Monday, October 31, 2011

Easy Mead - Happy Halloween!!

Halloween is the start of the Holiday Season to me! You know, sort of like Memorial Day is the start of summer? Anyway, my mother's birthday was on Halloween which is another reason it is my favorite holiday! I'm a bit dismayed, however, by the blatant commercialism of this day that was once set aside by the ancient Celts to honor and remember our ancestors and to celebrate the end of the harvest season. Oh well, kinda the way Christmas has become over commercialized!

I started making this yummy concoction back in my days of "playing" with the SCA. I tried making traditional mead once but it didn't come out very good! LOL!! Mead is simply honey wine and will knock you on your bu** if you drink too much because of the high sugar content! I usually get requests from all the girls to bring this to Thanksgiving dinner. ;-)

Five 12-ounce bottles of hard cider (I like Hornsby's Crisp Apple)
One orange sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup good honey


Add one bottle of the cider and the honey to a half-gallon container and mix well. It will fizz up so don't put too much cider in before mixing (sounds like the voice of experience, huh?). Add the rest of the cider, the orange and the cinnamon sticks and mix again, gently.


Put into the back of the refrigerator for five days; stir once daily. On the fifth day, remove the orange slices and the cinnamon sticks. Don't forget to eat the booze soaked oranges, yum! Now, you have a choice to strain out any little bits of pulp if you want to, I usually just leave them in. I also like to use this lovely, handmade goblet when I drink my Easy Mead, it was a gift a few years back with a candle in it. I didn't think I would ever burn that silly candle up so that I could use the goblet for it's intended purpose! LOL!!


You can see that there are a few bits of pulp floating in the mead but that way I feel I'm getting more fruit in my diet, right?!? Of course, this would also be a good summertime drink but I only ever seem to make it during the winter.

 
Happy Halloween everyone! :)
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12 comments:

  1. Kathy Felsted UsherOctober 31, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    Being half Danish, I need to make this (and then conquer something) LOL! Love the goblet.

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  2. KateriOctober 31, 2011 at 7:15 PM

    That sounds really good. Growing up we didn't celebrate Halloween, but I really like thinking of it as the end of the harvest season.

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  3. Rose Prairie Quilts and FarmOctober 31, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    I have never had mead but I heard about it. Always wanted to know what was in it. Sounds yummy. I'll have to find some hard cider.

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  4. Candy C.November 1, 2011 at 5:27 AM

    Kathy,
    You crack me up! :)

    Kateri,
    It signals the end of summer and the end of the harvest for me!

    Kathleen,
    It is pretty tasty, Jerry says it's a "girly" drink! ;-)

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  5. CarolynNovember 1, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Although I'm not a beer or wine drinker (both WAY to bitter for me, even the crummy ultra-sweet wines), but maybe a half cup of honey, orange & cinnamon will help me down some of this stuff! Do you serve it warm or cold?

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  6. SweetLand FarmNovember 1, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    that looks really good! I like Hornsby's too! Now I have a new way to try it! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. AnonymousNovember 1, 2011 at 11:47 AM

    Again, I have never heard of mead. Sister and I tried a Hornsby's last summer and liked it. Your mead looks and sounds delicious.

    Robyn
    http://theranchwifechronicles.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Candy C.November 1, 2011 at 12:21 PM

    Carolyn,
    You serve it cold. Yep, honey, oranges and cinnamon ought to make it go down easy! ;-)

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  9. Candy C.November 1, 2011 at 12:27 PM

    SweetLand Farm,
    You are welcome! Hope you like it!

    Robyn,
    It is really tasty, all sweet and spicy! :)

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  10. MichelleNovember 4, 2011 at 2:38 PM

    You have great recipes. Who needs all recipes .com with you around!

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  11. MichelleNovember 4, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    Candy I am Irish.Thank you so much for setting people straight on our tradtions.

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  12. Candy C.November 4, 2011 at 3:28 PM

    Michelle,
    You are welcome! I'm part Irish too and it's always good to clarify how traditions got started! :)

    ReplyDelete

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