London Fog

I basically drink only 3 different things, black coffee, tea, and water. Rarely will you find me doing anything fancy with any of those beverages, and when I say fancy, I mean like adding extra flavor or sweetners or anything that involves an extra step besides drinking the water, brewing the coffee, or steeping the tea bag. What can I say, I am a simple drink gal. So this drink is a little out of the norm for me but you know what, it is my new favorite afternoon drink, especially on these cool damp spring days when I really need the warmth and a little coziness. Perfect for curling up on the couch with a blanket and good book and listening to the rain fall.

Ok so what exactly is a Lonfdon fog? Well it is bacsilly just milky early grey tea or what some call a earl grey latte. And yeah I know, I do not need to tell anyone my discovery of the goodness of a mug of milky tea but there is one little ingredient that changed it from a simple “ yeah whatever duh “ to a cup of something special. .It is the tiny splash of vanilla extract. It adds another depth of flavor that I have not experience before with tea and just makes it so very delicious. I am kind of obsessed with it at the moment.

So if you are like me and want or need a little tea inspiration, well here it is. A little something fancy, or at least fancier then plain black tea.

To the tea!

The stuff. An earl grey tea bag (decaf if you want), plant milk, vanilla extract, and sweetener of your choice.

First step is to brew tea which I really think you all know how to do so do that.

And add the sweetener if using now.

Add the vanilla to the milk. If you want a slight froth, shake it up in a jar for a minute. For a more pronounced foam, you can use a milk frother if you have one or a hand blender. (Hand blender works great to create a good foam.)

And then you pour in the milk, (scoop foam if you made some) and thats that.

Drink your hot tea. Enjoy the spring weather!

-C

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London Fog

makes one drink

• 1 earl grey tea bag (or a serving of your favorite loose leaf)

• 1/4 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon (more or less to taste) maple or honey or any sweetener you like

• 8-10 oz boiling water

• 1/4-1/2 cup milk of choice

Place tea bag into your favorite mug and pour in boiling water. Let tea steep for 3-4 minutes. Remove tea bag if you want or for a stronger cup leave the tea bag in. Mix in sweetener if using.

Place milk and vanilla in a jar and shake for a minutes or two until you get a decent amount of foam. If the milk is foamy but with big bubbles, tap the bottom of the jar on the counter a few times and the bubbles will condense. If you have a hand blender or frother you can use those for more pronounced foam.

Once you have you frothy milk pour it into the tea. Scoop foam on top.

Drink.

Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Scones

Just about every Mother’s Day I make my mom blueberry scones. And if I don’t she is up my butt about it so yeah I just do it. She is my mom after all. Anyways, I forgot blueberries the last time I went to the grocery store. Sooooo yeah. These are different scones. Earl grey chocolate chip scones.

I figured earl grey is a delicious tea so it would make for a delicious scone and chocolate chips because everyone liked them their chocolate. Is my mom going to like these? Probably not because I don’t think she likes tea but that is actually a moot point because this batch was already gobbled up by the mr and Barb. They loved them. But hey, I made scones so that counts t towards Mother’s Day right? (I know I know. I have to go back to the grocery store for the blueberries)

If you or the people you bake for like a good cup of earl grey, well these here sones are for you.

To the scones!

The stuff. Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, earl grey tea, plant butter, plant milk, vanilla extract, and orange, a little raw sugar, and chocolate chips.

To start dough first mix the flour together with the salt, baking powder, sugar, tea, and orange zest. Next grate the butter into the flour mixture and gently toss around until evenly incorporated. Then add in the milk and the juice if half the orange and gently mix until dough starts to come together and then finally, add in the chocolate chips and finish mixing. Don’t overly mix, the dough should look kind of shaggy.

Dump dough onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball.

Squash dough into a round flat disk about an inch thick then cut into 8 equal pieces.

Place scones on a lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk and then sprinkle with raw sugar.

Pop into the oven bake.

Baked and ready.. You should be too. Ready that is and baked if that is how you roll. Ha.

Place hot scones on a wire rack to cool a bit.

Now grab a plate, a hot cup of something, and enjoy.

-C

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Earl Grey Chocolate Chip Scones

makes 8 scones

• 2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 earl grey tea bags (or 2 tablespoons loose leaf) finely ground in a spice mill of food processor

• 6 tablespoons vegan butter (very cold or frozen)

• 2/3 cup plant based milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• an orange

• 1/4 cup small chocolate chips

• 2 tablespoons raw sugar (can use graduated if you don’t have it)

Preheat oven to 375.

Grab a large bowl and add in the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, earl grey tea, and the zest of the orange. Mix together. Next grate the cold or frozen butter directly into bowl. Gently mix into the flour mixture with a fork until the pieces are covered in flour. Add in the milk, along with juice of half the orange. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Add in chocolate chips and lightly mix again until they are evenly dispersed in dough.

Dump dough (it will be slightly shaggy) on a lightly floured surface. Gather into a ball and squash into a round flat disk about an inch thick. With knife or dough knife cut in 8 even slices (like a pie). Place each piece on a lined baking sheet and brush tops with a little milk and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Place into preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or unit bottoms are browned and tops are alight golden brown. One baked, remove from oven and transfer to a wire rake to cool.

Eat warm or room temperature. Store left overs completely cooled in an air tight container for a few days.

Fenugreek Ginger Tea

Besides begin a coffee addict, I am also a super big tea drinker. At least 1, if not like 3 cups a day. And when I say cups, I mean a 32oz ball jar of steaming hot water with a tea bag of some sort in it. And sure, I will use the same bag twice or leave in an old bag and add a new bag. Or with loose leaf, I’ll end up just eventually swallowing it all. What can I tell ya. That’s my truth. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Anyway, tea. I have a shit ton. Bags and loose leaf, but sometimes what I would call "conventional tea flavors” do not sing my fancy. That is when I will dig around in my spice jars and pull stuff out to make or add to a tea.

Fenugreek. A seed. A great tasting seed. I usually use it in my chilis and curry dishes, but lately, I have also been brewing it up with (and without) fresh ginger to drink because it is fantastic. Ginger of course is spicy and earthy, but fenugreek, while also being really earthy, also has a sweetness to it and tastes kind of like real maple syrup. Now doesn’t that sound great? That’s because it is great.

So if you are feeling a little something different and tasty and maybe just so happened to have some fenugreek in the old spice cabinet, give this tea a try. A perfect for and cosy drink for cold winter afternoon.

To the tea!

The stuff. Water, fenugreek, fresh ginger, and an orange.

Dump water into a pot and add in fenugreek seeds. Place on the stove and bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer.

Cut up the fresh ginger into small chunks and take a few ribbons of peel from the orange.

After the fenugreek has had a 5 minute head start in the water, add in the ginger and orange and keep simmering for another 5 to 10 minutes. (longer time for stronger tea)

A tea decoction.

Strain the tea into cups, squeeze in a little fresh orange juice, and go curl up o the couch.

It’s tea time.

-C

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Fenugreek Ginger Tea

makes 2 cups of tea

• 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds

• 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger

• an orange (optional)

• 4 cups water

Place water and fenugreek seeds in a pot and place on stove. Bring to a boil then turn heat down to simmer for about 5 minutes. Cut up ginger into small chunks and peel a few ribbons of orange zest and place into pot. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes (longer for stronger tea). When you are ready to drink, strain into cups, squeeze in a little fresh orange juice, and drink.

Mulled Licorice Spice Tea

I talk a lot about how much coffee I drink (and yes, I do drink a lot of coffee) but honestly, I drink just as much if not more tea. Almost always herbal, sometimes a bag, sometimes loose leaf. In the cold months I probably drink 5 cups a day (well actually I drink it out of big ball jars and drink 2-3 of those big jars a day) So yeah, I drink a lot of tea too.

This tea blend is one of my favorites. Licorice is delicious. Sweet and spicy, not to mention fantastic for any respiratory ailments you might be having (licorice root is one of my go to’s for medicinal purposes) Adding all the other spices just brings even more amazing spicy goodness that will make your house smell amazing and make you face smile a smile. A perfect tea to place on the stove to sip on all day, warm your insides and hands (best cure for cold hands is a hot mug) and most likely put you in a cheery festive mood because we are in the thick of all the holidays and sweet and spicy mulled hot drinks will do that to a person.

Take a few minutes, make some tea, and take care of yourself. It will be good. Trust.

To the tea!!

The stuff. Cut and sifted licorice root, whole or hulled cardamon pods (use one or the other), whole cloves, a couple cinnamon stick, some fresh ginger, and and orange.

Not much needs to be done, just slice the ginger into a few thin pieces (you don’t even need to peel it) and peel the good parts of the orange off (avoid the white pith) then add it to a pot with the spices and that’s pretty much it.

Pot full of spices. It’s gonna be good.

And we can’t forget to add in the water cause tea needs water. Bring the pot to a nice boil on the stove for a few minutes then pull it off the heat.

Set hot tea to steep for like 10 or so minutes.

Strain steeped tea into mugs.

Pssss.. You can re-steep all the tea bits if you want. I have resteeped mine like 3 times!

Add a festive common stick and slice of orange to (squeeze the juice into the tea.

Now take in all the cozy sweet feels, sip, and enjoy.

-C

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Mulled Licorice Spice Tea

Makes 3 large cups (plus more if you want to re-steep spices)

• 2 teaspoons cut and sifted Licorice root

• 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves

• 4-5 whole cardamon pods or 1 teaspoon hulled cardamon

• about an inch and a half of fresh ginger

• An orange

• 1-2 whole cinnamon sticks

• 36-40 oz of water

Peel or zest the orange (not the white part,) and slice the ginger into a few thin pieces. Place into a big pot along with all the spices and the water. Place pot on stove and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes then turn heat off and let tea steep for 10 minutes.

After steeping, strain into cups. Slice orange into segments and serve tea with a squeeze of fresh orange juice. IF you feel fancy, a cinnamon stick too. Feel free to sweeten tea to taste, but I think you will find that it is sweet enough.

Drin kind enjoy.

Note. After you strain the tea, place the spices back into the pot. Add more water. boil and steep again. These spices can be used for a few rounds of tea

Raspberry Zinger Lemonade

I am channeling all my summer time feels here in hopes for warmer weather. As of yesterday there was still a pile of snow outside of my house and I am still leaving every morning in a hat, mittens, and a winter jacket.

I want t-shirts and shorts, I want sandals, and I want to set my winter jacket on fire (not really, but kinda).

This cold weather has crept back into my soul and I needed something to remind me that there will be warmer days to come and I will soon be bitching about how hot I am and blah blah blah.. you know how it goes.

So I make lemonade. This lemonade as inspired by my favorite tea as of late, raspberry zinger. It's a nice and tangy tart and really tasty. I make great big jar of it at night and add a little squeeze or two of lemon to it for that little extra zing. I figured if it tastes good hot, it will taste great cold, which in fact, it does. It taste really freaking good. And it just occurred to me that there is probably a little subliminal inspiration from Beyonce in wanting lemonade, so thanks for the B.

Anyway, it's suppose to me nice and seasonably warm this weekend. Maybe bust out your lemonade game and try a batch of this one.

The stuff. Lemons, a raspberry zinger tea bag, honey (or any sweetener you like to use) water and ice.

Bring some of that water to aalmost boil and pour it over the tea bag (make sure you stick the bag into a jar or pitcher)

While the tea is steeping, juice the lemons. And a personal preference, you can strain out the pulp or not. I use the strainer to catch the seeds but then stick the pulp back in cause I like pulp. All up to you.

While the tea is steeping and still hot, add in any sweetener that you want to use. ( I used a little honey) Stir until that sweetness is all dissolved.

And after the tea has had a good steep, dump the brewed tea into the pitcher with the lemon juice then add in the really cold water. Stir it all around.

Add acouple thin slices of lemon to make it all fancy anda few big chunks of ice to make it super cold

Refreshing, crispy, tangy with a touch of sweet....Perfect for all those warm summer days to come (hopefully)

Have a great weekend people.

-C

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Raspberry Zinger Lemonade

Makes 5 cups

• 1 raspberry zinger tea bag( I used Celestial Seasonings)
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (3-5 lemons, depending on size)
• Anywhere between no to 1/2 cup of sweeter (can use sugar, honey or maple, I like a touch of honey)
• 4 cups water (2 hot, 2 cold)
• ice

Place tea bag in 2 cups of hot water (can be done directly in a pitcher) Add in the sweetener while its still hot and mix until completely dissolved. Let steep for about 10 minutes.

Remove tea bag and add in the lemon juice, 2 more cups of cold water and mix, Top with ice and garnish with a few more lemon slices if your feeling fanciful.

Serve in a glass full of ice with a wedge of lemon and a smile on you face.