Ten Warm Drinks To Make You Feel Cozy!

Because you can't always drink regular old tea... or wine, for that matter.  Sometimes you need to change it up a bit, don't you?  Here are some nice drinks to give you a fancier time with your favourite mug.

1. Condensed Milk Chai via The Spendid Table //// here
2. Very Best Cocoa via K Shimotsu Photography //// here
3. Gluhwein via Pip //// here
4. Ginger Tea via Martha //// here
5. Mexican Hot Chocolate via Nigella //// here
6. Non-Alcoholic Mulled 'Wine' via Pip also //// here
7. Warm Apple Cider via Jane Spice //// here
8. Hot Chocolate via The Hairy Bikers //// here
9. Irish Coffee via Martha //// here
10. Warm Vanilla Milk via La Cucina Italiana //// here

'The Brown Owl' :: Mulled Wine for Teetotallers (or Not!)

image via

Brown Owl Mulled Wine

Makes 3 Litres - enough for 6 people!

1 litre of non alcoholic dark grape juice
1 litre of cranberry juice
1 bottle of red wine*
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
2 star anise
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced

Mix all ingredients in a large pot whilst stirring - heat until nearly boiling - but don't boil it! Set aside for a couple of hours for the flavours to develop. Reheat gently until nearly boiling again and serve. Delish! (Be sure to cool it a little if you're giving it to kids!)

*Note - You can make this WAY boozier if you like - or you can omit the alcohol and add another litre of grape juice and the kids can partake too. That's a nice idea, huh?

Pip's Gluhwhein

For those ecstatically cold Wintery evenings on the bearskin rug. Or in a thermos for a picnic!

3 bottles of red wine
1 litre of orange juice
2 cups of water
1/2 cup brown sugar
2tbsp honey
1 tbsp golden syrup
a slosh of vanilla essence
1 tsp mixed spice
4 cinnamon sticks
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced orange - peel and pith removed

Put all these things in a big pot and heat gently until nearly boiling. Taste it and make sure it's sweet enough for you - if not add more sugar. Turn off the heat and let the flavours develop for a couple of hours. Reheat until steaming but not boiling and serve. Serves 8 wine liking people.

Pour into thermoses and take on outdoorsy type trips to stay very, very warm.
Substitute cranberry juice for orange juice if you prefer

Mike's Poinsettia - A super festive and delicious cocktail

This is what you should drink over the foggy, delicious haze of Christmas and New Year's...

Make it like this, please:



500 ml decent champagne or prosecco
300 ml cranberry juice
200 ml pomegranate juice
100 ml grand marnier or cointreau




Mix. Chill very well. Garnish with orange segments or pomegranate seeds or festive berries

How I Make Super Fizzy Ginger Beer

This recipe will yield approx 55 cups (a cup is 250ml) of ginger beer.

Week One
Make Your Plant
½ teaspoon dried yeast
1 rounded teaspoon ground ginger
1 rounded teaspoon sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

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Put all of the above in a jar that will hold about 4 cups of liquid. Give it a good mix. Cover with an open weave cloth and an elastic band to hold it in place. NOT a lid. It could go BANG! Yeast is rather explosive at times!

EACH DAY - you must add one teaspoon of ginger and one teaspoon of sugar. Do that for ONE WEEK.

While you're 'growing your plant' you need to collect plastic bottles. I'm told smaller bottles result in better fizz - but just your regular 1.5l or 2l milk or water bottles will do the trick as well. You'll need to do the sums. But know that you're making about 14 litres of ginger beer - so collect your bottles accordingly - and maybe an extra one just in case!


Week Two - A bit more fortifying!
You need to add to your plant. It now needs a top up of two cups of warm water - NOT HOT! You will kill the yeast! So add those two cups of warm water, and now each day you need to add TWO Teaspoons of Ginger and Two Teaspoons of Sugar. Stir it up. Do this for one week again. And be sure you have your bottles ready for the end of the week!


Week Three
AT THE END OF THE SECOND WEEK - It's time to bottle it!

You'll need a 20 litre container for mixing it all up, a funnel, some muslin cloth for straining your goopy 'plant' and your bottles (which are lovely and clean).

Mix 48 cups of warm water with 1 cup of strained lemon juice and 8 cups of sugar - and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Now, you need to strain your 'plant' (into a large dish through the muslin). It might be easiest to just stretch the muslin over the top of the 'plant' jar - and then secure it well with the elastic band. Now tip it into the bowl, thus straining. Set the leftover goop aside for your next ginger beer 'plant'.

Add the strained 'plant' (not the goop) to the warm water/sugar/lemon mixture. Stir up well and then pour into bottles with the help of a jug and a funnel. Be sure to leave an inch or so space between the ginger beer level and the lid of the bottle. It's nice for the ginger beer to have breathing space.

SET THE BOTTLES ASIDE FOR ONE WEEK IN A COOL SPOT. Make some cute labels for your bottles in the mean time - you might even want to add the 'ready to drink from THIS DATE' label if you're planning on another batch some time soon.

So... It's a week later - the whole process has taken THREE WEEKS - Say 'Hurrah!' Then open and drink! It should be fizzy now! You might like to add lots of ice or some gin or vodka or lime to your ginger beer. Or you might like it 'beach style' fresh from the bottle with no fancy stuff!

Pretty Glasses from here

Picnic Lemonade - It's Delicious

You definitely need one of those American Style picnic jugs to tote this delicious drink in! You might also want to fortify with a bit of Gin for the grown ups.



Lemonade
via Martha

Makes 10 cups - you might want to make sure your ICE will fit into the top of whatever bottle you are going to carry this in... just a thought.

3 cups lemon or lime juice, about 20 lemons or 25 limes freshly squeezed (perhaps lemons - limes are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE unless you have a lime tree!)
2 cups caster sugar
6 cups cold water
2 cups of ice
2 lemons or limes, thinly sliced for garnish
1/2 cup cranberry juice, optional for pink lemonade


Into a large serving container, strain the citrus juice, mix it with sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add 4 cups cold water and cranberry juice, if using, and stir again until well combined. Add ice to fill and a few lemon or lime slices.


bottle cap magnets via here