Monday's are always the worst day of the week ... you have to go back to work, ugh. To make the day a little less painful, I suggest a nice thick mango milkshake. We bought a few mangos over the weekend and they were perfectly ripened last night. I didn't have any ice cream or milk on hand, so made a quick trip to the grocery store.
The milkshake is simple - no real surprises. Peel and cut up 1 mango, place into blender or mixing container. Add two heaping scoops of vanilla ice-cream. Add 1 cup of milk. I use a stick blender to mix the ingredients into a thick and smooth milkshake.
Pour into a tall glass and sip on it while catching up on your Tivo. We sat on the couch watching 'Thank God You're Here' ... amusing, but not terribly wonderful. But, it didn't matter since I had a mango milkshake to make me happy. 
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Monday Night Mango Milkshake
Monday, April 16, 2007
Discovering Blooming Tea
Have you ever witnessed blooming tea?
I experienced it for the first time this past year. A friend had visited us from China and brought us a bag of tea. The tea leaves were sewn into a tight ball shape that slowly unfolded when steeped in hot water. The result was a beautiful 'blossom' about 2-3 inches wide.
I've been searching the web to buy more as the blooming teas are difficult to find in stores, but I did find an online store focusing on this specialty, Full Bloom Tea. I didn't realize how many different styles of blooms existed, but Full Bloom Tea offers at least a dozen.
The company states the blossoms are hand-tied and are created near the Taimu Mountain in China. I can only imagine how one goes about creating one of these blossoms. The primary ingredient is silver needle white tea along with a variety of dried flowers that lend color and additional flavor, like Jasmine or Marigold. The teas offer an interesting and intriguing blend of tea, flowers, and art.
My big dilemma now is determining what to buy for a friend with an upcoming birthday. I knew the tea would make a good gift and didn't expect so many choices. Full Bloom Tea offers gift packs, tea of the month, greeting cards w/tea included, and even party favors for special occasions.
*picture from Full Bloom Tea
Saturday, March 24, 2007
My Slow-Roasted Addiction
It started simply enough, one morning I decided it would be nice to grab a cup of coffee on the way to work. A new Starbucks opened a few blocks away (and as you would expect, it's only a few additional blocks to an existing Starbucks). I never thought we'd need two ... but I was wrong.
I stepped inside the cozy cafe and orderd my 'grande drip with room'. I'm a simple guy as my order implies. I like my coffee plain and black. I only get it 'with room' so that it doesn't spill in my car while I drive. Sometimes a cup that is too full with leave splatters all over my not so tidy Honda Civic.
This one trip went so smoothly. The next day I decided to get another cup, this time the barista remembered me ... it's a subtle trick they use to make you feel at home, to feel welcomed, to lure you into returning each and every day thereafter. It works.
Before I knew it, my cube at work started to fill up with the coffee cup sleeves. I decided to keep each one as a reminder of my Starbucks experience. A tribute to my coffee addiction.
The pile is much larger today than this pile would suggest. This picture is probably a month or so old ... I've since built a coffee sleeve pyramid. My addiction is not pretty, but it is bold and slow-roasted.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
From Starbuck's with Love, #225
The quote from the back of my morning Starbuck's cup. Someday I'll have to show you my Starbuck's 'sleeve' collection ... it's piled up on my desk at work :-)
“People don’t read enough. And what reading we do is cursory, without absorbing the subtleties and nuances that lie deep within - Wow, you’ve stopped paying attention, haven’t you? People can’t even read a coffee cup without drifting off.”
--
Creator and executive producer of the television drama House
