I tend to favor strawberry and banana smoothies. Just a preference and I enjoy the combination. Lately I’ve been experimenting with blackberries and finding them an enjoyable change of pace.
Blackberries rank high in antioxidant content, high dietary fiber (up to 20% by weight), polyunsaturated fats in the chewable seeds, high mineral and vitamin content. They are a good source for vitamin A, potassium, and calcium.
So shake up your habits every once in a while. There are lots of fruit varieties that can be used in smoothies that are both tasty and nutritious.
I’ve branched out lately, as far as tea is concerned. I’ve added African Rooibos herbal tea to my tea palate and enjoy it immensely.
This isn’t my only change, I also moved and inherited a small backyard with a lush flower garden. See the picture for one of the sunflowers that was growing there.
It’s been a fun adventure identifying what was growing and bringing some organization to the untended garden. Some of the flowers have yet to be identified. Among the growth was also some basil, butter lettuce, sage and catnip. A little research reveals that herbal teas can be made from sage and catnip.
I haven’t tried that yet but it points out the fact that sometimes the source of your favorite herbal beverage could be in your own garden.
Until next time – happy steeping.
The summer heat is here and getting your daily requirement of gourmet coffee is a little more difficult. There’s always iced coffee, but the expense can be daunting in these tough economic times. So why not make iced coffee at home? Here’s a recipe found on ehow.com to save some money and make your own.
Standard Iced Coffee
- Brew a pot of fresh coffee using 2 tablespoons of dark-roasted ground gourmet coffee per cup.
- Transfer the hot coffee to a carafe or pitcher.
- Let the coffee stand at room temperature for 3 to 5 hours, or refrigerate it until cold, about 1 1/2 to 3 hours.
- Fill a tall glass with ice cubes.
- Pour the chilled coffee into the glass.
- Stir the coffee to equalize its temperature. Add milk if you like.
While dark roasted coffee is recommended, try experimenting with your favorite blend or single origin coffee.
You may have to add additional sweetener to your liking.
If the coffee is not completely chilled make sure you are using a plastic cup as the change in temperature can crack a glass cup.
Until next time – happy brewing.
Don’t know about you but where I am it’s been a pretty mild summer. But the heat is coming soon, so here’s an adult summer slush drink for the hot days to come.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 7 cups water
- loose leaf tea
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate
- 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen orange juice concentrate
- 2 cups gin
Directions
- Put 7 cups water in large saucepan, and heat on high until boiling. Add sugar and stir until dissolved; set aside to cool. Place tea in 2 cups boiling water, and let steep until desired strength is acquired.
- In a large bowl, mix together sugar water, tea, lemonade concentrate and orange juice concentrate. Stir in gin. Place in freezer container and freeze overnight.
- To serve, Place several scoops into a tall glass, and fill with any clear carbonated beverage.
If you’re trying to cut back on caffeine use loose decaf tea. Serving a non-alcoholic crowd, try it with a fruit juice such as apple or guava juice.
The source of this recipe was allrecipes.com.
Until next time, happy steeping
Smoothies are a great addition to summer activities. They are tasty and provide necessary hydration during the hot summer days. Prepared right they are a healthy option as well. Here are some suggested items you may want to include in your smoothies to add variety to this wonderful summer drink.
Consider the fruit possibilities for your smoothies. Squeezed fruit and smoothie drinks deliver all the good vitamin benefits of eating raw fruit. Strawberries, bananas, citrus fruits, blueberries, and kiwis are excellent choices to ensure a delicious and healthy smoothie.
Some less obvious choices would include lemons or lime (add some honey to offset the tart taste). Avocados and coconut milk also make for an unusual smoothie. Figs are another possibility. I even saw a recipe call for instant oatmeal.
So experiment. The possibilities are greater than you imagined.
Most of us are blessed with a tolerance for caffeine in our tea. The energy boost from caffeine may even be one of the benefits we get from drinking our gourmet tea. But there is a case for decaf tea.
Sometimes you just don’t want the pick up when you drink your tea. Tea is a drink noted for contemplation and relaxation, the removal of the caffeine may remove any jarring element in your experience and add to the overall enjoyment.
Of course, depending on the decaffeinating process used, you may want to avoid additional chemical content in decaf tea. Or just create your own – steep the tea for about one minute and throw the first cup out. This removes about 98% of the caffeine. Subsequent steeps are essentially caffeine free without any additional chemical content.
Until next time – happy steeping.
You know something has worked its way into the social consciousness when it is referenced in poems, books and pundit’s quotes. This is true of gourmet tea. What follows are a few notable quotes about gourmet tea.
Li Ri Hua, a Ming Dynasty scholar
One should clean out a room in one’s home and place only a tea table and a chair in the room with some boiled water and fragrant tea. Afterwords, sit salutarily and allow one’s spirit to become tranquil, light, and natural.
Gladstone (1865) Victorian British Prime Minister
If you are cold, tea will warm you; If you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you.
Mick Jagger, “Live with Me”.
I got nasty habits; I take tea at three.
Lewis Carroll (1865) Alice in Wonderland, Chapter 6
“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.”
Until next time – happy steeping.
The saw goes that if it tastes good it’s bad for your health. This, of course, is not always true. Take the case of hot cocoa.
Recent studies have shown that hot cocoa is a good source for antioxidants. In fact, a better source that both red wine and tea. Hot cocoa was found to have twice the antioxidants of red wine and three to five times the antioxidants of tea.
Don’t get too excited though, the caloric and trans fat content of hot chocolate can contribute to obesity and dental problems. This is mostly due to the cocoa butter and added sugar. Hot cocoa has the cocoa butter removed but may still have added sugars.
In moderation, however, you can enjoy hot cocoa as part of a healthy diet.
Until next time – happy sipping.
A strong cocktail with rum and brandy, and lots of espresso . You’ll be the hit of your next party if you serve Cappuccino Royales for everyone. Found on the coffeeteabout.com site.
Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup half n half
* 1/2 cup espresso
* 2 tbs brandy
* 2 tbs white rum
* 2 tbs creme de cacao
* Sugar
Preparation:
Whisk cream until frothy. Split espresso between 2 mugs. Add 1 tbs of each liqueur into each mug. Top with whipped cream, and add sugar to taste.
Serves 2
Until next time, happy brewing.
Modern gourmet decaf coffee is a marvel of chemistry. The techniques developed in the last century have done much to preserve the flavor of the coffee while removing the caffeine. Here are a few things about gourmet decaf coffee you may not have known.
* Decaf coffee is not caffeine free. The decaffeination process removes from 97% to 99.9% of the caffeine. This leaves about 5 milligrams of coffee in an six ounce cup.
* Not all coffees are the same. Coffees made from Robusta beans contain twice the caffeine of Arabica beans. By definition the coffee must be made from Arabica beans to be considered gourmet coffee.
* More decaf coffee is consumed annually than the combined amount of both Fair Trade and organic coffee.
* Approximately 17.7% of all coffee consumed worldwide is decaf coffee.
Until next time, happy brewing.