Spiced Cider

I took a short hiatus (2 days) from the blog. Honestly, I’ve not had any ideas for what to post and I didn’t want to just post to post. We’ve been having lots of family time with Eric’s brother (Mike) and his wife (Marianna) and their kids (Ayanna and Alder) and Eric’s mom (Ruth) and her husband (Chuck), and Marianna’s dad (Greg) and his wife (Fifi) and her daughter (Amanda). Phew! Lots of people! And four dogs–Maizy, Mally, Ginger and Oso. It’s been really nice to see them and lots of vegan and gluten-free cooking this week, which is fun. I made an experimental gluten-free version of the Cranberry Orange bread, which turned out better than expected! Also, tomorrow, Temple Grandin will be at the UW and I am reading her Animals Make Us Human before the workshop and talk, so I’ll provide an update on that event/book later in the week. But for now, a recipe that I made for Karen’s Thanksgiving–fresh spiced cider.

The Recipe

Serves 5-6

8-10 apples or apple/pear combo

1 lemon, peeled

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbl ginger juice or 3/4 tsp powdered ginger

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Juice the apples and/or pears and lemon in your juicer. I like to run them through twice in order to get the most out of the fruit. Pour the juice into a medium saucepan and add the spices. Heat on medium-low until hot, but not boiling, stirring frequently.

Make sure the spices are fully combined and then serve in mugs with a cinnamon stick, a sprinkly of cinnamon on top, or just as it is. There will be a lot of frothy foam on top, which is heavenly. So delicious. And it is wonderful cold, too, if you have leftovers.

What special fall/winter beverages do you enjoy? So far, I’ve experimented with the spiced cider and the mulled wine. What should be next?