Spicy pumpkin pie coconut coffee!
The very early morning is a halcyon time for me. I roll out of bed very early, pad through the dark (and quiet) house, make a fire in the living room wood stove as my coffee is brewing in the kitchen (I have a percolator, folks, like this one, and I love it like a brother*) . . .
Dainty little percolator, why do I love you so? So many reasons!
(*I know you’re wondering why I love my little percolator so much, Gentle Reader. Such is our bond, yours and mine. 🙂 This is why I love it so much, though I realize that percolators (as am I) are hopelessly old-fashioned: A. I can set it up the night before, so all I have to do is plug it in and push a button in the morning, which I can do with my eyes half-shut. Secondly: It brews quickly and keeps the life-giving brew very hot–but not so hot as to make it turn bitter–until Bryan and Amalia get up later in the morning and pour themselves their respective cups of joe. AND C. I like it that there are no paper filters to bother with–or be nervous about cancerous compounds in, let’s be honest here–and also FOURTH: not a bit of plastic–ditto about the cancer, yikes!–to come into contact with the hot liquids. And shoot. Reason E. It’s hopelessly old-fashioned. Hello. LASTLY: It makes a great cup of coffee with very little involvement from me.)
Well. You know that it’s holiday time, big time, at our house. We kick things off by having a big family to-do at our place for Thanksgiving, and it’s pumpkin pie and cranberries and homemade fudge and pockets full of pfeffernusse and making another batch of divinity and wrapping presents and keeping secrets and packages coming in the mail and looking for the couple of stockings that we are missing from last year and whatnot . . . (gasp) . . . from then (taking deep breath) until New Year’s Day, when we buckle down and work hard on our annual homeschool melodrama and by the time we’ve cleaned up from that, it’s springtime and time to start planting lettuces and radishes in the hoop house!
That’s our year, in a (simplified) nutshell.
But back to the halcyon hours of early morning here. The only quiet part of the day at our place. Lit-er-ally.
(Halcyon: golden, idyllic, carefree, blissful, joyful, joyous!)
Since we’re so busy making everything as Christmas-infused as possible, I’ve been tweaking my morning coffee, too. Actually a friend sent me a link with a cute recipe for a gingery creamy coffee, and it got me thinking about doing something similar to my morning bulletproof(ish) coffee. So I did.
And, goodness. It’s good. It tastes like Thanksgiving and Christmas and it burns the back of my throat, just the tiniest bit.
Yum.
Because, in my tweaking, I added a bit of cayenne pepper*, because my kids are sick and I’m throwing cayenne into just about everything. But don’t worry. I did not add a smashed clove of garlic to it. I save that for my ginger-lemon anti-viral tea. Yep. You read that right. When I’m serious about bolstering up my body’s defenses, I drink several cups of this every day, and (thank you, Gentle Reader, for suggesting it) I’ve even started smashing a garlic clove into it.
If any viruses can live through that, more power to them. That’s all I can say.
Here’s my recipe. I hope you like it. I certainly do!
- Cup of strong hot coffee
- 1 Tb coconut oil
- 1 tsp butter, unsalted
- 1 tsp raw honey or more, to taste
- 1/2 tsp molasses
- 1/4 tsp cayenne (or not)
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- half and half to taste, for additional creaminess
- Brew your cup of hot coffee.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until frothy.
- Sprinkle with more pumpkin pie spice.
- Drink while hot!
- Feel the burn. Burn, baby, burn.
Oh! Bonus since you read this far, and good for you, by the way:
*Health benefits of cayenne pepper:
- Anti-Irritant Properties. Cayenne can ease upset stomach, ulcers, sore throats, spasmodic and irritating coughs, and diarrhea
- Anti-Cold and Flu Agent
- Anti-Fungal Properties
- Migraine Headache Prevention
- Anti-Allergen
- Digestive Aid
Oh! One more thing—!! You know, I’d use this coconut oil as my coconut oil of choice even if I weren’t an affiliate of Tropical Traditions. But I am, and I’m so happy to be one! And did you know that if you take advantage of the gallon sale that Tropical Traditions is offering for the next week, you’ll be snatching up this gallon for half the usual price?
Half off! Well, they are. This is always when I stock up. I like a good bargain probably more than the usual gal. It’s true. You know it. And they don’t put these babies on sale very often, so you may want to nab one now, too. (Just a handy shopping hint!)
Just click HERE to take advantage of this half-off gallons special!
You may wonder how we can go through an entire gallon of coconut oil so quickly, but we use this stuff for lots of things besides my bulletproof(ish) coffee. When the kids are sick, I rub it on the souls of their feet. When we’re having skin problems, we slather it on to moisturize and heal. And of course it’s wonderful for popping popcorn, and for sauteeing veggies. And–so–much–more!
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