Frothy Bliss

I have a stove top cappuccino maker which I love dearly, but have always been a little bummed that the frothed milk doesn't come out as pristine white micro foam that I look forward to in a good coffee drink.

Just call me a foamed milk snob!

A friend on Facebook recently posted this link on how to make milk foam without a machine ... and it is awesome! Of course I love cappuccinos and tea lattes and after trying this method I am making them all the time.

This black tea latte really hit the spot. With a little Billy Holiday's I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm playing in the background and a knitting project in hand, it's been a good afternoon.

Thanks to this easy trick, I make espresso in my stove top cappuccino maker and create the foam by hand. I am not exaggerating when I say that it rivals Starbucks, and from my own kitchen no less! Hint: the higher the fat content in the milk, the better the foam. Plus, I don't have to clean much, waste much, or wait long.

Ooh, I think I'll have to go get some Chai tea now. The perfect Christmastime drink I think.

What a Day I’m Having!

It is almost noon as I write this and already I have had quite a day. Two months ago when I took my son in for his well baby appointment, I made three new appointments, one for my daughter, one for my son, and one for me. I just needed a yearly check-up and it was scheduled for this morning at 9:20. This means that well in advance I arranged to have both of my kids in daycare.

Things were going well in preparing to get both of my children dressed, fed, and out the door at the same time…until I actually got them out of bed! It seems everything was against me today: my daughter spilled at least 6 ounces of milk on the carpet, my son was fussy, and the dog was disobedient. Then as we were heading into town, a large backhoe-loader was parked in the middle of the road, my only exit out of my neighborhood. We had to wait behind a brand new jacked up Chevy Silverado with ginormous wheels. Finally as the tractor moved, I thought I had a good chance of making it on time to my appointment.

Naturally, we ended up behind this ridiculous truck for the duration of the trip to daycare – and naturally it went 45 mph on the expressway! There wasn’t anyone directly in front of him either, I checked. Then whenever I would come to a stop sign, a traffic light, or a place where I need to turn my daughter kept asking me why I stopped. Ugh!

So we get to daycare and I took my kids to where they needed to go. The amazing thing is that my son didn’t cry when I handed him over at the nursery. At least that was a good thing. Feeling that I was pretty much on schedule I headed to the doctor’s office. When I get there I find it to be fairly quiet and empty. I check in at the front desk and the lady looks bewildered because she didn’t have me down on the schedule. She asks me to wait while she investigates further. After five minutes she calls me over to the counter and my doctor’s nurse is standing with her. I knew this wasn’t a good sign.

Mary – the nurse – tells me that they didn’t have me on the schedule and wanted to know when I made the appointment. Through gritted teeth I told her two months ago, and she shakes her head and regretfully tells me that there is NO WAY they can get me in today. She had to reschedule me for September! I am sure that the frustration was quite evident on my face as I was screaming inside.

So, now what was I supposed to do? My kids had only been in daycare for a half hour at this point. So I went to the local bagel shop and drowned my frustrations in a spectacular cappuccino and a slightly old copy of Condé Nast Traveler. After several articles on popular Croatian hot spots I calmed down enough to go pick up my children.

At least there is a silver lining: my daughter’s face lit up when she first saw me, and then I took my kids to the park where we had fun on the swings and playing in the dirt. I guess the morning wasn’t a total waste after all. I just hope the rest of the day goes a little smoother.

Blog Fodder

Ever since starting this blog, I look at life in a whole new light. I often think “will this make a good story on my blog?”. My husband can attest to the fact that I will call interesting things, “blog fodder”. So, I have decided that postings with “blog fodder” in the title will be fun stories that I have wanted to post, but may be unrelated to each other.

Time for Money

Sunday is allowance day for my daughter. My husband and I sat her down and told her that since she was a good girl and did what she was asked (clean room, take dishes to the kitchen) she would get the money she earned. We told her to go get her piggy bank. As she darted up the stairs, she yelled “Yaaaay! Time for moneeeeeyyyyyy!”


Alright! You’re Cool!

My son loves to display his new found skill of giving five. If you hold out your hand and say “gimme five” he will get a huge smile on his face and slap your hand with both of his. After he does that I will say “Alright! You’re cool!”; this causes him to giggle and squeal with delight. Then that makes me giggle and squeal with delight. Ah, kids are so fun!

I’ll Have My Usual

Earlier this month, in The Greatest Invention of All Time, I mentioned how much I love my stovetop cappuccino maker. That thing really is fabulous. But sometimes I have a lot of errands to run and I’ll indulge in having someone else make it for me. I will take my Starbucks travel coffee cup with me, that I bought five years ago, and go through a drive-thru. Well, today it happened! Someone actually remembered my usual order!

I pulled up and started to hand over my cup and she said “Coconut right? And decaf?”. Yesssss! She actually remembered my coffee cup with the watermelon print on it and that’s how she recalled my order from last time. Next time I’ll just pull up and say “I’ll have my usual.” I’ve always wanted to say that!

If you see this cup headed your way, please know that my "usual" is a tall decaf cappuccino with a hint of coconut.

The Many Faces of Facebook

I never realized how behind in the online world I was until I joined Facebook (two days ago), and discovered how many people from my past already had profiles. In such a short time of being on there, I already have nine “friends” and most of them are people I knew from high school or the church I went to many years ago. It is a great way to catch up with people and network.

I’m feeling nostalgic. Suddenly I am sent back to the days of Beach Olympics, Mexico mission trips, and CVHS football games. My wish is that my children will have similar growing experiences and opportunities that I did.

The Greatest Invention of All Time

Okay, so maybe that it is a bit of an exaggeration to call it the greatest invention, but it comes pretty close! I am talking about the Bialetti Mukka Express stove top cappuccino maker. This polished aluminum beauty allows me to have a cup of frothy deliciousness whenever I want – and I don't have to leave the house to do so.

In my town there are very few places to get a truly awesome cappuccino, except for the local bagel shop. And being a busy mom, I rarely have time to stop somewhere and enjoy a cup. Coffee kiosks are very popular with my demographic – it's the battle between The Human Bean and Dutch Brothers. Both are good, but I think a cappuccino or latte deserves to be consumed out of a real cup. Going to these drive-thrus is also hard on the wallet and I can tell when the espresso machine hasn't been cleaned out.

So what is a coffee lover to do? Thumbing through a Crate & Barrel catalog I found an item that looked so intriguing I had to try it myself. I ordered the Mukka Express for a whopping $89, skeptical of its ability to produce my precious drink. When it arrived, I was a little overwhelmed by the contraption. There are many of steps you have to take to ensure a great cup of coffee. The instructions said you would have to discard the first few cups as you are “seasoning” the pot. I wasn't prepared for the huge amounts of coffee spewing all over my stove! It has taken me some time to get the system down, but since doing so I have enjoyed playing around with different blends of coffee. It doesn't produce perfectly white foam, but it takes up little space on the counter is easy to clean. Here is my recipe for a near perfect cappuccino:

Coffee Blend:
½ Starbucks House Blend
½ New Mexico Piñon Coffee
This blend provides a great espresso flavor without being too strong, the piñon gives a mild nutty flavor.

Milk:
Whole milk works best if you have it. It is okay to add a little heavy cream to low fat milk too.

If you love this creamy Italian drink the way I do, I highly recommend this wonderful apparatus.