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[fairy_wench]

Since we've both been feeling under the weather, and since it's just time, dammit, Dei and I went to the store today, pooled our collective culinary prowess, and made it be fall through sheer force of will. After a giant pot of garlic-heavy homemade chicken soup and several cups of gingery hot cider with giant chunks of apple, we both feel

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[fairy_wench]

I bought a big ol' bottle of fresh organic apple juice (the cloudier the better), four or five medium sized apples (just get whatever's cheapest, they're going to simmer for a few hours so they don't need to be anything special), and a knob of fresh ginger -- I didn't do it yesterday, but I usually add a pear or two as well, it just gives it a bit more flavour. If you want your cider to have alcohol, the easiest thing to do would honestly be to add a few bottles of hard cider toward the end of the simmering process -- I recommend Woodchuck's brand -- but it's a bit more traditional to use brandy. That said, I honestly don't think cider needs to be alcoholic since we're making it for taste, not preservation.

Pour the juice into a big pot on low heat, add a few cups of water -- you want to add a little water since it'll be simmering and reducing all day, just eyeball it to get the thickness you want. Throw in some spices -- if you don't want to deal with fishing them out later, use a tea ball or wrap them up in a coffee filter. I use a lot of cloves, generous amounts of nutmeg and cinnamon, some orange or lemon zest if you have it, allspice and a dash of black pepper, but any pre-mixed mulling spice blend will do. While that starts heating up, core the apples and peel the ginger. Slice the ginger into thin medallions, and cut the apples (and pear, if desired) into bite-sized chunks. Toss all of that in the pot, let it simmer on low heat for an hour or two, then taste it to see how it's going. I usually add some brown sugar at this point, and adjust your spices as needed. Throw in a bit more water if it's thicker than you like, then let it simmer for another hour or so. After a few hours, the apples will be soft and the liquid will have reduced and thickened a bit -- just stay on top of tasting it every half hour or so, and you'll know when it's perfect.

And that soup sounds good -- ours was pretty basic, I think some tomato and asparagus and mushrooms would really add a lot.

[schizospider]

Oh, that sounds beyond fabulous! If I wind up calling in sick tomorrow (I've had a head cold for two days that seems to be travelling to my chest as I type, so cashiering in a large, dusty, grimy craft store that's going out of business and so even more hideously dusty things are coming through the lines doesn't sound too good for my health), I will have to try that!

I wound up not having asparagus, and didn't want to open a whole can of diced tomatoes for just a few spoonfuls, so it wound up being grilled chicken, leftover roasted red peppers, diced regular and sliced caramelized onions, white beans, and wheat. It was pretty damn great, but I was the only one who had any, heh.

[schizospider]

Oh, yeah, mushrooms, too.

[schizospider]

Thank you for the cider instructions! I made it Wednesday, along with a huge crazy dinner for my family.

My family isn't the type to have apples in their cider (in fact, everyone carefully ladeled so as to miss the apples), so I had quite a few left over. I saved all the apples and pears slices, along with most of the solid mulling ingredients, and today I'm putting together something I'm calling "cider sludge bread". If it works out, I'll leave the recipe (although the batter I licked off my thumb was mighty tasty).

[fairy_wench]

Oh, that sounds fantastic! Please let me know how it works out :)

I'm glad you liked the cider; it's simple, but it's probably one of my top 'comfort food' items.

[schizospider]

Okay, it tastes great, but it's still way too freaking moist. It crumbled out of the loaf pans, despite being cooked all the way through. So, I can give you the recipe when I get home, but bear in mind that it would probably hold together better with all wheat flour (I subbed some almond flour, 'cuz I wanted to get rid of it), and a little more of that flour.

Let nobody say that I've ever cooked anything too dry.