28 June 2007
Well! I had sort of written off the last post as a dud, because -- you know -- it was all about cheese. But apparently you people have many opinions about cheese! It does seem to be one of the small foodie pleasures of (a non-vegan's) life: simple, but so good when done right. I was trying to think of other foods like this. Tea, definitely.* What else, though? A perfectly ripe peach? A sublime jam? If I drank more than one glass of wine a year, I'm sure that would make the list.
Moving on! There were a lot of perennials in my yard when I moved in. Loads of hostas and lilies. I generally turn up my nose at these; they're so common -- literally, that is -- almost every house in my neighbourhood seems to have these. But they look nice when cut:
The little bird is a cylindrical, carved box that Mo gave me a while back. It's carved from a piece of cinnamon wood and smells amazing. I don't keep anything in it; just open it in passing every now and then and take a whiff. Yum.
Despite loudly and frequently saying that I'm off baked goods for the time, I had to make some banana cranberry bread yesterday:
A break in the heat + overripe bananas + this post made me do it. I didn't actually follow that recipe, obviously, though it looks pretty darn good. I managed to use up those bananas and have had a couple of pieces, but now I'm left staring at the rest of loaf, still not feeling in the mood for sugary-flouriness. Oh well.
Just a quick cat update: Both Booty and Beany are on antibiotics now for a sneeze that Beany brought home with her. And I had to rush Booty to the vet yesterday when he suddenly started limping and growling at imaginary attackers. I'm slightly embarrassed at how I overreacted (but he IS fourteen and the last of my childhood pets, and I had visions of his final moments passing through my head); he's got a three-day course of anti-inflammatories for his knee, and he's already doing much better.
*Speaking of tea: I want to try a decaf (probably herbal) tea that I can have later at night. I drink so many cups of tea every day, even in the heat, but the caffeine affects my sleep if I have it after 7pm. So, armed with the knowledge that I've never met an herbal tea that I like, can you suggest something really nice? Anybody who can source a (good) decaf peach green tea wins. . . something.
So Bootie is the last of your childhood pets is he? What are me, Bob and Jones, chopped liver?
chet
posted by chet at June 28, 2007 02:21 PM
Coffee and Tea Ltd in Linden Hills (on W 43rd Street) I just drank the last of an amazing green tea with cherry blossoms that I got for Mother's Day. :)
posted by lisa sp at June 28, 2007 02:24 PM
Chet -- But I must have been about twenty when I got you. And when did you start working at Guidant? Are you testing out their new fish defibrillators?
posted by Anna at June 28, 2007 02:29 PM
You may want to consider drinking white tea? It's naturally very low in caffeine and very high in antioxidants. It's a bit pricey so I only keep one tin around and try to get in a cup a week. (I like this one: http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=302)
Also, I'll have to second lisa sp's recommendation on coffee & tea ltd. They have an amazing selection of loose teas and their coffee beans are some of the best in town.
Love the lilies. I picked up a bouquet of some last weekend at the farmers market.
posted by sara at June 28, 2007 04:01 PM
You might want to try a Rooibos tea... It's an herbal tea but it brews up nice and strong, has a brilliant red color, and is good plain, with honey, or done up with milk and sugar. Twinings actually makes a decent one, or Numi, and I think Celestial Seasonings, too. I think most 'good' tea shops would have it, too.
posted by Rachel at June 28, 2007 05:44 PM
I love Adagio Teas, http://www.adagio.com/
If you send me your email to my email I'll send you a $5 gift certificate from them.
posted by mitchypoo at June 28, 2007 09:48 PM
hi anna.
my favorite decaf tea is choice organic green tea with infusion of peach. it is also fair trade certified. it is in teabags, though, which may or may not be a deal breaker. :) cheers! shari
posted by shari at June 29, 2007 12:15 AM
It isn't peach, but it is wonderful -- Numi Monkey King jasmine green tea. I believe it's organic.
posted by anne at June 29, 2007 12:32 AM
hey. i wholly recommend you check out tea gschwendner (http://www.teagschwendner.com). unfortunately it doesn't look like they have any US locations outside of chicago (which is too bad, because they let you taste anything you want), but the search function on their site seems very good, so you should be able to find what you're looking for. my favorites are father morgana tea (green tea with mango and cranberries) and the multi-vitamin tea (tastes a little strange, but one cup after i start getting sick makes me healthy again within a day). the ginger lemon decaf is also very good.
- erin
posted by at June 29, 2007 01:08 AM
I've heard that if you double-brew tea, it takes out a lot of the caffeine. Just let it steep a little, drain, add water again, and drink that. And rooibos IS great. I think it's celestial seasonings that does one with pomegranate, and the vanilla is tasty, too. We drink those iced.
posted by kayla_d at June 29, 2007 02:41 AM
Definitely the roiboos, I drink that almost every night (plain, and I like the organic brands better). And I also recommend Teagschwendner - it has very good tea, we don't have it here in Portugal but I brought a few packets from Brazil.
posted by Tania Ho at June 29, 2007 10:56 AM
Or you could just decaffeinate it yourself, simply brew for 30 sec, dump out and reinfuse. Works for all teas, white to black.
http://www.teapassion.com/decaffinated-tea.htm
posted by krakatoa at August 20, 2007 02:19 AM