Ron’s Winter Solstice Coffee

In the Time Zone and at the Latitude Where I Live, we’re less than a week away from the shortest day of the year! Happy Almost-Winter-Solstice!

Husband Ron is very naughty. He knows I promised I’d give you a couple of final candy recipes before presenting you with a number of baked treats, several interesting appetizers, and a few main-course holiday suggestions. Yesterday, he took me away from all that, reminding me how important it is for each of us to take the time to relax at this busy time of year. Center yourself, feel grounded, get plenty of sleep, and do only what your time and energy levels allow - no more! 

The recipes I promised will wait until tomorrow. Ron gathered me up and stole me away on a three-hour walk past mountain and marsh, where we spied a patient heron on the look-out for lunch, a pair of bald eagles cozied up on a branch, a small and very dead mole, a woodpecker, and - sunken deeply into the frozen mud along our path - the cloven prints of a heavy, fully grown deer. 

Trudging along, I thought how much most of us have, and what happiness there is in nature’s intricate patterns of what we see as simplicity. When we’d reached the forested outlook that was our destination, Ron pulled out the sandwiches he’d made, along with a large flask of the Winter Solstice Coffee that will see you (children, cover your eyes) through the chilliest day. His recipe follows!

Ron’s Winter Solstice Coffee:

4 c. (1 L) strong, hot coffee

1 oz. (30 mL) brandy

1 oz. (30 mL) Grand Marnier

1-½ oz. (50 mL) dark rum

¼ c. (60 mL) heavy cream, unwhipped

Serve straight from a flask, for your winter picnic. Makes 2 servings. 

Scenes from a winter walk in the Time Zone and at the Latitude Where We Live: Happy Almost-Winter-Solstice! Enlarge the photos by clicking on each.

 

When we arrived home, Ron began playing French love songs on the sound system. After that, I forgot about cooking and everything else.