirt. Awe!

9. Embroidered handkerchief. Handkerchiefs are awesome & so are hedghogs!

10. Buttons. These buttons were made for each other. So were you & I.

11. Framed Print. A lovely gift for your Nintendo lovin’ luvah.

12. Felt candy hearts! Give them to your friends! Give them to strangers on the bus! Give them to that cutie who works at the post office!

13. Badge. “I’d rather be smooching my nerdy boyfriend.” Yes. Yes I would!

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