I came across this interesting tea sketches Flickr group a few days back. It’s a pretty simple but effective way to get that creative process kick-started:
1. Drop a bag of tea on an index card
2. Allow to dry
3. See what images ‘pop’ up- this is where you can get really creative!
4. Scan and upload to the flickr group.
Kinda reminds me of those ink blob sketches that my psycholo- errr, never mind.
*Credit for the above tea sketch goes to flickr user Life Without Taffy
Yesterday was a civic holiday and we took this opportunity to go out for dinner. My wife and brother-in-law are somewhat of sushi aficionados and suggested we head out to a place just north of Steeles on Yonge Street.
I’m more of a ‘California roll’ type of guy for two reasons. 1) I can’t stand fish eggs and 2) I’m allergic to shrimp and some other seafood. We arrived at a place called Ginza Sushi and it was absolutely packed- luckily a group was just leaving as we got there and didn’t have to wait long for a table. Once seated the waitress promptly brought over some Genmaicha tea (also known as brown rice tea or ‘popcorn tea’). I’m not too fond of this variety of tea, but it paired quite nicely with the menu and was *ahem* loose leaf :)
We all ordered a variety of dishes, most that I couldn’t try because they contained seafood; however I did get to sample an amazing beef & enoki wrap and my trusty vegetable tempura. A dish that appeared to be very popular (at least with the people around us) was the bento box- and wow, they sure are generous with the serving size. We were so stuffed afterwards that I had absolutely no room left for their green tea ice cream that I was looking forward to trying.
If ever in the area and craving Japanese cuisine, I would definitely recommend checking them out. They are pretty cheap, clean, and (for the most part) fast.
After the intense heat and humidity today I thought I would whip up a pitcher of this great tasting iced tea. For those that like experimenting with home brew iced tea this fruity tea flavored with mint citrus is a knock out.
8 cups water
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of loose leaf Ginger Peach tea
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups strained fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh strained lemon juice
Fresh mint for garnish
1 orange, halved and thinly sliced, for garnish
In a large saucepan, heat water until it just comes to a boil. Stir in tea, mint and sugar. Boil for 3 minutes. Immediately strain the tea through a fine sieve. Stir in orange and lemon juices and then let it cool to room temperature. Place tea in a large pitcher and serve over crushed ice. Garnish each glass with a sprig of mint and a slice of orange.
[Makes about 10 cups]
I am sitting in my hotel room in Dayton, Ohio, here for the 2007 Vectron Dayton Air Show and am a little confused and saddened. Confused because the room comes complete with coffee, and a selection of ‘fine tea’. I thought I would take the opportunity to sample this tea and to be honest am quite dissappointed. They have both English Breakfast and Chamomile teas and are both ‘fine’alright … served in tea bags as ‘fine’ dust particles. These have to be the worst tea bags I have ever seen! Wow. The chamomile is the same consistency as the powdered English Breakfast (memoirs of matcha really).
So I am left to sip my memoirs of matcha el-dusto tea as I think about the air show and how quickly life can be taken away.
An article released by the AP is now claiming that obesity is ’socially contagious’. It kinda surprised me that even those who lived far far away from each other but had close relationships still gained mucho weight. Personally I think that lifestyle has a lot to do with it- if all your friends (or rather the majority) are Twinkie-eating, movie watching aficionados then my bet is that you’d prefer to partake in their activities, if no other reason than to be in their company.
On the other hand, if you’re naturally a Twinkie/movie fan and susceptible to gorging yourself in the aforementioned and you happen to have friends that are more active then chances are you might not participate in those activities as much as you might like. Introducing a few healthy options (more greens, smaller portions, no trans fat, green tea rather than coffee, etc) is a great start to decreasing your chance of hanging with the ‘wrong crowd’, and might even help you change some ‘bad habits’ from those you care about the most.
The full article can be found at [Forbes Online]
Health Canada has just announced that they are officially recognizing the health benefits of tea. It’s about time…millions of people for thousands of years have known what our government is now acknowleding.
An article that was recently published by the Toronto Star states that India is about to get quite the cash infusion from its Government.
Hey here is another great article (also spotted in the Toronto Star) that outlines the rising importance that teas are playing in our fast-paced lives.