Both Merci and I love a cup of tea. It’s how we start every morning. A cup of tea and then comes the coffee. We grew up watching our mothers drink tea alone or with company. Morning, noon or night, always a good time to put on the kettle.
According to Readers Digest, research shows that tea drinkers can enjoy greater protection from heart disease, cancer and stress, no matter what type of brew they choose. We both like the black and green teas. I have 2 cups of green tea at work, 1 cup with my lunch every day. Experts say the antioxidants in tea leaves confer major health benefits. That’s why we admire how these creatvie cooks went beyond the cup to find tasy ways to meld tea with their appetizers, meals and desserts. These ideas are so great!
Steep in soup – Krissy Fulton of the food blog Make It Naked steeps 4 to 6 green tea bags in chicken broth for five to eight minutes for a Asian-inspired infustion.
Bread chicken – Season chicken with tea leaves as you would salt, pepper and other spices before dredging in flour and pan-frying. Finecooking.com suggest a black tea called lapsang souchong for its smoky, bold flavor.
Spice up cookie batter – Faith Durand of thekitchen.com adds one tablespoon of finely ground Earl Grey into a basic sugar cookie. Almost any type of tea from green to masala chai will work.
I always use tea instead of water in pre-packaged cake mixes, instant potatoes, soup mix – what ever calls for water, I use tea – it gives the finished product a homemade taste that everyone likes. My secret ingredient.
Flavonoids in tea makes it a healthy addition to meals – hope you give tea a try !
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