A few weeks ago, one of my husband's friends brought us a huge bag of juicy sweet raisins from Turkey. They were so good, but unlike the raisins we buy here, they had seeds in them. I wanted to find a way to enjoy them while they're still fresh, so I brought out my crock pot and came up with this drink. It's a warm, sweet mulled-spices drink. It tastes just like German Glühwein - except it's completely alcohol free. It's a great family-friendly alternative to hot apple cider. It's so good, if I do say so myself! :)
Winter's Brew (AF Glühwein)
2 cups raisins Peel of 1 orange 1/4 cup dried elderberries (great for colds and congestion - get it in the bulk herbs section of your local health food store) 1 whole nutmeg (use one you've already grated from) 1 dried clove (use more if you like - I just like a hint of it) 1 small stick cinnamon Cheesecloth or nutmilk/nylon bag
Place everything in your nylon (nutmilk) bag or a large piece of cheesecloth. Tie the bag or, if using cheesecloth, gather ends together and tie at the top. Place in a crock pot/electric ceramic cooker. Fill with water 1 inch from the top (I don't know the exact capacity of my crock pot - but it's large - though the pic below doesn't represent that well).
Turn crock pot to the highest setting and place the top on it. Every few hours, use a large spoon to press on bag (to help crush the softened raisins).
Let your brew stew for 6-8 hours. More sugar will be released from the raisins the longer you stew it- and the sweeter it will be.
Serve warm! This is a delicious drink to serve at parties or to enjoy with family on a cold day.
Tip: The elderberries give this a great fruity taste. If you can't find them, try frozen cherries or dried blueberries.
I'm working on a qualifying paper, a precursor to doing my PhD dissertation. I think it will determine whether or not I will/can continue in the program. Not 100% sure I want to, though :) --- It's been a hectic and fast year.
I'm glad I had the summer off where I spent nearly 3 months at Optimum Health Institute in San Diego. Even got to visit their facility in Austin a few weeks ago....
Anyhow, on to what I would do for five bucks.
I've been editing and writing for about 10 years now - for the past five, consulting on everything from government documents to fiction/non-fiction manuscripts. Due to school, I had to get out of major professional writing, but was still able to manage a few large/ongoing editing jobs a year.
However, since I really don't have a lot of time these days, I figured I'd try doing a lot of small jobs. In comes a website I stumbled upon: www.fiverr.com
You can find a whole host of things people are willing to offer up or want to buy for $5. It's pretty cool.
I know a lot of people out there are looking for jobs (I guess I sorta am too :), so I figured offering a proofing service for resume cover letters would be a fun way to try the service out.
We did a 3 day juice fast the first week. There were two basic juices
1. the hypoglycemic "hypo" juice: cucumber, celery, zucchini, chard, green cabbage, bok choy, mixed sprouts, parsley, basil, kale, ginger, fennel, kelp and dulse.
2. regular juice: the same as the hypo plus beets and carrots are added.
Breakfast is always some type of fruit, such as watermelon (my favorite), cantaloupe soup (super yum), orange and grapefruit wedges or whole fruit applesauce. Most other meals consist of sprouts, mixed salad, a vegan seed cheese - which are basically seeds which are soaked, ground, fermented and seasoned, and some side dish. Past side dishes have included raw crackers, guacamole, half an avocado, radish salad, sauerkraut, seaweed salad, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper spears or cucumbers. Although I do love the avocado and guac., they do slow down the detox for people who don't want to lose a lot of weight.
One of these days I'll take pics of what they serve. Cheers!
