This recipe will make no-cal, no-carb, liquid sweetener, for coffee, shakes, tea, or what-have-you But, if you need it as a scoopable powder, I can’t do that…yet.

Anyway, you need three things: a stevia plant (I got mine at Depot), water, and a microwave.

First, pluck a handful of leaves off the plant. Wash and pop them in the microwave to dry. Use 30-60 second increments until you can crush the leaves with your fingers.

If you want max sweet for min leaves…I can’t believe how often I say this….get out your coffee grinder and buzz it for a few seconds.

Microwave one cup of water to boiling. Add 2T of dried leaves. Steep for five minutes. Strain through a coffee filter or cheese cloth or what-have-you. (or you can soak them in warm water 24 hours and refrigerate) The “tea” water will have a green tint. If that bugs you, maybe try the warm water way.

I find that I prefer about a 1-1/2 tablespoons of this liquid in a cup of tea. But, you’ll have to experiment for yourself.

We also like it in tofu shakes. 1/2 c stevia water for a 4-cup blender-full.

(1 cup frozen strawberries (or 2 T cocoa), 1 big block tofu, 1/2 can coconut milk, stevia water to taste.)

One caution….if you use this and it’s not sweet enough–do not dump a bunch of Sweet-N-Low in there. I don’t know if it gets sweeter as it sits or if other sweeteners just trigger the FULL POWER of stevia, but even one whole packet of S-n-L in 4c of shake makes it so sweet I can hardly drink it. YIKES.

Ivory