Homemade Iced Vanilla Latte(ish)

Yet another heat wave in California + the start of the school year = prime time for an icy caffeinated treat. Don’t mind if I do!

Come afternoon, this quick drink is one of our favorite ways to use up leftover, lukewarm coffee that’s still lingering in the pot. A snap to make, just a bit of caffeine for a boost, and not too sweet… Behold: the homemade iced vanilla latte (“ish” because, well, technically this is probably an iced vanilla café au lait, since we’re not using espresso, but… latte just sounds better, doesn’t it?).

How do you use up leftover coffee? If we don’t use it in this recipe, we usually refrigerate it in mason jars to drink as plain iced coffee within a few days.

Homemade Iced Vanilla Latte (for one, but easy to scale up or down)

• 4 ounces coffee, cold or room-temperature
• 2 ounces milk, cold
• 1 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract
• 1½ teaspoons sugar (depending on your taste)

Pour all ingredients into a glass. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add lots of ice and enjoy!

Fave-Find Friday: Back to School

Back to the grind, folks! Megan is back in school and Joe’s music students are, too. There’s something comforting about getting back into a routine, isn’t there? At the same time, it’s hard to come down from the high of vacation, which is why we made this little video of our trip to Orcas Island. Hope you enjoy!

From around the web this week:

A list of East Bay patios to enjoy during our “summer.”

We love our fresh and simple bruschetta (ate it for dinner this week, in fact), but this recipe looks like something we might need to try, too.

While we’re at it, let’s also try lavender white chocolate bark. Yum.

A pep talk generator. (Related: Kid President!)

Have you heard of Noisli? It’s white noise to help you focus or relax. Could come in handy this school year!

CSA Wednesday: Week 33

We’re back! And so is our CSA. This week we got potatoes, grapes, peppers, tomatoes, basil, carrots, and cucumbers.

Fave-Find Friday: Vacaaaaay!

We are PUMPED for our upcoming family trip to Washington State. We’ll be ignoring the blog next week and heading up north, where we plan to hike, kayak, eat pizza, reconnect with some family, and stock up on our favorite salt. Have a great week!

Some links for ya:

Why we need more teachers of color.

Way to go, Target! … and Netflix, too! Wow, lots of good news.

Expiration dates are apparently bogus—here’s a guide to help.

Urban farm controversy in Berkeley.

The notorious RBG.

These roasted tomatoes look delicious. We might try this tonight and freeze them before we go.

CSA Wednesday: Week 32

Watermelon, corn, tomatoes, peaches, garlic, basil, peppers, and zucchini. Tonight we’ll make some veggies tacos with the corn, peppers, zucchini, and tomatoes. We also plan to make and freeze some pesto!

Happy Two Years!

Happy Anniversary to us! (photo: By Cherry Photography)

Fave-Find Friday: Boys Weekend!

Joe is at a bachelor party this weekend, so Megan’s mom is visiting to keep her company. We’ll be eating a lot of this. What are you up to?

Scientifically-proven ways to enjoy your vacation.

Megan’s brother runs a horse-powered farm in Walla Walla, WA. You should check them out.

Teehee.

57 best cooking tips of all time. A quick, fun, and useful read.

Tiny dining.

Writing a condolence note is challenging. Here is some thoughtful advice.

How fun would it be to have a pretzel party?

Have a lovely weekend!

CSA Wednesday: Week 31

This week: corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, grapes, and melon. Yum!

Roasted Peppers and Goat Cheese

A lovely, easy-yet-impressive summer appetizer. We recently made this with homemade goat cheese and took it to a potluck picnic—our friends raved about it! It is simple, delicious, and beautiful. To make it “to go,” we simply used a small Pyrex pan as the platter, and used its lid for transporting. We found that the texture of the leftovers got a little strange, so we recommend eating this all in one go… though you shouldn’t have to much trouble with that!

Roasted Peppers and Goat Cheese (print recipe here)

Ingredients

• 3 bell peppers in a mix of colors
• 1 tomato
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, separated
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 8 ounces fresh goat cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
• Bread, for serving

Directions

Rub the peppers and tomato with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then roast them whole at 450˚ (we did this in the oven, but they would also taste great on the grill), turning often, for about 20 minutes, until they are charred and soft. Put them in a bowl and cover. While they are steaming, mix the remaining oil with the vinegar, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Crumble the goat cheese on the serving plate. Then peel, de-stem, and chop the peppers and tomato. Stir them into the dressing to coat them. When cool, spoon the mixture over the cheese and top with the fresh oregano. Serve with bread.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Jenifer!