An Iced Mocha & I Didn't Even Have To Leave the House.

One of the good things about being in school is going to my local coffee shop to study. I can get so much more done while I'm there than I could at home, plus the aroma of coffee is a nice motivator. What I don't enjoy about being there is the temptation of sweets and looking at what everyone else is drinking and thinking I need one of those too. Unless you get plain ol' regular coffee, coffeehouse speciality drinks can be a bit pricey - not to mention unhealthy. But sometimes that's exactly what I want, calories and price be damned. In my ideal world everything I crave can be delivered to me, coffee included. In reality though, I'd have to leave my house and I wasn't having any of the yesterday so I did the next best thing - make my own coffeehouse drink.

The ingredients were easy enough to figure out, but I thought I should refer to the almighty Google and see if there were any special techniques I should be aware of. Most websites said I should start with fresh hot coffee and go from there. This wasn't an option, as I wanted my drink now and didn't want to wait to brew coffee and then let it cool down. Perhaps my drink would have been that much better had I followed this process, but it was just as good my way too. This recipe is designed to be adjusted to suit your taste buds. Certainly it's much cheaper to play around with flavors at home than at the coffee shop. Carmel syrup would be a good replacement for the chocolate, as well as almond or mint extracts. You could also add everything to the blender and have a more frothy drink too.

Iced Mocha

Leftover coffee
Milk
Chocolate syrup
Dash of vanilla extract
Pinch of brown sugar
Ice

Add all ingredients, except ice to a glass. Stir well and add more ingredients as necessary. Add ice and serve.

I didn't measure any of the above ingredients, just started out small and added where needed. I'm not sure I even needed the vanilla or brown sugar. The sugar is added to the coffee as it's warm, dissolving to add some additional sweetness to the drink. Since my coffee was already room temperature and sugar only dissolves in warm liquids, I could have easily left it out. Next time I may try adding it to the hot coffee to help cut the bitterness a bit.

Recipe obtained from: Me, with the help of a several websites.

Mexican Food Rediscovered.

Located in Gallup, New Mexico - where the Dad currently lives, Grandma's is a very small authentic northern New Mexico Mexican restaurant tucked away in a residential area south of downtown. Definitely stop if you are ever in the area.

What was ordered:

The brother thought one quesadilla wouldn't be enough so he ordered two. Silly mistake - they were huge, cheesy and cooked just perfectly. To drink he had the aguas del dia (water of the day), which was horchata. It's delicious! They were out of my Dad's favorite variety, agua de sandia or watermelon water.

I ordered the adovada burrito and it was beyond great. Seriously the most tender pork I've ever had and the flavors and heat of the red chile sauce was spot on. Certainly the best Mexican dish I've ever eaten. The entree was served with rice & refried beans.

The Dad ordered a combination of Mexican favorites, including the tastiest looking chile rellenos. Smothered in shredded cheese and green chili sauce, it was served with rice and refried beans. His dish was also delicious and cooked perfectly. He also had horchata to drink.

No pictures of the sister's equally delicious steak & eggs, served with hasbrowns and toast - I was too busy eating.