Valentines Day Tea Time

Romance Tea

Make this two cup pot of tea for your sweetie or enjoy it yourself.

1 tablespoon grated gingerroot
7-10 cloves
2-3 cinnamon sticks
4-5 black peppercorns

Directions:
Gently simmer these herbs in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Strain and
add a little milk and honey, and if you like, 1/4 teaspoon of pure
vanilla extract. Share this tea with your lover after a romantic meal
(spicy, to get the blood flowing) and see what happens!

****

Cherry Chocolate Pie

Chocolate and cherries a great combo. A great diabetic dessert that is so good you would love it anyway. Complete with Nutritional Information Per Serving

- 1 prepared 9-inch pie shell, baked

Cherry Topping Ingredients:
- 1-3/4 cups thawed frozen pitted tart
cherries (1/2 or a 1-pound bag)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Chocolate Filling Ingredients:
- 6 ounces soft fat-free cream cheese
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 tablespoons fat-free milk

For the topping, combine the cherries, sugar, 1/4 cup
water, and the cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
Stir well to dissolve the cornstarch.
Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened and clear.
Add the almond extract and stir to blend.
Refrigerate the sauce to chill and firm.

For the filling, combine the cream cheese and chocolate
chips in a small pan or in the top of a double boiler.
Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the chips
are melted; add the milk and stir until the mixture is smooth.
Pour the chocolate filling into the baked pie crust.
Let cool at least 10 minutes, or until the pudding sets.
Gently spread the cooled cherry topping over the chocolate layer.
Chill the pie at least 2 hours before serving.
At serving time, cut into 8 equal pieces.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: (1 slice)
Calories: 265, Fat: 11 g, Cholesterol: 4 mg, Sodium: 274 mg, Carbohydrate: 36 g, Dietary Fiber: 1 g, Sugars: 23 g, Protein: 7 g, Diabetic Exchanges: 2-1/2 Other Carbohydrate, 1-1/2 Fat

*****

Chocolate Mint Tea Delight

3/4 c Mint-flavored herb tea
2 tb Chocolate syrup
1/4 c Heavy cream, whipped
Sweetened chocolate powder

Pour the tea into a cup. Stir the chocolate syrup into the tea. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate powder
*****

Vanilla Sugar

Use the sugar in teas, cakes, sauces and other desserts.

Vanilla beans, which are actually seedpods, can be found in the
baking or spices section of most supermarkets. For maximum flavor,
slice the pod down its length and scrape the point of the knife along
the inside to release the seeds.
1 vanilla bean
sugar

After the seeds are scraped out,  you can make vanilla sugar by putting the pods into
a lidded jar of superfine sugar.You can continue to add used pods and replace with
more sugar as needed.