a rainy monday

waking up to a dark, rainy morning isn't the best way to start a week, but things seemed to look slightly sunnier with a cup of freshly-brewed tea with fresh chamomile... and a glass full of fresh chamomile flowers alongside.


i'm not really crazy about chamomile tea made with dried flowers. but if it's from fresh chamomile, it's another story - the sweet, soothing, refreshing smell of the flowers shines through as they brew in hot water. we don't find fresh chamomile too often around here, so when i saw large bunches of the flowers, i was super excited!

i enjoy fresh chamomile tea as is, but adding a few sprigs of fresh mint to chamomile tea can make it even better suited to drinking in the morning, with mint boosting the wake-up factor. in the evening, chamomile tea may be known as a bedtime brew as it is, but i also like to make it with milk instead of water. it seems to make the tea taste mellower, and even more calming.


because i had a large bunch, i decided to make something other than tea (with or without mint and/or milk), but couldn't bother to go out to buy ingredients in the rain. so i threw things i had at home together into a pan - and out it came: apple and white peach poached in chamomile tea.


sliced apple was gently cooked in fresh chamomile tea along with juice of lemon and dessert wine until tender, and a sliced white peach was added at the end before removing from heat so it'd get only slightly cooked. there i tasted the cooking liquid and thought it was sweet enough, but i was told otherwise so i added a bit of honey. a few chamomile flowers were thrown in as the fruits cooled, then got chilled before serving.
cherries were optional but added a bit of nice crunch to the bowl of soft fruits. a dollop of lightly whipped cream, creme fraiche, or even yogurt would have made a nice accompaniment, too.


so all in all, it wasn't too bad a monday - and the rain eventually stopped, even. i'm hoping this is going to be a good week - i know it is set to be a special and rather sad one for us as it is to wrap up our three-month stay in kyoto. but for now, let's hope a wonderful week for you and us all! -c x