<3 Tea

Among many other qualities that I adore, one of the things J has starting doing for me lately is making tea for me in the mornings. I'm not a morning person, and the last few weeks (months?) have been especially bad. I'm not sure if I've just been more sleepy or simply less enthused to go to work. Either way, having a ready cup of tea in my travel mug really helps get me start the day in a more cheerful way!



Since it is actually snowing in Houston this evening (if you can even call it snow...), J decided that we should have tea tonight. What a fantastic idea! He pulled out all the stops for me and we even had tea of the loose-leaf variety! As I enjoy this delicious minty brew, I just think back on how we've come a long way in our relationship, beverage-wise.

J comes from a household where tea is served iced (and sugared) and coffee is the hot drink of choice. My childhood was pretty much the opposite in that we drank plenty of tea (only hot, and never sweetened) and coffee was only for guests. To get him to be a purveyor of tea seems like we've gone leaps and bounds from our initial encounter!

If you're not a big fan of hot tea, might I suggest sampling a different variety than what you've previously tried? Herbal teas (technically, "infusions") are a great place to start. And I minty or fruity teas are great "starter teas", too.

Of late, our "mutual favorite" teas come from the Tea Spot. We pick it up locally at the grocery store (I've seen it at Whole Foods and Central Market). I've given it as gifts, and I truly believe it is part of the equation that factored into turning J into a [hot] tea drinker. It's that good!

Time to check if there's any more tea in the pot.. I hope to have a 5th cup today!

Wishlists and such.

I just realized most everything on my Christmas wishlist has to do with food.

• 1L Stainless Steel water bottle
  
• Reusable Grocery Bags
  
• Pocket Cutlery
  
• And books.. several about food.

Sigh.

Pardoning the Turkey

It was nice to see a Vegetarian Thanksgiving menu in the latest issue of Gourmet magazine's feature on menu planning for the holiday.

While a turkey may have become a recent staple of Thanksgiving tradition, there are lots of yummy and seasonal items to be served to have a vegetarian holiday. To have a "mainstream" magazine feature a vegetarian rendition of the holiday meal may not be a monumental occasion, but is certainly a sign that the vegetarian diet is becoming more commonplace and accepted by the American public-at-large.

And while there was only one "Vegetarian" menu in the magazine, I saw many vegetarian dishes that sounded great on the "regular" Thanksgiving menus, too. To name just a few of those items, see Butternut Squash Soup, Date, Goat Cheese & Mesclun Salad, or Maple Squash Puree.

Related Links:

• Vegetarian Thanksgiving menu from Gourmet Magazine
  
• Gourmet's "All-American" Thanksgiving Menus
  
• Vegetarian Times' Thanksgiving Menu
  
  

Grr..

Why is it that some caterers think an acceptable vegetarian meal is formed by simply removing the meat option from the plate? Even if the meat wasn't literally on the plate, I don't know any vegetarians that are going to get excited about eating the "sides dishes". And doubling the amount of "side veggies" served does not increase the excitement about eating it.


The last two banquets that I've been to at hotels have simply served the predominant meat-centered dish without the meat for the "vegetarian alternative". The fact that they didn't even do a great job with cooking the vegetables makes it even worse. If you're a caterer/restaurant owner/cook who thinks this is an acceptable way of feeding vegetarians, the least you could do is ensure the veggies are cooked right. Adding salt and/or fat (butter/margarine/whatever) does not make overcooked & slimy vegetables more appetizing.

Please don't insult my taste buds by trying to serve that crap and calling it "vegetarian". And please don't insult my financial savvy by try to pass it as a meal worth paying more than the cost of frozen veggies at the grocery store. And, for the hard-working chefs who actually do have talent in terms of cooking, please don't kid yourself into thinking your food is notable because some fool made the mistake of letting you into a kitchen.

Fruit Cake

Thinking of making a fruitcake this year, but a little scared about the aging process going wrong. I am not a fan of wasting food and would be further annoyed because the ingredients to make a fruit cake ain't cheap.

I'll ponder a bit more and will certainly let you know if I'm brave enough to step up to the challenge.

Related Links:

• Fruitcake Wiki
  
• History of Fruitcake
  
• Alton Brown's Fruitcake recipe
  
• Linda McCartney's Vegan Fruitcake

Internet Foodie Link

I just discovered Chow.com's "The Ten". Don't know how I only just found out about this. Fun lists of food-related tid bits.