Winter Solstice Yulled Wine

Get it YULEd Wine like Mulled Wine? lol. I'm so clever. right? RIGHT? 

Well, I'm waiting for my brother in law to come up with a clever name for it, but this recipe is inspired by Frugally Sustainable's Yule Brew. Which is almost exactly the same, except mine has cider because, 1. I had some extra, 2. I accidentally bought a more dry wine blend, and needed it to be sweeter.  We had so much fun making it and drinking it I thought I'd share it.  {plus this way I can find it next year!}  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 bottles red wine
2 cups brandy

1 8oz jar of organic apple juice
2 organic oranges, thin sliced {we used some from our tree}
1 finger length fresh ginger root, sliced
6 (sweet) cinnamon sticks

10 whole cloves
10 whole cardamom pods
3-4 whole star anise
3-4 bay leaves
2 large spoonfuls of dried elderberries 

1/2 cup organic raw honey

On Winter Solstice {or Yule} combine all ingredients in large pot on stove top, {or in crock-pot} on low, allow to steep 4-6 hours on low heat. Stir occasionally, do not boil.

thin orange slices from our very own orange tree {interesting they look more like oranges though, more water? or plant food? open to suggestions}

Kids love to help, even if they can't drink it! {we made spiced apple cider for them to enjoy}

Sonja's favorite thing ever is cinnamon! I order huge bags in bulk from Mountain Rose and we use them in everything!

lots of cloves, which are full of antioxidants.

all those elderberries act like a natural cough medicine in this brew, boosting immune support and drying the sinuses.

Enjoy with family and friends.  This recipe makes a lot {which is great because it's meant to be enjoyed with your tribe}, so if you have a lot left over you can pour the liquid into a ball jar, and refrigerate, should last up to one week in fridge, when strained.

What I learned at the Absolut Elyx Martini Class

When we first arrived we headed up the swanky hotel stairs to the rooftop bar.

Each table was set with some mixing tools a bottle of Absolut Elyx and a Martini guide book and welcoming pin! 

As if that wasn't enough, we each received a cucumber ginger beer vodka cocktail to start off the night.  It was a simple and refreshing drink before getting in depth about vodka.

This little book is full of fun and interesting information. Such as a martini with two olives is called a  Roosevelt and a Gibson is a type of martini the difference is that is comes garnished with a cocktail onion instead of an olive or peel. I also learned a "wet" martini is half vermouth half vodka, as opposed to the dry and dirty versions.

After we finished our welcome drinks we started learning more about the Martini process.

I loved the story the bartender told us about where the word "cocktails" come from.  The story goes that in the olden days a bar would have all the drinks in large drink dispensers and at the end of the night the bartender would just empty them into a pitcher or glass and those would be the tail end of the drinks or cocktails.  You know I'm a sucker for those antidotal stories for where phrases and terms come from...

Anyway, on to the Martini making.  Each of us started with Absolut Elyx, which I guess I should explain the significance of Absolut's newest vodka while I'm at it.  

Absolut has created lots of flavored vodka and has a wide range of selections, but this vodka is special because it's made from just one farm in Åhus, Sweden and also distilled in copper barrels, which leaves a tingle of acidity to the "bite" of the vodka.  It's a distinguishable taste and something that is unique with vodka as most companies don't use copper for their production anymore.

After we added our Absolut Elyx we got to choose our favorite accompanying alcohol and garnishes.

Somehow the bartender read my mind and chose this Spanish {my favorite place ever} Cordial with hints of vanilla and citrus, Licor 43, and I chose raspberries for my garnish.

The copper pineapple is significant because pineapples are a symbol of welcoming and the copper goes along with the copper production of this particular vodka.

back at the table we stirred our martinis {Stirred NOT Shaken} because by stirring with the proper stick and technique you can get the temperature more consistent and add less air to your drink.  There's not really a right or wrong here, just preference.

Stephanie's included St. Germain and an orange peel.

We both enjoyed our drinks!

And even ordered more!

For more information on the release of Absolut Elyx check out their website or instagram.

and don't forget to follow along as @bitchesfoodclub explores phoenix and abroad searching for local food and drinks!

How to use 10 pounds of fresh peaches in a week {recipes and links}

After going peach picking last week, we had close to 10 pounds of peaches, we ate most of them the same day, binging at the farm and on the drive home, but after a couple of days, we were over it.  But I wasn't about to let my peaches go to waste so we started getting creative.

Just a small amount of the peaches we needed to use.

So with the help of our backyard eggs, I had husband make some waffles.

I prepped about 4 or 5 peaches while he started the batter.

He used this recipe.

and Sonja helped as we added the fruit {I threw in some blueberries at the last minute}

The batter was fluffy but heavy, there was so much butter! 

The girls enjoyed their peaches with syrup!

And then the next morning I made crescent rolls with brie and peaches, I also used some of the sugar free peach jam from Schnepf Farms {the peaches were sweet enough, I didn't need extra sugar!}

This is one of my go to entertaining recipes, and I modify it slightly with whatever we have in stock at the house.

They turned out delicious, because, duh, they had melted brie in them!  You could totally add walnuts to the mix if you wanted something crunchy in there as well.

They didn't last 5 minutes. I might have eaten like 5 of them.

Once we had a decent breakfast I thought I'd start on some peach bourbon for our Memorial Day BBQ, So I wiped out a cast iron skillet, set it on a low heat and coated the peached in agave {could have used honey, but we were out, sad face} I also threw in a few vanilla pods to give it a fully body of sweet flavor.

Once the peaches have seared for a couple of seconds, maybe minutes, I added the mixture to a ball jar.

You can see the gooey goodness of that agave! yum.

Then, I added a bottle of bourbon to let sit for several hours {better if overnight} perfect in lemonade or even straight up. 

How do you use peaches in your home?  I'd love a collection of even more recipes.  Post all the links!