Cold-Brewed Coffee Latte

I tried to be a coffee drinker. It sounded so cozy, as if each sip from a steaming mug of java would wake me up piece by piece, until I was ready to tackle the new day. It sounded like I would have a relaxed start to each day, mug in one hand and book in the other as I sat curled on the couch or a picturesque window seat.

Alas, my forays into being a daily coffee drinker did not match the slightly hallucinatory scenarios I had pictured.  I still dashed around my apartment in a desperate attempt to get to work on time.  I still wanted to crawl back into bed whether I had that cup of coffee or not.  Plus I didn't really enjoy the taste.  So I went back to tea, which evokes no such grandiose illusions in my head.  Tea isn't going to propel me into the workday singing show tunes. I kind of like it that way. I'm just not much of a morning person.

But a recent slew of articles in food arenas rekindled my desire to be a coffee drinker.  These articles threw out the concept of cold-brewing your coffee, where you steep the grounds in room temperature water for several hours, strain them, and use.  A chilled coffee beverage in the morning? With the ridiculous heat and humidity that is our apartment in the summer? Yes. Please. Now.


Iced Coffee "Latte"
Adapted from Bon Appetite's recipe for iced coffee (get their recipe here)

Cold-brewed coffee concentrate with milk,
ice cold on a warm morning

Make cold-brewed coffee concentrate:
Combine 7 oz. ground coffee beans with 3.5 cups of water. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 15 hours (I went to about 24 hours for the sake of convenience).  Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth that has been folded once (you want a double layer of cheesecloth). Pour the coffee ground/water mixture through, giving the captured coffee grounds a good squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the grounds and cheesecloth. Line the mesh strainer with a standard coffee filter and pour the liquid through. This will go much more slowly, so be patient and work in batches, never filling above the top of the coffee filter. If your liquid stops straining, you can either stir the liquid trapped in the strainer to move the coffee grounds out of the way...or you can use a new coffee filter.  Store your cold-brewed coffee concentrate in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I recommend glass so you avoid any funky flavor transfer from plastic.

Coffee grounds soaked in water for about 24 hours

Filter through cheesecloth first, to remove
most of the grounds and make your
next filtration faster

A second filtration through a coffee filter removes any remaining
particulate for a smooth concentrate

Store your concentrate in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
I like to use glass containers, so any funky flavors from plastic containers
don't leach into my concentrate...and so I don't stain my plastic containers!

Make an iced coffee "latte":
Combine equal parts of coffee concentrate and milk (cow, soy, almond, coconut, go crazy here!) in a glass, stir, and enjoy.  It's a lot of fun to make it in a glass jar so you can screw on the top and shake.

If you want, add ice, but be aware this will dilute your drink. Try freezing coffee in your ice cube tray...or just go with the chill the refrigerator will put on your drink.

Maybe add a bit of chocolate syrup or cocoa powder for a mocha twist. Or try a sprinkle of cinnamon or cardamom for a spicy, chai-like taste.

I Love Jeni's

I cannot tell you how truly, deeply, madly I love Jeni Britton-Bauer and her ice cream.

It was love at first sight. And first taste.

Like any real relationship, we have our ups and downs.

The Ups:

• almost every flavor is incredibly delicious and inventive
• she adheres to the philosophy of locally- and seasonally-driven flavors
• everything, from the shops to her cookbook, are a delight visually and in experience
• there's always something new to try
• have you had her ice cream? even better, have you tried her sundae combinations? ooohhh...
• she's from Ohio. she loves Ohio. 

The Downs:

• there aren't any scoop shops in Dayton or Cincinnati where I live
• rarely there are flavors I don't quite enjoy. They're usually strongly floral and just too sweet for my preference
• I can't clear out enough room in my apartment freezer to fit in the ice cream machine's bowl...so I haven't used Jeni's cook book often enough!

A recycleable bowl with three different flavors.
Grapefruit frozen yogurt (pink)
Wheatgrass, pear, and vinho verde sorbet (green, partially eaten, oops)
Sweet corn and black raspberry puree (pale yellow and juicy deep purple)

Jeni, if I could, I would move into your kitchen and be yours for all time.  I may eat my weight in ice cream/frozen yogurt/sorbet, but I promise to be highly productive and friendly. And I will continue to spread the word about your amazing creations.

If you haven't heard of Jeni from various food media sources, here's her website and here is her blog, Salty Caramel. They ship nationally and several stores nationwide carry a limited selection of her magical ice cream.

Any Morning French Toast

I have a bit of a problem. Every day, I agonize over what to have for breakfast.  My usual go-to's are Greek yogurt with assorted stuff, oatmeal with assorted stuff, or a smoothie.  Recently, I added in two different options:  eggs and toast (I obviously forgot how darn quick eggs cook.) or French toast.  You heard me. French toast.  In the morning, before work.  It takes a whole 5 minutes to cook. And it tastes delicious.

Doesn't this just make your morning better?
It's also the perfect balance of whole grains,
dairy protein, fruit, and nuts. Talk about
a power breakfast!

Any Morning French Toast
French toast quick and easy enough for a weekday morning
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients:
1-2 slices of your favorite bread (I love sliced 10 grain)
1 egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
Ricotta cheese
Fresh fruit (chopped), nuts, honey or maple syrup

Preparation:
In a shallow, wide bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sugar and vanilla extract until thoroughly mixed.  Press one slice of your bread into the mixture and give it a moment to soak up the eggy goodness.  Flip the slice over so the other side soaks in the egg mixture as well.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat.  Add the butter to your pre-heated skillet and allow it to melt, swirling it around the pan.  Put your egg-soaked bread slice in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.  Flip the bread over and cook until golden brown on the other side.  Transfer to your plate.

Spread ricotta over the bread. Top with fruit, nuts, and honey or maple syrup.  Heck, go crazy and add some chia seeds and shredded coconut. What about a dollop of delicious jam? Bonus if it's strawberry-chia seed quick jam...

Note: If you have extra egg mixture, you can store it in the refrigerator for a few days.  This makes the French toast-making process even faster! Just pour it in a shallow bowl, give it a brief stir, and use.

Peaches, plums, and sliced almonds

Some other ideas for your French toast...

• After dipping your bread in the egg mixture, dip or sprinkle with wheat germ or ground flaxseed before cooking.
• Give your fruit a theme. Tropical -- pineapple, shredded coconut, macadamia nuts, mango, kiwi.  Stone fruits. Apples and caramel sauce for fall. Pumpkin puree and pumpkin seeds for October. You get the idea. Have some fun!
• Make two slices and sandwich around nut butter and banana slices. If you're really daring, add some cooked bacon for a twist Elvis would love.
• Mix your ricotta with a teaspoon (or a tablespoon if you're a chocoholic) of cocoa powder for a chocolately twist. This is especially great with raspberries and strawberries.
• Mix your ricotta or your fruit with a splash of Gran Marnier or fruit liquor (creme de cassis, raspberry liquor like Chambord, etc.). 
• Add some orange zest to the ricotta, sprinkle the top with pistachios and chocolate chips. It's an impromptu cannoli.
• Have leftover fruit sauce?  Add a hefty spoonful or two on top of your ricotta. 
• Go the more savory route and omit sugar and vanilla from your egg mixture. Then top your French toast with a veggie saute.

Ricotta, walnuts, honey, strawberries, blueberries.
And some hibiscus tea.

Friday Cheer! Blueberry Mojito

Woah, it's August.  That means summer is past its prime and beginning to slide into fall, which has plenty of its own pleasures.  But I'm not ready to surrender my summery cocktails.  This one, from a cookbook I've come to adore, has been enjoyed several times this summer. And I suspect it will be enjoyed many more times before I make the transition to fall and all its comfy-coziness.

Blueberry Mojito
from The Boozy Baker by Lucy Baker
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:
1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. sugar (superfine, or, if you're feeling adventurous, turbinado/raw)
6 fresh mint leaves
10 fresh blueberries (or a large handful, if you're a berry fiend like me)
1 oz. light rum
1 oz dark rum
Club soda or seltzer water to taste

I strongly recommend purchasing Gosling's dark rum.
Use it for this blueberry mojito and for my all-time summer favorite,
a Dark and Stormy.

Preparation:
Combine the lime juice, sugar, mint leaves, and blueberries in a tall glass. Muddle (with a muddler or large wooden spoon) until the mint leaves are lightly bruised and the sugar is mostly dissolved. Add both rums and club soda/seltzer water. Give it a quick stir and enjoy!

Muddled blueberries, mint, sugar, and lime juice.
I muddled a bit before adding the mint, so I could mash
some blueberries thoroughly and only lightly bruise
the mint.

Notes:
--Demarara or raw sugar may not completely dissolve during muddling.  I don't mind the mild crunch it adds, especially because the molasses in the sugar plays very nicely with the flavors of the dark rum.
--The goal is to lightly bruise the mint leaves during muddling. If you crush and grind them to a pulp, you'll release the leaf's chlorophyll into the drink, adding a distinctly bitter taste.
--Dark rum is not the same thing as spiced rum.  You could use either here with impunity...but they are different flavors.  A quality spiced rum is, you guessed it, flavored with spices like cinnamon and clove.  Dark rum is aged in barrels longer, so it has stronger flavors, typically of molasses and a mild spice.

Fizzy, refreshing, and very potent.
My favorite part? The rum-soaked blueberries
hanging out at the bottom of the glass.

Happy Friday!!!

Agua Frescas & More For Everyone!

Summer, in my little apartment, is a grueling affair.  It gets hot...and stays hot. It also traps humidity - just look at my hair for proof.  My roommate and I agree that our apartment trains us to endure the Midwest's heat and humidity, as we sweat while cooking, sitting on the couch, or even showering.  The best pose to assume in our roasty little place is sprawled on the floor between two fans.  

You can see we need serious refreshment.

This summer, we trotted out agua frescas, a traditional and delightfully refreshing drink from Latin America.  They're super simple, they keep in the fridge for a week or two (so it's blessedly cool!), and, best of all, they do not require turning on the oven or stove. 

Honeydew - Basil Agua Fresca

From The Kitchen.com (get the original recipe here )

Ingredients:

1 honeydew melon

2 cups cold water

4 tsp. lime juice

2 tbsp. basil simple syrup (recipe below) - 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup water, handful of washed basil leaves

Preparation:

Make basil simple syrup.  Combine 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar is entirely dissolved.  Turn off heat and add the washed basil leaves. Cover for 10-15 minutes.  Pour through a strainer to remove basil leaves. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

Wash, peel, and cube the melon.  Working in batches, puree the melon with water in a blender.  Strain the puree through a mesh sieve into a pitcher. You'll need to use a spoon or rubber spatula to squeeze as much juice as possible from the solids.

Add the lime juice to the pitcher (I added the juice of a whole lime because I like it tart) and stir to combine. You can store the pitcher in your refrigerator for 2-3 weeks, though I'd suggest keeping it covered and hopefully airtight.

To serve, pour the chilled agua fresca into a glass and add basil simple syrup to taste. Stir to combine and be refreshed.

Notes:
*Try frozen melon cubes instead of ice cubes to keep your drink cold.

For more ideas, check out the recipes for three inventive combinations for agua frescas at Matt Bites.  I am longing to try the strawberry-thyme combination!  Perhaps with some liquor for an evening cocktail, sipped outside as the sun goes down.  Sounds amazing, right?

Also check out the other recipe from TheKitchn.com link to the original recipe, because there's also a recipe for watermelon-lime agua fresca.

And it's not an agua fresca, but it's close - another recipe from TheKitchn.com for Watermelon - Strawberry Cooler.  I made the juice portion, but didn't add chia seeds until I poured an individual glass of the drink.  The chia seeds are entirely optional, but I enjoy their mildly gelatinous texture after they've absorbed some liquid (fun fact: chia seeds can absorb up to 9 times their weight in liquid!). They're like miniature tapioca pearls.  A pitcher of this refreshing drink has been my summer savior against the rising heat.

Cool, refreshing, hydrating, and oh-so-easy
to make!

Watermelon-Strawberry Cooler
Adapted from TheKitchn.com

Ingredients:
4 cups watermelon, peeled and roughly chopped
1 pound strawberries, washed and hulled (if fresh) or thawed (if frozen)
Juice of 1 small lime (or 1/2 a large lime)
Water
Chia seeds (optional)

Preparation:
Working in batches, puree the watermelon, strawberries, and lime juice, adding as little water as needed to blend.  Strain the puree through a mesh strainer into a pitcher.  Use a rubber spatula to squeeze the juice out of any solids remaining in the mesh strainer.  Discard the solids.

Store the strained puree in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.  If desired, add 1/2 - 1 tsp. of chia seeds to each glass when serving. Stir the chia seeds in and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes so the chia seeds absorb liquid and gel.

Notes:
*The original recipe added mint leaves in to the puree. I didn't have any on hand, but I imagine they'd be a delicious addition.

The chia seeds were only just added. After 10 minutes
or so, they'll start to absorb enough liquid to begin
gelling.

I Love The Savory Fig

I'm determined to like fresh figs.  I love dried figs. I love Fig Newtons. But I haven't quite come to adore fresh figs with the same fervor.

I've tried them fresh with Greek yogurt or ricotta cheese and honey. Oof. Way too fresh.
I've tried them sauteed with butter and browns sugar. Meh, too soft.
I've tried them baked with ricotta cheese and honey. Too much of the same texture and not enough flavor.
I've tried them baked with balsalmic vinegar and honey.  Good, but not great.

The only way I've loved fresh figs is when they're stuffed with goat cheese and grilled with bacon wrapped around their drop-like form. It's smoky, creamy, sweet perfection.

When I saw a huge carton of plump fresh figs on sale at the store, I couldn't resist the challenge they issued.  And after a little research, I had a candidate recipe to try.  I will openly admit I didn't think I would like it...but I was utterly and deliciously wrong.  I love it. Even as leftovers.

Figs, I believe I love you in both your fresh and dried forms.  We'll just keep it savory when you're fresh.

Fig Tart with Carmelized Onions and Goat Cheese
from Sassy Radish (get the original recipe here )

*A few thoughts from me...

--I swapped the originally suggested Stilton cheese for goat cheese.  I swoon over the texture of oven-warmed goat cheese -- creamy, tangy and ever so slightly melty. If you like blue cheese or Brie, I bet either would work well here too.

--I recommend having the onions, figs, cheese, and pine nuts prepared for tart assembly before you begin to play with your puff pastry, which is prone to drying out very quickly.

--I used 1 of the 2 rolls of puff pastry that come in a box.  I buy them frozen, but popped the roll of puff pastry in the refrigerator the night before I made the tart. 

--I had a difficult time rolling the puff pastry out. So I don't think I reached the suggested dimensions of 9 by 12 inches.  But it still worked.

--This recipe makes a rather large tart. I stored leftovers between layers of wax paper in the refrigerator.  Warming them up in a 300 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes makes the crust nice and crispy again.  

Are there any foods you want to love?

Friday Cheer! Elder Betty by Magic Hat

Summer demands refreshment. Light golden beers, crisp and cool. Maybe a little fruit slipped in to remind you it's in season.

Meet Magic Hat's Elder Betty beer, a weiss beer brewed with elderflower berries and a light touch of Apollo hops.  The six pack box issues their clever phrase: A golden haze for a summer's daze.  Yes, please. That's exactly what I was wanted.

Weiss beers are German-style wheat beers, named after the use of both wheat and the more traditional barley malt during brewing.  The use of wheat produces a pale and hazy appearance.  Weiss beers typically have low hoppiness, a malty flavor, and high carbonation.  They can also be called witbiers (wit = white in Dutch), and weizens or hefeweizens, depending on techniques or ingredients used.

White beers are great in the summer. Light, refreshing, and often mildly fruity or citrusy. Magic Hat's offering, Elder Betty, meets all these criteria. The elderberry flavor is incredibly subtle.  Since I've only tasted elderberries once before (in a non-St. Germain liquor format!), I don't have a quality reference point for the flavor.  

Overall, Elder Betty is tasty and refreshing beer for summer, with only the very mildest hint of a dark berry flavor. Not enough to throw you, if you're not a berry or fruit beer person.

Happy Friday!