Mint Tea

          Mint tea is a great drink to have chilled on a hot summer day; I say chilled because I generally don't believe in iced drinks since it dilutes the flavor; I only put ice in the photo for aesthetic reasons, not because the drink needed it. I usually make a large batch in advance so that throughout the week, I have fresh tea to sip on. If you're looking to make this as an accompaniment to a meal, I think this would go great with a spicy summer barbecue. It's extremely refreshing and a nice change from typical iced teas, although, if you don't like mint flavor to start with, I wouldn't suggest you make this. The drink also is good steaming hot when you have a cold.

                   Ingredients:                                Equipment Needed: 

                   -14 Mint Tea Bags                          -Pot or Water Boiler

                   -10 Cups Water                             -Large Bowl

                   -Sugar (optional)*                           -Spoon

                   -Fresh Mint (optional garnish)          -Pitcher

                   -Lemon Zest (optional garnish)         -Zester (optional)

*1/2 cup of sugar will be mildly sweet and a heaping 3/4 cup will be about the same sweetness as store-bought teas.

Preparation/Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Serves: 5 Full Glasses

Difficulty Rank: Easy Peasy

          When you go to buy the tea there are several things to decide. One is what kind of mint you want. My personal preference is for peppermint tea, which has a smooth and soothing flavor and is caffeine free; there also is Moroccan Mint Tea which isn't as minty as peppermint because it is mixed with green tea, which also means it's lightly caffeinated. As far as brand goes I prefer Stash or Tazo because I personally think they have the highest quality teas, whereas other brands have a weaker brew; side-note, I've also checked some of Twining's teas and found that they added artificial flavors in, which as you can figure from my blog title, I despise. 

          If after you make the tea you find it too strong for your liking, you can dilute it with some water; I think in this situation it is easier to dilute a strong tea than to make a weak tea stronger. Also, the amount of sugar I add in makes it somewhat sweet, so if you prefer unsweetened tea, leave it out or measure to your preference. Last, if you don't plan to let the tea chill in the fridge and you plan to serve it right away with ice, you will either need to add more teabags to the brew to compensate for the ice diluting the flavor, or you will need to use less hot water to brew the tea in. I'd either add 6 teabags or take out 3 cups of water. As you can see, having to account for ice makes it more complicated, so you really should just try to make this ahead of time and refrigerate the tea.

In-a-nutshell Recipe:

1. Boil water.

2. Put boiling water in mixing bowl and drop teabags in.

3. Let steep for 10 minutes.

4. Strain teabags out.

5. Mix in sugar and let cool.

6. Place in pitcher and chill or serve with ice.

7. Garnish with mint and lemon zest before serving.

Detailed Directions:

1. Boil 10 cups of water in either a pot or one of those speedy water boilers.

 

2. Pour the boiling water into the mixing bowl and drop all the teabags in, try to make sure they don't just float on top but really steep in the water.

  

3. Leave the teabags in their to steep for 10-15 minutes.

4. Strain out teabags; make sure to press the water out of them.

5. Mix in the sugar while the tea is still warm so that it will melt easily; if you generally dislike sweet drinks, you can skip this step or add sugar to your own preference. After this step let the tea cool for a bit.

6. At this point either serve the tea with ice, or pour it into a pitcher and chill overnight. Being in college I don't have a pitcher on hand, so I used this cool tupperware.

7. Before serving, for extra flourish, you can add a sprig of fresh mint and some lemon zest as garnish.

Hummus

          Hummus is a great dish to make when you want to have a tasty dip for chips. Its wonderful for so many reasons; its healthy and packed with protein (take note bodybuilders), it's tasty, and a unique thing to serve to guests. Last it is super cheap and easy to make. So seriously, why buy hummus when you can make it cheaper and tastier for almost no work? Aside from a chip dip, you can also use it as a spread on crackers, bread or in sandwiches. Also, this recipe can be changed constantly to give new variations each time; chives, basil and oregano all could replace cilantro in the recipe to give it a new twist, so have fun with it and be creative, It also keeps for a long time, so you can make a large batch to use for a week.

                      Ingredients:                       Equipment Needed: 
                     -2 Cans Chickpeas                -Knife + Cutting Board
                     -2 Tb Tahini                        -Blender or Food Processor
                     -3 Tb Olive Oil                     -Mixing Bowl
                     -1 Lemon                              
                     -1 tsp Salt (or to taste)
                     -1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
                     -1 tsp each of Cumin & Coriander or (2 tsp Curry Powder)
                     -Black Pepper
                     -1/3 Red Pepper
                     -1/4 Onion
                     -Small Handful of Cilantro
                
Preparation/Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Serves: 2 Bowls of Hummus
Difficulty Rank: Easy Peasy

          The recipe is pretty straight forward and easily adapted. Tahini can usually be found in the health section of a supermarket or in the International food section under the Arabian foods; Tahini is strong, so be careful not to add to much or else the flavor will overwhelm the hummus. Also be careful salting, it is always easier to add salt over taking it out. If you want, you can use a lime instead of a lemon; also, you probably could substitute basil, chives, oregano or other fresh herbs in place of cilantro. I spice it to add some extra flavor to the hummus but if you want a lighter flavor leave them out. Last I add bell peppers for their crisp sweetness and onions for their flavor and crunch; the reason to use white onions is because they can be eaten raw, if you use another kind of onion I'd quickly pan fry them before adding them to the hummus.

In-a-nutshell Directions:
1. Put chickpeas in blender.
2. Squeeze in Lemon Juice.
3. Add in Oil and Tahini.
4. Add salt, pepper and spices.
5. Blend.
6. Chop red pepper, onion and cilantro.
7. Mix Veggies into Hummus.
8. Garnish.

Detailed Directions:

1. Put both cans of chickpeas in blender, strain out the water from one, but for the other, put the entire can including the water in the blender.

2. Squeeze a whole lemon into the blender.

3. Add in the olive oil and the tahini.

4. Add in the cayenne, black pepper, salt and other spices.

5. Blend the mixture until it is smooth and taste test it, adjust if needed.

6. Dice the red bell peppers and onions into small pieces that can be easily picked up with chips and chop cilantro. A good technique for cutting bell peppers is to cut the top off first and then dice the rest. Doing this allows for cleaner cuts and makes it easy to pull out the pepper seeds.

7. Pour the hummus into a mixing bowl and mix in the vegetables.

8. Place the hummus into a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro and any other creative things you can think of. I tossed on a few black sesame seeds.

Christmas Break

          So for this break I've been staying at a family friend's home. It's given me a chance to do some skiing and reading + research that is unrelated to school. I've been camped out next to the fire with their cat "Bunter" as my research companion, although he's pretty useless aside from looking cute.

          My reading has been composed of some recipe books, a book on investing, and a nutrition book called the China Study. The China Study is more interesting than the title suggests, and is worth reading. It cross-compares American society with ones in East Asia to show how diet has a stronger correlation to diseases like cancer than genetics do.

          On a totally new note, I have been doing research trying to find Sichuan and Anhui recipes, so if you know how to cook either cuisine, send me a message, I'd love to hear from you. Anyway, while I was  questing around for good authentic recipes, I came across a Thai recipe I have been searching for, for about 3 years, one for Neua Nam Tok, a BBQ pork salad. It's taken forever because I ate this in China, and forgot the Chinese name, and I never knew the Thai name to start with. So keep an eye out and I'll eventually adapt a recipe to post.

          Also, I'm hoping to try out this Ugly Chocolate Cake recipe I found at 101 Cookbooks.

Thanks for checking in!