Crossing the T's

Tea Cookies and Tartine for dinner.  The Matcha Tea Powder for the cookies was pricey, but I balanced an expensive dessert with less expensive main dish and inexpensive side dish.  

Here's dinner:

Tartine with Eggs & Asparagus on New Day Bakery Seven Grain Toast with ramekins of Au gratin Potatoes.   Aldis currently has terrific prices on asparagus.  I plan one of my dinners per week around eggs-a high quality and low price protein.  I have a basket full of potatoes on my counter. . . once I located the Matcha Tea Powder, the meal came together!

The tea cookie recipe is from Food and Wine Magazine.

Matcha Tea Cake Cookies

(Serves 14)

Sift together dry ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Beat sugar and eggs in mixing bowl:
2 eggs
6 tablespoons sugar

Add oil and extracts.
2/3 cup canola oil  
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Mix water and tea powder prior to adding to liquid ingredients.
2 tablespoons Matcha tea powder
2 tablespoons water

Fold in dry ingredients.

Using a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop, drop onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake at 350 F. for 15 minutes.

When cool, sift sugar-tea powder mixture over eggs.
1 teaspoon Matcha tea powder
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Au Gratin Potatoes

(Serves 4)

Spray 4 ramekin dishes with Pam.

Combine cheeses, potatoes, flour and cayenne in a bowl.
4 small-medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1/4 teaspoon flour
Pinch of cayenne
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 reduced fat cheddar cheese stick, grated

Place 1/2 of potato mixture in each ramekin.  Add 1/2 of milk.
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons evaporated skim milk
Repeat.

Bake at 350 F. for 40 minutes.  Increase oven temperature to 425 and bake for 15 more minutes.

   In my job as the manager of the Healthy Cafe, I managed another snack bar on the student end of the Health Sciences Center.  I got lots of exercise walking between the two cafes during the busy meal periods.  Now that I've retired, I begin my day with upper arm exercises, followed by a 1 mile walk after breakfast.  2 or 3 times a week, I'm attending water aerobics at the rehabilitation hospital.  I kid that it's a class of "old ladies", but I'm using muscles I didn't use before.  The water feels great.  I'm crafting, organizing and cooking.  Today I read the entire Journal!  Tomorrow I'll travel to my Mom's to take her to the Senior Center.  I'm loving this healthy lifestyle free of work stress.  It's still good to have a routine.