I like my drinks iced, even in the Winter, and I like them cold-steeped. With tea, the cold-steeping process produces less bitterness, especially from green teas.

Like the Toddy coffee situation, I love that I only have to make my favorite beverage every few days. And again, brewing in a reusable pitcher means I reduce my ridiculous “carbon footprint” because I’m not buying bottles of prebrewed tea from the store.

(I’m all for recycling and using less packaging, but I hate the term “carbon footprint.” Ironically, I seem to be the main person using that term lately.)

The cold-steeping process is totally passive. I bought this little cold-steeping pitcher at Infusions of Tea in La Jolla for about $15. And I get my tea in bags at Trader Joe’s.

I like experimenting with various combinations of flavors. I usually do half plain black tea and half flavored, such as Mango or Ginger Peach. Or, I do half plain green tea and half Pomegranate green tea. I put 12-14 tea bags total. I’m still experimenting with this number, but I’m certain there’s no exact process to it. It all tastes good to me!

You put the bags (or loose leaf tea, which is why I originally started brewing tea this way) in the little removable part of this pitcher. Then put the pitcher in your fridge overnight, or for only about 6 hours for green tea. Squirt some lemon in after you pour it over ice and you’re ready to refresh!

Any other cold-steepers out there?

~Beth

One of the first things I ever blogged about was how I’d never had a single cup of coffee in my life.

Well, I’m here today to apologize to the Universe, the Coffee Gods, and the humble java bean for my former ignorance. I was stupid. Very, very stupid.

And I have A LOT of time to make up for!

My sister Amy (also a recent convert to coffee) gave me my first hot cup of coffee homemade in her kitchen back in March. I’ve hardly skipped a day since, although I have gone through various incarnations in how I drink my coffee, how I sweeten it, what kinds of creamers I’ve used, and where I get my coffee fix.

It was nice of me to wear a shirt that matches my blog as I sipped my first cup of coffee at Amy’s house:

(What!?! You’ve never blingeed before? Hmmm…)

I think I’ve finally figured it all out now - thanks to our friend Kelsey (by the way, CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement, Kelsey and Amanda!) introducing me to the Toddy Cafe Cold Brew Coffee System.

This lovely device cold steeps your coarse grinds into a tasty coffee concentrate that has 1/3 of the acid of traditionally brewed coffee, as well as less caffeine (I’m not sure how much less) and no burnt taste. It’s pure coffee goodness and it’s changed my life!

I prefer my coffee iced year-round, so it’s perfect for me because you keep the “Toddy coffee” in your fridge and simply add ice, sweetener, creamer, and however much water you’d like to use to dilute to your personal taste.

You can also use Toddy coffee to make hot coffee and all you have to do is add hot water. No coffee is wasted because it keeps for 2 weeks in your fridge and each person in your household can add water to suit their own tastes.

The Toddy produces enough coffee to last me one week. So I only have to worry about brewing coffee and cleaning “a machine” every week or so. I hated cleaning my drip coffee maker every day. A waste of time, water, dish soap, energy, etc.

Watch the coffee drip and get ready to sip it up!

I use a pound of Trader Joe’s Organic Fair Trade Sumatra beans (pictured at the top of this post), fresh and coarsely ground at the store. After you set up the grounds and the water in the Toddy system, you let it steep for 12 hours on your counter, then remove the stopper and let it press and drain into the provided carafe. Pop the top on the carafe, put it in the fridge, and you’re set with the best coffee around!

The taste is addictive, clean, pure coffee yumminess. I add a little whole milk, sugar (or a squirt of agave nectar as I’ve taken to doing lately), ice, water, stir, and I’m done.

I also get to be a little High and Mighty because I’m “shrinking my carbon footprint” (UGH! Give me a break!) by using my own glasses at home and breaking the Starbucks cycle. Priceless!

But seriously, I highly recommend the Toddy to almost all coffee drinkers. Amanda told me that Bruegger’s Bagels uses Toddy coffee for their iced coffees, if you want to try out the taste before you get your own. My sister’s converted to the Toddy lifestyle, too, and I’m hoping that, with this blog post, Toddy coffee will start to take over the world!

~Beth

I realize this list isn’t presented very fancily, but doesn’t this food sound YUM?

Breakfast Couscous from 28 Cooks

Masala Chai Perfected from The Travelers Lunchbox

Macerated Strawberries from Two Spoons

Creamy Matar Paneer from Sugars and Spice

Moroccan Style Chicken and Lentils from Bon Appetit from Andrea’s Recipe Box

Pinto Bean Soup over Rice with Red Chile and Cheese from Leite’s Culinaria

It may be a modest goal, but it’s an important one to me: I’d just like to try Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola once in my life, preferably soon.

Does anyone know (specifically!) where I can find it in the San Diego area this year?

I teach at a Jewish school, so I already have all of the staff and students on the lookout for me. They assure that it’s simple to find and seem confused about why I care so much to try it. So far, I’ve heard whispers about the Ralph’s in La Jolla. I’m headed there ASAP.

Unfortunately, the special, somewhat-elusive Kosher for Passover Coke only comes in 2-liter bottles around here. At hotels and in cities with bigger Jewish populations, it’s apparently possible to find cans. If you’re looking for the bottles, look for the yellow cap.

I’m also just now realizing that Mexican Coke also uses sugar instead of HFCS and San Diego’s really close to the border, so maybe that could be another year-round source for me. Interestingly, there’s some controversy brewing about this bootlegging trend lately. I better try not to get caught. Ha ha…

So, if you’re not a Coca-Cola-enthusiast like me, you might be wondering what this is all about. Basically, Coke is now made with High Fructose Corn Syrup. But it used to be made with real sugar. For Passover, a limited number of sugar formula bottles are made and distributed because you can’t eat corn products during the 8-days of Passover. You can read more about it here.

The old-fashioned real sugary formula is supposed to taste awesome and for a Coke purist like myself, I just can’t consider my passion for the beverage complete until I taste it and judge for myself.

So there you have it… my totally simple, shallow, and readily accomplish-able life goal. I will get to work on achieving it and get back to you with a full report!

Breakfast

• Cranberry Almond Oatmeal

Cocktails

• Pomegranate Martinis

Appetizers

• Oven-Fried Zucchini Sticks
• Puff Pastry Turnovers Stuffed with Mushrooms and Cheese
• Nordstrom’s Baked Artichoke Dip
• Roasted Bell Pepper Crostinis with Basil, Bruschetta, & Buffalo Mozzarella

Soups

• Butternut Squash and Pear Soup
• Letty’s Matzoh Ball Soup
• Butternut Squash Soup with Toasted Walnuts
• Letty’s Famous Lentil Soup
• Lydia’s Lime Soup Yucatan

Salads

• Mixed Salad with Vanilla-Pear Vinaigrette and Toasted Walnuts
• Warm Quinoa, Spinach, and Shiitake Salad
• Letty’s Super-Versatile Delicious Salad Dressing
• Citrus Couscous Salad

Sides

• Corn Fritter Casserole
• “Brussel Sprouts That Don’t Suck”
• Middle Eastern Rice with Lentils

Main Dishes

• Polenta Lasagna
• Polenta with Homemade Marinara Sauce, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan
• Three-Meat Meatballs with Merlot Wine Sauce
• Easy Layered Beans and Rice
• Filet Mignon with Cabernet Wine Sauce and Grapes on Polenta
• Risotto with Soave Wine, Asparagus, and Shrimp

Desserts

• Aunt Diane’s Famous Pecan Balls
• Oatmeal Apple Crunch
• Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Macadamia Nuggets
• Homemade Ice Cream (Basic and Premium)
• Sbrisolona – Cornmeal and Almond Giant Cookie
• Ina Garten’s Outrageous Oreo Crunch Brownies
• Bon Appetit’s Easy Chocolate Cake