hi chai

If my house always smelled like homemade chai, I would be one content girl.  The scents of cardamom and cinnamon and cloves are comfort smells for me.  A house that smells of such delightful things is a home, a home in which there is nothing more appropriate than cuddling up on the couch with a good book or a set of knitting needles or a sketchbook...all, of course, with a steaming cup of chai within arms reach.  Idyllic.

Of course, I went and made this chai recipe on the exact same night that I made an oniony, garlicky, cumin-y, polenta-topped casserole for dinner (which was equally as delicious as it was smelly).  So, that smell combined with the scent of sweetly-spiced chai resulted in an odd and altogether non-idyllic odor.  It made the whole chai experience a little less perfect.  But it was comforting nonetheless.  You see, my mug of chai and I still sat cuddled on the couch under a nice warm blanket. We bonded over our common love of sweet, spicy smells and despaired over the fact that such delicious and necessary ingredients as onions and garlic find the need to be oh-so lingeringly stinky.

Chai is just that sort of friend.  A sweet one.  But one with just enough spice to remind you that she is not a pushover.  She'll hold her own against the onions and garlics of this world any day...and she'll remind you lovingly but assertively that there really are worse things in this world than a smelly kitchen.  And as much as your grumpy side may fail to agree, deep down you know she's right.