So, you know I said the other day that we had tried a new coffee place in De Soto, in a library? Well I forgot to take my camera so I was forced to return. In the interest of good journalism and all…

The Blue Cow coffee shop is in the lobby of the library. It is large and sunny and very comfortable. The colors are warm and welcoming; browns, golds, and yellows. It s sort of a Texas Meets Italia decor.

Last year I experience the Starbucks gingerbread latte for the first time. As much as I rag on their coffee I have to admit that they can come up with lattes and macchiatos that will knock your proverbial socks off. The gingerbread latte is one that I like a lot.

Thing is, I can’t get them anymore. They closed the Starbucks locally that was good and left the one where all the really lazy people work open. Not sure how that worked but it did. Anyway..I figured it was time to learn how to make my own copy cat gingerbread latte.
If …read more

 
Love your coffee? Gotta have your lattes and espressos?  Well then, you might need something like this to make life bearable.
You know you want this.  You know….I want this!

I am not a big fan of chai mix.  Like the instant coffee mixes they seem unnaturally sweet to me and even a little cloying.
When the fantastic people at Ugly Mug sent me coffee to review, they also sent a package of their chai. The kids were ecstatic, they love the stuff.  I was less so.
So I put it off, trying it I mean, even though everyone around me was fighting for it and swooning over their cups. 

 
This is so good, as far as I am concerned anyway.  It makes a great drink to sip in the evening while you watch the sun go down from the porch.  Listen to the crickets, watch the stars come out…all of the goodness of living in the country.
Any good chai can be used in this but

Is there anything more decadent and luxurious than relaxing by the fire with a favorite book and a cup of chai latte? A soft afghan thrown over you and a quiet house all around? Maybe….but I don’t know what it is.
Try this when you are in that kind of mood…
Chai Latte Recipe
2 cups water
4 heaping teaspoons of loose leaf black tea
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp grated orange peel
8 whole cloves
4 black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups half and half
Bring the water, sugar, and spices …read more