Who's In, Who's Out, Javed Miandad and Making Proper Tea

It's a beautiful morning; the sun's shining, the birds are singing, and everyone's happy.   Well, except for Australia.  They're not happy at all.  In fact, there's talk of Shane Warne coming back to the team to spin some sense into the squad!  That would be crazy!  That would be pandemonium!  That would be the most fun thing to happen in this bleak Ashes series! We want Warne!  We want Warne!

And here's some Pakistan Cricket Team news.  The Pakistan Cricket Board gave the ICC a list of 40 players to be approved...and guess what...3 players are not approved for international cricket!  Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Danish Kaneria will not be on the team for the New Zealand tour, and I believe they won't be on the World Cup team, either, but I'll have to double check that. 

It's not his fault his gloves were made of butter!

To be honest with you, I'm not sad about Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal, but I'm really disappointed about Danish Kaneria.   He was allegedly involved in some monkey business in county cricket in the UK.  By monkey business I mean spot-fixing, not buying and selling monkeys on the black market.  Soo, I'm a little sad about not seeing him any time soon because I love his spin style, and he has the craziest run-up in town.   Oh well.  But let's think about the good things...the team that IS going to New Zealand is flipping awesome and I'm not going to miss a single minute of all the action!

And here's the good news.  Javed Miandad, the legendary batsman, says he's having a grand old time coaching the team and showing them how to perfect their batting.   Things are going well in the Pakistan training camp; there are still some lingering effects from the spot fixing scandal and legal case against the accused trio, but all of the players are hunkering down and working hard.  This tour is going to be a lot of fun to watch because our lovely lads will be fit, fabulous, and prepared!  Furthermore, I heard a little rumour that our chaps on the team are eating great, traditional food!  Excellent!  Nothing makes me happier than to hear that they're eating properly!

So, that brings me to today's food topic:  making proper tea.  Tea is a beautiful thing, and there are so many varieties of it.  Over the next few days, I'll show you how to make the different versions of it, but for right now, we'll learn the absolute basics. Today is British Style (or Canadian style if that's what you want to call it.) Now go get a teapot cuz we're going to make the real deal.

First of  all, heat up your teapot by filling it with boiling water.  If you're using an antique or fine china teapot, put a spoon in the pot first, and pour the boiling water over the spoon...this will prevent the pot from cracking.  Let the water sit in there for a couple of minutes.  This pre-heats the pot and will help keep the tea warmer for longer.

Empty the water from the pot, and add 1 teabag for each person you're making tea for. Read the label on the package, sometimes one teabag is good for 2 people.  Adjust the amount according to how strong you like your tea.  If you're using tea leaves, use approximately 1 teaspon leaves per cup/person.

Pour freshly boiled water into the teapot over the teabags or leaves, and give a quick stir.  Let it sit for 2 or 3 minutes, and then serve.  Most old-fashioned or fine china teapots have a built-in strainer, but if you're using tea leaves in a modern pot, use a little hand strainer.  The old fashioned way to serve the tea is to put cold milk and/or sugar in your cup first, and then pour the tea over it.  It is acceptable to serve children their tea in a saucer so that the liquid cools down quickly; however, for adults this is frowned upon.

Right, have a good one today, I know this was a simple post, but try making your english style tea in a teapot.  It makes a huge difference!

Happy Cricket, and Happy Tea-time!