Kitchen Tip : An easy way to extract pomegranate seeds | Chatelaine.com

I love pomegranates but the seeds are so hard to extract. Years ago a friend showed me how to get the seeds out of this delicious fruit easily and I've never tried it, except when dining with her. It worked every time. Recently I was at Silk Road Teas Holiday Lounge where I had a Philospher's Brew Sangria. The recipe is on the Silk Road Tea website at www.silkroadtea.com instead of the cranberries, grapes, star fruit or citrus this version had pomegranate seeds (3 in total) placed at the bottom of the wine glass. The sangria can be made with or without the white wine.

Here is Chatelaine's tip to extract pomegrante seeds and is the same one I've used.


Kitchen Tip : An easy way to extract pomegranate seeds Chatelaine.com

Silk Roads Tea and Chocolate

Back to Silk Roads spiffy tea store for a workshop in making tea with added chocolate. What a neat idea! I usually make what I call "skinny cocoa" or a posset at home, with lots of hot water, a bit of cocoa and a slug of milk. But at Silk Roads, the facilitator made several kinds of green tea, black tea, chai and oolong. To the hot, fresh tea she added a spoonful of Camino brand chocolate powder. This powder had plenty of sweet in it, unlike plain cocoa. For Louise and the other lactose-free enthusiasts, she added whipped coconut milk, and for the rest of us there was a shot of whipping cream.
Gotta say, what a nice taste. Tea with chocolate added. Bit of cream. Definitely a taste I'm going back to again. Especially the Mayan Madness, with a nice dark tea (she used Velvet Potion) with chocolate and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. VERY warming on a cold day!

Silk Roads Tea Popsicles

Summer is sadly over and we are into Autumn in full force. I'm planning to continue making tea syrups because they will be good to add to holiday drinks and I'm still awaiting a milk (soy, hemp or rice) frother to make lattes.  I did promise to post the tea popsicle recipes, although I never did get around to making these myself.  Next year's summer progject....

Tea Popsicle Recipes

Tea popsicles are easy to make, and are a delicious summertime treat. They are rich in antioxidants and nutrients that are good for you, but are low in the things you might want to avoid (calories, artificial flavours and colours). Here are two of Silk Roads favourite recipes for you to enjoy.

Earl Pink Tea Popsicle

A tart & revitalizing popsicle that looks as good as it tastes.

2 tbsp. Earl Green tea, 2 cups water
1 cup grapefruit juice, 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 tbsp. sugar

Bring water to just before the boil. Pour 2 cups water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in sugar to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Combine chilled tea with juices (*Tip: Never combine hot tea with grapefruit juice.)

Pour mixture into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving. To transform this into an adult popsicle, add up to 1/4 cup of gin or vodka to the recipe.

Velvet Potion Tea Popsicle

This popsicle was created purely as an indulgent adult treat. It combines the intoxicating cocoa flavour of Velvet Potion tea with coconut and Irish Cream whisky. A perfect way to unwind after a long day! Enjoy as a snack, or serve for dessert.

2 tbsp. Velvet Potion tea, 1 cup water
1 tbsp. maple syrup, 2 1/2 cups coconut milk, 1/2 cup Irish Cream whiskey

Bring water to a full, rolling boil. Pour 1 cup water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in maple syrup to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Combine chilled tea with coconut milk and Irish Cream. Pour into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving.

CAUTION: Do not re-freeze and consume a popsicle that has started to melt or thaw.Tea popsicles are all-natural and preservative-free, so be sure to consume within 4 days.