Cooking with Tea!!

I love tea and cooking with it here are a couple of great recipes.

 

Tea-Smoked Salmon with Honey and Lavender Glaze

Ingredients

• 2 bags Tazo Chai tea
• 1 bag Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea
• 2 tablespoons dry rice
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender
• 8 ounces sockeye salmon
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Preparation

1. Heat grill to medium-high.
2. While grill heats, prepare smoking packet by placing contents of tea bags, rice and brown sugar onto a sheet of aluminum foil. Sprinkle tea with a few drops of water (less than 1/4 teaspoon - just enough so that it's barely damp). Loosely fold foil around ingredients to form a flat packet. Place packet directly on coals/burner of heated grill (under the grate). Close the lid and wait 10 minutes for packet to begin to create smoke.
3. Pat salmon dry and brush with olive oil. Add to grill, skin-side up, away from direct heat - if grill has an upper rack, that's the perfect place for it. Close lid and let cook for 5 minutes. Flip and let cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until it's cooked to your liking.
4. Meanwhile, add honey and lavender to small saucepan set over low heat. Heat through until honey melts and becomes very thin. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Brush glaze over salmon just prior to serving.

Serves

2

Notes, Tips & Suggestions

Recipe courtesy of Lauren Keating, www.Healthy-Delicious.com

Zucchini and Summer Squash Gratin

Ingredients

• 2 bags Earl Grey tea
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1 zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1 summer squash, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
• 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, sliced
• 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes. Squeeze bags to release any liquid that has accumulated inside of them, then discard.
3. While tea is steeping, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet set over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until golden brown and very soft. Add tea to onions and bring to a simmer. Cook until liquid has evaporated - about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme. Spread onions in bottom of a medium casserole dish.
4. Begin to layer squash and tomato in the pan, letting them overlap slightly (one row zucchini, one row summer squash, and one row tomato). Sprinkle with a little bit of the herbs de Provence and about 1/3 of the cheese.
5. Make a second layer of vegetables, using the same technique as the first layer but mixing up the order of the rows so that you don't have two layers of the same vegetable stacked right on top of each other. Add more herbs and cheese. Make one final vegetable layer.
6. Top with the rest of the herbs de Provence and cheese. Sprinkle a thin layer of panko bread crumbs over top and drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil.
7. Bake for 60 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Preparation and Cooking Time

25 min

Bake Time

60 min

Standing Time

10 min

Serves

4

Notes, Tips & Suggestions

Recipe courtesy of Lauren Keating, www.Healthy-Delicious.com