Sweet Mango Green Tea

I'm obsessed with drinking tea in the summer. (Hello peach mint bourbon sweet tea!) If I had a large wrap-around front porch, you would be sure to find me sippin' iced tea there every single day. Sadly, I live in a town house that only has a small patch of grass, and in the front, a few stairs. If I started sitting out on my postage size yard drinking tea, I'm pretty sure my neighbors would think I was nuts. Especially since my yard is basically my parking lot. You see why that would be weird?

Instead, I sit in my living room watching Bones and sipping on tea while dreaming of a front porch. Sigh.

I have been known to use cheap tea bags for my iced tea, but really, the loose stuff is where the flavor is.  If you have never used loose tea before, don't fret. It's not hard to use – I promise. You simply use a loose tea infuser (in my case my handy dandy Dreamfarm Teafu) and some delicious green tea.

If you're not sure what loose green tea to buy stop by your local teashop. They are more than happy to help you pick out the right tea. Plus, those stores always smell amazing, so it makes it an even better shopping experience.

Ok, back to tea. Steep your tea, strain and let it cool to room temperature. Then we add the flavor! In this case, I wanted to use up some sweet mangos I had sitting in my fruit bowl. So I cut them up, tossed with a little bit of sugar (they are naturally sweet!)  and then mixed it all together. The result was a summery tea drink that is packed full of antioxidants, fruit and sweet flavor that you will not want to stop drinking. If you have a big porch it's perfect for porch sipping. If you don't have a porch you can drink it in your living room, dreaming of a porch. It's a win-win.

Oh, and if you're one of those clumsy people who often spill their drinks all over their expensive Mac computer – cough, cough – me. Try using the Dreamfarm Spink. NO MORE SPILLED DRINKS! I'm screaming because this is basically a lifesaver, and a computer saver.

You get it.

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Sweet Mango Green Tea Recipe

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Ingredients

For Brewing the Tea:

• 8 teaspoons green tea, (loose)
• 4 cups water

For Flavoring the Tea:

• 1 cup mango purée, (sweetened)
• 1 cup water

For Serving:

• fresh mint
• cubed fresh mango

Directions

1. Add tea to your Teafu and set aside.
2. Bring the water to a boil, add in the tea and steep according to directions on the tea.
3. Let the tea cool to room temperature and add to a pitcher. Mix in mango puree and water. Stir to coming, taste and add more sweetener or water if desired.
4. Serve over ice with fresh mint leaves and cubed mango. 

Recommended Equipment

Teafu

Wusthof Santoku Knife - 5 inch

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Disclaimer: This giveaway is provided to you by Dreamfarm. The contributor was compensated for recipe development. Any opinions expressed are her own.

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Recipe: Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing — Side Dish Recipes from The Kitchn

Salad bars and the airport quick-grab kiosks have done the Spinach and Strawberry Salad a real disservice, I think. Done well — done properly — it's easy to see why this salad is such a classic. The greens are crisp and tender, and they should be slicked with just enough dressing to be interesting without overwhelming. The strawberries give a juicy burst of sweetness, the cheese adds its luxurious creaminess, and the almonds bring it home with some much-needed crunch.

This is the kind of salad that is fancy enough for a Mother's Day brunch, but also easy to whip together on a weeknight. For either scenario, and all those in between, Spinach and Strawberry Salad will serve you well.

There's really only one thing that can ruin an otherwise good spinach salad: dry, undressed greens. If you pour the dressing over the top of your salad, you end up with gloppy, over-dressed greens sitting above pockets of dry greens that squeak against your teeth. (Shudder.) Woe be to you if you're the last person to get served.

Best to avoid this whole scenario by tossing the greens with the dressing before bringing it to the table. Save a few almonds, goat cheese crumbles, and your prettiest strawberries to scatter over top, and serve the extra dressing on the side in case anyone wants a little extra.

I really love this salad with a classic poppy seed dressing, which has a tangy-sweet flavor that brings everything together so nicely. Making it yourself is surprisingly easy — here's my favorite recipe — but certainly feel free to substitute a favorite store-bought brand.

My one twist on this salad is to use smoked almonds in place of regular almonds. With so much classic-ness going on with this salad, I like to throw in one unexpected thing to keep it from feeling stodgy!

Do you love spinach and strawberry salad? What's your favorite twist?

Serves 4 to 6 as a side salad

1 pint strawberries
1/2 cup almonds (or smoked almonds)
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
5 to 8 ounces baby spinach (4 to 5 lightly packed cups)
2 to 4 tablespoons poppy seed salad dressing, store-bought or homemade

Hull and then cut the strawberries into thin slices. If your almonds aren't already toasted, toast them at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, until darkened and very fragrant; cool briefly before tossing with salad. (Or not! Warm nuts would be very tasty in this salad.) Set aside a few of the prettiest strawberry slices, a few almonds, and some of the goat cheese to sprinkle over the top of the salad.

Transfer the spinach to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle a tablespoon of the poppy seed dressing over the greens and toss gently to coat. Continue adding tablespoons of dressing as needed until the greens are all evenly slicked with dressing. Gently toss the sliced strawberries, almonds, and goat cheese with the spinach.

Transfer the salad to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle the reserved strawberries, almonds, and goat cheese over the top, along with one last drizzle of dressing.

Recipe Notes

• Strawberry-Arugula Salad: Try arugula in place of the spinach.

(Image credits: Emma Christensen)

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