Watermelon is thought to have originated in southern Africa, where it is found growing wild. Today I had a chance to try a Big Train Watermelon drink. It was the pinkest drink I have ever seen.  This made me think that this would be perfect for hosting a baby shower or bridal party that needed a frosty, coffee-free beverage.  This drink did have a very strong watermelon taste while still holding a creamy constancy of a milk shake.  I do enjoy watermelon but -to be honest- this was a different idea to me, a watermelon flavored frozen drink? If you were a diehard watermelon fan this would be a must-try.

My little cousin works for a lady from Cambodia who owns a doughnut shop. They make thousands of doughnuts everyday. However, the Cambodian lady Vivienne and her husband Allen are always making food for their extended family and friends and the shop. Regularly Vivienne will concoct a batch of eggrolls that are so perfectly blended with ingredients and fried so crispy that she has to make a TON of them for everyone to get their fair share. I asked her if she used the big doughnut fryers they have in bad, and she explained “No, I use a Delonghi Fryer I bought off the Internet.” She told me this model was the “TOP-BEST “ money can buy. I noticed she tends to buy higher-end products. Apparently this fryer stays cool to the touch, is fairly portable, easy to clean, and fries her eggrolls perfectly every time.  I have eaten many of her foods, especially the eggrolls and I have to admit, they are quite perfect. I would describe her cooking as “TOP-BEST”.

Today we sampled some new Big Train Blended Crème flavors. I personaly tried both the Watermelon and the Strawberry Banana. They were delicious! The watermelon truly tasted like a real watermelon and gave me the notion that I was actually eating a slice of freshly cut melon! The Strawberry Banana reminded me of my favorite Strawberry Banana yogurt. This particular flavor had creaminess to it that the Watermelon didn’t have; but I do not know if I would have liked the Watermelon as much as I did, it if did had the creamy factor built into it. I highly recommend both flavors! They will make great summer "cool down" smoothies!

The idea of a machine that can grind, brew and tamp a quality espresso shot almost seems like cheating.  Today I had a chance to use my friends Saeco Odea Go II.  I turned on the machine and it took about 20sec to heat.  Then I selected how much water I wanted and pushed the button to brew.  Within a few moments I had a freshly brewed espresso shot without needing the knowhow of tamping pressure, or how many grinds to put into a portafilter.  The machine even took care of the clean up.  It measured 7 grams of espresso into the portafilter, tamped the shot, then sent the heated water through the coffee into my cup. Wonderful and easy is all I can say.  I am not the best at frothing but with some reading and practice I am ready to step of my latte skills.  Priced at $499.00 on JLHufford.com this Super automatic espresso machine is a good quality, lower priced purchase.

If I could pick any item to bring with me on a deserted island, I would definitely take my fondue maker. I actually make a number of snacks for the kids, and my husband. The kids like to take fruit and dip the pieces into chocolate, white chocolate, or cream cheese frosting. They like chips dipped in a queso I make. My husband’s favorite is dipping pieces of chicken and shrimp into garlic sauce. I make a white cream sauce that is best.

 I also make a mole sauce, artichoke dip and a basil tomato dip.    Most sauces and dips are really high in fat and/or sugar, so we keep in mind that we could pack on the pounds if we ate TOO much of these foods.    On the other hand our family really gets into to prepping of the foods, and the kids love the bite-sized chunks.    We have turned this typically “glamorous” food choice into a suburban staple-  all in the name of enjoying family time and fun foods ! !

I finally decided that I need to find the perfect frother to pair with my French press. While looking at the the variety of milk frothers that we offer on our website, I found the perfect one, the Bonjour Caffe Froth Maximus. I quickly decided no to the battery operated frothers because I do not want to have to work about putting in new batteries when they die. The rechargeable one wasn’t a bad idea, but I already have tons of things on my counter and I just didn’t want to have another item on there. I want a clutter-free kitchen. My only option left was the Maximus, and it was a great choice. I only heat it up in the microwave for roughly a minute and a half or less and then use some muscle to froth the milk. It creates a wonderful froth perfect for my cappuccinos and lattes! It also stores away nicely in my cabinet for a clutter-free kitchen counter!

The neighbor kids like to come to our house while they are on break from school and the whole crew of them  (ours & theirs)  have a habit of raiding our kitchen. Instead of letting them go crazy with the “name brand” chocolate mix; I let them use the single serve COCOA AMORE. I found there is less mess and they don’t use ridiculous amounts  of powder. One little gal REALLY likes the RASPBERRY variety and commented that is tastes like girl scout cookies. 

I really enjoy living in the College Town I live in now. I moved here from a smaller town about 2 hours away. There are so many great things about this town. The people, the events, the school is a top university, there are plenty of jobs. However, there is only one single complaint I have about Lafayette, IN. The tap water is really gross;and the water on campus is even worse. We use a filtering system for our drinking water at the apartment, and my office brings in large water cooler jugs and adds a special "perfect water" mineral replacement. I suppose i'm spoiled at work with the tasty water. None the less, at home, our diswasher is coated with a layer of film that the city water harbors. This isn't JUST a calcium build up, there is a second (or third) ingredient making our dishes look horrible. There is a product that works magic, however for our COFFEE POTS, PANS, GLASSWARE. This is the Urnex Dezcal Liquid.

It works to loosen up the very worst of these lime deposits, and it is food safe as well. At $9 a bottle this is a bargain. It only requires a tiny bit and usually i can soak really coated items overnight for a sparkling shine on utensils and any machine.

 As a newly graduated college student I do not have many nice or matching kitchen utensils.  My parents invested into a nice set of Wusthof knifes this past year and have thoroughly enjoyed their use.  Formerly they owned cheap sets of knifes.  The statement you get what you pay for seemed to be true in this case as well.  They did not cut well, at all.  Even things I would consider an easy task were ruined with the poor quality of their former knives.  Tomatoes were crushed, bread was flattened and steaks needed to be sawn apart.  With their purchase of Wusthof Grand Prix II Ten Piece Knife Block Set these inefficiencies with cutting vanished.  They were so sharp I needed to be much more careful when using them.  The Wusthof name has been around for some time and is renowned for first-class quality knifes.  I think I will invest in a set of these now and save myself years of poor cutting. The price that JL Hufford has is the lowest I have found and they have free gifts with purchase that they offer as well as they cover shipping on any purchase over $75.00.  With their pricing it makes the purchase a great venture at a sensible price.

When I visit with my younger cousins, I sometimes am at a loss with what to do with them. They love to play video games and watch movies, but after a while I always pull them away from the television and take them outside to play games. When they finally started to catch on, I realized that I need to up my game and switch out playing outside with making a treat such as cookies. My aunt had never made them sugar cookies before, so I decided that we were going to make sugar cookies and use the Kuhn Rikon Kinderkitchen My Cookie Cutters to make different shapes other than a circle. They loved them! After the cookies baked and cooled, we decorated them with bright summer colors! Now, they want to make cookies every day instead of playing video games.

The BODUM copper clad 10’’ Braiser is the most versatile pan I have ever used. The item with was purchase through JLHUFFORD’s website is also very beautiful.  Recently they began discounting these pans and I thought I would like to buy up whatever they were offering.  My hope was to get a “set” of them as the “set” available wasn’t an option. I was able to get this lovely pan in time for a dinner party. Since I made a simple chicken dish in it I thought no one would be impressed. I had made this dish before (exactly the same). Fresh herbs, butter, layer of cheese.  Several people who had tried my dish insisted that this one was different and tasted much better. I imagine that the BRASIER made a difference because this was the same recipe. I have to admit that the food is much more fun to prepare.  They say presentation makes a difference!

When I started working for JL Hufford I was not a big fan of coffee. I would drink it but it would consist of more sugar and cream then coffee. As time has progressed I have become accustom to its taste and now enjoy it without sugar or cream.  I am willing to try about any coffee and now that I have access to literally hundreds of blends and flavors I have had the chance to experiment and find what I really enjoy. I have learned a couple things about coffee since working here.  I feel that to judge something to a standard of “taste preference” may be huge in variation and not very scientific so take this blog for what it’s worth, a new coffee drinker’s opinion.  One insight that I have learned is that the best smelling bean is not always the best tasting. So initially when I smelled the flavored blend “Banana nut crème” I was not very optimistic because it smelled wonderful.  After grinding up 2.2 fresh ounces, and filling up my cup with a freshly brew pot, my hesitations were quickly put to rest.  Banana Nut Crème is my new favorite flavored coffee.  It smells and taste just like freshly baked banana but bread.  It had a smooth rich coffee undertone that was easy to drink.  I had two large 16 ounce cups back to back and was sad to see the bottom of the thermal carafe.  I have had enough coffee for the day but I will remember this blend as one of my new favorites and would advocate it to any flavored coffee lover.

Are you searching for the Saeco Odea Giro Redesign? You will be looking for a while, because it has been upgraded and replaced with the Saeco Odea Giro Plus Cappuccino! What are the differences you ask? You will still get the great design and ease of use, along with the improvements. The first thing you will notice is the color difference. The Redesign was grey where the Plus Cappuccino is a silver or titanium color! This will work perfect for those with white or stainless steel appliances! You are also getting an upgrade in the performance pressure. The Redesign had a 7-8 bar pressure where the Plus has a 8-9 bar pressure. You will also have five grinder settings with the Plus! That is an upgrade over the 3 with the Redesign. Another small difference is that they switched from using the Aqua Prima filter with the Redesign to the Intenza filter for the Plus.You will also notice a shorter wait time between brewing and frothing. You had to wait 15 seconds for the Redesign, now it is only 10 seconds! If you are not great at frothing milk, the Plus has this problem covered for you! It has a frothing mechanism called Cappuccinatore which will siphon milk from a cup or a thermal milk container and froth it for you right into your cup! No more playing around with the pannarello wand in the morning!

The BIG TRAIN line of products is a really diverse set of flavors. We use them in our coffee shop to make blended drinks. These products are easy to use and require no rigorous training for my workers to memorize what ingredients go into a specific drink. I believe my workers could easily be trained as baristas, but our selection of products is too diverse to insure consistency for the customer. I use the chai mixes by themselves, whereas the blended coffees often get just-pulled espresso in them. The crème products work really well with any added fruit that the customer may desire. Having this many options while providing a consistency of flavors has been a very profitable endeavor for our little coffee shop, thank you BIG TRAIN, and JLHUFFORD.

The word "Biscotti" comes from bis and cotti, the Italian terms for twice-cooked or twice-baked. Biscotti is also the generic term for cookie in Italian. Traditionally an Italian classic, biscotti have been baked for centuries. It was the perfect food for sailors who were at sea for months at a time. The biscuits were thoroughly baked to draw out moisture, becoming a cracker-like food that was resistant to mold. Biscotti were also a favorite of Christopher Columbus who relied on them on during his long sea voyages.This week, JL Hufford was given some samples of Biscotti’s from the Enrico Biscotti Company. I have tried Biscotti’s in the past from some main line coffee companies and they have been crunchy and crisp and light.  I think this is the traditional taste perspective on biscottis.  The Biscottis from the Enrico Company did not completely fit this build; they were moister and less flavored.  They did not hold the typical harder consistency that biscottis typically hold.  By no means were they as soft as a piece of bread but they did not require coffee to moisten their  structure.  Over all I enjoyed them. I liked the fact that they did not hurt my jaw when trying  and bite into them; as well as they complemented the coffee that is the flavor did not dominate the drink  with an overbearing taste.

This is the season for Weddings and coming up with an appropriate gift can be tricky. There seems to be a need for a formula on what to buy for people. Excluding the ubiquitous “gift card”, it is becoming harder to find unique and affordable items. Based on how well you know the couple, how old they are, their preferences, what they already own, etc. The need for a registry is under-emphasized. We decided that for an older couple who had been married before & had kids, it was going to be difficult to find something they didn’t already have.  Good wine is a staple as a gift, but they don’t drink, so the only thing that would work was well, COFFEE. The website JLHUFFORD has fabulous selection of coffee.  We chose a selection of coffees that would work for both the BRIDE & GROOM. We gave them :

      Hawaiian Kona

      Sumatra Mandheling

      Ethiopian Yrgacheffe

      French Roast

We usually use cherries to top our ice cream sundaes,milkshakes, cheesecakes, or as a filling for a pie or cobbler!  I mostly only eat cherries if they have been placed on top of my milkshake. I never tried a drink that was flavored with cherries until recently and I have been missing out! Check out these cherry recipes!

Cherry Lemonade

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Cherry syrup
8 oz. lemonade
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine lemonade and Torani in a tall glass filled with ice and stir well.

Cherry Iced Tea

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Cherry syrup
8 oz. brewed tea, chilled
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine chilled tea and Torani in a glass filled with ice and stir well.

I happen to think that caramel and chocolate can make anything taste better! Caramel Apples are typically a fall treat. Stores stock up on all of the essentials to create them, and you can hardly walk into a grocery store without finding the pre-made ones! They are completely delicious for someone who loves caramel! Here is a twist on the caramel apple and another recipe caramel that you will love!

Caramel Apple Latte

INGREDIENTS

3/4 oz. Torani Caramel syrup
1/2 oz. Torani Apple syrup
8 oz. milk
2 shots espresso*

INSTRUCTIONS

Steam together milk and Torani. Pour heated, flavored milk into a tall glass and add brewed espresso*. Spoon a thin layer of foamed milk over beverage. *If needed, 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee can be substituted for 2 shots espresso.

Caramel Hot Chocolate

INGREDIENTS

1/2 oz. Torani Chocolate sauce
1/2 oz. Torani Caramel syrup
8 oz. milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Steam milk and Torani together. Pour heated flavored cocoa into a tall glass and stir gently.

Today I tried a Big Train Blended Ice Coffee flavor of Heath Mocha. I specifically tried the single serving potion that makes 16oz of blended deliciousness. They are easy to make! I feel that this blended ice drink had a little more prevalent coffee taste then some of the other big train mixes I have tried.  Just add 12 ounces of ice to 5 ounces of milk and the single serve powered mix and blend until you have the desired constancy.  I used a Vita Mix Quiet One Blending Station.  Granted this may have been in a little excess with such a nice blender usage, but the sound enclosure on this machine really cut down the noise and power of the machine made an extremely smooth blended ice coffee.  I can’t wait to try the other flavors of Big Train Blended Ice Coffee.

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The Candy Cane shape that we all know and love was not how it was traditionally made. When candy canes where first made in the mid-17^th century, they were just a stick of sugar. When they decided to bend the candy cane it was done all by hand! They also had to produce them locally since they could easily break and since they were very susceptible to moisture. The striped design that we know and love came around in the 20^th century! If you are looking for a recipe for your Christmas in July party or for this year’s Christmas party, here is the recipe for a Candy Cane Steamer that is absolutely delicious!

Candy Cane Steamer

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Peppermint syrup
8 oz. milk

INSTRUCTIONS

Steam together milk and Torani. Pour steamed flavored milk into a tall glass and stir gently.

WILL HELP YOU MAKE

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When I first learned how to steam and froth milk we would make each individual espresso drink in the cup in which it is then served. However, other coffee establishments would use a frothing pitcher. We never used these at the little coffee house I worked at. When I first began to discover why & how the pitchers were used I was baffled, seemed like a lot of extra work. However, the thing I LOVE most about doing it this way is the DECORATIVE drinks. I can steam & froth the milk to a consistency that allows me to pour the liquid into the cup and make a LEAF, a FLOWER, or a HEART. Trying to get the designs perfect and trying new designs is my new obsession. JLHUFFORD sells the PITCHERS as well as the CAPPUCCINO mug is need for this lovely “art form” – if you can call it that.

I would not say that I am a picky eater, but I refused to try blueberry pancakes until I was forced to eat them a few weekends ago. On Memorial Day weekend while I was at my families lake house, my grandpa decided that he was going to make everyone breakfast. He made us blueberry pancakes. I really did not want to try them, but I decided that I finally needed to just do it. They were surprisingly delicious! I was wondering what I had been thinking all of these years! Now I just cannot get enough blueberries to make up for the 20 years for refusing to eat them! Here are a few of my favorite blueberry Torani recipes! I hope that you enjoy them too!

Blueberry Cotton Candy Soda

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Blueberry syrup
1/2 oz. Torani Vanilla syrup
8 oz. sparkling water or club soda
ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour sparkling water into tall glass filled with ice. Add Torani syrup and stir well.

Blueberry Iced Tea

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Blueberry syrup
8 oz. brewed tea, chilled
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine chilled tea and Torani in a glass filled with ice and stir well.

Recently I have switched from drinking coffee frequently to drinking Espresso drinks.  I still love coffee but for just one drink it sometimes is not worth it.  With some practice, and a good machine making good quality espresso can become effortless.  The machine in our office is a Nuova Simonelli Oscar; and I use a double basket portafilter to brew a few shots. This I add into a 16oz Lang coffee mug -which is filled with ice, milk and Toroni sugar free chocolate syrup.  (In total this drink has less than 100 calories.)  The two shots of espresso certainly wake me up! Happily, the espresso’s bitter bite is masked with the skim milk and chocolate syrup. This icy combination makes it a such cool refreshing drink especially when I am not in the mood for a hot drink.  I have to watch myself, however, as I can down this drink very quickly and become a very hyper office worker. Yet, it may be my new favorite drink!!

The taste of Tippecanoe was this weekend in Lafayette Indiana.  This is a day where venders from all around Tippecanoe County get together and present a few featured items for a “taste” for the visiting community.  It is a really fun spectacle full of good music, great food, tasty beer and even fireworks.  Every year it draws thousands of people to come and see the festivities.  This year was my first time going.  I am an adventuresome eater so I wanted to try tastes of things that I have never had before.  I tried Indian, Thai and Italian and they were all very delicious.  The day was beautiful but warm and I was in need of a drink as I was hot and parched.  I saw the JL Hufford stand was offering Passion fruit Guava smoothies for a taste.  This is a combo I have never tried before and gave it a shot.  It was cool, refreshing and hit the spot.  I will certainly have to invest into some of these smoothies in my near future.

My grandpa’s neighbor has a huge peach tree in his yard. Every year, he will drive over and offer up some of his peaches for us to either sell at our vegetable stand or for our own personal use. We finally took him up on the offer this past summer and sold several of his delicious home-grown peaches and made a few cobblers! Just like watermelon, I happen to think that peaches are another one of those summer staples. Here are a few Torani recipes that incorporate peaches! I hope that you enjoy them!

Peach Lemonade

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Peach syrup
8 oz. lemonade
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine lemonade and Torani in a tall glass filled with ice and stir well.

Peach Italian Soda

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Peach syrup
8 oz. sparkling water
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour sparkling water into tall glass filled with ice. Add Torani and stir well.

The people at BODUM are really doing their homework. They have a  version of the COLD FRENCH PRESS. I have been using this item this summer, In lieu of my morning coffee, I will prepare the morning beverage the night before –as according to the instructions-and just add a tiny bit of sugar which will mix throughout the thick dark espresso roast I use. In the morning I mix a bit of half and half with the coffee in a large thermos. I take this with me to work and save me a ton of money going to the well-know coffee establishment each morning. I would recommend this item as a lovely wedding gift or a house warming gift.

After I had finished my undergrad, my brother bought me a set of Highwave Javaale Glasses as a gift.  As a new grad, I did not have two matching cups to clack together so this was not only a cool but a practical purchase.  These glasses are notable.  The double walls on these glasses keep your cold drinks frosty and your hot drinks steamy.  Their unique shapes display their contents in a very stylish way that made many of my friends envious.  Although they are very elegant, one of the best features for me about these glasses is that they are all microwave and dishwasher safe! I am sure you will enjoy these steins.

Every fall, I spend one full Saturday with family picking apples at a local apple orchard. We will spend hours driving up and down the rows, trying at least one apple from every tree to make sure that we find the perfect tree every year! If we have to climb up the tree to reach the apples, you can bet that my little brother and I are the two doing it. I cannot explain how much we love apples. We make sure that we pick enough to last us until the next fall. I just ran out of my stock of apples and now I have to go to the grocery store to buy my apples. I have found three Torani recipes using apples that I am sure another apple lover will appreciate!

Apple Lemonade

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Apple syrup
8 oz. lemonade
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine lemonade and Torani in a tall glass filled with ice and stir well.

Apple Tea

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Green Apple syrup
8 oz. iced tea
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill glass with ice, add Torani Green Apple syrup and fill with iced tea. Stir to mix.

Apple Sparkler

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Apple syrup
6 oz. Champagne or sparkling wine

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine ingredients in fluted glass and stir gently.

Here are a few fun facts about bananas:

1.     The average American eats 27 pounds of bananas each year!

2.    There are more than 400 varieties of bananas in the world.

3.    An individual banana is called a finger. A bunch of bananas is called a hand.

4.    Bananas don’t grow on trees. They’re actually a giant herb.

Now that I have you craving bananas, here are two Torani recipes that you should try.

Banana Cream Pie Crème

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Crème Blended Beverage Base
!oz. Torani Banana Purée Blend
1/2 oz. Torani French Vanilla syrup
2 oz. nonfat milk
2 cups ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a blender pitcher and blend until smooth.

Banana Puddin' Shake

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Banana Purée Blend
1/2 oz. Torani Shortbread syrup
2 oz. milk
8 oz. vanilla ice cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine milk, ice cream and Torani in a blender pitcher and blend until smooth.

If you want to read more fun facts about bananas, you should go to this link: http://www.chiquitabananas.com/Kids-Child-Bananas/fun-activities-history-facts.aspx .

The Blendtec ICB 3 blenders are 13 amps and are commercial work horses for mixed drinks. These machines were used in Starbucks store's across the country. Long story short Starbucks switched the line out for the Vitamix quiet one blender because it blended 10 decibels quieter.

The ICB 3 comes with a sound enclosure that drastically reduces the blender noise and has 4 preset buttons with programmed Starbucks blending cycles! The number 1 and number 2 buttons are labeled for single and multiple drinks. ICB 3's are warranted for an additional 6 months after purchase and come with features that if priced as new would approach the 1000$ mark. Another really neat feature about this machine is that its original Jar is still marked with the Starbucks measurements of: Tall-12 ounce, Grande-16 ounces and Vente-20 ounces. It only comes in one color, coffee; it still functions as an exceptional commercial machine. 

When I was a kid, my little brother and I would compete in the watermelon eating contest every year at our county fair. If you won, you would get to pick out your choice of any watermelon that you wanted from the back of a loaded-down watermelon-pickup truck. The first year that we competed, we were both quite sad that we did not win.  We both said that we would “practice” for next year. Did that happen? Of course not; but eventually we both won for our age division! My parents were certainly proud of us, but I think that they were a bit concerned that we both happened to pick one the biggest watermelon that we could find! We did have watermelon with every meal! Mom tried to get us to drink watermelon smoothies, but we did not go for that. Now I love watermelon anything! Here are two Torani recipes that are to die for!

Watermelon Italian Soda

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Watermelon syrup
8 oz. sparkling water
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour sparkling water into tall glass filled with ice. Add Torani and stir well.

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. Torani Watermelon syrup
8 oz. brewed tea, chilled
Ice

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine chilled tea and Torani in a glass filled with ice and stir well.

When I was a kid and was visiting my grandparents in Iowa, my grandpa would always make homemade cheeseburgers and French fries at least one night that I was there. He would make the French fries in a DeLonghi deep fryer. His wasn’t as nice looking as the ones that we carry, but it did the job. We would cut up the potatoes into different shapes and sizes and then let them soak in water with a little bit of salt until we were ready for them. Once we were ready to cook them, we would drain out all of the water and then dry off handfuls of them with a paper towel. We would then group them into batches and throw our first grouping into the basket and set the basket into the deep fryer. He set the temperature to 350 degrees. We would cook them, jiggling the basket a few times, until they were golden brown. He would call the smaller pieces tidbits and call all of the grandchildren into the kitchen so we could taste test the tidbits and see what we thought. They were so good! Now that I am much older, he occasionally will make French fries, but more often than not, we accompany the cheeseburgers with some of his home grown sweet corn!

I remember taking trips to the Ghirardelli chocolate shop and sampling their suburb chocolate.  So when I saw that JL Hufford carried a coffee by Ghirardelli I could only wait in eager expectation for a rich, outstanding, chocolaty cup of coffee.   As the coffee pot brewed I could easily smell the chocolate aroma released by the brewing beans.  The coffee itself was very delicious strong and chocolaty. To me it made me feel like adding flavored syrup would not only be unnecessary but damaging to its flavor.  I was sad after I had used the last of it and now enthusiastically look forward to the arrival of my new Ghirardelli coffee. The Ghirardelli flavors currently offered at JL Hufford are Chocolate Almond, Double Chocolate, Chocolate Carmel, Chocolate Hazelnut, Chocolate Praline, Chocolate Raspberry and White Chocolate Almondine.  I look forward to trying them all.

The Invisible Chef Almond Creme Coffee & Tea Cake is the second mix I have tried from the invisible chef line.  The recipe only required a few ingredients outside of what was sold in the box: an egg and some heavy whipping cream.  I found it to be not overly sweet, extremely moist, and very dense. It does not come with the cream shown in the picture on the box but I think that it would be a great addition.  Its prep and bake time is under 30 mins so it makes an ideal coffee snack for unexpected company. It is my new favorite coffee cake.

If you are looking for a really great site to purchase food gift items from, try JLHUFFORD’s gourmet geek site. My most recent purchase was the “A Perfect Pear” Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil combo. The little bottles were very attractive and I purchased them for a housewarming gift. My friend made a garden salad, and used the products to anoint the ENDIVE, CUCUMBERS, CHERRY TOMATOES, and ARUGULA. This was a very pretty salad.  I was curious to try the flavors of the product in a more pure form, so I grabbed a chunk of bread and dipped the bread into the olive oil first. I was delighted at how flavorful and delicate the aroma of the oil was. I then tried the vinegar and was amazed at how thick and pungent this was. What a great combo of flavors for either a gourmet salad or as an appetizer with bread slices.

I purchased the Delonghi PUMP espresso machine for my dad for FATHER’s DAY. He will go to a well known coffee establishment every morning and get a LATTE. I thought he could use this machine to make his morning LATTE. Now, he had been talking about doing this for a while, but I wasn’t sure he was serious. This item is a bargain a $199. I also got some really good coffee for him. The one thing I wasn’t sure about was what grinder would work for that model. This is a really cute machine and he thinks that if he gets this process down, he would like to get a “better” model and put this one and take it to the fishing cottage.

Ingredients

• One part Tequila
• 3 parts Sour Mix (Virgin strawberry or lemon)
• Limes
• Ice

Directions

1. Salt the rims of 2 large margarita glasses. To do so slice a lime into eights and use the lime to moisten the circumference of the glass
2. In a blender combine tequila,
   1. Frozen (for a 64oz pitcher):
      1. Add 32 oz of ice, sour mix and Tequila to the blending container blend for less 4 ½ mins or until smooth. Carefull not to over blend or it may be come foamy
      2. Pour and Serve
   2. On the rocks(for a 64oz pitcher)
      1. Fill Pitcher with ice cubes
      2.  Add  Sour mix and Tequila to the pitcher and serve

For a little better Ritta use “Twang lime salt”.  This has a larger texture and pieces of lime in the salt to add a little salt to the sour.

Today I had Kona Mocha blended ice coffee.  Watch out it packs a caffeine punch.  I was amped for the rest of the day!!  On top of that it was delicious.  This is the closest thing to a Starbucks blended ice coffee that I have tried.  If you are not a huge coffee drinker this is another drink you will have to try.  I know for many Americans in the southern part of the Untied States they have had a huge wave of hot weather, this would be a perfect solution to the hot weather and would wake you up.  Kona coffee is one of the best in the world in collaboration with this the big train brand mix makes it magnanimous. Available in single serve or 3.5 lbs bags

For the last secretary’s  day I purchase, from JLHUFFORD, several of the HIGHWAVE JAVAA GLASS mugs. After one particularly clumsy (yet very capable) assistant ruined her keyboard after spilling a LARGE mug of cappuccino over her desk, I looked for an item that could be used throughout the office. These mugs are appropriate for hot drinks or cold. The design is simple yet classic for office-wide unity.  They are very durable, too.  All our people have used these, and even the upper management noticed these and purchased them for their area of the building, and for their conference room.

This coffee cake mix by Invisible chef was one of the simplest cake mixes I have ever made.  For this Chocolate Truffle mix you will need an egg and a little bit of milk or heavy whipping cream.  I made mine with milk and it turned out light and tasty.  I initially expected a very sweet chocolaty pastry that would be more along the lines of a cup cake.  Although this was not completely the case, it still turned out a great tasting treat.  The cake was not as sweet as I expected but I came to find out that traditional coffee cakes usually are not.  It still had a deep rich chocolate undertone.  I am a huge chocolate fan and this satiated my pallet perfectly in conjunction with a great cup of brew.

Coffee seems to be one of the most fascinating beverages. The phenomenon of the coffee boom hasn’t been by marketing hype alone. Coffee comes in so many different varieties, its appeal is wide. Coffee ships well, stores well and has vast appeal throughout the world. Not only that,  but coffee’s most prized properties is the CAFFEINE content. One thing I learned is that BREAKFAST BLENDS, which as a lighter roast, have MORE caffeine than darker roast. Italian, French, or Espresso roasts have been roasted longer, and more of the caffeine is cooked off.  Different places allow variations in ACIDITY, BITTERNESS, AROMA, etc. Volcanic areas make smoother, more acidic coffees, whereas, areas with loamy soil are devoid of that bite in the flavor. JLHUFFORD sells a really nice selection of coffees. Sumatra Mandeling is my favorite. Kona coffee is always tasty, but too expensive. My brother uses their Superautomatika for his espresso maker.

I love apple crisp, but I wasn't in the mood to make it from scratch with the cutting of the apples, seasoning them with sugar, making the topping - it was just too much work that I didn't want to put in today. I decided to try the Plentiful Pantry Apple Crisp that we sell to see how it tasted and compared to homemade apple crisp. It was extremely easy to make with only requiring two staple ingredients that you can find around every house – water and butter. Once it comes out of the oven you need to eat it with a huge scoop of ice cream. It is the perfect pair on a summer night!

What do you buy a man who has everything?  Birthdays, Xmas, and Father’s Day are the gift buying days that I have to add in a “dad” factor. My dad has done well for himself with his restaurantand has all kinds of man toys. So one Xmas I had to get creative. My husband and I attended a Purdue University Football meet and greet. I brought a plain white t-shirt with me and a magic marker. I had all the members of the team sign the shirt. I mounted the item into a light box. He loved it. So how do I top that? Well I don’t think I can. So I’m just going to buy him something for the restaurant. But what is all the new food rage? PANINIS! So I found a reasonably priced panini maker from JLHUFFORD. This model is a Deloghi Panini Maker for $59!! If he gets really into making PANINIs he can then sell them as a new item at his restaurant. I’m a genius.

• 1.5 cups of ketchup
• 6 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 3.5 tablespoons of mustard

From my experience I have found it to be very pleasant to work with Jura Capresso.  Aside from lag in tracking updates, their customer service department is very knowledgeable, friendly and timely with their responses.  It is always nice knowing a manufacture that certainly stands behind their product. Let’s face it, manufacturing mistakes can happen and when hold almost a product wide 2 year warranty.  They have a huge variety machines they produce stretching from Panini makers to Superautomatic coffee/espresso machines. They were leading the way with coffee and espresso brewing technology and this could be a tangible reason on why many large company gourmet stores hold their product.  Another great thing that Jura offers that currently is unparalleled with other large espresso and coffee manufactures is the predbrewed-certification.   This offers a slightly used machine that has been tested for full functionality at a fraction of the original cost. Keep in mind they do cater to the gourmet customers so the majority of their product has good quality but will not come cheap.

The Jura Capresso Coffee Team TS and GS are easy to use, easy to clean and make a good cup of coffee. You can choose between a 10 cup thermal or a 12 cup glass carafe depending on what type of coffee maker will suit you better.  I know that certain grind and brew machines tend to use an excessive amount of coffee beans, not the case with the Coffee Teams. It comes with adjustable grind size as well as an adjustable coffee strength.  The one thing I had to learn about the grinder before I could really choose the grind size would be that you need to have the grinder running to change the coarseness. 

Per usual, with higher quality machines, it has the standard programmable start grind and brew times as well as the number of cups desired.  This machine does make fresh coffee very convenient and maximizes fresh grounds for the user that wants their cup of coffee hot and ready when they don’t have time to mess around with waiting.