here comes coolness (hot beverages)

First, the Nov/Dec 09 issue of TEH will be going up on the website on Wednesday. Don't miss out - subscribe or renew today! Medicinal herbs and teas for winter, holiday crafts, figs, cold and flu remedies, the herbs of Latin America, Cardamom - and SO much more - are in these pages, just waiting to guide you through the wonderful world of herbs.

Now... it is getting cooler here with a frost coming tonight (most likely). Many of our friends are already waking to hard frosts and some have even seen snow. Time to think about some nice hot drinks, don't you think?

American Cranberry Tea (Susanna Reppert)
1 qt cranberries
4 qt water
2 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c cinnamon candies
juice of 3 oranges and 3 lemons
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t allspice
Bring cranberries and one quart of water to a boil. In another pan, bring three quarts of water and sugar to a boil. Add cinnamon candies, cloves, and spices and simmer. Put cranberries through a sieve and combine with other liquid. Before serving, add juice of oranges and lemons. Serve hot. 12-15 servings.

Rest Easy Tea (Pam Ferry)
1/4 c dried spearmint
1/4 c dried lemon grass
1 c dried lemon balm
1/2 c dried catnip
3/4 c dried chamomile flowers
Blend all herbs thoroughly and store in an airtight container away from heat and light. To make tea, use 2 tsp of blend for each cup of boiling water. You can prepare the tea in a tea ball, or mix the loose herbs with water in a tea pot, and then strain tea into a cup.

Instant Chai (Maryanne Schwartz)
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 c powdered honey
1/2 c unsweetened iced tea mix (like Lipton)
2 c nonfat dry milk
1/2 c non-dairy creamer
1 t powdered ginger
1 t powdered cinnamon
1/2 t powdered clove
1/2 t powdered cardamom
First pour the extract in with the sugar and stir it around to break up the lumps and let it dry before mixing it in with the other ingredients. Mix all ingredients together in a blender or food processor and blend until you get a powdery texture - about 1 minute. This will make about 1 gallon of prepared chai. Lastly if you don't want to use iced tea mix you can mix all the other ingredients and suggest brewing regular tea and mix about 2 rounded Tbsp of mix to the brewed tea.

Mulling Mix (Susan Evans)
4 sticks of cinnamon, 2-3"
2 heaping T dried orange peel
2 t cloves, whole
1 t allspice, whole
1/2 tsp peppercorns
Combine ingredients and use one tablespoon of the mixture for every quart of wine or juice.
Sweeten with 2 tablespoons of sugar or honey if you wish. Gently simmer for about 15 minutes. You can strain the mixture at this point, or skip the straining process by enclosing the herbs in a muslin drawstring bag. In this case you add 10 minutes to the simmering time. Ground nutmeg and ginger can also be added.

Chocolate Ecstasy Cocoa - Geri Burgert
2 cups milk
5 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 cup chopped dark chocolate
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Gently heat all the ingredients over a low flame, stirring constantly, until the cocoa is creamy and bubbly. If you have leftovers when the kids are done (not likely), try adding a splash of Drambuie, Grand Marnier, or Creme de Menthe. It's killer!  There --- these recipes are excerpted from past issues.

They ought to get you warmed up for those chilly days that are coming!