Excited about the on-coming Christmas and its delicious treats and recipes? Glögg is the perfect cold weather beverage; the hot mulled wine is made with aromatic spices that bring warmth into your soul. The season’s greatest holiday will bring you joy and the atmosphere will be fabulous if you treat your guests with a cup of glögg. Here is the recipe of the tasty season’s beverage.
Ingredients:
* one or two bottles of red wine (as preferred)
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1 and 1/2 cup sugar
* 1 dozen cloves
* 1 cup raisins
* 2 dozens almonds
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg
* orange peel
* a touch of brandy
Pour the red wine in a stainless steel pot. Add the sugar, cinnamon, cloves, raisins, nutmeg, almonds and orange peel, stirring until all the ingredients are mixed together and the sugar is diluted. Warm gently, stirring occasionally, but do not boil, otherwise the alcohol will evaporate. Add a touch of brandy for a greater aroma and garnish it with more orange peel or cinnamon. The glögg is ready! Pour it in seasonal Christmas cups or mugs and make sure there are spices in every cup, they will keep the aroma longer while you are seeping the tasty drink. Be sure that the glögg it is served steaming hot. Enjoy it with your friends after a great day of skiing or ice skating, with your guests on Christmas Eve or after you spent some time outside, looking for the perfect Christmas Tree.
Special tips:
* You can age the glögg by straining it and putting it in a glass bottle. Keep it in a cool place. Warm it before you serve it!
* You can offer a cup of hot mulled wine as treat to the caroling singers. It will warm them immediately, but be sure they are not under 21 though.
* Glögg match perfectly with ginger bread. So, arrange some pieces on a little plate, accompanying the hot mulled wine.
* Don’t use aluminum or copper pots because the metal interacts with the wine and gives it a metallic taste!
* Although the glögg is a sweet, spicy drink, it contains alcohol. So, be aware how many cups you enjoy and give your car keys to someone else.
The new season announce a grand opening this year. Premiere 1st December with a splendor of refined music and suave song of the Bells. The Wind will act and dance its persuasive role, the Snow will be, as expected, showing its splendor and sparkles in vehement applauses, the Ice will play the role of crystal queen and it will have the world on its feet and the Clouds will decide the decors, keeping the same grey and white palette. Big name on the advertisement sign: WINTER. Will be a whole season representation, and everyone is expected to enjoy the show. People from all over the globe are welcomed and especially children, because every year they make the Winter’s representation even more popular. The dogs are preparing too for the big season’s show. They are barking impatiently at the oncoming Snow’s representation, their favorite personage. With such audience, this Winter Season will be a big success. So, find a comfortable place and let the show begin.
Thanksgiving is a traditional North American Holiday when people give thanks at the finish of the harvest season. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November and it’s a four day weekend. Families and friends are gathering together to celebrate the day of thanks with a festive dinner. Thanksgiving meals are traditionally events; therefore, certain kinds of food are served. The most important peace is the turkey, which is arranged in the middle of the table. All around it accompany stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, corn and for dessert pumpkin pie, apple pie and pecan pie. The traditional beverages are apple cider, red wine and cocktails before dinner.
Thanksgiving is the time when people forgive, offer more, try to find love and peace in their hearts, thank God for His kindness and love. Thanksgiving is the time when people find warmth and joy, is the time when they are grateful for their lives the way they are.
Everyone is preparing now for the incoming holiday of the season. It’s that time of the year when family and close friends are gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving. The stores are already full with all sorts of decorations, dishware, candles and seasonal flowers. Maybe this year you want to be more simplistic and authentic. If you want to try some of the following ideas, be prepared to surprise your invitees with creativity and originality.Â
Nowadays we all go green, right? Are you ready for organic decorations as well? Good! Pick some of those festive iconic pumpkins in small and medium sizes. Use different colors of them for diversity and the joy of playing with colors. Arrange them on the table;Â they’ll make a great seasonal image.
Another great idea is to spread some autumn leaves on the table or arrange them in a nice fall bouquet. Autumn leaves are the great season’s inspiration, beside pumpkins. So, get inspirational with them.
Use some branches and twigs to decorate the table. You can pick all kinds of them; just choose the ones you like. Among them put some high transparent glass vases with candles inside. You’ll create a splendid rustic scene with beautiful lights and shadows.
All kinds of nuts in shelves can be found in stores this period of year. Buy combined nuts and arrange them in a wattle basket. You can mingle among them red fresh apples. It’s a great combination and an original decoration for your Thanksgiving dinner.
Now that you got inspired, it’s time to get to work and gather all the elements you’ve found interesting. I wish you an inspiring Thanksgiving!Â
Pumpkins are still in fashion this month and give us more inspiration for Thanksgiving delicious recipes. A great and original idea for your Thanksgiving feast is to serve pumpkin strudel for dessert. Here is how you can make it.
Ingredients:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
* all purpose flour
* water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* scraped or canned pure pumpkinÂ
* cinnamon
* brown sugar
* powdered sugar (optional)
In a bowl mix a little amount of flour with a little water and salt. Keep adding flour and water until you obtain the desired amount of dough. Leave it to rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, scrape the pumpkin or open de canned one. Spread some flour on a clean surface and begin to extend the dough with a rolling pin until you obtain a very thin (almost transparent), rectangular pie sheet. On the dough-surface spread the pumpkin, add brown sugar and cinnamon as desired. Roll all together into a pumpkin stuffed roulade. Grease an oven tray and sprinkle some flour. Put the pumpkin stuffed roll on the tray and grease a little for a great final look. Cook it at 350 F untill it turns a little ruddy. When you take the strudel out of the oven, you can sprinkle powdered sugar above it. The strudel is ready!
Cut it into slices, put them on a nice holiday plateau and garnish with ground nuts or pecans. Your Thanksgiving invitees will be impressed! Enjoy it with a glass of red wine or a delicious liqueur. Yummy…Â
 A New England Autumn by Ferenc Mate is my strongest recommendation when it comes to books. It’s a magnificent journey in the fascinating autumn nature. Wonderful photographs of forests, villages, farmsteads from Maine to Conneticut are accompanying the poetry and literature of Emily Dickinson, Henry David Thoreau and Waldo Emerson. Their words complement the magnificent nature. New England autumn colors create meditative and passionate images. It is the perfect capture of the season. The book also contains a fourteen page guide which includes maps, excursions and descriptions of the places.
The emotion caught in this pictorial celebration of season is very strong. All of you, who love the autumn, will enjoy this journey in the season’s book. It’s inspiring and emotional. Enjoy it!
With the colder days approaching, it’s very hard do find a beautiful sunny autumn day to warm your soul. But when one of these days appears, be prepared to seize the opportunity.  Â
Let’s say that you get up one Sunday morning, already used with the rainy days installed until the winter comes and the sun takes you by surprise. Wow, a sunny day in the fall! It’s absolutely necesary to go out for a walk in the park, in the city, with your dog or someone you love. The autumn colors and the sun combine the life in a wonderful picture for the eyes and spirit. The stately oaks emanate great energy and spread their funny acorns on the leaves cover ground.  All the trees show of their lovely autumn shades and there’s not one like other. The tones are red, orange, purple, green, yellow, brown and they all dance a beautiful fall simphony.Â
It’s a nice sunny autumn day. Go out and live the rhythm of life!
Halloween is right around the corner. It’s such a popular and appreciated holiday nowadays. Everybody is looking for a costume and for the most popular yard decorations, like Jack-O’-Lanterns, scarecrows, witches, orange string lights. Nobody can get tired of the traditional Halloween activities. But beside trick or treat, costume parties or viewing horror movies you can spice up your party with some scary games that will make your guests remember your Halloween gathering forever. Interested? Boohoo!
Quija board is a game board, covered with alphabet and numbers. The players ask questions which are answered when a triangular pointer moves to letters or numbers on the board. This game is very suited for Halloween night, when the spirits can make contact with the physical world. But be careful, you know that a simple board cannot answer questions, so prepare yourself for an interesting experience! Spooky…
Magic: the gathering is a perfect card game for the Halloween, when the magic is so strong. The cards of this game are colored in five colors of magic: red, green, blue, white and black. Playing the game introduces players to some spooky images and the players assume the role of sorcerers, using their magic.
The Tarot, although is a deck of cards, it is not played as a card game. The cards are used for divination, for obtaining information through supernatural forces. They are colorful with images that can be interpreted.
Another interesting frightening game is telling or inventing scary occurrences. You and your friends can gather in a room where the atmosphere is suited for a Halloween night (Jack-O’-Lanterns, spooky background music, ready for drink bloody-maries). You will be impressed by how spooky this game can be. Everybody has an interesting unreal story or a strange supernatural experience.
Unsatisfied? Here is one more. Write on small pieces of paper the name of several scary personages (such as Frankenstein, Cruela, Dracula), fold them and put them into a bowl. Every player has to take one and interpret by miming the character until the others guess who the personage is. This game beside its spooky feature has a humorous one as well.
Be very careful with these games! If you’re not a courageous person, you better don’t play them! You might have some unexpected and inexplicable experiences. So, be prepared!
Have the spookiest Halloween ever!
October is here. We’re preparing for colder days and to spend more time in our sweet homes. It’s time to add some autumn characteristics and enjoy the atmosphere indoors. To feel the warm of your home this fall, you don’t have to decorate the entire place or invest very much.
Candles in autumn colors and fragrances are a great change for your home. Place several candles of different shapes and colors on the little table in front of the couch or wherever your imagination guides you. Choose candles with cinnamon, pumpkin, almond, cloves and orange fragrances, which are the best for the fall season.
Arrange blankets in matching colors on your favorite couch or armchair. It will be very comfortable for you to grab one when you enjoy your favorite movie or a good book and a nice cup of cocoa. You will feel warm and cozy in a minute.
Place some autumn ornaments in your home, such as little pumpkins in different colors, fall leaves and twigs. Buy a nice autumn plant, like a chrysanthemmum; it will bring you joy.
Complement your bathroom with some magnificent fall fragrance ethereal oils. You can use them when you take a nice, warm bath. You will feel more relaxed and invigorated.
Decorate your front door with a beautiful autumn like wreath. It will give you a great welcome-home feeling.
With these easy tips, you can enjoy the great season and be inspirational.Â
It’s all about the beauty of nature, the feeling that returns from past years, the smell that has something different and reminds us of something deep inside our souls, it’s all about the little details and essentials of life. That will be autumn with its miracles and wonderful shades surrounding us. What is about this season, that is so strong and looks deep down into our souls? Admit it, as much as you would hate the rain, there’s something amasingly sad and pleasant about it. The rain makes you discover hidden sensibilities. The black, wet asphalt in the evenings makes a strange reflection of the world in interesting lights and shadows. The people become more intense, some type of freshness and elegance returns in their appearance. The city regains its inner force and loneliness. It’s all about the season’s inspiration and the beauty that should fulfill our lives.