Tea for 24

It's so easy to get caught up in life, and all it entails, before you realize that something needs a little more attention. In my case, that was a few things, but I'll focus on one of them today - my blog! In my opinion, once Halloween is over and done with, its time to focus on Christmas. I must admit that my focus shifts to Christmas sometime in September/October though because I like to get started or at least thinking about Christmas gifts. I'm that person that has to sit there and meticulously contemplate the perfect gift, cutest wrapping paper, and most thought evoked card. I'd love to be able to just walk into a store and buy the first thing I see...but that's way too easy. Oh yes, and at that store you can count on the fact that your neat display is no longer that way because I would have already looked at all the items to find the "right" one. Mild OCD talking there.

Each year, Davids tea comes out with a 24 days of tea advent calendar, which is just that - an advent calendar with their most coveted teas that are waiting to be unveiled each day. I did some research and found that this is apparently a hot ticket item for the holidays. Since I recently became a fan of Davids, I was intrigued and wanted to know if first off, it was worth it. Although I'm a sucker for pretty packaging and cute boxes (oh hush, you are too), I didn't want to get wrapped up (ha!) in the sole novelty of the product instead of the value of the tea! By the time I calculated the cost of an average bag of tea at that weight compared to the cost of the calendar which is $34.50 for 240g, this was worth it. I wasn't too impressed with the sudden $5 price hike for the exact same weight of tea in the calendar this year versus the usual $29.50 from years gone by, but all in all it was still worth it. Factor in the tiny labelled tins and decorative box they come in as well. There was a lot of questions about when we can order this online and hype building up. At first, we were told this would be available online anywhere between midnight and 9am on November 8, then we're told 9am to avoid any technical difficulties that may arise. In around an hour, they were completely out of stock online! Not so great for those that don't live close to a store, especially since they could not even hold one for you. I'm not sure why this highly anticipated item was sold out so quickly, but I'm sure this supply and demand method created more of a "need" this item now mindset; which I'm willing to bet was the intent to begin with. It's seems as though they are using a scarcity tactic, which creates more desire, which will make the consumer not only fight to get one, but get multiples (just in case). Think about how you feel when the store clerk says "these are selling like hotcakes and there's only a few left" - you feel lucky, excited, accomplished, and feel that you should perhaps buy another for good measure. A popular yoga retailer does the exact same thing, and people go NUTS! Come to think of it, they are a bit similar not only with the scarcity technique, but their clearance sections is almost named the same way "we bought too much" vs "we made too much". Anyway, back to advent.
Includes: Blueberry jam, Buddha's Blend, Main Squeeze, Cinnamon Rooibos Chai, Cream of Earl Grey, Gingerbread, English Breakfast, Silk Dragon Jasmine, Forever Nuts, Glitter & Gold, Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, Alpine Punch, Chocolate Orange, Genmaicha, Mango Madness, White Chocolate Frost, Read My Lips, Coffee Cake, Santa's Secret, Sleigh Ride, Mother's Little Helper, Stormy Night, Kokomo Green and Vanilla Orchid. 
Pretty good choices there, many of which I would have never picked out myself at the store. Each tin will make between 1-3 cups. The back of the box has a list of included teas along with ingredients. A few from their winter collection is also in there as well. This is a really nice gift for those who are new to loose leaf tea as well. If you made it into a store to get one after the failed online attempt, that's awesome because a few employees have said that by the same night of the release, most if not all were sold out in Ontario. I called a few stores as well and all but one in Toronto was sold out! Good thing I got a few....you know, just in case....

Green With Envy

After realizing years ago that there are not many people out there that are willing to divulge their full list of ingredients that make their dishes so lip smackingly good, I tried digging for "gold" by probing others, along with a lot of Internet research. After coming up with bits and pieces here and there, I learned that what truly worked for me was by experimenting through trial and error. When I made my curries, stews, roasted meats and such, why didn't the final product have that flavor profile that elevated my tastebuds to the moon like I was used to? I make another call to mom, hoping I would get more than the "add hot pepper, some herbs, onions and garlic...simple" answer. That was when I learned that the hot pepper, herbs, onions and garlic were actually blended together and used as a base. I tried that in my next pot of food and have been using this ever since. Oh Lord. This. Tastes. Like. Home.

In most Guyanese and Trinidadian households, you'll always the ingredients and/or find a jar in the fridge of a special mix we know as green seasoning. This is usually the major flavor enhancer in our dishes. Basically, the ever popular French mirepoix, Latin sofrito or sazon, Creole holy trinity serves as an aromatic flavor base, as does caribbean green seasoning. It is usually a blend of onions, garlic, and fresh "green" herbs. These ingredients all get blended together in a food processor with some salt and some type of vinegar (these will help preserve your blend and also help keep it green) and the result is....green seasoning! Everyone has a uniquely different blend, and as I said in the beginning - whatever suits your taste buds is the right recipe! Seriously, you really cannot mess this up. Every island uses a predominant ingredient. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is culantro (not cilantro), also known as bandhania. If you are using culantro, ensure that you use it in small amounts as it is a very strong herb. In Guyana, celery is most used. Other islands are more partial to cinnamon, cloves, thyme, garlic.

Personally, I love garlic and hot pepper. I use ridiculously copious amounts of them both when making my seasoning, and believe it or not it does NOT ever overpower my other ingredients. For us, it's perfectly balanced as long as you can somewhat eyeball how much you are using. My recipe base is as follows:

10-20 fresh garlic cloves
1 onion, rough chopped
6-8 scotch bonnet peppers
4-6 wiri wiri peppers
1tsp fresh ginger
5-8 fresh thyme sprigs
Generous handful of cilantro 
Salt and vinegar, to taste

Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. The overall consistency is up to you. You can pulse a few times to get a chunky blend, or you can blend a bit longer to achieve a more soupy seasoning. I prefer it right in between. Store in an airtight container. This seasoning is extremely versatile, as it can be used as the basis of a dish to be cooked, a marinade, a topping, a dip. Sometimes if I'm in a hurry to eat something very quickly I will spoon this and sliced cucumber over hot cooked rice, or make the ever popular "pear sandwich" I grew up with; a mashed avocado on toasted bread! We usually made this by mixing one avocado, a few thin slices of onion, hot pepper sauce and a touch of garlic - but with this seasoning, all the work is already done so just a spoonful is needed to mix into the avocado and voila! This is so quick, and most importantly so fresh and convenient. Keep this stuff in your fridge and you will always have a fast, fresh, and fabulous flavour punch readily available. 

Enjoy!