Earth Day Cedar Tea

We were first introduced to cedar tea at the Grey Roots MapleMoon Festival and it feels right to share this amazing tea with you on Earth Day.  

The tea has been made for longer than can be remembered by the Indigenous people on North America.  It was served to the first white settlers to ward of scurvy as Cedar tea is high in vitamin C.

How to make Cedar Tea:

• Walk out into your local cedar bush taking with you a small amount of tobacco.  Once in the bush breath deeply notice how the bush smells and then stand silently listening to the bush and the animals you call it home.

• Locate a healthy cedar tree with fresh growth and place the tobacco at the base of the tree, this is your gift to the tree.

• Using a sharp knife or scissors cut (never rip) off the equivalent of 1 cup of cedar new growth cedar.   You are now ready to leave the bush if you want to.

• Once home wash the cedar in cold water, remove any brown bits or thick woody stems.  Place what you will not be using in a dish and set it aside.

• Place the cedar  in the bottom of a clean tea pot and cover with boiling water or in a sauce pan and fill with water bring to a boil.

• Steep the cedar for at least 45 minutes.  You can reheat the water if you like your tea very hot.  If boiling the cedar taste after 15 minutes.

• Strain the tea and enjoy.

• When you are done with the cedar, gather up with the discarded bites with the cedar you used in your tea and again return to the bush. Place these on the ground where they will nourish the cedar bush.

By respecting nature, 

we will always have cedar tea to enjoy.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls    

Branson Missouri

Cinnamon Buns and Sun Tea

 

Paul and I are in Branson Missouri.  Branson is situated at the very bottom of Missouri in the Ozark Mountains.  The City was incorporated in 1912, has a population of over 10,000 and was name after Reuben Branson.  The City is famous for the many musical theaters located there.  This is a good time to visit Branson if you decide to take a road trip as September is considered a slow month.

We are camping at the KOA in Branson which is within walking distance of many of the shopping areas and theaters.  How do we know this?  Today in the 32.2 degree Celsius weather we walked the mountainous of roads of Branson covering about 5 miles.  We walked from one air conditioned building to the next and this is how we met Grandma Ruth.   

Grandma Ruth was born in Saskatchewan where she lived until she met her husband a Baptist Preacher and moved to the USA.  Her youngest son worked setting up the sound and lighting for musical acts in Branson and one day was asked who could provide pastry for a coffee concession, he offered up his mother's cinnamon buns: Grandma Ruth's business was started. A little shyly Grandma Ruth offered that she is not sure why her sons named the business of her.  Grandma Ruth makes cinnamon buns using her own sweet yeast recipe and has added to the menu caramel dipped cinnamon buns.  She makes her own brown sugar and butter caramel sauce to pour over her buns and while we were there she was asked to make two dozen sugar cookies for pick up.

I had the plain cinnamon bun and there was nothing plain about it.  Without exaggerating it is the best cinnamon bun I have ever had, well worth the gluten that I paid for later.  Paul had the caramel dipped bun and while too sweet for me it had him licking his fingers.

Grandpa John  taught me that all good pastry is better dunked in good coffee

  Grandma Ruth’s 625 Hwy 165 Suite #4 Branson MO Phone: 417-231-5900

Sun Tea

Great John Green has taught us to utilize the sun in making large quantities of ice tea.

Start with a large glass jug cleaned and filled with good drinking water

  Add 14 tea bags.  Great John uses black tea and I use Green Tea

Place the lid on the jar and place in the sun once the tea is the colour you like squeeze out the tea bags and you have Sun Tea.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls