Tea Beyond

TGIF-Snow dog

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Winter is always fun, especially when it snows...take your dogs out for a walk or roll in the snow...here's what happens after!!! a snowball dog!!

Photo by Imgur

Happy Tuesday-Laugh Out Loud

TGIF-What month is January

Happy Tuesday-Talking Husky-love this dog!!

Happy Tuesday- Half Dog Half man

can you see me?

Photo via doubledogranch

Here's another one:

Photo via Ballonjuice

I can not talk, my face is frozen!

Healthy Recipes-Chocolate Chip Biscuits (Stevia recipe)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

I love chocolate chip cookies, but so hesitate to eat any because of the sugar and butter content-way too sweet and buttery for me! If you take a look at any chocolate chip cookie recipes, you can see cups of sugar and butter added. If I really really want, I would just eat one piece for a whole day...but...that's not fair!!! is it?

Have you read the news about Paula Deen's recent announcement? Are you shocked that she has diabetes? I think someone last year told me that Paula actually has diabetes, but not publicly announced. The crew from Food network responded-would be shocked to know Paula does not have diabetes! It's actually sad that she is ill and has to taste his foods loaded with sugar, butter, fat in front of the camera...very bad for her health!!

Healthy Recipes-Whole Wheat Banana Muffins (Stevia recipes)
Healthy Recipes-Whole Wheat Orange Biscuit for love (eggless, sugarless, vegan, dairyless)
Healthy Recipes- Simple Cinnamon Sweet Potato (eggless, sugarless, dairy less, vegan)
Healthy recipes-Fruit bowl for New Year Eve dinner
Recipes-Whole Wheat Blueberry Green tea pancake with Cranberry Jam

Like Shakespare said, To sweet or not to sweet, that is the question!

Benefits-low of butter, no sugar added, low calories, soft, nice flavors!! It tastes light, slightly bitter from the dark chocolate. Well balanced! Purely homemade from scratch

Tea Pairing-Green tea!

Ingredient A:
1 cup Whole wheat
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp stevia (powder)

Ingredient B:

3 egg white
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup fat free plain greek yogurt
4 tbsp butter (or 2 oz, room temperature)

Ingredient C
1/2 cup dark chocolate (extra bitter chocolate 70% cocoa), chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberry, chopped
1/2 cup pecan, chopped

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F

2. Mix ingredient A in a medium bowl

3. 2 bananas's skin are pealed off. Put them in food processor, on "chop", for about 1-2 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, use a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and yogur untill well blened. Add the egg whites and banana and beat on low speed until the eggs are completely incorporated. scraping down the bowl occasionally with a rubger spatula.

5. Slowly add the mixture of ingredient A to the ingredient B and mix them with hands until all ingredents are incorporated. Or you can use the mixer. I like to touch my food!!

6. Mix the ingredient C together then add to the mixture until chocolate chips, cranberry and pecan evenly distributed in the mixture.

7. On a lightly floured work surface, divid the dough evenly in 12 small ones. transfer them to the backing tray lined with parchment paper or pizza stone tray.

8. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until the biscuits get lightly golden.

9. Once cooked, transfer all biscuits to a wire rack to cool completely.

Be healthy and live happily!!! You can find us on facebook and twitter @teabeyond

Happy Tuesday-Laugh Out Loud

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:00:00 +0000

I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.
Audrey Hepburn

Watch out! Granny hits the car;))

Who is this?;)

Conan O'Brien deliverS Chinese foods

"veggie" dog

dust off the negative Chi

Government Warning-(1) ACCORDING TO THE SURGEON GENERAL, WOMEN SHOULD NOT LAUGH DURING THE STAGES OF LABOUR BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF BIRTH DEFECTS. (2)OVERDOSE OF LAUGHING IMPAIRS YOUR ABILITY TO DRIVE A CAR OF OPERATE MACHINERY, AND MAY CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS!

Please laugh responsibly!!

Year of the Dragon-Heart Chinese dumplings

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:38:00 +0000

Photo via mieng Saetia
Chinese new year celebration normally lasts very long, more than 1 month, starting from the last week of Dec (lunar calendar) until the end of lunarJanuary. There are different activities/pray in each day people need to do in order to receive good fortune and be safe for the whole year. See, it's not easy to beat the beast and have fortune, right? It requires a lot of efforts!!

Photo via JWLphotography
The whole family normally stay until mid night. In tradition, daughters/sons would knea down, knocking heads on the floor and saying "Happy New Year", "Wish you a healthy and foretunate year" to parents/grandparents. Then they would offer "red envelopes" ($$$$, yeah, besides gifts;)). For a kid, that was the most exciting moment in the whole year!! And that's the "costs" of being parents for holidays!!

photo via Chris Radley

Where's my red envelope this year?;((( really miss it!!

One of the most important food for Chinese New Year is the Chinese dumplings. In North, we call it, 饺子（or jiaozi in pinyin). Chinese culture is very symbolic and almost everything has meanings. Same with dumplings. The shape of dumplings looks more like the old styled money-gold!! Then you know why people love dumplings!! When my mom prepared new year eve dumplings, sometime she "hid" few quarter coins (cleaned). When anybody bit it, that means he or she would get a foretune this year. My father normally was the person who got most coins...not only because he was lucky, but also he ate a lot;)))

I took a short cut this year. Instead of making fresh dumpling skins, I bought a bag of eggrolls. Use cookie cutters to cut different shapes

You can get recipe here

You can make few heart shape, round, or flowers, etc. You actually can boil them. I baked them this time so that they kept great shape.

I did not threw away the rest of eggrolls. Instead, I baked them in oven for about 5 minutes and made some chips. It's great for snack food!

Whoes face is this one? Looks like my dog....or a bird?

With sun glasses

Doesn't it look like someone sleeping?

The Year of Dragon-Happy New Year!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:30:00 +0000

photo via kayodeok

Happy Dragon Year!!! Today is the new year eve in traditional Chinese calendar!!! In old times, I would run around and scream with other kids on the streets-过年了！！It was extremely cold outside in old times, but weather never stopped kids from having fun! We would wear fur hat (really had to in that sever weather), stay outside and lit up many fireworks. We would lick the bottom of the fireworks which then "stick" with the iron surface immediately. Once saw the firework lit, covering my ears with hands, ran and scream!!!

Before western calendar was adopted by China, Chinese traditional calendar was the official calendar throughout China. 春节, or Spring Festival in English, refers to the first day of a new year in traditional Chinese Calendar.

photo via phamp197x

Spring Festival is the most important holiday for Chinese (and other Asians). Because of that, emperors of each new dynasty named the first day differently. In Xia Dynasty, it's called Sui (岁）。 In Shang Dynasty, it's called (si)祀。 In Zhou Dynasty, it's called Nian （年）。In Tang Dynasty, it's called 载（zai).

In old times, we called it 过年，instead of Spring Festival (春节）。过 means "pass", "overcome". 年 refers to "year" or "harvest".

My grandpa told me many culture related stories. The word 年 is actually believed a brutal beast who kills people and destroys properties. The animal lives in the deep sea and only comes out of water in the beginning of each year. People hate and are afraid him so much that they have to escape to mountains during this time of each year.

Photo via WeiZhang@hudson

While people are busy moving foods to the mountains, here comes an old homeless gentleman walking with a cane. An old lady kindly gives him some breads and says to him the beast is coming. He responds, if you allow me to stay for a night, I can help you kick the beast out! The lady is shocked, staring at him, who has gray hair, but looks very energetic and young. She says, the animal will kill you. Leave here, now!

The gentleman continues to stay. In mid night, 年 comes to the village, but notices something different this year-in front of the old lady's house, there's red paper hanging on the wall and lights in every room. The beast is angery, starting to shake and scream. He runs to the house but hears big noises from the inside-the fireworks!! The beast is so scared that he jumps into his Mercedes and fly back to his home-Bermuda triangle;)). Bet he gets few traffic tickets. It turns out the beast is afraid of red color, fire and the noise from fireworks.

The next day when people get home, they see nothing is destroyed. They realize that red paper, fire, and firework helps keep their properties protected. 过年 means "conquer the beast" then you will have a successful and fortunate year!!

Even until today, Chinese continue to hang red "fortune" (福）,wear red clothes, celebrate with red fireworks, and keep lights on until the next day.

Don't forget to follow us on facebook and twitter: @teabeyond

TGIF-What month is January

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

How pretty is this little kitty!!! (photo via Jeniee Greene)

Do you know what month January is? National Bath Safety Month!!!! Bath safely tea lovers!!! And today, Jan 20th, is Penguin Awareness Day

Month: January

National Bath Safety Month
National Blood Donor Month
National Braille Literacy Month
National Hobby Month
Hot Tea Month
National Oatmeal Month
National Soup Month

Week Celebrations:
2nd Week Letter Writing Week

Photo from emperor-penguin

Each Day:
1 New Year's Day
2 Run up the Flagpole and See if Anyone Salutes Day
3 Festival of Sleep Day    i need more
3 Fruitcake Toss Day    sweet tooth!
3 Humiliation Day       whaaaaat?
4 Trivia Day
5 National Bird Day
6 Bean Day
6 Cuddle Up Day       Love it!!
7 Old Rock Day
8 Bubble Bath Day     ohhh...this sounds fun!!
8 Male Watcher's Day : oops, I missed this one
9 Play God Day
10 Houseplant Appreciation Day
10 Peculiar People Day
11 Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend's Day
12 Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day
12 National Pharmacist Day
13 Blame Someone Else Day - first Friday the 13th of the year.
13 Friday the 13th
13 International Skeptics Day
13 Make Your Dream Come True Day
14 Dress Up Your Pet Day
15 National Hat Day                      have a lot, should at least try one of them today!
16 Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday , celebrated on the third Monday
16 National Nothing Day
17 Ditch New Years Resolutions Day
18 Thesaurus Day
18 Winnie the Pooh Day -The Birthday of Winnie's author A.A. Milne
19 National Popcorn Day
20 National Buttercrunch Day
20 Penguin Awareness Day      reminds me the movie-March of the Penguins
21 National Hugging Day
21 Squirrel Appreciation Day          squirrel eats too much and barely come out any more
22 National Blonde Brownie Day    another sweet day!
23 National Pie Day               i mark this one
23 National Handwriting Day
23 Measure Your Feet Day- we only ask...."Why!?!"
24 Beer Can Appreciation Day
24 Compliment Day
25 Opposite Day
26 Spouse's Day
27 Chocolate Cake Day
27 Punch the Clock Day
28 Fun at Work Day
28 National Kazoo Day
29 National Puzzle Day
29 National Cornchip Day
30 National Inane Answering Message Day
31 Backward Day            sounds a litte backward...
31 Inspire Your Heart with Art Day

Source:holidayinsights.com

Healthy recipes-Flower in ice (Green tea ice cubes, sugarless, eggless, saltless, vegan)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:54:00 +0000

I finally found where to buy fresh edible flowers-Whole Foods!!! They are soo pretty, cute and with absolutely great aroma, especially the rosie!! It's actually organic edible flowers.

There are thousands of thousands of different kinds of flowers in nature, but only very few are edible. How precious is that!!

My hometown Harbin is worldly well-known for its ice sculpture festival. Colorful lights are installed in the big ice bricks to create wonder land kind of scene at night!!

(photo via boston.com)

Sometimes artist add special colors, vase, plants, or animal lights into to the big ice cubes to make creative culptures.

The other day I found some pictures of flowers in ice cubes on martha steward wedding. Imagine you have flowers ice cubes in your iced tea? how cool is that!

Benefits-good for the eye and....mouth!!! clean and anti-inflammationary...many flowers are anti inflammationary. Eat as many colors as you can in your food selection!!

Tea pairing-green iced tea or fruit juice punch (light color)-what a beautiful iced tea ever!!!

Ingredients:

Fresh edible flowers 1 box (small)

green tea (lightly brewed)

Instructions:

1. Brew green tea and chill in refridge for at least 2 hours. Or you can brew green tea very strong then add cold water to dilute and cool it down. I prefer lightly brewed green tea. After frozen, flowers in ice cubes are more visible as compared to in strong green tea ice cubes.

2. place fresh flowers in the ice cube mode. Pour green tea into the mode. All flowers will float on the surface.

They are not ice cubes, they are flower gems!!!

Wikipedia black out...not fun....

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:40:00 +0000

Did you see this page on wikipedia.org

I was looking for some info on the web. Of course, the first link, as always, is wikipedia. Here's what I get...

On Jan 18, there will be a rally in NYC, to protest the PIPA(Protect IP Act) /SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legistlation...

So do you think internet should be censored? or free free free communication?

Happy Tuesday-Talking Husky-love this dog!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I'm a dog and cat lover, especially big dogs! Used to have a golden retriever for few years. My schedule does not allow me to have any animal now, but I really loved playing with my dog in snow or in water!

TGIF-a FUN video: Watch out! Granny hits the car

Conan O'Brien delivers Chinese take-outs

a FUN Video to dust off the negative Chi

Half dog Half man

Did not know Siberian Husky dogs are soo smart that they can understand and talk!!! OMG!!

I would expect Huskies bark a lot, like wolf at night;)) I can imagine how their neighbors feel! ha!! Their voice sounds lovely and very very cute, and musical!

What's your favorite dog?

Remember to follow us on twitter @teabeyond

Healthy Recipes-Banana Orange Ice Pop (sugarless, dairyless, eggless, saltless, vegan)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:27:00 +0000

Did you sense the coldness last weekend? I bet you did!! It happened I had to drive to the local Fedex office to and....boy,it was cold!!! This is real winter!!

But compared to the weather where I grew up, North East of China, the winter here in the US is much warmer. I grew up in some where close to Russia, not too far from Syberia and Mongolia. Winter in that area normally lasts over 6 months, like Alberta in Canana, but it does not snow much. How cold? Let me give you an example. when you spit outside, it gets frozen immediately. Kids spit and put the fireworks on top then light up for fun in holidays! It works beautifully!

Despite the severe cold weather in Winter, ice pops are very popular in winter time in that region.

There's one particular style I loved so much, called 雪糕，冰砖 in Chinese (North), "Snow Cake" or "Iced brick" in English (direct translation). The "snow cake" looks really like a piece of cake made with snow, soft, creamy, ivory color, easy to take a bite and....simply delicious!!! I saved every penny just to buy the best "snow cake" whenever I wanted.

I got this recipe from Countryliving
Benefits: eggless, saltless, dairyless, purely natural and, a vegan recipe!! No extra sugar added!
Dried Orange skin is called 陈皮 in Chinese. It's a Chinese medicine. 陈皮 is believed to help adjust Chi (or Qi) and good for Spleen.

It tastes very refreshing, very savory, and tart after tastes. Great aroma from orange zest and vanilla soy milk. Banana add creamy texture to the ice pop.

Tea pairing-Green tea works very nicely!

Healthy Recipes-Orange Matcha Ice Cream (eggless, sugarless, saltless and really easy)!!
Lightly Alcoholic Tea Punch!!!
Alcoholic drinks recipes-Light Alcoholic Sin City Green Tea Punch (Stevia)
Healthy Recipes- Simple Cinnamon Sweet Potato (eggless, sugarless, dairy less, vegan)
Healthy recipes-Fruit bowl for New Year Eve dinner

Ingredients (makes roughly 24 mini muffin ice pops)

4 ripe bananas
1 orange (for orange zest)
2 cup orange juice
1 cup vanilla soy milk
3 tbsp lime juice

1. Clean the orange skin with water and use a grater to get fresh orange zest. If you do not have orange, I guess you can use lemon to replace or even Lime zest. You can eat the rest of the orange. That's what I do every time-I eat up everything left. No trash here!

2. Cut bananas into small pieces, such as 1/2 inches cube or mash it, depends on how you like it. I cut them into 1/2 inches pieces. When you bite, you can see the banana and taste it.

3. Mix Orange juice, soy milk, lime juic, and orange zest together then add the banana pieces to mix evenly.

4. Bring 2 mini muffin baking trays (I used metal trays, but highly recommend silicon muffin tray instead. It's much easier to take the ice pop off after frozen) and 24 sticks. Pour the liquid into the backing trays evenly. Put them in refrige to freeze for about 1 hour, or until it becomes slightly firm. Put the sticks in each mini muffin before the ice pops are completely frozen.

I used the stainless steel mini spoons I bought recently. I found them lovely and made beautiful presentation. Besides, it's absolutely GREEN because you can use the spoons again and again.

What's your favorite ice pop?

Please find us on facebook or twitter: @teabeyond to find more about tea related recipes and tips!

TGIF-Weekend plan

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:05:00 +0000

photo via i2b.doz

What's your plan for this weekend? escape to a heavenly place like this?

or...

a portrait in Central Park NYC

TGIF-invisible dogs

TGIF-a FUN video: Watch out! Granny hits the car

TGIF-a FUN photo: Who is this?

Chinese food by Conan O'Brien

Sneezing Baby Panda

Father Daughter Dance Medley

or get married?

Photo shooting?

Hobby group? Any suggestions for me? You can post your comments on facebook or twitter @teabeyond

Happy teakendie!!

Healthy Recipes- Simple Cinnamon Sweet Potato (eggless, sugarless, dairy less, vegan)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:30:00 +0000

I bought a lot of cook books which I find sometimes a little too "sophisticated" for home cooking. First, it requires a lot of kitchen gadgets; second, multiple ingredients that need to be available; Third, it does take some time to get ready!! how many times you say to yourself, I'm hungry I want it now!!

Sometimes I just want my food, quick, and easy, and beautiful, and tasty, and smells good!! Is it possible? yeah, you can buy them;)) kidding. I recently made some snack food for afternoon tea!! Quick and easy!!!

Benefits: simple, easy and tasty! Sweet potato (nutrition fact) is rich in starch, and vitamine A. Great for snack food. The cinnamon and cocoa powder add very nice aroma to it. Sweet potato, of course, takes sweet!! No sugar needed! Cranberry jam adds a little bit savory bite to it.

Tea pairing-Green tea or herbal tea

Healthy Recipes-Orange Matcha Ice Cream (eggless, sugarless, saltless and really easy)!!
Healthy recipes-Fruit bowl for New Year Eve dinner
Healthy Recipes-Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Balls
Christmas Recipes-Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients:
2 sweet potato, peeled
Olive oil to brush on the sweet potato

Topping:
Mixture of Ground cinnamon powder and cocoa powder in 1 to 1 proportion.
Cranberry Jam (optional)

Instruction:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 F degree.

2. Peel off the sweet potato skin. Use sharp knife to slice in roughly 1/4 inche pieces.

3. Use cookie cutters to cut them in flower shape or any kind of shape you desire. Brush some olive oil on both sides of the sliced sweet potato

4. Transfer all the sweet potato "flower"s to a parchment paper lined baking tray and bake for about 15-20 minutes.

5. When serve (I always love hot food, right out of oven is the best)), pile two pieces together then scoop a little bit cranberry jam in the center, dust lightly the mixture of cinnamon and coca on top!!

Tea 101 What is Blooming tea (flower tea, flowering tea, blossoming tea)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

I was asked the same questions again and again. Finally I decided to write a blog about it to share with you.
The first question is always the same: What's blooming tea.
Excellent question!!
Everybody would think tea is "old", because it has thousand years of history. Yeap! Tea, used as medicine, food and beverage throughout thousand years is well cultured and an "old invention".

But surprisingly, blooming tea is actually a modern creation in China. Blooming tea (flower tea,
flowering tea, blossoming tea, bloom tea, flower blossoming tea, tea blooms, blooming flower teas, tea flowers in English translation, or 工艺茶，开花茶，女儿茶 in Chinese), refers to tea that is purely hand crafted with whole leaves and freshly dried flowers and it "blossom"s like a real flower once dropped in hot water, like the process from flower bud to a fully opened flower. It creates a whole completely different experience to tea drinking-entertaining, delightful, romantic and enchanting.

Tea 101-"tea bag is tea bag, your body can not tell the difference" huh? (part 2)
Tea 101-"tea bag is tea bag, your body can not tell the difference" huh? (part 1)
Health: How much tea should we drink per day?
Tea Lifestyle: 5 cool ways to use your teapots-party favors (part 5)
Part 4: Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Home decor

Part 3 Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Candle holders/Lights

Part 2 Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Kitchen devices

Part 1: Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Glass vase for flower arrangement

There are two people who are well-known tea masters and played major roles in blooming tea invention. The first person is from An Hui. He grew up in a tea farm and both his father and grandfather were advanced tea farmers. When he was young, he saw his mom making sun dried vegetables. In Chinese tradition, moms use a special local leaf to buddle the sun-dried vegetables together then store it for winter. Inspired by what his mom did, he applied the same techniques in dried tea leaves-buddle tea leaves together to create a artful shape. That's the original Green Peony (or Lu Mu Dan, 绿牡丹 in Chinese)!! After years of testing and research, he finally created a special tea category-blooming tea, a tea that is purely hand crafted, leaf by leaf, from plucking to final sewing, and unfolds in hot water, even though there's no flower attached. He immediately shared the techniques with all local tea farmers. That was in mid 80s.

There's another family who planted and sold tea for decades in Southern China, but their business was dying. In 90s, the most popular teas in China were green teas, but they were specialized in white and Oolong teas. The family barely made living for years. Until one day, the brother who was a sales rep for the father, came back with a question-he noticed the issues at tea house-In Chinese tradition, men always drink loose leaf teas only (because they believe they are strong), while women love flowers, such as rose buds, Jasmine. When few friends, male and female, go to a tea house, they have to order two separate pots of tea-whole leaf tea for men and herbal tea for women. The solution was to combine the two together-true Blooming tea was born!! The sister started working on the idea. She was inspired by the the natural flower blossoming and eventually created a truly beautiful blooming tea, with real flowers in the center of tea leaves!!!

Today blooming tea is enjoyed by people from all over the world! People not only love its entertaining and intimate blooming process, but also its special craftsmanship, creative tastes and natural aroma, from both tea leaves and flowers.

The true spirit of blooming tea is to love and share and that is what life is about!

Happy Tuesday-FUN video: Cat uses Toilet

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0000

This reminds me the cat, Tiger, I had when I was very young...He was 1/4 Persian with beautiful fur and green eyes. Every morning he would step on my sister and my faces to wake us up. We hated it because his feet were wet all the time. We suspected he probably went to bathroom. He knew his special bathroom spot, but never learned how to flush the toilet. So every morning my sister and I each woke up with a smelly face with Tiger's marks.

Remember, Be Happy, Be healthy!!

Healthy Recipes-Whole Wheat Orange Biscuit for love (eggless, sugarless, vegan, dairyless)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Tough Monday morning huh? Check this out: I was looking for GM Foods. Here's what I found on Wikipedia.org:

Fck You (GM foods or GMO foods) are foods derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques.

Well, obviously someone is not happy about it. Not sure how much he or she knows about English, but this person knows where to post the curse;)))

See the two brown bugs in my flour, the picture above? now they make me feel it's probably safer to eat the flour;))) Did you notice that vegetables at the supermarket do not have bug bites any more?

My brother told me last time that he had to move to the US immediately. I asked why.

Jane, I will get cancer very soon because all grains, rice, flour, vegetibles, etc here in China are GM foods (refers to Genetically Modified Foods or Genetically Modified Organisms), even the bugs and mices do not eat the rice and four I bought from the market.

Do you know which country manufacture the most GM Foods in the world? United States!! Here most of foods are GM Foods;(((

Really?

Yeah, really?!

Gingerbread men made with fresh ginger

Whole Wheat Banana Olive Oil Cake (tea cake recipe)

Healthy Recipes-Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Stevia recipes-Pumpkin bread No.1

I actually read some articles recently that some Chinese farmers use GM foods to feed their pigs and goats. These animals have some serious problems of getting pregnant, which create serious issue for the farmers. Farmers who use local foods for the pigs do not have this issue.

Anyway, Health=Wealth, especially now!!

I bought a stoneware-"The Haeger NaturalStone"baking tray whcih comes with a recipe book. This recipe is from that book. Again, I made few minor revision for myself.

Benefits: Easy to make, sugarless, eggless, dairyless (especially for people who are lactose intolerant) low calories.

Tea pairing-Green or Herbal tea (light)

Ingredients A

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour and extra flours for the dough
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

Ingredients B

4 tbsp olive oil
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup Vanilla Soy Milk
Orange zest from 1 medium orange

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven 425F.

2. In a food processor, combine the ingredient A and pulse to mix it. I used my hands;)) Good exercise tho as I alway love to touch my foods!!

3. Grate Orange zest and mix all ingredients B together evenly.

4. Pour the ingredient B mixture into ingredient A mixture gradually until the mixture forms large and moist dough.

4. Tour the dough out onto a lightly foured work surface and knead gently a few times until it clings together. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 3/4 inch. Flour the Heart shape cookie/biscuit cutter and use it to cut out as many hearts as possible.
5. Transfer all the "hearts" to the lined baking tray, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
6. Bake 15-18 minutes.Take all the "hearts" out from oven and put them on a wire track to cook briefly.

Wanna get a bite;)) Bring your tea with you to NJ!!;))

Healthy Recipes-Whole Wheat Banana Muffins (Stevia recipes)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I bought few whole wheat muffins at a local bakery. While I was eating, I noticed that they probably used the platic mold (picture below) for baking...The problem with the plastic mold is that plastic will release toxic componds when temperature goes up.

whew!! That made me concerned quite a bit while it looked nice. You know what? I bake my own and BETTER-Fresh ingredients, subtle aroma and smooth texture!! Here we go-Whole Wheat Banana muffin!!

Healthy Recipes-Whole Wheat Banana Olive Oil Cake (tea cake recipe)

Tea Lifestyle-Stevia recipes-Whole Wheat Banana Yogurt Bread

Tea Lifestyle-Stevia recipes-Pumpkin bread No.1

Tea Lifestyle-Stevia Recipes-Whole Wheat Gingerbread

Healthy Recipes- Chinese Cheese Burger without cheese paired with Pu Erh Tea

I got this recipe from Ellie Krieger

Benefits-

Banana (nutrition data) provides a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6.

Coconut sugar-have you ever used it before? It's also called Palm Sugar, has molasses kind of taste, in brown color. It offers much less calories while still tastes sweet.

Ingredient A:

½ tsp cinnamon

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp stevia (or adjust to taste)

3 tbsp coconut sugar

Ingredient B:

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz Greek yogurt
2 tbsp soy milk
3 ripe banana sliced

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven 400 F degree. Coat a 12 capacity muffin pan with cooking spray.

2. Mix the ingredient A in a large bowl. i
3. Mix the ingredient B in a medium bowl. I wanted to keep Banana in a chuncky form so when bite, it has this fruity and aromatic texture. Actually when you mix it, sliced banana gets smaller.
4. Combine the mixture B into mixture A, stir well until smoothly.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of 1 comes out clean. Let cool on a rack. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold.

I just love to taste foods right out of the oven-moist, soft, and full of aroma!!

What ya think my dear friend?

Tea 101-"tea bag is tea bag, your body can not tell the difference" huh? (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

(via Smithsonian Institution Research Information System)

When the British first established The Assame Company in India, their goal was to create their own supply of teas for the European markets. The Assam area has such characteristics as flat, roughly 300 feet above the sea level, high temperatures, high humidity throughout the year, idealy for mass production of tea leaves!

(via Smithsonian Institution Research Information System)

They adopted all Chinese tea processing, from plucking to drying, which was an extremely labor intensive, time consuming and low production process. For example, traditional tea plucking had many restrictions, such as only same sized leaves should be plucked each time; only few hours a day workers can pluck leaves; leaf plucking can only be done under certain weather conditions etc. The producion was very low thus the tea was quite expensive.

Tea 101-"tea bag is tea bag, your body can not tell the difference" huh? (part 1)
Tea 101-How to care for teapots
Tea 101-Tea blend
Tea 101-The mystery of Iced Tea
Health: How much tea should we drink per day?

That certainly did not stop Europeans' thirst for tea and tea was still in high demand in England and other European countries. The British at The Assam Company later on improved the production process by applying what they learned from the Industrial Revolution in their own country. The efficiency in tea production allows the company to reduce costs, increase production, and expand the market.

(via Smithsonian Institution Research Information System)

Tea bags were invented in the early 20 century in the US, per records. What's next? On another side of the world, CTC (Cut, Tear, Curl, some say Crush, Tear and Curl) method was developed in Assam region in around 1930s, which allowed to manufacture tea in massive production while further lowering costs. Instead of plucking, withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying, or the Orthodox method, CTC method includes plucking, withering, CTC, fermentation, and drying.

The CTC metnod significantly improved the efficiency of the tea production, accelerated oxidation process, and created tea with consistent quality. CTC method is mainly used in black tea region.

(via Guardian UK)

It seems the "small changes" in the tea processing while the results are completely different!!

Healthy Recipes-Quinoa Salad (Vegan)

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:02:00 +0000

Very summary look and clean, Quinoa (nutrition info) Salad was prepared by one of my best friends at Christmas dinner few years ago. I still remember the look and taste. It's the perfect time to eat salad when everything is very meaty for holidays;)) It also helps clean your body!!

I was preparing new year eve meal at home and all of sudden I needed more cilantro and some wax paper. Drove to the closest supermarket around 9pm....closed;((( I guess everybody could not wait to go home for holidays!

Today, I really wanted to go out to get some fresh air. Drove to supermarket again. Wow, I guess everybody ran out of foods after holidays;)) The store was so packed that I could not even find a parking spot! I bought a lot of fresh vegitables. Really miss my salad!

Benefits:
Rich in minerals, such as Iron, protein, fiber, and Vitamines.

Green Peas (nutrition info) can be eat both cooked or raw. I eat it in raw, sweet and moist. Great snack food!

Black eyed peas (nutrition info) -I actually bought one can of fresh black eyed peas at a local suparmarket. Super delicious!!!

Wheatgrass (nutrition info)-Bought it at Wholefoods today! It tastes very refreshing. There are many popular claims (wheatgrass in capsule, tablets form), such as healing power and weightloss about Wheatgrass. Most of them are not scientifically proved. I'm not a big fan of supliments unless necessary. I believe in "take food as medicine, instead of taking medicine as foods". But fresh wheatgrass is a greate source for minerals, vitamines and dietary fibers, for sure. For people who are preganant, breast feeding, etc, would not recommend it, per Mayoclicnic.com

Radish (nutrition info) -In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it says "if eat radish in winter and take ginger in summer, you do not have to visit doctors!!" so do I need to say more?;))

Tea pairing-Green or Herbal tea

Ingredient A:

1/2 cup Green peas, cooked
½ cup diced yellow bell pepper
1 small red onion, diced
1 cup diced tomato
½ cup mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup wheatgrass, diced
1/2 cup fresh black eyed peas, cooked
1/2 cup radish, diced
½ cup chopped cilantro
3/4 cup quinoa
3 cups water

Ingredient B

1/2 tsp salt (or salt to taste)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp apple vinegar
fresh basil leaves (optional)

Instructions:
1. Rinse quinoa in water to get ready. Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add cleaned quinoa. Bring the heat to medium or low. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until cooked. Drain off the water and rines again quickly in cold water to allow to cool.

2. Mix ingredient B together evenly in a small bowl. Mix ingredient A in a large bowl then add ingredient B mixture. Toss few times to allow all veggie coated with dressings.

The truth is with fresh vegetables, really not much dressing needed!!

What's your favorite salad?

Healthy Recipes-Orange Matcha Ice Cream (eggless, sugarless, saltless and really easy)!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:12:00 +0000

Have you ever tried Turkish Ice cream? No? That's the only thing everybody needs to try before the end of the world! I'm not kidding! Turkish Ice cream is hand made, chewy, with light coffee flavors, the BEST ever!! The vendor will even further impress you with their final friendly and fun trick, like shown in this video from youtube.com

I had a chance to try Turkish Ice Cream when I was at the 2009 World Expo in Shanghai, China. Ho Ho Ho, completely fell in love with it! It was very crowded in the Turkish hall at the expo and the line was miles long!!! Otherwise I would buy a dozen!!

Have to satisfy my quest for "the end of world" dessert today!! My recipe is really easy!! The ice cream alone does not have any sugar added. It comes with great aroma, from vanilla and orange zest. Lime juice adds nice acid taste to it. Green tea Matcha gives this ice cream a nice kick at the end! Can you tell from the picture that I actually used a Premium quality matcha-the color is tender and bright green!!! Best ingredients make the best food!!

Benefits-eggless, saltless, no need to heat, no chemicals added, much less calories and cholestrol!!!

Tea pairing-urhhh...you can just finish it without pairing any tea! Oh, Matcha is one!

Alcoholic drinks recipes-Light Alcoholic Sin City Green Tea Punch (Stevia)
Cranberry Chicken (drumsticks recipe)
Healthy recipes-Fruit bowl for New Year Eve dinner
Stevia Recipe: Gingerbread men made with fresh ginger

Ingredients: (roughly 5 servings)

2 cups Vanilla Silk Soy Milk
1 cup Orange Juice
1-1/2 oz Lime juice
4 tbsp Greek Plain yogurt
1 Orange for orange zest

Topping
Honey
Roasted Pecan
Green tea-Matcha

Instructions:

1. Grate the Orange to get freshly grated Orange zest.
2. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl
3. Turn on your icecream maker and pour the liquid in!! It takes roughly 30 minutes or until ready.

4. When serve, drizzle some honey, add some pecan and dust some matcha on top!!!

Because the ice cream does not have any addictives, it's fluffy, easy to get melt. Perfect if serve immediately!!!

Healthy recipes-Fruit bowl for New Year Eve dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:00:00 +0000

I had too much meat stuff from the holidays. Desperately look for something new, light and yum yum. Then I read the article about Kate Middleton on Yahoo.com. How's Kate Middleton related to food? well, I'm sure she drinks tea! That's only partial reason. Did you notice the hat she was wearing for the Royal's Christmas day? The hat!! Ah Ha! The recipe was inspired by Kate Middleton's hat!!

What you think? Did I do a good job of making the food version of Kate Middleton's hat?;))

This is the easiest ever recipe for your holidays. You can get it done in 10 minutes!

Benefits-everybody loves it! Full of vitamines, antioxidants, and protein! Great appetizer!

Tea pairing-Green or Herbal tea!

Alcoholic drinks recipes-Light Alcoholic Sin City Green Tea Punch (Stevia)
Lightly Alcoholic Tea Punch
Tea lifeystyle-Stevia Recipe: Gingerbread men made with fresh ginger (Christmas recipe)
Christmas Recipes-Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
Whole Wheat Banana Olive Oil Cake (tea cake recipe)
Recipes-Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Balls

Ingredients:

5 Egg Roll wrap

Honey

Greek Plain yogurt

Fruits and vegetables-Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, cucumbers, tomatos, etc

Instructions;

1. Preheat the oven to 350F

2. Use a sharp knife to cut a "cross" sign to make 20 pieces from 5 egg roll wraps. Gentlely press each small wrap into the mini muffin tray. I did not spray any olive oil. It does not stick.

I made few bigger bowls with the whole wrap, instead of a quarter;))

3. Bake for about 6-7 minutes or until the bowl becomes golden brown. While baking, cut the fruits and veggie into small pieces so that it fits the bowl easily.

4.Once done, take the tray out from the oven. Fill each bowl with sliced fruilts, top with 1/2 tsp of Greek yogurt then drizzle some honey on top!

That's it!!

Yum Yum!!

Ha! Have fun!!

Tea 101-How to care for teapots

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Of course everybody knows how to use teapot!! It's no brainer! That's why no teapot comes with any instruction;)) But wait, do not be surprised if grandma uses it to water flowers! It works!

Stainless steel teapots are more of modern invention. Most of teapots we use today are made from clay, glass, China, or pottery. I love all of them.

Some times I have clients and customers asking me to send them teapot top replacement for their glass teapots . Why? Someone broke the top while using the teapot. I have the same issue-did not pay attention while pouring the tea into tea cup. Oops, I dropped the top! Well, if you can find a replacement, you are a lucky bird!! If antique, forget it! And your teapot will become worthless with a broken top.

Part 5: Tea Lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Party favors

Part 4: Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Home decor

Part 3 Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Candle holders/Lights

Part 2 Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Kitchen devices

Part 1: Tea lifestyle-5 cool ways to use your teapots-Glass vase for flower arrangement
Here are some tips for your teapots in general:

1. Use small teapots-easy to finish your freshly brewed favorite cup of tea on time. no need to worry leftover tea. Many people prefer larger teapots. Brew one pot of tea that can be drunk for a whole day. It's actually not a good habbit. First, the tea will get cold if brew for too long time. Second, tea becomess very strong over time. Third, many times you can not finish it if using large teapots; Forth, leave stains when tea sitting in teapot for hours.

2. Rinse, clean teapots right after finish-This will avoid any stains on teapot. You can also use dishwasher to clean it. Make sure to put your teapot on top layer. I normally do hand wash-quick and easy. Avoid any potential damages, especially for expensive teapots.

3. Use soft tissues or soft cloth to dry it. This help keep the surface from being scratched and shining.

4. If stained, baking soda is one of the best cleaning options so far-odder free, no scratches left on the surface of teapot, regardless of what materials your teapot is made from, no residuals, and environmental friendly!! Even if your teapot has odder, it can help remove it!

5. Protect teapot top with ribbon or fishwire. Unless you have a stainless steel/plastic/silicon/wood top, sometimes the lid can fall off. Some China or pottery teapots come with a special design which help provent the lid sliding. But it seems it does not work too well when you lean the teapot in a staight angle. sometimes it does not work at all.

You can find this type of top for China and pottery teapot all the time. The unique design does help prevent the lid fall, but only to certain extent.

This is the only design so far I found very helpful.

Even if you completely put the teapot upside down, the lid is solidly stay with the teapot!!

Most glass teapots come with glass lid. It makes the design consistent and beautiful. To prevent to top fall off, you can use anything available to tie the top together with the handle. I have some leftover ribbons from Christmas today. The colorful ribbon compliments the teapot and create a beautiful addtion to the teapot and drinking experiences. You can also use transparent fishing wire to tie it. Be creative!!

If you are a skilled crafter, you can even make it fancier by brading the thin ribbon and create your own style. I bought this teapot in China and the owner created the cute design for me.

I love all teapots I bought and try my best to keep them in good shape!!

Do you have any novel ideas to share?

Recipes-Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Balls

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Christmas was over!! Can you believe it? Too short!!! Do you feel the say way?

Holidays are always about food and families, regardless of which country you are from. Christmas is not a typical Chinese holiday but it becomes more popular in China! Who will reject a nice gift and a great meal?;)) I wont!! The more, the merrier!!!

Well I bet you have a lot of leftovers, except if your guests were hungry horses;)) Most of times, moms always prepare tons of yum yum foods for holidays. The results are they need to figure out ways to "digest" those leftovers, without wasting any!

I made a lot of sweet potatos for desserts,but did not finish all. Inspired by the Russian Tea Cake recipes, I made some Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Ball.

Here's a short history about Russian Tea Cake I found from Foodtimeline.org

Mexican wedding cakes & Russian tea cakes

According to several food history sources and cookbooks, Mexican wedding cakes and Russian tea cakes (aka Biscochitos/Mexico, Tea cakes/Sweden, Melting Moments /Australia, Mandulas kiflik/Bulgaria, Biscochos/Cuba, Kourabi俤es/Greece, Polvorones/Italy & Spain, Rohlichky/Ukraine and Sand Tarts, Sandies, Butterballs & Moldy Mice/United States) are a universal holiday cookie-type treat. This means this recipe is not necessarily connected to any one specific country. It IS connected with the tradition of saving rich and expensive food (the richest butter, finest sugar, choicest nuts) for special occasions.
Food historians trace the history of these cookies and cakes to Medieval Arab cuisine, which was rich in sugar. Small sugar cakes with nuts (most often almonds) and spices were known to these cooks and quickly adopted by the Europeans. This sweet culinary tradition was imported by the Moors to Spain, diffused and assimilated throughout Europe, then introduced to the New World by 16th century explorers. Sugar cookies, as we know them today, made their appearance in th 17th century. About sugar. Recipes called Mexican wedding cakes descend from this tradition. They first appear in American cookbooks in the 1950s.

I did make a batch of original Russian tea cakes, but there's too much butter and sugar added!!! I need to drink gallons of tea to digest them!!;))

Here's the healthy version-Sweet Potato Coconut Snow Balls

Benefits-satisfy both the mouth, nose, spirit, and stomach without compromising the health!!

Use much less butter, 200% less!!
Use stevia and coconut sugar instead of confection sugar or regular sugar. This helps cut calories dramatically. Coconut sugar or palm sugar, non-refined sugar, belongs to low glycemic index food. Rich in iron and Magnesium. It has a little bit molasses kind of taste and aroma.
soft and...yum yum yum!!

Tea pairing-Green, Black, Herbal, Oolong, Pu Erh.

Ingredient A

1 cup sweet potato cooked

1 cup yogurt

1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Ingredient B:

2 Cups whole wheat flour

4 tbsp stevia

2 tsp coconut sugar

1/2 cup roasted pecan

Ingredient C

Honey and Coconut Shreds

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the over to 450F degree

2. In a medium bowl, mix the ingredient A Cream butter, yogurt and vanilla until smooth.

3. Mix the ingredient B, then blend in the ingredient A mixture, evenly. Make a dough.

4. Divide the dough into 20 evenly pieces and make a ball shape.

5. Bake 5 minutes under 450 F. Take it out. Brush some honey then roll the balls in the coconut shreds

6. Bake another 5 minutes under 400 F or until cooked.

Christmas Recipe-Santa Hat Brownie

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Christmas without Santa is not a Christmas, right? This year Santa left the hat in the kitchen while sliding down the chimney!!!:))

Inspired by Santa's hat brownie by Daisy's World, I quickly made this one!!!

Ingredients:
pre-baked brownie or buy a box of brownie box then follow the instruction.

Topping: I make it really easy-just use Plain Fat Free Yogurt with Strawberries!!! It works beautifully without any extra work!!

Tea Pairing-Pu Erh, Black tea or Oolong!!!

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
Gingerbread men made with fresh ginger
Whole Wheat Banana Olive Oil Cake
Lightly Alcoholic Tea Punch!!!

Merry Christmas to yall!!!

Christmas recipes-Easy Dumplings

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Do you know what today is? In Chinese calendar, it's called Dong Zhi (冬至 in Chinese, one of the 24 Solar Terms for weather），meaning today is the day that has the longest night and shortest day time in this year! In Northern China, people normally eat dumplings or Wonton!!

Here's the story from Wikipedia: In northern China, people typically eat dumplings on Dongzhi. It is said to have originated from Zhang Zhongjing in the Han Dynasty. On one cold winter day, he saw the poor suffering from chilblains on their ears. Feeling sympathetic, he ordered his apprentices to make dumplings with lamb and other ingredients, and distribute them among the poor to keep them warm, to keep their ears from getting chilblains. Since the dumplings were shaped like ears, Zhang named the dish "qùhán jiāoěr tāng" (祛寒嬌耳湯) or dumpling soup that expels the cold. From that time on, it has been a tradition to eat dumplings on the day of Dongzhi.

There's another version of story actually-In Han Dynasty, minorities in North always invaded the borders of China and they killed many Chinese. The two brutal minority leaders were Won and Ton. Local Chinese hated them so bad that they ate "Won Ton" so that they could live in a peaceful time. It happens that day was Dong Zhi.

I called my parents in China last night. My mom said you should eat dumplings and I just did it! I did not have time to prepare my dinner until mid night last night. Because I was too tired to make it perfect, I call it lazy easy dumplings (big, easy and quick);)). It takes about 30 minutes to get everything done and ready to serve.

Tea Pairing-Pu Erh or Black Tea

Gingerbread Men made with fresh ginger
Whole Wheat Banana Olive Oil Cake
Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats
Mango Drumsticks with Red Wine

Ingredients: (makes about 8 dumplings)
3 chicken boneless thighs (roughly 3/4 cup ground chicken)
2 oz red wine
1/2 cup green onion
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1 egg white plus 1 egg white in a separate bowl
1/8 tsp all spices
8 Wonton wrap or Egg roll wrap

Instructions:

1. Marinate the chicken thighs in red wine for about 10 minutes. Once done, take the chicken thighs out and you can use the rest of red wine to make other dishes.

2. Cut the green onion in very small pieces, like 1/4 x1/4 inches. You can use food processor or like me, just use knife to cut them. I do not normally use food processor unless big volume because I'm too lazy to clean it afterwards;)))

3. Remove the skin of chicken thighs and make ground chicken in a food processor. Or use knife to do it, like I did;))

4. Mix ground chicken, salt, all spices, onion, ginger, sesame oil, egg white all togher until evenly.

5. Place one egg roll wrap on a floured surface. Brush egg white on the four sides of the wrap. Put roughly 3 tbsp of the mixture then roll the wrap in about 1 or 1-1/2 inches wide roll. Seal the edge and lightly press two sides-right & left

4. Spray some olive oil in a fry pan and heat over medium to low. Cook for about 10-12 minutes or fully cooked. All dumplings become golden brown on both sides.

Dipping sauce ingredients:

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp Red pepper oil (optional, super hot hot hot!!)

Instruction-mix all ingredients together!! It was sooo good that I finished them all!!! This is a great appetizer for Christmas!

Christmas Recipes-Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Jane London) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

I bought few boxes of snack bars at Costco and put them in my car, office and kitchen. But nothing can beat the freshly made bars!!!

I have some Puffed Millet and Rice from an event. We had few friends brought their kids to an event and I made some snack bars. Kids LOVED them!!!

This is a super easy recipe from Ellie Krieger's book-So Easy, Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the week. Again I made few changes to fit my appetite.

Benefits-Good source for protein. Very easy to make and do not need much time to prepare!

Tea Pairing-Green tea, Herbal tea, or black tea

Ingredients A
1/2 cup chunky natural-style peanut butter
1 cup honey

Ingredients B
3 cups crispy brown rice cereal (or puffed rice)
3 cups crispy millet cereal (or puffed millet)
1/2 cup sliced almond, roasted
1/2 cup pecan, roasted
1/2 dried cranberries

Topping:Cocoa powder

Instructions:

1. Mix ingredients A in a pan and heat over medium -low heat until melted, roughly 2-3 minutes. Make sure to stir and mix well.

2. Combine the ingredients B in a large bowl. Pour the melted ingredients A into B and quickly mix well until the mixtures is sticky. Press into a muffin pan (I used the mini muffin pan).

3. Chill in refrige for roughly 40 minutes. If you do not have time, like me;)), put in freezer for 15 minutes.

4 When serve, dust some cocoa powder on top!!!