My PersonaliTea – Ottawa Valley
“It's not the destination, It's the journey.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Christmas baking in our house was a hallowed tradition as our grandmother arrived with her little box of recipes, each painstakingly written out on a a little index card in tiny precise handwriting, and each a closely guarded secret to be passed on only very late in our grandmother’s life.
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Ceremonial matcha seems to be the highest grade and quality of matcha. This matcha is made from the youngest leaves with the veins and stems removed. This is a sweeter tasting matcha. This is quite common in stores when buying matcha to whisk with hot water to form a drink.
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This summer during my Maritime trip and tea run I came across oat cakes. I didn’t actually buy any or try any but they brought back memories of trying them in Glasgow, Scotland ages ago. So made a mental note and when I got back home decided I’d try and find a recipe. I found a few and then decided to modify them slightly to incorporate some tea in some way. I found this great Masala Chai spice mix in Toronto and decided to use that as the spice for the oat cake instead of adding just cinnamon and nutmeg. I think it’s a nice touch and chai spices always make the kitchen smell nice!
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What exactly is coconut milk and how is it made? Coconut milk is the liquid that comes from the grated pulp of a mature coconut. The opaque colour and rich taste of coconut milk is due to the high oil content, most of which is a saturated fat. Coconut milk is used a lot in Southeast Asian, South Asian, Caribbean and South American cuisine. Coconut milk is a rich source of manganese. Some of the health effects of coconut milk are due to the coconut oil which is high in saturated fats an so discouraged from consuming in large amounts. Excessive consumption of coconut milk can raise blood levels of cholesterol.
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Another one of my mother’s recipes that she makes from “cooking muscle memory”. It seems simple when you see it dished out or in a pot, just a tomato soup looking dish but it’s a lot more than that! One thing I am noticing about all her recipes so far are a common few ingredients. In particular the chopped onion and garlic fried in oil and also the set of spices: grown ginger, garlic and turmeric and to which is added chili powder in this case.
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I love chocolate chip cookies! They seem like a simple cookie but they’re not. There are so many variations on the chocolate chip cookie and once you’ve had a homemade chocolate chip cookie, can you really go back to store bought? I know I can’t. Years ago, while in university my mother gave me this […]
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