Storing Fresh Herbs

I have been drinking lemon juice and parsley in the mornings for a few months now. It has been helping with my digestion, gut issues.
Storing a bunch of washed parsley ( or any other fresh herbs) in the fridge is tricky.
My mother told me to wash them, strain extra water, and wrap the herb in paper towel.
Do not be stingy with paper towel. It should wrap up the herb nicely.
Then I put this in a plastic bag which I keep in the fridge for daily use. I haven't tried a paper bag. You might want to try and see. It lasts for at least two weeks without spoilage.
Simple, but I didn't know how to do it until recently.

Yogurt Recipe

Below is how make it. I have not had much success with goats milk, but would like to use it instead of cows milk sometime soon.

1) 3.25 % homogenized milk - 4 Litres
Rinse a stainless steel pot in really cold water so milk doesn't stick to the bottom (hopefully)
Boil milk in medium to low heat for about half an hour. I generally let it steep for half an hour. Milk spills over easily so it is safe to boil it in really low heat.

2) Approx. 3/4 cup store bought full fat yogurt - once you make your own yogurt, you will be able to use it as culture.
(once your milk boils enough, and you set it on the counter open lid to cool down, bring out the yogurt which you will use as culture, add a teaspoon of sugar, pinch of salt, and let it sit beside the milk. Your culture should be room temp.)

3) In room temp, I generally wait an hour and half for the milk to cool down. After an hour, start checking it by dipping in your pinky finger. Close your eyes, dip your pinky in from the side of milk pot, and feel. Milk should be just warm, not biting your finger hot, just warm. I love using this technique for some reason. It makes my yogurt more authentic. Millions of women and men (believe it or not) made their yogurt this way, and still do.

4) I use table clothes to wrap the pot. One of the table clothes is from my childhood. By wrapping with it, all good memories go into the yogurt. Find something with sentimental value in your life, and wrap your yogurt pot with it. Final wrapping layer is either a thick towel or my husband's jackets which hang close by conveniently when I need that extra layer of warmth on the yogurt pot.

5) Put the wrapped pot on a table in a room. Make sure the pot does not spill while carrying it to its final space. I let it sit in room temp for about 24 hrs. Then move it to the fridge for a few hours.
Enjoy your yogurt plain, with dried fruit, honey, cereal, etc.
Great as a meal replacement and gut healer.

Homemade Chai Tea

After experimenting with a chai tea recipe for a while, I think it is time I put it on this blog.
It has become my daughter's and mine evening addiction.

I really feel that the ingredients have healing properties. My body can feel the difference already.
Enjoy!

Add below ingredients in to 3 1/2 cups of cold water:
6-7 cloves
6-7 whole black peppers
1.5" fresh chopped ginger
6-7 cardamom pods ( I have been using powder 1/8 of teaspoon-a pinch really)
2" cinnamon stick ( I break it into small pieces by hand. You may use a grinder if you like)

Let the spices boil in the water for a few minutes. You may boil it longer observing the colour change. Just play with it. Experiment it until you are satisfied with the taste.

Once you are happy with the colour (or after a few minutes), add a cup of milk and a teaspoon of sugar ( I use coconut sugar). Let them boil for a few minutes. Stir it often. I find a great enjoyment in the preparation part.

The last step is adding two teaspoon of black tea. If you find the colour too dark, add less black tea. Let it simmer a couple of minutes. Stir and strain into teacups. I get 2 cups of chai tea each time following this recipe.

Be patient making it. Add some love into it while stirring. It becomes tastier, if you share and enjoy it with people around you.