Instant Tea Master

Last weekend we popped into Maido in Narberth just to check it out.  We ran into my son's classmate and decided to have lunch.  It was interesting - okonomiyak (a veggie and shrimp pancake) and yakisoba (noodles); we had this with barley iced tea - it put me in mind of iced coffee and is supposed to aid in digestion.

We stopped at TJs on our way home and were pleasantly surprised with the things that we tried - vegetable panang curry - tastes exactly like the panang from my favorite Thai restaurant, and only costs $2.69; shrimp with green curry, frozen jasmine rice, and miso soup. 

My son went to camp at Shofuso this week and absolutely loved it.  He made wonderful crafts, was introduced to Japanese culture, and acted as a tea master for the parent's tea tasting on Friday.  I learned so much about tea in just a short time and will be dashing out to purchase some matcha green tea. 

I was inspired and hungry so I returned to TJs, purchased additional panangs, more miso soup, sardines in olive oil, udon soup, and mango on sticky rice.  My plan was to have a bento style meal with my husband and son, but alas, Girl Scouts messed up my daughter's transportation plans and we had to drive to the Poconos. 

For lunch today, I went ahead as planned.  I used my son's ikebana as a backdrop and his painted tea bowl for rice.  We had miso soup, udon soup, jasmine rice, and sardines - an instant bento; our tea master poured a Teavana chai blend slightly sweetened with German rock sugar.  We topped that off with the mango and sticky rice. It's amazing what you can do with an electric kettle.