Spiced and simple mulled wine recipe

I went to a Christmas market in Winchester a few weeks back, it was like a scene from a Christmas card. Markets are one of my favourite parts of the festive season, sleepy villages spring to life with decorations and twinkly lights. I spent far too much money {mainly on myself which makes it even worse} but I was able to pick up a few bits for friends and family. 

I'd never really had mulled wine before, I'm not a huge lover of red wine- always goes too my head far too quickly. But as we walked past a wooden hut adorned with fairy lights, the sweet, spiced smell convinced me to have a cup. 

I've now been converted. I, Hana Carter, am a huge fan of mulled wine. 

When I like something I can often become obsessed with it- I'm swaying on my chair with a bottle of red as I type this. 

I joke. 

But I did decide to make my own...

You will need:

• I only wanted to make one bottle so I only used one bottle of red. 
• 3 large oranges
• 100g Brown sugar- granulated 
• 3 apples
• 4 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks 
• 4 black cardamon pods
• 100g Dried cranberries 
• 80g Dried ginger 

Or you can buy mulled wine spice mixes from most food shops. Most will contain the ingredients in bold. 

 How to make:

Pour the wine into a pan and slowly heat. Add in the sugar and stir until dissolved. 

Slice up chunks of apple and orange and throw them in. Leave one orange half and squeeze into the wine. Then add to the pan. 

Add your spices and berries to the wine and stir. 

Leave on a low heat for an hour {or more!} and by then all the gorgeous flavours will have transformed the wine. Christ I sound like Nigella minus the cleavage. 

Using a sieve, strain the fruit and spices so you are left with just the wine.

If you are going to pop yours in a bottle for a Christmas present, allow it to cool down completely. Then store as you would normal red wine. 

Enjoy! H xxx 

  

Sarah & Teeken's 25 days of tea!

I have experienced first hand just how lovely it is to receive something that has been handmade especially for you.  

One of my best friends called me and gave me strict instructions that I had to come over and open a present on December 1st. As any sane person would act when forced to open a present, I willingly obliged. 

Sarah and Teeken had made me my own advent calendar, but with a twist. Every day contained a different variation of tea bag with a hand written quote. The girls had made the whole thing themselves and obviously put a lot of time into it, which almost made me cry! {I'm very soppy these days}

You will need:

• MDF or lightweight wood panel. You could upcycle an old floorboard? 
• Nails and a hammer 
• Rope {thin but strong enough to hold the weight}
• Pouches- they got theirs from Amazon.
• Black paint and thin paintbrush- acrillic 
• The fillings of your advent calendar
• Your choice of material to cover your wood
• Drill

How to make:

Cover your wood in your choice of material. The girls used Indian newspaper for me- to go with the tea theme and my job! If you are using MDF, PVA glue should do the job if you are covering it in paper. 

Mark out 25 points to hammer your nails into and give them a good old bash!

Sarah individually painted the numbers onto the little bags. Fill the bags with the contents of your choice. Little chocolates maybe? 

These calendars are also perfect for kids or adults {you're never too old for a advent calendar} who can't eat chocolate. Another nice idea would be to fill each bag with lego or something they can collect over December. 

I've got a collection of crystals, I believe that each crystal has a healing property. So that would also be a nice idea, fill each bag with a different crystal {you can pick them up for a few quid} and the properties they contain. 

My calendar is hanging on my wall, the girls drilled two holes in the top and attached thin rope through the holes. 

Like I said, this was Sarah and Teeken's creation so my instructions are a little ropey!

Thanks girls, they cheer me up every morning! 

Have a lovely weekend! H xxxx