Iced Mocha

I've taken a leave of absence of posting recipes.  Getting through each day with a toddler is sometimes all I can do, let alone all those extra things in life.  (Like, this blog for example.)  But, my short term goal is to post recipes consistently, in these fall and winter months.  So please bear with me as I accomplish this.

Here's a recipe that is my go-to, quick, comforting, anytime of the day, lazy drink.  All you need is a blender of any kind, and you should be good to go.  Oh yeah, and the ingredients would help, too.

I always just throw all these things in the blender and eyeball it every time.  This is always the quantities that I put in, so I put it in a recipe format for you all.  This is something that is easy when you're tired, or in a pinch to entertain dinner guests.


Iced Mocha
Yields: about 6 cups 

4 cups non dairy milk (soy, almond, rice, etc)
1/4 cup coffee substitute (Roma, Pero, or Caffix)
2 TB cocoa powder (or carob powder)
1/4 cup maple syrup
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
a big pinch of salt
1 TB creamy almond butter

1.  Put everything in the blender except for the almond butter.  Blend until very smooth.
2.  With the blender going, add the almond butter, and blend until smooth.
3.  Add about a cup (or more if you want a thicker consistency) of ice while blender is going, and blend until everything is incorporated.
4.  Top with vegan whipped cream if desired.  Serve with a straw.  Keep chilled in the fridge.

Note:  You may be saying to yourself that "this seems way too gourmet for me to make due to the use of a vanilla bean."  If you don't have any; first of all, use 1 TB of pure vanilla extract.  Secondly, you should buy some!  I buy grade A vanilla beans on Amazon.com and I prefer using them in uncooked recipes like this, because you don't taste any of that alcohol from the extracts.  And there's a huge taste difference when it comes to using the real deal.  You will not be let down.