Travel bug and tea cocktail recipe

Recently, I have been feeling the urge to travel. It's getting bad enough that I am daydreaming and planning these trips that we can't really afford to go on  right now. You know, a whirlwind four week vacation around the UK and Ireland. Not going to happen any time soon. I suppose it's because I have been reflecting a lot about my 20s, with a "big" birthday less then a week away. One of the highlights was my bout in Scotland. I adored it and now I want to go back and see more of the UK, and especially Scotland. And I want to go back with Keith.

I started drinking tea while I worked at a museum there. It was a nice way to stop what I was doing and take a quick break with some co-workers. So, I got to love black tea with cream and some sugar. Since leaving, I only drink black tea now- nothing added. I drink tea everyday, and I just adore it so much. The other day, I wanted some tea with an extra kick- so I tried this recipe. and man, did it not disappoint.

I give you: The Tea Cocktail

First things first- cut up about 5-7 strawberries and put them in a mason jar. Add one cup of vodka and give it a quick shake. Add a teabag into the strawberries and vodka- any flavor. I used black tea one time, and the next time I used cinnamon and vanilla black tea and it was delicious.  Let this steep for about an hour. 

Once that hour is almost up, start juicing some lemons to make freshly squeezed lemon juice. You need one cup, which turned out to be 2.5 lemons, although that might vary. Pour the one cup of lemonade into a pitcher and add 1/4 cup of sugar to sweeten. Stir.

After the hour of brewing, remove tea bag and throw away. Then pour the vodka/tea/strawberry mixture into the pitcher with lemon juice and sugar. Stir to mix everything up. Pour over ice and then add seltzer water to top off the drink. This mixture should make four cups.

This drink is good. Very refreshing. The tea is very tasty and perfect for a tea lover. But it is a bit strong, just remember to drink responsibly.

Happy making!

Recipe: Pimms' Cup

So, I have a friend who swears by Pimms no. 1. I have never tried it before. I think the only time I really even considered purchasing it, was in this small booze shop in Scotland when I lived there and I was looking at things I had no idea what it was. After passing it for a small, teeny whiskey bottle which was gross, I kind of forgot about it until recently. Keith got me a book, which mentioned Pimms and I decided it was time to try it.

I know, Pimms is suppose to be a more summery drink. That being said, it was in the mid-40s yesterday!! 40S!!! So, of course after walking around without a coat on, it felt like summer. Keith and I whipped up a few Pimms' Cups.

Here's how:

1 and a half ounces of Pimms No. 1
A lemon Lime soda

Ready? It's so hard.... Mix them in a cup. We added an ice cube and some mint and cucumber for garnish. Then enjoy responsibly.

Hope everyone had a great holiday season! My resolution is to post more in the new year, so let's hope I stick to it!

Recipe: The Barbara

So, Keith is a busy man.  This week our first night with any time together, Wednesday, I came home and needed to go to the doctors right away about my knee which has been acting up. After 2 hours and x-rays, we found out my injuries are not too serious, but need to be looked after. But number one, is stay off it as much as possible and take some medicine I got. There's no drinking on my pills, and usually Keith and I unwind with drinks on Friday and catch up. It's like a date night at our apartment. So, instead I made him a drink to try out. This drink is called the Barbara. I found the recipe while searching for 1920s cocktails. 

The Barbara is a earlier version of a white russian. I have yet to try it, but Keith enjoyed it a lot. Here's the (super!) easy recipe.

• 1 and 1/2 oz of vodka
• 3/4 oz of creme de cacao 
• 3/4 heavy cream

Place ice cubes in a cocktail glass. Pour in vodka, then creme de cacao. Lastly float cream. Keith wanted to use milk instead of cream and it was still great!  Don't forget this recipes main ingredient is vodka, so you want to drink responsibly. This drink would be fantastic at a 1920s party.

enjoy.

Fall Recipe: Crockpot Apple Cider

It is officially fall! However, Illinois did not get the memo and it has been around 80 degrees all week. No sweatshirt weather here, which is my favorite kind of weather. Keith is back to full time work and full time school, so our visiting hours are very limited. He asked if we could go to the apple orchard after work on Saturday, but everything closes at 6 and he didn't get home until 5:30. So, I decided to bring it to him. I went to the farmer's market in town and picked up two cider mill donuts. Then I made a pot of apple cider in my crockpot. It was super easy and really, really delicious.

Recipe: Crockpot Apple Cider

Ingredients: 

• Apple juice (since it was only two of us, we got a small one)
• Cinnamon sticks
• Caramel Syrup
• Crockpot
• Mulling spices (optional, but delicious)

So, how do I make this delicious beverage?
Pour the apple juice into the crockpot. I have done this for a large crowd and used around 2.5 large bottles of apple juice, but this time it was only us so we went with a small bottle. Then add cinnamon sticks. Again, this depends on your crowd, for our small bottle we only put one in, for a larger bottle I would add 2. So, for around 2.5 of the larger bottles I added about 5 or 6 sticks in there. I also put in a tablespoon of mulling spices for good measure. Put the crockpot on high for about 1 hours, then low for 1 hour. (or you could do low for 3 hours, it's just to get the cinnamon and mulling spice flavor spread out through the drink).

When its time to serve, I had to use a ladle and a sieve, to get out the larger pieces. Some recipes will tell you to put the caramel syrup into the crockpot and let it cook. I did that last time and it became almost like a pulp and didn't add anything for me. This time, I poured the warm apple cider in a mug, then put in the caramel syrup into my mug. It worked like a charm.

Optional, again: Keith and I had some caramel apple flavored vodka we had laying around and since we were staying in for the night decided to add some of that to our drinks. The result was delicious. But again, you need to drink responsibly and be over 21 to indulge :) 

Well, I am ready for the fall and hope you are now too with this recipe. Cheers.