Non-Alcoholic Mulled Spicy Fresh Juicy Drink
A bit of a mouthful name, but enough to make your mouth water!
This little bit fancy, heart-warming spicy drink is fabulous for those alcohol free folk, or drivers to enjoy. Their very own nourishing alternate to Glühwein.
I can report an abundance of Mmmm’s escaping the lips of many grateful souls through it’s rising steam, at a recent Winter solstice circle dance gathering.
It took a little while to prepare due to all the fresh juicing involved, but… oh… sooo… worth… it!!!
It warmed the hands that were wrapped around cradling it lovingly, on the cold winter evening.
Hearts were warmed and fuelled for the next round of dances, and also enjoyed whilst sitting down gazing into the flaming fire, and connecting with friends. Especially with the ginger shot!
This is the secret to its crafting. An acknowledgement goes out to Frankie at the Central Coast Farmer’s Market, Showground Road, Gosford who introduced me to their version of it. Of course… as I usually do, I adjusted it as I went.
I also highly recommend to get yourself to, or order yourself a home delivery from, the Delightfully Fresh Organic Stall at the same market. This give you the opportunity to grab their very delightful organic ingredients for this warming delight! After all, most of us love reducing our bombardment of toxic pesticides and other nasties, which we may be subjected to throughout our week.
Without further adu, here is how I created my hearty potion!…
- A big bowl full of Apples – quartered and core removed (as I felt some needed to be).
- 1 lemon – carefully cut away along the curve to remove the skin.
- 2cm-9cm of Fresh ginger (see the powerful ginger shot I also offered below!)
- 2 oranges
- A fair few Cloves
- 4 Star Anise
- 1-2 teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon (or traditionally a cinnamon stick is used)
- ½ teaspoon of Ground Nutmeg (I find this can be quite strong if not careful!)
1… I Slow juiced the apples first, to prevent them from browning.
2… About half way through I juiced the lemon, to get it into the mix, again to help reduce browning, and to wash away the lemon off the plastic of the juicer shoot.
3… I then poured all that lot into my Dream PotTM large quality Stainless Steel Pot.
4… I juiced 2cm of the thick fresh ginger and added that in and stirred.
5… I then prepared the powerful ginger shot by juicing about 7cm of thick fresh ginger and poured that into a glass jar to keep separate.
6… The cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise were added in next, and given a good stir.
7… Now for the fun part… each clove was carefully pushed into one of the oranges at equal spaces around the orange, maybe using around 20 cloves, I didn’t count (but wish I’d taken a photo of it!) Tip… something to push a little pin hole in the orange first really helped the cloves slide in better, like pre-drilling a whole. If my fingers had eyes and tear ducts, they would have cried with pushing the clove ends!
8… I decided to dilute it, to ensure I had enough for all the partakers to be present. I added about ½ of its overall amount, of filtered water to it. Tip… I suggest taking some of the juice out in a small cup, taste it, then add ½ this amount of water and taste it, then add more if it needs watering down more, so the ratio can be gained for the taste. You can always add more water, however as you know, you cannot remove that same water lol. Bearing in mind, the flavour will increase the longer you leave it.
I believe that was it for the preparation.
The heating up slowly came next, although, I was a little shy on the heat, and it took over an hour to start heating. I even turned up the heat nearing the time I had to leave, and kept stirring to heat it through enough for the steam to become visible.
Once it was heated through, I popped the lid on and placed it into its Dream PotTM cosy container to keep it hot, and off I went.
It was still pretty hot when I got home 7hours later, even after continually opening it to reduce the contents cup by cup, and replacing the lid throughout the evening.
A little of the ginger shot was offered individually, with the warning… “a splash of ginger shot anyone, for a big zing!” A slow outbreath feeling like dragon breath was generally what followed!
As with everything, being aware of our own abilities and systems, of what can affect us, is so important.
And always… be true to ourselves, and confident to honour our bodies and say no if it doesn’t feel right.
Overall, a fabulous evening was enjoyed, and this nourishing warming beverage along with other delights complimented it immensely.
Please feel free to have a go at this yourself for your very own adapted version of a non-alcoholic Mulled Wine, to feel cosy and warm up in the colder months. I wish you enjoyment in your concoction making!
