Tea: Thinking Outside The Cup

There's more to do with tea leaves than simply boiling them in water for a nice drink in the morning.

Have you ever tried tea-smoked duck? Or perhaps cooking rice with tea?

Join certified nutritionist Sharon Meyer and Jennifer Suaer, author of The Way to Tea, to learn the history and secrets of the ancient leaf, while discovering ways to enjoy tea outside the teabag. Uncover healthy and delicious recipes infused with the flavors of different teas. The session starts at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Marin Cancer Institute in Greenbrae.

The cost is $35 per person. Call 1-888-MY-MGH (1-888-996-9644) to RSVP.

Here are a few other tips for this week:

• Enjoy the cozy atmosphere of the Larkspur Library on Thursday at 7 p.m. with best-selling author, Julia Flynn Siler, as she introduces her newest book, Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure. Siler takes readers on a tour through the fascinating history of Hawaii in a tale of one of the most breathtaking land grabs of the Gilded Age. Deftly weaving together a memorable cast of characters, Lost Kingdom brings to life the ensuing clash between a vulnerable Polynesian people and relentlessly expanding capitalist powers. Portraits of royalty, rogues, sugar barons, and missionaries combine into a sweeping tale of the Hawaiian kingdom’s rise and fall.

• Drop by the Corte Madera farmers market in the Town Center every Wednesday, noon to 5 p.m. There are plenty of fresh greens for a delicious spinach pesto.

• Author Arlie Hochschild discusses The Outsourced Self: Intimate Life in Market Times at Book Passage in Corte Madera on Wednesday at 7 p.m. She explores the transformation of private life in our for-profit world and warns of threats to the personal realm Americans are striving to preserve.