Posts Tagged ‘coffee’

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone had a great holiday! This morning I made my way over to the Aksarben Village Farmers Market over by the new Wohlner’s neighborhood grocery on 60th and Center. Despite the fact that it was pouring, the market was rather crowded! Among an assortment of free samples, I came home with some zucchini (both round and oblong in shape), carrots, eggs, lettuce, grape tomatoes, corn, and coffee from Caffeine Dreams, a local coffee shop here in Omaha. I got English Toffee, Sumatra, and Pumpkin Spice; all of which smell absolutely amazing!

After the farmers market I was ready to go somewhere indoors to dry off, so I headed to the bookstore (one of few places open on holidays). I was only looking for one book in particular, but naturally came home with three books instead!

1. The Mediterranean Diabetes Cookbook by Amy Riolo: I saw this book advertised in the May edition of Today’s Dietitian and had to have it. The Mediterranean diet is known to be one of the healthiest in the world due to the use of lean meats and fish, healthy oils, and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables providing fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. These recipes can help lower blood pressure, control blood glucose levels, and lower your risk for heart disease; regardless of whether or not you have diabetes anyone can benefit from the Mediterranean diet. The recipes in this book sound so tasty I can’t wait to cook some Mediterranean cuisine!

2. What to Eat by Marion Nestle: The book is about uncovering the true meaning of product labels, marketing jargon, and how big food companies try to influence our choices. In this guide to sensible food shopping and healthy eating Nestle offers advice about which food trends to embrace and which to trash.

3. Local Flavors by Deborah Madison: Ever since I read Animal Vegetable Miracle where Barbara Kingsolver constantly references this book, I have been wanting to get it. This book is all about cooking and eating seasonally and locally from your neighborhood farmers market. It offers one-of-a-kind ideas and recipes for those unique farmers market finds; not to mention all of the gorgeous pictures that fill the book cover to cover.

(All of these books remind me that I need to do some updating on the Read Chic page…I’ll work on that tomorrow, sorry for being so behind on things lately!)

The rain finally let up around 6pm and I was finally able to go for my 8 mile long run. I took a nice long stroll through a couple parks around my neighborhood and returned home to a backyard barbeque where turkey sausages were being grilled for dinner. I also listened to Women & Money by Suze Orman on my ipod while I ran, nothing like a little financial advice while you sweat!

There are not too many fireworks going on tonight due to the rain earlier today, but I was still able to enjoy a festive 4th of July dinner while watching fireworks on tv! I just finished putting together a couple Quick Breakfast Stratas using my farmers market produce! I will pop those in the oven tomorrow morning for the family for breakfast!

Happy 4th everyone!

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As you all know, I am obsessed with the bulk bins at any grocery store. Buying in bulk reduced unnecessary packaging, ensures that you pay for what you get, saves resources, and gives you the choice of buying as little or as much as you want! Here is a quick peak of the items in my pantry that I buy in bulk:

Oatmeal, Granola (this is my new local Milk & Honey Granola), and Rice

Whole Wheat Flour, White Flour (clearly I need more of that, I’ve been baking a lot of bread lately!), Trail Mix, Quinoa, Coffee, Wild Rice, and Chia Seeds

If you haven’t noticed I have a love for Oxo Good Grips Food Storage Pop containers (the clear containers with the white lids). They have a fun pop-top, air-tight lid that I totally adore. I bought mine at Bed Bath and Beyond; they are kind of pricey so I only buy one every now and then to add to my collection!

Do you buy in bulk? Do you have a favorite way to store things like me?

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Thanks for the coffee Emily! Check out my new Pass the Goodness Blend from Caribou Coffee ground perfectly for my French press!

This medium roast is a bold and spicy blend with hints of vanilla sweetness. Every pound purchased even donates one pound of coffee to a food shelf! The coffee is absolutely delicious and made making coffee in my French press a breeze since it was already pre-ground!

Happy Groundhog’s Day everyone!

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This morning I decided to make coffee in my new French Press that I got for Christmas! So how exactly do you use a French Press coffee maker? Well this is exactly what I learned this morning:

1. Coarsely grind up some coffee beans. If the beans are ground too finely, they may clog the filter.

I used some coffee from my new bag of Intelligentsia coffee directly traded from Colombia. It’s characterized as having a citrus flavor of cranberry orange, with hints of hazelnut!

2. Heat up some water, I used this cute tea kettle!

3. Place grounds at the bottom of coffee pot (I used about 2 heaping tablespoons for my 8 cup French Press)

4. Pour hot water into coffee pot, leaving around an inch of space at the top. Stir the contents with a wooden or plastic spoon, place plunger unit on top of pot and cover with lid making sure that the pour spout opening is closed. DO NOT press plunger down yet. Wait for coffee to brew for at least 4 minutes (longer if desired) before pressing down on plunger.

5. Carefully press plunger all the way down to secure contents at the bottom of the coffee pot.

6. Pour yourself a cup and enjoy! Check out my festive green and silver coffee mug that was given to me as a Christmas gift, I totally love it!

I guzzled this coffee down this morning, it was so delicious! I don’t know if it was the French Press itself or the fact that I was using Intelligentsia coffee, but it was an amazingly flavorful way to start off the morning!

Next time I think I am going to grind up my coffee beans a little bit more and maybe add an extra tablespoon to the pot to make the coffee a little stronger. Overall I was thrilled with the whole experience. Brewing coffee using a French Press gives the coffee a very fresh, rich taste that I absolutely loved. I can’t wait to use it again tomorrow!

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Instead of the usual sausage and cheese gift basket or popcorn canister, send the foodie in your life something different this year! Try one of these fun and unique gift ideas this holiday season:

1. Edible Arrangements – Try one of these not-so-typical fruit baskets. Edible Arrangements offers a variety of fresh cut fruit arranged as flower bouquets. You can even choose from a variety of chocolate covered fresh fruit to mix into your bouquet! Instead of ordinary flowers, send an Edible Arrangement bouquet!

2. Teavana – Teavana has the perfect  gifts for the tea lover in your life! Select a new teapot or a loose leaf tea sampler of signature teas with rich flavors and superior health benefits!

3. Me and Gogi – create and name your own healthy organic custom cereal; choose from a variety of cereal bases including oatmeal, granola, or basic shredded wheat and begin adding dried fruit, seeds, chocolate, and coconut to create your favorite mix! (This year I sent Me and Gogi cereal capsules to family members with their names on the labels.)

4. YouBar – build your own fresh handmade nutrition bar. Start with your choice of nut butter and add grains, nuts, fruit, sweetener, seasoning like cinnamon or cocoa to create a delicious snack bar with your name on it! Send a box to a friend or family member or treat yourself to your favorite ingredients!

5. Intelligentsia – Send a friend or family member coffee from Intelligentsia. Intelligentsia is committed to direct trading and using healthy environmental practices to grow their coffee. Their representatives visit the farms and cooperative villages where their coffee is grown every month to monitor quality and ensure success. Intelligensia has representatives that work side by side with famers in Ethiopia, Columbia, Brazil, and Kenya and pay their workers well above standard fair trade wages to produce quality coffee. Intelligentsia has been voted best coffee in all of its locations including Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

What are you giving your fellow food blogger this Christmas?

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