Day 6-31 Days of Halloween

Why hello again, welcome back! It's Day 6 and I have something a little different for you today. I've decided to share a Halloween recipe with you called Bottle of Blood. Technically, this recipe can be made any time during the fall when crab/wild apples are in season, but it's just so much more fun to theme it and gross people out.

Just in case you don't know this about me, I am a practicing herbalist and love experimenting with new herb-based concoctions! This is an herbal syrup recipe that I created because I have an overabundance of wild apples in my backyard right now. If you don't have access to any of these tart little nutrient powerhouses, you can sub a cranberry and regular apple mixture. Also, check out your local herb shops or go online to find good quality organic dried herbs. For the herbs I don't grow myself, my fave place to get them online is Mountain Rose Herbs.

Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 C fresh small wild/crab apples (chop them if needed)

1/4 C dried hibiscus

1/4 C dried rose hips

2 TBSP dried elderberries

2 tsp dried lemongrass

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 C raw local honey

Place all of your ingredients except the honey into a small saucepan with a lid.

Add 1 C filtered water. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, them immediately drop your heat to low and cover. Simmer for about 12-15 minutes. Without removing the lid, remove from heat and let your mixture cool to room temperature. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Then add your honey and stir until mixed thoroughly.

The final step is to pour your "blood" into a cool looking jar and add a label. Store it in the refrigerator. I didn't have the jar I wanted, so I just used a plain one, but I also know my syrup will be gone like tomorrow!

You can use your "blood" to pour over pancakes and waffles, add to ginger ale for a fun fizzy drink, or I like to pour it over bagels and cream cheese, as pictured at the top of this post. YUM!!!!! 

Feel free to grab the label below if you'd like one for your own Bottle of Blood, and I hope you enjoy making and eating this syrup! Now It's time to hop on over to the other Wicked Blogs and check out their Day 6 projects. See you tomorrow!