One Delicious Blog!

Hey everyone! Check it out! I've received a blog award! Woot! I realize that for some of you, that's no big deal, but it's my first blog award, so I'm thrilled! Thank you to Shake Your Bon Bons for the recognition!

Momoko Melon Oolong!

It's back ... but only for a LIMITED TIME! That's right... unfortunately, I've made my last batch (at least for a while) of Momoko Melon Tea! So it's only available while it's in stock... and when it's gone, it's gone for good!

This one is a summer-time FAVE... because it is just amazing served as an iced beverage! So refreshing -- thirst-quenching -- GOOD!

How to brew Oolong Tea:

Here's the way I brew Oolong tea...

Measure 1 teaspoon of loose leaf Momoko Melon Oolong tea for each cup (6 - 8 ounces) of tea desired. Place loose tea directly into warmed teapot. Oolong teas expand a LOT when they brew, so really, the best way to brew the tea is loose, directly in the teapot. Using an infuser or a T-Sac would really be an injustice to an Oolong!

Bring cool, freshly drawn & filtered water to about 165 degrees F and pour gently over tea leaves. Allow the tea to steep for 3 - 6 minutes, depending upon your personal preference. I usually let Oolong steep for about 3 1/2 minutes for the first infusion, and add 1 minute for each subsequent infusion.

Strain your tea, and enjoy. Momoko Melon Oolong is delicious without the addition of sweeteners, however, a drizzle of Agave Nectar will bring out some of the more subtle melon flavors, as well as the natural peach-like flavors of the tea.

This is one of my TOP 3 iced tea choices in the summer.

Here's how I make my Momoko Melon Iced Tea:

I have a 1 gallon iced tea pitcher, and I use a 4 cup teapot to brew my tea, using 6 teaspoons of tea in my teapot, and filling it full with 165 degree F water for each infusion.

Brew the first infusion at 3 1/2 minutes. Strain this tea into your iced tea pitcher, and if you like your tea sweetened, go ahead and add the sweetener now, and stir, this will ensure that your sweetener will dissolve completely in the hot tea. (note: each subsequent infusion uses the same tea leaves!)

Brew the second infusion at 4 1/2 minutes, and strain into the iced tea pitcher.

Brew the third infusion at 5 1/2 minutes, and strain into the iced tea pitcher.

Then I fill the iced tea pitcher the rest of the way full with room temperature, freshly drawn, filtered water, and stir. Perfect iced tea!

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My Momoko Melon tea is available only at my Artfire Tea Shop... and only available while supplies last!!! Get some today!

~Anne

Amy's Soup

Hello Everyone!

I love soup. There are few things that are more comforting than a nice, piping hot bowl of soup on a chilly day... with the exception of a cup of tea, of course! As a fan of soup, however, I must admit that most of the canned soups available in the grocery store are sadly lacking in flavor. Limp, colorless vegetables swimming in a sea of bland broth.

So, to get my soup fix, I am either waiting in line at my local Sweet Tomatoes (a favorite restaurant) or I'm getting out my crock pot and making my own. However, there are a few ready-made soup exceptions that have a permanent placement in either my freezer (more on those at a later time) or my pantry shelf. One such exception comes from Amy's Kitchen.

Photo from Amy's Kitchen Website

Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque! Wow! What a refreshing change from the ordinary canned tomato soup! The flavor is fresh and alive! It tastes like I went out to my garden and picked the tomatoes myself, and made the soup immediately thereafter! Tomatoes are quite possibly my favorite fruit (yeah, I'm one of those people who consider tomatoes a fruit), and there's nothing quite like a homegrown tomato, picked at the peak of ripeness. And this soup captures the joy of a homegrown tomato! As Carla from this past season's Top Chef would say: "You can really taste the love" in this soup. It's so good.

The price is a bit more than what you'd pay for the standard tomato soup issue from your canned soup aisle, but, trust me, if you love tomatoes, it's well worth the cost.

For the best selection of Amy's foods, you are probably going to need to visit your local Whole Foods or similar market. However, I did notice a small selection of Amy's soups in my local bag-it-yourself-and-save grocery store, and that selection did include this variety. Surprisingly, though, the price at Whole Foods was better than my usually-lower-prices-on-everything grocery store!

I'd love to hear your own comments about this soup...

Thanks for reading along!
~Anne