Drinks

How To Make A Chai Latte

By: Caroline Allan

If I learned one thing from going to CRLS it's that Darwins has FANTASTIC chai lattes. They are the best in Cambridge and you can fight me on that. I may have spent a bit too much money on them since September, and now that I am stuck at home, I miss them, so I learned how to make my own. This chai latte isn’t super sweet so add more sugar if you want. If you don’t want to mess with all the spices, you could just brew two chai tea bags in half a cup of water for five minutes and be done with it. Trader Joe’s also sells a pretty good chai concentrate, but this is better.

Ingredients

• 6 cardamom pods, gently crushed

• 4 whole black peppercorns

• 4 whole cloves

• ¾ oz. fresh ginger, sliced

• 1 cup of water

• A couple pinches of cinnamon

• 1 ½ tsp. brown sugar (or more)

• 1 star anise

• A drop of vanilla

• Small pinch of ground nutmeg

• 2 black teabags/2 tsp. black tea leaves

• Milk

Step One: Combine all the ingredients except for the milk and tea in a pot on the stove, cover, and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, turn the heat to medium low and simmer for fifteen minutes.

Step Two: Add your tea and steep for five minutes. Strain into a cup.

For an iced chai latte: let the chai concentrate cool, then pour it into a glass with ice and add milk. I used one part chai to two parts milk but you can adjust it depending on how spicy you want it to be.

For a hot chai latte: I decided I wanted to try to foam the milk, but I didn’t have a milk frother or anything like that. So I found a way online to do it with just a ball jar, and that actually worked surprisingly well. Put your cold milk into the jar (it shouldn’t fill the jar more than halfway) and shake it vigorously for about a minute until it looks like it has doubled in size. Then take off the top and put it in the microwave. The foam might look like it shrunk but it still tastes foamy. Put your chai concentrate into a mug and pour the milk and foam over it. Again, I used one part chai to two parts milk but you can adjust it depending on how spicy you want it to be.

4 Simple Smoothie Recipes

By: Ella Coffey

Have you been totally unproductive during quarantine? Do all of the days seem to blend into each other? Have you been snacking on and off and not even eating real meals? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then these easy, non-messy, and delicious smoothie recipes are perfect for you to get your eating habits back on track!

1. Peanut Butter Açaí Smoothie Bowl

This rich smoothie bowl is perfect for a late breakfast! It will fill you up and provide you with protein, healthy fats, and your daily dose of fruits! There are many different variations on Açaí smoothie bowls, but this peanut butter protein one is my favorite.

Recipe:

• 1 frozen Açaí packet (I recommend the Açaí Superfruit Packs from Sambazon, image below)

• Approximately ⅓ cup frozen strawberries

• Approximately ⅓ cup frozen blueberries

• Half of a banana (broken into separate chunks for easy blendability)

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

• 1 generous spoonful of peanut butter

• Approximately ½ cup almond milk (or your prefered beverage such as coconut milk, soy milk, or regular cow’s milk)

Add ingredients in that order, blend until everything comes together in a smooth texture, and enjoy! Serving suggestion: transfer to a bowl and top with granola, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and, of course, more peanut butter!

2. Basic Fruit Smoothie

This is a totally easy, really refreshing smoothie that’s great when you are on the go! It’s not the most filling so it’s perfect for a small pick-me-up after a long morning run. Plus, the pink color of the smoothie is just really pleasing to admire.

Recipe:

• ⅓ cup frozen strawberries

• ⅓ cup frozen mango

• ⅓ cup frozen banana (or just half a frozen banana)

• Approximately ⅓ cup orange juice (or just until you get the consistency you desire)

• Optional: some sort of protein powder (I use collagen hydrolysate, which is essentially pure flavorless gelatin)

Add ingredients to the blender starting with frozen items first, and then following with the liquid. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

3. Pleasant Piña Colada

This very simple but very delicious drink is perfect for sitting back and pretending that you’re on a vacation in the Caribbean, instead of being stuck inside at home.

Recipe:

• 2 cups frozen pineapple

• ½ cup coconut milk or coconut cream

• Optional: coconut flakes and/or honey

Plop all of your ingredients in the blender, and blend it up! It should be a slushy-like consistency, not too thick, and not too thin like a regular drink. Serving suggestion: top with cherries, or whipped cream, or (and stay with me now) cinnamon! It actually compliments the pineapple really well.

4. Magnificent Milkshake

This recipe is a classic and is totally flexible to all of your milkshake needs! It can be made dairy-free, dairy-full, or a combination of the two! Perfect for a quick and scrumptious dessert post-dinner.

Recipe:

• 3-4 big scoops of your favorite ice cream (I like to use Ben & Jerry’s dairy free ice creams)

• A milk beverage of your choice (I use almond milk) - just enough to make it the consistency that you choose (I like thick milkshakes so I only use about ⅓ of a cup, sometimes less)

• Any mix-ins of your choice! For example: If you’re using strawberry ice cream throw in some strawberries, if you’re using chocolate ice cream throw in some chocolate chips for added texture, and (my personal favorite) if you’re using cookies and cream ice cream add in some peanut butter for a balance of sweet and salty!

Once you’ve added everything to the blender, blend until you get your desired consistency. You might need to stop your blender and stir the milkshake around if it’s really thick, because sometimes air bubbles form in the bottom of the blender and prevent the blades from getting to the milkshake.