Sugar Cookie Cocoa Tea

This post has absolutely nothing to do with my mom or my dad or caregiving. But it has EVERYthing to do with my continuing efforts to discover the little joys in life.

I'll be brief.

I was in the kitchen early this morning, it had just hailed, and the bird bath on the garden table outside was frozen completely solid.

It was cold.

So....there I was in the kitchen, still in my PJs, barely awake, filling up the tea pot for my regular morning tea when I was overcome with the strangest urge to veer from my usual chamomile blend. Something different seemed to be called for on this frosty autumn morning.

I opened the pantry where the non-chamomile options live--orange-mint, Good Earth, Coconut Chai, Santa's Sleigh Spice, Throat Soother, Tummy Mint. I dunno.......nothing sounded like the perfect choice for such a chilly morning. I searched again, pushing boxes and bags aside to see what might be lurking behind the Good Earth. And, there, wayyyyy in the back, sitting all by itself, almost pulsating with the glowing light of soothing tea goodness, was my all-time holiday favorite--Santa's Sugar Cookie Tea (shameless plug for Celestial Seasonings). I scooped up the box and held it tight in my chilly little hands like it was the prodigal tea--newly discovered, never to be forgotten again.

This might have been the answer to everything, except........I wasn't really in the mood for Santa's Sugar Cookie Tea. The sound of it was......just okay, not enough to take the frosty edge off the brisk autumn morning.

So I stood........and I thought........and KABLAMM! like a bolt of culinary inspiration straight to my right cerebrum, it came to me--OVALTINE! I'll add just a wee bit to my Santa's Sugar Cookie tea--a hint of malt and a kiss of cocoa (Remember where you heard that first!)--to give my Santa's Sugar Cookie tea that extra pizazz.

Thus, my new favorite tea, which I have created myself--Sugar Cookie Cocoa Tea. Go on, say it, you know you want to--SugarCookieCocoaTea, SugarCookieCocoaTea. Just brings the holly right out of you doesn't it?

Any now if you'll excuse me, my tea pot is whistling....