I love coffee. Ask anyone.
I carry a mug of my favorite joe with me. Everywhere. And not one of those travel ones, or a refillable one, made of metal or plastic with a nasty tasting plastic lid, but a real ceramic mug, open at the top, ready to douse me at the next sudden vehicular move.
And when heat finally arrives in Minnesota, which this year seems to be taking it's sweet time, I don't give up my beloved beverage. Oh, no. I just put it on ice. Lots of ice. The mug might be exchanged for a Ball jar, but the drink will be the same. Plain, black coffee.
Like all things pursued and sifted, I've developed favorites. Gevalia, now they know how to make coffee. Or at least they know how to buy coffee from the growers, process it, and ship it around the globe. And morning after morning that first sip is the best. I've likened it to the first trip on crack, but my son assures me it's unlikely to be quite the same. And though coffee is addicting for some, I am merely devoted and therefore able to give it up anytime.
Except for the minor fact that I like to be awake.
Don't get me wrong. I will drink anything called coffee, even, gasp, decaf. My one exception is instant. I've never found one, since my very first cup of brew, that could even slightly measure up. Occasionally I'll try a new one, brimming with hope, but I am bereaved yet again.
According to a dear friend, this makes me a coffee snob.
So, jacked up with nose and mug in the air, I'm on the search for new ideas to add to our menu and prep for our next Tasting Party, scheduled, by the way, for Saturday, May 4th from 7-9 p.m. Primarily I'm foraging for new and different, like our newCinnamon Horchata andCoconut Horchata, or an item not readily available, like candied persimmons, or an unusual presentation, like carrot cake in a cheesecake, or Tiramisu in a crepe.
And beside coffee, there are other foods I find delectable - chocolate and ice cream ranking in the top five. And summer is coming. Ice cold drinks and trips to the lake and sprinklers in the yard. And ice cream. Wait. Wait. Here it comes.
Chocolate-covered Espresso Bean Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream!
If you don't hear from me again you can assume that I've died and gone to heaven.
Chocolate-covered Espresso Bean Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream