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jennsmidlifecrisis

jennsmidlifecrisis

Category Archives: Food

Mennotea

23 Monday Jan 2023

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food, From Friends

≈ 1 Comment

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#whatsinmycup, food, friends, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea review, tea time


I am really excited today to share a link to a recent tea post from writer, Marian Beaman.

I adore Marian.

Marian and I met through our blogs and she has been a huge encourager (and a kindred spirit). You can find her over at Plain and Fancy Girl, where she shares inciteful posts about life, literature and legacies. Marian recently published her book, Mennonite Daughter, which chronicles her early “plain” years growing up in the Mennonite community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Her book is filled with stories of farm life, as well as the tension of honouring her family and heritage, while desiring a little something more. Her gentle storytelling keeps you glued to the pages! I highly recommend it!

Marian is poised to release her second book, My Checkered Life: A Marriage Memoir, stitching together memories and wisdom from her early years with her “fancy” man.

Last week, she posted about MennoTea, a Christmas special gift from her sister, in her post entitled Brewing Tea, Recycling Specs, and Feeling Happy! So I invite you to fix your cup of tea and pop over and visit Marian, and if you’ve got time, hang out with her for awhile. (Or sign up to receive her weekly posts!) 😉

Did I mention I adore Marian?

Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.

Lucy Maud Montgomery

2022 – A Year In Tea

02 Monday Jan 2023

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food

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Tags

#whatsinmycup, davids tea, food, fruit infusion, green tea, herbal tea, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea review, tea time, what's in my cup


The year was certainly a doozy. For a lot of people. Thank goodness there’s tea!

I’m not sure I would have survived without it.

First making an appearance on September 4, 2017, my regular Monday morning “What’s In My Cup” feature has been going for over 5 years. It’s hard to believe there could be so much to talk about, and I’ve hardly scratched the surface.

Let’s review last year.

In 2022, I sampled and reviewed 22 different flavours of tea from David’s Tea, Tetley, T’Kettle, Puck, Stash, Yorkshire Tea and President’s Choice. They included black, green, and white tea, rooibos, and herbal infusions. Of those, I’m most smitten with T’Kettle’s Citrus Burst, a refreshing grapefruit based fruit infusion. Youngest Son shared his London Fog Bubble Tea with me. I’m still not a fan of bubble teas, but teas with an alcoholic Twist weren’t too shabby. In May I tried 7 brands of chai in The Great Chai Challenge. Of those, my favourite belonged to Tetley, both for flavour and cost.

Tea is best shared with friends, so in 2022, I called upon my friends to participate by share their favourite tea and/or drinking vessel in a monthly Monday feature. Unfortunately, I don’t have any friends.

That’s not true.

But getting friends, family members, and acquaintances to agree to write was challenging. I’d like to extend my thanks to 5 fabulous folks who did:

Mom – Tetley Lemon Ginger

Sam – Jasmine

Nicole – Tazo Chai

Jacob – Puck Earl Grey

Elena – Celestial Sleepytime (who also wrote a beautiful poem)

Auntie M also introduced me to Yorkshire Tea, where I discovered “The Tea Song” as well as the introduction of the “Tea Emoji”!

I shared some repurposing projects, including my tea kettle succulents, and I wrote about the tissue transfer technique after watching The Great British Pottery Showdown.

It might have been time, laziness, business, laziness, lack of motivation, or laziness, but I featured more Tea photographs and quotes this year. “Setting the scene” for these photos may seem like a pretext to avoiding work, but each one required forethought and fussing so they don’t look as amateurish as I think they do.

Of course, Tea Time wouldn’t be complete without tea time treats, and this year, instead of focusing on scones, I tried Peanut Butter Bread, Caramelized Pear Upside Down Cake, Date Almond & Yogurt Bread, and Chocolate Babka. The Babka was a 2-day challenge.

I have no idea what 2023 will hold. Honestly, I haven’t thought that far ahead. As always, I’m open to suggestions and I’m willing to share my space. So put the kettle on and pull up a chair. Let’s sip away our sorrows, share our secrets, and swap some stories. All with a good cup of tea!

Happy New Year!

Chocolate Babka

19 Monday Dec 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food, Foolishness

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

baking, bread, Christmas, food, holiday, humour


I often hear devoted bakers say cheesy things like “the secret ingredient is love”.

“With enough butter, anything is good,” said Julia Child, and I agree.

Especially when I’m the baker.

Certainly there is joy in making something for someone special, and a real sense of accomplishment when they enjoy it (and it turns out right – that’s when I really experience joy). Baking can also have a real zen effect on some individuals and help them cope with stress or mental illness. The rest of us end up breaking down and sobbing on the floor like a toddler, with brown paste on our faces and flour on our clothes. So why do I do it? I have yet to answer that question.

With Christmas morning alarmingly close, and the foreknowledge that there will be more bodies in my house than my house can comfortably accommodate (but we’re family right?), I’m editing my baking “wish list” and focusing on the items that I most want to provide (and a few that Eldest Son requested…most of his favs are non-bake so much, much easier). That included chocolate babka.

I first attempted this sweet, braided bread or cake last year. It originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. It literally translates as “grandmother” in Polish. Made with yeast and enriched with loads of butter, it is truly a labour of love. Or at least serious “like” because making it is a commitment! It takes 2 days.

Is it worth it? Yes. Yes it is!

Step one was making the actual dough and I used my mixer and dough hook. Normally, I opt for kneading by hand, but this time a dough hook is my best friend. Why? Because the dough is super sticky. Once it’s on your hands, it will require intense scrubbing, the kind your grandma invoked when she washed your face after dinner, leaving your skin burning and red.

Judging how long to mix the dough required some intuition, something that long been established is not my strong suit. The recipe simply said “until the comes away from the bowl” about 10 minutes. Having made bread in the past, I know what that looks like, but Hubby challenged my abilities, creating doubt. He’s not the bad guy, however, There is such much butter that the dough never really “comes away”. In fact, when you scrape the sides of your mixer bowl, the dough just kind of smears like…well butter. Eventually I made the call. I oiled it, wrapped it in plastic wrap and tucked it in the fridge for the night.

Sunday afternoon, I hesitatingly pulled it out. As it started to warm up, I set about making the filling.

The first task was chopping my bittersweet chocolate…8 ounces of it! Again, this recipe said to chop it medium fine, which led to a family discussion about what constituted medium. I knew it was going inside the dough, so I wanted it to be at least as small as my fingernail. But I wasn’t the one chopping, so we compromised and I moved on the second task: The Chocolate Mixture.

The filling is a mixture of sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and more butter. I decided to use my hand mixer because my stand mixer bowl was in a pile by the sink waiting to be washed, the edge cemented in in yellow dough. Within seconds, I was enveloped in a brown cocoa cloud. On the plus side, my hair now smelled like cinnamon, but my lungs were complaining. Even though the butter had been sitting on the counter for more than 24 hours, it was still firm. Using my creativity, I carefully draped a hand towel around 3/4 of the bowl and prayed that the towel wouldn’t mix with the beaters, and that the butter would mix with everything else.

Rolling out the dough went smoothly and I started to feel optimistic once again. It’s also a great upper body workout.

Sure my rectangle wasn’t quite a perfect rectangle, but it was close. This wasn’t baseball. It was more like horseshoes or handgrenades.

Now for the fun part – spreading my chocolate mixture on my dough. It proved to be both a difficult and messy task because the dough was super soft. It was kind of like trying to spreading diaper cream on a squirming toddler. Funny I should mention toddler, as the chocolate mixture was firm yet sticky, and brown like poo. I started having flashbacks, and not good ones.

I sprinkled my questionable medium blocks of chocolate, rolled that dough and stuck it in the freezer. Unlike last year, they looked like squat and rotund, but it was too late.

I preheated my oven. I lined with loaf pans with silicone mats…because I was too lazy to carefully cut parchment paper to fit.

And after 15 minutes, I sliced my beautiful babies in two and twisted them together. Hubby helped me shove manhandle slide the maimed loaves in the pans and I tucked them into the oven to become soft, flaky deliciousness.

I should have read the instructions more carefully. Something that should be posted in large red letters in my kitchen. Once the loaves were baked (Yes Hubby, I was sure), I pulled them out to cool on the rack. Mistake! They started to fall apart. They’re supposed to cool in the pan for awhile before poking them and pouring over a sugar syrup. Instead I poked and syruped on the rack, with a cookie sheet underneath for drips. I can learn from my mistakes!

As soon as they were cool and before the wolves descended, I wrapped my babkas and they are now sleeping with the fish sticks. The kitchen is a disaster. There’s flour, chocolate, cocoa and cinnamon on every surface, and I may never remove the cement from my mixing bowls. My cookie sheet is covered in a pool of sugar and I have to bake more shortbread cookies because they’re all gone.


But I can proudly display my striped babka turds on the dining table, assuming all of Hubby’s boxes are removed, at Boxing Day brunch. I’m sure it tastes better than it looks!

It will go great with a well-deserved cup of tea!

Happy Monday!

What’s in My Cup: Buddha’s Blend

13 Tuesday Dec 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

#whatsinmycup, food, peace, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea photography, tea time, teacup, what's in my cup


I’m a day late! That’s because life happened and plans changed, but it was all good.

Eldest Son texted in the early hours of my morning to see if it was OK for him to bring his girlfriend and crash for the night. They have a funeral today. I’ll take any chance to see my kid even if it means panic-cleaning my bedroom, bathroom and living room. I packed my bag and moved into the office before I dashed out the door for a highly anticipated meeting at a nearby Tim Hortons with a special person.

During Covid, we have both been extra careful. And as a caregiver she’s chosen to like a hermit. I was so excited to throw caution to the wind to meet in a less busy place. We sat by the fire in the corner, in comfy chairs, and chatted away a good portion of the afternoon.

By the time I got home, I didn’t feel like doing much. Including cooking dinner. I stretched leftovers and cooked sweet potatoes, and just so I couldn’t feel guilty, I made butterscotch peanut butter marshmallow squares. I have a baking wish list that would require me to bake something everyday between now and Christmas, and with a sewing order still to complete, my list may have to be edited. Hubby will also be off as of Friday, for the remainder of the month, and as much as I love him, I really like the peace and tranquility of being home alone when there’s lots to do.

So I decided to take some time to enjoy just that – peace and tranquility, with a hot cup of David’s Tea Buddha’s Blend…and some candles.

Buddha’s blend is a mixture of white tea, green tea, jasmine pearls, white hibiscus blossoms and artificial peach flavouring. This tea supports the Ethical Tea Partnership, which promotes safe and fair working conditions and sustainable resources.

White and green tea leaves share the same plant, but white tea is harvested before the buds are opened. They are usually plucked by hand because they require delicate handling. Both green and white tea leaves undergo little processing, but white leaves are not fermented, therefore retaining three times more beneficial antioxidant properties than green tea. Antioxidants help strengthen the immune system and with seasonal sniffles around the corner, we could all use a boost. One cup of white tea contains approximately 12 times as many antioxidants as fresh orange juice, and contains less caffeine than green tea.

I had this particular tea in a pre-fabricated tea bag made of a fine, silky mesh, rather than loose leaf. However, the bag is large enough to allow the water to permeate and move the tea leaves for better steeping. It was also fun to watch the leaves uncurl and expland.

The dry tea smelled deliciously fruity. It had both delicate floral and peach notes. I had trouble identifying the fruit until I read the ingredients on the website. The sachet just said artificial flavour. It also had that distinctive grassy note from the green tea, but when it was hot, it wasn’t overpowering.

As it cooled, however, the green tea became more pungent and bitter. Here’s why: I didn’t follow my own advice when it comes to steeping green or white tea. I heated the water to a whopping 212F and both green and white prefer less heat. The website recommended 175F. I also steeped for more than the recommended 1-2 minutes. Neither of these instructions were on the sachet.

Several reviewers commented on the timing. One commentator even posted: “…when brewed incorrectly, even by just a few degrees or extra seconds, the tea quickly becomes a bitter mess. The bitterness is so bad that I’ve had to dump out several cups”.

I may have done it wrong but it wasn’t that bad! On the plus side, both white and green tea can be steeped 2-3 more times, so I can try it again. With each steeping, the flavour decreases, but I don’t mind. I’ll just sit quietly for a minute or two, sipping slowly and watching the snow fall.

Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

Desmond Tutu

Home

05 Monday Dec 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food

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Tags

#whatsinmycup, Christmas, family, food, holiday, humour, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea time


December has arrived and with it, a whirlwind of activity. This morning I headed out the door for a power-packed couple of days of shopping, baking, gabbing and tea drinking with my Mom (& Dad, but he’s a coca-cola fan)! What’s in my cup? Pumpkin Chai – because I need both caffeine and spice! Whatever your plans this week, I hope you’ll make some space to spend some time with your favourite people! Cheers!

Home is a comfort and home is a light
A place to leave the darkness outside
Home is a peaceful and ever full feeling
A place where the soul safely hides

Michael Card, Home

What’s In My Cup: Blueberry Superfruit

28 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food

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Tags

#whatsinmycup, food, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea photography, tea quotes, tea review, tea time, what's in my cup


Fall has finally caught up with us. The landscape is a palette of browns and the sky a plethera of greys. Even the birds aren’t visiting the feeder. They’re probably still hunkered down under a blanket of down in their nests. It’s kind of a blue day, and a Monday too!

Blueberries to rescue!

Packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, and potassium, and plenty of healing properties, blueberries are the most nutrient-rich berry. That’s why they call them “Super fruit”!

Blueberry Superfruit by Stash is an herbal blend of hibiscus, lemongrass, orange peel, rose hips, chircory root, licorice root, natural blueberry flavour, blueberry powder, and acai berry. But while it is caffeine free, the blueberry powder does contain cane sugar. Both the aroma and flavour were inviting and it has a lovely rosy hue. It’s definitely blueberry with a sweet and spirted flavour. There is a bit of an aftertaste though and I suspect it comes from the artificial flavouring. I still like it, but if I had to choose a favourite blueberry tea, I would still choose David’s Blueberry Jam.

These sweet sachets were shared by Eldest Son’s girlfriend, who is sweet and spirited too.

When your day seems topsy-turvy and as stormy as can be
There’s nothings quite as tranquil as a nice hot cup of tea.

Unknown

Happy Monday!

What’s in My Cup: Baked Apple Chai

21 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food

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#whatsinmycup, food, food photography, humour, nature, nature photography, squirrels, tea, tea addict, tea cups, tea lover, tea time, what's in my cup


It would seem I’m not the only one enjoying apples these days.

Yeah, I see you. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t leave your half-eaten apples in a row on the fence!

My little friend has been enjoying apples for breakfast nearly every morning this week, and today I thought I’d follow his example.

I reviewed David’s Tea Baked Apple Chai (formerly Spiced Apple) back in the Fall of 2019, and since then it has become a staple in my stash. Apple and cinnamon is a common pairing because, quite frankly, they’re made for each other. They work well in sweets, in savouries, and in tea! And they definitely work in this tea. The flavour is piquant – intense, sweet, tangy and spicy. I called it a “potpourri for all the senses” and I still stand by that statement. From the intense aroma of cinnamon, chicory, cardamom and star anise to the warm and spicy notes that dance and play on the tongue, it’s probably the best apple cinnamon tea I’ve tasted.

Apple Chai-ed

It’s a caffeine-free fruit infusion with at least a 5 minute steeping time and requires a generous amount. Since it’s comprised of chunky pieces, it will swell and fill the infuser quickly. A word of advice, use an infuser that will allow the fruit to expand as it steeps in order to extract the most flavour!

Or you can follow the example of my little friend here and squat in the snow and eat it raw. I just hope he cleans up after himself!

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.

– Mother Theresa

What’s In My Cup: Maple Rooibos

07 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food

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#whatsinmycup, food, tea, tea addict, tea cups, tea lover, tea photography, tea review, tea time, what's in my cup


As the days turn colder (though we’ve really enjoyed an extended warm spell), I find my tea tastes change from the bright, fruity flavours of summer to something richer and spicier. This tea is a wonderful transition between the two.

Rooibos or Red Bush is a shrub from the legume family that grows in the mountainous regions of South Africa. Guess what colour it is? 🙂 Though prepared in the same way as black tea, it also has a sweet and earthy flavour. On its own or paired with other flavours, like vanilla or maple, it’s almost as satisfying as a cup of black tea, which is essential for a die-hard tea granny! There is no caffeine and the fresh leaves are high in Vitamin C. Not all red teas are Rooibos teas, so remember to check the label.

I wasn’t sure about this Maple Rooibos when I first opened the satchet. The aroma was very strong and sickly sweet. It reminded me of burnt sugar. Once steeped, the aroma was much lighter, but still had that sweet, burnt quality. The flavour, however, was well-balanced. Yes, sweet, but with an earthy, roasty undertone from cocoa shells and licorice root. It had the warmth and depth, and velvetiness I was anticipating. The colour was more of a golden red, rather than a deep red, but in the end, it’s all about flavour!

This President’s Choice tea also didn’t cost me my firstborn. I’ve said this before…just because a box of tea has a high price tag does not necessarily mean that it’s high quality. And just because something isn’t “the best of the best” doesn’t mean it’s not good.

It’s also calorie-free. I think Maple Rooibos will be perfect on rainy autumn afternoons, chilly winter nights, or anytime I’m craving something sweet! (Even now, I hear cookies calling my name…)

Today we will live in the moment…unless it’s unplesant, in which case we will eat a cookie.

Cookie Monster

The Tea Emoji is Here!

31 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food, Foolishness

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

#whatsinmycup, emojies, food, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea time


Did you notice it? Me neither!

In 2020, 116 new emojies were realeased, which included bubble tea, and something special for Tea Grannies and Tea Grandpapies. The only options before were limited and resembled coffee, not the perfect steep!

Taylors of Harrodgate, the makers of Yorkshire Tea, submitted a formal application to the Unicode Consortium requesting a teapot. The application included data about global tea drinking, as well as the fact that green tea and coffee emojies were not representative of true tea drinkers! Social media also played a small role because we live in a world where anything that matters (and too much that does not) is posted for all to see and share their prolific opinions.

Apparently great minds think alike and a mystery applicant requested a teapot too. We thank you both!

It’s perfect!

Teapots are not generally known for their aerodynamic qualities, hence the proclivity for their use during breaks between fighting rather than as an actual weapon of war.

Jeffery Russell, The Dungeoneers

What’s In My Cup: Yorkshire Tea

24 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by jennsmidlifecrisis in Food, Foolishness

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

#whatsinmycup, food, humour, tea, tea addict, tea lover, tea time


Let’s have a proper brew!

Auntie M recently gifted me with a box of Yorkshire Tea, a favourite of her friend, who laughably, shares the exact same first and last name! What are the odds!

Yorkshire Tea by Taylors of Harrogate, is a third generation Yorkshire family business born in 1886. Charles Taylor and his two sons started a tea and coffee company, experimenting with tea leaves to find an enjoyable cuppa with their local water. They even won a gold medal at the London Grocery Exhibition in 1896.

Harrogate comes from the location of its flagship store. Today it’s the home of Taylors’ sister company, Betty’s, which was established in 1919. The Yorkshire brew and brand began much later, in 1970, but with it’s treasured values of fairness, flavour, and quality.

They are the founding members of the Ethical Tea Partnership and the Rainforest Alliance. They strongly believe in paying fair wages, providing safe working conditions, partnering in fair trade with growers, and building long-term relationships with those in these communities. Sustainable growing practices is also important and the company meets “International Labour Standards and the environmental, working and social standards of third party certification.” Yorkshire tea is CarbonNeutral® certified. So far, over 1.5 million trees have been planted in Kenya with over 4,000 tea farmers. And they are committed to to making its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

I’ll drink to that!

The tea itself is a what I’d call a “light tea”…the colour is a light golden colour, even when it’s been steeped for awhile. I found the taste reminiscent of green tea or chamomile; it had fairly grassy notes. I would enjoy it more as a hot afternoon tea, rather than the desperately needed richer black tea to break my fast.

The website is filled with lots of information about the company’s history, practices, and blend. And if you know where to look, there are fabulous ads, like the The Tea Song, and this one by actor, Sean Bean, who played Boromir in Peter Jackson’s movies, The Lord of the Rings.

Brothers. Sisters. Today a great legacy rests upon your shoulders, because here we make more than just tea. We make proper brews. Brews that bring more than a tear to your eye or warmth to your soul. So go out there and do it for each other, do it for yourselves, but most of all, do it for Yorkshire!

Sean Bean, Yorkshire Tea
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Recent Musings

  • Dear Diary – Week 4, 2023 January 26, 2023
  • Mennotea January 23, 2023
  • Dear Diary – Week 3, 2023 January 19, 2023
  • Heigh-Ho Silver! January 16, 2023
  • Dear Diary – Week 2 – 2023 January 12, 2023

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SoundStitches Sewing Blog

A practical blog about sewing

bushboys world

Photos of my world and other stuff I hope you will enjoy too. Photos taken with Canon PowershotSX70HS Photos can be purchased.

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Blessed Beyond Measure

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"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

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Teaching the art of composition for photography.

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I need the funny because they're teenagers now

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Exploring my passion for photography one click at a time!

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The Art and Craft of Blogging

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Where all the cool squirrels hang out!

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