Now for Something Sweet…

Tags

food, sweets, tea, tea addict

I love sweets and I cannot lie.

But when it comes to tea, I’m more of a purist. Some people can’t live without sugar or some form of sweetener in their tea or coffee. I would be tempted to call them freaks, but that would just be me in my glass house throwing stones. To each their own!

Life is like a cup of tea. The sugar is all at the bottom

Julia Ward Howe

There are a number of options on the market, both natural and artificial. Some natural sweeteners, of course, would be stevia, honey, or maple syrup. More commonly, refined white sugar, brown sugar (with or without molasses) or cane sugar/syrup are used. But have you heard of German Rock Sugar?

German Rock Sugar is anatural sugar substitute. It is unrefined, unprocessed, and crystallized sugar made from beets, not sugar cane. These amber-coloured sugar pebbles contain slightly fewer calories than white refined sugar. It’s also devoid of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Some say they are the best way to enhance sweetness in your loose leaf tea without actually modifying the flavour of the tea.

Approximately 1 tsp rock sugar = 25 calories. When using it in your tea, they recommend dissolving 1 rock per cup. For extra sweetness or to use in an iced tea, dissolve a rock in a bit of hot water, before adding the tea. In baking, substitue 1 rock per 1 tbsp. of sugar (again dissolve it in a tiny amount of water).

It’s purported to have a number of health benefits, including a less intense effect on blood sugar levels. Some of the websites I reviewed tried to convince me that German Rock sugar could be used as a form of therapy for depression, as a stimulant for fatigue, and as a booster for cognitive function and concentration. While I agree that a small, sugary treat can do all of those things in the short term, I’m not sure this candy-like pebble has such great “magical” healing powers. Also, sugar is still sugar, so if sugar in your diet is a major health concern, talk to a doctor. Just because someone said so on the internet, does not make it so!

Friends are the sugar in my tea!

I hope your Monday is sweeter than your tea!

What’s In My Cup: Caramel Shortbread

Tags

#whatsinmycup, cookies, sweets, tea, what's in my cup

Shortbread cookies may not be the most searched for Christmas cookie recipe in 2018, but I did my own research in a place known for amazing home cooks – a church potluck!

On Friday night, several trays of home baked goodies lined the kitchen pass, and let me tell you, the shortbread cookies disappeared faster than my family when I tell them it’s time to clean the guinea pig’s cage!

They haven’t lasted long in my house either. I have to bake more before Christmas, and I am worried I might outgrow my new plaid skirt.

Thankfully I treated myself to a single emergency sachet of David’s Caramel Shortbread tea. It’s an herbal tea blend composed of apples, raisins, elderberries, willow bark, almonds, hazelnuts, sour cherries, raspberries, and sweetened with stevia extract and brown sugar.

While it may not be as satisfying as the real thing, the melt-in-your-mouth buttery sweetness of this tea was still decadent, and I could easily enjoy it again.

No matter how bad your day is, when you start talking about cookies or cakes or pies, or you bring someone cookies, there’s just not bad news. The worst news is, ‘Hey, there’s sugar in that.’ Christina Tosi

p.s. This tea won’t cling to your wobbly bits! 😉

Happy Monday!

Hole-Some Foods

Tags

baking, family, food, sweets

I remember making doughnuts with my mother and grandparents. My job was to cut the holes or to watch the doughnuts frying in the oil and let Mom know when they were ready to be rolled. We called the tiny doughnut holes, doughnut buttons.

It was a tradition I wanted to share with my boys. This weekend,  my mother and I got to share it with Little Guy. First, we let him measure and mix the dough.

Next we rolled them out and he cut them with the same tools I had used as a kid – a drinking glass and a thimble.

Finally, we fried them in oil in a fryer. As a kid, we used an electric frying pan. This was a lot safer!

My Great-Grandmother’s recipe said “Salvation Doughtnuts”. Apparently, these doughnuts were first made by Salvation Army volunteers in World War I. They set up service huts in abandoned buildings near the front lines where they could serve the soldiers baked goods.

The best part is eating them warm. The next day I made Jelly Busters, a yeast-based doughnut that requires a lot of time to prove the dough. Otherwise the process is the same.

And once they’re cooled, we add apple jelly inside, and sprinkle icing sugar on top. Just like when I was a kid…

I miss my Grandparents, especially as the holidays get closer. So being able to share this family tradition with my boy was really special and I hope we created special memories for him.

Nobody can do for little children what Grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. – Alex Haley

 

 

 

 

Tarts on Tour

Tags

fashion, food, humour, shoes, sweets

I recently made a last minute decision and attended a Tart Festival with a friend.

No, not that kind of tart, although based on some of my recent encounters, like the guy who called me at work and my cell number popularity, I can see why you might be raising your eyebrows. Then again, you also don’t know my friend!

This Tart Festival involved butter tarts. An entire outbuilding in the Fair Grounds lot lined with bakery kiosks displaying nothing but butter tarts. Each bakery had won trophies in their local Fairs, and they were duking it out for the title: Queen of Tarts.

 

Judges were blind tasting tarts from every bakery, looking for things like colour, thickness of pastry and ooziness.

 

 

 

 

There were some interesting flavours involving alcohol (Kahlua and Fire Whiskey), meat (bacon), and candy (marshmallow and skittles). But, like my Dad, I’m a traditionalist, so I brought home 6 butter tarts: plain, pecan, maple, maple walnut, raisin…and pecan again (because I like candied nuts)!

It only seemed appropriate (when you’re at a tart festival) to slink over to the Designer Shoe Sale next door. We weren’t willing to pay designer prices, even designer sale prices, but we had fun checking out the fashions. Rows and Rows of shoes.

My pick!

Sweet Tarts

Feathers and ruffles. Sunny golden suns and sweet tarts. Patent leather and satin. Chunky heels and super spikes. Buckles and straps. And things I couldn’t quite identify!

Now that’s a pair of killer heels!

We also amused ourselves by checking out the heavily-laden  baskets of some of the shoppers. “Lady Gaga” amused us the most. She was a tiny, heavy set middle aged lady with thin, greasy grey hair. But she was following my manifesto and who am I to judge?

 

Sweet tarts and sexy shoes… a perfect weekend tour for a couple of “tarts”, right?

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. – Katherine Hepburn

Happy Weekend!

WPC: Sweets

Tags

Photo Challenge, photography, sweets, Weekly Photo Challenge

Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they’ll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields… and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?”
― Sam Gamgee, The Return of the King, Peter Jackson from J R R Tolkien

See more sweets here.

T is for…

Tags

#atozchallenge, food, photography, sweets

I know…everyone who knows me is shocked right now because I didn’t write T is for Tea. They know I’m a huge “tea granny” – black, green, red, white, matcha, oolong, flavoured, herbal. It’s the first thing I consume in the morning, and often the last thing too. I have my own kettle and tea pot in my office. I even have a “supplier” who often offers to pick it up for me mid-day.  It’s not uncommon for my family to find cups of tea all over the house, and forgotten in the microwave. But writing about tea seemed too easy! This is suppposed to be a challenge!

My next thought was trees. My oldest son has every little boy’s dream job – he climbs trees for a living.

 Great idea…no time! The day got away on me, and as supper bubbled on the stove, my eyes roamed around the kitchen looking for quick inspiration. And I found it!

Salt Water Taffy.

Years ago, my grandparents would travel to Florida every March, and they would return bearing gifts, sometimes including salt water taffy. I’d unwrap the white wax paper and bite into the soft, sticky taffy, while Grandpa grinned at me. I would tuck my handful of pastel-coloured treats in a safe place, and savour them for months.

Last year, my parents brought me a bag from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (their March haunt)…and I’ve been savouring them all year!

“It’s strange how memory gets twisted and pulled like taffy in its retelling, how a single event can mean something different to everyone present. – Lisa Unger

Weekly Photo Challenge: Names

Tags

candy, Photo Challenge, photography, sweets, Weekly Photo Challenge

 

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men. – Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

To see more “Name” photos, click here.

It’s Friday…

Tags

coffee, humour, sweets, tea

It’s Friday…

…and this one goes out to my one-eyed love!

Happy Weekend!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Edge

Tags

food, Photo Challenge, photography, sweets, Weekly Photo Challenge

“Why does the forbidden always add that edge of sweetness?” – Robin Hobb, City of Dragons

To see more Edge photos, click here.

Happy Weekend!

Mmmm…Marshmallows

Tags

cooking, disasters, food, humour, sweets

Berry Blush. Toasted Coconut. Vanilla Bean. Maple Bacon. Pineapply Rosemary.

Just a handful of flavours gourmet marshmallow makers have dreamed up. “Mallow artists” are revisiting and heightening this long overlooked fluffy delicacy and waving “good-bye” to the spongy, store-bought variety so many of us savoured around the campfire as kids.

Those mass-produced chemically-induced blobs of goo on the grocery store shelves were put there in the 1940’s. Marshmallows date back to ancient Egypt, where marsh mallow root juice was used as a thickening agent for early cough drops. Centuries later French confectioners added egg whites and sugar to create meringues.

For most of us, marshmallows conjure up nostalgic images of families perched on metal lawn chairs around a campfire. I have some of those nostalgic memories too. Golden-brown on the outside with a hot, sticky melted centre, at the end of a stick we pulled from the bush. Mom made us wash our faces and hands, sticky with gooey guts and consequently caked in sand and pine needles too, before we were slid into our sleeping bags.

I also have memories of marshmallows bursting in flames before it turned black and fell into the flames. On one occasion, in a desperate attempt to save my treat, I waved my stick so hard that my flaming marshmallow became a flaming projectile. In slow motion, it flew to my right and hit my brother in my knee. I ran to get the medical kit while he screamed in agony, as the melted blob burned his skin.

I don’t think he’s ever forgiven me.

Marshmallows are a combination of corn syrup, sugar, water, salt and gelatin. When heated, mixed and whipped, it becomes a delightful treat! No baking required. Marshmallow makers say that they’re finicky at first, but easy once you’ve perfected the knack. I don’t know… I don’t exactly have a knack for baking, even the easy things……like rice krispie squares with the store-bought variety of marshmallows.

What a Mess: “If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?” – Will Rogers

I think I’d better leave this project for the “mallow artists”.

Source: From Cupcake Craze to Puffy Phase