my shaken brown sugar oat espresso journey (so far)

 Since I mentioned my new favorite drink in this post a couple of weeks ago, I can't stop thinking about it.  It was delicious!  But I rarely leave the house, and Starbucks is pretty pricey, so all I did was dream of it.  And then I saw a video on the Tickey-Toks of a lady making her own, and I was like, I can do that too!

(BTW - another good person to follow on there is The Shaky Barista, who shows you how to make coffee shop drinks at home.)

So I made my own iced coffee at home and - it was pretty ok!

I put a couple of spoons of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon and a tiny splash of vanilla into my jar, added a cup of hot coffee (6 oz pour from the ol' Keurig), and swished it around to dissolve the sugar.  I added a couple of scoops of ice, put the lid on the jar and gave it a good shake, then added milk to taste.  Not bad at all.

A friend told me about a brown sugar flavored syrup you can buy to add to your drinks, and just like that, I became the kind of person who has a bottle of flavored syrup in her cupboard to add to drinks.  I may also have become the kind of person who has a milk frother, but we'll leave that story for another day (when I've taken it out of the box and tried it). 

 It has a different taste than the actual sugar and cinnamon ingredients, but it's not bad.  

I've also learned there are sugar free syrups out there, 

which I might try once this bottle is gone, but we'll see.  

Who would have thought I'd be so in to making iced coffee?  Not me.

Have you made Dalgona Coffee yet?

One of the "perks" to have youngish kids is we have no social life outside the house, so staying inside on weekends isn't too much work for us.  I was surfing the internet one weekend night and I read an article about this iced coffee recipe from South Korea that uses just 3 ingredients to make a delicious and funky looking iced coffee.

I did some googling and went with this version, the main difference from other versions being using hot water instead of ice water.

It is super simple - you mix 2 tablespoons each of instant coffee granules, sugar and hot water in a bowl and either whisk by hand or beat with a mixer until it becomes much lighter and thick and billowy.

You pour a cup of milk into a tall glass, add a couple of ice cubes, and spoon the thick coffee mixture on top.  Take a couple of artful shots of the drink (not cruddy ones like mine) and then mix the coffee cream into the milk and drink.

This is SO GOOD and SO EASY and provides a few minutes of fun and then a delicious drink - even the kids liked it, as seen above as The Girl chugged some down.

I could definitely see making this in the summer and it'll be way cheaper and lower in sugar and fat than buying an iced coffee out.

Coffee Shake

I don't like coffee. I don't know if I've mentioned that before, but it's true.

 I don't drink hot coffee in any form and never have.

For a while I would have the very rare frappuccino from Starbucks, but not often - they are so rich - and a Ice Cap from Tim Horton's occasionally.

During my last pregnancy we had to drive to Vancouver for some hospital appointments and my treat for having to sit in a car for hours, go get poked and prodded and then drive hours back home was a sausage and cheese mcmuffin from McDonald's and a small ice cap from Tim Hortons. Memories!

While I was on maternity leave I indulged in Ice Caps a little more often, then stopped after the caffeine started making me queasy, but then started up again.

And so here I am, with a kinda sorta Ice Cap habit that I am trying to break for both the sake of my wallet AND my chubby little bod.

Speaking of my bod, a medium ice cap has 360 calories, 15 grams of fat and 47 grams of sugar. Eeeeeeeeeek.

So I've been experimenting with making my own coffee shake at work in the mornings.

I have my Magic Bullet from Christmas 2008 (!!!) base at work  so in the mornings I fill my cup with the ingredients except the ice, which goes into a plastic bag, and then at work I whizz it up.

It is definitely less decadent than a store bought drink, but it still feels like a treat.

1 cup milk

1 tb brown sugar

2 tb cocoa powder

1 tb instant coffee

handful ice cubes

Mix.  Whizz.

I threw the ingredients into a calorie calculator and here's what it said to me - 

192 calories, 6 grams of fat and 24 grams sugar.  

Not bad, and definitely better than the drive thru options.

Potlucking - Punch and Meatballs

We went to a potluck a couple of weeks ago - lots of fun and enough food for half a neighborhood.  There was spinach dip and chips and dip, dry ribs, wings, salads, meat and cheese, veggies, breads, desserts, cookies.....you name it.  I ate too  much and it was glorious.

We took some raw veggies because our kids are pretty picky eaters but they will always eat some raw vegetables; and they did, but they ate nearly everything else as well.  I was surprised and impressed. 

I made some grape jelly meatballs - The Mister had these at a party years and years ago (we still lived in Calgary!) and we keep meaning to make them, and finally their time arrived.

I used this recipe and they were perfect.

We also made a punch called Lifesaver Punch from Best of Bridge.  

It is a thawed can of Strawberry Daiquiri mix and a thawed can of Pink Lemonade mix and 4 cups of Ginger Ale.  I found it too sweet so I added the other half of the 2 liter bottle  of Ginger Ale and still thought it was too sweet, but it was all drankened (huh?) up, and the boys have requested I make it at home this holiday season.  

The other potluck we were to go to we have bowed out of; so thankfully I am done with that for the year.  I am focusing on getting to the end of 2017 in one piece and wishing for a joyful new year.

Orange and Lime Ice Tea

I'm trying to find a drink recipe for the next work potluck - I am on drink duty (obvs) which seriously is the toughest course. 

 I made this on the weekend and it's definitely on the short list, which needs to get shorted asap. 

 I really REALLY like ice tea and the addition of citrus is good. I went with only 1 tb of brown sugar but I'm thinking that if this makes the cut, I'll up it to 2. 

Orange and Lime Iced Tea 

from smoothies and juices by Christine Ambridge 

 1 1/4 cup water 

2 tea bags 

scant 1/2 cup orange juice 

4 tb lime juice

1-2 tb brown sugar 

8 ice cubes 

to garnish (i didn't) 

wedge of lime 

sugar 

slices of fresh orange, lemon or lime 

Pour the water into a pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add the tea bags and leave to infuse for 5 minutes. 

Remove the tea bags and let the tea cool to room temperature. 

Transfer to a pitcher, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes. 

 When the tea has chilled, stir in the orange and lime juices. Add sugar to taste. 

Take two glasses and rub the rims with a wedge of lime, then dip into the sugar to frost. 

Place the ice cubes in the glasses and pour over the tea. 

Decorate the rims with slices of fresh orange, lemon or lime, and serve.

3 ingredients - Pineapple Batido

Pineapple Batido

1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tsp sugar

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.

source unknown

Cool it

Oh Em Gee it's hot, hot, hot here! In the past month we've only had a couple of days that have dipped below 30, and we've hit 40+ twice in the past few days. Aieeeeee.

I'm not normally one to complain about the heat, but damn. It sort of sucks when it's this hot for this long, because there is no break. It doesn't cool down in the evenings. It's hot first thing in the morning. There is no escape.

We are trying to stay away from using the stove/oven to try to keep the house and us as cool as possible. Here's some cooking free stuff we've enjoyed lately:

Cucumber Salad

This is the quickest and healthiest of the recipes I'm sharing today. Ready in minutes and very very yummy. Also, cucumbers are low in calories and a good source of Vitamin C and Fiber.

2 TB rice vinegar
1 TB agave nectar
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB vegetable oil
1 cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into thin half moons
salt and pepper

Whisk together the vinegar, agave, soy sauce and oil. Toss with the cucumber and season with salt and pepper if desired.

Gazpacho

Is there anything that screams SUMMER more than gazpacho? Fast, easy and super fresh. This recipe is from Ina Garten and it makes a ton. We made a half recipe and ate gazpacho for days and days. Not that I'm complaining.


from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

2 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
3 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
8 plum tomatoes
2 red onion
6 garlic cloves, minced
46 ounces tomato juice
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Triple C Milkshake

This is the most decadent of the recipes and my favorite. Yum, yum, YUM. Cocoa powder contains antioxidants and flavonoids, which are very good for you. Cinnamon is also high in antioxidants. And chocolate ice cream is just plain good.


I like milkshakes a little on the thin side. You might want to decrease the milk a little, or add an extra spoon of ice cream if you like thicker milkshakes.

2 cups chocolate ice cream
1 1/3 cups skim milk
1 tb cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until incorporated and smooth. Add more milk for a thinner milkshake or more ice cream for a thicker one if needed.

Weekend Cookbook Challenge - Love - Bloody Mary

Here's my third recipe for the final Weekend Cookbook Challenge - Love.






Bloody Mary
Playboy Bartender's Guide
Thomas Mario

1 1/2 oz vodka
3 oz tomato juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 tsp ketchup
1 dash Worcestershire
1 dash celery salt
1 dash Tabasco sauce

Shake all ingredients well with ice. Strain into a tall or squat 8 oz glass.
_________________________________

This is the final Weekend Cookbook Challenge! The theme is Love and the deadline is March 15. Send you posts to me at iliketocook AT shaw DOT ca.

Juicer and NaBloPoMo

A couple of weeks ago I told you that we'd received a juicer. I've been having a wonderful time with it, juicing pretty much everything in sight.

Here's our juicer. Sorry for the poor photos, our camera is being more of a shit than usual. The juicer is a Breville:


It came with some recipes so we thought we'd start off with some of those as opposed to making up our own flavors. (We went to a juice bar once in Vancouver and I ordered some juice, I can't remember what was in it, but it was all ingredients I liked. My first sip literally brought tears to my eyes, it was so awful. I was afraid that would happen if I experimented too much.)

The first juice recipe we picked was for beets and carrots, but we decided to add some apples. We used 2 apples, 3 beets and enough carrots from the garden in Calgary to approximate 2 regular size carrots.

The color is beautiful, if a bit off putting. The camera is not showing how RED this juice was. This would have been a good recipe for WCC 21 - Halloween. I could have called it Vampires Blood or something.


We cleaned the machine and tried a tomato based drink. We juiced 2 tomatos, 2 stalks of celery, 1 peeled lime and 1 carrot.


The color on this one was not pretty at all, but the flavors were so bright. This would be cool to serve in little shot glasses as an appetizer on a warm day, like the "Tomato Juice".


We juiced some nectarines we needed to get rid of before the move, and wow, was that ever good. It was almost velvety in texture and taste.

We've also made a few batches of just straight apple juice. I haven't had apple juice since I was small. Freshly juiced apple juice is about 1 TRILLION times better than any crap that comes out of a carton. I have seen the light!

One of the small markets here had Mac apples on for 49 cents a pound so we've introduced my parents to juicing too. My Mom made her first juice - apple, pear and peach - on the weekend.

As much as I love my juicer, throwing out the pulp really bothers me. The pamphlet gives some ideas for using certain pulps in recipes, but nothing that is interesting or inspiring me. Does anyone out there have a similar juicer? What do you do with the pulp?


In other news, I have gone certifiably insane and signed myself up for NaBloPoMo, aka National Blog Posting Month. WTF you say? It's simple. Just post on your blog every day in the month of November. Want to join me? You totally should! And then we can be in over our heads together!

X is for...

X is for Xtreme!

Who: Xtreme Food.

What: Food that has been, in the words of Emeril, kicked up a notch. There are many ways to make food xtreme. You could use uncommon ingredients such as snake or alligator; up the calorie and fat count; or add extra special ingredients to a dish.

Where: Where ever there is an adverturous soul, or a crazy fool, there is Xtreme Food.

When: Oh, whatever. Only 2 more letters after this, thank god.

Why: Cause we are crazy fools, and my Dad (Hi Dad!) suggested it.

This here is a waffle.


This HERE, get ready for it, is AN XTREME WAFFLE!



We took a batter for regular, plain old waffles and added chopped cooked breakfast sausages and maple syrup. Then we cooked them like usual. Dee-lishous.

But then Scott, he must have lost his mind! He went and upped the ante even more, I didn't think it was possible, but he did. He added a fried egg to his XTREME WAFFLES.


What a maniac.

And here we have a steak.



But HERE is AN XTREME STEAK SANDWICH!!!!


A thing of beauty. We've spread garlic butter on grilled bread and topped it with medium rare steak, sauteed mushrooms AND blue cheese!

Can you feel your ateries clogging?

Up next, a tall cold glass of milk.

AND LAST but certainly NOT LEAST.......


THE XTREME glass of milk, THE SCOOTER!

Baby can you feel it; milk mixed with booze. What could be better or more Xtreme? And oh my it is delicious.

The Scooter

1 oz milk
1 oz amaretto
1 oz brandy

Mix well and serve over ice.

Seriously, it tastes good.

Whoooo, I'm exhausted! That was a lot of XTREME, my friends. See yous later.

Previous Alphabet Posts:
A is for Artichoke
B is for Beet
C is for Carrot
D is for Dogs
E is for Egg
F is for Fondue
G is for Garlic
H is for Hamburger
I is for Indian Food
J is for Jamie Oliver
K is for Kaffir Lime Leaves
L is for Lobster
M is for Mushroom
N is for Noodle
O is for Onion
P is for Pub Food
Q is for Quinoa
R is for Rice
S is for Sushi
T is for Taco
U is for Upside Down Desserts
V is for Vietnamese Food
W is for Watermelon

W is for...

W is for Watermelon.
Who: The Watermelon.
What: Watermelon is a fruit, and the most common type of melon.
Where: Originally from Africa, evidence of the seeds have been found in Ancient Egypt. Watermelons were being cultivated in the 1100's in China, and in the 1200's it was introduced to European countries.
When: Watermelon arrived in North America in the 1500's, but it was not until the 1940's when a hardier, disease resistant melon was designed that the melons were readily available in grocery stores.
Why: Besides being the ultimate summer treat, Watermelons are very good for you. They are low in calories and fat, a good source of Vitamins A, B and C, and high in lycopene.

Drunken Watermelon.



With a sharp knife, carefully cut a hole in the watermelon, large enough to fit a funnel. Place the watermelon on a plate and fill the funnel up with vodka. Let it sit until the watermelon has soaked up all the vodka, and fill the funnel up again. Repeat until the watermelon won't absorb any more vodka. Slice and serve.



Remember, this is full of alcohol! Do not serve to anyone who will be driving!




Watermelon Margarita.



2 cups chopped watermelon, rind removed
4 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec or other orange liqueur
lime wedges

Place the watermelon, tequila and triple sec in a blender or food processor. Whiz until smooth. Taste and add a bit of sugar if the watermelon is not very sweet. Pour into glasses and serve with lime on the side.


Fast Watermelon Sorbet



There's been recipes out there recently for banana "ice cream" which is simply frozen banana slices whizzed until smooth. This is the same thing. Chop up some watermelon and freeze until solid. Place in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Previous Alphabet Posts:
A is for Artichoke
B is for Beet
C is for Carrot
D is for Dogs
E is for Egg
F is for Fondue
G is for Garlic
H is for Hamburger
I is for Indian Food
J is for Jamie Oliver
K is for Kaffir Lime Leaves
L is for Lobster
M is for Mushroom
N is for Noodle
O is for Onion
P is for Pub Food
Q is for Quinoa
R is for Rice
S is for Sushi
T is for Taco
U is for Upside Down Desserts
V is for Vietnamese Food

V is for...

V is for Vietnamese Food.
Who: Vietnamese Food

What: Vietnamese Food, featuring rice, noodles, fish sauce, and aromatics such as lemongrass and lime leaves. Pho (basically noodle soup) may be the most well known Vietnamese dish.

Where: Well, Vietnamese Food originated in ... Vietnam!

When: Vietnam was at one time an independant county, but was colonized by France in the 1800's. French influences on the food can be seen in dishes such as Vietnamese sandwiches (served on baguette) and their hot and cold coffee drinks (made with condensed milk).

Why: Why ask why. It's tasty, isn't that enough for you? Geez.

Salad Rolls

Salad rolls are basically some combination of noodles, veggies (like lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts) and meat or seafood (shrimp) rolled up in rice wrappers. Traditionally they are served with hoisin sauce on the side.

Ours had rice noodles, shredded lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot flavored with rice vinegar and sugar, and chicken.



Soak your rice paper wrappers in hot water until soft. Then flop them on a paper towel to get off most of the water. Plonk on your fillings, fold in the sides and roll up.

________________

Iced Coffee is an occasional treat for me; the caffeine and all that sugar are too much for me so I only have these once or twice a year. You can make them at home if you want that kick more often.

Traditional Vietnamese Iced Coffee is (at least where we go) brought to your table in 2 parts: a tall glass full of ice, and a metal coffee filter over a cup. The coffee slowly drips through into the cup which has a layer of sweetened condensed milk on the bottom. When the coffee is ready, you stir together the coffee and milk and pour over the ice. I don't have any filters like the restaurants do, so here's our method.


Vietnamese Iced Coffee

2 Tb sweetened condensed milk
6 oz very stong hot coffee
tall glass filled with ice

Spoon the milk into the bottom of a glass (not the one filled with ice) or a mug. Pour the coffee slowly over top, trying to keep the 2 layers separate. Let sit for a few minutes to heat up the milk. Stir together the coffee and milk, then pour over the ice. Stir to bring down the temperature, then drink.

________________


Vietnamese BBQ-d Chicken Thighs

These chicken thighs are marinated with flavors of Vietnam, then cooked on the barbecue to add a smoky flavor. If you don't like chicken thighs use drumsticks or breasts, but thighs really are the best.


8 bone in chicken thighs, skin off or on
zest of one lemon
5 garlic cloves peeled and cut in half
5 shallots peeled and cut in half
1 jalapeno or other hot chile seeded and cut in half
1 tb brown sugar
1 tb fish sauce OR soy sauce

Dipping Sauce:
2 Tb red wine vinegar
2 Tb soy sauce
juice of one lime
2 garlic cloves peeled and cut in half
1 jalapeno or other hot chile seeded and cut in half
2 tb brown sugar

Rinse and pat the chicken dry. Place in a large plastic bag or dish. Place the lemon zest thru fish sauce in a blender or food processor and blend to a paste. Rub the paste all over the chicken. Cover the dish and let the chicken sit for 2 hours.

Preheat your barbecue and cook the chicken over medium heat until cooked through. Remove to a plate and let sit while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and whiz until smooth. Pour into a bowl and serve on the side.

Previous Alphabet Posts:
A is for Artichoke
B is for Beet
C is for Carrot
D is for Dogs
E is for Egg
F is for Fondue
G is for Garlic
H is for Hamburger
I is for Indian Food
J is for Jamie Oliver
K is for Kaffir Lime Leaves
L is for Lobster
M is for Mushroom
N is for Noodle
O is for Onion
P is for Pub Food
Q is for Quinoa
R is for Rice
S is for Sushi
T is for Taco
U is for Upside Down Desserts

Fried Stuff and Beer

I've got your attention now, don't I?

As I mentioned yesterday we tried two new recipes last night when we got home from the hockey game. (Peabody - the Hitmen won 4-3, but the Blazers played so well it was surprising they lost.) I'm not really a Rachel Ray person, but I'd caught the last few minutes of an episode of 30 Minute Meals a few days ago and one dish was stuck in my mind. When Scott said he wanted chicken wings this weekend, I asked him if he'd mind having Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Bites instead.

served with fresh veggies to combat the batter and grease...don't think it worked.

I've recently discovered the reviews that come with the recipes on foodtv.com so I read them first. While most people liked the chicken, there were a lot of comments about the batter being too thick and not being able to taste the hot sauce. We kept that in mind and both comments turned out to be true. I added about another 3/4 to 1 cup of water to the batter (there was also way too much batter made) to get it to a consistency we were happy with, and, I am not exaggerating, we used 4 times the amount of hot sauce AND the chicken was still only mildly spicy.

But, these were delicious and I would make them again. Not soon mind you; that's a lot of dough and oil.


Saturday I was going through some papers and I came across a recipe my Mom gave me about 2 years ago for a drink that was served at a party they attended.


Beergarita

makes 4-6 drinks

4 bottles Corona or Light Corona
6 oz Tequila
1 can Limeade concentrate, partially thawed

ice
salt
lime wedges

Mix the Limeade concentrate and Tequila together in a large jug. Add the Corona and stir well. Serve over ice in glasses with salted rims and lime wedges.


These are so good, but lethal! Do not serve these if anyone has to drive or get up early the next day. As I write this, Scott is lying on the couch with his head in his hands.

Blog Party 18 - Black and White

Our divine hostess Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness has chosen Black and White as the theme for this month's Blog Party.

A bit of a toughie, but I think I did ok.

Tonight we have:


Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Mozzarella Squares.
The mozzarella was supposed to blanket all the square, leaving them totally white, which didn't quite happen, but I think they still look good, but more importantly, they tasted very good.


Next up:


Rootbeer Float Shooters.
These are very small glasses (about 3" high and 1 1/2" wide) that I filled halfway with rootbeer and dropped a small spoon of vanilla ice cream in. Then you shoot 'em back.


And finally,


B&E.

Baileys and Espresso

1 shot freshly made espresso
1 shot Baileys
ice

Fill a hiball glass with ice and pour in the espresso and baileys. Stir and serve.

Hot Chocolate Snowballs

A new (to me) treat I made to give away for Christmas this year was "Hot Chocolate Snowballs" and they couldn't have been simpler to make. I filled plastic candy bags (from Michaels) with hot chocolate mix for 2 drinks, some mini marshmallows and either some chocolate candies or crushed candy canes. A little note for serving instructions twisted onto the tie and voila! Cute little 'snowballs'.

Merry Merry

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens


I wish for you and your loved ones a season of peace, joy and hope.

Have a wonderful holiday. Thanks for being out there.




Brandy Eggnog
1 drink

1 oz brandy
6 oz eggnog
freshly grated nutmeg

Mix the brandy and eggnog together, and grate some nutmeg on top. Serve cold.