Winter Wassail and Stove Top Potpourri - Gifts From the Garden

        The last of Thanksgiving's turkey bones are in the soup pot and it's time to settle in for winter. The bulbs are planted. The compost is turned once again. The yellow legal pad and pencil design the spring garden, read the books and seed catalogs. The sun rises early and goes to bed even earlier it seems. Solstice is two weeks away and its time for planning midwinter feasts and fests through New Years.

        This time of year is a spiritual time around the world, from the Winter Solstice to Chanukkah, the Festival of Lights for Jews, Santa Lucia's feast day for Catholics, the birth of Jesus for Western Christians, and Epiphany for the Eastern Orthodox Christians. Astronomers predicted he return of the sun and set bonfires were set across all of northern Europe to light up the longest night.

        The dark of the early evening seems to want something special to drink and the word "wassail" comes to mind. Winter is the transition between the harvest and the new planting. Friends visit and toasts are given to drive the cold winter away. And the word "wassail" comes to mind. But what is this drink called wassail? Wassail is a toast to the end of one year and the anticipation of the next coming year.

        Wassail, either with or without alcohol, for those not imbibing, for designated drivers and for children, is traditionally thought of as a "spirit beverage". It brings cheer to the soul and warmth to the body. It is a blending of fruit juices saved from the harvest and herbs dried and stored from the kitchen garden. It may or may not contain orange pico tea, and may or may not be fortified with red wine, hearty ales, ciders, rums, cognacs or sherry.

        A classic recipe is 12 orange pico tea bags brewed in 1 gallon of water, into which are added 2 cups of orange juice, 1/2 cup of honey, 6-8 cracked cinnamon sticks, a full teaspoon of cloves, a full teaspoon of whole allspice berries, a tablespoon of lemon verbena leaves, a dash of vanilla extract and an apple sliced 1/4 inch thick so that the apples float on the surface of the wassail in the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes before fortifying and serve warm.

        Apple Wassail heats a gallon of filtered apple cider or apple juice, a quart of cranberry juice, a full teaspoon of cloves and a full teaspoon of all spice, 8-10 cracked cinnamon sticks, 1/2 cup of honey and an orange cut into 1/4 inch thick slices, studded with cloves to float on the top of the Wassail in the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes and serve warm.

        Mint, dried lemon peel, lemon grass braids, anise seeds and coriander seeds and even a couple of dried bay leaves have been also used . Place all the herbs in a muslin bag to simmer without having to pick out flakes and spice pieces in the cups.

        For the festive winter evening with friends, depending on where you live in Texas, one can light a large Yule log in the fire place or put the CD of a hearth fire on the TV, turn the A/C down to 60*, and pretend. The wassail will help but to really make the house smell festive, make a "Stove Top Potpourri" in the kitchen to scent the whole house.

        Easily done, start by purchasing a used tea kettle at a garage sale or a new one at the dollar store. Next, fill it half full with water and add cracked cinnamon sticks, a full teaspoon of allspice berries and cloves, twigs you saved from making herbal pestos and vinegars (rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, sage), the rind of an orange and 1/2 a sweet apple, plus a splash of vanilla extract. Put the tea kettle on the back burner about 30 minutes before guests are to arrive, set the fire to medium to begin and turn down to a low setting for the duration of the evening, checking the water level of the kettle occasionally. You can add more water of any of the ingredients and let it come from your kitchen into the rest of the house. (PS - Don't plan on using this tea kettle for anything BUT "Stove Top Potpourris".)

        When the evening is over, leave the kettle on the stove, fire off, and let it continue to scent the kitchen until the next morning. Then empty the kettle of its contents and store it away until your friends come back for more, to salute the change of the years, fortified with gifts from your garden.

        Now pick up that pencil and yellow legal pad and start planning Spring, Summer and Autumn crops and next year's Wassailing.

Michael Bettler

LUCIA'S GARDEN

2216 PORTSMOUTH

HOUSTON, TEXAS 77098