The Russian Caravan story

Tea-Smoked Chicken

from Sally Bernstein

It's important to have a good kitchen exhaust fan for this recipe as it does "smoke". We use chicken wings, but 3-4 pounds of thighs work as well.

INGREDIENTS

• 16 chicken wings • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped • 1 Tbsp. grated fresh peeled ginger root • 1 Tbsp. honey • 3/4 Cup low-sodium soy sauce • 1/2 Cup cream sherry • 3/4 Cup brown sugar • 1 Cup loose-leaf Lapsang

Souchong tea • Sesame seeds as garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut wing tip off drumstick end of wing and slice through the wings. Wash and pat dry. 2. In a blender place chopped garlic, grated ginger root, honey, soy sauce and sherry and process only 20 seconds. 3. Pour marinade into a 9"x13" baking pan and coat the Image from Thirsty for Tea - visit their site for a twist on this recipe chicken wings. 4. Cover pan and refrigerate at least two hours, rotating wings at least one time. 5. Line a heavy cast iron or steel roasting pan with heavy-duty aluminum and sprinkle the sugar and tea on the foil. 6. Place a cake or wire rack in the skillet, and arrange the chicken wings on top. 7. Cover with lid or more aluminum & turn the burner onto high, cooking chicken for 30 minutes. Resist the urge to lift off the pan, and keep chicken covered for 20 more minutes. 8. To make their appearance browned or crisper, coat with a little sesame oil and put in a preheated 450-degree oven for about five minutes. 9. Serve with sprinkled sesame seeds atop. Great with peanut or mustard sauce.

A Road Well¢Traveled

In 1730, construction began on The Tea Road, the nickname for the Siberian Route, as originally decreed of Tsar Ivan V back in 1689. Camels laden with bricks of tea traversed the trail going from China through Russia and ultimating in Europe, until their work was rendered obsolete by the advent of the Trans-Siberian railway in the 19th century.

The 6000 mile highway took a good 6 months to traverse, with conditions as harsh as the word Siberia conjures. Russian Caravan tea captures the romance of its storied origins, bringing forth imagery of travelers huddled around warming campfires, as the tea they toted absorbed the smoke of the fires, giving the blend of Oolong, Keemum and Lapsang Souchong its characteristic smoky flavor. As distinct a taste as that of Earl Grey, tea-drinkers tend to have very strong feelings about the brew, either yay or nay. Traditional Russian Caravan is a fullbodied and aromatic tea that pairs well with Russian Tea Cookies (those powdered sugar snowballs of buttery deliciousness) as well as sharp cheeses, smoked salmon, heavy sweets, and quiches.

Russian Caravan is not to be confused with ‘Russian Tea,’ an American invention from the 1920’s. This hot holiday beverage made with black tea, orange juice, pineapple or lemon juice, orange peel, cloves and cinnamon.

would not hear of it. Beth, sweet accommodating Beth, had fought tooth and nail to retain that scene. Erica could not even remember why she had wanted to change the scene in the first place.

Beth saw her off and then returned to her tea waiting on the veranda.

The next day, Beth was in the supermarket. She grabbed a packet of commercial Ceylon tea and one of the specialist Jasmine teas. She found the Ceylon tea very refreshing, especially on a hot day. The Jasmine tea was always good for relaxing her.

'After all', she thought, 'That dragon tea might not be good to drink too often.'

The story about Ralph's escapades continued to unfold in fits and starts. When she hit a snag, which was often, lately, she would brew some jasmine tea and then go for a walk in the small woodland adjoining her plot. This usually worked to clear the block.

One day, she was in a real quandary. Ralph had gotten himself into an awkward situation and she could see no way to resolve it. The usual remedies has failed, dismally.

'Mmm, what about some Dragon tea?' she mused.

Without further ado, she leapt up and hurried off to brew a pot. Sure enough, before she had finished a cup, she had figured out a way to twist the plot.

'Hey, I should bottle this stuff and sell it to struggling writers!' she exclaimed. 'I can call it "Erica 's elixir for creative writing impediments." So, of course, she put some away to use the next day.

The next morning, she warmed up the tea in a pot on the stove, and armed with some fresh scones, sat down to continue Ralph's saga.

'Bugger it!' she exclaimed after the first mouthful. 'Bleah! This stuff tastes like dead compost; If you could imagine finding such a thing. So much for my great commercial foray! I'll have to rely on scratching plots on paper.”

At last the book was done. Even Erica had had to agree that the ending was inspired. (Even though she would never be able to guess where the inspiration had come from.)

Beth was down at the local supermarket shopping for a small cake to celebrate with, when she bumped into a school friend, Rita.

Rita had been involved with all the animal rights circulars that did the rounds of the town. Not that she looked like a typical activist, mind you. Instead of mousey hair and thick specs, she had blonde hair, pigtails and the body of a cheerleader. Men just fell over themselves to sign any petition she campaigned for. In spite of this, she was a kind and likable girl, who Beth always had time for. She looked quite upset so Beth went over to speak to her.

'Hi! Rita, what's up?' she asked.

'It's that Dan Hamilton!' Rita replied. 'He's got a kennel on his farm and he's breeding dogs to sell for the dogfights. He says they're for the army and the protection services, but I know that's just hogwash.'

'What about the papers? Can't you get them to run a campaign against him? Beth asked.

'No, he's been friends with the Governor for years. We don't have any concrete evidence to link him with the dog fights and without that, the Governor won't consider any investigation. The papers won't touch the story for the same reasons,' Rita said. 'I've got to run. Jack Oakley has donated an old barn near the Darnville Road to the animal shelter and the presentation is at 2pm. So nice to see you again. Bye now!'

Beth had had a run-in with Hamilton some time before. He had been using the road that ran past her plot to move his harvesting machinery, blocking the road for hours and damaging the roadway.

Eventually, she'd persuaded the

Federal Roads commission to put a stop to that, as the road was a feeder road to the highway. A nasty, bombastic sack of lard, she remembered.