frothy milk without fancy equipment

Good morning! This post comes with a story. Normally I hate that, so scroll to the bottom to skip it.

There's a reason why I care so much about foaming milk without fancy equipment.

It starts with my preference for strong black coffee. My stomach became irritated with it, so I tried adding unsweetened almond milk to buffer the jet fuel. It helps. A LOT.

My stomach has felt better, but I don't exactly like the way it tastes. I still prefer that bitter, un-adultered cup of coffee. Do you know what it's like to wake up in the morning and NOT look forward to your coffee? It sucks.

I recently visited a friend who likes lattes in the morning. She uses a milk steamer and it got me thinking... I like lattes, and I could get on board with being fancy every day. I almost bought myself a milk steamer, but we already have 2 coffeemakers and I don't want another gadget cluttering the kitchen counter.

Luckily, all I needed was a glass jar.
(I happen to have a glass jar problem and have plenty laying around. I think this one is an old pizza sauce jar- I like it because it has markings on the side for easy measuring.)

Here are the steps to get frothy almond milk:

1. Add almond milk to the jar. Sometimes I add turmeric or cinnamon.

2. Microwave it for 1 minute (with the lid OFF)

3. Feed the cat while it's heating

4. Place the lid on the jar

5. Shake for a few seconds

6. Pour into a cup of dark, strong coffee

Now, I look forward to my cup of coffee again.

vanilla cupcakes

Today I needed a cupcake. Specifically, a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles.

So, I made some. I intentionally made a small batch because if I make them, I will eat them. This makes between 4-6 cupcakes, depending on how full you fill the wells.

Vanilla cupcakes

1/4 c. softened dairy free butter

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 t. salt

3/4 c. gf flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 c. almond milk

Preheat the oven to 350. 

With a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until it's creamy. Mix in the egg, milk, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix for 1-2 minutes. The batter will be fluffy.

Spoon into muffin tins, lined with a paper cupcake liner and spritzed with cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Frost with your favorite frosting. I used the recipe that was printed on the powdered sugar bag. 

I am not even a little bit ashamed to say that I had finished them all by dinnertime. 

So good.