Beating the heat

Jameel seems to have ducked out just as the country is suffering under a heat wave of epic proportions! I'm guessing the whole party-prep excuse was just a smoke screen to allow him to escape to cooler climes while the rest of us suffer and sweat.

Regardless of where our host is at this moment, rest assured that at least I have your best interest (and comfort) at heart. So without further ado, here's a timely tip (actually, two) on how to make the best of the current heat wave:

Finished with your morning beverage of choice? STOP! Don't throw out the leftovers from your morning coffee or tea! Instead, fill up ice cube trays with the remnants of your morning pot. That way, instead of watering down your iced coffee or tea with regular ice cubes, you can use frozen coffee or tea to help retain the potency (or maybe even make it stronger/more flavorful) as it melts in your drink.

The same can be said for iced drinks of an alcoholic nature. The next time you make yourself an icy Kahlua & Cream, just toss in a few of your coffee ice cubes to keep your drink from getting watery.

BTW, if you are concerned that it's hard to find kosher Kahlua... fear not. Your guest host is nothing if not helpful. Here is my recipe for Ersatz Kahlua that tastes exactly like the real thing and can be made for pennies, er, I mean agarot, in less than an hour:

Treppenwitz's Ersatz Kahlua® Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups water
6 teaspoons instant
coffee
2 cups white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ cup vodka (use the
cheap stuff)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup (optional) *

1. Bring water to a boil and add instant coffee and both white and brown sugar.
2. Immediately after pouring in sugar turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes (stirring occasionally)
3. Remove from heat, add vanilla and chocolate (if used) and allow to cool.
4. Once liquid is cool, add vodka

Once all the steps are completed give the whole mess a good stir and immediately pour into empty bottles (using a funnel) and close tightly. The whole process shouldn't take longer than an hour start to finish!

Note: You can safely double this recipe, but I've had bad results when I've tried to triple or quadruple it. Also, if you want to make ersatz Tia Maria® instead of Kahlua®, just use rum instead of vodka. They are otherwise identical recipes.

* If you want to keep your ersatz Kahlua® Parve (meaning non-dairy), make sure to use non-dairy chocolate syrup or leave out this optional ingredient.

Don't thank me... I'm a giver.

Wherever I am, my blog turns on a dime!