Jalapeno Lemonade? Seems legit

Actually, it’s really good. Provided you like spicy foods, and as you can probably tell, I do. Note about this drink: It gets stronger the longer it sits. It was inspired by a recipe for jalapeno-lime spritzers in Real Simple a year ago, and helped along by Lucy Baker’s interpretation.

Ingredients
1 large jalapeno, seeded and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
2 cups water

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the jalapeno, sugar, and 1-1/2 cups of water. Heat over low heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let syrup cool for 20 minutes.

2. Strain the syrup into a pitcher over ice. You can either discard the jalapeno strips or use them for decoration. Stir in the lemon juice and last 2 cups of water. Serve chilled.

I Sing the Body Caffeinated

Ah, coffee. Where would we be without it? In a world without ten Starbucks on every street, yes, but also in a world full of cranky, half-asleep people which wouldn’t actually care about the impending zombie apocalypse, because let’s face it, we’d already be in it. Coffee good.

Now the question remains: Starbucks, Y U SO EXPENSIVE?! And also, how do you perk up your coffee if you’re saving for the next Bauhaus concert or those fabulous faux-leather boots? The simple answer is to just buy the “coffee shop” creamers Coffee Mate and International Delight have put out, but come on. Where’s the creativity in that? (Not to mention, Coffee Mate contains casein, which puts it out of the running if you’re vegan.) Fortunately, you can make a wicked Cinnamon Dolce Latte at home, very simply and cruelty-free! All you need is cinnamon, nutmeg, and whole coffee beans. And a coffee grinder, if you don’t have one (because trust me, trying to grind coffee without one just sucks).

I’m not giving measurements for this, because I am the epitome of nitpickiness when it comes to my coffee. If it’s not strong enough, if there’s not a perfect coffee-to-cream ratio, just how much spice is in there… It’s a nightmare; I drive my friends (and at least one barista) nuts. So go with your own tastes on this one.

Measure out your coffee beans. (If you’re not sure how much coffee is appropriate, the standard ratio is 2 ounces of grounds to 6 ounces of coffee. To me, this is gnat’s piss; to you, it might be just strong enough or too strong. Play with it a little.) Put them, and the (ground) cinnamon and (ground) nutmeg, in the grinder and grind. This ensures that the spices blend well. The next steps should be fairly obvious, but remember to put the water in the reservoir (um… Yes, I have forgotten this step in the past. More times than I care to admit.).

As the coffee brews, prepare your mug. Put your creamer of choice in the bottom; this is what I call “I can’t be bothered to stir it, so let’s let physics do the work here.” If this is actually physics. I don’t know; I didn’t last the first nine weeks in that class. Pour the coffee, pretty it up any other ways you can think of, and enjoy!