Chunky Choco-Chocnut Frappe

Getting your kid(s) to eat fruits and veggies is every parent's dilemma. Fool them once maybe twice, making it a healthy habit is a taller order. Fortunately for me, my soon-to-be 8 year old has a well-seasoned palette, enjoying healthy/nutritious dishes like pesto pasta, ampalaya (bitter gourd) omelette, minestrone soup (minus the beans), and most fruits available locally (apples, bananas, grapes, etc). My wife and I make it a point to make our dishes "creative", sneaking-in the healthy stuff either as an infused ingredient, sauce or as a garnish. We are also conscious not to define the dishes literally, at least not now, given a child's vast imagination in general. Case in point LENGUA (ox tongue) with mushroom sauce, which kiddo perceives to be "roast beef" is a dinner staple in our household.

For this new post, inspiration was drawn on healthy drinks easily prepared and served in the confines of one's abode - saving you time, cash and best of all the unnecessary calories. Ripe banana is "sneaked in" not only to add a healthy dimension to it,  but to provide added flavor, stabilized body and mouthfeel as well. Proud to mention that the finished product will be used as a Yuletide Signature Drink of a Five-Star Hotel starting next month, with a catchier name to it compared to mine.

Ingredients for a 16-ounce drink:

3 tablespoons (approximately 50 grams) Far Skyes Vanilla Frappe Powder Base
Double Shot Espresso (approximately 60ml), I'm using Boyd's Premium Roast Arabica
10ml Stasero Hazelnut Syrup
1 Ripe Banana
3 pieces Chocnut OR Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
10ml Stasero Dark Chocolate Sauce (for garnish)

Procedure:

Step 1 In a Blender dissolve 3 tsablespoons Far Skyes Vanilla Frappe Base with 2-shots espresso and 10ml Stasero Hazelnut Syrup

Step 2 Add 2 pieces Chocnut and 1 ripe banana and blend for 5-10 seconds

Step 3 Fill a 16-ounce tall glass with ice; pour into blender and blend until crushed & smooth

Step 4 Pour into tall glass and let your creative juices flow by garnishing with Dark Chocolate Sauce, and 1 Chocnut (I topped my drink with steamed milk froth and poured the Chocnut on top of it). Serve and enjoy!!!

Now who says delicious and healthy can't intertwine?! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

so easy to make even an almost 8-year old can do it!

Pocket Workshop In Progress - Coffee, Tea By ME!

Six (6) "Coffee, Tea By ME!!! POCKET Workshop" batches and counting... Far Skyes Enterprise in cooperation with Studio SnR wish to thank everyone who inquired and participated for believing in us and the priceless beauty of learning!

In line with our commitment to TOTAL Customer Satisfaction, allow me to highlight this particular batch (our 5th) conducted last August 5, 2012. Our two participants are from Cagayan de Oro (CDO), and they flew to Manila to attend the WOFEX Show from August 1-4. No thanks to the strong rains, massive floods and horrendous traffic experienced during that week (take note, there's no typhoon), here are their constraints:

The Pocket Workhop in progress...

1) The terrible weather messed up their schedule, thus they are requesting if we could do the Pocket Workshop on a Sunday since they are leaving early morning the following day. ✓

Highlighting the Jura Ena9, the DO-IT-ALL
Fully-Automatic Espresso Machine

2) Due to the floods, and since Studio SnR is closed during sundays, the only solution is to conduct the training in our humble abode, situated on high ground and is conveniently located. ✓

Making-do! It's all about flexibility,
love-for-work and professionalism

3) They are more inclined in opening a Milk Tea place in CDO, so they asked if we could tailor-fit the the Workshop to suit their requirements. ✓

Hokkaido Milk Tea 

Strawberry-Yakult Smoothie anyone??? 

All their requests we found a solution to in our never-ending commitment to the Coffee, Tea By ME! Workshop we love and which has given us the added OOMPH in terms of product mileage and brand recall.

One for the road, the all-natural
Blueberry smoothie!♥

Off to serve the succeeding batches, despite the conditions and limitations. Proving that Far Skyes Enterprise and Studio SnR are NO fair-weathered friends. Staying true to our oath of Spreading the Caffeinated & Creamy Love - One Drink At A Time! 

Cheers to learning!!!

Jura Ena 9 One Touch

So seldom do I post an espresso machine review unless something earthshaking tickles my fancy. And perfect timing it is since three of my college friends contacted me over the past two weeks asking what is the perfect "buy" for their special someone this father's day.

I first laid eyes on this mini-beauty during our recent trip to Hong Kong, and there's just something distinct about this unit that made me want to know more. Could it be the sleek silver color with simple buttons to tinker with (the design actually reminds me of a luxury car's clean yet intricate dashboard)? Or Jura's ever-durable operating system which churns out a great cuppa joe, shot after shot after shot - "handsome looks" included?

The first thing I noticed with the Jura Ena 9 One Touch is that unit is a lot smaller compared to the other other Jura models out in the market. Upon further research, I learned that the ENA series is created primarily for home use, so its compact form makes a perfect fit on one's kitchen counter, and perfect for a family of 2 (even 3 or 4) coffee drinkers.  

As with all Jura models, the Ena 9 primarily uses whole coffee beans, with different grind settings built right into in machine.  The unit also features a second opening on top for ground coffee just in case you want to try something different (decaf maybe?) from the beans that are presently occupying the bean hopper - neat huh?

One can prepare signature cafe specialties in the comforts on one's abode since all espresso based drinks (latte macchiato, cappuccino, café crème, and espresso) have individual keys laid out on top of the unit. Each key can be set to your own preferences making it ideal for enjoying a very personalized cup of coffee. The preferences you can store are water volume, strength of espresso, duration of milk froth and temperature.

This espresso machine is really made to optimize the one touch functionality (think BMW's league-leading i-drive technology), case-in-point all you have to do is connect the unit into your milk source and push the cappuccino button on top of the machine.  Yup, just one click and the Cappuccino is ready, and I must say that the new foam technology results in a froth so feathery light and smooth. 

Cleaning and Maintenance?  It's a cinch thanks to Jura's ease-of-use feature!!! The Ena 9 is so easy to care for with a maintenance program that runs at the touch of  a button. Simply said, the unit monitors what drinks you've been sipping and applies the corresponding self-cleaning mode upon shut down. Perfect for people on the go-go-go!

All in all I believe the ENA Micro 9 is an ideal choice for people buying their first automatic coffee machine, or looking to upgrade to a new model. I hope this has helped you in your research of this high quality machine.  Now, to post this on my wife's facebook wall in time for father's day!♥

Jura ENA micro 9 Specifications:

• Single-cup machine : YES
• Water Tank Size : 1.1 liters
• Height Adjustable Spout : 55 - 138 mm
• Bean Container Size : 125g
• Waste Bean Size : 10 portions
• Cappuccino Frother : Fine Foam Technology
• Product Buttons : 4 Buttons
• Adjustable Coffee Strength : 2 Settings
• Adjustable Coffee Temperature : 2 Settings
• Cappuccino Preparation: One Touch
• ZERO Energy Switch : YES
• Recommended Daily Production: For Household Use Only
• Size (W X H X D): 23 x 32.3 x 44.5 cm