CBTL Caffitaly Americano machine

I just bought this beautiful $149  machine from someone on Craigslist last week for $50!  See it sitting next to my Breville espresso machine?  Shhhhh.  I don't want them to start fighting, but I'm really liking the CBTL (Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) machine right now.  It's so easy to use, easy to clean up, and so convenient.   I've even learned how to reuse the espresso capsules, which bring my cost per drink down from $0.70 to $0.14!  I have also been toying with a DIY version of the milk capsules that Tassimo and Verismo use.  OMG, so easy and also about $0.14 per serving versus the $1.00 that the capsules cost retail.   To make the milk, I dispense a short shot and a long shot of water into my mug (without an espresso capsule in the machine) and add 2 tablespoons of dry milk powder.  I found the Nido brand at my Walmart,  which is dry whole milk rather than some other brands,  which are dry non-fat milk.  Using my Aerolatte frothing wand, I mix it until a nice thick froth forms and the volume appears doubled.  I then insert an espresso capsule into the machine and brew a long shot into the same mug.  Isn't it beautiful?   I still prefer fresh milk but am finding that the dry milk doesn't bother my tummy like fresh.   Lactose intolerant,  you know.

Folded fabric Christmas ornaments

My friend found a YouTube video for these : Folded fabric Christmas ornaments.  Since I'm making several for gifts, I thought I'd simplify the process.  I'm also embroidering the year on them.  I attached a pin to the end of my machine bed which, surprisingly enough, was the perfect place to give me a 7" finished circle as it's 3.5" from my needle.  I only had to adjust my needle position to 4.0.  For topstitching, I place the circle back on the pin once it's been turned right side out and adjusted the needle to the far left at 0.0.  I then turned to my embroidery machine for the addition of the date.  I followed the rest of the instructions on the video.

No Chemex? No probem!

So,  what do you do when you want coffee and don't have a Chemex handy?  You grab a canning funnel, a cloth Chemex filter here, and a thermal carafe.  So good.  So simple.  I just saved you $50 on a Chemex, or $120 on the Keurig 2.0.  Ok.  Not as visually appealing as a Chemex, I admit.  The coffee does stay hot for hours!  Especially if you preheat the carafe.

No carafe?  A Mason jar works!  Put a cozy on it and then the lid to keep the heat in.

I can see the Mason jar coffee maker on a road trip.  I know I won't be traveling with my Chemex.   No more crappy hotel room coffee (you're good as long as you have a way to make hot water).  Pack all your supplies inside the jar and you're good to go!

I admit that a quart of coffee only fills my husband's monster cup and my measly 10 oz cup so I don't need to worry about keeping it hot unless I'm home alone.

Good coffee does NOT require any fancy equipment.  People all over the world make coffee with much less.

Viva Las Arepas

I've been wanting to try Viva Las Arepas ever since reading about it on Yelp but never got a chance until yesterday.  David and I were looking for somewhere different to eat and I suggested this place since it wasn't far from where we were.  It's on the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Oakey, near the Stratosphere Hotel.

In case you don't know what arepas are, they're kind of like a Venezuelan sandwich.  They also have pork spareribs, chicken, and beef, which I assume are cooked over a wood flame, since the place smells of wood and there are logs stacked in the hallway.  Here's what we ordered:  Garlic Shrimp, Vegetarian, Reina Pepiada (cold chicken salad), Carne Asada, and an order of fried yuca and chicharron.  It was too much food but we couldn't decide what to order.  The tab was $35 for the two of us.

Chemex cozy and reusable cloth Chemex filters!

I love my friend, David!  He's here visiting and I mentioned to him that the only coffee filter I haven't been able to make successfully is a Chemex filter.  Why?  Because I didn't have a Chemex coffee maker to test my prototypes on.  While I was at knit nite last week, David went next door to Cost Plus World Market and bought me one!  It is the CM-8A, 8 cup, 40 oz model.  I have since made 3 types of filters that work very, very well.  One is the square, one is the circle, and the last is another square but it is prefolded and seamed up one side.  I must say that I prefer the unfolded circle and unfolded square.  They work exactly the same way as the Chemex filter in that you have to fold them into quarters, place the 3 layered side against the spout and the single layer opposite.  They are very easy to clean.  I think I'll be offering them for sale in my Etsy shop and on Ebay very soon.

I also wanted to make a cozy for my new Chemex to try and retain some heat in the leftover coffee.  I didn't want to put it on the stove or a warmer.  It was a fun afternoon project to make this fleece cozy and cap.  It gave me an opportunity to dust off my math skills.  I measured the diameter of the top opening at just under 6 inches.  That measurement worked well with the bottom of the carafe as well.  Since the diameter of the circle I needed was 6 inches, I had to calculate the circumference for the pieces that went around those circles.  C=2 X 3.14 (Pi) X 3 (radius), which worked out to just under 19 inches.   The sides of the bottom pieces were 19" X 8" and the sides of the cap were 19" X 3".  I used two layers of fleece and one layer of thermal insulated batting for the body and the cap.  I also used elastic on the bottom to cinch it up.  

I think it turned out so cute but after we all had a cup of coffee there wasn't much left to check out its heat retention abilities.  I may just have to make another set in a Japanese print. 

Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup #2. Feels like I cheated, it's so easy!

Quick Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup

6 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillion (or more to taste)
1 pkg frozen broccoli florets & stems
1 carrot, julienned
1 stalk celery, diced
1 can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup
1 can Campbell's Chunky Chicken Cheddar Broccoli soup
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese blend
Pepper to taste
3 tsp butter
4 tsp flour

In a large pot, bring water & bouillion to a boil and add veggies.  Cook until tender.  In separate small pot, create a light roux by melting butter then adding flour and cook a few minutes, stirring constantly, but do not let it darken.  Add 3 cups of the broth from the veggies to the roux and stir until smooth before pouring into large pot.  Add the two cans of soup & pepper.  Using an immersion blender, puree veggies but stop when it reaches desired consistency.  I like mine more pureed than chunky.   Stir in shredded cheese until melted.  Enjoy!

Goodbye, my Sam

I'm beyond heartbroken.  My Samantha passed away last week.  It was very unexpected and sudden.  She was here one day and gone the next.  For that I am very grateful.  I would not have wanted her to suffer.  We still don't know the cause as she slipped away so fast and at that point extensive testing would have caused her undue discomfort.  She was such a sweet and loving girl, who gave us so much joy in her 12 years with us.  I know she felt loved everyday.

Broccoli cheese soup

I love broccoli cheese soup but never made it because I thought it was hard...until today.  I found a recipe on Pinterest that looked promising from this blog

I pretty much followed it except that I added chicken bouillon to my veggie stock because it was too bland and the only other spices I used were pepper, garlic and onion powders.  I used one handful of shredded Mexican cheese blend and one handful of sharp Cheddar cheese.

32 oz vegetable broth
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped including stems (peel stem if very fibrous)
1 cup shredded or diced carrots
1 diced small onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
2 tsp chicken bouillon

In large pot (5-6 qt.), add all above ingredients and simmer until veggies are tender but not mushy.

In a small saucepan, make roux by melting 4 Tbsp butter and whisking in 4 Tbsp flour until completely blended and just barely turns darker.  Remove from heat.

To the roux, add 2 cups of the broth from the veggies and whisk until smooth.  Add mixture back into veggie/broth pot and bring to a low boil to thicken soup.

To the pot add 1 cup heavy cream and heat through.  Lower heat and finally add 1 handful of shredded sharp Cheddar and 1 handful of shredded Mexican blend cheese.  Make sure that you don't bring to a boil after cheese is added.

Mason Jar Coffee Maker...and Mason Jar Tea Maker...and Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate Maker!

I don't know why this has become my obsession today but I just Googled "mason jar coffee maker" and some of the results were hilarious and not only expensive but downright unnecessary.  You can easily use a Melitta one cup pour over, sit it atop your mason jar and make an easy couple of cups.  I wanted to create something that was a cross between a pour over and my usual immersion filter but minus the chopsticks.  This is the final result.  I did not invent this idea, just the filter and the cozy.  I really like it!  Don't know how often I'd use it, given my large collection of coffee/tea making paraphernalia, but still like it.

1)  Insert the filter and fold over the edge of the jar.  If you notice in a few of the pictures, the filter is a bit short, that's because I was testing this with my reusable cone filters.  They work but I wanted more immersion of the grounds so I created a longer, more snugly fit, filter. 

2) Screw on the ring securely.  This also helps to stop the wicking of fluid and keeps it from dripping on the outside of the jar.

3) Add your ground coffee.  Pour your hot water over the grounds.  You don't have to do any special pouring method since the grounds will be immersed, it doesn't matter.

4) Let sit for a couple of minutes for full extraction.

5) Carefully unscrew lid and remove filter.  The lid and jar will be HOT!  It's nice that the outside edges of the filter are still dry so you can pick up the hot, wet filter and put into a nearby cup to cool before tossing the contents.  Enjoy your coffee!

The jar got so hot that I had to crochet a cozy for it so as not to burn my hands.  Just adds to the cuteness factor while being totally functional!

Oh!  It also works with my Keurig just in case I don't have any K Cups available.  You can make tea the exact same way. 

You can also make a small batch of cold brewed coffee concentrate this way as well.  This is a 1 qt jar so I'd use about a cup of coffee and fill the jar as full as possible with cool water.  Put the lid on as well as the ring.  Let sit 12-15 hours then lift out the filter, allowing the coffee to drip while squeezing lightly.  Remember that the coffee grounds absorb a lot of the water so you won't have a full quart of concentrate when you're done.  Toss the used grounds into your compost/trash.  Refrigerate your concentrate and use within 2 weeks.

 

Stone Wave Bread Pudding

I just bought this Stone Wave microwave cooker yesterday at Walmart after watching a demo on QVC.  This morning I made my husband a ham & cheese omelet.  It must have been edible because he didn't complain.  This afternoon I was wondering how to make bread pudding in this cooker and came up with this easy recipe:

1 egg, beaten well
1/4 cup milk
Dash vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp raisins
2 hot dog buns (because that's the only bread I had), torn into small pieces

In the Stone Wave, mix first 4 ingredients well.  Add raisins and buns, wetting buns completely.  Cover and cook for 1 1/2 minutes.  Turn over, cover and cook 1 minute more.

These are approximate times as all microwaves are a bit different.