Hawthorn berry mulled cider
Happy weekend, friends! I have something fun (and slightly unnerving!) to share with you all today…
This country mouse (me!) is today’s guest on Dinner Last Night, a wonderful new podcast by the lovely sister duo Emma & Dimity!
It’s been a while since I’ve been on a podcast, and maybe it shows. But nevertheless, I had so much fun sitting down with Emma & Dimity, and felt so energized and filled with creative energy afterwards.
We chatted about our hand-built stone home (and the decade without a fridge!), dinner-making rituals, the difference between a decoction and an infusion when it comes to tea, connecting deeply with a place wherever one is, food and language in a multicultural home, redefining “success” through nourishment, creativity, and presence… And I even spilled my now-not-so-secret every New Year’s resolution. Whew, we covered a lot! So if you want to join us on the pod, put the kettle on (highly recommended) and sit back, because this episode feels just like a conversation between friends.
Emma is also the co-author of Seasonal Family Almanac, a deeply cherished book on my bookshelf! This beautiful and thoughtful guide is organized by microseasons and includes so much inspiration for cooking, crafting, and making herbal preparations throughout the year, as a family. Not to say, the photography itself is the stuff dreams are made of! If you don’t know this book yet, you’re in for a treat. And as a fun note, this book is peppered with musings and crafts by guest authors, including my lovely friend Farai in the mid-spring section!
To celebrate this launch, we’re hosting a giveaway of both our books… So read to the end to enter the giveaway!
And because I love books, love crafting, and love sharing both those things combined, below is a beautiful recipe from Emma’s book, right from the mid-fall chapter. It features one of my favorite herbal allies, hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), whose berries are in full ripeness by our kitchen door right now. I’ve been harvesting them to use fresh and to dry, as hawthorn is a wonderful heart tonic (both physically and spiritually), so very appropriate when you’re in need of some extra TLC.
Note that the base for this recipe is apple cider, a term that confused me for many years! But simply put, in the US, “apple cider” refers to what here in Europe we call raw, unfiltered, unsweetened apple juice, and not the alcoholic drink we consider “cider” here! So enjoy this sweet, tart, and spiced alcohol-free drink anytime, with people of all ages.
This recipe is an excerpt from Emma Frisch and Jana Blankenship’s Seasonal Family Almanac, shared here with permission.
Hawthorn Berry Mulled Cider
In the fall, ripe red berries from the hawthorn tree (Crataegus) can be picked and added to apple cider. In addition to being anti-inflammatory and high in antioxidants, hawthorn berries are energetically known to heal the heart. Long used to support grief, trauma, and emotional healing, these berries are the perfect addition to cider to help ease the change and transition brought by the season, and have a tart and tangy taste that balances the sweetness of the apples. This is the perfect drink to brew on an autumn evening when friends come to gather outside. See Notes for information on harvesting hawthorn berries.
Yield: 1 gallon
ingredients2 cups fresh or dried hawthorn berries
1 gallon apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
2 Tbsp fresh orange zest (from about 2 oranges) or dried orange peel
directionsIn a large saucepan, cover the hawthorn berries with a couple inches of apple cider and bring to a low simmer. Continue simmering for 1o minutes, then turn off the heat.
With a potato masher or large metal fork, mash the berries to break them apart and add more of the medicinal properties and special flavor to your cider. Add the rest of the cider, along with the cinnamon sticks and orange zest, and return to a low simmer.
Continue simmering for 20 minutes more, then turn off the heat.
If serving immediately, use a ladle to serve the cider, berries and all, in cups. The berries will continue to add flavor but aren't to be eaten, unless you want to spit out the seeds.
If serving later, let the mixture cool, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher or jar with a lid. Discard or compost the solids.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You can reheat the cider for serving, but it is also delicious cold.
Notes: the hawthorn is a small tree or shrub that has clusters of white but sometimes pink and red flowers in the spring and clusters of edible bright red berries in the fall. It has small, toothed and lobed leaves and thorns that can be up to 3 inches long. When harvesting berries, be careful to avoid those thorns. Hawthorn berries are edible but the seeds should be spit out. If you want to add additional spices to this blend, good options are allspice berries, cardamom pods, whole cloves, or star anise. Make sure the oranges you're using have not been sprayed.
This recipe is deliciously warming, and also doubles as a super fragrant simmer pot! The kitchen smelled just like autumn after simmering it (as if you needed another excuse to make it!)…
And if this recipe opened your appetite for more seasonal kitchen & crafting magic, don’t forget to enter our giveaway!
To celebrate the launch of our podcast episode, ONE lucky winner will receive a copy of The Wild Craft (by yours truly) and a copy of Seasonal Family Almanac (by Emma Frisch and Jana Blankenship)!
These complementary books are perfect companions for cooking, crafting, and making herbal medicine throughout the seasons, alongside friends, family, and little ones. What can I say, they pair so well together!
This giveaway ends October 25th and is open worldwide. Good luck, everyone!
