Another Feature... woo hoo!

Greetings!

I've been featured on another blog, this time, you can find my interview on Kristen Andrew's blog: La Dolce Vita!

As some of you might recall, I interviewed Kristen on my EccentricPastiche blog a little while ago.

Kristen is a very talented artist, and I feel so honored that she chose to make me a featured reader of her blog! Thank you Kristen!

Now... here's a chance for you, my readers, to get a 15% discount off your next order of TEA! Simply visit Kristen's blog, read my interview, and leave a comment. Then, with your next order of tea, I'll give you a 15% discount off your entire order (excluding shipping).

To take advantage of this special offer, you need to email me at the time you place your order and tell me that you have left a comment on Kristen's blog. If you have already processed payment, I will refund the 15% discount immediately, or, if you haven't yet processed payment, I will send you an adjusted invoice.

It's TEA time!

~Anne

Featured on Cafe Handmade as a Mommaprenuer!

Hello Everyone:

Going to keep this brief... just wanted to share a little news with you... I was selected to be featured as the Mommaprenuer on Cafe Handmade! You can check out my interview by clicking here.


Have a tea-riffic day!

~Anne

Spring is Here!

Well, it's official, Spring has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest! I wasn't sure it was going to arrive, because even though March 20th came and went, we were still experiencing a lot of wet, a lot of cold, some frost, and even some mention of snow in the forecasts (although, I don't think we actually got any snow after March 20th). So even though, technically, it was Spring... it didn't feel like Spring.

But it's actually becoming warm, daffodils and tulips are blooming, and it's finally starting to look like Spring! I even mowed the lawn this evening -- for the first time this year!

With the coming of Spring comes the inevitable allergy season, at least for me! My allergies typically start in late Winter (as things start to turn green and bloom), and last through early Fall. I am fortunate that I have plenty of my Allergi-TEA on hand, which really does help with the symptoms... especially the early morning symptoms! And it tastes great too!



Another thing that I've found that really does help is locally-harvested, raw honey. I use this in my tea whenever I can find it! Unfortunately, it is rather spendy. I've heard from other people that they used the local honey for a year or two, and it eliminated their allergies. I haven't been so lucky, perhaps because I haven't been buying it on a regular basis.

So, happy Spring everyone!

~Anne

WoW!

OK... I'm not one who enjoys bringing politics into my tea journal, but I did want to save this photo, courtesy of Yahoo! News and Reuters...

And I wanted to say this: My reason for calling my business "LiberTEAS" is not a patriotic one. The full name on my business license is "Life, LiberTEAS and the Pursuit of Happiness" and I chose this name because for me, Tea is Happiness. To be able to express myself artistically with my tea is truly a freedom... it is truly my idea of LiberTEA! Hense, the name. It was more an expression of my artistic nature than it was a patriotic declaration... not that I'm not patriotic, I just prefer that my art and tea remain separate from my politics and patriotism!

~Anne

April is National Food Month!

As a member of Etsy's Edible Arts Team (EEAT), I thought I'd give a quick mention of the sale that is currently going on amongst most of the Edible Arts Team members... 20% off the entire purchase (excluding shipping charges)!

Check out Double Dipped Sweet's blog for more details of this special sale!

Be sure to check with the store owner before you order, to make sure they are participating in this sale!

It's a great time to get good eats (not to mention TEA) at a sweet price!

~Anne

Meadow Nocturne!

Hurray! My relaxation herbal tea (tisane!) is finally ready!

This tisane is actually many months in the making ... I spent a good amount of time trying different recipes... until I finally found one that tastes great, smells amazing, and looks as beautiful as it tastes. The result of the many many months of work and waiting is

MEADOW NOCTURNE

Available at all three of my online shops: Etsy, Artfire and Made it Myself!

This tea is delicious, with a hint of sweetness, and the perfect choice at the end of a long, hard day. It's a great way to encourage a sense of relaxation so that you can get a good night's sleep.

Try some today!

To Brew my Meadow Nocturne:

Water Temperature should be just under boiling (195 degrees F). Use 1 1/2 teaspoons of tisane for each cup (6 - 8 ounces) you plan on brewing and place directly into your teapot, or use an infuser or T-Sac. Carefully pour the hot water into your teapot and allow the tisane to steep for 5 minutes.

Strain the tea, and add a little sweetener if desired. Enjoy hot. Take a moment to enjoy the aroma as the tea has aromatic herbs that will also help relax you.

Delicious!

~Anne

Entrecard...

Greetings!

First off, my apologies to anyone who visits both of my blogs... as this post is going to be similar to my previous post on my art journal.

Now, I'd like to take a moment to apologize to any entrecard user who signed up for ad space on my blog and did not receive it. I had to remove the widget. Unfortunately, I visited my blog this evening and was horrified to see that an ad that I did not approve (Nor would have approved of) was on my blog. Entrecard had assured us that this would not happen, and that we would have the power to determine what ads would appear on our blogs. Unfortunately, my experience this evening shows me that entrecard did not hold to this pledge, so I was left with no choice but to remove the widget from my blog.

I really appreciated the additional exposure entrecard offered, however, I'm not willing to sacrifice the integrity of my blog for that exposure. It's just not worth it to me.

So, if you are one of the people who was left short because of this impromptu removal of the widget, my sincerest of apologies. I hope that you can understand my motivation for removing the widget.

Thank you.
~Anne

Garlic Soup... it's good for what ails you!

Greetings!

Over the past few days, I've been stricken by a cold/virus of some sort. At first, I thought that it was just my allergies in overdrive, but, when my Allergi-TEA wasn't working it's normal magic, I realized that it must be something a bit more than just allergies. Now, Allergi-TEA will help alleviate some of the symptoms associated with a cold/virus, it's not going to knock it out because of the viral nature of the cold. Or something like that. It certainly is still quite nice when I have a cold, keeping my throat from getting too irritated.

But, when I do have a cold, it's time to bring out the heavy artillary. I always reach for pineapple juice when I have a cold or flu, because there is an enzyme in pineapple that helps break up proteins (another reason why pineapple is THE BEST topping for a pizza) and... well, not trying to be gross or anything, but proteins = mucus when you have a cold/virus/flu. Pineapple is extremely effective in breaking up the mucus... plus it's cheaper and tastier (and better for you!) than OTC mucus medications.

Anyways... On to my secret weapon when I have a cold! It's actually a new recipe I stumbled upon... well, I didn't actually stumble upon it aka http://www.stumbleupon.com (and hey, if you're a member of stumbleupon.com... please feel free to stumble my blog, and, if you'd like, you can add me as a friend: Liberteas on Stumble Upon) but... more accurately, it's a recipe that I went in search of, after recalling an article I had read many years ago about a restaurant in New York City that sold only soup, and one of their best selling days was the day that they featured a cream of garlic soup. Thinking that I must try that some day, I deposited that thought somewhere in the back of my brain... until one day this past week I thought I'd look it up, and I found a recipe that I thought sounded delicious... so I tried it.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com however, after reading many of the comments about how thin the soup ended up, I decided to alter it a bit... so this is the recipe as I made it:

Garlic Soup

2 heads of Garlic (full bulbs)
3 tsp olive oil
1 carton College Inn Culinary Broth - White Wine and Herb
(Note: It's not often when I suggest one particular brand of an ingredient, however, I found this broth recently at my local grocery store, and since it contains not only chicken broth, but also white wine... not to mention the herbs, I chose this to make my garlic soup, rather than buying chicken broth and white wine. If you choose to go with another broth, you should adjust the amount and add a little white wine to the mix)
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup of half & half
1 large russet potato, cut into small cubes (I washed the potato and left the peel on, but you could peel it if you want)
salt & pepper to taste

In the bowl of your food processor, process the garlic until it forms a thick paste, be sure to stop while processing once or twice to scrape the sides of the processor bowl to ensure even processing. In a large saucepan over low heat, heat the olive oil and then cook the garlic paste until it some of it begins to turn brown. You must stir the garlic constantly, or it will stick, and do not turn the heat up too high as garlic goes from delicious to burned (yuck) very quickly. This is the most tedious part of the recipe, it takes some time and some diligence, but, you will be rewarded.

Once the garlic begins to turn golden brown, add the carton of broth, and stir, stir, stir. Bring to a boil, and then drop the heat down to a simmer and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.

Combine the milk and cream together in a bowl, and temper the mixture with a couple of ladles of soup. Then, stir in the potatoes and the milk mixture to the soup. Bring the heat back up to a simmer, and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the potato chunks. Serve.

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This creates a very thin soup, even with the adjustments I made to the liquids. But... it's gonna knock your cold/virus out. Serve it with some good, crusty bread, and it's a very good meal for someone who's sick.

The next day (today), I decided to heat the leftovers back up. The soup was a little thicker after a night chilling and then reheating... however, I decided that since I was feeling a bit better, I wanted something a little heartier... so I decided to heat it up and add a couple more potatoes (2 medium size russets) to the soup. I brought the soup to a simmer, added the potatoes (cut to a small dice) and simmered it for another 30 minutes... The result was a very thick soup, or... the makings of a very thin, garlic-y mashed potato, heavy on the garlic! I also added a little more half and half, about a cup more. When I reheat again, I will probably add a little more half and half just to make it more bisque-like, and less mashed potato like... LOL!

Anyways... the soup is very delicious... and like the title says, it's good for what ails you! Knocked that cold right out of my head and while I do have just a little bit of chest congestion left, that will be gone (thanks to the pineapple juice) in a day or two.

~Anne