Adventures in Foodie-Land

Today, I tried Numi's Dragon Lily Flowering tea.

As I poured steaming water over the little mushroom-shaped tea ampoule, I had serious misgivings about whether or not the flower would blossom as beautifully as the promotional photos promised. But look how pretty!

Not only that, but the smell was out of this world. The flower itself smelled of apricot nectar, sweet and heady and lush. The tea had a slight apricot taste, and it was very mild otherwise. For such a delicate white, it stood up to sugar and a dribble of milk nicely, too. This is a real mug-and-a-good-book kind of tea. Also, one flower really does steep three full cups of tea. I was pretty impressed.

For dinner, Dixie and I ate at Wegman's, which is the biggest health-food grocery store I've seen, other than the Whole Foods in NYC. The food bar was incredible-- pastas mixed in parmesan bowls, a full delicatessen, a coffee bar. I had wonderful fresh nigiri sushi with a side of ripe watermelon and iced lime green tea. I was in the mood for fresh, and my dinner was absolutely perfect, not to mention cheap at $13.

I only got a few minutes to browse the rest of the store, but the tea section was impressive, and the dessert counter looked like something you'd find in an expensive patisserie-- I sampled key lime and mimosa chocolates, and eyed the fresh fruit tartlettes for next time. They also had chocolate coffee mugs filled with mocha mousse, doused in cinnamon powder, and topped with a marshmallow. It looked too beautiful to eat.

I can't wait to actually have time to shop there. I'm sure I can find some exotic sauces that will inspire me to learn to cook. What good is a foodie that can't cook, after all?