Simple Ginger Tea

You’re about to say, “Seriously? You’re posting this?” The simplicity is staggering.

But this simple ginger tea is the one thing that I make every single day this time of year.

In the winter I don’t stay hydrated. I don’t like drinking cold water, and I don’t like letting the water run until it’s warm, and then I’m drinking bland, warm water anyhow: Blech.

So here is my hydration and cold-and-flu-and-other-icky-stuff-season remedy.

Do This

Fill a saucepan full of water. Put in 2 tablespoons of sliced fresh ginger and 1-2 herbal tea bags. Bring to a boil.

That’s it.

Optional add-ins for a punch-you-in-the-face cold elixir: honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, cayenne pepper.

Path-of-least-resistance Thoughts on Tea

• You can peel the ginger–but why? I just slice it thin with the skin on.
• And why use a tea kettle when a saucepan makes a lot of cup-refills of tea? I find I’m much likelier to drink more water throughout the day if I brew a big batch.
• I stick the tea bags in when the water is cold, because I can’t be bothered with a two-step process. The tea seems to brew just fine.

Best Herbal Teas

I prefer chamomile, “Organic Spiced Red Rooibos Ruby Red Chai” from Trader Joe’s, “Meadow” from Steven Smith, or “Evening in Missoula” by Montana Tea & Spice.

Do you have an herbal tea you swoon over? I like to play the field.

 

Blue Star Donuts Knocks Voodoo Doughnuts Off the Pedestal

Voodoo Doughnut in Portland has been all over the Food Network and all kinds of lists of the best eats in America.

But it’s just not all that.

Voodoo’s bacon-maple bar is delicious, and I will never turn one away should it arrive on my passenger seat after a night of dancing.

But I’m not psyched by Captain Crunch or Fruit Loops on a doughnut. And Voodoo’s super-saccharine icings taste more like medicine flavors than real food.

Make way for local craft doughnut shop Blue Star Donuts.

Blue Star has everything an obsessive foodie wants in a donut:

1. Dozens of all-natural ingredients you can see (vanilla beans, nut pieces, coconut shreds…).
2. Pastry chefs who hand-make your doughnuts (while you stand to the side nonchalantly pretending you are totally friends).
3. A classic buttermilk cake doughnut that is so dense and delicious it may have just come from the apple-cider doughnut people at your favorite farmers market.
4. Flavor combos that make you feel smart: basil blueberry, coffee & coconut cheesecake, Meyer lemon and key lime curd… you get the idea.

I’m sure the coffee is kickin’, too, but I stick to tea, which–of course–is locally made about a mile away by Steven Smith Teamaker. And Steven Smith tea is divine.

Plus, what foodie doesn’t love some coy signage?

So what are you waiting for? The line at Blue Star (SW Washington & 13th) is totally manageable, and there’s probably even a lovely seat at the bright and airy bar waiting for you.

***

Blue Star Donuts * Facebook * Twitter @BlueStarDonuts * Instagram