Butter, Sugar, Chocolate, Eggs

Fucking good Mac and cheese.

Literally love being home just to make food.

Can I just explain how easy a good cheese sauce it to make?

Dude. Just make a roux. Butter and flour.

Add some milk.

Add a handful of shredded cheddar cheese and shredded Italian cheese. Then put a few velveeta chunks in that bad boy.

Seriously. It makes the sauce so smooth and gooey and characteristically orange. You wouldn’t even know it was in there. Just do it for the texture. Promise.

A few grinds of pepper, a huge pinch of kosher salt, and a schnibble of mustard and you’re solid.

Fuck me sideways this was good.

Peppermint mocha

Oh hay—- you can see my phone in the reflection of my penguin cup!
So basically, I am obsessed with Starbucks. (see gold card and free drink and the my bank statement that shows that I put at least 25 bucks on my card per month.) and basically, I make it my life goal to drink things as if they we from Starbucks every day. I just am a coffee addict who sometime likes to switch it up.

For the record, I totally am addicted to caffeine. And I bought white strips today in order to reverse that ugliness that has taken place on my teeth as a result of my excessive caffeine consumption.

I’m thinking that over my month long break, I will not only bake a shit ton of cookies and cakes and candies, but I will also attempt to recreate all of the deliciousness that is enveloped within the holiday drink menu at Starbucks. I have already recreated the pumpkin spice syrup for the pumpkin lattes, and today is TWO methods at recreating a peppermint mocha-esque beverage.

First, the easiest peppermint mocha coffee you will ever create.
Take your coffee, straight from the pot, and pour it over a mini candy cane. Or one or two of those starlight mints. You know, the ones you get at restaurants and such?
Okay. Here is the difficult part. Add one packet of hot cocoa mix. Or a spoon ful of the canned kind. Or even a few swirls of chocolate syrup. Then stir. And if you are feeling cray cray, add some whipped cream and garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder and crushed peppermint sticks.

What if you want to make the syrup? Some stuff you can add to espresso or pour into warm milk for a nice peppermint hot cocoa? I guess this one is pretty easy, too. It is a little more labor intensive, but by no means will take more than 15 minutes. Tops.
Take two cups of milk (I used half a cup of whipping cream and one and a half cups of skim milk. You could use all whole milk or all half and half or any combination you so desire)
Heat it up in a small saucepan so that you’re scalding it. Then add 1/3 cup of cocoa powder and 2/3 cup of granulated sugar. Whisk to combine and make sure there are no lumps or bumps or anything icky, and pour in a teaspoon of mint or peppermint extract. Again, stir, and let cool.
Pour it into a squeeze bottle and add it to your coffee or warm milk (or even cold milk!!) and you are good to go.

What other Starbucks treats should I try to recreate? I’m thinking an eggnog latte soon. Maybe a gingerbread latte? Salted caramel hot chocolate,? SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!!!

Sex bars

Chocolate pecan pie

How sweet eats brown butter cookies

S’more cupcakes (bakerella’s)

Oreo double chocolate chunk cookies.

hahaha whoops.

I spend a lot of time playing piano and chilling in our kitchen here. Cooking calms me down (as it always has), and it reminds me that even through the shitty grades, I’m still good at something. I can spend my time creating things that my sisters (and the scholars!) will enjoy and be appreciative of.

That, and being with our chef, Erin, is a complete and total blasty blast.

Currently, I’m obsessed with making things to put in drinks. You know, like roofies and shit.

Nahbutforeal. Pumpkin spice latte syrup (coming soon!) and more recently, chai concentrate. If there’s one thing that a sorostitute loves more than getting ready to go out, it’s Starbucks. But Starbucks is a few blocks away, and it’s not always open when you’re craving a sweet, caffeinated beverage.

To show my appreciation for the girls who keep me sane and alive, I decide to make something at least weekly that they’ll be able to enjoy. This week, my important creation was Chai Concentrate. It’s super easy and smells WONDERFUL, and I made it with things that we keep in the kitchen—- ground spices rather than whole.

Chai Concentrate

Makes about 3 cups

• 3 cups water
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• a pinch of ground fennel
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 6 black tea bags

1. Boil the water and sugar to create a sort of simple syrup.
2. Turn the heat down to simmer, and add all of your spices. Whisk to combine. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, then add your tea bags and vanilla.
3. Turn off the heat and let it relax for about 10 more minutes. Then, pull out your tea.
4. When the mixture is room temperature, strain through a fine mesh strainer (put cheesecloth in if you have it!)

When you’re craving a chai latte, heat about 3/4 of a cup of milk and combine with 1/4 cup of the chai concentrate. Enjoy! :]