Have you ever made a big pot of coffee and then everyone changed their mind and went for something cold instead? And who wants to throw out a perfectly beautiful pot of fresh-brewed coffee? Well, here’s what you do. Pull out some of those plastic ice trays and fill them up with the leftovers and freeze them. Later, move the frozen coffee cubes into zip locks. Then when you want to wow everyone with a crazy wonderful coffee punch, you can pull them out and use this recipe. I have never worried too much about the exact quantities here, just make it and taste it as you go. I was making this long before I had ever heard of a Starbucks frappuccino, though it is in a different category all together.
Take a pot of freshly brewed coffee that you have cooled down, and combine it with 1 1/2 cups milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 3/4 tsp. nutmeg. Set aside and whip up a cup of whipping cream. Take out your punch bowl and scoop out a pint of premium vanilla ice cream into the bowl in small scoops. Pour the coffee mixture over it, and add two trays of coffee ice cubes. Stir it gently and then top it with the dollops of whipping cream.
I’m telling you, if you serve this, you don’t have to even think about dessert. I’ve never tried to make a light version, but I’m sure it could be done. It’s the bee’s knees.
I’m about to get rebukeful.
Yes, I am. I know that I don’t usually launch into scriptural exhortations . . . but I just have a little something to say.
For a good number of years now I’ve been periodically hearing very sweet Christian women take the Lord’s name in vain. It surprises me every time – and I always stand there doing a mental double-take . . . replaying it again and wondering to myself if she just said what I thought she said or if I misheard. But no – I’ve heard it enough times now that I’m certain I’m not making this up. Quite honestly, I’m at a bit of a loss. I’m not really sure what the rationale is. (And, by way of making the situation weirder . . . I’ve never once heard a Christian guy do it. Not to say it doesn’t happen, but I’ve never been around when it did.)
Is it because it never occurred to them that it’s a problem to take the Lord’s name in vain? I doubt it . . . these are very established Christian ladies, and it’s not like they’ve never heard of this concept. Is it a total accidental slip up which is Continue reading ‘Stand Back!’
Well hello, everyone! I have been traveling, busy, brain-dead, unphotographable, or generally uninteresting for some time now! But I think that we may now be into the open spaces of summer here. (I am not yet photographable though. Worst luck!)
The kids are just as full of beans as they usually are, Blaire is getting more darling by the hour, and I am honing my one handed typing skills as I write. Strawberry jam is providing a nice shallow end play for the canning season – thus the badly punning title to this post, and the picture from my kitchen. I hope you are admiring my basket full of new tea towels- I love them so much! It is the little things in life, you know. And speaking of little things, this is about the best one I can think of -
Well, I see that we share many things in common when it comes to hospitality blunders. I am enjoying all your stories. Funny how the most trying moments make the best stories after the fact.
Once we had a family coming through town who needed a place to hook up their camper for a couple of days. We had never met them, but we arranged for them to park in a friend’s driveway. When they arrived with their four boys, we told them that we had arranged hospitality for them, but they insisted on staying with us. We had a very small house (around 900 square feet) and my parents were visiting. It was one of those moments, and what could we do but say, “Oh, sure.”
Our one tiny bathroom then became shower central while the family took turns getting showered (they had been on the road a while), and I remember going into the kitchen to pray for grace once I realized I was fixing for dinner for the gang. One of my girls came in from the back yard to tell me that the boys were being pretty rough with her tricycle. I remember explaining to her that they just might be angels, so we had better be nice, but I could tell that she didn’t buy it.
After doing a quick inventory in the kitchen, I proceeded to make the old stand-by, a very large vat of mac and cheese. And they were the kind of guests who were very grateful and easy to please. (Not like the visitor who once told my mother-in-law that he would rather have spaghetti when she had served him a pork chop. Believe it or not, she fixed him spaghetti, and my children still refer to him as the paragon of rude behavior!)
But back to my story. Despite the rough start, it turned out rather well. The lady had been very lonely for some female company and my mom, bless her, sat down and had a cup of tea with her while I fussed around in the kitchen. Meanwhile, my dad visited with the husband, and the boys stayed occupied in the back yard. We all felt like God had enabled us to provide for these needy people, despite the fact that we were totally unprepared. And we got the surprise blessing.
I don’t know about you, but I have pulled some real hostess bloopers over the years. (And, yes, I’ve had a few guests pull them as well, which makes us even.) I am pretty certain that I don’t know about all my bloopers, because I’m always busy at the moment, and I fail to see what I failed to do.
One of my common blunders that I have tried to overcome is this one: I sweetly offer a guest something to drink, and then I forget all about it and never come through with the goods. Said guest is too polite to mention it, and unless it occurs to me later, they usually go drink-less. Just yesterday, in fact, a friend stopped by and I made a pot of coffee. But we got talking, and it wasn’t until she left that I realized the coffee never got poured! Nice! And to top it off, I had made scones which I never served her with the coffee. Now that’s a record for me. When I called her later to say oops, she had a jolly laugh and confessed that she didn’t even notice! Now that’s a thoughtful guest. And she pointed out that I had two granddaughters on site who were modeling hats for us while we visited. (They were waiting for a tea party with scones which I did not forget.) So she said I was justifiably distracted.
Sometimes I find one of the side dishes in the fridge after the meal. I’ve left things in the oven too, and the results are not as kind. I’ve made a topping or garnish that never made it onto the dish, and it isn’t until cleanup when I see the little dish of chopped fresh parsley sitting ready for action.
Guest bloopers seem fewer than my hostess bloopers. The worst was a no-show when I had dinner all ready and hot. That was a let down. And a couple of times we have had guests who simply would not speak. I felt so sorry for them, and did all I could to make them feel at ease, but I finally had to resign myself to silent guests. That’s when I was grateful for chatty children.
The lovely thing about hospitality is that it is not a show. It is real life. And in real life things happen. Like when I pulled a lovely big pan full of lasagna out of the oven, the dish split, and half the lasagna went with it to the floor. Oops.
My friend Lindsey has started what looks to be a very fun online business called L. Tolly Floral and Home Design.
Back when Rachel had her little downtown store, La Bella Vita, Lindsey was one of her mainstays, doing flower arranging and most everything else.
Just to tempt you to go on over and see, she is offering a drawing for a cute oilcloth tote bag in this print:
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