pep talk

Sometimes life is hard. There are times when one must deal with a mile long to-do list, computers that go haywire just so they can laugh at your frustration, and overdue college papers no where near completion. Also absolutely nonresurrectable car batteries don't help either. In order to pull through, one needs a little pep talk. That's why I was dancing exuberantly in front of my mailbox this morning: MY PEP TALK HAD ARRIVED!!!
     Actually it was just an order of loose tea from the Tea Spot in Colorado, but it couldn't have been more appropriately timed. I immediately put water on to boil and tore into the package of goodness.

  

What I got:

• Pumpkin Spice Chai (Black tea, ginger root, peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and pumpkin.)
• Silver Needle White Tea (Organic tea from Fujian, China.)
• Hibiscus Petals  (100% organic Hibiscus petals.)  
• Chocolate Peppermint Patty (Black tea, peppermint, chocolate flavoring.)

Of course, because I couldn't find my tea strainer, I had to make do with paper towels and salad tongs, but it was worth the hard work. I've never had a more refreshing sip o' tea! And ohhhhh the smells that came wafting up from my precious tea tins! There are no suitable words to describe the balmy sweetness. You will just have to put in your own order to find out. I know that I will be shopping on the teaspot.com quite a bit in the near future :)

reallll smooth

          Lately, I've been on this smoothie kick where I throw together some fresh produce and whip it up into a nice breakfast treat. It is a quick and easy way to stuff some nutrients into your body, plus smoothies simply taste wonderful :) Here are a few of my favorite 'recipes' that I've tried out on my guinea pigs (aka the fam.)

mango smoothie: (recipe source -- Wishes and Dishes)

1 cup cubed/peeled/frozen mango
3/4 cup banana
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

 Since I'd never tried using a mango before, this recipe was a pleasant surprise. The texture was unusually thick and creamy. Definitely making this one again...

kiwi/kale smoothie: (recipe source -- Diethood)

2 bananas
2 kiwis
1 cup kale tightly packed
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 cup ice

 

 The kiwi/kale smoothie is by far my favorite! My observant brother said that it looked like seaweed, and I have to agree, but the flavor is out of this world.

chocolate banana smoothie: (recipe source -- Baker by Nature)

2 frozen bananas
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. honey
1 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups almond milk

Chocolate and bananas..... mmmmm. Can't go wrong with that combination!

coconut strawberry smoothie:

There is no recipe for this one: I made it up! I do remember throwing in some strawberries and blueberries which made it turn pink, but the main ingredient was coconut meat/water.

 

          That's the beauty of blenders -- you can throw in pretty much anything you want and it still tastes good. (Within reason.)

 

          If you are ever interested in some other smoothie idees, check out these links:

 

The Collegiate Vegan

Skinny Mom

Averie Cooks

on pomegranates and dying poets

Pomegranates:
     It has always been one of my 'unofficial' New Year's resolutions to live life more adventurously.
A phobia of mine is that I'll fall into the ruts of daily life and forget how to be impulsive and daring.
That's why I bought myself a pomegranate yesterday: I've never had one before, so of course I had to try it. (Eating a pomegranate is totally impulsive and daring -- right?)

 

     Scoop out the seeds, put 'em on a salad and BAM! you've got yourself a beautiful treat. Not only does it taste good, but it looks like you're eating bright red gems. And it's healthy.

 

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Dying Poets:
     This is what the piano looks like when there are three musicians living in the house:

Music. Is. Everywhere.
     The piano bookcase is full, so books and sheet music kinda spill out onto the piano bench/floor/parakeet cage/etc.
     Recently, I've been trying to conquer the song "Dying Poet" by Louis Moreau Gottschalk. It's not a difficult piece, but it's rather long. Sometimes I wish the poet would just hurry up and die. (Not really.)

 

What things have been a part of your life recently?

persimmon cookies

 

Today was one of those days when one feels like doing a bit of cooking and cleaning, rocking out to Josh Turner while washing the dishes, and hanging up some pictures that have been sitting in the closet.

I made persimmon cookies for the first time ever. It was a laborious process. Pick the berries off the tree, wash them, take out all the seeds (which turns your fingers orange until the end of time), figure out why the blender isn't working, stir it by hand instead, and stick the cookies in the oven. They are even more delectable than I anticipated, so all the hard work was worth it.

I just wish we had remembered to add some black walnuts. Then they would have been Missouri Native Persimmon Cookies.
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In other headlines, Laurel got her passport in the mail! That means she is hoping to go to FLORENCE ITALY IN NOVEMBER!!!!! Dad and I have been spending huge amounts of time pouring over travel guides and maps. If it all works out, we plan to visit several museums and churches as well as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Mediterranean Sea.

So yeah. Exciting stuff. Are you kidding? I CAN'T EVEN HOLD STILL BECAUSE THERE'S SO MUCH HAPPINESS IN MY BRAIN!

I will fill you in on all the details later, dear readers.
In the meantime, enjoy life and laugh often. Ta-ta-- Laurel

sugar and spice and all things nice

So I was trying to improve my blog labels and accidentally deleted my previous post on tea and hot chocolate. *face palm* I'm not going to write it all out again (sorry!), but I will include the pictures and directions once more.

1 cup tea (I used pumpkin spice tea which blended nicely with the hot chocolate, but be adventurous and try your own flavor!)
1 cup hot chocolate
The book New England Wilderness

Fill your mug 3/4 of the way full with hot chocolate and top it off with tea.
I suggest you drink it over the book "New England Wilderness" to satisfy your desire to travel; there are lots of detailed descriptions and beautiful photos of the rugged northeastern landscape.

Happy Autumn and Enjoy!

spinach chips

      I have never liked spinach at all. One of my earliest memories was when Mom handed me stewed spinach on a plate and I stared at it in startled terror. It was nasty stuff—not even Popeye could beguile me to try it.

            Now that I am older and wiser, I am trying to reform my eating habits, which means spinach and other green things are necessities.

I get to be adventurous and try exotic things like yogurt covered fruit, feta with zucchini, and spinach chips.  

 

Spinach chips are the easiest things to make in the world. Just a little olive oil, some sea salt and herbs—bake them for 15 min. at 300 degrees and voila! You’ve got a healthy snack to last you till the next meal.  (You can find a more detailed recipe here.)

 

 

Note to self: take it easy on the sea salt the next time.

ain't nothin' like....

Clara and I decided to make something with tomatoes yesterday. It was not only a delicious meal, it somehow turned into a video:)

 

Homemade Christmas {hot chocolate}

     Though this recipe is already on the world wide web, I just had to share it with you! It makes so much hot chocolate mix that I am going to have to give some away for Christmas. Once again my mason jars will come in handy for that:)


HOT CHOCOLATE:

(Makes 15 cups of mix or 45 servings. I know! That's a lot!)

10 cups dry milk powder
4 3/4 sifted confectioners sugar
1 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups powdered non-dairy creamer (there are different flavors)

and don't forget some small marshmallows, and peppermint sticks:)

Chocolate was discovered in the 16th century when Spanish explorer Cortez brought it to Spain from the Aztecs Indians. The Spanish made it a hot sweetened beverage and guarded their precious drink carefully---  It wasn't until a century later when it began to spread across Europe. That's when chocolate houses started up in England and became extremely popular. Thank you Cortez! :)

masterpiece

The beginnings of a good homemade pie start in a blackberry patch. Where else? Today our berries were just becoming soft and ripened so I thought I’d make a pie. Once you pick four or five cups of berries you can go straight to the kitchen and wash your harvest for the sweetening process. Half a cup of sugar, some water, a little cornstarch; you don’t need much to make it taste good. Dump the berries into a pie crust, stick it in the oven and you’ve got dessert for tonight---all finished in a couple of hours.

(My top crust tends to be a little patchy looking at times, but it just makes it look artistic.)

 PIE (with fresh berries):

4-5 cups of berries (for 9 inch pie plate)

Mix in:

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2/3-1 cup sugar (I used ½ a cup)

Let fruit sit for 15 minutes before pouring into pie plate. Cover with crust. Bake at 450 degrees F. for

10 minutes before reducing temperature to 350 and baking for 40 -45 minutes.

EGGGGGGGGSSS!!

     To my knowledge, eggs have never been so abundant in our household before.

Explanation: We are babysitting our neighbor’s chickens for a week which means we get to keep the eggs. (Not to mention our own 11 hens all of which are prolific layers.)

Yesterday, my mom and I washed all 5 dozen eggs to give them away, and yet they are still building up steadily in our refrigerator.

We are beginning to run out of imaginative ideas as to how to use up all these eggs. Any ideas?