Grilled Tea Infused Veggie & Shrimp Skewers...

Last week I taught a hands-on cooking with tea class at Whole Foods Market Tamarac. The group was so much fun and eager to learn how to incorporate tea into different recipes. I taught how to make the veggie skewers as a side dish but you can double the marinade/drizzle recipe and a complete meal by adding shrimp, tortillas, salsa, avocado and sour cream to your grocery list and assemble tacos for a tea-licous summertime dinner. This tea recipe is easy, crowd-pleasing, fresh, fun & healthy.

The marinade/drizzle has a citrus sweet tang with a kick of heat. Add more cayenne pepper if you want to kick it up a notch

Green Roasted Mint Infused Veggie & Shrimp Skewers

Serving Size: 4-6                  Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients - Infused Skewers                    

·      10-12 Skewers

·      6 tsp TeaSpot’s GREEN ROASTED MINT tea, steeped into 6 oz concentrate

Preparation - Infused Skewers

1. Steep tea concentrate: Steep 6 tsp of tea in  6 ounces water at 175°  for 3 min*

2. Soak Skewers overnight, strain tea leaves & reserve concentrate for drizzle

Ingredients - Veggie Skewers

·      1 large red onion, cut into 1/2 cubes

·      1 medium zuchinni, cut into 1/2 in cubes

·      1 medium yellow squash, cut into 1/2 in cubes

·      16-18 mushrooms, quartered

·      16-18 cherry tomatoes

·      1 medium orange & 1 green  Bell Pepper, cut in 1/2 in cubes

·      1 bunch of broccoli, cut in florets with 1/4 in stems

·      1/2 tsp sugar, for sprinkling

Ingredients - Shrimp Skewers

·      1 1/2 lbs. large (21-25 count) shrimp, peeled, deveined

·      1/2 tsp sugar, for sprinkling

Ingredients - Marinade/Drizzle

·      1 1/2 cup olive oil

·      3/4 cup lime juice

·      1/3 cup agave 

·      1/3 cup GREEN ROASTED MINT concentrate, reserved from infusing skewers

·      Tea-sonings: combine the following

o     2  TBS TeaSpot’s GREEN ROASTED MINT tea grounded

o     1/2 TBS  cilantro

o     1/2 TBS  cayenne pepper, depending how hot you want

o     1/2  TBS salt

o     1 tsp sugar

o     2  tsp basil            

Preparation - Veggie Skewers & Drizzle

1. Drizzle: In a medium bowl whisk to combine oil, lime juice, agave, tea concentrate, Tea-sonings divide in thirds (1/3 for veggies, 1/3 for shrimp, 1/3 for dipping)

2. Veggies: In a large bowl add 1/3 of drizzle. Add veggies, toss to coat and let marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour. After marinating alternate cubed veggies on infused skewers. Pack tightly and sprinkle sugar on one side. 

3. Shrimp: In a large bowl add 1/3 of drizzle. Pat dry shrimp with paper towel and butterfly using a paring knife, making shallow cuts down the middle of the outside curve. Add shrimp to bowl and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to a hour. after marinating, skewer shrimp by alternating directions of each shrimp. Pack each skewer tightly, about a dozen/skewer. Sprinkle one side of sugar on top.

4. Place veggies skewers, sugar side down, on one side and shrimp, sugar side down, on the other side of grill and cook on low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes, rotate & grill on other side for 1-2 minutes

5. Take off grill and serve with reserved drizzle, lightly grilled tortillas, salsa, avocado and sour cream. 

Try this easy to make menu for your 4th of July BBQ and let me know how it tastes...Fill a pinata and throw a real fiesta...

Tea for Romance

Summer in Boulder: our extraordinary irises and wild Mariposa Lilies, which we’re well known for, are showing their varied colors and exuding their delicious fragrance. Wood roses are open and sharing their exotic perfume. These and more contribute to the lovely feeling of romance in the air…hence my inspiration for this post!

As busy entrepreneurs in our respective businesses, my fiancé and I don’t always have the time or energy for a leisurely 6 o’clock drink, but it’s still important for us to get together and reconnect at the end of our work days - which is just as beautifully, if not more so, accomplished with an informal gong fu tea ceremony and some aromatic (is there a pattern here?) oolong…or, if we need more of a lift, a nice strong pot of Earl Grey, or a Japanese green with some dark chocolate! When we’re really looking to unwind, a couple of aromatic steeping cups of Meditative Mind, our white tea blend sprinkled with rosebuds and green tea jasmine pearls, are just the thing.

A quick Google search on “aphrodisiacs” shows that there are many different categories of substances named after the Greek Goddess of love, Aphrodite, used in the belief that they increase sexual desire – aromatic, edible, stimulating, relaxing, hallucinogenic, and more.

The oil of bergamot in Earl Grey, it turns out, has long been used as an aromatic aphrodisiac to reduce muscle tension, anxiety, and stress. For added smoothness, our Earl of Grey has just a touch of licorice root, considered an excellent edible and aromatic aphrodisiac. In fact, traditional Chinese medicine used licorice root to enhance love and lust and the ancient Kama Sutra included it as an ingredient for many recipes to increase sexual vigor! According to research done at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, the smell of licorice root is particularly stimulating to women. I always thought the calming aromatherapeutic benefits coupled with the visual beauty of Meditative Mind helped make it our best-selling tea, and had quickly dismissed a most grateful cycling buddy who once told me that my gift of that tea turned his girlfriend wild! But my research unveils that the rosebuds and jasmine pearls may do more than simply calm us down. Rosebuds are, indeed, an aphrodisiac…mmm. Their aroma stimulates the brain and keeps the mind focused and alert (hence the name of our tea!). But rosebuds are also a great mood enhancer and amplify the libido! Eating them (though I don’t know about their infusion) apparently increases blood flow through the body and allows a warm sense of stimulation. Jasmine is also an aromatic aphrodisiac. So much for the meditation…perhaps we should have called it “Tantric Mind”.

Needless to say, the caffeine in tea can offer an energy boost at the end of a long day to get you back to your best when starting your evening with your sweetheart. You should consider a romantic tea break next time you come home. Just keep in mind the quote by the travel writer Catherine Donzel: “Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage”.