Thirsty? Drink This!

A friend of mine (and excellent hostess) once served me a naturally caffeine free, refreshing concoction she lovingly referred to as 'Hippie Cool-Aide'. It needs no sweetener, is delicate and thirst-quenching, and has none of that pesky caffeine that so many of us try to avoid.

In a word? Perfection in a glass. OK, maybe that's four words.... but they certainly accurately describe this tasty tea. The combo is Tazo's Passion Herbal Infusion (a naturally subtly sweet, rosy blend of hibiscus flowers, licorice root, orange peel, cinnamon bark, rose hips, lemon grass and tropical fruits) and Bija's Certified Organic Double Ginger Tea (full of lots of ginger root with a touch of lemon grass, peppermint leaf, licorice root, and black pepper...all organically grown).

Sure, you could enjoy this blend hot, you could even go all out and supplement it with your sweetener of choice...but we elect to sip it iced and in it's purest form. It's just barely sweet and allows you to truly appreciate all the flavors of both teas as they linger on your palate. When I'm feeling especially bold, I just steep two bags of each in 2qts of water instead of just one of each. Aside from that? I wouldn't dare change a thing!

And just what do I feast on when tipping back a nice, cold glass of Hippie Cool-Aide? Why, a ginormous, crisp, fresh salad, of course!
This one was a huge bed of green leaf lettuce weighed down with cucumber, red bell pepper, carrot shavings, green onion, roasted chickpeas, and Makoto Ginger Dressing. There can never be to much ginger consumption in one sitting, in my opinion.