Lavender London Fog Earl Grey Latte

New Year’s resolutions – I like to put them down so I’m accountable for them, and this year I have big goals for different aspects of my life.

Family/personal– have a BABY (the biggest and important one!!). Keep up exercising / being active – I’ve still been able to run, or rather jog, into the third trimester thankfully. Go back to pre-pregnancy weight by the end of the year.

Photography – get better with lighting. Indoor, outdoor, artificial.

Home – try to Marie Kondo and purge the apartment (and my computer/email) of unnecessary stuff/files. Try to have less things, and focus on more experiences. I’m not a big buyer but I’m hoping to be even more minimalist this year.

Work – get back into cancer research – I have some neat projects at Upenn which hopefully will turn into something productive. Present at a national conference. Decide what type of cancer I want to focus on when I get to fellowship (eek!)Even if I accomplish just half, that’s still pretty good. One of my goals is underway – I’m using artificial lighting in these photos! I’m super excited to play with my new softbox light kits which my family got me for Christmas.

B has bugged me for years to try indoor lighting, as I always constantly complained about it. I finally got tired of struggling with early winter sunsets and dark apartments, and decided I needed to learn how to work with artificial lighting instead of always relying on fickle natural sunlight. My 2 light kit is very basic, cheap, and portable which is perfect for me. This also gives me much less pressure and much more flexibility to finish cooking/baking before the light starts fading.

I wanted to recreate this London Fog Latte, which I had for the first time in a new cafe in New Haven (Fussy Cafe), which a foodie friend introduced us to when we visited for Thanksgiving. This hip cafe wasn’t around during my residency, but it’s become incredibly popular.

She recommended the London Fog with lavender and oat milk – I had never had a London Fog nor oat milk before but it was delicious! Earl grey is not my favorite tea straight up, but with frothed milk, lavender, vanilla, and sugar it tasted great. I found oat milk easily at Trader Joe’s (it’s like almond milk, except with an “oaty” flavor) and my culinary lavender I bought from Becker Vineyards in Texas.

Happy New Year everyone!

Ingredients
1 cup earl grey tea, brewed with 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup frothed oat milk
lavender, to garnish

Directions
Brew earl grey tea and lavender together and steep to desired strength. Remove tea bag and strain out the lavender. Add the sugar and vanilla extract.

Microwave the oat milk until warm (not boiling). Froth it using a frother if you have it, blender, or French press (I used a French Press). Pour the milk carefully on top. Garnish with more dried lavender. Serve and enjoy!