Iced Coffee (ARRRR MATEY!)

My man loves his morning coffee.  He also loves it with whipping cream.  He SAYS he’s just helping me use up the excess cream, but if there is some in the house, the first place it goes is in his coffee.  Oh, don’t have enough anymore for baking?  Let’s get some more!  And so it goes.  He’s a devious one, that man.

In addition to being International Talk Like a Pirate Day (I’m not making this up), today also marks the seventh anniversary of our first date.  We have been together for most of our adult lives.  That is so weird.  Anyway, this one is for the Pie, from his saucy sea wench.  ARRRRR!

Most of the recipes for iced coffee I found on the internet involved using instant coffee granules.  I personally feel like instant coffee tastes like beef broth and should only be used in baking.  So this recipe (which I have made up all with my own brain meats) uses fresh ground, fresh brewed coffee, and I won’t have it any other way.

I don’t want to water down any of my coffee goodness, so first I made a tray of coffee-ice cubes.  There’s your caffeine — with a crunch.

Then I made some more coffee, added a ton of cane sugar to it (it will dissolve best when hot), and let it cool.  And stuck it in the fridge so it was cold.  I wouldn’t leave coffee in the fridge for too long, lest it start to taste like old, cold coffee.  Maybe a day or two at best.

When it comes to the mixing, I think the best ratio is 1 part coffee ice cubes : 1 part whipping cream : 2 parts cold sweet coffee.  For two people, this worked out to 1 cup ice cubes, 1 cup cream, and 2 cups coffee.

Blend that sucker silly.

Pour it in a pretty glass (or your man’s favourite glass, thanks Cait), and drink it up.

Try some variations.  Use milk instead of cream for a beverage that won’t kill you as quickly (and deliciously).  Squirt in some chocolate syrup for a mocha iced coffee.  Add vanilla and white chocolate for a white chocolate latte.  Use espresso instead of coffee and create yourself an iced cappucino or mochacino.  Up the proportion of ice to liquid coffee if you like your coffee a little on the slushy side.  The possibilities are nearly endless!

Peeling and Pureeing Kiwi

I bought a box of kiwis a while back.  With the stress of getting the second draft of my research proposal out and starting my new transcription project, I kind of forgot all about them and they got a little over-ripe.

Not to worry.  I decided to purée them and freeze the purée for later use.  Easy peasy.

Now we all know that Kiwi is one of those super-foods, loaded all sorts of good stuff, including more vitamin C than an orange.  They’re handy things to keep around.  What you may not know is that the kiwi originated from China in the 14th century, and only slowly made its way to New Zealand, where it was renamed from gooseberry to kiwi, after the fuzzy bird it so resembled.  What you may not also know is that there is something called the Arctic kiwi that comes out of Nova Scotia.  It’s kind of like a cross between a gooseberry and a kiwi, and it’s about the size of a grape.  It’s green and missing most of the fuzzy stuff, but tastes pretty much exactly like a sweet bite-sized kiwi.  I think they’re cool.  So does some one else.

This is an interesting fact for you: I am allergic to kiwi skin.  No joke.  If a little hair from that fuzzy stuff touches my tongue it swells up and it’s exceedingly painful.  I have to be very careful about how I prepare kiwi so that I can avoid that discomfort.

To make sure I get all the skin off at once, I first slice off the top and bottom of the fruit.  Then I take a teaspoon (a tablespoon if it’s a bigger kiwi) and insert it in between the skin and the fruit. I run the spoon all the way around to separate the skin from the fruit in one piece.

Then you can simply squeeze out the fruit and compost the peel.

I popped my little kiwis in my blender.

Look at them whir away.

Then I poured the pulp into some novelty ice cube trays for freezing.  I plan to add them to smoothies, drinks, and even soups later on.  When you pop them out they look super cool.  Hen told me this is how she makes baby food, as well.

Fun fact: you can use kiwi purée as an antioxidant exfoliator.  Simply rub a few tablespoons of purée onto clean skin.  Leave 7 to 10 minutes, then rinse and pat dry.  Blamo kablam: a kiwi facial.