Iced Tea, Summer's Elixir

With the summer heat fast approaching it’s time to make some room in your fridge for iced tea. Iced tea may just be the king or queen of summer drinks. June, National Iced Tea Month, is the prefect time to revisit iced tea.

During the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, iced tea became vogue. Richard Blechynden, India Tea Commissioner and Director of the East Indian Pavilion, was having trouble serving hot tea to fair goers, considering the scorching heat of the summer day. He quickly decided to serve the tea over ice and the crowds loved it. The rest, they say, is history. Today 85% of the tea consumed in America is over ice.

The oldest recipe for iced tea can be found in many 1800’s cookbooks, these recipes where called punches. They were made with green, not black, tea with touches of alcohol, sugar and fruit.

A number of recent studies suggest that tea (black, green, hot or iced) can prevent cancers and may prevent heart disease. The chemical polyphenol in tea has powerful antioxidant properties. Polyphenols deactivates cancer-causing agents by neutralizing tissue-damaging free radicals.

I know lemonade is sweet and tart, but iced tea can refresh and protect your health. Besides, you can always make lemonade-iced tea.


Strawberry Mint Tea

I like the delicate taste of green tea with strawberries but if you are out of green tea, black tea will work just fine.

6 cups of water
½ cup sugar
8 green tea bags
1 pint of fresh strawberries, stems removed and quartered
a handful of fresh mint, chopped

Boil water in large pot. Add sugar, tea, strawberries and mint. Turn off heat and stir. Let steep for 15 minutes. Remove tea bags. Let steep and cool for 30 minutes. Pour through a fine-meshed sieve into a gallon container. Add enough water to fill container. Serve over ice.

Yield: one gallon



Ginger Iced Tea

The spicy bite of ginger is refreshing to the end.

6 cups of water
7 black tea bags
4 1” pieces of ginger, about 3T chopped
½ cup sugar


Boil water in large pot. Add sugar, tea and ginger. Turn off heat and stir. Let steep for 15 minutes. Remove tea bags. Let steep and cool for 30 minutes. Pour through a fine-meshed sieve into a gallon container. Add enough water to fill container. Serve over ice.

Yield: one gallon

From Garden to Plate

The sky is clear. The sun is shining brightly. Spring is aglow and bursting with color. The April rains have come and gone. Their job is complete, they have left May flowers and I am hungry for slow, lazy days and edible flowers.

Edible flowers add the perfect touch to desserts, salads and drinks. I especially love flowers crystallized. They instantly transform delicate flowers to candy like beauties. Before you don your plate with flowers there are a few rules to enjoying their beauty and taste.

First, make sure they are not treated with any insecticides. The best way to insure safe flowers is to grow your own. Second, if you are allergy-prone, it's best to skip flowers altogether. And last and most importantly, always check to see if they are edible. Some common edible flowers are Dandelion, Fuchsia, Impatiens, Jasmine, Lilac, Primrose, Pansy, Safflower and Squash blossom. A few flowers to avoid are Buttercup, Daffodil, Hyacinth, Lily of the Valley, Mistletoe and Sweet pea.

This list is by no means complete. You can search the web for a more extensive list. There are several books on the subject as well.

Edible Flowers: Desserts and Drinks by Cathy Wilkinson Barash
Edible Flowers: From Garden to Kitchen by Kathy Brown
Edible Flower Garden by Rosalind Creasy

So, go ahead and enjoy the warm spring days ahead and don't forget to take some time to eat the flowers. The edible, safe and insecticide free, flowers.

Crystallized Flowers

Crystallized flowers can instantly transform any dessert to something extra special.

1 egg white
caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Edible flowers (free of chemicals)
wax paper
paintbrush and tweezers

Lightly beat egg white. Carefully hold one flower at a time with tweezers. Paint each petal evenly with egg white. Sprinkle sugar on all surfaces. Place flowers on wax paper to dry for at least an hour. After the first drying check for any missed surfaces. Reapply egg white and sugar to any uncovered surfaces.

Let dry complete for 48 hours. Sort, layer (with wax paper) and store flowers in an airtight jar for up to three months.

The Many Tastes of Licorice

Offer someone licorice and odds are they will expect a black soft chewy candy that taste, well like licorice. But "licorice candy" can also be strawberry, cherry and chocolate flavor. The majority of licorice candy produced in America is flavored with anise, which taste like licorice. Now if you are in the produce section looking for something unusual to serve for a special dinner you may be tempted to try something labeled anise, which is actually fennel. Is your head spinning? Let's take a closer look at licorice and licorice flavor.

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Licorice is an herb, Glycyrrhiza glabra, which is processed and sold primary as an extract. Anise is a spice, Pimpinella anisum, and is harvested for its seeds. Star Anise is a spice, Illicium verum, that is sold and used dried. And Fennel is an herb, Foeniculum vulgare, which can be found in the produce section in most grocery stores and is eaten raw or cooked. Licorice root contains glycyrrhizic acid, the plants major component, which is extremely sweet. Anise, star anise and fennel contain the chemical anethole, which mirrors true licorice flavor. All four have been used to treat a variety of lung disorders.

With so much to choose from no wonder April 12 in National Licorice Day. I checked, mail will be delivered that day and banks will be open. I will celebrate with a bag of black licorice candy. If you feel like exploring give fennel a try, besides it's in season.


Star Anise Rice Pudding

This sweet and spicy rice pudding is the grown-up comfort food.

2 cups water
1 cup arborio rice
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
1 teaspoon of five-star powder (see note)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shredded sweeten coconut
1 cup milk

Place water and rice in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for ten minutes. Add coconut milk and spices and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until thick and creamy. remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, coconut and milk. Cool in refrigerator for 2 hours. Additional milk can be added if too thick.

Yield: 4 cups


Five-Star Powder
This traditional Chinese spice can be purchased in many grocery stores. If you can not find it you can make your own. It has an unique complex flavor - sweet, bitter, sour, pungent and salty.

2 star anise, pods and seeds
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon whole cloves

Combine all ingredients and ground in a coffee mill.

Yield: 2 tablespoons

Sorrel, a Glimpse of Spring

Ah, March and spring is at our doorstep with all of its color and green bounty awaiting our welcome. It may still be a bit cold and windy but the promise of spring is ours.

One of my favorite spring plants/food is sorrel. It grows back every spring in my small garden box. In fact, some winters, if it is mild, it is still available for picking.

The unique taste of sorrel is like no other. It has a lemony bitter tang that burst with every bite. Sorrel is a very popular herb in France. It is used in sauces, soups, salads, drinks and eggs. It is rich in vitamin A, B1, C and potassium. Sorrel will grow throughout the summer and add flavor to many dishes. Create a space for sorrel in your garden you will not be disappointed.

Online sources for sorrel seeds:

http://www.parkseed.com/
http://www.yankeegardener.com/
http://www.victoryseeds.com/

Sorrel Omelette
The tang from the sorrel and creamy feta are delightful in this omelette.

10 sorrel leaves, stems removed
2 teaspoons butter, divided
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
salt and pepper to taste

Cut sorrel leaves into thin strips. Saute in pan with 1 teaspoon of butter until leaves have wilted and turned dark green. Remove pan from heat.

Beat eggs, water, salt and pepper lightly, then stir in sorrel. Melt remaining butter in omelette pan. Add eggs when butter hot and bubbling. Give pan a good shake and left edges with spatula. When eggs are cooked, fold 1/3 of eggs over and then the other 1/3 over. Side omelette onto a plate and enjoy.

Yield: one serving

Biscotti

Seeing that it is February, now may be a safe time to start talking about cookies again. The most versatile cookies, in my opinion, are Biscotti. The dough can be easily altered to cover a huge range of sweet flavors, as well as savory ones.

Biscotti in Italian means "more than one cooking or baked twice". (Bis - more than one, cotto - cooking) Some similar National versions are the German zwieback, British hardtack, Jewish mandelbrot, Greek paxemadia and Russian sukhariki.

Bsicotti have been around since Roman times. A Tuscan baker served them with wine. This quickly spread across Italy prompting countless versions to pop up throughout the Italian countryside. The dry texture and long shelf life make them perfect for travelers.

The following recipe can easily be adapted to create something new by simply replacing the lemon and poopy seeds for something else. Go ahead and have some fun. Be creative and dazzle your taste buds. The holidays are over; why not celebrate with some biscotti.

Lemon Poppy Seed Biscotti

This light, sweet crunchy cookie is perfect for dunking.

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl mix sugar, butter, eggs and lemon zest until smooth and creamy. Add flour, baking powder, poppyseeds and extract to sugar mixture. Mix well.

With floured hands shape dough into a 16" x 3" log and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove log from oven, let cool for 5 minutes on pan. With a serrated knife carefully slice the log into about 18 cookies. Bake cookies addtional 10 minutes on each side. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 18 cookies

Vanilla Bean, the Edible Orchid

Vanilla conjures up many things when mentioned. One may remember the rich vanilla taste in homemade vanilla ice cream on a summer day, a vanilla candle that gives off a warm and soft smell or a steamy hot vanilla mocha cappuccino. Either way you can't help but be enveloped by its sweet exotic lure.

Vanilla beans or pods are an edible fruit of an orchid, vanilla frafrans. Of the thousands of orchids, the vanilla plant is the only one that produces an edible fruit. A small, trumpet-like flower grows on a vine, when the flower opens it is hand-pollinated to produce the fruit, vanilla pods.

Once the fruit is matured to a green bean, the vanilla beans are harvested and cured. The curing process takes 3 to 6 months. Curing begins by wrapping the beans in blankets, then bundled in straw mats and heated for 24 to 48 hours. The beans are then laid out in the sun to cure, then wrapped back up and allowed to sweat overnight for several days. At this point the beans are dark, oily and pliable. A few more months of drying in the shade are needed to complete the curing process. During the curing process the beans develop their distinctive vanilla flavor.

Vanilla beans are well worth the extra effort to purchase. They keep very well in airtight containers ready to enhance many memorable sweet dishes and not so sweet dishes, like bread.



A few vanilla bean sources on line are :

http://www.topvanilla.com/

http://www.beanilla.com/

http://www.thevanillashop.com/



Vanilla Bread
This bread taste best toasted. It has a light crunch and sweet vanilla aroma.

1 cup warm water
1 pkg dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
4 to 4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Mix water and yeast together in a large mixing bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add sugar, salt, vanilla, milk and 2 cups of flour. Beat for 3 minutes. Add remaining 2 cups of flour and beat until a soft dough forms. Place dough on a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Add flour as needed to keep dough from becoming sticky.

Place dough in a large greased bowl, cover and let rise for one hour.

Punch two holes in dough. Remove dough from bowl and shape into a loaf. Place dough in a greased loaf pan, (9x5x3) cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated 350-degrees oven for 50 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: one loaf



Vanilla Bean Extract
Homemade vanilla extract may take some time but in the long run it will be a great investment or wonderful gift.


5 vanilla beans
2 cups vodka, brandy or rum

Cut beans into 1-inch pieces. Place beans and vodka into a clean jar and cover tightly with lid. Store in a cool dark place for 6 weeks. Use as needed.

Yield: 2 cups