July 15, 2012
Here’s a yummy recipe for a wonderful loose iced tea that’s helping me battle the heat today! Today’s recipe is for Simpson And Vail Burgundy Blast Iced Tea. Place 6 teaspoons of Burgundy Blast Herbal Tisane in a 6 cup teapot (32 oz) and pour boiling water over the herbs. Steep 5 minutes. Strain out the herbs and let the tea cool a little. Pour about 1/2 the teapot into ice cube trays and freeze. Cool the remaining tea in the pot. When the cubes are fozen, place in a tall glass with a few teaspoons of orange-mango simple syrup* and pour in the tea. Top with a mint sprig and enjoy! This is a cooling, refreshing beverage that will quench your thirst on a hot summer day! *Orange Mango Simple […]
May 24, 2012
There’s no denying it – it’s iced tea weather! I was in a Thai restaurant a little while ago with my friend Carol and we both tried their Jasmine iced tea with lunch. It was delicious – light and delicate with a little sweetness and a more subtle taste of Jasmine. I thought the recipe below would come close to it. Jasmine Tea Syrup: 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 tsp Dragon Phoenix Pearl Jasmine In a small saucepan, over medium heat, gently heat and dissolve the sugar in the water. Add the tea and steep 1.5 minutes. S train the tea leaves. Chill the syrup and add a little in your next glass of iced tea! Enjoy!
April 16, 2012
I made this loose tea rub, (with Simpson and Vail Loose Tea, of course), a week ago and finally got around to using it on some tofu I picked up. My partner in crime here in the house doesn’t want to be mentioned by name in this blog. So let’s call him Double 0 14 (cause, yes, he’s just THAT much better than 007′!) Anyway, 0014 and I don’t exactly have the same diet – he’s a carnivore and I’m a vegetarian. I used to stress about things to make for dinner, but as he so eloquently pointed out, he’s an adult and was able to fend for himself long before he met me. Quite true. So sometimes we end up making different meals and sometimes he’ll happily dive in to […]
April 9, 2012
Last night I was thinking that a little dessert might be nice. But I had already gone to the grocery store and I had forgotten to buy eggs. So I perused some recipes and found this one that I haven’t made in awhile and love. Recipe in hand, I took a stroll through my quite extensive tea cupboards. Off to the left of the 2nd shelf, jumping up and down, was the Simpson and Vail Burgundy Blast Herbal Tisane. Being conscientious I looked at every other tea before I realized that the Blast was, for sure, the way to go. So with my spice grinder I ground up 2 tsp of Burgundy Blast. And the rest was easy…. 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 cup flour […]
March 27, 2012
If like me you made the Loose Green Tea Recipe Sesame Ginger Garlic Dressing and had some left over in your fridge – it makes a great sauce for tofu. I took a block of tofu, drained it and then pressed out the excess water. Cut the tofu into 16 identical slices and marinate in the dressing. I marinated the tofu for 30 minutes. While the tofu is marinating in the Loose Green Tea Dressing, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place the marinated tofu on the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the tofu over and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. I served this over a bed of brown rice and steamed spinach. Fantastic!
March 19, 2012
We were invited to a friend’s house for dinner last Saturday and so I thought to myself “Self – this is a perfect opportunity to “play” with a dessert recipe!” So I scooted off to the kitchen to see about creating something that very well may take a week of running to get off my thighs … rich, buttery shortbread! Sigh. Nothing better! I made the Earl Grey Loose Tea shortbread but, since we were running late, I didn’t take photos. I left a few pieces at home, which were enough for a photograph, or so I thought at the time. The shortbread was a hit at Patrick & Carol’s house (I put in the orange oil in this version) and I received a message from Patrick the next day […]
March 14, 2012
The other day I made a leek and spinach quiche with black and green teas. Served with a salad, quiche is one of my “comfort” foods. Plus there’s always enough left over to have for lunch the next day. Personally I think quiche is always better the next day. For this tea version I used black tea in the crust and a green tea when sauteing the spinach. I have to say – the crust came out perfectly tasty, but the green tea taste in the spinach was, unfortunately, lost when combined with everything else. So what I guess I’m saying is – you can skip that part of the recipe if you’re strictly going for taste or you can keep it in for the extra health benefits from the […]