U Matcha–by the Republic of Tea

The Republic of Tea gave us each a very generous press kit (it included samples of several of their teas–Angela's Mom found her favorite Red Velvet tea via a sample) at the Fancy Food Show, then emailed to ask if there was anything else we'd like to try. We chose the U Matcha Charcoal, which is so tasty we built an entire lunch around it.

Angela cooked rice with U Matcha in the water and topped it with smoked salmon plus veggies. A simple salad of greens with U Matcha in the dressing was a perfect accompaniment. Just add 1-2 teaspoons of U Matcha to your regular vinaigrette dressing recipe and shake well.

Tea Time does not consider a meal complete without dessert (actually, we sometimes consider dessert a complete meal), so J.K. made marshmallows the night before. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to cut them in the morning, so she brought the whole pan.

The marshmallow syrup was as green as the salad dressing, but after 15 minutes in the mixer, the whipped product was only slightly tinted. Whip it!

 That changed, of course, after we dusted more matcha over the powdered sugar coating.

When making marshmallows, cooking spray is essential. J.K. sprayed her mixer bowl, whisk attachment and bowl scraper. Also the foil lining the baking pan, and the knife she used to cut the finished marshmallow. Any spray oil would work, this is just the brand we had on hand.  After we cut the marshmallow into blocks, we got to work on the truffles.

This recipe for rustic truffles is quite simple. Pick your favorite type of white chocolate chunks  (about one cup), and melt with a bit of heavy whipping cream (two tablespoons) in a double boiler over medium heat. Angela added a tablespoon of U Matcha to the melted chocolate, stirred until incorporated and  stuck it in the fridge to chill. Once the filling was cold we hand rolled balls quickly. If the filling gets too warm, simply chill again.

nudie matcha balls

 We rolled them in the matcha/powdered sugar and dusted them with cocoa. These soft truffles should be kept in the fridge and served cool. Otherwise they will begin to melt at room temperature. If you want to keep them around longer you can simply take a page from J. K.!

dusted and ready for eating

Later, J.K. was dipping dried fruit in tempered chocolate to take to an Oscars-watching party, so she dipped a few truffles, too.

Due to the powdered sugar and cocoa, the truffles weren't quite coated after dipping, so she dipped them a second time after the first coat set.

The perfect creamy filling!

Tea Time isn't sure if turning U Matcha into dessert still counts as a detox, but that's okay. We'll split the difference and just call it "healthy dessert."

Sonoma in Santa Monica

How did this happen? Somehow we ended up in Sonoma. Yet, this lovely restaurant within a stones throw of the Santa Monica Pier. We were in LA for the Luxury Chocolate Salon and while we're not posting all of our adventures from our trip, you'll get to see a bit of what we enjoyed in SoCal (besides the weather! Finally, Summer). 

The Sonoma Wine Garden is a luxurious spot to while away the evening hours enjoying the view and balmy LA weather. Afterwards, we suggest a digestive walk down to the pier to enjoy a wide variety of characters and the pretty lights of the carnival rides.

 Our starter included 3 of these little guys, but Angela made sure to take a photo before they all got eaten up. We were all ready for some real food after a day of 'tasting'. The red sauce was light and a bit sweet a nice contrast to the hot crisp crunch of breading and  melty insides with a fried basil leaf as yummy garnish.

We couldn't resist Truffle fries with Parmesan and garden parsley as a second appetizer! Sadly there was mostly just crisp fries, with very little earthy truffle flavors. The disappointment was not the fries themselves, which were quite good, but the word "truffle" in the menu description proved to be a misnomer. A great suggestion from the Boss at TasteTv is to put your truffle oil in a mister and then use it to finish a dish. This is an economical way to get great bang for your truffle buck. Angela usually prefers truffle salt, but is certainly willing to try out this idea. By the way, did you know truffle salt has the percentage of truffle listed on the container? This is a good thing to look at when comparing prices.

This is J.K.'s dinner. Lamb Meatballs (there are three meatballs hidden in there, honest!) in pasta, with peppers and garlic. This dish featured linguine, spicy lamb meatballs, pickled Fresno chili, black olive and rosemary. There was enough pasta to enjoy cold as leftovers the next day.

Angela had the fried chicken entree. Specifically, the menu lists it as Buttermilk Fried Chicken: Mary’s organic chicken, southern love, fries. Since we had already munched down on fries, she substituted for the roasted cauliflower and potatoes. The potatoes were good, but the cauliflower was Really good. Too bad the ratio of pots to cflower  was about 4 to 1. Really too bad you can't just exchange the potatoes out for more cauliflower like you would at home when serving yourself... nom nom nom, no one will know if I just eat this out of the pan...

Angela prefers dark meat (thighs), but the mostly boneless all white meat was tender and juicy. The chicken was piping hot with the a good crunch which contrasted well with the savory meat inside. Side sauces were ketchup and an herbed aioli (same for the fries in the above picture). Not pictured are the two nice glasses of Sparkling wine Angela enjoyed with this meal. Angela firmly believes bubbles go with every food in the world.

There's a lot to see and do around Santa Monica, shopping, eating, farmer's markets, surfing, beaching, eating chocolate, looking at the shiny lights and enjoying the carnival rides on the Pier. Just watch out for the pelicans, they can be quite possessive.

SF Food Swap -Angela

For this Food Swap, I made Rustic Chocolate Choffy Truffles .

(informally named 'Big Chocolate Choffy Balls).

Per my disclosure in the Ginger Beer post, I didn't use a recipe. I did use a recipe the first time I  made truffles, but I no longer remember which one or even where it came from (cookbook? internet? magazine?) More about the truffles below, but on to the SWAP!

This was my second Food Swap, and thanks to Aimee and Stephanie for being the guiding lights behind this great SF event. For basic info on how a Swap works, click here.  Around 20 people gathered in the Sport's Basement Grotto ready to share and trade homemade goodies after a delicious potluck. Pictured is my First plate (and dessert plate). As people continued to arrive, the potluck table continued to grow with an amazing array of fruit, meat, salads, desserts, crackers and dips (this was in addition to the foods on offer as a part of the swap). These pictures show only a very small sampling of the culinary delights available that evening.

I brought 8 baggies (with 8 big Choffy balls each) plus some to cut up for tasting. My favorite overheard comment regarding these truffles, "They don't look that chocolate-y, but they have a Strong chocolate flavor." Thank You! It's nice to get feedback about your goodies, especially as I had been a bit worried that the Choffy was too strong flavorwise for most people to handle. I was lucky enough to swap for these 9 items.

You may have noticed, hey Angela, you brought 8 items to trade, but left with 9? Well, that is the nature of the swap. I had handed out all 8 bags, but had some of the truffles left over from the tasting tray which allowed me to swap (with a bonus bag of caramels from JK's stash) for a ninth item. So I guess I'm sharing those boozey cherries. I may blog more in the future about what I'm using from these items as there are so many, too many to do justice to each on this one post. Below is my very basic set up on the swap table. Some swappers made lovely presentations for their goods, but I went simple. No muss, no fuss this time around!

Okay you guys, here is a basic truffle recipe.(dessert circus!!) I'm sure it will work fine. If not, well, let me know and I'll do a step by step photo blog and write the truffle recipe down as I go--which means I'll have to measure and whatnot, but hey in the interest of other peoples interest that's a sacrifice I can make. I suppose.

More importantly I have some chocolate truffle Tips for you.

1. Do not be afraid. Rustic truffles are VERY EASY. Unless you are afraid and then it is very hard.

2. Equipment=easy

I use- glass bowl+sauce pan=double boiler, 2 forks, one heat resistant spatula, 2-3 round cake pans, parchment or wax paper (you only need a tempering machine if you want shiny truffles, not the rustic kind)

3. the chocolate melting/tempering

Good chocolate = Valrhona 

decent chocolate = Trader Joes 72% pound plus bar (what I had on hand this time)

You can remelt (temper)  anything. This means when your Amazingly delicious Valhrona seizes you take a piece of unmelted (tempered) chocolate bar and add it. Wait until the heat from the chocolate has melted it and then stir until your coating chocolate is once again smooth and glossy. 

4. Round cake pans allow you to roll your truffles easily in your choice of Rustic coating (nuts, cocoa powder, whatnot). Place pans in the fridge for a few minutes to crisp up the chocolate after their final coating.

5. Do not forget which is your dipping fork vs your coating fork.

6. Make very small ganache balls if you want the truffles to be bite size. Mine are usually 2 bites as I always forget this step when beginning and then can't be bothered to change size midway through the process.

7. Truffles take time. Do not scrimp on time or try to make truffles in a hurry. They are easy, but labor intensive. Make a friend come help if you are in a hurry. You can do things while making truffles, but only if they are simple. Consider these okay- put laundry from washer to dryer (wash hands first), let demanding cat in/out the door, toast a cheese sandwich. Do Not think you have time to- check email, blog or facebook. Do not vacuum. This is not a lasagna.

Good Luck and get ready to impress!

P.S. If you would like me to do a step by step truffle blog, please let me know in the comments below.