For my Saturday afternoon Pampered Chef party, I made orange-almond scones served with a fruity chocolate tea. And what goes better with scones than a bit of jam and some whipped cream? Why nothing, save the great company. A delicious time was had by all!

Afterward, I had half a pint of heavy whipping cream sitting in the fridge and probably a cup of cream whipped with stevia in a bowl. Save indulgence in a particularly favored aged cheddar cheese, I rarely have dairy in my world, so the cream sat there for two days before I decided something must be done. If there’s anything I abhor, it’s wasted food. I used the last of the cream I had whipped with a touch of stevia in George’s coffee, yet there was still that undulcified cream… so I thumbed through my recipe books and decided to attempt some mini quiche.

I can’t remember ever trying quiche before this. Since I already had a cauldron of chili simmering on the stove, I felt quite up to a culinary adventure. I rummaged through the fridge and brought out a couple of eggs, the last of a jar of artichoke hearts, a red pepper and I snipped some green onion fresh from the garden. The original recipe called for bacon, though I just added a bit of hickory smoke to the veggies and it tasted grand. I made a half batch of pie crust, chopped veggies and whisked eggs and cream, and 30 minutes later, I popped a tray of mini-quiche into the oven. I’d say I did well with the timing considering I made the crust from scratch, as well, and I had to cut and form it 24 times in the little mini-muffin pan instead of once in a great big pie pan – plus, it was the first time I’ve made this recipe.

After all that, I still have enough cream to make at least one more batch. I suppose this means I should arrange to host a tea party. The little quiche are very filling, so it’s probably a good idea to spread them around amongst friends. Anyone up for tea and quiche?

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

I simply have fallen off the Internet map this past week in a whirlwind of preparation and training to be a Pampered Chef consultant. I know… Pampered Chef!

I’m an artist/jeweler so I love tools. Check.

I’m French and Italian, so I’m genetically predisposed to cook and bake. Check.

I love teaching and interacting with people. Check.

Could this be a more perfect fit? I joined last week and my first show is tonight. I’m very excited! Wish me luck!

Anyway, I apologize for not making a really delicious post, I’ve simply run out of time. Thanks for hanging in there with me. I’ll be back next week with one of the recipes I cooked over the weekend. Stay tuned…

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

A new study in the Nutrition journal published on January 18, 2010, showed that green tea’s antioxidant catechins are readily absorbed by our bodies. This is great news! First, a little science…

Catechins are plant-based compounds that are highly antioxidant. Antioxidants are food-based nutrients that naturally prevent or slow the damage that oxygen causes over time.

“What? Oxygen? Hey, we breathe that stuff,” I hear you say.

Well, yes. Yet as our cells use the oxygen we breathe, they produce by-products known as free radicals. It’s the free radicals that cause damage like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Enough science. Simply put, green tea is chuck full of tasty antioxidants and this new study was conducted to prove or disprove all the other studies about how well green tea was absorbed in our systems. The study concluded that our bodies absorb the antioxidants amazingly well and that continued drinking of green tea on a regular basis provides our systems with an abundance of protection… and that’s something to drink to! Cheers!

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

References:
Nutrition
Tea News

It’s been busy, of late. So busy, I’m a bit behind on my sleep. What do I reach for when my energy level is low? Ginseng oolong tea! This oolong tea is specially prepared with powdered ginseng root and rolled into nuggets that unfurl more with each steep. It smells clean and strongly of ginseng. It’s just a pleasure to have by my side on a Monday.

Ginseng root has been noted for its many purported health benefits over the centuries. Some believe it lowers blood pressure and blood sugar and aids in lessening the effects of menopause, yet it is most famous for its stimulating properties. Ginseng is said to clear the mind, improve mental facilities and improve overall energy. Whether this is true for everyone is up to debate, yet I’ll offer a general caution that the combination of green tea that contains caffeine and ginseng may not be the ideal evening tea.

There is a really sweet flavor throughout the mouth both in front and in the back (please see my article: The Art of Sipping Tea for an explanation.) I find it leaves a very refreshing sense of clean in my mouth quite a long time after being drunk. I habitually have a pot of tea by my side as I work and I often fall prey to being so consumed that I forget to sip my tea. While some teas taste less impressive when they are cold, I find that Ginseng Oolong tastes equally great in both thermal extremes. I often brew an extra pot of it and leave it on the counter to grow cold for later.

A good ginseng oolong, like most oolongs, is good for several steeps. The ginseng flavor should stay with the tea throughout all the brews. I know I have a good quality tea when both the ginseng and the green tea flavors are both still present in my 5th steep. I find that the first brew is flavorful, the second and third steeps are where the flavors peak, the fourth and fifth require longer steep times to retain the same flavor intensity and the sixth is usually the final steep. Any further steeps are too diminished in taste unless you have a really superior oolong.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Some of the best medical studies of the effects of green tea are coming out of Asia. This past week, a Taiwanese study** showed that tea drinkers were five times less likely to have lung cancer.

So what does this mean for smokers? The study of 510 people indicated that simply drinking one cup of green tea per day lowered their risk thirteen-fold. The doctors were quick to remind smokers that drinking a cup of green tea a day is not a substitution for quitting, yet it may help mitigate the risk a bit.

Non-smokers with a genetic history of lung cancer in the family also seemed to enjoy a reduced risk. The researchers found that the antioxidants seemed to have a greater effect on people with a specific growth factor genotype.

The doctors believe that it may be the antioxidant quality of green tea that helps modulate the cancer risk. Genetics definitely plays a huge role, yet why wouldn’t we take every possible advantage? If you like the taste of green tea, drink a cup a day to keep the cancer at bay!

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

** Reference articles:
World Tea News article

Personal Liberty Digest article

The smell and taste of green tea make me happy. It’s a very simple and very real truth. Still, it’s not a very scientific, is it? I’ve mentioned before the studies on how drinking green tea may lessen the likelihood of depression (my article) and now there is another study from Dr. Siao Ou Shu at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Women who survive breast cancer are at great risk of depression complicating their recoveries. Dr. Shu and his colleagues studied 1,399 Chinese women, 54 and older, who have survived breast cancer in Shanghai, China. They noticed that women who exercised regularly had 30% less chance of being diagnosed with clinical depression.

Further, the 183 women who drank tea had a 36% lower risk of developing depression. The majority (90%) of those women drank green tea.

One thing I’d like to know is whether any of those 183 tea drinkers overlapped the exercisers and, if they did, if their risks were even further reduced.

On a tangent… really? Only 183 of 1,399 women over 54 years of age drink tea in China? Really? I’m shocked. Truly shocked. I know that many younger Chinese have turned to soda over tea, yet all the older Chinese women I’ve known are loyal tea drinkers. Both the men and women are incredibly fond of their regional tea and, once they realize I’m interested, proselytize about that tea with great fervor.

Am I the only one who is curious about the incredibly small percent of Chinese women drinking tea? Do you know any Chinese women over 50 who do NOT drink tea? I don’t think I do.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Original article from Reuters.

I just found out that January is National Hot Tea Month! Wow! How exciting! In the Northern hemisphere, hot tea is the best thing ever on a cold January day. I’m currently cradling a pot of Japanese Gyokuro tea as I type this. Actually, there it is in the picture. A two-cup pot with the little cosy I made for it, a little cup, two Clementine tangerines, and some candles. My Vitamin C-filled afternoon salvation. A good pot of hot tea is an inspiration on chilly days full of fleece and flannel.

What’s your favorite hot tea for cold winter days? I really enjoy some of the bright green Japanese and Chinese teas at the height of winter — like Gyokuro, Sencha, and Dragon’s Well. They are just jammed with Vitamin C to help keep my immune system running. In the evenings, I really enjoy a smokier tea, like a Pu-erh. There’s nothing like a smoky tea to remind me of sitting by a warm campfire on a cool evening during camping season. Since I don’t have a fireplace, I need to improvise. A few candles and smoky tea take me part of the way there.

The other night, I was sipping a wonderful little flavored Pu-erh that someone gifted me last year while I was making a necklace. Maybe it was the combination of candles and smoky tea, maybe it was the contrast of cool room and hot tea, I’m not sure, yet the resulting necklace was a combination of warm green and dark red garnets, much like the green tea with it’s little red flower petals. I honestly didn’t even notice until I went to empty the strainer the next morning.

Tea is inspiration.

Happy National Hot Tea Month!

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

After quite a cold snap in December, January has been down right balmy. Little bits of green have been poking through the ground for weeks and some of them are baring blooms. I share with you, photos from my walk today.

A beautifully scented bush with berries and blooms.

Hellebores

A field of Snow Drops

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

Yesterday, I posted on Facebook and Twitter that I was making a big cauldron of minestrone soup for dinner and last year, I blogged about making my minestrone soup with carrot flowers.

I developed my minestrone recipe after a dinner in an Italian restaurant where the chef recreated his Mother’s cooking for his patrons. It was an impressive soup. I found myself taking a sip then jotting down notes in my little notebook; taking another sip and making more notes. I went home that night and tried to reproduce the soup. It was good, though not great. A few weeks later, I returned to the restaurant and ordered the minestrone soup again and made yet more notes. The next pot of soup I made was perfectly delicious – though not quite the same as his. Everything I make is always different from the original because I usually make it vegan and with very little fat. Hey, I know how much oil and butter they use in restaurants. My conscience could never allow me to do that in my own kitchen. I feel that restaurant food is a delicious – and occasional – change from home cooking.

Since I posted a picture without the recipe, I now present my Minestrone Soup Recipe!

MiLady’s Minestrone Soup

This recipe serves 4-5. I usually double it so I have oodles of leftovers.

1 c dried beans — I tend to use a combination of white, kidney, red and black beans.  Since I soak and cook them myself (rather than canned), I have lots of options. Click here for my method of cooking beans from scratch.
1 T olive oil
¾ c chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
drop of liquid hickory smoke flavor
3 c water
1 small zucchini, julienned
1 c carrot, diced, shredded, or sliced into flowers or hearts
¾ c celery, sliced
¼ c fresh basil, chopped OR 1 tsp dried
¼ tsp dried oregano or 1T fresh chopped oregano
18 oz diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
¼ c uncooked ditalini macaroni*** (optional)

After I’ve cooked the beans from scratch, I drain them into a colander and rinse the pot. Then I put it back on the stove with the olive oil and heat it to sauté the onions and garlic until they are translucent. If I don’t have time to fire roast the tomatoes (and how many of us have that much time?), I add a drop of two of liquid hickory smoke for flavor.

I add the water and bring this all to a slow boil on medium heat.

Next I add the zucchini, carrots, celery, tomatoes (and pasta, if you plan to add it) and all my herbs and spices. When this returns to a low boil, I reduce the heat to low and allow it to sit for a few hours so the flavors really soak into each other. It should taste smooth and creamy with a bit of tomato tang. If it’s too tangy, add ½ tsp sugar and 1 T freshly squeezed lemon to even out the flavor.

*** I usually make my minestrone without pasta. I find it’s very hearty as it stands with all those beans in it. Plus, it’s gluten-free in case any of my celiac friends drop by for dinner. The other option (to prevent overcooking the ditalini) is to cook the macaroni separately and add it to the bowls before you ladle in the soup. This minestrone soup also works well served with garlic bread.

Any soup containing beans has a timeline, which looks something like this:

While making Supper on Day 1: Rinse beans, add to hot water.
While making Breakfast on Day 2: Cook the beans.
While making Lunch on Day 2: Strain the beans, make the soup, then allow it to slow cook.
Evening of Day 2: Soup should be ready to eat for dinner.

It sounds like a lot more work than it is. It really is fast and easy after the first time or two.

Anyway, have a try at it and let me know what you think.

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!

I have received a request for my Split Pea Soup recipe. Honestly, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m horrible at writing my recipes down for posterity. The baking ones I usually write and amend as I change things, yet most other dishes are floating through my head, made up on the spot, or a loose list of ingredients. My Split Pea recipe falls into the last category. So, here I will recreate – with measurements – my recipe. Please let me know how this works for you and tell me about your results.

Split Pea Soup
1 T Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
salt to taste
2 c dried split peas, rinsed and picked over
5-6 cups water (start with 5 cups and add more in part 2 if needed)
½ lemon, juiced
1 carrot
1-2 stalks of celery, sliced thinly
paprika, thyme, and ground pepper to taste

Part 1: I sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil in my big stock pot. I then add the water (usually I’ve already boiled it in my electric kettle to shorten the process), the salt, and bring this to almost a boil on medium heat. Now it’s time to add the split peas. Just as it hits the boiling point again, I reduce the heat to simmer and let it alone for at least 30 minutes. I come from the school of slow cooking, so I usually begin this process just after I’ve cleaned the breakfast dishes and leave it be until after lunch.

Part 2: You’ll know the peas are ready when they are a mushy kind of soft. At this point, pour half of the pot into a blender and purée it. Pour this back into the pot and stir it together. If it’s too thick, this is the time to add the 6th cup of water.

I usually add a little water into the blender container and swish it around to get all the good goop off the sides. This diluted pea water (gosh, that sounds gross, eh?) is the perfect time to add chunks of the carrot and grind to bits on a low speed. It saves me having to chop or slice them. My Vitamix makes nice small pebbles of carrot that are perfectly appropriate to the soup. Pour the carrots and water into the pot.

Add the chopped celery, lemon juice, and spices and allow it to simmer until you’re ready for dinner. I usually taste it along the way to see how I’m doing for flavor.

Almost everything I make is vegan, though I’ll not dissuade you from adding ham to this. I believe there are many very French recipes that include little cubes of ham or a ham bone. I’d say throw that into the pot with the water at the very beginning so the flavor really is a part of the soup from the first. I also believe the French use butter instead of olive oil to sauté the onions and garlic. It will add an additional layer of creaminess to the soup.

Remember, send me pictures and comments on how this recipe works for you!

Breathe deeply,
Laugh with abandon,
Love wholly,
Eat well.

MiLady Carol
www.GreenTeaLady.com
http://miladycarol.com
Dazzling jewelry that reflects sparkling personalities!