When you think of summer, you usually think of light and healthy meals! I am a huge fan of salads but I love a good light salad during the summer on the deck – really nothing beats a meal like that in my opinion.
Most salad dressings are made up of some sort of oil, vinegar, and seasoning. I really wanted to jazz up my usual summer salad dressing and decided there was no better way but to add one of my favourite teas from Rishi Tea – the Blue Jasmine tea. Rishi Tea’s Blue Jasmine tea combines the flowery taste of jasmine tea with beautiful butterfly pea flowers.
What is Butterfly Pea Flowers?
If you are not familiar with butterfly pea flowers, here is a quick run down. It is a flower when steeped creates a beautiful blue colour. And when you add any citrus to it, the colour changes to purple due to the pH levels changing! It is also vegan and naturally decaffeinated so most people can enjoy it! The butterfly pea flower have been around for quite some time and many countries around the world use it as a natural food colouring. Only in the last few years, this flower have become quite popular in North America.
Can you Eat Butterfly Pea Flowers?
Yes!! You can eat the flower when it is fresh or dried. When it is dried, you can re-hydrate it or grind it into a powder to add to your smoothies or yogurt. The flavours are quite mild and to me it has a slight vanilla taste. A lot of people think it has an earthy, green tea taste to it as well! Even though it is completely safe to consume, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, please check with your doctor before consuming. I am not a doctor, so ask the professional on this one!
What are the Benefits of Butterfly Pea Flowers?
Great question! And I am happy to report that butterfly pea flowers are great for you! They are jam packed full of antioxidants and it is great as a memory and brain booster and it is calming and helps reduce stress. There is also a full list of benefits that people claim butterfly pea flowers have like improving eyesight and skin, anti anxiety and depression, and anti inflammatory and anti asthmatic. (It has been known to be used in ancient medicines to help with colds and asthma).
Do Butterfly Pea Flowers Cause Vivid Dreams?
According to the Rishi Tea website, “The flowers have a high content of anthocyanin, a beneficial antioxidant. The flowers have a nootropic effect and may trigger vivid dreams.” I have consumed a lot of butterfly pea flowers in the last few months and I personally haven’t had any vivid dreams to report, but everyone is different!
Cooking with Butterfly Pea Flower
I have always been fascinated with creating food with butterfly pea flower since the blue colour is just gorgeous! I have used the powder to make macarons, you can see the recipe here. I love using it as natural food colouring but I wanted to try using it more for its flavour components. So I created this Blue Jasmine Salad Dressing that you are going to love! Let’s jump right into it! T
Summer Blue Jasmine Salad
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Rishi Tea - Blue Jasmine Tea
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp coconut sugar (or regular white sugar)
- 1 box baby spinach
- fresh strawberries, quartered You can add as much or as little you like
- walnuts You can add as much or as little you like
- Cheese (you can use mozzarella or goat cheese) Optional, and you can add as much or as little
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, add apple cider vinegar and Blue Jasmine tea
- Bring to a very low simmer on low heat for 3 minutes
- Remove apple cider tea mixture off the heat and let cool
- Once cooled, add olive oil, salt, pepper and coconut sugar to apple cider tea mixture and whisk to combine
- In a large salad bowl, add spinach, strawberries, walnuts and cheese. Add salad dressing, toss and serve immediately.
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