Mmmmm....ever since Denny's sister and I purchased a new espresso/cappucino machine for Denny for Christmas, we've been enjoying lattes at home and saving money by not going to Starbucks all the time. I'm glad I spent a little extra on the Cuisinart machine. I got a great deal at Kohl's and the coffeepot hasn't been used since (and is put away in a cabinet somewhere). :) So, above, is what my morning latte looks like. I am preggers, so I can't have a ton of caffeine. I tend to fill my cup about 1/3 full (using just 1 scoop of espresso ground beans) and fill the rest of the cup with lovely steamed foamy milk. See those little specks of loveliness? Those are my secret ingredient.
My favorite mug was given to me two years ago by my hubby. He wrote all of the funny things Dylan was saying and doing at the time on the mug. Unfortunately, the writing wore off (even though it wasn't supposed to). It's definitely seen better days.
My mug as it used to look on the day it was given to me.
Instead of buying syrup with artificial stuff in it, I had an epiphany. I first attempted my own simple syrup..which turned out delicious, but when I refrigerated it (as the instructions in the recipe said), it crystallized and hardened. Hrumpf. Then, I remembered that I'd purchased some Vanilla Flavored Agave Nectar. I used the rest of that up, and then thought, why not flavor my own Agave Nectar? So, I scraped some vanilla beans into the bottle, threw in the whole beans I had scraped and poured in some plain old Agave Nectar. And voila! I have my own vanilla bean syrup. It works very well in my coffee. And I just keep refilling my bottle as it gets low (I get my Agave Nectar in bulk at Costco). (And for those of you who think I'm a wuss for needing syrup in my coffee...get over yourselves. ;) Remember, I'm a southern girl who was raised on sweet tea. Can't give up my sugar that easily)
There's vanilla beans in my agave nectar!
