the Nescafe 3-in-1 Creamy Latte

After depriving myself of caffeinated coffee beans (to avoid high BP on my hubby's part) my body wasn't really satisfied of the decaf coffee we had 2 weeks ago. I went to "caffeine starvation mode" and so I grab the only available coffee we had days ago and that is the 3-in-1 instant coffee. Since I knew how to work it right by accident or should we say by curiosity (but i wasn't killed =D). The fantastic discovery of instant mixed coffee with steamed/frothed/heated milk didn't fail, it was indeed a successful experiment. And I actually wrote the recipe here and published it. Here's the link, http://coffeecupsandteacups.blogspot.com/search/label/instant%20coffee
(but no photos to demo it, so i thought of taking a picture to help describe more bout the recipe).

Not every household does have espresso maker, in fact it's very rare. Those people who owns one of these are those who loves coffee enough to save earnings to afford such not-so-necessary stuff. 

And for those who have coffee shops or coffee businesses.

The good thing is one can have an alternative way of 

"how to make steamed/heated milk" in very a simple way. 

1).Heat the fresh milk into the saucepan. Just heat, don't boil.

2). To make the froth, just shake an enough amount of cold fresh milk into a close container to produce a froth. Then topped it into the hot coffee. Then cappuccino or latte is ready.

"Nescafe 3-in-1 Creamy Latte"

Try mo!

Cookies and Milk, anyone?

So this afternoon I was craving for some walk and my destination is Cubao Expo. I was expecting to go to Libreria Bookstore that my husband and I found about last year. Libreria  to my knowledge is a bookstore where you can find a lot of books, maybe old or new or 2nd hand, but who cares, the older the book the better, like wine. Speaking of wine, you can't find wine there, instead, they offer coffee, YES COFFEE!! And they have this set of sofa, where one can sit comfortably while browsing books and being warmed up by a hot coffee of your choice, paired with a cake, if one prefers to. Next to the sofa was a set of a table and chairs for the readers, so there that's the picture of what the Libreria looks like. Because it was so unique and peaceful I was intrigue and curious and excited to visit there soon, but unfortunately we haven't found time yet, so I thought this would be the perfect time.

When i got there to the spot i knew where it was, It was gone, as in GONE (accompanied by some horror music on the background) let's do it again, IT WAS GONE.....MY WORLD JUST SUDDENLY CRUMBLED DOWN! OH NOOOO!!!! (just kidding!)
Well it was replace by a new store. No big deal. I went on, I walk around pretending i was not desperate. But heyyy look what i found, a new cookie and milk shop, ohhh yeah! (dancing in the disco, dadadadancing in the disco) I was happy, so happy enough to try their menu. The shop's name is "Sweet Ecstasy". I got myself a cookie and a glass of fresh milk (forget the low fat, it's a cookie that i have, COOKIE!) I'm glad i found Sweet Ecstasy, it was a sweet afternoon indeed. With just a less than a hundred bucks, finding happiness is that too easy. Next time I'll bring a book or a friend. Bring your friends too. But if you want to be alone, it's a perfect time to have a moment of peace from the hustle and bustle of life. You may prefer to watch at the flat screen TV with cable, how cool that can be, or you can bring a book it's nice to read there the ambiance is perfect, or just chill out and bring a two small ear plugs that is round in shape, big or small it doesn't matter, it comes in diff. color usually white, people just love white, anyway, it's the one that bring forth music =D ayt.

Much has been said, so these are the photos i got so far, I hope you'll like it.

"Sweet Ecstasy"

Inside the shop, it's nice and clean, very avant garde and minimalistic 

I love everything in it, It reminds me a lot of the cafes in Melbourne, 

I haven't yet been there but the photos say so, that's why. 

 Outside the shop,

More on the inside,

the menu glued on the wall,

1/4 liter of fresh milk

 (50 php)

Butterscotch and Bacon Cookie

(35 php)

Pa-extra lang yung satchel bag

milk and cookie

who took the cookie? from the cookie plate? haha...

The Art Gallery upstairs

(such a lovely place to unwind and hang-out)

SWEET ECSTASY

About

Milk and Cookies Bar. Where you can have your cookie and eat it too! Operating hours: 3-11pm on weekdays. Fri-Sat 3pm-2amCubao X, Quezon City

Description

We serve the best cookies in town! With the freshest milk! If you're craving for something sweet, we got you covered. Hang out and chill with us at the shop. We'll always have something for you when you pass by. It's all about Milk+Cookies baby! Fcuk Cake! :)

Location	Cubao X, Araneta Center, Quezon City, Philippines
Hours	Mon - Thu: 3:00 pm - 11:00 pm Fri - Sat: 3:00 pm - 2:00 am Sun: 3:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Phone	0916 594 1229
Email	ecstasysweet@gmail.com
Website	http://twitter.com/sweetXecstasy https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Ecstasy/

The List

"The list"

The last two months was a roller coaster ride. One day I was happy, the other day we'll not so extraordinary day, then came the day I was frightened of the future possibilities, then i got depress then after more soul searching and worries i got even more depress. But when I got to the point i needed to breathe out, I realize that the world is marble. Sometimes you're up sometimes your down. And I kinda getting the whole story now, and to realize that anything can happen in this life which is mostly beyond our control, being flexible at any situation is a plus and a must.

I got new motivation, new goals, inspiration, in short i'm strengthen by the waves and storms that comes and go. I have in here a short random list of well, "what to do":

1.) Be with my daughter, play with her, talk and listen to her always (in simple words, attend to her needs)
2.) Gotta catch-up to my spiritual needs (need to acquire the habit of praying in the morning and evening)
3.) Lose some weight (i have a target goal of weights to lose)
4.) Read Jane Austen's book/novel (while watching the tv series version)
5.) Read random books (spiritual, theology, literature, medical technology,and more...)
6.) Read "The Hobbit" and watch the animated version of the it.
     (In preparation for the movie coming this  december)
7.) Write more often to my blog (really had to, this is to keep track of story each day we had, and hopefully inspire other as well if it  happens they read this site).

So far, this is the list i had in mind as of the moment, but i know for sure more list is coming on the way... ( I just know)

adds on: I wrote this blog here in Highlands Coffee along E.Rodriguez St.,they have these free use of pc and internet. How cool is that?! and to add more, one can get a large cup of regular cappuccino or latte for only 99 pesos. This is a real nice deal. Have a cup of great day! ^_^

Coffee On A Budget

Coffee On A Budget

http://media-cache6.pinterest.com/upload/111604896985329032_ViLl3Zd4_c.jpg

Wanna have nice decent cappuccino on budget at home?

One doesn't need to go to starbucks or coffee shop everytime you crave for coffee, why not make one at home? you don't have to shell out hundreds of peso just to have a coffee outside, save it and try to do these steps.

What to buy:

Coffee press/French press 

http://www.corporategiveaways.com/products_medium/216-1.jpg

http://www.cornerofthecafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1314284616-french-press.jpg

(ranges from 100-300 php) 

this is good enough, no need to buy really expensive one, but if you have a budget why not.

Whole Coffee Beans or Ground Coffee Beans

http://www.buycoffeeonline.org/images/Whole-Bean-Ground-Coffee.jpg

You can buy coffee beans in grocery stores, go to the coffee section or whole food section (some stores are selling it by grams that's a good news if you're on a budget, you can buy even 50 pesos beans, they can also grind it for you, and also they have a really nice coffee burr grinder). 

Barako coffee a bit cheaper than Arabica. The prices ranges of 250gm pack of whole or ground coffee beans is from 150-250 pesos. This can last for one month if you're a moderate coffee drinker, but if its for the use of the whole family, it can serve leastwise 2 weeks. Imported are more costly than local products.

Tip: If you have a blender in your house that has a separated grinder, make full use of it. Freshly grounded beans is more better than pregrounded. Grind only enough beans you need to use. 

Fresh/low fat milk

Can be bought in Tretra pak to 1 liter. 28-70pesos

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg892bkKoDyKL5ruxgBydPifvlkVdP0qysx_qmGZhUF1wCIsGzuU10B1y2eNw8MnVL9SzolxASggBLHOFsXpTR00WPyt8BH8IZSSFK7vOqFIn-EvM0i48LUBuMGP_yDnFhzJR6lIB3b9Pm4/s400/fresh+milk.JPG

Milk Frother (optional)

You don't really need to have one, seriously! one can just heat the milk in a sauce pan and that's it you have your latte. But if you want your cafe latte to turn into a cappuccino, put some milk in a closed container then shake it for 30 sec, you have your foamy milk ready to be poured on the latte making it a cappuccino.

Here are some frothers i found in the net,

cappuccino frother 150-200 pesos

http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00pBaEYMQGIKuF/Cappuccino-Coffee-Mixer-Milk-Frother.jpg

electric milk frother

CBTL do sell one like these, but it's sooo expensive,and it's a lot lot beyond my budget, a whooping 13,000 bucks!!!

So i opted finding one on sulit.com.ph, truly God is gracious, from thousands down to hundreds, 300-500 pesos, yay! here's the link http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/5354596/Expressi+milk+frother?referralKeywords=milk+frother

All Purpose Cream (optional) 

http://www.alaskamilk.com.ph/images/crema-new.jpg

(optional as well, but it can do a lot of magic in your coffee, believe me it does! It's still an optional, you can still make your latte without this.)

Sugar to taste

 http://www.bigoven.com/uploads/BrownSugar.jpg

http://www.healthylife-healthyplanet.com/image-files/artificialsweeteners.jpg

(optional again it you don't like sugar in your coffee, that's perfectly fine, but i like my coffee with a brown sugar, really I do! (haha...) For diabetics you can use artificial sweeter.)

lastly, 

Cinnamon

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVpyTE3CDvbMaMSipWRhQrfsjE0ITTydxuk89RHFq5BaxCMovurerKqQgvw0toOAGEiU1GnNJtdNNy3w57aJhwt8rbKKTjMKl1p_R-3KFAGfpN9-nEyaSt4Tbes3KWZ1oC5FiOYGJ89A/s748/cinnamon-sticks-and-powder.jpg

Just the smell of coffee with cinnamon on top, is sooo satisfying. And healthy too, it lowers blood sugar. that's a huge WOW for only 20-30 bucks, right?! Can serve up to several months.

In summary:

BASICS

coffee/french press ----------------------- 150

coffee beans whole grounded-------------  200

fresh/low fat milk -------------------------  70

____________________________________

                                                                   420php

with cream 37 + 420 =  457php

with cinnamon 20 + 457 =  477php

*can serve up to 8-10 cups of cappuccinos or lattes.

*250 gms pack of coffee can last up to 3-4weeks.

Compare to a 130-150 pesos per cup of coffee from starbucks to a 420 php spending for 8-10 cups of delicious cappuccinos and lattes and more brewed coffees, americanos, and espresso at home it's a whole lot cheaper.

Simple And Easy Red Velvet Hot Cocoa

I'm sharing one of my favorite drink of all time. Iced or hot, christmas or not. 

This is my version of the recipe I found in the net, I follow some of the steps but not totally all.

Simple and Easy Red Velvet Hot Cocoa

(1 serving)

Ingredients:

2-3 tsp.sugar

2-3 tsp. all purpose cream

1-2 tsp. cream cheese

1.) Mix it all together. In my case I mix it althogether in the cup.

next,

2/4 cup of milk

1-2 tsp. cocoa, and

a dash of red coloring powder

2.) Mix the cocoa powder with cold milk and added the red food color, and froth it in the milk frother.

If you don't have a milk frother, you can just simply heat the mixture in a sauce pan, and that's it you're almost done.

3.)Combine the sugar,cream and cream cheese mixture with the steamed/heated hot choco milk,

4.) Lastly, you can top it with whipped cream cheese (if you have) or whipped cream, in my case milk foam did the trick. So that's it, simple and easy to do.

1322!

My labce quiz game score as of now
http://www.labce.com/end.aspx?sessionid=1434927&s=34bd6e6ef6342c223299b2f28b5172e7

1322 score puts on the 4th spot, yesss!
http://www.labce.com/highscores.aspx

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

I passed! woooohoooo!!! Iove it! Thank you Lord!

This day was so amazing, i haven't fully digested the fact that I passed the licensure exam in medical technology! Oh my, I'm now a legit medtech! a clinical laboratory scientist! and here's the proof

http://prcboardresult.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-2012-medical-technologist-medtech.html

http://bomboradyo.com/news/latest-news/101662-533-mga-bagong-med-tech-prc

And it's all over the internet, a legit exam result from the PRC themselves. Oh what a relief! By God's grace i finally did it! Thanks to my family and friends who supported me till the very end of this journey and what a very good year to start on.
Next is the ASCP certificate of registry, hopefully this year as well.

God bless everyone!