I was browsing around the grocery store looking for holiday baking goodies when i went down the seasonal isle and found some holiday teas were now in stock. If you have read my blog before you know how much of a fan I am of teas. So I was curious, I mean, I like holiday flavoured latte’s why not tea?

They have 5 new flavours!

Nutcracker Sweet, Sugar Plum Spice, Sugar Cookie Sleigh ride, Gingerbread Spice and Candy Cane Lane.

The one I chose to buy was the Candy Cane Lane and here’s what’s in it:

Ingredients: Peppermint leaves, decaffeinated green tea, orange peel, natural vanilla and mint flavors with other natural flavors, cinnamon, milk thistle, blackberry leaves, roasted carob, roasted chicory and vanilla bean.

It’s naturally caffeine free and contains no gluten. I wasn’t aware that some tea’s had gluten in them to begin with. To me this tea tastes like peppermint with a hint of vanilla, its very good.

To see if you can get these products near you click here! The neat thing about this site is that you can see what tea’s you already like and they’ll recommend similar teas that you may also enjoy!

I think I will go make myself a second cup while I finish my blasted Christmas cards, the next kind I think I may buy will be the sugar cookie sleigh ride.

So in the mean time enjoy a cup of tea!

(breaks into song)

“it’s the most wonderful time of the year!” And no I’m not talking about just Christmas itself…i’m talking about Starbucks Christmas!

Yes it’s that time of year already and once again Starbucks is displaying the wonderful red cups and Christmas schwag.

The Red Cup

I love this time of year, the peppermint mocha’s, the gingerbread latte’s and if you are an eggnog lover there are even drinks made out of eggnog. I am also a huge fan of the peppermint hot chocolate.

They also have the little goodies that come along with Christmas time. My personal favourite is the Cranberry bliss bar, but they also have gingerbread loaf.

While browsing around the net for some great Starbucks pictures, I came across this recipe for Cranberry Bliss Bars! If any of you enjoy baking, and decide to bake these up, let me know how they turn out!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Make cake by beating butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Mix 3/4 cup diced dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9×13-inch baking pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly across the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake is light brown on the edges. Allow cake to cool.

3. Make frosting by combining softened cream cheese, 3 cups powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled, use a spatula to spread frosting over the top of the cake.

4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of diced cranberries over the frosting on the cake.

5. Whisk together 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and shortening. Drizzle icing over the cranberries in a sweeping motion or use a pastry bag with a fine tip to drizzle frosting across the top of the cake.

6. Allow cake to sit for several hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices. (http://www.topsecretrecipes.com)

Makes 16 bars.

One innocent day in grade 11 I brought a travel mug to school filled with tea.  I used to walk to school and it was cold out so I wanted to have something to warm me up while I was freezing my ass off! SO anyways, I’m sitting in geography class while some of the guys in my class (our class clown namely) looks at me and says, “ooo you think you’re soo cool because you’re drinking coffee.” To which I replied, “no, it’s tea.” He thought he was the wizard of oz and deemed me tea bags because I drank tea. How original hey?  One of his friends and I had a conversation on facebook a few weeks ago quite by accident (you know when you send someone a message and it goes to someone else with the same first name lol) And he says to me “god do you remember the nickname you had in high school? Little did I know then what it means now” lol But I digress. Now back to my real post.

Anyways, I actually love coffee and tea equally. I am proud to say that I worked at Starbucks while I was in University. Oh and as a side note, if I never had to work again, I’d work there just for fun. It was a blast! Ok ok, back to the tea. So my husband sent me this link, because he knows how much I love exotic tea’s. And while browsing this site I noticed they had 4 different categories of teas.

He had originally sent me this site because it had a nursing mom’s health tea.  So while I was browsing around, I noticed that they would gladly send you some free samples of this wonderful tea, so I thought sign me up! Sadly, it’s for American residents only-you lucky bums!

For example today my Pomegranate Green tea told me: “Gratitude is the open door to abundance.” The other day my Goji berry Green tea told me, “your heartbeat is the rhythm of your soul.”

I’ve also recently purchased the Green tea triple Echinacea and I’m very excited to try it!

With each tea you buy they give suggestions on how to get the most out of the specific tea you are drinking. They also give you tips on the box about yoga poses, it’s all very zen! So if you are looking to boost your immune system, chill out and de-stress with the Kava Stress Relief tea, or just enjoy a warm cup of your favourite blend please check out their selection.

One of my dear internet buddies Lisa was drinking her stress relief tea the other day and it said, “It’s not life that matters, it is the courage that you bring to it.” And I’ll leave you with that.

Red Wines

1) PKNT(Merlot) 2004 (pronounced Picante) From the Rapel Valley in Chile. Under $15

Impress your friends at your next dinner party or as a gift with PKNT, not only a smart play on words, but a wonderful tasteful wine. (note: I’ve only tried the merlot) 

• It’s smooth taste is easy to drink
• They have 3 award winning wines:
  • 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon2004
  • Merlot2004 Chardonnay2004
  • Carmenere2004 Sauvignon Blanc

2) Ecco Domani (Merlot) 2004 From the Vallagarina Valley in Italy. Under $15

Yes it’s another Merlot, I am a big fan of merlot’s mainly because they are smooth and easy to drink, even for those who aren’t fond of red wine.

• Again It’s smooth an easy to drink
• Here are some of the wines they feature:
  • Chardonnay/Pinot Grigio
  • Cabernet/Merlot
  • Pinot Grigio
  • Merlot
  • Chianti

Ecco Domani is not sold at all Government regulated stores (in MB we have something called Liquor Mart, owned and operated by the provincial Government) For you Manitoban’s you must go to somewhere specialized like Fenton’s Wine Store. 

3) Lindeman’s Bin 40 (Merlot) 2004 From South Eastern Australia. Under $15

Yes another Merlot, but I think the Shiraz is very good as well.

• Smooth and easy to drink
• Here are some other’s from the BIN series:
  • Bin 50 shiraz
  • Bin 99 Pinot Noir
  • Bin 40 Merlot
  • Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon

Lindeman’s has a variety of wonderful wines for all of the wine drinkers at your party. The way I described it to someone at a wine store was this: Merlot=mild, Shiraz=medium, Cabernet= full flavour.

4) Valpollicella  Le Poiane Doc Fratelli Bolla From Italy. Under $20

Yes another Merlot, I’ve recently fell in love with this wine. It’s a little pricier then I’m used to but it’s so fantastic it’s worth it! It was an accidental purchase made by my husband while I was pregnant. (we tried to stalk up on our wines while I couldn’t drink) Now that I’m permitted to drink, this has become a favourite of mine!

A Close number 4 is Bolla COLFORTE Merlot delle Venezie (Product from Italy) This one is also under 20$ but both are very smooth and worth purchasing! This is also a close runner up, definitely worth checking out!

White Wines

5) Peller Estates Pinot blanc 2006 from Canada (VQA) under $15

This smooth medium bodied wine has very light citrus flavours and has a light but crisp taste to it. I’m not a huge fan of white wine but this one really is fantastic in the summer time with your chicken or fish dishes! Peller Estates has two vineyards across Canada, one in the Niagara area, one in the Okanagan area. I’m a fan of the Okanagan area, but there are some fine wines that come out of the Ontario region. They also make a variety of dessert wines as well as red wines, but they’re not my cup of tea.

6)Two Oceans Sauvignon blanc 2006 from South Africa, Under $15

This wine was an accidental find. I am constantly buying different white wines to please friends of mine who visit. Because I do not drink the white wines generally, one that sparks my interest usually takes hold of my attention!

Generally the ones that take hold of me are dry white wines, so if you love the sweet variety, you must look elsewhere! This one is quite tasty! It’s very mild and goes down quickly!

7) Voga Pinot Grigio from Italy, Under $15

This one was purchased because of it’s looks originally and I’m proud to say it has lived up well beyond it’s standards! It looks like a bottle of cologne and if you need something to show off in your wine rack or on your shelf this is the wine to display.

I was not expecting too much out of this wine because it looked so different but it really is fantastic. It’s got a wonderfully refreshing taste and is nice and crisp! I haven’t tried the red, but if it’s anything like the white, it would be worth trying!

Sparkling Wines

Two out of the three are from Canada. Because they do not come from Champagne France we can’t "legally" call them Champagne. The first one is by far my favourite out of all three especially for the cost. Again, I’m not a fan of sweet wines, even sparkling ones. I also find some of the real Champagne’s to be a little too dry, so most of these are of the rosey variety.

8)Trivento Brut from Argentina under $15

This sparkling wine has a rosey pink colour to it. It uses Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties to make up the pleasant cherries, apples and pineapple flavour. It has delicate bubbles (very small) and has a little bite to it!

9)Sumac Ridge Stellar’s Jay Brut from Canada Under $25

This sparkling wine is a very close call for first place for me. It’s from BC’s Okanagan region. It also has a warm rosey colour to it. This wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir grape varieties. This one is a bit pricier, but it’s a nice treat every once and a while.

While in BC a few years ago, we went to have dinner in their restaurant, what a wonderful meal and experience. I highly suggest visiting the winery if you are in the area.

10) Summerhill Cipes Pinot Noir Brut N/V from Canada under $30

This one is also from the Okanagan region. Summerhill is a wonderful vineyard outside of Kelowna, B.C. It’s actually where my husband and I got engaged and married. All of their wines are stored in a pyramid that is aligned with the ones in South America and Egypt. This Brut has a fresh peach, green apple, white floral and mineral aromas to it with a hint of toasted nuts. It is slightly off dry with small delicate bubbles to it.

There are many other wines that Summerhill offers. Summerhill is a Certified Organic Vineyard using no herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers in the soil.

The Bottom Line

When buying red wine, my "general" rule of thumb is this. Mostly anything from Italy and France are going to be smooth and light in taste. If you want a fuller body, I would then go to Australia or South America for red wines. When buying white many Canadian, American and Italian wines are the lightest. Chardonnay’s have a certain taste to them that I’m not generally fond of so if I drink white wine, most of them are sauvignon blanc’s or Pinot Grigio’s. Again if you like a fuller bodied White, Australia and South America have some fuller bodied wines. For sparkling, generally Canadian ones spark my interest the most, and I opt for the Brut’s of the sparkling’s.

Just remember, you don’t have to pair your wine with your food, if you like a certain wine, drink it with whatever you want. I’m sure all the wine connoisseur’s are cursing me as a babbling idiot right now but I don’t care. I drink what I want with whatever I’m eating. As a general rule of thumb (very general)

White meat/pasta with white sauce/fish = white wine.

Dark meat/pasta with red sauce/cheese = red wine.

What you’ll need:

1 pkg of tortellini (I use the cheese stuffed kind) and it’s family sized

1 small pkg of sundried tomato sauce

2 cans of diced tomatoes (unflavoured) I use Hunts family size can’s

2 cloves of garlic (minced)

salt to taste

Cheddar cheese to top the dish off

What do I do next?

Boil your tortellini so that it’s ready to eat (generally 8-10 minutes)

In a separate pan take your sundried tomato sauce and your diced tomatoes and mix them together on medium heat–leave on medium for about 10 minutes.

Add in your garlic and salt and let simmer for another 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix your pasta with the sauce and place in a casserole dish. *note* you may need two dishes for the amount of pasta the family size makes, but if you want to save the second dish of pasta you can place it uncooked (with sauce and pasta mixed) in freezer until you need this dish and then just add cheese and bake.

Place in oven covered with cheddar cheese for about 20 minutes, if you like your cheese crispy broil it for under a minute.

optional: grill up some chicken and top off this dish with some chicken!

Let cool for 2 minutes and enjoy!

As always if you have a recipe you would like to share please email me at erincarrasco@gmail.com with a picture of the finished product!

Happy Cooking!