Look what I'm bringing to the #TastyParTEA! and sharing with #Winophiles

Last week I invited you to join us for a Tasty ParTEA and enter into a great giveaway.  The giveaway is still going on and you can enter right here.  There is a great gift being offered by Charles Viancin who is sponsoring this event along with the Republic of Tea.  I was generously given a gorgeous teapot and cup from Charles Vianin as well as an adorable infuser.  Republic of Tea provided me with a wonderful lean green tea that helps to supress your appetite while adding nutritious antioxidants to your diet.

I did not use any of these products in my post today but I do want to thank the sponsors for their support and for our ability to offer the giveaway to you, our readers.  I have enjoyed these wonderful gifts very much.

My friend, Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla, invited 12 of us, along with her, to spend a week posting recipes that use tea.  Today is the second to last day and the day I was assigned to post. I have shared a few recipes that use tea in the past, like this Lapsong Souchong Smoked Beef Roast.

I had been given another gift of a cookbook called Soup Swap a while back.  I remembered that, while perusing that great cookbook, I had noticed a soup recipe that called for using tea.  I dug out the cookbook....no easy feat, since it was packed in one of 6 boxes labeled cookbooks that are still out in the pole barn.  Actually, I had given up on it but Frank kept looking and walked in about an hour later and presented me with it.  He is such a great guy!!

I adapted a recipe for Roasted Carrot and Ginger Soup to share with you today.  I fell in love with carrot soup last month when I shared this Curry Kissed Carrot Soup so I was very excited to make another version.  

You start out with vegetable stock infused with Lemon Ginger Tea mixed with roasted vegetables that include carrots, onions and ginger.

When the stock is infused with the ginger and the roasted vegetables are simmered in the stock until tender.  Puree the soup in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender until smooth.

Return the pureed soup to the pan, taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Rewarm gently until ready to serve.

Today also happens to be the day that we post for our French Winophiles group.  We have been working our way through France.  We have made our way all around the Country and are now returning to different areas for a more in depth visit.  This month we were invited to visit Beaujolais wines by Jill and Jason Barth of L'Occasion, you can see their invitation post here.

Beaujolais has a reputation of pairing well with almost any type of food.  I was running short of time and wasn't sure when I would have an opportunity to cook a meal especially for the pairing with my bottle of 2015 Georges DuBoeuf so I grabbed the iron while it was hot.

Beaujolais is meant to be enjoyed young so the 2015 vintage did not scare me.  The wine, itself, was light and fruity.  We enjoyed it very much and the bottle was empty before we realized it.  The first sip of wine after the soup was a bit bitter and I wasn't sure that it was going to work.  The soup was very fragrant, sweet and spicy.  The second sip was better than the first and as Frank so eloquently put it...."it's drinkable".  So we did.  We drank, we ate and we enjoyed.

Roasted Carrot and Ginger Soup

adapted from Soup Swap by Kathy Gunst

1/2 lg. sweet onion. thickly sliced

4-5 med carrots, peeled and chunked

2 T. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1" piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and roughly chopped

1 ginger lemon green tea bag

1 (32 oz) box of vegetable stock or 4 c. homemade vegetable stock

grated fresh ginger root for garnish, if desired

heavy cream for garnish, if desired 

Place the onion and pepper in a roaster or oven safe skillet.  Toss with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in a preheated 425* oven for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, add the chopped ginger to the veggies, toss and roast for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile place the stock and teabag in a soup pot and bring to a boil. reduce to low and allow to simmer while veggies roast.  Remove the teabag, squeezing it to release all liquid into the stock, and discard.  Add the roasted veggies to the stock and continue to simmer until very tender, another 15 minutes or so.

Puree the soup, in batches if necessary, until smooth.  I used my vitamix but you could use a food processor, immersion blender or kitchen blender.  Return pureed soup to the pot, taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.  Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with grated ginger root and drizzle with heavy cream. Print Recipea

Take a look at what the others paired with Beaujolais this month

• Michelle from Rockin’ Red Blog presents Beaujolais: Ah To Be Young Wild and Free.
• Jeff from FoodWineClick! shares Beaujolais: A Versatile Partner for Hunter’s Chicken
• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog reveals A Great Everyday Red Wine 
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares Look What I’m Bringing to the #TastyParTEA and Sharing with #Winophiles 
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares Sole Véronique with a Château Thivin Brouilly 
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator shares Fleurie Beaujolais: an in-between wine for in-between times 
• Jill from L’Occasion shares The Crus of Beaujolais