Add a new depth to your usual cup of green tea by infusing it with fresh herbs and fruits. No, not by using flavored tea in teabags don’t you taste the paper? If you watch NCIS: Los Angeles, there was an episode when G. was making a cup of tea for himself and Hetty smirked when she saw the teabag. And she asked, “Don’t you taste the paper?”
I don’t but it’s an interesting anecdote anyway. It’s been ages since I had tea from a teabag. I’ve gotten the hang of the tea ritual warming the teapot and cups, letting the tea leaves steep in hot water then throwing out the water, then pouring in hot water again… I’ve come to like it. A comforting ritual. And there is indeed magic in throwing away the first pot of water as it gets rid of much of the bitterness of the tea leaves.
So, when my younger daughter, Alex, asked for tea yesterday, I didn’t dump a teabag into a cup of hot water. I made a pot of green tea with lemon slices and sprigs of tarragon from the garden. And then we shared the tea. Place the tea leaves in the pot. Pour in hot water. Let steep for about two minutes. Throw out the water. Add the tarragon sprigs and lemon slices to the pot. Fill with hot water. Wait for two to four minutes before pouring the tea into cups.
Blue-Eyed Blonde
Cocktail drinks have such interesting names. I mixed these blue-eyed blondes yesterday while preparing dinner, gave one glass to Speedy and the drink turned out to be so potent that I wondered afterward if I should have used shot glasses instead of tall glasses. But, while drinking it, you’d never know it was so potent. It’s what I’d call a sneaky drink so sweet and smooth and silky, almost like a milkshake.
Orange, Pineapple, and Rum Cocktail
To make cooking an enjoyable experience and make it feel less of a burdensome chore, do something you like while cooking. For instance, listen to music or even dance to music if you can manage it. In my case, the heat and humidity in the kitchen become more bearable when I have a glass of a cold drink while I cook. Yesterday, it was a refreshing cocktail made with orange juice, pineapple juice, and rum.