Hip Moms Who Work

Between the time change and my whirlwind trip east this weekend (for my dear, beloved grandmother’s funeral – extremely sad for me and my family), I am just exhausted – physically, mentally and emotionally. 

Before going to bed last night all I could is think about that glorious cup of coffee I had to look forward to this morning. I LOVE CAFFEINE! I used to have a $4-dollar-venti-non-fat-latte-with-whip daily habit. Seriously, I think Starbucks would’ve announced their layoff of 6,000 employees about a year ago if it had not been for my maniacally consistent patronage. I’ve known since the beginning that it was a colossal waste of money, but a quick math calculation about how much I’ve spent on fancy-pants coffees over the last 15 years freaked me out, so I cut back and now make a comparable, if not tastier, product at home without a $1200 espresso machine. 

• Good, strong coffee (I like Trader Joe’s Bay Blend – great taste, good price)
• Coffeemate (I’m partial to fat-free Vanilla. The sugar-free Vanilla is gross)
• Milk (skim froths best)
• Glass container for microwaving milk (I use a Pyrex liquid measuring cup pourer thing)
• Frothing wand (anywhere from $10-$20 bucks at stores like Sur la Table, Williams Sonoma, Crate & Barrel) 

• While brewing yourself some good coffee, pour milk into microwave-safe glass container and nuke it until it’s hot (I usually fire it up for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes)
• Once heated, use frothing wand to froth milk. You need to move the frothing wand up and down to get good froth
• Pour Coffeemate into bottom of your coffee cup
• Pour coffee into the mug about a 1/3 of the way up
• Using a spoon to hold back the froth, pour hot milk into the mug 
• Top with froth and enjoy

The frothed milk also works great for making yummy hot chocolate.

I know this sounds like a latte work, but it’s cheap and honestly takes less time than it does to drive to the coffee shop every day…and best of all it saves you cash…Cash you can use to buy gold krougerrands to stash under your bed while our dollar deflates.