Post 129) from Xanga

[artemisdart]

129) The first recipe, as promised, requested yesterday by woodnymph...

No one else wants any?

Well, I guess people make their own recipe collections according to what they learned when they grew up. It's a personal thing.

Here we go... Take notes...

Russian Tea Mix is the easiest, since it's just for a mix. This recipe yields a HUGE amount of Russian Tea mix. Maybe more than you want. I have an entire peanut butter tub filled with the stuff, and no one else I know likes it. Maybe cut the recipe in quarters so you can see if you like it without being laden with tons and tons of Russian Tea mix.

On the other hand, if you package it in decorative tins with little scoops, it could make a great Christmas present. If you knew the person liked Russian tea.

For those who have never tried it: "Russian Tea" basically means hot Tang with spices. It's great when you have a cold.

Without further ado:

Russian Tea Mix

• 1 32-oz. jar instant tea with lemon and sugar flavoring
• 1 40.5-oz. jar orange TANG
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 3 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix together. This is the hardest part. I didn't have a bowl big enough to accomodate all of the different powders I had to mix together. I ended up filling my Cuisinart with the powders and "blending" them together, then putting it all in an empty peanut butter tub and rolling it around until they were mixed. Whew.

To reconstitute, put a scoop of powder in a mug and fill with hot water.

My mom got this recipe from her friend Jean Graham in the mid-1980s. I have no idea if the term "Russian Tea" even existed before the invention of TANG. It would be interesting to find out if this recipe is just an American bastardization of the actual, authentic Russian recipe, or if this is really the actual authentic recipe, and is just called "Russian" for some unknown reason.