Mulled Apple Cider (Booze Optional)

Something simple and warming for these cool/cold fall nights!

Ingredients:

6 cups unpasteurized apple cider (or, you know, whatever you can find)
10-15 whole cloves
4 3" cinnamon stick (my store has 3 or 6", so I thought I'd specify)
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 1" knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 orange, halved, and zest sliced off in thick chunks
3/4 cup of rum (or, you know, to your taste/boozy preference) (optional)

Instructions:

Combine everything together in a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Strain into a pitcher/bowl.

Serve hot!

Bomb Collins

Sometimes you have a really bad day.

Or, for me, a really bad morning.  Not enough sleep (for a few days), hormonal, bitchy.  Just one of those no-good, no-fun, not-feeling-life-at-all, please-just-let-me-stay-in-bed-all-day mornings.  You blow up at everyone and everything, you cry, you're not feeling like *yourself*, and (in true angst-fashion) no one *gets you*.

Therefore, dammit, in my world, you need and deserve a drink.

But not just any drink!

A nice drink.  A fancy drink.  A drink recipe you saved last week because it just looked THAT GOOD.

So, this afternoon, I splurged and went and got everything for it (Angostura Bitters, what is THIS?) while Charles was out and have been preparing the simply syrup and everything for it.  

It's an appropriate farewell to the summer peaches that I hardly got to savor, as well (insert massive sad face here-- D: ).  (HOW IS IT ALMOST FALL ALREADY?!?!?!)

Now, the blog I found this on is gorgeous and I followed the recipe to a T, so I feel like I'm plagiarizing if I retype it here.  So, here you go, the Bomb Collins!

The flavors of the drink.

By the way, you can proceed to eat the peach out of the bottom of your glass when you're done...so that makes it healthy, right? ;)

Beautiful peaches.

Steeping the simple syrup.

The Bomb Collins.