wasted

I like us better when we're wasted.

So I have one and a half bags of tapioca pearls... I'm not sure why because these things take forever to make.  And then we as a family only drink bubble tea for one night.  And then we have to eventually throw the rest away because they get less chewy and elastic.  (And if you've ever had these things, you'd know texture is the most important thing.)
So I decided to search around for another way to prepare these things, something that's not tapioca pudding but still dessert-ish.
I've learned something [today]... old tapioca pearls take forever to boil through.  The couple of spoonfuls of mulling spices (because mmmm mulled wine) was a bit much.
But I love the way they look and smell - vibrant and spicy and warm and summery.

So I pureed some cherries with some fresh orange juice and poured it over the wine pearls like a soup.  It was almost like an alcoholic bubble tea.  Alcoholic bubble juice?  Bubble cocktail?  I wouldn't mind a handful of these in my cocktails.

Next time, I'll reduce the spices and up the sugar... I kind of gave myself a mild headache eating half a bowl of these.  It's exactly like eating wine.  El oh el at the thought of serving these at a kid's birthday party.
Side note: my household still didn't manage to finish all of the pearls.