Hey Party-Makers,
As I’ve been at home sick this week. I’ve been dreaming about all the warm drinks you can imagine. In fact, I think that could almost be a party theme. Have a few finger foods, and a hot drink bar: tea, coffee, cocoa, apple cider, and hot toddy’s. Doesn’t it sound heavenly?
I also always feel like after posting a recipe that requires a good amount of work, I should post a recipe that is the complete opposite. You guys, as much as I love fancy eating and drinking, I have those days, too. You know, the kind where there is little to no emotional, physical, or mental energy left in your body, and you just need to push auto-pilot till it’s time to go to bed.
The kind of day where you just need a win. You need a delicious, warm, cozy reminder that it’s going to be okay. And a cup full of something that both warms your hands, and starts to thaw your heart/mind/ fears/anxieties/hurts; something that goes along with your deep couch sitting, while the fire place is going, and you’re browsing through kindle to find a good, funny, feel-good, easy read.
This is that kind of recipe. The kind that when you walk in the door after forgetting about it for 6-8 hours, you thank your previous self for having had the foresight to take care of yourself later. The kind of recipe that helps you melt into a puddle on your couch after a bad day, and makes the bad a little less bad, because it tastes that good. It’s the kind of recipe that you make when you’re too lazy to make an apple pie, but still want the apple pie taste.
I guess it can also be a less melancholy kind of recipe, too. The kind that celebrates fall and invites people into your home. To take off their shoes and raincoats, and sit and linger. And scoop their own cider and refill it as often and as much as they want. To put their feet on the couch and curl up with hot-mugged hands talking and listening.
Yes. This is a good recipe. This is a I-don’t-need-any-culinary-skills recipe. This is a gather round the table/fire recipe. So make it. Share it if you want to. And if you just can’t…you just aren’t in a space to let people in, or even listen to people talk, just drink it by yourself. Guilt free. Hear me when I say it’s absolutely okay to do something by yourself, and for yourself. But drink it to be good to yourself. Drink it covered in yummy blankets. Drink it to recharge.
Take good care of yourselves, party-makers. Be good to your hearts, minds and tummies.
Love,
Crockpot Apple Cider
Ingredients
- 6-7 Apples Cored and Sliced
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1 TBS All-Spice
- 1 TBS Nutmeg
- 1 Cup Sugar
- ~1 Quart Water
Instructions
- Core and slice your apples and add them to a quart sized crockpot along with the cinnamon sticks, all-spice, nutmeg, sugar and enough water to fill the crockpot (about a quart). Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Blend your apples until smooth, and then strain liquid back into your crockpot. Serve warm and enjoy.
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
