News, clues, and experiences from the beverage sippin’ KozeeLady: sharing tasty recipes using your favorite drinks, information from the beverage beat, and travel tales about coffee and tea.
Knitting a scarf with yarn from Windsor Button in Boston, MA is a great way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day thoughout March!
After an online search for Boston yarn shops, I found Windsor Button within walking distance of our hotel. It opened in 1936 and sells sewing, craft, and knitting supplies. Entering the shop, I saw a wall of drawers that reminded me how buttons were sold before they were displayed on wall hooks and rotating racks.
I walked the long wall gazing in awe at the unique buttons attached to the fronts of the drawers. Because I’m a sewer, beautiful buttons are as fascinating to me as precious stones are to a jeweler! I’ve spent hours looking for the perfect buttons to complement my sewing projects.
Near the front of the store was a huge box filled with thousands of buttons. The sign read “Bulk Buttons 25 cents each or $5.00 per box. I wondered how long it would take to count all those buttons!
Perry and I walked from the Onyx Hotel to Beacon Hill for an early dinner at Emmets Pub & Restaurant, one of many Irish pubs in Boston. Perry ordered a Newcastle brown ale. I ordered tea (no free refills), which didn’t taste good. The waitperson said the tea was a Coca-Cola product that came in a box.
Emmets’ creamy, smooth clam chowder was excellent! We ranked it the best of three clam chowders we had eaten on our business trip.
I ate a tasty plate of Fish ‘n Chips. The fish was fresh scrod beautifully fried, the tarter and cocktail sauces were very good, the wonderful coleslaw had a slightly vinegar taste with finely shredded onions, and excellent fries were hot.
Perry had Fresh Scallops New England from the Special Entrée Sheet. The rice pilaf was fluffy and moist, the zucchini and yellow squash were crisp cooked, and all 12 scallops were excellent.
We shared a piece of Boston Cream pie. The cake was moist but not too sweet. It was a nice way to end our meal.
After we left Emmets pub, we were surprised to find three surfers walking toward us with boards in hand! This young man from Crested Butte, CO is living in Boston and attending law school. He and his friends had been surfing at Hampton Beach in NH. He told me the name of a secret surfing beach in Boston where the locals hang out. I promised not to share this information!
This beautiful Steampunk Sally mug displays an original Art Nouveau illustration by Chaz Kemp. Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction–often featuring elements of fantasy, which became popular about 20 years ago. Literary and artistic works are set in a world where steam power is widely used either in Victorian England or around the 19th century.
If you or someone you know is into Steampunk, Art Nouveau, fantasy, engineering, science fiction or just like the beautiful art, I recommend this quality 11 ounce mug. The art work reproduction is excellent. Put a Golden Notes Kup Kap on Steampunk Sally because music expands all centuries.
Chaz didn’t use Steampunk to design the Herb T. Awanna and Louie Latté graphics on my web site. Instead, he listened to what I wanted then put his artistic talent to work creating these fun characters from a photo I shot of two mugs and Kup Kaps!
Photo: Coffee Sacks Kup KollarBecause Smith Farms Kona coffee has a chocolaty taste, I made the iced-coffee recipe from Arbuckle Coffee without the chocolate syrup to save calories. The coffee drink tasted like it had chocolate in it! I also used skim milk instead of ice-cream. It was less creamy but still very delicious.The next day, I substituted Horizon Organic Fat-Free Vanilla yogurt for the ice-cream. The drink had a creamy texture, a slight vanilla flavor, and a tart taste.
For a third variation, I substituted Horizon Organic Fat-Free Plain yogurt for the ice-cream, which made the drink very tart. Folks who don’t like sugary drinks would enjoy plain yogurt in iced-coffee beverages.
I loved the Mountain Gold Rooibus Red loose tea with orange and cinnamon flavors that lingered on the back of my throat. The friendly staff member suggested I try a new dessert called a brioche with chocolate custard. The custard of this yummy dessert contained chocolate chips!
I sipped my hot tea and began reading British actor Helen Mirren’s autobiography “In the Frame.” The book is very interesting, with many documented letters and photos of her childhood, family, and career. It’s not your usual Hollywood tell all book. My Kup Kap kept my tea hot as I read about this fascinating lady.
The French Press was decorated with Valentine Day decorations for a festive look in this comfy shop.
On Valentine’s Day, meet your special person at a coffee or tea shop. Give them a Heart Kup Kollar (cup wrap) in a Valentine’s Day gift bag with fresh or silk flowers. A cup wrap is a gift that keeps on giving all year long, doesn’t need dusting, won’t wilt, and has no calories. You’ll be remembered for your thoughtfulness every time the Kup Kollar is used!
Does your special person love cats? This Tea Tabard will give a warm glow to the person brewing a favorite tea.
Find a teapot with a floral pattern and match it to one of our Tea Tabards that has a flowers printed fabric.
Wearing the hats of mom, school teacher, and school volunteer, I’ve mixed a lot of play dough and clay over the years, but this recipe from KinderArt was new to me. I brewed a cup of hot tea and whipped up a batch. I tried to make a VW bug but ended up with a cat! After the clay dried, I used felt tip markers to add color. Making oatmeal clay dough is a fun activity for teaching children about the nutritional value of oatmeal!
Oatmeal Clay Dough
1 part flour
2 parts oatmeal
1 part water
Mix ingredients. Add more flour if dough is too sticky. Form into shapes and let them air dry. Pieces can be painted or colored with felt tip markers when dry.
When you can’t eat your oatmeal at home, take along one of three flavors of Quaker Oatmeal Express. To prepare, take off the foil lid, add water, and put a Kup Kap on top to hold in the heat while it steeps.
My daughter emailed this tip for eating hot oatmeal at work:
“Mom, did I tell you my large Koffee Kozee has been keeping my oatmeal warm on the way to work? I cook it up in a Tupperware container, and then pop it into my Koffee Kozee — voila! Warm oatmeal for breakfast! I could do it at work, but it’s a bit of a pain. I usually chop up fruit to put in it.”
When I learned January is National Oatmeal Month, I did a Google search for oatmeal information. That’s when I found Oatmeal, Texas on Road 243, about fifty-six miles northwest of Austin. In 2002, its estimated population was twenty!
The first settlers were German families who came to the area in 1849. A post office was granted under the name of Oatmeal in 1853. The town is known for its water tower, which looks like a huge box of oatmeal!
There is an annual Oatmeal Festival honoring the cereal on Labor Day weekends in Bertram, TX, another small town next to Oatmeal. It was started in 1978 as spoof on the many chili cook-offs in Texas. There are parades, a barbecue, and games for the “city folks to come out and spend a few bucks and everybody have a good time”.
To help lower cholesterol, promote a healthy heart, and add fiber, eat oatmeal as a cereal or in other foods like muffins and snack bars. When eating hot oatmeal, use a Kup Kap on your bowl to hold in the heat until it’s ready to eat!
After dinner, we ordered brownies and ice-cream for an excellent dessert! The brownies weren’t overly sweet. It was a great way to end our travel day.
Friday morning we enjoyed breakfast at The Cupping Room Cafe. I ordered eggs Benedict with spinach and brie. Perry had four sausage links, French fries, and eggs. He said the coffee was excellent!
Perry loved the bagels. As they say in NYC, “It’s the water!”
On Sunday we attended their popular brunch along with a lot of other folks from the neighborhood. My favorite dish is their stuffed French toast. The filling was cream cheese, granola, nuts, and raisons. I drank freshly squeezed orange juice.
I recommend The Cupping Room for breakfast because the coffee is excellent, iced tea is tasty, bagels are fantastic, orange juice is freshly squeezed, eggs cooked to order, and the stuffed French toast is a must-have!
