Cold Brew Coffee

中文：冷萃冰咖啡

Cold brew coffee has suddenly popular in my area.  For a couple times I stand in line in Starbucks to order a Grande cold brew coffee but only to be told they are sold out.  Really?  For the third time, I finally got one.  I was hooked as soon as I took a sip.

Cold brew coffee is milder than regular coffee due to its non heat process.  Also because of that, it has brighter, lighter, smoother, and a hint of citrus flavor.   What I love about it the most is that coffee has a strong chocolate note.  With lot of ice cubes to cool down in hot summer time, I now understand why they are always sold out. 

So I decide to make it at home.  It is easy and simple to make your own cold brew coffee.  It takes between 12 to 24 hours.  So you just got to be patient.  In the end, you will see the wait is worthy. 

Ingredients：

85 g coffee beans
2 1/2 cups cold water
ice cubes
whole milk (optional)
simple syrup, maple syrup, or caramel sauce(optional)

Directions：

Coarsely ground the coffee beans with coffee grinder.  Add to a large glass jar.

Add cold water while whisking.  Cover the jar with its lid.  Allow it to sit on countertop for 12 to 24 hours.  The longer it sits, the better flavor it will develop. 

Drain through coffee filter.  Now you have a bottle of coffee concentrate. 

Fill your glasses with ice cubes.

Add cold brew coffee

The smell is great.  

Now you have two cups of cold brew coffee O(∩_∩)O~

I love adding whole milk and syrup to my cold brew coffee.

The moment when milk hits coffee, it is so beautiful.

Sometimes I use simple syrup.  But caramel sauce is always my favorite.  BTW, I make my own caramel sauce too. O(∩_∩)O~

Now it is time to enjoy a cup of great cold brew coffee.

Grab a good book, you will have a nice relaxing afternoon. O(∩_∩)O~ 

Boiled Lobsters

中文菜谱： 水煮龙虾

We love lobsters.  Who doesn’t?   Whenever we buy fresh lobsters, I always go with steaming or boiling with minimum seasoning.  It is the best way to taste lobster’s natural flavors.  

Ingredients:

2 lobsters
5 quarts cold water
4 to 5 tablespoon sea salt

Butter dipping sauce：

3 to 4 tablespoons butter
3 to 4 cloves of garlic
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
1/2 lemon

Directions：

Clean the lobsters.

Fill a large cast iron pot with water.  Add sea salt. Heat over high heat until it boils.

Add lobsters.

One lobster is 1.5 pounds.  It needs 8 to 9 minutes boiling time.  The other one is smaller, about 1.2 pounds.  So it needs to boil for 6 to 7 minutes.

Add the bigger one first.

One and half minutes later, add the smaller one.  

Heat a small cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Add butter.

Peel and mince the garlic gloves.  Add it to the pan, along with freshly ground black pepper and salt. 

30 seconds to 1 minute later, remove the skillet from heat.  Transfer the garlic butter sauce into a small dipping bowl. 

The lobsters are ready too. 

The black plate is actually a pizza plate.

He hates to deal with whole lobster.  Fine, I will do it.

Twist the tail off.  With a pair of sharp scissors, cut it open and reveal the lobster meat inside. 

Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Dip in the butter sauce. 

With a nut cracker, crack open the claws.  

Dip in the butter sauce too.  The fondue/ butter warmer can keep the butter warm the whole dinner time. 

Why does the same lobster look so much smaller in his hand?  O(∩_∩)O~

Chocolate Popcorns

中文：巧克力爆米花

I recently bought a new stovetop popcorn poper so that I can make our favorite chocolate popcorns. O(∩_∩)O~

Usually I make popcorn in microwave oven, (the recipe was posted here before).  I tried to make chocolate popcorns in microwave oven several times but never get good results.   With my new pan, it works like a charm! 

I love sweet popcorns, and chocolate popcorns are always our favorite flavor. 

Ingredients：

1/2 to 2/3 cup popcorns
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 to 3 tablespoon sugar (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
1/2 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate morsels

Directions：

Popcorns are available in almost any grocery store, farmer’s market and organic food stores.

Heat the popcorn pan  over medium high heat. 

Add oil and popcorn kernels.

Cover with lid

The popcorns begin to pop.  Add sugar through the hole on the top.  Meanwhile, keep swirling the handle on the top so that sugar will melt evenly and corns are heated evenly too. 

When the most corns pop, add chocolate through the hold on the top again.  Don’t forget swirl the handle so that chocolate can evenly melt and coat the popcorns. 

There you have a pot of freshly popped chocolate popcorns! O(∩_∩)O~ 

There is nothing more relaxing than watching a good movie on our sofa while eating these delicious chocolate popcorns。。。O(∩_∩)O~。。。

Chocolate Lava Cakes with Caramel Sauce

中文：焦糖巧克力岩浆蛋糕

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of lava cakes, but my husband is.  So I make them occasionally for him O(∩_∩)O~

I add one square chocolate and one tablespoon homemade caramel sauce to each lava cakes.  So the lava is richer and creamier than before.  Chocolate and caramel complement each other in such a wonderful way that the cakes are so much tastier. 

Ingredients： (for 4 lava cakes)

210 grams dark chocolate
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 to 3 teaspoons coco powder (for the baking cups)
butter/ oil spray (for greasing the baking cups)
4 square dark chocolate bars
4 tablespoon caramel sauce

Directions：

Preheat oven to 425F/218C

Beat eggs and egg yolks together.

In a large bowl, add butter and dark chocolate.  Heat the chocolate and butter in microwave oven or a double boiler until they completely melt. 

Add confectioners sugar.  Whisk them together. 

Add beaten egg mixture.

Whisk them togethe

Add shifted flou 

Whisk togethe

Grease the baking cups or ramekins with butter or oil spray.  Dust with coco powder .

The ingredients are for 4 lava cakes.  But this time I cut everything in half to make only 2 cakes. 

Spoon in the batter to fill half of the baking cups. Place one square chocolate bar in the middle of each cup. 

Add one tablespoon caramel sauce on top of chocolate.

Spoon in the rest of the batter.

Bake in the oven for 13 to 15 minutes.

Place them on a plate upside down.  Remove the baking cups.  There you have it, chocolate lava cakes with caramel sauce! 

Serve them immediately before they get cold and lava will not be runny any moreO(∩_∩)O~

BBQ Skewed Beef with Peppers and Cumin

 中文菜谱：孜然烤牛肉串

When talking about the wonderful things in summer?  What comes to your mind first?  Ice cream?  Red juicy water melon?  One of the most wonderful things to do in summer, of course, is BBQ! 

My husband is in charge of most of BBQ work.  But when it comes to BBQ skewed meat or kebabs, it is my specialty! O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

2 pounds chuckeye roast beef
6 to 8 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon ground white pepper  
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2  to 1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons egg white
1 teaspoon crushed red chili peppers
1/2 medium onion, cut into small chucks or slice it
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
salt to taste
2 to 4 tablespoon water
oil for BBQ
2 to 4 tablespoons crushed red chili peppers   (for topping)
2  to 4 tablespoons cumin seeds  (for topping)

Directions：

Cut the beef into 1 by 2 inches cubes.  Add the beef along with soy sauce, rice cooking wine, white ground pepper, oyster sauce, sugar, dried ginger powder, egg white, onion, sesame oil, crushed chili peppers and salt.  Mix all of them together while slowly adding the water little by little. 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Take the beef out of fridge 20 before BBQ to warm up to room temperature.

Skew the beef with bamboo skewers  or stainless steel skewers .

Preheat the grill 400F/ 206C.

Spray or brush the grill with oil.  Also spray or brush the skewed beef with oil too.

Add the beef to the grill. 

When the downside is light golden brown, flip them over.

Brush or spray with a little bit more oil. 

Rotate the beef occasionally to cook them more evenly. 

With a coffee/spice grinder, grind the crushed chili peppers and cumin seeds separately.

Sprinkle the beef with ground chili peppe

And then sprinkle with ground cumin

Serve immediately.  I like to serve BBQ meat on a large round slate board

Now it is time to eat!  With a glass of wine in hand, BBQ skewed beef in the other, there is nothing more I can ask for this wonderful moment… O(∩_∩)O~