Message in a Bottle

Who needs to wait for the bottle to land on the beach when you can have a message with every cup of tea? One of my pals on Shelter Island said she saves the sayings attached to her tea bag. Got me reading them. They are great...nice, thought-provoking. Yogi teas have the best! I love tea and find it comforting. Needed a big warm mugful after last night's memorial service in Tuscon.

These are the bagged teas I love (except I am out of kukicha, a Japanese twig tea) and below is an especially appropriate message from a cup yesterday.

Pretty timely and profound, right?

If you are also a tea drinker, please read the post from December 16th, Cracking through My Comfort Zone. I try to buy teas that support the small farmers. My favorite brand is Organic India. I love the tulsi base of every tea but what really thrills me is that on every box there is a story about the family raising the tea and how Organic India works to help sustain family farms and heritage teas. Lovely.

There are also lots of fabulous loose teas I love...no sayings attached, but with the deep, aromatic flavors they have, I create my own, most starting with "Ahhh..."!

And, drinking needn't be the end point for tea. Green tea is great to put in a spray bottle and spritz your face with and many teas are great to cook with instead of using just plain water. I use them often in my morning shake, too. Here is a new one I just made from the Vitamix cookbook...really good for your skin from the inside out!

Orient Express Smoothie

1 cup hot green tea
1/2-1 teaspoon fresh ginger
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups frozen mango chunks (or mix of frozen berries and mango)
2 cups ice

Place all in blender and blend away. Serves 1.

Inside those Toe Shoes

I went to see Black Swan over the weekend and I am still in a spin over it. What a magnificent performance by Natalie Portman...truly exquisite...and the story is as psychologically grueling as the reviews have claimed.  It didn't help my emotional state that I was downing handfuls of chemically-soused popcorn for two hours either. I am weak near movie popcorn. Wretched stuff but I love it and wear it for days. I feel that, now mentally better prepared, I need to see this movie again...just as soon as I lose this popcorn weight. Call me if you want to go.

Anyway, one of the scenes prompted me to share a present I got from my DIL Reshma for Christmas...another line of healthier nail polish, RGB, that I had been eyeing for months. She gave me two colors...one is Sea, a beautiful, deep, truly sea-colored emerald that sparkles like the perfect wave and the other Scarlet...for when I want to kick it up a little. Cruelty-free and free from harmful chemicals...just my kind of glam. Look for this line online at http://www.rgbcosmetics.com/ or in select shops. (I have seen the line here in Little Rock and at Woodley and Bunny in Brooklyn.)

Next week I am sharing a Hair Affair and a gift Lissa gave me. Fun, healthy, pretty, glam-y stuff...love Women and Wednesdays.

Also, because Sous Chef Annie opted out of all the snow photos, I thought you would love to see her in her preferred setting. She is quite proud of her nails...lovely, long and dark. Oh dear...feel myself drifting back to Black Swan....

Lounge Princess Annie with Lilly on the ready at Bark Central

A Stretch and Sentry Change

Thoughts in Flight

 May comfort and healing wing their way to the families in Arizona.

Honoring Campbells...No, not the soup!

Today was a toss up...there are so many people doing great things with food that it was hard to pick just one for the Red White and Food post. And so, I picked two! I saw this interview in the New York Times and thought you would enjoy it.

The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and his son, Thomas Campbell is a book I have on hand here at home, have listed as a resource on this blog and have spoken about many times. Powerful, compelling information, quietly and factually presented. No hype...just decades of scientific research. For those of you mulling over a more plant-based diet, combining my comments yesterday and this piece may help you decide. I can help you get going, too! Some of you may remember what  I discovered my food addiction was...seems I am not alone. Here is the article. Have a great day!!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/nutrition-advice-from-the-china-study/?ref=health

No, it is not the Flu

I was sick to my stomach all weekend. No, not from the flu. From the tragic, mindless, senseless violence in Arizona. Then, something happened which helped and I will get to that later.

Good Morning Angel

A year ago, I gave up eating animals and that choice was not primarily for health reasons. The major reason I have switched to a plant-based diet was to stop the violence that my tastes and hunger created. (I live in Little Rock, a city with a pretty violent track record, too. I believe it is in the top 10 cities with the most per capita violent crime.) I decided that changing how I eat was the one thing I could control and create peace with every day. For my plate to be a peaceful place is a start. Do no harm. May that mantra be as contagious as the flu.

Anyway, I am still very upset and wanted to talk about beans today, Meatless Monday. Beans are great and there is a big, peaceful movement a foot to bring back some heirloom varieties. If you have not had an heirloom bean, you are missing out. Many of the beans in the grocery store are old and dusty tasting. Like tomatoes, teas, apples and many other crops, reviving the heirloom varieties of beans has popped out some very exciting flavors. Every Christmas for the past couple of years, I fix an heirloom bean dish using Christmas Limas, a giant lima bean. They are beautiful, crimson-y colored with lovely white markings. The recipe below is one of my favorites and it appeared originally in Food and Wine.

Delicious beans combined with a beautiful snowfall warmed my soul. Nourishing peace is also snow much fun!!!

Stewed Giant Limas

3 cups dried giant lima beans or gigantes, rinsed and picked over, then soaked for 4 hours and drained 
Kosher salt 
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
1 medium onion, finely diced 
1 garlic clove, minced 
One 16-ounce can whole tomatoes—juices reserved, tomatoes coarsely chopped 
2 tablespoons chopped oregano 
1 cup coarsely crumbled feta cheese (6 1/2 ounces), for sprinkling 
2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs

Pesto 
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
2 tablespoons chopped oregano 
2 tablespoons chopped parsley 
1 small garlic clove, minced 
Kosher salt 

Prepare the lima beans. In a large saucepan, cover the lima beans with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the limas are just tender but still al dente, about 2 1/2 hours; add water as needed to keep the limas covered by 2 inches. Season the limas with salt and let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. Drain the limas, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid. 

In a medium saucepan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderately low heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano and the reserved bean cooking liquid and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 1 hour. Season the tomato sauce with salt. 

Meanwhile, make the pesto. In a mini food processor, combine the olive oil with the oregano, parsley and garlic and pulse to a coarse puree. Season the oregano pesto with salt. 

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, mix the limas with the tomato sauce and sprinkle the feta on top. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 40 minutes, until the beans are bubbling and the cheese is browned. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the bread crumbs and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until toasted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt. Top the beans with the bread crumbs, dollop with the oregano pesto and serve. Serves 6-8.

This dish is fabulous as leftovers, reheated and topped with an egg!!

Now, s'more snow much fun..

Two bemused Sous Chefs...one stayed inside as evening snow fell

and turned into a morning wonderland

Neighborhood snow cuties