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Even though I know it’s coming every year, our summer temperatures always seem to sneak up on me. This year we were a little more spoiled than usual since our spring lasted past April, going right into the beginning of June (though that’s relative: I consider pretty much anything under 90 degrees to still be “spring” weather).

Yesterday we hit our first substantial three-digit temp of 106 degrees, and despite wanting to cower in a dark, cool corner somewhere, my eyes instead misted over with the anticipation of my favorite summer treat: iced coffee.

Between coordinating my daughters’ daily chores and getting dinner ready in the crockpot (keeping the kitchen bearable, you know), I whipped up a batch of cold-brewed coffee, which I’ve found works the best for iced coffee (no melted ice cubes). However, instead of using my little French press, I opt for a pitcher and half a pound of ground coffee. Just mix the half pound of coffee with about eight cups of cold water, cover, and let it sit on the counter overnight. Strain it into a clean pitcher the next morning and keep it in the fridge. That’s it!

To make the iced coffee, put a few ice cubes in a glass and then fill about 2/3 full with the cold coffee. Top with milk and sugar or whatever other sweetener you want, including flavored syrups or chocolate syrup. I will admit that while I’m a Starbucks fan (not hardcore, but it’s a nice treat), this beats a $4 iced latte any day!

Last summer, Mike was having some reflux issues. We always like to see if we can’t help things out naturally before going to pills, so we did a little research to see what we could change in our diets first.

One thing we came across that could be changed was our morning coffee preparation, which we were doing with a regular old coffee maker. I had always assumed that coffee was acidic, no matter how it came to be. However, regular hot-brewed coffee is two times more acidic than cold-brewed coffee. And, in the last eight months that we’ve been doing this, Mike’s reflux issues have completely cleared up. It could be coincidental, but why mess with a good thing?

But what’s cold-brewed coffee, you ask? It’s exactly what it sounds like! Read More

It’s National Margarita Day, which can only mean one thing: A Raspberry Chambord Margarita!

Mike and I used to go out to a restaurant here in Vegas called Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill — unfortunately it shut down a few years ago. However, they had the best margarita ever, the Raspberry Chambord Margarita. It was tangy, smooth, and packed a punch. I was able to find a “copycat” recipe of it online a while back and we tried it last summer. It’s a perfect clone of the one we used to enjoy at the restaurant, and is actually pretty easy to make.

Instead of freezing the pitcher of mix like the instructions said to do, we use our ice cream maker. Just pour the mix into the pre-frozen canister, turn your machine on and within about 20 minutes or so you’ll have the perfect consistency for the margarita.

Chambord Raspberry Margarita

4 cups warm water
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup lime juice
2/3 cup lemon juice
10 oz gold tequila
5 oz triple sec
Chambord raspberry liqueur

Combine the sugar and warm water and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add lime and lemon juices, tequila, and triple sec. If making way ahead of time, pour into a pitcher, stick it in the freezer, let it freeze up a bit and give it a stir every now and then so it’s slushy. (This is a great plain margarita.)

If you’ve got an electric ice cream maker, pour the mix in and run it for about 20 minutes, or until it’s thick and slushy. Transfer to a pitcher.

Pour about 1/2 an ounce of Chambord (a little goes a long way!) into the bottom of a glass and spoon or pour the frozen margarita over it. This recipe halves well.

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