I just read a great article about the inventor of the Aeropress, which I’m a huge fan of. I use it every day. My favorite coffee maker by far. Simple. Tasty. Quite a story. Tenacity. Brains. A little luck and a lot of persistence. “overnight success” is usually calculated in years.
Read the full article here.
Funny. It was just yesterday I noticed the bottle of Dewars Honey on the shelf. Today I find this very creative ad for it. A honeycomb in the shape of their bottle created to promote this new product. I love the combination of nature and mans manipulation of nature to create a product that is of and from the fruits of this earth, but only possible through the human hand, mind. I think they did a great job of creating a visual of the creation of the product that is engaging on a primal level. Pretty great. Well done Dewars.
Spotted all of this on Weburbanist.
Via Crane TV
After my {failed} cookies I decided to take a step back and return to my roots, get my cooking mojo back. So I pulled out the family heirloom Romertopf clay pot cooker straight from “West Germany” that my own Gramma Lu baked plenty a meal in before handing over to my dad who continued to keep up the tradition of both cooking chicken in..then giving it to another family member for Christmas. (see last entry..I’m really not kidding)
So..it’s hard to fail at this. Put a chicken in a pot with some potatoes, some carrots, some mushrooms, some onions, some water and some spices, put it in the oven and come back in a couple of hours. Dinner.
I got a cookbook for Christmas. One that I remember on the shelves as a kid. It’s the same one. That happens in my family. Christmas is when you start getting stuff from around the house that other people don’t want any more. It’s ok. I’m thrilled. I so happen to like old stuff from around the house. But this gift coincided with my realization that I miss cooking. A lot. So I got busy.
Turns out that lady on the cover reading some bible passage is a vegan. So I gave Orange Molasses Cookies a shot. “Good flavor – soft” was exactly what I wanted.
Here they are..good flavor and soft indeed. UNTIL they cooled off then they turned hard as rocks. I mean seriously hard as rocks. So I put them in a jar to look at them on the counter at least, maybe believe the illusion that I haven’t totally forgotten how to bake. And I left them there for 1 week. And would you believe..they are soft with good flavor now? Is this one of the talents? Patience?
Love this shot. Thanks Tane Clark.
My best guestimation is that this is about 3445 calories on a red tray. A most delicious 3445 calories. And we ate it all. And then we finished the amazing Red Velvet cake from that cute cupcake shop in SoHo. Good thing we walked 800 miles that day.
Yep. It’s long. Yep. I watched every second. I loved this.
Thanksgiving has always been a holiday that was different than I imagined. Those that know me, probably are thinking, “Is there anything you don’t imagine different?”, but Thanksgiving has never been as I pictured. I’ve had lots of different Thanksgiving days. Ones where Dad and I shared the duties of cooking up a meal while we waited for Mom to get home from work, and Gramma to arrive with her Dutch Apple Pie. (that was the only dish she ever made from scratch, maybe..could have been Mrs. Smiths frozen pie). Dad did the dressing and the pies, I did the meat and potatoes. We shared the duty of baked yams and marshmallows with pecans (still both of our favorite dishes) Not sure what Erin did, probably ate dirt, maybe chased the dogs around calling them “Vitamin C” or something. College Thanksgivings were the same actually, except Erin outgrew the eating dirt bit, thankfully. I’ve had Thanksgivings in extended families homes, strangers homes, and temporary families homes too. I’ve come home crying after a rough introductions to other peoples traditions (I’ll never forget how to spell Onus though, I can guarantee you that), I’ve signed table clothes with the most profound, meaningful and thankful message I could muster up in dining rooms with real China and crystal glasses only taken out for that ocassion. I’ve walked in the snow around adobe structures and eaten momos and strange tasting birthday cake in foreign countries with newly acquainted brothers. I’ve had a solidary Thanksgiving or two and those shared with only one person and way too much food for two people to eat. I’ve passed dishes of homemade mashed potatoes and bowls of cranberry sauce still in the shape of the can. I’ve eaten many varieties of pumpkin pies and longed for moms pecan pie when we were apart. Thanksgiving has never been what I imagined, long table with a feast of meats and vegetables and roots piled up, a centerpiece of a bountiful cornacopia (like we emulated in elementary school out of various beans) overflowing with breads and plums and small pumpkins and hopefully chocolate. Dozens of laughing, eating, cheerful family and friends lined up nearly as far as the eye can see, no, I’ve never experienced that imaginary Thanksgiving. No matter though, I’ve had a lot of interesting Thanksgivings, and I would never take any of them back. In fact, I’m so thankful I’ve had all these different kinds of Thanksgivings and I’m so thankful I’ve known so many wonderful sharing, kind people in my life. I’m thankful for every moment I’ve had on this earth, good or bad. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, no matter what shape it takes.
