My first loose tea, and it was...interesting. I followed package instructions and added to 16 oz of water and tea, 8 ounces of milk. I've been adding only around 1/8 cup of milk, so one cup was too much. I had to drink it down and brew a bag in the remaining milky mixture and added more water. Better.

My first impression of the tea: gorgeous whole cloves, cardamom mingled with the black tea nuggets. It was beautiful! Tea bags don't afford a view of the tea, so this was my first visual of the tea itself. The aroma was scrumptious and inviting, spicy and sparky. Tomorrow I'll make the tea but not add so much extra milk. I liked the layered flavors, though. More when I have a better idea of brewing the way I like it...

Great tidbit - Rollinsford, New Hampshire is only miles from my home. I like purchasing from local companies! Same town as the company my worm bin worms come from!

Chai Tea / Yoga

I've sampled Chai tea - nearly all brands I could find in our area; I'm starting over with my tasting, but with comments about each one here. Today is fresh in my mind, so I'll get busy on that tea. Also, yoga has come to me at this point in my life, and I love it! Will be blogging that as well. Here we go!
Some of the versions I've tried and will get back to:

• White Heron Daybreak Masala Chai
• Twinings Chai
  
• Twinings Ultra Spice Chai
  
• Yogi Chai Black Tea
  
• Traditional Medicinals Organic Chai
• Numi Golden Chai Spiced Assam Black Tea
  
• Bigelow Spiced Chai
• Bigelow Vanilla Chai (haven't tried this yet, bought yesterday)
• Celestial Seasonings India Spice Chai
• Stash Chai Spice Black Tea
  

Gaeng Khae

Burning mouth - unbelievably too spicy hot. This Thai soup from Vegetarian Times Magazine sounded wonderful as a cold winter soup to warm up- ha! Not only will anything unwanted perish in my digestive system, so too will my internal organs!! Guess I should have known when the recipe called for four cups of veggie broth and 15 Japones Chiles. Duh.

If you're brave, give it a go...

Chili Paste:

• 15 dried arbol chiles (or japones chiles)
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 stalks lemongrass, minced
• 2 shallots, minced (1/2 cup)
• 1 teaspoon red miso

Soup

• 4 cups vegetable broth (preferably low sodium)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups sliced beet leaves (or Swiss chard or escarole, turnip greens, kale, etc.)
• 1 cup fennel, diced (or turnips)
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup firm tofu, diced
• 1 cup coarsely chopped arugula
• 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

Chili Paste:

• Soak chiles in a bowl of boiling water 30 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and finely chop.

• Combine garlic and salt in mortar, and pound with pestle (or food processor). Add lemongrass, shallots, miso and chiles, pounding and crushing after each addition to make a thick paste (or use food processor).

Soup:

Bring the broth to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in soy sauce and chile paste.
Add greens, fennel, and mushroooms, and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer 5 minutes. Add tofu, and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in arugula, mint and parsley. Simmer 1-2 minutes, or until herbs wilt. Enjoy and burn everything out!

Prophecy of the Sisters

Okay, it's been (gulp) more than a year since I've posted anything. I'm finally starting back up. Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink completely captivated me. I plowed through it, well, what I mean is that I read it whenever I had a chance, but slowly to savor the fabulously Gothic/Edwardian feel of the language; Michelle captured the time beautifully. This haunting story of two sisters who fall into a long succession of twins each fulfilling their destinies as the Guardian and the Gate has left a lasting impression. Once again, we have the parents are missing, world's in trouble, teens come to the rescue plot line. This may be common in today's YA literature, but Zink makes it uniquely her own taking a fresh approach.

While reading it, I kept in close touch with my own sister, making sure we had a solid relationship that couldn't turn out like Lia and Alice's! Frequent texts included the words "No Prophecy!"

Be sure to read this one especially if you enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, one of my all time favorite books, or even the haunting aspects of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (remember the ghost in the barn door??)

A great teen novel with a serious twist!

Beautiful Hanukkah Book

I'm Finally Back and Blogging!

Poodle Parties /Triathlons / Woodstock, Vermont / A Test at Simmons College: September has seen it all! Stay tuned for updated blogging...

Podcasting Foolishness - my first ever!

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