I came across a great Elizabethan book of herbal remedies called Herbals by Nicolas Culpepper printed in 1653. The book includes this great recipe for mulled ale, which would probably work well with wine as well. Besides being a great Christmas or Yuletide drink it had a long list of things it was good for. Melancholia was the first, which during the dark, sun deprived days of winter can be a problem:
MULLED ALE
2-3 cinnamon sticks
3 blades of mace
4 whole cloves
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 pint brown ale
1/2 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of brandy
rind of a lemon
Heat the ale, honey and spices and leave for 30 minutes. Strain, reheat and pour into a warm jug. Add brandy and lemon rind.
That indeed sounds warming! Cheers!
Speaking of Elizabeth, I have just added this napkin holder to Time Was Antiques which features a tile of Queen Elizabeth II and was made for her Silver Jubilee in 1977. The tile is in a metal frame that includes a napkin holding rack at the back...or letter holder if it found a home on a desk. Cool! We love British royal memorabilia, and this was a great find.
You can read more about it at: QEII Silver Jubilee tile
Have a great day, stop and have a bit of afternoon tea...darjeeling and a Christmas sugar cookie sounds lovely...and enjoy the season!
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