recipe

It took some time for me to jump on this bandwagon. For most of my life, there wasn’t an efficient way to make milk from grains or nuts. It took Erica’s consistent use of small amounts of dairy and the current insane prices for me to try it out.

I must say, making oat milk is surprisingly easy and extremely cheap. I highly recommend it for those who like just a little milk in their coffee, tea, or hot cocoa, but don’t consume much milk otherwise. Erica would always buy the smallest amount of milk she could, and even that might go bad before she used it all.

Now that milk is so much more expensive, I looked into making oat milk. It worked out perfectly since she had an old drum of oatmeal in her kitchen.

I used this recipe from Love and Lemons. It was quick, cheap, and did the trick.

The reviews are in and Erica says there is a little bit of an oat aftertaste in her tea, but she likes it. And better yet she likes that it’s so cheap! One note she had was that, when making hot cocoa, it tends to thicken up like pudding if you leave it on the heat too long. Other than that, I consider us both converts!

-Ella

Even committed weekend-only drinkers find themselves in need of the occasional weeknight cocktail or glass of wine. With the number of sworn-by or sworn-original recipes out there, cocktails can seem especially daunting. That should not be the case, especially with a boundary-crossing boss willing to try nearly every motivational tactic in the book except for higher compensation. That requires a simple, quick drink. The kind to accompany you on whatever vacation from the real world you need tonight.

The simplest mixed drinks require three components: liquor, flavor, and something to dilute the liquor. You will find that some combinations work better than others, but there is no accounting for taste.

Erica’s standby mixed drinks are vodka and seltzer and a Moscow Mule. So obviously her preferred liquor is vodka. And her food preferred dilutant it is something with bubbles. For a vodka seltzer, she often pours a tall glass of seltzer and adds a splash of vodka and a splash of sweetened lime juice. These are perfect for hot summer nights after a day spent outside, or any evening after she has received a lecture from her boss on how all people need to achieve their goals is motivation. Or how some people just don’t want to work. The kind of indirect criticism one can easily smile and nod along to without taking personally.

For days when the needling is more direct, I suggest a Moscow Mule. This can include any such incidents as being asked to do menial tasks despite not being your boss’s assistant or being held to the same expectations as higher-level staff without any additional compensation because you just need the right motivation. On evenings like that, Erica will make herself a Moscow Mule in a much smaller glass with slightly more vodka, seltzer water, sweetened lime juice, and the ginger syrup which I wrote about a little while ago.

So, when you are looking for an invigorating refreshment, or just to take the edge off a particularly terrible day, don’t let a complicated cocktail recipe stress you out even further.

-Ella

All Things Marceleste

Here to anti-influence you

Oat Milk is Surprisingly Simple and Cheap

We All Need a Weeknight Drink Occasionally, Those Should Be Easy