Friday, November 30, 2012

How I Take My Coffee

You may think that a post entitled "How I take my coffee" would be incredibly simple.  Maybe you think it is narcissistic.  Why is my coffee preference so important to tell the world about?  To me, it is personal.   What goes into my coffee is a story of my relationship with myself and my husband, as well as a story of me and my love of food.

First, there is the mug.  One of the most important parts of a good morning coffee is the vessel that it comes in.  There are two mugs that I will always try to reach for first in my cabinet (assuming they are not already in the dishwasher):  my Minnie Mouse mug or my Lawyers Have Heart mug.  

The Minnie Mouse mug was a souvenir that me and my husband got on our Honeymoon at Disney World.  It is part of the set (the other mug, the Mickey Mouse, belongs to Alan).  We decided on mugs as our souvenirs because it was the most accurate description of who we are as a couple.  Nearly every weekend of our first year dating was spent getting coffees at this restaurant  bar/ coffee shop in our college town called "The Artful Dodger."  It is where we spent a lot of time talking, getting to know each other, and blossoming into a couple.

The Lawyer's Have Heart mug is a fundraising gift I received when I ran a 10K race in July 2011.  If you know me, you'll be incredibly confused about that last sentence.  Run a 10K?  I always hated running and still do to this day.  In fact, I didn't actually run a 10K.  I ran/ walked a 5K (the race organizers shrank the course because it was too hot to run 10K).  The mug doesn't represent running; it represents me being a lawyer and busting my ass through three incredibly hard years of law school.

Now for the blend.  I go for the Whole Foods Pleasant Morning Buzz.  I buy the whole beans so I can grind at home.  I've tried so many blends, and this is the only blend where the coffee isn't too bitter for me and not too light for Alan.  Once again, a compromise between the two of us.  Of course I buy whole beans and grind at home, like a coffee nerd.

Finally, the add-ins. I used to laugh at people who took cream and sugar in their coffee.  Why would they bother?  Oh God, you're using Splenda?!  I still, to some extent, maintain this attitude.  People that put cream and sugar, to me, are not improving the taste of coffee, they are covering it up.  Instead, I opt for cinnamon and almond milk.  I add the cinnamon into the grounds, so that it is infused into the brewed cup without any sort of weird powder in the bottom of my cup.  Then I add just a touch of almond milk for a nutty flavor.  The combination adds a rich and nutty flavor and makes a great start to my day.



How do you take your coffee?

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Welcome - Why am I here?

I never thought I would do a blog.  I've thought this for a variety of reasons:  no time, nothing to say, worried about producing regular content.  I could give a laundry list of reasons why I've stayed away from producing something, but why I didn't start a blog in the past is not as important as why I am starting one now.

So why am I starting a blog now?
I graduated law school in May of this year.   That was three years of working and studying during the day and attending classes at night.  Down time was at a premium and when I did have a moment to myself, I wanted to spend it not thinking.  Not reading, not writing, not even watching scripted TV (although reality TV was fair game).  

Now, not only do I have the mental capacity to handle something, I want to.  I need a creative outlet to match my energy.  Not only that, I need practice writing and editing. Granted, this is not even close to the writing and editing that I do in my day job, it is still a chance to practice, and a fun one at that.  

What is this blog about?
Really, the name didn't give it away?  Well, if you still haven't figured it out, its about food.  All about food and my thoughts related to food - recipes, food TV, food and social events, restaurants, and random thoughts that I have that are even just tangentially related to food.

I choose food because when I did afford myself a creative outlet in law school, it was through food.  The kitchen was my studio.  And even before that, I've always had an (un)healthy obsession with anything related to food.  I think it started when I was 12 and my parents ordered the cable package that came with the Food Network.  Ten years later, while stuck on a Jet Blue flight on the tarmac at the Richmond Airport, I was trapped watching a marathon of Top Chef on Bravo (I am not kidding when I say that I saw the entire second season while waiting for my plane to take off).  That took my love of food from delightful to incredibly obsessive and it hasn't subsided since.  So I've decided to share it with the world.