From Market to Garden

I am sorry for the lack of paragraphing. Blogger won't coop-
erate!


Wow! This looks like a giant's stack of blocks. I love the play of

shapes against each other.

Can you tell I loved this church?

At the Ithaca Farmer's Market, I told you I got a new teapot. I also picked up a flyer about the potter's wife's business. She is a Japanese tea ceremony master and offers this ceremony to the public. The cost is $12 per person. The web site is http://www.teaceremonyithaca.com/ I am going to get some of my friends together and do it. It is near the beautiful Buttermilk Falls. Ithaca is at the southern end of Cayuga Lake, one of the many Finger Lakes. Lots to see and do from shopping to great music to camping and hiking.

It is VERY cold in winter, but lovely the rest of the year.

Moving on to another continent, today I am having Sweet Orange Mate from the Local Tea and Coffee Shop in Sarasoata, FL. I received this in a tea swap. Mate is really an herb, but is often thrown in with the real stuff. It is grown primarily in Brazil and Argentina and some in other Sout American countries, where it is known as Yerba Mate. It does contain caffeine, but that seems to be of a gentler variety than what is in either coffee or tea. This offering contains both green and roasted Mate, along with licorice root, orange peels and orange blossoms. It has a very nice roasted sweet smell. I brewed it for about 6 minutes with water just off the boil, using about 1.5 teaspoons for a cup.

The orange was a very delicate accompaniment to the toasty, roasty, nutty flavor of the herb. It felt like something comforting and warming to my spirit, if not my body. I found it goes very nicely with milk and a touch of some sweetener brings out more of the orange flavor. An all around nice cup for a cool summer day. I am sure it would be even more welcome on a cold winter day.