Green Tea Sports Drink

Ingredients: Organic green tea, honey, sugar, salt, lemon and (not shown) coconut water

 Hello!  It's been a loooong while since I've posted anything. A lot of life has happened since, and I'm also posting frequently on Instagram @stephwtea. But here I am with a bit more time on my hands, planning to share occasional musings on tea and life here once again. (Are blogs dead? Possibly - still, I write.)

I've transitioned out of my 25-year corporate career. So what have I been doing? Walking - a lot! (Plus cocooning and putting the foundation in place for my work going forward.)  Back to the walking - I turned 50 earlier this year and I want to mark the milestone year with something physically challenging. I decided to hike, in one day, a well-known trail in my region that happens to be about 50 kilometers (31 miles). I've been training since Dec 30th, my last day of work. 

The color is all natural, from the tea and lemon juice

It's been fantastic! And a LOT of miles, which brings me to the subject of this post. I don't usually do sports drinks for two reasons: 1 - I think they're over-utilized in general and 2 - I don't like the flavor of the commercial ones. And yet, once I got up to 4+ hours of hiking, I needed something in addition to water. My heartfelt thanks to Jenna Braddock for the original version of this recipe! Jenna is a dietitian and personal trainer, and determined what was necessary to make a balanced drink in terms of sugars and electrolytes. Deep gratitude! I took the original recipe and customized just a bit, reducing how much is made and upgrading the quality of tea to loose, organic green. (I'm using the Young Mountain Tea Darjeeling Green.)

Field testing: a winner!

Here's my version of the recipe, if you'd like to give it a try. It makes just a bit over 2 cups.

• In a heat-safe vessel, pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 generous tablespoon of loose green tea. Steep for 4 minutes. (Important note: This is a very rare moment when I will suggest you use boiling water on green tea, and for this long! Usually, it's a shorter steep and much cooler water. Here we're making a concentrate.)
• Remove the leaves after 4 minutes.
• To the hot tea, add and stir until dissolved:
• 1 TBSP of honey (fructose and glucose)
• 1/2 TBSP (aka teaspoon and a half) of table sugar (sucrose)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Let the tea mixture cool a bit, then add 1 cup coconut water and 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Chill and then enjoy out on the trail!  (I usually make this the night before.)

Meet Buddy, My Tea Pet

Buddy

Meet Buddy.  He's my tea pet.  He reigns over my tea tray when I'm brewing Gong Fu style.  From time to time, I will anoint him with hot tea, and he loves that.  Buddy is an Ox (my Chinese astrological sign).  He enjoys listening to the laughter of those sipping tea.  If we're sad, he'll quietly bear witness.  He's a faithful friend and doesn't mind what type of tea we drink (or don't drink).  His sweet, happy little face never fails to make me smile.

I found Buddy at New Century Teas in Seattle.  My blogging friend Brett inspired this post.  Check out his blog for a picture of several different types of tea pets.

Happy 16 Years!

Happy Anniversary to the man who makes me laugh!



Fun, Happy, Pretty

 Worst Day of the Year Bike Ride

I thought I'd share a few things from the past month that have been fun, happy and/or pretty!  

After a rest stop, waiting to cross the street.  What a line of characters!

At another rest stop, Dragonfly Chai served warm and delicious cups of tea

Spied my first blooming tree this past Sunday!

And the camellias are starting to explode with color

Had this delicious rice treat (with pickled tea leaves) at Behind the Museum Cafe

What's fun, happy or pretty in your life right now?

Three New "Tea" Shirts

"Blending with a Purpose"

From the Enchanted Tea and Gift Shop

"English Breakfast Tea"
Gift from a friend - thank you!

"Pot Head"

From the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants

Don't worry - that's camellia sinensis depicted!

Weird Foods from China

The gift basket of weird foods:  Pork-filled moon cakes, deep-fried silkworm larvae, vacuum-sealed eggs, seasoned tofu slices, and chicken's foot

Steph to DH (dear hubby):  What would you like me to bring you from China?
DH:  Just that you have a good time and come home safely.
Steph:  I want to bring you something - you know, like a present. 
DH:  (Pause)  Well, you can bring me some weird foods.

Oh, how I delivered!  Shortly into the trip, my traveling companions got in on the great search for weird foods, too.  "Hey Steph, did you see the blueberry Pringles?  How about the green tea Oreos?"  By the way, the blueberry Pringles were great!  Our best shopping venue for weird foods was the Chinese truck stop!  A must-see if you ever make it to the Middle Kingdom.

Pork-filled moon cake and deep-fried silk worm larvae

The silk worm larvae are typically eaten as a beer snack.  Interestingly, I found them at an upscale tea shop!  I worked up my courage and ate one.  It's a crunchy nothingness, with a bit of a fishy flavor.

The crowning jewel - a chicken's foot

The DH:  "My lovely wife, the generous and delightful person that she is, went to China and all she brought me a packaged, pre-cooked delicacy called a chicken's foot.  I looked at it for a number of weeks, building up the courage to try it.  Finally I could put it off no longer the day came.  I decided the best way to eat this delicacy was to cook it in a can of Campbell's chicken noodle soup.  Notice the picture.  I found one little piece of meat, approximately the size of a pencil eraser. The rest of it, in my opinion, was not edible.  The remainder of the soup was as delicious as I remember from childhood."

Cup of Brown Joy (Chap Hop)

Not to be missed!  (Thanks for the link, Roxyred!)

T42

If you're ever at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, be sure to check out the fashion section.  You'll find this great piece!

5th Blog Anniversary and Giveaway

Today is my 5th Blog Anniversary!  I almost let it slip by quietly, until I realized it was year #5.  That seems worthy of celebrating.  So I'm holding a tea-themed giveaway.  The prize will include tea, tea-themed stationery and other goodies. 

To enter, let me know in 5 words only something about spring that lifts your spirits. Mine is:  Time with friends and flowers.

I'll pick a winner on Friday, April 30th.  Good luck!

The photo above is from the gardens at the Indiana Museum of Art.

It's Here! Giveaway Day 2009

It's here! Sew, Mama, Sew's annual handmade giveaway day. It's a very, very fun event and I'm excited to be a part of it! Check out all the participants and leave comments at their blogs to be considered for a prize.

My contribution to this event includes the following fabulous prizes:

• Handmade envelopes/cards (like these)
• Homemade hot chocolate mix with homemade marshmallows
• Some very flavorful tea (coconut pouchong)
• A poem written just for the event

To enter, please leave a comment, and if you don't have a blogger account, leave me a way to get in touch (e-mail). Good luck! And thank you for your participation!

Winner announced on Monday, December 7th.

Funky Legs Friday: Stripey

Funky Legs Friday!

These fun striped tights came from TJ Maxx. They're knit tights, like socks. Nice and warm.

Farewell Stella, and Thank You

Me, on Stella. Photo by the DH.

I pushed the electric start and Stella came to life. She purred quietly, a sleek feline next to the large and loud canine-like Harley in the next parking space. The Harley rider gave me a collegial nod as he stepped over his ride.

Stella and I pulled out of the motorcycle lot and scooted across the parking area. It was 5:15 pm and workers were pouring out of the office building. People stopped and smiled.

---

I sold Stella this week. I wrote a letter to her new owner, sharing her story and my story with her. I will miss her tangerine orangeness and her coolness. I will always be grateful for my bravery that came with her.

Patterns in Ivory

Funky Legs Friday is here! (Finally!)

These tights are as much elegant as they are funky, in my opinion. The ivory cloth is textured and patterned. In this case, I'm dressing them up. They also work in casual mode. They came from Target.

This photo, by the way, is a favorite. The DH (feet in the background) snapped it, but I claim the concept! :-)

Smurf Legs

It's Funky Legs Friday! I call these my smurf legs. They are that smurf blue, don't ya think? These are thigh-high socks that actually stay up. They came from sock dreams, a store that definitely takes socks (and leg warms and arm warmers) to a new level of funkiness.

Funky Legs Friday

Happy Halloween! This is part of my witchy woman outfit. I can't really call it a costume, because it's my normal clothing. Just witched up a bit.

About Funky Legs Friday...
I need a little fun in my life right now. SO, let's talk about tights.

Here's the deal - I like wearing skirts, and I like to wear them year-round. My lifestyle is such that I walk a lot, even in cooler weather, and so I'm always looking for fun and functional legwear. My rebel/playful side comes out in this realm. To add a little spunk to my week, I'm starting Funky Leg Friday! Each Friday through November, I'll show a pair of gams in funky leg coverings.

The tights in the picture above are wonderful! They feel like a soft, crocheted shawl. They're a rayon/nylon/spandex blend that feels like cotton. They're heavier and warmer than the typical tight. They remind me of the material from little girls' tights. I got them at Target, which has, by the way, quite a selection of cool tights these days.

I hope you're enjoying Halloween! I'll try not to eat too much candy.

Photo by the DH