Favorites: Bosphorus Tea

One of my favorite places to visit when I am up in the Mother Lode Gold Country of California is a quaint little Victorian inspired tea house called Columbia Kate's Tea House.

Watercolor by local artist Olga Wright (From the Columbia Kate's Website)

My husband and I stumbled in one damp day while visiting the lovely historic town of Columbia just north of Sonora in Tuolumne County. I often find myself up in this area for work purposes and when possible will sneak a trip over to Columbia Kate's to pick up some bulk tea. They feature a vast array of different teas from black and herbal to rooibos and mate. My personal favorite has got to be the Bosphorus. When I first visited, this was the tea I choose to try while sitting in the tea room looking out the rain pelted window. It was rich and warm, a hint of sweet nutty chocolately flavor. The aroma of just the dry blend itself was enough to send me into an olfactory orgasm! The blend contained the base of black tea, pistachios, cumin, almonds, coriander, red pepper berries, apples and pineapples. It's so fragrant and when steeped in nearly boiling water, the oils and the fragrances perform this hypnotic dance transporting your mind and spirit thousands of miles away to where the crossroads of the spice trade intersect. This tea resonated with me so deeply, and not totally comprehending where the term Bosphorus originated from, continued to loose myself into the layers of complex flavors with every brew.

From Petali Teas

Time for a little background on myself. My heritage branches off from my grandfathers Armenian ancestry which was centered in Istanbul, Turkey. My parents, who were both U.S. Citizens and serving in the Air Force and Department of Defense as a civilian teacher, were married in Ankara. Turkey is a country that runs deep in my veins, and while doing some research on this particular blend of tea, as if a light bulb exploded above my head, it all made so much sense! Bosphorus! Of course! How could I have not instinctively known it?! Bosphorus is the region in Turkey that spans the great Istanbul Strait.

Wikipedia: The Bosphorus (/ˈbɒsfərəs/) or Bosporus (/ˈbɒspərəs/, Turkish: Boğaziçi, Greek: Βόσπορος, Vosporos, Bulgarian: Босфора, Bosfora), also known as the Istanbul Strait (Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı), is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles strait to the southwest together form the Turkish Straits. The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, the Bosphorus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea.)

This tea instantly connects me to my past, history of my ancestry and the great bosom of civilization. It transports me to a time of ancient bazaars and lanterns. If I close my eyes while cradling a fresh hot steeping cup, I can faintly hear the jingling of belly dancers, tablas, and Byzantine music trailing off onto the Silk Road. It connects me to who I am and warms me mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Truly Tasty Teriyaki Tacos

One of my new favorite indulgences is a treat that my mother-in-law sends in care packages from Missouri. In the neighborhood where my husband grew up known as Gladstone, Missouri (Kansas City), there is a little factory that makes THE BEST taco shells. If you are from anywhere near Kansas City you probably have seen or heard of La Tiara taco shells. These little wonders are light, crispy and for their petite size, pack quite a punch of flavor to any filling. While you can't crowd them too much with layers and layers of toppings, keeping it simple is the best way to go. Whether you choose your standard seasoned hamburger taco meat, cheese and lettuce with some garnish of onion and or tomato, you will be surprised at just how strong these fragile little crisps of heaven are. As if made by angels, these shells make you rethink ever buying any other brand of taco shell again. There is an even better secret about these taco shells, they are LOW CARB! Only 4 grams per shell! You could totally have like a half dozen and not feel guilty, they truly are amazing! Yes, I am yelling this excitedly!

The most recent way we used these 3 bite wonders was making Teriyaki chicken tacos with a pineapple jalapeno salsa and brown rice. One thing I have noticed is that it's actually in some cases more expensive to buy a whole uncooked chicken and roast it yourself compared to the deli section in the supermarket's rotisserie chicken offerings. I tend to use this option for many different dishes to not only add flavor I wouldn't get out of using frozen breast pieces, but it's ready to go for just about any recipe calling for cooked chicken.

Start by getting all the meat off the chicken carcass, careful to pick out any gristle or tendons. Nothing ruins my appetite more than taking a bite of chicken salad or a casserole to feel that rubbery hard piece of connective tissue squeeze between my teeth. Ewww! Once the meat has been stripped from the chicken and placed in a bowl, I will hand shred the meat by pulling it apart and making shredded pieces throughout the whole bowl. I then took a couple tablespoons of teriyaki sauce, and a couple tablespoons of hoisin sauce and mixed it into the chicken and coated all the meat  evenly. I set that aside to work on the salsa. Canned pineapple rings (no sugar added) were opened and I pulled out about 6 rings and chopped them up into salsa sized chunks and put in another bowl. I took a handful of fresh cilantro and chopped up and put in the bowl, along with 4 small pickled jalapenos chopped. I poured in about 3 tablespoons of the pineapple juice from the can, poured in about 2 tablespoons of the pickling liquid from the can of whole jalapenos and added in a diced 1/2 of a red onion. A teaspoon of salt was added and everything was mixed together and put in the refrigerator while prepping the rest of dinner. We made some instant brown rice while re-cooking the marinated cooked shredded chicken in a skillet to heat and caramelize the sauce onto the chicken. 

The taco shells were prepared as directed by heating them in a low oven prior to using. Once the shells had been warmed, they were filled with a bottom layer of the brown rice, the shredded chicken, and topped with the pineapple jalapeno salsa. They were truly a delicious savory yet sweet option to the normal Mexican flavors one is used to with tacos. Satisfied a craving for the sweet teriyaki and the savory of the chicken combined with the tangy and heated salsa. Mmmm... 2 much of this good stuff leaves for great leftovers!

Ingredients

1 Fully Cooked Rotisserie Chicken (from grocery deli)

3 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce (I prefer the Soy Vey brand)

2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce (Again, Soy Vey brand)

1 Dozen La Tiara Taco Shells (or your favorite store bought shells or tortillas)

2 c. Cooked instant brown rice

Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa

1 can of pineapple slices (in no sugar added juice) diced into chunks
1 sm. can of whole pickled jalapenos

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1/2 red onion (diced)

Pineapple juice from can

Pickling juice from jalapenos

See instructions in above article for mixing and assembly instructions.