Apple Cider Stop

I have been up to my ears in Holiday Shows, Church Bazaars and now this weekend it was an  Art Walk. First let me say I had a really great time, we were stationed outside of the Art Center and we met a ton of very nice people, got lots of compliments and had a great many laughs.

But the lead up to this is where my challenge started. We had attended a Festival in the same town earlier in September and they had asked if we would like to have a "Cider Stop" at their Holiday Art Walk in December. I checked our calendar and amazingly enough I was free, so I agreed. Fast forward to the last week in November and I'm stressing about having a perfect cider. I mean if I want you to buy my Jams and Spreads I should be able to impress you with my "free cider"..right?

So I do what everyone else does and I click over to Pintrest.. I can say I found a few recipes, but nothing really seemed like what I wanted, along with a another half dozen pins that  had nothing to do with what I was looking for nor will I ever get a chance to accomplish a third of them. So then I do what I should have done to begin with, I called my mom. I mean after all she makes a mean cider. I mean seriously, It's my favorite holiday smell, some people love trees and greens, or pumpkin pies, not me it's apple cider all the way. 

It's so awesome I'll share it with you. My mom does her's on the stove and lets it simmer all day, hence the holiday love of that scent. I was going to be a bit more mobile so I did mine in a crock pot.

I used our small version, I'm fairly sure it's the 3qt version. 

I took about 1/2 gallon of White House Apple Cider but really any would do.

Added a sliced clementine, two sticks of Cinnamon and in that strange looking contraption at the top I added  four whole cloves and a couple whole allspice.  You could use cheesecloth or a tea strainer, just because it's best to take them out if the mixture will boil or be on the heat for an extended amount of time since the spices can be overwhelming. 

After the cider was hot I transferred about 2/3 to a thermos and refilled the crockpot, leaving the oranges and the spices to mull another batch. 

If you are interested in the spice holder that we use, it's actually a Fresh Food Feeder, found in the baby department. We use it quite a bit in our canning. it's easy to clean and best of all it's reusable.

The Cider was a huge success, there were lots of guesses as to what went into it and I heard later that customers commented on it all around the area. The sale went well too, could I attribute that to the holiday atmosphere or the awesome cider. Try it yourself and let me know what you think...

Here's hoping that your holiday is filled with laughter and lots of great holiday smells..

Small Town Holiday

I've lived in near the state capital and I've lived in medium cities but for somethings I think small towns just do it better. Not all things by any means but somethings like holiday celebrations, they excel in.

We went last night to the tree lighting celebration in Hookerton as vendors. We lucked out the weather cooperated and it was chilly (not cold) and clear. Overall it was a great night to be outside with friends.

I should have taken more pictures of things like the tree and the kids but I did get a couple of Santa. It was very neat, they had carriage rides around town for anyone who wanted to go, complete with jingle bells. Santa ended up coming in on the carriage, in prior years he has come on the firetruck. I liked the idea of the carriage a bit better. You could have your picture taken with Santa for free, FREE, does anyone do that anymore?

We were serenaded by wandering groups of small children singing carols with their elf hats. I think that is something I can put down for my Daisy/Brownie troop to do next year. I remember doing that with a church group when I was small and it was a ton of laughs. We made fruit and cookie baskets for the older members of the church and sang for them as they were delivered...but I diverge.

They had a local radio DJ keeping the festivities rolling, their were raffles and contests for kids, local church choirs and bands. A petting zoo with a donkey that loves kids and carrots, not necessarily in that order. I was informed by one of my Brownies that she had been concerned that this donkey had escaped from the live nativity scene at the church just down the road. I checked for her and assured her that they didn't have a real donkey just real people. She decided that donkey's tend to make a mess in the hay when they hang around for a while so that must have been why they didn't use them. I agreed. Disaster averted..

Do big cities have celebrations, sure they do. They have lights, they have people and they have all kinds of flashy stuff, what do small towns have? They have the homemade elf hats and cookies for the kids. Homemade fish stew and hushpuppies by the bucket. They have people who invite you to dinner and ask about your family and they really mean it. I am taking orders for Friendship Fruit Cakes and I'm afraid I am reaching the order limit already. I'm glad to know that we'll be apart of so many holiday celebrations. It's nice to be part of a community that values homemade and handcrafted items.

I will have to say I fall strongly in the category of scrooge rather than holiday elf. But even the grinch was won over, so maybe with a few more of these outings I might too change my tune about the holidays. We have another event in the community on the 12th, a Christmas Extravaganza, I might even wear a reindeer hat if the weather permits...

Here's a good one of the horse, he was a great sport about the whole thing, He must still be seeing flashes from all of the pictures that were taken. 

And a good picture of of our local Santa in his carriage. I wonder if Ms. Claus knows he is stepping out with an Elf this year..