Mulled Wine and Brownies – or, distraction from the base realities of a Christchurch winter

Congratulations on making it through what must be the worst assessment period and most hotly anticipated holiday period in UC history. By now, you will have had time to realise that your student flat isn’t all it was (ever?) cracked up to be – mouldy wardrobes, windows that don’t quite shut ever, and appalling hot water pressure. The earthquakes have no doubt buggered up any intention you had of lighting the fire, never mind those massive holes in the plaster. My personal low – waking up in the middle of the night because the condensation had frozen to the inside of the window and then fallen onto my duvet and was slowly melting onto my legs. Good times. I’m not quite sure why living in a damp, musty Petri dish is considered a rite of passage but there you go, hopefully our immune systems are better for it.

Consider these some winter warmers to be enjoyed by the dusky light of a two bar heater as you wear your polarfleece onesie and fingerless mitts and wrap yourself in your poly-fill Warehouse duvet, wishing that you had never told your Mum and Dad that you were independent enough to go flatting but would still to be sent a monthly Pak’n’Save voucher please. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that lighting a roll your own cigarette off the heater element isn’t all class.

Mulled wine

This is like sangria for wintertime, and another good example of kitchen bucket chemistry. You can make it however you like (at home the recipe depends on what’s in the cupboard) but here’s a good place to start. Mulled wine doesn’t have to be drunk all at once (honest) – if you leave it out overnight, or drain off the wine and store it in the fridge, it’s reheated quickly in the microwave or on the stovetop. Just don’t ever turn the heat up too high – you don’t want to boil the alcohol off, do you?

• 2 bottles (1.5 litres) of cheap, full-bodied red wine (eg shiraz, merlot or cab sav, or dodgy cask stuff)
• 2 oranges, juiced then chopped
• Peel of 1 lemon
• Two sticks of cinnamon
• 1 cup of sugar (the darker the better)
• 5 - 10 whole cloves (optional)

Easy but longer version for people who have a tendency to forget what’s on the stove: Throw everything in a big pot. Heat gently, without boiling, for at least half an hour. Taste, and add more things if you feel like it – you may need more sugar, I’ve been a bit stingy in the above list as if it’s oversweetened it’s a bit rank and hard to undo. Serve. Easy.

Slightly more labour intensive but quicker and nicer version: throw everything except for the wine in a pot. Add just enough red wine to cover the sugar. Heat it gently until the sugar has completely dissolved, then turn up the heat and boil for 3 or 4 minutes. Turn down the heat, add the rest of the wine and heat gently without boiling for 5 or 10 minutes.

Other spices that you can use in a mulled wine include star anise, whole white or black peppercorns, allspice, pieces of ginger and / or a couple of bay leaves. Chai or orange herbal teabags are good too.

Mug Brownie

More like your soft, squishy American brownie than anything firm and slice-y, these totally eliminate the need to wash up any bowls and spoons.

• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar (any type, but darker = richer)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (the baking stuff, not the hot chocolate stuff)
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons oil (eg sunflower, canola, nothing too strong tasting)
• 2 tablespoons water
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla essence (optional)

In a mug, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt with a fork. Make a little well in the centre add the water, oil and essence. Mix it all up thoroughly, making sure there are no dry bits or lumps. Microwave it on high for a minute; you may need to go longer depending on your microwave, but you want it to be wettish in the middle. Let it sit for a couple of minutes, then nom.

Extra for experts – swap out the vanilla essence for something else, like peppermint essence or a tiny bit of orange peel. Or, add a few (a FEW) chocolate chips to the mix before cooking. Or, splash some milk or cream over the cooked brownie. I have heard tell that experiments with peanut butter or nutella can end well. And so on.

A word about measuring stuff: Although I’m sure someone along the line told you, it’s worth reiterating that when measuring dry ingredients you need to make sure that the measurement is level. Add four heaped tablespoons of flour to the brownie and you are likely to end up with chocolatey playdough or a smouldering heap of brown, nice-smelling glue.