Peet's Coffee and Chocolate Crepes with Caramelized Banana Sauce

Here in South Bend, IN, it was a big deal when a very well known coffee chain (rhymes with "sucks") first rolled into town. The city rejoiced with jubilant glee when an equally well known doughnut chain showed up next. Basically, unless a popular chain feels it can make it in South Bend, we don't get it (South Bend -- also rhymes with "sucks"). This means we don't get some of the smaller chains, like Peet's Coffee. I've heard great things about them, but the only time I experienced their coffee for myself was at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I dug it. So when Foodbuzz Tastemakers offered up some Peet's Coffee to review, my heart skipped.

Peet's has unveiled two new medium roast coffees. I typically go for a dark, deep roast, though because I pretty much can't tolerate coffee anymore, I figured a lighter roast would be easier for me to drink. And to actually finish a cup.

The two roasts are a Café Domingo, a blend of Central and South American coffees, described by Peet's as a medium roast cup with hints of toffee and clean crisp finish, and Café Solano, a blend of African, Indo-Pacific, and South American coffees that is lively and aromatic. Peet's experts describe it as a world blend with floral notes and a subtle fruit essence for a lively, yet rounded cup.

Peet's and Foodbuzz asked us to pair the coffee with a breakfast/brunch or dessert dish. What I came up with was a dark chocolate crepe with a caramelized banana sauce for a filling. Think of all the flavors going on here - the cocoa in the crepes, the caramelized blend of butter, brown sugar, and a splash of whole milk, then the tropical banana. I feel that both the coffees would be excellent when paired with this dish, though I chose to try it with the Café Domingo. I wanted a coffee that didn't have as many flavor undertones so it compliment the dish without competing with the flavors.

For a medium roast, I really enjoyed my cup of Peet's. It didn't have a watered down taste, but at the same time wasn't as strong as a dark roast. It was full of flavor and easy to drink without any bitterness. Just the impression I was left of with Peet's from my one lone experience way back when.

Foodbuzz gave me some coupons for $2 off a bag of Peet's medium roast to pass around, so I will mail a coupon to the first five people who email me at christina@runningfoodie.com with shipping info.

So, about them crepes. I adapted my favorite crepe recipe from my mom's Joy of Cooking, very old edition. We make it for birthdays, and the recipe is simple to whip together. Unlike other recipes, there is no fat in these crepes. I don't really think it needs any.

To modify the recipe, I replaced some flour for dark cocoa powder. At first, I thought I made a mistake by using so much cocoa, so to compensate for the rather intense taste I added a few tablespoons more sugar. It ended up working out well.

The highlight of this dish turned out to be the caramelized banana sauce. I didn't follow any recipe, I just added some butter to the skillet. When it melted and turned a little brown, I stirred in brown sugar.

Banana slices are added with a pinch of kosher salt. The mixture is left to bubble away for a few minutes, then I removed it from the heat, added a splash of milk, and mashed the bananas into the sauce. It was amazing.

Folks, these were some serious crepes, filled with a serious sauce. I can't rave about this more than I already am. Usually, I eat crepes filled with jam, and they're good. But the flavors in this banana sauce were so complex, yet simple that it took the crepes to a whole other level.

I'm not going to leave the crepe recipe here. Perhaps another post will be dedicated to crepes, but I will leave you with the caramel banana sauce. Use it with your favorite crepe recipe, or use it to top waffles. Or straight from a spoon. I don't judge.

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Caramelized Banana Sauce
Recipe by Christina Provo

Ingredients -

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 firm, ripe bananas, sliced
Pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon whole milk or whipping cream

Directions -

1. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Once it melts, watch it carefully until it just begins to brown. Stir in the brown sugar. Add the sliced bananas and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until a spoon leaves a trace in the sauce and the bananas have softened. Remove from heat.


2. Stir in milk or cream. Coarsely mash the bananas to blend into the sauce. Serve, or lick straight from the skillet.

Godiva Cold Brew Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte

Just in time for fall, I got to try two Godiva coffees thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program. I immediately set out to recreate a drink that has made its way around the blogosphere, but in a somewhat different manner.

Cold brew coffee is a method of brewing coffee without heat. Water is simply mixed to ground coffee beans and let set for 12 hours. The end result is a coffee concentrate that brings out the flavors of the roast without the bitterness.

To make a latte, you need espresso, which means you also need an espresso machine. I don't have one, so I used the Godiva Pumpkin Spice coffee as the base for my cold brew concentrate. The aroma is already wonderful, but I wanted to heighten it a little more so I added a few extra spices, ground cloves, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg. Brown sugar, a pinch of salt, and pumpkin puree complete the deal. By adding the pumpkin puree to the mix as it brews, you aren't left with the bitter, raw taste you'd get if you mixed it straight into your drink. Stir in the water, and let sit for 12 hours at room temperature.

When you're ready to strain the mixture, line a fine mesh sieve with two coffee liners and place over a bowl.

The quickest way I found to strain the liquid is to pour the coffee a little at a time inside the liners, then carefully create a packet by bringing the edges of the liner together. Gently squeeze the liquid through. If there are any coffee grounds, shake the liner over the trash and reuse, repeating the process until all the coffee has been strained.

Typically, the ratio for the concentrate to liquid is 1:1, but I like my coffee a little stronger so I used a 3:1 ratio. Do whatever you prefer. To sweeten, I made a small batch of sugar syrup so that it would dissolve more easily. Finally, I topped my latte with milk foam and sprinkled a little pumpkin spice sugar on top.

I really enjoyed how this turned out. I liked how the spices came through and I thought the coffee itself had a good flavor. I'm going to brew it either in the pot or French press tomorrow morning to see how it tastes that way.

So, kind folks, are you a fan of the pumpkin latte, or not? What's your favorite fall drink?

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Godiva Cold Brew Iced Pumpkin Latte
Recipe by Christina Provo

Serves 4-5

Ingredients -

2/3 cup Godiva Pumpkin Spice coffee
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
5 1/4 cups room temperature water
milk
sugar syrup
milk foam or whipped cream

Directions -

1. Pour coffee into a pitcher or large glass jar. Stir in brown sugar, spices, and salt. Mix pumpkin puree with water and pour into pitcher. Stir to combine the coffee grounds and water. Cover and let sit for 12 hours at room temperature.


2. Before straining, stir concentrate once. Place a fine mesh sieve lined with two coffee filters over a bowl and pour a little of the liquid at a time through the sieve. Gather the ends of the coffee filters and gently squeeze liquid through, tossing out any coffee grinds between batches.


3. To serve, pour 1/2 or 3/4 cup coffee concentrate into a glass. Add 1/2 or 1/4 cup milk, and 1 tablespoon of sugar syrup if desired. Stir. Top with milk foam or whipped cream.


4. For a hot latte, heat the coffee concentrate, milk, and a tablespoon of pumpkin puree and sugar syrup on the stove until desired hotness. Top with whipped cream or milk foam.

Taster's Choice Instant Coffee

Taster's Choice sent a holiday gift pack of a selection of instant coffee single serve packets. It was a late gift as I got it earlier this month, but nice nonetheless!

What I like about instant coffee is that I can mix some in to drinks, like hot chocolate or smoothies, without diluting it. Now, I know I could cold brew coffee and freeze ice cubes, but for a hot beverage that wouldn't work. The individual packets make it simple bring a taste of coffee with you on the go. My favorite flavor of theirs is the French vanilla.

I'm not going to suggest that this replaces the taste of aroma of traditionally brewed coffee, but as far as instant coffee goes the taste is alright. Not overly bitter but with a decent strength and a nice range of roasts and flavors. The price is pretty decent (not sure exactly what it is, but compared to other brands it's on the low side) and you can find coupons on the Taster's Choice website.

What's your favorite way to use instant coffee, if you drink it?

Starbucks Natural Fusions Coffee Review & Giveaway

A while ago I received an email from Olga, a rep for Starbucks, asking me if I'd like to try Starbucks' new "natural fusions" coffee for review, and to host a giveaway. Due to my my ongoing interest in coffee, I felt it would be wrong to turn down the generous offer.

Natural Fusions comes in three flavors, vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon. What sets these apart from other flavored coffees is that the natural flavorings (partly nondescript "natural flavorings", and also from real ingredients) are added to the beans as they're being roasted. The flavorings are also paired with different kinds of coffee and different roasts to enhance the flavor even more. Here's my lowdown on all three flavors. I brewed about 4 cups worth of coffee for each flavor, and uses 1 1/2 tablespoons grounds per cup. I also tried one cup black, and one cup with 1/2 teaspoon sugar and a little whole milk.

• Vanilla
  In this coffee, they chose to use lightly roasted Latin American beans to allow the flavor of the vanilla to come through.
  
  As soon as you open the package, an incredible vanilla scent goes wafting through the room. When brewed, the coffee had this natural sweetness. I find that most flavored coffees benefit from the addition of a little milk and creamer (this coming from someone who drinks their coffee black), but the taste is really present alone. The flavor might not be as strong as what you would expect from a flavored coffee, but I liked that it had a mellower (yet still very present) taste. There is also Indian sarsaparilla root


• Caramel
  The caramel particularly intrigued me because caramel isn't really natural, but more a combination of ingredients cooked together. The ingredients used in this coffee are licorice root, dehydrated orange peel, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. This coffee, as well as the cinnamon, also uses Latin American beans, but here they are roasted dark instead of light. Caramel is a deeper, richer flavor, so it makes sense.
  
  As with the vanilla, this coffee stands alone when drunk black, though it tastes equally as good with the addition of sugar-cream, though the resulting flavor is more smooth and blended. When black, the flavors of the ingredients are sharper, and the caramel flavor is really rich and delicious.


• Cinnamon
  I figured the cinnamon would be the easiest flavor to do since it's literally just ground cinnamon sticks blended with the beans. Along with ground cinnamon, they also added dried orange peel, ground nutmeg, and Indian sarsaparilla root (which I think has a woody, deep flavor, and is a common ingredient in root beer).
  
  Firstly, as with the vanilla, you open the bag and this intense cinnamon scent just comes bursting out. And it definitely smelled natural, as if you just ground some cinnamon yourself. When brewed and drunk, it was almost like drinking a cup of coffee that you sprinkled ground cinnamon into -- it was that strong! The cinnamon had a warm tone here.

What surprised me the most about these coffee was that none of them, especially the dark roasts, tasted over-roasted and bitter at all. These definitely would be worth picking up at the store.

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Giveaway Info

And now for the giveaway! If you would like to experience these coffees for yourself, I've been offered the chance to host a giveaway for my readers. Included is one bag of each flavor, and a French press. Just a few simple steps needed to enter:

• Leave a comment letting me know you want to be entered (required)


• Blog about the giveaway on your blog, and comment with the link to that post


• Become a fan of She Runs, She Eats on Facebook (let me know in your first comment, if you did), to be eligible for another entry


• Follow me on Twitter, and recomment to let me know

That's it! The contest ends on Tuesday (the 27th) of next week. Good luck!

Review: Farberware Percolator

Wayfair gave me the opportunity to review a product from one of their many stores. I chose an item from Cookware, their online cooking store with hundreds of different items for the kitchen.

I went with the Farberware percolator a 12-cup capacity stainless steel percolator with an automatic "warm setting". This is a "no frills" percolator, as there are no settings and the strength of the coffee is adjusted by adding more or less grounds to the basket. In a way, this would be a better way to prepare coffee since a higher temperature might overbrew the coffee.

What is a percolator, and why didn't I go with a drip coffee maker? A percolator heats the cold water at the base to a boil, and passes the hot water up through the tube and onto the basket filled with coffee grounds. Once the water passes through the grounds, it falls back into the pot. The cycle continues until all the cold water has been heated and passed through the tube.

While generally it's frowned upon to boil coffee, I believe that the only water boiling is below the pump tube in the center well, right above the base where the heating mechanism is, and it's not quite at boiling temperature when passed up through the tube.

However, because the water is hotter, you can taste the strength in the brew, though it shouldn't taste bitter (unless the beans you use happen to be bitter).

For my first taste test, I ground up some Boca Java beans I've had for a while. The roast was a blend of dark and lighter roasted arabica beans. Did I mention that I've had these for a while? I'm lazy when it comes to grinding coffee beans, though lately I have been.

So I ground up enough for a full 12-cup pot of coffee, and dumped the ground beans into the lined basket.

I then placed the basket on the pump tube and put the two into the cold water-filled percolator, followed by what's called the "spreader". Topped with the cover, and plugged it in.

The instructions say the brew rate is about 1 minute per cup, so that's a total of 12 minutes. Obviously, the timer starts when you hear the coffee percolating (which is another reason I love the percolator -- the sound and the smell wafting through the house). Once the coffee finishes, the maker automatically switches down to the "keep warm" setting, during which you should remove the basket and pump to keep the coffee from re-percolating and turning bitter.

Percolators produce HOT coffee. Steaming, comforting, VERY HOT coffee, meaning you can linger over your coffee for a while without worrying about it going cold. So clearly I wondered if the warm setting would change the taste of the coffee, though I had it plugged in for a few hours (still filled with a few cups worth of coffee so as not to burn out) and the taste remained the same without any bitterness, and the coffee was still hot.

If you've ever been interesting in purchasing a percolator, I can recommend this model without hesitation. Although I've only used it twice, the review (on Cookware.com and elsewhere) are generally high and everyone seems to like it. Head on over to their site to see it for yourself.

Thanks again to Wayfair!

Greek Festival Eats '10

Today's the last day to enter the Lifetime Supply of Dry Peas & Lentils Giveaway! Head on over to enter.

I spent this past weekend at the local Greek Festival in South Bend. I originally went for the food (really for the desserts, honestly), but enjoyed the atmosphere just as much as what I ate. I was a bit camera shy so I didn't capture the atmosphere to share with you as much as I wanted, though I'll get better about that.

Some festivals leave you feeling as you've entered the third world of carny-ism, like you can't wait to get home and take a shower to wash away the memories. But this festival left you with a wonderfully calm, joyful feeling. Despite the fact that you were surrounded by people you didn't know, there wasn't a sense of awkwardness of being disconnected guest at someone else's party. For example, when you go to a restaurant it's you, your party, you have a good time, eat and leave, but you have to interaction with the table next to you. Here, although you were there for yourself, you didn't get a sense that you weren't part of the enjoyment happening with the group next to you, or that you were isolated from the majority of parties.

Other than the rejection from the local cops when we were stuck in the mud (our car, not us) to offer aid of any sort, there was no lack of concern and elbow grease from the average church member when they saw our plight. A ready team of volunteers grouped to help problem solve, and when their efforts proved futile they called in the forces, i.e., a son who had a truck and a "tow pull" to resolve the situation. In their self-imposed need to apologize, they offered us tickets for an abundance of free food for the following day, in addition to drinks and food while we waited for help to come. Additionally, the next afternoon when we came, they refused to take our money for the entrance fee when they remembered who we were. And who can leave a place like that not feeling satisfied inside and out from not only the food, but the genuine love and care that was generated from the people present towards one another. They sought to make strangers feel like friends and friends feel like honored guests. Even watching the grandsons with the very old grandmothers, and the daughters taking care of their mothers, and the favorite uncle taking interest in the small children of his family, was an unexpected but welcomed experience that epitomizes why the festival left you with such a sense of happiness and well being.

For my dinner choice I went with a gyro, which I'm sure I could have picked something other than what probably was a typical choice, though I wanted the taste of the warm pita bread and the tzatziki.

But the lamb! I thank Mary for sacrificing her little lamb because it was incredible. The meat was incredibly succulent and tender, and definitely was worth getting again. The sides, Greek green beans and rice, were simply just sides and not worth getting into. The salad was a bit skimpy, though we found out later that this year's festival sold the most food so they were probably getting low on everything. Despite the rain, the turnout was great and the tables were pretty much packed. So I'll pretend we returned the next day for the salad, though that's not true.

What I liked about the salad was that the vinaigrette wasn't incredibly tart, nor extremely greasy, and definitely not sweet, but just a nice blend of light flavors. The feta cheese wasn't as salty and overpowering as feta often has a tendency to taste, so it definitely wasn't the abundance of feta that made everything better.

See that sign? Greek coffee? YES. I didn't drink enough of those. Originally I meant to get the frappe, but I opted not to after seeing the $5 price tag, vs $2 for the hot coffee. The frappe can easily be made at home, so I made the wise choice.

This may not be everyone's cup of coffee, but as one of the ladies who made my cup the next day said, "After drinking Greek coffee you see all the wonderful things of life!" Who could refuse that?

To make Greek coffee, finely ground coffee beans (to be authentic, find actual Greek coffee) are added with some sugar (his standard for preparing the coffee was metrios, or medium, made with one spoonful of coffee to sugar, with additional sugar packets available if you desired your coffee to be glykys or vari glykos, almost honey sweet. If requested, he probably would have prepared the coffee sketos, without sugar, strong and bitter) are added to a briki with water and stirred once (and never again, even after it's served). The briki then heated over a low heat and, holding the briki by its long handle, heated until the foam bubbles and rises to the very top and immediately removed from eat. Traditionally, you would wait a minute for the coffee grounds to settle before pouring into cups, but for the festival there wasn't enough time to wait. Yes, my first sip included coffee grounds, yet it wasn't that disgusting.

I never really sweeten my coffee unless I want to enhance the flavor (like in a vanilla coffee, or coconut coffee), but when the sugar is added during the brewing process it doesn't taste as harsh. I really enjoyed the strength of the coffee, which I'd put somewhere between an espresso and regular drip brewed coffee. I miss not being able to drink it, so I'll be looking to buy a briki soon.

If you want to make your own, follow these instructions.

Next up was the loukoumathes, Greek honey puffs. Dough balls are fried and tossed with a honey sauce and sprinkled with cinnamon. Unlike traditional fried doughnuts, these were spongy on the inside and crispy on the outside. These weren't delicate, and not only did they retain their shape but help up to the syrup without turning soggy. Wonderful stuff!

Next up was a pecan blossom, phyllo baskets filled with glazed pecans and topped with honey. There seemed to be a layer of a ground and coarsely chopped pecans underneath the top layer, and it had a powdery, dry taste, but nowhere close to tasting like sawdust. Just a different, unexpected taste.

The top cookies, finikia (melomakarona), and kourambiedes were given to us after our car got stuck in the mud.

The finikia, honey-dipped cookies, a butter cookie flavored with spices, orange juice, and brandy or cognac are formed into ovals and dipped into a honey syrup. The crumb is moist, yet still reminiscent of a sandy fine-textured butter cookie. The syrup was light and very good.

Kourambiedes, a Greek Christmas cookie, is a rich butter cookie flavored with brandy (not really detectable) and doused in confectioners' sugar. Unlike "snowballs" these don't include ground nuts (there is a ground almond Greek cookie, though). The texture was light and crisp and very good.

The bottom dessert in the above picture is kataifi, shredded phyllo with honey and chopped nuts. Despite its appearance, this is NOT shredded wheat, which we joked about quite a bit as we ate it. We wouldn't have tried this except that a man was carrying a tray and walking around the tables, so we bought two. I was surprised at how much I liked it, though what's not to love about the crispiness of shredded phyllo moistened with honey and filled with nuts? In fact, next time I get shredded wheat I'm going to break it up and serve toss it with toasted pecans and drizzle it with honey. My version will include a splash of milk, most likely.

I hope you enjoyed reading about some of the different Greek food that I tried as much as I enjoyed experiencing it firsthand. If you're near a Greektown or find a Greek festival taking place where you live, don't hesitate to go!

coffee bars with espresso shortbread crust

Before I explain this picture, I'd like to thank everyone for their comments on the race report post. I really looked forward to sharing it with you guys, and I hope it was a bit informative to read, as well.

Now.

I had what I thought was an epiphany during Easter when I made lemon bars with my brother. Why not make... COFFEE BARS? I figured I'd just decrease the sugar and sub cooled coffee in place of the lemon juice. Instead of making the crust normally, I'd add espresso powder. In theory, this was a brilliant idea.

As the crust baked, I whisked up the mixture of coffee, sugar, eggs, flour, a bit of cocoa powder and espresso powder for enhancement, and salt. All the ingredients required for a great time.

Unfortunately... There's like an eggy layer that separated during the baking process, clearly visible. It's like an eggy layer of flan with a smooth pudding layer underneath. Taste wise, it wasn't that bad, but I found myself wishing I had more espresso shortbread. I had one during lunch today, and maybe it was because I forgot to cover it overnight, but it solidified into an edible mass of a rubber texture. Ew. Perhaps the temperature, which was at 375°, should have been lowered after the crust finished partly baking so the custard had a lower, even temperature. Thoughts?

So.

I don't think I'll be posting the actual recipe here because I wasn't very pleased with the outcome, but I will leave the shortbread recipe since it was delicious.

Recipe after the jump

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espresso shortbread
From an Allrecipes.com recipe for lemon bars

ingredients ~

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

directions ~

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 10-inch square baking pan, then line with a sheet of wax paper or parchment, leaving an overhand on two sides. Grease paper and set aside.


2. Whisk together flour, sugar, espresso powder, and salt. Using a wooden spoon (channel your inner Luddite, folks), mix in the butter until curds start to form. It'll look almost like pie crust after you add the liquid, so it shouldn't be completely powder and it'll stick together when pressed. If you mix it until it comes together in a ball, it'll be a bit more tricky to press in the pan.


3. Dump mixture in baking pan and press, spreading to the edges, in an even thickness. You can score the top with a fork, if you'd like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Use paper overhang to remove to a cooling rack, and cut into preferred sizes.

eat cookies for breakfast!

It's the new campaign I'm heading up. I'm already a big believer in eating cookies for breakfast, and I think I remember reading on the David Lebovitz site that he also eats cookies for breakfast when he has them around. Many people will be quick to tell you that they are not morning people, but a cookie would definitely brighten their days, especially the kind of cookie I'm talking about.

Many breakfast cookies are a cross between a cookie, a muffin top, and maybe a scone. This, however, is more akin to portable granola or oatmeal, as pointed out by my brother who said that crumbling the cookies into milk would most likely taste good. He then said these would also make a good ice cream and yogurt topping. He also requested that I should make these again only if I made about 100 instead of just two dozen.

To make this you first will need some leftover hockey pucks, or as I like to call them, oat-coffee crinkles. You can either heat up the milk, pour it over a few cookies (you probably will need at least 4 per half cup of milk) and let it sit for a few minutes to soften, or you could simply crumble the cookies into a bowl and pour cold milk on top if you'd rather eat them like granola. Either way, you have a caffeinated, protein packed breakfast to start the day! Toss in some fruit if you feel like being extra healthy.

One note: If you want to make these simply for portable breakfasts, decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup and add in a fourth egg white. To make life easier, mix the ground coffee in with the oatmeal. Portion the dough out into 1/3 or 1/2 cup portions and bake until the outsides are beginning to take on a golden brown hue, probably at least 15-17 minutes, maybe 20. Cook completely, then wrap individually in plastic wrap.

oat-coffee crinkles

I had an idea for a cookie that wasn't quite a cookie as we know it. These are the first take of this idea, featuring an oatmeal macaroon rolled in freshly ground coffee beans.

My idea was for a lighter cookie in texture that was still chewy, something a little off the beaten path. I've also been thinking about a cookie rolled in ground coffee beans, so I decided to add that component to these cookies as well.

For flavor, I toasted the oats until they smelled oaty. Yeah, I didn't time it. Then I processed them until the flakes were broken up, some pieces were large, others powdery, but mostly none were whole. I then briefly whisked egg whites with sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and stirred in the oats. The mixture was a bit sticky, though it probably would have been easier to form than after the dough had chilled overnight, probably just a 30 minute chill would have sufficed. The dough wasn't that difficult to shape, though I found that after you formed the cookie ball, I needed to lightly wet my fingers and moisten the cookie dough to get it to stay together and so the coffee bean-sugar coating would stick. My main concern was that the cookies would fall apart after baking, but it didn't.

How did I like them? I thought they were surprisingly good. I wasn't quite sure if the idea would be better than the actual production, so I was pleased when everyone else also thought they tasted good. The chewiness was definitely the best part of the cookies. The coffee bean coating was delicious, though it didn't pack quite the caffeinated experience I was hoping to taste.

These definitely are a work in progress, but so far so good!

Recipe after the jump.

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Print this recipe

oat-coffee crinkles
Recipe by Christina Provo

Makes around 2 dozen

ingredients ~

3 cups whole oats, toasted, then pulverized to a coarse powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 egg whites
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup whole coffee beans
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

directions ~

1. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until frothy. Stir in oat powder and stir until mixed. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.


2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Grind the coffee beans, 2 tablespoons at a time, for 6 seconds. Repeat with remaining coffee beans, then mix in a pie plate (or other shallow container) with the sugar. Add half back to the coffee grinder and grind for another 5 seconds; repeat with remaining coffee-sugar mixture.


3. Place a small bowl filled with water next to the baking sheet. Form and pack 1 tablespoon of the cookie dough, then using moistened fingertips moisten the dough, packing gently with your palm. Roll in the ground coffee and place on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Repeat until all dough has been used. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten cookies slightly into disks. If they break about at the edges, gently press back together.


4. Place sheet on the middle rack and bake for 9-10 minutes. Let cool on sheet for about a minute, then remove to cooling rack.

Salmon Chase 10k, food stuff, and a Giveaway

Giveaway info is at bottom of post

On Friday, I signed up for the 10k at the Salmon Chase. Immediately after which I walked over to Chicory Cafe for some coffee and beignets.

Arriving to your table fresh and dusted in confectioners' sugar, these have to be my favorite doughnut thing of all time. Light, crispy outtards and chewy-fluffy innards.

what I wanted from this race
Going by the first four miles from the 15k two weeks ago, I knew I could hold sub-9 minute miles for the first four and if I couldn't get myself to overcome the pain I'd drop back to around 9:20s like I did then.

Then I got sick. Just a cold that has since mostly gone away, but it zapped my energy and there was no way I was going running since I had that nasty cough. Since that meant I hadn't run in a week I figured a) this means I'll be well-rested, b) I can't lose that much fitness in a week anyway, and c) I'll be racing in practically new shoes. They ("they" being the running experts) suggest not racing in shoes you haven't broken in, but for many shoes the break in period isn't very long, and I can tell these shoes are the best I've worn yet. More on that later, though.

I get to the race, which starts at 0730 in front of the College Football Hall of Fame, and it's pretty chilly, around 57° and breezy. Only to have the start time delayed by five minutes. Just five minutes longer. I'm sorry, but there are a few course complications, so we'll begin in five minutes. Then there was the stupid playback voice over the loudspeaker, "The race will begin in juuuust a feew minutes. Just a feeeew minutes until the start of the race." I swear he sounded like Horacio from CSI: Miami, and I pictured the voice tilting its head down, lowering his shades, and telling me, "The race will begin in juuuust a feeeew minutes."

Eventually the race starts and off we go. The course was similar to the Sunburst 10k in that it went along some of the same roads and paths. And the hills. Don't ask me how I liked them hills. Anyway, the course went along the river and it was nice, and the mile splits were clearly marked with Army dudes calling out the split, which I thought was pretty cool. And I hope they were in the Army, otherwise I'm going to sound like a moron.

My first split came in around 8:06, which I wasn't quite expecting. Second was around 8:12, third back at 8:06, the fourth I messed up but I think was just under 9, and the last two were close to 9:25. I still feel like the part of running I have to work on is talking myself through the pain and continuing to push myself. Probably why I backed off was that I couldn't draw a deep breath since I felt like I needed to cough, but the only way to cough would have been to stop so I didn't.

Here is my finishing kick. And see the clock? My chip time came it at 53:33, which is a personal record and a 5th place in my age group!

Now about the shoes. I had a coupon from the Blueberry Stomp for the New Balance store so I decided to see what they had. The guy who helped me, Kurt, was very informative and explained why I probably wanted to veer from a stability shoe and directed me towards the New Balance 800, a shoe designed for midfoot strikers. He also felt that given my size, the trainer would hold up against a decent amount of mileage. It felt different, obviously, though it seemed like a good idea and I went with it. I couldn't really tell much from the 2 runs I put in prior to the race since the first one resulted in a walk of shame back to my house since it was just when I got sick, and the second I was coming off the sickness and felt weird, although the shoes felt fine. There was only a small adjustment period, going from a shoe with a built-up heel to one where it was designed for the way I run was a bit different. Also, shuffling in these shoes is a NO. You can really tell when you aren't running with proper form, but I like that.

You know what the absolute bummer is? NEW BALANCE IS GETTING RID OF THE SHOE. That's correct, folks. I called the store and the guy said they'll be getting the 801 in next month and he can't even order the 800s any more. And New Balance only offers frees hipping for orders over $99. The difference, he said, was that this new and supposedly improved shoe is cut out more like a shoe and will have more support under the metatarsal.

Sigh.

The post race snacks were excellent, and once again I didn't grab enough. If I had my bag with me I'd have really made out well. But I grabbed Sun Chips (great flavor, though I think "Hot House Canned Salsa" would have been better), some Effin Crackers (which were really Elfin Crackers, think Animal Crackers but in a cannibalized Elf shape -- I was about to say 'tiny Elf', but that's redundant, like saying, "What a small hobbit!" I misread the label and swore they said Effin Crackers, which made sense since I thought what I was grabbing was a bag of jelly fruit slices, so Effin Crackers they remain), and a popsicle that I wrestled with opening the slippery plastic covering for what I swear was five minutes. There were also doughnut holes, but I wanted that popsicle. I worked for it and earned it, damn it!

Walking back to Chicory Cafe for hot chocolate (which was meh, unfortunately), and corn crab chowder which was a bit spicy, not too thick, and altogether yummy. It came with a roll, no crackers.

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The Giveaway

And now what you've all been waiting for! I picked up my favorite flavor of coffee from Chicory Cafe to give away to one lucky person.

This Coconut Supreme flavor is so far one of my favorites I've tried. The flavor is really good, reminiscent of toasted coconut almost, and a little sugar and cream actually enhance the flavor. Equally good black, I have no doubt. This is an 8 oz. bag of whole beans.

Chicory Cafe procures their beans directly from a micro-roaster in New Orleans, and they also make sure their coffee comes from the source of where it's supposed to come from -- the fridge. It's also Fair Trade.

If you would like to try this, leave a comment telling me a) your favorite coffee, b) your favorite time to drink coffee, and c) your email address (or you can email me if you'd rather not leave it publicly -- address is on the sidebar). Entries close at 12:00 PM EST on Friday, the winner will be determined my random selection and announced shortly after.

US residents only, please

Good luck!