Cooking from the Larder,Part II

Cooking from the Larder, Part II

Everyone loves herb tea, right? I do too, and I've tried all the ones that are on the market. Most of them are just run of the mill, and a few stand out as good. But none of them compare to my homemade herb tea. I could actually say "I was there first". I started making my herb tea BEFORE "Celestial Seasoning" thought of it, at least by two or three years. And the formula I concocted is pretty much the same as it was then. It's called Aunt Carol's Herbal Tea. If given away to friends and relatives, it's usually accompanied by a tea pot, a tea cozy (handmade, of course), maybe a handmade cup and a tea strainer to pour the tea through into the cup. I'm a bit fussy about tea leaves having to be left in the pot free, not confined by a tea ball. When I had the farm, the gift often included a couple of pints of homemade pear or peach nectar, which you'll learn about in the recipe below.

The approximate recipe--------

Mostly equal fistfuls of each of the following herbs:

    Spearmint leaves

    Peppermint leaves

    Hibiscus petals

    Clover blossoms

    Dried orange peel

    Chamomile blossoms

     Rose hip flakes

Mix well and keep in a tea tin or two or three. Actually just give some of it away. And don't be tempted to add such things as licorice root, mallow, or dandelion root. Leave that for your medicinal concoctions.

Now for the brewing. After having heated the tea pot with hot water, empty it and put two to three tablespoons of the herb mixture in the pot. Pour boiling water over the herbs and let steep for at least 5 minutes. Strain into your cup, add a little honey and breathe it in before slowing sipping it. (Don't throw away the left over tea. Heat it up again or make it into ice tea.)

Here's the deal. This tea begs to have things done to it. One of them was to make it using some homemade fruit nectars that were in the larder. When on the farm in the seventies, that larder had at least two shelves devoted to fruit juices, made from apples, pears, peaches, or cherries. This was of necessity because we couldn't use all the fruit canned. I had gotten one of the Finnish steamer-juicers (Maui-maui, I think) and used it to put by bushels of fruit into pure juice--thick and golden and sweet. So I always made my tea with half of the liquid being some of that nectar, especially the pear. Unbelievable taste! I suppose you could use some unsweetened store bought juice. Be sure it's organic.

Now here's the best of my serving suggestions! Brew the tea realllllly strong, strain it into a large Thermos so it is three quarters full. Add 2 tablespoons honey, juice of one lemon and two to three shots of Irish whiskey. Get sick, go to bed and drink this all. You'll feel much better by the end of the day.

copyright 2006  carol voigts