Monthly Archives: March 2015

Nina’s Paris Tea Store Sampling

Marie Antoinette

Marie-Antoinette

Description

A very delicate tea, flavored with apples & roses, with a touch of strongness with ceylon tea basis Apple aroma done with apples coming from King’s Kitchen Garden – Versailles.

Ingredients: Black Tea, Ceylon, Rose petals, Apples and Roses

Available through: Nina’s Paris Tea Store | Facebook

Tasting Notes

The dry leaf smells of apples, sweet plums, pear, and a hint or fruit orchard flowers.

I brewed this at 200 °F for 4 minutes. Once steeped, the tea tastes very strongly of fresh green apples, with a bit of pear and finishes with a floral bitterness.


This tea is the most popular from Nina’s Paris because of its unique story. The original Marie-Antoinette tea is made of apples and roses hand-picked from the Le Potager du Roi of Versailles (King’s Kitchen Garden).

Mon Secret

Description

Keemun tea with all the succulence of sunny fruits. You will be seduced by the naturally sweet flavours of melon, peach, and papaya.

Ingredients: Keemun Black Tea, Papaya pieces, melon, peach

Available through: Nina’s Paris Tea Store | Facebook

Tasting Notes

The brewed tea smells malty, sweet, delicate with a general “tropical” aroma. The taste itself is smooth and light with a hint of astringency.

Magicenne

Magicienne

Description

The magical combination of pineapple and coconut. This tea, with a hint of tartness, will pleasantly surprise you. An exotic blend that will satisfy all seeking enchantment.

Ingredients: Green Tea, pineapple, coconut, cream

Available through: Nina’s Paris Tea Store | Facebook

Tasting Notes

This tea smells tropical, light, and sweet. I brewed this to share with a friend and we really enjoyed it. The green tea was not too over-powered by the flavors, but it was subtle enough to be a good “intro tea” for people just starting with tea. It would do well with a little bit of sweetener or iced.
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Cookies & Creme No-Bake Cheesecake

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This past Valentine’s Day we decided to stay in and have a decadent meal of Roasted Lamb. We wanted something easy after a more complicated meal but still wanted a treat to end the night.

This no-bake cookies and creme cheesescake really hit the spot. I originally had thought it would taste better with a cookie crust, but the graham crackers kept the cheesecake from getting too sweet.

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We used the forks from our wedding and I was finally able to try my hand at a true cheesecake because my aunt gifted me a great springform pan for Christmas. I made the mistake of drizzling the chocolate topping on before popping the the cake out of the pan so it stuck a bit, but still tasted great.

Topped with chocolate covered espresso beans and served chilled, this cheesecake is light and creamy but rich enough to celebrate a special occasion.

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Hawaiian Mac Salad

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Hawaiian macaroni salad, part of the holy trinity that makes up plate lunch, is something close to my heart. Everyone has their own special recipe and every since I visited Helena’s Hawaiian Food this past fall, I’ve been trying to figure out what made it taste so good. My dad clued me in that he uses whole milk in his mac salad which makes it taste creamier and mellows out the vinegar.

So when I saw a recipe for Hawaiian Pasta Salad on Kim’s blog Feed Me Seymour, my mind was made for this month’s Secret Recipe Club pick. Kim prides herself on recipes that aren’t daunting or scary such as: Black Tea Honey Scones, Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows, Butterbeer Cupcakes, Rolo Cookies, and Nutella-stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Since I made this mac salad in the middle of a snow storm, I had to improvise. There was no macaroni pasta at the store so I picked the closest thing; I had to make my own mayonnaise out of olive oil, egg yolks, mustard, and salt; I used almond milk instead of regular milk. Using a more traditional milk, especially whole milk, will make this much creamier and less tangy.

Regardless, this was a mighty fine macaroni salad — 2 scoops of this and some Honey Garlic Chicken really hit the spot.

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Green Tea Sandwich Cookies with Honey Cream Cheese Filling ♣

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I like St. Patrick’s day because it gives me an excuse to make and eat green food. Other than that, I don’t really celebrate it — in fact I’ve never even seen a green beer! These cookies are naturally colored with some beautiful sencha green tea powder gifted to me by Sugimoto America. This sencha powder had a nice strong earthy taste that paired naturally with the honey cream cheese filling.

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The recipe for these cookies came from my co-worker who had brought them into the office but I never got to try them. I usually avoid making sandwich cookies since they’re twice the amount of work for one cookie, but these just might be worth it. Not as much work as linzer cookies, but a little more work than whoopie pies. I also got to try out my new rolling pin so that I could make sure the dough was uniform in thickness.

If you’re in the mood for a seasonal treat that isn’t tooth-achingly sweet, these are right up your alley. I’ve stuck a few in the freezer to give to my friend this weekend when we meet up for the NYC Coffee & Tea Festival; I’ll report back on how they fared.

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This recipe is very easy and has a limited number of ingredients. I added heaping tablespoons of green tea powder because I had only a little left in my container (total amount = 227 grams). The cookie is a little dense, but lighter than shortbread. When eaten fresh, the filling will ooze out a bit. I stuck them in the fridge overnight and the filling firmed up for easier chomping.