Hot Apple Cider

Ingredients

• 2 (4-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 2 to 3 whole cloves
• 3 to 5 whole cardamom pods
• 5 coin-size pieces fresh ginger (optional)
• 2 (1-inch) strips fresh orange peel
• 2 (1-inch) strips fresh lemon peel
• 5 cups cold water
• 4 bags tea
• 3 cups apple juice, clear
• 1 orange, juiced

Directions

Lightly crush the cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves, and cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle or on a cutting board with the bottom of a saucepan. Transfer to a medium saucepan, add Combine the ginger, citrus peels. Put the crushed spices in a medium saucepan and add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, partially covered, until aromatic, and the cinnamon stick opens a bit, about 10 minutes. Add the tea bags, immediately remove from the heat, and steep for 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove the tea bags, and add the cider and juice of 1 orange. Return the pan to a medium heat and warm, taking care not to let the tea boil. Serve hot.

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Summer Water

Susan posted a recipe for a refreshing drink based using lemons and mint. It sounds refreshing.

Here are the ingredients for a"summer water" I've been making:
1/2 cucumber, sliced
big chunk of ginger, sliced
a lovely lemon, sliced
a handful of mint, chopped

Put above ingredients into a pitcher. Add water. Let steep in fridge then stir up a bit and pour into tall glass and enjoy. I top up the water and all stays fresh and refreshing for several days.

More on Lemons

I'm not sure why I'm so into lemons at the moment but they keep showing up in my life! Today, I came across a cookbook called 'Easy Cooking for one or two' in Oxfam and picked it up because it had some interesting recipes.

So here are some of the lemon recipes!

Lemonade

makes 1 pt

1 lemon
1 1/2 rounded teaspoons of caster sugar
1/2 pt of cold water

Method

1. Wash the lemon and thinly peel just the outer yellow part of the rind.

2. Put the rind in a glass jug.

3. Squeeze the lemon and add it to the rind in the jug.

4. Stir in the sugar and water.

5. Leave it overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

6. The next day, stir it again and make up to about a pint with cold water but taste as you add so that you don't dilute it to much and loose the tangy flavor.

More to come!

A simple way to start

I've been reading some of my cookbooks, especially those written by members of the Mennonite community, and doing some reading on the internet and have come up with some simple ways for me to start my change in lifestyle. I suppose that the most important part of all this is the decision to change my life and

Most importantly for me is a plan and a change of lifestyle. I want to eat better, eat less meat

1. Drink more water. Even if you drink bottled water, it is still the cheapest beverage available. However, there is no reason why you shouldn't drink tap water in most places in North America and Europe. Not only is bottled water expensive to produce, but it isn't always better for you.

By consuming the recommended eight glasses of water a day, you support all your body’s systems and reduce the number of more costly beverages you consume.

Finally, water is far cheaper as a beverage than sugary drinks, and better for you obviously. Yes, we all enjoy the sugary part but why not make sugary drinks a treat on special occasions.

I can see that some might feel that they and their families were being deprived by not buying sugary drinks. However, when you consider that these drinks are not doing any good, are you really being deprived at all?