Some things that look hard are actually really easy.

Take Spring Salad In A Cucumber Vase. The “vase” is actually a cucumber wrap filled with a multicolor spring lettuce mix.

What’s a spring lettuce mix? It varies by producer, but can include arugula, baby spinach, endive, frisée, green and red oak leaf, mustard greens, red and green romaine, lolla rossa (a fully curled red lettuce), radicchio and Swiss chard.

Take a look at how to turn a cucumber and a bag of spring lettuce mix into a work of art:

Find more salad recipes in our Vegetables Section.

Photo courtesy Antoine Amrani.

Also called baking wafers or couverture wafers, the discs, which are made by premium chocolate producers, come in one-pound boxes (and larger sizes for professionals). Guittard, for example, offers:

When you feel the need for a bite of chocolate, one or two small wafers can satisfy.

Or enjoy a triple treat: one disc each of milk, semisweet and bittersweet chocolate.

And the price is right: One-pound boxes of this fine chocolate cost around $10.00, and there’s no tax on baking chocolate. When you compare the prices of fine chocolate bars, $10.00 for 16 ounces of chocolate discs is a good deal!

Unlike other green teas, matcha is made from leaves that are shielded from direct sunlight. The tea plant is covered with reed screens three weeks before harvest, resulting in a high concentration of chlorophyll and a deep dark green leaf. This gives matcha ten times as many antioxidants as regular green tea (it also has about half the amount of caffeine found in a comparably sized cup of coffee).

What makes matcha different is that no leaves are steeped (brewed). Instead, tea powder is frothed.

The dried leaves are deveined and destemmed, then ground into a fine powder — almost the consistency of talc. A spoonful of tea is then whisked into hot water with a bamboo tea whisk (chasen). The result is a foamy green drink with a fresh, vegetal sweetness.

Making Matcha Is Easy
1. Heat fresh water just short of boiling (filtered water or spring water is ideal).
2. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of matcha powder to the bowl or cup.
3. Pour in 6 ounces hot water.
4. Using a tea whisk, whisk briskly for a minute or two until the matcha forms a nice green colored foam. If you don’t have a tea whisk, use a small kitchen whisk or a battery-operated frother. It isn’t “official,” but it works.

There’s no need to strain; just take a moment from your day and enjoy the calming drink.

You can purchase matcha at a tea store, an Asian market or online; in tins and in individual portion packets. You can also treat yourself to a complete matcha tea set.

Thanks to the Republic Of Tea for inspiring this post.

Learn all about tea in our Tea Glossary.