Chai Pilgrimage

OK, well not exactly 100% homegrown chai, but fennel is a good start. One small step to fulfilling an ongoing daydream of walking outside and harvesting tea leaves, cinnamon bark, cardamon pods, ginger root, clove, pepper, tulsi, saffron and fennel seed.

This summer was the second year for our modest but thriving fennel forest. Tulsi and I harvested enough seed to fill a few pint-size mason jars. I’m totally giddy, but I keep thinking, I could have saved 3 times as much. I learned that timing is essential or the seeds will drop (another reason why gardeners advise to plant fennel OUTside of the garden or it will grow into a true forest).

I don’t even know if fennel spiced chai was very common in our household before our daughter was born, or if we even tried it in our masala. But when Tulsi was born, Patrick started tossing in a handful of sweet fennel seeds to every batch. Why fennel? Just ask our now chai-seasoned, ayurvedic, still-mama-matte-lovin’ (as in Mother’s milk) 2-year-old, and she will say with a LOT of enthusiasm, “Fennel helps make more matte!” And she’s right of course. Fennel is one of the spices in many “Mother’s Milk Teas” that “helps promote healthy lactation”.  Tulsi also knows if she chews on some seed, it will help settle a tummy ache.

But it’s more than fennel’s medicinal properties — it’s YUMMY.

It’s my goal next year to grow, and save, enough fennel seed for a whole year’s supply — a few pounds would do. As for the rest of my chai fantasy, we would be in heaven if we could grow ginger in our 4-season, geodesic dome greenhouse. Even at 8000 ft in the  mountains, I think it’s possible…just need to research and find the right variety!

Anyone have experience growing ginger in a greenhouse, or blessed with your favorite masala chai spices growing in YOUR backyard?

Thanks everyone for your spice comments. They were fun to read. Since Tulsi is one of our favorite chai ingredients for those EXTRA special batches, we asked Miss Tulsi to pick a name from the chai cup. And the winner of the spice print give-away is…

LYNDSAY…AND –since Tulsi was so excited to pick “presents for people!” — we decided to send a second print, which is going to PURVI.  Lyndsay and Purvi, would you email me your addresses so I can send you my spice print? Hope you enjoy it!

This print is now available in my web shop here. And for a little spice history and inspiration — the 3rd BBC episode of “The Story of India” that we watched last night via Netflix — Spice Routes and Silk Roads. Thanks for playing everyone.

While traveling in India we collected discarded matchboxes on the roads. There are so many, and it’s sorta like trading cards among travelers. These, along with the countless, amazing retro designs from India’s past (recorded in the beautiful book, LIGHT ON INDIA by Warren Dotz), inspired me to create these masala chai spice icons. I added a page here with this art, a description of each spice and tips for using it in chai.

We thought it would be fun to send an archival art print to one of you fellow chai lovers. If you’d like be included in the give-away drawing, share YOUR favorite masala chai spice(s) you like to use in a comment. We’ll draw a name February 21st and mail it off to the lucky winner. After the drawing, this print will be available in my shop. I hope you enjoy it!

OH WOW, it’s amazing how time flies by when your life is suddenly filled with so much joy and beauty and laughter… Tulsi is 5 months old already and doing amazing! We are still in a constant state of awe watching her grow. She is as sweet as her name and the scent of Tulsi flowers. We celebrated Bhandara with her at the Hanuman Temple recently, and she wore her first jeweled bindi. Sigh.

So, as you may have noticed, our chai pilgrimage blog has been on hiatus during these precious first months, but soon, we will be  back blogging and finishing our book (which will have a 2010 release date instead of 2009).

Winter is the perfect time for such a project, all nestled up in our cozy mountain home sipping chai and creating all day! Patrick has already begun teaching Tulsi the art of making chai. Perhaps when she can stand on her own … and reach the counter. Also, I’m in the midst of finishing my next children’s book, Same, Same but Different, inspired by our travels in Nepal and India. It will be published by Henry Holt.

So there you have it — TWO books inspired by India’s beauty that you can look forward to! Stay tuned, and REMEMBER to sign up for our mailing list to the right so you’ll know when and where you can purchase them.

Almost seven weeks have passed since our last post, and we have a good reason! Our daughter, Tulsi Lila Grace Shaw, was born on April 9th! She chose Hanuman’s birthday on the full moon as the perfect moment to arrive. She’s awesome! And we’re doing great! (There’s more on my blog.) I’ve been drinking a lot of non-caffeinated Tulsi ginger spice chai in celebration. It’s my new favorite ‘chai’. So, in honor of our sweet Tulsi, we’ll be posting a new recipe as soon as time permits!

**************************************************************

For those of you who have asked about the sweet Ganesh doll, our friend found it on ebay. Search for “Ganesh plush doll” or click here.

We really enjoyed reading ALL your comments and unique stories!! Thanks so much for sharing. Looks like Mata-Ji (who has been our dear and wise Chai Pilgrimage advisor) chose two winners of our raffle: Gary and Jacqueline. If you email me your mailing address at coloredsock@mac.com, we’ll send off a set of cards to you soon. We hope you enjoy them! Just a reminder, you can also order my cards here.

Thanks for playing everyone. There will be more fun raffles in the future!

Ganesh is the elephant-headed God in the Hindu tradition who is honored at the beginning of all ceremonies and endeavors. He opens the Way. We offer our love and gratitude to the One who blessed us with inspiration, guidance and protection, and continues to remove all obstacles on our Chai Pilgrimage. I have always loved elephants. Maybe that’s why I instantly connected with Ganesh when I first ‘met’ him. I made this Ganesh (available here) to remind me of his wonderful attributes and immense wisdom.

Ganesh is the inspiration for probably millions of artists. Everywhere we turned, we saw his image. We sighted this Ganesh-in-motion on the back of a rickshaw in Kathmandu.

We passed this Ganesh on a narrow alley in old Kathmandu. He seemed to be glowing.

I colored this ‘chai wallah’ version of Ganesh in my sketchbook.

Our friend Veejay is an artist living in Varanasi. He’s made (literally) thousands and thousands of Ganeshes.

Veejay’s brother, Deepu, carved this Ganesh for us.

And this special “lucky Ganesh penny” sits on my desk — my friend Amanda sent it to me from India.

I love to surround myself with reminders of the Divine, because it does just that — reminds me to REMEMBER. This is something I definitely ‘took’ from my visits to Nepal and India. Here, my days are filled with so much activity–work deadlines, cooking, cleaning, errands, and exercise — that I appreciate the reminder to pause for a moment, breathe, and give thanks. Whether the reminder is an image of Ganesh or Buddha, or even a vase of flowers or a walk in nature, it takes me to the same place within. Peace.