Confirming my suspicions

In my ongoing pursuit to visit every Starbucks in Ireland I managed to cross another off my list today. (A fourth one in Blanchardstown shopping centre!) My wife can't really understand why I bother visiting them all as they are "all the same". But, for the most part, she goes along with it and allows me to indulge myself.

Granted, Starbucks, like any franchise, are all pretty much the same. However, what they offer is coffee served in a hugely diverse number of ways - thousands of combinations. I experienced one of those today. The man ahead of me was ordering a drink for his wife which was made up of six customised elements. I know it was six because he had to repeat it a few times to the lady taking the order - and because he was counting the elements out on his fingers! Here's what he ordered:

A grande latte - decaff, non-fat milk, wet (that means no foam), extra hot, caramel syrup, and whipped cream. (Umm, didn't that last element just cancel out the skinny milk? And anything resembling foam on the top?)

I simply ordered a regular latte which I think confirmed my suspicions of myself that I've had for some time - that I live a mostly boring life. Either that or the poor guys wife was anal. Or pregnant. Or both.


No, that can't be right about myself because I've been really enjoying my espresso machine recently and getting deeper into the world of coffee. In fact, I realised that today was the first time I had been to Starbucks since Christmas! The visit confirmed another suspicion that I've had for a few years. Now that I know how to make a half decent latte at home it's clear that Starbucks coffee is not that great. I don't want to say insipid because that sounds a bit cruel, but it certainly wasn't as strong or flavourful as I thought it was.

Perhaps it's just as well that I only have one more store to visit to complete my mission.

A Liturgical Treat

It has already been said that a cup of tea without a biscuit (cookie) is a wasted opportunity. I would agree. The same logic can be applied to a cup of coffee and I always like a little something with my latte - a chocolate brownie, a caramel slice, a blueberry muffin...you get the idea.

This evening, to go along with my home made latte (I'm getting better and better at making them!), I decided to create my own special treat. Today marked Shrove Tuesday otherwise known as Pancake Day. It signals the preparation for the Christian season of Lent and while most people are unlikely to be reflective and shriven today many of them will make pancakes. I tried both, but will refrain from making public confessions of sin here opting instead to tell you about the pancake I made.

I should point out to readers who may not be from Ireland or the UK that pancakes in this part of the world are a little different from the version in North America - delicious though those are! Here they are bigger and flatter. More like a French crepe. Anyway...

I decided to combine the bookends of this season with Shrove Tuesday (pancakes) and Easter Sunday (chocolate eggs). After making the pancake I served it up and placed a Cadbury's Creme Egg in the middle, rolled the pancake up, placed it back into the hot pan for a minute then applied pressure in the middle causing the egg to goo.

Oohhh mannnnnn. Unless you have good reason not to try this like giving up chocolate for Lent or you have an egg allergy (yes there is real egg in Creme Eggs - I've had an allergic kid vomit all over my house because I gave him one. He lived.) then you've got to try this.

If you've never made pancakes it's really simple. Jamie Oliver gave me this recipe:

1 cup of plain flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg (not chocolate egg!)

Mix it all together. Simple. Unwrapping a Creme Egg is even easier.

Let me know if you give it a go. I have a feeling I'll make more before this season is over.

A Moment of Inspiration

The other day my sister phoned me. She was due to attend a conference, but because of the snow it was cancelled. Instead, she told me, she spent two hours at home reading my complete blog!

How very nice.

It was enough to make me think about picking up a coffee cup and keyboard again and seeing what happens.

So, in the unlikely event of another heap of snow in which you are looking for something to do, feel free to start here.

What I've been up to...

Although I've let blogging go recently that doesn't mean that I've not been drinking coffee. Far from it. In fact I think I've probably drunk more lattes in the last six weeks than I had in the previous six months. You see I got a little present for Christmas which has, for the most part, kept me at home rather than going to cafes.

So here's a video of me making espresso. Um, it's kind of long. Sorry if you feel like I might have wasted 7 minutes of your life...especially if you only drink tea.




I've not given up on going out. In fact, I've noticed a couple of cafes locally that I haven't tried yet, so there's still plenty to do! (Plus I still have two more Starbucks to finish off my "goal").