Hello, and welcome to another My Week on Wednesday! The year wheel is turning: Halloween, the last of the Harvest Festivals, is on Friday. That means that next week we will have a new cover picture, and that our “theme-style post” experiment is at an end. What did you think? Do you like the themes? Shall we continue them?
Are there any topics you would especially like to see? I am always open to suggestions. 
Or did you prefer the random links of whatever I found interesting that week?
Anyway, the theme for this week is Warming Drinks (collected from myself, my fellow bloggers at the Homestead Bloggers Network, and some of my other favorite bloggers) which I thought was particularly appropriate because:
Halloween is this week, and
People who take their kids trick-or-treating tend to come home cold, and sometimes just a little bit frazzled — depending on how many times they thought (however briefly) that they lost their kid in the dark, and
Because I really wanted to remind you all about Butterbeer, which is, of course, the drink mentioned in the Harry Potter books that “really warms you up.” The 104 Homestead’s daughter has created a fabulous “real food” (i.e. no soda) version of this drink which we absolutely LOVE, and would be just perfect for trick-or-treaters, and their parents, alike. This butterbeer is completely non-alcoholic, so parents might want to add a drop or two of whiskey… just sayin…
And, of course, butterbeer reminds me of the year (it must have been the Halloween that the last Harry Potter movie came out...) that about half the school dressed up as a Harry Potter character. There were dozens of Harry Potters, Hermionies, and Ginnys; we trick-or-treated with Fleur Delacour; the bigger kids all dressed up as Death Eaters, and the babies were stuffed into Hedwig and house elf costumes. And, of course, Professors Trelawney and McGonagall were there, along with Professor Snape (dressed as a Muggle.)
So the idea of doing a post on Warming Drinks seems particularly perfect this week.
Hot Chocolate
Who doesn’t want to come in from the cold to a nice cup of hot chocolate?
Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate — Delicious and nutritious; you could almost call this one a meal. You could always call it “dinner” — there’s real pumpkin in there, and cacao powder, so it’s practically a superfood — before trick-or-treating. You know, in case you’re afraid they won’t have enough chocolate during the course of the evening.
Quick Fix Dark Hot Chocolate Shots — This is mostly for grown-ups, but there is no alcohol here. Just a tiny cup of thick, rich, amazing hot chocolate.
Lavender Hot Chocolate — I think this sounds amazing!
3 Hot Cocoa Recipes to Warm You Up — These are mixes. But not like the nasty ones with who-knows-what in them. These guys are full of wholesome things… just waiting to spoon into some warm milk — the recipe suggests coconut milk. Because sometimes when you really want hot chocolate, measuring is too much work.
Mexican-Style Hot Chocolate — One of my absolute favorites! This will warm you up in no time!
Divine Hot Chocolate (with Red Wine) — Go ahead mama. Whip the kids up a batch of hot chocolate, and put a good slug of wine in yours! Just make sure to keep the mugs straight!
Healthy Hot Chocolate — Healthy +Chocolate = Perfection.
Tea
Or, perhaps, tea? Personally, I could never drink tea in the evening and expect to fall asleep that night.
Immune Boosting Chai Recipe – A delicious chai recipe, with an added immune-boosting power. Sugar weakens the immune system. Fix it with this delicious tea.
Warm Up with a Hot Toddy – This could have easily gone under the “Under the Weather” category, because it is great for colds and flu, or under the “Spirited Drinks” because, well, it has bourbon (or rum, or brandy, or if I was making it, probably whiskey) in it, but I’m filing it under this category because it also has tea in it.
Chai Tea Concentrate — The idea is that you make a big batch of this, keep it in the fridge, and then you can have chai tea whenever you want it. Sounds like a plan, doesn’t it?
Snack Break: I Love You Chai — Oh yes!
Sleepy Time Drinks
There’s not a drop of alcohol in these special drinks for bedtime, so go ahead and whip them up for your over-sugared children! (Yeah, I know you made the rule about no more than three pieces of candy on Halloween night. How’d that work out for you?)
Cinnamon Sleep Tonic – This sounds so delicious! There are other great ideas to help you fall asleep here, too.
Warm Milk for Bedtime – Another warm drink for to help you sleep.
Spirited Drinks
Ha-ha. There’s alcohol in these ones, though!
The Best Spiked Hot Apple Cider Recipes – Enough said.
Grzaniec: Mulled Beer for Cold Evenings — This is a traditional Polish drink, and my husband drank a lot of it when he was in Poland last fall!
Glühwein: A Recipe for Cozy Times — This is basically special German mulled wine. Yummy!
Pumpkin Spice Cider (with Whiskey) — I love whiskey. There. I said it.
Irish Hot Chocolate — Yes. More whiskey.
For when you’re Under the Weather
You went out trick-or-treating and got too cold. Someone sneezed on you, you ate too much sugar, and you didn’t get enough sleep. Probably because you were up too late finishing the kids’ Halloween costumes the night before. And up too late sampling the “Spirited Drinks” category the night of.
And… now you have a cold.
Or, maybe you have some other ailment that really isn’t Halloween’s fault.
Pepperup Potion – Oh, look. More Harry Potter references. This one, as you may recall, is for colds and flu. My recipe, however, will not make steam come out of your ears. Sorry.
South African Hot Toddy – Don’t let the milk or the… ahem… whiskey worry you. This really does make you feel better if you have a cold. Trust me. I make this All. The. Time. Any time I’m feeling a bit stuffy… of feel like I might feel a bit stuffy soon… You get the picture.
Ten Homemade Herbal Teas for Cold and Flu Season – Honest. If you’re sick, there’s a tea in this list to put it right.
Mulled Wine. For Medicinal Purposes, of course. And any other purpose that might suit you.
Cold and Flu Soothing Tea – This tea doesn’t actually have any tea in it… just ingredients to make you feel better fast!
Turmeric Tea: A Liver Detox – If you’re not a fan of other turmeric drinks, or “golden milks” try this one because instead of powdered spices it uses fresh! A completely different set of flavors, same great benefit!
How to Make Corn Silk Tea and Why You Should Drink It – Well, there you have it.
DIY Raspberry Leaf Tea: To soothe an angry uterus — Let’s just leave it there, shall we?
Miscellaneous, but Warm
And some more warming drinks.
Cinnamon Vanilla Herbal “Coffee” – There is not a drop of coffee in here, just a concoction of herbs for a coffee-like flavor. This would be perfect for after trick-or-treating… always assuming you intended to go to sleep that night!
How to Make Cranberry Punch – Maybe not for Halloween (or maybe it is… I love cranberries) but defiantly keep this one in mind for Thanksgiving, Yule, and other chilly holiday evenings. Or weekday evenings. Whatever.
Hot Cranberry Swizzle – Another warming cranberry drink.
How to Make Pine Needle Tea – For real. I had never even considered making tea out of pine needles… until now. I think I need to go hunt down a pine tree!
And don’t forget, if you haven’t checked it out yet… Yummy, Non-Alcoholic Butterbeer!
Hey, you say! Where’s the coffee?!?!?!?
You can’t have coffee when you come in from trick-or-treating! You’ll never get to sleep!
But don’t worry, I collected a bunch of great coffee recipes, and I’ll share them all next week.
And now for the Quote of the Week. Approximately daily, I post quotes on my Facebook Page. The quote with the most likes, shares, and comments will become the Quote of the Week.
Thank you for joining me for My Week on Wednesday. Tell me, what did you do this week? I’d love to hear!
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