To hell with winter, let's drink shakes

I’ve always wanted one of these. Kind of a malt counter @ home type of thing. But you need to have a good one, like this Waring. And, they’re usually $200 – too rich for my blood.

But…Sur La Table has them on sale now for only $70. It might be hard to think about ice cream with all this incliment weather going ’round.

But come summer, you will be very very happy drinking your frozen vanilla ice cream peanut butter chocolate chip dulce de leche shake (with a splash of Kahlua of course).

Mmm.

$70

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Absinthe Fountain

Absinthe. Probably the single most misunderstood in all the world of boozes. It’s an odd green color (usually, though not always) that turns milky white when you add water (more on this soon…). This anise flavored, herb-infused liquor became popular at the turn of the century – especially in Paris – and was rumored to be the drink of choice for may poets, writers and artists of the period (Oscar Wilde, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Ernest, etc). It is rumored to possess hallucinatory properties, supposedly owing to one of it’s key ingredients, wormwood. This has, however, never been confirmed scientifically, though often via anecdote – many have said it creates a “clear-minded drunkenness”.

Because of its rising popularity in pre-prohibition times, the “green fairy” as it was often called, was singled out as a dangerous drink that made people crazy.The U.S. government outlawed it in 1912 because of this frenzy and it wasn’t until 2007 that they allowed it to be imported and manufactured domestically.

One of the best things about absinthe is the ritual involved in its consumption. Typically, it is poured into a glass, then ice water is added (about a 3 to 1 ratio…or higher if you like it less alcoholic) by pouring over a (generally quite stylized) slotted spoon with a sugar cube on it which would then slightly dissolve.

Even better, it became popular in bars and the homes of entertainers to have an absinthe fountain (as pictured) that would be filled with ice water then people could add as much or little water as they liked (poured from the spigots over the spoon/sugar). Many of the (cheaper) absinthe fountains today have chintzy plastic handles, but this one features real metal…I believe coated bronze.

Regardless of how often you drink it, it’s a beautiful ornamentation for a dining room.

And, after a few sips, you might even think the hills look like white elephants.

BUY ABSINTHE GLASS

BUY ABSINTHE (this place also sells “cannabis vodka”…try at your own risk…)

BUY ABSINTHE FOUNTAIN

NOT a paper cup

Think of all the disposable cups served by Starbucks and McDonalds all over the world in a single day. A lot. A friend here in Los Angeles started BringYourOwn.org to promote and educate about all this waste. And for most of us, it’s all a matter of convenience.

Like remembering to bring a bag or two to the grocery store.

Or a decent mug to the coffee shop. If you haven’t got one you like, check out this one: I’m not a paper cup. It’s not, though it surely looks like one. A good way to freak people out.

Just a little.

And then remind them they should bring their own damn mug, too.

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Better than coffee...?

South Africa, for those who haven’t been there, is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. From the Drakensberg mountains to the Natal beaches and the Wild Coast, to the flourishing (though endangered elsewhere) White Rhinos in Hluhluwe Umfolozi park. Home of  the Bushveld and one of the most amazingly beautiful  cities in the world: Capetown.

Visitors there will find hospitality from all South African people of all colors. And undoubtedly they will be served rooibos tea. Rooibos means red bush in Afrikaans, the Dutch dialect some speak there. It is native to Southern Africa and is drunk regularly by everyone there. Recent studies have shown rooibos to be extremely rich in antioxidants, surpassing even green tea. And it’s caffeine free.

And the taste is wonderful: hints of vanilla and pear with a rich backbone. It’s incomparable – the best way is just to taste it.

The geniuses at Red Espresso have come up with a way to make rooibos even more appealing – they’ve presented it in a brewable form. This can be used in espresso makers or French press coffee makers (there are a number of ways to prepare it), yielding a richer brew. Mmm. We’ve tried it warm and cold and couldn’t be happier.

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