aka: The Space Heater
Cheers to the year we got it ALL done outdoors.
Even dinner parties. Even walktail hour.
If there’s one thing I owe to 2020, it’s to the opportunity to GET OUT into nature. Even more than I was before.
Because I had nowhere else to go, I learned that everywhere I really want to go was in nature. Maybe many of you feel the same way.
After the shock of canceled plans, changes in expectations, and shifts in social norms, this was the year that I found myself endlessly thankful for a healthy body, curious mind, and strong spirit eager to explore new places right here in my backyard. To find new bike routes, camping spots, places to picnic. And we did it all out there – in the sunshine, under the stars, with fresh air in our faces. Every time I saw a friend, it was in nature somewhere. Each celebration was outside. Heck, I even wrote most of a book in a forest/by a creek/in the wild somewhere.
And so for all of its challenges and tragedy, I’m going to celebrate 2020 for that reason – the opportunity to connect with myself, and nature, in a different way, a new light. I’m going to be raising a nice warm thermos of this Maple-Ginger Toddy (aka: the Space Heater) to be exact.
No matter how you’re celebrating, and even if you’re waiting for those first days of 2021 or that first time you summit your favorite mountain, gather with friends or catch the sunrise, this little ginger tea warmer is a great recipe to have in your back pocket. I’ve been porting some version of it on our chilly ski outings for the past few years, but it’s amazing what a little cinnamon and some bourbon will do for your aprés game!
The drink is simple to pull together – a few kitchen staples (lemon, cinnamon, some maple syrup and fresh ginger) combine in your thermos or in a pot at home, and the bourbon is absolutely optional. Then you sip and enjoy when you’re ready. It’s just as delicious as a walktail treat as it is at the trailhead and best as some combination of both.
The recipe below makes a rather gingery tea, because the tea continues to steep in the thermos/mug. I really love this combination of strongly steeped tea but if you like strong ginger tea less, consider steeping the entire batch before departing, discarding the cinnamon and ginger, and then pouring the tea into thermoses. If you don’t have fresh ginger, it’s completely fine to use ginger tea – steep to your liking.
It’s worth adding that if you’re an Untapped Maple fan, this recipe requires just one Untapped packet of maple syrup (two if you’re tailgating for a while.)
Get after it friends, let’s ring in this new trip around the sun. Don’t forget to bring your Space Heaters with you! ????
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