Coconut Milk Turmeric Tea (Anti-Inflammatory and Pain-Killing Tea)

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This sweet, coconut milk-tea is filling and delicious, but it's packing a much bigger (and healthier) punch. 

Turmeric is the queen of spice, and it is known for its anti-inflammatory and pain-killing properties. I have been having some problems with my jaw lately, and after some research, I read that one of my best bets to add natural medicine (trust me, I'm already trying other things) was turmeric.

I read a few recipes for turmeric in hot water, turmeric in milk, etc. The hot water was a little bland and I didn't want to consume that much milk because I generally don't drink dairy. So, I spotted a can of coconut milk in my fridge that was waiting to be used in some chicken curry, and suddenly this recipe was born.

This tea is a warm and comforting drink in the morning or evening. If you have any issues with inflammation, arthritis, or pain, it may help alleviate some of those symptoms due to the turmeric. Additionally, because it contains ginger, it may help with stomach and digestion problems. Throw in that cinnamon and you're helping your body regulate your blood sugar.

Seems like a killer combo to me. Or... make that the opposite of killer (because it's so darn good for you).


Coconut Turmeric Tea
Ingredients:

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 can of water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder or ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dash of black pepper (optional - does not significantly alter the flavor and is said to increase your body's absorption of the turmeric)
• 1 small piece of ginger or 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tbsp stevia or 1 tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a vitamix or blender and mix until smooth (optional - if you skip this step, simply whisk ingredients together and follow the remaining directions, then strain like tea at the end to filter out any pieces)
    
2. Pour into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on very low heat for 20 minutes. You will need to watch this at the beginning, because it can foam up and overflow if you do not reduce the heat fast enough!
   

Notes: 

1. If you use a blender, be sure to clean it immediately after use. Turmeric has a bright yellow/orange color which can coat your blender. If you do forget to clean it and end up with a bright highlighter blender, I am told by Diane that you can run dish soap and vinegar through it a few times to remove it.

Bridal Shower - Bridal High Tea

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This past weekend, my sister threw me an amazing bridal shower. The theme was "Bridal High Tea," in honor of the ever fabulous afternoon tea.

Before tea, however, there was a little mimosa drinking...

When our guests arrived, we had mimosas on the patio. My mom made a beautiful set up of champagne and orange juice.

My mother had wedding albums from her wedding as well as my grandmother's wedding out, so some of the guests looked at that as we talked and drank mimosas on the patio.

It was really fun seeing what everyone chose to wear for their "tea party" attire. Many strands of pearls and floppy hats were donned. 

My aunt totally took it to the nines with her get up and hat. We all agreed that she was channeling Jackie O.

Once all of the guests had arrived and had a chance to mingle a bit, we moved into the living room, which my sister had decorated for an elegant tea party.

I was truly amazed by her ability to transform our living room into something light and girly. 

Our guests were spread out among 4 tables, and everyone was able to sit by some people they knew well, and some people they didn't. 

My sister hired High Tea with Gerri to cater the shower, and the experience was truly unforgettable. She brought with her endless amounts of silver and mis-matched china. It was delicate, girly, and wonderful! 

Check out Gerri in her Victorian garb in the back!

We started with some tea that was steeped and poured the traditional way: through a tiny strainer that Gerri transfered around with her. She made her way around the shower and poured everyone's first cup of tea.

We began our meal with a number of beautiful mini sandwiches. Everyone got to try lots of different flavors and tastes, and we were all excited to be able to pass the plates around and experience the various flavors. I was given a plate of gluten free bites to sample.

After the sandwiches, we moved on to scones. The table had a basket of scones as well as a few different types of homemade jellies and jams.

My gluten-free scone was delicious. I finished the whole thing, which is impressive, as I'm not typically a fan of bread in general. It was just a bit sweet and paired perfectly with the lemon custard jam.

After scones, we had our first taste of dessert. There was a strawberry rhubarb pie that Gerri and her daughter made. It looked delicious, but I couldn't eat any because it wasn't gluten free. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it, though!

As if we needed any more sugar, we then moved on to a second dessert course! What is a girls-only event for, if not to justify two rounds of dessert?! :)

We had a number of gorgeous petit fours that were so beautiful and elegant, it almost hurt to eat them. Until your first bite. When you realized they were delicious!

As we finished dessert, my sister passed out the first game: Bridal Bingo. Each guest wrote down the gifts they thought I might get, and they were able to track the gifts as I received them to determine if they got a Bingo!

When we got outside, before opening gifts, we played another game: Purse Raid! There were designated numbers of points for each object we could find in our purses. It was funny to be awarded points for having things like pennies and library cards!

After that, we moved on to gifts.

I was so truly blessed by all of my friends and family. They truly did "shower" me with seemingly endless gifts!

About thirty minutes into gift opening, my fiance showed up with three dozen roses! He looked so handsome as he walked out onto the patio. Everyone swooned and it was a perfect moment.

For the next hour, my fiance helped me open the rest of my gifts. 

As we finished opening the gifts, my sister and cousin put them through a paper plate to be my rehearsal dinner bouquet. Here was the finished product:

We also made sure to get in a picture of my bridal party. We're missing one girl, but this is the rest of us! I love these girls!

As the women left, they were given a jar of loose-leaf tea from Teavana. There were two options, and everyone seemed to love the favor!

My sister was the mastermind behind these beautiful favors. She even attached tags on which she had written, "Love is Brewing." How cute is that?!

Many, many thank yous to everyone who came to my bridal shower... as well as my sister and mother, who worked so hard on the details! I love you!

1920s Champagne Punch (Speakeasy Party Part 3)

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Despite having a pretty full array of cocktail options at our Speakeasy party, we noticed that our guests were pounding the Champunch (Champagne + Punch = Champunch). 

At first, I thought this was the result of my frequent bragging that the punch was low sugar (I used NuNaturals and naturally sweet tea, see below). But, when I realized it was men and women alike who were pounding the punch, and I actually had to scramble to re-make a second batch to avoid a mutiny (ha), I figured something out:

This sh*t is actually just down right delicious.

On Saturday morning, I started googling around for 1920s Champagne Punch recipes. I didn't plan on legitimately following a recipe (what do you think I am, a grown up or something?), but I wanted to get an idea for what might be unique about punches during that era. The answer? Tea.

Every single 1920s recipe I found incorporated some sort of tea. So, with that in mind, I hit up my pantry in search of the most delicious tea. I have on hand four kinds: Green Tea, Mint Green Tea, Chamomile/Sleepy Time, and a Red Tea that is "Good for your skin." After about 30 seconds of contemplation with my cousin ("Do you want to be feeding people caffeinated tea at 12am?" or, really, "Do you want people staying alert and awake and thus staying at your apartment until breakfast?" I love my friends, but... no thanks), we opted for the non-caf Red Tea. It ended up being perfect because red tea is significantly sweeter than its bitter cousin, Green Tea, so it sweetened up the punch naturally.

We also added a few bottles of champagne, some white wine, rum, and some Orange-flavored NuNaturals, then topped it off with slices of oranges that we peeled to make the orange twists. In the end, we ended up with this delicious recipe:

1920s Speakeasy Champagne Punch

Ingredients:

• 3 peeled Oranges
• 3 cups Brewed Red Tea
• 1 bottle White Wine
• 1 cup Dark Rum
• 1/2 Tablespoon NuNaturals Orange (Can substitute with 1 tablespoon sugar/stevia and 1 tsp Orange extract, if absolutely necessary!)
• 1/2 Cup Rum
• 5 NuStevia Quick Dissolve Tabs (Can substitute with another tablespoon of sugar/stevia)
• 3 bottles Champagne

Directions:

1. Slice oranges horizontally (hold the orange so would naturally separate into vertical slices, then slice it the other way). Place in a bowl and put in the freezer as you prepare the rest.
2. In a large bowl, combine red tea, white wine, rum, and sweeteners (NuNaturals Orange and NuStevia, or sugars) and mix well.
3. Add Champagne and Orange slices just before serving (or before guests arrive).
4. We dumped about 5 cups of ice into the bowl, just to keep it nice and chilly!

Let's Talk About Desks, Baby

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I'm a desk person.

I spend an obscene amount of time doing the following activities: Writing Blog Posts, Writing an 80k Word Novel, Editing an 80k Word Novel, and Facebook Stalking My Friends... (kidding). 

In short, I spend a good amount of time at a desk - when I have one. Since graduating from college, however, I haven't had a proper desk in my room. So, when I moved into this new apartment, I was determined to make the whole desk thing happen. Put it on the NEED list instead of the WANT list, if you know what I'm saying.

We went on a craigslisting spree about a month ago, and this desk caught my attention big time. It used to belong to some railroading company (choo choo!). What's good: It's the right size, very simple and doesn't take up much visual space (important since it's going smack dab in the middle of a large living room - not in a den). The clean lines mesh perfectly with the rest of the Mid Century Modern furniture in the room.

The perfect desk set up item # 1: A comfortable chair. Seriously. This is very important, especially if you're like me and intend to spend a lot of time there! We've currently got one of the Setu Lounge chairs there, with a blue pillow, just in case your butt gets cold.

   
The perfect desk set up item # 2: Natural light. Some of us work at offices all day with artificial lighting beaming down from above. On a Sunday afternoon, as you sit in your chair with a big cup of tea, you want natural light. If you live in a city, you want to be able to look out the window and see your neighbor's cute red door and the vines growing up the side of the old brick building. Such is the romance of a good desk set up.

The perfect desk set up item # 4: An Orchid. I wanted some symbol of life to be sitting out. Something fresh and green. But, I'm not so good at watering things daily, and I desperately do not want to be stuck picking up dead flowers all the time. So, we opted for an Orchid. Actually, I mentioned it once and then Justin had it sent to me at work. 

Answer to the "Are there really blue orchids?" question (because I've been asked so many times already): No, there are not blue orchids by birth, so to speak. BUT, a certain type of nutrients can turn a white orchid blue. So it's a combination of being the right color to begin with (white) and having a certain reaction to the nutrients the florist feeds it. Boom, roasted.



The perfect desk set up item # 5: Candles. Because, natural light or not, candles are always there for you. Even when the power is out. They make everything smell good and I find candles to be surprisingly comforting. 

I gathered 4 or 5 candles of varying heights (only one of which is scented - beware of completing scents!) and placed them on a cute silver serving tray I snatched at a garage sale. That way, if I ever need more room on the desk, it's easy to move all the candles at once. Plus, just in case the candles spill, the desk is protected.

I also enjoy the notion that I can write a book or a letter by candlelight and connect in some odd way to those who wrote books and letters by candlelight before me. Earth to Ernest Hemingway, are you there? Come in, Ernest?

I'm sure you're wondering, "But what can you see from the desk, Carly?" Because you know I've thought about it, since this desk has become my oasis of sorts.

Well, part of the magic of this desk is that you can also see the T.V. Because it sits at an angle in the corner, facing the room, it has a pretty open view of the television. Once we mount the TV to the wall, it should be able to tilt and swivel, meaning the angle at which you watch can be adjusted. What does this mean for my desk oasis? That I can turn the TV so it's perfectly viewable from my seat. Meaning I can watch Nikita or Alias or Homeland (I'm a serious spy/CIA nerd, just read my book...).

Also "viewable" from my desk oasis is the wonderful, the fabulous, the infamous... color coded bookshelf. Roy G. Biv called. He said he wants his shelves back.

So what do you think? Does it look serene? Could you sit here sipping tea (or coffee) on a Sunday afternoon, typing away?

Where is your oasis in your home?

Let's talk about snacks, baby!

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Snack Check!

You know what? I like to snack and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I typically snack twice during the day - once between breakfast and lunch, and once after lunch before I leave the office. If you count each time I eat as a "meal," I eat at least 5 (and often 6) meals a day.

Sometimes, at around 10:30, I want myself a lil bit of this...

And then at 2:30, a little bit of this...

When the feeling hits, #whatsagirltado? Starve herself and daydream about delicious cream cheese pancakes and chopped up Andes Mints? Sounds like misery, doesn't it? I know, you'd rather be doing this...

Or this...

Newsflash: Snacking is allowed! The question is, what are you snacking on? My gym bootcamp instructor, Katie, always explains multiple versions of a given exercise move and then tells us to choose which one is best for us. As we begin the circuit, she says "Make some good choices!" That's what snacking is all about, right? Make some good choices. Here were my choices for this week!

Blooming Teaposy Tea: Beverages count as snacks, too. That 300 calorie frappaccino? Or even a 150 calorie latte? Yes, they're calories, so yes, they count. Lately, instead of hitting up Starbucks, I've been running off of tea. See that thing in the top left? No, it's not a sea urchin. It's teaposy blooming tea, and  I can re-steep it between 5-10 times. At zero calories, it's my current beverage of choice.

Honey BBQ Smart Fries: I saw these at T.J. Maxx (they get me every time!) and grabbed them for $1.99. I have to be honest, they're sort of like small styrafoam worms with a tiny bit of seasoning on them. They're decent at first, but after a while start getting old. It was worth a try, and I really don't mind something that leaves my self control intact!

Salad: Yes, those are mango chunks in my salad. And strawberries, blueberries, almond slices, feta cheese, yellow onion, and spinach. With Asian Ginger dressing for 35 calories per tablespoon. Salad as a snack is wonderful because, if you put enough fruit in it and top it off with cheese and nuts, it's actually filling and meets most of your body's nutritional needs. 

Oranges: Totally my favorite snack right now. I have a few sitting on my desk at this very moment. They're low calorie, but totally refreshing and I swear to you they wake me up!

Cart check! 

What'd you buy this week? Don't forget to Instagram or Tweet your cart with the hashtag #inmycart! Here are my last two trips:

LEFT: 2 bags Spinach, 1 carton Strawberries, 1 carton Cherries, 3 boxes Zone Bars, 4 Oranges
RIGHT: 2 bags Spinach, 1 carton Strawberries, 1 carton Blueberries, 4 boxes Zone Bars, 1 Orange, 1 Smart Water