I've been really, really into espresso recently. 90% of that would be the decaf kind. I ordered this awesome espresso blend online...
I found out about in on the coffeegeek forums, which reported that Decaf Black Cat from Intelligentsia Tea & Coffee is supposed to be the best-tasting decaf blend on the online market.
They didn't lie. It kicks butt. Lately I had been thinking my espresso machine was pretty crappy (a Starbucks Barista), but after intensive research on coffeegeek and some other nerdy coffee forums, I have improved my latte techniques a hundred fold. This is definitely a money saver, because otherwise I'm a coffee shop junkie!
Some latte art from the best local coffeehouse in town (I really want to learn to do latte art but it requires a lot of technique and practice, and soymilk is a little more difficult to work with than dairy milk when doing latte art):
I have been making some pretty good drinks, but...
...I definitely made a mistake on this cup. See those bigger, dishwasher-type soap bubbles? Those shouldn't be there. What we're looking for are really dense micro-bubbles. That is ze perfect foam.
I have a new vegan friend here in town too! She makes kick-butt vegan cupcakes once a week and brings one (and sometimes two) for me. :) Here are the cupcake and me at work with the vegan Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcake (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World). It's nice to finally have a vegan friend I can talk to in person. Yay.
And I decided I'm going to be posting more regularly, but more shorter posts rather than thorough, lengthy ones. Then it won't feel like I'm gone so long every time. To wrap up, here's a picture of one of my favorite dinners from this weekend:
Steamed broccoli. Half a toasted vegan multigrain bagel from work (the culinary majors actually made them, and I was lucky because a lot of the stuff they make isn't vegan) with a little bit of Earth Balance. An awesome Chickpea Cutlet with maple-dijon sauce (1 teaspoon maple syrup, a packet of mustard, and a squirt of dijon mustard all heated up in the microwave - so good!).
28 comments:
Hooray for real life vegan friends (and their delicious cupcakes!!)
And I MUST try that mustard sauce, since I'm clearly addicted to chickpea cutlets, hehe.
Ah yes, back to the real world - if only the real world WAS Disney World, haha ;0)
That latte is GORGEOUS!! As is that cupcake (yum!)
Those bagels look like my infamous hempseed bagels :0)
I loved reading all your Disney World posts, it's good to know what I might find there if/when I go again.
I would love to be able to make soymilk lattes at home. Yum! That cupcake looks incredible too.
its a good thing you won my contest because if you hadn't I'd be offering to trade cookies for cupcakes!
p.s. email your address so i can send you cookies!
happyherbivore@gmail.com
Oh my goodness! That bagel looks SO good!! The cupcake ain't half-bad either...Send me some o' that tastiness!
OMG - Intelligentsia is fantastic, isn't it? That place pretty much puts Starbucks to shame if you ask me...
Anyway, I'm glad you're getting the hang of the milk-frothing action. I used to work at a coffee shop, & that was my favorite part of preparing drinks. (Not that I was any good at the latte art part, mind you - I just liked frothing milk for some reason...)
Enjoy your espresso :)
Awesome latte art skills! I'd love to do something like that, but I have no idea where to start or how to learn. I'm just impressed by anyone who can make much more than a regular cup of coffee.
wow, i don't even drink coffee, and your fancy artwork makes me want some! and hooray for vegan friends!
That is one fancy looking cup of coffee! yum! I always play it safe when i grab a coffee in starbucks - always a plain black one, I never really got the whole foam thing, but that photo is selling it to me.
What a cute pic of you and the little cupcake =)
I wish I had a vegan friend here who I could spoil with cupcakes... or who would spoil me, ha ha!
The latte looks heavenly (my foam comes out like this quite often and then at other times it's perfect... I don't know what causes this)! Maybe I should switch to decaf, too. I'll have to start finding the perfect blend first... but that will be exciting I guess! Mhh, I have to make coffee now *runs*
If I ever have a vegan friend in *real* life, I will force him/her to make me cute tasty cupcakes!
I think your coffee looks fine, our coffee machine has quite a temper, and sometimes we get coffee with actually coffee in it! it doesn't filter it properly! but then again only sometimes...
Right now I am wishing I knew your friend. Can you send her over to me? Oooh, and you should come with her, b/c I want to meet you too! We can have a vegan party and eat cupcakes until we get sick!
I thought of you yesterday, because I FINALLY bought "Ratatouille". I'll watch it sometime this week :o).
Before I read your entry, I thought that YOU did that latte art! I was going to book a flight for you to come out & teach me. Haha. :) If you learn, you MUST blog about it, because I am always so entranced by those designs.
And YUM to the cupcake!
Wow! I like your new vegan friend, she makes beautiful cupcakes! I bet it is nice to have a vegan friend in person! Although blogging friends are good too...
I'm always amazed at the designs baristas come up with in their lattes! That sounds like a fun hobby for you.
I love your broccoli plate and that bagel!
Tasty, tasty, tasty! I would love to have a friend who brought me a weekly cupcake! hehe.
Your coffee creations look so professional!!
That's great that you have a vegan friend in town (especially one that makes cupcakes)... it's always nice to have someone that understands.
I like shorter posts as well, they don't seem so overwhelming to write!
That's the prettiest cupcake ever--I love the texture of the icing!!
And I didn't know latte art with soymilk would be different, I thought any type of liquid would work :p What's the difference?
And ooo bagels and broccoli <3
How nice to have a real life vegan friend! And one that make cupcakes!
Your dinner looks excellent! Chickpea cutlets make any meal delicious of course, but man- look at that bagel!
ok, I am expecting you and your cupcake-making friend to show up at my doorstep any day now…
Ah yes, the real world, it keeps coming back. Those are some great pictures on this post, and it makes me realize how much I miss a latte. Only espresso for me as I have milk intolerance. Great cupcakes too!
ahhhh...I LOVE espresso...Yum :)
Ok, now you have me craving banana bread muffins. But I don't have a vegan friend to make them for me! I guess I will just have to make them, myself!
I've had a really stressful week, so kicking back this weekend with a banana bread muffin sounds like the perfect way to unwind. Thanks for the suggestion-- I'm excited to make them now. I'll let you know how it turns out :o).
you always make me want coffee. now you got me wanting bagels~!
p.s. i have your "soup" for lunch today!
Oh, pretty coffee pictures. I see what you mean about what went wrong on the last one, but it still looks appetizing to me... But yeah, if you're going to practice your latte art more, good luck! I'd love to see pictures :)
It's great that you know a vegan who makes you cupcakes. Pretty cupcakes, too!
And I like that idea of posting shorter posts more regularly, but I find I can never get myself to do that for some reason.
Anyway, I like your dinner! Chickpea cutlets are the best, I should make them again.
nice latte art! I used to work at a cafe in san francisco and we did latte art there. I started learning by reading the coffee geek article "how to" it really helped! I think the thing that worked best for me starting with the coldest milk possible. True soymilk is harder to froth, but I found that you try to add less froth (it'll do the rest on it's own) and it'll come out to be microbubbles. Good luck! Can't wait to see more artwork. :-)
*sorry if this comment appears multiples times, blogger having issues.
that dinner looks so perfect!
that cupcake looks AMAZING. too beautiful to eat.
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