Summertime Coffee Mousse

mousse  (muːs)
1.	a light creamy dessert made with eggs, cream, fruit, etc, set with gelatine

Oh, what a lovely accident!
The temperature was rising and I was in a smoothie mood, so got my blender out.  I was thinking along the lines of  Iced Coffee Nog so I used some leftover coffee that already had gelatin dissolved in it and added some extra milk, 1 egg, a touch of homemade vanilla and sugar.  I blended in a generous portion of ice at the end. What I ended up with was a light, creamy spoon able fluff that was filling, cool and delicious.

Using and working with gelatin

Here I am, sitting at my computer, paying bills. yeah.
Breakfast is what has become an old standard for me, coffee (brewed with a generous pinch of salt) with gelatin, sugar and milk. A complete meal, quick and easy, travels well as long as it doesn't get too cold.  Hard to mess up, really...... but I've manged to do it on occasion.

A few tips for working with gelatin:
Regular, unflavored gelatin powder needs to be dissolved into hot liquid in order to gel.  There are different  ways of going about that.

1. Sprinkle over cold liquid and wait, patiently, until it has absorbed the liquid...then heat up the liquid until the gelatin melts. Serve hot as in a soup or cold as in jello.
2. Stir rapidly with already hot liquid, like fresh brewed coffee.  It helps to mix with other dry ingredients first, like the sugar, to help prevent clumping.  It can then be added to a partial portion of hot liquid until dissolved, then add remaining liquid.  You need room in the vessel (cup, bowl, pot) for the liquid to go up the sides quite a bit from the RAPID stirring.
3. Plop gelatin en masse in a clump into lukewarm liquid and let it sit for a bit, then try to stir. This method will ensure that only the outside of the clump melts, sealing in the rest of the still dry powder into a large chewy ball that is totally inedible.  I don't actually recommend method #3.

Iced Coffee Nog

The weather is finally getting warm, finally.  We had a tease of an 80 degree day the beginning of May, then it snowed.  It's warming up again, hopefully to stay this time.  It's not really too hot for hot coffee yet, but I can hope, can't I?

Ingredients per serving:
1 egg
1-2 TBS cane sugar
1/2 cup cold, strong coffee
1/2 cup whole milk 
or half and half
pinch of salt


Mix all the ingredients in a blender and serve over ice.  You can blend the ice in, but will need to make the coffee stronger to compensate for the extra water. Tastes like Haagen Daz lite.

Hearth and Soul Hop

Coffee and "Cream" Beef with Rice

This is a "use it up" meal.  It was "sticky" sweet and a little overwhelming for me after one meal.  Ketchup boy was THRILLED and was quite pleased to hog most of the leftovers.


I had 3 chubs of lb packages of my beef in the upstairs freezer.  They don't stack well and I needed to freeze some goat milk, so they got defrosted in the fridge all at once.  I had a partial container of sour cream and nuefchatel, so they got tossed in.  I also had a Tupperware container of brown sugar (a light Muscovado, I think) that has been sitting in the cupboard for a LONG time because it was too hard to use.  I tossed that in too, in one big block.  The gelatin balances the meat and the cream of tartar balances the sugar.  You can get away with cream of tartar with the coffee in moderation because of all the other ingredients.


HINT: If you get the rice cooking first, they should both be ready about the same time.

Coffee and Cream Beef

Leftover coffee (2 cups?)
Beef gelatin (1 cup)
Grass fed ground beef (3 lbs?)
Sour cream (1 cup?)
Cream cheese or neufchatel (1/4 of a package)
Balsamic Vinegar (A few generous shakes)
Brown Sugar (pint sized container, 3/4 full)
Cream of Tartar (1 tsp, at least)
Sea Salt (2 TBS?)

Soak the gelatin in the coffee.  Meanwhile, brown the burger and toss in ingredients in the proportions that appeal to you. Add gelatin coffee mix and heat until blended.  Adjust salt to taste....more salt balances the sweet....up to a point, so does the vinegar. ;)


Rice Cooker Rice
4 scoops jasmine rice
1 TSP cream of tartar
1 TSP sea salt
2-4 TBS Coconut oil
Water to 4 scoop fill line

Place all ingredients in cooker and stir with rice paddle a few times to mix powder with rice and water.  Cook and serve.

Coffee Bites

This is strong stuff, a little dab'll do ya.....think coffee gummy candy.  

Ingredients:
2 TBS Beef Gelatin
2 TBS Cane Sugar 
Pinch of Salt (Optional)
1 Cup Hot Coffee

Mix dry ingredients together, then add coffee slowly while stirring rapidly.  Chill for at least an hour, then nibble.
OR
Drink some of it hot, then chill the rest for later.

"Mulled" Coffee

Out of curiosity, instead of tossing the mulling spices strained out of the hot cider, I decided to experiment with some leftover coffee. It worked well, reminiscent of pumpkin pie, kinda sorta.  I might try adding the spice directly to the grounds when I make a fresh pot.

Mulled Coffee
Leftover Coffee
Pinch of Salt (if not already in the coffee)
Beef Gelatin (approx. 1 TBS per serving)
Mulling Spice
Cane Sugar to taste

Fresh Milk or Cream

1. Add ingredients in order to cold coffee and let sit for a minute or so while the gelatin absorbs the liquid. Save the milk for later.
2. When the gelatin is ready, heat on medium low for about 15 minutes. stirring occasionally.
3. Prepare the serving cups or mugs with some hot water in each.  Let sit until the coffee is hot. (If your kitchen is a cool as mine right now, this is mandatory to prevent tepid coffee.)
4. Fill the mugs halfway with milk or a quarter full of cream and add strained coffee.

Mocha Syrup

Substitute strong coffee for water in chocolate syrup recipe to make Mocha syrup!

1 cup coffee
2 cups cane sugar (brown or white works)
1 TBS Beef gelatin
1 cup cocoa powder
Salt
Homemade Vanilla extract

I use gelatin instead of butter now in my syrup.  It adds a little extra protein and the syrup comes out consistently thick (but still very pour able) with no settling.  I use about a TBS or so of syrup to 1 cup of milk.

I had a lot of leftover coffee, so I now have 3.5 quarts of mocha syrup in the fridge.

I can't seem to keep milk in the fridge lately, wonder why?


What's on your Plate?
Simply Delish

Mochanoff (Beef Stroganoff with Coffee/Cocoa Sauce) GF

I was wandering around online and found a delicious looking recipe for a Beef/Coffee Stew.  I also had a large portion of fresh mushrooms that needed to get used.  We are experiencing a bit of cold spell* but Soup/Stew was vetoed...so I decided to sneak the coffee into some Stroganoff instead.


*Ok, it's not THAT cold but 60's at night and 70's during the day IS cold compared to 100+ weather...I like it!

Here is my basic recipe:  Beef Stroganoff.   I doubled all the ingredients because of the amount of mushrooms I had, except the meat.  My skillet was practically overflowing with mushrooms, so I cooked the meat separately in the wok, using this recipe:  Deep Fried Beef.
I substituted the Sugar/COT with a 2:1 cane sugar/cocoa powder mix when I remembered that coffee and cream of tartar taste absolutely horrid together.  I mixed the dry ingredients together (gelatin, cocoa, cane sugar, salt) then sprinkled it slowly, while stirring, over the already sautéed mushrooms.  It looked like fudge with mushrooms. ;)
I added coffee to thin the sauce, about a cup or so, then the sour cream, then the meat.  The noodle were done right when I was finishing the sauce,  so I added a little extra salt and served everyone a small portion (just in case) over penne rice noodles.  It was a well received.

Something was missing for me though, I couldn't put my finger on it.  Then I remembered, I usually add vinegar....

I added a few dashes of Balsamic Vinegar to my bowl and mixed in.  Oh yeah....it all just came together.  Sweet, savory, salty, sour in balance.....and extremely filling.  Everyone used the balsamic for the second pass and agreed, it was even better.

I can totally see this as a topping for mashed potatoes or use goat meat for a shepherd's pie filling.

If I was going to use a crockpot/slow cooker for this recipe, I would add a layer of coconut oil on the bottom and wipe it up the sides a little to prevent sticking.  I would then add the rest in this order:

Beef

Mushrooms

Onions and/or Red pepper flakes (if using)

Dry ingredients mixed with Coffee (as a paste)

Vinegar

I would cover and cook it low and slow for 8 hours or so, then turn it off and add the sour cream and correct for seasoning right before serving.

Hearth and Soul Hop 
Hunk of Meat Monday
What's Cooking Wednesday
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Made From Scratch Tuesday
Gluten Free Wednesday
Foodie Wednesday 
Ultimate Recipe Swap 
Ingredient Spotlight: Cocoa

Thai (ish) Tea and Iced Coffee

Thai Tea with Star Anise and Fresh Cream

• Fill a tall glass with already chilled sweet sun tea 1/2 to 2/3 full. 

• Add an extra 1-2 TBS of cane sugar (Sucanat adds a nice depth of flavor), if needed*, and stir vigorously

• Add milk and extra cream off top of jar of fresh milk 

If you aim for the side of the glass, the natural displacement will blend the ingredients and it will be ready to drink immediately.

Traditional Thai Tea is made from sweetened and condensed milk and sometimes food coloring is added when served in American restaurants.  I prefer not to cook my milk and get the "thickness" from the cream.  If you were making a fresh batch of tea strictly for this purpose, you could make it more concentrated and add spices like star anise or cardamom and serve over ice. Just add the whole pod to the beginning of the brew. See this link here: How to make Thai Tea

For Iced Coffee, the steps are identical.

I make a large batch of coffee when I brew it. Any leftovers are refrigerated immediately eventually.  I don't like my coffee as sweet as other family members, otherwise I would probably sweeten the leftovers before chilling.  The next morning, I fill a mug halfway with cold coffee, add the sugar, then fill with cream/milk.  When the coffee runs out, we repeat the process.

If I were making a fresh batch just for iced coffee, I would make it stronger so it could be served over ice without tasting watery.

If you want to add gelatin, pour a serving size amount into a wide, shallow pan and sprinkle with .5-1 TBS of gelatin.  Heat until just dissolved (doesn't have to get really hot), remove from burner and let sit to cool a touch. Pour into glass, add milk down the side  to mix and enjoy. 

*Depends on how sweet you make your sweet tea initially.

Made From Scratch Tuesday
Hearth and Soul Hop
Weekend Gourmet Carnival
Gluten-Free Wednesday
Foodie Wednesday
What's Cooking Wednesday
Simple Lives Thursday 
Fresh Food Friday

Fried Noodles GF

I had some leftover rice noodles (a RARE occurrence) from making Stroganoff, so decided to fry them up like fried rice...sort of.  They were a semi solid lump so I just plunked them in a pan of hot coconut oil and put the lid on.  They cooked for about 7 minutes to crisp before I flipped them for another 7 minutes cooking time.  I added some red pepper flakes, basil and salt while cooking and a little balsamic vinegar right after removing from the pan.  We ate them with a some brats and coffee with cream, sugar and gelatin for a yummy, hardy breakfast.


Fight Back Friday

The Ultimate Bedtime Snack - A Mocha by the Hearth

There is nothing better than a warm mug of mocha  right before bed.  Sweet, rich goodness to nourish the body as it repairs itself from the stress of the day.


The hearth...in my case a soapstone topped wood stove...is perfect for slowly warming the milk.


Making a batch of cocoa separate from the coffee allows for customizing. Some like coffee with a hint of chocolate, some a hint of coffee in their chocolate.
I like a half and half blend.


Don't forget the gelatin in the coffee.  Gelatin is high in glysine and "Glycine is recognized as an “inhibitory” neurotransmitter, and promotes natural sleep."    http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/gelatin.shtml


Consume your beverage with a little homemade cream of tartar (potassium) capsule and magnesium and you have it made.

Hearth and Soul Hop
Whole Foods for the Holidays

Coffee Ice Cream

Coffee Ice Cream
(modified from the "Joy of Cooking"***)

1/2 cup strong coffee ( I used an OG Kona blend...on sale, of course)
1.5 cups sugar
1/2 tsp unrefined salt

dissolve and let cool a bit

2  beaten fresh eggs
2.5 cups fresh whole milk
1 cup fresh cream
1 tsp vanilla

add slightly cooled coffee mix slowly to cold cream mix while stirring

chill over night  and churn in a well chilled ice cream maker

Garnish with shaved chocolate, if desired

Exquisite!


(***It takes work to keep a cow for fresh milk and chickens for eggs...why ruin that with scalding and such?)


Monday Mania

Coffee

A little coffee with my milk!

Coffee is GOOD for you....fully caffeinated in all it's glory.
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml