Would you like a cup of REAL TEA?

Hot tea is something that, as a child, you only have when you’re sick. As you get older, it reappears as a drink alternate and this is when people’s tastes begin to change.

In my teens, I drank black tea with honey. In my 20’s it was black tea with a spoon of sugar and a lot of milk. In my 30’s it was black tea with 16 grains of sugar and a big splash of milk. In my 40’s (as in ‘still 40 for one more month’, thank you) it’s 16 grains of sugar and a medium to small splash of milk. My current reasoning is that the sugar shaves off the bitter high points of the tea, and the right amount of milk provides a nice body to it. That is the way I normally take my tea.

As a ‘tea person’, I also can drink tea with honey, herbal tea, and the only tea so far I couldn’t handle at all was Lapsang Suchong, which tasted like a hot wet ashtray. I love iced tea in its various forms (sweetened and unsweetened home made), the only brands I like in a bottle are real brewed with lemon Snapple and the Assam Black Honest Tea.

As far as hot teas, these are MUST HAVES in order of favorites:

Yorkshire tea – I prefer the red box

Canadian Red Rose tea – Red Rose Brand tea in Canada is MUCH better than the US version, can only be ordered from Canada

PG tips - they have the triangular tea bag

King Cole (they also carry THE BEST black decaf I've had to date)

Barry’s Tea - I've been drinking the Irish Breakfast but I hear it's all good.

If you are a REAL TEA drinker, I strongly encourage you to try these teas! Please comment on your personal favorite teas, we’re willing to try anything if it’s good!

Cereal or French Toast -- How about both?

This morning, when my wife suggested we make french toast for the kids, I jumped at the opportunity to try something I saw on the show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. It turns out there's a restaurant in Baltimore called the Blue Moon Cafe that serves Cap'n Crunch French Toast.

We didn't have Cap'n Crunch, but we did have Trix. Here's how to make Cereal French Toast:

1. Crush the cereal in a bag or with a mortar and pestle. I imagine it would work well with many crunchy, sugary cereals such as Cap'n Crunch, Trix, Honeycomb, Fruit Loops, Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Pebbles, Honey Nut Cheerios, and even Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Don't crush it too much, you don't want it to be a powder.
   
2. Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar thoroughly in a bowl. I find it's usually about one egg per piece of bread.
   
3. Dip pieces of bread in the egg mixture, then in the crushed cereal.
4. Cook the french toast in butter at a medium heat until the toast is cooked just through. Be careful not to char the cereal.

Enjoy!

Chalky Foods

I'm really not sure why, but I love chalky foods. When I was a kid and my mom let pick candy at the pharmacy, I wouldn't gravitate toward the Whatchamacallit or the Charleston Chew, but instead, I wanted Tums. Yes, Tums.

Maybe it's subconscious knowledge of some severe calcium deficiency. Or maybe I just enjoy the way chalky foods turn to powder in your mouth and spread the flavor all around. Regardless of why, I love chalky foods.

Some examples of chalky foods I enjoy:

• Tums (minty flavors over fruity flavors)
• Merengue Cookies (Trader Joes and Whole Foods have great ones)
• Freeze Dried Fruit and Ice Cream (Trader Joes has Mango, Strawberries and Rambutan)