This week, Rachael Hammon, of The Paraders blog, joins us with a decadent hot buttered rum recipe- a perfect finishing touch to Winter! Be sure to check out The Parader’s online vintage shop that’s full of drool-worthy vintage and even includes plus-size pieces. Thanks for joining us, Rachael!

“Chicago winters have a way of chilling me to the bone and leave me wishing for blankets and some serious Netflix. Since it’s cold half of the year here, I’ve taken to learning how to make some pretty delicious cold-weather drinks.  I adore anything that involves cider, hot chocolate, tea or coffee and recently ventured to try a Hot Buttered Rum.  I’ve changed the traditional recipe a bit to suit my tastes…let me know what YOU think!”

• pat of butter (at room temperature)
• teaspoon of brown sugar
• shake of ground cinnamon
• shake of ground nutmeg
• shake of ground allspice
• a couple drops of vanilla extract
• bottle of dark rum
• whole milk (or water)

“In a small bowl, mix the butter (best if soft) with a shake of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, plus the brown sugar and vanilla extract. Muddle it all together until it’s soft and mixed. In the meantime, heat up (or steam) about a cup of milk. Spoon the buter mix into a coffee mug, add a shot or two of dark rum, pour in the heated milk, and stir. Once the butter and spices have mixed evently, and the sugar has dissolved, add a stick of cinnamon, and sip away!

A traditional Hot Buttered Rum calls for boiling water instead of milk, but I prefer milk or cream to cut some of the hard alcohol taste. The milk works so well with the spice combination too!”

all photos by Ruben Cantu and edited using Mandi’s Photoshop Actions

Today my  blogger friend Amanda Thomas of Here Comes the Sun shares her take on a fresh favorite- vodka mojitos in a jar! Here’s what Amanda has to say about the drink:

It’s summertime here in New Zealand at the moment, and there’s nothing quite like a fresh and fruity cocktail to get you through a heat wave. Mojitos are traditionally made with white rum, but in our home we have a tradition of making them with vodka and we think it tastes just as good! If you want more of a fruit-kick it also tastes great with a flavoured vodka like strawberry or passionfruit. The mint leaves give it a beautiful fresh taste and it’s always a hit at picnics and dinner parties. Enjoy!

Cut up four of your limes into wedges and place them into your jug along with the vodka and soda water. On the stove, melt equal parts sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved and add this syrup to the jug as well. Mix in fresh mint leaves (crush them a little first so that the essential flavours are released) and one cup of lime juice. Stir the jug and serve into jars filled with 3-4 cubes of ice. Slice your final lime through the middle to create circular segments and place one segment on each of the mason jars for garnish.

I think it’s sweet that Phil enjoys drinking tea with me, but I thought tea time could be even sweeter if we had heart shaped sugar cubes! At first I thought I’d make my own with candy molds, but I liked the more cube-like appearance that this tutorial achieved. Only problem? I wasn’t willing to put nasty red food coloring into my tea, so I decided to try making my own all-natural food coloring using beets! Crazy, right? I love how these little pink heart sugar cubes turned out, and I promise there’s no trace of beet taste to be found.

• 1/2 Cup sugar
• beet juice (fresh or from can)
• small sauce pan
• jelly cutters (I bought mine here)
• wax paper
• 2 Tablespoons of water (this is approximate)
• tiny piece of cardboard
• spoon with narrow handle

First, make your all-natural food pink coloring by simmering about 1/4 cup of beet juice in a small saucepan for a few minutes. Let it reduce to a syrup that slightly clings to the spoon, but still easily drips off. Pour into a small container with a lid, and store in the refrigerator. This beet juice food coloring gives your food a pretty pink color, but it won’t taste like beets- I promise!

Next, pour your sugar into a small mixing bowl and add a couple of drops of your pink beet food coloring along with a couple of drops of water. Mix together with a spoon, spreading the color and turning the sugar into a sandy texture. Don’t use too much water, or it will dissolve and your sugar cubes won’t form properly.

Trace around your tiny heart cutter onto a piece of cardboard, and trim it to just fit inside of the heart cutter. On wax paper, fill the cutter with the sugar mixture and pack it in with your finger. Now lay the cardboard heart on top, place the end of the spoon’s handle onto the cardboard, and push down gently onto the cardboard while simultaneously pulling up on the cutter. Now you have a sugar cube! It might take a couple of tries to get the pushing/lifting pressure just right. But the good news is, if you mess up, you can just put the sugar back into the bowl and reuse it!

I’m so glad my cutter set came with different shapes- I can’t wait to try lemon flavored stars or infuse diamond shaped sugar cubes with bitters for my cocktails. I packaged up these heart sugar cubes into favor tins to give to friends, but first I enjoyed one or two with a cup of tea.