Tag: winter

Winter Warmers: Mulled Wine

If you’ve been following me on instagram or twitter (or have come within 10 metres of me in real life) you will know that I’ve been nursing a lousy flu for quite a while. In fact, when I sat down yesterday to think about it, I figured i’ve pretty much been sick since the beginning of May. As Term 2 is always horrific for teachers, I haven’t been able to take much time off to get better so of course, I’m now sick in my holidays.

Part of being sick has involved a persistent and very annoying cough. I’ve tried everything. Hot water and lemon. Hot water and lemon and honey. Lots of roasted garlic. Gargling. Eucalyptus oil on my pillow. Eucalyptus steam bath. Eucalyptus on the soles of my feet. Hot showers. Cough lozenges. Codral. Benadryl. Staying warm. Hot tea. Various herbs and spices. NOTHING WORKED.

So, driven to distraction by the cough last night, I figured a bottle of red wine wouldn’t hurt. And what is better than red wine in winter? Mulled wine of course!

After inhaling the steamy aromas of this mixture, I would say to chuck the eucalyptus steam bath and just stick your head over a pot of mulled wine! Delicious!

It was a fairly simple recipe that I adapted from yet another Jamie Oliver Recipe involving some sugar, the zest of a lemon, a lime, an orange and the juice of the orange

some spices – vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves

a little bit of wine

and then a lot of wine

and a lot of drinking.

Now, I know that a lot of tweeps were very skeptical, but I can honestly say that my cough subsided after a couple of glasses of this aromatic and deeply warming elixir. Whether it was because of the mix, or just the alcohol, i’m really not sure that I care. The point is, it worked! The beauty of this drink is that it has the physical warmth of the liquid, with the added warmth of the spices. You can choose to increase or decrease the quantity/mix of spices as you see fit. I originally started with making half the amount of the Jamie Oliver recipe but have since adapted it to include more citrus and a little more cinnamon and nutmeg. Feel free to play around with it until you feel like it is right. The other thing that is good about this drink is that you can use the cheapest wine you can find and it will still be great.

So, my lovelies, what are your favourite warming spices for winter?

Mulled Wine Recipe – adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Mulled Wine Recipe

Ingredients

1 bottle red wine (the cheaper, the better! Feel free to use cleanskin or cask)

1 large orange

1 lemon

1 lime

125-250g caster sugar (it depends on the sweetness that you like. I quite like it with the full 250g as I like my mulled wine sweet)

4 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

1 whole nutmeg

1 vanilla bean

2 star anise

Method

1. Peel long strips of rind from the orange, lemon and lime and place in a medium sized saucepan along with the sugar and the juice of the orange

2. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, 6 gratings of nutmeg and bay leaves

3. Cut the vanilla bean lengthways and add to the pan

4. Pour in enough wine to cover the sugar and place over a high heat. Stir frequently until the mixture boils and thickens slightly (roughly 5 mins)

5. Pour in the rest of the wine and turn the heat down to low

6. Add the star anise and leave the mixture to heat through. Make sure that you don’t heat the wine up too much or you will boil off the alcohol. And where is the fun in that?

7. ladle into glasses and serve!

Winter Warmers: Frangelico Hot Chocolate

Now, before I start with this kickass recipe that will warm your cockles this chilly winter, let me tell you a story.

On Friday I went to the Sydney Vivid Festival. Fortunately Unfortunately, as i’m quite clearly no photographer, I did not take any photos. Although the photographers were certainly out in force! I was out with my boy to take a look around at the amazing sights that Vivid had to offer, celebrate the end of a super stressful week and catch up with some friends. We found ourselves at the end of the night needing some warming coffee and cake only to find most places either shut or with an astronomical line waiting to get in. So we ended up at an obscure coffee shop in The Rocks. With two of our party ordering an Irish Coffee, I thought (with my aversion to coffee) – hey, why not make an irish hot chocolate? Normal hot chocolate with the shot of frangelico to make it extra warming and extra tasty! Simple? Yes. Opportunity for the cafe owner to price gouge? Definitely. The waitress returned apologetically to tell me that while an Irish Coffee would be $11.50, essentially the same thing but with hot chocolate powder instead of coffee would be $5.50 for the hot choc PLUS $8.50 for a shot of frangelico. So it’s only a few dollars extra, but really….

So I came home this long weekend and decided to make my own (and decidedly better) Frangelico Hot Chocolate.

It started with some finely grated dark chocolate

shake up some dry ingredients (including horlicks and good quality cocoa)

Whisk it all into some simmering milk

Then add a shot of frangelico

That will chase away the winter blues!

Deliciously rich and lightly hazlenutty, this is hot chocolate is just amazing. I adapted this Jamie Oliver recipe to make it a smaller yield. This recipe will give you two large mugs, enough for you to share it some a special someone (or just got for that second mug yourself. I’m sure you deserve it!) You could also make the hot chocolate without the alcohol, or substitute any other alcohol you like. Perhaps a little grand mariner for an orange hot chocolate?

So, lovely readers, what do you do to stay warm in winter?

Frangelico Hot Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients

500ml (2 cups) milk

1 tbsp Horlicks

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp icing sugar

2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder

50g good dark chocolate (finely grated)

1 shot frangelico for each mug (or any other liquor you would like to add)

 

Method

1. Add chocolate, horlicks, cornflour, cocoa and icing sugar to a small jar. Screw the lid on tightly and shake well.

2. Place the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and leave until almost boiling

3. Add the contents of the jar and whisk in well

4. Allow the mix to come to the boil, then pour into two large mugs

5. Stir in the frangelico and enjoy!

Kicking it old school: Scones with Jam and Cream

Well sydneysiders, it’s definitely Winter. In case you missed the memo, the weather gods have brought a doozy of a storm this week  to remind you. Winds of 100km/h, flash flooding, very sudden drop in temperature all hit mid early on in the week but, strangely enough, I’m quite content sitting here, indoors in my onesie and slippers. Yep. it is definitely onesie weather.

Don’t pretend you’re not jealous.

What could make being warm and inside on a cold rainy day even better? Scones of course! Just like your nana used to make, just like your mum used to make. Don’t you think they look comforting?

They’re simple, fun to make and are great if you want to bake but have run out of eggs. Not to mention they’re a great excuse to get out all your jams and a good pot of tea. Bliss!

I started off with some delicious Blueberry Jam, Rhubarb Jam and double thickened cream.

I scored the jam on my last trip to the Maxwell Treats factory in Berry. Delicious!

I found the scone recipe in The Country Show Cookbook that I was given for my birthday last year. It is full of recipes that have been winners at country shows around the country. This particular recipe is from Ruby Mulley who has been exhibiting at the Camden show continually for fifty years! Holy moly! Although there are myriad scone recipes in the book, this was the first in the section, and it seemed straightforward enough to follow. Although, I do think sometimes that these women who seem to have magic at their fingertips leave out a vital step or trick. My efforts never yield quite the same results as those wonder women in country kitchens. Still, these were pretty damn good.

I followed the recipe to the T

even when it meant sifting the dry ingredients six times.

Yes, I am not the most patient of women but I did sift it

SIX TIMES!

I mixed it all up with a knife

Patted out the dough and cut the rounds

and BAM! Light as air, delicious scones.

One with rhubarb jam, the other with blueberry and BOTH with a great whack of cream

is there any other way to eat scones?

Look at that! Fluffy, warm and piled with the good stuff.

Overall it is a pretty easy recipe to follow and execute and great for a lazy morning on a rainy day. It’s also a nice accompaniment to watching re-runs of Monarch of the Glen and Heartbeat. Yes, I think my  inner homebody and oldie are definitely on display this winter. So, my lovelies, what do you like to do on a rainy winter day? And have you succumbed to the power of the onesie yet?

Scones Recipe (Ruby Mulley’s recipe from The Country Show Cookbook)

Ingredients

3 cups self raising flour

4 tsp icing sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp  salt

large 1/2 cup thickened cream

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup hot water

Method

1. Sift all the dry ingredients together six times. Yes, SIX times. And don’t skimp if you want some seriously light scones

2. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients

3. Mix with a knife until all the ingredients come together. Don’t over mix or the dough will be too dense and heavy

4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead well. Pat the dough out until it is a couple of cm thick

5. Cut with a sharp cutter and place onto a baking tray

6. Cook for 10 mins at 230 degrees celsius (210 degrees celsius fan forced)

7. Enjoy with copious amounts of jam and cream and a large pot of tea

Im in heaven – Fusion Sweets Artisan Confections

I’m a big believer that most things happen for a reason.

Which is why, after a very disappointing and frustrating day of nothing going right, this package that I had purchased from Fusion Sweets Artisan Confections arrived to cheer me up. The universe had timed it perfectly. Not only was it the perfect package to brighten my day, but it arrived at a time when I had completely forgotten that I had even ordered it. Of course, this package had to be food related, but to give you a hint regarding the enormous joy that was to be found within its cardboard exterior, I must furnish you with a photograph.

Sweet, salty, supple and soft, these caramels are hands down, the best caramels I have ever tasted.

And honey, i’ve tasted many caramels.

I first came across these babies whilst trawling through etsy and was wooed by the delicious photographs, exotic flavours and sheer creativity of the sweets available. Mango, Rose and Lime Berlingots? Sure! Raspberry Lemonade Marshmallows? Yes please! French Sea Salt Butter Caramels? Oh god, I think I can die happy right now. For my first order it took me days to make up my mind but I finally settled on the French Sea Salt Butter Caramels.

Beautifully packaged, these come in an 8oz box for US$13.50

Each caramel comes studded with chunks of sea salt, smooshes of vanilla bean seeds and the most divine soft, sweet, smooth texture i’ve ever had.

So can you blame me when I went  back for more? Only to find that there was (perhaps) an even more amazing sweet on offer. Now, if you imagine that I was in uncontrollable raptures before, just think how insane I became after receiving these…

caramallows

yes, that’s right

home made marshmallows wrapped in caramel

insane in the brain.

These too are ridiculously soft with a deliciously yielding marshmallow centre as well as smooth, velvety caramel outer layer.

The Vanilla Caramallows come in a box of 10 pieces for US$13.00

And you thought I was done there didn’t you? But surely you know me well enough by now to know that that could not possibly be true. And if you were astute enough to assume that then you would be correct. But again, how could you blame me? When I was faced with this…

Spanish Hot Chocolate Mix with a range of home made marshmallows (US$10.99)

Oh. My. God.

Deliciously rich hot chocolate with chunks of dark chocolate scattered through to give it that extra chocolate kick

This is not for the faint hearted

but the addition of some cutely named ‘not so boring vanilla bean marshmallows’ will surely warm the cockles of your heart

I would say that pink pyjamas are optional, but really, who am I kidding?

I can’t wait to try all the different flavours of these marshmallows!

Kay is an attentive and communicative seller, always answering my questions quickly and kindly. After hearing my dismay at the high shipping cost, she was very willing to suggest options which would allow for a reduced price, although I still shake my fist at the US postal service for imposing such ridiculous shipping charges. Overall, purchasing from Kay is an extremely pleasant experience and, having ordered and received several packages from her now I can say that her sweets are consistently top notch quality.

So, my lovelies, what is your all time favourite sweet? And can you think of something as amazing as a caramel wrapped marshmallow? I’m dying to hear!

All products were paid for by me and this review was unsolicited by the seller.