Sugar-Free Russian Tea

A November rain. The kitchen smell of pot roast Sunday afternoon. Tuesday at the church. Bernice's Table fed eighty this week. The kitchen team handled it. I am the conductor and they are the orchestra and we are getting better every week.

Calvin preached Sunday on Job's patience. The church said amen. CJ called from Huntsville. The grandchildren — Caleb (2), Naomi — are well. Shanice sends her love.

Pot roast Sunday. Chuck. Onions, carrots, celery, garlic, beef broth, a splash of red wine that the church does not need to know about. Five hours low and slow.

Destiny came for Sunday dinner. She talked about her work. The work is hard. She is good at hard work. A new face at Bernice's Table this week. A young woman with a baby. I gave her two plates. She thanked me. I told her, baby, come every Tuesday.

The work is the work, baby. I am tired in the right way.

I read for an hour Sunday night before bed. The Bible, then a book Doris sent me about the civil rights movement in Birmingham. The book made me think about Bernice in the church kitchen during the bombings.

Sister Patrice's husband had heart surgery this week. I drove a meal over Tuesday — chicken and rice, cornbread, peach cobbler. She cried at the door. I told her, baby, eat the food. The food was the saying.

The kitchen smelled like garlic and onion all afternoon Wednesday. Calvin came home from his Bible study and stood in the doorway and said, Loretta, what are we eating. I said, baby, you will see. He said, that is a yes from me. He has been saying that for fifty years.

I made coffee at five Tuesday morning. Strong, with cream, no sugar (the diabetes). I stood at the kitchen window. The yard was still in dark. The day ahead was the day ahead. I went into it.

I drove to the grocery Saturday morning. Greens, three pounds. Onions, two big ones. Buttermilk, half gallon. Cornmeal, the good kind. Salt, because I always run out of salt.

A young woman from the new members class came to me Sunday. She was nervous. She said, Mother Simms, my husband and I are expecting our first and I do not know how to cook. I said, baby, come to the Saturday class. She said, I'm coming. The chain extends.

Mr. Henderson across the street brought me a bag of pecans Friday from his tree. I made a pecan pie with them. I took half of it back to him. He said, Loretta, this is wrong, you took my pecans and gave me back a pie. I said, that is exactly right. That is how it works.

I have been thinking about heaven a lot lately. I do not know what I think. I know what Calvin preaches. I know what the AME doctrine says. I know what my Mama believed. I am at the age, sugar, where heaven is more than a Sunday school answer. I am working on it.

My knees were bad this week. I sat between rounds at the stove. The volunteers tried to take the spoon. I would not let them. The spoon is not negotiable, sugar.

Sister Beulah came by Tuesday afternoon to drop off the bulletins. She stayed for coffee. We talked about the church, about her grandbaby, about the heat. The visit was the visit.

Calvin and I watched the news Wednesday evening. He fell asleep in the recliner. I covered him with the afghan that Bernice crocheted before she died. The afghan is holding.

Sister Beulah stayed for coffee Tuesday, and I kept thinking how I ought to have had something warmer on the stove — something that smelled like orange and spice and said, baby, sit down, you are welcome here. This Sugar-Free Russian Tea is what I reach for when the house needs to feel like a cup held in two hands. I make it by the pitcher for Tuesday mornings at Bernice’s Table, and I keep a jar of the dry mix in the cabinet so I am never without it — because the diabetes means no sugar, but it does not mean no sweetness.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 cup powdered sugar-free orange drink mix (such as sugar-free Tang)
1/2 cup unsweetened instant tea powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 packet (0.14 oz) sugar-free lemonade drink mix
Boiling water, for serving (about 6 oz per cup)

Instructions

Mix the dry blend. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar-free orange drink mix, instant tea powder, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and lemonade mix. Stir well until evenly blended throughout.
Store the mix. Transfer the dry mix to a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store at room temperature for up to 3 months. One batch makes enough for 12 or more servings.
Brew each cup. For a single serving, add 2 heaping teaspoons of the dry mix to a mug. Pour 6 ounces of boiling water over the mix and stir well until fully dissolved.
Taste and adjust. Add a cinnamon stick for stirring if you like, or a thin orange slice for company. Serve hot. The smell alone will bring people to the kitchen.
For a crowd. To serve at a church gathering or community table, dissolve 1/2 cup of the mix into a gallon of hot water in a large pot or urn and keep it warm on low heat.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sugar-Free Russian Tea — The Warmth I Keep in the Kettle