Flan and tea

I've been trying to eat healthy this year. I've been fixing balanced meals and using as many fresh veggies as I can find. But Sunday, when I was at a local market, I was overcome by the Flan.

If you have ever made Flan, you love it, but get tired of making it. I always begin by caramelizing the mold (a deep straight sided pan) I will make the flan in. Once I prepare the flan (which includes beating the eggs and canned milks for what seems like forever), I place it in the mold, then in a deep baking dish partially filled with hot water. I then cook it for an hour, after which I remove it from the mold and turn it upside down so the caramelized "goo" is now on top, but spills over the sides, too.

OK, this purchased flan has NO caramelized "goo," just some piped whip topping, nor does it taste exactly like the custardy flan I've made in the past. But, doing the math, it was actually cheaper than the eight eggs, one large or two small cans of sweetened condensed milk, two cans of evaporated milk, sugar, and Mexican vanilla, the required ingredients, as well as the electricity/gas it takes to cook the flan at 350 degrees F for an hour.

So, although it didn't taste as good as mine, I still enjoyed it while drinking a cup of Lapsang Souchong, a smoky tasting loose leaf tea from China. This black tea was the perfect compliment to the sweet taste of the flan.

And although I bought this tea at the Spice Merchant, I have read through their complete web site and newsletter and see nothing pointing to their teas being organic. So, I'm left with the decision to drink this tea, of which I purchased over 8 pounds last year in increments (bags) of 1/4 lb. (to the tune of well over $150.00 US-see my right sidebar for conversions), or throw it away because it may or may not be organic. I think I'll continue to drink it, since I only drink tea once a week, unless I do a 7 day marathon, but that involves using one tea bag for each day that has nothing to do with the leaf tea I get from the Spice Merchant. Somehow I feel I can live with my decision!

Now please join Kimmie and show what you are drinking this Tea Tuesday.

And if you would like to chime in on what type of camera you would recommend I buy (see this post from Sunday night), I would greatly appreciate it. Right now I'm confused!

Even though I will be offline this week for the first time in a long time, I have a post scheduled for later in the week that stars Bleubeard, and I just checked Inspiration Avenue's challenge, which is HANDS, so you know it won't take a minute to bring out some hands in my Hand altered book. However, I won't be around the rest of this week (after I visit all my Tea Tuesday friends) because I am preparing my house, yard, and fridge for an out-of-state visitor. And of course, I'll be back Sunday night with another AB lesson.

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