Treat yourself

 hoooo boy I cannot wait to be on the other side of Tuesday.  I can't take the stress.  So I am stress eating and stress drinking and stress working out.  I think the latter more or less compensates for the first two, but that could be one of my many covid-delusions.  

It's a given that everyone is on edge these days, or just battling all-the-things-fatigue.

I am a firm believer that, when the world has got you down, you must buck yourself up with treats.  So here you go: two of my new favorite treats.  

You're welcome!

First, The Spaghett.

Our neighbor Neal brought these over for a patio dinner this summer.  Bon Apetit magazine dubbed The Spaghett "the drink of the summer".  Summer is over, yes, but why should you suffer?  Trust me, this is a yummy drink.  The three ingredients are Miller High Life (yes, I said that,)  fresh lemon juice and Aperol.  I am a huge Aperol fan.  If you haven't tried it, it's a bitter Italian aperitivo, supposedly in the orange family.  By itself it's disgusting and bitter, but combined with other ingredients it's delish.  If you are a fan of the Aperol Spritz, The Spaghett is a wonderful twist: it has all the benefits of the spritz but none of the sweetness.  It's so good! 

Here is the very fancy recipe:

Open a Miller High Life.

Take a very large swig.

Replace the volume you just drank with 2:1 aperol to lemon juice.  (Some prefer 1:1).  You can squeeze a lemon wedge right in the bottle then top up with Aperol, or add a pre-mixed situation.

That's it!! Try it: trust me, it's so good.

Yes, you can use a beer other than Miller High Life but with those gorgeous bubbles, it just wouldn't be the same.  But if you do, make sure it's a mild one.

If you are making a large batch, I get a Pyrex and pre-make the add-in:  I use about 1/3 fresh lemon to juice and 2/3 Aperol.  

Second,  100 calorie Chocolate Mug Cake

Last night Doug went for some outdoor beers with some buddies and I curled with with my book and scoured the house for sweets to no avail. (Why do I think if I keep opening the pantry door that homemade chocolate chip cookies will magically appear?)  I wanted something sweet but a) didn't want a huge dessert bomb and b) didn't want leftovers.  Voila - the five minute, 100(ish) calorie chocolate mug cake!  I might do this every night. Unless I'm drinking Spaghetts.

 

The 100 Calorie Chocolate Mug Cake 

    Note:  I used real sugar so the calorie count is, supposedly, 175 calories vs 100, but who's counting?

Whisk in a coffee mug :  

• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp. no-calorie sweetener or sugar
  
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt

• Stir in, until no lumps remain:
• 2 tbsp milk (I used oat milk, I think any milk is fine)
• 1 tsp oil (I used canola, I think any oil would be fine)
  
• 1 drop of vanilla extract

Microwave for 35 seconds.  35 seconds!!!

Let it sit for 3 minutes - it will continue to cook.

 One could add ice cream, powdered sugar, whatevs. 

Then enjoy, making lots of yum sounds.

It HIT THE SPOT.

Hang in there y'all, and give yourself a treat.