Glühwein ~ This is why we always sleep well during the Holidays!

Glühwein is one of the wonderful things of my German roots :). I still remember the first time I was officially allowed to have Glühwein at the Weihnachtsmarkt. Cold, crisp air, roasted chestnuts, Christmas lights & decorations, pots & pans, herbs, cookies....and lots & lots of people. I looked forward to the Weihnachtsmarkt every year, and it was a bonus if it snowed!

Now, I neither have snow, nor the Weihnachtsmarkt, but I sure still have my Glühwein!

If you can't come over to have a cup, I am sharing the recipe:

1 bottle of wine
One organic lemon or orange, unsprayed
2 cinnamon sticks
3-5 whole cloves
about an inch of fresh ginger, chopped
a pod of cardamon (optional)
1/2 cup of sugar

Put the spices and sliced citrus in a pot with sugar, add just enough wine to cover. Let it simmer a bit until the liquid has almost evaporated, but make sure not to let the sugar burn. Fill up with wine, cover, and let simmer on low for about 30-60 minutes to let the spices infuse the wine.

Take a cup and sit outside with friends, or designate a driver and go Christmas light looking :).

Enjoy!
Warmly,
Heike

Settling down....

Wow...I can't believe it has been since OCTOBER that I have posted here!

I am not under a rock.

And it is not quiet here at all. I have been brewing & mixing for weeks, as the first wave of the flu hit our circle. Both of my kids caught it, and I was brewing elderberry syrup like a mad woman! Thankfully, it kept me healthy, made it through with just a little fatigue. Making your own syrup is simple, economic, and you can adjust it to taste. I add lots of cloves, cinnamon, ginger...:)..and nutmeg. Raw honey. I mix it with bubbly water and make "soda" for the kids, pour it on pancakes, ice-cream, etc.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOYzWyFGkqM for a video tutorial.

With that thwarted, I am clearing, once again :). In time to welcome the Winter Solstice and 2012.

After a tremendous chicken trauma, we now have an Orpington (not a Leghorn), and a Silver Laced Wyandotte chicken. I say CHICKEN, because we are sure if both of our chickens are hens....Your guesses are most welcome! :) Go ahead, wager...



They are quite funny little creatures, and I keep manifesting "GIRL!!", as I would have to part with either or both. They kinda grow on you......They still live with us in the house in a kennel at night. My country life....

The garden is fairly dead. I planted a few winter veggies, that promptly got devoured by snails, and the chickens. Then the dog proceeded to "warm" them...and most of it is dead. Just spread some cover crop, and am browsing seed catalogs :).

Hope everyone is staying safe & warm.
Much love,
Heike