Hideaway Rum Punch

from Himalayan Hideaway near Rishikesh, India

via Maud Hallin

makes about 20 small glasses

1 orange

20 whole cloves

1 tablespoon tea leaves (green tea is o.k.) or 2 teabags

1 4-inch cinnamon stick, in pieces

2 tablespoons cardamom seeds (not ground)

1 quart orange juice

1 tart apple (Granny Smith or Pippin), cored, peeled and cubed

2 quarts water (more if you like it weaker)

2 tablespoons sugar (more if you like it sweeter)

750 ml. bottle dark rum

Insert cloves in the skin of an unpeeled orange. Put the tea, cinnamon, and cardamom in a closed tea ball or a cheesecloth bag.

Place the orange in a saucepan together with the orange juice. Bring to a simmer and add the apple cubes and the tea ball. Add water and sugar and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Before serving remove the tea ball and strain. Then add the rum. Do not let it boil again.

Serve warm with love.

Mary, Dick, Anne, Wells, Maud, Marde Ross, Julie Christensen, Greg Smith, Martin Sundberg, and Jim and Elisabeth Alley toasted their behinds in mid-January by an outside fire in the Himalayan foothills, north of Rishikesh at this lovely "Hideaway Hotel" while their innards were regenerated after a day of river rafting and Hare Krishna blessings at the Ganges River. Obviously, we fell in love with this rum punch that we hope to share with you during some future cool evening.