Happy Halloween Fuji fans! I hope your day is going great. I’ve been working on a few Halloween bento ideas in my head for a while and yesterday/today I finally got the chance to execute them!
Yesterday I premade a few of the pieces, like the chocolate tahini ghoul balls and the carrot rice to make jack-o-lantern onigiri with. I posted the recipe on Instagram if you are interested!
I also whipped up a batch of Blood Moon Apple Punch. This punch was inspired by a recent girls’ trip to St. George, Utah. While in St. George we ate at a place called Viva Chicken, and I had a drink called chicha morada, a Peruvian drink made from purple corn. It reminded me a lot of a cold spiced apple cider. It was AMAZING. When I was planning our Halloween bentos I kept thinking about the chicha morada, and an idea for a drink started to take shape in my head. The result is this chilled spiced apple punch made blood red by red beets. It is delicious.
It’s perfect for a spooky celebration or as an addition to your Thanksgiving menu.
Blood Moon Apple Punch
This blood red spiced apple punch is perfect for any spooky celebration or as a addition to your Thanksgiving menu.
Ingredients
- 8 cups 100% apple juice
- 1 small beet, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
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Combine the apple juice, beet slices, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves in a pot. Cover the pot and bring the punch to a boil over medium-high heat.
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Once it comes to a boil, redue the heat to medium and let the puch simmer for 30 minutes.
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Remove the pot from the heat and use a slotted spoon to remove the beet slices. Then stir in the maple syrup and lime and lemon juices.
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Transfer the punch to a pitcher, or other container, and refrigerate until very cold. Serve in glasses over ice garnished with a slice of apple or lime.
Recipe Notes
Optional: Right before serving, add 1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple and 1/2 of an apple that has been peeled, cored, and chopped.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m adding this to my Thanksgiving dinner menu planning.
The apple punch looks so great! I want to add this red in my Christmas table :) Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Some notes from first time trying this out:
1) I miscounted and made it with half the ingredients, except for the applejuice and beet. (I thought that 64 FL Oz was only 4 cups of apple juice due to a mix up with kitchen utensils) . Even at half recipe it was still very flavorful, earthy, and sweet. I imagine if I used the proper measurements it would have been more cider-like
2) what should I do for the ground ingredients? Is there a recommended way to strain them out (I ended up with a large amount of loose leaf seasoning at the bottom of the pot)? Alternatively, I’ll look into using whole cloves and cinnamon stick, which I just so happen to have on hand.