MYSELF # 3: TURKEY vs ITALY

At this point we all know that I am a coffee lover.  I spent the holidays in Puerto Rico where I had as much coffee as I could have had. Like I said on a prior blog post, I love my island coffee. I love its aroma and its sweet taste. However, coming back the the US, I decided to start a detox. I tried to suspend drinking coffee for a week. After a day or two, I had such a horrible headache that I decided that oh well....I am addicted to this drink, so it was not going to happen.

My husband's Baklava

My Turkish Coffee

The following week my husband invited me to a Turkish restaurant and the food was delicious. When the time came for the waitress to offer coffee to us, she asked if we wanted regular American or Turkish. I thought about it for a minute but I decided to try the Turkish coffee. What did my husband do? Forget about the coffee, he just wanted to order Baklava, so he went for the regular American.
  
 First, I have to say that they  serve the coffee in a very fancy fashion (I liked it a lot-so cute!). They serve it black and with the sugar already blended in. I tried it black first and the taste was very peculiar. The flavor is strong because it's not completely diluted. You can taste some of the grains. When I put some cream in it, it tasted lighter. Even though it looks like an espresso, it's not as strong. Its flavor and aroma aren't as strong either.

what my husband had

what I had

Since I was in such an "International" mode, we decided to visit Eataly in NYC. Eataly is a marketplace that is comprised of several Italian restaurants and markets. You can find a variety of coffee shops, bakeries, seafood, steak, fresh pasta, and any wine and produce you could imagine. At the end of my visit there I stopped by Lavazza, one of the several coffee locations they have. I tried an Espresso Macchiato Doppio. Oh my God! I truly think this coffee should be named after me. It was "heaven". Strong, tasty, flavorful, aromatic, and pure. 
What can I say? I love Turkish food but when it comes to coffee, I am a Puertorican first and then "Mamma Mia".... I have to be an Italian!  

MYSELF # 2: My go-to book: "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success"

I love reading. I have always loved the ability to read about other people's ideas, experiences, successes, and challenges. I love reading non-fiction books because I can't stand reading about things that are not real.

Over the years, I have read plenty of books but for some reason there is one book I always go back to, especially when I feel unbalanced in my life. No, it's not the Bible. I wish it was but even when I like reading the Bible, it's a little bit complicated sometimes. When I feel unbalanced, I like straight forward and simple things to read.

I bought this book in 1997 just before moving from Puerto Rico to Upstate NY. I was in a pharmacy store and saw this thin, small, and cheap book that caught my attention. I bought it and started reading it. I really liked the introduction and told my husband about it. At that time he was not an avid reader, so I asked him if he minded listening to me reading the book out loud so I could share the information with him. It seems odd but he agreed. Night after night we sat down and I read it out loud. 

This book's name is the "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success" by Deepak Chopra. What this book states challenged my life and personality in so many ways. I am a very driven person and I grew up believing that I could totally control my present and my future. I wanted the world to think the way I thought and I believed that because something was the "right thing to do", it was obvious to everyone.  In a way, I currently still have moments like those. The only difference is that now I'm more aware and when I start feeling the need to get my way or the feeling of being disappointed by the entire world, I remember what I learned and try to apply it.

These seven laws sometimes don't make sense to us (at least they didn't to me) because they are based on ideas and concepts that are not popular in our society. Concepts such as "Least Effort", "Giving", "Detachment", and "Purpose". I have to admit these laws were very difficult for me to swallow and still are. 

On today's blog I will only cover the First Law: The Law of Pure Potentiality.  

The First Law is about our existence. It says that each of our actions is based on our ego and our ego is our self-image. That means that if we think we are shy, we will behave that way. If we think we are confident, that's the way we will act. If you think you are better than others, your actions will be based on that. That's pretty obvious. However, we are so much more than what we think we are.

Our true-self (not our self-image) is our spirit, our soul and it is completely free of our ego (like when we are children). It is immune to criticism, it is fearless of any challenge, and it feels beneath no one. And yet, it is also humble and feels superior to no one, because it recognizes that everyone else is the same Self, the same spirit in different disguises.  

When we feel better than someone else because we are smarter or have more power or more money, that feeling is based on something external. The book describes it as "object-based" power. That is very interesting because as soon as you lose that object, then who are you? If you lose the money or you meet someone smarter, how do you feel?  Light Bulb Moment, isn't it?

Silence is one of the best ways to get in touch with your true-self. Being in silence and not reacting to everything has helped me meditate on what my ego" wants to do" versus what my true-self "should do". Of course I forget about this sometimes, especially when someone does something I don't like. 

I read this book when I was in the process of moving to Upstate NY. At that moment I was not working and I was spending a lot of time at home. I had a lot of time to think and meditate and I can say those years were the happiest years of my life. We had NOTHING! We didn't own a house, we only had one car, we didn't have any money in the bank, I wore clothes and shoes from bargain stores, our dining-out was pizza,and I used coupons to buy everything. Well, we had our true-selves and we were extremely happy. I have videos and videos of those times and I can see the pure potentiality in all of us.

I guess I need to read this book again. That's why I created this bookshelf on my blog. That way we can get lost on this book together. To your "True-Self"! Cheers!

MYSELF # 1: "Colando Café": Old Way of Making Coffee

My parents were both avid coffee drinkers. I never had coffee during my younger years but you can ask any of my relatives and they all remember my mom and my dad making and having a tiny cup of coffee two or three times a day.

The way they made their coffee was not anything fancy and much less they knew anything about "lattes", "tall or grande" sizes, or any of these grandiose combinations of flavors. It was a very raw process and they had it black without any sugar which in my country Puerto Rico is called "puya coffee".

Today was a cold morning here is the US-Northeast and since I am working from home, I was craving a cup of coffee. I thought of my parents and decided to demonstrate how they did it back in the old days (although I am incorporating some new tools, so I'm sorry for the puritans!). Here we go (by the way, back in the old days they didn't measure anything and I don't do it either, so bear with me):

Ingredients:
-Good Espresso Ground Coffee ( Yaucono** in this case) -Colador de Tela (Cloth Coffee Strainer)
-Cacerola (Small cooking pot)
-Frothing Pitcher (New Tool)
-Frother (New Tool)

Fill your small cooking pot with about 3/4 of a cup of water. Place the
cooking pot on high heat and wait until the water boils. Once the water is boiling, put enough ground coffee into the boiling water. Be careful because since the water is boiling, once you put the ground coffee in, it could overflow. Leave it in the pan and stir to completely mix for less than a minute. 

Once the water has blended with the coffee, place the coffee strainer into the coffee cup. Fill your cloth coffee strainer with the brewed coffee. Slowly lift the bag out of the cup, letting the coffee drain into the cup as you do.

Steam and froth the milk the way you like it. I personally like it very hot and frothed. Pour it into the coffee and voila!

Hope you enjoy it!!!