Starbucks in 16 Flavors!

Today, I got featured in this Treasury. It so delighted me; because even though I don't
often actually go to Starbucks, I love coffee and love everything about coffee. In fact,as I write this, I am wearing my "Starbucks" Christian Tee Shirt.  Goodness, when it wears out will I find another one? Yikes, I hope so!





If you want to "meet" some of these talented fellow artist/crafters, or purchase some of their lovely wares,  just click this link to see the listing and go to their shops:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4da317a473498eef06b819b4/a-starbucks-day

Have I told you how much fun it is to be an Etsy seller? Yes, there's ups and downs, but I have met the most talented, creative people, and have made some dear friends too.

It is fun to help cross promote each other. Yeah, the competition is fierce, and sometimes you feel like a tiny shipout to sea in a storm of ions. But it refines you, keeps you on your toes, and makes you try harder.

I mean, we're in business to become better people...right?

Well, basically just testing this app on Craft Cult..   I just wanted to show off the talent in fellow Starbucks lovers the blogosphere over!

I also picked up the super cool version of my shop in a slide show that you see to the right.  Coooool!

In other news, my sweet little puppy Lincoln killed one of my new baby chics yesterday while we were at church, and today I killed my first snake of the season.  Here's a picture of Casey  showing Annie our new babies:

And a video of us introducing Lincoln to the new chicks so he could befriend them and not eat/kill them.  Alas, not enough training to avert disaster.....

Well, dinner is ready, and it's late,
so I will bid you

Adieu
and
Au revoir!
Hugs and Sweet Dreams!

Goo-ay TEA Oh....

Sa-Wat-Dee-Kha!   Been young ay, na kha?

Okay so most of you know I used to live in Siam, now called Thailand.  I spent
3 years there, ate everything imaginable, learned to read, write and speak Thai.
It was an awesome adventure, and I owe my lovely Thai friends there for putting up
with me.  

One of the wonderful things about Thailand is the sumptious food.  Although people
there live a very simple lifestyle and most live at our poverty level or under, they manage
to make food that will absolutely delight your tastebuds.   Savory hot soups that surprise with
a sour twist, cool sweet tropical fruits that sell for a dime, spices that will cause even the stouthearted to
almost faint (another story!), curries that are so creamy and delectable, and the fabled lemongrass which lends a citrusy and cool fragrant flavor to many dishes.  These, my friends are the wonders of "Aahaarn Thai", Thai food.  

If a dish is delicious, you compliment your hostess, saying   "A roy Maak"; meaning very delicious.   When you simply cannot eat another bite, you say, "Imm leew!"  The older or one who has the most authority pays the bill, and the person who invites pays the bill.   Fortunately for us, the bill was always cheap; we ate for about .75 a day!    Amazing!

Thailand is a very colorful place filled with smiles, tropical beauty, wild orchids and lovely floating markets.  The fruits and fauna are beutiful beyond my ability to describe.  Here is a typical market scene:

Okay so!  Would you like a brief lesson in Thai cooking today?  I thought so!

We ate this soup nearly every day in Thailand.  Goo-ay TEA oh.  

Let's get to it, shall we?  

GOO AY TEA OH    

Prep Time:  1 1/2 hours

One half of a chicken

6 - 8 cups of water

Vinegar

Sugar

Chicken Stock Powder

Fish Sauce

Ramen Noodles chicken flavor (or glass noodles but we like Ramen)

Cilantro

More Fish Sauce

Garlic

Crushed red chili peppers

1. Boil the chicken in the water with the stock powder or buillion cubes.  I like it strong!
2. While boiling, add vinegar and sugar to taste.   It should taste sweet and sour.   Keep adding until it does.  Approx. 1/2 C. white vinegar and approx 4 tablespoons sugar.  Sorry, I'm a right brain cook.
3. Add fish sauce to taste. Fish sauce is what they use instead of table salt.  YOU DON'T LIKE FISH SAUCE?  Stop the bus and get off right now!  I GA RAUNTEEE you, you have eaten fish sauce if you ever ate anything Thai.  So smile and get over it.
4. Chop coarsely about 6 large cloves of fresh garlic and saute until golden brown. I know, it's a pain, but oh man!  It's worth it!   It only takes 5 minutes, don't wimp out and use the powder! Drain garlic on a paper towel.  Save the garlicky oil for later use; it makes great fajita saute sauce.  
5. Cook and debone the chicken.  Skim some but not all fat.  Fat = flavor!  Never trust a skinny cook anyways.  
6. Add chicken, shredded back to the soup dish.
7. Chop some fresh cilantro.
8. Boil the Ramen noodles for 2 minutes, add into the soup mixture and then serve into bowls.  
9. Top with chopped cilantro, crushed red chilis, and more fish sauce.
10. Use chopsticks and a spoon to eat.   
11. This goes great with this that you can pick up at any Krogers:

Crunchy rolls from Kroger Sushi Deli.... See that ginger? I could eat that all day long!

.   Mmmm mmmm Good!

Let me know how you like this dish! 

Here is my daughter scarfing away; it's her favorite Thai dish~

And this was her in Thailand at the Bangkok airport at 2:30 AM after traveling 24 hours to get there in 2004:

Is she cute or WHAT?   

And, if you are just not able to jump on the next jumbo jet and fly away into the Siam sunset, why don't you try this fresh bar of Thai Market Soap?   Your skin will thank you, and you will feel almost like you might be walking through a Thai market on a soi in Bangkok, Thailand, the Land of Smiles!

Until next time, my friend, SaWatDeeKha, and Bon Appetit!

"Po' Boy" Peach Snapple

By now, my readership knows that I am from Texas, if they are not indeed themselves from the Lone Star State.

Actually, I'm a transplant; so I have had to be introduced into this culture slowly, surely and over a long period of time before actually being "accepted" as a bonafide, certified, Texan.   In fact, I married a Texan and bore a child here, and they proudly, loudly, jubilantly, and animatedly remind me that I am the outsider in "these here" parts.  At which point, I remind them that the Gulf is a wash bucket/toilet bowl compared to my beautiful Pacific Ocean, which I pine for daily, and which now we all mourn over her fallen estate even more so in light of recent events.

So today I  want to talk about the culture of Iced Tea in this great state.   It's almost a religion.   Iced tea is served at every meal here and there are two camps:  "Sweet" and "Un-Sweet".    I would venture to guess but have not taken a poll, that most Texans (died in the wool ones), are in the "Sweet" Camp, due to the fact that they also have a large percentage of the population who in fact consume Dr. Pepper and a candy bar for breakfast and when you go to Luby's Cafeteria, their salads, some of them are PINK.   Yes, pink. Bright Candy Pink.   At which, my snobby California senses are inflamed and my eco-friendly green spinach temperament flares up to high.

But let the pontificating end here.   I remember back to when my fat Grandma from Ohio used to come to visit for a month at a time.    She would spend her days in the kitchen, baking up a storm with all kinds of confectionary sweet things to make us fat and endear us to her.   But one of my favorite memories was of her Sweet Tea.   My mom never made it so it was a real treat for me, even then the Caffeine Queen.

Have you noticed the bouquet of Tea?   I truly do not know anything more fragrant and just well delightful about my kitchen after I have steeped a giant bag of No Name Cut Black or Orange Pekoe Tea to make Iced Tea.   There is nothing more thirst-quenching (aside from water) than a tall glass of tea, iced down and all sweating with condensation to refresh you after any manner of activities.  I have become addicted......

Here in my house, we like Snapple (great website, by the way! I wish I could get a flash like that on my own website all manner of fruit and veggies floating into the air and inviting the reader to indulge in all kinds of aromatic adventures!)  Ah, but one day.....and we're getting off the subject here so, let's digress back to the culture of tea.....

So, we like Snapple and even though my daughter begs with tears and eyelashes flashing about me, never have I indulged in a 4 pack at the grocery store.   At $6.00 for a 4 pack, my German good sense bids me not.  I have caved to a single serving though at Walmart or other such grueling marketplaces, when drained of energy or emotional resources, but to pay that much I just, well, cannot.

So here is a recipe for a Near Snapple or a Po Boy Snapple!   Not exactly the same taste, but it makes enough for a whole family of 4 to enjoy for nearly a day.  So, at the cost of $2.69 + 1 tea bag, I would say it is a steal of a deal!   Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Steep one of these bags, or your choice of overpriced designer tea bags in approx.  2 cups of boiling water.
Set aside to cool.   When appropriately cool, add to pitcher with the contents of the juice container, freshly taken out of the freezer to be as cold as possible.   Add 3 to 4 juice cans (or more if you don't want to stay up ALL night) of cold water, stir and pour over ice.

I am not saying this is healthy; and I have not checked the label but I am almost certain the ingredients are corn syrup and natural and artificial flavors.   I will be searching for a real Peach juice concentrate, but so far have only come up with Dole's White Grape and Peach but that does NOT have the same ring to it, nor do I like the taste of the White Grape Juice in it.

Oh, and, since we are talking about the singular, delightful bouquet of all things Tea, (Cha, Chai, The) here are a few products than can be made in TEA!   IN fact, here is some Tea Soap that I made with real tea from Assam, India.  Long has tea been purported to have antioxidant qualities and in skin applications, is slightly astringent. This makes it good for those with OILY skin!

Wash with this

Or, burn this in any of the following scents:

Orange Pekoe

Green Tea

Black Tea

Lychee Red Tea (delightful)

Or, apply to your skin in these delightful flavors

Black Tea and Mint (very popular)

Lychee Red Tea (delightful, Asian inspired)

Green Tea

Matcha Tea

What kind of tea do YOU like?    Comments!  Please leave comments!

BLOG CONTEST - - - - NAME THAT SOAP!

Guys, Gals & Kids!

I need your help!     I have just made a new soap for Valentine's Day;   It did not turn out exactly as I had imagined, but overall I am quite pleased as this is my first try. 

It is a luscious blend of glycerine, aloe vera and yummy skin loving shea butter.   The fragrance is Love Spell type by VS.     It smells heavenly and is lovelier than the picture can do justice!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO

WIN

THIS SOAP?

Good!  I thought so!

OK, so beginning right now until Thursday at 6PM, we are running a contest!   Name that Soap! 

The Coolest Name wins!   And that name will be used in my listing on my website, and A yummy bar of this

soap will be all yours!

Thazzz right folks!   

Rules, you MUST comment on my blog, and personally I would love it if you would care to follow me. 

Ready, set, GO!