[Mulled Cider] A warm treat for kids, grown-ups and family on a cold winter day

If you think about it, there wouldn't be many things better than a cup of hot mulled cider after an outing on a cold winter day. The temperature in the car started to plumping down as soon as I started the car and got out of the garage yesterday morning. And in a matter of a couple of minutes, it hit -10 degrees Fahrenheit (or -25 Celsius). The temperature didnt' go up much this morning so far, but not worse either. I wish I could spare sometime yesterday evening to make  a pot of nice spicy "vin chaud" (mulled wine), or mulled cider. (You can see my vin chaud or mulled wine recipe here)

But I didn't have a bottle of red wine of a right kind or apple cider. But, I am very determined to fill the kitchen with the aroma of simmering mulled cider before this weekend, i.e. tomorrow, to bring it to the ski slopes this weekend.

I've always loved having a glass of vin chaud when I came back from skiing in France. But, now I equally like mulled cider which is made with liquid from apple instead of that of grape :) A good thing about mulled cider is that you can share it with kids since it doesn't contain any alcohol. A bad thing about mulled cider? You can or have to share it with kids because it doesn't contain any alcohol! So here you see that the same fact can be both a good thing and bad thing. Of course I'm joking.  This is a great cold day drink for family, friends and you.

I basically use almost an identical recipe both for mulled cider and vin chaud.  I made a big pot of mulled cider and we had an afternoon snack time with mulled cider and a part of roof from the gingerbread house!

Ingredients

2 Liters of fresh apple cider, unfiltered and unsweetened

1 teaspoon clove,

3-4 whole allspice

1/2 orange, sliced (oops, I forgot orange for the ingredients shot!)

Peel from 1 lemon

2 cinnamon sticks

1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. (Optional) I soak and cleanse lemon and oranges when I use the zest and peel.

Slice orange and peel lemon.

2. Combine apple cider,  orange slice and lemon peel in a large pot. 

3. Add cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sugar to the pot.

4. Bring the mixture to just under a simmer over the low heat. DO NOT allow it to boil. Keep the lid over the pot.

5. Simmer for 40-45 minutes.

6. (Optional) strain the spices from the mulled apple cider by pouring it through a fine-mesh sieve or a cheesecloth.

6. Laddle the mulled cider to a mug or a glass.  

Add a cinnamon stick or orange, and serve.

You can pour it in a thermos and bring it to skiing or skating!

It will definitely warm you up!

Enjoy!

Mulled Apple Cider

[Rhubarb Strawberry Compote] A Great Way to Enjoy Rhubarb - Delicious accompaniment to Ice Cream

This year's first strawberry picking was a great success, not because of the strawberries, but mainly because of the rhubarb with which I made compote! 

I didn't know until this year that the Ovens farm also has "pick-your-own" rhubarb! :) Unfortunately, there is no photo of rhubarb patch because of the drizzling rain.

We go to strawberry/raspberry picking every year, simply to pick the most fresh strawberries and enjoy the field. 

It's not necessarily cheaper to drive down to Osgoode and pick our own strawberries, but we can pick small and pretty berries. 

I love all kinds of berries. It's why I love late spring/summer since berry prices go down so much. Last weekend, we went to Ovens Berry farm in Osgoode. 

It became our routine to go there at least a couple of times every year. We met up with a friend's family for the picking. It started drizzling, but it didn't bother the picking much, while it did hinder shooting photos. :( It still was fun  even without many photos. 

We were lucky that they just had started raspberry picking. And for the first time at Ovens farm, I pulled a few stalks of rhubarb. 12 stalks of rhubarbs were for the compote which could be also called fruit sauce. I paid $3 for 12 stalks. I made the compote in that evening. The compote made with 12 stalks of rhubarb and 2 pounds of field strawberries are almost gone now :( I should have bought more rhubarb. 

We paid $18.72 for all of these.

We are thinking going back to the Ovens farm very soon. If the only way you consume rhubarb is to make pie filling, how about making this yummy rhubarb compote?  Compoter verb is 'to stew' in English. So we could say that compote is a fancier name of stewed fruit. :) Compoter, or stewing, is the most forgiving and flexible way of cooking. You can add or reduce the amount of any of the ingredients mentioned in the recipe(?). Also, a couple of minced ginger will give a nice flavour to the sauce. Here goes the recipe. The photo of the ingredients was too blurred to use :(. But I can assure you that this recipe has the simplest ingredients!)

Ingredients

8-12 stalks rhubarb

2-3 lbs strawberries

1/2 - 1 cup sugar (according to your taste)
1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons minced ginger root* (optional)

Directions

1. Wash and slice rhubarb crosswise. You don't need to slice or chop too fine. Anyway it will lose its shape once stewed.

2. Wash before you halve or quarter strawberries.

3. Place strawberries and rhubarb in a heavy-bottomed large saucepan.

4. Combine all ingredients.

5. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. 

Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until rhubarb is very soft and begins to fall apart, stirring occasionally, about 3-40 minutes.

So easy, eh? :)

You can serve it warm, room temperature, or cold. It's right at any temperature :)

I've brought it in a ziploc container for my snack to work three days in a row~ It's much nicer than apple sauce.

It's good by itself.

But, the best of the best ways to enjoy rhubarb compote is topping the vanilla ice cream. It's such a delightful treat for anybody!

Enjoy! :)

Rhubarb Strawberry Compote

[5 Delicious Ways to Eat Apples] Wonder Fruit for Brunch, Snack and Dessert

When somebody asks me what my favorite fruit is, my answer always is 'apple', even though I like all the other fruits so much. If I have to choose only one fruit to eat for the rest of my life, I will choose apple without any hesitation.  Why? It's because apple is the most versatile fruit I know. You can eat apple as it is, or bake, or dip it in dipping sauce. Okay. Let me ask a couple of questions: what is your favorite way to eat apples? And how many apples do you eat a day?

Confession, I eat, at least, three apples a day. One in the morning on my way to work, second one around 10:30 and the third one for my afternoon snack. My usual choice of apples is either gala, golden delicious, honey crisp, or granny smith, especially in summer.

(Source: http://www.sonyaapple.com/)

According to this chart, I seem to like sweet, less sweet , tart, and more tart apples, i.e. all types of apples. :) How do you eat your apples? As a great apple lover, I have a few ways to maximize the taste of apple, which I'm about to share :) Here are some awesome ways to eat apples:

1. American staple apple pie or Italian apple cake

Apple cannot be wrong however you bake or cook. I love mounting apples high so that the pie will be still full of filling after it's baked. You can see the recipe here. Even if you have a strong will to have a second piece, I still recommend to refrain yourself from taking another piece, for your own piece of mind :)

Torta di mele is the easiest apple cake I've been making over years and years. Like any Italian food, this Italian cake is just so awesome. You can see the recipe here.

2. Sliced apple with peanut butter

Yes, I know that it's an oh-so typical way to enjoy your apple. This apple-peanut butter combination is so simply delicious, isn't it? Whoever thought of eating this way should be applauded. 

It's also wonderful to have a fistful of nuts along with apple & peanut butter 

 

3. Apple crumble with ice cream

Apple crumble is one of the easiest ways to fix a great dessert. The food rationing in UK during the World War II helped the creation of this scrumptious dessert. You can see the recipe here.

4. Laughing cow with apple slices

I love Laughing cow so much since I was kid that I spread and tried on lots of different things. And of course, apple was one of the first things on top of which was ample amount of this spreadable cheese spread. And it tastes so good!

 5. Apfelpfannkuchen - German apple pancake

At one time, I made this apfelpfannkuchen, or German apple cake almost every weekend since I liked it so much. I still think this is one of the yummiest breakfast you can imagine. It satisfies both your morning sweet cravings and pancake appetite. 

I didn't upload this recipe, yet. I'll post this recipe, soon.

These are my five ways to  enjoy apples. Even if my ways are so obvious, but still fantastic ways to enjoy your apples. :)

5 Delicious Ways to Eat Apples