WARM DRINKS FOR COLD DAYS
Nothing’s more welcome than a mug of warm, flavorful beverage when you come inside on a winter’s day. This season has really gotten to me and I learned I’m not alone in having issues with the cold this year. I think the reason is that it’s been moderately warm with little snow accumulation, but there have been frequent days with heavy rain and long periods of cloudy, drizzly ones. The dampness has pervaded everything and a steaming drink chases the chill away, so I’ve been giving the matter a lot of thought lately.
A little variety always makes things interesting yet it seemed there were few options for what usually serves this purpose, especially for a family. Coffee won’t do for everyone, tea, unless laced with milk and sugar is bland and, like cocoa, is loaded with carbs and calories as a steady go-to.
There are definite requirements too. The brew has to be quick and easy to make, either for individual servings or for a group. It should satisfy without being filling if to be consumed before a meal and it would be nice if it could be prepared ahead and reheated.
I’ve been doing some research, and a bit of experimenting and think I’ve come up with some recipes that fit the bill. A few can also be served chilled because a cold drink on a hot day has the same appeal. My first thought was my personal mulled cider concoction, and it’s included, but most of the drinks are broth-based. I love the condensed, canned broths including consommé and madrilène but they have become hard to find in the markets, and for this purpose would be space consuming and pricy. The regular canned broths and those in cartons lack the body for this use. I used the packets of bouillon granules because the ratio to other ingredients, including water, can always be adjusted to taste. Plus the granule packets take up little space and are priced for a crowd.
One other note about the following recipes, they are mainly for single servings but can be easily multiplied or divided. Baby food is an option in making some for the occasional single serving but if you want to have them ‘on hand’ in advance or for several servings it’s a great saving of time and money to puree boxes of frozen chopped spinach or frozen or drained, canned carrots and buy 28 oz. cans of tomato sauce. The puree or sauce can be frozen in ice cube trays and the cubes stored in bags. 1 cube=2 Tbs.,4 Tbs. =1/4 cup ( use 5 cubes for 1/3 cup). It’s simple then to put the desired amount of cubes in a mug, add the bouillon granules, water and microwave it. My oven takes 2 min.30 sec.
If you want to fortify these ‘soups’ for a quick meal feel free to substitute chopped spinach, sliced carrots or a meat sauce for example. To thicken them, cornstarch or instant mashed potatoes, used according to package directions are good choices. Beaten egg yolks are excellent to up the nutritional value. Once again use your imagination and have fun.
RECIPES
Easy Mulled Cider: Serves 6-8
(1) 64 oz. bottle apple cider*
1 large apple
12 whole cloves
2 long cinnamon sticks or 4 short ones
Stud the apples with the cloves and bring all the ingredients to a boil, lower to a simmer for 2-3 min. and turn off the heat. Ladle into mugs and serve. Can stand at room temperature for several hours; chill for longer periods with all ingredients. Good cold too.
For single serving, fill a mug with cider, pierce a slice of apple with a clove, add a cinnamon stick, microwave until hot OR simply add a pinch each of ground cinnamon and cloves and microwave.
* For this I recommend the commercial product available all year in glass bottles. There are also ‘cider’ packets, much like bouillon granules, to flavor water. That isn’t too successful, but they do transform regular apple juice.
Rosy Bull: Serves 1
4oz. tomato sauce= ½ cup– or to taste
1 envelope beef bouillon granules
water to fill the cup
Put all the ingredients in a mug, stir well and microwave until hot. Stir again before serving.
The Popeye: Serves 1
1/4-1/2 cup spinach puree—amount depends on preference
1 envelope beef bouillon granules
Pinch nutmeg
Water to fill cup
Place ingredients in listed order in mug and microwave until hot. Stir well before serving.
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The Bugs Bunny; Serves 1
1/4-1/2 cup pureed carrots—amount depends on preference
1 envelope chicken bouillon granules
Pinch ground ginger
Water to fill cup
Place ingredients in mug in order listed and microwave until hot. Stir well before serving.
The Tropical: Serves 1—Also good chilled
1/3-1/2 cup orange juice
1 envelope chicken bouillon granules
Dash lime juice
Put all the ingredients in a mug and microwave until hot or chill. Stir well and serve hot or poured over ice.
On Rye: Serves 2
1/4 tsp. caraway seeds-crushed in a mortar or between pieces of plastic on a flat surface with the back of a spoon OR if seeds are ground in a mill, reduce amount to a scant 1/8 tsp.
(1) 10 ½ oz. can condensed beef broth
Water to fill mugs
Divide the caraway and the broth between the mugs, fill with water. Microwave until hot, Stir well before serving. Optionally, you might also want to strain out the seeds.
The Serendipity; Serves 2-Also good chilled
(1) 10 ½ oz. can consommé
2-4 oz. Sherry, Port, Sweet Vermouth or other sweet wine
Water or ice cubes as needed
Pour desired amount of wine in the mugs, add consommé and water to fill. Microwave if serving hot or chill and pour over ice cubes. Stir well before serving.
Clamato; Serves 4-6-Good warm or chilled, this mix was a popular drink several years ago and sold in bottles. It seems to have disappeared, but it’s still flavorful and simple to make.
3 cups tomato juice
(1) 8 oz. bottle clam juice
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce-or more to taste
1/2 cup sour cream—Optional to top as garnish
Mix the first 4 ingredients, stir well and microwave if serving hot or chill and pour over ice cubes. Garnish with dollops of sour cream, if using, and serve with a spoon to fold in.
