a verdant season

I haven’t been blogging recently because:
I needed to work in my yard
I needed to mow the lawn (again)
It was too rainy
It was too hot
I was busy with friends/family/work

Well, I guess I’m out of excuses.

Honestly, I’ve just not been in the mood. When friends ask what I’ve been doing I answer “mostly not blogging”. I really have been busy, though, and my “yard work” excuses are certainly true! I don’t remember ever being this close to July and seeing such a green, lush, world here in central Texas.

We’ve had rain.

That’s a bit of an understatement, actually. We’ve had Texas style all-or-nuthin’ downpours that caused some serious flooding in the area. I came through fine, others were not so lucky.

But I’m not here to talk about weather-related chaos and destruction, I’m here to give us a taste of some of what I’ve been eating and enjoying these past few weeks. Yes, *us* – I’m hoping to get myself geared up and excited about blogging again as well. So.

The big news is that I discovered that Austin has a Burmese grocery. Yup! When I was in California a few months ago my friends took me out for Burmese. Mmm… “Order whatever you like”, they told me, “we are having tea salad”. Really?

Oh yes. Tea salad, a mixture of greens, tomatoes, crunchy bits including fried garlic slices, peanuts, and sesame seeds, and a dollop of what looks like slightly oxidized pesto. That’s the “tea” part. Oh mmmmmmm!

This “dressing” tastes a bit like a mild spinach pesto with a slightly tannic aftertaste of black tea. I can’t really describe it any better than that but it sure is good! I have been reading up on it and several sites claim that you can make your own if you don’t have a Burmese grocery or restaurant to hand. I haven’t tried this yet, but I promise I will and I’ll report my findings. In the mean time, I’m buying mine here:

9010 N IH-35 and worth the drive!

It comes in two sizes. I bought the smaller (well, several of them actually) as I wasn’t sure how it would keep once open. And happily each container comes with a small bag of the crunchy bits as well. Here’s all it takes:

Homestyle Tea Salad
(for 3 or 4)

several leaves of Romaine or other sturdy lettuce
a few nice flavorful tomatoes
a small bunch of fresh herbs (cilantro and mint is nice)
a dollop of “tea salad dressing”
a bit of the crunchy bits

Mix all, add a bit more of the crunchy bits on top, and enjoy.

Mmmm…

see the little “crunchy bits”?

***

Now here’s that part I bet they didn’t intend. I mean, it is a salad dressing, right? Well, yes it is, but I also have been putting a spoonful in my lunch-time smoothies. The dressing by itself it slight salty, sort of green-tasting, and I think it is a lovely compliment to a fruit and veg smoothie. And, (of course, this might be just my imagination) it seems to give me a bit of a mid-afternoon boost. Caffeine? Maybe…

In any event, eat it, drink it, enjoy it! I will try making my own “dressing” and I’ll let you know if I can get close! Meantime, I hope to see y’all sooner rather than later. I will try to stay in touch better, I promise! Hope you are all having a fine start to summer… until next!

Advertisement