Iced Coffee

I like coffee and in the summer time I like iced coffee. But I don't like paying the price for the canned concoctions. So this summer I figured out my own recipe to make it at home.

The ingredients are simple:

• 3 cups coffee
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 Tbs vanilla

See, I told you it was simple. As I played with this over the summer I figured out how to make it to my liking.

Start with strong brewed coffee. I like to use a dark roast for more of the coffee flavor. You don't have to use really expensive coffee but do use a decent coffee. Cafe Bustello works well as does Gevalia dark roast (when it is on sale) just to give a couple of suggestions. I'm sure you could use espresso but all I have is a common drip coffee maker. If I make a full (12 cup)pot of coffee in the morning by noon, when I cut myself off, I find I have about 3 real measuring cups of leftover coffee. Don't throw it out, make iced coffee.

Then I use 1 cup of milk. I like to use whole milk because I like the richness of the flavor and the texture but any milk will do. I have used skim milk but that is just too thin and doesn't have the flavor I am looking for. 2% is a nice in between if you want to cut down on the fat content.

For sweetener I use ¼ cup Splenda to cut down on the calories. The measurements and the taste are the same. You can, of course, use regular sugar and that does cut the overall cost but adds calories.

Lastly I like to add a bit of vanilla flavor to smooth things out and add a bit of depth to the drink. I don't think it is necessary to use real vanilla extract. I use artificial vanilla flavoring and it works fine for me in this application. I have found in my experiments that I prefer a name brand vanilla to the generic or store brand. I think there is a difference. Do adjust all of the portions to get the flavor that works for you. I played most with the amount of vanilla.

This will make 1 quart of a nice replacement for the canned beverages at the store. I figure that the quart costs about 75 cents using the Splenda. It would be much less if you use regular sugar. If you use Splenda the whole quart will have about 150 calories (from the whole milk) so an 8 ounce serving would have about 37 calories. If you use regular sugar you will add another 137 calories to the quart or 48 calories to the 8 ounce serving. That would bring the calorie count up to 85 per serving.

So if you like iced coffee give this a try. I think it is a great way to use the leftover coffee from the pot and is very handy on those mornings when you just don't want to wait for the coffee to brew.

There is a chill in the air and frost warnings tonight. Autumn is now in full swing. This is my favorite time of the year. I pulled out my flannel shorts and bought a new batch of wool socks. I'm prepared.

Enjoy.