Monthly Archives: December 2015

A Love Affair With Coffee

D and I love coffee. Personally, caffeine does nothing to me. I can sleep right after I have an espresso or two (yeah, it’s a gift). Our first pre-date was actually in Starbucks in San Mateo, California. Yes, pre-date because I just had an annulment and he just started his divorce proceedings, so we were both gun-shy. Wow, there it is. Juicy bits from my personal life. I guess caffeine loosens up my tongue, the way alcohol does. Good to know…

D with his Pomeranian cup. Take note of his outfit. He's my little fashionista. I take pics of him just in case he starts a fashion blog. This will fall under OOTD (outfit of the day)
D with his Pomeranian cup. Take note of his outfit. He’s my little fashionista. I take pics of him just in case he starts a fashion blog. This will fall under OOTD (outfit of the day)

We do our coffee the old school way. D uses a French press or sometimes the stove-top one. I have a milk-frother to make my cappuccino. Last ear, I got him this copper French Press from Napa Valley. It’s the prettiest thing.

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Last week at Thanksgiving, D’s brother, Steve, showed us his bad-ass Italian espresso maker. It was so easy and convenient! As luck would have it, Black Friday had awesome deals on those bad boys, so we finally succumbed and got ourselves a Nespresso Latissima Pro from Wiliams-Sonoma .

It was  great. Espresso was very comparable to the stove-top one that we make. The biggest plus for me was the built in milk-frother. You can remove the container and put it back on the fridge. No waste! It is also self-cleaning. When it comes to kitchen gadgets and appliances, that’s my next favorite word, the first being “non-stick”. You can also pull it apart and throw it in the washer. It goes right along with my iron-clad rule, “if it can’t get  into the washer, I’m not buying it”.

the cappuccino maker at work
the cappuccino maker at work

The cons: It doesn’t come with a coffee-bean grinder the way Steve’s did. And you also have to buy the pods. That’s why it’s cheaper. D crunched the numbers, he said it evens out. I didn’t get to the nitty-gritty of it, something about cost-per-pod over x number of years. It made me sleepy…coffee and all. Oh, and it doesn’t connect directly to your water-line and there is no refrigerated compartment for the milk. I didn’t crunch any numbers on this. All i know is for the savings of a thousand dollars, I would be more than happy to walk across my kitchen to get water and put the milk back into the fridge. Just sayin….

This is my cappuccino. I added a splash of Dulce de Leche flavor. Yummy!
This is my cappuccino. I added a splash of Dulce de Leche flavor. Yummy!

The Herb Farm Restaurant

Fredericksburg Herb Farm is an herb farm (duh!), and  also boasts of a bed and breakfast and a restaurant. The restaurant is a historic rock house built in the 1890’s. The chef  prepares the menu using fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs grown in the premises. With that, it became our instant favorite, specially when we need to detox from all the German food (I have not featured any of those yet, I have to pace myself because there’s a LOT of great ones here)

Thyme Basil Sangria--an "organic" drink. You're welcome, liver.
Thyme Basil Sangria–an “organic” drink. You’re welcome, liver.
Like almost every place here, this has a homey vibe going on.
Like almost every place here, this has a homey vibe going on.
Had to take a picture of this electric snow-globe-but-not. It changes color, really cool.
Had to take a picture of this electric snow-globe-but-not. It changes color, really cool.

 

Menu changes by the season. I was going to get the Spinach and Mushroom lasagna, but they ran out (WTH, at 11:30 noon??? FAIL) It infuriated me because I thought it must be that good, and I just missed it…So I gave the menu a once-over and found this jewel. It smelled so good! I can always make any old lasagna. I have no idea how to smoke a duck and/or potatoes THEN smack them all into a pizza and make it turn out this way.  So, this order was a total win, you can tell from my smile.

Duck and Smoked Potato Pizza
Duck and Smoked Potato Pizza
D, the original creature of comfort, ordered the house special, Roasted Pecan and Dried Cranberry Chicken Salad.
D, the original creature of comfort, ordered the house special, Roasted Pecan and Dried Cranberry Chicken Salad.

He’s been ordering that from the last 82 times we’ve been here. He is “that” kind of person. And that is why he has no food blog….hehehe. In his defense, that salad is really good.

Rosemary Pound Cake. I have yet to be comfortable adding herbs to desserts. This is an inspiration.
Rosemary Pound Cake. I have yet to be comfortable adding herbs to desserts. This is an inspiration.