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Archive for July, 2007

Raspberry Mocha

July 27th, 2007

Since I talked about coffee yesterday, today I thought I would share my morning cuppa with you. Today I am sipping a delicious raspberry mocha prepared with Starbucks Terraza coffee beans (I think this is my favorite blend ever…so smooth.) The other secret ingredient that makes it so good (besides the chocolate) is that glass bottle with orange writing in the background: Farm Fresh milk in a glass bottle. For all of you city folks who have never had it, you have no idea what you are missing. I have been drinking this since I was a kid. The dairy it comes from is less than 75 miles from where I live. When I got married and lived in St. Louis for a couple of years it was one of the things I missed most. Milk in a glass bottle is cold, much colder than the paper carton or plastic jug variety. It also does not take on any of the flavors of the container like milk in a plastic jug does, and it stays fresher longer. Another cool perk? The store I purchase it from is a mere two blocks from my house and there is a 10¢ refund for each bottle I return.

Okay…so here is how to make the perfect raspberry mocha: First, grind your beans until they are like coarse sand and place them in the filter cup of your espresso machine. Next, add cold filtered water to the reservoir. Start the machine. While waiting for the espresso to brew, measure out 1/2-2/3 cup very cold milk into a small pyrex measuring cup or stainless steel pitcher and set aside. Then add 2 tsp. flavored syrup and 3 tsp. chocolate syrup to the bottom of your coffee mug. By this time, your expresso should be half brewed and it should be time to steam your milk. Foam milk (keep steam spigot near the surface of milk, as heated milk will not foam) until it is doubled in volume. Then place steam spigot deeper into the coffee until hot. You can use one of those nifty latte thermometers or just do it by touch - be careful not to burn yourself, though! After steaming your milk, let your espresso finish brewing. Pour the coffee into the mug and stir well to mix the syrup with the coffee. Add milk, then use a spoon to top with foam. (The process sounds long, but after a bit of practice it really only takes about five minutes or so from start to finish.) Garnish with cocoa or cinnamon and… voila! Now, sit back and savor a nice long sip!

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Coffee Addiction

July 26th, 2007

I am 65% Addicted to Coffee

My morning coffee regimen includes grinding the beans myself and preparing a nice strong cappucino or latte. I do not have an expensive espresso machine - mine was actually given to my husband about ten years ago when a family member upgraded to a more upscale model. I have found that good quality coffee beans and the correct ratio of milk to espresso contribute more to the taste than an expensive machine. I like syrups, but use them sparingly as I do not like my coffee very sweet. Making my own at home saves me in time, money, and gas to drive over to my local Starbucks, so this is a great way to enjoy my coffee and save money.

How do you like your coffee?

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Goodies from Canada

July 23rd, 2007

Today my postman brought a lovely gift to my door: gorgeous sock yarn from Sunnyside Ellen! The cottage rose colorway is perfect and ensures that my socks will, indeed, match my living room curtains. Lol.

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Flashback

July 20th, 2007

Wow…ten days without a blog post. I have not intentionally been MIA, and I have plenty to blog about, but I have been dealing with a rotator cuff injury that is aggravated by typing. Physical therapy has been painful, but I do think it is helping. The best thing I have done for my shoulder is to limit my typing as much as possible.

I had a flashback yesterday. We had a thunderstorm late yesterday afternoon that knocked out our power. Exactly one year ago to the day we had a storm that took out our power for a whole week in 100+ degree weather. Yesterday when the power went off, my immediate thought was uh-oh…

My husband and I immediately went to survey our basement. We had been through this last year, and it flooded twice while the power was out. The sump pump well was full of water, but it could not be pumped out because there was no power. We bought a generator last year just to operate the sump pump with should this ever happen. But we have never even removed it from the box, as we have not encountered a need for it. Before operating, it needs oil and gas; gas we keep on hand for the lawn mower, but we were out of oil. Plus, it was a torrential downpour, and we did not think it was safe to operate outside during the storm. First we prayed, then we began to bail out the water. I bailed into large buckets and my husband emptied them as fast as I could fill them. We did not flood! Our kind next door neighbor came when the rain slowed and brought his generator. He volunteered to pump out our flooded driveway. He and my husband were joking that by the time they were done pumping the water the power would come back on. Guess what? Just when they were finishing the lights came on! After the last two power outages (last summer and then again in the winter during an ice storm), we were happy that the outage only lasted a couple of hours this time. I never remember the power going out this many times in my life….

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