So the freezing nights over the weekend did their thing, and the dahlias responded as predicted:
No more dahlia flowers for me this year, but considering that they bloomed consistently from the end of June on to now, I think they’ve proven themselves worthy.
And to imagine that all this came out of a few packets of seeds – that weren’t even all used! (Remember, I sent half to my Mum, and I actually didn’t even use my own half completely because I just didn’t have room in the windows in the apartment…)
I think I will leave them where they are today and just enjoy a lazy afternoon, having finished painting the rear of the annex today. I’ve had a nasty cough for the last few days, so I’m planning on spoiling myself with a woolly blanket over my feet, a novel in my hand and perhaps the odd swig of red wine in my mouth. (Ooh, perhaps I should mull some wine? I know it isn’t Christmas yet, but mulled wine is excellent for a sore throat…)
Allright, so here’s the recipe:
First you take 5 sticks of cinnamon, 20 cloves and – if you are so inclined – the rind of an orange. Stick it all in a jar, cover it with snaps, vodka or similarly strong spirits (Rhum would work very well, as would brandy or cognac.) and leave it for roughly 12-48 months.
Okay, so that might be an exageration…What I mean to say is that each year at the end of December I prepare a jar like this and then I leave it until Christmas comes rolling round again.
Depending on how much mulled wine you make during the holiday season, normally a small jar will be plenty. I’ve used this 300cl jar for years and it has never come up empty… Perhaps because I don’t know many who like mulled wine, but never mind.
To make the perfect mulled wine you need a quarter of a jar of this extract, two bottles of wine, a cup of sugar and as much additional alcohol as you’d like. When I was an au pair in France I was taught in the Danish Church in Paris that you should add one bottle of snaps for every four bottles of wine – adding the snaps AFTER you’d taken the mulled wine off the heat, but this is not a recipe I can recommend. You’d get drunk just standing next to the punch bowl…
A mug of wine, mulled and ready to drink. Except that in Denmark mulled wine is normally served with raisins and almond chips.
I love the taste of the warm wine with the spices; it’s perfect on cold evenings, especially when you have a cold or a sore throat. (I currently have both, so that’s my excuse…)
Hope you feel better soon! And take it easy, you need to get better before the real cold weather comes in. And thanks for the recipe, just reading the ingredients and looking at it makes me feel warm already!
I’m already on the mend, otherwise I would probably have stayed in the city, rather than go up to the summer house.
And the spicey hot wine is definitely a great way to treat any lingering illness; apart from anything it knocked me out after a glass and a half and I fell asleep on the sofa around 8:30 last night…
Absolutely spoil yourself and enjoy…the muled wie sounds perfect from now until spring 🙂
A cup of steaming mulled wine, a roaring fire and a nice book is not a bad way to spend an evening…
I am with you on this mulled wine thing. The fire and the book sound great too. Will have to consider mulling wine as an optional beverage if I chose to go all renegade and pull a Hemingway during NaNoWriMo. Maybe a weekend of that will do me some good.
The great thing about the late autumn and winter is that it’s the perfect time to cuddle up with a blanket and a good book… And mulled wine or an Irish coffee fits in very nicely with that whole theme!
I was relieved to read that you didn’t need to wait a year to make the cure for your throat– Very festive way to be sick and I’m not surprised you are healing already!
One should always start prepping for Christmas in January… Mind you, it IS possible to make a quicker version if you boil the spices in half the wine for 10 minutes and then add the remaining wine just before serving; it won’t give quite the same depth of flavour, but it will still be very good.
And let’s face it, hot alcohol with sugar can cure just about anything – or at least send you to sleep so you can sleep it away.