Another Batch

I did some more iced tea experimentation the other day, and of course I have to share the results with you. This time I decided to try a pear flavour, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I have some White Pear Tea, and I must admit that I'm not overly fond of it on its own. I thought that if I paired it (pardon the pun) with some black tea, it might turn out to be quite tasty. I'm happy to say I was right.

So on to the recipe. I used three bags of Orange Pekoe tea, and four bags of the White Pear Tea. (I should explain - that is white tea, flavoured with pear.) Once again I made the sugar syrup to add to it, but I did not use lemon juice in this batch. It has a very nice flavour, and the pear is much stronger than I thought it would be. It's not too strong, though - just perfect for me. It's not my favourite batch, but I am enjoying it, and will probably make it again one day.

Not much else for news at the moment, so I shall wish you all a very good night. Take care!

Blueberry Goodness

This afternoon I decided to make the blueberry iced tea, and it turned out quite well. I used three bags of Orange Pekoe, and three bags of herbal blueberry tea. While it was still hot, I didn't get quite the blueberry flavour that I was hoping for, but once it cooled off the blueberry taste came through much better. I also added lemon juice, because I like blueberry and lemon together, and I'm glad I did - it added a nice touch. I can't say this is my favourite blend so far, but it is very enjoyable, and I know I will make it again.

I must give a big thank you to my buddy Brooke. She is also a fan of iced tea, and we've been chatting about our yummy adventures in brewing. Not long ago she mentioned that she made sugar syrup for her tea, rather than just stirring the sugar directly in to the brew. She said she found it worked much better, so I decided to give it a try. I was amazed at the difference. When I add the sugar directly to the tea, it tastes good, but there's a harshness about it. When I use the sugar syrup, it is much smoother - almost silky. It so easy to make, too. I put some sugar in a glass mug or measuring cup, add a bit of water, and toss it in the microwave for about a minute. I start with thirty seconds, then put it in for a fwe more seconds at a time until the sugar is all completely dissolved, and there is a syrupy texture. Once that's done, I add the lemon juice to the syrup. This also makes a huge difference to the lemon juice - the flavour is still there, but it's not quite as tart. Once again, it makes for a smoother flavour and texture. I will definitely continue to use the sugar syrup, and once again, a big thanks to Brooke for letting me in on that!

Oooh, there's a lovely thunderstorm starting up! It's actually been rather toasty in here this evening, so this sudden blast of cool wind coming in the windows is lovely. And of course I love thunderstorms at any time, so I am going to settle in and enjoy this one. Have a wonderful night, everyone!

Apple Pie, Pasta, and Reincarnation

I finally made the apple pie iced tea, and wow, is it good. I used a couple of bags of Orange Pekoe, and a couple of bags of Apple Spice tea. The particular Apple Spice that I buy (Tetley's) really tastes like Apple Pie filling to me - it's lovely. I figured that just using the Apple Spice tea would have been a bit too heavy on the flavour, and I'm happy that I decided to cut it with the Orange Pekoe - it's the perfect taste for me. I didn't take pictures this time - mainly because it looks the same as the last batch.

Last night I put my chef's hat on ( see?) and came up with a version of Alfredo sauce. I cooked up some diced bacon and sliced fresh mushrooms, then added a bit of butter, cream, Parmesan, Romano, and Swiss cheeses, a little nutmeg and garlic powder, and then let it simmer down for several minutes. I then poured it over Rotini pasta and chowed down. It was VERY good, I must say, although certainly not something I'd want on a regular basis. It's quite rich and I admit to having some heartburn to deal with afterwards. Still, it was a lovely treat, and I will likely make it again one day. I ended up with enough for two meals and had the remainder of it for dinner tonight. I'm planning a chicken and vegetable stir-fry with rice for tomorrow, so that will be much healthier and lighter.

I've told a couple of people this in the past, but it bears repeating now. When my time comes and I'm floating around in Spirit, if any of you are there with me, and hear me talking about reincarnating, especially as a woman, please slap me upside the ectoplasm and knock some sense into me. I'm not going to go into gory details, but there are aspects of being a woman that truly suck, especially as one gets older and is in the peri-mentalpause stages. And those flipping Always "Have a happy period!" ads do NOT help my state of mind. Happy period my ass. I swear, whoever came up with that assinine slogan should be shot. Honestly, I refuse to buy their products just on principal due to the stupidity of those ads, and I'm betting I'm not the only one. Too bad for them though, because these days they could be making a ton of money off me. Hm, if I die before the git that came up with the slogan does, I think I'll make it a point to go haunt him for awhile. Or her, but come on - it has to be a man that thought that gem up. No self-respecting woman would be that stupid. But I digress. Just remember to give me that smack if you hear me planning a comeback, please. You can even quote this blog post at me if you need some additional persuasive material.

Not much else to natter about tonight. The weather has been much cooler - it's pretty much autumn weather now. I've even noticed a few leaves starting to turn. Of course this all suits me just fine. Autumn is my favourite season, and I'm loving this cooler weather. The only downside is that it got so chilly in the house today that I actually had to close the windows. It's supposed to be a bit warmer over the next few days, so I'll still get some fresh air in here. For now, I'll enjoy not having the heat, and will wish you all a very good night.

Refreshing!

I've always loved iced tea, but I find that most commercial iced tea mixes contain far to much sugar. Because of that, I didn't drink it very often, as sugar just makes me thirstier. Not to mention it's just plain not good to have too much of it. So in the last year, I've gotten more into making homemade iced tea, which is so much better than the commercial powdered preparations. I never did it much before because by the time I thought about it, I wanted some right at that moment, and as it takes awhile for the tea to cool down, it's not exactly an instant drink.

I tend to drink a fair bit of hot tea at home, but I don't normally finish a whole pot. One evening I was about to dump the remainder of the tea down the drain, when it occurred to me to pour it in a jug and make a bit of iced tea to have the next day. After doing this a few times, I started brewing tea specifically to make my own iced tea, and I've been enjoying it immensely. Normally I use Orange Pekoe tea, add a bit of sugar and lemon juice, and let the concoction chill in the fridge for at least a few hours. It's very tasty and refreshing.

Recently I was digging through my tea cupboard, looking through all my herbal and flavoured teas, and it dawned on me that I could probably come up with a wicked iced tea blend. So today I decided to experiment. In a large Pyrex pitcher, I used three Orange Pekoe tea bags, two Mandarin Orange Spice herbal tea bags, and one Peppermint herbal tea bag. Once they had all steeped, I removed the tea bags and added a bit of sugar and lemon juice. I am very happy to say that this is probably the best iced tea I have ever had. Very refreshing and delicious.

I must say, when I use lemon juice, I use organic, not from concentrate lemon juice. I would advise that if you try making your own iced tea, use that, or squeeze juice from fresh lemons. Stay away from the usual bottled lemon juices - I find they have an odd flavour, and are not as good as the fresh (or organic squeezed and bottled) juices.

I will definitely be making this blend again, and I'm looking forward to playing around with some other flavours. I am already planning on doing a mix with some Apple Pie tea that I have, as well as another with an herbal blueberry tea. For the next couple of days I will be enjoying the current recipe, and I will leave you with a picture to drool over.