mmmmm coffee...

I am writing today to sing the praises of the best little coffee/tea house I have ever had the privilege to grace. And, if you know me well, you know what a huge statement that is. You know what a coffee snob I am! I can't help it! My second job ever was at an independent coffee house that roasted their own beans!

BATIAN PEAK
131 Boston Rd.
N. Billerica, MA
978-663-2305

Anyway, this little gem is located in a plaza on Boston Rd. in Billerica. If you didn't know better, you'd drive on by on your way to Dunkin Donuts. But, if you'd just pull into this plaza down the road and take an extra couple of minutes to get out of your car, you will be MOST pleasantly surprised!

The owners are a married couple from Africa. They are young, savvy and incredibly sweet. You will always be greeted with a smile! There are lots of loose teas and accessories for purchase.

Oh, but the coffee. The coffee. OMG the coffee! It is to DIE for. They import the highest quality, hand picked beans from around the world and ROAST THEM FRESH daily. I tell you, it is amazing. I always buy the Kenya AA whole beans and brew at home. People who don't even like coffee will drink it! It is smooth, rich, relaxing and just plain delicious. Don't get me wrong, the tea is really good too, but I'm a coffee junky. LOL

For those of you that don't live or work anywhere near Billerica, I have good news! I just found their website and they ship! Yep! So please, treat yourself. You deserve it. Order their coffee. You will NOT be disappointed. And, if you are, you may need some medical attention. Get that looked at. LOL

Their site is: http://www.coffeeandteavillage.com

Here is an article about them in the paper, with a video about their bean roasting.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/billerica/news/business/x50627115/A-brand-new-brew

June Vegan Scones

2 Cups Flour
3 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Turbinado Sugar *
1/4 Cup Margarine, Softened
3/4 - 1 Cup soy/rice/ etc. milk *
1 Cup Add-ins of Choice *

*What I used when I made them*
-doubled the recipe
-Sugar in the Raw
-Vanilla Soy Milk
-Raisins, dates, craisons, crushed hazelnuts (not measured, just as many as I wanted)
-A drop of almond extract
-Added cinnamon and cloves to taste

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 450F. Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in margarine until crumbles form. Stir in milk and Toppings. Roll out your desired size for each sconeonto an ungreased baking sheet. (These do not expand, so the size you make is the size you get). Bake at 450F for about 10-12 minutes, or until just brown on top.

Preparation time: 10-15 min

This recipe is very easily changable to make your own creations!

Ketchup

I just realized it's been a while since I've posted. Sometimes life just zooms past you too fast!

The summer time has sprung off nicely this year. Jake and I have completed our landscaping (for now, anyway)and have just been doing maintenance (mowing) on the outside. I'm quite happy with my little yard! I should have some deck planters coming soon (today maybe?) in which I will plant herbs. The deck is just outside the kitchen, so that'll be real nice for cooking time. I ordered this planter, but in white to match the rail:

I want to start painting the inside this weekend. My first project will be the "nursery" upstairs. It's going to take a while because we have to prime the wood panel and then add two coats of paint. I think we're going to go with a sky blue on the walls and ceiling. That way when it comes time to paint a woodland mural on the walls we'll have a nice background! Then, once that room is done, we'll move our bedroom furniture into there and paint our room.

And now for something completely different:



The summer parties have kicked off too! We had our family installment of our housewarming parties May 17. That went really well. We did a potluck and a lot of Jake's family showed up. My parents and Jane and Arthur were there as well. It turned out to be a nice day weather-wise, so a lot of the party was outside. The kids enjoyed going to the park down the street.

Heather and Evan had their joint b-day party this past weekend. They did a tea party (drinking, not tossing)with finger foods. There were so many people there! We eventually moved the party outside for an impromptu game of Frisbee.

This coming weekend is Missy's graduation party. She also just got a job at Bridgewater! I'm excited. I'm sure I'll have more to report after that.

So, I'm just trying to keep my head up and focus on all these positives to try to offset the start of my summer mourning period.



Until then, I leave you with this: