palate

Steak Dinner

On a typical night, I'll try to whip up a quick dinner for me and the hubby. We're not strictly following a low carb / high protein diet but we're certainly trying to eat healthier. I cooked one rib eye for both of us and salad and cornbread I got from Whole foods.

Homemade Ramen

Chinese Chicken Salad

Google Cooks!

Starbucks Coffee

Coffee has been around for centuries. It has been around to many for most of their life. Growing up, there's always coffee - mornings before going to work, during work, and evenings after dinner. Why go to Starbucks when you can make coffee at home? It's busy all the time, there's always a long line, yet you still wait till you get to the barista rep so they can take your order. Ever since Starbucks opened, it has become a lifestyle for many. It's now part of our culture. It's certainly part of mine.

So I got one of the "Make It Your Drink" guide to Starbucks beverages. Here's a little coffee lesson for you.

Americano: A coffee made w/ two shots of espresso and hot water.
Breve: A latte made w/ half-and-half.
Cappucino: A drink made w/ espresso and foamed milk.
Con Panna: Italian for whipped cream
Creme: A coffee-free beverage
Demitasse: Half-cup
Doppio: Italian for double
Double: Two shots of espresso
Dry: More foam, less milk
Espresso: Coffee's purest, sweetest and most intense form.
Frappucino: Icy and smooth drink
Grande: 2nd to the largest size drink
Half-Caf: One shot of regular and one shot of decaf
Latte: A drink made w/ espresso and steamed milk
Light: Less of something in a drink
Macchiato: Italian for marked or stained
Misto: Italian for mixed, combination of drip coffee and steamed milk
Mocha: A drink made w/ espresso, chocolate and steamed milk
Quad: Four shots of espresso in a drink
Ristretto: A short pull of espresso, capturing only the sweetest part
Shaken: Iced tea or coffee mixed w/ ice in a shaker
Short: Small drink size
Single: One shot of espresso in a drink
Skinny: Made w/ nonfat milk
Solo: One shot of espresso by itself
Tall: Regular size drink
Triple: Three shots of espresso in a drink
Unleaded: Decaffeinated
Valencia: Orange syrup
Venti: Large size drink
Wet: More milk, less foam
Whip: Whipped cream
With Legs: To Go
With Room: Space to add milk in a drink

In addition, the Starbucks guide revealed 4 ways to customize your order.
1. Choose your espresso
2. Choose a syrup
3. Choose your milk
4. Choose your modifiers

What's my usual order?: Double Tall Dry Soy Caramel Macchiato
1. I have two shots of espresso
2. My syrup is Caramel
3. Soy for milk
4. Dry for modifiers

What's your drink?

1st Anniversary

the hubby and i celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. as tradition goes, we saved the top of our wedding cake. we've had it in the freezer for this past year. i took the cake out of the freezer and defrosted it prior to dinner so that we can have cake for dessert with coffee.

everyone (couple friends) told us that if you didn't pack and seal the cake correctly, it will be soggy and the cake will taste bad. i've forgotten how i packed the cake. we came home from dinner and started unpacking the foil around the cake. after all the foil and saran wraps were removed, it appears that the only damage were the flower candies. it became soggy.

after slicing a piece, we were ready for the taste test. surprise! the cake tasted the same! i must've packed the cake tightly enough that there were no frost bites around the cake.

we made it!