Poached BOULDER BLUES Salmon Crostinis

An easy, fun and healthy appetizer to make a party of twenty or two.

Poached BOULDER BLUES Salmon Crostinis

Yields: 12-16 appetizers                 

Cooking with Tea Technique: Poaching

Ingredients:

- 1 whole wheat baguette, 12 -16 crostinis

- 1 lemon, 8 slices 1/4 in thick

- 1 TBS Boulder Blues green tea, loose

- 1 TBS parsley, leaves finely chopped, stems reserved

- 1 TBS tarragon, leaves finely chopped, stems reserved

- 1 shallot, minced

- 1 cup dry white wine

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 lb salmon fillet (1 1/2 in thick), medium diced

- 1/2 cup crème fraiche or sour cream, low-fat 

- 1 TSP Dijon mustard

- 1/2 lemon, juice & zest

- Salt & Pepper to taste

- Garnish: capers

Preparation:

1. Crostinis: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette (1/4 in thick). Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, salt & pepper. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Reserve.

2. Arrange lemon slices in a single layer at the bottom of a 10 in skillet. Scatter, Boulder Blues, parsley stems, tarragon stems and 1/3 of minced shallot over lemon sliced. Add wine and water.

3. Lay salmon fillets in the skillet, skinned side down, on op of lemon. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the sides of the salmon are opaque and thickest part registers 125, about 8 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Using a spatula, transfer salmon and to a paper towel lined plate. Combine crème fraiche, Dijon, lemon juice & zest.

4. To serve: Spread lemon crème fraiche on crostini. Place salmon on top and sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and tarragon leaves.

5. Garnish with capers.

Rob wraps about the Tuffy Steeper

Rob Cooke explains why the Tuffy Steeper makes a great tea companion, especially on-the-go...

Anybody else wondering what else he has in his back pocket...???

Steep up a little dust lately?

read on... odds are, if you're a US tea drinker, you probably have :(

I did a double take then I first saw this headline in the Financial Express: "Clean tea, dusts in strong demand" Who's demanding dust, I wondered... but of course - your best-known tea companies!

From Wikipedia: "Dust tea...Traditionally these were treated as the rejects of the manufacturing process in making high quality leaf tea... has however experienced a huge demand in the developing world in the last century as the practice of tea drinking became popular. Cheap tea stalls in India and the South Asian sub-continent, and Africa prefer dust tea because it is cheap and also produces a very strong brew - consequently more cups are obtained per measure of tea dust."
 
Terrific... We Americans and Brits established dust's popularity, and tea bags made it all possible.  I guess there's something to be said for the vertical integration and sustainability aspect to being able to use the whole leaf, even the rejects from the manufacturing process ;)

Even the "clean tea" that was in high demand was - fannings!  Fannings are barely a step up from dust. They're defined in the tea industry as: Dust or very small particles of tea left over after processing. This is the lowest grade of tea.  Some auctions, however, include "dust" as an actual grade of tea, namely the one being reported on in our subject article.

Take heart, however, in that you'll probably never find dust or fanning grade tea in any loose tea product.  From the seven main grades of tea auctioned off, we're the ones who buy up the top 3 grades. So you can drink up and feel good about it :)

Photo Credits:
* Teabag beauty shot from prwatch.org 
* New Moon Darjeeling leaf pile from theteaspot.com

Next Time You're at a Proper Tea Party

inspiring....?

photo from http://imgur.com/iAzv5.png

Herbs & Spice Pairing with Tea

It’s been more than a year now, since I have had the pleasure to be guest-blogging for the T-Ching site, a favorite site for many tea lovers. Beautiful in its simplicity of design, and more profound in its pursuit of tea information on all levels – gastronomic, scientific, social, literary… you name it, and they have a thread on that tea-related topic! The people we correspond with there are most professional, welcoming and courteous – it’s been a real pleasure. Today I wanted to share here a recent post I did on T-Ching, since we still have a bit of Farmer’s Market season left, and since this post got a good amount of interest. Hope you enjoy…

Inspired by the bounty of fresh, beautiful herbs available at our summer Farmer’s Markets, this is the first of a two-part series on tea and herb pairings. Next month I’ll present some tea rubs developed by our own Tea Spot Chef, Karen Harbour. This post begins with the basics and explores pairing teas with fresh herbs and spices.

We tend to think of certain herb personalities as being especially well fitted to a particular primary ingredient – such as basil with tomatoes, rosemary with lamb, oregano with anything Italian, or chives with eggs or potatoes. But the interesting conversations at a breakfast meeting I attended this morning got me thinking way outside the box. So in this light, I stopped by Whole Foods Market on my way home, and bought some fresh herbs and spices to experiment pairing with my teas at home. I strongly encourage you to check out some of these winning combinations. (There were some serious losers that came out of this experiment as well, but for now I won’t dwell on the negative!)

Fresh Basil: Our Boulder Blues blend of green teas, wild strawberry, and rhubarb makes this herb sing! Try open-faced sandwiches of Italian bread spread with goat cheese, tomato, and basil with an iced Boulder Blues on the side and you’re set for the perfect gourmet summer lunch or snack. Best of all, you can cold-brew the Boulder Blues tea. Cold brewing instructions can be found here.
Fresh Mint: The connection here seems far-fetched, but because of chocolate’s affinity to Darjeeling, and the heaps of chocolate mint I have growing in my yard, I was led to trying this combination – and what a win it is! Perhaps my favorite discovery of this project. So please do try a nice pot of Darjeeling accompanied by anything made with fresh mint, like tabouli, stuffed zucchini, roasted potatoes tossed with garlic and mint leaves, or even fresh strawberries tossed with mint and honey. There’s something about the slight astringency in the tea with the refreshing juice of the herb that makes this a perfect match!
Chives: This one had me stumped for a while. But two great pairings for dishes made with fresh chives (like omelets, savory herb custards, or quiche) are Japanese Sencha (green tea) and Genmaicha (another typical Japanese green tea blended with roasted rice).

Cumin: Apricot chutney with iced Gunpowder Green tea. In fact, the chutney used as a glaze for pork or poultry with this tea is quite yummy. Or, crackers with mascarpone cheese and apricot chutney with the Gunpowder Green on the side…fantastic!

Cloves: Try a dusting of freshly ground cloves on green apple slices with a pot of pu-erh on the side – just heavenly!

Gourmet Sea Salt: Lapsang Souchong is a perfect complement. The strong salt bite of a gourmet sea salt in a dish of your choice balances the intense flavor of smoked tea, making this a great pairing.

Ginger: Love it with Oolong, especially a darker roasted oolong. Think Asian veggie stir-fries made with fresh ginger and garlic, a spinach salad tossed with a ginger-peanut dressing, or even ginger-snap cookies if you’re in the mood for sweets.

Chiles: A must-try with Keemun. I tried a lot of black teas for this pairing, including Yunnan (which was my first instinct), Assam, and even white teas…but the Keemun did the trick. It’s all about the balance of Keemun’s natural malty sweetness and chile pepper’s fiery kick-in-the-pants in two of my favorite dishes made with fresh chiles – a red thai curry and a colorful veggie stir-fry.

Food pairing really is all about balance…and the willingness to try new things and spit some of them out along the way! But an effort that’s well worth it, and I hope you’ll agree, was well worth sharing in the end.

photos, in order, from:

http://thenonconsumeradvocate.files.wordpress.com

http://www.salmonellablog.com

http://wendyusuallywanders.files.wordpress.com

Casanova Crab Cakes

A letter of apology to Lady Casanova, my mother...

While taking a quiz in culinary class tonight it dawned on my that I completely forgot one of the most significant days of my life, August 3rd, the day my mother was born. 

Although it sounds absurd to even think about what could've happened if that day never occurred, it's not absolutely ridiculous. Summed up best by Robert Frost,  

"Two roads diverged in a wood

And I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference" 

Reflecting how I became so passionate about cooking, I realized that it was my mother guiding me to take the road less traveled. The most significant fork in the road where my mom pushed me to explore the kitchen was when I was a freshman in high school. 'Let's have a dinner party for your friends', she said to me. After a few days of coaxing, she finally pushed me to create a 5 course menu. To tell you the truth, the only thing I remember cooking was the appetizer, New England Crab Cakes. I remember them being crunchy on the outside, tender in the middle and full of flavor in every bite. 

The guilt of not calling my mother started to build in class but I couldn't leave. The only thing that helped to temporarily extinguish my guilt was the fact that we were coincidentally learning how to make crab cakes. Making crab cakes tonight sparked memories of my mother and I in the kitchen creating delicious meals, laughing and loving our time together. 

A smile shined within my heart while I plated the crab cakes tonight. At dinner, a tear was brought to my eye while my team graciously complimented the dish on its flavor, texture and seasoning of the cakes. I knew I made them with TLC, I just wished my mother was there to taste the TLC.

Casanova Crab Cakes with Roasted Pepper Remoulade

Yields: 10 appetizers (3 - 2 oz cakes/plate = 60 oz)

Prep Time 30 min / Cook Time 20 min / Plating 10 min

Ingredients:

• 2 lb crabmeat, lump
  
• 1 lb crabmeat, claw
  
• 6 oz mayo
  
• 4 eggs, beaten
  
• 1 TBS dijon mustard
  
• 1 TBS Worcestershire
  
• 1 TBS salt
  
• 1 tsp white pepper
  
• 1 TBS Cayenne Pepper
  
• 3 TBS Parsley, chopped
  
• 8 scallions, finely sliced
  
• 4 oz bread crumbs
  
• 2 oz slivered almonds, toasted and crushed
  
• 3 oz panko crumbs
  
• 1/3 cup clarified butter or canola oil 
  
• 1 Roasted Bell Pepper, peeled, cored, seeded & small diced
  
• 1 pt Remoulade Sauce (use recipe below or buy tartar sauce)
  
• Lemon wedges, garnish
  
• Mixed greens, garnish
  

Preparation

1. Pick over crab cakes and remove shell
2. Mix together mayo, eggs, mustard, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, cayenne, parsley, scallions. Add bread crumbs and fold to combine.
3. On a plate, mix Panko crumbs with toasted almonds. Scoop out a 2 oz and place it on the Panko crumbs mixture and cover it completely with Pankos. Mold a crab cake by softly pushing top and bottom together and pressing sides to firmness. Place on baking sheet. Can be made up to two days in advance.
4. Pan-fry cakes in oil or butter until brown on both sides and cooked through. 
5. Add roasted bell pepper into Remoulade sauce.

Remoulade

Yield 1 qt

Ingredients:

• 4 oz Dill pickles
  
• 2 oz onion, brunoise
  
• 2 oz capers
  
• 1 qt mayo
  
• 1 TBS Anchovy paste
  
• 2 TBS parsley, chopped
  
• 3 TBS Lime Juice
  
• 1/3 cup Sriracha
  

Preparation:

1. Mix all above ingredients together, can be made up to 1 week in advance.

Tune in for next week when I forget my dad's Birthday...Just joking, I forgot that date a few months ago...

Love you mom... 

Can't wait to incorporate tea in the recipe and enjoy it with my mom...

The Tea Spot steeps loose tea in WHAT?!?!?!

We get a lot of questions regarding the choice of silicone for our Tuffy Steepers. As the socially responsible loose leaf tea company, and the creators of STEEPWARE... it was a rather dramatic departure from handcrafted porcelain! And needless to say, for a tea connoisseur, the thought of steeping your tea in a rubber basket is, at first blush, not very appealing! But I would challenge even some of the most refined tea drinkers to carry a Silicone Tuffy Tea Steeper around on their next few out of town trips… and I’d bet that most of them will ultimately succumb and become users of this nice, big, and practical loose leaf tea filter that folds up to less than half of its total volume. Yes, the first time you smell a new Tuffy, it’s going to smell of rubber – but pour boiling water through it, and let it sit for a while – it will be odorless after your first steeping (it you prefer to rinse it with tea that will go to water your favorite plant later, be my guest…

There was a lot of research and testing done on silicone materials before we came out with this product – that’s why our’s is made with a German-grade (not US, sorry!) silicone – it exceeds the FDA standards, and is considered “medical-grade” silicone. I too was a bit taken aback the first time I saw a quiche baked in a flimsy rubber pan – wouldn’t that rubber melt right into my food?! Silicone rubber is a synthetic rubber made from a polymer of silicon and oxygen, and food-grade silicone is considered very inert. Silicon is one of the most plentiful elements in the Earth's crust, second only to oxygen. The melting point of our Silicone is 932°F - not a likely temperature to get anywhere close to while making tea…

In addition, we feel that there's no big barrier to purchasing and using silicone rubber objects, if you follow the general responsible consumption plan, aka, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Silicone is certainly preferable to toxic plastics, and a happy alternative material (so far as we know) in baby bottles and non-stick pans. It's reasonable to replace disposable paper muffin tin liners and the like with silicone liners, if we use the silicone liners for years and years. So… no need to make things complicated next time you camping or on the road – you can just grab a Tuffy Steeper, along with some of your favorite tea leaves and stay well anti-oxidized… that’s why we created it – so drink up, and feel good about it!

White Teas, Please... a hit!

Since our White Teas, Please gift bundle was such a success, we're extending it for this week. If you like white teas, you've got to take advantage of this deal. (We're not usually so generous!) It's listed at 40% off retail values, essentially giving a 2 for 1 deal. Check it out....
And read our previous blog post to learn the latest facts in white tea research linked to weight loss and fat metabolism.

Keep On Rocking (The Republic) in the Free World

Just wanted to give a big thanks to Diana from Rocking the Republic for the awesome review of our Vintage Oolong loose tea that she posted this morning. Check her out. She just recently started her tea blog, and is already taking the tea blogosphere by storm.

She spoke poetically on the look and taste... "My cup was soon densely swimming with tea leaves after a minute. Watching tea leaves unfurl is always strangely comforting. It’s like watching the introduction of a familiar story unfold itself. The tea smelled very sweet. It was a warm and inviting cup. The liquor was a pale green and gold... Wow. This is a very nice tea with wonderful body. it’s rich and complex with a slight hint of umami*. The flavour is continuing to linger in my mouth after I have had the tea."

* Side note: Umami (according to the all-knowing wikipedia) is a Japanese flavor descriptor meaning "tasty", although "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternate translations. Yay for new words!

Then she spoke of here dad's love of full leaf teas, and it became clear where her love of tea began... "When it comes to tea, my dad loves big leaves, beautiful color, and a bold taste. He’s always fond of showing me the outrageously large tea leaves in his cup after he’s steeped. I think this is one tea that I can finally share with him that he would enjoy as well. Pair this with a good book and you have what I would call a perfect day. I’m glad I started my day with this cup." Thanks Diana! We're glad you did too.

Insider trading secret... our Vintage Oolong is still on promo. Buy 2 tins, get 1 Free! Just enter the total number of tins you want to receive (ie. 3 tins) and your cart will take care of the rest (only charging you for 2 tins). No promo code needed. Enjoy...