CONFESSIONS OF A COFFEE-HOUND

(Sorry for the past few days;.  I've been sick again, but am  catching up with my Blog today.  Be sure to go back to see Saturday and Sunday's posts, which I added this morning!)

I could not live without coffee.  There … I’ve admitted it.  But I’m not the purist my Father was.  I can’t take coffee black.  Nor is coffee to me a $5 cup of latte from a fancy coffee house.  But it does involve some plain ole milk and sugar.

Another confession is that all my life I have adored Elsie the Cow.  She now decorates my kitchen and I’m always on eBay tracking down vintage items I’ve never seen of her before.  Elsie was a role model.  Even when her husband Elmer (the Bull from Elmer’s Glue) was grumpy, Elsie maintained her cheerful, pleasant personality which exemplified the 1950s housewife.  Who couldn’t love this cow with the curl between her horns and who wears a sunflower necklace?????

Like me, Elsie used Sweetened Condensed Milk in her coffee.  But looking back, it must not have been as expensive back then or maybe Elsie got a company discount from Bordens.  But like Elsie, I’m always on the hunt for things to make life easier, which sent me on a Google search for homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk.  I found a winner !  It’s easy, tasty and will save you at the market if you use it as much as I do.  It’s not only wonderful in coffee, but for any recipe that calls for a can from the store.  Try it and be as pleasantly surprised as I was! 

Awww, Elsie would be so proud of me!

HOMEMADE SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

1-1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the milk and sugar together in a small, heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Over medium heat, warm until just steaming. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours, or until it thickens slightly. When the mixture has reduced by about half, stir in the vanilla extract.  Pour into a clean, dry airtight container (Mason jars work great) and cool completely. The milk will thicken slightly in the refrigerator. Store in an air tight refrigerator and it can be used up until the expiration date on the milk used to make it.

Note: This won’t be as thick as storebought sweetened condensed milk, but it does have the same sweet, milky flavor.   Makes just under 1 cup.

A Christmas Card sent by the Bordens Company in 1944:

That Freedom’s Voice may ring again,

That tyranny be gone,

That children’s hearts may sing again,

That Christmas may live on.

Greetings from All of Us at Bordens