Apple Cider

Cider is something that should probably be around for the holidays anyway, but I find it so comforting and soothing when I feel sick. After having a barfalicious weekend, the idea of eating anything made me kind of nervous. So I sipped some hot, delicious cider, and the effect was instantaneous: I felt better, my stomach was less rocky.

Apple Cider

printable version

8 cups apple juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 orange

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Stir juice, sugar and spices. Slice orange in half and quarter those halves. Place in juice. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

I let mine simmer almost all day. I've been sick, and it has been so heavenly to pour myself a mug of flavorful cider. It's not the fanciest, but it's just as satisfying for my craving as any cider would be. 

To fancy it up a notch, use real cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, and add some whole cloves. Consider adding honey, lemon, or mint for some experimental fun. You might even use some storebought apple cider in place of the apple juice to pump it up (but I think that's silly). 

PS: This can be made in tea-form by putting all the non-juice items (especially if using cinnamon STICKS and WHOLE allspice/cloves) in a cheesecloth. The benefit? Um....you won't have "dregs" in your mug? 

Orange Juice

Right, a recipe for orange juice. JUST kidding. But I thought I'd mention...

I do my orange juice in a blender (my smoothie-maker is the only blender I have, actually, but it works fantasticly). I love the froth of fresh orange juice, so this kind of creates the illusion that it's freshly squoze. Mmmm.

I mix barely-thawed orange juice (frozen concentrate from can) first with two cans of water to blend. After that's thoroughly mixed, I add one more can of water. Sometimes I like to crush ice with it, too.

This is not an Orange Julius. It's just orange juice, our breakfast staple. Michael adores it, and I only do if it's all frothy and fresh like this.

Oh, and...you might want to let it settle just a little before you start pouring or else the mouthful of foaminess will make you have to burp a lot. :| Heh...just thought I'd mention.

And guess what...did you know that a little glop of the frozen stuff is really tasty in your scrambled eggs? You don't notice an orangey flavor, really. It just zests up the eggs (and it can add color, too, which is needed once in a while when eggs just won't do their part). You can toss the glop in before you set to blending your juice! :)