Surprise Thanksgiving

Last night we surprised my mom and her husband with a 

Surprise Thanksgiving.

This might be the most fun thing we've ever done for them.

In our family, my brothers and I alternate Thanksgivings together with Thanksgiving with our in laws. We never deviate from the plan. The dilemma this year is that it is a year that we are going to be with in laws, yet my mom and her husband have multiple health complications

and will both be undergoing procedures while we're away. 

That might seem harsh that we'd continue to go away, (if my brothers' in laws were 

not close by in town, I would reconsider absolutely) yet my in laws have their own health challenges with the addition of several years on my mom and her husband,

we have to seize the opportunity to visit them when we can.

I just felt like I wanted to do something special because

Thanksgiving is about family and being together.

I didn't want to miss out on making memories

with them and I hope that there will be

many more Thanksgivings we

enjoy with them.

So, I will let you in on a little

Thanksgiving secret.

Whole Foods.

That's the secret.

Whole Foods has a nasty reputation for being ridiculously expensive

and I agree. However, the secret is that there Thanksgiving boxes are the

biggest bang for your buck that you will find during the holidays.

I could not have prepared half of the meal for the price I paid 

for EVERYTHING!

Turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green beans, dinner rolls, and pecan pie. (My mom's favorite.)

I had enough for 8 so that they could have left overs and we could too.

$ 89

There.

I whispered it.

It was fantastic too!

I expected mediocre flavor

but they delivered!

I think I'm in love with the stuffing.

I will definitely do this again.

And, heating it all up took enough work and attention

that I tricked myself in to thinking I'd actually made the dinner.

It was so fun.

We boxed up candles, napkins and napkin rings, and wine glasses.

I wanted to be sure since we were surprising them that all the pretties would be

easily accessible.

We squished into their sweet little space and made the most fun memories.

I realized that I don't have very many pictures of my mom and I together

so it wasn't hard for her to sit still for a quick photo session.

Apparently it's harder for some to sit still.

And just for fun,

this picture below cracks me up because it looks like

Jake's knocking our heads together. Like some goofy 

Three Stooges stunt.

And when families get together aren't there always these kinds of photos?

So, I'll send a coffee card to the person with the best comment below of what 

I'm saying to the kids right there, or what TrueLove's saying behind the 

camera or what my mom's thinking.

If anyone is still reading.

HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING.

I will resume posting after the holiday.

Cold Brew For You

Cold Brew Coffee

If this is the first you've heard of cold brewing coffee,

and you are not too ground in tradition 

(no pun intended-ok. maybe a little)

then engage with me as I let you in on a little secret.

IT'S AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

I can hear you saying,

"Why on earth would anyone do this?"

Fair question.

IT'S AWESOME!!!!!!!!

For more compelling reasons than my own enthusiasm,

when coffee is brewed slow and cold,

(I really wanted to write "slow and low, let yourself go, slow and low that is the tempo-

some of you remember the Beastie Boys-not Cheech and Chong-

but it didn't fit so I just did it anyway.)

It is much less acidic. In fact, according to an article I just read, these are the facts:

"The final coffee beverage is very tasty and much gentler on the palate. In fact cold brew coffee is much less acidic than regular coffee and contains up to 30 percent less caffeine. This is because during traditional coffee brewing much of the acidic compounds and caffeine are extracted during the brewing process by the hot water but this doesn't happen nearly as much with cold brewing." 

According to Hungersauce blog this method "extracts 90% of the flavor components of coffee, but only 15% of the acids."

I'm good with that. Less acid. Less caffeine. More flavor.

I do not need convincing. I've had it. You can order a cup at the Whole Foods coffee counter.

I had been grabbing the iced coffee at La Boulange for about a month

before I realized it why it was so superior.

Cold brewed.

I found this out when I ran in there one day and they were all out.

Thinking it was just coffee with ice in it,

I said, "When will you have more ready?"

Sweet lady behind counter, "Oh, not until tomorrow. I'm so sorry. We brew it over night in a cold brew method."

ding! ding! ding!

No wonder it was so stinking good!!!!

Then after I riddled the poor girl with questions, 

that I was perfectly capable of doing it myself and saving a little coin too.

So started googling and now I'm sharing with you how I do it.

Let's revisit my "It's Awesome" shout out,

so I can properly tell you what makes it so different according to the taste sensory

because that's what it's all about.

Due to the fact that the acidity is cut,

what stands in it's place are all the subtle nuances of the bean

that you usually miss.

Have you ever heard someone describe chocolate like they were a wine connoisseur?

What? pear? vanilla? tannins? rosemary?

You know what I mean.

I promise that when you have a cup of cold brewed coffee,

the flavor will come alive and you'll start to understand what people are saying 

when they can detect those nuances of flavors.

Careful not to cover them all up with cream and sugar.

You can, and of course that is your perogative,

but just for that first cup,

savor and enjoy

the complexities so that you can say with conviction

that you taste the difference.

I love it.

And look how easy it is.

*1/4 course ground light roasted coffee

1/4 C tepid water
Pour the water in. Leave it 12 - 24 hours on the counter with a lid. 
Make sure that each little coffee granule is touching water. I just swished it around a bit like in the photo following.

(12 - 24 hours)

coffee filters or cheese cloth
Filter it whichever way you choose. And then add at least 1 C of water, maybe more to your preference. Then store the rest in the refrigerator. 

1+ C of water.

It will last in the refrigerator for 4 weeks. When brewing you are making a 

CONCENTRATE.

You must add water to it. The barista at Whole Foods told me that it's so strong that you can stain you deck with it. Probably this time of year you won't be sipping on your deck, but your teeth like to be white, so please don't stain them by not diluting this concentrated coffee. Please dilute it. Several blogs I read stated that they pour the concentrate half way into a cup and then pour boiling water over it. That way they get the amazing flavor in a hot cup of coffee. I'm definitely trying that!

*According to BA's DIY Cold Brew Coffee Recipe- Stephen Morrisey who is the 2008 World Barista Champion, recommends using a lighter roasted coffee with a higher acidity rather than a darker, more bitter roast for a "luscious, soft, and supple" result. You can click on the link for their recipe which makes a bigger bulk batch.

A Good Clean Story

Love It!

Good clean fun.

This soap is hand made locally

using 

raw goat's milk.

Everything in it is pure,

natural,

nutritious

and 

lovely for your skin.

I learned about it from my friend Jeff

who travels everywhere becausehe

is out there changing the world

in an

AWESOME

 way!

I met him in Kona several years ago and 

have been introducing him to everyone I love

whenever he lands in San Francisco

for a weekend.

So he met my friend Todd, who owns a swanky,

little, fashion boutique "denim bar" called

EDGE,

and Jeff jumps in there whenever he's around.

Todd gave him a  soap bar from the denim bar (ok, not funny) to try

and apparently it was the magic thing that worked on his

troubled skin.

No more bumpy skin!
Heard the song "Baby Got Backne?" 
Sorry, just trying to lighten things up? Jeff does not have 
"backne" but there are a lot of people out there that do
and are washing it away with this
miraculous little sudsy stuff
from raw goat's milk.

It sounded like Jeff had tried everything for his bumpy bumps
 and this soap is the THING that worked!

So I started buying it for him and shipping it to wherever he was

and using it myself

and making my

14 year old 

wash his bumpy skin with it too.

It's amazing!

It's all I'll/we'll use now.
Here's another awesome reason I love Tierra Mia Organics.
I relayed this story about the soap to a friend of Sylvia, the beautiful lady
who makes the fabulous soaps, 
and after hearing about my friend 
changing the world, 
posted on her website that it was their desire as management to GIVE Jeff his soaps
because they appreciate what he's doing out there.
So Amazing!
I stumbled upon this inadvertently and called them personally to say that I'm the one
who told the story and I could hook them up if they meant what they had 
claimed about giving him soap.
They meant it!
I love the soap so much more 
knowing that they are made
by 
integral, generous, and devoted
people with a precious spirit
who care about the things I care about.
I really get the sense that they are 
in the soap making business
to help people. 
Now, back to the bar!

I love the velvety lather it makes.

I love the way my face and skin 

stay soft

after

washing.

I love the scent, especially the Almond Coffee and 

my second favorite 

is Clove Black Pepper.

They smell "good enough to eat", as my dad used to say-

which I actually did once as a kid.

It was strawberry soap, so I avoid fruity scents all together

since that episode of running screaming naked through the house,
slipping on the trail of bubble bath water I was
leaving everywhere left a permanent 
disflavor 
for 

fruity bar soaps.

(Sorry to get off track there. True story though.)

All of their soaps are

Gluten Free.

They use 
No surfectants.

No Sulfates.

No Parabens.
It is recommended for 
oily skin
acne
exzema
babies
sensitive skin
shaving bumps
dry skin
and
pure enjoyment.

And if you go to their website

Tierra Mia Organics

then you can read about why raw goat's milk soap

is better than commercial

varieties

and you will probably want to run out and get 

a few bars

yourself.

I buy them at EDGE in Danville

because I love Todd too

and the soap was the only thing I could 

personally use

(until recently when they began offering

chic little threads for women too.)

You can also find these soaps at any of the

Whole Foods 

locations

or on the Tierra Mia Organics website.