Latte Love

Shall I make you one?

♥

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade

One of summer's simple pleasures!

Especially if you usually only drink coffee and water!

Yum.

♥

Treats From Belgium

My online friend Jitka sent me some fun treats!

We were talking about lavender back when I picked bouquets

of it in my yard and hung them to dry in my studio.

She sent me edible lavender for making tea and a

lavender milk chocolate bar!  

The chocolate got a little soft somewhere along it's journey.

It is summer after all!  But not too bad and it was nice and solid

again by the time it got to Ohio.  I must say that this is delicious!

We all know how lavender is good for relaxing and I actually did

feel that as I ate it.  I'm trying to ration out the little squares.

haha....have a few more to go before it's all gone!

I made tea with the edible buds.  The smell was wonderful!

My first cup was a little too strong but I got it right after that.

It is a great thing to drink before bedtime!

You get carried off to sweet dreamland! 

And I'm thinking it could be steeped in milk and used to

make ice cream.  Wouldn't that be delicious?

I'll have to put that on my To Do List.  Yum!

Thank you so much, Jitka!

This was a fun treat!  You'll have to tell me something 

from America that you would like to try. 

I saved your address!

♥

A Wine For When You're Whiny

I'm having one of those days.

You know the ones.  You have a terrible head cold

and you feel like you're in a fog.  Why do summer colds

feel even worse than those during the winter?  I think it's

the humidity!  You can't breath anyway and then you step 

outside into the hot heavy air and you can scarcely get it

to flow through your lungs.  lol...

I had to go to the grocery today...fridge was totally empty

(happens frequently with all these men living here) and it

was pouring rain.  So I was a brick head that couldn't breath,

and wet legs from the knees down from the rain

 spattering up off the parking lot.  haha.
But we made it through alright.

On the way home I had a sneezing fit.  It's hard to drive while

sneezing, isn't it?  Have you tried to keep your eyes open while
you sneeze?  Impossible! Six huge sneezes while having to go to the

bathroom most certainly will make you pee your pants a spoonful.

What on earth?  I thought only old and pregnant

women did that! hahaha.  That's two groups of women...old,

and pregnant.  Not pregnant old women. lol....although they

would have that problem for sure! ha.

I picked up a little something for myself at the grocery,

though.  Sparkling peach wine?  Don't mind if I do.

And yeah, I'm a sucker for a beautiful bottle like that.

Isn't it pretty?  Tastes wonderful, too.
I'm feeling better already!

♥

Iced Coffee

Some summer days it's too warm to finish my pot of 

coffee.  On those days, it gets poured over ice!

Sometimes a little extra cream gets added, too!

♥

.

I picked up a little treat for myself while I was out and about.

Oh, yum.

♥

Raspberry Blueberry Smoothie

It's super hot and humid this week....perfect for blending up

 some smoothies.  Also a perfect way to use up a bunch of

berries and vanilla yogurt I have in the freezer!

♥

Hot Mulled Cider

Hot mulled cider is a Christmas tradition at our house.

We also had it on Thanksgiving with pumpkin pie and 

ginger cookies.  I've made this recipe for years.  It's great!

It's steeps with spices like cinnamon, allspice and cloves

and is sweetened with brown sugar and the juice of an orange.

I put the spices in a tea ball and hang it on the edge of the pot.

A big curl of orange peel adds flavor, too!

Just bring to a boil, then turn the fire down to low

and simmer for 20 minutes.

I always garnish it with star fruit, just for fun.

Sometimes I add a cup of wine to the recipe, 

but it's wonderful just like it is, too!

Hot Mulled Cider

For each quart of cider, add...

1/2 c brown sugar

1 large curl of orange peel

1/2 c orange juice

1/4 t whole cloves

2 whole allspice

3 inches of cinnamon stick

1 T lemon juice

a dash of nutmeg

1 c wine, optional

Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.

If a foam develops on the top, I spoon it off.

Remove peel and spice ball.

Garnish pot or each cup with star fruit slices.

Enjoy!

One of my favorite traditions between Christmas and New Years

is to serve this with homemade caramel corn while watching

the old Christmas movies.  Wonderful.  :)

It's on my To Do list for this week!

I already have a head start on the movies, watching

A Christmas Carol ~ both the Alastair Sim

 and the George C Scott versions,

It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street

and White Christmas!  :)

♥

Zojirushi Water Boiler and Warmer

We've been enjoying a new toy this week.  It's a new little kitchen appliance that boils water and keeps it at the perfect temperature for a cup of tea or hot chocolate.  It can be programed to be hot and waiting any time you want it.  It even plays Bach's Minuet in G when the water is ready.  haha..no joke!  Then it keeps it at that temperature for up to 10 hours.

It was a Valentine's Day gift to The Mister, but I've been enjoying it, too!

♥

Hot Chocolate

I usually top it with a spoon of marshmallow cream, which can give you a really good and gooey mustache. :) But I had leftover whipped cream tonight. Of course, it was perfect this way, too!

And a little splash of Kaluha didn't hurt, either.

Yum.

♥

You Know You're Addicted To Coffee When...

photo from googleimages.com

1. You lick your coffee pot clean
2. You don't get mad, you get steamed.
3. You get a speeding ticket even when you're parked.
4. You haven't blinked since the last lunar eclipse.
5. You go to AA meetings just for the free coffee.
6. You help your dog chase it's tail.
7. You soak your dentures in coffee overnight.
8. You think being called a drip is a compliment.
9. You've built a city out of mini plastic stirrers.
10. You have a picture of your coffee mug on your coffee mug.
11. You think CPR stands for Coffee Provides Resuscitation.
12. Your T-shirt says Decaffeinated Coffee is the devil's blend.
13. Your first-aid kit contains two pints of coffee and an I.V. hook-up.
14. When someone says, "How are you?" you answer "Good to the last drop!"
15. You're the Employee of the Month at Starbucks and you don't even work there.
16. You drink your first cup of the day before you even get out of bed.

The Old Geezer's blog provided the list. And from personal experience, I added #16. :)

Happy drinking, fellow coffee lovers!

♥

Summertime Smoothie

No recipe...just whatever you have...fruit...yogurt...

juice... ice...blender....straw!

Iced Coffee

Leftover morning coffee

Ice cubes

A little milk

Splash of Syrup

Straw

Yum!

Lemonade

one cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

(about 6 lemons)

one cup simple syrup

(1 c sugar dissolved in 1 cup

water over medium heat, cooled)

4 cups cold water

ice cubes

lemon slices for garnish

Fun Facts About Tea

There are four types of true tea:

black, oolong, green, and white.

All tea comes from the Camellia sinensis bush,

of which there are at least several hundred

local varieties world wide. The specific manufacturing

of the leaf determines whether the

finished tea becomes black, green, oolong, or white.

Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess

who wed Charles II of England in 1662,

is most likely responsible for introducing

tea to England. She hated both mead and ale

(the afternoon beverages of the day)

and couldn’t wait until her personal effects

arrived from her homeland, because

they included her favorite beverage: tea.

Soon her court was ‘mad’ for tea.

Ireland is to top tea consuming country, at 2.96 cups per person, per day! Tea helps fight cancer, heart disease and regulate cholesterol Tea boosts the immune system Tea suppresses the appetite and inhibits excess body fat. Tea fights harmful bacteria and viruses. Tea may help strengthen bones with fluoride and flavenoids. A 6 oz cup of black tea contains 34 mgs of caffeine. Oolong tea ~~ 12.55 mgs. Green tea ~~ 8.36 mgs. Cup of Coffee ~~99 mgs. Cola~~18.5 mgs 2oz Dark Chocolate~~37 mgs. One sip of this will bathe the dropping spirits in delight, beyond the bliss of dreams." - Milton Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea! How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea" ~Sir Philip Sidney, 1586 How to Brew a Perfect Cup of Tea: Fill Kettle to required level with freshly drawn water. This may sound quite obvious but there is a tendancy to re-use boiled water or top up a partly filled kettle. This de-oxygenated water does have an adverse effect on brewing. Heat an earthenware or china tea pot (stainless steel pots tend to taint the brew). Use one teaspoonful of tea per person plus 1 for the pot. When using teabags, use one teabag per person. Take the tea pot to the kettle and pour freshly boiling water over the leaves. Leave for approximately two minutes and stir. After a further 2 minutes the liquor is ready to pour, using a fine strainer in the case of loose tea. photos and info from me and google

Latte Art

I think this is just beautiful!

I've done something similar in

icing cookies, but never in coffee!

I love the idea of adding beauty

to every day things. And this is so simple! Youtube has several instructional videos that anyone can follow. Now if I only had a cappuccino machine!