A nice surprise

Rumplestiltzkin spun straw into gold.

I, apparently, spin doodles into tea.

I came home from a long work day and checked my Twitter feed to find this:

52teas @melusian Congrats on winning a free pouch of our Vanilla Bean Chai. You can see your artwork now at http://www.52teas.com

Last night I dashed off some mini art and and sent it in to Zoombweebie’s Tea of the Week label contest. I love chai, and I love drawing Eastern motifs, so I figure why not?

Maybe my art skills kick butt. Or maybe I’m the only person who entered the contest. I dunno. I don’t care. Either way, I’m getting some free linkage/publicity out of the deal. And the knowledge that a little doodle of mine is hiding in tea cupboards all over the country.

And of course, some free tea. Oh baby.

I’m a tea addict, and this guy knows how to make some knockout chai. I have a tiny bit of the limited edition butterscotch chai left that I’m hoarding like gold.

If you like tea or wacky flavored things, check him out.

I don’t win stuff much. It’s nice. I like it.

Soup--is good for you!

Those poor defenseless asparagus from yesterday can take solace in the fact that they helped make something beautiful. And green. Greenly beautiful.

Note: This recipe is based off of George Stella's recipe from "Eating Stella Style", with some changes to make it even lower carb and *somewhat* HcG protocol-friendly. Just giving credit where credit is due.

Also note: I'm not much for exact measurements. I cook by gut feeling and the desire to do as few dishes as possible. So the ingredients listed here may be a bit off. But isn't tasting the best part of cooking anyway?

Cream of Asparagus Soup

1 tablespoon EV Coconut Oil
about 15 stalks of fresh asparagus, trimmed to 1" pieces
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
red and black peppers to taste (i like it spicy!)
1 1/2 cups Pacific organic vegetable broth
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 oz. swiss cheese (optional)





Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat (keep watch, coconut oil melts fast!). Add asparagus, shallots, garlic, salt and pepper and saute about 5 minutes.


Add the broth, cook on high until the broth is reduced by about half. (This is a French reduction, and a fantastic way to thicken soups without using a roux).


Toss it all in a blender and liquify. Watch it spin. Remember that slime that Nickolodeon used to dump on everybody? You should have something like that happening in the blender about now.


Return the puree to the pan and, with medium high heat, stir in cream and cheese. When the bubbles say 'blorp', it's done. Makes about 2 servings, or one big bowl, like this one.



(That's green tea in the mug. I like themes.)



This is tasty stuff. My remaining asparagus never had a chance.