Cold-Brewing Coffee

Again, I have a new way of making coffee... (If you remember, I recently cut out sugar and posted about going through that. Yay!) I had heard about cold-brewing a couple times, especially through reuseit.com, since they sell stuff for that and promote it. But I hadn't seriously thought about trying it out. Then a friend posted Pioneer Woman's way of making cold coffee. Again, still didn't think about it seriously.

And then Aiden's birthday came around again. (Yes, another post I haven't gotten to, yet... August is a busy, busy month.) Whenever we have a crowd over, we serve a cold coffee drink that is always a big hit. But we don't have a coffee pot. We only have a filter-thingee that makes one cup. One. Last year, we borrowed a pot from a neighbor to make enough coffee for the party, but I once was told, "If you have to borrow it twice, you should buy it." So, I didn't want to do that again. But we also didn't want to buy a coffee pot to use just a couple times a year.

Then I remembered the post on cold-brewing. I actually read it, realized how easy it was, and went for it.

And it was more than easy. I will be doing this from now on.

I Need a Flower

When we have boo-boos in this house, kisses sometimes work. But more often, what is requested is a flower. Not just any flower, though.

Have you ever seen these?

Those little novelty "ice cubes" that you can find randomly here and there in stores, especially during the summertime. They're plastic and filled with who-knows-what. You pop them in the freezer and then use them in your drinks instead of ice. The draw is they don't melt or water down the drink. And they're cute and festive.

We don't use them for our drinks, though. Like I said, who knows what is in them. And they're made of plastic, so I'd rather them not be in what I'm drinking.

But they are *perfect* for little boo-boos!

Strawberry Soup!

There are so many reasons I love making strawberry soup. For one, the boys both *love* it. It's super healthy. It's super easy with just a few ingredients and a blender. It's the perfect thing to make for lunch when it's suddenly lunchtime and you realize...whoops, nothing is planned and everyone is hungry NOW. That's the kind of meal I love.

I found this recipe in a magazine... You never know how those kind of recipes will turn out, especially when you're the kind of person who loves things that come with lots of reviews (I would be that kind of person). You don't get reviews when you make something from a magazine. BUT this did not disappoint! And I found a way to make it even better - spinach! (Yes, really. Get excited!) So, here's the recipe with at least one review (mine), if that counts for much. ;)

Green Smoothie Base and Blender Cleaning Tip

Such a beautiful green smoothie!

I put up a post on green smoothies last week - why they're good for you, a few recipes, some links, etc. I aim to continue to post other recipes as we make them (those that are good, at least!). I'll have a "green smoothie" label so you can find all posts related to them via that label.

Today we had one of our favorite smoothies. I posted about this on my new facebook page last week (if you haven't already "liked" it, what are you waiting for? wink, wink!) and got a few good responses. It's a really good recipe for beginners because it is mild, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, and you really can't tell there are any greens in it. It's a great base to start with and add to as you figure out what you like. Some neighbors stopped by earlier today when I happened to be making smoothies for snack time. The little girl, who isn't a berry fan, had a sip of smoothie...asked for more...and told her mom that if she made them like this, she would drink it. She was also very surprised that it had both kale and spinach in it!