While I am a dedicated coffee drinker, I do love tea. One of my favorite coffee shops, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf carries over 40 original tea blends, one of which I picked up the very day that IMBB #17: TasteTea was announced by Clement of A La Cuisine!: Pomegranate Blueberry Tea. This tea makes a fabulous iced tea because it is a black tea filled with dried fruit. The natural sweetness really shines through when you brew it. I thought this was a sign that I was meant to use it for my entry. Alas, it was not to be. The tea, while lovely, is just a tad too fruity for what I had in mind.
Instead, I decided to use Stash Double Spiced Chai tea to make a tasty apple bread. I added powdered milk because I wanted the added bit of richness but didn’t want a milk flavor to overwhelm the tea, though this is a particularly spicy tea and I think it would have been fine.
+Continue Reading
In this month’s issue of EatingWell – which is, by the way, a wonderful foodie magazine to check out – there was an article on mangos. Gorgeous, versatile, tasty and in season. The article was accompanied by several recipes offering suggestions on how to showcase this fruit in various dishes. One recipe in particular caught my eye: Chai Spiced Bread Pudding with Mango.
I’ve been thinking about making this since I first saw the recipe and so I was delighted to find my mango ripe this morning. Chai spices are delicious and the mango offers a smooth, cooling taste to counter their spiciness. Unfortunately, morning is not a great time for dessert. Let me qualify that statement: I’m all for eating leftover dessert in the morning, but I just can’t justify cooking a dessert before 8am with the intention to consume it for breakfast.
So what could I do? I made oatmeal.
And put chai spices into it.
And topped it with mango.
And it was great.
+Continue Reading
