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It hasn't been much of a winter here in the Northeast this year, but somehow I still managed to come down with a cold. Which is why my go-to comfort food the past couple weeks has been pepper tea.
Now, pepper in your tea is generally considered a Bad Thing, at least according to the song in Mary Poppins that goes through my head whenever I brew a cup. But as I discovered when I was researching an activity book **about the Silk Road, black pepper in tea is traditional in Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan.
Along with silk, of course, exotic spices were one of the main trade goods traveling between Asia and Europe at the height of the Silk Road. Spices not only added flavor to food, they also embued it with anti-bacterial properties which helped preserve it in the days before refrigeration. Scientists have shown that black pepper inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria by 25 percent. No wonder it can perk you up when you're feeling run down!
And, as I can atest, it's definitely soothing. I've been grinding some over my normal black tea and drinking it unsweetened, although you can also add some honey -- which has anti-bacterial properties of its own.
What does it taste like, you ask? To me, it's a little like Earl Grey (which, of course, ups its geek factor). If you added milk, it would probably taste something like chai.
The recipe for Pepper in Your Tea is very simple, but I couldn't resist presenting it in the form of this page from my book, The Silk Road: Explore the World's Most Famous Trade Route, which is so beautifully designed. And the little drawings are by moi!
And now for the giveaway! The Silk Road from Nomad Press tells about the history, culture, art and science of the region, with 20 projects for kids ages 9-12. It includes recipes for making your own Central Asian Lagman noodles, directions for making a wooden abacus, a science experiment that shows why Marco Polo had trouble building a fire in the Himalayas, and tips on how to haggle in the marketplace (or a garage sale). If you'd like to enter to win an autographed copy of your very own, just leave me a comment saying what comes to mind when you think about the Silk Road.
I'll choose one winner at random from all the comments received by midnight EST on Friday, March 9. Be sure to include your email address!
And in the meantime, enjoy a soothing cup of Healthy Spiced Tea!
