Grannyism #58: Be Gentle with the Earth
By Charla on Apr 21 Filed In Sweet Contests, Uncategorized, earth day Add a Comment
I wonder how many people will open up a bottle of Sweet Leaf Tea this Friday to find “Be Gentle with the Earth” under the cap? If it were up to me, I’d wiggle my nose and make every cap have this Grannyism tomorrow as I can’t imagine a more appropriate theme for Earth Day. But unfortunately, even after years of working on my nose wiggle, I’m no Samantha. I’ll have to leave this turn of the cap to fate and hope that at least a few unsuspecting tea fans will get surprised by such a fortuitous find.
All magic wiggle nose kidding aside, maybe it’s better that Grannyism #58 has the chance of popping up any old day of the week. It’s like spreading the good vibes across the year instead of focusing it all on one day. Or, my personal favorite, it’s kind of like taking a birthday week instead of a birthday. In reality, it could mean that someone, somewhere every day is getting a subtle reminder that Mother Earth is worth celebrating, protecting and thinking about regardless if it’s Earth Day or Tuesday. And if each of those people, do a little something green each time they flip a cap, like recycling the bottle, then that can only equal good things in my book, right?
I must admit that almost every cap with a bit o’ wisdom from Granny makes me smile. But, there is something special and pure about getting this cap. I’m going to make it my personal challenge that every time I see this cap, I’m going to go the extra green mile in the name of keeping the world a beautiful place. So, who’s with me?
If you’re thinking you’d like to get in on a little green action, but don’t know where to start check out these Green Tips from Granny. Granny is very wise when it comes to these things.
IF by chance you happen to untwist a bottle of homemade goodness with Grannyism #58 on Earth Day (Friday, April 22, 2011), be sure to shoot me a picture and a green deed you performed that day here or post it to our Facebook page here. I’ll be sending a little goody to ya just for being so darn lucky. Bonus points if it’s a green tea!
Summertime #TeaSnacky: Panzanella with Sliced Beef Sirloin
By April on Jun 24 Filed In Food & Beverage, recipes, teasnacky 2 Comments
I decided that I needed to get back on the “eat right train” that I’ve been on until the last 6 months or so and what better time to do it than in the summer when it’s just too hot to want to eat your standard comfort food fare. Insert brainiac idea to make myself a tasty bread salad with sliced sirloin on top. Don’t worry about what drink to pair it with, just grab a bottle of sparkling water and your favorite flavor of Sweet Leaf Tea, (Citrus, Half & Half, or Mint & Honey perhaps?) and mix it up. Curious about the exact ratio? Here’s my best guess: 3/4 tea to 1/4 water-ish, but feel free to experiment and comment on what the best ratio is. You could also add some fruit juice to really make it exciting!
Anyways, for my super-easy panzanella (meant to be made with day-old bread and fresh veggies), I cheated and bought some of what I needed off of the Whole Foods Market salad bar and bought bread, that became a couple of days old by the time I used it. I like a variety of tasty stuff on my salad, so I grabbed a variety of veggies (b-b-b-beets, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, local cherry tomatoes, diced red bell pepper, black olives, artichoke hearts, mixed heirloom lettuce, spinach and cucumbers), fresh mozzarella (the Specialty Team Members at the Lamar store make some INCREDIBLE cheese), sharp cheddar, Black Forest bacon (get it from the meat counter, you’ll be glad you did), part of a crusty baguette, a balsamic dressing and a succulent petite sirloin and threw it all into a bowl and tossed.
All that's missing is the sirloin!
Black Forest bacon in mah oven
I think it’d be cool to see what YOU end up throwing in your panzanella salad. Make your own dressing, use veggies from your own garden, the sky is the limit and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!
**Below you’ll find a recipe from Alton Brown that will get your culinary creative juices flowing.**
Alton Brown’s Panzanella Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups French bread cut into 1-inch cubes and dried overnight
- 6 slices bacon, cooked, chopped, drippings reserved
- 2 cups halved grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons oil, for searing
- 2 cups halved yellow pear tomatoes or roughly chopped heirloom tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chiffonade mint
- 1 tablespoon chiffonade basil
Directions
Toss bread cubes in the bacon drippings. Sear the halved grape tomatoes in 2 tablespoons of oil, cut side down, until caramelized about 5 minutes, set aside.
Combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.
Combine all tomatoes, bread, bacon, and lettuce and dress with vinaigrette, toss well, garnish with mint and basil and serve.
Some Days You Make the Tea and Some Days the Tea Makes You
By Guest on Jun 23 Filed In Food & Beverage, Guest Blogger, Sweet Consumers 6 Comments
My husband Dave has always been a tea fanatic. It’s his way of avoiding soft drinks and other sugary and carbonated beverages. His love of tea goes so far that whenever we go out to eat, he uses his iced tea glass as a tip meter. As soon as it’s empty and he finds himself thirsty, the meter goes down. I’ve seen him shake his glass, slurp the straw, anything to get the waiter’s attention and his tea glass filled.
Since college he has always made iced tea. At some point, he realized the benefits of green tea and began refining a recipe that involves several different types of tea bags and of course a good amount of sugar. Lately he’s been experimenting with different forms of sweeteners including stevia and honey.
People always love to drink his “Green tea and mint” concoction. His giant tea pitcher even has its own spot in our fridge. I am not allowed to utilize this space even when the pitcher is empty. It must stay in the fridge to remind him to make more tea. I have put things there before only to find them missing and his giant tea pitcher in its place. Well, not always a pitcher, because several years ago Dave found Sweet Leaf Tea. He’s very, very particular about his tea. He’d tried a variety of brands but found them all to either have some weird aftertaste, too much sugar or lemon flavoring, which he hates. As soon as he found Sweet Leaf Tea, I would find a large container of the Mint & Honey tea in the fridge in the pitcher spot. I would ask why he didn’t make his own and he’d just say: “Too Lazy”.
Recently, we decided to cut back on spending and he got back to making tea. Pitcher was back in its spot in the fridge. And yet, even though I tend to be the one grocery shopping these days, I keep finding a bottle of Mint & Honey in place of the pitcher. “Didn’t have time to make mine” and “Needed something to drink” are the excuses I now get.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some Sweet Leaf, but this man has a serious addiction. And because of the fact that people are always asking for the recipe, I thought I’d share how he makes his Green Tea with Mint.
- Fill up a 2-quart kettle and boil the water.
- Pour 1 cup of sugar into a gallon-sized pitcher (I know he sometimes uses a sugar/stevia mix, but he is still testing ratios and refuses to give up the measurements).
- Place 2 tea bags each of natural green tea, natural mint tea and decaffeinated iced tea into the pitcher and then pour the boiling water over the bags.
- Steep for 22 minutes (See the nice number pattern here? 2,2,22). Basically don’t let it steep for much longer than 30 minutes.
- Pull the tea bags out and stir it all up. Then add cold water until pitcher is full.
- Pour over ice to enjoy your homemade sweetened green tea and mint iced tea!
- Dream of Sweet Leaf Tea and their delicious flavors you’ll never be able to replicate at home.
Me & Dave @ Sweet Leaf Tea party. Pic by http://annieray.net/
Post by April Stockwell
A Taste of Morocco Here at Home
By Charla on Jun 7 Filed In Clayton Christopher, Sweet Consumers, Uncategorized 2 Comments
One of the best parts about being on the tea’m at Sweet Leaf HQ, is getting to hear from fans who take the time to tell us why they love a particular Sweet Leaf flavor. Sometimes it’s a simple note in our inbox, sometimes it’s a phone call to the hotline. And lately, we’ve even received some fan love via Tweets. Because these quotes make our day, we decided we ought to share a few here from time to time. Maybe it will make you smile, too.
One of the recent fan quotes we received was so on the money, I thought it would be a perfect way to kick-off our sharing the love fest.
“Ever since I went to Morocco, I have been trying to recreate the taste of their sweet mint tea. After trying your tea, I felt myself transported back to the rolling hills of the Sahara desert… You have no idea how refreshed and happy I felt, despite it being a hot Arizona day. You have done a great job with this tea. Thank you. ” — Claire, AZ
The truth is Claire, the idea for our Sweet Leaf Tea Mint & Honey WAS found while Clayton and David were on a bike tour through Morocco. I guess it’s true that inspiration can come from anywhere. Thank you for the extra reassurance that we nailed it. Yee-haw!
Mixers & Fixers – Part VI
By Count Blogula on Feb 23 Filed In Cocktail Recipes, Food & Beverage, Uncategorized Add a Comment
You must be tired, because you’ve been running through my mind all day long…
This one comes to us from a fan named April Green. Thanks a million! If she’s anything like me, she’s had just about enough of this nasty, cold, winter weather. Maybe that’s why she sent me her take on one of my favorite summertime drinks. Here’s the how-to for April’s Mint Julep:
2 parts Mint & Honey Green Tea
1 part Maker’s Mark
Simple enough. You may want to throw a sprig of mint into the mix just for presentation. You could even add some muddled mint leaves into the drink if you want to go the extra mile, but don’t go crazy – the tea is pretty minty to begin with. Of course if you’re in a hurry to get to thee rocking chair on the warm and sunny porch in your day-dreaming mind, then you should probably just stick to April’s version.
Send me your recipe. This one is proof that I’ll post them here, and that I’ll add them to our website.
Cheers,
-Craig
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