Cafe Latte- no expensive machine required.

So I was looking to get an espresso machine since Peter and I love coffee and love going out to get a latte or a mocha as a treat once in awhile. I was so excited about getting an espresso machine that I started researching recipes and techniques before we even got the thing! 
While I was searching the web, I came across a 'how to' page with step by step instructions on how to make homemade specialty drinks without an espresso machine! This led to more research and even YouTube videos teaching me how to do this. All I needed was a french press and a stovetop espresso brewer (both of which we already had!). If you don't have those, you can find them anywhere for around $10-20... a fraction of what an espresso machine would cost, plus a lot less storage space required (added value in our tiny little cottage).
I saved money and kitchen space and still have fresh, handmade specialty drinks in less than 5 minutes :)


I already love these drinks to begin with, but I love even more the rustic, 'pioneer' feeling of getting to make them by hand (well, plus the help of a couple gadgets- but even those pieces are classic, old fashioned tools that have been around since back in the day.)


Ingredients: 
Finely Ground Espresso Beans
Milk (I used nonfat, you can use any milk or cream that you desire)


Fun Flavored Options: 

• Some vanilla extract & a little powdered sugar dissolved into the milk to make a vanilla latte
• A couple tablespoons of French Vanilla flavored coffee creamer mixed into the milk to make a vanilla latte
• Chocolate powder or syrup to make a mocha latte. 
• Be creative! ...the possibilities are endless :)

First start your espresso on the stovetop, and set a timer to 5 minutes:

Then, fill your french press with desired amount of milk (I use about 1 cup milk for the 2 of us).

Microwave about 45 seconds to 1 minute until it is steaming and starts to froth slightly:

Load glass cylinder of steamed milk back into its french press handle. Place french press top into place. (I tilt my french press to increase the surface area of the milk while I pump it):

 Pump for about 15 seconds. This action forces air in between the protein molecules of the milk/cream, creating frothed milk. You can see how the original milk in this french press tripled in volume once I frothed it.

Steamed milk still remains in the bottom of the press, while the frothed milk sits on top:

By the time your milk is steamed and frothed, your espresso should be just about ready: 

 Fill glass half way with espresso. Then pour the steamed milk from the bottom of the french press into the espresso, and finish by pouring the frothed milk on top:

Look at that beautiful froth. So thick you can almost eat it! 

These Saturday morning lattes were enjoyed with these warm muffins made from my same banana bread recipe, and they were topped with some extra streusel topping from our crumble dessert the night before :)

Nantucket Lemonade

Man! I am just on a BBQ roll! First the BBQ pulled pork, then the grilled Corn on the Cob, now a dressed-up Lemonade... I guess it's no secret that I'm ready for summertime and barbecues!!!


I only made this because I saw some SUPER CUTE napkins at the market that had a little picture on one side and the recipe on the other. I thought they would make a fun accessory to serve with the drinks on my table for a BBQ. 

This was so fun to make, because it was pretty for serving, and because it was a fun, new twist on the good 'ol fashioned lemonade! We all had so much fun with it that I had to share it! :)


Recipe: 

• 5 cups Lemonade
• 2 cups Cranberry Juice
• 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
• 2 cups chilled Ginger Ale
• * Optional: 3 cups Vodka

Healthy Alteration: 

• 5 cups Crystal Light Lemonade (or another low/no sugar version)
• 2 cups Diet Cranberry Juice (these very low sugar versions usually taste very similar the their fully-sugared counterparts, so this is an easy health swap to make.)
• 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
• 2 cups chilled Ginger Ale, diet or low sugar if you can find it :)

Stir all the chilled ingredients together, and add 2 trays (32 large ice cubes) of ice cubes right before serving:

Aren't these the cutest little napkins!

Doesn't it make such a festive looking drink station for a fun, summery BBQ!

You could also throw in a few lemons that have been sliced into pretty little circular slices to float in this beautiful lemonade.

'Home-Crafted' Mocha Frappuccino

Before the days of Starbucks' 'hand-crafted beverages', Diedrichs was the place to go! And when I was a little girl my mom used to take me out as a special treat to Diedrich's Coffee to get a blended mocha. We always thought it was funny that I loved coffee drinks so much and at such a young age- especially because my parents were never big coffee drinkers. I mean, they would drink it socially or with dessert on a special night out at a restaurant, but our home certainly never woke up to the smell of fresh coffee; in fact, I don't know if our family even owned a coffee machine when I was growing up! But my love for coffee started when my third grade teacher let me drink coffee out of her cartoon 'tasmanian devil' mug. Of course I didn't like the bitter taste of coffee at first, but I pretended to like it so that I could keep getting coffee in that cool mug that all of us kids coveted :) Eventually, I became that little girl who would sneak a cup of coffee at church when I got out of Sunday school before my parents... and before you knew it I was a full-blown coffee lover! I was all about coffee drinks, coffee ice cream, coffee candies, coffee EVERYTHING. Hence, when my mom and I would have 'mommy and me' days together, she knew it would be a special treat to take me out to get mochas together.  My dad called our drinks 'no fun mochas' because we would always ask for ours 'sugar free, fat free, and no whipped cream'.


When Costco started selling that mocha powder by Caffe D'Vita, we loved making blended mochas at home! Now, it is a special treat that I get to share with Peter. Whether it's a weekend treat on a hot afternoon, or if it's a fun dessert to sip on while we curl up on the couch after dinner, we really enjoy this blended treat. Give it a 'whirl' (no pun intended :) ...I'm sure you'll enjoy it too!


Recipe (for 2):

• 2 cups Fat Free Milk
• 3 heaping Tablespoons of Caffe D'Vita 'Mocha Cappuccino' powder (I've tried the 'French Vanilla' flavor, but I would warn against it).
• 1 Tablespoon of Rich Chocolate Ovaltine (Don't make fun of me... I told you this started when I was young! hehe) -this chocolate brings out a deeper/richer flavor in the mocha.
• 12 Ice Cubes

Pour your milk and your powders into the blender. 

Then blend it all together for a few seconds until it looks like you have chocolate milk.

Add the ice cubes and blend for 40 seconds or so (depending on the strength of your blender) until all the ice is finely blended. 

Eventually, the blades will spin so fast that they may hollow out a void around them and they will cease to blend the actually drink. If this happens (which it does to me every time), just turn it off, keep the lid on, and shake it or tap it down on the counter a little bit until that air pocket/bubble rises and explodes on top (hence, keep the lid on :) Then blend a few more seconds and pour into your cups!

Sip away on this delightfully frosty treat!

Helpful Hint: When cleaning the blender, I like to rinse out the glass carafe, then fill with hot soapy water and spin it on the blender for a little bit so that it can clean every little bit inside :) Then rinse again and repeat until your cleanliness OCD is satisfied :)