Herbal Tea Recipe

At my house we enjoy a good cup of herbal tea.  Sometimes mid-morning, as pick-me-up.  Sometimes in the afternoon, as a relax-n-enjoy. Sometimes as a won't-keep-me-up, late at night when caffeine might become a problem to good deep sleep.  Young and not so young (ahem) enjoy this tea at our house.

We have played with adding different things to our tea kettle.  

Here is our latest discovery~

trusty teapot ready for her adventure!

whole cloves

 black peppercorns

vanilla

everyone afloat and ready to meld together for some yummy herbal tea

Ginger Spice Tea

This tea warms both heart and soul we think!

ginger- we used about 4 inches of a finger of ginger, sliced

 (good for a teapot full, but feel free to use more or less to your taste).

20-30 whole cloves (yum!)

10-20 black peppercorns

1/2 of a lemon (this time all I had was lime...but usually we use a nice juicy lemon), sliced
a Tbs. of pure vanilla (can omit)

fresh cold water to fill the teapot

Directions:

Fill teapot with desired amount of water.  Slice ginger, peel if you want or not. (I peeled some, left some unpeeled as I was being lazy). Throw in your cloves and peppercorns.  Slice your lemon or lime.  Squeeze the lemon or lime into your teapot, throw in the slices.  

Turn pot up to med-high and heat until it boils.  Pour into cups through a small strainer to avoid chunks in your tea.  Add honey or sugar if desired.   Drink to your hearts content. 

This can be reheated if you don't use it all up at the first sitting.  Refrigerate if it will be longer than a few hours.  Refrigerate in a glass covered bottle, no need to fish out the ingredients, 

unless you'd like the extra work.

Great for a sore throat, great for a cold, great for a pick-me-up just about any time! 

* If you want a little caffeine boost, just add a caffeinated tea bag(s) to the pot.  Remove tea bags after it has been brought to the boil, allow 3- 5 minutes for the tea bag to steep. The rule is one tea bag per cup, with one extra thrown in for good measure ;-)

Sparkly Love Muffins!

Mama Can Cook and the Kids are Learning Too!

 Muffins...oh Yum!  Who doesn't love a tasty muffin?

 

Princess Sweetness stepped into the kitchen with a recipe that was created as I looked into the pantry to see what was left after the ravages of 4 weeks of this Mama having the flu.

 I found a piece of math scratch paper left on the counter, post homeschool and scribbled out the recipe for her to follow- coaching her from the sidelines. The recipe came out of my love of creating, a little of this and a little of that and soon something yummy!

Princess Sweetness has much Ethiopian cooking experience, but is still learning a lot of other kitchen skills. It has been 3 years since she arrived on American soil and joined our family, so really her cooking skills are coming along nicely! This year we have put in a little extra time each week, so as to make sure cooking and kitchen skills would be part of our homeschool learning.

I told her we would publish this, if the muffins turned out to be a hit with everyone...

so...

  I grouped the how to in three steps: 

wet ingredients, dry ingredients and last minute touches.

Sparkly Love Muffins-the recipe!

tools needed: 

mixer

large bowl

measuring cups and spoons

wooden spoon

fork (optional)

oven set to 350 degrees

rubber spatula

cooking spray  

   

 wet ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

4 Tbs. softened butter  

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract 

3 mashed up bananas 

(ours were pulled out of the freezer earlier in the day and were very squishy, so it was included in out wet ingredient area.  If yours are not frozen, stir them in at the end of the recipe).

Dry ingredients:

1/2 cup oatmeal

3 cups white flour

 (can use whole wheat, I was out.)

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 Tbs. cinnamon 

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp salt. 

last minute detail: 

Turbanado sugar to taste

(a crystalized brown sugar)

   

Directions:  

In a large bowl beat eggs and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes)- start on a low mixing speed, then kick it up to full speed ahead!

Add butter one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated.  Slowly stream in oil, beater should be on low speed.   Add the rest of the wet ingredients. Set aside.

Now let's get our dry ingredients together in a nice large bowl.  Mix with a fork to make sure they are well combined.  

Add the dry ingredients in quarters until all is in, careful to not over mix or your muffins will be little heavy muffin bombs.   You can either mix dry into wet with a wooden spoon, or over low speed with your mixer.  

*now would be the time to add your mashed bananas if you are not using up frozen ones.

Prepare a 12 serving muffin tin with cooking spray.  Add batter to top of the cups.  Generously sprinkle the turbinado sugar on the top of each muffin. 

 Bake for 17-20 minutes until golden and sparkly.  Set muffin tin on wire rack to cook for 5 minutes.  Release muffins from tin and allow to cool on wire racks. 

 Eat and say, 

"Those are some awesome
 Sparkly Love Muffins!"

  
The head chef! 
Princess Sweetness loves herself some sugar, 

so these Sparkly Love Muffins were sugared up, 
ready for those you love.

Homemade Christmas Gift (easy!)

Handmade Chocolate Covered Pretzels

(easy peasy!)

Grabbed this container at Target

my homemade double-boiler

Putting on the chocolate

The  berbere action shot!

Get the kids involved in this!

Oh, YUM!

Recipe:

Pretzel Rods (can do dried fruit too!)

Chocolate (pick the kind you want) We used Ghirardelli 60% cacao, bittersweet chocolate chips.

We used about 2 cups worth.

1-2 Tbs. coconut oil (you could use Crisco shortening if you don't have coconut oil.

Sprinkles

Cinnamon and sugar mix

Berbere (Ethiopian spice mix...kickin' hot)

Chopped up nuts (we used some smashed up peanuts)

wax paper to let them cool on

transparent gift bags

pretty ribbon

handmade gift labels

Make a double boiler if you don't have one.  Basically a pan with an inch or two of water that will host a bowl of chocolate above it.  Warm chocolate and oil until melted.  (stay with the pot...you just want it to melt).  Turn it off once chocolate is melted.  Put back on double boiler if chocolate begins to harden.

Grab pretzels and baste with chocolate. Making sure to only cover 1/2- 3/4 of each pretzel rod. Allow excess to drip off.

While chocolate is still wet on pretzel, coat with desired coating.  (The berbere is yummy. Cayenne would work too.)  We tried bits of dried cherries, but they were just too heavy.

Lay out on wax paper, making sure they don't touch each other.  Give them time to dry and then bag those beauties up!

I didn't get a shot of ours before we blessed our friend Robin with a beautiful bundle of love!

We used all the left over chocolate to make some Bark.  We spread a cookie sheet with wax paper, poured out the remaining chocolate, spreading it fairly thin with a spatula.  We sprinkled all the goodies that were left over the top.  We set it into the fridge for a few hours and then broke it into bits and bagged it up too!

Merry Homemade Christmas!

Recipe for Ethiopian Tea

One of the many benefits of adopting children from a foreign country, has been the blessing of discovering culture through our taste buds.  With two beautiful Ethiopian daughters (age 3 and 14), we have thankfully been led into Ethiopian foods and drink. I think having a 14 year old who grew up within the culture has helped us retain many of the traditions within the Ethiopian daily life.

It wasn't until I pushed my buna (coffee) cup away-that I learned to love Ethiopian tea.  Now I don't know how they prepare this in Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa I only experience a real buna ceremony. But in my Ethiopian church, this tea is served during fellowship time at gatherings close. 

All of us look forward to a cup, each of my kids always line up to get handed their own cup of tea, including our 3 year old.  They normally pair it with Ethiopian bread, which is a yummy partnership: caffeine and carbohydrates-in my book you can't go wrong there! 

Ethiopian traditional tea

What you will need:

tea pot 

(mine is a stove top whistling model-I try to get whistled at a few times a week at least)

4-5 black tea bags 

(well for a typical tea kettle size)

(my Ethiopian friends like the Lipton variety)

8-15 whole cloves

5-8 cardamom (the green whole variety)

one cinnamon stick (about 3 inches long)

fresh cold water to fill the kettle with

sugar to taste (but my Ethiopian friends aren't afraid of sugar, enough said).

Put all ingredients into the kettle.  Bring to a boil.  Let sit for 3 minutes, fish out tea bags (which if you were smart, you let those cute little strings hang out over the edge of the kettle and secure them with the lid).

Pour into cups, add sugar while hot.

Stir...

Drink!

Personally, I don't drink tea black or with tea with sugar, but this is beyond lovely this way.
You can reuse the spices and tea bags for another round,
often I reuse mine for several days before discarding them.
They sit their waiting, patiently waiting for some fresh water, so they can get to business!

To change it up once in a while (hey, a girl has to have change, right?) I sometimes throw in some fresh ginger, a big hunk with the rest of the spices before brewing occurs.

Hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think!

cardomom

(easily found at an Indian market)

cinnamon

(you only need one, but the one I had looked so lonely 

that i brought a friend along for the photo shoot)

 cloves

This is what we're talking about!

Pop on over for the giveaway...

My Current Obsession

Once upon a time there was a girl who was feeling like she needed to be a little creative.  She stumbled upon a new shop, thanks to her Mum, called Restaurant Depot.  This place is filled with wonderful cases upon cases of restaurant supplies, thus my obsession began.

It started rather innocently with a huge box of *juice oranges (Valencia).  Add to that 25 pounds of sugar that disappeared in a weeks time.  

Orange marmalade I love you.  Even if you took me three whole days.  Who knew that marmalade was a three day process?

Day one: slice your oranges thin. (I also used 4 lemons) Soak in water for 24 hours.

Day 2:  Cook the oranges.

Day 3: add sugar -only half of the total amount.  To figure half, first measure your fruit.  The amount of cups of fruit will equal your amount of total sugar used (I am going pectin free in this recipe). Stir occasionally, more as it gets to the boil (burnt jam is yucky!)

Bring to a rolling boil (that you can't stir out).  Boil 5 full minutes.  Add in remaining sugar, 2 tbs. lemon juice and a nice chunk of butter.  Stir, bring to a rolling boil again.  Boil hard for 10 minutes or until your desired firmness.  (you can freeze a saucer or two and drop a few spoons on it to check if it is thick enough yet.  Tip plate to see if it is Jammy enough for your liking).

Ladle into sterile jars (with sterile lids ready).  Wipe jar rims clean with a clean tea towel or paper towel.

Put on lid and ring, tighten to fingertip tightness (which means just tight, not too tight).  Add to a hot water bath (I put a tea towel on the bottom of my huge canning pot, so I can fit more jars in without jar breakage.

Process once boiling is reached for 10 minutes.  Lay out a clean towel for the jars to sit on for the next 24 hours.  Take jars out with a jar gripper, set on towel.  Right away many of the jars PING- or seal.  Leave for 24 hours to cool.  

Check for seal. If didn't seal, use right away.  Store sealed jars in a cool dark place until ready to eat.  

 

As you can see I used old Atlas Ball canning jars.  They say they are not safe to use, and recommend the lids with screw on rims instead. 

However, I am a girl with a vintage soul and when I saw these for $.10 a jar I was on those babies. 

I was counseled by an 80 year old woman who gladly shared 50 years of canning wisdom with me and told me that they are just perfectly safe!  I agree and have 40 new jars full of various jams to prove it.

Adoption-Eating-Recipe...Goat Meat

There is another first here, besides adopting an older waiting child from Ethiopia, I cooked my first goat! Goat is a very common meat in Ethiopia.  Oft times you see the goats wandering around in the street, some with paint on their backside, meaning, they are for sale.

Being a vegetarian myself, I have to say, I haven't a goat clue.  Honestly, as a child I had a pet goat.  But my daughter said she like goat meat, so my Knight ran to the butcher and brought some home for me to cook.

How?

Well, I chose to slow cook it.  I added some berbere, some red onions, a bit of wine vinegar, water, a tiny bit of brown mustard, salt and parsley.  I covered it with aluminum foil and cooked it for about 6 hours in a 250 degree oven. 

Princess Sweetness and I shredded it off the bone, when it was cool enough to handle.  We served it with homemade injera (yes, we make it almost daily now!) and some lentils. 

They said it tasted a mix between chicken and pork- and wasn't gamey as expected either.  My youngest son (King Bonkie-6) LOVED it.  The meat-heads (as we lovingly call them...) said it was very good.  I bet it would be great in a slow cooker or if it was cooked in a pressure cooker.  It tends to be a chewier meat, in case you are curious!  I don't own either, but let me know if you try it this way. 

 I am still afraid of pressure cookers, as my Papa got burned from one when I was a child.  My sister in loves dad, had to go to the hospital for weeks when his *blew up*...I've been told they are safer these days?

Next, to share is our journey on making injera in America...which is quite the adventure to say the least.

Kicked Up Breakfast Cereal on the Cheap

At our local grocery, oft times we can buy store brand cornflakes, at buy one get two free. This is just too cheap to pass up, but honestly after awhile it can become monotonous, as a breakfast choice. Of course if there is bananas or fresh fruit, suddenly cornflakes are again embraced by my large brood. Many times however, we are out of fresh fruit for cereal...so in a moment of madness and perhaps winter hum-drums, I decided to give our old cornflakes standby a makeover.

The kids were in bed and I set to work on this simple cereal makeover...

• I poured the entire box of plain cornflakes into a large mixing bowl.
• I tossed in a handful of walnuts to up the protein content.
• In another bowl I added a large handful of raisins, craisins, 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, and a couple tablespoons of honey, tossing to coat thoroughly.
• Now it is time to add the chocolate coated mix to the cereal, gently mix to combine.
• I put it all into a large sealable container and set it back into the pantry...awaiting the waking children.

Let me tell you, it was soon discovered and received with much praise and thanksgiving, the next morning.

And my kids, who don't normally eat sweetened cereals, were thrilled to discover that their milk turned to chocolate flavored milk. Oh glorious morning! Maybe your family could use some spruced up flakes too?

Sweet Italian Kisses

Sweet Italian Kisses

~subtitled: Chocolate Peanut Butter Mini Tartlets ala Me

I was talking to my girlfriend yesterday, asking her if she knew how to make pie dough. She said she didn't. I told her that if she learned to do this, not only could she make pies, but cinnamon rolls, tarts, quiche, sugared twists and I am certain many other tasty treats on the cheap.

I took a basic pie dough recipe and added two Tbs. of sugar to the dough for fun.

I rolled it out to about a 1/8 inch thickness. Grabbed a glass (use a round cookie cutter or a wine glass...whatever is convenient) and cut out an even number or circles.

Butter or grease a cookie pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On half of the circles, I plunked on peanut butter. The other half got a spoonful of Nutella-but you could use a chunk of chocolate, a few chocolate chips or a Hershey's Kiss.

Grab a small bowl with water, dip your finger in and run it around the edge of your peanut butter circles-wetting the edge of dough slightly. Grab a circle of Nutella and place on top of peanut butter circle. Crimp around the edge with a fork to seal.

Place on prepared cookie sheet.

Crack an egg into a bowl, lightly beat with a fork. Add a tsp. of water to egg, beat again. Brush egg wash mixture over tartlets. Sprinkle on turbinado sugar if you have it...or regular sugar will work too.

Bake until golden, mine took about 10 minutes.

Ready to bake!

Yumm-o!

I should have made a double batch of pie dough,

as these disappeared immediately. Enjoy!