Books, Coffee and Gelato. A Great Combination

People waiting in line for their samples at Dave's Market in Cumberland, RI

If any of you know me or have read my profile, you know I love to read. It’s one of my favorite things to do. When we have free time during lunch and at night before I go to bed, my nose is stuck in a book. Right now I’m reading the sixth installment in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I can’t put it down. The seventh book comes out in September. I can’t wait. One of my favorite quotes says, “You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel as if you’ve lost a best friend.”  It’s so true. I’ve become so attached to all the characters, and I don’t know what I’m going to do when I finish the last one.  Maybe she’ll write an eighth one. If you have any suggestions about good books to read please let me know. I’m always looking for something new.

Now, after reading all that, it should come as no surprise that Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite stores. I can spend hours in there and not even realize it. I love the whole atmosphere—the smell, the books, the great magazine selection (they have two of my favorites, Paste and American Songwriter), the music, the coffee and the list goes on. It is especially nice on a cool, dreary day.

Lauren and I were in Warwick, RI today for our first event. We were right next to a Barnes & Noble, so during our lunch break we decided to do some shopping. Our first stop was the Starbucks counter for some coffee. Lauren had her usual Vanilla Latte (she loves espresso) and I tried the Marble Mocha Macchiato. It was delicious. Especially the bottom, since that is where all the good stuff ends up.  After we got our nice hot coffees, we made our way through the store. Lauren ended up buying a couple of magazines and a book. I was a very good girl. I didn’t buy anything. (Since I’m in the process of reading a book right now, I decided I should be good and not buy another one. Not to mention, my suitcases are packed to the hilt. I need to make some room before buying anything else.)

As we were drinking our coffees, we got to thinking about the amount of coffee drinks there are to choose from. Lauren talked a little bit last night in her blog about the Blood Orange Martini, and we were trying to think of coffee drinks that could be made using gelato and sorbet. We’re both fairly new to coffee. Most people learn to love it (and by love it I mean need it) when they are in college but apparently we are late bloomers. Most of my family drinks their coffee black (with the exception of my fabulous sister who loves flavored coffee) , so I’m not sure about the variety of coffee drinks out there. Ciao Bella makes an Espresso gelato, and we’ve had several people tell us how much they love it. Most people really like the Chocolate Alba Hazelnut gelato because they love hazelnut coffee.  We were wondering what kinds of cold coffee drinks could be made with the gelatos and sorbets. Since Lauren likes vanilla lattes, we thought about something with the Tahitian Vanilla gelato. We would love to hear your recipes using Ciao Bella for coffee or any other kind of delicious treat. Please feel free to share them. We look forward to hearing your ideas!