Tea Ramblings

Ah, a late-night post courtesy of insomnia! I will take this time to talk about... tea! Specifically the teas I have been drinking as of late and a little rundown of why I chose them.

Rooibos Tea - Also known as red tea. I am a tea fiend, and I love this one because it's caffeine-free, thus good to drink in the evening. That's far from the whole reason I drink it though. It's got antioxidants, magnesium, and zinc loaded in there. The antioxidants make me happy as they're also kind of an anti-inflammatory, which is good news for my TOS. I've also really been battling with adult acne, and it's been suggested rooibos will help with that, especially when used topically. I haven't tried it topically, but at least my face has been clearing up since I've been drinking this daily.

Black/Jasmine Tea - I had this blend at Teavana, and have since replicated it with loose leaf teas from Whole Foods. It's a great wake-up tea if I'm groggy in the morning, and the jasmine is fantastic for antioxidants. I only wish the jasmine tea wasn't so expensive! I'd love to blend half and half, but I've got to do 1 part black tea to 1/2 part jasmine because of the cost, eep.

Peppermint - I have the weakest stomach in the world, so when a food or medicine gets me nauseated I usually go for this to settle my tummy as it's great for any digestive upset. Plus I really love it in the evening with a little agave nectar. There's just something that's soothing all around with it.

Everyday Detox - I began to with this tea when I had a recent breakout with acne, and acne can result from when your liver's stressed out. I figured that it couldn't hurt if I tried this, so I started drinking this nightly. It's got a bit of an odd taste that even agave nectar can't cover up. The licorice flavor in it really stands out. I'm not sure if it was the rooibos or this tea, or maybe a combination of both, but my acne did clear up. I'll drink to that!

Throat Coat - This was another tea I wanted to try out to see if it helped things. My medications for TOS dry out my mouth and throat a lot, so I was curious to see if this would help. It's got a sweet, cinnamon flavor that almost reminds me of Life cereal, heh. I don't think there's much out there that can help my dry throat, but at least this is another caffeine-free tea option for late night.

Going Pumpkin Crazy

Oh dear. I've been falling behind on cooking again. With this chilly weather also comes more complications from TOS, which leads to me just not cooking big things. That and I tend to get lazy when that happens as well, eep.

I'll just cut to the chase and get to the goodies that have caught my eye this month!

This is pumpkin butter on toast. Yes, pumpkin butter! I knew once I saw the recipe that I had to make a batch of my own to try.

Pumpkin Butter
- 1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree, or about 3 1/2 cups fresh puree
- 3/4 cup apple juice, fresh or pre-made
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Juice of half a lemon or lemon juice equal to the same amount

Combine the pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan or pot and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Cover with lid and stir frequently (Get some help with the constant stirring if you've got TOS, I found this a bit painful). Remove from heat. Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice, and you may add more to taste. Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge. Makes enough to fill one large mason jar or about 3.5 cups.

This turned out sooo good. So good. I may have reduced the amount of nutmeg and/or cloves by just a little bit, but once it's on something like the bread as illustrated it just melts in your mouth. Wonderful on pancakes, too! The apple juice in there makes this remind me of a warm spiced cider. It's just the perfect food accessory to your fall holiday munchies.

And now, I would like to introduce you to garlic pumpkin mashed potatoes. I'd never thought to add pumpkin to mashed potatoes, but as I find the usual mashed potatoes awfully bland, I thought this might be right up my alley! Oh boy, was it.

Garlic Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes with Spinach
- 7 red potatoes, scrubbed & chopped (I peeled mine as well)
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used a little more since I love garlic)
- 1-1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, to taste
- Two handfuls spinach, stems removed & chopped
- 1/2 cup Almond milk
- 2 tbsp Earth Balance
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Paprika, for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and boil potatoes for 18 to 22 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and place in a very large bowl. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over low heat in a skillet and sauté garlic for about 1 minute. Drain and mash potato chunks in the large bowl with a fork. Mix in pumpkin puree, spinach, almond milk, Earth Balance/butter, black pepper, and salt. Makes 5-7 servings.

This dish is best served immediately as the potatoes get a bit watery from the pumpkin when in the fridge.

I do have to say due to the mashing and stirring, this is not a TOS-friendly recipe at all. I'm actually flaring a little from all of it. Next time, I will see if I could have some help with those parts.

But was it worth the physical irritation? I would say so. Yum. Just yum. I think for the first time in my life I'm excited about potatoes this was so flavorful. This is perfect for a Thanksgiving dish. My folks still want to keep their plain mashed potatoes this year, but if I ever host for the holiday? Oh yes, this is going on the table.