Ginger Up

I think we are having an ice storm today, or trying to. The temperature is hovering around 30 and it snows a bit and then mists. Anyway, it is that sort of cold that burrows right through your clothes and your flesh until your bones are cold. I even decided not to go for a walk and all the cats thought that was very smart as they settled in for a "long winter's nap".

My tea friend Stephanie lives way the other side of the country in Washington state and their crocuses and daffodils are pushing out of the ground and it is 50! today. The weather people expect us to go below zero by the weekend. I comfort myself that it is even grayer there than here.

I am having a new-to-me tea from another tea friend, Elizabeth. It is Bigelow's Ginger Snappish. It smells divine, so gingery. It is really an herbal tisane, made from lemongrass, lemon peel, cinnamon, ginger, lemon verbena, rosehips and natural flavorings. Whole lotta good stuff in there. It does smell like ginger snaps and it is pretty much the color of them, too. I don't think I have seen this one on the local shelves, but now I will look for it. It seems perfect for such a raw day. Oh yumm, it is so good. A bit sweet, definitely gingery, but not overwhelming and a lot like a gingersnap. The lemon flavors really just play a supporting role here and I am hardly aware of them. I don't think it needs a bit of sweetener and I may not even put cream in it. Warm hands from the mug, warm face from the steam, warm heart from a friend, and a warm tum from the tea itself. I can't ask for more than that.

I was reading a new cookbook I got from www.alibris.com , an excellent source for cheap books, and found a recipe for Matcha flavored madeleine's. I love these wonderful little tea cakes and I think I need to buy some cooking grade Matcha so I can make some. There are at least 2 grades of Matcha - the more expensive, which can be $30 or more and ounce, is for tea ceremony use. It is lovely stuff and the ceremony is equally so.