From Not Without Salt

It’s interesting to me how we all respond differently to recipes. For me there’s a physical reaction when I come across a recipe that I can’t wait to try. Something inside me jumps as if to say, “yes!” I’ll respond by creasing the corner of the page to remind myself to head right to that recipe the next time I pick up the book. Sometimes, and I love this when it happens, I’m so inspired by a recipe I’ll tuck the book under my arm and carry it with me right into the kitchen and immediately get started. For this reason butter always sits on the counter at the ready in case a perfectly softened stick is needed and my excitement can’t bear to wait.

Three words, “hot ginger tea” was all it took to get me straight into the kitchen. The other motivator could have been the fact that I immediately imagined this spicy tea with a splash of bourbon to transform the tea to a toddy and with that our evening’s cocktail was made.

The original recipe comes from David Tanis’ new book, One Good Dish. The book is filled with simple, inspiring and beautiful food. This recipe acts more of a guide and has only four ingredients, including the water. It’s tea in its most basic form. Sliced ginger; woody and hot, dance around a pot of boiling water until the water is deeply spiced. A bit of honey swirls in the pot to sweeten the mix and then for me – a lot of lemon. One its own it is the perfect tea for soothing, warming and healing the sickness that is rampant this time of year. With a splash of bourbon it warms more thoroughly, is suddenly festive and becomes the perfect accessory for drinking on the couch right next to the Christmas tree.

Before you head right into the kitchen I have a few things to tell you about. First of all, my husband and I are teaching a 2-day Food Photography workshop at Aran’s (Cannelle et Vanille) beautiful new studio. It’s just a few blocks away from Pike Place [Seattle, Wa. USA]so we will spend some time shopping and shooting there. I’ll take you to a few of my favorite places in the market and we’ll gather some supplies for shooting and eating. I will walk you through my process, we’ll talk about editing, lighting (natural and inexpensive ways to shoot with artificial light) and Gabe – who is the tech genius – will be there to explain technical things better than I can. Where I tend to focus on composition and emotion, he balances me with his numbers and ability to explain things without using my Ritz cracker illustration which no one seems to ever get. The perfect team. I’d love to see you there! You can purchase the workshop here.

Next thing. I’m speaking at The Big Traveling Potluck!! I’m so honored to have been asked and I can’t wait to spend the weekend with many of you. Check out the line up – some of my favorite people will be there.

HOT GINGER TODDY

Recipe from, One Good Dish by David Tanis

Serves 4- 6

4 cups water

3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons honey

lemon

bourbon

In a small saucepan bring the water and ginger to a boil. Reduce the heat then simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the honey, taste and add more if you’d like.

Strain out the ginger. Pour 6 ounces or so in a cup, add 1/2 – 1 ounce of bourbon to the cup and finish with a good squeeze of lemon. Taste and add more bourbon or lemon. Garnish with a piece of lemon and enjoy while warm.

The tea keeps covered in the fridge for 2 weeks.

For more on this story go to:

http://notwithoutsalt.com/2013/12/18/hot-ginger-toddy/