The season for adding a little rub to some meat and then grilling it for a tasty barbecued dinner is gone, mostly. But that doesn't mean those yummy savory Steeped Tea rubs have to hide in the back of the spice shelf until next spring.
Use them to flavour any meats you are preparing for roasts. And why not add them to meats you are browning too? I was making a crockpot chili yesterday. While I browned the ground turkey meat in the frying pan, I added a couple of teaspoons of the Smoky Tea-aki rub (thanks, Kim, for the sample!) It added a delicious aroma and flavour to the meat that complemented the rest of the chili ingredients.
So get a little adventurous with your rubs - they aren't just for barbecues!
The Christmas season is often a season for lovely, rich desserts, like trifle.
These are a feast for the eyes and the lavishness of them are well-suited for seasonal gatherings. This recipe was found at the finecooking website and it marries layers of gingerbread cake, chopped crystallized ginger, and a creamy filling spiked with brandy, sparkling wine, and black tea.
For the cake 3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan 6-3/4 oz. (1-1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour 1-1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/4 tsp. ground allspice 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon Pinch finely ground white pepper 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
For the ginger-tea syrup 1 cup granulated sugar 1 4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped (1/2 cup) 1 tsp black tea, such as English or Irish breakfast 2 Tbs. brandy, such as Cognac
For the filling 2/3 cup sparkling wine, such as Asti Spumante 8 large egg yolks 6 Tbs. granulated sugar 1-1/2 cups heavy cream 1 tsp. vanilla extract 8 oz. mascarpone, at room temperature
For assembly 6 Tbs. coarsely chopped candied ginger
Make the cake
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, baking soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and white pepper.
Beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer), on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the molasses. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Add half of the milk and mix to combine. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and milk.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake until the center of the cake bounces back when lightly pressed and a cake tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes; then carefully invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely.
Make the ginger-tea syrup
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and ginger with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the syrup through a fine sieve set over a small bowl, pressing on the ginger to extract all of the syrup. Add the tea leaves to the hot syrup and cool completely. Remove the infuser and add the brandy.
Make the filling
Pour 2 to 3 inches of water into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. In a medium stainless-steel bowl, whisk the sparkling wine, egg yolks, sugar, and 2 Tbs. of the ginger syrup.
Set the bowl over the simmering water, making sure the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Whisk constantly until you can see the bottom of the bowl when you scrape the whisk across it, and the mixture is the consistency of pudding, about 8 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat and whisk frequently until cool.
Meanwhile, beat the heavy cream in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer on medium high speed until it just starts to thicken. With the mixer still running, add the vanilla and 1 Tbs. of the ginger syrup. Continue beating until medium peaks form, about 2 minutes.
Whisk the mascarpone into the cooled egg mixture. With a spatula, gently fold the egg mixture into the whipped cream.
Assemble the trifle
Cut the cake into 1-inch cubes. Spoon a rounded cup of the filling into the bottom of a 7-1/2-inch-diameter, 14-cup (or similar) trifle dish. Arrange a third of the cake on top of the filling in an even layer. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the ginger syrup over the cake. Scatter 1 Tbs. of the candied ginger over the cake.
Repeat this layering 2 more times. Spoon the remaining filling over the final layer and smooth with the spoon. Sprinkle the remaining 3 Tbs. candied ginger over the top.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a day.
Serve
Remove the trifle from the refrigerator 1 to 2 hours prior to serving. Use a large spoon to scoop servings into individual dishes.
Make Ahead Tips
The syrup may be made up to 3 days before assembly; cover and refrigerate. You can also bake the cake up uo 2 days before; once cooled, wrap it well in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature. In fact, the entire trifle can be assembled up to 2 days ahead; keep it well wrapped and refrigerated.
photo: Scott Phillips
From Fine Cooking 114 , pp. 50-51
October 27, 2011
If you love tea recipes, you need to be visiting the Steeped Tea facebook page, where Tonia has been posting delicious beverage and food recipes using Steeped Tea!
Staying hydrated during the hot spell is key to staying cool and staying well.
There was a time when it was suggested that hot drinks are a good choice on a hot day, because it will raise your core temperature, cause you to sweat, and thereby cool you down.
Now, it seems cool drinks are the suggested beverage when it's hot out.
Over the last few months, and summers, we've shared lots of iced tea how-to's and combination ideas.
Did you know that Steeped Tea also offers coffee? Grown on volcanic mountainsides, it is organic and fair trade. Enhanced with vanilla, it is tasty!
So if you are looking for an alternate choice for staying cool, why not ice your coffee?
Here's a recipe for a Tim's-style (i.e. already sweet and creamy) iced coffee:
4 cups brewed Steeped French Vanilla coffee
1/4 c white sugar
1/4 c boiling water
3 c crushed ice
1/2 c cream
In advance:
Refrigerate brewed coffee about 30 minutes to cool and chill 4 glasses. Boil the water, reduce heat to simmer, add the sugar and stir until dissolved, making a simple syrup. Chill about 30 minutes to cool.
When ready to serve:
Divide the ice evenly between the 4 glasses. Pour in chill coffee. Stir in cream and simple syrup to taste.
When the temperatures and humidity levels soaring through the day, it make sense to get supper taken care of early in the day.
Lapsang Poached Salmon
Steeped Lapsang Souchong tea
water
1 filleted salmon
peeled ginger root, cut in coins - use about 1" of root for every pound of fish
salt
Boil the water and for every 6 oz, use 2 gm of tea and steep with an infuser for regular brewing time. You will need enough tea to cover the fish by an inch once it is in the pan.
Place a roasting pan across the burner of the stove. Add the tea, salt to taste and ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and place the fish in the infusion. Poach at the barest simmer. Measuring the fish at the thickest part, poach for 10 minutes per inch. When the salmon is firm to the touch, it is done. Allow it to cool in the tea infusion and once cool, use spatulas to carefully remove it from the liquid to a serving platter. Peel off the skin and any grey flesh. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
What will you serve it with? Perhaps a wasabi cream sauce? A dill cream sauce? Something citrusy? Or on a crisp salad?
There are tea purists - for them nothing but plain tea leaves, without added flavours are their preference. When they describe how tea tastes, they are referring to the very subtle tastes that they discern, the way a wine connoiseur describes fine wine. They might blend their unflavoured teas to create a signature cup, but they would always keep their blending within a tea type.
For other tea lovers, flavours are a fun way to experience their favourite beverage. Blending teas to create new iced tea flavours is a fun and inexpensive experiment.
For this pitcher of tea, my daughter helped me select the tea flavours. We used 1 perfect pot spoon of each Last Mango in Paris, Coconut Calypso, and Berry Mania. The teas were added to the infuser of the Bodum pitcher and then boiling water was added to the pitcher, about 1/2 full. The tea steeped for about 4 minutes - I started with that because we were steeping white teas that usually do not steep for long. If I make this blend again, I would steep it just a little longer, but everyone in our family really enjoyed it, even dear hubby, who is not generally a tea drinker!
Have you combined a few teas to create a new flavour? We'd love to hear about your iced tea blends - leave a comment!
The hot weather has finally caught up to Ontario and iced tea season is here!
What if you are the only iced tea drinker in your household and/or making iced tea a pitcher at a time is impractical for you? Did you realize you could make instant iced tea with our tasty loose leaf tea, and not have to revert to the sugary, chemical-tasting powdered stuff?
It's this easy:
Into your Brewt, add 1 perfect cup spoon of your desired loose leaf tea. Add sugar if desired. Add boiling water and allow to steep 3 minutes. If you like your iced tea stronger, add more tea rather than steep longer to avoid bitterness. Meanwhile, fill a glass with icecubes. Once the tea has steeped, place the Brewt over your glass of ice cubes. The mechanism in the bottom of the Brewt is triggered and the tea will drop down into the prepared glass. When the glass is full, simply lift the Brewt off. Add more ice cubes if necessary. Enjoy your single serving iced tea and chill out!
What are you favourite Steeped loose leaf teas to ice?
Finally, why not toast Victoria Day with your own version of this tas-tea sounding beverage? The recipe originates from the Radio Royal York website and was posted last year, when the Royal York offered this cocktail for $14 a pop. You could almost buy the gin for that at the LCBO.
The Imperial Splendour
1 1/2 oz. Victoria Gin 3 1/2 oz. strongly brewed Earl Grey tea, chilled (we suggest Steeped Tea loose leaf Earl Grey black, either traditional, or creme) 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice 1/2 oz. Cointreau 2 dashes “Twisted & Bitter” orange cocktail bitters
Combine ingredients and shake on ice. Strain into your finest china.
Garnish with an orange slice and a small cube of frozen marmalade.
Note - Victoria Gin is hand made in small batches from a wood-fired still on Vancouver Island. If you can't find it, use what you do find and enjoy the weekend!
We've shared many times about the value of green tea with its antioxidants - great for you inside and out!
You've maybe also heard that dark chocolate contains antioxidants. Why not combine the two for a wonderful spa-like experience, at home. Especially when the seasons are changing, our skin can often use a boost.
Healthy Glow Chocolate Tea Mask Start with our Green Clay Mask, add 1 tbsp of dark cocoa powder, and mix with water as usual, to make a paste.
Alternately, if you do not have the Green Clay Mask, start with 1 tbsp matcha tea and add 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder, and 1 tbsp honey.
Leave the mask on for up to 20 minutes and then rinse off and pat dry.
Depending on your skin conditions, you can add yogurt, oatmeal, or essential oils to your mix before applying.
When's the last time you used your Lapsang Souchong tea? Get it out for this recipe - it adds a subtle smoked flavour you'll love.
This is the easiest soup you'll make.
Start by heating 2 containers of prepared chicken soup broth over medium-high.
As it is heating, add leftover sliced cooked chicken breast. Then go diving into your freezer, frig and cupboards for more additions. For this soup, I ended up with frozen yellow beans and peas from my garden, and a can of drained and rinsed chick peas. Then I added a spoon of Lapsang Souchong. As the ingredients heated through, I added some leftover cooked penne noodles. Just before serving I added a bit of frozen parsley. I allowed the soup to simmer long enough for the tea leaves to soften and the penne to warm up. Then it was time to scoop it into bowls.
What have you made with Lapsang Souchong? Leave us a comment to tell us about it!
How about waking up to this on Christmas morning, or any chilly wintery morning, for that matter?
This recipe is accredited to Emeril Lagasse and has been shared both on ABC television, and via Tea News Direct.
Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy
Cook Time: 1-30 min
Spiced Orange Tea
Ingredients
Thinly peeled strips of orange peel, about 1/2-inch wide, from 1 orange
3 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, about 6 large oranges
3 cups water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 small toe of fresh ginger, 1/2 ounce, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 Orange Pekoe teabags [As you can see, Emeril hasn't learned the pleasures of fine loose tea - we suggest you substitute your favourite Steeped Fine Loose black tea, about 3 tsp, in an infuser]
1/2 cup sugar
In small pot combine the orange peel, orange juice, water, lemon juice, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove pot from the heat. Add the tea bags [or loose tea in an infuser] and let steep for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve set over another pot or into a warmed tea pot. Serve hot.
Yield: 6 cups, 6 to 8 servings
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, courtesy MSLO, Inc.
