Cookin' With Leo
By
Leocthasme
Tea
Being away from home and working on a strange computer, I am forced to write about things I do not know
about. So I thought I would learn a few things, in my old age, that is. So where in the universe do I find out
such things? Well, I went to the internet and typed in ’tea’ and found all sort of information. Beats trying to
find my Dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother or her pal Aztec Annie, and neither one likes tea as far as I know.
Seems my dear Sweet Italian Fairy Godmother dines with wine and Aztec Annie sups on cocoa and coffee, whichever.
So here I am all on my own. And here is everything you ever wanted to know about tea and even some stuff about the
stuff that even me Leo C. never knew.
Well yes, here is something I do know about, so let’s all start with a good belt of Long Island Tea.
Here are a couple of good mixes for you to enjoy while perusing this column.
First of all you need some ice cubes for both recipes.
2 oz Green Tea Vodka and here is a recipe for that. 2 tablespoons loose gunpowder Green Tea and one
cup of vodka.
Cover, shake, and let steep for two hours.
Strain and pour off the Vodka for
use.
½ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice.
1 oz Cointreau
¼ oz golden rum
2 teaspoons Simple Syrup. Simple Syrup is made by mixing 1 to 1 sugar and water.
Pour water and
sugar into sauce pan and heat to dissolve sugar.
Simple Syrup can be saved in the fridg for at least a
month.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add Green Tea Vodka, lemon juice, Cointreau, golden rum and simple syrup. Cover
and shake until mixed and chilled. Strain into tall glass filled with ice cubes. Enjoy.
And here is my recipe from way back when I was a bartender, as you can see we did cater to the ‘drinker’ back
then.
½ ounce vodka
½ ounce gin
½ ounce light rum
½ ounce Triple Sec
2 ounces Finest Call Sour Mix
Coca Cola
Lemon wedge for garnish
Combine first 5 ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake and strain into a 14 ounce beverage glass.
Top with cola and garnish with lemon wedge.
Serve with a tall straw.
Now, that you are in a good mood, let’s get to the tea business. These teas are readily available.
Green Tea: Green Tea Leaves are picked and steamed immediately, rather than drying them, smoking them,
roasting them, and/or aging them as is done producing black or oolong tea. Therefore, green tea contains double
the antioxidants of the black. It is lauded as a cancer fighter and believed to prevent metasis. It is also
considered helpful in controlling or preventing heart disease.
Herbal Tea: These teas are probably found at health food or specialty shops. They can include Yellow Dock
Root, Yarrow, Willow Bark, Thyme, Tarragon, Sage, Red Clover, Meadowsweet, Jasmine, Goldenseal, Ginseng, Ginkgo,
Ginger, Fennel, Dandelion, Chamomile, Caraway, Calendula, Burdock, Boneset, Bilberry, and Bay Leaf. Various
medicinal properties and/or cures are attributed to most of the above teas.
Black Tea: Some famous brands are Earl Grey, preferred by many English connoisseurs, while in
America we turn to brands like Lipton. Black tea is also hailed for asthma sufferers. It is said that
three or four cups of black tea daily can open airways and ease breathing because it contains chemicals related to
the stimulant theophylline, a basis for many modern medical asthma remedies.
This is just a small part of the information that can be found on tea. If you want more detail just type
in tea on your browser and you can spend a day or so just reading a lot on that subject.
And, I hope by next month to be back home on my own computer, so I can get back to some basic recipes that all
my readers enjoy.
So Y'all Come, Y'hear?
Click on author's byline for bio.
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