Chocolate Matcha Rice Krispies

Evening everyone,

Hope that everyone has had a great festive week thus far. I was away this weekend in Palm Springs on another mini Holiday this weekend which I totally forgot I had committed to. I look forward to sharing with you the things that I found on my short visit there. I was so glad that I went since my mind has been going through a weird jumbled thought warp. There's just so much going on so quickly; so the vacate was well welcomed. I feel recharged and rejuvenated, just what I needed.

One of the first things that came to my mind when I came home is how much I missed blogging. So I decided that whatever I did today, I would blog about. Fortunately for me my sweet tooth helped me create this yummy quick creation. Please do give these a try! I love how the Matcha balances the sweetness of the marshmallows and makes all the ingredients richer in flavor.

I don't think there's really a need for me to post a recipe on these as they were so simple to make. Just follow your favorite Rice Krispie recipe and add some Matcha Green Tea Powder to the melted marshmallows and butter before you put in your cereal. If your wondering, I'm using the tea strainer to dust in my tea. Not only does it give you the perfect teaspoon worth every time, but I've found out that it's great for adding dusted powdered accents to your cooking. I'm used this for powdered sugar as well.

I added give or take 4 tbsp of tea to the mix. The marshmallow goo should come out a light earthy green color. Mine was speckled at first but the more I mixed it it slowly blended in. If you want it to be really green for presentation add some food coloring. When doing things in Matcha I find that the green from the Neon Food coloring palette works the best; just don't get too carried away.

I wanted these to be a little more on the savory side, so I melted some chocolate chips to add as a coat on top. I find that semi-sweet works the best with any tea cooking. Dark chocolate also pairs well with Matcha. This time around I went with the semi-sweet because of the creamy marshmallow texture that I didn't want to overshadow. 

Just a little dust of Matcha on top for looks and extra flavor. I set these to cool for an hour. To make sure that they were easy to cut, I left them for 10 minutes in the fridge to take extra precaution.

Viola! I had them with a blooming Jasmine tea (Lover's Blossom by Primula Tea) which fragrant bold flavor went well with the savory rich finish of the Krispies. I'd imagine this going well with a good white tea or a dark oolong.

Enjoy!




P.S. Because so much has been going on, I'll be updating my blog on previous days so to fit all the goodies and news in. So please don't be alarmed, you're not tripping out :)

0

My Blooming Tea Experience

I hope everyone is having a Blessed Sunday today! As Sunday is usually a Sabbath of rest and rejuvenation I thought it would be a perfect day to tell you about my Blooming Tea experience.As you know, I just finished reading my lovely book Meditation with Tea by Diana Rosen. One of the chapters was on conversation over tea and understanding the ones you love in this bonding experience.

A tea that was recommended was blooming teas. This is because it takes an estimated 30 minutes to completely bloom and give you a proper steeped tea.  From my earlier Classic Savory Tea Haul, I got the Sprinkled Stars. After a long day I took out my mini tea cups and put the bud into my French Press. I had my regular teapot filled with hot water to keep adding water to my French Press.

I picked this tea because of the beautiful floral notes in the description.Easter Lilies, Jasmine, and more recently Osmanthus have been favorite flowers of mine. As Eugene and I sipped the tea in it's different stages, we really appreciate the variety of flavors it gave. It really did put us in a good mood and made us comfortable enough to talk about deeper things like our future plans and ambitions. It was a nice break from our current busy schedule and emptied wallets. At the final stages of the bloom, the Othmanthus blossoms rose out blending it's floral creamy taste to the mix.

I know that most people dread having blooming teas because they're a bit showy and need special pots to enjoy them completely. But I have to tell you not to be afraid of it, anything thats clear will do, life a glass mug or in my case my $4 mini French Press from Ikea. Treat yourself to the pleasure of relaxing with tea and try something different by partaking in conversation with a loved one over a blooming tea. Its great to meditate alone, but every now and then meditating with others is empowering and rejuvenating.

0

Classic Savory Tea Haul

Its been awhile since I did a tea post. That's because I've been occupying my tea hobby reading my Meditation with Tea book which I just finished today (Huzzah)! I've learned quite a bit as to what each tea was specifically created for, which in turn has gotten me to appreciate certain teas that I never would have before. Now that I know what notes of flavor I'm looking for, I can can venture into more traditional teas and taste the entire bouquet and appreciate it. I've started to venture into two types of teas which I wasn't really into for years until I read this book: Oolongs and Blooming Teas.

I started getting into Oolong because I learned that Oolong has such a wide variety of ways that they are prepared. Oolong is a tea that is not completely oxidized to a Black form, but what I didn't know was that percent can range from 2% to 80% depending on the desired flavor. This gives you hundreds of options with flavors, notes, and texture. I don't think that a tea lover could get tired of Oolong for this simple fact alone.

As for the Blooming variety, I used to think that it was all for show. But after reading the book I now understand that most blooming teas were created for social occasions. Because they are tied together they take longer to bloom, making them a slow steeping tea easy to wait for the water to cool over a conversation. Taking this concept I realize that I can get a good pot of tea that doesn't get bitter when I'm working, or into a good read. As the weather is cooler I thought that blooming teas would be perfect those long cozy reads and painting sessions on the couch.

All these teas are from Bird Pick:

 
Super Grade Oolong: This tea is actually the tea of the month and when we had a sample of it Eugene fell in love with it. It carries a very traditional floral bite to it thats a desired characteristic of Oolong, but it had hints of a citrus zest as the finishing note. When I brewed it it came out a very golden color brew, so I assume that it has been half way oxidized. The leaves are also fairly tough, giving for a strong but fresh brew.


Osmanthus Milky Oolong: Confession; I'm on my second bag of this stuff. Lately this has been my go to tea. It's a traditional flavor with a modern twist. Milky Oolong is a fairly new type of tea on the market in the way that it's grown and harvested. No one is sure exactly how they do it, but the Oolong is a very green Oolong with a sweet milky after taste. The Oolong alone is phenomenal, giving way to very complex intense flavor, but the delicate bits of Osmanthus flower give it a sweet finish. I love this tea! I love how you just get hit with sensory overload the minute you open the packet and smell it while the water boils. Please get some if you can, you won't be disappointed!

Royal Red Peony Organic: One of the teas recommended in the book, I gave it a shot from the description of it being a good tea for entertaining. It was recommended as a perfect tea to take out on walks as it takes time to steep. I am so happy that I gave it a chance, as it is growing to become a new daily favorite of mine. Since it's a blooming tea there is no fuss with strainers and it comes out perfect every time. Another thing I love about this tea is that there is no such thing as over or under steeping it. So far my favorite steep of it is less than a minute freshly poured. It keeps its sweet dewy, light woody taste through the entire pot. People say you shouldn't brew more than one pot, but so far I've gone as far as two pots out of this one blossom.

Sprinkled Stars Blooming Green: I have yet to try this Blossoming Tea, but I got it because it's made of fragrant Jasmine Green leaves and shoots out bits of Osmanthus giving it its name. I also thought that the Easter Lily is a wonderful pairing between the two.

If any of these sound interesting to you please check them out on the web as they have been a great part of my tea exploration.

Cheers!




P.S. I wanted to do a shout out to Rachele from Nearsighted Owl for having me as a sponsor and featuring me and other talented bloggers in a post. Please check her blog of cats, fatshion, and everyday brilliance.

2

I Heart: Body Shop Sprays

My shopping senses were tingling, and after all this nasty heat I wanted to go back to the wonderful days where your makeup doesn't trickle down your face and you're constantly 'freshening up'. I wanted to feel the warmer things about grooming like warm lingering baths and warm scents. I went to work at my local TJ Maxx and stumbled across these two beauties:

I've seen them for awhile now and it never crossed my mind to check them out. I use a bit of Body Shop since I have sensitive skin and favor natural products. What drew me to them other than the fact that they were Body Shop was that they were a body spray. I usually can't use body sprays because of the chemicals that leave my skin burning and red. These were gentle on my wrist! A breakthrough for me! The scents are also complex like a perfume but still primarily their smell, leaving a light but 'grownup' smell. That way you don't smell like a candle or a juice box, but the smells can be dressed up or casual.

Here's a more detailed description of both:
Vanilla & Tonka Bean: At first smell this almost has a sugary scent. As it goes on it has a velvety Vanilla smell that dries into warm spicy notes for me. I can definately pick up the hints of floral and honey in it. The scent as a whole feel light, warm, and airy to me. I love wearing this with my everyday wear.

Jasmine & White Frangipani: Super flowery at first scent. I like how the jasmine scent is lingering and not a strong scent like most jasmine products. This smell is still robust, but it creeps up on you which is nice. When sprayed I get a very floral amber scent, think of it more like the petals of the flower and not the pollen. There's a sweet under hint of citrus as the finish. Almost like orange blossoms and jasmine in the summer heat. I love wearing this with a black dress, it's super sexy! Love smiles every time I wear it.

Most days I mix both which leave a very nice complex scent. I also love that these are safe to spray on clothes and linen. I love to put a few quick sprays on my pillow after I have an evening bath. A must try! I promise!
-Stef

0