Coffee Time! New Chemex and Craft Brews

I've been really into coffee lately. Like, really into it. Maybe it's the bitter cold we've been having recently in New York, but a nice, hot cup of coffee has really been gettin' me going these past few months.

For Christmas, Brandon and I received a new 6-cup Chemex coffee maker and a three-month subscription to Craft Coffee, a service that delivers hand-roasted coffees right to your door. Basically the best gift ever.

We used a Keurig coffee maker in college, and eventually moved on to a French press when we moved to New York, which I really do enjoy. French presses are so freakin' easy to use, and while you need a few more accessories to make it a seamless process (electric kettle, coffee grinder), it yields such better coffee. Now, with our Chemex, I feel like we've officially graduated. The design of the coffeemaker is undeniably beautiful, the filters reduce the bitterness that usually make its way into the brew, and the wood collar serves as an intuitive handle. Needless to say, I'm really loving it so far. I haven't used it enough to officially state if it's my favorite coffeemaker, so I'll report back after a few more months.

I love a good subscription service, and after receiving this one for Christmas, I realized how great a gift they are, too. They're personal and thoughtful, yet they also allow for the person receiving it to customize the gift based on what they want.

With Craft Coffee, you tailor your profile based on your likes so they can more accurately curate a list of coffees for you to try. Then, after answering a few survey questions, they choose the coffees for you and in a few weeks, your first batch is at your front door. We received some pretty epic flavors, so we've been very happy this past month. If you'd be interested in trying, you can use our code for 15% off: BRANDON1281.

Happy brewin'!

Mexican Night

I really love Sundays, and this rainy, wintry day in New York City called for some cozy food indoors. Instead of opting for takeout, Brandon and I decided on Mexican (duh). After a morning of running errands, we came back to our apartment, flicked on the football games & started to cook! This dinner was just what we needed - it's healthy, vegetarian & actually fairly light (which was needed after a heavy pasta dinner last night).

Here's what was on the menu. Read on for the full recipes:

1. Mexican cucumbers 
[baby cucumbers, lime juice & chili powder]

- cut the cucumbers into small pieces & put them into a bowl
- drizzle the juice of 1/2 a lime over the cucumbers (you can easily put more lime juice into this recipe, but Brandon isn't a huge fan, so I kept this part minimal)
- finish with two tablespoons of chili powder - mix it into the bowl with the cucumbers and lime juice & stir
- plate the cucumbers onto a plate & you're done!

2. Bean salad 
[one can of kidney beans, two cans of chick peas, green beans, celery, red onion, apple cider vinegar, oil, salt, pepper & sugar]

- after rinsing the beans, put all three cans into a bowl
- chop up the green beans, celery & red onion as you wish - I used two stalks of celery, a handful of green beans and 1/3 of a large, red onion
- mix the beans & the veggies
- add in 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of oil & sugar and finish with salt & pepper
- refrigerate for at least and hour, then serve

3. Vegetable fajitas
[red pepper, red onion, one can of black beans, monterey jack cheese & tortillas...don't forget the glass of white wine on the side ;)]

- sauté the red onion and red pepper in a pan with olive oil for 10 minutes, until golden brown
- rinse the black beans and put them into a pot on the stove to heat up for about 10 minutes
- warm up your tortillas in the microwave
- serve the tortillas with the sautéed vegetables, cooked black beans & shredded monterey jack on top. garnish with sour cream, hot sauce & scallions and you got yourself a dope fajita.

let me know if you try any of these - i'd love to know! also, comment with your favorite mexican recipe. we're always down to try new mexican dishes!