It's Foody Friday with Flavored Coffee!

To me, coffee is not only a food, it is one of the five major food groups (along with chocolate, avocados, red wine, and cheese). And one of my favorite coffees is Pj's Santa's Blend. This is simply the best coffee in the world. When you brew it, the house is filled with the scent of spicy Christmas goodness. It is divine. The taste is only a mild flavor - hint of spice, really - but it is to die for. The only problem is that Santa's Blend is available for a limited time, about November through early days in January. The first weeks of January usually find me feverishly pawing the shelves of various local coffee shops in a search for the last bag or two. I grab as many as I can afford during the Christmas months, then I HORDE them through the summer months. On a steamy, gray, rainy July morning nothing beats retreating into a cloud of Santa's Blend steam.
Then horrors! My supply dwindles! In September, the cupboard is bare and I am crabby. My solution is to imitate the flavor as best as I can. I freely admit that this homemade version is not as good as the real Santa's Blend, but it's pretty close.
Directions:
1/2 lb of medium roast coffee, ground
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking cocoa
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Put the coffee into a large glass baking dish. Carefully sprinkle the vanilla over it evenly and rub it through the grounds with the back of a spoon to evenly distribute. Sprinkle the spices on and mix them in well. Put in an airtight container (glass is best; it keeps the clove oil from reacting).
Yum.

Any recipes or food raving you'd like to share today? Share! It's Friday! The day we think about food all day!! (or wait, that's every day for me...)