Evelyn pointed these beauties out to me one day on our walk. When she said they were rose-hips, I immediately remembered all the wonderful rose-hips iced tea I drank at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival over the years. Back in the early years of the fest, my friends and I would stroll through the grounds and around the tents of music and crafts, with huge styrofoam cups of rose-hips tea and honey. Yumm! Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger came close to duplicating that wonderful experience, but never quite succeeded. Last week, I made it my mission to see how close I could get. Pretty soon I was out there picking and pruning, and then hunting for the directions for the concoction on the internet.
Once they're all gathered, they need to be dried in the oven till they are wrinkled, but not brown. Next, you take a couple of fistfuls per litre of water and bring them to a high boil on the stove for at least 10 minutes, maybe more depending on your desired strength. I put a heaping tablespoon of Miel de Fleurs Sauvages de Montagne (Honey of Mountain Wild Flowers) in the bottom of my St. Cirq Lapopie pitcher, before straining in the liquid sans rose-hips. Once I poured myself a cup, all I needed to do was put the Neville Brothers on and up real high, and voila...instant Jazz and Heritage Festival 1977-Cadrieu Style!
Can you imagine...I only met my Suzy Homemaker, Euell Gibbons, Country Girl and Paulette Bunyan selves in the Lot? I guess they were never hiding too far away! Glad you enjoyed the tea!
Posted by: Laury Bourgeois | November 06, 2010 at 01:32 PM
I love it when Euell Gibbons meets Country Girl! The rea was yummy!
Posted by: Evelyn Jackson | November 06, 2010 at 08:45 AM