Thai Iced Tea

While I was shopping today in "Little Indonesia" (Bayard St. and Mott St.), I found a 1-pound bag of "Thai Tea Leaves." I had been half-heartedly looking for Thai red tea leaves for some time, so that I could make Thai iced tea--one of my very favorite beverages EVER--at home. When I got home at opened up the bag, I was immediately transported back to my childhood when my father (who was in the Air Force) brought me home a doll from Thailand that was stuffed with red tea leaves. Now I wonder if I like Thai tea because it smells like that doll, or if I liked my doll so much because it smelled so delicious. That led to this circular conversation with my girlfriend (who is profoundly silly at times):

A: Ask me why you like Thai iced tea.
M: Why do I like Thai iced tea so much?
A: Because reminds you of your favorite childhood doll.
M: Oh.
A: Ask me why you liked your doll so much.
M: OK. Why did I like my doll so much?
A: Because it smells like delicious Thai tea.
M: Oh.
A: Ask me why you like Thai iced tea so much...

And so on and so forth. The gentleman at the store (who sometimes gives me tamarind candies for free) said: "At the restaurant they charge $2.95 for just one cup of this. You buy my bag of tea for $5 and you get 30 cups!" Indeed!

2/3 C. Thai red tea leaves
2 C. Water
1/2 C. Sugar (I use less, but it's supposed to be a really sweet drink)
Sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk or rice milk (I use SCM)

Boil your water, then brew your tea nice and strong. Strain the tea leaves, add your sugar, and let the tea chill in the fridge. When cold serve it over iced with your milk product of choice layered on top.

Crockpot--the little miracle maker

I lamented to A. that I hadn't posted to my blog in quite some time, and she commiserated, noting that BOTH my loyal readers would be disappointed. I don't know if I haven't been cooking, or if I haven't liked what I've been cooking, or if I just haven't bothered to record much of it. One meal I do remember is Thanksgiving: A. and I went All Out. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, asparagus, cranberry sauce, stuffing, broccoli rabe, and more stuff that I can't remember. We had no one to help us with it, either, until A. convinced a few of her friends to come over, and then a couple of my runner friends decided to drop by, too. I daren't (is that a real contraction?) post a post on how to cook turkey; first of all, A. handled it, and secondly, it was too long ago for me to remember how it was done. Besides, I think turkey-cooking is best studies for years and years before publishing. Kind of like musicology. Instead, I will tell you about the wonders of leftover turkey and the crockpot.

It's a little silly to post a recipe for anything that you make in the crockpot because it doesn't really matter. If you put stuff in the crockpot and leave it on low for eight hours, there's a 99 percent chance whatever you ladle out of it will be delicious. For example, after my place of work had a fundraising party, I took all the leftover chicken skewers, cubes of meat, and crudite (almost anything that was left behind), and put it in the old CP, covered it with water, and added a little salt. The next day we had delicious Japenese-Thai-Indian-chicken-beef-lamb-carrot-onion-mushroom-celery Soup. Magic!

I also did this with the leftover turkey. When we arrived home from Christmas vacation in NC, there was NO FOOD in the house. None. Anywhere. So, I took the turkey out of the freezer, found a forgotten potato (cut out the weird bits), and chopped up some "baby" carrots that had been purchased for road snacks and accidentally left behind. With some salt, pepper and a bay leaf, we ate for three more days.

I just realized that this sounds a lot like the Hanukah story, except with extra meals instead of extra days light for the sacred altar.