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Posts tagged ‘beverage’

Oct 11

Nitro café de olla with Cadence Cold Brew

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It will surprise no one who has ever parented or spent much time taking care of a toddler that coffee is now a significant and important part of my life. I’ve long loved it – the smell, the flavor, the heady ritual of it – but for years caffeinated coffee gave me migraines (yes, you’re right, it really was the worst). Whatever divine spirits there may be in the world appear to have taken pity on me, however, because pregnancy changed something in my brain chemistry and I am now once again able to partake. And partake I do, in volume some days, generally with breakfast and again during Aldo’s midday nap.

So I was particularly excited when Cadence Cold Brew, a new Madison company, expressed an interest in new recipes and ways to use their canned nitro cold brew coffee. We generally make our coffee at home (okay, Brett generally makes our coffee at home – what a guy), but when I treat myself to a coffee drink out in the world, I often seek out nitro cold brew. Cold brew in general is more easy-drinking than regular brewed coffee, and the addition of nitrogen makes it even smoother and silkier, with a slight effervescence akin to beer.

After tasting the three varieties that Cadence offers in cans, I knew immediately what I wanted to do – create a twist on café de olla, a rich, spiced coffee drink traditional to Mexico.

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May 29

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Summer licuados

Not sure what happened to spring, exactly. I suppose a late arrival doesn’t necessarily push back what comes next, but I had hoped we’d have a few more weeks between down jackets and tank tops.

That said, there’s plenty to look forward to here. We’ve grilled every night since we brought home our new grill, our home life seems to have shifted entirely to the porch, and yesterday at the market I bought a big, red, ripe tomato. A tomato! Three months ago, sick with Tundra Vision, I never thought I’d see this day again.

Memorial Day was a hot and heavy one, and I mean that in the least fun way possible, and in the hour or two before we really awake and had breakfast on the table, I blended a honeydew licuado to stave off hunger and defend against the heat. A licuado (also known as a “batido”) is a Latin American version of a smoothie, generally simpler than its northern counterpart with one or maybe two fruits, some milk (usually), and a small bit of ice and other flavorings. I’m not a big smoothie drinker, usually finding them a bit too acidic and on the wrong side of both beverage and meal (too heavy to be the former, too light to be the latter), but a licuado is a light, more refreshing alternative that is perfect for summer. They’re meant to be consumed immediately after blending, since they separate a bit as they sit, but they’re also meant to be an icy cold respite in very warm places, so it’s not difficult to get them down quickly.

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Jul 31

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Summer cocktails: Blackberry fizz

I admit it. The number of recent cocktail posts might be a little over the top.

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But let’s be honest – that’s kind of what summer is all about, right? Everything is fresh and I approach the kitchen with a sense of relaxation that finds me throwing all kinds of things into a cocktail shaker with a bit of ice, sitting in the backyard in my favorite lawn chair with only the beginning glimmer of an idea of what to make for dinner. Read more