Anise Mocha, A Christmas Coffee

My Christmas list this year includes the following items:
1) Max singing and dancing to," I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"
2) The Christmas tree to remain decorated for just one day
3) And lastly, find at least one other use for my anise oil. This poor, lonely oil just sits and sits, hoping in vain to be the one pulled out of the dark cupboard and get some fresh air when the cupboard door is opened.

Number one has happened and was obviously the highlight of my entire year. My entire life. I can die a happy woman now.

Number 3 is right here. A creamy, chocolaty anise coffee, made with Gevalia coffee. The anise oil was so pleasantly surprised to be the one chosen to be taken from the cupboard. I should note that I liked the drink both with and without the addition of cinnamon and clove, so do whatever strikes your fancy!

I've gotten two out of my three items on my wishlist. Seeing as the pig and puff cats see the Christmas tree as their own personal toy, batting off ornaments and proudly bringing them up to the bedroom during the night to show off their hunting skills, I fear this one will never happen. But that's okay. Two out of three ain't bad.

And if like the rest of us, you could use a little help for the holidays, Kraft is here to help! Save up to $20 with coupons on participating Kraft products at Target. So you definitely want to print out the Gevalia coupon when you make this drink! 

Ingredients
Gevalia House Blend Coffee
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves (optional)
Brewed Gevalia House Blend Coffee
1 cup heavy cream
1/3-1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
scant 1/4 teaspoon anise oil

Instructions
If you are feeling fancy, add the cinnamon and cloves to the coffee grounds before brewing. If not, just brew the coffee to your desired strength. I like 1/2 cup of coarsely ground coffee in my french press.

Mix the heavy cream and chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl/cup. Heat gently, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate has melted into the cream. Stir in the anise oil. Fill a mug halfway with the coffee then top off with the chocolate anise mixture. Use an aerolatte or immersion blender on the coffee drink to get it foamy.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kraft. The opinions and text are all mine.

Spiced Apple Cider: The Bed of Beverages

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

    -From How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Poetry seemed like the best, most effective way to illustrate the immensity of my love.  My love for bed.  

The place that provides refuge from the storms.  Our very own private boat to get us through the oceans of life. The place where snuggling is not only tolerated, but encouraged.  The place that welcomes Seth and me, a pig cat a puff cat, and occasionally a Maxwell into its fold.  The place brimming with warm comforters.  Or, at least my side of the bed has multiple comforters... 

I suppose my love for bed developed during college.  The years when Seth and I lived in Philadelphia.  The bedroom had the one air conditioner.  The sweltering summers became somewhat tolerable if one stayed in the bedroom.  Thus began our marathon TV watching from bed, Chinese takeout eaten in bed, fort building on the bed.  Incidentally, it was also the place that felt safe from the roaches and mice that also enjoyed living in the apartment.  Seth eventually started calling me bedbug because of my growing affection for this piece of furniture.

Apple cider is the bed of beverages.  Here, apple juice is boosted with cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and star anise.  Clementine juice and peel and ginger boost the flavor.  Serving it with pomegranate arils gives a pop of color.  So warm and comforting, a quaffable private boat.  He may start needing to call me ciderbug...

Ingredients
25.4 fl oz Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider *
2 cinnamon sticks
juice and peel from half a clementine
4 slices from a knob of ginger
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 star anise
pomegranate arils, for serving

Instructions
*note:  The cider loses the bubbles when heated, but I like the nice clean apple flavor of this juice.  Feel free to use another apple juice!

Put in everything in a medium pot over medium low heat.  It will take about 15-20 minutes to get nice and warm and fragrant.  Once heated, ladle into mugs and serve with a spoonful of pomegranate arils - They add a pop of color, taste great, and are fun to eat with a spoon!

Chocolate Banana Malt Smoothie

Reasons you have gone from peacefully asleep to being jolted awake an hour earlier than actually necessary, depriving you of the ability of going back to sleep before the actual appointed time of waking up:

1. You have to pee the equivalent of three pees.
2. The dark shadowy blob on the ceiling is, without a doubt, a ghost.
3. The lovable but psychotic cat is tearing apart cardboard with his teeth.  This is not a quiet sound
4. Your mom is arriving today, and while you are introverted, anxious, and socially reclusive, you absolutely cannot feel anything but excitement about seeing your mom and having her spend a week with you.
5. Your husband is leaving for a week, and you will miss having him around.

On those days, those days where you are anxious and nervous and excited and yet oh so tired, one must indulge.  Reward oneself for getting through the day.  Like with a banana chocolate malt shake.  Or is it a smoothie?  I'm not really sure.

Banana, chocolate, and peanut butter are well acquainted with each other.  It is the barley malt syrup that makes it irresistible, the reason the taste buds keep going back for just one more sip. The reason you are gathering what little remains in the bowl with a colorful, well-worn spatula and then shoveling into your mouth. The reason you are actually licking the bowl, to get just one more taste, one more moment of bliss amidst the mix of emotions churning inside your head.

Ingredients
3 frozen bananas
1/3 cup dark cocoa powder
3 tablespoons barley malt syrup
1/2 cup-3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
pinch of salt

Instructions
Place all ingredients in blender (or use an immersion blender).  Blend together.  Pour in glass(es) and enjoy.

Peaches and Cream Chamomile Tea Cooler

Sometimes your instinct and reasoning skills line up to tell you something.  A situation in which success should be guaranteed.

You see the way he gets all excited playing with a ball.  You know how energetic he is.  You are extremely aware of his inability to sit still.  Friends and family all said yes, he will love it.  Toddler soccer seemed like the perfect activity for Max.

But it was not.  To say the least.  In his defense, the soccer class was held on a patch of grass immediately adjacent to the big toys on the playground.  Like right there, calling out to him with its siren song of fun and climbing adventures.  A song that he could only hear, apparently, as none of the other tots seemed to be running off to play on it.

At first, everything seemed like it would be perfect.  Hilarious and adorable, with a happy little tot playing with the soccer ball.  But that scene was crushed after all of like thirty seconds (I'm not exaggerating), when he decided he needed to be elsewhere. The two train-shaped toys were especially appealing to his sensibilities.  After using various strategies to get my child back to soccer, I eventually had to admit defeat.  As soon as I would carry him over to the soccer balls he would just dart right back to the playground area.  Futility at its finest.

So that was that.

I was so wrong about his interest in soccer.

But I don't think I am wrong here.  I had a vision, instinct and reasoning, telling me that sweet cream and peaches and chamomile and lemon would come together to make a delicious summery drink.

Sometimes our instincts are wrong.  And sometimes they are spot-on.  Not sure what to make of that situation.

Ingredients
For the chamomile-black tea:
8 regular-sized chamomile tea bags
3 regular-sized black tea bags (I insist on my mom sending me packages of Red Rose brand of tea)
4 cups just-boiled water

4 peeled peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons International Delight Cold Stone Creamery Creamer Sweet Cream Flavor
honey, to taste (depends on the sweetness of your peaches)

Instructions
To make the chamomile-black tea:  Pour the water over the tea bags.  Steep for 4-6 minutes, remove bags. Cool.

To make the tea cooler:  Pour the tea, peaches, lemon juice, creamer, and honey (if using) in bowl.  Blend everything with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until frothy. Ladle into ice-filled glasses.

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By the way, in addition to the Sweet Cream creamer flavor, International Delight and Cold Stone Creamery have three additional flavors! They are:
Cold Stone Creamery Hot for Cookie
Cold Stone Creamery Founder's Favorite
Cold Stone Creamery Churro Caramel

Sound amazing?  Click here to find out where to get them!

Love ice cream + coffee? This summer, International Delight is bringing your favorite Cold Stone Creamery ice cream flavors to coffee and they're celebrating by giving away five $400 grand prizes to throw this summer’s ultimate Ice Cream Social!  To enter, visit the ID + Ice Cream Pinterest board and pin your favorite image using the #IScream4ID hashtag. Good luck!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Hazelnut & Vanilla Milkshake with Orange and Strawberries

An astonishingly large portion of my pre-teen and teen years were spent on the telephone.  A landline telephone.  And not one of the fancy cordless models.  One of those bulky models with a short corkscrew cord that makes it difficult to move.  But I somehow made it work.

Practice makes perfect, as they say.

I should probably note that we didn't have call waiting or caller ID, so my high levels of telephone usage got me in trouble.  Often.

And an astonishingly large portion of my time was (is?) on the phone - with one person.  Jess.  We met in 4^th grade. And we have been friends ever since.

It was around 5^th or 6^th grade that we started spending hours at a time on the phone.  Just talking about everything and about nothing.  We would clean our closets and pick out outfits and paint our nails, all whilst engaged in some chatting.  We sort of just assumed that as adults we would live right next door to each other in order to facilitate our incessant need to talk.  We still hold on to a sliver of hope that this will actually happen.
As of now, instead of living right next door to each other, we live on opposite sides of the country.

So we still use that handy phone.  Looking back, I like to pretend that Jess and I were just practicing and perfecting our phone habits for adulthood.  So I really don't think I should have gotten in trouble for my phone use.  Right, mom?  I'm pretty sure I'm owed some reparations here.

I seriously don't understand what we would have done in a pre-cell phone era.  I can't imagine that sending a telegram would have been a convenient thing to do in life.

So unlike most adults, we engage in our teenage behavior.  Because practice makes perfect, we are able to talk while scrubbing toilets, and washing dishes, and making dinners.  We talk about our favorite television obsessions, our favorite recipes, the big things, the small things.

Like coffee and coffee creamers.  This subject actually comes up an inordinate amount of the time.  I'm not really sure why.  It appears I have a fondness for the ever-classic hazelnut flavor.  Jess refuses to be tied down to a favorite, preferring to use whatever catches her fancy at the moment.

And we share ideas for creating delicious foodstuffs.  Like this hazelnut vanilla milkshake.  Instead of adding milk to the milkshake, I used hazelnut creamer.  I then upped the nuttiness with some toasted, ground hazelnuts.  Orange juice and orange zest add a bit of brightness, while cooled coffee brings some depth of flavor.  I added chopped strawberries because chopped strawberries should be added to everything (okay, maybe not everything but soooo many things).  The perfect accompaniment to a late night chat session.

What's Your ID? International Delight is looking for their most passionate flavor fans. Put your ID on the map to enter to win a Magical Trip, play games and discover more unexpected delight. Share your ID flavor at http://whatsyourid.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Ingredients
2/3 cup International Delight Hazelnut Coffee Creamer
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts, ground in a food processor
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspooon fresh orange juice
2-4 tablespoons brewed coffee, cooled, optional
handful of chopped strawberries

Instructions
Using a blender, mix the creamer, ice cream, hazelnuts, orange juice, orange zest, and the coffee (if using).  Once blended, pour in a glass and top with a handful of chopped strawberries.

Water with Blackberries, Lime, and Mint

Life's greatest pleasures include:
- cheese
- naps with toddler (or without)
- snorting directly into Seth's ear
- Rice Krispies Treats
- couch, blankets, and favorite television shows
- a glass of cold water on a hot day
- purring furballs
- a cup of hot coffee in the morning
- dance parties with toddler
- skeeball

Few things rival the feeling of rolling a small wooden ball up a lane and into one of the pockets, attempting to earn the maximum number of points.

Maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration.  But it is seriously super fun.

And there is nothing like the happiness one experiences when tickets come spewing out of the ticket machine.  It is likely that my temperament is that of a small child.  I'm okay with that.  I can't help but get extremely, ridiculous, outrageously excited about winning tickets in an arcade and afterwards getting to pick out silly prizes.  At this point in my life, it seems unlikely that I will "outgrow" this.  I should point out that I'm not even good at skeeball.  I just love playing.

Because of my love for the game, I have even been known to have skeeball cravings.  A craving that is wildly impractical to fulfill on most of the days of life.  A craving that takes on a life of its own, and soon visions of boardwalks and arcades and Ferris wheels and fudge shops and nachos are spinning around my imagination.  On a Wednesday morning.

Since it was unlikely that I would get to play my game, I decided to do something about my other longing.  My longing for some water.  But flavored.

I'm generally completely content with regular water as my beverage.  But on this day, I was antsy for something different.  I couldn't get my skeeball fix.  But some water with fixins'- that I could do.  

On a more practical note, it's a nice way to entertain some guests on short notice.  You know, if you're into that sort of thing. 

Ingredients
2/3 cup blackberries
2 small limes, sliced
3 mint sprigs
1 cup ice
4-6 cups water

Instructions
Muddle the berries, lime and mint a bit in a pitcher.  Add ice and water.  Ridiculously easy.

Cherimoya Smoothie

When I go into couch mode for some supine sofa action, Rambo (our pink-nosed truffle-pig feline) becomes my hat, laying on my head as though it his job to make sure none of my body heat escapes through the top of my body. He isn't an intensely cuddly cat, so this burst of sweetness is fully embraced and never taken for granted.

One Saturday morning, a day rife for couching - all drizzly, grey, and cloudy- I went into couch mode and put Max into it right along with me.  With both of us pajama-clad, I popped in Monsters, Inc. for entertainment and got out the super-old, super-soft comforter for us to cuddle under.

I feel compelled to point out that it was a comforter - not one of these "throws".  I never quite know how to cuddle properly under a throw blanket.  One needs ample blanket to cover all of oneself, and possibly another person, and there should be some blanket to spare.  I don't mind sharing with the tot - but sharing with Seth is out of the question.  I actually retrieve another blanket for him to use during those rare times he does want a blanket, as sharing with him throws my blanket coverage way off balance, leaving me unable to move limbs, fingers and toes in fear of finding these parts out of the blanket zone.  So no sharing.

Rambo found his couch spot on my head. And the puff cat found herself a spot to nestle into.  I went into the kitchen to make some hot chocolate to round out this morning of movie and and couch.

Just as I was about to get the hot chocolate going, my dad called.  And by the end of the conversation, I had somehow been talked into leaving the cocoon of snuggly amazingness and found myself going out into the grey soup known as the outside and down the few blocks to the farmers market.  I'm still not sure how this all happened.  So, Max and I, still relatively pajama-clad (as I wanted an easy transition back to the couch), were on our way to get some fresh produce - namely, the elusive cherimoya, which I'm not able to find often.  This smoothie was the result of that unexpected excursion outside.  Max and I took these smoothies, instead of hot chocolate, back to the couch to pick up where we left off.  The felines followed suit.

Ingredients
2 cherimoya
2 kiwifruit
a sprinkling of mandarin zest
2/3 cup vanilla coconut milk
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
handful of strawberries
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of sugar, depending on the sweetness of your fruit

Instructions
The cherimoya need to have their tough skins removed, as well as their seeds.  The de-seeding will take some time, as they have lots of seeds dispersed throughout the fruit.  So this will take a bit of patience.  Just get them out, and it will all be worth it.  Once that is done, place everything in a bowl and blend together with an immersion blender. Or place in a blender and blend - whatever is easiest for you!

The Pretzel Milkshake

So there's this episode of the West Wing, bear with me... Yes we're about ten years late to game on this show. Anyways, Josh and some other White House staffers take the president's under-21 daughter as well as the president's young personal aide out for a drink.  To a bar.  When the president finds out, he tells Josh that when Josh told him he was taking them for a drink, he thought he was taking them out for some malteds.  Josh asks him, what do you think this is, a production of Our Town?

Though I am of the age for which a bar should be seen as a dispenser of sweet nectar, a wonderful adult refuge, I would be more excited to be taken out for a malted.  I've never had one!  But it sounds fabulous!  Though I may not have been shown the wonders of a malted as of yet, I do become deliriously excited about going out for milkshakes.  I've been assuming malteds are a relative of a milkshake, perhaps I am way off base here?

Anyways, a few months ago, we visited the East Coast, and my dad thought he was taking us out for a cheesesteak at this awesome, personality-filled diner near his work, called Bobby-O's.  Now, don't get the wrong idea, the cheesesteaks were great, super delicious!

But it was their extensive milkshake menu that was the total highlight. Column after column of tantalizing combinations - chocolate and caramel, vanilla cherry, etc, etc.  We chose a Milky Way one, because why not?  It was wonderful.  One of the best I have had!

A few days later, we made my dad take us there again.  For milkshakes.  And for cheesesteaks.  But really, for milkshakes.  This time we got a vanilla pretzel one.  It sounds so simple - vanilla and pretzel - but it's one of those combinations...  They come together and are this vanilla-pretzel-filled, sweet and salty, drinkable confection that gets into your head like an earworm.

Like the bars of a song you can't scrub away from your brain, this milkshake will stay there, forever dangling its exquisite ambrosial liquid in front of your face until you can no longer take it any more.  At which point, only two options are available.  Spend about a thousand dollars to fly the family across the country for a milkshake at Bobby O's.  Or make one at home.  One of these is significantly cheaper than the other.  So we went with that.  I think I would have gotten along famously with President Bartlett.  If he wasn't, you know, a fictional character.

As a postscript, I would be remiss if I didn't provide a warning about this milkshake.  It is apparently not only appealing to humans, but to our four legged friends as well.  Our cat Rambo became a bit protective over ours. He attempted to claim them as his.  And  I have a report from my friend Jess that when she made it, one of her pups was smitten as well.  So you may have to share.

Ingredients
2 cups homemade vanilla ice cream
3 tablespoons ground pretzels (toss a few handfuls in a food processor and grind), plus more for serving
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk (we used 2% because that is what we had around)

Instructions
I put all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and use the paddle attachment to mix everything together.  Or throw in a blender.  Whatever works for you!  Crumble some pretzel on top as a garnish.

Banana and Almond Smoothies

So it is January, that month on our calendar that feels so shiny and new and full of promise.  A month of fresh starts and new beginnings.  For us, one of these beginnings is becoming part of Cooking Light's Bloggers' Connection!  A couple times of month you will find us sharing recipes, information, etc. from Cooking Light.  Of course, we'll make sure to add our own twists and adaptations to give it that Home Skillet edge.

Another of these beginnings is a parent/toddler art class for Max and me.  I hated art classes passionately growing up.  I continue to have flashbacks of all the awful projects that I created.  I have zero ability to make my hands create what my mind sees.  So this should be an interesting experience.  And if you're think Max will be doing all the work, than you don't know Max.  He has... a way. 

So where was I going with that?  Well, smoothies are my favorite snack when I need something quick and substantial and yummy.  I saw these peanut butter, banana, and flax seed smoothies on Cooking Light and figured it would fit the bill!  I didn't have flax seeds, so I substituted some toasted almond slices and figured I would run with the whole combination of almond, vanilla, and banana flavors. I've been loving the taste and find myself craving it often.  This will be the breakfast that pumps me up to take on that parent/toddler art class, and maybe my art skills will begin to improve.  Okay, that's never going to happen, but maybe Max's will!  A delicious beginning to a new beginning.

Ingredients
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup honey Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons toasted almond slices
2 tablespoons almond butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 banana
1/8 teaspoon roasted Saigon cinnamon

Instructions
Place everything in a bowl and blend together with an immersion blender.  Or place in a blender and blend - whatever is easiest for you!  Serve with cinnamon sticks if desired.

Spiced Cranberry-Ginger Cider with All the Fixins'

From my perspective, the people who celebrate Christmas fall into two camps.  First, there are the ones who wait until December to decorate.  They let Thanksgiving shine all on its own, without Christmas trying to nudge its way into the spotlight.  And then there are the ones who start decking the halls well before Thanksgiving, letting all the holidays sort of blend together into two, big, rosy, festive months.  We fall into the latter camp.  We are just such big fans of Christmas lights.  They make everything so cozy! And the cats - well, they are definitely Christmas fans, as garland and the tree make for some super amazing toys.  So we like to extend this Christmas cheer as long as possible.  We decorated last weekend, and made this drink to kick off a season of baked goods, good cheer and festive lights.

Ingredients
2 cups cranberry juice
2 cups ginger ale
3 cups apple cider
12 whole cloves
3 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
2-inch orange peel
2-inch chunk of ginger
1/2 cup cranberries
orange slices, for serving

Instructions
Put everything into a medium-sized pot over medium heat.  Once the mixture is nice and hot, and the aromatics are fragrant, ladle into mugs for serving.  It is also good served chilled. Serve with orange wedges and extra cinnamon sticks.

Thick and Creamy, Earl Grey and Lavender Hot Chocolate

Around this time of year, we become a bit introspective, reflecting on those things for which we are grateful.  I've got to say, I'm so grateful that chocolate exists.  I mean, what else is there in our cupboards, ready on standby to be deployed into whatever goodies we feel like whipping up?  Chocolate chip cookies, brownies,  mousses, ice cream, the list is endless.  What else goes with so perfectly well with so many different fruits (and vegetables - I'm looking at you zucchini!).  When there seems to be a dearth of produce to turn into dessert, who is always there?  Chocolate of course!

As Americans, we are looking to Thanksgiving and thinking of turning harvest foods like squash, apples,  pears and brussels sprouts and such into delicious feast food, I wanted to make sure chocolate still felt included in all the festivities.

Using half and half and the chocolate chips made this into a wonderfully thick and creamy hot chocolate, not quite pudding, but almost!  And it was ever so gloriously luxuriant, an edible tribute to our good friend chocolate.

Ingredients
2 cups half and half (or whole milk)
6 ounces good quality semi sweet chocolate chips or chocolate bar
pinch vanilla salt
2 teabags earl grey tea
1 tablespoon of lavender buds in a teabag (or just strain the lavender before serving)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Place half and half, chocolate chips, vanilla salt, earl grey teabags, and the lavender tea bag in a small pot over medium-low heat.  Stir continuously, melting the chocolate into the milk. Once the mixture is nice and hot, and the chocolate is melted, stir in vanilla extract and remove the teabags.

Fall in Coffee Form

So I totally got (stole?) this idea from my friend Jess.  We were on the phone talking about fall and coffee, fall flavored coffee, and how much we love all of that.  You would probably be amazed by how often this comes up as a topic. We haven't seemed to exhaust this subject.  We clearly are not adults, but children.  Children who drink coffee.  Incidentally, Max would like to be one of those.  He loves swiping sips from my mug.  I have learned to guard my mug more carefully.  But just the other day Jess and I were talking about FAVORITE COLORS.  We were having the same conversations that preschoolers have.  I'm guessing tomorrow will bring some in-depth explorations on our favorite and least favorite animals.

Jess was talking about how she loves getting pumpkin pie flavored coffee and stirring in cream and maple syrup.  I was like oh my god, that might be one of the best things ever.  So the next morning, I added some pumpkin pie spices to the coffee grounds before brewing as usual, and then stirred in a maple syrup mixture.   It was... well... Fall, in coffee form.  Pretty much the only way I can experience Fall here.

But not longer!  This Thursday, Seth, Max and I are heading back East, and we get to do all those awesomely cheesy festive autumn things - like pumpkin patches, and hay rides, and corn mazes, and apple orchards. Jess and I can drink this coffee - together!  All while we talk about very important life subjects such as favorite colors and favorite animals.

Ingredients
For the spice mixture:
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

For the maple syrup cream:
1/2 cup half and half
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch kosher salt
cinnamon sticks, for serving
orange wedges, for serving

Instructions
Mix all the spices together. Brew with your favorite coffee.  I used 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture with a scant 1/2 cup of coffee grounds in my 8 cup french press.

Whisk half and half, maple syrup, orange juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a bowl (or shake in a sealed jar).  Pour desired amount into the spiced coffee, serve with cinnamon sticks and orange wedges.

Sunshine Smoothie

You know when you convince yourself that you can indeed carry that very large pile of laundry up the stairs in one trip without the laundry basket?  Because the laundry basket has been lost to the cause of either being a bed for a cat or to a toddler to commandeer?  And so you begin the trek up, full of confidence.  And then a sock slips out.  And then you pick it up.  And then two more shirts drop. This slapstick like scenario continues.  Then, finally, for 4 amazing stairs, you actually do keep it all together.  And you feel all smug, because you totally did indeed succeed in making it up the stairs with the ridiculous sized load in one trip!

Trying to make this smoothie was a similar production.   This smoothie is the one that almost didn't happen.  Oranges were obtained, then lost to a little guy with a fickle appetite.  All the oranges.  Ginger was assumed to be sitting peacefully in the crisper drawer, hanging out with carrots and celery.  But it wasn't.  I had never picked it up.  Then ginger and oranges were all ready to go, but we repeated the ginger episode with the pineapple.  Finally, luckily, all these things came together.  I felt all smug, having finally succeeded in corralling all the necessary ingredients together, and making a smoothie that should have only taken 10 minutes to begin with.

Ingredients 
2/3 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup buttermilk
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
1 banana
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Place everything in a bowl and blend with an immersion blender (or place in a blender and blend).  Serve over crushed ice if desired.

Hibiscus Iced Tea

Ice water is generally the drink of choice in our family.  However, sometimes we like to get a little crazy and gussy up our drink glasses.  Those glasses always feel fancy when they sport this pretty red beverage.  Ordinary iced tea just doesn't cut it with our picky glasses though.  Oh no.  They only feel spiffy when showing off iced tea like this, which gets a bit of tartness and beautiful color from the hibiscus leaves, and sweetness from the combination of honey, sugar, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Ingredients
8 cups water
¾ cup dried hibiscus leaves
10 regular-size tea bags
2 inch peel of orange
2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
orange slices, for serving

Instructions
Bring the 8 cups of water to a boil.  Take off heat and add the hibiscus leaves, tea bags, and orange peel.  Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.  Strain out the hibiscus leaves, tea bags and orange peel.  Stir in honey, sugar, and fresh orange juice.  Chill and serve with orange slices.

Chai Latte

The weather has been rainy and chilly the past few days here in Southern California. This weather makes me want to curl up on the couch with a book, a blanket, and a mug filled with a warm drink. But what type of warm drink? Nothing sounded good enough, until I thought about chai. This chai latte recipe, with its smooth almond undertone and spicy and fragrant tea, is the perfect antidote to the cold-weather blues.

Ingredients
1 quart whole milk
1 teaspoon of toasted and ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/8 teaspoon cardamom, divided
3 cinnamon sticks, divided
1 cup water
8 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 peppercorns
1/2 of the peel of an orange
1/4 cup sugar
4 teabags

Instructions
Gently simmer milk, almonds, vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon cardamom, and a cinnamon stick in a saucepan for an hour. In another saucepan, bring the water, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, peppercorn, orange peel, and teabags to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Add sugar and the spiced milk and return to a boil. Serve in mugs and garnish with more cinnamon sticks.