By Week 516. Year 10. Tommy is 43. January grey. The crawfish sleeping. The hunting winding down. The business in its slow season. The pause before the spring. The inhale before the exhale. turtle soup to fill the quiet.
Made turtle soup this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. The roux keeps turning.
Turtle soup takes time — the right kind of time, the kind January affords — and while that pot was doing its slow, patient work, I kept a mug of this Hot Spiced Lemon Drink going on the back burner. It’s the kind of thing that keeps the cook company: warm, bright, just enough spice to remind you the world is still alive out there under all that grey. If the soup was the meal, this was the moment before the meal — the pause inside the pause, the small warmth that holds you while the bigger warmth builds.
Hot Spiced Lemon Drink
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
- 1/4 cup honey, plus more to taste
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 6 whole cloves
- 4 allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced, for garnish
- Cinnamon sticks for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Combine and simmer. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, and black peppercorns. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes to let the spices bloom and infuse.
- Sweeten and add citrus. Remove from heat. Stir in the honey until fully dissolved, then add the fresh lemon juice. Taste and adjust sweetness with additional honey as desired.
- Strain and serve. Pour the drink through a fine-mesh strainer into mugs, discarding the whole spices. Garnish each mug with a fresh lemon slice and a cinnamon stick if desired. Serve immediately while hot.
- Make ahead tip. The spiced base (without lemon juice) can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat gently, then add fresh lemon juice just before serving.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 72 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 20g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 8mg