colorado - boulder - dushanbe tea house

I have been wanting to visit the Dushanbe Tea House since a friend first told me about it, so I took the opportunity on my day off today to go. I rode my bike there this morning & spent a couple hours enjoying delicious tea, a beautiful atmosphere, & a good book.

How beautiful right! 

Eight colorful ceramic panels grace the building’s exterior and display patterns of a “Tree of Life”. Each panel was sculpted in Tajikistan, cut into smaller tiles, fired, and then carefully packed to be sent to the USA. 

I sat next to the Fountain of the Seven Beauties, you can read the story behind the fountain here, & I loved being bale to hear the movement of the water; it was very peaceful.

The ceiling of the Teahouse, which I am in love with, was carved and painted with intricate patterns traditional of Persian Art. It was originally built, carved and painted in Tajikistan with no power tools; the work was crafted by hand exactly as it was centuries ago.

If you have a larger party you can sit at these awesome day bed like tables with pillows, next time I definitely want to sit here :) 

For my first tea I choose the Competition "Monkey Picked" Oolong pretty much because of the description above...I had no idea there were ever monkeys that picked tea which is pretty awesome, plus it was delicious.

I'm currently reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau for the first time. I'm loving it so far, there is so much about the text to appreciate & reflect upon.

So much detail, so beautiful.

Another view of the fountain.

There are 12 intricately carved cedar columns throughout the tea house, no two columns are alike.

For my second pot of tea I choose the Silver Needle Beencha from 2004 which is a Pu-erh tea. This type of tea is a unique, aged style of fermented tea produced in China’s western Yunnan province. It is created using time honored techniques, & is revered for its reported health benefits. Unlike most tea which is prized for its freshness, pu-erh teas are often classified by connoisseurs for their vintage and age. As the teas age, the complex flavors and aromas deepen and intensify, and the teas are prized for their toasty, earthy qualities. This was my first time having this type of tea & it was delicious.

The piece of art was located outside the tea house. 

If you're ever in Boulder check out this tea house, it's an experience worth having.

meal - beef daube

Cooking a meal in a bottle of red wine is very tasty, which was reflected in the fact that my favorite part was dipping the sourdough garlic bread we made in the broth :) 

Recipe adapted from here.

p.s. I picked up the wine glasses pictured at a thrift shop recently

meal - calzone night + the extra filling re-purposed into breakfast

Dinner 

Ingredients 

Dough - Purchased prepared from Whole Foods 

Filling - Spinach, Mushrooms, Mozzarella Cheese, Ricotta Cheese, Garlic, + Pepper & Truffle Salt to Taste 

Directions 

1- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2-  Jon & I each made one large calzone, so we split the dough in half

3- Next mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl 

4- Stretch the dough, evenly, into a rectangular shape & fill one half with a generous amount of the filling

5- Pull the unfilled side of the dough over the filled side & pinch the sides together to insure no filling will get out

6- Brush the top of the calzone with oil of choice, we used EVO, sprinkle with garlic powder, 7 place in the oven until the dough is golden brown.

Breakfast

Ingredients 

2 Slices of Food for Life Genesis 1:29 Sprouted Whole Grain & Seed Bread

1-2 Organic Local Eggs 

Filling from Above 

Elevation Ketchup - The best ketchup I've ever had, plus it's organic.

Directions 

Toast Bread, lightly butter

Scramble eggs, cook to liking 

Add in filling, until it is thoroughly heated & ingredients are evenly incorporated 

Serve on toast , topped with ketchup

Enjoy!
<3

colorado - boulder - hiking - settlers park - red rocks trail

I'm finally getting back into the habit of hiking on a regular basis again, & it feels great. It's a whole new world out here in terms of landscape & I'm excited to explore new trails in the area. On this hiking journey I went to Settlers Park, which is 2 mins away from home...a major plus, & hiked the Red Rocks Loop Trail. It was a fairly short loop with an ascent to a nice vista point, but it felt great to get out & enjoy the beautiful day so I took my time, soaking it all in.

*   *   *

Have a wonderful Sunday.
<3