Yesterday, when we got home from school, my 4 year old daughter said “oh it’s good to be home”. She then sighed as she shrugged off her coat (dumping it on the floor as is the habit of ALL children) and told me that “home feels nice Mummy, it’s our place”.  What’s that saying?  Oh yes – from the mouths of babes…

I have never been in love with our home, to me it was always a place that I had no choice but to move to when my life took an unexpected twist.  Hearing her say that she looked forward to coming home, that she felt like we belong here gave me a new perspective.  It may not be the nicest looking house on the street, it may not be stunningly decorated, it may not belong to me and it’s definitely always messy BUT, it is our home and we make it ours.

Take time to listen to the small ones around you, they can teach us so much.

As I feeling all kinds of cosy after her sweet words, some might say I was feeling very hyggeligt, I decided it was time to have my hot spiced apple juice again.  I shared the photo on Twitter (I’m @faerynuff and @ShakeYourTush) and the lovely ladies at Living Hygge who run the #hyggehour on Twitter – Monday evenings 8-9pm! – seemed so interested that I thought I’d blog the recipe here.

Hot Spiced Apple Juice

You need;

1 litre apple juice (any, it doesnt have to be super expensive as we’re adding lots of flavours here)

500ml water

1 orange

1 lemon

2 large tbsp runny honey

3 cinnamon sticks

3 star anise stars

2 cloves

2 bay leaves

1 cm thick piece of fresh ginger, cut into 3 slices

A large saucepan

You;

Cut 3 slices from both the orange and lemon and cut each slice in half.  Pop the slices in the saucepan along with all the spices, aromatics and honey.  Squeeze the orange and lemon into the saucepan.  Pour over the apple juice and water.

Give it all a good stir and set over a gentle heat.  Let it come to a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes but don’t let it boil or you’ll end up with a spiced apple syrup 🙂

Allow to cool slightly and pour into mugs or heatproof glasses.  Enjoy with friends, family or in my case, with a good slug of JD Winter Jack!  You can make this with cider instead of apple juice, and it’s made even yummier with 50-100mls of Calvados stirred through once the heat has been turned off.

Let me know if you make it, and if you like it!

I’m off to watch Gilmore Girls and try to get more of my son’s birthday present made,

Ali x