Frappuccino

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (Medaglia d'Oro is excellent) 1/2 cup water, hot 2 cups ice cubes 1/2 cup condensed milk, Sweetened

1. Dissolve espresso powder in hot water.

2. Allow to cool to room temperature. (The quickest way is to mix the ingredients in a small metal bowl and swirl.) Combine espresso mixture, sweetened condensed milk and ice in blender.

3. Blend on high for one minute, until no visible chunks of ice are left. Serve with a spoon and a straw.

4. Makes 2 tall or 4 short drinks.

• Brew about 12 oz of espresso (or make a strong brew of coffee and run it through your drip machine twice for more coffee flavour intensity)
• Add 3 to 6 oz of (cold/hot, depending on season) milk to pot or blender
• Add 6-10 sugar cubes (ten cubes is the commerical sweetness level)

Using a hand blender, whip/stir until frothy, or pour mixture into a multi speed blender and use on medium and high speeds 10 seconds each to create a fabulous froth. Place in fridge if the coffee is too hot to drink for 5 - 10 mintues.

Using a hand blender, whip/stir until frothy, or pour mixture into a multi speed blender and use on medium and high speeds 10 seconds each to create a fabulous froth. Place in fridge if the coffee is too hot to drink for 5 - 10 minutes.

If you are making this in the summer, I highly recommend cutting back on the coffee and milk slightly a few ounces each (I would say 2 or 3 ounces in total, no more than that) in lieu of 3 ice cubes. Best done up in a high speed blender, but it can also be done with a hand mixer with the use of a multi chopper to crush the ice first. This method gives it a nice slushy feel to the coffee drink and makes it highly soothing on very humid days.

• Makes one serving of 18-20 oz. which is perfect for larger travel mugs.

Note: You don't need any appliances beyond a coffee maker if you're stuck at work with limited resources. I make this all the time without appliances when I'm in a rush or feeling particularly lazy. All I do is brew the same pot of coffee twice (I pour the first brew into the back of the drip machine and let it run a second time), add the milk and the sugar cubes directly into the glass pot after the second drip, and hold the pot up while swishing the contents around until the sugar is sure to be melted and the three tastes have melded into a caramel looking, sweet smelling, coffee brew. Yummy... :-)

Enjoy!

Bonus thought: I forgot to mention that if you want to make this into a nice frappe, all you would need to do is add 1/4 C of white, milk or dark chocolate powder and blend it in with the rest of the recipe. You can also use chocolate syrup if that's what you have handy, but you will only need about 1/2 - 1 ounce since it's so concentrated.

3/4 cup double-strength coffee, cold 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 cup low-fat milk 2 cups ice

1. Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required by your coffee maker. That should be 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per each cup of coffee. Chill before using.
2. To make drink, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Pour into two 16-ounce glasses and serve with a straw.