Mrs Ohtobe: Brrr...and another recipe!

Mmmm...Russian Tea

Ok folks, winter if officially here. Tired of the $600 electricity bills and with the temperature dipping to near freezing levels of about 50 degrees - we have opened up the house. And despite both Tobey and I having colds we kept the windows open all night long.

Much to my surprise ~~Chewbacca~~ Tobey apparently got cold in the middle of the night and then closed all the windows. I would say he whined about how cold it was but ah, what the heck eh, he whined about how cold it was. I was a bit chilly but what with being outfitted for a camping trip in Alaska I did fairly well with my socks and robe on.

The really nice thing about our little abode is that one room can be near freezing and then poor Frodo and Butter's room is still too warm. Go figure. I think it is a Florida Power conspiracy to have us keep running the a/c even though the weather outside is frosty. Really. Frosty. I am predicting snow.

Anywho - I have spent the morning wrapping more Christmas presents, doing laundry and prepping dinner. Can you say Mrs. Oh's famous Cashew Chicken and Fried Rice? Hopefully I can get one of the spawn to squeeze some fruit and we can have some Russian Tea tonight to which I am enclosing the recipe. Go make some. It will make you warm and festive in your jammies, robe and socks! This means you Mutley - they have the ingredients in Merry Old England.

Russian Tea

The juice from 6 oranges
The juice from 6 lemons

And don't skimp here folks. Don't use orange juice or lemon concentrate. It won't turn out right. Trust me on this one. Just get someone else to do the juicin'.

4 Cups of Pineapple Juice
8 Cups of Hot Water
8 Cups of Cold Water
4 Cups of Sugar - hey, I didn't say this was diet.

Combine all in a large stock pot and put on a simmer. Do not boil!

In separate small pot bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add in 5 family size tea bags. Take off the heat and let steep for about 10-15 minutes. Add steeped tea to juice mixture. Add in a teaspoon or two of cinnamon and 3 tablespoons of whole cloves. I put my cloves in a teaballer - that way they are easier to fish out.

Let the whole thing get nice and warm and then fish out the cloves. If you leave them in they will make the tea bitter and you don't want that.

I hope y'all have a wonderful what-is-left-of-the-weekend and make this tea!

~ame