Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea

Chocolate Friday: Summer Memorial Chocolate Coolers

Most of the U.S. is celebrating the arrival of Fall, but we're still in the triple digits here, so it's hard for me to think of Summer as done and gone.  I'm still staying indoors during the day, and drinking cooler-type drinks in the afternoons.  So, even though it may be a bit late for some, my Choco Friday offering this week is a salute to summer with a gathering of Chocolate Cooler recipes.

First up, a bump to my own Espresso-Ice Cocoaccino recipe.  Espresso ice is nice.  In creamy cocoa, even better.

Next, a recipe I stole and modified.  I've morped what was a delicious coffee milkshake recipe, originally by Merrie Schonbach for Beans and Bears (found via Coffee, Tea or Blog), into a SUPER delicious CHOCOLATE coffee milkshake recipe:

Chocolate Coffee Milkshake

* 1 pint of Chocolate ice cream
* 2 teaspoons finely ground coffee
* 1/2 cup light rum (optional)
* 4 to 6 scoops vanilla ice cream
* Chocolate shavings

Spoon coffee ice cream into blender. Add rum and finely ground coffee. Blend on high until creamy smooth. Pour into tall glasses, adding a scoop of the vanilla ice cream to each glass.  Top with whipped cream if you like.  Sprinkle chocolate shavings over the top.

And another of Merrie's concoctions ...

Frosty Mochas
* 1 cup of freshly brewed coffee
* 1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softenend
* 6 tablespoons of chocolate syrup
* 1 cup prepared cold coffee
Blend hot coffee and chocolate syrup in blender. Blend until smooth. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl. Add the softened ice cream and cold coffee. With a rotary beater, beat until smooth. Spoon into tall glasses and serve immediately. 

Must try this, from Barista Guru:

Ice Cream Parlor Mocha Sodas
* 1/2 cup hot water coffee
* 8 teaspoons finely ground
* 2 cups milk
* 4 scoops chocolate ice cream
* 1 quart club soda
* Sweetened whipped cream or prepared whipped topping
Place hot water in a medium-sized pitcher. Stir in coffee. finely ground into a powder texture, until dissolved. Stir in milk. Place 1 scoop or ice cream in each of 4 ice cream soda glasses. Pour coffee/milk mixture equally into each glass. Fill glasses almost to brim with club soda. Top with sweetened whipping cream or prepared whipped topping. Serves 4.

OY that sounds good.  Got chocoverload?  Wait, I'm not done yet!

• Brazilian Iced Chocolate from Kris of of Anywhere But Here
• Chocolate Cherry Cooler from Cooks Recipes
• Chocolate Mint Sipper from Cooks Recipes
• Chocolate Fudge Shake from DrinksMixer.com.  Non-alcoholic, but still, could be deadly.  It uses fudge brownies.  !!

Alright, I guess that's enough to keep ME cool at least through the end of October, and by then it'll be time to start the yummy hot drinks.

Another National Coffee Day!

According to several sources, today is National Coffee Day!  Now, from my previous post on coffee holidays, there's some confusion about the date.  It would seem that the actual date of National Coffee Day depends on what nation you're in.  But because I'm such a global drinker ... er, thinker ... I vote that we celebrate all of them.  I'm not sure in what country today's holiday originates, and frankly, I don't care.  Any excuse to celebrate the holy bean is alright with me.

Big apologies to Ireland, I missed your Coffee Day on Sept. 19, and Costa Rica, which apparently celebrates Coffee Day on Sept. 12.  Dunno what I was doing those days, obviously NOT checking my trivia notes...  oh yeah, well the 19th was Piratey, so I was distracted by that patch over my eye.  Heh. 

Upcoming, Oct. 1 is National Coffee Day in Japan.  You have two days to prepare.  Get yer espresso machines warmed up. 

On another note, according to Kid's Castle, Sept. 29 is also National Ham Day, National Pancake Day, and National Pumpkin Day.  Are they making this stuff up? 

Coffee & Tea Blogs

I do love blogsurfing.  This morning, cup firmly in hand, I slurped and surfed, followed some links that led to some other links, and found some new blogs to add to my blogroll - some about coffee, some about tea:

Coffee Spills - a blog about coffee shops

Good Cup of Coffee - coffee and a good cause.  I don't usually like frenetic causers.  They make me uncomfortable, and make my conscience itch.  But I found it interesting to read the posts.

A Thought Over Coffee - a blog about  "the dreaming and planning of Cafe.Evoke, an art and coffee establishment, to construction and opening day"

Cha Dao - A blog that focuses on tea tasting reviews and notes, from many contributors (one of my favorite tea people - Cindy of Cuppa Tea - is a contributor).  Wonderful blog.  Check out the latest post on Kali Cha: Darjeeling or Oolong?   A new a tea I'll have to try!

Tea Arts - A blog about the Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony and "the many facets of Tea Culture".  Lots of cool photos.

Tamaryo - Unfortunately my high school french is long forgotten, so I'll have to find a translation tool.  In the meantime, I LOVE the photos on this tea blog.

Teasire - Lots of different tea stuff, a guy after my own heart.  In today's post, Mathew explains the origins of the blogname.

It's a Tea Word Kinda Morning

I'm not usually the kind of person who reads dictionaries, but I found myself browsing around the Infoplease.com website.  There's a good section all about tea, including history, cultivation preparation, etc., but there's also a bunch of definition trivia type stuff.  I learned quite a lot, without meaning to of course.  God forbid I should overload my gray matter this early in the morning ...

Did you know that

• pink tea is an informal term for "a formal tea or reception"?
• cambric tea is a mixture of hot water and milk, with sugar and, often, weak tea.
• maté (also called Yerba or Paraguay tea) isn't really tea, but it is as much of a stimulant and restorative as real tea.  It's less astringent than genuine tea, and contains considerable caffeine.  I've seen this product but I've never tried it.  If it's got the same properties as good strong black tea, why aren't we drinking more of it? Does it taste nasty?
• hybrid tea isn't tea either.  In fact, it's not for drinking at all. It's "a type of cultivated rose originally produced chiefly by crossing the tea rose and the hybrid perpetual".
• tea money is a bribe used to facilitate any business dealing (esp. in parts of China)

The best thing I found was The Tea Party Crossword Puzzle - great fun for crossword lovers.  Which, having browsed through all their listings and definitions and synonyms, I aced.  :)

National White Chocolate Day

According to American Food Holidays' list, today is National White Chocolate Day!  So, for Chocolate Friday, we're celebrating white chocolate.

White chocolate actually isn't considered to be chocolate at all.  Although both originate from the same plant - the cacao tree - according to the FDA, 'chocolate' must contain chocolate liquor, and white chocolate doesn't.  Liquor?  From the Food Reference website:

"According to the FDA, to be called 'chocolate' a product must contain chocolate liquor, which is what gives it the bitter intense chocolate flavor (and color) to dark and milk chocolates.

The Cook's Thesaurus says it this way:

"...white chocolate doesn't have any cocoa solids.  Since the FDA won't let American producers label a product  "chocolate" unless it has those cocoa solids, domestic white chocolate is known by a hodge-podge of different names. "

Well, ok, whatever.  It still comes from the cacao bean, so I'm all for it.  But what IS in white chocolate? 

"White chocolate contains cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, lecithin and flavorings (usually including vanilla). Cocoa butter is the fat from cocoa beans, extracted from the cocoa beans during the process of making chocolate and cocoa powder. Cocoa butter has very little 'chocolate' flavor."

I remember summers, slathering cocoa butter on myself, trying to get that freshly cooked, just-short-of-crispy shade of brown.  Me and my little group of friends, smelling like yummy human cookies baking in the sun.  Lord, the stupid things we did to our skin. 

Anyway, here are some recipes that use white chocolate for you to try:

• White Chocolate Butter - this would be great with scones, muffins, etc for brunch or afternoon tea parties.  YUM!
• White Chocolate Mousse - sounds totally decadent
• White chocolate and pecan nanaimo bars - from the Domestic Goddess
• White Chocolate Eggnog - Eggnog?  I can't wrap my brain around this one.  Must try it.  Uses white chocolate ligueur.
• Key Lime White Chocolate Coolers Recipe - I think it's a cookie, but I'm not sure...
• White Chocolate Macadamian Nut Cookies
• Macadamia Nut Chewies with White Chocolate

I found an awful lot of recipes combining white chocolate and macadamia nuts, so I'm gonna guess that's a good flavor combo.  I want to try the mousse though, especially after yesterday's pudding-fest.  My mouth is wanting more smooth-and-creamy. 

Happy White Chocolate Day!!

Chocolate Chip Pudding Pie

This is one of those recipe experiments that went a different direction than I planned, but was nevertheless, fabulous.  Chocolatey and crunchy, and totally delish.  And as a frozen dessert treat, great for a hot afternoon, which we're still getting here. 

Chocolate Chip Pudding Pie
The ingredients are simple: 
* Chocolate chip cookies
* Instant Chocolate pudding
* Almond flavoring or Amaretto non-dairy creamer
* One average pie tin

1. First, make yourself a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  I use the standard Toll House recipe, slightly modified.  Sometimes I include a 1/4 cup rolled oats, and a handful of chopped walnute, but this time I had some delicious crunchy almond granola and I threw a handful of that in the batter. Thus began the almond avalanche.

(The hard thing, of course, is the temptation to just stop and eat the cookies.  Or, the dough, if you're a dough-eater like me.  Just leave enough to cover the pie tin!)

2. Next, place the cookies in the pie tin, covering the bottom. I broke the cookies into pieces so they'd fit, kinda like a cookie puzzle.  Break some cookies in half and line the rim as well. 

I think next time I try this, I'll try baking one ginormous cookie right in the bottom of the pie tin.

3. Mix up your instant chocolate pudding.  Or make it from scratch if you're feeling adventurous.  Me, I'm lazy.  Cold milk, pudding mix, wire wisk, 5 minutes and you're good to go. I replaced 1/4 cup of the milk required with 1/4 cup Amaretto flavored creamer, but if you don't have that, you could just use a few drops of almond flavoring.

I let the pudding set up a bit before pouring it into the pie tin, hoping it would be thick enough to keep the cookies down, but some of the smaller chunks floated to the top anyway.  So I just kept out a portion of the pudding, waited for it to fully set, and then poured it over the top to make a smooth surface.  Sprinkle almonds on top to complete the almond theme.  Place in freezer for an hour or so.

EAT! 

This stuff was so delicious!!  Frozen pudding is my new favorite, and with chocholate chip cookies for a crust, it's a winner with me all the way around.

Enjoy!

Coffee Notes

Still looking for just the right (and right price) espresso machine.  Thanks for those of you who sent notes and recommendations, I appreciate it muchly.  It's hard making this kind of decision on a limited budget.  Not as difficult as buying a car, but then, I'm not as fussy about my mobile tin can as I am about my coffee.  I'm hoping to convince the hubs that this is an essential item and a good Christmas gift for the "house".  He keeps saying "it's just coffee".  GASP!  Shock!  And after 15 years, I thought I knew him.

The other day he asked me to get him some coffee at the grocery store, just something, anything, because he ran out and doesn't like to have to grind beans and all that.  After the "it's just coffee" comment, I didn't offer to grind for him or use the French Press.  I love him, but, well, you know.  Pearls before swine and all that.  Heh.

The store selection was limited - something in a Peets, some generic looking brand in bins, and a fat row of Starbucks in bags, some ground, some whole bean.  There were rows and rows of coffee in cans, of course, but - even though he might not notice the difference - I couldn't do that to him. So I grabbed two bags of Starbucks, one called House Blend, one called Breakfast Blend. 

Just for grins, I tried the Breakfast Blend this morning, I'm sitting here with a cup in front of me, hoping each sip will get better.  Thinking maybe it's because I just brushed my teeth, and toothpaste afterburn is hanging on my taste buds.  Or maybe just being half-awake and fog-brainy, I can't process tastes yet.  I'll have to try again later in the day for a comparison test, but right now ... this is just awful.  I don't like it at all, not even for rocket fuel.

I went to BCCY's coffee tasting glossary to try to find some words to describe this flavor.  I guess buttery would apply.  And maybe nutty.  But maybe also stale.  Maybe it's better unground and fresher.  I dunno, I don't have enough experience of the other terms on the list to really do a good comparison. 

All I know is this cup is going down the sink.  I don't know if I'm brave enough to try the House Blend.  Maybe later.

Tuesday Tea Quotes

It IS Tuesday, right?  I feel like I lost time, was abducted by aliens.  Where did Monday go?  Oh yeah, it was stolen by PIRATES!  Heheh.  Ok, onward. Here are some miscellaneous tea quotes to carry with you:

"I dare not drink before a gig because I'll get tired and blow it. So I have to sit drinking tea in a caravan."
John Bonham (Drummer, Led Zeppelin)

"I'm a tidy sort of bloke. I don't like chaos. I kept records in the record rack, tea in the tea caddy, and pot in the pot box."
George Harrison

"American-style iced tea is the perfect drink for a hot, sunny day. It's never really caught on in the UK, probably because the last time we had a hot, sunny day was back in 1957."
Tom Holt (Author)

"Now you understand the Oriental passion for tea," said Japhy. "Remember that book I told you about the first sip is joy, the second is gladness, the third is serenity, the fourth is madness, the fifth is ecstasy."
On the Road, Jack Kerouac

"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn't try it on."
Billy Connolly (Comedian)

Speaking of tea cozies, check this out:

Kitty and tea cozy from Step Into My Thimble, for those of you interested in knitting and cats and tea.  :)

Swash My Buckle!

Ahoy, and avast there, mateys!  David of Third World County reminded me that today is Talk Like a Pirate Day (TLAPD), and I find from browsing the net that it's not just National TLAPD, it's INTERnational TLAPD.  So, I did some net swabbing, and found some semi interesting stuff.

I couldn't find an answer to my first question: Do Pirates drink coffee?  I did find a recipe for Real Pirates Grog, though.  Sounds nasty.  I always thought pirates just drank rum, but hey, if you're gonna rob and thieve, why not steal a ship full of tea or coffee?  Aye, that's the ticket!

Other than that, my search for coffee and pirates turned up very little.  Even Jeeves couldn't help.  I did find these though:

• "Attacking Pirates" coffee mug
• Coffee Pirates - a guy in NZ will bring coffee to any outdoor gathering in his custom built 4WD PirateMobile.  "Premium Espresso, Anywhere, Anytime..."  I wonder if he'd come to my neck of the woods.  Heh.
• Make Your Own Treasure Map - using coffee or tea to "age" it.

To learn more about TLAPD, check the Official TLAPD site, and these, for more piracy fun *aaarrrrrrrr):

• Yahoo Pirate Puzzles - this looks like just my speed.  Online piracy and puzzles.  Create your own pirate avatar!  Earn a pirate pet! 
• Take the Pirate Quiz
• Send a TLAPD e-Card
• Pirate Legends and Pirate History
• UPDATE:  Talk Like a Pirate Translator

Me, I'm gonna spend the afternoon with Captain Sparrow.  Splash a little Captain's rum in my coffee cup and let the swashbuckling begin!  That oughtta shiver me timbers, aye?  ARRRRRR.

Oh yeah, and I stole these pics from The Pirates Homepage.  (Am I violating some pirate code by fessing my thievery?)
         
    

Tea in a Bowl

I love this post about tea in a bowl - otherwise known as tea soup - from Stéphane at Tea Masters.

I'm going to try this for my next tea party.  What a great way to bring the actual tea preparation to the party and let the guests enjoy with all their senses, not just tasting the bit in their cup.  They get the full experience of the pouring / steeping of the tea, the sight of tea leaves unfurling, the smell and color of the tea, of the bowl...

Time to go shopping for just the right bowl and spoon!

Chocolate Friday: Choco Tidbits

A few fun items to tease your gray matter from the chocolate department:

• Think you know chocolate?  Take the Chocolate Challenge - gotta have Flash 6 for this



• Before you bite into that chocolate piece... The Secret Chocolate Code - finally, somebody has cracked the code!!  I've always wondered if those squiggles on top of chocolates actually means anything.  I've always just taken a nibble out of the corners to see what's inside.  Here's a guide to Godiva chocolates.



• Name That Candybar, and Name That Candybar Part II



• They didn't really, did they?  This page says they did.



• Chocolate for PMS:  According to the Database de Tropical Plants, chocolate is an emmenagogue, an agent that induces or hastens menstrual flow.  No wonder PMSing women crave chocolate.  We're trying to hurry it up and get it over with.  Heh.  It's also a diuretic (increases the discharge of urine), so we're just trying to cure the bloating.  See?  Good physiological reasons for chocolate during PMS.  This site also lists the countries where chocolate is also used as a vulnerary (remedy used in healing or treating wounds) and a parasiticide (used to destroy parasites).  I had no idea.

Carnival of the Recipes #57

This week's carnival, hosted by Trub (pronounced TROOB) is all about the beer.  I love the creativity of the folx who host these carnivals.  I can't imagine what I would do if I ever hosted one.  There is a shocking lack of dessert recipes - what, is everybody on a diet??  Nevertheless, this week's carnival is a glass raiser.  Worthy of note:

• Frozen Black Irish - a drink to keep the masses happy.
• D's Sorta S'mores - being a huge s'mores fan, I have to try these. 
• BLT Dip - this sounds truly delish, I'm on my way to the store to get some bacon!
• Crepes - wow, this guy really tells you how to do it, much more detail than my blintz recipe!

More for Chocolate Friday later!

Antioxidants & Polyphenols

Coupla interesting health tidbits from medicalnewstoday.com ...

First, Coffee is apparently the #1 source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet, according to a study done by University of Scranton (and funded, interestingly, by the American Cocoa Research Institute).  That's a good thing, because coffee drinking is on the rise, and antioxidants have been linked to a number of potential health benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer. 

"Coffee came out on top, on the combined basis of both antioxidants per serving size and frequency of consumption, Vinson says. Java easily outranked such popular antioxidant sources as tea, milk, chocolate and cranberries, he says. Of all the foods and beverages studied, dates actually have the most antioxidants of all based solely on serving size, according to Vinson. But since dates are not consumed at anywhere near the level of coffee, the blue ribbon goes to our favorite morning pick-me-up as the number one source of antioxidants, he says."

Secondly, Black tea is good for your teeth!  Who knew.  According to a Chicago College of Dentistry study, people who rinsed their mouths with black tea multiple times a day had less plaque buildup than those who rinsed with water.  Polyphenols in tea apparently suppress the bacterial enzyme that triggers plaque accumulation.  I assume drinking tea would be about the same.

Of course, any sweetener added negates the positive effect, as sugar increases the buildup of bacteria in the mouth.  Sidenote ... according to this article:

Gourmet coffee houses have recently introduced a whipped frozen green tea drink which includes sugar and fat content that increases the buildup of bacteria in the mouth due to the heavy sugar content in the whipped cream-covered, fat-filled, sweetened drink. Those drinks are also made with green tea extract, rather than traditional fermented black tea which offers the cleansing effect mentioned in the dental study.

So drink yer black tea black, and feel no guilt! 
Via Vancouver Coffee

Summer Fruit Dip

I totally forgot to mention the Carnival of the Recipes for last week!  It's up at Curmudgeonry, who has done a wonderful weather-wise job. :)  I'm posting my contribution for this week's carnival early, so I don't forget. 

Yesterday we had the family here for a little gathering - out of town cousins come to visit - and I made a fruit platter with a sweet dip that was to die for.  I got this from my friend Alice, but I don't know how close I got to her original.  I guessed at the ingredients and amounts, just kept adding stuff until my mouth exploded.  The result was apparently as good to everybody else as it was to me, because there was none left.

(I apologize in advance for the inexact measurements.  A "dollop" is a large spoonful, heaping.)

Fruit Dip
7 dollops marshmallow cream
5 dollops whipped cream cheese
3-4 dollops sour cream

Mix together.  Serve with fruits for dipping.  I had a good variety of summer fruits - strawberries, raspberries, apples, grapes, and three kinds of melon cut into chunks - with toothpicks for spearing the smaller fruits. 

To serve this for an afternoon tea in a more genteel way - put a spoon in the bowl so folx can put the dip and fruit onto their own plates and return to their seats. 

My family didn't stand on ceremony, they just gathered round the platter and gobbled.  Double dipping was rampant, and cheerfully ignored.  In fact, I think the first bowlful was gone in about 10 minutes.  Good thing I made another, but next time, I'll probably double the recipe.

Coooool Coffee Cards

These greeting cards by Jacquie Farr are made with the paper of used coffee filters, and painted with coffee as a medium.  Now that's what I call creative recycling.  And they're beautiful to boot!

Toss in coffee as the subject of many of the cards, and you've got a card collection too cool to send or give away!

I may have to try painting with coffee.  The result would be so beautiful in color, even if my talent can't do it justice.  But ... well... it's just so hard to make the coffee, smell the coffee, and NOT drink the coffee.

Media Memory Lane

Faskanatin' stuff!  I found this via Cindy's Cuppa Tea links -- humorous old media snippets from the common domain.  (You'll need Quicktime to view these, but they offer several different file sizes and download options.)

Arranging the Tea Table - A short (5 minute) "how-to" film.  Looks to be from somewhere in the mid fifties? Talk about yer strict guidelines.  The result sure is pretty though. 

A search on "coffee, tea" turned up quite a few more.  Take a trip down memory lane:

Let's Give a Tea Party - A 20 minute "how-to" from the same source (Atlanta Board of Education?) and time period. 

Classic TV Commercials Part VIII - These clips contain several commercials.  First and second in this collection: 1. Maxwell House coffee (the perculator song brought back memories), and 2. Butter-Nut Instant Coffee (rather obvious subliminal advertising had me chuckling)

Classic TV Commercials Part IV - #27 - Another Maxwell House Instant coffee commercial (with "flavor buds"!) - if you download the file, jump to the 4:40 mark, and #28, a tea ad from Tea Council, Inc. - the lift that leaves you with a nice warm glow.

I sure got a laugh out of these.  We've come a long way, media-wise.  I wonder what they'll think of today's commercials 50 years from now.  There are many more collections for download.  I just picked the prominent tea/coffee ones.  If you like vintage stuff of all kinds, check out Internet Archive.

Chocolate Friday: Inspired by Babka

This all started with Elisson's recipe for Chocolate Babkatini - a martini that is decidely chocolatey, since it uses both chocolate vodka, and includes Chocolate Babka.

I hate to admit it, but I wasn't clear on the babka bit.  I should have remembered my Seinfeld.  What was I thinking?  I google'd "babka", and ran across this site, which not only describes babka in mouthwatering detail (a sweet, spongy yeast cake with raisins, traditionally made in the form of a high cylinder, either solid or with a hole, often glazed with raspberry-flavored coating, and sometimes flavored with rum), and reminded me of that Seinfeld episode with the chocolate babka, but also sells ... yes, chocolate babka.

Unfortunately, the fastest shipping option they offer still takes 3 days, so it won't be "out of the oven" fresh.  But since it's gonna get chopped and plopped in a martini, that probably won't matter.

The other necessary ingredient for the babkatini, chocolate vodka, can be used to make some other interesting-sounding drinks.  How about a Tootsie Roll Martini?  Or maybe a Mocha Russian - that's chocolate vodka, milk, and Kahlua.  (Both of these recipes are listed with other chocolate vodka drink ideas here.) 

Better yet: a Fudge Slide.  That's chocolate vodka, Kahlua and Bailey's Irish Cream.  Ohmigod that sounds good. 

Here's another Chocolate Martini Recipe that involves chocolate chunks and lollipops.  Oh boy.

And if you ever wondered what-all is included in the term "chocolate liqueur", check this site.  That'll clear you right up.

Afternoon Tea Party Sandwiches

No tea party would be complete without some of those little sandwiches with the crusts cut off.  These are a few of the simplest sandwich recipes we like to use at our tea parties.  Simple, but tasty. 

Almond Mushroom Chicken & Cream Cheese
(There's the ubiquitous cream cheese, I know, but I can't help it, I love cream cheese.)

2 cups finely chopped chicken (breast is best)
2 tbsp Finely chopped almond slivers
2 tbsp minced mushrooms
1-2 tbsp mayonnaise
Dash of salt to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  Spread cream cheese on one side of bread, and spread chicken mixture on top.  Cut into triangles and arrange on platter.

Mom's Egg Salad
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped finely
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp yellow mustard
2 tsp finely minced onion
Looks nice (and tastes good) with rye bread, sliced into triangles.

Havarti Garlic Delight
(This is actually your basic cheese and tomato, but using creamy Havarti cheese makes it special.)
Thinly sliced havarti cheese
Tomato slices (thin)
1/4 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
Lettuce pieces - any kind of lettuce

Mix together garlic and butter until soft and creamy.  Lightly spread on one side of bread, and place cheese slices on top.  Place tomato slices on cheese, and top with bread slice lightly spread with mayo.  These are delicious served warm.  Place in oven at 300 for about 10 minutes, just long enough to lightly toast the top of the bread and soften the cheese.  Yum!  If you're worried about the fat content of havarti and dieting and such, you might want to just use a slice of swiss, or eliminate the cheese altogether, but that doesn't sound like much fun to me.

Regarding Bread
You can use any kind of bread for these sandwiches, it doesn't have to be thinly sliced.  But thinly sliced is nice, if you can find it.  One thing we've tried is buying unliced bread, but that's a lot of work, and unless you're practiced at bread slicing, you end up with uneven slices. Some stores with bakeries will slice the bread for you.  Ask for 1/4 inch slices.  If you're in the UK, you can also buy some Hovis no-crust bread and eliminate one step - find a Somerfield store near you, or order online through Tesco.

More . . .
"Relaxed Fit" Tea Party Sandwich Recipes
Tea Party Recipes

National Coffee Ice Cream Day

According to the American Food and Drink Holidays, today is National Coffee Ice Cream Day.  So everybunny go on out there and caffeine-up yer ice cream!  I've never much liked coffee flavored ice cream, but in honor of the day - a variety of coffee ice cream recipes:

• Homemade Coffee Ice Cream - this site is all about ice cream.  Lots of recipes and info
• Make Your Own Coffee Ice Cream - from ineedcoffee.com, with the added Kahlua and vanilla, sounds delish!
• Coffee Ice Cream Pie - NOW we're talkin'.  This has chocolate in it too.
• Coffee Fudge Ice Cream Cake - we're reaching dangerous realms of deliciousness here
• Coffee Ice Cream Punch - liven up your next party with this interesting punch
• Creole Coffee Ice Cream Punch - I like the sounds of this one
• Cardamon Coffee Ice - interesting drink-type recipe
• Coffee Walnut Ice Cream -  custard style ice cream, cooked on stove top with eggs

And then you have your pre-made products:

• Ben & Jerry's Coffee Ice Cream
• Lappert's Gourmet Ice Cream and Coffees offers a Kona Coffee Ice Cream
• Häagen-Dazs^® Coffee Ice Cream

And just for fun...

• Ice Cream Coffee Can - This is a craft idea for kids to do, not a coffee recipe, but if you buy coffee in a can, this would be a good way to re-use/recycle.
• Send a Coffee Ice Cream Day E-Card

Enjoy!

Oddz & Endz

It seems like a sacrilege to keep blogging about coffee and tea when so many people don't have coffee.  Or tea.  Or fresh water ... or homes to go to.  Although I read on another blog that some of the bars opened up and were selling alcohol and giving away water.  Bars open when nothing else is.  Doesn't that just sound like the Big Easy?  Good for you guys.  Party on.  My heart goes out to the Katrina survivors, especially those who are stuck and can't get out. 

Some oddz and endz from the link file:

• Tilt, Caffeinated Alcohol - coming to a store near you, a berry flavored malt beverage that also features caffeine, guarana and ginseng.  Too bad this isn't out now, we could send a few hundred cases in to N'awlins.  That'd keep folx alert, but happy.
• Puck's Self-Heating Latte - not brandy new stuff, but it was interesting reading the comments in this post.  Hey, a few hundred cases of this stuff could go NOW.
• 12-Volt Beverage Cooler / Heater - use your car adapter to heal (or cool) yourself a cuppa. I want one!
• Hovis Invisible Crust Bread - For those tea party sandwiches, no more cutting off the crusts!  How cool is that?

Carnival of the Recipes #55

Great fun and food to be had over at the Glittering Eye with Carnival #55.  Check out the great recipes.  Start off with Elisson's Chocolate Babkatini (which simply must lead the way for next week's Chocolate Friday list) and you'll just float on through the rest.  And D's Simple Frittata recipe sounds delish! 

Hmmm.  No big chocolate dessert submissions this week.  We'll have to remedy that for next week.  There will be no caloric slack-off!  :)

Chocolate Friday: Things That Make You Go ...

I consider myself to be a rather large chocolate hound.  I like chocolate in a wide variety of forms.  These forms, however, just made me go EEEEWWWWW  YUCK!

• Chocolate Soap - What?  Oh, you're not supposed to eat it.  Heh.
• Chocolate Covered Pork Fat - shown in photo.  Apparently all the rage in the Ukraine.  GACK
• Chocolate Feet - where sticking your foot in your mouth isn't such a bad thing.
• Chocolate Coated Meal Worms
• Chocolate Coated Chinese Scorpion - specially bred, and specially processed to destroy toxins.  Safe to eat, but still ... YUCK.
• Milk Chocolate Ants - farm bred edible ants, buried in a petri dish.  Weird.
• Chocolate Beer - maybe if I liked beer this would sound better to me
• Chocolate Covered Dried Squid - this blogger promised to update with a review of the taste, but that was back in March 2005.  Do you suppose the taste killed him?
• Chocolate Cheese - not quite a Yuck, more of a HUH?  I'd kinda like to try this.

That's enough, now I hafta go have something really chocolately and sweet and normal so's I can get the taste of this weird stuff out of my brain! 

Thanks to growabrain.com for the links.

The Coffee Wheel

I'll be getting to Chocolate Friday in a minute here.  But first!  A handy little doodad you can take with you to Starbucks to help you figure out what to order:  The Coffee Wheel, from highbastard.com.

Largely useful when one is having difficulty speaking (asleep, drunk, high, or merely confused), the Coffee Wheel lines up the words you need to say.  All you have to do is read.  Of course, that's assuming you're not too asleep, drunk, or high to read.  And it's only good for basic drinks, but couldn't one modify the wheel for frappacinos and such?  If one cared, that is?

Destructions, illustrations and pdf template available here.

via growabrain.com

Banana Walnut Bread

Another recipe from the Tea Party Lady - great for afternoon tea, and a cool way to use up those old bananas.

Banana Walnut Bread

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts

Combine shortening, sugar and eggs - beat until light and creamy.  Add flour and other dry ingredients and continue beating until smooth. Stir in banana (leave slightly chunky if preferred) and walnuts.  Pour mixture into a greased 9x5 loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes.  Cool, slice and serve on a platter with honey-sweetened whipped butter on the side.

Note: you can pop those old bananas in the freezer until you're ready to use them.  Browner bananas are sweeter, so don't throw them away just because they're a little brown.