All posts tagged yankee ingenuity

Not a recipe as much as DIY home/apartment-maintenance, but it does involve spices, so, on the food tumblr it goes.

You have:

• A chilly (or “freezing”) home/apartment
• Dry skin, chapped lips, static electricity
• Yankee pride that prevents you from a) turning up the thermostat and b) purchasing one of them newfangled plastic humidity-generating appliances

You need:

• A large pot (pasta, lobster, whatever)
• Enough water to fill the pot
• A heaping teaspoon or so of cinnamon
• A heaping teaspoon or so of allspice
• A pinch or two of black pepper and/or cloves and/or ginger

Directions:

This isn’t rocket science. Pour the water in the pot, add the spices, put the pot on your stove — do not put a lid on it, this defeats the purpose — and bring it up to a full, rolling boil. Arrange your workspace so you can sit in the general vicinity of the pot while it throws off steam. The true Yankee method would involve a number of pots, placed on radiators throughout your home, but my current apartment has those low floor-level things so this is the best I can do.

Serve as often as necessary, until spring.