C is for Coffee

Mrs Bonn Bonn and I had an interesting conversation about coffee, see I'm addicted and shes not.  I try to explain the amazingness that is coffee and why she should be just as addicted as me. Well as addicted as a preggo lady can be. See, I love coffee, no really love it. If it was another person my husband should be jealous.  It baffles me when someone says they don't like coffee, truly baffles me. Then I remember a time, oh so long ago that I didn't like coffee. Thankfully my hubby & brother both are coffee snobs. They taught me there was actually an art behind coffee. Yes an art. I might have laughed in their faces but it really changed how I drank and thought about coffee. So today I wanted to share a bit of my coffee 101 with you!

All coffees are not created equal.
Different coffees in different regions have different notes, which are under tones of flavor. If you know what to "look" for you can taste them!
Colombian - Medium roast with a balanced nutty notes. Think walnut like after taste.
Breakfast- Medium roast with a citric notes. Think crisp and tangy in flavor.
French- Dark roast with an intense smoky notes. Think an earthy blunt flavor.


Coffee does NOT need to be in the freezer.
Freezing coffee grounds or beans will not make the coffee last longer. It actually does the opposite. Freezing coffee creates moisture in the coffee which will make it go bad quickly. The best way to store the coffee is in a air tight container in a dark place. Once you open a bag you have 2-3 weeks to drink it. Grinding whole bean is also much better and fresher then pre-ground coffee.

Dark roast does not mean higher caffeine.
Shocker I know. Coffee when roasted loses some of the caffeine in the process, so the darker the roast the less caffeine is in the coffee.

I really hope you can look at a cup of coffee in a whole new light. By understanding what you are buying, what you should look for in notes and tones, and how to store your coffee to keep it fresh you will totally love coffee so much more.

Get a super cute mug from Mrs Bonn Bonn's shop and go try some out some of the tips!

Homemade- one percent

This weeks one percent change is honestly something I've been trying to get the guts up to do for a while now. Chris and I have been talking a lot about our diet (it seems like a lot of us are these days!). It started when I started hurting. See my mom has fibromyalgia, and I over the past two years have been showing signs of it also. After a lot of research I've found a lot of people have been able to help with pain by eating better and exercise (specifically yoga).

That started a re-inviting of what we eat. After looking into vegan (yes I have no idea what I was thinking with that!) vegetarian, and clean eating, we chose clean eating. Clean eating is basically where you don't eat anything processed. Yes it sounds totally daunting, and if honestly really felt that way at first but, its getting better! I'm not totally crazy about it. I'm not going to make sure everything we eat out is "clean" (that's not going to happen anyways!) and I haven't taken away Holden's ego (really do you think I'm going to get up that early and make waffles...) But I have taken the first of the big steps towards clean eating...

Homemade Bread!

I deiced last night that I was just going to go ahead and make it! Just buckle down and do it! I went through our pantry and found everything I need but, yeast. I went with it and made a no yeast bread.

It's super yummy!!! Not quite the big fluffy loaf I was hoping for but it was a great breakfast bread. Kind off a cross between a biscuit and a bread, but more bread if that makes any sense.

3 cups whole wheat flour (preferably stone ground)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rice milk or 1 1/2 cups water (works with any liquid)
1/4 cup liquid fat (i.e. melted milk free margarine, vegetable oil, olive oil)

Mix dry ingredients.
Mix liquids and add to dry.
Stir until there is no more dry flour.
Depending on the humidity of the air where you live you may need a little bit more or less liquid. The dough should be moist but not sticky.
It may take a few minutes for the flour to fully absorb the liquid, so don't rush to add liquid or flour to it. Score lightly the surface in a diamond or X shape to prevent splitting of the crust.
It is important not to overwork the dough.
Shape into a ball or an oval, with oiled hands. Place on clean baking sheet.
Bake for 40 minutes at 400F.

Variations:

Rub the dough ball with virgin olive oil and sprinkle sea salt and oregano for a foccacia flavor.
For tea time add a tsp pure cane sugar.
The liquid can be replaced for orange or other fruit juice if the bread is to be used for teatime and you can even add dried chopped fruits.
For a savory bread the liquid can be tomato juice and you can add chopped sundried tomatoes to the dough.
Sprinkling of seeds in the dough or on top of the bread is also possible.

Chris and I had pieces last night and he loved it! This morning Holden had some for breakfast, I think he was a fan!

link up to Jessi's 1% percent change!
I bet we could all use a little tweaking to our lives!
Its just 1 % after all!

Don't forget about the giveaway that's going on! Win your little girl some cute stuff!

Chicken, Cupcakes, and a Birthday

Yesterday was my Mommies birthday!
Happy Birthday Momma!

I made a big dinner, which was a total guessing game!
I tend to not cook alot.
Actually re-phrase I cook but, not the full on from scratch bust out the mixer, juicer, standing there for three hours kind of cook.

So I COOKED!
It was such a blast!
I loved it, and was totally inspired!

It started with cupcakes!
I got up and was ready to make the cupcakes, and realized I had not a single box of mix or icing!
Panic!
How am I going to make cupcakes with out Betty, with Duncan, or Sara Lee!
(seriously, I panic a bit!)

Then I could have smack my self.
I mean really, why am I in a panic when people have been making baked goods for centeries with out those Ladies
(yes, we're going with duncan as a lady, work with me)
So after a quick google search I found a great cupcake recipe!

Everything was going great, then FAIL!
I had no vanilla! None, not a drop.
I started digging around the house and found some vanilla yogurt. So in it went!

Um... It was amazing! Totally amazing!
So super soft and not dry at all.
(yes I'm not using the "m" word, it grosses me out!)
I made a wonderful and easy buttercream icing too go with it!

Then I made a yogurt Chicken which was also very very yummy, very easy.
I'm telling you this was the best chicken I have ever had!
Really the best!

Everyone really liked it which surprisingly made me feel really great!
Now I know why so many people get such a high out of cooking!
Its fun!