1. Eunice says: " What a great topic!!
   I love hot tea. I drink hot tea all afternoon and night, so I use a coffee maker to keep water hot. My favorite tea is a Chai that a friend from Oregon sends me. However, I like most any flavor of teas. Stash tea makes a Moroccan Mint that is wonderful. Whenever I'm in the grocery store and I see tea on sale, I have to buy it. Just this past week, Kroger had marked down lots of the Stash tea and I'm stocked up now.
   If I'm drinking iced tea, I add fresh mint."
2. Irene writes: "Love ice tea brewed with 5 bags/1/2 gallon. 1/2 cup sugar and a big spash of rasberry syrup. YUM."
3. Jazzy writes: " Good Afternoon all,
   I love having Sweet Razzberry iced tea, with simple syrup. I take razzberry zinger flavored tea bags from Celestrial Seasoning. For a pitcher of tea, put 8 tea bags in a saucepan of water. Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes.Turn off the fire and let steep for about 10 minutes. In the meantime make your simple syrup. Put 1/2 Cup of water in another sauce pan. Add 1 Cup of sugar to pan, bring to a boil and make sure all sugar is melted then set to the side and let cool off. When cooled down add to pitcher. Wring out tea bags in pan and discard bags. Add tea to pitcher, add enough water to fill pitcher. It makes 2 quarts. It is good stuff."
4. Julie from BC, Canada writes: "Hi there! I drink my tea (earl grey/lemontime or just about any flavour) rather on the weak side along with some homebaked cookies, preferably warm chocolate chip :)"
5. Karen says: "Black or a combo of black and green iced with nothing added. Straight tea."
6. Another reader (who didn't include their name) wrote: "Iced tea, unsweetened and unsweetened rasberry iced."

And as for me...I love a really good strong cup of Tetley tea (my absolute favorite) or sometimes English Breakfast tea (Twinings is my favorite.) I brew it really strong, and then add a little bit of milk and honey. Delish! I love herbal teas too, such as Peppermint or Chamomile, and then brew them strong again and add a little honey or lemon...really delicious iced too on hot summer days like this one!

Here are Some Tea Lovers Links for You (all from the KCnM website):

• 10 Interesting Tea Facts
• Tea Recipes, including Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey, Calming Effects Herbal Tea, Two different Homemade Chai Tea Blends, and many more!
• Chai Tea Cheesecake Recipe (what a scrumptious way to 'eat' your chai tea!)

Labels: green tea, survey answers, tea facts, tea lovers, tea recipes

Posted by HappySlob :: 1:15 PM :: 0 comments

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Tuesday, July 03, 2007 Fun Survey: How do YOU Like Your Tea?

Are you a tea drinker? If so, how do you prefer your tea? What kind of tea do you love the most, and how do you serve it? Do you use a teapot or a mug to brew your tea? What do you love snacking on with your tea? Do you like your tea weak or incredibly strong?

:) Please send your answers to christina@happyslob.com and find out how your fellow KCnM readers like to drink their cuppa!

Labels: fun survey, surveys, tea, tea time

Posted by HappySlob :: 10:15 AM :: 0 comments

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How to Make Your Own Extracts...Green Tea Treatment for Acne and more

Here are some oldies but goodies from the KCn'M website that I just had to share with you readers again! Most of these were submitted by our wonderful readers.

1. How to make your own vanilla extract...and making homemade citrus extracts, such as orange extract. Delicious when made at home without any preservatives! And really - vanilla extract is a breeze to make yourself...nice gift idea too.
2. And a nice natural way to treat acne is with this green tea treatment.
3. It's summer (at long last!) and that means it's a gorgeous time to putter around the garden. Have you ever wondered how to make your own compost? This fabulous article will help.
4. Always helpful are these natural health tips from our readers on how to treat water retention problems.

Enjoy! And have a lovely summery Monday...here the weather is sun-shiny and as perfect as can possibly be.

Christina

Labels: baking extracts, composting, gardening tips, green tea, health and wellness, health tips, how to make vanilla, make your own, vanilla extract, water retention

Posted by HappySlob :: 9:57 AM :: 0 comments

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Monday, July 02, 2007 Questions From Readers - Corn Muffins Request and Help Cleaning the BBQ

Hi everyone,

Today's recipe request is for: Corn Muffins
Do any of you have a great, tender corn muffin recipe to share? And if so...what is your favorite dish to serve corn muffins with? I know I love a hot steamy corn muffin with a bowl of spicy chili.

Today's Reader's Question is: How to clean a stainless steel grill?
Sandy writes:
"My husband just got a new stain less steel grill. SO of course he sprayed the pam grill spray on the cooking surface. Now the question is how do we clean this mess?"

Have a recipe or answer for Sandy's question? Great! Send it to me at christina@happyslob.com and I'll post it here on the blog and/or on the website at http://www.kitchencraftsnmore.net/

P.S. For Sandy and everyone else -- PAM may seem like a great way to keep your grill and bbq stick-free and easy to clean, but it actually creates a sticky coating on the surface of the grill and any cookware you use it on. It's much better to use a spray bottle with real olive oil inside - light olive oil works best for this application, as it's thinner in consistency and won't clog up the spray bottle. You can use either a regular spray bottle, or purchase one of the aerosol-type bottles at your favorite kitchen shop. (My favorite is by Cuisinart, is stainless steel and allows you to pump air into the bottle which creates pressure for the oil to come out in a nice, steady spray!)

Labels: barbecues, BBQ, grilling, helpful hints, readers questions, recipe requests, summertime cooking

Posted by HappySlob :: 1:25 PM :: 0 comments

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Recipe Lost and Found: Recipe Found - Whole Wheat Fruitcake Cookies

Another big thank you goes out to SueB (another of our loyal recipe finders) who found a delicious and healthful cookie recipe called Whole Wheat Fruitcake Cookies. Enjoy!

FOR: A Reader
FROM: SUE B.

DELICIOUS WHOLE WHEAT FRUITCAKE COOKIES
Prep. Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS: 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup raisins, 2 tbsp's. butter, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 3/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup dates pitted and chopped, 1/2 cup candied mixed fruit peel and chopped, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup chopped dried mixed fruit.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease one 5 x 9-inch loaf pan. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook together the sugar, water, raisins, butter and salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Sift together the flour, soda, ginger and cinnamon. Stir into the cooled cooked mixture. Add the chopped dates, mixed peels, nuts and dried fruit. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour OR drop by the teaspoon on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.YIELDS: 18 servings.

Labels: dried fruit, fruitcake, healthy cookies, whole grain baking, whole grain recipes, whole wheat cookies, whole wheat recipes

Posted by HappySlob :: 1:23 PM :: 0 comments

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Recipe Found for Spinach Salad with Brown Sugar Salad Dressing

Here's an email I received from Laura:
Here's a recipe request for Tuesday, June 26, submitted by Netta: "I've been trying to find a Spinach Salad recipe that my Dad use to fix. The dressing consisted of brown sugar and oil, I think. The salad has spinach, red onion, and . . . ? My Dad is long gone and I can't seem to find the recipe. Please help."
I found this recipe I hope it helps Netta:

Spinach Salad
Easy and delicious especially the dressing!
Ingredients
1 bunch Fresh torn spinach
2 cups Fresh bean sprouts
1 8-oz Can sliced water chestnuts, drained
4 Hard-cooked eggs, chopped
6 Bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 Small onion, thinly sliced

Dressing
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1/3 cup Vinegar
1/3 cup Ketchup
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Preparation
In a large bowl, combine spinach, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, eggs, bacon, and onion.
In a bottle or jar, combine all dressing ingredients. Cover and shake well to mix.
Just before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss.

Labels: brown sugar dressing, readers recipes, recipe requests, recipes found, salad dressings, spinach salad

Posted by HappySlob :: 1:20 PM :: 0 comments

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Whole Wheat Cookies Recipes - Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies and More

Dorina found these four terrific sounding whole wheat cookies recipes. One for whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, one for whole wheat oatmeal cookies, one for whole wheat sugar cookies and finally -- one for whole wheat apple cookies. :) I'll be trying at least one of these, and will post any results! Big thanks to Dorina (one of our major 'recipe finders') for these great recipes.


WHOLE - WHEAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES Recipe
1 c. butter
1/4 c. peanut butter
1 c. honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. rolled oats
1 to 2 c. chocolate chips
1 c. nuts, chopped

Cream together first 4 ingredients. Add next 6 ingredients and mix well. Add enough flour for stiff dough. Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes

~~~~WHOLE WHEAT OATMEAL COOKIES Recipe
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c. quick oats
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. milk
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. nuts
Combine dry ingredients. Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and milk. Combine all ingredients. Add raisins and nuts. Drop by teaspoon on cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

~~~~WHOLE WHEAT SUGAR COOKIES Recipe
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. grated orange peel
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl combine first 10 ingredients; blend well. (Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.) Stir in flour. Combine sugar and cinnamon.Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart; flatten slightly. Bake 8- 10 minutes until light golden brown. (Cookies will be soft in center.) Yield 2-3 dozen cookies.

~~~~WHOLE WHEAT APPLE COOKIES Recipe
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. honey
1 tbsp. molasses
1 egg
1/4 c. apple juice
1 c. apples, chopped
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. raisins
1 c. pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream together butter, honey and molasses. Add egg and apple juice, beat well. Beat in apples. Gradually add in flour, salt and spices, beating well. Fold in raisins and nuts. Bake on greased cookie sheets for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not overbake. Makes 6 dozen.

Labels: healthy baking, healthy cookies, honey, no sugar, no white flour, whole grain recipes, whole wheat cookies

Posted by HappySlob :: 1:15 PM :: 0 comments

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