Mulled Cider

I have had quite a few people ask me for the recipe for our mulled cider, which we drink rather obsessively as soon as the weather even thinks about becoming "fall"ish. So, I thought I'd go ahead and post it... although it isn't so much a recipe as a list of ingredients. There will be another "mommy yoga" post next week, but for now, enjoy some cider!

We use whole spices in our cider, partly because whole spices are very pretty, and partly because when you use whole spices you don't end up with the "sludge" in the bottom of the cider that powdered spices give you. I like to get a bunch of spices at the beginning of fall, and make a jar of mulling spices. Then, I can just pull a little out of that jar whenever I want to make cider! So, I'll give you the list of spices and the approximate proportions I use to make the mulling spices -- keep in mind, this isn't an exact science. Change it up depending on what you like!

Cinnamon - Obviously, the most prominent flavor in many autumn dishes. Also the most prominent here! I'll base the proportions of the rest of my spices off of the cinnamon -- 4 cinnamon sticks will make a gallon of cider. I also really like to use cinnamon "chips" instead of sticks, the flavor is stronger. 4 sticks equals about 2Tbs of chips.

Star anise - This spice is a lot like regular anise in flavor: it kind of tastes like licorice. I like it as an underlying taste in the cider, so I don't go overboard with these. Also, they make me sleepy (regular anise does this too). So, again, not too many! For every 4 cinnamon sticks in my mulling spice jar, I put about 4 star anise.

Cloves - You probably know what cloves taste like. They are also VERY strong, and have a kind of numbing effect. Also best not to go overboard with. For every 4 cinnamon sticks, I use 6 cloves.

Allspice - Kind of taste like cloves, but without the numbing effect and with a little more peppery undertone. For every 4 cinnamon sticks, I use 8 allspice.

Nutmeg - The most common place you would taste nutmeg is the distinct flavor of eggnog. It is also prominent in pumpkin pie spice.  I LOVE nutmeg, so I sometimes go overboard with it. For ever 4 cinnamon sticks, I use 1 whole nutmeg, but I usually crush it a little, at least in half, so that the flavor can come out more.

As I said at the beginning, this mulling spice jar will make a gallon of cider. If you are only making a half-gallon, cut the measurements in half. If you want to make a jar for the whole autumn season, increase your measurements accordingly!

I usually get regular apple juice at the store, no need to get fancy expensive cider stuff unless you really want to. Just make sure it is 100% apple juice, not "cocktail" or something like that with high fructose corn syrup or sugar or something. When I get home, I unscrew the lid of the apple juice jar, dump in the right amount of spices, put the lid back on, and shake it up. Then I put the apple juice in the fridge until I want hot cider. The fridge is better than the counter top, because if you put it on the counter top for too long, you are liable to have "hard" cider! =]

When I am ready for hot cider, I pour the jug of apple juice and spices into a pot on the stove, and bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer merrily away for a few minutes, or until you are ready to serve it, and bingo! Hot mulled cider. Happy fall!

Watermelon Limeade

 I had leftover watermelon.

It is hot outside and cold drinks are wonderful things.

Hence, watermelon limeade.

In other, totally unrelated news:
My 8-month-old isn't so big on limes.

Watermelon Limeade (print recipe)
 8 c cubed watermelon
1 c water
juice of 6 key limes
1/2 c sugar

Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Chill and serve.

Kombucha

Have you heard of kombucha?
Well... have you heard of kefir? How about yogurt?
If neither of the others, at least you have most likely heard of the last one. =]
Probiotics is what makes each of these things so "healthy."
As I mentioned in my post on whole foods, we in our modern society have become obsessed with making bacteria go away. And, when we are talking about harmful bacteria, this is indeed a good thing. However, not all bacteria is harmful. Actually, our body really needs bacteria in order to live. Things containing this beneficial bacteria that help our body are called "probiotics." Pro, meaning "for" or "good"; biotic referring to bacteria.

Most societies have some form of probiotic food in their traditional diet. Often these foods are valued because they do not go bad as easily as their non-fermented cousins. Think of yogurt (vs milk), cultured buttermilk, sourdough starter, ginger beer, etc. Even traditional ketchup was a probiotic culture! (Store-bought bottled ketchup is not, however).

Kombucha is one of these traditional probiotic things. Evidently it originated in Asia (northern area of China, I believe), and it is a fermented tea. I discovered it recently as I was blog-surfing and became curious. I love yogurt... would I like kombucha?

Further investigation revealed that a friend of mine from church makes her own kombucha, and I got a starter from her. I also bought a bottle of kombucha at the grocery store, just to have something to compare my homemade against. I'm going to be honest, though: the first sip I took was not the best experience of my life. It had a strong, vinegary flavor. My first thought was "apple cider vinegar"! My husband also did not particularly love it. However, I determined to make at least one batch and drink it and see if it improved with time.

I am now making my third batch of kombucha, and my impression of it has indeed improved. First of all, my homemade kombucha is nowhere near as strong as the store-bought that I tried. It is a much milder, slightly tart, fizzy, refreshing drink. It still does carry a slightly vinegary flavor, but it is actually pretty good... kind of like lemonade, almost. But different.

At this point I will say, I might not have been particularly happy with it if I had gone out and bought a $15 starter culture or if it was very hard to make, but since I got my starter for free, and it takes very little work to make, this "healthy," probiotic tea is going to stick around for me. The taste grows on you. At this point, even my husband drinks it willingly.

I will also say that drinking kombucha has helped me to kick my over-the-top caffeine habit. I was drinking 4-5 cups of coffee a day, since my 7-month-old was sleeping horribly, and I'm sure my excessive caffeine intake was not helping his sleep issues. Since replacing my mid-day pick-me-up with a half-glass of kombucha, I was able to cut back to one small cup of coffee a day within a few days, without any caffeine headaches or noticeable energy loss. My son has also started to sleep much better... I don't know if the caffeine affected him or if it was one of the myriad of other things I have tried to get him to sleep better, but I do know that drinking less caffeine is probably much better for me.

Here is the blog post I used to learn to make kombucha: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-173858

Maybe you should try it, too! If you are near me (Oklahoma City) and want to try it, let me know and I'd be happy to share my starter!