After creating and selling Stash and Tazo Tea companies, Steve Smith is once again creating delightful teas. Whether you are looking for green, white, black tea or herbal infusions, Steven Smith Teamaker has a product that is right for you. The teamaker has set-up shop in Portland, Oregon.
My favorite, the peppermint infusion is full bodied and so fresh. I think it is the best peppermint tea I've tasted. The uniquely shaped pyramid tea bags contribute to the appeal. Oregon peppermint leaves are the wonderful secret ingredient. In fact you can learn the source
& lot number of every ingredient used in these teas by entering the batch number online.
I've also indulged in a special blend created for Churchmouse Yarn and Teas in Bainbridge Island, WA. The Tea is #512 Church Mouse No. 512. This tea is wonderful!
Check out his complete selection online, these teas are still hard to find locally unless you are lucky enough to live in Oregon.
During a recent trip to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, we enjoyed delightful "Badger Blast" ice cream at the Babcock Hall Dairy Store. Badger Blast is a chocolate lover's delight that includes premium chocolate ice cream laced with dark chocolate flakes and fudge swirls.
Babcock Hall has an operational dairy processing pilot plant. The plant can pasteurize milk and make cheese and ice cream. While many food science students use the facility to learn food processing techniques. The Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research also offers short courses. The four-day "World of Cheese Education from Pasture to Plate" short course looks very interesting. The course is designed for culinary professionals and covers all aspects of cheese-making and cheese-handling.
Another trip discovery was a unique cheese called Juustoleipa. This Finnish style cheese that was originally made from reindeer milk, of course, the Wisconsin version is made from pasteurized cow's milk. The name means bread cheese and the slice of cheese I purchased was about the size of thick slice of bread. After the cheese has ripened the cheesemaker bakes the cheese. This step gives the cheese a mottled brown appearance on the surface almost like french toast. Another interesting thing about this cheese is it squeaks as you eat it.
This cheese is usually served warm with jam or honey. I enjoyed the mild flavor and the texture was similar to Halloumi. I recommend trying this cheese. I enjoyed enjoyed the cheese dipped in coffee a traditional Scandinavian way to enjoy Juustoleipa.
I’m hosting the holiday party for my Seattle book group and have been scratching my head trying to think up something fun. One year we had a tapas theme, but most often we just sign up for an entrée, dessert, or whatever, and then try to bring something scrumptious.
This year, in addition to an assigned dish, we thought it would be fun for each of us to bring a small-sized bottle of a special olive oil we’d like to sample. The deep greens of good olive oil offer beautiful holiday color; when paired with other finger food like fire-roasted red peppers, balsamic vinegar and crusty bread; it's a joyful feast for the eyes as well as the palate. It’s also a rare opportunity to experience many olive oils at once for a straight-on comparison of their characteristics!
Although our local market has a good selection of items, we all generally shop in the same place. To find something unique, I used Google to search “Seattle Mediterranean Specialty Food.” I clicked on the first listing that came up: http://www.theshopagora.com. WOW. I found a long list of unusual olive oils and so much more. In fact, the store wasn’t far, so I decided to visit in person rather than order online.
Located near Woodland Park Zoo at 65th and Phinney, the shop is lovingly arranged, has a homey feel and even smells good. The delightful owners are full of helpful information about not just olive oils, but cheeses, wines, vinegars, and a broad spectrum of other Mediterranean items like pastas, wine and even cookies. Many of their products are uniquely artisan-made, produced in small quantities and imported from all over Italy, Greece, Spain, etc. There were samples available on a small table and I was enthusiastically encouraged to try many things: many were unusual and lots were vegetarian or vegan. The prices were surprising: comparable or better than what I would pay in my own market for something of similar quality.
I explained my oil tasting idea for the potluck. I already knew that just as special wines are for sipping not sauces, special olive oils are too delicious to lose among lots of other ingredients or to compromise with heat or flatten with cold. I’ll make sure the oils are at room temperature and will offer them with small pieces of my homemade crusty bread--probably the easy overnight loaf from the blog. Olive oils have a “nose” and a “finish” just like a good wine, and any happy novice can not only detect, but also appreciate the differences when oils are compared side by side. These oils are so rich and flavorful only a few drops are needed on bread for a great result; use in small quantities means the small bottles goes a very long way.
I admit I went a little crazy with the oils. First, I chose a classy bottle of Italian DOP Tenuta Cocevola(8.45 oz/$12.80) for the party. The oil is made from Coratina olives, hand harvested at a winery in southern Italy. It’s velvet taste is huge, with very low acid content.
I also bought a less expensive Sitia .07 (250 ml/$9) for us to enjoy at home. Sitia is from the Greek island of Crete. It’s the first cold press of Koroneiki olives, is very smooth and has a great fruity flavor.
Finally, I decided to buy a gorgeous bottle of Trampetti oil (500 ml/$34) from Umbria, the “gold coast” of Italy’s olive zone. The intensely aromatic, low acid Maraiolo olives have an amazing flavor. I’ll set out this oil when friends drop by throughout the holidays, as they always seem to do. I bought some great feta and fire-roasted peppers and crackers to keep on hand for just this purpose.
I confess that I nibbled on my purchases all the way home. I can’t wait for the party! For the first time, I will have my dish prepared well ahead of time and with virtually no effort! I am especially grateful to The Shop Agora for a suggestion to include saffron and truffle honeys with nuts and semi-sharp cheeses to accompany the olives. We’ll also draw numbers at the close of the evening, so each of us can choose an oil to take home as a reminder of a wonderful evening with friends. Who knows, I may even have time to clean the house.
P.S. I sneaked over to the store again with two of my book group
friends who had expressed an interest in a visit to Shop Agora. We had
a great time as one of the owners purposefully guided us through
tasting olive oils (from sweet, light & creamy low acids through
those with a stronger flavor, more bitter finish and greater acidity),
Then, we traveled through the honeys: acacia through chestnut (again
sweet and light at the beginning, through those with a more exotic
flavors/more bitter finish). There were also the "cheese honeys"
(e.g.,sweet & hot, saffron honey, etc.). We learned so much! I am
confident now that our oil tasting party will be a success, based on
the amazement and fun that just our tiny group had at the store. What's
NOT to love about olive oil? Maybe a honey tasting is next!
Apple season is in full swing. I like to use apples in many fall dishes, but I don't enjoy coring and peeling the apples. A friend offered to let me try her apple peeler/corer gadget that she bought through Pampered Chef.
She said it was easy to use. I was skeptical, however this gadget was easy to set up, use and clean. A full bag of apples were peeled, sliced and cored in a matter of minutes. I was surprised at the result, this apple peeler/corer worked very well. The apple slices were uniform and ready to use and the unit was easy to clean. If you use a lot of apples, it maybe worth investing in an apple peeler, corer. The only downside was the sticky apple juice that dripped all over the counter.
A surprise package arrived today. It looked like a box of long stem flowers. However, much to my delight it was a box of long stem cookies made by Cheryl and Co. The cookies are classy and delicious!
This frosted sugar cookie was a decadent treat! The bouquet also contained chocolate chip cookies.
We love salads! Salad greens are especially wonderful in the summer time when the farmer's markets provide so many tempting products. To top the salad, I make a wonderful homemade salad dressing that adds to the fun. My dressing is made in a convenient container for mixing homemade dressing that I found at Crate & Barrel.
Here is my original salad dressing recipe:
Jan's Italian Salad dressing*
2 oz Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
2 oz Rice Wine Vinegar
2 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Italian Seasoning Mix (Penzey's seasonings are an excellent choice)
1 tsp Italian Salad Dressing Mix (Penzey's Italian mix is an excellent choice)
1/4 tsp roasted minced garlic
lemon juice to taste
Shake well and enjoy!
I top my salad with freshly ground lemon pepper. Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper with the built in grinder is my favorite.
*Copyright 2009
*This recipe is copyright protected and cannot be reproduced without my written permission.
In Fort Collin's Old Town Square there is a new tea Shop called Cha Tao. Owners Yun Xiang Tseng and Chao Tao provide authentic organic loose leaf teas grown on the Sacred Mountain Tea Farm in China. Stop by and Enjoy!
