Category: Drink


Apr
2014

Banana & Coffee Protein Smoothie: Licuado de Proteina con Banana y Café

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Coffee, Drink, Healthy, Smoothie
Have I told you that I’m getting married…in 10 days??
Have I also told you that I’m not your typical bride??
Like, the kind of bride that doesn’t have decorations yet kinda bride.
So needless to say, I haven’t really been a morning person lately…
 
Usually I am just fine with green tea or a smoothie in the morning but these last few days 
that stuff is just not cutting it.
 I had to upgrade my morning stimulant to get me going on this whole wedding thing
 & since crack is whack & I like keeping my teeth, I decided to upgrade to coffee.  
The problem: I don’t like the taste of coffee…like, at all. 
So I decided to disguise my coffee in a delicious & healthy fruit-filled concoction that draws on my Latin & American roots…
And so was born the Banana & Coffee Protein Smoothie 
a.k.a. Licuado de Proteina con Café y Banana!
(keep reading to find out what a “licuado” is!)

Mar
2014

Tart Cherry-Berry Kale Smoothie

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Drink, Healthy, Smoothie
You know when you buy something really expensive & you’re riddled with guilt so you try to use it as much as possible to justify the expense?
 Yeah, that’s pretty much what my recent “smoothie-revolution” was born out of.It’s also probably why you may just see me wearing my new orange heel$$ to the supermarket.
 
I had spent all of this money on a VitaMix & I figured I shouldn’t just make dough & chop nuts in it.  Do you even know how many loaves of bread I’d have to make for this little beauty to pay for itself?
 
So I decided to get on this smoothie bandwagon & what do you know?  
It’s totally paying off!

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Mar
2014

Homemade Irish Cream

categories: Beverage, Boozy, Cocktails, Drink, Irish
Top of the mornin’ to ya.
 
Have you been wondering why the supermarket has all of a sudden put out corned beef & cabbage in convenient little bundles?
Why the police all of a sudden decide it’s a good idea to put a checkpoint on every corner of your hometown?
Why people at your favorite bar have been drinking that unholy concoction of green-dyed beer?
 
Yes, it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day.
Bust out your favorite green striped tube socks, ladies.
 
Now if you’re like me & you don’t want to dye your insides green with your cocktail, have I got a treat for you.
Homemade Irish Cream is kind of like Bailey’s but better.

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Nov
2013

Café de Olla (Mexican Spiced Coffee)

categories: Breakfast, Brunch, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coffee, Drink, Mexican
Happy Dia de los Muertos!
Happy Day of the Dead! Ok, I’m not just being morbid, there really is something called Day of the Dead.
On November 1st & 2nd of every year in Mexico, other Latin countries as well as the U.S., families & friends gather together to pay their respects to passed loved ones.  They dedicate brightly decorated alters full of marigold flowers, sugar skulls, candles, & photos of those that have passed.  The idea is that during these two days, the dead come back to the living world & therefore we celebrate them & welcome them home. I think it’s a great  way to remember those that we have lost in a celebratory fashion instead of being all sad & weepy about it. Families will often celebrate into the wee hours of the night, praying, telling stories about their loved ones & eating delicious treats & coffee to help keep them awake well into the wee hours of the night.  
A type of coffee that is typically consumed on this day is called: 
Café de Olla. 
Café de olla literally means “Pot Coffee” getting its name from the clay pot (or olla de barro) that it’s traditionally made in.
It wasn’t until two years ago that I heard about & tasted this concoction of spices & coffee for myself.  I fell in love with it despite not liking coffee at all.  It tasted like someone poured a warm blanket, cinnamon & love into a cup.  So of course I set out to learn more about this delicious drink & how I could recreate the love at home.  This post is all about what I learned & how you can share the goodness that this simple little drink holds with your own loved ones, both past & present.
Enjoy!
A Little Background:
Café de olla is a traditional Mexican style of coffee made in clay pots & flavored with raw cane sugar  (called piloncillo in Mexico or panela in other Latin American countries) & spices such as cinnamon & cloves.  The coffee beans typically used for this recipe are Viennese-type dark roasted beans.  When brewed, the coffee is medium-bodied & has a bit of a kick to it.  This kind of coffee gives the café de olla a rich base for the spices to accent upon.

Café de olla can be made in saucepans, french presses & other pots but it is most definitely at it’s best when made in a clay pot called an “olla de barro“.  These clay pots (like the one pictured above) are tan in color & tend to have a distinct smell to them that I can only describe as “earthy”.  The very thing that gives the pot that earthy smell is also what imparts a unique flavor into the coffee, giving it a “homemade” taste.  These pots can also be used to cook a variety of foods that require slow cooking over low heat like stews (guisados) & beans.


Aug
2013

Whiskey Sours …Why Not?!

categories: Boozy, Brunch, Cocktails, Drink
It’s been a busy, busy couple of weeks.
 
Family visits, fighting “the man” to get my business paperwork pushed through, a near death brush with a rouge mixer paddle, wedding planning, menu development, stepping up my workout schedule due to an unfortunate run in with my bedroom mirror while wearing last years’ ill-fitting shorts 
& thinking about writing a new blog post…
 
Um, yeah…
This blog is going to be about whiskey.
Strong, delicious whiskey.
Yeah, I know it’s Monday….
Don’t judge.
 
Now don’t go signing me up for any AA meetings just yet.
I’m just not your typical “fruity drink” kinda gal.
I’ll take a smooth whiskey on the rocks over anything with an umbrella any day.
I hate to admit it, but sugary drinks started to give me headaches 
& heartburn sometime after I hit 26.
I know, I know.  I’m a grumpy ol’ bitty with a sensitive GI tract.
But I accept this about myself & embrace it.
Gone are the days of sticky Midori Sours, Washington Apples,
& the mystical, magical concoction that is a Purple Hooter shooter. 
(Yes, it’s a thing.  Google it.)
 
But every once in a while, a girl likes to feel a little fancy.
So I took my precious whiskey on the rocks & gave it a deliciously simple yet sophisticated upgrade.
I’m not saying this is now my go-to drink, I’m just saying it’s been a long week, Mondays are my weekend, & I could really use some fancy so why the heck not??

Whiskey Sours
This post is going to be short & to the point.
Whiskey, sugar, lemon juice, club soda, ice & a maraschino cherry to step up the fancy.
That’s it.

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