Herbal Tea

INGREDIENTS:
3 tea bags with strings
hot water
1 bottle
1 refrigerator

In light of today’s diet awareness, we present this handy recipe, which, though not earthshaking, provides a refreshing thing to reach for when checking to see if the refrigerator light still operates. Take a glass half-gallon bottle, like what apple juice comes in at the market. Fill the bottle with hot tap water. (Don’t get fussy and boil it or anything.) Take three tea bags of anything, twist the strings together, push the bags into the bottle, and screw the lid on so the strings stick out. (Don’t let the tea bag companies give you that bugle juice about ten tea bags per gallon. You yourself may one day have children to put through college as they apparently do.) Place the jar on the counter for about fifteen minutes, then take the tea bags out. When the jar is cool enough so it doesn’t melt the plastic shelf in your refrigerator, put the jar in the frig. You can make this tea with cold water and just put it in the frig, and this works, but with hot water you can watch the tea leach out of the bags, form little tea tendrils, drift down and form a gradient at the bottom of the bottle. (If you often spend time observing such things, you should probably either get a hobby or become a government worker.)

(Instant Iced Tea) Looking for an instant, tasty and refreshing pick-me-up? The hint of orange in this tea will soothe the need for that afternoon sweet treat. Smooth and juicy… just think of the possibiliTeas!

Yield: 2 servings

2 level scoops Emerald City Tea Sencha Green Tea Powder
½ cup Pure water, cold
1-4 drops Orange extract
or
1 or 2 Twists of a fresh orange peel*
Approx. 2 tsp. Agave nectar or sweetener of choice, to taste
1 ½ cups Pure water, cold, reserve for step 3

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients, except 1½ cups water, in a Blender Bottle® or other shaker cup.
2. Shake well to blend thoroughly.
3. Add remaining 1 ½ cups of water, serve with ice. Citrus and green tea flavors.
Perfect!

• To extract the essence of any citrus from the peel, take a piece of the peel from a wedge and fold it, so the bright part is on the outside, and squeeze hard to sprits the tea with the fresh oil. This works with any citrus peel including lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, etc. Go crazy. A little goes a long way and you can’t overdo it.
• If using extract, I find keeping them in little squeeze bottles makes adding a drop or two to anything very convenient and saves waste. Also it’s easy to overdo it on the extract, often less is more.

Source

Mixed Spice:
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 two-inch cinnamon stick, crushed
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 1/4 cups water
3 cups raisins
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

The day before baking, make the mixed spice: In a spice grinder, combine the coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Grind until powdery. Pour into an airtight container. Add nutmeg and ginger and mix well. Measure out 1 level tablespoon and store the remainder in a cool place for later use. Combine the mixed spice with the water, raisins, butter, and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, let the raisin mixture sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl. Stir in the raisin mixture and blend well. Stir in the egg. Pour into the prepared pan. Place on the center rack of the oven with a pan of water. Bake until the cake is lightly browned and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 ¼ hours.

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
6 lemons
1/8 teaspoon salt

Boil 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of water, the rind of 2 lemons, and 1/8 teaspoon salt for 5 minutes. Cool this syrup and then add the juice of 6 lemons. Strain the syrup. For each glass of lemonade, mix 2 Tablespoons of this syrup per 1 glass of cold water – the perfect COUNTRY TEA!

Vegetable cooking spray.
34 pieces fruit flavored hard candy - crushed - lemon, cinnamon etc.
2 TBSP light corn syrup.
heavy weight plastic spoons.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Over low heat, melt crushed candy and corn syrup in saucepan, stirring frequently. Spoon candy into bowl-portion of each plastic spoon. Place spoons on prepared cookie sheet with handles on rims and spoons level. Allow to completely harden. Wrap each spoon in clear plastic tied with ribbon.