tea -

by Emily

It's a Moringa Miracle!

Pomegranate, acai, chia… the list of trendy superfoods goes on and on. I”m a fan of anything that tastes good and is exceptionally good for you, but sometimes it can get a little old.

But I”d like to think I”m on the cutting edge of the next superfood/miracle ingredient, and I would like to introduce it to you before the big brands get ahold of it and you”re sick of hearing about it. I”m talking about Moringa.

I first discovered the existence of Moringa at my favorite juice/smoothie place, Juiceland, in the beginning of the year. (Um, also, Juiceland just opened a Brooklyn outpost, so all my NY readers/friends, go check them out! SO good.)

Anyway, a quick google search shows they debuted Morniga on their menu last fall. This is the sign that caught my eye. 17 times the calcium of milk, 15 times the potassium of bananas, 9 times the calcium of yogurt, 25 times the iron of spinach… what the F is this stuff?!

Well, according to the only news source most Americans (including myself) know how to use, Morniga is actually a tree native to Africa and Asia. Most of best online casino it is edible for humans, including its leaves. That”s where we”re getting all these nutrients from for the Moringa supplements.

Obviously I wanted to reap the benefits of Moringa and see if I immediately felt like a superhuman, so once I read about it, I got some in my smoothie. And have continued to throughout the year. I don”t know if I”m infinitely more healthy, but hey. Can”t hurt, right?

Not into smoothies or straight-up supplements? You can find Morniga in tea form now. Organic India recently sent me some Moringa tea to test out. I really like them! The tea is very calming. Maybe it”s kind of a mental thing, like I know I”m drinking something really good for me, so I feel peaceful and virtuous. I”m not sure, but I know that I like it.

by ES Guest

Cocktail O’Clock: Serious Mulled Wine

It’s about that time of year when we start heating our wine, and cocktails suddenly feel less sinful, more warm and comforting. Well, this tea and wine concoction still packs plenty of punch, amping up your mulled wine with vodka and port. Plus, you get to light things on fire.

Moonlight by the Fire: Mulled Spiced Wine

by BS

Drinking the Season: 7 Holiday Cocktail Recipes

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, you know what ES has up our virtual sleeves for you…a holiday cocktail! Or seven!

OK, fine, we don’t actually have a Kwanzaa cocktail (Sandra Lee…where aaaaare you on this one?) but from peppermint to gingerbread, there’s something on this holiday cocktail list everyone can get behind.

1. Seven Layer Cookie

3/4 oz. Godiva® Liqueur
3/4 oz. Coconut rum
1/2 oz. Butterscotch Schnapps
1/2 oz. Partida Anejo Tequila
1/4 oz. Frangelico
1/2 oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream®
1/2 oz. Amaretto

Garnish rim of a martini glass with crushed cookie crumbs. Shake all ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into martini glass.

2. Wine Me Up Santa

From: W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island

1 750ml bottle red table wine
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
¾ teaspoon whole pink peppercorns
2oz honey
2oz vodka
1oz triple sec
.5oz soy lecithin
Cinnamon powder

Warm all ingredients except soy lecithin in a saucepan at a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not allow the temperature to exceed 140°F / 60°C (If mixture starts to boil, lower the heat.) Seal and chill. Take ¼ of your mixture and use an electric hand blender to mix in soy lecithin to create an airy topping. Pour in liquid mixture to fill half of a glass mug or teacup, top with mulled wine, air, and lightly dust the top with cinnamon.

3. Chocolate Peppermint Cookie

3/4 oz. Partida Blanco Tequila
1 oz. Peppermint Schnapps
3/4 oz. Godiva® Liqueur
1-1/2 oz. Cream

Rim martini glass with chocolate syrup and crushed candy canes. Shake ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into martini glass.

in Drinks / Holiday / Recipe 0 comments

by unsightly

Endless Ice Cream: Pumpkin Chai

I couldn’t close out this ice cream series with including one of my favorites, pumpkin.

Pumpkins start showing up at the farm stands by me around the first week of September, and I cannot resist the urge to pick up a few pie pumpkins and roast them. If you’re down for roasting your own pumpkins and making puree, here is an easy tutorial. Make sure you puree it until very smooth; the ice cream is unforgiving to stringy pumpkin puree. Otherwise, canned pumpkin works perfectly. Scoop yourself a big waffle cone of this and pop in The Nightmare Before Christmas for a perfect (in my opinion) end to the day.

Pumpkin Chai Ice Cream

in Desserts / Featured / Recipe 0 comments

by unsightly

Endless Ice Cream: Toasted Brown Rice

I have had the joy of working in a coffee shop for almost 11 out of the last 12 years. One of the many, many highlights of this job is the sheer number of teas and coffees I have been privileged enough to taste along the way. A steadfast favorite tea is The Republic of Tea’s Tea of Inquiry. It’s a classic genmaicha, green tea with toasted rice. The depth and warmth the toasted rice lends to the tea is what made me fall so quickly in love with it. After going through several tins I decided to try my hand at toasted rice and mixing it with different types of tea. Oolong, black, white, pu-erh — all have been made better with a small handful of toasty brown rice.

The last time a brewed a cup, I wondered how toasted brown rice would fare in ice cream form. My first instinct was to steep the rice with tea leaves for an ice cream take on genmaicha, but I have a handful of other tea-themed ice creams already up my sleeve. So I decided to pair it with the sweet molasses flavor of brown sugar. The results were beyond my expectations. Dark, toasty, creamy and sweet, this ice cream has a subtle depth that keeps your spoon going back for more.

Toasted Brown Rice Ice Cream

in Desserts / Endless Ice Cream / Featured / Recipe 2 comments

by gansie

Attack of the Meme: Ryan Gosling is a Farmers Market-Loving Feminist

Ryan Gosling is a feminist, well, on Tumblr that is. On Feminist Ryan Gosling, the adorably scruffy actor weaves together gender studies, Cocoa Puffs, pizza and tacky come-ons in this brainy, funny and drool-worthy satirical look at a hunk that loves feminist theory.

(Photo: Feminist Ryan Gosling)

in Celebs 1 comments

by Miss K

Good Enough to Put Your Name On

Once, last year when I was pregnant, my husband and I had Chipotle for dinner. He ate his whole burrito. I ate half of mine. I put mine in a container in the fridge with a note that said, “Do not eat this burrito. If you eat it, you will be stealing your baby’s food.”

In the same vein, my friend Colleen is one of the most generous people I know. She lives in community at a Catholic farm in West Virginia, where she, her husband and a handful of other year-rounders play host to hundreds of volunteers every year. She is a master at cooking food for a crowd. And, sometimes, she puts her name on her food.

So, what is it about certain foods that turn normally mild-mannered women into petulant 3-year-olds, yelling, “Mine!” while clinging to a beloved box of truffles? Well, it’s not a character flaw. It is simply a sense that certain foods and beverages deserve special treatment and savoring. I don’t want my husband scarfing my burrito at 11pm when he could just as easily make a peanut butter sandwich. Similarly, volunteer coming across some tangerine Spritzers in the fridge would probably not recognize that they were imported from the nearest Trader Joe’s, which is four hours away. Which brings me to the tea.

in Drinks / Personal / Rants & Raves 0 comments