Pin Round-Up: March

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Here are a few of my favorite Pins that I have found on Pinterest as of late. Take a look and tell me which one is your favorite. Also be sure to let me know if you want to see me do any of these DIY projects for you all to see here on my blog.

Kai-Tea: A Dreamless Sleep

After Harry sees Voldemort return in Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore suggests to Madam Pomfrey that Harry take a potion that will put him into a dreamless sleep. The potion is described as being purple and this tea will get the hint of purple from the lavender in it. 

Ingredients: For this tea you will need chamomile, lavender, and peppermint. To sweeten it I like to use honey but you can use whatever sweetener you like.

Directions: 

First add a larger base of the chamomile to the infuser.*Chamomile is often used as a calming agent because of its wonderfully relaxing smell*

Than add a pinch of lavender. *Lavender is another herb that is used a lot for relaxation. It can be found in almost every product labeled for sleep and relaxation.*

Finish it off with a small pinch of peppermint. Let it steep for 3-5 minutes than add a bit of honey to finish it off. *Peppermint is a calming sent to me but feel free to leave it out if you would like.*

You can always change the proportions depending on personal preference and you can leave out ones you don't like.**My general rule for recipe modifications is that I follow it exactly the first time I make it, than I will make changes from there.

I AM NOT A  DOCTOR and you should always make sure you do not have an allergy to any of the ingredients before using them!! If you want to see a very detailed list of all the uses for these herbs, search them on WebMD!

If you make this tea let me know how it goes! If you have any questions for me about it, you can ask in the comments below.

Kai-Tea: Rennervate

The Rennervate spell is used to bring someone out of unconsciousness and this caffeinated tea does that for me. I love coffee and I appreciate its bold flavor and its ability to wake me up but I like English Breakfast tea much more. It gives me that extra jolt that I find myself needing throughout the day and it is kinder on my stomach than coffee. I find that this tea blend is the tea drinker’s version of coffee because of its bold flavor and caffeine level.

When I make my English Breakfast tea I usually fill my infuser and leave it in my cup the whole time I’m drinking it. I than add half-and-half and sugar to it, the same way I would sweeten my coffee. I usually reuse the tea to make myself a second cup after I’m done with the first because it’s just that good.

Leave a comment below letting me know what your favorite wake-me-up is or how you drink you English Breakfast tea.

Kai-Tea: Reducio

The spell reducio is use to make things smaller. This tea is meant to help reduce inflammation and taste delicious!

Ingredients:
For this tea you will need some loose herbs that can usually be found fairly cheap at your local natural foods store. Those herbs include: chamomile, lavender, and elderberries. To sweeten it you can use sugar or honey. For this particular blend I prefer honey and lemon.

Directions:

First add a larger base of the chamomile to the infuser.*Chamomile is an anti-inflammatory, an anti-viral, this means that it will help with swelling in the throat and other locations.*

Than add a smaller amount of elderberries. *Elderberries are anti-viral and it will help get rid of some of the things that are irritating you*

Finish it off with a pinch of lavender, let it steep 3-5 minutes, and then sweeten it and put in a little lemon. *Lavender is an anti-inflammatory, an anti-viral, again helping with the swelling and irritation*

You can always change the proportions depending on personal preference and you can leave out ones you don't like.**My general rule for recipe modifications is that I follow it exactly the first time I make it, than I will make changes from there.

I AM NOT A  DOCTOR and you should always make sure you do not have an allergy to any of the ingredients before using them!! If you want to see a very detailed list of all the uses for these herbs, search them on WebMD!

If you make this tea let me know how it goes! If you have any questions for me about it, you can ask in the comments below.

Valentines Weekend and an Adventure in Food:

Last Friday was Valentines Day, and I must say that it was the best Valentines Day I’ve had so far! My sweetheart and I began the afternoon by cuddling in front of Netflix and contemplating what we would do for dinner. We (after short deliberation) decided that we would rather cook our own dinner than eat out due to the fact that we both enjoy cooking, dislike crowds, and appreciate the opportunity to save a bit of money. This decision required that we make a trip to our local HEB for some groceries and inspiration. Before I proceed in the story you all should know something about my sweetheart and I, WE ARE SO BAD AT MAKING DECISIONS WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD! This is true because neither of us have strong opinions on what we prefer to eat because we both like pretty much anything. We also care more about making the other person happy which means the phrase “I don’t care, whatever you want!” gets said a lot. Finally, we both have so many good ideas about what we should make that we can’t choose between them. This lack of decision making leads to hour long trips to the grocery store and the trip on Valentines Day was no exception. So, after what seemed liked forever we left with the ingredients to make steak and pesto pasta. We than spent the greater majority of the evening cooking and having fun together.

The next day we found that our desire to cook and eat good food had not died. So we decided to use the left over steak for steak tacos!! This required yet another trip to the store for taco shells and salsa ingredients. While we were at the store we saw that the strawberries were only $1.25 a lb! So naturally we bought 2lbs of strawberries, some angel food cake, and whip crème for our desert.

After that night’s feast we found ourselves left with a ton of limes from the salsa and a lot of uneaten strawberries. Being the indulgent and overzealous people we are, we decided to take on the task of making fresh strawberry limeade. It turned out GREAT thanks to the recipe we found on the blog Foodie With Family!

Sunday rolled around and we couldn’t get the amazingly sweet and tart taste of the drink out of our minds so we resolved to make a second batch, and this time I took pictures so I could show y’all the process and just how pretty it looked. 

 

I would recommend using a citrus juicer because this step took way too long and gave us hand cramps. Go try it!

Tell me what you like to cook in the comments below. I love trying out new food and I'm excited to hear what ya'll enjoy!

Kai-Tea: Episkey Tea!!

Episkey Tea: The episkey spell is used to heal small injuries. When it is cast, the person feels the place of injury get hot and then cold and it was first seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This tea is meant to aid in minor ailments as well as heating you up and calming you down. It will also help to spark your creativiTEA!!

Ingredients:
For this tea you will need some loose herbs that can usually be found fairly cheap at your local natural foods store. Those herbs include: elderberry, lavender, chamomile, rose hips, and peppermint. To sweeten it you can use sugar or honey. For this particular blend I prefer sugar and lemon.