rhapsodic.org is a weblog by Valette Keller

mom's cranberry tea

with b and i both sick over the course of the past few weeks, we have had a near-endless supply of my mother's crandberry tea brewing on the stove. it is one of the only hot beverages that we will both drink that does not have any caffein, plus it has a ton of vitamins and yumminess.

her tea is one of those childhood traditions that, when altered, throws my entire reason for living into serious question. like the orange recliner chair that she HAD TO SELL at the garage sale.

my mom brewes this tea in a glass percolating coffee pot during the coldest months of winter. she has done so every winter i can remember and must continue to do so until the day she dies. for my sanity.

with the days getting shorter and sunset happening well before midnight, and with the smell of cranberry tea in the kitchen, my senses have been thrown off kilter.

i am humming christmas carols and am excited to wrap gifts.

though a bit early is better than never getting into the spirit at all, right?

mom's cranberry tea

½L (ish) cranberry juice ½L (ish) apple juice 4-5 cinnamon sticks 1 orange, sliced in rings

throw all into a pretty glass coffee pot (or plain ugly cooking pot) and place on the stove and boil. reduce head to low and let it sit until you feel like leaving the house (then turn it off). the cinnamon sticks can be reused, but some are best eaten after soaking for a few days with the cranberry tea. dream of christmas.