Milk Tea and Smoothies

I had these topics on my radio show a little bit after summer vacation ended, and now I finally am posting this as promised.

Delicious, sweet milk tea

This milk tea is not only delicious, but also soothing and simple to make! It's a choice drink for a hot day or if you serve it hot then it’s a choice drink for a cold day or just for sitting around.

I got the recipe from instructables.com while looking for a simple milk tea recipe that didn't require too many expensive ingredients, since I didn't want to buy new materials since I only had a week left on my lease for my apartment and in fact have just moved out of my apartment a few hours ago.  Unfortunately when I was going to get the stuff I realized that I had packed away my teas to send them home a few weeks ago and getting a whole new box just for this one time seemed excessive.

I made some modifications because I didn't find the original recipe to be quite strong enough for me. Feel free to modify this recipe to your own tastes. It seems fairly flexible!

Here's what you'll need:

*A glass or mug
*A small sauce pot
*Sugar
*Black tea (Try not to use flavored black tea, as it's probably not as strong. Use strong black tea because the milk and sugar will overpower it. I use two tea bags to get a more defined tea taste, but you can use less or more depending on how strong you want it. These teabags are Twining's English Breakfast tea.)
*Milk, obviously. I use non-fat/skim milk because it's what I'm used to. I'm not sure what it would be like with another type of milk.

Optional ingredient:
*Ground cinnamon or nutmeg, or both!

Step 2 Let's get started

The recipe I used originally called for one cup of milk, but that didn't fit my smallest mug, so in the end, I poured how much milk I wanted into the glass/mug to measure how much drink I want. Here, I filled up my glass because I was thirsty and having a bad day.

Pour the milk into the sauce pot, obviously, and then turn on the stove to LOW heat. If you are making more than one cup and cannot be buggered to wait for the milk to heat up, you can turn it higher. Just keep it from boiling.

Step 3 Patience is a virtue

We don't want to rush the heating of the milk, so let it warm up to a decent temperature BEFORE adding the tea bags. To measure the temperature, I usually just stick my finger in there. When it's hot but not scalding, put in your tea bags. You can choose to swirl them around, but you can also let them steep a while. Either way works. Eventually you will want to move them about to see how much you've steeped and to mix the tea in with the warm milk.

Step 4 The tea steeps!

Swirl the bags around a bit until you get a nice milky color of tea. If you can smell the tea rising from the pot, then you can start to wrap up the heating process. You should be able to smell it. It is better to wait until you can really smell it before you add the cinnamon, otherwise the cinnamon's smell will overpower and you won't be sure until you do a bit of stirring.

Once you get this scent of black tea, add your cinnamon if you want. I usually tap a nice amount in (I like to be generous with my cinnamon!) and then take a spoon and stir it for a little bit. Don't worry about whether or not you can see it. In the mug, you won't really see it. Stir it up so it's mixed. I usually let it steep just a little longer before removing bags just to make sure I get a nice strong taste. When you can smell the tea over the cinnamon, then take your bags out and squeeze the tea out of them. The way I do it is to rest the bags in the spoon and wrap the string around them, getting the tag on top so I can squeeze them on the tag, thereby successfully dodging a burn on my fingers. You're going to want to get all the tea out of those suckers before you toss them.

Step 5 Pour and add sugar

Now your sauce pot's handle is going to be hot, so grab a towel or a pot holder so you don't hurt yourself. Pour it into your glass or mug. I bet you can smell it! Smells good, huh? Now we're going to add sugar.

If you have sugar in a carton, you could pour it into a smaller bowl so you can add pinches. I usually put a pinch or two in mine since I don't want it to be too sweet, but it should be just a little sweet. Then stir it liberally.

Step 6 Serve!

When you serve this drink, serve it HOT! It's so much better that way. Try to drink it fast since it tends to go cold rather quickly. It tastes great though and so far, the only way I've found to really mess it up is to make it too sweet.

This recipe makes 1-2 servings depending on how many glasses you measure out. If you cannot smell the tea when you are making a bigger batch, just toss in another teabag until you can smell the tea rising up. Remember that if you can smell the tea rising above the milk when you smell the pot, it's steeped and perfect.

I hope you enjoy this drink and leave me a comment telling me what you think of it. If you feel it needs any modifications, let me know!

 

Next topic for today, even though summer is pretty much ending here’s.

5 summer smoothie recipes

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Tastes exactly like the combo ought to without the extra calories of an ice cream milkshake.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Ingredients

• 2 frozen bananas, peeled and chopped
• 10 ounces organic strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• 1 cup milk
• 6 ice cubes
• 1 tablespoon honey

Time estimates

Prep time: 10 minutes  

Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes  

Directions

1. Peel and chop bananas into bite-sized chunks and freeze for about 2 hours. 
2. Combine all ingredients in blender. Process on pulse for 20 to 25 seconds. Change setting to mix or smoothie for about 10 more seconds, or until smooth.

Serves 2

Mango Papaya Smoothie

A tribute to the hot dog emporium the Papaya King, this is a digestive aid for carnivores and according to the website a possible remedy for hangovers.

Mango Papaya Smoothie

Ingredients

• 2 frozen bananas, peeled and chopped
• 1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 ripe papaya, chopped and seeded
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 ounce fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• Dash coconut flakes, optional garnish

Time estimates

Prep time: 15 minutes  

Total time: 2 hours 15 minutes  

Directions

1. Peel and chop bananas into bite-sized chunks and freeze for about 2 hours.
2. Mangoes have an oblong pit in the center. Gripping firmly in one hand, use a sharp knife to cut mango lengthwise in half. Repeat. Use spoon to scrape fruit pulp away from skin.
3. Combine all ingredients in blender. Process on pulse for 20 to 25 seconds. Change setting to mix or smoothie for about 10 more seconds, or until smooth.

Serves 4

Blueberry Smoothie

How often can you say delicious and nutritious without fibbing? Summer season is berry season, so make the most of it.

Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients

• 6 ounces organic blueberries
• 1 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Time estimates

Prep time: 10 minutes 

Total time: 10 minutes 

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in blender. Process on pulse for 20 to 25 seconds. Change setting to mix or smoothie for about 10 more seconds, or until smooth.

Serves 3

Red Grape Smoothie

A heart-smart smoothie has the health benefits of red wine without the downside of a hangover.

       

Red Grape Smoothie

Ingredients

• 2 cups organic red seedless grapes
• 1 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 6 ice cubes
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Time estimates

Prep time: 10 minutes 

Total time: 40 minutes  

Directions

1. Rinse and chill grapes for about 30 minutes.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups grapes with remaining ingredients in blender. Process on pulse for 20 to 25 seconds. Change setting to mix or smoothie for about 10 more seconds, or until smooth. Add remaining chilled whole grapes for an extra treat at the bottom.

Serves 4

Honeydew and Cucumber Smoothie

Cool, green and elegant, this is an ideal drink for a hot afternoon in the garden.

Honeydew and Cucumber Smoothie

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized honeydew melon, sliced and cubed
• 1 medium-sized cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• Sprigs mint, optional garnish

Time estimates

Prep time: 15 minutes  

Total time: 2 hours 15 minutes 

Directions

1. Peel and chop honeydew into bite-sized chunks and freeze for about 2 hours.
2. Combine all ingredients in blender. Process on pulse for 20 to 25 seconds. Change setting to mix or smoothie for about 10 more seconds, or until smooth.

Serves 3