Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the season for dreaming about spring is upon us.
While the weather is still cold, and the wind bitter, the days are noticeably longer and the first stirrings of spring whisper through air and tickle the earth: The buds which will blossom beautifully come springtime are just beginning to swell, and here and there a brave snowdrop peeks out of the snow to remind us that spring really is on its way.
Mother Earth is like a newly pregnant mama; She knows that life is stirring within her — but only the most observant of outsiders will notice it too.
Imbolc might generally be considered to be a Pagan holiday, but anyone can celebrate the slow changing of the seasons.
It is a time for cleaning out old closets and old ideas… to make room for the new.
It is a time for washing windows… to let the sunshine sparkle in.
And it is a time for planning… new gardens, new dreams, new plans that will grow and thrive.
Expectant.
Stirring.
Hopeful.
It is also a time for bundling up, going out, and enjoying the longer days… a walk through the woods, the fields, or the park to enjoy the first whispers of spring.
And enjoying a nice, warming cup of Spiced Wine when you come back inside.
Spiced Wine
1 cup water
2 cups pineapple juice; organic if possible, freshly made is best
1 cup orange juice; organic if possible, freshly squeezed is best
1/4 cup (or to taste) raw, local honey
9 whole cloves (buy here)
3 cinnamon sticks (buy here)
Pinch of sea salt (like this
)
Add all ingredients to a crock pot and heat on high for 2 hours, stirring once or twice.
Turn crock pot to low, remove lid, and wait for juice mixture to come to below 180 degrees.
Add a bottle of red wine, and allow to warm up.
Enjoy while planning a spring project.
Imbolc is celebrated on February 1st or on February 2nd, otherwise known as Groundhog Day!
Did you try it? What did you think? Please be sure to leave me a comment; I love to hear from you! 🙂
And, if you liked this post, please share it with your friends and family!
PIN IT HERE!
Note: This is a Real Food update of a previous Spiced Wine post.
Please Note: Some of the links found at Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers are affiliate links. I often include these links to illustrate exactly what product I am talking about. You may be able to find the product cheaper somewhere else, including your own grocery store! However, if you use an affiliate link to enter a shopping site (such as Amazon.com), and do decide to make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. There is no additional cost to you, however these commissions help us to support this blog, and sometimes to buy dog food! We are very grateful for your support!
We only ever promote products and businesses that we believe will be helpful to our readers.
The photos in this post were edited with PicMonkey.
If you liked this post, you might like:
This sounds delicious! And a great way to celebrate Imbolc–thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks for coming over to visit!
*clicks to return the favor*
🙂
This is quite a unique recipe and sounds delicious. I love how you talk about the whispering of spring. Unfortunately where I live there isn’t any whisper of spring yet. It is 4 degrees outside and snow covered. But spring will evidently come and I am looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from Healthy Happy Green & Natural Blog Hop. Have a wonderful healthy day!
I’m so glad you came over! It’s 2 degrees here… not a single whisper of spring. Imbolc is technically February 1st or 2nd, so we have almost two weeks… and hopefully by then we will at least have a hint!
Which is exactly how long it will take me to get that closet cleaned out!!! 😉
Sounds like a great treat to pull together while we sit here dreaming of spring in the subzero temps! Thanks for sharing!
🙂
Spiced wine on a cold day: yes, please! Well, I am pretty secular gal, but I love holidays. I am going to start celebrating Imbolc because it sounds lovely. We can never celebrate life, nature and all our blessing, too much; can we? Thanks for the yummy recipe!
I agree!
Actually, I am all for celebrating pretty much any holiday! Especially ones with tasty recipes associated with them! 😉
Pingback: My Week on Wednesday… January 22 » Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers
Oh! A woman after my own heart! More spiced wine = a good thing by me! For sure!
Thank you so much for linking up with us at Fresh Foods Wednesday! I hope you’ll join us again this week with more fresh foods posts! xo, kristy
Thank you for hosting! I’ll be there! 🙂
OMG, that sounds amazing! We are heading into Autumn here in Australia, and this sounds like the perfect celebration drink. The growing season starts in a month (and lasts until Christmas), and I am heavily in planning mode for this year’s veggie patch. Bring on the spiced wine!
Enjoy the wine! Enjoy the garden, too! 🙂
I adore the idea of Imbolc–of celebrating the changing of the seasons. What better way to reflect, re-prioritize, plan and prepare for the birth of a new season and the changes that accompany it–than with a delicious glass of Spiced Wine. Thank you for sharing this magical post with us on the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Blog Hop. And I love a new excuse to drink wine! All the best, Deb
Thanks for featuring my post! I always love sharing with the Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Blog Hop… though I think I’m going to have to give this one a miss… 🙁
I’m not sure that I actually know how to cook without butter! 😉
But I will be checking out everyone else’s posts for sure!
~ Christine
Pingback: Live it up at the “Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party” Blog Hop #10
Oh you are speaking my language with these red wine posts! 🙂 Random, have you ever noticed that warm alcohol seems more potent than cold? I had a crazy experience with warm Sake once. I promise I think it hit me twice as hard because I was inhaling the alcohol while I savored drinking it! I haven’t had much warm wine otherwise, but I’m careful now! haha! Thanks for linking up to Wellness Wednesday!
What can I say? I love red wine! 🙂
Actually I *have* noticed that… I always sort of thought that it had something to do with the time of day I was drinking it… say, in the late afternoon, rather than a glass (or two!) with dinner… or maybe that warm drinks usually are sweeter than just a glass of wine… I think I’m going to have to whip up another batch of this, or maybe some hot chocolate, and test that theory! 😉
Pingback: Joy, Soup, and Spiced Wine {Wellness Wednesday #33} - Richly Rooted
This looks SO good! I want to have a party and make it! And I have never hear of Imbolc–how interesting!
It’s one of my favorite times of the year! 🙂
This sounds like a perfect drink to enjoy on a cold winters nights while dreaming of spring! Thank you for sharing on the HomeAcre Hop!
-Nancy The Home Acre Hop
Always happy to share! Thanks for having me! 🙂
Pingback: My Week on Wednesday… January 29 » Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers
Pingback: Weekend Wholefood Blender Party (10) | Om Nom Ally
Pingback: My Week on Wednesday… February 5 » Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers
Ah, the beverage of Saxon kings! Thanks for linking up to Green Thumb Thursday and we hope you come again this week!
I always love to hang out with you Green Thumb people! 🙂
It *has* to rub off on me eventually–right?
Looks interesting!
Thanks! 🙂
Pingback: Wine, Warm and Spicy » Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers
This sounds purrrfect for Imbolic , silly question how does it taste room temp or cold?
I’m not really sure how it would taste cold… though I imagine it would still be good.
I did have some that had cooled to room temperature… and it was okay, but it was definitely better warm.
Thanks for stopping by! And if you do decide to chill some, let me know how you like it! 🙂
Pingback: My Week on Wednesday and Imbolc » Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers
Pingback: My Week on Wednesday and Garden Planning » Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers