Monthly Archives: April 2009

I don’t know.  It seems to me that we looks for any excuse for a celebratory dinner these days.  Not a bad idea really! I can remember ..you know, back in the horse and dinosaur days, when Cinco de Mayo was the fifth of May.  Now, the Hispanic areas of town celebrated, yeah they did.  But the mostly Anglo suburbs? We pretty much stuck with out pot r0ast and apple pie.

At some point in the late 1980s Cinco de Mayo began to take off a bit and now I think they celebrate it everywhere.  In fact, Marc and I were looking at a farm in Houlton, Maine for awhile (couldn’t sell our house, sigh) and saw that it was celebrated clear up there.  Over the next few days on Baing Delights I will be posting some menu ideas and recipes for the food part of the celebration, but if you need an after dinner coffee this is a fantastic choice.  It is based on a Food Network recipe by Rachel Ray and tweaked mercilessly by me.

Try an organic Mexico Chiapas bean for authenticity.
Mexican Coffee

• 1/2 cup ground coffee beans
• 2 tablespoons dark cocoa
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 oz Kahlua per cup
• Whipped cream flavored with kahlua

Make the coffee as usual, using the coffee, the cinnamon, cocoa, chili, and cardamom in the filter to make 8 cups of coffee.  Pour one ounce of the Kahlua in each cup then fill with the hot coffee.  Top with a dollop of whipped cream dusted with cinnamon.

8 servings

Image:SXC

O.k..So…the only way I can possibly link this Hot Java LUSH bath bomb to a coffee and tea website is….the name.  I know.  Cheap trick. But you will thanks me, oh yeas you will.

I stayed up all night last night. Supposedly I was working but  the truth is that I have some things going on that are bothering me and I am having trouble concentrating.  So I am at the end of the month with deadlines looming and the concentration level of a hummingbird at the Dallas Arboretum……on speed.

I ended up falling asleep on the couch in the front parlor (old house, we have 3 parlors) at about 5:30 a.m.  As I was up by 7:30 a.m.  you can imagine that my eyes were a little unfocused today.  O.k,  a lot unfocused.  I mentioned on Twitter that I felt like a teenager again; cranky, irritable, depressed, angry, lethargic, and prone to dramatics.

I decided for the good of the entire household to take a bath about noon.  And I happened to remember that I had gotten a great shipment of LUSH a few weeks ago.  I grabbed the Hot Java because it seemed like i It  might be one of those that woke you up.

Actually according to the site it is warming and comforting. Something to be soaked in after getting caught in the chilly rain.   The aroma that filled the bathroom was amazing: ginger, cinnamon, coriander and juniper.  Mmmmm.

And it was warm and tingly….And it turned the water bright red!

I loved the smell…I loved the color..but, my very delicate skin feels dry and parched right now several hours later.  So, my thoughts?

Plan on lots of body lotion but get this bath bomb!

And LUSH? I am still waiting for the espresso caramel bath fizzy I KNOW you are going to make someday.

Image:LUSH

I picked up Tazo Vanilla Apricot White tea because I wanted a unique flavor to use in the frosting on my daughter’s birthday cake.  It turned out fantastic by the way! I definitly recommend it as an ingredient!

In drinking the tea I was surprised by the lightness and delicacy of the flavor.  I think I would have preferred a little more apricot flavor but all in all I thought the tea was a nice afternoon tea- something that would go well with shortbread cookies, or a light snack.  I think it is too light for a breakfast cup and not rich enough for an evening cup, if that makes sense.

The liquor is pale golden with a delicate apricot flavor which is followed by lasting notes of light vanilla.  Not theheady bourbon vanilla, but just a hint of vanilla flavor that enhances the sweet peachiness of the apricot. I do not think i would hold up well for iced tea.

I am most impressed by this tea in its ability to flavor baked goods from frosting to scones.  I am thinking of  making a mousse with it.

All of my kids are tea drinkers as you know, and all are sold on this tea.  If you like a flavored white this is a good one to try.  I do not like it as well as I like their blueberry white tea that I reviewed last year, but it comes in a close second.

Image:Amazon

So, Marc and I went on a coffee date tonight and ended up at a certain place we go now that Starbucks has gone.  I generally love this place, which is why I am not naming it (although if you a friend on facebook or twitter you all ready know) but tonight?  Well as Marc said, “Whoa, they are having an off night!”

They were out of several items but the worst thing was….get ready….oh this is SO bad….

Sigh….

The coffee was marked as having been made at 5:15 and it was 6:45.  EWW.

Now, I will admit that at home I can drink all kinds of coffee…aged, cold, lukewarm, not done quite right…but if I am paying for ti I want it to be very hot and very fresh…..Man I could have SO made a cheesey old joke there..where just goes to show you that I am getting old and cheesey.

So, tell me…what is the maxiumum half life of coffee that you feel is still drinkable?  Two hours? Three? Ten minutes?

If you put it in a carafe it will last a little longer but still not the hour and a half that this was sitting out…aging, cooling, and becoming bitter.  Insert another cheesey joke here.

Oh, and if you are interested in following me on twitter or face book just follow @MaryeAudet   or MaryeAudet on facebook.  My daughter even started a fan club for me, since my cookbook is being released in the fall…feel free to become a part of that nonsense and inflate my ego even more.

image:sxc

I haven’t done this in awhile and I ws lured to  Etsy this morning.  It was the Sirens that did it, calling my name from across the Internet.  Pinkie swear.

It is hard for me to remember to do special Mother’s Day editions because my mom passed away in 2002.  I think it was 2002…sigh…anyway, since I don’t buy Mother’s Day gifts anymore I don’t think about it much.

Etsy has some too cute stuff, as usual.  Some of it would be great for Mother’s Day and some is just great.  Ready?

Kyrie would love this felt tea set.  I think it is adorable, and would make a great home decor item as well.

White tea and ginger soap sounds refreshing and romantic to me.  You?

This is one of the cutest whimsical tea prints ever!

No more Chapstick for me.  One up Bonne Bell with this Indian Spiced Chai Lip Conditioner.

I love my tea cup collection.  I may have to consider adding this vintage tea cup to it!

I like this retro looking tea cozy.

This vintage tea dress is beautiful  I wish that they still made clothing like this!

Pink Tea Party Earrrings are an awesome nod to a girly girl!

I love hand made items, don’t you?

This has to go down as one of the weirdest things I have ever read.

A woman in the Birmingham Alabama area  was shot at, I assume, close range by her husband. He then shot himself.

Being a woman, she got a rag to hold to her head an went and did what any sensible person would do.

She made a cup of tea.  When the police got  there she offered the deputy a cup as well.  Now that is true, Southern hospitality right there, y’all.  The police said she seemed disoriented.

Ya think?

Probably the cup of tea perked her right up.

I find this an amazing story for several reasons but with the tea aspect to it I absolutely had to share it with you.
You can read all of the details, and the whole story at Associated Press.

image:SXC

Here it is.  The Jazzy Bird Coffee interview you have been waiting for.  I had such a great time with this… I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

(more…)

I was not sure what to expect when I emailed Shari of JazzyBird coffee. Normally I don’t request samples of a product to review, people just send them. But this was so intriguing that I could not resist. From the moment I read about this product I knew that it was something I wanted to try.
Problem was, or is, that it is only available in Louisiana and a few places in Mississippi. Would they ship?
You bet they would!

In fact, almost before I had the post published that announced I had found this intriguing item and was asking for samples..well Shari had emailed me agreeing to send them.

(more…)

Being gentle with the environment is not only popular, it is important.  I do not worship trees, but neither do I take for granted the rich resources and beauty that humans have been blessed with.  I love stories about people doing cool things.

I was emailed the following story.  How cool is this?

A coffeehouse opened in Tunkhannock, Pa in December.  It’s name is Swirls and it is owned by Dawn Kuduk.    She wanted to support the environment and promote sustainability…what to do?

She decided to offer one dollar off coffee to anyone who used a cup that they brought from home.  That means that she has a lower overhead, she has less trash to mess with, and less to inventory.

Brilliant.  You know what?  It is people like this, who do one seemingly small thing, that make the biggest difference! Great job kudos  to Dawn!

Image: sxc

A new study that was presented at the annual conference of the American Heart Association states that hibiscus tea significantly lowers blood pressure.

Researchers studies 65 people with high blood pressure and found that those drinking hibiscus tea had an average of 7.2 percent drop in their blood pressure.  This information can be found at Natural News.

Hibiscus has long been used for medical and health purposes.  It strengthens the immune system as well as helps reduce cholesterol.  It cna be used as a relaxant and is a great diuretic.

Hibiscus actually adds a sweet flavor to herbal teas and has long been used by companies like Celestial Seasonings.  In fact, here is a partial list of the Celestial Seasonings teas that contain Hibiscus:

• Red Zinger
• Wild Berry Zinger
• Lemon Zinger
• In fact all of the “Zinger” teas
• Saphara Blackcurrant Hibiscus

There are a number of other brands that carry hibiscus or you can make it youself using the recipe found at Food Network. Hibiscus gives a wonderful, refreshing flavor to teas that makes it perfect for almost anyone.  Teas with hibiscus in them make excellent, natural alternatives to Kool Aid. Between the great flavor and the health benefits Hibiscus tea is a no brainer.

Image:Wikipedia, photographer Aravindan Shanmugasundaram