recipes

Let’s make it again! Immunity Soup

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Good health is beautiful. GARLIC, onions, ginger, thyme turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, veg broth, coconut milk. That pansy (which survives the winter) has antioxidant & anti-inflammatory properties.
  • 6 BIG bulbs of garlic, separate into cloves only smashing & peeling half of the cloves
  • 1 huge white onion, peeled & sliced
  • 2 T ghee & 2 T olive oil
  • 1/2 cup minced ginger
  • 2 t fresh thyme
  • 1/4-1/2 t cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 t fresh milled black pepper
  • 1 lemon, juice & 2 t grated peel
  • 4 cups vegetable broth (Magic Mineral Broth)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup coconut milk (I like the 1 cup)
  • sea salt, a bit added while sautéing & final then for seasoning
EVERYTHING ORGANIC! 6 BIG bulbs of garlic. 350°F oven.
Place have of the cloves, unpeeled in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, cover and bake 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, smash the remaining garlic cloves and peel them. Set aside. Melt 2 T Grass-fed ghee in a 2-quart or larger pot. Add 1 huge white onion peeled & sliced, 2 teaspoons fresh thyme , 2 heaping tablespoons of turmeric*, 1/2 cup chopped ginger, 1/4 or more cayenne as you like, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 t sea salt & half of the remaining garlic. Cook until the onions are transparent. You might need to add broth because the turmeric wants to thicken & stick so it can turn everything in your kitchen golden. Add the oven roasted garlic – popping each clove out of its skin. Add 4 cups of vegetables broth.** Simmer 20 minutes * I juiced fresh turmeric and added about 2 tablespoons of juice & 2 level tablespoons of dry.
**I love Rebecca Katz & her Magic Mineral Broth.
Well, I love all of her recipes. http://www.rebeccakatz.com

Puree the soup. Return to pot. Add coconut milk & heat through. Add remaining garlic cloves RAW, whole or chopped, your preference. Taste for seasoning and adjust.

Eat hot or cold. On rice or cauliflower. Tame it a bit with broth and vegetables. JUST BE SURE TO EAT IT! To be beautiful and smell like garlic. Refrigerate up to 7 days. Freeze some. Hey how about in ice cube trays? A little immunity shooter anytime. Straight-sided Ball jars work great. Be sure to leave 1″ of headroom to allow for the expansion during freezing. DATE ’em & eat within 3 months of freezing.
  • Garlic & Onion Cut at least 10 minutes before eating to release their power!
  • One clove of garlic has manganese, B6, C, selenium, calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron, B6. BOOSTS IMMUNITY!
  • Turmeric is a strong anti-inflammatory. Inflammation compromises your immune system. Turmeric must be eaten with black pepper & fat to best be absorbed. REDUCES INFLAMMATION!
  • Thyme C, A, copper, iron, manganese & disinfects & stops coughs. SANITIZES & BOOSTS IMMUNITY!
  • Ginger improves digestion (helps with turmeric absorption & allium digesiton), reduces inflammation, may protect respiratory system, fights infections! DOES A LOT!
  • Coconut Milk is full of antioxidants C, E, & electrolytes potassium, magnesium, phosphorus & antiseptic properties & is an anti-inflammatory & has ZINC & is a strong gut health supporter. MIRACLE FOOD!
  • Black Pepper is high in antioxidants is anti-inflammatory, boosts nutrient absorption & gut health. BRING IT ON!
  • Cayenne – I go light on cayenne, a personal preference and intolerance to night shades, but it can aid digestion among many other benefits for folks.
  • Lemon VITAMIN C and then some. For immunity boosting Vitamin C (time release) is recommended. I drink the juice of half a lemon every morning in warm water to detox my liver a bit as well.

Dark Chocolate Walnuts Périgord

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A Perfect Gift From France!

After a trip back to Le Vieux Couvent to study with ARTISTS Rita Carpenter & Stacy Levy hiking around a lot in The Lot, munching the delicious Périgord walnuts, and falling over in a food coma—I decided I should try to make the decadent morsels here in North Carolina. You are asking, “What was I thinking?” After all of those croissants and other irrésistibles how will your zippers cooperate?

(The gorgeous fabric in the picture above is the napkin created by Raleigh City Farm’s Artist in Residence, Julia Einstein. You can purchase the napkins and fabric from Spoonflower at Designs by j-einstein.)

Well, I am not in a French walnut food coma but I am in a very dreamy place with my Pacific Northwest Organic Walnuts. Back in the U.S., I also sauntered into my local La Farm Bakery just to ease my transition from all the REAL French (in France) butter, chocolate, and wine. The result, mon cher? I lost a few kilos in Paris from running up and down Metro stairs but gained a few pounds when I returned (obviously depressed) to the U.S. binging on croissants and these walnuts. Enjoy!

  • 16 ounces of walnuts
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 ounces of bittersweet or semi-sweet baking chocolate
  • 2 teaspoons of French butter (salted or not)
  • 1 cup Dutch dark cocoa
  • 2 tablespoons (+/-) confectioner’s sugar
  • +/- 1/4 teaspoon Fine sea salt (optional)

WALNUTS: Roast 16 ounces organic walnut halves at 350° F for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Set aside.

GLAZE: Set a cooling rack over a large baking sheet lined with parchment for the glazed walnuts. Cook 1 cup sugar + 1/2 cup of water in a large skillet (big enough to hold the walnuts in a single layer) swirling the mixture until it’s a toasted a golden caramel color. You’ll need to work fast or the glaze will become too dark too fast.

Toss in the walnuts, stirring quickly to thinly coat them with the glaze. Quickly spoon them onto the cooling rack that is over the parchment-lined baking sheet. THIS will burn your fingers terribly so do not touch the glazed nuts until they have cooled a bit. Once a bit cool, break them apart into single walnuts or similar chunks. Let. cool completely.

CHOCOLATE: In a double-boiler (stainless steel bowl over a saucepan of hot water), melt 4 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate (not chocolate chips) and 1 teaspoon French butter. Stir until smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and toss in the walnuts. Spread the chocolate-coated nuts on the parchment-lined sheet left from the glaze procedure above. Sprinkle immediately with the cocoa mixture and let cool completely.

COCOA: Sift together 1 cup Dutch dark cocoa powder and 2+/- tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar. I add 1/4 teaspoon very fine Fleur de Sel (sea salt, pulverized) but it’s optional. Sprinkle this mixture through a sieve over the chocolate-coated walnuts. Let the nuts cool completely, then toss in the cocoa mixture left that did not stick to the nuts.

Store in an airtight glass (not plastic) container at room temperature in a dark dry place.

I hide them from myself—because—Je ne peux pas les empêcher de sauter dans ma bouche. I can’t stop them from jumping into my mouth.

OH! HO HO HO Clothespin Cookies

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Some family traditions are worth the sugar rush.
Clothespin Cookies – Use the old fashioned kind of clothespins.
Easy to make dough. Swirl onto greased pins.
These are ready for a roll in the sugars.

THE RECIPE

COOKIE DOUGH

  • 2 1/2 t dry yeast
  • 1/2 c milk, heat to 115
  • 4 c all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 c unsalted butter
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 4 T sugar
  • 1 t salt
  • Decorating sugars 

Dissolve yeast in milk and set aside. Mix sugar and salt into flour. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs. Mix eggs and yeast/milk mixture together. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the yeast/milk/egg mixture. Mix well and knead a few times. Wrap in wax paper and a damp tea towel and refrigerate overnight.

Grease about 50 clothespins with vegetable shortening. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 300º F. 

Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface roll each half into an 8″ wide X 20″ long rectangle. Dough will be about 1/8″ thick. Cut off rough side edges and set aside to roll again later. Cut rectangle in to 3/4″ strips and roll onto clothespin with floured side on the clothespin, overlapping edges. Do not wrap to “shoulder” of the clothespin as removal is difficult. Set rolled curls aside to warm a bit as this helps decorative sugars to adhere a bit better. Prepare all cookies.

Gently roll cookies in sugars. Roll with the swirl so you don’t uncurl the cookie. Place seam side down on parchment lined baking sheet. Double pan and bake 30 minutes until just golden on the bottoms. You can prepare filling while cookies bake.

Cool on wire racks for a few minutes and gently remove each cookie from the clothespin. Eat one. Let the rest cool to room temperature.

FILLING

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup salted or unsalted butter divided in two
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (Penzy’s double strength)
  • 1 cup whipping cream

Heat sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan just until butter melts. Place in mixer bowl. Add milk and vanilla. Beat at high speed until mixture combines, about 10 minutes. It will look curdled at first. Add whipping cream and continue to beat at high speed. Add 1/2 cup butter a small piece at a time until the mixture becomes a fluffy frosting. This filling is a bit fussy to make but worth it for the taste. You could opt for your favorite Italian or French buttercream or stabilized whipped cream.

Fill the curls. Immediately eat them. Refrigerate or freeze those that aren’t eaten within an hour of filling. Refrigerate for up to ten days. They freeze for months – which makes the sugar rush last longer.

Merry Christmas and EVERY other holiday that happens this time of year!

Seriously Delicious Immunity Soup

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Good health is beautiful. GARLIC, onions, ginger, thyme turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, veg broth, coconut milk.
That pansy has antioxidant & anti-inflammatory properties.
  • 6 BIG bulbs of garlic, separate into cloves only smashing & peeling half of the cloves
  • 1 huge white onion, peeled & sliced
  • 2 T ghee & 2 T olive oil
  • 1/2 cup minced ginger
  • 2 t fresh thyme
  • 1/4-1/2 t cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 t fresh milled black pepper
  • 1 lemon, juice & 2 t grated peel
  • 4 cups vegetable broth (Magic Mineral Broth)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup coconut milk (I like the 1 cup)
  • sea salt, a bit added while sautéing & final then for seasoning
EVERYTHING ORGANIC! 6 BIG bulbs of garlic. 350°F oven.
Place have of the cloves, unpeeled in a baking dish. Toss with olive oil, cover and bake 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, smash the remaining garlic cloves and peel them. Set aside. Melt 2 T Grass-fed ghee in a 2-quart or larger pot. Add 1 huge white onion peeled & sliced, 2 teaspoons fresh thyme , 2 heaping tablespoons of turmeric*, 1/2 cup chopped ginger, 1/4 or more cayenne as you like, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 t sea salt & half of the remaining garlic. Cook until the onions are transparent. You might need to add broth because the turmeric wants to thicken & stick so it can turn everything in your kitchen golden. Add the oven roasted garlic – popping each clove out of its skin. Add 4 cups of vegetables broth.** Simmer 20 minutes * I juiced fresh turmeric and added about 2 tablespoons of juice & 2 level tablespoons of dry.
**I love Rebecca Katz & her Magic Mineral Broth.
Well, I love all of her recipes. http://www.rebeccakatz.com

Puree the soup. Return to pot. Add coconut milk & heat through. Add remaining garlic cloves RAW, whole or chopped, your preference. Taste for seasoning and adjust.

Eat hot or cold. On rice or cauliflower. Tame it a bit with broth and vegetables. JUST BE SURE TO EAT IT! To be beautiful and smell like garlic. Refrigerate up to 7 days. Freeze some. Hey how about in ice cube trays? A little immunity shooter anytime. Straight-sided Ball jars work great. Be sure to leave 1″ of headroom to allow for the expansion during freezing. DATE ’em & eat within 3 months of freezing.
  • Garlic & Onion Cut at least 10 minutes before eating to release their power!
  • One clove of garlic has manganese, B6, C, selenium, calcium, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron, B6. BOOSTS IMMUNITY!
  • Turmeric is a strong anti-inflammatory. Inflammation compromises your immune system. Turmeric must be eaten with black pepper & fat to best be absorbed. REDUCES INFLAMMATION!
  • Thyme C, A, copper, iron, manganese & disinfects & stops coughs. SANITIZES & BOOSTS IMMUNITY!
  • Ginger improves digestion (helps with turmeric absorption & allium digesiton), reduces inflammation, may protect respiratory system, fights infections! DOES A LOT!
  • Coconut Milk is full of antioxidants C, E, & electrolytes potassium, magnesium, phosphorus & antiseptic properties & is an anti-inflammatory & has ZINC & is a strong gut health supporter. MIRACLE FOOD!
  • Black Pepper is high in antioxidants is anti-inflammatory, boosts nutrient absorption & gut health. BRING IT ON!
  • Cayenne – I go light on cayenne, a personal preference and intolerance to night shades, but it can aid digestion among many other benefits for folks.
  • Lemon VITAMIN C and then some. For immunity boosting Vitamin C (time release) is recommended. I drink the juice of half a lemon every morning in warm water to detox my liver a bit as well.

Thai Watermelon Soup

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Combine ICE COLD sweet watermelon with ginger, garlic, lemongrass, lime. Then spike it with a chili. We (artists and friends) recently painted and dined surrounded by beauty at The Meadows at Firefly Farm courtesy of Anna. Thank you, dear one.

Here’s the recipe:

  • 12 cups watermelon chunks
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons sliced lemongrass
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 6 tablespoons minced shallot
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil (not toasted)
  • 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (or your favorite mineral-dense natural salt)
  • A bit if Thai or Serrano pepper to taste WEAR GLOVES & GOGGLES when handling spicy chili capsicums! (On the Scoville scale Thai peppers rate three peppers while Serranos are two, but I think they both very pungent so I add tidbits at a time. The seeds and ribs are the spiciest parts. The heat will mellow a bit after a few hours of refrigeration.)
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons lime juice
  • Maple syrup (to adjust sweetness if necessary)
  • Mint leaves (for garnish)
  • Lime slice (for garnish)

In your favorite serious blender, (Mine’s a Blendtec.), puree the watermelon and water. You might need to do this in two batches. Heat the sesame oil in a 4-cup saucepan or skillet. Add the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and shallot. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of the watermelon puree and simmer the mixture for 3 minutes. Cool the mixture to room temperature and then add it to the blender with 4 cups of the watermelon puree, salt, your chili(s) of choice, and 4 tablespoons of lime juice (the juice of 2 limes). Hyper-blend and taste for seasonings. Add maple syrup, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed. And more lime juice and chili if needed. Hyper-blend again and mix all the ingredients in a large vessel (pitcher, jar, water jug). Refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.

Garnish with a mint leave and a slice of lime. Are your diners serious hotheads who LOVE chilis? Serve some minced ones on the side.

ServSafe says this will last safely for 7 days, but I prefer consuming within 3 days to enjoy the brightness of this soup.

After 3 days, do you have a BUNCH left? Make ice cubes to add to lemonade, ginger beer, or tequila. Hey, make up your own summer slushee.

NOW Raleigh City Farm has FRESH lemongrass and mint from the herb plots. Come to Raleigh City Farm’s Pay-What-You-Can Farmstand—Wednesdays, 4 to 7 p.m.—for fresh, nutrition-packed produce. This recipe would be good with cantaloupe—available at the farmstand this week.

My Summer Date(s)

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Simple and sweet!

The NC Museum of Natural Science Eco-Adventures group visited Raleigh City Farm this week and we taste tested herbs (basil, mint, rosemary) with these date-based, cocoa-covered truffles. Mint was the favorite!
  • 1 cup dates
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup coconut flakes
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
  • Dash of a natural salt
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon monkfruit sugar

Blend all ingredients (except the cocoa and sugar)in a serious Blendtec or similar blender until it is pulverized. Refrigerate for an hour. Meanwhile mix the cocoa and sugar in a small bowl.

Scoop a teaspoon and form a ball. Roll in the cocoa mixture. Refrigerate.

Serve with fresh herb leaves for taste testing fun.

WROTE IT! PUBLICATION DATE = SOON!

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I showed up, wore a crown, slept less, thought more, got crazier, and wrote my memoir.

THE SUMMARY:

Belynda’s recipe for life, Beauty Queen Blues, is an intimate (at times raw) memoir told from her creative, curious, crazy point of view. 

From her mother she learned proper etiquette, explicit self-control, and how to sew. Her devil-may-care dad crossed more than a few boundaries. He taught her all about the seven deadly sins and how to create memorable cuisine—all while maximizing her flirting techniques. Her two older sisters and one brother were jealous of her being the do-no-wrong baby of the family, but they loved her too—as much as they knew how to love. The Chambers clan was always laughing mostly with each other but sometimes at each other. 

Crowned a queen in Memphis at 17, Belynda became a popular public personality, recognized for her figuremore than for her self. She showed up, wore her crown, and spoke up for St. Jude’s children, women’s rights, and the environment. Obsessed, determined, driven to find her comfortable spot in the world, she questioned her religion, race, gender, and discovered that her Southern roots didn’t quite fit. 

Beauty Queen Blues is a life-changing love story. Two marriages, three daughters, dozens of countries, infinite laughs, delectable food, numerous metaphysical events, broken bones, brains and hearts pack Belynda’s life with divine grace and love. To feed her love of cooking for others, she became a chef. Recipes—sensual ones that promise to please—are included.

As she peels away the years writing—remembering those she loved anyway even though they were really messed up, she has several epiphanies. Love your life sooner is just one of them. Maybe, just maybe, being crazy is a good thing. 

Sauerkraut – Delight your gut bugs!

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12 cups of cabbage, 3 tablespoons salt, and time = delicious!

12 cups chopped cabbage
Mix with 3 T sea salt
Place in a sterilized crock. Press the cabbage firmly and top with a plate and a weight.
Cover. Check after 24 hours. Add brine of 1 t sea salt in 1 C water if needed.
NO metal utensils please. After 5 to 12 days you have delicious kraut!
Pack it into jars. Be sure the brine covers the kraut.
Draw a beautiful label. Add rafia and delight your friends.
Refrigerate. Keeps for months. Mine never lasts past 3 months. It will continue to ferment.

YUMMY sauerkraut is so easy to make. Besides just scooping it out and eating it, I add it to my salads, as a garnish for soups, and as an extra in my wraps. All you need is cabbage, sea salt, a crock or a glass jar, something to weight the cabbage under the brine and a cloth to cover it. I like about 1 part red cabbage to 3 parts green because it is just so brilliantly pink when it’s done. My KRAUT GURU’s book WILD FERMENTATION (Sandor Ellix Katz) is the best bedtime read. Next up, I’m trying – MISO and Summer Half Sour Pickles.

The other book that keeps me up nights digesting it (LOL) is THE GOOD GUT by          Justin & Erica Sonnenburg, PhDs.

Kimchi Yumi

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BUILD YOUR IMMUNITY GUT BUGS! Ancient, created thousands of years ago in Korea, kimchi is the perfect gut flora food. Fun to make, it’s really delicious, even if it does smell a bit farty as it cures.

Market List: Napa Cabbage, Daikon, Bok Choy, Carrots, (Pea pods, snow peas, peas, seaweeds, – choose your own added vegetables.) Ginger, Garlic, Onions (green/yellow/white), Leeks, and/or shallots, red hot peppers (fresh dried or in a sauce just be sure no preservatives). Preservative free Fish Sauce (Naum Plum) if  you like. Have FUN!

IMG_2435
Be sure all utensils are are clean. CLEAN means washed, rinsed, then rinsed again with boiling water. PREPARE VEGES: NAPA CABBAGE chopped 12 cups  BOK CHOY chopped 3 cups CARROTS 1 cup sliced DAIKON RADISH cubed 4 cups SEA SALT 8 tablespoons FILTERED WATER 8 cups  Place the vegetables in a large clean ceramic or glass container (never metal or plastic). Dissolve the sea salt in the water to make the brine and pour over the vegetables. Add a plate weighted with a jar of water to keep the vegetables submerged. Cover with a clean cloth  Let cure at least 8 hours, up to 12 hours. Drain the brine and reserve.

IMG_2442
Prepare the spices: GINGER 3 to 5 Tablespoons, grated. ONIONS 1 large WHITE or YELLOW one cut in crescents or chunks; add maybe 5 GREEN onions, diced if you like. LEEK green and white parts sliced in thin rounds, about a cup. GARLIC 5 to 8 large cloves minced. HOT RED CHILIS: 1 ONE 1  Hey – I make my own kimchi because I am not a fiery spice girl. Add what you like but remember, you can’t “de-fire” it.  Taste the veggies and insure they aren’t too salty. If they are too salty, just dilute the brine LATER. Add the alliums and spice mix to the vegetables and blend well with clean hands. You can transfer the entire mixture to a clean (boiled clean) crock at this point or leave in the ceramic bowl. If the vegetables were too salty dilute the brine. Remember, the salt is what helps to safely cure the kimchi so don’t desalinize them. Add brine until your kimchi is fully submerged with about an inch of liquid over it.

IMG_2437
Add a clean plate that covers the vegetables and weight it with a clean large bottle of water. Cover completely with a clean cloth. (Notice the “clean” repeated.) Place in a dust free area for it to nap and ferment. Check daily and press under the brine. Is there yucky stuff? White mold? Just remove it. Other weird stuff, don’t risk eating it. My kimchi ferments for 7 days at 70°F. Then I pack it into clean (sterilized) Ball jars and press it firmly down to insure covered with brine. Seal with clean Ball enamel lined lids. Don’t use metal utensils to scoop your kimchi out of its jar – only wood, ceramic (like Asian soup spoons) or silicone ones. I  drink the leftover brine – no kidding. Kimchi will continue to ferment in the refrigerator, just more slowly. Heat destroys the healthy bacteria, so add Kimchi to maximum 115°F broths. Delicious in miso and you get 2 gut goodies! Always refer to the real expert —Wild Fermentation 

Oui! French Escape Madeleines

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Let’s go to the 18th century when baking in molds began. Oh wait…let’s read Proust’s In Search of Lost Time and dip our petit madeleines in our London Fog (bergamot tea, foamed almond milk with vanilla syrup) & selectively remember why we just know that now & then cake comforts us. Enjoy your sweet life!
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 3/4 t vanilla 1/2 t almond extract or vice versa depending on your taste or traditional = 3/4 t vanilla 1 T lemon zest
  • 1/2 c unsalted butter melted set aside to cool + 2 T butter melted to oil tin
  • 1 c flour
  • 1/4 t salt (or less)
  • 1/2 t baking powder

Tendre, s’il vous plaît. Whisk flour, salt & baking powder in small bowl. In mixer with wire whip, beat eggs & sugar 6-8 minutes until light & thick. Add flavorings. Fold in flour mixture, gently. Take 1/4 c of the batter & mix with the 1/2 c melted butter until the butter is incorporated. Then thoroughly fold this butter batter into the egg, sugar, flour batter, gently. Cover & refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile oil molds VERY WELL. EVEN if you have non stick molds, oil them well. The butter helps the petit cakes brown too. Preheat oven to 350° F.

Organize your tea ingredients: Begamot (Earl Grey) Tea, almond or milk of choice, vanilla or vanilla syrup, sugar. Make your tea while your cakes bake.

Place 1 tablespoon of batter in the center of each of 22* VERY WELL oiled 3″ x 1.75″ mold. Bake 10 to 14 minutes. (Ovens and atmospheres vary.) They are done when the edges are just brown. You can test with your finger by pressing gently. If it’s done it’ll resist a bit & spring back. Remove from oven. Wait 1 minute (no longer) & with a table knife coax your madeleines onto a wire rack to cool. (OR DON’T WAIT – I like one warm from the oven.) Store in air tight container or freeze.

Eat within a few minutes. (Did I say that?) I meant days. (I am a glutton for anything French or cake like or filled with glorious memories.) I am pretty sure the benefits of bergamot & black tea totally counteract the sugar sins.

Some folks like them sprinkled with (more) sugar. I like mine naked with Earl Grey tea. ENJOY!

*The shells in my tin are about 3″ x 1-3/4″. There are 24 shells but this batter made 22 perfectly. (Rumor has it you can use real bivalve shells.)