Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Pine Needle Tea & info

Great Site; Hopin' it's right;;;;}

http://pineneedletea.com/index.php?p=1_7_Types-of-Teas

Technically teas come from the evergreen tree bush Camellia Sinensis. Any drink not made from this plant is actually considered an herbal tea. Since Pine Needle Tea comes from an evergreen tree I’m not sure how it will be classified, but it will be interesting to see.

Tea is traditionally classified based on the production technique:

White tea: non-wilted and non-oxidized
Green tea: Wilted and non-oxidized
Oolong: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized
Black tea: Wilted, crushed, and fully oxidized
Post-fermented tea: Green Tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost

The two teas that we offer are a White Tea and a Green Tea based on production standards.

White Tea: For White Tea the needles are wild harvested while they are brand new shoots. They are then quickly air-dried to seal in the chemical and nutrient values. White Tea maintains the highest level of antioxidants, polyphenols and vitamins for any of the tea types. The White Tea’s flavor is very light and refreshing.

Green Tea: For Green Tea the needles are picked after they are allowed more maturity. They are then oven fired to reduce the moisture to 5 –10% for storage. They still retain high levels of the polyphenols, catechins and flavonoids for good health.

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And here's more;
from ehow~
http://www.ehow.com/how_2102192_pine-needle-tea.html

1. Select your pine needles by picking the newest green ones from the tree. These would be the ones nearest the end of each branch, and slightly lighter green than the rest of the needles.
2. Finely chop them until you have about 1/2 cup.
3. Add your needles to the boiling water and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the volume of water has reduced by about 1/3.
4. Allow it to steep for anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight, depending on how strong you like your tea. The result will be a reddish colored tea with a mild taste. Store in the refrigerator.

THINGS YOU'LL NEED:
1/2 cup fresh green white pine needles, finely chopped
1.5 pints water
small pot for boiling
honey or some other sweetner (optional)


Read more: How to Make Pine Needle Tea | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2102192_pine-needle-tea.html#ixzz0yDYF4yxB
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Banana This; Recycle Old Peels~ fertilizer or silver polish

There are things you can do with that old peel.

1. Do you have a green thumb? House hold plants and outside gardens require fertilization. A great way to give your plants nutrients is with a banana peel. The banana peel is very rich in potassium and phosphorus, which give that added boost to your plants soil, especially so with roses. Here is how to use a banana peel to fertilizer your soil for your plants. Remove the peel from the banana. Place the banana peel on a cookie sheet to let it air dry. Grab a paper bag or envelope. Crumble the dried banana peel and place it in the bag. Let the banana sit at room temperature for about two days. When your caring for your plant, give it a potassium treat of crumbled banana peel. Mix well in the soil to ensure the roots are fed evenly.
2. Have you been thinking about pulling out that old silver? Well there is no time like the present. Bananas peel can also be used to polish silver. Yes, polish silver. Take the old peels and place them in a blender. You want the peels to become smooth and creamy. Once they have, grab a cloth and small amounts of the creamed banana peel and begin polishing your silver. The shine will be breath taking.

SOURDOUGH STARTER with WILD YEAST

SOURDOUGH STARTER with WILD YEAST
Wild yeasts exist in the air around you and to some extent on the wheat berries. There are wild yeasts on grapes (unsulphured) and apples and other fruits. It is those wild yeasts which are 'captured' to make a sourdough starter. The process takes from 3 to 5 days. I wish I had specific amounts for you, but you could start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour and mix in enough warm (not hot) water to make a thin paste. DO NOT make it too soupy. That, in fact, is the trick to a good starter, according to the French bread makers, and I think they should know. And after you've fooled around with the flour and water thing, you might wish to branch out into adding those unsulphured grapes, apples, sour milk, etc as a catalyst in order to capture other strains of yeast. Each of these strains has a slightly different taste. In fact if you move to another area, you might end up with a starter that produces an entirely different flavor. For instance, San Francisco sourdough bread is well known and has a distinct taste due to the wild strains in the air there. On day one you mix the flour and water (and add any catalysts to encourage fermentation) and place in a warm spot. After 3 days, the dough should be moist, inflated, and slightly sour. More flour and water is added (mixed in) and left to sit in a warm spot. After 2 days the process is repeated. Then the next day it is done again. Note the order: 3 days, 2 days, 1 day. At this point you should be able to make a loaf of bread using part of the starter and adding back what you took out in the form of more flour and water. Rule of thumb: Use about 10% starter to size of loaf. In the case of a 2 lb loaf this is a bit over 3 oz of starter (3.2 to be exact). For a 1 lb loaf 1.5 oz would be used. A book that describes this process in great detail is The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz, copyright 1993, published by Ten Speed Press, Berkley CA. If it's not still in print, try the used books stores, that's where I got mine. Or try your local library. If they don't have it, they might be able to get it for you. ©2008 by Ernestina Parziale

Thank You For Visiting!

Thank You For Visiting!
Have a Great Day!