Monday, January 23, 2012

0200 Epiphany

I love to cook, but not as much as I LOVE to BAKE. I have not always loved to do either, and I did not discover my love for either till after I had kiddo #4, almost 5 yrs ago. That is when I decided I wanted to stop working and be a stay at home mom and home school kiddo #3 ( which is a another story for another day ) and when I met my wonderful tree hugging, hippie channeling, BFF, Andrea G., who showed me that being in the kitchen does not have to be stressful and a pain in my back side, that meals did not always have to come from a box or a drive through or heck even take out and that I could indeed make a great meal for my family using simple , well not always simple, ingredients and TONS of love. And even if it did not turn out exactly "perfect" that in the end it was made with love .
Now fast forward 5 yrs, almost, and I am now homeschooling #3 and #4 with #5 under a year who I  nurse and cloth diaper ( just to make my life more interesting, don't you know) and I am back to feeling like there is just no time for my inner "master" baker and Chef Ramsey. Which I have to say is a very sad thing, not only for me and my family, but for my pocket book too.
It amazes me how women with more than one child find time to make or bake anything that does not come from a box or a teen age boy driving his moms car trying to save money for his own car???????
Which leads me to my 0200 Epiphany , why does it have to be a BIG meal or cake or what ever? Can't I simply go into the kitchen and make something, anything at all no matter the size , for myself or family from "scratch", with out a big, messy, and often lengthy production???

Well today I have chosen to do just that, to start small or "go home" ( I know so not how the saying goes) .. this morning I made my take on a Vietnamese coffee.
( Pix to come)
I made a 10oz cup of coffee using my Keurig and Seattle's Best Coffee #2 ( with a reusable basket)
since I forgot to make and refrigerate the coffee last night , I had to place the cup in the refrigerator this morning for about an hour before I could actually make my coffee
Once the coffee was cold I added Fat Fee Half and Half to "color" ( or should it be taste HMMM)
Then I added 3 TBS of Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk ( probably could have added more, but I am trying to take control of my "sweet tooth")
Finally, since I am more of an iced coffee person, I added my coffee ice cubes , which I make by placing any left over coffee into ice trays and freezing just like I was making regular water ice cubes. I find by using coffee ice cubes I don't get the watered down coffee taste when I make my iced coffee.
And I must say it was the BEST cup/glass of coffee I have had in a long time and I got a small sense of satisfaction out of knowing that I actually "made" it, not just poured a creamer into a steaming mug of joe.


Now to see what tomorrow brings

















1 comment:

  1. Mix condensed milk with half and half or whole milk in advance and refridgerate. You can make a larger batch this way, save time daily and mmmmmmmm.......

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