My office is near Union Square, which means I can walk to work every morning. In the rain and the snow, this lacks a certain charm, but in the sunshine, life is lovely.
I head out through Washington Square park, past the joggers and babies in strollers, past the fountain where old men sit on benches and read the paper, under the arch, where student film crews beg passing tourists to get out of the shot. Up 5th Ave, dodging doormen hosing down the sidewalk, past the dog walkers marshaling a tangle of leashes, past the New School – that building is going up so fast now it’s started – over 14th street, peering into shop windows all the way to work.
Or out up University, student central, people chatting on cellphones, delivering dry cleaning, past the stalls in the market, the Greenpeace petitions, the man walking his cockatoo on a leash, the numerous organic vegan juice outlets, past bodegas lined with flowers, and in to the cool of the air con.
Most mornings I walk with an iced coffee. Milk and espresso ice cubes keep it cold but not diluted all the way.
Not so much a recipe, more of an idea:
- Freeze a couple of ice cube trays with espresso, a couple with whichever kind of milk you prefer in your coffee. Use these instead of ice. These are the jumbo ice cubes that I bought Jon for Christmas. Frankly making regular ice cube sized ice cubes is more sensible. This ice cube holds a whole shot of espresso. On the upside, I am usually very alert by the time I get to work.
- If you like your coffee sweet, sweeten the espresso.