White Coconut Crème tea
I came across a wonderful online resource for tea a few months ago while searching for a supplier for the restaurant. The LA-based Art of Tea hand blends each of their imported teas in small batches using organic ingredients and high-quality botanicals. The teas are some of the best I’ve had and I’m not alone either, at the restaurant we can’t keep enough in stock it seems.
I’ve had quite a few really great blends, but my absolute favorite is a white tea blended with coconut and flowers. It’s unbelievable! The crème part isn’t just part of a fluffy title either, it really does have a lovely creamy texture with a perfect balance of coconut. Look, you can see the coconut pieces! No artificial tastes or fragrances anywhere; the natural flavors are clean and real. Oh and here’s a tip, add a piece (or two) of chocolate to your tea routine with this and you’ll be in heaven. No joke, a bite of really nice chocolate after a sip will send you floating. I’m really not exaggerating, it’s that good.
Another great selling point is that white tea is the least processed of any tea variety, so you get the health benefits of green tea and more. A huge part of a clean lifestyle regimen, tea is the ultimate anti-cancer staple!
Various sizes available at Art of Tea: a tea tin serves about 25 cups for $10.99. I started small but ended up buying the 1 lb bag for $44.
Early girl and heirloom tomatoes, canned. Bam!
I did it! I dove head-first into canning this past weekend. I sort of half expected that I’d have to write the blog equivalent of a retraction, but happily there’ll be none of that today…and I am freakin’ ecstatic! There were no tears, but plenty of sweat and blood if you count the tomato seeds stuck to the arm (and maybe even a few stuck in the hair). While it was great fun it was a lot of work; I’m getting ready for bed right at this moment. I need a weekend from my weekend, so while I recuperate I’ll share my finished product above.
Hope you all had a great weekend. Monday’s already over, dare I say this week is going to fly by?
I’m not a coffee girl, but oh how I wish I was; just the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans makes me feel warm and cozy, and if I could wear it as a fragrance I totally would. Coming from the land of Starbucks you’d think I’d be a pro, but somehow, my love affair stops there as I just haven’t ever been able to drink a full cup of it.
If there was any place where I could be schooled on the delicacies of a proper cuppa joe it would be at Bluebottle Coffee Company – artisanal microroasters of organic, pesticide-free, shade-grown, coffee beans that are off to you within 48 hours of roasting. I love everything about this place, and I wish I could camp out at the Mint Plaza location everyday. I’m officially on a mission to earn some coffee badges.
One thing that could help me along with my coffee training is the Affogato, a generous scoop of ice cream with a shot of espresso for drowning the ice cream with. (I don’t want to offend true coffee connoisseurs and loyal fans of Bluebottle, but I’ve got to start somewhere.) Oh my gosh, there are no words….
It was really big, so it’s perfect for sharing. I can’t wait to go back for an afternoon date so we can share this and sit by the window for some people-watching. I LOVE people watching, especially when it’s over something this good.
So, even though it may take a bit of time for me to appreciate all of the wonderful drinks they offer at Bluebottle, I’ll be be here every chance I get to pick up a bag as a gift or for an afternoon snack with visitors. This is an amazing company and I love what they do: not only are they experts at their craft, but they’ve truly infused environmentally-conscious practices into every aspect of their business. Check this out:
- All our coffees are certified organic, sustainable, and shade grown. We make occasional exceptions for beautiful shade-grown coffees grown responsibly without pesticides but not yet certified organic.
- We use cellophane-lined bags instead of plastic or polypropylene-lined. Cellophane is made from wood cellulose, so it is 100% biodegradable. Because of the slight porosity, cellophane is not used by roasters who are worried about shelf life, but because our coffee does not sit on store shelves for long periods, we can use this material with no trade-off in quality. Once the metal tie is removed from our bags, they are recyclable or compostable.
- We use food-safe stainless steel bins to mix our blends instead of the plastic bins which are standard in the industry. Your beans literally never touch plastic or aluminum from the time they are packed into burlap sacks at the country of origin to the time they are poured into your grinder.
- We compost coffee bean chaff (a waste product of the roasting process) and pay extra for paper (compostable) half gallon milk jugs, rather than plastic gallon milk jugs.
- All test batches, expired batches, or batches that do not meet our requirements are composted or donated to local food banks
- All inks we use are soy-based. All papers (except for our coffee bags – we’re still looking for cellophane-lined recycled paper bags) have post-consumer recycled content of 50% or greater, and are unbleached. All cleaning products are greenest non-toxic products we can find, and all appliances are the most energy-efficient on the market.
- All customer communications are done over the internet whenever possible.
They’re official!
[Thanks Ed for taking the Affogato pics. Still have stage fright with the camera.]
[Thanks Brian for leading the way.]
This is a great story!
Bob’s Red Mill Natural Products has been a staple in my kitchen for years because of their awesome selection of organic, whole grain, and gluten-free products. (Flaxseed meal, whole wheat flour, and polenta corn grits are a few favorites.) The name may not grab you, but I bet the label will seem familiar. With over 400 products and over 30 years in the business, chances are you’ve bought something or at least seen it on the shelves.
Ok, here’s the coolest part…
On Bob’s 81st birthday last month, it was announced that an Employee Stock Ownership Plan would be created, making Bob’s Red Mill an employee-owned company, even with several opportunities to sell for much, much more. I love stuff like this! Somehow I can’t wait to restock.
We eat a ton of salad every week, so here’s my favorite quick and easy recipe for a basic vinaigrette. If I’m really on my game I’ll triple the recipe so I have enough for a few days. (Just store in a mason jar or a leftover glass jar and it’s ready and waiting.)
I think a true basic vinaigrette would use regular dijon mustard and champagne vinegar, but for this go-round I used a coarse stone ground mustard with apple cider vinegar. So I don’t get bored, I’ll usually try to switch or add an ingredient here and there. Sometimes I’ll add a finely grated clove of garlic, or a diced shallot. These small changes make a big difference in the taste of the salad, so it’s a nice little cheat.
Basic French vinaigrette (Serves 2)
- 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- few dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Whisk together the vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, honey, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. (Or just add it in with everything else…I don’t really notice a difference.)
Toss gently with salad greens just before serving.
A few years ago, I started transitioning to organic products both in and out of the kitchen. While looking for organic produce and proteins are fairly simple, it is a very different story with health and beauty products. For one, many, many brands claim to be All Natural or Organic, but in reality there are not. Secondly, finding the organic product that’s right for you can be daunting and overwhelming. With on-going help and research with mom we now have a solid arsenal of products that we rely on every day.
One of our staples is organic cocnut oil; a wonderful treat for your skin and hair. (I haven’t tried the scalp massage method as my hair tends to be on the oily side, but hope to try one of these Sundays.) With its antioxidant and antibacterial properties, coconut oil not only acts as a great moisturizer but also a remedy for premature aging and various skin conditions. Also available for use in the kitchen, there are other benefits that come from using it in cooking as well.
Some tips:
- Available online at Amazon, or from health food stores. Whole Foods has a few different brands to choose from.
- I use it at few times a week, but as it’s an oil it’s not always practical to apply it if you shower just before bed. I’d say it takes about 15 minutes to absorb.
- If you buy a big jar, split it into two jars so you can save the other half for later, and that way you’re only sticking your hands into one jar at a time. [via mom 
]
