By Labor Day weekend approaching. The summer beginning its quiet exit — the tourists thinning on the back roads, the village returning to its September pace, the farm entering the transitional mode between abundance and harvest. The tomatoes are slowing. The first frost is four to six weeks away. The season is completing itself in the way that completed things complete: gradually, and then suddenly all at once.
The first apple off the Macintosh tree on Thursday. I bite into it at the tree the way I do every year — testing, not really eating, just checking where we are. Tart. Still a few weeks from full ripeness. By mid-September they'll be ready. I returned the partially-eaten apple to the ground for the deer and went back to the garden.
Teddy texted about the cooking intensive follow-up: the instructor has offered him an informal mentorship — occasional sessions over the school year when schedules allow. He texted: I said yes. I texted back: obviously. He said: she's the best chef I've ever cooked with. I said: she's the only professional chef you've cooked with. He said: and she's the best. I said: tell her you said that. He said: I did. Good. You tell people when they're good. That's the correct behavior.
Carol and I drove to the state fair on Saturday. She entered her apple butter. She was confident in the way of someone who has done the work and is ready to let the work speak. We walked the fair, ate things, looked at the draft horses. On the way out she got the results: second place. She was quiet for a moment. Then: I'll have it next year. I said: I believe you. She said: I know you do. That helped more than she let on.
Carol will be ready for next year — she said so herself, and I believe her completely. But while we wait for those Macintosh apples to reach full ripeness and the real apple butter work to begin, there’s something about the end of summer that calls for warmth in a mug. This Russian Tea Mix has been our bridge drink for years: something you make in a batch, keep in a jar, and reach for in the first cool evenings when the tourists are gone and the farm is going quiet. It tastes like the season turning, which is exactly where we are.
Russian Tea Mix
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 24
Ingredients
- 1 cup orange-flavored instant drink mix (such as Tang)
- 1/2 cup instant unsweetened iced tea powder
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the instant drink mix, instant tea powder, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and salt until thoroughly combined and uniform in color.
- Store the mix. Transfer to an airtight jar or container. The mix will keep at room temperature for up to 3 months. Label with the date.
- Serve. To prepare one mug, stir 2 heaping tablespoons of the mix into 8 ounces of hot water until fully dissolved. Adjust to taste — some prefer a slightly stronger or milder cup.
- Adjust spice to preference. If you prefer more warmth, increase cinnamon to 1 1/2 teaspoons or add a pinch of ground ginger. The recipe is forgiving and easy to customize batch to batch.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 55 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 15mg