Jasmine Green Tea with Cashew Cream

It was a beautiful day yesterday. The sun was sending down warm rays, the birds were singing, and all the neighborhood children had converged on my street, as they always do on Saturday afternoons. It was a perfect day for a pot of tea with the room mates.

Normally I don't go for caffeinated teas, but some soft, fragrant jasmine tea was sounding very good to all of us. Jasmine is my favorite caffeinated tea, so that's pretty much all I drink if I don't go herbal.

We were out of rice milk, and I had a nice fat sack of cashews hanging out on the counter. I hadn't ever tried my hand at making nut milk with cashews before. What's a girl to do? Make cashew cream? Yer darn right I did! And I loved it so much, I tripled the batch and have a huge jar of it sitting in my fridge, waiting for lots of new experiments. :D

I am also very much of the opinion that I will never buy prepackaged nut milks ever again. It just tastes so much better to make fresh, whole nut milk. No extra ingredients, preservatives, or anything. It cuts down on packaging and is more cost-effective in the long run. Plus, it's fun and easy to make and it tastes SO much better!!

Oh, and I want to touch briefly on why I'm using lemon zest instead of juice. I'm not really a fan of lemon juice with tea, as I think the tart acidity lessens the subtle nuances of the tea itself. By peeling off the zest and using that instead, you get the fragrant aromatics and essential oil benefits of the lemon without the tartness.

Jasmine Green Tea with Cashew Cream


1 Tb. Jasmine green tea
Zest of half a lemon (you won't need a zester, just a sharp paring knife)

1 cup cashews, raw
1 cup water
sprinkle of vanilla
maple syrup to taste

Preheat the teapot by adding some boiling water, and drain. (This is called "scalding") Fill a tea ball with green tea, and put it in the teapot with the lemon zest. Pour in the hot water and let steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea ball; leaving the zest in is fine.

While you're waiting for the tea, add cashews, water, and vanilla to a high-powered blender. Let it go until it's not gritty anymore, about 3 minutes. When it's creamy, you're got cashew cream, missus! Pour it into a creamer and serve!

When making up the tea for yourself, you could just add a dollop of cream... or you could make it half-tea-half-cream. ;) Restraint is overrated. Nuts are good for you! Sweeten with maple syrup to taste.

Coconut Date Porridge

I've been on a coconut kick lately, if you haven't noticed by my past few posts. These days I use coconut oil more than I do olive oil, because it's such a creamy, silken oil to work with. I like it better for high-heat cooking, more than any other oil.

This morning, I was in the mood for porridge. I'd recently gotten some bulk medjool dates for a pie crust I'll be making soon, so I thought I'd try this out.

Now, normally I work recipes from scratch, but I had to showcase this hot cereal mix. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal is just amazing. I was gifted it by a friend awhile back, and I fell completely in love. Not only is it a easy mix to prepare, but the mix of brown rice, corn, buckwheat and sorghum gives the bowl a rich, gooey feel on the tongue. Paired with coconut oil and dates, I think I might just be in porridge heaven.

Coconut Date Porridge

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal
3 1/4 c. water
2 Tb. coconut oil
2 Tb. dark maple syrup (B grade, or No. 2)
12 pitted medjool dates, chopped, 1 Tb. reserved
1 1/2 cups coconut water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon, for garnish
pinch salt

In a pot, bring water and salt to a boil. Add cereal and mix in, then immediately turn the heat down to low. Cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should make about 2 1/2 cups.

Add coconut oil, maple syrup, dates, and coconut water into pot, and incorporate thoroughly. Divide into two bowls, and garnish with reserved dates and cinnamon.

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I actually made this as one serving for myself, so I did the mixing in my own bowl. As I pushed the tablespoons of coconut oil and maple syrup into my porridgey mass, I found this:

Coco-maple love! :D

When I showed this picture to Jeremy, he gave me a funny look and asked me if it was an egg! It kinda does look like a teeny quail egg or something, I have to admit. :) Too bad it was a couple days late for Valentine's Day. It would have been so perfect.

As a side note: Last time I made this hot cereal, I made a HUGE batch of it plain, and put the leftover bits in the fridge. That night, I was feeling like having polenta, but I had all of that ready-made, so I scooped spoonfuls out (it was quite firm) onto a cookie sheet and drizzled them with olive oil, and baked until they turned golden. I served them with a hearty red wine and herb marinara, and it was delicious! A great alternative to normal polenta, and spooning them out rather than cutting chunks or rounds gave them an extra rustic feel. Perhaps I should make that again tonight and post it here... Hmm...

Also! I joined another blogroll the "Great Cooks!" Blogroll from Simple Daily Recipes. I've been going through the other blogs, and I'm getting SO many ideas for new recipes! I'm very excited. I love Blogrolls! :D