What’s in my Cup: Pomegranate Raspberry Green Tea

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#whatsinmycup, food, food photography, tea, what's in my cup, winter

It may only November, but by yesterday afternoon, it was “beginning to look a lot like Christmas”. Bing Crosby was by no means the author or the first to record this song, but I always hear his voice crooning it this time of year.

I don’t know if it’s because of covid restrictions or the fact that I’m not as stressed as in years past (mostly because I’m not working and I don’t have little people at home) but, like so many others, I’m ready for twinkling lights and seasonal spices.

I don’t want to rush the season, though it does seem to get shorter every year. We usually celebrate Little Guy’s birthday before breaking out the decorations. Sipping something sweet with a rich, rosy colourm however, while snow fell silently (and kids and dogs delighted not so quietly), felt right.

Stash’s Pom-Rasp Green tea contains hibiscus, orange peel chamomile, pomegrantate and raspberry flavour, citric acid and matcha! The warm, rosy hue and delicately tart scent of berries was inviting. Unlike most green teas, this one was also a delight to the tastebuds. I have had other pomegranate teas, including green teas, but they lacked body and the green tea was easily distinguishable. Or in one case, it tasted more like hot fruit juice. Yuck! If Stash hadn’t identified “green tea” in the name, I wouldn’t have noticed. This was citrusy and bold; I really liked it.

It went really well with warm homemade muffins made with french vanilla yogurt and frozen cherries, raspberries, strawberries and pomegranate.

Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers.

Khalil Gibran

May your cup of tea overflow with peace, love, joy and awesomeness today!

What’s in my Cup: Blueberry Jam

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#whatsinmycup, food, food photography, tea, what's in my cup

I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill.

Fats Domino

Dark, sweet, and plump, blueberries are a great way to start the day…and maybe end it too. They’re the most nutrient-rich berry, packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, and potassium, and plenty of healing properties.

When they’re added to jams or muffins, the calorie content increases. That’s not the blueberries fault! David’s Blueberry Jam tea lets you enjoy the juicy taste of blueberries without adding sugar. This tea from David’s is a blend of organic black tea, organic black currants, organic blueberries, organic elderberries, cornflower petals,and stevia. It’s also kosher and Fairtrade.

I made this tea the other evening and took it with me in the car. The whole car smelled deliciously fruity! More importantly, the flavour is a strong, natural blueberry note, while still retaining the robustness I want in a black tea. I often find flavoured black teas are weak, artificial or very grassy, but this is very satisfying, not cloying or tart. It’s now a “must-have” in my every day supply!

Advice from a Blueberry

* Be well-rounded * Soak up the sun

* Live a fruitful life * It’s ok to be a little blue

* Make sweet memories!

Happy Monday!

What’s In My Cup: Canadian Breakfast

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#whatsinmycup, canadian, foodphotography, tea, teaaddict, teacup, what's in my cup, whatsinmycup

English, Irish, Scottish, or Canadian. Regardless of which country has it’s name in the title, “Breakfast teas” are a robust blend of tea with a higher caffeine level meant to help you kick-start your day. Breakfast teas are usually a blend made with Assam tea, which is from where the high caffeine content comes.

Canadian Breakfast tea is made by Nourish Tea Co., a company that believes in providing organic (as much as possible) and supports estates that are sustainable, ethical and abide by fair labour practices. In this case, it is an orange pekoe Canadian Breakfast tea is more like an orange pekoe tea but it’s Kosher, Organic, and Fair Trade Certified. The tea leaves come from a single estate in from Sri Lanka. I couldn’t find it on their website, oddly enough, but it is available on Well.ca.

It had the robustness expected of a “breakfast” tea, with it’s own unique warming, malty flavour. Plus the caffeine kick I need on a Monday morning.

Warning: Going to sleep on Sunday night will cause Monday morning. Please note that staying awake all night Sunday night does not prevent Monday. There is no cure!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!

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#whatsinmycup, halloween, tea, what's in my cup

It was snowing when I went to bed last night, and a frosty wind is blowing over the snow-covered ground this morning. Only two days ago, we were peeling off our sweaters and rolling in the leaves.

What a way to start a Monday…Yuck!

Yesterday, as I drove to the pharmacy, I couldn’t help but notice the contrast of Halloween decorations and Christmas decorations littering people’s front yards. I wonder if people’s minds are also in the midst of making the shift from pumpkin-spiced whatevers to peppermint whatevers.

Not this old girl… Why rush into Christmas? Why not savour the shift in the seasons? My friend and I, we will be hanging on to our pumpkin-spiced chai and munching on mini chocolate bars…for a few more weeks…even if we have to dig out our winter woolies!

Happy Monday everyone! Go put on your kettle, and may your tea be stronger than whatever Mondays throws at you!

What’s In My Cup: Magic Potion

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#whatsinmycup, food, food photography, halloween, humour, tea, teaaddict

She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign, She said “What you need is love potion number nine” Love Potion Number 9, The Searchers

David’s Tea Magic Potion tea isn’t a love potion, but you might just love it! Or your kids or grandkids will. This blue raspberry infusion contains currants, apples, rosehips, butterfly pea flowers, raspberries, natural flavouring (kiwi, blackberry, bilberry), blackberries, and extract. Butterfly pea flowers are a Southeast Asian flower that naturally turn tea blue. After steeping for 5 minutes, as recommended, this tea had a light berry aroma and a sweet, slightly tart raspberry/blackberry flavour. I really liked it!

The squirrels, however, didn’t like me taking photos in the yard and they rained all kinds of curses down on me! 🙂 So why is it called “Magic Potion”? This tea changes colour! Just add a few drops of lemon juice and the colour changes from indigo to violet. I also found the tartness from the additional lemon enhanced the flavour of the berries, making it sweeter.David’s tea suggests it as “a refreshing caffeine-free iced tea or a berry-packed nightcap”. They also call it “a mood ring in your mug”.

There’s no mistaking what kind of potion I need. Caffeine – for alertness and rejuvenation. ― Amy Alward, Madly

Happy Monday!

Thanksgiving Blessing

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#whatsinmycup, blessing, Fall, nature, picnic, tea, thanksgiving, whatsinmycup

Lord, make us truly thankful all your blessings,
and bless those who sip tea with me today.

Amen

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tea-Stained Chicken

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cooking, food, food photography, recipes, tea

My cooking is fabulous, even when the smoke detector is cheering me on…

So I’m not a good cook. There are a few crime scene photos to prove it. But I keep trying, and once in awhile I have success. Other times, we had a pile of charred pots. Either way, we haven’t starved yet!

Just over a year ago, I tried a recipe for English Breakfast Tea Chocolate Cake. It was over-the-moon delicious! I made it for Dad’s birthday this year! So I decided to try another “tea” recipe on the savoury side: Tea-Stained Chicken.

Tea-Stained Chicken is also known as Laquered Chicken or Mahogany Chicken. Normally a whole chicken is smoked over a blend of spices and tea leaves, before it is glazed and baked to perfection. But my Weight Watchers recipe book skips the smoking part (thank goodness – can you imagine how much my smoke detector would be cheering?!?), and just made the sauce.

I was running late (as usual) so I prepared my stain and used it immediately, but it could be done up to a day ahead and would likely produce a much darker colour.

I brought 1/2 water to a boil, then set is aside with 1 tea bag (Tetley or Red Rose, I’m not sure which I used), 2 slices of fresh ginger and 4 peppercorns. I thought it was odd that they were so specific with the peppercorns, but it made it easy to count when you fish them out later! 😉

After 5 minutes, I squeezed out my bag and added 1 1/2 tsp. of soy sauce and 1 tsp. packed brown sugar. Back on the heat until it is reduced in half. Let it cool. Remove the ginger and peppercorns and paint it on your chicken.

They suggest browning the chicken in a pan before tossing it in the oven at 350F. The frugal dishwasher in me just tossed it in the oven. Why would I dirty 3 pots and pans for one meal?? It’s like crockpot recipes that you pre-cook 3/4 of the way before putting it in the crockpot. Does that really save me time?

The sauce was a rich, dark brown, and had thickened enough that it didn’t roll right off the chicken. I have made differnt sauces using soy sauce and ginger in the past, but this had a slight acidic tang from the tea, and a lovely subtle heat from the ginger and peppercorns. I would probably make it again.

The recipe book recommended serving the chicken with mango relish. I haven’t had great success in selecting ripe mangoes, so I made a tomato peach salsa instead. I’m surprised I haven’t shared this recipe already – I love it!

• 1 tomato, seeded and diced
• 1 peach, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 tsp. lime juice
• green onion
• 1 1/2 tsp. oil
• 1 clove garlic or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. liquid honey
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

You don’t need a silver fork to enjoy good food.

Paul Prudhomme

Bon Appetit!

Birds of America: Blue Jay

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#whatsinmycup, birds, tea, tea cups, teacup

Now there is more to a bluejay than any other animal. He has got more different kinds of feeling. Whatever a bluejay feels he can put into language, and not mere commonplace language…You never saw a bluejay get stuck for a word. He is a vocabularized geyser…

-Mark Twain, “Morals Lecture,” 7/15/1895

This fine bone china tea cup is part of the Birds of America, Series I set made by Queen’s Rosina China Co. Ltd. The Rosina China Co. was established in 1875 iin Staffordshire, England, but this particular set came out in the 1970’s, which means the value of my grandmother’s cup and saucer, is only sentimental. 🙂

Sammy Jay thinks he’s a very fine gentleman and is proud of his handsome blue coat and high cap. But Sammy often does things he shouldn’t do — like stealing. Nobody likes to be told he’s a thief — especially Sammy Jay!

Thornton W. Burgess

Time to put the kettle on and listen to sassy Sammy Jay. Happy Monday!

What’s In My Cup: Blueberry Green Tea

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#whatsinmycup, food, food photography, tea, what's in my cup

I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill. – Fats Domino

Green tea is one of the most popular types of tea consumed in North America. It’s packed full of health benefits. And to reap those health benefts, 3-5 cups of tea are recommended per day. Green tea does contain caffeine, with approximately 33 mg per cup; black tea is approximately 50 mg. Green tea is also approximately 99% water, so it’s a great way to rehydrate.

But…when drinking flavoured green teas, one needs to watch out for added sugar. That’s one of the reasons I like Tetley green teas – they don’t use any sweeteners.  

I’m not a big of green tea, but I find some flavours with a green tea really help to tone down the grassy or bitter flavour I associate with it. Tetley’s Blueberry Green tea was delicate and sweet, and very aromatic! In a blind taste test, I’m not sure I would guess blueberry, but definately I would guess berries.

It’s best enjoyed hot. I find, as with many teas and not just green tea, that it becomes more bitter as it cools. Pay attention to your steeping time. Green tea that is steeped too long, regardless of brand or flavour, will go bitter, and there’s no way to fix it!

This was perfect for a Sunday afternoon with a good book and a healthy treat…except maybe for the few berries I sugared! lol

Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea. – Rev. Sydney Smith

Happy Monday!

To Dunk or Not to Dunk

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#whatsinmycup, food, humour, tea

Impatience can cause wise people to do foolish things. Janette Oke

You’ve heard it before…don’t dunk your tea bag. Dunking isn’t even in the instructions on the side of the box. But we do it anyway!! And before any tea connoisseurs pipes in that loose leaf is better, let me remind them that swishing the infusers is really the same thing! So why do we do it? Are we bored? Impatient? Late? Is it a bad habit? Or something we’ve seen somewhere? Let’s breeze through the facts: The quality of tea is first determined by the quality of the plant, and the process it undergoes to prepare it for our teacup. The quality and temperature of the water used influences taste. So does the process by which we steep it. BUT… The length of time that we steep is also important. A process called Osmotic Diffusion occurs when tea leaves are submerged in hot water. Chemical compounds need time to diffuse into the water until the compounds in both the leaf and the water become equal. These compounds, however, require different steeping times. For example, the compounds that contribute to tea’s aroma and flavour diffuse the fastest; it’s why the aroma from a bag of tea leaves is stronger more as soon as it meets the water. The next compounds are the antioxidants and caffeine, and finally tanins are released (which gives tea it’s bitter flavour).  So what happens when we dunk? Although compounds begin to diffuse the moment hot water is added, not all are diffusing at the same rate. And, since some of these compounds contain pigments, which start to colour the water, we mistake colour for flavour. As we dunk and swirl, the pigments, which diffuse more quickly in hot water, intensify the colour. But not the flavour or the quality of the tea. In our haste, we end up with a dark cup of tea that is lacking the flavour and the beneficial compounds, for which we are longing.

One moment of patience may ward off a great disaster; one moment of impatience may ruin a whole life. – Chinese proverb

Or in any event, a perfectly lovely cup of tea. STOP DUNKING! Sources: Dunking Tea Bags & How Long to Steep