Lemon Poppy Seed Bread (Magnolia Table Cookbook)

I associate the flavor of lemons with my mom; growing up there was always some sort of lemon baked good in the house. It's been a number of years since I've come home from school and paired a slice (or two) of lemon loaf with a cup of tea, and this Lemon Poppy Seed Bread from the Magnolia Cookbook does not disappoint. It isn't an overly sweet dessert, making it perfect for just about any time of day. 

JOANNA GAINES' LEMON POPPY SEED BREAD 

Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: about 1 hour | Cool: 1 hour | Makes 8 servings 

INGREDIENTS

• Vegetable oil spray
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I substituted with Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour)
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (you can also use olive oil or grape seed oil)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

LEMON DRIZZLE

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or as needed

DIRECTIONS

       1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil; bottom and sides should be coated thoroughly.

       2. In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together; flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

       3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, milk, oil, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk until blended.

       4. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid, a little at a time. Do not overmix. 

       5. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour*.

       6. Let cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan. Remove and set on plate or cooling rack until cooled completely. 

FOR THE LEMON DRIZZLE

Combine sugar and lemon zest in a medium bowl and stir. Add 1 tablespoon water and lemon juice.**

Pour lemon drizzle over warm or room-temperature bread.

------

*May need less time depending on your oven. I recommend checking on the loaf at around the 45-minute mark to see how much more time it needs, if any. 

**Adjust the amount of lemon juice until you have a pourable icing; it should be an almost honey-like consistency and not overly runny.  

-------

This recipe is taken from The Magnolia Cookbook. 

DISCLAIMER: This is not a sponsored post. 

Making Kombucha at Home

Freshly jarred, raw Kombucha – my first batch ever! 

Kombucha is actually just fermented black tea – and it's surprisingly easy to make. There are many ways to brew it at home, but this is just the technique I learned from a friend. Making your own Kombucha takes a little patience, but it's a rewarding process because you no longer need to drink the store-bought stuff!

Let's get into it!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

TOOLS & SUPPLIES:

• (2) Gallon Mason Jars (preferably wide mouth) 
• (1) Large Pot (for boiling the tea)
• (1) Cloth for covering one mason jar; make sure it's a thin, breathable fabric.
• (1) Mesh Strainer
• (4) Quart Mason Jars (for storing finished Kombucha)

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Cups Bottled/Filtered Water 
• 6 Organic Tea Bags; I use 3 Oolong and 3 Black Tea (I use Prince of Peace)
• I Cup Organic Cane Sugar
• 2-3 Cups Bottled/Filtered Water
• 1-2 Cups Raw Kombucha (store-bought is fine)
• 1-2 Kombucha SCOBYs (if you don't have one, we'll get to that later)
• OPTIONAL - Organic Fruit or Food Grade Essential Oils for flavoring

HOW DO I OBTAIN A SCOBY?

You have two options for this: You can, a) Ask a friend for one, or b) grow a SCOBY! Please note that growing a new SCOBY will take roughly 1-4 weeks. 

DIRECTIONS

       1. Bring 6 cups of filtered/bottled water to a boil in a large pot.

       2. Once water is boiled, turn off the stove and add the 6 organic tea bags (3 Black, 3 Oolong).

       3. Brew tea for 15 minutes; remove tea bags.

       4. Add 1 cup organic cane sugar to the tea. Stir occasionally until dissolved.

       5. Pour tea and 2-3 cups filtered water into one of the two gallon mason jars. Let cool.

       6. Once cooled, add 1-2 cups of raw Kombucha to the mason jar. Then, add the SCOBY(s).

       7. Cover mason jar with a clean, breathable cloth; secure with an elastic band.  

       8. Let tea ferment anywhere between 9-21 days in a dark, warm place, away from perishable foods.

Do not flavor the tea while it is fermenting. That's an added fun part for post-fermentation. :) 

AFTER FERMENTATION

       1. Remove the SCOBYs from the mason jar with your hands. Do not use metal utensils – the Kombucha will react badly.

       2. Place the SCOBYs and 2 cups of fresh Kombucha into the unused gallon mason jar. Cover and keep in a dark, warm place.

       3. Pour the remaining Kombucha over a strainer into quart sized mason jars.

OPTIONAL: If you decide to flavor your Kombucha, let it ferment for an additional 1-4 days. You can use organic food grade essential oils. I use doTERRA, and one drop of each flavor is plenty (no I am not a doTERRA consultant, haha). I also like to add slices of organic fruit to a freshly brewed batch. 

Some of my favorite flavor combinations include pear, grapefruit, grapefruit + ginger, strawberries, and strawberries + peaches. Given the sensitive nature of Kombucha, it's best to stick to organic fruits and high quality essential oils. This is a great list for flavor inspiration.

FINALLY, enjoy your Kombucha! If you would rather save it for later, seal the jars and keep them in a dark, warm place. Kombucha will continue fermenting as long as its warm. To stop fermentation, place the jars in the fridge. 

WHAT NEXT?

If this is your first time brewing Kombucha, I would advise making another batch to mature your SCOBYs. Remember to save at least 1-2 cups of Kombucha from your previous batch for your next one (use this in place of the store-bought brew). Once that has fermented, you can go on to make a SCOBY Hotel.

I LET MY KOMBUCHA FERMENT FOR TOO LONG! WHAT SHOULD I DO?

Don't panic, and don't toss it! It's easy to forget about something when it's sitting in the dark for days on end. The good news is that you can use prolonged fermentation to make Kombucha vinegar.

-------

This recipe is based purely on handwritten notes I jotted down when learning to make Komucha. Please let me know if I am missing any important information. Happy brewing! :)

DISCLAIMER: This is not a sponsored post. 

A Post About Tea

Tea is a big part of my life. I can't even remember having my first cup because I also drank it as a child. The Tetley British Blend with milk (always with a side of biscuits) was a household staple for my family when I was growing up. 

Please keep in mind that although I adore tea, I am not a tea connoisseur by any means! I just love drinking a few cups every day and trying out new flavours. I put together a list, in no particular order, of some teas that I really enjoy and why:

CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MORNING THUNDER 
This is currently my go-to tea. Morning Thunder is a black tea and contains maté as one of the ingredients; it's supposed to be energizing. The caffeine level is quite low for something advertised as a "morning" beverage, so if caffeine really gets you wired, I think this would still be okay to have if you're like me and drink tea around the clock. I don't know why, but there's a slightly nutty flavour to it. My absolute favourite way to drink this is with a splash of milk or cream. Sometimes I'll have it with coconut milk for a dairy free option. 

ENGLISH BREAKFAST/BRITISH BLENDS
As written in the intro, a hearty English Breakfast/British Blend is what I grew up drinking. Pouring milk into a steaming cup of black tea and watching it swirl into a rich caramel shade is deeply nostalgic for me. On Saturday mornings, my brother and I would drink tea and eat cookies together with my parents – until we became teenagers and were too "cool" to drink tea and eat cookies with mom and dad, haha. Anyway, English Breakfast is just a classic, conservative option for anyone who isn't into herbal teas. It's also just a good thing to have in your pantry because, who knows? You could host a crazy tea person at some point in your life. 

CELESTIAL SEASONINGS HONEY VANILLA CHAMOMILE
A sweet, delicately flavoured tea – honey vanilla chamomile also smells as wonderful as it sounds. While I do love this flavour, I don't find myself reaching for it often. When I do, however, I feel like I need a warm blanket and a hefty book to go with it. It's a great bedtime tea. If you aren't into bitter teas, you would probably like this because the honey obviously sweetens it quite a bit. 

CHAI TEA
What I love about chai tea is that it's can be enjoyed hot or cold. I'm honestly not a big sweet tea person, so an iced chai is the way to go for me. I have a short story/tangent for you (you're welcome): when I moved to the U.S. almost seven years ago, I quickly learned that "tea" typically translated to sweet or iced tea. To each his own, but to this day, I firmly believe that tea is best when it's hot. :)  Back to chai: I love the warmth and spice of chai. This is another great tea to have with milk or cream; it's like drinking a dessert and the spices give it a little jolt. 

EARL GREY/LONDON FOG
This might sound weird, but I find the flavour of earl grey to be slightly masculine. It's one of those distinguished, bold teas that I have to mentally preparing myself for prior to taking a sip. But that's why it's so good. This blend is made with the oil of orange bergamot, which makes for such a bright taste. If you're not quite into such a punchy palette, you could make a London Fog with this tea. With steamed milk, and notes of vanilla and lavender, consider this EG's feminine counterpart.    

WHITE PEACH 
The majority of teas listed here are black, but I do enjoy the taste of white peach tea. It's fruity and sweet, but also light. It is much more fragrant than all the other teas I've listed here, but the taste is quite mild. I typically don't use sweeteners in my tea, but some honey added to it brings out the peach flavour some more. White teas are low on the caffeine scale, so this is another good option for a tea that'll be okay to drink at any time of the day. 

I hope this list was helpful! What are some of your favourite teas?