Spa Cuisine: Zesty Lemon Detox Tea Recipe

(taken from: http://www.care2.com/, By Cait Johnson, Assistant Producer, Care2 Healthy Living Channels)

This recipe was designed as a cleansing tea to stimulate processing of excess fats in the body, rev up circulation, and provide essential antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals —a perfect blend of nutrients. It’s a great aid in undoing the effects of holiday over-indulgence, and Annie says she was given the same tea by a helpful friend after she was exposed to toxic chemicals. But it tastes so good, you’ll want to come back for seconds: We had a crock-pot filled with it for a recent women’s workshop and it was gone in no time!

This is a great recipe that really gets around, and it’s so easy to prepare.

INGREDIENTS

Enough freshly-boiled water to fill your teacup or mug
1 tablespoon real maple syrup
Freshly-squeezed juice of half a lemon
Cayenne pepper to taste

Simply stir ingredients together in your mug or cup. Be careful with the cayenne: A little goes a long way.

Green Tea Cakes

(taken from: www.about.com, by Rhonda Parkinson)

1 dozen petits fours (The author notes that the tea called for here is matcha, powdered green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony. It is unnecessary to buy the highest-grade tea for this recipe).

Ingredients:
4 eggs + 1 egg yolk, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons powdered green tea
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons almond paste
1 cup heavy cream
4 teaspoons superfine sugar

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.
With an electric mixer, beat 2 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, and 7 tablespoons sugar together until thick and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.
Sift together flour, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon green tea. Sift mixture onto beaten eggs and fold in. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in remaining 1 tablespoon sugar until stiff. Fold into batter.
Spread batter in a shallow 11 x 7" pan that has been greased and lined with greased and floured wax paper. Bake until lightly browned and springy to touch.
Loosen edges of cake. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, then cover with a kitchen towel and invert onto a flat surface. Let cool. Using a biscuit cutter or other decorative cutter, cut out 24 pieces of cake.
Knead almond paste with 1 teaspoon green tea. Roll out thinly between sheets of plastic wrap. Using a small cookie cutter, cut out 12 decorative shapes.
Gradually whisk heavy cream into superfine sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons green tea, then beat until not quite stiff. To assemble cakes, sandwich two cake layers with about 1/4" green tea whipped cream. Frost top and sides with whipped cream and decorate with almond paste cutouts. Chill until serving. Makes 1 dozen.

Tea Eggs Recipe

(taken from: www.about.com, by Rhonda Parkinson)

Tea eggs, also called marbled eggs, are distinctive looking and easy to make. Serve them as a snack or with a dim sum lunch, for breakfast Easter morning or during the Chinese New Year season.

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

· 6 eggs

· 3 1/2 cups cold water, or as needed

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 2 tablespoons soy sauce

· 1/2 cup brewed black tea

· 2 star anise, broken into individual pieces

· 1 cinnamon stick

Preparation:

1. Place the eggs in a saucepan with the water, making sure that there is at least 1/2-inch of water above the eggs. Cover and bring to a rolling boil. Remove the saucepan from the element and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 - 20 minutes, until they are cooked. Remove the eggs and run them under cold running water to cool. (Reserve the water in the pan).
2. Tap the hard-boiled eggs gently with the back of a spoon, to make a series of cracks all over the eggshells, while making sure the shell remains intact. (If the shell does come off, don't worry - it just means that egg will have a darker color than the others).
3. Bring the water in the pan back to a boil. Add the salt, soy sauce, brewed black tea, star anise pieces, and the cinnamon stick. Add the eggs. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours. Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot liquid until ready to serve. Serves 6.
   
   Nutritional Breakdown: 6 servings
   Each serving contains: Calories 91, 4 g Carbohydrates (1 percent of daily total, based on a 2,000 calorie diet), 7 g Protein, 5 g Total Fat, 2 g Saturated Fat, 212 mg Cholesterol, 2 g Fibre, 774 mg Sodium

Ginger Healing Detox Tea with Turmeric Recipe

Inspired by The Seasonal Detox Diet, by Carrie L’Esperance (Inner Traditions, 2001).
(taken from: http://www.care2.com/)

There has been a lot in the news lately about the amazing healing properties of turmeric, a free-radical-fighting antioxidant-rich curry spice that has been hailed as a defense against both cancer and Alzheimer’s. When we found this tasty recipe for a warming, detoxifying ginger-turmeric tea, we were thrilled: after the holiday season, we figured we could use some detoxing and healing!

Then we tasted it, and were totally hooked: it’s delicious! Ginger and turmeric combine with citrus and maple syrup to make the perfect blend of healing nutrients. We streamlined the recipe to make it ultra-easy, too:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon powdered turmeric
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Bring water to a boil, then add powdered herbs. Simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Strain tea into a mug, add maple syrup and lemon, stirring to combine. Drink warm.

Makes 1 serving.

Bubble Tea

Feel free to adjust this basic bubble tea recipe according to your own tea and flavoring preferences.

Ingredients:
3 ounces tapioca pearls
sugar syrup
1 cup brewed tea (Chinese black tea or lychee tea is good)
1 cup milk (or to taste)
Ice cubes
Tapioca Pearls
1 part tapioca pearls
4 parts (or more) water
Sugar Syrup
2 parts white sugar
1 part brown sugar
3 parts water

Preparation:
Prepare the sugar syrup for the tapioca pearls (see below).

Prepare the tapioca pearls (see below).

Place the tapioca pearls in the large glass jar.

Allow the tea to cool to room temperature. Add the milk.

Remember the wild bar scenes in the Tom Cruise film Cocktail? Add the sugar syrup, milk and tea mix, and the ice cubes to a cocktail shaker and shake well. (Alternately you can process them in a blender, but that's not nearly as much fun!).

Pour the shaken mixture into the glass with the tapioca pearls.Serve with a thick straw.

To make the tapioca pearls: When making the tapioca pearls, which are the chief ingredient in Asian bubble teas, please note that the pearls expand considerably when cooked. Please ensure that you use a large pot. (As a rule, the more pearls cooked, the more water should be used: that is, the water to pearl ratio must be higher. For 3kgs of pearls, we recommend using as much as 6 times as much water).

Boil the water. Add the pearls to the boiling water and boil for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the pearls are not sticking to each other or to the pot. Turn off heat and let the pearls steep in the water for another 30 minutes with the lid of the cooking pot on.

Drain the tapioca pearls and rinse with cold water to cool them down. Place them in sugar syrup (sugar and water solution - see below). Make sure that the pearls are covered. Stir the pearls well. The pearls are now ready to enjoy.

To make the sugar syrup: in a saucepan, bring the water to boil. Add the sugars. Reduce heat and heat until the sugar crystals are dissolved. Remove from heat. Note: Please feel free to experiment with the ratio of white sugar to brown sugar, and the ratio of the sugar to water.

(taken from: www.about.com)

Energizing Spring Tonic Tea

Adapted from Healing Tonics, by Jeanine Pollak (Storey Books, 2000).
(taken from: http://www.care2.com/)

Work with nature’s cycles, uplift your spirits, wake up your energy, and detoxify your liver with this great spring tonic.

INGREDIENTS

1 part dried damiana leaves
1 part dried St. John’s Wort flowers
1 part dried mugwort leaves
1 part dried nettle seed
1 part dried rosemary leaves

PREPARATION

1. Use about 1 cup of dry ingredients per quart of boiling water. Place herbs in a pot or jar, cover with the boiling water and allow to steep for 20 minutes or longer.

2. Drink 2 to 3 cups per day, a few days a week.

Ruby Red Romantic Herb Tea

Adapted from Organic Body Care by Stephanie Tourles (Storey Publishing, 2007)
(taken from: http://www.care2.com/)

There is only so much champagne one can drink on Valentine’s Day, but you can indulge in this bright, festive tea all night. And not only is this ruby red hibiscus tea wonderfully romantic (and quite possibly aphrodisiacal), but hibiscus is a great source of potent antioxidants. Romance and heart-health in one shot!
This is a slightly tart and tasty drink that can be served either iced or hot in your most beautiful glasses or cups before, during or after a meal. Add fresh orange rind spirals or (organic) rose petals to the pitcher as a colorful and zesty decoration. As an exotic alternative, freeze the tea in ice cube trays to add to mixed drinks, sangria, white wine, ginger ale, or fruit punch. Dried hibiscus flowers can be found in the tea section of natural food or gourmet stores, or ordered online.

INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups filtered water
- ¼ cup dried red hibiscus flowers
- 2 tablespoons lemongrass or lemon balm
- 2 tablespoons rose hips
- Peel of one organic orange, cut into slice
- Honey, to taste

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the water to boil, then remove from heat. Add all ingredients except the honey. Cover and allow the mixture to steep for about 45 minutes or until deep red.
Strain, add the honey to taste, and stir to blend. Pour into your best medium-sized clear or cut-glass pitcher, chill for a couple of hours, and serve. Store, refrigerated, covered, for two days.