More Summer Drinks + Summer Tag!

Back in 2013 I did a post on summer drinks. That was 4 years ago now, so I thought it was time for a follow-up post!

Now we're in August we're getting near the end of summer but there are still a few weeks to go! Summer is my favourite season so I want to enjoy it for as long as possible. After a dull, rainy couple of weeks here in South East England, it's been hotter and sunny these past couple of days and feels more like summer again, lol. So here are some drinks to enjoy during the rest of August (and into September)!



Iced coffee

I love iced coffee. I didn't used to drink it as much because I would get it from Starbucks and they're more expensive but then a few years ago McDonald's started doing iced coffees and they're over £1 cheaper, so now I have them more frequently. (A regular Starbucks frappuccino costs £3.40 in the UK, whereas a regular mocha frappe from McDonald's costs £2.19). Starbucks do mini frappuccinos for a cheaper price but they really are mini!

My favourite Starbucks frappuccino flavour is mocha and I also like mocha frappes from McDonald's. I also occasionally have a McD's caramel frappe. Check out the Starbucks and McDonald's ranges below:

https://www.starbucks.co.uk/menu/drinks/frappuccino


https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/latest/mccafe.html





Homemade Starbucks frappuccino

One of my favourite homemade coffee recipes is this DIY Starbucks frappuccino from Fantastical Sharing of Recipes: http://www.fantasticalsharing.com/2013/07/drinks-week-diy-starbucks-frappuccino.html

I discovered the recipe a few years ago. It uses creamer and the first time I made it I used Sainsbury's coffee whitener, but you can also use milk or evaporated milk (I use Carnation). I find it's not quite like Starbucks (at least the way I make it) but it's the closest I can do at home! lol.



Vietnamese style iced coffee

Speaking of Carnation, back in June I made a Vietnamese style iced coffee  using a recipe from the Co-Op magazine. It's made with condensed milk (I use Carnation). I can't seem to find the recipe online but here are a couple of  similar ones:

http://heavytable.com/adventures-in-condensed-milk-how-to-make-vietnamese-coffee-and-vietnamese-yogurt/

http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/vietnamese-iced-coffe-recipe/

It's basically made by just pouring hot coffee over condensed milk and ice, at least you can do that at home. In coffee shops they will make it with coffee machines and I expect it tastes different. Probably nicer than homemade. It would be good to try one in a Vietnamese cafe one day!

Anyway, it is nice. The condensed milk makes it quite rich and thick, so I don't think I could drink too much of it, but it's definitely good for a treat. :) I'm planning to make some again this week. Here's a picture from when I made it in June:

Lammas 2017

Last Tuesday was Lammas (1st August) and I celebrated by baking bread and gingerbread. As I mentioned in my Lammas Celebration Ideas post, I think I last baked bread 7 years ago! (Around Lammas time). I've made quick dinner bread since then and no-yeast dinner rolls. I've also made Cornish pasties some years. But this year I decided to have a go at bread again. I made it on Monday, the day before Lammas because it can take a while to rise and also I was planning to make gingerbread on Lammas itself.

It came out quite well. I used a recipe from Tesco magazine that I'd had saved for ages (I think maybe since last year). I'm pretty sure this is the recipe: https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/fresh-white-loaf.html

It uses dried yeast which I think might make it easier than active yeast. It didn't take that long to rise compared to some recipes, you leave it for about an hour to rise and then for another half an hour to prove.

The bread tasted nice. I had some after I  made it and then more the next day with my lunch. I don't like white bread in general, especially shop bought white. I prefer brown aka wholemeal/wholewheat) but I find homemade bread a lot nicer. I remember having some at the Black Rabbit pub in Arundel once and I liked it.

I split my bread up into two because it was too big for the loaf tin. I put the second one into a round tin. Here's a picture of the first loaf: