Drinks / whole organic foods
Cool Drinks for Hot Summer Days
Drinking vinegar for its myriad health benefits goes back to ancient Greece, no wait, even further, to 5000 BCE when Babylonians were using date palms to make vinegar. Warriors throughout history have used vinegar mixed with water for strength and energy. Vinegar drinks and vinegar tonics infused with herbs, roots, flowers, you name it, have been around for many centuries.
In New England farmers have been making a drink called 'switchel' to keep them hydrated and ward off heat stroke during the long, hot summer days:
"They drank a quenching beverage that functioned much like modern Gatorade: switchel, also called switzel or haymaker’s punch. It contained water, a sweetener—either molasses, maple syrup, honey or brown sugar—ginger, and cider vinegar. All the ingredients (except water) happen to be sources of potassium—an electrolyte. Molasses is especially high in potassium."
Apple Cider Vinegar is an incredibly medicinal food since it contains several different beneficial acids plus beta-carotene, amino acid, bone building minerals, enzymes, magnesium, potassium, pectin and tannins. No wonder humans have been using this super food since we figured out how to preserve apples in the form of vinegar! Here are my three favorite vinegar drinks, aka, switchels, to help keep you cool and healthy this summer:
Dana's Pomegranate Switchel
Ingredients to make one cup of Switchel concentrate:
- ¼ cup of Fire Cider
- 3 tablespoons fresh ginger juice
- 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
Shake well to combine all ingredients.
Serve about 2-4 ounces of concentrate over ice, top with soda water to make a pint.
Store leftover Switchel mix in the refrigerator.
Citrus Switchel
Makes 2 servings-
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or Fire Cider
- juice from 1/2 a grapefruit
- 1 1/2 tablespoons, or more to taste, raw, local wildflower honey
- Soda water or plain water
- 2 lime wedges
Combine the first 3 ingredients and makes sure to dissolve all the honey.
Fill two pint glasses with ice and split the switchel mix between the glasses.
Top with soda water and garnish with a lime wedge.
Dr. Earl Mindell's Switchel, from his book 'Amazing Apple Cider Vinegar' which is also where I got some of the information for this blog post.
Makes 2 servings:
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or Fire Cider
- 1 1/2 tablespoons black strap molasses
- 2 cups warmed water (to melt the molasses)
Combine and pour over ice.
Fire and Fog
San Francisco, CA 94118
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Spiced Lamb's Wool
Lambs wool, ready for mixing and drinking!
Those of you who get our monthly Fire Cider e-newsletter (sign up on our home page; it's really just a monthly discount cleverly disguised as news about Fire Cider!) know that we celebrated Dana's birthday early this month with a happy hour at our house. The kegorator Dana built this summer was perfect for serving a crowd!
I made bar snacks and also some Lamb's Wool, a hot drink my friend Kate always made at her holiday parties. This hot mulled cider gets it's wooly look from peeled, cored apples slowly cooked into soft, delicious clouds. Kate's family tradition has become one of my favorite hot drinks- the mulling spices add extra warmth, and the apples are delicious.
You can certainly enjoy this all ages beverage as is or add in the optional ingredients at the end to get the full warming effect! This recipe will yield about a gallon- we didn't have any leftovers!
Ingredients:
- 1 gallon apple cider, preferably from a local orchard that doesn't use chemicals!
- mulling spices to taste, we used: 2 whole star anise, 3 whole cinnamon sticks, 1 shy tablespoon dried orange peel, a few whole cloves, 5-8 whole allspice. You can throw them in loose or put them into a spice bag/tea bag first.
- about 5-6 peeled, cored apples
Optional:
- 16 oz bottle of Fire Cider
- 750 ml bottle of Bourbon or Whisky
- or...whatever you like to spike your cider with!
Method:
Peel and core the apples, leaving them as whole as possible. I peeled by hand, sliced each apple in half and scooped out the seeds and hard bits. A peeler/corer, the hand cranked kind, would be perfect here.
Add all the apple cider, mulling spices and apples to a large heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it go until the apples have really started to break down; they are about half way there in the picture. I left the lid on most of the way while they cooked, so just a little steam could get out.
You don't want to reduce your cider too much, or it will get thick. If that happens, just add more apple cider. When the apples are starting to break apart into wooly clouds, turn the heat to low and leave it there; it's ready to serve.
Grab a big mug and scoop in some cider and some apple pieces. Garnish with a fresh cinnamon stick.
Add a tablespoon or 3 of the Fire Cider and some Bourbon or Whisky to taste. Happy weekend!
Dana's kegorator filled with two homebrews and filtered soda water.
The Gimlet, Fire Cider Style
We love our friend Ben McHenry's take on this classic cocktail. During the summer time, any day can feel like a Sunday. Have a sip on one of these the next time you need to bring the weekend to you!
A more colorful, flavorful gimlet.
- 1 1/2 shot gin
- 1/2 shot fire cider
- big splash tonic
- juice of half a lime
- 1 teaspoon sugar
"Here's to Feeling Good, All the Time"Fire Cider Drinks!
When Brian, Dana and I finish making a new batch of Fire Cider, we usually have about a half-case of oranges and a third case of lemons left over. Good thing my mom loves the fresh squeezed, organic orange juice I make for her with the left over oranges!
This was the scene in my kitchen last night: 
The last batch of left over oranges, sliced and ready to juice!
I made about a gallon and a half of orange juice and two ice-cube trays full of lemon juice. The lemon juice cubes are really handy for cooking or making lemonade. Since my mom is not a fan of spice, she uses the orange juice to dilute her daily dose of Fire Cider- about one tablespoon of Fire Cider in an 8 oz glass of juice, which she uses to take her other vitamins.
Making your own juice is a little bit of work, but per ounce it's cheaper to make your own, there's no plastic packaging, and it tastes amazing. Now I know most of you are thinking, where am I supposed to get a case of oranges? If you belong to or live near a cooperatively owned grocery store, like Wild Oats, Berkshire Co-op Market, Honest Weight and many others, you are in luck! Sometimes I will contact the produce manager at The Berkshire Co-op Market in Great Barrington to round out our Fire Cider produce order or to try out new recipes. I have also bought a case of ginger more than once to juice, as this is one of my staple health foods!
Buying in bulk saves us a lot of money on the groceries we can not grow ourselves and allows Dana and I to eat only organically grown and ethically raised produce and animal foods. It's worth the time and planning for the amount of money you can save and the positive effects these healthy, whole, organic foods can have on your health!
Here are two more drink recipes that use Fire Cider as an ingredient, so drink up and stay healthy!
Extra Tangy Lemonade
This recipe requires fresh squeezed lemon juice from at least one lemon. For a pint-sized drink I like to use 3-4 whole lemons, as we regularly have a lot of left over lemons from making a batch of Fire Cider. So, naturally, we make Fire Cider Lemonade! Mix the lemon juice in a pint glass with a splash of Fire Cider and raw honey to taste, top with soda or plain water.
Winter Warm-up Tea
To make a full pot of tea, double or triple the ingredients, depending on the size of your tea pot. For one cup of tea, steep the following ingredients in 12 oz. of just boiling water for about 5 minutes: 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root and the juice from half a lemon. Cover and let the ginger-y goodness infuse the hot water. Add honey or stevia to taste and about a tablespoon of Fire Cider. Enjoy the warming, sinus-clearing, and immune-boosting benefits as often as necessary.
