A Cure for the Common Cold

Alright, here's a happy thing. I actually made this tutorial for a friend who wasn't feeling well, and well, at the time I thought... "This is a happy thing. I will have to put this on my blog at some point."

So here we go. :)

This is something that my mom said she learned from her mother, and I honestly have no idea if it does anything medicinal... but to me, a little kid with a cold, it was an extra-special treat (we never got to drink tea as little kids, much less with raspberries in it). I can recall a couple of times as a sniffly young child being brought a cup of tea like this, to make me feel better. If we didn't have raspberries, in went the second best thing-- a little bit of raspberry jam.

Perhaps it was just the magic of this out-of-the-ordinary treat that made me feel better... But feel better, I did. And to this day, when I'm feeling poorly, I think of this old remedy and wish I had some raspberries to go in my tea.

Want to know how to make it? It's pretty simple. Here goes!

[Note: I MUCH prefer to make the tea in a pot. That is the superior way to do it, but if you don't have a pot in which to make the tea, this will do the trick.]

Step #1 - Get yourself a cup, a tea bag (whatever kind you want), and some raspberries. Wash the raspberries and put a few into your cup like this... If you want it to look pretty. Or you can make the tea and add the raspberries later... whatever you want. It's up to you.

Step #2 - Boil some water, and pour it into the cup. (I like to put the tea bag into the cup after the water, when making an individual cup, because I like my tea on the weaker side. It is almost always gets too strong if you put the bag in first, I find... But again, this is just a matter of preference, so you do whatever you jolly-well want.)




Step #3 - Swish the tea bag around a little bit, till the tea is the color you like it (I like mine honey-colored, or a little darker.)



Step #4 - Add some honey. Now, easy here... You don't want to go all crazy on it. A little honey will do the trick. See the photo below to see how much honey I would recommend in a teaspoon for one cup of tea.




Step #5 - Enjoy! :D I recommend the use of pretty tea cups for little girls (or, if you have a group of little girls and boys, use them for the boys too-- they probably won't want to feel left out.) For everyone else, I would recommend a nice, chubby mug. Then get yourself a blanket, cuddle up with your cup, breathe in some of the steam, and then.... Smile. Mm. :) Smiling makes most everything better... (Including the common cold.)



Step #6 - Get better.


And there you have it. Easy-peasy. :)

Days #5 and #6

Alrighty! Here I am on day #6, and so far so good! Yesterday was good too, as you can see by the two photos below. The only thing was, on top of being tired, I was SOOO freezing both mornings, so... I was standing there with my camera and closed my eyes both times before I took the pictures. Hence, the amazingly abstract feel of the photos. :-P




Today is one of those days that you walk around with multiple layers of clothing, a scarf around your neck, and a hot beverage in your hands. A hot beverage that has to be re-heated multiple times because of the freezer-like qualities of the air around you. It is also one of those days where your cheeks get rosy INSIDE of the house because of the cold. Which, as some of you know... is a very hard thing for me to achieve even when I'm OUTSIDE, so when my cheeks are pink in the house... I'm happy with the look of it, and otherwise just... somewhat popsicle -esq and miserable.

In other news... well. There is lots of news, actually. But my fingers are frozen, so I think I won't go into all that. The main thing is that I posted on here at all. And unfortunately, I don't have any photos more than what you see here already, 'cause I'm just... cold and I haven't taken any yet. :-D Maybe I'll take some later and post them tomorrow.

I finally have pictures up of the cake that I worked on last week though, so you can click on the picture below to the see the blog post for that.





Be back tomorrow! Hopefully with more wit and less freeziness to post. ;) Thanks, again, for reading and keeping me on my toes!

And P.S. I really love this song. Tip, though: If you're wearing headphones, don't crank the volume and click on that link. I even know what to expect when I do that, and it still makes me jump out of my skin every time. Turn the volume DOWN... and then adjust as necessary. :)

Hot Chocolate

Alright, I know that something about the cold weather makes me want to post about hot beverages of some kind. But... I just... want to. So here we go again. :-D

So far, I've blogged about tea (sort of) and about cider, and now I'm gonna post about hot chocolate. Get ready for it: It's going to be an awesome post. Complete with awesome pictures. As per-usual.

There is something about cuddling with a cup of hot cocoa on a cold day that nothing can beat. I know this from experience. If you have not yet experienced it, make it a goal to do so. It's a priceless thing to enjoy. I recommend sharing it with a friend or a good book.

Now, I can talk about how good hot cocoa is, how soothing it can be, and how much I love it till I turn blue in the face... but until you can relate to what I'm saying, you won't really get any enjoyment out of these thoughts.

I can tell you that it's awesome, amazing, and beyond wonderful... but. Have you ever tried a truly amazing cup of cocoa, or is what you've had in the past been (basically) a good deal closer to a cup of hot, chocolate-flavored sugar? If this is case... I pity you. ...And I'm here today to save the day! If I were a super hero, you might call me Super-De-Duper Chocolate Recipe Woman because (dun dunna na)-- Here it is! The recipe you've been waiting for!

Or kind of, anyway. I don't really have a recipe. This is one of those things that you make to suit you-- so I can tell you what to put in it, but you're gonna have to be the taste tester here. Make this cup the best cocoa you've ever had.

To start off, you're gonna need a Smile.



A big, huge smile that begins inside of you. The kind that creeps up out of your chest and makes your face explode into an enormous picture of happiness. If there's anything that I know about cooking, it's that every recipe needs a smile and little bit of laughter to come out just right. And when your recipe is a vague as this one, you need extra happiness. So get ready for it. Muster up some glee.

Next you'll need to choose the perfect Mug.



Choose a cuddly mug. A chubby, cuddly one. This is my best advice. When it comes to mug-choosing, that is.

Then you're going to have to find yourself some Milk.



This ingredient is best when it is NOT low fat. If you're going to have hot chocolate, you might as well make it the best it can be. Load up on the fat here-- get yourself some fat milk (alright, not that fat, 2% will do just fine), and measure the milk by filling up the mug you have chosen and pouring it into a heavy bottomed saucepan.

Now you're gonna need some Chocolate.



Most people, when making their own hot chocolate, use cocoa powder and sugar. But not I! I recommend some good semi-sweet chocolate (chopped, if it's not already in small pieces). Semi-sweet chocolate is already sweetened, but it is not too sweet. On its own, it will sweeten your chocolate to be just right. Throw some of this in there, and begin to heat the milk (not on a very high temperature, as milk burns easily). Make sure to whisk this mixture almost constantly.

While your milk and chocolate are beginning to warm up, find yourself a bit of leftover Coffee.



An no, that doesn't mean coffee beans. Use the pre-brewed stuff. ;) Coffee, I have found enhances the flavor of chocolate. Don't use too much, as it can easily overpower the chocolate taste. Just dump a bit in there to make the chocolate extra rich and especially special.

Now, keep whisking. You don't want your chocolate to burn. While it is heating, the chocolate will begin to soften and break up. Now your hot (or warm, as the case may be) chocolate will begin to look speckled because the little pieces of semi-sweet chocolate are breaking up and distributing throughout the milk. Don't worry about this-- it takes a while to finally dissolve smoothly, but the wait (and the whisking) is well worth it.

Then, finally, at some point (either near the beginning, or right at the end), add a tiny bit of Vanilla.



Vanilla gives the chocolate a smooth, soothing taste. Don't go crazy on how much you add-- a few drops will do the trick.

Now, pour the finished product back into your mug of choice. You might have a little more than your mug can carry (due to the coffee, etc.), but no matter. You can always go back for seconds! :D



Enjoy! With all your might! If you can't find a friend to drink this with, grab a teddy bear or something. You need company. Someone needs to witness this wonderfulness and the pleasure it gives you.

Smile it up, yo!

Oh, and some randomness--

I love red rubber boots on rainy days. I feel that I want some. :)

Christmas and Coca Cola

You find me now sitting in our living room wearing a Santa hat, listening to the melodious voice of Josh Groban, watching my sisters transform our living room into a Christmas wonderland, and sipping some hot apple cider. :) We are a little behind this year with getting all of our Christmas stuff together (hence the lack of gingerbread houses on this blog so far), but alas, we're finally getting it all up. It's so exciting!

I spent a good while today looking up recipes and making a grocery list for all of the Christmas festivities. We are having a Christmas party this year (yay!), and there are lots of delicious goodies to be made. Yes, the air is finally filled with joy of Christmas. :)

The pictures in my post today, since it MUST include photos (as I've said many times before) are going to be some of my favorite ones to look at. I loved them when I was a little kid, and I love them now. They are... dun dunna na... Christmas Coca Cola advertisements! :D Betcha never would have guessed that. ;) We have these beauteous Christmas mugs with a bunch of these pictures on them, and they have always brought me a great deal of pleasure to look at. The style reminds me of my favorite artist, Norman Rockwell.

So, here we go! Enjoy!








Oh, and... speaking of Christmas and Coca Cola... did you know that we each get one of those old fashioned glass bottles of Coca Cola in our stockings each year? Yup. We do. :)