I’m not a huge fan of pizza crusts or bread but every now and then I really want a good piece of pizza. I had heard of cauliflower pizza crusts and had heard about how much work it takes to make. I like sweet potatoes and came across a sweet potato pizza crust recipe and thought I’d give it a try.
Japan is made up of 3000 islands. Japan is along the Pacific coast of Asia, called the archipelago, from north to south. Some of the islands include Hokkaido Honshu, the main island, Shikoku and Kyushu, Ryukyu Islands including Okinawa. The steep elevations in Japan create a risk of landslides from earthquakes and soft ground. Consequently, 70% – 80% of the country is not suited for agriculture, industry or residence. The temperature and climate varies north to south. There is now in the north and it is quite tropical in the south. The land that is designated for tea production is used wisely and efficiently due to space constraints, climate conditions and harvesting methods.
The tea plantations in China are different from the British model. Today’s tea gardens are expansions of early tea gardens planted in the Tang and Ming Dynasties. They area loosely connected network of isolated gardens consisting of state owned and independent, privately owned collectives. The independent privately owned cooperative share local resources for labour, harvesting, processing, and distribution.
Yes you can cook with matcha. It has become very popular in the West to use matcha in other forms besides in it’s traditional form as a tea. Matcha is used in desserts, drinks and more. I love baking and making snacks and treats and sharing them. I have been trying different matcha recipes and modifying other recipes to incorporate matcha and a matcha version. Below are a few recipes and ways of using matcha that I have tried. In the references there are sites and resources with many more recipes using matcha.
Chaga has been referred to as the “gift of nature”, the “diamond of the forest”, “the king of herbs” all due to its high nutritional content and healing properties. The native tribe Ainu of Asia have been using Chaga for generations. Some records suggest this tribe has been using Chaga for at least 600 years for its antioxidant properties. Nowadays Chaga is used as a tea of tincture, a medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol.
It seems that only 15% of the tea consumed in the US is hot. It appears that iced tea mixes and pre-made beverages make up the remaining 85% of tea consumed. Interesting!
Turkey was the largest tea consuming country in the world in 2016 and they are 4 times smaller than the USA. Each person in Turkey consumes approximately 7 pounds of tea a day. Approximately, 2-3g of loose leaf tea us used to make one 8oz cup of tea. So, 1 pound of tea makes approximately 200 cups of tea.
