Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

(image from google images)

I learned a new trick this week. Lately it has been just way too hot to drink hot coffee in the morning, but we all know that I get a little grumpy if I forego the morning caffeine fix. In the Davis household we use a french press, which is great, but let's be honest: French pressed coffee doesn't really make the best iced coffee, it comes out kinda grainy tasting and watered down.

That is, until I stumbled upon a wonderful little tip: cold-brew it. You follow the same process you normally would with the french press, except you use cold water. Put coffee grounds in the bottom of the press, fill it with cold water, and put the lid on without pressing it down. Then you put the whole thing in the fridge at least over night. When you're ready for your iced coffee, press the grounds down, pour,  and stir in some sugar and milk, and voila! you've got yourself some really tasty french-pressed ice coffee with a really clean, strong coffee taste. (Agave nectar is easiest to dissolve, but I promise if you stir regular sugar for long enough, it works just fine)

Reinventing the wheel (at least for me)

This week I started a wheel throwing class at Imagine Clay studios in Avondale. I've been wanting to learn how to throw pottery for a really long time. It was really an amazing experience. I want to kind of bask in the process and learn what it means that God calls himself a potter and us the clay. A process that is both gentle and forceful. This week was just a start, but I loved it and I'm really excited about learning more and walking through the whole process of firing and glazing. I didn't bring a camera to my first class, but I was so excited that I grabbed a few pictures with my camera phone.

My first pot, made with a lot of help from the instructor. I really like it's form:
The next one was my first solo attempt, which collapsed a bit because I let the wall get to thin. But it was a lesson learned, and a pretty cool looking mistake. I'm going to try to make a handle out of the collapse:

And this is my pride and joy. A little honey pot of love:

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. -- Isaiah 64:8