We have peeled many, many apples recently.
A few years ago this handy little gadget came into our lives. It peels, cores, and slices the apples all at once. These functions are handy, of course, but the thingamajig’s real value lies in its ability to produce a lengthy, swirling, snaking apple peel that can stretch clear across the kitchen and be used as a jump rope. Continue reading
It’s not easy getting through a watermelon that weighs more than a small child. But honestly, it’s not that hard, either.
Watermelon juice, for example, is a breeze to make: just pile chunks of watermelon (either seedless or with any black seeds removed) into the blender and give it a quick whirl. Here we went one step further and strained the resulting puree. And that took care of a pound and a half of our thirty-pound melon just like that. Only twenty-eight to go.
You can stop right there at the watermelon juice and have a perfectly lovely drink, dressed up if you like with a splash of simple syrup or soda water or lime or all three. But of course we didn’t stop right there. Continue reading
Consider this a public service announcement.
Usually I don’t care what you eat. You only eat foraged foods? You only eat Cheetos? You’re on a cabbage-based fad diet? Ok. Cool. I can work with that.
But there is one thing that bothers me. (You have something that bothers you too, right? Something? Feel free to make me feel better by sharing in the comments.) Mine might be the world’s strangest pet peeve, but at this time of year it’s everywhere I look. It’s this business of the ice in summer’s ubiquitous iced coffee.
Here in Seattle, it does get warm enough to enjoy iced coffee occasionally in the summertime. I really prefer to make my own, though, because even Seattle’s own coffee shops, which should know better, commit a grave offense in serving their otherwise-delicious cold brew: they put actual ice in it. Ice as in frozen water. No!
Coffee should be a strong, black brew, tempered only by something creamy or something sweet if your tastes incline that way. Adding water to my coffee, even in the form of ice cubes, is unforgivable.
The solution, of course, is simple. Take the time to freeze a tray of coffee ice cubes, and plunk a couple in your cup next time you want your coffee cold. As they melt, instead of creating a watery, undrinkable mess, they make…more coffee. You see how this is a winning proposition?
You can hot-brew or cold-brew your coffee, sweeten it or don’t. I like a spoonful of cinnamon mixed into the coffee grounds, myself. But I wouldn’t presume to tell you how to make your coffee. What I will tell you is this: the secret to making better iced coffee is now in your hands.
Continue reading The Secret to Better Iced Coffee
Emmy Cooks 