Okay... I have to come clean. I thought I could handle it. I thought I would be able to approach any and all food topics with grace and dignity. Eating insects? Not gonna bother me. Knowing how meat gets to our table? I can stomach that. But I have to admit to a failing.

Clams freak me out.

Not eating them....Not that at all. Give me fried clams with malt vinegar and I am one happy puppy (Puppy?Hmmmm...note to self. Try clams with side of hush puppies).

No, no. What freaks me out are the clams themselves, not to mention the people who dig them up...for fun.

I'll talk about the clams in a bit.. First the people involved. Notice this web page. And then note the following quote:

"Razor clams are fun to dig."

What a crock. That has to be the broadest interpretation of the word 'fun' that I have ever come across. Let's think of tasks that are far more fun than sitting on a cold damp beach digging out soe freak of nature bivalve.

Riding a roller coaster? That's fun!

Riding in a souped up Mustang GT on an open interstate with a blatant disregard for authority? FUN!

Hell, when compared to clam digging, watching the numbers change on a digital clock is fun. These clam-digging people need to get out more. I fear getting into a long invovled conversation with any of them.

And then there are the clams themselves, what with their icky clam foot sticking out of their shell like a tongue of a lecherous mutant. Ugh.

And it's not like there's only one species of clam.. oh no. There are HUNDREDS of of versions the viscous shell slugs. Go to any fish house and you can find some of the more popular ones listed below:

Butter clams: From here in the Puget Sound area, these are small, sweet clams usually eaten raw. Also known as moneyshells, as the Native American Indians used the shells for money.

Cherrystone: Up to 3 inches in size, are named for Cherrystone Creek, Virginia. Recommended for eating raw and cooking. This is usually what you get when ordering clams on the half-shell.

Geoduck: Related to the giant clam, this odd-looking variety grows up to eight inches in length and can weigh in at over five pounds, although most are harvested at under three pounds. The neck of this clam is usually parboiled and skinned, with the skins being reserved and ground for chowder. The stomach (dark portion) of the body is removed and the rest carved into 1/4-inch steaks, which are considered by many to be superior to abalone. Because of their size, they have a tough texture and are usually not eaten raw. More on the Geoduck later.

Littleneck: Small quahogs less than 2-3/4 inches are so named for Littleneck Bay on Long Island, New York. These clams are generally recommended for eating raw and in chowders.

Longneck: It's found in colder waters of the northern seas from the Arctic Ocean to Cape Hatteras and Pacific waters north of San Francisco. They are usually less expensive than other types and easiest to dig for. Recommendations for this particular type of clam are steaming, frying, and chowder.

Manila: Imported from the Orient after 1900, this variety of littleneck is now a dominant species in the Northwest. Recommended to be eaten cooked.

Pismo: Named for the coastline city of Pismo Beach, California, where they were first found. It is large, tender, and sweet. The connector muscle can be served raw, while the remainder is normally cooked after removal of the stomach (dark portion). If you like deep-fried clams these are particularly good.

Quahog (also Quahaug): This is an East coast favorite, it is also known as the round clam. Generally recommended for eating raw and in chowders, depending on the size. Smaller clams are best for eating raw. Quahogs also include Littlenecks and Cherrystones, which are simply smaller in size.

Razor: Because of its sharp shell and its resemblance to a straight-edge razor, this East coast variety of this clam is not as easy to catch as its West coast counterpart, making it not as popular. However, the unrelated Pacific razor clam is quite popular on the West Coast and is considered to have superior flavor. Recommended for frying and soups.

In the Seattle area, you can find clams with ease. Manila, Butter, Razor and even the dreaded Geoduck are all readily available in season.

Yeah.. about the geoduck? I have nightmares about them.

The geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck".. just another reason to hate the mutanteous shellfish...gooey?? Who the hell wants meat thats gooey???) is a clam that best resembles the sandworms from Dune. They are so very large. Picture your in your mind a regular clam, with it's 1 oz of meat buried within its shell. Now picture the size of the clam that can produce FIVE FREAKIN POUNDS of meat!!! Having problems with that? Well lookey here.

You will note that the clam looks not unlike a penis. Add to this fact that when I see a clam this large, all I think about are those horror movies from the 50's, where the mutated animals grow 10 times their size and attack helpless cities. You have not quite lived into you've had dreams of 50 foot penis shaped clams attacking downtown Seattle....very slowly ('cause they only have one appendage y'know).

And history tells us that the Neanderthals first excursion into meat eating started with shellfish. My faith in mankind dwindles just a bit knowing that between a choice of bison, rat or shellfish, our ancestors decided to gnosh on the penis looking objects found deep in the sandy beaches. This probably explains our innate laziness (easier to catch a clam than it is a gazelle) and our propensity for building large phallic monuments.

I see only one way to make these dreams go away: show the clams just where they stand on the food chain. My plans for attack? Creamy Deviled Clam, Clams Casino, and the old standby...clam chowder.

Then, and only then, can I get over my fear of these freaks of nature.

This is why my house smells like an Italian restaurant today. It's also the last pasta dish I'm going make for a month or so. Quick, easy and wonderful. From the fine folks at Cooks Illustrated (March/April 2002)

• 4 medium Garlic cloves, minced
• salt
• 1 lb. Spaghetti
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 teaspoons minced anchovies (about 8 fillets)
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained. 1/2 cup juice reserved.
• 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 1/2 cup black olives (Gaeta or Kalamata), pitted and chopped coarse
• 1/4 cup minsed parsley

1. Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in large Dutch oven or stockpot. Meanwhile, mix garlic with 1 Tablespoon water in a small bowl; set aside. When water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; stir to separate pasta. Immediately heat oil, garlic mixture, red pepper flakes and anchovies in large skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring feeeequently until garlic is fragrant but not brown, 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.
2. Cook pasta until al dente. Drai, then return pasta to pot; add 1/4 cup of reserved tomato juice and toss to combine.
3. Stir capers, olives and parsley into sauce. Pour sauce over pasta and toss to combine, adding more tomato juice to moisten if necessary. Adjust seasonings with salt (I don't know why they added this... the anchovies give this sauce plenty of salt - Kate) ; plate. Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve.

Crave Food
1621 12th Ave.

Seattle, WA 98122
206-388-0526

Brunches, according to culinary bad boy Anthony Boudrain, is equivalent to simple arithmetic in the culinary world. Make some eggs, set aside some cut fruit, maybe make some hollandaise sauce if your really hoidy-toidy, and you've got yourself the makings for a high profit, low work meal. Brunch is a decent return on the investment to a Restaurant owner, even if it doesn't challenge a chef to any great extent. If you know how to make a Denver omelet, or can whip up some huevos rancheros, you too can set yourself up a restaurant that can bring in the dough...so to speak.

We're some what lucky here in the Emerald city that so many places actually take some thought into the brunch ritual. Cafe Campagne, Coastal Kitchen, even Minie's all have given some thought into avoiding the cliché that has become the weekend morning meal. And now it's time to add another location to the brunch stop...Crave Foods.

Crave is a little place, tucked in the corner of a small building at 1621 12th Ave. It doubles as an espresso counter in which they sell freshly baked muffins (of which we had a free tasting. More on why that happened below). It's a cozy place, seating only twenty four people at a time. If you want to avoid the crowds, get there early...but apparently not too early.

Before getting into great detail, let me clear things up right away. The food makes it worth the trip. It's important you remember that throughout the rest of this review.

For example, I had the Benedict Florentine: Poached eggs, spinach, in champagne-shallot-orange hollandaise sauce over lox and a crust of brioche. Along with the freshly squeezed orange juice, it was a wonderful way to start the day, at least food wise.

And it was actually a difficult choice to make. I could have had Mom’s Overnight French Toast: Sourdough bread soaked overnight in an orange custard served with with sweet blue cheese butter and topped with real maple syrup. Or perhaps the Crave Omelet: Shiitaki mushrooms, goat cheese, rosemary and duck confit with green chili caramelized onion homefries, toast and fresh fruit. The entire brunch menu was just large enough to provide various options, but not too large as to make one feel as if they were inundated with information. And then there was the Madame Crave. Oh how I wished I could have had both that and the Florentine.

My eating partner had scrambled eggs and sour dough toast, and had ordered a side of bacon and sausage gravy. Her order surprised me a bit, as it seemed akin to going to a genie and wishing for a donut, instead of a million dollars. I thought her order would be no problem.

But instead, that's where the problem began.

We had arrived at the restaurant at approximately 8 am. By this time, Crave would have been open for nearly an hour. But after up selling the sausage gravy, the server came back to alert us that the cooks had not yet made the gravy for the day, an hour after opening.

A few minutes later, the server came back to alert us that the sourdough bread was not yet available, as the bread delivery had not yet been made. I can appreciate that on some level. It was a Sunday morning and somewhat early. But upon reflection, it did affect the eating experience.

When reviewing the restaurant, there at least two aspects in which one should take into account. The quality of the food, and then the quality of the service that served the food. The food itself? Like I said, not bad for a quick and easy brunch, not as good as some, but better than most.

But not having items on the menu after being told that they were there, and not alerting us before hand that certain other items were unavailable was a tad disquieting. These weren't major offenses of food protocol, but neither should they be ignored.

The server did recognize this, and this is how we had gotten our hands on the freshly baked chocolate/blueberry muffin. The crust just right, the chocolate melting onto our hands as wisps of steam came forth. The server felt bad for the restaurants faux pas, and the muffin did make up for it.

I'll be giving Crave another shot. The food is good enough, and the thought behind the menu is certainly there. And I really want to know what a fried egg, over prosciutto, with sweet hot mustard and gruyere on a toasted brioche tastes like. Madame Crave, I hear you call my name.

If your in the Seattle area between March 1st through March 31st, be sure to take advantage of Twenty Five for $25. Various restaurants throughout the city will offer Prix-fixe lunches and dinners (that's fixed price lunches and dinners to those not in the know) from Sunday through Thursday throughout the month of March.

Some of the restaurants participating are:

• Andaluca Restaurant and Bar
• Etta's Seafood
• Tulio
• Kaspar's
• Barking Frog

...and many others. Now's your time to indulge in some of the better eats in the Emerald City.

This is the recipe I used on Wednesday night. It worked out quite well. Carbonarra is best eaten immediately, although it does make for somewhat good leftovers. But it's never as good as it is directly from the pan. Many thanks to Tyler Florence and The Food Network, from which I based this recipe.

• 1 pound dry spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 ounces pancetta (bacon will do in a pinch... but you really should try pancetta.. yum!)
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
• 4 oz sun dried tomatoes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender yet firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic into the fat and saute for less than 1 minute to soften.

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Add sun dried tomatoes to spaghetti. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

I pulled this recipe from Food and Wine, and there's an error in it. A free shout out from me if any of my readers out there can figure out what the error is.

Masala Chai
Makes about 4 cups

This warming beverage is easy to prepare by steeping spices in hot water and milk before adding black tea. It's not as milky as the chai often sold at American coffee bars; to make it richer, add more milk and sugar to taste.

4 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
3 cups water

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons black tea, such as Darjeeling or Orange Pekoe

1. In a mortar, crush the cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon. Transfer the crushed spices to a small saucepan, add the water, ginger and pepper and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let steep for 5 minutes.

2. Add the milk and sugar to the pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the tea. Cover and let steep for 3 minutes. Stir the chai, then strain it into a warmed teapot or directly into teacups.



--Maya Kaimal

How much better could life be? When one makes a dinner for another, and it comes out almost perfect, is there any better feeling? I'm not so sure.


Last night, I made Tara and myself Spaghetti Carbonarra. I used pancetta, fresh olive oil and grated my own parmesan and romano cheeses. For a side dish, I admittedly cheated and bought a Cabbage salad from Whole foods. Dessert was Chocolate Mousse.. made, by hand, by me.


We shared some Reisling, which went surprisingly well with the meal, and indulged in the traditionally winter Italian dish. And I have left overs for when I get home this evening.


What good cooking does for me is give me a sense of accomplishment. Sure Spaghetti Carbonarra isn't the most difficult meal one can make, but it as good enough to make a simple dinner into an event.


Color me pleased.

Again, interesting probably only to myself...


There's a biological reason why spicy foods have developed in the more hot areas of the world. Spicy foods tend to help create sweat, which, as we all know, is our own internal air conditioning. We eat spicy foods, we sweat, we cool down.

To be honest, shellfish intimidate me. Perhaps its that part of me from the Back Hills of Western Pennsylvania that still sort of cringes at the thought of eating oysters, or perhaps its the fact that I've heard so many stories from/about people who've become ill from eating that one bad scallop, but for some reason, I have a little bit of fear when it comes to the oldest meat source farmed by homo sapiens.

Didn't know that, did you? You read correctly, man has been eating shellfish for longer than there's been a civilized society, with archaeologist's stating that we've been eating shellfish since before 50,000 BC. That's a long time ago folks. If those people could eat the shellfish, what was I to be afraid of?

But what to make and how to make them? Luckily for me I am in an area of the country where such fish are plentiful. So I decided to stay local: Puget sound littleneck clams. And in asking the various fish vendors around Pike Place Market, I found that most of them liked to cook clams the simplest way...to steam them.

I went around and bought some basic ingredients for steaming clams...garlic, shallots, onions, lemon and parsley. Total cost? Six dollars.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love PPM? While there, I also purchased a 2002 Yakima Vally Riesling
from Hyatt Vineyards.
Side note...For a good, inexpensive Reisling, Hyatt has delivered a nice bottle for under nine dollars.

Here's my recipe for steamed clams...and I must say ever so humbly: It was pretty tasty.

• 1 cup Reisling (Rule of thumb...The better the wine, the better the clams)
• 5 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 1/2 shallot, diced
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 lbs. littleneck clams
• Melted butter

-Rinse the clams in water, discarding any clams that are already open. Set aside in bowl.

-In a dutch over, place shallots, garlic. parsley and wine over medium high heat. Allow mixture to warm but not boil.

-Once broth gets warm, place clams in pot, cover, and raise to high heat, bringing to a boil. Every two minutes, shake pot, moving clams allowing them to open.

-After 10 minutes, remove clams with slotted spoon, keeping both in pot. Place in bowl.

-strain both into differnt bowl.

-Serve with melted butter as a dipping sauce on the side.

Eat by removing each clam from its shell, and dipping it in borth to remove any remaining grit, and then dip into butter.

As I said. Quite tasty.

Tara and I made the 60 mile trek down to Olympia, Washington in
order to shop at The Tea Lady.
The shop itself isn't very well maintained, and sells exactly what
you think a tea shop should sell. Everything from loose tea, tea
bags, tea pots, tea kettles, to lemon curd and even vegemite
(which I swear I'm going to try soon.. I have no idea why I've been
thinking of that so much). The teas were divided into blacks, greens,
oolongs and even whites, which impressed me a fair amount, and the
fact that they didn't really sell much in the way of herbal teas also
made me take notice.

I ended up spending close to$40 on four different teas. I picked
up a nice Black Currant tea, some Darjeeling,
4 oz. Of Zhejiang Dragonwell (a green tea), and the oddity of the
bunch...Lapsang Souchang. All you need to do to figure out why
Lapsang Souchang is so peculiar is to smell it, and allow the smoky
aroma fill your senses.


It was the first glass of tea I made when I got home, wanting to
know exactly what a 'smoke tea' is supposed to taste like. I took
careful care not to steep it more than 3 minutes, as I didn't want
the smoke flavor to be overwhelming.


I have to say that the taste is not unpleasant. Yes, it's a bit
brisk, and it's certainly not one of your more subtle flavors, but if
brewed properly, I can see why this make is so popular. Again, the
trick here is to steep lightly. Steep too much and the flavor will
overpower you.


Later, I was told a story about the history of this tea (and have
no idea of the accuracy of this story, as I could not confirm this
story over the Internet). It seems that back when England was going
ga-ga over tea, a boat in the orient (China or India) accidentally
got the tea it was about to be sent to Europe wet, a big no no. So
they thought to themselves “How can we keep this tea on the
market?”


Their solution? Dry the tea by pan frying it. What this did was
allow the smoke from the fire to infuse itself into the tea, and
accidentally creating a new type of tea. My friend who told me this
story claimed that the tea was sold to the UK with a wink and a nod,
meaning that the tea was only for suckers. But I disagreed. The fact
that lapsang shouchang took off and is still around today only goes
to show that accidents are often the best way to discover new foods.
At any rate, I did not dislike the tea, and will have a glass or four
when the mood strikes. It's still not my favorite, as Earl Grey and
the Black Currant are now both neck and neck, but I will proudly keep
it on my shelf.


All in all, a good trip to the Tea Lady, and I'm looking forward
to going back...once I am able to finish off all of these other teas
that I have purchased.

More trivia interesting to only me.

The word 'lord' is derived from the Old English hlaford, meaning 'keeper of the bread', i.e. master of the household. 'Lady' comes from hlaefdigge, meaning 'kneader of the dough' - equivilent to 'second most important person'.

(From Food in History - by Reay Tannahill)

I altered this recipe found in the Feb 2004 issue of Gourmet Magazine
(Cherries in the Snow – p. 139) I served it to Tara last
night and I think it turned out fairly well. It's a lighter dessert,
with each serving clocking in at about 160 calories (after I plated it ontop of some chocolate sauce).

The dessert itself is quite good, and although it is influenced by Chinese cuisines - specifically their almond gelatin desserts, it goes quite well with Mexican food, replacing the traditional flan.

Whipping the milk is the key to the dish, as it is through this that will give the milk the appearance of snow (The picture to the left does not do it justice).


For almond
snow gelatin -

• Vegetable oil for greasing baking dish
• 2 ¼ teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

For
Cherries and Currants in Port -

• 2 oz cherries (I used frozen cherries which worked okay)
• 1 oz dried currants
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup Ruby Port

Make
almond snow gelatin -

-Lightly oil an 8-inch square glass
baking dish with vegetable oil, wiping out any excess with a paper
towel.
-Sprinkle gelatin over water in a large heatproof bowl to soften 1 minute.

-Bring Milk and sugar to a boil in a
1-quart sauce pan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then remove
from heat and whisk into gelatin mixture. Add almond extract and
whisk briskly until milk is foamy, about 5 minutes.
-Pour into baking dish and freeze 15 minutes (to set foam), then chill, uncovered, in refrigerator until firm, at least 45 minutes.

Make
Syrup-

-Simmer cherries, currants, and Port in cleaned 1-quart heavy
saucepan, uncovered, until reduced to about ½ cup, about 10
minutes. Set pan in bowl of ice and cold water and chill in
refrigerator until syrupy, about 15 minutes.

Assemble
Dessert-

-Using a knife dipped in hot water, cut gelatin into 1-inch
squares. Remove squares from dish with a spatula and serve, frosty
side up, onto chilled plates. Spoon cherry/currant syrup over
squares.

Notes-

-Gelatin can be chilled up to 2 days ahead (cover after 45
minutes)

-Cherry/Currant syrup can be chilled up to 1 week, covered.

I am about to admit just how much of a geek I am-

Hi! My name is Kate and I used to play Dungeons
and Dragons. Please...no snickering. I have a fragile ego.


What's this got to do with food you ask? Well, invariably the role
playing party would find themselves in an imaginary pub, and on the
imaginary menu of imaginary drinks, one could find imaginary mead.


Now, being a simple child of Western Pennsylvania of the late
70's, I knew nothing of mead. I knew of beer (specifically of Iron
City), wine and ale. But mead? This was new to me.


Mead, for all of you not in the know, is simply “honey wine”
or “Honey ale” (depending on which “mead head”
you ask). It us, quite possibly, the oldest fermented drink in human
history. I say quite possibly, as mead has become the bastard son of
wines, often ignored when it comes to the mor eflashy grape wines and
aggressive beers and ales that are out there. According to Food
in History infers that mead was enjoye in the Nile Delta for
thousands of years, as well as in the Amazonian Basin. Often used in
rituals, it was used as a means to speak to the gods. If you have
ever gotten drunk on mead, there's no doubt that you believe that
this is entirely possible.


There are a variety of reasons why mead was so popular back in the
day:

1. Honey as an extended shelf life. It has no season in which it
   adheres to. As such, it is readily available long past days when the
   grape, barley or wheat harvests had exhausted themselves.
2. It's simple to make. All you need is honey, water, yeast and
   a container, and you can make mead. Unlike beer, no boiling is
   required, and infections in mead are much less likely than they are
   in beer. And unlike wine, there is no need to worry about ripeness,
   the acid or sugar content of the fruits.

Unfortunately, hardly anyone makes mead anymore, let alone drinks
it. It's difficult to discern what is a good mead vs. what is a
superior one.


According to About Mead
(from which the below table comes),these
are the most popular types of mead:

• Traditional - Made with honey and water only. Usually showcases a particular variety of honey (e.g. orange blossom).
• Melomel - Fruit mead
• Metheglin - Herb or spice mead
• Pyment - A melomel made with a wine grape varietal (e.g. syrah)
• Cyser - An apple melomel (akin to hard cider)
• Braggot - Made with malted barley (the flip side of honey ale). Also: bracket, brackett
• Sack Mead - Sweet dessert traditional mead
• Tej - Ethiopian-style mead with a white wine character. Pronounced "tedge."
• Hydromel - Light-bodied traditional mead. Also: French for mead.
• Rhodomel - Rose hip mead
• Hippocras - A spiced pyment (metheglin pyment)
• Morat - A melomel made with mulberries
• Capsicumel - Chile pepper
• Omphacomel - Made with verijuice (unripe grapes)

I knew I had to try some. So I
bebopped over to Whole Foods (and if you have ever bebopped to a
grocery store, you KNOW how painful that can be),and purchased
myself two different bottles: A bottle of Ambrosia
by Kristy made right here in Washington State, and a bottle of
Kasztelański
, a Polish import.


Let
me tell you, I could not find a reliable source telling me the best
way to drink it. Some say it's best served chilled, others say it can
only be served at room temperature. So, being the brave soul I am, I
tried it both ways. Let me just say that the following
is simply my own preference:


The lighter Ambrosia tasted much better chilled at around a mid 50
degree temperature. Wonderfully sweet, I wouldn't mind having it in
place of a dessert wine.

The Polish mead was much better at room temperture. Its a thicker,
more viscous liquids and a darker, more “butterscotchy”taste
to it, and an flavor that I cannot recognize.


Both meads were fine as I drank both of these brands this past
Friday, not for testing purposes, but for ...well.... (ahem)...fun.
The Polish mead seems to be for those cold winter nights in Northern
Europe, where you drink, get beat up, end face down in the snow, get
pulled up by your friends, and laugh as you go to eat some pickled
herring. The mead is for drinking.


The Ambrosia is a more polite drink, the kind of wine you have one
drink, giggle, and say “I think I'm getting tipsy” in
your best sing-song voice.

If I had to pick one, it would be the Ambrosia.

Yup, I've come a long way since I've played Dungeons and Dragons.

Where were we when we last left each
other? Oh yes....


More on BLACK TEA. (insert dramatic
music here).


So what exactly is black tea? Well,
let me tell you what teas are considered black, and how they are
categorized before going on about how black tea is picked and made.
The following are all black teas, grown and picked from different
parts of the world.


Assam - (India)
Ceylon - (Sri Lanka)
Darjeeling - (India)
Keemun - (China)
Nilgiri - (India)
Sikkim - (India)
Yunnan
– (China)


All
of the above are unblended teas, meaning that these teas
feature the leaves only and no other additives. Unlike Earl Grey,
which, as I have mentioned earlier,
is flavored with Bergamot, these above teas are either drank
alone, combined with each others to create blended teas, or are the
base for scented/flavored teas.

Some blended teas
include:


English
Breakfast
Irish Breakfast
Russian Caravan

And some
scented/flavored teas include:


Jasmine (China;
green, scented with jasmine flowers)
Earl Grey (international; black, scented with oil of bergamot)
Lapsang Souchong (China and
Taiwan; black, scented with smoke)

But what makes
black tea black? It's all in the way the plucked tea leaves are
processed. Once the tea is picked it is placed on screens over boxes.
These screens are called withering troughs, as the leaves will
whither, with air passing through and over the leaves removing excess
moisture, approximately 60%. The rate the air passes over the leaves,
the temperature of the air, and how many leaves are placed on the
trough will all affect the quality of the end product.


The withered tea
is then rolled (by machine or hand) which releases the oxidizing
enzymes that's present in the leaf/ This mixed with the polyphenols
and other aspects of the tea will give it's tea its flavor.


From there it goes
into the fermentation phase, turning the green leaf to red, brown,
and finally black. After fermentation, it's dried using air ranging
in temperature between 210 and 250 degrees F. The moisture is reduced
to about 3%. From there, the tea is sifted into it's appropriate
category.

It's been a while, yes I know. I've been busy, busy, busy at work, and trying to fit other obligations into my schedule. But finally, today.. I have a day to sit and relax. So what do I do?

I experiment with a cherry currant port sauce to put over a dessert. I'm thinking a drizzle of Ghiardelli's chocolate will certainly help out. We'll see on Wednesday when I serve it to Tara.

• Honey contains 18 more calories per tablespoon than refined sugar.
• One gallon of honey weighs about 11 pounds. One pound of honey equals about 1 cup.
• When substituting honey for sugar in a recipe, reduce the liquid by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used

I found the perfect recipe that combined both honey and tea...and pastry!! Well, cake at any rate. Using tea instead of water in the recipe gives the honey cake a nice foundation and added depth of flavor. And using buckwheat honey gives the sweetness a full bodied taste, something not often found in most sweet cakes.

I found this recipe in Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating, and they themselves based it off of the traditional Jewish New Year honey cakes.

NOTE: The longer you let the cake sit, the more it will allow all the flavors to blend. I waited a day before I indulged. Zingerman's recommends a few more than that. The cake will be good for a week ot two.

• 1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea leaves
• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 1/3 cups rye flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ generous teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch ground cloves
• Pinch ground ginger
• Pinch Freshly ground nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoon firmly packed muscovado sugar (or dark brown sugar if muscavado cannot be obtained)
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup buckwheat honey
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 5 Tablespoons sliced almonds (toasted)

Preheat over to 325° F. Lightly grease a 6-cup bundt pan.

In a small bowl, steep the tea leaves in the boiling water for 5 minutes, then strain, discarding the leaves. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the rye flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and mix well. Stir in the honey, tea, and zests until well combined. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the raisins and 3 tablespoons of the almonds.

Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of the almonds evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Slowly pour in the batter. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let stand for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the pan and remove the cake. Cover with a clean dish towel an dlet rest for at least 24 hours before slicing and serving.



Serves 8.

Charles Grey, 2nd Earl of Howick Hall, near Craster, was one of Britain’s most popular Prime Ministers. As Prime Minister, he was once sent a diplomatic mission to China and by chance the envoy saved the life of a Chinese Madarin. In gratitude, the Mandarin sent the Earl a delightfully scented tea, with its recipe. The special ingredient with which it was flavoured was oil of Bergamot. Earl Grey was delighted and in future always asked his tea merchant – the Tyneside company, Twinings, for that blend. His drawing room soon became famous for its tea and in due course the family gave permission for the blend to be sold to the public.

The Bergamot Orange is the flavoring used in Earl Grey Tea. Oil of bergamot is extracted from the peel of the bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia or Citrus aurantium bergamia), a small pear shaped sour orange which is cultivated today mostly in southern Italy.

It is this oil that give Earl Grey tea its fruity aroma as it steeps. In my opinion, it smells an awful lot like Froot Loops...or does Froot Loops smell like Earl Grey? I can't remember any more.

To the left here is the comparison (or proof, if that's what your looking for) of the difference in size of tea leaves. The pile of Earl Grey on the left comes from a tea bag. It is, quite literally, dust. The pile of Earl Grey on the right is whole leaf. Which leaf do you think has more surface area that allows for deeper steeping?

Is there a difference in taste tho? Absolutely. Although they both carry the taste of the ornage bitterness of the Bergamot, the tea from the whole leaf brew holds on to the tongue far longer. Is it better? I think so... as it carrys the flavor a longer time. But you'll have to decide for yourself.

The thing I like about Earl Grey is the fatc that it has that specific, fruity aroma. With the proper steeping, the smell wafts throughout the kitchen, permeating it with goodness.

The tea bag? Little or no smell at all. It was sort of a disapointment to be honest. Sort of like going on a blind date with a movie star, and finding out that their acting credits include such stellar roles as "Third Screamer" and "Dead Girl on the Staircase". It's cool and all that they are in the movies, but at some level it's not really all that impressive.

Now you'll have to excuse me as I am bouncing off the walls thanks to the caffeine.