~ Beverages ~

Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, and inspires the youth. ~ Lord Byron

How to make Caffe Americano Caffe Americano is simply a mixture of one or more shots of Espresso diluted with fresh, hot water at the right temperature. When making your own Caffe Americano, choose the right gourmet coffee. Try French Roast.    Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis - a good hot cup of coffee. ~ Alexander King How to make Cappuccino Cappuccino is served in a mug or glass and is made from one or two shots of Espresso, topped with a mixture of one half steamed milk and one half steamed milk foam. When making your own Cappuccino, choose the right gourmet coffee bean. Try Buenaventura.    I never drink water. I'm afraid it will become habit-forming. ~ W.C. Fields How to make Espresso Espresso is a straight, one-ounce measure of coffee made in a very particular way - and generally known as a ´shot´. Finely ground coffee is tamped into a special holder and then has water forced through it at exactly the right temperature, the right pressure and for the right length of time. It´s not easy to get it exactly right! But when you sip an Espresso made by an experienced Barista at your local coffee house, you´ll experience the best of all coffee moments. When making your own Espresso, choose the right gourmet coffee bean. Try Espresso Dark Roast.   How to make Caffe Latte Caffe Latte is made with one or more shots of Espresso topped with steamed milk and finished with a quarter inch of steamed milk foam. When making your own Caffe Latte, choose the right gourmet coffee. Try Fog Cutter.   How to make Caffe Mocha Caffe Mocha is made in a mug or cup with one or more shots of Espresso added to one ounce of quality chocolate syrup, then filled with steamed milk. But without foam. When making your own Mocha, choose the right gourmet coffee bean. Try Mocha Java.   Mocha Java Shake ½ cup cold prepared strong coffee (Mocha Java of course!) 4 triangles from a 100g Toblerone chocolate bar (or similar amount) Blend on high speed until chocolate is chopped into small pieces Add 2 cups of ice cream (coffee, chocolate or vanilla) Blend on high speed, using On/0ff action until smooth. Pour into glasses Serve immediately. Makes approximately 2 - 8 oz. servings.   Real Old-Fashioned Lemonade 6 Sunkist® lemons -juice 1 cup sugar, or to taste 4 cups cold water 1 Sunkist® lemon , cut into cartwheel slices ice cubes   Directions: In a large pitcher, combine the lemon juice and sugar; stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well. "Pink Lemonade" Variation: Add a few drops of red food coloring or grenadine syrup. Honeyed Lemonade Variation: Substitute honey to taste for the sugar Makes 6 servings Smoothie Recipes: Thick Coffee Banana Smoothie Smoothie recipes are quite popular these days, and for good reason: they´re simple to prepare, good for you, and delicious. A smoothie is a great breakfast on the run when you´re pressed for time. Still, there are a few little preparation quirks that distinguish a good smoothie from a great one - at least in my book. For one, I like to par-freeze the fruit I´m using - not rock solid, mind you - because it helps thicken the drink; room temperature fruit only thins it. Ditto for the liquid I use, in this case coffee - usually left over from the pot I´ve made that morning. As prepared here, this smoothie has a mild coffee flavor, but if you want a stronger coffee kick then go ahead and use some, or all, coffee yogurt instead of the French vanilla. Note that chocolate syrup may be used as well, for a mocha flavor profile - but do go easy with it, so you don´t mask the coffee flavor. Finally, never over-blend smoothies because the friction tends to thin them out. 3/4 to 1 cup fresh brewed coffee, cooled 1 medium banana, peeled 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar or honey, to taste (optional) 1 1/2 cups French vanilla yogurt (low-fat or nonfat is fine) 1 to 2 tablespoons protein powder or other nutritional powder (optional) 1 teaspoon chocolate syrup (optional) 1 drop vanilla extract 1. Twenty to thirty minutes before you plan to mix your smoothie, put the coffee in a shallow pan and place it in the freezer, stirring once or twice after 15 minutes. It should become slushy-icy. Thinly slice the banana onto a plate and put that in the freezer as well, to chill. While you´re waiting, chill the 2 or 3 glasses you plan to serve this in. 2. When you´re ready to proceed, combine the chilled coffee, banana, and sugar to taste in a blender. Blend just until smooth. 3. Add the yogurt and any of the remaining ingredients you wish to use. Blend again, briefly, just until smooth. Taste, adding a little more sugar if needed. Transfer to the chilled glasses and serve. Makes 2 to 3 servings

For information on buying or selling east bay homes, please contact me at 510-429-4800 or send me a note on the Contact Joanne form.    Thank you, Joanne P.S.  Be sure to add us to your favorite places. ~ Joanne L. Gardiner, Broker, e-PRO Realtor Advantage Realty 3205 Whipple Road - Union City, California 94587 (510) 429-4800 San Francisco Bay Area  ~ San Francisco East Bay Real Estate web site: http://www.joannegardiner.com   Our primary realty service areas in the San Francisco Bay Area: Hayward, Castro Valley, Fremont, Newark, Niles, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, San Ramon, Sunol, Oakland, Foster City, Burlingame, and San Mateo. The types of real estate in which we specialize are:  single family homes, detached homes, attached homes, duets, condominiums, townhomes, garden homes, PUDs, manufactured homes, mobile homes,  income property, investment property, tri-plexes, four-plexes, apartment property, and special use properties such as churches for sale. ~  Affiliations ~

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