Hot Toddy Recipe

It's been rainy and soggy here in Vermont for the past week.  It looks as though Friday might clear up, but for now, it's gray.  Seemingly in sync with the weather, I managed to get a sore throat/cold thing a few days ago.  It's been lingering, and by the end of a long work day yesterday, my throat was in need of something warm and soothing.  Enter: the hot toddy.

I'd heard about these for a long time, but I'd never actually had one.  I read a few recipes online and then did what I usually do, which is come up with some amalgamation of what I read.  A lot of the recipes just use hot water with honey and lemon, but that sounded gross to me... so I used tea (a lot of recipes do).  Many say to use whiskey, but I didn't have any.  What I did have was maple rum (I know, I know - I'm on a real maple kick lately! But to be fair it is autumn in Vermont), which worked rather wonderfully.  Spiced rum would probably be good too.

My recipe is below.

Hot Toddy Recipe

You will need:
-  Tea (black tea, herbal tea, or green tea would probably all be good. I didn't want caffeine, so I went with ginger peach)
-  Half a lemon
-  Honey
-  Rum (or whiskey)

It's all pretty simple.  Brew your tea in a mug.  Leave a little room, since you'll be adding more liquid with the rum or whiskey.

Squeeze in the juice of half of a lemon - you can do more or less if you want.

Stir that up with a teaspoon of honey.

Add your rum or whiskey and stir it really well.

Sip and enjoy!  This was really soothing and didn't taste overwhelmingly like any one of the ingredients.   I enjoyed sitting by the fire and sipping away, and it really did make me feel better.

Of course for the work day, I'll just have to settle for tea with honey and lemon!

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Yesterday was one of those rainy, cool, October-is-tomorrow kind of days.  Garret and I spent Friday and Saturday at my mom's in Albany, so Sunday was our only Vermont weekend day this weekend.  We had aspirations to drive a little, grab some chicken wings and a beer at a pub, and watch football.  We don't really watch football, per say... but on a rainy Sunday, I like the experience of it.  It reminds me of home.

Anyway, that was our aspiration.  When it came time to actually go out and do all of this, we realized that a) we didn't really feel like eating chicken wings, we both wanted something healthy. And b) we didn't really want to do the drive that would be required of us to get to the place with the good wings.  But I was still craving a seasonal-inspired afternoon that embraced the coolness in the air. So, instead, I decided to make a autumn "lunch out" at home: homemade maple balsamic vinaigrette over a salad with a pumpkin ale sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar mix.

I like to make "special" seasonal meals at home.  It's easy to do, it just takes a little creativity.  In the end, we got the same satisfaction we would have by going out and getting these seasonal foods at a restaurant, but we also got the warmth of our fireplace.  Plus, we got to hang out with Murgs.

The recipe for maple balsamic vinaigrette is below.  I highly recommend it -- it's not too sweet.  Actually, the maple just offsets the acidity of the balsamic enough to make it just an all around more delicious version of normal balsamic vinaigrette.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette 

You will need: 

1/2 a cup of olive oil

1/4 a cup of balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons of maple syrup (serious maple syrup, not my beloved Mrs. Butterworth's)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1 clove of garlic, pressed (or minced)

Making the dressing is easy: just throw it in a bowl and whisk away.  I had a little bit of trouble getting it all to mix at first, so have patience.  If all else fails, throw it in a bottle or jar and shake it up.

❤Lauren