We spent a lovely day exploring Leura in the Blue Mountains. Leura is a popular and picturesque little gem of a town that is wonderfully vibrant and packed full of quirky boutiques. One of my favourites being Teddy Sinclair, which has been providing its patrons with a wide selection of leather goods, jewellery and ‘cabinet of curiosities’ since the 1950s.
Pie season in the Blue Mountains
Winter is the perfect time to visit the mountains. It happens to be ‘pie season’, which in my opinion is one of the best comfort foods ever. After a short walk we stopped to buy some of the best pies in the mountains at The Bakehouse on Wentworth, which is located at 208 Leura Mall.
Spiced mulled wine
A day spent in the cold, wintry atmosphere gave me a craving for the spiced, warming taste of mulled wine, so when I got home I made myself a batch. Mulled wine originated in the 2nd Century when the Romans began warming their wine to defend their bodies against the chill of winter. In the UK this wintry drink is consumed at Christmas, which just does not seem fitting on a hot summer’s day in Sydney. However, winter is the perfect time to enjoy this delicious drink. If you are anything like me you will have a constant supply of wine and a well-stocked spice cupboard, so it can basically be considered a pantry staple recipe.
The recipe I opted to use was Jamie’s Mulled Wine which was quick (about 20 minutes) and easy to make with wonderful end results.
Jamie’s Mulled Wine
Ingredients
- 2 Clementines
- 1 Lemon
- 1 Lime
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 6 Cloves
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 3 Fresh Bay Leaves
- 1 Whole Nutmeg, for grating
- 1 Vanilla Pod
- 2 Star Anise
- 2 Bottles Red Wine
Method
- Peel large sections of peel from the clementines, lemon and lime.
- Put the sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the pieces of peel and squeeze in the juice from the clementines.
- Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and about 10-12 gratings of nutmeg. Halve the vanilla pod lengthways and add to the pan, then stir in just enough red wine to cover the sugar.
- Let this simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved into the red wine, then bring to a boil. Keep on a rolling boil for 4 to 5 minutes, or until you have a beautiful thick syrup.
- When the syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and the rest of your wine. Gently heat for about a further 5 minutes. When it is warm and delicious carefully ladle into heatproof glasses to serve.
Photo by Hannah Pemberton on Unsplash 
Photo by Gaby Dyson on Unsplash
Unfortunately at the moment we are unable to venture beyond our suburb to explore the wonders of Sydney. However you can still enjoy the great outdoors from the comfort of your own home, with the help of global virtual tours. How better to enjoy our magnificent world that with a warming glass of mulled wine.