We’ll never give up the morning coffee routine. However, as part of an overall healthier lifestyle we’ve started to substitute green tea for those extra mugs of coffee in the afternoon. Not to worry, most green teas have caffeine.
Tea isn’t new to the pantry. On the contrary, there are numerous bottles of loose leaves and mesh bags. Green tea is just a better choice, loaded with antioxidants its a healthy alternative.
The compounds in green tea can have powerful effects on your health. Among them … boosted metabolism, increased fat burning, and lowered blood sugar levels.
Our green tea of choice is Long Jing Dragonwell. A well known tea from China, it has a sweet, rounded flavor … full, nutty, buttery texture … and dry finish. We order from a great online shop with a huge selection and great prices. ‘The Cozy Tea Cart’ is one of the few places that stocks another favorite, Evening in Missoula.
BREWING
You don’t use boilng water as green teas should be brewed around 85ºF. Let the water cool a bit. Use that hot water to preheat your mug or pot. If you’re using loose leaf measure, use a scant teaspoon per cup of brewing water. And if brewing in a teapot, always add a teaspoon for the pot.
Allow tea leaves to steep for two minutes and enjoy.
January is national soup month and one of our favorites is this broth-based vegetable soup. Its packed with vegetables, freezes beautifully, and is low in calories.
This recipe makes a big pot of soup. We have several meals during the week and always freeze some for those days you “just want to have soup,” or need something for a last minute meal.
A healthy, filling soup full of vegetables, but low in calories. 1 1/2 cups is only 225 calories.
Course: Soup
Ingredients
2Tbspolive oil
1 medonionchopped
2medcarrotschopped
12ozfresh green beanscut into 1/2 inch pieces
2clovesgarlicminced
8cupschicken (or vegetable) stocklow sodium
2canscannellini beans15 oz cans
4cupskalechopped
2mediumzucchinichopped
4Roma tomatoesseeded and chopped
2tspsred wine vinegar
Instructions
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, green beans and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes more.
Add white beans, kale, zucchini, tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper. Increase heat to return to a simmer; cook until the zucchini and kale have softened, about 10 minutes.
Notes
This recipe should make a dozen or more servings depending on your serving size. We ladle 14 oz of soup into deli cups, cool in fridge, and then freeze. Stored this way the soup can keep for months and is very easy to thaw and re-heat for a quick dinner.
There are 30 plus brew pubs in the city of Bend and more than half of these places are craft brewing operations. There is even a pilgrimage mapped out, guidebook and passport stamps included.
So there is never a problem finding a pint around here. The issue, for us anyway, has been the overabundance of IPAs filling brewers’ taps.
At least one of the Bend brewers has broken out of the rut.
Monkless Brewing, Belgium style beer (without the monks) has quickly become a favorite stop. Then this Fall they opened a new riverfront brasserie to pair food with their delicious ales. We stopped in for lunch and the food is as good as the brews.
Jack had the Moules pot (fresh steamed mussels), JQ had the Panzanella Salad (tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and pickled onions, and we shared a cone of Belgium Frites served with three dipping sauces. Twice fried in duck fat, the Frites were amazing!
We’ll be back … to try out their outdoor patio seating (furry friends welcomed) and enjoy pint and a cone of Pommes Frites.
Recently I was reading a book where the main character baked her signature “Persimmon Cookies.” All the book characters absolutely loved the treat … I figure what better endorsement is there?
Since this was the first time either Jack and I have heard of these cookies we decided to do some research. If your lucky there might be persimmons in the produce section of your local grocery. This is one of the rare fruits that is still sold seasonally. But, have you ever tasted one?
As Jack tells it … growing up the Schommer kids were exposed to a lot of exotic foods … they even had serving utensils for escargot. But Jack couldn’t remember ever tasting any variety of this bright orange fruit.
Persimmons originated in China where they have been cultivated for centuries. There are two varieties … non-astringent (Fuyu) and astringent (Hachiya). You may have trouble finding either in your local market.
Fuyu is round and flat or donut shaped and it’s skin is more golden orange.
These can be eaten regardless of ripeness and are great sliced onto a salad and should be eaten when the flesh is firm.
The Hachiya (ideal for baking) is typically larger and acorn or oblong in shape, with skin in a deep orange. It will frequently have black sun spots (not a problem).
This astringent-variety must be ripe to eat, and by that we mean soft, very soft. If you should take a bite of an un-ripened Hachiya it will turn you throat to dust (… you have been warned). On the other hand, ripe ones are the best for baking, making excellent cookies.
Persimmon and Cocoa Drop cookies accompanied by drams of Michter’s Whiskey
Persimmons taste of honey with a touch of cinnamon and once you’ve found them you’ll be back.
The cookie recipe we are sharing uses Hachiya and adds seasonal spices to the ripe fruit to bring out their flavor.
Then they are topped with a sweet orange glaze that is perfect with eggnog or whiskey.
1cupgolden raisinsSubstitute chopped cranberries or dates for raisins.
Glaze
2cupsconfectioners sugar
2tbsporange juice Reserve a couple of extra tablespoons in case you need to adjust the consistency of the glaze.
1tbsppersimmon puree
1tsporange zest
1/2tsporange extract
Instructions
If available, use hachiya persimmons (ideal for baking). They should be very ripe and completely soft to the touch. Use a spoon to scoop out the pulp. Discard any seeds or membrane that might be there. Each hachiya persimmon should yield approximately 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of pulp.
Prepare persimmon pulp: Using a blender or foot processor, puree the ripe persimmon pulp until smooth. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon bakiing soda.
Beat together the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix in the persimmon puree and orange zest.
In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and salt.
Make cookie dough: Add dry ingredients to persimmon mixture a third at a time, stirring just until flour is incorporated. Stir in nuts and dried fruit.
Chill dough for 1 hour.
Bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop cookie dough rounds on stick-free cookie sheets, leaving at least an inch between the cookies. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until cookies are browned around the edges and spring back when lightly touched in center. Let cool on baking racks before frosting.
Prepare glaze: Sift confectioners sugar, then whisk with 2 tablespoons of orange juice until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of persimmon puree, 1 teaspoon of orange zest and 1/2 teaspoon orange extract (optional). Mix until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze mixture and dribble over cookies. Let harden before serving.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together shortening, sugar and the egg.
Add in buttermilk and vanilla mix until combined and smooth.
Add the dry ingredients, 1/3 at a time to the liquid and mix until combined before adding next third.
Stir in chopped nuts and refrigerate dough for one hour.
Preheat oven to 400º
Using a cookie scoop, place balls of chilled dough on to parchment lined baking sheets. 2 tablespoon measures (30g) will yield about 24 2” cookies. 1 tablespoon measures will give you 1 ½ inch cookies and yield about 45.
Brown Butter Icing
Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat, stirring regularly until it comes to a boil, reduce heat to med. low and continue stirring until it turns a golden brown color. Remove from heat and pour over 1 ¾ cup of powdered sugar in a medium bowl, add in cream and vanilla, whisk until you have a thick, spreadable icing. You can add the reserved sugar to help get the proper consistancy.
Here is a recipe with ingredients acquired in a stop at Trader Joes and on the table in half an hour. Smoked trout, a lemony onion dressing and creamy avocado combine for a great meal. A good loaf of bread is key and in this case we didn’t source that from TJs, but rather Sparrow Bakery. Your favorite hearty bread will work … you could try the baguettes from TJs.
The recipe was taken off the Food52 web site. I think those folks are working for Trader Joes because often their recipes, right down to the quantity, match what you’ll find on TJ’s shelves. You can use any canned meat but smoked trout is best and ironically that is the only place we could find it. Include the oil from the can as it enhances the flavor but doesn’t make the salad too oily.
Along with a baguette from Sparrow, there’s one other alteration. We don’t broil the bread or serve the salad on toast, we prefer the toast is on the side. Be sure you allow the lemon and shallot mix to macerate for the full 20 minutes.
Delicious salad that comes together in no time at all
Servings: 2people
Author: Alexandra Stafford @ food52.com
Ingredients
1smallshallotminced
1/2lemonjuiced
salt and pepper to taste
2Tbspolive oil in small bowl
3headsBelgian endiveone pkg Trader Joes
4ozSmoke Trout1 3.7oz tin from Trader Joes
2scallions finely sliced
1/2 avocadofirm but ripe
1/8 cupfresh parsleyfinely minced
4 1 inchslices of bread
Instructions
Preheat the broiler to high. Finely mince the shallot and place in a small bowl. Cover with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt and freshly cracked pepper. (I like to add a pinch of sugar, too.) Set aside to macerate for 15 to 20 minutes. Use a fork to whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
Meanwhile, quarter the heads of endive through the core, then finely slice crosswise. Place in a large bowl. Scatter the scallions over top. Break the smoked trout into large pieces over top. Pour the dressing over top, and use your hands to gently toss everything together, keeping the trout in largish pieces. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed—now is the time to correct for seasoning because once the avocado is in, you don’t want to toss too much or it will all turn to mush.
Dice the avocado, and add to the bowl followed by the parsley. Toss with your hands again gently until combined. Set salad aside.
Arrange bread on cooling rack set on sheet pan. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Broil 2 minutes or until lightly golden, keeping a close watch. Remove pan from oven, flip slices of bread over, drizzle with more oil, and return pan to the oven for another 2 minutes, or until bread is golden. Transfer toasts to a platter. Mound trout and avocado salad over top. Serve immediately.
Tea isn’t new to the pantry. On the contrary, there are numerous bottles of loose leaves and mesh bags. Green tea is just a better choice, loaded with antioxidants its a healthy alternative.
There are 30 plus brew pubs in the city of Bend and more than half of these places are craft brewing operations. There is even a 
Since this was the first time either Jack and I have heard of these cookies we decided to do some research. If your lucky there might be persimmons in the produce section of your local grocery. This is one of the rare fruits that is still sold seasonally. But, have you ever tasted one?
Fuyu is round and flat or donut shaped and it’s skin is more golden orange.
The Hachiya (ideal for baking) is typically larger and acorn or oblong in shape, with skin in a deep orange. It will frequently have black sun spots (not a problem).
