Meal of the Week: Shal’dorei Pink Mana-Tea

So a trip close to home introduced me to a new recipe, Pink Mana-Tea. This stuff is delicious, but damn if it isn’t an ordeal to make. I spoke with Matron Faelra Daete’tiirn and her bodyguard, Vanaste Glannath and they tell me that the proper word is ‘ritual’. Whatever, ‘ordeal’ ‘ritual’ –  semantics, this thing is a bitch to make. The end result is worth it though.

As always, Thalassian translations are in the curvy things.

Here are the ingredients:

• 3.5 cups water, separated
• 2 teaspoons dried leypetal blossoms (Blood thistle or even green tea would probably work)
• 3 pinches of Arkhana (sweet or baking soda)
• 2 Yseraline seeds, crushed (cardamom pod)
• 2 Starlight rose seeds, ground (cloves)
• 1 Foxflower seed, ground to taste (nutmeg)
• About 1 cup hippogryph milk
• Sugar
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil in a saucepan or small cauldron.
2. Reduce to a simmer, add the dried leypetal blossoms.
3. Simmer on medium flame for around 10 minutes. It’s ok to go longer
4. The tea should be blue and shimmering at this point. Add the Arkhana. It will fizz, that’s what you want
5. Simmer with the Arkhana another 3-4 minutes, until the blossoms change color to brownish red.
6. Once the liquid is red, take it off the heat and whisk in the rest of the water slowly
7. Add the spices, sugar and salt
8. Slowly add the hippogryph milk. If you don’t have hippogryph, which we don’t at the Keg, you can use cow cream or cow milk. I used milk in this picture, next time I’ll use thick cream.
9. Strain and serve warm

Weirdly enough, being an elf and sensitive to mana I thought this was going to get me wired, but it’s actually really really relaxing. I guess I understand why it’s a ritual now.