Ginger Beer!

Homebrewed Ginger Beer

To make your own ginger beer couldn’t be much easier. This recipe is based on the method detailed in the wonderful book, The Art of Fermentation, by Sandor Katz. It uses natural yeasts from the ginger (that’s why organic ginger is important), and produces a fizzy, effervescent beverage that is delicious.

AND THEN!

You can submit your own varietal to enter the giveaway for a signed copy of the cookbook here! Deadline is November 1st!

Ginger Beer Recipe

You’ll Need:

Ginger Bug (see below)
organic ginger, about 4″
2 cups sugar
1 gallon glass jug
an airlock (useful), or scrap of fabric and rubber band

For the Ginger Bug:

2″ organic ginger
2 Tbs. sugar
water

Start by making up a “ginger bug”. It won’t matter how much, but I usually start with about a tablespoon of grated ginger (skin and all!). Put your grated ginger into a small jar with sugar and water (about 1 tsp and 1 Tbs, respectively). Cover with some fine cheesecloth to keep out real bugs. Continue to add a bit more grated ginger and sugar each day, until the mixture has become bubbly; it should take no more than a few days. Set aside.

For the next step, you’ll make the base for the ginger beer. Put 4 cups of water in a pot over medium high heat, and add about 4″ of thinly sliced ginger. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for around 15 minutes. Carefully strain and pour this hot mixture into a glass gallon jug. *Be careful to increase the temperature of the jug gradually, as intense temp changes can shatter glass.*

Pour in two cups of sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add enough additional water to bring the level up near the top of the jug. When the liquid is no longer hot, add about a Tablespoon of the ginger bug to the jug.

Stir periodically, until there are tiny bubbles visible in the liquid. Once this happens, you can prepare to bottle it. If you like a tamer ginger beer, bottle quickly, but if you prefer a slightly more alcoholic version, let the mixture ferment for a few days.

As with all carbonated home brews, take care when bottling. Place your filled bottles in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. The ginger beer is best enjoyed within a couple of weeks, but it’s so easy, you can keep making more in next to no time at all, provided you keep feeding your ginger bug!

Mongolian Milk Tea

The Dothraki milk based beverages in the books are, I believe, entirely of the fermented variety. We’d certainly give it a go, but mare’s milk is a bit hard to come by. Still, Sariann has in fact milked a horse before, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. More on that later, if you’re lucky. :)

While not strictly in the books, this Milk Tea is a perfect pairing for our traditional Blood Pies (recipe forthcoming). I came across it while doing research into the blood pies, and thought it really fit the Dothraki setting. What’s more, the Mongolians know what they’re about: it is great with the meat pies!

Thoughts:

Don’t think of it as tea, or as milk, and you will probably like it as much as I did.

The roasted millet gives it a slightly earthy, nutty taste, while the small amount of butter provides richness. The tea is not all that prominent, but just present enough to lend the drink a decidedly foreign feel. For something extra, spoon up the millet in the bottom of your cup; the merest of pops should remain in what your brain will register as a type of hot breakfast cereal.

It puts me in mind of dark, musty yurts on the Dothraki Sea, a fortifying drink before the day’s ride, or a refreshing sip to wash the dust from one’s throat in the evening. I had two servings.

Drink like the Dothraki!

Mint Sun Tea

“There was much more than she’d asked for: hot bread, butter and honey and blackberry preserves, a rasher of bacon and a soft-boiled egg, a wedge of cheese, a pot of mint tea. And with it came Maester Luwin.” -A Game of Thrones

Mint Sun Tea

Our Thoughts:

We know the text doesn’t call for mint sun tea, but no one should have to live without this recipe. This is one of our go-to drinks for summer. As sort of tea aficionados/addicts, this fills our needs for both tea and sunshine. Sun tea is a fantastic way to get your caffeine fix without having to use the kettle on a hot day. If you plan far enough ahead, you won’t have to ever go inside again! Also a great recipe to use when camping. And you always look cooler drinking from a Mason jar!

Make it at Home!

Sweetsleep

“‘This will give you dreamless sleep,’ Maester Luwin said as he pulled the stopper from the jar. ‘Sweet, dreamless sleep.'” -A Clash of Kings

Sweetsleep Infusion Mixture

This post will benefit from a small bit of back story.

Several months ago, after suffering from bouts of fitful sleeping, I sought a remedy in the form of the huge bulk herb bins at a local co-op. I played around with a few combinations, finally settling on the one below. Then, being one of the biggest geeks I know, I started referring to it as “Sweetsleep”.

This version of Sweetsleep is true to its name, if not strictly like the concoction described in the books. The biggest difference: ours won’t result in death. I’d say that’s a pretty good improvement. It does, however, result in a nice knockout sleep (although not strictly dreamless), and is absolutely delicious with honey.

And for extra fun, why not get a fabulous IatC Sweetsleep Jar to put it in?

Sweetsleep Recipe

Cook’s Notes: I usually just wing the amounts on this one, with a pinch here and there, going by intuition. However, that makes for a lousy recipe, so the measurements below should be just about right.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. dried chamomile
3-5 small dried rosebuds
2 tsp. willow bark
2 tsp. lemonbalm
1 tsp. valerian
1 tsp. saigon cinnamon, or a cinnamon stick to stir with
honey to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium teapot, then add 3-4 cups of boiling water. Allow to steep for several minutes, then pour through a strainer into serving mugs. Adjust sweetness to taste with honey, and enjoy!

Makes enough for ~ 3 small mugs.

Tansy Tea

Tansy Tea

We realize that this is probably in poor taste, but we found some dried tansy at a medieval market a few weeks back, and just couldn’t help ourselves.

Full Disclaimer: Nobody should try this using this tea for its Westerosi uses. Nor should you drink it in any great quantity. To be safe, you probably just shouldn’t drink it at all…

Our Thoughts:

The taste of the tea on its own is light, with a faintly medicinal herbal quality that is not entirely unpleasant. However, a dash of honey banishes the tiny traces of a lurking bitterness. Given that there is no evidence of proper tea plants in either Westeros or Essos, it seems safe to say that the noble houses, such as, say, the Tullys, would have enjoyed herbal teas. In such a case, one heavily honeyed herbal brew might easily be substituted for another on the sly, if a noble daughter needed to be available to make a good match…

Tart Persimmon Wine

“While the good masters of Astapor conferred among themselves in low voices, Dany sipped tart persimmon wine from a tall silver flute…” (Storm of Swords)

Tart Persimmon Wine, on the right

Our Thoughts:

This was our first foray into home brewing, and we’re totally hooked now. You would have been amused to see us come home and rush to the kitchen to watch the airlock bubble as the yeast did its work. After following the process below, we let our bottles sit for about 3 months, then cracked open a bottle for sampling.

It is indeed very tart, and toes the edge of being just a bit too dry. It’s fresh and crisp, with only a hint of the fruit it started as. Vote? A very fun project, with a nice, drinkable result. Dany would drink it, and so would we. Try serving very chilled, with a swirl of honey, in a tall flute.

*FURTHER UPDATE*

It’s good! Several months after bottling, we cracked a bottle open to taste, and found that the flavors are mellowing beautifully. It still has the characteristic tartness for the wine Dany drinks, but is now downright pleasant to drink.

Continue reading →

Wassail

Wassail

Our Thoughts:

Incredible.

I struggled to find a wassail recipe that really appealed to me, so naturally, I made one up. The resulting beverage is cider perfected. It tastes of autumn, crisp winds, and the Wolfswood. The alcohol combination manages to disappear completely into the cider (danger! danger!), although the ale gives just the slightest fizz. It starts out subtle, then builds almost instantly to a spiced cider explosion.

I’ve heard of adding tea to wassail, and look forward to experimenting with that, but in the meantime, this is a new winter staple at The Inn.

Continue reading →

Lemonsweet

“Arianne drew the child away. ‘You must be hungry. We have dates and cheese and olives, and lemonsweet to drink. You ought not eat or drink too much, though…” -A Feast for Crows

17th C. and Modern Lemonsweet

Thoughts:

These recipes produce two very different lemonades. The older recipe results in an intense, kick in the face sort of lemonade, with all the vibrancy of fresh lemons, and a sweet tang that goes on and on.

The modern recipe, ironically, makes a lemonade that tastes very old worldy. Using honey instead of sugar reduces the immediate sweetness prevalent in many modern lemonades, while the unexpected taste of the vanilla will make you stop and work the flavors over again in your mouth.

Both are excellent and refreshing on hot summer days. In the future, we might try infusing the modern version with just a sprig of fresh thyme or rosemary, while the older recipe could do with a bit of (non-traditional) carbonation.

Recipes available in the Cookbook.

Salladhor Saan’s Hot Wine

“Fetch him some hot wine with cloves, I am misliking the sound of that cough. Squeeze some lime in it as well. And bring white cheese and a bowl of those cracked green olives we counted earlier! Davos, I will join you soon, once I have bespoken our good captain. You will be forgiving me, I know. Do not eat all the olives, or I will be cross with you!” -A Storm of Swords

Salladhor Saan’s Hot Wine

Thoughts:

While spiced red wine is perfectly suited to winter in the frozen North, this recipe uses more summery, exotic ingredients that one might find in the holds of a pirate captain’s ship: vanilla, lime, and expensive spices.

This is a unique twist on a usual mulled wine recipe, resulting in something vaguely like a hot sangria. Each of the flavors takes its turn on the palate, from the initial burst of citrus to the semi-sting of cloves and pepper, while the bay leaves impart just a slight hint of earthiness. The vanilla and honey combine to sweeten out the tartness of the lime, rounding out the full taste experience of this drink.

A must try for those who like hot wine!

Salladhor Saan’s Hot Wine Recipe

Cook’s Note: I chose to use a white wine, even though the wine in the book is a red.

Ingredients:

1 lime, keep the peel and half the juice
700 ml white fruity wine (that is 1 normal bottle)
1-2 vanilla pods (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
3 bay leaves
~10 whole cloves
pinch of ground cloves
pinch of white pepper
3 -4 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons white port (optional, but fortifying)

Peel the lime, cut into small pieces, and juice half of it. Pour the wine in a pan, add the lime peel, lime juice, vanilla pods, cloves, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to just under a simmer. Lower the heat, cover the pan and leave to warm through for at least 15 minutes. Try to just keep it hot and not let it boil. Add 3 tablespoons of honey and the port, if using, then taste to see or you want to add more honey. Remove the vanilla pods, cloves, lime peel and the bay leaves. Serve in a heatproof glass.

Plum Wine

The Queen took a flagon of sweet plum wine from a passing servant girl and filled Sansa’s cup. “Drink,” she commanded coldly. “Perhaps it will give you courage to deal with truth for a change.” (II: 621)

Sweet Plum Wine

Our thoughts:

Your first sip of this wine will make you feel like you’ve been punched in the face by a plum, in a good way. The first sensation is of biting through the skin of a plum, a little coarse, then a burst of flavor. There then follows a quick whirl of tart-sweet-tart, followed by a lingering taste of pure dark plum. It feels as though it should be a heavy wine, but is surprisingly light, and would be perfect for summer picnics.

For our plum wine, we selected a local variety from Nashoba Vineyards. Highly recommended!

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