I don't think I've mentioned that I recently started spending time at a quaint little tea shop situated in a beautiful area in town perfect for walking and catching the cool breeze from the nearby river. Indigo Tea Shop is the sort of place that beckons you to walk through its propped open front door with the promise of comfort snaking through the air in the form of heady, enticing scent of tea leaves, spices, and freshly baked goods.
The staff of the shop are welcoming and very knowledgeable, as I'm not very adept in my knowledge of tea. Sure, I've known the comforts of Chamomile, the curative properties of Lemon-Ginger, the uplifting and energizing effects of Green tea, and the scent alone of a good Earl Grey can lift my spirits and bring me a sense of peace all at the same time. But there is so much more to blending...and enjoying...a fantastic cup of tea. The Indigo's owner, Theodosia, along with her distinguished colleague Drayton have never seemed put-out at my ignorance. In fact, they seem as excited to share their knowledge as they do their tea.
And you know I couldn't spend so much time in a place if it didn't offer some tasty food, as well now don't you? Well, they have a couple of sweet college girls working in the shop, Haley and Bethany, the first of which can bake up a mean blackberry scone. And her caramel-nut shortbread!? Not to mention the best Irish Soda Bread I've ever tried...or perhaps it was just the Hot Crab Dip that went alongside it. Either way.
But in the midst of all of this comfort and beauty, a sad and mysterious thing happened. Okay, not actually "in the midst", more "in the area surrounding". The yearly guided tour of the district that the Indigo occupies was happening. And unfortunately, at the end of the tour, somebody was found dead. With only a tea cup in front of them. So suspicion fell directly upon these lovely people from the tea shop. I sat on the edge of my seat on pins and needles waiting for these good people's names to be cleared. I heard that someone even threatened Theo's sweet dog...a stray that she rescued and nurtured and named Earl Grey...in the course of the investigation. Apparently she was trying to clear her name and getting too close to the actual killer.
Well, I'm just happy to report that they found the real killer and that the Indigo seems to be back to normal. And Earl Grey is safe and sound. Since I can only imagine that going through such an ordeal would be completely draining on both your body and your spirit, I decided to make some treats to bring to these people at the Indigo. These people that were so kind and welcoming to me. Something that would hopefully bring a smile to their faces and make them forget...if only for a moment...what they just went through. Popsicles are enough to make anybody smile, right? Especially when it's still hot enough outside to break a sweat. So, in honor of Earl Grey
(the Dalbrador) being safe and as a nod to their business and passion, I infused some of that tea by the same name that always seems to lift my spirits and bring me peace all at the same time, Earl Grey. Because I think that's just what they all need right now.
by Heather Schmitt-González
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: snack dessert vegetarian nuts milk popsicles summer spring
- 12 oz. evaporated milk
- 4 Earl Grey tea bags
- ½ tsp. ground cardamom
- 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
- 1 c. heavy cream
- ¼ c. pistachios, roasted & salted
In a small saucepan, heat the evaporated milk until small bubble form around the edges. Snip the tea bags open and pour into heated milk; stir. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer.
Whisk in cardamom, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream.
Put the pistachios in a mini-food processor (or chop by hand) and pulse until you have roughly chopped the nuts. It's nice to leave some larger chunks along with the finely chopped bits.
Divide the pistachios among your popsicle molds. Pour in the milk mixture. Freeze until solid, adding sticks at the right time for the molds you're using. Enjoy!
inspired by Death By Darjeeling and adapted from Aarti SequeiraPowered by
And I can't wait to see what the next mystery that my new friends from the Indigo Tea Shop get tangled up in is in book number two of the
Tea Shop Mysteries,
Gunpowder Green. That's right, I discovered the Indigo Tea Shop in the current
Cook the Books pick,
Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs. And none too soon. Since mysteries are my favorite reads...especially when paired with food, wine, tea, coffee, cooking...I'm excited to find this new (to me) series to read through this summer. I'm all caught up on my current favorite series, so it was perfect timing. Thanks to
Rachel for this fun pick. If you want to join in this round of
Cook the Books, it's not too late...submissions aren't due until the end of July. Now...I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of said book number two that is currently on its way from somebody at paperback swap.
I am sharing this post with:
.....My inspiration for this post and my favorite pancake baking surface...my cast-iron pancake pan. Makes perfect small pancakes! Yes, sometimes I freestyle my cakes, but I love this pan for some reason.....
Looking at the sun streaming in to say hello to this little plate of heaven.☺
That should give me a little leeway.
Chilled Curried Chicken Salad
serves 4-6
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Himalayan Pink sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 (11 oz) cans mandarin orange slices, drained
1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into tidbit-sized pieces
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
Dressing:
1 1/2 c. light mayonnaise
1 Tbs. curry powder
2 Tbs. chutney
3/4 tsp. Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
2 Tbs. OIKOS Greek Yogurt, plain variety
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
Garnish:
Spanish Peanuts
Romaine Lettuce
Cilantro, few leaves
Red Onion, thinly sliced
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper and cook on a HOT grill pan until golden and cooked throughout. Set aside to cool.
Place all of the dressing ingredients together in a bowl and whisk together until combined thoroughly.
Put mandarin oranges, pineapple, raisins and red onion in a bowl. Chop the cooled chicken and add to bowl. Prepare to add dressing.
Gently fold in about half of the dressing. Add more until it is coated to your liking.
Cover and place in cooler to chill for ~24 hours. Arrange some Romaine lettuce, cilantro leaves and red onion slices on a serving plate. Scoop some of the chilled salad on top. Garnish with as many peanuts as you like. Serve chilled.
After the Curried Chicken Salad was chilling, I set off to do some investigating. I finally figured out what my godfather was trying to tell me, but not after being slapped (hard!) across the face by bridezilla and getting a huge lump on the head...from being conked with a lamp.
And...OH WAIT!!! THIS WASN'T ME!!! This was my favorite mystery-solving caterer, Ms. Goldy (Baer) Schulz. How silly of me...sometimes I get carried away. Diane Mott Davidson has done it again with her latest novel, Fatally Flaky. I've managed to get myself entwined in the middle of my cherished characters (they're like old friends, ya know?!)...this was actually a little sneak peek into Goldy's latest adventure. The Chilled Curried Chicken Salad is actually one of the recipes included in this book (I have adapted it, but the original is on p.315). Yup, mystery and food all rolled into one. What more could a girl ask for? And it never fails that I want a few cups of coffee while joining in the adventure (if only I had Goldy's Espresso machine).
This is Diane Mott Davidson's 14th Goldy Schulz novel. I am totally addicted...I've read them all more times than I can remember. These are just pure fun. My first DMD novel was actually her 7th Goldy mystery (Grilling Season). It was a gift from my grandma one year for Christmas. I had never heard of her and I thought maybe Gram was just getting a little, um...how shall I say it...senile-ish in her old age. Surely she thought she was giving me a cookbook (on grilling). I figured she just saw the grilling and didn't look inside. I sort of put it aside and forgot about it for quite some time. When I mentioned it sometime later, Gram says she knew what it was. She meant to get it for me. (Oops, sorry...not senile. I'm just dense.) So,, one night I picked it up and didn't put it back down until I was finished. The next day I headed straight for the library to get the previous 6 novels in the series. And then I continued on after number 7. Now I own all of them (in paperback and hardcover...why!?). I'm always in such a hurry to get the next novel and I sit down all rippling with excitement...then I see that I'm almost finished and I try to slow down. I can't wait another year (or so)...hurry up Diane. Write Faster! 
