Party Punch

Today I celebrated 30 years of music ministry in church.  It doesn't really seem possible that 30 years have gone by, but in 1981 (or maybe even before, I can't remember), I started accompanying the Chancel Choir at their rehearsals.  The organist at the time wasn't keen on driving after dark, and there weren't any other people stepping up, so...I did.  The only thing I asked was that I have Christmas Eve off, because as a college student I wanted to go home for Christmas break. (That's how I remember it was 1981 at the latest).

The joke of it is, I never thought working at the church would be permanent.  I was just filling in, right?  A couple of years later, the organist retired and moved to Arizona, and no one else could be found willing to do the rest of her job.  The church seriously looked, but they didn't find anyone willing to step up .  So...I did. 

Then later, I thought it would be fun if the church had a handbell choir.  I'd heard one at Mom's church, and was captivated.  I was really looking forward to learning how to ring.  Guess what happened?  They didn't find anyone to direct the bell choir, either.  So...I did!  (My mother said it was like the blind leading the blind, and I've been laughing about that comment ever since, since she's usually so supportive).  The same thing happened with the choral director's position. I was already there anyway, so what was one more job tacked on? Eventually, I have managed to outstay every single person ever hired at the church I've been attending since the early '80's.  In the mid-90's I went back to earn a third undergraduate degree in church music to keep up with it all, and now I'm the Director of Music Ministries.

Today I got to have the first piece of cake at the reception.  I wish I could communicate what a big deal this is.  The thing is, usually I'm still playing the postlude while half the parishioners have gone through the line.  Getting first crack at the lovely reception goodies was so very nice, and VERY appreciated!

Now, since Jeffrey says I can't post anything here unless it relates to food, I'll share the lovely punch recipe with you.  It's super simple, and REALLY good.  When I was in 4-H, back in the dark ages, we gave tea parties with our mothers as honored guests.  We always made this punch, and just varied it by choosing a different flavor of sherbet ice cream.

4-H Punch

1 1/2 quart container sherbet, flavor of your choice

1 2-liter bottle of clear soda, such as 7-Up, Sprite, or Sierra Mist, CHILLED

Place scoops of sherbet in punch bowl.  Pour soda over all.  Serve.

The orange sherbet punch- delicious!

Juli's Top Five Favorite K-cups, and How to Store Them

I got a single serve Keurig coffee maker for Christmas, and it's probably been the most used and appreciated kitchen gift I've ever received!  Jeffrey makes me a quick cup of coffee in the morning while I'm getting ready, which I transfer to a travel mug on my way out the door.  We don't have to worry about the pot being left on, and there is almost zero cleanup.  There are over 200 total varieties of K-cups on the market, which include coffee, cocoa, tea, and cider.  I've tried lots of varieties, and I thought I would highlight my current favorites.

  

Let me first tell you that my preference is for a light roast, and that I love flavored coffee.  So- if a midnight black cup-o-joe-no sugar-no creamer is your thing, you probably won't feel the same fondness I do for my picks.  I should also note that I add CoffeeMate's French Vanilla or Hazelnut liquid creamer to each cup I drink. 

I have linked my coffee picks to some of my favorite online vendors, but I want to let you know that I'm not receiving any compensation for doing that.  These are just the least expensive places I've found to order my coffee, and for me the online service is great, since most stores in my area don't stock a big selection of the K-cups.

First up is Wolfgang Puck's Hawaiian Hazelnut, which is easily the best Hazelnut coffee I've tasted so far.  Other varieties I've tried have included Gloria Jean's Hazelnut and Millstone's Hazelnut Cream.  The Hawaiian Hazelnut, charmingly subtitled Aloha Noisette for French speaking coffee drinkers, is smooth with a strong hazelnut flavor.  It's a great start to a hectic day.

  

The next really superior coffee flavor on my top five list is Green Mountain Coffee's Wild Mountain Blueberry.  The blueberry flavor is pronounced, but not overpowering, and not artificial-tasting in any way.  This coffee also has an undercurrent of cinnamon which is  decadently rich!

I also like Green Mountain Coffee's Southern Pecan.  This is a great everyday cup of coffee.

When we have Indian food, I like Cafe Escapes Chai Latte.  It's very, very sweet, but it comes closest to replicating the chai made at my favorite Indian restaurant in Des Moines, India Star.

My favorite cocoa is Cafe Escape's Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa.  It doesn't compare to making cocoa at home using Droste's Cocoa, but for a quick cocoa fix when you don't want to stand at the stove warming milk, it's excellent.  I can find the Cafe Escapes brands sporadically at Des Moines area groceries for a lot less than it's sold for online.  But if you need to get it online, I recommend Bed Bath and Beyond, Amazon, or Office Depot.  Shop around to get the best price you can.

Bonus pick:  My biggest regret is that I often crave a hot cup in the evening, and coffee (or even cocoa) would keep me awake all night.  I can resolve that craving and still get my sleep when I brew up a mug of Green Mountain's Hot Apple Cider.

Second part of the story:  If you have a coffee maker that uses the Keurig-cups, how do you store the darn things?  If I make an online order, I want to get free shipping, and that usually means making a largish order.  I like variety, so in the beginning I usually had 7 open boxes of various flavors, and the storage space required was pretty significant. 

I looked around online and found a few people who'd posted how they store their coffee.  The method most appealing to me involved a Sterilite plastic drawer system, and I was excited to find the one that had been featured in the blog post at my local Walmart.  However, the guy who'd done this using Sterilite's mini 5-drawer system must have had the patience of Job!  I could get 9 K-cups in each drawer- barely.  I had to wiggle, jiggle, and pull to get the drawers to open and close.  There just wasn't enough clearance.  Also- most K-cups come 24 to a box.  So one flavor would fill up about half of each container. 

I searched for a larger container that wouldn't be too unwieldy on our pantry shelves.  I found the Sterilite 3-drawer organizer (Item number 1791).  Measurements for the product are 13 1/2 x 11 x 9 5/8 inches (34.3 by 27.9 x 24.4 cm).  Each drawer is big enough to hold  8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper.  I can get 24 cups in each drawer, and the drawer height gives enough clearance so that each drawer opens easily.  I currently have 3 of these, so I can store over 200 K-cups at any given time.  I also have to admit I love seeing the labels I made for each drawer.  So orderly.  Unlike most of the rest of my life!



I hope that manufacturers keep coming out with new and interesting flavors of K-cups.  I was afraid I might be buying into a gimmick, but it seems like more and more stores are carrying the coffee, so I think at least I'm in on the beginning of the trend.

   

Please leave me a comment with your favorite flavors, or if you have a storage method you'd like to share.  No Big Whoop.  Just Coffee Talk!  (channelling Linda Richman, aka Mike Myers, vintage Saturday Night Live).



Reading comments makes me all verklempt!  But in a good way! 

Friendship Tea

I've been craving this tea all winter, and finally took the time to gather the ingredients and throw it together.  I first drank Friendship Tea back in the early 70's, when it was called Tang Tea. 

Tang had been advertised as the drink of astronauts, which was a pretty exciting thing for a kid to think about.  I was happy to get my first taste of Tang at my friend Laura's house.  Compared with the garden-variety orange juice my own mother served, Tang's color was so....orange.  Fluorescent orange!  Although it didn't really taste like orange juice at all, I thought it was pretty good, and very exotic. 


Friendship Tea

1 1/2 cups sweetened instant tea powder with lemon flavor
1/2 cup sweetened lemonade powder
1 cup Tang, or any orange-flavored drink mix powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Mix well.  Brew up a cup, taste, and make sure the blend is to your liking- you can always tweak the ingredients more to your own personal taste. 

To serve, heat 1 cup of water to boiling.  Add 3 teaspoons of the drink mix and stir.  If you like the mix, great!  You're done!  If not, add whatever ingredient you'd like to have a more predominant flavor.  Maybe you want a more tea-dominant flavor, or maybe you're crazy for the orange boost of the Tang.   Keep tasting until you're satisfied.  Then make sure to store in an airtight container. 

Tip:  To save money, use unsweetened tea powder and orange and lemonaid Koolaid-type drink mixes and add your own sugar.  For diabetic tea lovers, use unsweetened ingredients and add the sugar substitute of your choice.