The fragrant spices reminded me of a warm, generous friend, Roberta. She and her husband paid us a recent surprise visit. They managed to steal time away from their business in Oklahoma City. We gave them a tour of Canada's capital. We ate and laughed, talked politics and travel, traded tales about our children.
Roberta is a finance executive-cum-art history expert. She herself is an artist who specialises in portraits and still life paintings. She has an eye for finding exquisite things and unique gifts. For example:
That's Shakespeare taking a bath in my tea cup. The cup and saucer were from the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery. The Shakespeare cut out came with Voltaire, Dante and Goethe in a set called "Tea Poetics" which Roberta picked up from another gallery in her neck of the woods.
A little chuckle with my herbal tea.
Roberta's artful gifts were the inspiration for my Indian Spiced Iced Tea.
Indian Spiced Iced Tea
3 tea bags
2 cardamom pods, bruised
2 pieces of star anise
1 cinnamon stick
honey (optional)
Brew the tea and let it steep with the spices for four minutes.
Make sure you put your timer on because a minute longer might make your tea bitter.
Once the tea is ready, pour it into a pitcher full of ice.
Add honey to taste.
Enjoy!
If you like Indian flavours, here's a quick rundown on essential Indian spices.
