xo amys

Nordic Christmas from the woods

Today my mother and I drove out of the city deep into the woods to gather Christmas inspiration from nature. Oh the feeling in the midst of the clean nature, nothing beats it. ♥ I believe the most beautiful christmas decorations come from nature’s greens, acorns or branches/twigs or home-made wreaths. I found the most amazing juniper branches that overflow with green and blue berries. The blue gems are beautiful and are great for stew cooking! After the long walk back at home, I decided to make home-made glögi (a sort of mulled wine, but alcohol free) where the kitchen lingered with of the smell of cloves, star anise and cinnamon. I’ve set some twigs in vases around the house and placed the rest of the material on the balcony waiting to be made into more decorations.

Recipe for Christmas glögi

•  3 dl concentrated black currant juice
• 6 dl water
• 8 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 3 star anise
• 1  teaspoon Brown sugar ( add more if you prefer sweeter)
• 1 Sliced clementine

Let it smell like Christmas… Heat the spices in the water. Add the black currant juice and gently simmer for half an hour until flavours begin to mix. Add the sugar and sliced clementine and let it gently simmer with the lid on for another half an hour. Serve with almonds and raisins.