Sorry, Blogger thingy isn't doing doing paragraphs today.



Gothic abounds!



I saw a John Scheepers bulb catalogue yesterday and I am finally going to do what I have wanted to for ages - order me some amaryllis and paper white narcissi. I will get one named Amalfi for my husband and one named for butterflies that is a bit odd. And enough narcissi to make the house smell lovely.



No tea tasting today - I am making a big Indian feast and I only wanted old standbys. We're having chicken cooked with coconut and sweet spices, potatoes from the Mumbai region, spinach creamed with coconut milk and cashews, naan, a tomato and an orange raita, chutney and homemade mango ice cream, which I have to say is truly fantastic.



However, yesterday I did try some Green Tea Mints - fresh breath therapy! I believe the brand is Sen Cha and I think they came as a little gift in my order from T Bar Teas. They are cute little things, shaped like tea leaves and are made from organic green tea extract, jasmine, sweet fennel, tea tree oil, flavors, colors and Lo Han Guo, which I have not heard of. There are also some natural sweeteners. You can definitely taste the green tea and maybe the jasmine. They're a bit odd, to my taste and I don't know what they have done for my breath, but I do know both the Chinese and Japanese have used green tea for centuries to deal with bad breath. My mouth feels fresher, but there's no one around to breathe on at the moment.



Just a note - tea tree oil does not come from tea bushes - Camellia sinensis - it comes from Melaleuca alternifolia, which grows in Australia, not where most tea comes from.