Pomegranate Tea

Don't you love all the flavors of tea that you can get when you go out to eat? There's a flavor for every mood that you could ever be in! So, today when I was pondering what to make next with the pomegranate juice that the folks from Pom Wonderful sent me, I remembered the wonderful Pomegranate Tea that I'd had a couple of months a go at a restaurant. So, I decided to try making my own. My husband and I love it! Even my kids thought it was good, but they would have preferred that I had left out the orange slices. Personally, I really enjoyed the subtle citrus flavor from the orange slices. In fact, I kept sipping it while trying to get a good picture, so the glass was never quite full! I added some sugar to the tea, but of course you can opt to leave it out, or use artificial sweetener, whatever your preference here. We felt so healthy drinking all of the antidoxidants in this delicious tea! Let's make this real quick so you can have some too!

POMEGRANATE TEA
6 cups cold water
1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
2 family size tea bags( I used Lipton, but it's your choice)
1/2-1 cup sugar
about 2 cups ice
fresh orange slices, if desired
In a sauce pan bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Add the 2 tea bags and steep for about 10 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, if using, stir until dissolved, and let tea cool off if you are going to pour it in a glass pitcher. When tea has cooled, pour it in a pitcher, add the pomegranate juice, orange slices and the ice. Pour some into an ice filled glass, sip slowly, and enjoy! It' a treat for yourself or a great tea to serve to guests. This is an addictive tea, be warned! Do you like sugar in your tea, and if so how much?

Strawberry and Pomegranate Smoothie

I hope everyone is doing well after these winter storms have gone through. We had lots of snow on Saturday, but it stayed warm enough that the snow melted as it fell. But I know many of you probably still have the white stuff! How much did you get? I hope this was the last winter weather for this season! Now, for a recipe. I love a good smoothie. Not only do these Strawberry and Pomegranate Smoothies taste good but it just makes me feel better knowing that I drank something that is so healthy! The folks at POM WONDERFUL contacted me to see if I would want to try their juice. Since I love Pomegranates, I was happy to try it. Pomegranates are full of antioxidants that are good for our bodies, plus they just taste so good! I love to break open the fruit and pull out those delicious juice filled seeds. I use them in fruit salads, but now we can use the juice for cooking other dishes.POM WONDERFUL is 100% pomegranate juice, no fillers at all,and it comes from California, not imported. You can find a lot of recipes and other info at http://www.pomwonderful.com/ . And, no, I'm not being paid to say this. Now, back to this yummy smoothie. I sent my daughter off to college with one this morning. She has a habit of not eating breakfast unless I put something in her hand. It was hard getting a good picture as it is so dark and gloomy outside which makes it that way inside as well. This is a very tasty smoothie, but next time I make it I'll use a bit more Pom juice. It's very easy to make, so grab your blender and get ready!

Strawberry and Pomegranate Smoothie
In a blender add:
2 ounces Pomegranate juice
1 cup of strawberries
1 6 ounce container of strawberry yogurt, that has been frozen(if desired)
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
hand full of crushed ice
Blend well, pour in glasses and enjoy!
I think that the next time we make this I'll try blueberry. It sould be really good too.
Do you ever use pomegranates in your cooking?

Fresh Fruit Salad with Apples and Pomegranate

With all of our wintry weather lately, I've been cooking lots of soups, stews, buttermilk biscuits and just all around comfort foods that we crave when it's cold outside. Yesterday I realized that I hadn't made a fruit salad since Christmas and it really sounded good. When many people think of fresh fruit salad, they think of the berries, melons and peaches of summertime. And while those are so very good, we can have fresh fruit salads in the winter also! Of course, it depends on what is available in your area. This recipe is an adaption of one I found in a 1997 Southern Living cookbook and it allows for a lot of variety. The fruit is drizzled with a light syrup made with fruit juices and keeps really well for a couple of days, unless you use bananas. Bananas taste great in this, but if you use them they will need to be removed from the salad before the next day as they will turn brown and mushy.

Fresh Fruit Salad with Apples and Pomegranate:

Ingredients for Syrup:

1. 1/4 cup sugar

2. 2 teaspoons cornstarch

3. 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

4. 1/2 cup water

5. 3 T. orange juice

6. 1 & 1/2 T. lemon juice

Combine sugar, cornstarch and ginger in a sauce pan; gradually whisk in water and juices until blended. Bring to a boil and stir constantly over med. heat until till syrup thickens, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare the fruit.

I decide what fruit to use by what looks good in our local grocery store.For this particular salad I used 2 small Gala apples, 2 pears (one was red), 1 orange, 2 kiwi, 1 cup red seedless grapes, about 1/4/cup of dried cranberries and some pomegranate seeds. Wash fruit well and dry. For the apples and pears, I cored, sliced and cut them into chunks in a bowl. I peeled the orange and cut it crosswise into rounds and then each round I cut into fourths.The Kiwi was cut in rounds and then in half. Mix in the grapes and dried cranberries with a wooden spoon. Pour syrup into fruit and stir gently. Pour into a pretty salad bowl or into individual dessert dishes and chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds before serving. Eat and enjoy!