Free recipe for all!
Chocolate Crack Iced Coffee
(We here at the Veggie Annie Research and Development Lab and Coffee Palace have a strict policy against calling delicious food “crack.” We don’t think that the disease of drug addiction is funny, or that even a glancing bit of mockery of people who struggle with it is ok. There are plenty of fun ways to say that a dish is tantalizing or alluring or hard to resist, without comparing it to a substance that can destroy people’s lives. [Actually, we even go so far as to ban the word “addictive” from our vocabularies when talking about delicious food - but we can be joyless Communists sometimes.])
This post is about a recent social media food trend of ACTUALLY CRACKING a LAYER OF CHOCOLATE encasing your iced coffee inside a cup. The chocolate shell makes a delightful sound and feel as it crackles apart, and then the experience of eating/drinking the shards of cold chocolate along with your iced coffee makes this treat a genuine moment of joy on a really, really hot afternoon!
Any drinking vessel that you can slightly crunch inward will work for this. A paper cup works fine, if you don’t have a clear compostable or disposable one, as does a disposable plastic water bottle. It’s also great for kiddos, using cold milk or plant-based milk instead of coffee. (Depending on your kiddos, they may need a guiding hand for the squeeze! It’s only practice that allows us grownups to know our own strength for a gentle squeeze that doesn’t cause an eruption of the liquid.) Also, I strongly recommend a lid, if you have one, and filling your vessel only half to two-thirds full.
This is a fine and fun activity / treat when it’s too hot to play or work outside - we recommend it as a 99 Degree Fahrenheit Family Tradition for everyone!
Chocolate Crack Iced Coffee
Makes 1 serving
1/3 cup chocolate chips or 3-4 ounces chocolate - milk, dark, whatever you like
1 cup of iced coffee, prepared however you like it
Look, all I’m saying is that lasagna is an art, not a science. (Guest post by Veggie Juliana)
Coffee Scrying this afternoon! By the end there, I saw something that was either Kilroy, a Moomin troll, or possibly a stingray.
Any idea what these things mean for my day?
See anything that I missed?
#coffee #scrying #afternoonmagic
Hello, Cooks and Cuties!
Today is Bitchless Thursday! If you don’t know me, let me explain. A decade or so ago, I started a spiritual / emotional practice of not bitching on Thursdays. I try to remain resolute all day in avoiding complaining, ingratitude and pessimism. I count my blessings, look on the sunny side, and stay alert for moments of beauty, goodness and humor. I don’t always succeed - it’s a practice, not perfection!
If I’m sorely provoked on a Thursday, I promise myself that I can curse and rage on Friday, from the minute I open my eyes, if I want to. But usually, the storm has passed by then.
Someone even added Bitchless Thursday to the Urban Dictionary! (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bitchless+Thursday)
Paradoxically, I’m ALSO waking up from a lifetime of good-girl martyrdom, and am experiencing a late-mid-life rage that seems to resonate with many 40-50-60-something women, and people raised as women, that I know. I’m actually enjoying the experience of allowing my authentic anger - and also practicing Bitchlessness once a week - at the same time. We all contain multitudes.
Anyway, I hope you can sign up for my newsletter (there are paid or free subscription tiers - obviously, paid subscriptions help me keep the lights on here, but free also contributes to the community, which I love!), cook some fabulous food, join my Bitchless Thursday Movement, and stay tuned for fun and deliciousness.
For free subscribers, this issue of Skillet has a FANTASTIC Cabbage Slaw with Grapes and Walnuts, which is much greater than the sum of its parts. A super punchy dressing and a ton of wonderful texture. You won’t want to miss making this one!
Paid subscribers get a lovely recipe for Edamame Avocado Spread, which is delightfully Grinch-green, packed with plants, and makes for a great higher-protein avocado toast - and is equally lovely as a dip with some crunchy tortilla chips, or topping roasted sweet potatoes. Plus a no
A Dramatic Presentation in One Act, featuring Cheese Quesadillas#eclipse #totaleclipseoftheheart #dramaticmoments #dinnerandashow #veggieannie Juliana Lufkin and Annie Marshall on vocals
Today’s Best Favorite Salad! Columella Salad; an Ancient Roman recipe for a fantastic cheese salad. Paid subscribers, look for it in the upcoming edition of Veggie Annie’s Skillet (link to subscribe in bio!)
Morning Coffee on the porch with Veggie Annie on the first workday of October. ☕️ ❤️
Planning the next few weeks of Veggie Annie’s Skillet - my new recipe newsletter subscription! Link to subscribe in bio.
Thanks to McSweeney's for my favorite fall mug. 🎃
Honey Almond Latte with Penzeys Spices’ Ceylon Cinnamon - honey from Hays Apiary (local honey!) and coffee from the fabulous Dublin Roasters Coffee, locally roasted in my hometown!
In the Kitchen with Veggie Annie’s Skillet - today’s Rainy Saturday test project is an Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary and Dark Chocolate (adapted slightly from James Beard Award winner Kim Boyce!)
What’re you cooking today?
#veggieannie #veggieanniesskillet #testkitchen #saturdaycake #recipenewsletter #substack
Bitchless Thursday ☘️❤️
If there’s any way to combine personal growth with a CRAFT PROJECT, you know I’m there! (In moments of stress, you shake up your glitter jar, then watch it settle as it calms your racing thoughts. It really works!)
Half an inch of glitter in a jar (mix up fine, regular and chunky glitter), then add a little warm water, and stir well, to prevent clumping. Then, of the remaining space in the jar, fill a third to half with corn syrup or glycerin, then warm water. More of the viscous stuff makes the glitter settle more slowly, so see how you like it. When the fill level and floaty-ness is at your desired state, add 2 drops of dish detergent, and stir again.
Use a hot glue gun, crazy glue, or whatever you like to glue the lid on.
For kids, depending on age and ability to be careful, you might want to use plastic containers. We don’t want to cancel out the calming effects by fretting about the god-awful mess this would make if it broke!
Enjoy the prettiness and the calm. ☘️❤️
Rainy Bitchless Thursday 😍
Over here at the Veggie Annie Research and Development Lab and Coffee Palace, we keep our WhimsyMeter™️ around 9 most days.
A rainy Bitchless Thursday required that we crank it up to 11!
I’d love to hear about what’s on your Bitchless Agenda for today!
#veggieannie #veggieanniecatering #bitchlessthursday #veggieanniesbitchlessthursday #theoriginalbitchlessthursday #daisydaisy #rainyday
Bitchless Thursday, Throwback Thursday, and apparently Thrifty Thursday, all in one! This is 2019 - pre-pandemic retreat catering (Fox Haven Farm & Retreat Center, we love you!), and here I am polishing off the last drops of the maple syrup we served with breakfast. I hope you admire how responsible I’m being! 🤣
What are your favorite ways to reduce food waste?
Kitchen ASMR with Veggie Annie - January 13, 2022
Carrot Peeling ASMR for your Bitchless Thursday listening pleasure!
Veggie Annie Dinner Delivery for Friday, November 19th. Please order by Monday, November 15th at 9am.
Please leave out a cooler with ice packs in it.
We deliver to Frederick MD, Washington DC, Baltimore, and everywhere in between.
Each dish is $25. Please order at least 3 dishes, for a minimum of $75. Venmo is my favorite way to get paid.
Buffalo Chicken Salad - I first had Buffalo Wings in 1986, in Buffalo, when they were definitely a thing, but not a thing I’d ever encountered around here. I said to my dining companion, “What is the deal with this weirdy, spicy dish? What’s with the blue cheese dressing and these random celery and carrot sticks?” And then I tasted it, and we immediately got another order! This salad captures the greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts flavor of the classic combo: shredded chicken in Buffalo sauce, celery and other veg, blue cheese, creamy dressing, all on a bed of salad greens. One quart plus salad greens. Gluten-free.
Firecracker Red Beans - This is an old Mollie Katzen recipe. She’s my hero! Not firecracker-spicy, these are just cracking with flavor - ginger, garlic, sherry, mustard - and then smoothed out with almond butter and tomato. Deeply satisfying. One quart. Vegan. Gluten free.
Autumn Glory Salad - This a Veggie Juliana invention! Chili-oil-roasted sweet potatoes tossed with walnuts, dried cranberries, blue cheese and lemon. Honestly, our resident Ms. Autumn Woman would eat it every day of November , if she could. Ask us if you’d like to make it vegan by subbing pistachios for the blue cheese. One quart. Vegetarian or vegan. Gluten-free.
Coconut Cream of Carrot Soup with Popcorn to garnish (videoed)- The smoothest!! Savory and delicious carrot soup, with the delicious contrast of snappy popcorn to top each bowl. One quart. Vegan, gluten-free.
Greek Zoodle Salad - Why is a delicious Greek salad EVEN MORE delicious with zucchini noodles?! Please let us know if you’d like to substitute toasted, s
Veggie Annie Dinner Delivery for Friday April 9. Please order by Monday, April 5th at 9am.
We deliver to Frederick MD, Washington DC, Baltimore, Annapolis, and everywhere in between.
Each dish is $25. Please order at least 3 dishes, for a minimum of $75. Venmo is my favorite way to get paid.
Spinach Artichoke Chicken Stew - This creamy, hearty dish is adapted from a New York Times recipe, and will remind you, delightfully, of your favorite hot dip! (It would stay just between us if you decided to scoop it up with crackers instead of a spoon.) One quart. Gluten-free.
Cream of Carrot Soup with Popcorn to garnish - The smoothest, savory-est carrot soup, smoothed even more with cream or with coconut milk, your choice - just let us know. Top each bowl with the Popcorn we send along, for a delightfully contrasting garnish. One quart. Gluten-free. Vegan or dairy. (Take a peel at the carrots simmering away, above.)
Dominican Black Beans - Beans, mild green chilies, fresh and fire-roasted tomatoes, in a super-flavorful, creamy, coconut-milk sauce. Served hot. Comforting, scrumptious, out of the ordinary. One quart. Vegan, gluten-free.
Southwest Salad - A confetti of beans, corn, sweet AND hot peppers, cilantro, red AND green onions; all snuggled up in our homemade Chipotle Ranch. Refreshing AND scrumptious! Please specify vegan or dairy for the dressing. Gluten-free. Vegan or dairy. One quart.
Roasted Veggie Salad with Balsamic Dressing - This is a beauty of a salad, with layers of separately roasted veggies, ready for you to toss with the creamy Balsamic Dressing. Dressing contains yogurt, but we can make it vegan, if you ask. Serve cold or at room temperature. One quart. Gluten-free. Vegan or dairy.
Email or text to order!
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301-401-0913
