Fun with Tea

Tues., Sept. 29, 2009

Yes, I have been eating lately, but I've had enough left-overs that I haven't had to post! Last night, though, I made a yummy meal of pork marinated in white wine, mustard, rosemary, and hoisin... stuffing, and acorn squash. It wasn't pretty enough to photograph, seeing as it was mostly a bunch or browns, though. I also hard boiled a few eggs to make tea eggs for quick on-the-go breakfasts in the coming days. Tea eggs are pretty fun, because after you hard-boil eggs, you roll them around to put cracks in the shell and marinate them in a strong tea/soy/spice marinade for a few hours, and when you peel them, there are pretty brown designs on the white of the egg, and they're pre-salted and flavored for you! They're really good, and even if the idea of marinating eggs in stuff grosses you out, you should at least try it.

But more about the squash! I have discovered the perfect way to prepare it! I peeled, chopped, and boiled it until fork-tender like you'd do for mashed potatoes (mainly because I forgot the celophane and microwave method), then mashed it with a fork and put it back on the burner. For one small squash, I then added:

• ~1/3 C strong black tea
• 1-2 tbs unsalted butter
• 2-3 tbs brown sugar
• ~1 tsp cinnamon
  
• salt, to taste

...and left the heat on until the squash was the right consistency for my tastes-- not too thick but not runny. The addition of tea was because I already had a ton brewed for the eggs anyway, and it smelled like something that would accent sweet-savory squash really nicely. I was right; the tea flavor is very much in backround of the final product, which tastes primarily of the same faintly cinnamon-sugary-buttery acorn squash you're probably used to; the only difference is a nice almost floral tea aftertaste, not bitter at all but nice and sweet and very squashy. I will definately make this again!

**Edit**

See? Not so pretty to photograph. The squash is the upper triangle and the stuffing is under the pork, under the lemon slice. I find it very difficult to cook for one, so I usually wind up cooking for at least two and packing up leftovers nicely like this for the sometime during the week. As you can see, the mug that I purchased with much angst is right there, delightful and perfect as it is, steeping some of my fave Red Rose tea which I'm also having with a bit of lemon tonight. I'll probably have one of my chocolate & raspberry whips for desert. And that's a pretty normal dinner for me, so now you know!