Winter doesn't suit me. I get fretful and anxious, and tend to only want to do two things: read and sleep. Well, I suppose you could also add a few other things to that list: 3.) cuddle (cats, humans, extra quilts, whatever-I'm equal opportunity) and 4.) drink copious amounts of hot tea. Everything else is a dreadful inconvenience. This year things certainly weren't helped by a hefty dollop of grief and more pressure than usual to keep up the frenetic pace I manage for most of the rest of the year. Finally, I blew off everything and nosed around in my herb cabinet in a sulky mood until I found some ingredients that captured my fancy. Combining them with my adoration of all things hot and beverage-y, I came up with three herbal honeys that can either be stirred into water to make an instant tea, used to sweeten less palatable herbal brews, or to add another dimension to already yummy infusions.
The time to play left me in a much better mood.
Herbal honeys need about two weeks to mature, so that the flavors develop. It's been about a month since I made these, so they have had plenty of time for the flavors to meld.
The two I have been using the most are the Turmeric/Long Pepper/Black Pepper spice blend (I like to add it to other teas when I feel a scratchy throat and sinus woes forthcoming) and also the Ginger/Sage/Astragalus immune friendly blend. The Hibiscus/Rose/Lemon Balm one hasn't come out to play much just yet, but I planned it as a tasty vitamin c treat. The fourth one is an Angelica/Lavender/Rose Petal nervine. I think I might save the recipes for another post, but I am pleased that they turned out very pretty as well as delicious. Or maybe that's just me adoring the presentation of anything in tiny jelly jars?
