Winter Warmers

January 17 is National Hot Buttered Rum Day in the States, so I'm going to find out more about this cocktail and then give it a whirl in celebration. Before starting this blog I admit I had never before heard of Hot Buttered Rum but I love warm drinks in cold weather, butter and rum, so by all rights this venture should be a resounding success. Upon researching the history of this drink I discovered that it basically just a bastardisation of the classic Hot Toddy (that had it's own celebration last week) dating back to the colonial American era, when the importing of molasses from Jamaica started to become a big thing. In some areas of America Hot Toddy and Hot Buttered rum are in fact just interchangeable names for the same thing, although there are many regional and personal variations. I procured this particular recipe for the winter cocktail from foodnetwork.com;

Hot Buttered Rum Cocktail

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2002

Prep Time:

10 min

Inactive Prep Time:

1 min

Cook Time:

10 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

10 to 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• Pinch salt
• Bottle dark rum
• Boiling water

Directions

In a bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Refrigerate until almost firm. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the butter mixture into 12 small mugs. Pour about 3 ounces of rum into each mug (filling about halfway). Top with boiling water (to fill the remaining half), stir well, and serve immediately.

A helpful friend beating the butter into submission!

Verdict It smells incredibly Christmassy, and is warm and comforting to hold. . .devastatingly strong but undeniably delicious. A friend added coffee and a splash of milk to her cup and it worked really well, so this can presumably work with tea just as easily :)  Someone mentioned that butterbeer from the Harry Potter novels is described as being similar to this drink, and so possibly might be based on hot buttered rum. This is entirely (mildy drunken) speculation, and is based on 0% true facts, but it might be true! Whether there is any truth to this idea or not, the drink is an absolute delight, warming you from the inside out, and totally worth the effort. It loses a point for being a bit of a pain to prepare. Just be aware: it's extremely strong  9/10

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Tea Testing Round 3

I went with an online recipe for this cup of Lavender tea, but I definitely didn't actually grow and harvest the lavender, I just used a tisane and then showed the brew a bag of Yorkshire tea briefly, adding some honey and lemon. I'm getting well into honey and lemon with hot drinks now, it's an excellent gravy train and I would recommend that everyone get on it immediately. I love the smell of lavender, and this doesn't disappoint. Tastes wicked too, nice and sweet but the lemon gives it a sharp edge. Really scrumptious, will definitely be repeating this one :) 8/10

Cold Remedies

Winter is notorious for colds and flu. It is common knowledge that there is no cure for the common cold, you pretty much just have to ride it out, mucus, headaches and all. You can, however, dose yourself with different drugs and homoeopathic remedies that are said to help alleviate the various symptoms of cold & flu, to make the duration of your illness just that little bit more manageable. The actual performance of these cold remedies can vary massively, so in honour of Hot Toddy Day & Hot Tea Month, I will test some of these reputedly remedial drinks, and judge them on both their taste and effectiveness. I don't believe I have tried any of these drinks before, so this will be my introduction to them all. I will try to be as unbiased as possible, but ill brain does not always do as it's told.

So let us begin with the Hot Toddy. The origins of this drink are unclear, however it seems most likely that it was invented in Scotland in the 18th century as a drink for women, who tended not to be keen on the rough taste of the scotch during this period. The contents of this drink are only very loosely defined, and so presumably the taste and supposed health benefits can vary wildly from Toddy to Toddy. Although unproven, it is claimed the a Hot Toddy can soothe a sore throat and dry cough, and work as a sedative. I chose to make mine with the below ingredients, and I used this recipe courtesy of about.com;

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 1 Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 oz brandy, whiskey, or rum
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1/4 lemon
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 tea bag

Preparation:

1. Coat the bottom of a mug or an Irish coffee glass with honey.
2. Add the liquor and the juice of the lemon quarter.
3. On the side, heat water in a tea kettle and add the tea bag to make hot tea.
4. Pour the steaming tea into the glass and stir.

Verdict:

We chose rum, it being the preferred short of everyone present. The tea used was (unsurprisingly) Yorkshire tea, a good strong blend. I also chose to just put an unjuiced small lemon slice in each cup, so each person could choose how lemony they wanted their drink to be, and added a clove to each cup while steeping for flavour. This drink went down well with with all, my dad included n.b. My dad notoriously hates all alcoholic drinks that are not a standard pint of lager, and so for him to offer this drink praise is a notable gold star worthy of mention for the benefit of hot toddys everywhere. My boyfriend Tom also tends to hate all warmed drinks, preferring just to drink a couple of pints of water every few hours (not for any specific health reasons, just as a straightforward, hassle-free way of avoiding dehydration)and he also gave it a thumbs up. Tom has had a terrible cough recently, and I did notice that this drink did significantly calm his cough down for up to an hour afterwards. Upon further experimentation, it seems as though this drink works well with pretty much any combination of suggested ingredients.  Plus, it was nice and easy to prepare & had a lovely taste :) 8/10

Dad's seal of approval

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Tea Tasting Round 2

In keeping with the remedial theme of this post, today's teas have been chosen not for their professed ability to stave off a cold, but for having the same flavourings as Lemsip medicinal drinks. Lateral thinking or ill brain malfunction, you decide! Blackcurrant tea went first; what I could smell of it through my bunged up nose was lovely, but when sipped it had a rather bland and uninteresting taste. This drink can apparently help in the prevention and treatment of diseases as serious as asthma and cancer(!) It did seem to stop me from sniffling quite so much, but that could easily be attributed to an increase in core body temperatures or any other of a number of factors, so I remain unconvinced. It maybe would have been nicer sweetened with honey or something similarly sugary, but I am not accustomed to sweetening my teas so I didn't bother. I'm in no rush to have another cup. 4/10

My cup of citrus tea again had a pleasant and reassuringly strong lemony smell. But after my earlier disappointment with the blackcurrant tea, I remained wary. It tasted acceptable enough, but  it was nothing special, unfortunately. I found no noticeable change in myself after finishing my drink, remaining as mildly ill as ever. Lemon tea can reputedly help to cleanse the body and energise the mind, very broad claims which make me immediately distrustful. All other health claims seem to mirror those of Green tea, which ultimately I find to be a nicer and more enjoyable drink. I think I'll stick to eating my citrus, thanks. 6/10

Shortbread, Tea and Cuddles

The month of January is Hot Tea Month! (Cue applause) Now, while we all know everyone loves a good cuppa (if you don’t, then gtfo, fool!), most people drink tea all through the year, so what is so special about January? Well, the internet wasn't very forthcoming on the specifics of this, so I'm just going to assume it’s because January is very cold and there’s nothing nicer than having something lovely and warm to hold while you slowly metamorphosize into an icy stalagmite. As the second most consumed beverage in the world (after water, obviously) and one of the oldest drinks known to man, tea has played a very important role in society around the world, both historically and today. On my travels across the internet I found a really interesting tea timeline that goes all the way back to 2737 BC, which is apparently when tea was first discovered in China by Shen Nung, the Second Emperor. People have been drinking this delicious beverage for a very long time. I wasn’t initially entirely sure how to celebrate this ‘month of tea’, but upon investigation it appears that the purpose of this celebration is for people to explore the diverse and surprisingly extensive world of tea, expanding their horizons beyond the safe supermarket standard brew.

As a medium to heavy tea drinker, I will be the first to admit that usually I hedge my bets and stick with my standard cup of Yorkshire tea (splash of milk, no sugar) but I have dabbled in other teas, with the odd cup of green, chai or chamomile. Though I have usually tended to enjoy these ‘novelty’ teas, I have unerringly always returned to the old favourite. On top of this, I have rarely bothered to investigate to find out information about any kind of alternative tea other than whether milk is recommended with it or not. Thus, I shall be delving deeper into the world of tea than ever before. I will try as many different types of tea as I can, both the variations I have had previously and those I have yet to try (white tea and oolong, I'm looking at you). As I sample the different tea variants, I’ll delve into their fact sheets and try to provide choice snippets along with my own opinion. Loose leaf tea may be on the cards, but we’ll have to see where this month takes me. If I can find the time, I might possibly also even attempt to make some hot tea cocktails or cook with tea. Tea soup, anyone?

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Tea Testing Round 1

Redbush - a Rooibos tea from the Western Cape of South Africa. Rooibos is a relatively young strain, with a history dating back only 300 years. It is completely calorie free, and can be served hot or cold. This brew had a strong, almost tobacco-like smell which I found a little off putting, but the smoky taste was pleasant enough. The aftertaste, not so much. I discovered after drinking that Rooibos is technically not actually a tea, which may account for why I didn’t find it to be entirely excellent. I had mine straight, but my boss drank a cup with milk and sugar and declared it delicious. 5/10

Green Tea has a lovely smell and taste, mellow and refreshing. Green tea is known for it’s health benefits, such as speeding up the metabolism and helping to clear the complexion if consumed regularly, but the internet professes that this tasty beverage also has healing properties, and can even be used as an antibacterial solution, apparently. Who knew?

10/10

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I shall be doing further experiments with tea as the month progresses, but for now what else do we have to celebrate today? Not one, but two of my most favourite things; cuddles and shortbread. If I had to choose between the two, I'd probably choose cuddles, as shortbread, although delicious, is only one of many kinds of biscuit, whereas there is no decent substitute for a good cuddle. Boyfriends and girlfriends are the usual first port of call for such activities, but a good friend can be a perfect cuddle companion too.

You don't even need an actual person to cuddle up, some cuddly toys are excellent. Frank (the gigantic pink dog pictured above) has lived in my bedroom for more than 5 years. Whenever my boyfriend spends the night away from home, I put Frank in his place so I have something soft and warm to cuddle and don't wake up in the night looking for him. Frank has also helped many others, perhaps most importantly my friend & housemate who ended up on the streets of Stratford overnight once, and returned to find Frank waiting for her in her bed to soothe the pain of her ordeal :) Onesies are also great cuddling gear, and kigurumis, like the red panda one I am curled up in below, are even better. However, if you have a paucity of people and things to cuddle up with, cuddling up in bed with a book and a nice warm drink will more than suffice :)

Finally, today is also National Shortbread day. Although shortbread may have come second to a good cuddle in my rankings, this in no way means that I don't still love it. Shortbread was always one of my favourite biscuity treats when I was little. Looking back, this is probably because it is so deliciously sweet and crumbly. Eating shortbread as an adult is always a bit of a guilty pleasure - you know that is is filled with butter and coated with sugar but goddamn it if that doesn't make it an excellent biscuit. Digestives and custard creams pale in comparison (Rich Tea does too, but those tasteless wonders pale in comparison to pretty much any other possible option). Fifteen years ago in the world of Rebecca , the ultimate kind of shortbread was this one...

For the benefit of the uninitiated, the above image shows a Fox's Sports Biscuit. These biscuits always had an image of a little stick man or two doing some kind of sport, presumably in order to encourage fat youngsters to do more sports by eating shortbread. Flawed logic, to be sure, but these biscuits were awesome. I loved them. Whilst looking these up, I discovered that the Fox's biscuit company were originally founded in Batley, an area of my current hometown of Leeds in West Yorkshire, which endeared me to the company somewhat. This effect also came into play when I first discovered Asda were originally a Leeds-based company. Of course, everything is owned bystupidly huge conglomerates now, but it's nice to know some big brands have homely roots in God's Own County. I assumed that the Sports Bicuits had been discontinued years ago as I haven't seen them around for ages, but it seems I must have been walking around with blinkers on, as they still exist, albeit in different form, with silhouettes instead of stick men. Sacrilege! 

I have had plenty of other tasty shortbreads in my time, and many of them come in tartan packaging with some kind of reference to Scotland, so I was always vaguely aware of it's Scottish roots, but I never really knew much about the particulars before now. Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), the famous Queen with no kingdom, was a romantic figure who spent most of her life in captivity, and she is surprisingly often attributed with the invention of shortbread. Records from the time show she was a big fan of 'petticoat tails', a particular cut of short bread cut from a big round and traditionally scored with a fork.

More often than not when a famous and/or important figure is credited with the discovery or indeed invention of something, it proves to be a false claim. Although earlier in this post I credited Chinese Emporer Shen Nung with the discovery of tea, I highly doubt that he discovered it himself. Neither do I think that Kim Jong Il really invented the hamburger. All contemporary records describe Mary as being a very haughty woman with an extremely high regard for herself, and it is highly unlikely that such a woman would deign to even step into the kitchen, let alone spend enough time in the bakery to develop her own biscuit. But still, she loved shortbread enough for it to go down in history, which is pretty cool. Apparently shortbread can trace it's origins back to hundreds of years before Mary;

The story of shortbread begins with the medieval "biscuit bread". Any leftover dough from bread making was dried out in a low oven until it hardened into a type of rusk: the word "biscuit" means "twice cooked". Gradually the yeast in the bread was replaced by butter, and biscuit bread developed into shortbread.

Today, shortbread continues to have traditional uses in Scotland, from being broken across the head of a new bride to celebrate her marriage, to being used as a traditional gift at Hogmany & First Foot Day. Shortbread can picked up with ease from any supermarket, which is definitely what I will be doing today, but if you would like to have a crack at it yourself, various recipes exist, some of which are here. Enjoy ^_^

References

1. Fox’s Sports Biscuit image http://camresb.blogspot.co.uk/

2. History of shortbread quote http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Shortbread/

3. Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots http://www.mcleanscotland.co.uk/MARYQUEENOFSCOTS.asp

4. Petticoat tails image http://www.deansshortbread.com/2011/10/origins-of-shortbread.html