Spiced Cider

Cider is awesome. Spiced cider, doubly so.

 As you are doubtless already aware, today is Halloween. I don't typically do a lot to celebrate Halloween, though I do enjoy the excuse to dress up and eat too much candy. We already attended our party that involved costumes for this Halloween season, though, and we don't get many trick-or-treaters at our place. Like, I think there were two last year.

But because I didn't have to go to work today, I was inspired to celebrate the holiday just a little. I had a pumpkin in the house, so on a whim I carved it! I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was eight.

And in a little while, I am going to make and consume spiced cider. You should too, as a little celebration. Or just because it is good.

I am planning on doing NaNoWriMo this year, and my book is set in Space. It inspired this Space-themed pumpkin.

This isn't a recipe so much as a method to make yourself some spiced cider. It is so good!

First, get some good apple cider. I am lucky that I have some farm-fresh apple cider, but there are some organic store brands that are good, too. Normally I am not a stickler for organic anything, but the less processed (in this case), the better.

Add 2 and a half cups of cider, a cinnamon stick, a teaspoon of lemon juice, a few cloves, and some freshly grated nutmeg to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, watching carefully! The cider will boil over in a matter of seconds, and make a mess. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes.

Serves two.

 Add the spices

 Briefly bring to a boil. After simmering for ten minutes, it is done!

Lavender Lemonade

It's pretty warm out here lately, and humid, and thus cold beverages have been pretty much a necessity when the apartment is 85 degrees for several hours. I've been drinking lots of iced tea, but I've gotten bored with that, so I decided to make a twist on the classic lemonade today:

Add lavender to it!

So here is what you need to do:

Dissolve 2.5 cups of water and 1.5 cups of sugar together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and add 2 tablespoons of lavender buds. Continue boiling for 5 minutes.


Meanwhile, juice 4 big lemons into a pitcher, and add 2.5 cups of water.



Strain the boiling mixture into the pitcher and stir.


Chill the pitcher, and then enjoy! It is delightfully tangy with a hint of floral, and is a good thirst-quencher.

Hot chocolate

Remember last week when I had too much leftover ganache? Well, I found a good use for it :D Strongly inspired by this post, I am currently enjoying very tasty hot chocolate.

Unfortunately, I didn't cover my leftover ganache too well and it tastes very slightly of fridge. But it is still delicious.

Ganache is made by melting 8 oz of dark chocolate with 8 oz of cream. You can do this by heating in a double boiler, or by scalding the cream and then pouring it over chunks of chocolate.

To make hot chocolate, heat about 8 oz milk. I used a microwave in 45 second bursts. Then scoop 4-5 tablespoons of ganache into the milk and stir. I also added 1 tsp of cocoa powder and a pinch of sea salt.


It may be necessary to heat for another 30 seconds to help melt the chocolate.

Stir until smooth.
That's it! It tastes suspiciously like the Starbucks fancy hot chocolate that I was addicted to before the discontinued it. I now have a just-as-good-or-maybe-better substitute.