Apple Muffins with Dragonwell Glaze

Submitted by: Caroline Nystrom

A delicious winter treat!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg 1 cup milk
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1 1/2 cup peeled, chopped apples
Strongly brewed Dragonwell Tea
Confectioners sugar

Directions:
Cream together sugar and butter.
Add egg and beat well.
Stir in milk.
In another bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, and spices.
Add egg mixture to flour mixture, and blend just until moistened.
Batter will be lumpy.
Add apples to batter and blend carefully.
Fill well-greased muffin tin.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 mminutes, until golden brown.
Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Thin 4 tablespoons of confectioners sugar with the Dragonwell Tea to the desired consistency. Spoon glaze over the muffins and enjoy!

Fat-Free Irish Breakfast Kugel

Submitted by: Katherine Prioli

A fat-free noodle kugel flavored with Irish Breakfast tea. This is excellent as either a breakfast or a dessert dish and is good both hot and cold. Credit for the original recipe (upon which this is based) goes to Bette Koffler and Regina Kindman.

Kugel ingredients:
12 oz. yolk-free wide egg noodles (uncooked)
¾ cup sugar
12 oz. unsweetened applesauce
1 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup crushed pineapple with juice (no added sugar)
¾ cup cherry-flavored craisins
10.5 oz egg substitute
2¼ cup skim milk
12 oz. fat-free plain yogurt
5 tsp. Irish Breakfast tea leaves

Topping ingredients:
¾ cup Special K
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
2¼ tsp. brown sugar

Directions:
Warm the milk slightly in a saucepan; do not scald.
Keeping the milk on a very low flame, add the tea leaves.
Stir constantly for five minutes.
This will produce an overly strong brew.
Remove the milk from the heat; strain out and discard the tea leaves.
Place the milk in a mixing bowl.
Stir in the sugar, applesauce, vanilla extract, pineapple, craisins, egg substitute, and yogurt.
Place the noodles in a very large mixing bowl.
Pour milk mixture over the noodles and stir to evenly coat.
Pour this mixture into an 11” x 7” baking dish, cover, and refrigerate for at least four hours.
Prior to baking, preheat the oven to 300º.
Prepare the topping as follows: coarsely crush the cereal and mix together with cinnamon and brown sugar.
Sprinkle this mixture over the kugel.
Bake in a 300º oven for two hours.

Serves 12.

Smokey Cheese Spread

You will need to soften 8oz cream cheese to room temp.
Anything that will crush tea leaves to a powder

Prep Time: about 10 minutes
Serving Size: 10-15 people

Ingredients:
8 oz room temp cream cheese
3/4 tsp already prepared minced garlic
1- 1/2 tbsp minced chives or green onion tops
2 tsp lapsang Souchong tea leaves crushed to powder to make 3/4 tsp.
pinch of salt to taste

Directions:
Mash the cream cheese block to soften, add the garlic, chopped chive or onion tops, add the salt and powdered tea leaves (looks like pepper) Mix well and serve with snack crackers or rye bread. Best when mixed right before serving.

Chicken Soup with Lemon Grass

Een van mijn absoluut favoriete kruiden is Lemon grass. Vroeger moest je er voor naar eens peciaalzaak gaan, maar nu verkopen de meeste supermarkten vers citroengras.

Submitted by: Kara Tawa

Prep Time: 30-40 minute prep time
3 hours cook time
Serving Size: 8

Ingredients:
Whole chicken(5-6 lbs)
Bag of Carrots
2 Onions
2 celery
2 parsnips
Parsley
Dill
Lemon Grass

Directions:
Remove anything thats inside the chicken(heart, liver, neck).
Wash the chicken thoroughly inside and out.
Put it in a large soup pot.
Make enough lemon grass tea to cover chicken.
Add neck, heart, liver if you want for taste.
Bring water to boil and skim off scum on top.
Reduce to a simmer.
Peel and cut onions, parsnips, carrots and celery.
Add to pot.
Wash parsley.
Cut 1/2-1 cup into the pot.
Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
Add additional lemon grass if you want a really lemon grass taste.
Cover pot, cook on simmer for 3 hours.
At the last 30 minutes add the dill.
When soup is done remove the bones and skin from the chicken.
You can do this by straining the soup over a colander with a large bowl under it.
Adjust salt and pepper for taste.

Enjoy!

Tangy Yunnan Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 bags Chinese Breakfast Tea
1 tsp. orange rind
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. vinegar
3/4 tsp. sugar
pinch of salt & chili flakes
5 cups sliced mushrooms
1/8 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tbsp. peanut oil

Directions:

In mug, pour boiling water over tea bags and orange rind.

Let sit for 5 minutes.

Squeeze out bags.

Mix in cornstarch, vinegar, sugar, salt, and chili flakes.

Saute mushrooms in oil in frying pan until lightly browned.

Stir in green onions.

Pour in tea mixture and simmer until sauce thickens.

Tea-Smoked Chicken

It's important to have a good kitchen exhaust fan for this recipe as it does "smoke".
We use chicken wings, but 3-4 lbs. of thighs work as well.

Ingredients:
16 chicken wings
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbs. grated fresh peeled ginger root
1 tbs. honey
3/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. cream sherry
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 c. loose-leaf Lapsang Souchong tea
Sesame seeds as garnish

Directions:
Cut wing tip off drumstick end of wing and slice through the wings.
Wash and pat dry.
In a blender place chopped garlic, grated ginger root, honey, soy sauce and sherry and process only 20 seconds.
Pour marinade into a 9"x13" baking pan and coat the chicken wings.
Cover pan and refrigerate at least two hours, rotating wings at least one time.
Line a heavy cast iron or steel roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum and sprinkle the sugar and tea on the foil.
Place a cake or wire rack in the skillet, and arrange the chicken wings on top.
Cover with lid or more aluminum and turn the burner onto high, cooking chicken for 30 minutes. Resist the urge to lift off the pan, and keep chicken covered for 20 more minutes.
To make their appearance browned or crisper, coat with a little sesame oil and put in a preheated 450-degree oven for about five minutes.
Serve with sprinkled sesame seeds atop.
Great with peanut or mustard sauce.

Cooking with Green Tea: Delicious dishes enhanced by the miraculous healing powers of green tea

Capture the healthy benefits of green tea with this collection of tasty recipes.

Green tea has long been admired for its calming effects. Now this delicious substance is being recognized for its fundamental nutritional uses.

Polyphenol, one of the most effective antioxidants known, is an essential component of green tea. This compound possesses powers that make it an important protector against a variety of chronic ailments. In Cooking with Green Tea, Ying Chang Compestine teaches readers how to distinguish between the various types of tea, and explains why green tea is most favored. In addition, she provides more than fifty healthy recipes that are enhanced by this flavorful ingredient.

About the AuthorYing Chang Compestine is a regular food writer for Cooking Light, Self, and Men's Health. She has also been actively involved with several major tea manufacturers.

Apricot tea cookies

Ingredients:
About 20 cookies
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup rolled oats (not instant oatmeal)
1/2 cup Sucanat®, sugar, or alternate dry sweetener of choice
1 cup raw almonds, chopped
1 cup dried apricots, preferably unsulphured, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower or other light oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup plain or vanilla soy milk (approximate)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Sift the flour, soda, powder, and salt together into a large mixing bowl.
Mix in the oats, sugar, almonds, and apricots.
Stir in the oil, vanilla, and soy milk, mixing well.
If the mixture seems too dry, add more soy milk a few drops at a time until the mixture holds together but isn't liquidy.
Drop by heaping teaspoons onto a lightly oiled baking sheet.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until just beginning to brown around the edges.

This recipe is the copyrighted property of The Cat-Tea Corner™. Copyright © 1997-2009 The Cat-Tea Corner/JPB. All rights reserved.

Cooking with Tea

The Chinese liberated tea leaves from the cup long ago, but cooks around the world are now discovering tea as an ingredient in the kitchen. Trendy restaurants boast tea-infused sauces, and pastry chefs are learning how to balance sweet flavors with bites of tannin.

Depending on where they were grown and how they were dried, tea leaves can add fruity, floral tones or woodsy, smoky complexity or a refreshing, green-grass finish.
Obviously, you won’t want to use your $280 dollar-a-pound Imperial Dragonwell for cooking.

Loose-leaf teas will still deliver the best flavor, but since you’ll combine the tea with other ingredients, convenient bags will work almost as well. For recipes that retain the leaves, you may even prefer the smaller pieces in tea bags, as they’ll blend in more readily with other spices and herbs.

Flavor Infusion
Unless the tea leaves are very fine, the best way to add flavor is with an infusion. You can steep your favorite tea directly in hot milk, cream, wine, stock or juice instead of diluting the dish with water. If you want a stronger flavor, use more tea instead of steeping the leaves longer, to avoid bitterness and an overly tannic finish. For delicately textured foods, such as custard or ice cream, strain loose leaves through a damp coffee filter or paper towel to remove even the tiniest motes of tea. You’ll be left with the essence of the tea, a fragrant infusion that will add depth to a wide variety of dishes.

Tea Oil
Pressed from the seeds of the tea plant, tea oil is the new favorite of such celebrated chefs as Hubert Keller, Bradley Ogden, Roland Passot and Ron Siegel. The golden oil’s smoke point is high enough for sautéing without worry, while its delicate floral tones, deepened by just a hint of tannin, blends well in sauces and dressings.

Easy Ideas
Poach fish in green tea.
Infuse a custard or ice cream base with black or green tea, or use herbal tea in a sorbet.
Stir the contents of a tea bag into the dry ingredients of a cake.
Cook rice in weakly brewed tea.
Jazz up an egg sandwich: Gently simmer the peeled, hard-boiled eggs in a smoky lapsang souchong tea and let them cool in the liquid before chopping.
Replace up to half of the oil in your favorite vinaigrette with brewed tea. Those with citrus or other fruity notes are ideal.

Mintea Couscous

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 bags Mint Tea
1/2 cup boiling water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 large tomato, seeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp. black raisins
1/2 cup cooked or canned chick peas
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. saffron threads
1 tsp. salt
2 cups cooked couscous (small semolina pasta balls)

Directions:

Steep 2 tea bags in the boiling water. Set aside.

Saute onions and garlic in the oil over medium heat until golden.

Add tomato, raisins, chick peas, cinnamon, saffron, and salt.

Cook 5 minutes.

Add strained tea and simmer another 3 minutes.

Combine mixture with couscous or pasta and serve warm or at room temperature.

Teanut Brittle

A healthy, crunchy, delicious sweet treet.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serving Size: 48

Ingredients:
2c Steel Oats
1/2c Bran Flour
1/2c coarsly chopped roasted almonds, toasted
1/2c chopped walnuts, toasted
1/2c dried cranberries
2 1/2 TBS loose Genmai Cha tea
6 TBS honey
2/3c brown sugar
1 TBS butter

Directions:

Combine oats, flour, nuts, cranberries, and tea together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Next combine honey, brown sugar, and butter in a small pan over medium heat.

Stir over heat until ingredients form a liquid and mesh together.

Place the mixture onto a 12X16 cookie pan with parchment paper.

Using your hands pat the mixture down to cover the whole pan.

Bake at 350°F - 180°C - gas mark 4 for 20 minutes.

Cut into 2' squares five minutes after taking out of oven and let cool.

Jasmine Tea Cookies

Submitted by: Lana Young

Preparation Time: Bake 8 to 10 Minutes or until Light brown.

Serving Size: Approx 36 Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Butter (softened)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Strongly Steeped Jasmine Tea
1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Jasmine Tea Leaves
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Dash of Salt
Additional Sugar

Directions:

Steep 2 Teaspoon of Jasmine Tea in 1/4 Cup of 180 degrees Water for 5 minutes

Set in fridge to cool…

Mix Sugar and Butter in a large Bowl until Creamy, add Egg until Batter is Fluffy.

Blend in Flour, and 2 Tablespoons of the Strong Jasmine Tea... made earlier.

Crush and Sprinkle 1/2 Teaspoon Jasmine into batter with baking powder and salt. Mix well. Form on Waxed Paper or Plastic a 2 inch by 12 inches Log.

Cover and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat over to 350°F or 180°C or gas mark 4

Slice Cookies from log to 1/4 inches, place on nonstick un-greased cookie sheetSprinkle tops with Sugar.

Still looking for that very special christmas present for those mad tea-addicts in your family?

Look no further!!

Teaworld brings you the widest selection of Specialty Teas in one place. They provide premium high quality teas. Their range of teas includes Green, White, Fruity, Chai, Rooibos, Decaffeinated, Oolong, Organic, Pu-erh and Herbal teas.

But ... more important: they also have a large selection of Gift Baskets and Hampers packed full of tea and related accessories for all occasions for the tea lover in your life.

Teaworld also offers a Tea Masterclass. Courses are conducted by Jane Pettigrew, tea consultant and tea writer, and Tim Clifton, tea taster and international tea consultant.
The programme includes colour images and video footage and covers the following topics:
* The history of tea in Britain
* What is Tea?
* Why all teas are different, etc
* The manufacture of black, green, white, oolong, pu'erh and flavoured teas with samples and tastings
* Where the teas are produced
* From the plantation to the cup
* Loose tea & tea bags - different types, advantages & disadvantages
* Perfect brewing

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