Favourite ice tea smoothie

I'm quite a fan of tea. Not an expert, rather quite far from the worst expert ever there is. But I love my tea: sometimes with herbs or flowers we've picked ourselves, sometimes great quality black, usually green and always without sugar.

And I crave quite everything flavoured with tea (especially when it's this cake). This dessert however, breakfast or whatnot is as easy as it gets, but it's great when made with different teas. You know, something different each time!

Favourite ice tea smoothie
(serves 1)

2 dl yoghurt
1 dl strong tea (any kind), cooled
about 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp sugar
(vanilla)
(ice cubes)

1. Mix tea with yoghurt, adding as much sugar as you like. If desired, flavour with vanilla.
2. Enjoy with a straw or with white moustache!;) Add ice cubes, if desired.
   

The smoothie is only as good as you make it;) Good tea equals good smoothie, subtly sweet, thin enough to drink smoothly through a straw. I guess it's a good variation of iced tea for those hot hot days that are yet to arrive..

But it's also a contribution to the Spring Tea Party event held by Erin of The Skinny Gourmet. Now I want to see what people come up with when thinking 'tea'!

Ever smelt a garden full of roses? Ever tasted one?

I finally-finally got my hands on rosewater. Rosewater is a product that is basically made using rose petals and water. It was first produced in Persia and has been used in South Asian, West Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines for flavouring desserts. Its wonderfully floral scent is overcome only by the fact that eating or drinking something that's made with rosewater is like tasting a rose garden.

Imagine a warm summer day in a garden full of roses.
Now imagine you are tasting this day.
This is rosewater.


For my first attempt to use rosewater I chose a simple rosewater lassi - a sweet Indian yoghurt drink.

Rosewater lassi
(from the Estonian magazine Oma Maitse, serves 2-3)

5 dl unflavoured yoghurt
1 dl cold water
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp rosewater
1/2 tsp crushed/ground cardamum
(ice and rose petals for serving)

1. Mix yoghurt, water, sugar, rosewater and cardamum well
2. If you wish, add ice cubes or crushed ice and rose petals for serving

I'd just call the recipe flowery breakfast, because that's what it is for me. It has quite a strong cardamum taste - if you like cardamum, you'll probably love it. I like using ground cardamum because then there's a splash of taste in every sip and no bits to get between your teeth. As for the ice - it's cold here in the North! No ice in my breakfast! I'll just have to wait for the summer for that...

Rosewater is not a very cheap treat, although only little portions are used at a time. If you grow your own roses, see these recipes for making your own rosewater.

A cup of oat milk a day will keep the doctor away.

I'm a true meat-eater and milk-drinker, there's no question about it. There's just the tiny detail that I like to experiment, giving daily food a little twist. I have previously made cashew and almond milk and had inspiration to prepare oat milk after noticing oat milk ice cream while I was in Finland last year during a training camp. I really would have wanted to try it, but honestly - I wouldn't have been able to eat a whole litre of it!

Browsing through the web, I've discovered oat milk is good for one in innumerable ways. It can be useful when you've caught cold, have bronchitis or just feel powerless after a stressful day. For treatment it should be drunk several times a day during a longer period. And what if you aren't able to sleep? In case of sleeplessness and when you've caught cold, drinking a cup of warm oat milk with honey before going to bed should help. The difference between dairy milk and oat milk is also that oat milk is lactose and cholesterol free and is high in fiber. Don't you feel like drinking it already? Oat milk is also a source of vitamin E. So how's it done?


Oat milk
(makes about 7-8 dl)

2 dl oat flakes
3 dl+7 dl water (at least)
1 1/2 tbsp honey

1. Soak the oat flakes overnight with 3 dl of water.
2. Blend the oat flake mixture until smooth and then blend all the ingredients together until smooth liquid forms.
3. Strain it through a fine cheesecloth (which I couldn't find, but used a soft cotton cloth instead)
3. Store the oat milk in the fridge, keeps for some days

I gave you the healthy point of view.
But there's also the tasty point of view.

Oat milk can be a substitution to cow's milk in all kinds of dishes. It gives them an interesting accent. To be honest, I'd rather use it for cooking (in porridges, ice creams, smoothies...) than drinking it by itself, I prefer drinking nut milk and I do drink cow's milk, as you can probably remember. But the taste of oat milk is great for some dishes.
Buying oat milk from a store? I'll leave that to people who have a money tree growing in the backyard. Too bad I've only got flowers and parsley.

Drink your carrots!

I simply love these summer mornings. First a run in the sun, then radio playing in the kitchen, watching people walking by in the street as I'm having a light breakfast... Really, what could be better? Sunbathing in the garden? Smelling grilled meat and fresh cut lawn while walking along streets in the evening?

As I have stated before, I love carrots. But it's true it's the first time I've actually drunk them. A milkshake is a perfect start for a day. More honey (or sugar instead) may be added for a sweeter drink, but how much sweetness does one need when there are birds singing, even shouting, outside and the sun touches the cheeks through the kitchen window during breakfast? Moderate sweetnees is very fine with me!


Carrot and orange milkshake
(serves 1)

50 g boiled carrots
1 dl milk
1 dl orange juice
1 tsp honey

1. Puree the carrots.
2. Add milk and puree until the mixture is smooth.
3. Add orange juice and honey.

The milkshake's texture is really silky. The flavour of orange juice is the one that strikes first, but the aftertaste of every sip is definitely the one of carrot's. The drink is just moderately sweet and really refreshing, a little bit foamy. It would go well as an evening 'snack' as it is healthy as well. A strawberry or an orange slice and some almond slices make a good presentation - for the milkshake to be as lovely as the weather outside.

Nutty milk of cashews and almonds

I believe I could never be vegetarian or vegan. Not that I couldn't resist eating animal products, I just don't really see the point for me to do it. But nuts make veganism neat. Nuts are the thing.


So if you don't want to drink milk for some reason or just want to experience something different and surprisingly good, try nut milk. Looks just like the real thing and tastes even better. I only used 2 dl of water when making my nut milk, the result was quite rich but at the same time silky and tasteful. You may add more water if you want a lighter version.


Cashew and almond milk

1 dl cashews and almonds (in all)
2-4 dl water
1 tsp honey
vanilla

1. Grind the nuts (you may peel the almonds first if you like) very well, you may even make a paste of them.
2. Start adding water, bit by bit in the beginning. You may do it in a food processor or in a blender.
3. Add some vanilla and honey (or whatever else you like) to add more taste.
4. You may strain the nut milk or not, cool it or use it immediately. It will keep in the fridge for about three days.



I used the nut milk on some cereals, my father preffered to drink it by itself. But it can be used like real milk or cream (depends on the richness)...everywhere. I really love pancakes made with coconut milk so I believe this version of nut milk would work great in them too.