1 . Try Making Them into Treats

It’s fine to shop at farmers’ markets and grocery stores for recipe ingredients（原料）. But what if you could gather some of them by yourselves, and at the same time, help rid your region of non-native plant species that are harming the ecosystems?

According to the National Wildlife Federation, about 42 percent of today’s threatened or endangered species are at risk because of invasive（有侵略性的）species. Here are four invasive plants and ideas for serving them up.

KUDZU

Brought to the US from Japan, the kudau vine can grow a foot a day, robbing other plants of sunlight. Its beautiful flowers bloom from July to September, but its leaves, roots, and vine tips are more readily available. Pick flowers to use in making drinks.

HIMALAYAN BLACKBERRY

Native to Armenia, the plant has threatened other species. It blocks access through woods and affects livestock. Its fruit starts to ripen in midsummer and the berries can be added to hake goods such as muffins.

SOW THISTLE

Its roots crowd out useful crops and suck water and nitrogen from the soil. Native to Europe and western Asia, it grows all over North America in spring and summer. Try coking the leaves in olive oil and adding them to a cake.

WATERCRESS

European settlers brought this leafy green to the Colonies. It spreads along waterways, crowding out native plants.

Harvest it from the edge of a running stream in spring and fall to make sandwiches.

3 . Although tea is considered typically English, it did not really become part of English daily life until the 18th century.

The first man to sell tea was Thomas Garway in 1657 in his coffee house in London. It soon became fashionable all over London in 1662. Catherine of Braganza sailed to England from Portugal to become Charles II’s wife, taking boxes of tea with her. They said she was the first to introduce tea drinking in the home. The custom of afternoon tea probably originated with one person: Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford. In the early 1800s she came up with the idea of having tea in the late afternoon to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner, which in fashionable circles was not served until 8 o'clock at night. Tea drinking became popular among the lower classes too, but they are their evening meals much earlier! Nowadays British homes serve tea at all times of the day. If you visit British homes in the daytime they are likely to offer you a cup of tea. If it is after six this will probably be something stronger like beer or wine. Some families drink tea with breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Tea shops originated in the 1800s and you can still find them today all over England especially in villages and small towns. You can choose from a wide variety of teas as well as herbal teas (花草茶) and coffees. Tea rooms usually serve a selection of fresh sandwiches and cakes as well as ice cream. They are usually open from 9:00 am 10:00 am to around 5:00 pm. Some are open seven days a week, others close mid-week as weekends are usually the busiest time.

Tea was originally sold in coffee shops and was advertised as a drink with medicinal properties which made you strong and gave you energy, as well as preserving perfect health until extreme old age. This may not be true, but it is true that drinking tea can be refreshing. Tea breaks, or a short break from work to drink a cup of tea, is still vert popular in the UK. However, too much tea, like too much coffee, can also lead to sleeplessness and palpitations (心悸). This is why today some people prefer to buy herbal teas which do not contain caffeine.