This week I want to talk about keeping your tea available as a means of hospitality.  As we all know, tea is a wonderful beverage to serve after dinner and any other time of entertaining.  It’s a social thing, and it’s one that we enjoy sharing with our guests.  

In our home, we don’t just have guests over for dinner though…they’re over at all times of the day, invited and uninvited, and for days at a time!  Our house is always busy and some people refer to it as a "hostel"!  As such, it’s good for us to have our tea out and available for people to use so they can help themselves.  We’ve turned our kitchen table in a beverage station permanently, and this is what it looks like:

  <– Full table display   <– Up close of one box, sugar, honey and cups.

It was especially useful this past weekend when we had 14 people coming through our doors!  In one box I have Twinings tea (my favourite brand) and in another I have Stash tea (another one of my favourites).  In the basket is an assortment of green teas someone gave me, and I also keep the sugar, some honey and a couple of mugs ready and available.  The fruit is a nice touch too, but has nothing to do with tea.  :)

If I know people are coming over, I usually boil the water just ahead of time and put it in my carafe and leave it on the table as well so people don’t even have to worry about boiling their water! 

It’s just a nice way to let people know they’re welcome in our home, and that they can make themselves at home.  

"Tea pot is on, the cups are waiting, favourite chairs anticipating, no matter what I have to do, my friend there’s always time for you." (Unknown)

Tuesday: Perogy Casserole

Wednesday: German-style Chicken Sandwich (see below for recipe)

Thursday: Bean Burritos & Ground Beef Burritos with all the toppings: cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa…

Friday: Potluck @ My House with some ladies!  

Saturday: Leftover Chili from the freezer

Sunday: Leftovers

Perogy Casserole: 

16-20 perogies, 1 onion chopped, 1/4 cup milk (or water), 1/2 cup cooked ham/bacon/pepperoni or sausage diced, 1 tbsp. butter, 1 green pepper diced, 10 oz. can condensed mushroom soup, paprika to sprinkle, shredded cheese to sprinkle.

In a small skillet, melt butter; saute onion and green pepper for 5 minutes.  In a medium casserole dish, lay out perogies in a single layer.  In a medium bowl mix together onion, green pepper, meat, mil, and mushroom soup.  Pour over perogies.  Top with a layer of shredded cheese.  Sprinkle with paprika.  Bake for 35 minutes at 375F.  

German-style Chicken Sandwich:

1/4 cup oil, 1 onion sliced, 2 chicken breasts, 4 thick slices of bread lightly toasted, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp. bbq. sauce, 1 tomato sliced.

*Some ways that I celebrate Christmas, including links and resources!

*For the love of tea part 3.

*Monday Menu Planner: dinner recipes!

Check back!  Leave comments! 

Black Tea: The boiling point for black tea needs to be at 99C or else the active substances in the black tea will not develop.  The most common problem when making black tea is using water that is not hot enough!  Black teas are best when steeped for no more than 5 minutes, but definitely not less than 30 seconds.  A popular black tea that my husband loves is Darjeeling tea.  He also loves vanilla plantation tea, which is another yummy black tea.  My personal favourite black tea is Lady Grey.  

Green or White Tea: Water for green tea should be around 80-85C.  Hotter water will burn green tea which will produce a bitter taste.  If you are drinking a high quality green or white tea you can add more water to the tea 4 or 5 times.  Bring the water to just before the boil and steep green tea for 1-3 minutes, and white tea for 3-5 minutes.  I like normal plain green tea.  It’s great for digesting food.

Herbal Tea: After bringing water to a full boil, steep your herbal tea for 7-10 minutes.  My favourite herbal tea is Peppermint.  It’s so aromatic and relaxing when needing unwind.

The Tea Tube: I have struggled with various tea balls, and other tea gadgets, but I have now discovered the most amazing tea gadget!  We own a tea tube, and it is wonderful.  It doesn’t let the little tea bits float all throughout our tea, and it is easily cleaned in warm soapy water.  This is used daily at our house!

French Coffee Press: I know, I know…this post is about tea…so what’s with the French coffee press, right?  Well, as much as I love the tea tube, sometimes you need to make a full pot of loose tea, not just one cup.  This is where the French coffee press comes in handy!  You sprinkle your loose tea in the bottom of the press, and pour your water on top.  Put the lid on, but DON’T PRESS THE PRESS DOWN yet…let it steep as per the instructions above, and the slide the press to the bottom.  You’ll be amazed at how clear your cup of tea is!  

Stay tuned next week for more info on the love of tea! 

Life can be busy, and schedules are rushed and sometimes you need to use your crockpot in order to make sure you eat a healthy dinner, but in a timely manner!  I have two amazing soup recipes that I want to share that are perfect for quick assembly and delicious when you come home at night.  Don’t forget to make some homemade bread to enjoy with them!  

 This will help solve your problems for what to eat on a night where you know you’ll be rushed.

Corn Chowder:

10 slices of bacon (fry until crisp and chop), 1 medium chopped onion, 1 red pepper chopped, 1 cup diced potatoes and/or carrots, black pepper and salt to taste, 1 can of cream of corn, 1 can of mushroom soup (or any creamed soup), 1 cup of milk.

Fry the onions and then add the potatoes (only if fresh), red pepper, salt and pepper.  Cook all until tender.  Add cream corn, soup and milk.  Simmer for 1/2 hour or put in crock pot on low.  Can be left for several hours.  Serves 4. 

Squash Soup: 

2 tbsp. butter or coconut oil, 1 cup chopped onion, 2 cups chicken stock, 2 cups yellow squash mashed, 4.5 oz. apple sauce, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, sour cream or plain yogurt for garnish.

Put butter or oil into saucepan.  Saute onion until soft and clear.  Add remaining ingredients.  Run through blender and put into crockpot.  Simmer on low for several hours.  Garnish with a dab of sour cream or yogurt to serve.

Curried Squash Soup: Add 1 tsp. curry powder.  Simmer gently before serving. 

Tuesday: Sausage Pasta

Wednesday: Baked Fish Florentine (see below), Rice, Veggies

Thursday: Couscous, Masoor Daal, Naan Bread, Oregano Beef Keftas, Fresh Cucumber & Tomatoes, Chickpea Curry

Friday: Out @ our "Go For Souls" Conference!

Saturday: Out @ at a Concert

Sunday: Beef Pot Pie (using chicken pot pie recipe and substituting beef chunks and beef flavour instead of chicken flavour), Salad

Baked Fish Florentine Recipe:

2 fish fillets, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tbsp. sour cream (or plain yogurt), 2 tbsp. parmesan cheese, 2 tsp. all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup finely diced onion, 1/4 tsp. paprika.

Coat the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with oil.  Arrange fish in a single layer in dish and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. of salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, parmesan cheese, flour, and onion until smooth.  Spread over fish.  Bake fish, uncovered at 450F about 10-15 mins. or until cooked through.  Sprinkle with paprika.

What are you cooking this week?