Menage à Trois Wine.

If you are looking for good wine on a budget, let me introduce you to MENAGE À TROIS. That's if you haven't been introduced already! Costco sells this wine for around $7. I'm not a well seasoned WINE O, but I do think this is a good wine for the price. This Red wine is a blend of three grapes, get it?! Zinfandel, Merlot, & Cabernet Sauvignon. Its smooth and I could easily drink way too much.

I'm not going to get into the tasting notes because like I said, I'm not seasoned. I rarely drink a glass of wine and pick up jammy notes, hints of raspberry, cherries, or vanilla undertones. Maybe I'll get there some day. I do live in wine country now. Goal number 57, LEARN MORE ABOUT WINE. If you know of any other great wine's on a budget, let me know. Goal number 58, Blog about our local wineries. Tiff, if you are reading, you can be my tasting buddy:) She knows I can't always taste due to sinus issues. And sometimes my chest gets covered in hives when I drink wine, she knows about this issue also! Has never really stopped me though...

Enjoy a glass of wine tonight! 

Yummy Cake!

I'm ashamed to admit I had never made a cake from scratch until I made thisGEM. Ok I just lied, I made a cake for Carly's wedding. This cake was for my Dad's birthday. Back to never making a cake from scratch. Yeah, I said it. Baking scares me. Precise measurements, I'm not precise about anything. Following instructions? I'm trying. 

You will not regret the extra effort to make this amazingly delish CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CAKE FROM SMITTEN KITCHEN, I promise. Its so rich that you will easily feed a large crowd. I had to hide the cake after my Dad's birthday in a cabinet so we all (DAD) wouldn't hover over it all day with our (his) forks (fork).

I adapted the recipe a tad. I made the cake a two layer instead of a three layer cake. You have to remember all of our belongings are in storage, that includes cake pans. I made this bad boy with two pie pans. Thanks Tiff for lending your mixer. 

It doesn't look pretty by any means, but baking at my Dad's house is sort of like baking in a camper, you deal with what you've got. Its obvious by looking in Dad's cabinets that he's not doing a lot of baking. 

How about you? Do you resist baking? I have to say, baking is beginning to ware on me. 

The beST Ice Cream!

Ice cream is a perfectly ok food group to talk about on this food and bev Tuesday isn't it? Like I said yesterday, since we've been moving and living away from decent grocery stores, our healthy cooking has gone by the wayside for two weeks, so why not top it off with a carton of ice cream! 

This is my ALL TIME favorite ice cream. Ben and Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch. Doesn't get much better than the oozing heath bar in the creamy, coffee decadence. 

What is your ice cream of choice? Are you a Ben and Jerry's lover too? So many options on the isle these days like gelato and all of the dairy free options like coconut ice cream. I always look for a far too long and then always decide on my favorite. Never fails! Or Casey and I stand and stare and then he says, "pick what you want, I don't care." Then I say, "you know I want the coffee one." Then he says, "you know I don't like coffee ice cream." Then we reach for our own cartons. 

The Best Iced Coffee.

Have you ever heard of TODDY? If you haven't you are in for a coffee lovers dream. We received a Toddy from our cousin Carly as a shower gift and its amazing. TODDY is a cold brew coffee and tea system. Toddy brewed coffee has an average of 67% less acid than coffee made by hot brew methods. The first time I made an iced coffee from my Toddy I thought, I will never need to go through a drive through again and a drive through is tempting. In Washington we have drive through coffee stands on EVERY corner next to a Starbucks on EVERY corner next to a grocery store with a Starbucks. Toddy is simply better. I'm hooked. Not only will this bad boy save you coffee money it will save you time. The concentrate will last weeks in your fridge so there is no waste. Here's how simple it is to make.

Your Toddy will come with a glass canister, lid, that white container you see, and a stopper. 

First, insert the stopper into the outside bottom of the brewing container; then, dampen the filter and insert it into the inside bottom of the brewing container.

Next, add 1 cup of water into the bottom of the Toddy brewing container and 6 ounces of ground coffee (two cups).

Slowly pour 3 more cups of water over the grounds, in a circular motion.

Then, add the remaining 6 ounces of ground coffee. Finally, wait 5 minutes and slowly add the last 3 cups of water. DO NOT STIR (stirring the bed of grounds can result in a clogged filter). 

Lightly press down on the topmost grounds with the back of a spoon to ensure all grounds get wet.

IMPORTANT! Steep your coffee grounds for 12 to 18 hours to create a smooth, rich flavor. To filter, remove the stopper and let your coffee concentrate flow into the glass decanter - stays fresh for up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator.

Recommendations from TODDY website: recommend starting with a ratio of 1 part coffee concentrate to 2-3 parts water, milk or soy. Mix to taste, making your coffee as strong or as weak as you prefer. For rich, smooth iced coffee, simply pour coffee concentrate and water, milk or soy over ice. Combine coffee concentrate with steaming hot water for a bolder, gentler cup of hot coffee.

I can't say I'll NEVER go to a coffee stand again. I do love supporting our stands, but since you know my goal is to save money, this Toddy will be my go to coffee fix. If you are tired of the $4.00 iced coffee, please give this a try. You will save money too, I promise. 

There is even a way to make this cold brewed system without the Toddy. Pioneer Woman explains it best in her post PERFECT ICED COFFEE. 

If I didn't sell cold brewed coffee made at home enough here is another reason, you can control what you put into your coffee. Coffee stands might put as much as 4 pumps of syrup in your flavored coffees. Thats a HUGE amount of sugar. This way you can control your sugar intake as well as your fat intake. And try alternitives like almond milk or coconut milk. 

Cheers to better coffee and saving money!