Boba Tea

I have discovered Boba Tea (also known as Bubble Tea). I like the black tea flavored with peach and the boba. 

Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Taichung in the 1980s. Most bubble tea recipes contain a tea base mixed/shaken with fruit or milk, to which chewy tapioca balls or fruit jellies are often added. (Wikipedia)

Since each cup costs around $4, I decided to try to make the boba myself.

I bought a bag of dried tapioca pearls at an Asian grocery store for just under $3.

Then I simply followed the directions on the bag. (After tasting a few I think I might boil them for a bit longer.)

I used 4 cups of water and 2/3 cup of boba. 

This boiled for about 10 minutes.

This is what the pan looked like after boiling 10 minutes, simmering 20 minutes, and sitting covered for 25 minutes.

I drained the water, but the boba wanted to stay in the pot. So I rinsed them a few times with cold water.

This is what the boba looked like after being rinced and drained.

I put the drained boba in a mason jar with  honey and sugar. I didn't measure either. 

After sitting for a few hours, the boba appeared to be sitting in liquid again.

The boba tasted like sugared honey chewy gummy balls.

I'll put some in my iced tea tomorrow and see how it compares to my $4 cup of tea!

Thieves Essential Oil

One of the most popular herbal legends is the Legend of the Four Thieves. This story has everything a good old fashioned mystery needs–expensive jewels, thieves, and a little bit of trickery that leaves everyone wondering how they pulled it off until the end. Like any good tall tale, it’s mythical but set during actual historical events, so the story changes to become more dramatic or relevant when necessary.

While the legend changes as much as the formula for this historic blend, the gist of the story is this: During the plagues (enter your favorite plague here, the Black Plague is most common), a group of four brothers began robbing the dead. At first, they were largely ignored, as everyone knew they would eventually pay the price by catching the plague themselves but, to everyone’s surprise, they managed to avoid catching the plague and continued robbing graves, amassing a great deal of wealth. They became legendary and everyone wanted to know how they managed to avoid getting sick. Was it trickery? Magic? What secret did they possess.

Years later, when they were finally captured, they were asked for their secret during questioning. After much debating, they agreed to share their secret in return for their pardon. This offer was accepted and the secret is now out. These men were the offspring of a perfumer and herbalist. They learned about essential oils from their parents during their childhood. They knew these oils would protect them so they rubbed them on their bodies and used them to clean anything they brought back. 

I order my Thieves blend from Young Living.

I have used it through the winter season in a diffuser for my family.  Along with the Flu Shot, we have not had any illnesses other than a basic cold.

You can order Thieves individually or you can sign up to be an Independent Distributor.

Order your Thieves here.

Essential Oil, Laundry Soap, Dish Soap, Toothpaste

Hello from being gone for so long.

I'm catching up on my blog posting.  Usually I post here when I have been giving a product to review. I'm trying to do a better job of posting and reviewing.

I have been reading too many Adult Romance novels lately.  My laundry is piling up around the house.  I suppose I need to get caught up with that too.  I haven't turned to buying new clothes instead of washing the ones I have yet.  I did that in college.  Sometimes it was just easier to buy a new outfit than go to the laundry mat for 2 hours.

Last weekend I went to Houston, Texas to visit a sorority sister who is having twins.  I'm super excited for her.  I made baby quilts for the babies.  When I am not reading on my Kindle, I'm working on my some quilts.

Here is a link to the pattern I made for my friend:
Jelly Roll Baby Quilt


This is the Baby Girl quilt - 36 x 36.

Here are the Baby Boy and Baby Girl quilt next to each other.

I used the Moda Dot-Dot-Dash jelly roll that I bought from my local quilt shop.
I can find it for less money online, but I like to support local businesses.

Two more baby quilts are in the works for relatives.

That's all for now!

Dessert Tonight... yum!

The family wanted dessert tonight.

My husband said he wanted apple pie.
Well, I was not going to make that tonight.

..... But wait.  I did have apple pie filling in the pantry. AND I did have crescent rolls.
So I knew I could come up with something thanks to the internet and Pinterest.

http://www.messforless.net/apple-pie-muffins-using-crescent-rolls/

Her directions call for using 4 of the 6 muffin tins - I opened a second container of crescent rolls so I could fill all 6 tins.  I also skipped the topping.  Just too tired to add it.

So 2 ingredient apple pie.

I baked the crescent rolls for about 5 minutes before adding the pie filling.  I think it helped get the bottom of the dough cooked without the apples mushing it.

Essential Oils

I joined Young Living about a year ago. I bough their starter pack which included a diffuser and 10 different oils. My two favorites are Thieves and Stress Away.

Inspired by the legend of four 15th-century French thieves who formulated a special aromatic combination composed of clove, rosemary, and other botanicals used while robbing the dead and dying, Thieves is one of Young Living’s most popular products.

I do have to say that using Thieves in my difusser last winter kept my family from coming down with the flu! (Along with the flu shot)

And surprisingly when I use Stress Away in the diffuser my family was much calmer. I did not tell them what was going on. Or what Essential Oils I had put in the diffuser.

Here is my link if you are interested in buying anything.

https://www.youngliving.org/deannanb