Rohdesign Weblog: Food & Drink

Here you'll find all posts file under the Food & Drink category.

August 8, 2010

Chez Panisse Dinner Sketchnotes

Above are the sketchnotes I captured from my dinner at the Chez Panisse Cafe in Berkeley, CA, captured July 2010. I was on a Gomoll Research + Design business trip with Kate Gomoll and Kris Hunt, when I created these.

I brought a Moleskine sketchbook along with a 0.7mm gel pen (which is always in my pocket) so I could try capturing a dinner as a sketchnote. I've already captured events, travel and my iPhone unboxing — why not my first ever dinner at Chez Panisse?

Enjoyment of the food came first, of course. I took photos of each dish with my iPhone for later reference. No sense letting wonderful food like this grow cold while sketching it (I was of course very careful not to spill my food on my Moleskine).

Later I learned that people seated at the next table were interested in my sketches, though they never came over to get a closer look. The waiter was very interested and suggested that I email him my work (which I'm about to do after posting this article).

Having this little sketchnote to refer to after the fact has provided me with a time capsule of rich memories. I can still taste the tartness of the boysenberries of the desert when I look at this sketchnote. Mmmm, good!

Permalink | | Sketchnotes | add to del.icio.us

February 22, 2009

Tasty Taco Dip Recipe

Here's a tasty taco dip from my wife's cousin that's popular whenever she makes it. Note that it tastes best when you create the cream dip portion the night before and refrigerate to consolidate the flavors.

Taco Dip

• Blend 3 (8 oz.) cream cheese and 1 large container of sour cream
• 5 teaspoons of chili powder
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
• 5 teaspoons (or more to taste) of taco sauce

Mix first 3 ingredients and in the base of a 9 x 13 pan.

The cream cheese/sour cream layer tastes best when prepared and chilled in the refrigerator the day before.

Before serving, add any or all of the following: chopped onions, chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, green peppers or grated cheddar cheese. Dribble taco sauce over the cream spread and veggies and serve with plain tortilla chips.

Is it good? The design crew at Northwoods sat and consumed a plate of this stuff in the lunchroom within 30 minutes, so that would be a yes. :-)

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

January 3, 2009

Mike's Chocolate Espresso Chili Recipe

I left a tweet on Twitter today, after starting my chili recipe in a crock pot at work:

I got 14 YES responses to my tweet, from @daveseah @heathercore @y0mbo @Lukas_Sparks @skyhawke @nathanziarek @chrisbowler @lancehill @jesselavery @drewwells @lencioni @jennaddenda @gnumadic and @freds4hb so by popular demand, here's my crock pot recipe for Mike's Chocolate Espresso Chili:

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground beef (ground round)
2 14-oz cans of chili beans (w/ chili seasoning optional)
2 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 8-oz cans of tomato sauce
1 16-oz jar of chunky salsa
1 white onion, diced
1 milk chocolate bar (43g)
2 1.5-oz shots of espresso
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground paprika

DIRECTIONS
1. Brown the ground beef and onion in large skillet and drain.

2. In a crock pot, combine the ground beef and onions, beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, chocolate bar, espresso, chili powder and paprika.

3. Cook on low for 8 hours (or on high for 4 hours if you need it sooner). Stir occasionally.

4. Serve. I like chili with cheddar cheese, corn chips and sour cream on top.

I've found the chocolate makes the chili a little sweet, the espresso adds a bit of smoky richness and the paprika becomes a subtly smooth taste that blends in nicely.

The crock pot makes this one easy to make and kinda forget until it's time to eat, especially handy if you need something ready to eat on a cold day after work.

Nathan Ziarek has generated nutrition values if you're curious. To reduce calories/fat, swap out the beef for chicken or veggie crumblers.

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and let me know how you like it.

Enjoy!

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

December 7, 2008

John Harbor's Coffee House Lives On!

December 18, 2008 — John Harbor's is alive!
My favorite local coffee shop, John Harbor's Main Street Coffee House was in a bind on December 7th, 2008. They needed to raise $25,000 and/or gain new business partners by Monday the 8th in order to stay open on Tuesday the 9th.

Our family and some friends visited John Harbor's multiple times since the call went out for support and I've been very happy to see the open sign lit every day, as I pass by John Harbor's.

Here's an email from Jeremy & Erin at John Harbor's, letting their fans know they've survived with new business partners and a new plan:

Thanks for your help if you supported John Harbors!

Here's the first press release from Jeremy & Erin from John Harbors:

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

December 2, 2008

Coffee Achiever Interview at iNeedCoffee.com

I'm very honored to be interviewed and featured as Coffee Achiever for December 2008 issue of the iNeedCoffee newsletter.

I replied to questions from Alex Scofield, who crafted his article from my replies. It's fascinating to see how Alex's article compares with my interview replies. If you're curious, I've included my interview replies below.

Here's an excerpt from Alex's article:

"The coffee artwork in Rohde’s calendar is an outgrowth of his Sketchnotes. They’re a twist and a major upgrade on the margin doodles of a note-taking student – Sketchnotes capture an event utilizing visual elements and fonts that are as crucial as the text in the overall presentation."

You can read the entire interview and the other great articles at iNeedCoffee.com.

Original Questions & Answers

Here are Alex's questions and my detailed replies, the basis of the final article.

Q: Can you say a little bit about where you grew up, where you went to school, and how you developed as an artist?

I grew up in Chicago, an area called Rogers Park, right on the border with Evanston, Illinois near Northwestern University. I went to school in that area through my Freshman year in high school, when our family moved to the Milwaukee area, where I still live today.

My elementary and high school years were very formative as an artist, because I drew all the time. That early experience of constantly drawing has been key to drawing and illustrating now that I'm older.

Q: How were SketchNotes born, or how did they evolve toward their present form?

They were born back in 2007 in a form clearly defined as "sketchnotes". I was attending a UX Intensive event put on by Adaptive Path in Chicago when I created the first set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/sets/72157600139569147/

I decided to try intentionally including drawings and fonts in my notes to see if it was possible and how well I would be able to capture the event. It worked out so well, I've continued to take sketchnotes at other events:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/collections/72157602798339521/

Lately, I've been invited by organizers of several events like SEED 3, and An Event Apart to be the official 'sketchnoter' at those events, which has worked out quite well:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/sets/72157605489759516/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/sets/72157608141993098/

I'm scheduled to attend Word of Mouth Crash Course on December 10th, and SXSW Interactive in March 2009 as the official sketchnoter. I'm very excited about these and other future sketchnoting opportunities.

http://events.gaspedal.com/
http://sxsw.com/interactive/

Q: Was there anything in particular that inspired the calendar’s coffee theme?

Our friend Kathy loves coffee and happens to have a coffee themed kitchen. We had a terrible time finding coffee calendars for her at Christmas, so we decided to create our own coffee calendar at Café Press.

A few years ago my wife and I created a coffee calendar with photography, which our friend loved. Then, as I had been sketching more in the past few years, I had the idea to do a calendar with an illustrated coffee theme.

So, I took my Moleskine pocket sketchbook to local cafes and began the illustration, which were scanned and colorized in the Mac and posted at Café Press as the calendar you can buy today:

http://www.cafepress.com/rohde.40227192

It's been very popular as a gift, I think because there are so few good coffee calendars out there. Turns out I'm the top organic hit in Google search results for 'coffee calendar' along with my friend Ricardo Levins Morales' wonderful illustrated coffee calendar:

http://www.thecoffeecalendar.com/

Q: Can you describe the “colorization” process used for the Sketchtoon calendars?

The art is all done in black and white in a pocket Moleskine sketchbook, scanned in and colorized in Photoshop.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rohdesign/2059959887

I've found a few special brushes in Photoshop to created the mottled look for the dark brown, and the color for the coffee drinks was painted so it overprints the black artwork.

Q: The first time you colorized your art this way, was it a happy accident, or the expected result?

I've actually done similar colorizations in my career as a graphic designer, in particular some illustration work for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee years ago, with black and white art colorized in Photoshop.

I like this approach because I can easily change direction or colors by simply re-doing a layer of the Photoshop file.

Q: Do you ever do your coffee Sketchtoons while you’re drinking the beverage described?

Heh, great question! I've had most of these drinks, and a few while sketching the art at the local café.

Q: Do you remember when you first drank coffee?

When I was about 5 I spilled hot coffee on myself at my grandmother's house, but it hasn't deterred me! I recall starting to drink coffee regularly in college, when I worked as graphic editor for the Milwaukee Area Technical College Times. They had a coffee club I could afford, and during the cold winters, hot coffee was perfect.

Q: What is the café/coffee scene like around Brown Deer and Milwaukee? Any favorite places?

Of course we have the chains here, Starbucks and Caribou, but in Menomonee Falls where I live, we have an excellent local coffee shop called John Harbor's Main Street Coffee house. They feature great, locally roasted coffee, food, free WiFi, and live music:

http://johnharbors.com/

Another Milwaukee area roaster and coffee chain called Alterra Coffee, with cafes all over the city in interesting and often historical buildings:

http://alterracoffeepro.com/

And there are all sorts of small, independent cafes and coffee shops around the city, too numerous to list.

Q: How big a part of your life is coffee these days?

Coffee is very important. I brew coffee in the morning for my wife and I to
start the day. At Northwoods Software where I work, I often pull shots of
espresso or make cappuccinos on the office DeLonghi Magnifica — which I have
to say is great to have around.

I also have a Krups espresso maker at home which takes pods as well as ground coffee, a French press and a handy moka pot.

Every now and then I like getting away to my local café for coffee to read,
or do a little sketching or design work in a relaxed environment.

Q: What is your favorite kind of coffee, or your favorite coffee-based beverage?

I like darker roast coffees and given a choice, I'll take a cappuccino or a well-pulled shot of espresso. For me coffee is all about taste.

Q: From the ‘Diner Coffee’ entry, I get the feeling that you appreciate high-end coffee, yet are okay with drinking diner coffee, too, depending on the situation. Am I right?

Yes, exactly! I like exploring a wide variety of coffee and surprisingly, some diner coffees aren't so bad. I think in the US there's been a positive effect of Starbucks and other coffee establishments improving the quality of coffee overall, which benefits we coffee fans in the end.

But I will say that when I encounter truly bad coffee I won't drink it. Life is just too short to torture my taste buds. :-)

Alex, thanks for the opportunity to interview with iNeedCoffee!

Check out the full interview at iNeedCoffee.com

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

November 4, 2008

2009 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar is Available!

The 2009 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar is now up for sale! You can buy it for $19.99 plus shipping at CafePress, with US and international shipping available.

Back in 2006 I started drawing sketchtoon style coffee illustrations in my Moleskine sketchbook in ink, scanning each illustration into the Mac for colorization in Photoshop.

In 2007, over 100 of the 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendars were sold, so it seems there's a demand out there for coffee calendars.

Each month's illustration features a different coffee drink, with several unique drinks from various areas of the world, like the Flat White from down under and the Greek Frappe. Check out the cover and 12 illustrations at Flickr. I'm very pleased with how the calendar turned out.

Sketchtoon Photos
I've posted several photos of the original ink sketchtoons to Flickr:

It's a great gift idea for coffee lovers who would enjoy a unique coffee calendar.

Buy It Today: 2009 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar: $19.99 + shipping.

Related Links
Check out Ricardo Levins Morales' very cool 2009 Coffee Calendar too!

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

August 30, 2008

Pizzas on the Grill

After mentioning on Twitter that I was going to make pizzas on the grill for friends today, I decided to record the process on video:

Making pizzas on the grill is great for small or large groups and is especially fun for kids. Everyone gets to participate, yet each person can be an individual within the group. Even better, they taste great!

Give 'em a try while you can still fire up the grill!

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

January 31, 2008

INeedCoffee: Creating the 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar

Michael Allen Smith, the publisher of INeedCoffee.com provided a great opportunity to share how I created my 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar, in the February 2008 issue of INeedCoffee.

In the article, I share details of my inspiration, how I researched coffee drinks and the process of sketching, scanning and production to create the 2008 Sketchoon Coffee Calendar.

Here's a teaser:

A few years ago, my wife and I went looking for coffee-themed calendars to be used as gifts for coffee-loving friends. We were very surprised to find none in the calendar kiosks at the local malls or at coffee shops and very few to choose from online.

Being creative people, we decided to create our own calendar, using Cafe Press to print them. Our first calendar used black and white photos and was received very well by our 2 friends.

About the same time, I'd been working on a drawing style I had created called Sketchtoons where I mixed loose sketches with hand-written notes in my Moleskine sketchbook. I decided to do a new calendar, creating sketchtoons for 12 coffee drinks.

In this article, I'll document how I came up with the ideas, drew, scanned and colorized them for use in calendars and other items, and then marketed and sold the calendar with no budget.

I invite you to read the entire article: Creating the 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar and check out the excellent coffee resources on INeedCoffee.com.

Even better: get in touch with Michael and submit your articles, reviews, and artwork for potential publication in a future monthly issue of the INeedCoffee Newsletter.

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

December 25, 2007

Mother’s Brunch Casserole

Every Christmas at our house, my wife makes an awesome egg casserole dish for brunch with family and friends. Gail's mom found this recipe years ago in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, passing it along to Gail a few years ago.

This dish requires some pre-planning the night before, but wow, it's so very worth the extra effort. It's also handy to have prepped the night before, for a gathering the next morning.

Here's the recipe for your enjoyment:

Mother’s Brunch Casserole

8 slices white loaf bread
1 pound thinly sliced Virginia baked or other good quality deli ham
6 large eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. Onion salt
1/2 tsp. Dry mustard
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 cups cornflakes

Phase 1:
18 minutes, plus 8 hours refrigeration time
Cut bread and ham into bite sized pieces. Break eggs into medium mixing bowl and whisk well. Whisk in milk, onion salt and mustard.

Coat 13 x 9 inch glass or ceramic baking dish with vegetable oil spray. Scatter pieces of bread evenly in dish. Scatter ham pieces and cheese evenly over bread. Pour egg mixture over ham and cheese. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Casserole can be refrigerated, covered, at this point for up to 24 hours.

Phase 2:
5 minutes, plus 45 minutes unattended baking time and 5 to 10 minutes resting time.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place butter in 2 cup or larger glass measure, cover with paper towel, and microwave on high until melted, about 45 seconds. Place cornflakes in large, freezer weight, zipper top plastic bag and crush cornflakes using your hands or rolling pin.

Add half melted butter to bag and shake vigorously. Add remaining butter and continue to shake until most of cereal is coated. Sprinkle cornflakes evenly over casserole. Bake casserole, uncovered, until lightly browned on top and eggs are set, about 45 minutes. Let casserole rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

December 6, 2007

2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar: Top Spot on Google

Happened to search at Google on the term coffee calendar yesterday, and it turns out my little 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar owns the top spot of the natural search results.

Holy smokes!

Turns out that Ricardo Levins Morales' very cool 2008 Coffee Calendar is in second position on the first Google results page.

I'm not quite sure how this happened—I'm not complaining—but it's surprising.

Actually, it's not that surprising in one sense. in my research I've found very few coffee calendars available. There are a couple, but far fewer than I imagined ought to be out there, considering how many coffee fans there are in the world.

This is also a good reason for putting in regular effort, day in and day out, to build and maintain a quality blog. When it comes time to share or sell something (especially yourself) all that work can pay off.

Buy It Today: 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar: $19.99 + shipping.

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

November 30, 2007

Square Sketchtoon Coffee Wallpapers for Palm & iPod

It seems the vertical 320 x 480px coffee sketchtoon wallpapers for the iPhone, iPod touch and Palm OS devices with vertical screens are quite popular!

Since square-formatted screens on Palms and iPods can also make use of wallpapers, I've created a new set of twelve 320 x 320px wallpapers.

Each coffee wallpaper is a 320 x 320px color JPG file, available as a free download from Flickr, for personal use.

Coffee Calendar
If you like the wallpapers, please consider picking up a Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar for yourself or a coffee-loving friend as a unique gift as a way to say thanks.

Donations
Not a calendar person? consider a PayPal donation, and I will be happy to send you a complete set of 12 JPGs as a ZIP file:

Thanks, and have a great weekend! :-)

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

November 26, 2007

Sketchtoon Coffee iPhone/iPod touch Wallpapers

Now that the Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar is complete and available for sale, I've been considering ways to make other interesting items with these illustrations.

Today I was inspired by Les & Ian's comments on my last post to create a custom 12-pack of sketchtoon coffee wallpapers, designed especially for iPhone and iPod touch screens.

Each sketchtoon coffee wallpaper is a 320x480px color JPG file, available at Flickr as a free download for personal use on your iPhone or iPod touch.

If you like the wallpaper art, consider picking up a Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar for yourself or a coffee-loving friend as a unique gift.

Donations
If you'd like to send a donation for these wallpapers via PayPal, I'll be happy to send the complete set of 12 JPGs as a ZIP file:

Thanks! :-)

Update 2007-11-28: I've uploaded Flickr, having adjusted the images to fit properly within the clear window on the iPhone/iPod touch login screen. If you have an older version, check out the updated images and get a new version.

Palm and Windows Mobile Users: Please drop me a line and let me know if you're interested in wallpapers for your devices. I'm currently gauging whether I want to produce these in a few more sizes, like 320x320 and 240x320. Let me know what sizes you might prefer.

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

November 24, 2007

2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar is Available!

2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar now complete and up for sale! You can buy it for $19.99 plus shipping at CafePress, with US and international shipping available.

Last year, I started drawing sketchtoon style coffee illustrations in my Moleskine sketchbook in ink, scanning each illustration into the Mac for colorization in Photoshop.

Each month's illustration features a different coffee drink, with several unique drinks from various areas of the world, like the Flat White from down under and the Greek Frappe. Check out the cover and 12 illustrations at Flickr. I'm very pleased with how the calendar turned out.

Sketchtoon Photos
I've posted several photos of the original ink sketchtoons to Flickr:

It's a great gift idea for coffee lovers who would enjoy a unique coffee calendar.

Buy It Today: 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar: $19.99 + shipping.

Related Links
Check out Ricardo Levins Morales' very cool 2008 Coffee Calendar too!

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

November 17, 2007

2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar Preview

This week I've completed the final eight sketchtoon illustrations for my 2008 Sketchtoon Calendar, which will be going on sale soon:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I've had lots of interest in my sketchtoons, so I've decided to post samples of each calendar page on Flickr and share the previews here. I'm planning to have the calendar ready for sale by next week Saturday, just in time for Christmas.

Once I complete the cover illustration, I'll be creating the calendar with an on-demand printing service. I've used use Cafe Press for calendar printing in the past, however, I plan to check out other on-demand printing services. If you have a service to recommend, let me know with a comment below.

Be the First to Know!
If you're interested in the 2008 Sketchtoon Calendar, and want to be the first to know when goes on sale, email me.

Permalink | | Sketchtoons | add to del.icio.us

May 1, 2007

Espresso Powered T-Shirt: Printed Sample & Notes

Today I received a copy of the black Espresso Powered T-Shirt I designed at GoodStorm and WOW! did it turn out well!

You can see me holding my son Nathan, wearing the new t-shirt. The red object in Nathan's hand is a petal from a tulip he picked from mom's garden. :-)

I was quite impressed with the print quality on black — the whites are bright and crisp, brown colors are rich and strong and there's even a nice, subtle speckling of the gradated tones in the artwork. Very nice.

I chose the heavyweight shirt and the quality is good. It's a nice cotton fabric, in a rich coal black.

Emblem Detail
Below I've posted a close-up shot of the emblem on the shirt, so you can see the print quality with a little more detail. Click the image below to see a larger version.

GoodStorm uses a digital printing method to create these shirts, with very good results. Now I wonder if complex shirt graphics might be better reproduced with digital printing than with traditional screen-printing.

If you like what you see, pick up your own Espresso Powered T-Shirt in one of three colors: black, pebble or white.

Espresso Powered T-Shirts
Espresso Powered Black T-Shirt: $12 + Shipping
Espresso Powered Pebble T-Shirt: $11 + Shipping
Espresso Powered White T-Shirt: $10 + Shipping
GoodStorm Rohdesign T-Shirt Store

Permalink | | T-Shirts | add to del.icio.us

April 26, 2007

Korean Soup Sketchtoon

On Wednesday I had a great visit to Chicago, for Adaptive Path's UX Intensive Interactive Design Workshop in Chicago's Old Town. I'm currently scanning in my sketch-notes from the event (which I will post tomorrow), but in the meantime I wanted to post a sketchtoon from my dinner in the evening.

I had the pleasure of traveling to Chicago with my friend Hyeon "Sean" Kim on the Amtrak Hiawatha to UX Intensive. After the event, I met Sean on the Brown line EL train at Sedgwick to Rockwell station to visit a Korean restaurant on the North side of town.

Sean had a Korean restaurant in mind, but after walking to Lawrence Avenue and searching, we realized it had closed or moved, because a new condo was sitting right at the corner where it should have been. It was actually good fortune for us to walk the neighborhood, since we came across Han Bat, a small, family-run Korean Soup restaurant, right on Lawrence Avenue.

Our Korean dinner was delicious. Sean was worried that old-school, hard-core Korean Seolleongtang soup might be too unusual for me. Now he knows I love unusual new things, including Korean soup, kim chee, pickled radishes and corn tea! :-)

The sketchtoon was created in my Moleskine sketchbook, while riding home on the EL. Sean and I contentedly recalled the details of our delicious Korean dinner. I colored this piece later on, to add just a little more detail.

Now I can't wait to try more Korean foods!

Related Links:
Drive Thru: Han Bat Review
Urban Spoon: Han Bat Info

Technorati Tags: chicago, korean, uxichi07, rohdesign

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

February 27, 2007

Fascinating Taste3 Talk on Starbucks

Last night I came across this fascinating talk on Starbucks, given by Temple University History Professor Bryant Simon at the Taste3 Conference:

It was fascinating to hear Bryant deconstruct how he believes Starbucks works, and how our patronage of Starbucks reflects our culture. He discusses three aspects: the functional, emotional and expressive aspects of Starbucks.

"What we drink has meaning — it says something about who we are."

Bryant talks about the high caffeine content of Starbucks coffee (about twice other coffees), the emotional reasons why we buy (self-gifting, ordering language use and predictability) and the expressive aspects of Starbucks (being part of the performance, and showing our ability to afford the luxury of a fancy coffee).

Bryant's talk was both fascinating and disturbing, which for me is a good thing.

Technorati Tags: starbucks, taste3, culture

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

October 30, 2006

Low-Carb Friendly Hot Cocoa Mix

My wife came across this tasty and dead-easy recipe for carb-friendly hot cocoa mix back in 2005.

If you enjoy hot cocoa but need to avoid the sugar found in most mixes, why not blend your own? This recipe was simply doubled from the Splenda version since we kept using it up.

It's nice to have a warm cup of cocoa as a guilt-free reward at the end of a long day.

Low-Carb Friendly Hot Cocoa Mix

• 2 Cups + 4 TBS Non-Fat Dry Milk
• 2.5 Cups Splenda Sweetener
• 1 1/3 Cups Powdered Fat-Free Non-Diary Creamer
• 1 1/3 Cups Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder

Put all of the ingredients into a large bowl, and mix with a spoon until well blended. Storing the blend in an air-tight container keeps it tasting good.

Buy larger quantities of the ingredients because it's less expensive and you've got a ready supply of raw materials if you open the container and find it empty.

Making Cocoa
Heat your water and spoon up 5 teaspoons of hot cocoa mix into a mug and add about a teaspoon of skim milk. Using the teaspoon, blend the milk and dry cocoa mix together until it forms a smooth, thick cocoa sludge in the bottom of the mug. now add your hot water and blend thoroughly.

This trick of adding milk and creating a cocoa sludge creates a smoother cup of cocoa, than if you simply added the cocoa mix to hot water.

Enjoy! :-)

Related Links:
Cacao caliente ligero (en Español) at Diabetes STOP

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

November 28, 2005

Hand-Cranked, Homemade Pumpkin Pie

For Thanksgiving this year, I had a little bit of fun, seeing how hard it would be to bake a pumpkin pie from scratch. Our yearly visit to the Elegant Farmer yielded two perfectly-sized pumpkin pie pumpkins, which gave me the idea to give it a go.

The process was actually not difficult as much as it was putzy, but that's alright. There is a bit of fun in the putzy things of life, such as making espresso or what have you.

First, the pumpkins are halved, then the seeds and inner stringy stuff gets scraped out with a spoon. Next, I spread a thin layer of butter on a large flat pan (12 x 18) with 1/4 inch high edges, adding about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of water to the pan. The halved pumpkins are placed onto the pan (adding the water simply keeps the pumpkin edges against the pan from burning).

I baked the 4 pumpkin halves for about 45 to 50 minutes, until I could tell the flesh was very soft by inserting a knife, then removed the pumpkins and left them on top of the stove to cool. As they cooled I sliced the halves into smaller pieces, preparing for their processing later.

Once the pieces of baked pumpkin were baked and cooled, I setup a hand-cranked food processor loaned to me by a friend on the kitchen table. This cool tool separates the heavy pulp, skins and stuff not fit for pie into one bowl, while the good stuff gets strained down a plastic corkscrew gear through a pumpkin strainer screen and into a second bowl.

My son helped crank while I fed and pressed the pumpkin chunks into the processor, until we cranked through both pumpkins. It was mussy and gurgly but loads of fun for both of us. :-)

Apparently pumpkins can be processed with a blender, though the skins must be manually separated from the pulp, then the pulp gets blended thoroughly. I may have to try that next year, just to see how easy it is to pull off.

Some of the final pulp was stored in a 16 oz sour cream container and put in the fridge, while I prepared a pumpkin pie to use the rest of the pulp. I made use of the convenient recipe from some solid pack pumpkin (store bought) for a simple recipe:

Pumpkin Pie

• 1 Unbaked Pastry shell
• 3 eggs slightly beaten
• 1 cup white or brown sugar (I prefer brown)
• 1/2 TSP Salt
• 1 TSP Cinnamon
• 1/4 TSP Cloves
• 1/4 TSP Ginger
• 1/4 TSP Nutmeg
• 16 oz Pumpkin pie filling
• 8 oz Evaporated milk

Prepare a one-crust pie shell. Combine the eggs, salt, sugar and spices in a bowl and beat well. Blend in the pumpkin pie filling. Add evaporated milk and beat well.

Turn into the one-crust pie shell and bake at 450 F for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 F for 40 to 45 minutes. You know the pie is done when you can insert a knife into the center of the pie and have it come out clean (no filling on the knife).

I've made this recipe with canned pumpkin filling and it's quite good, though fresh filling is even better. It has a bit better taste than the canned filling, in my opinion. But I truly love the spices the most: nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and ginger all rock! :-)

More than likely, canned pumpkin will do the trick for most of my future pumpkin pies, but it was still great experience to make a pie from pumpkins.

Technorati Tags: baking, cooking, food, pie, puppy, recipes, thanksgiving

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

October 18, 2005

iNeedCoffee.com

Several weeks ago on a weekend, I stumbled across a site dedicated to coffee fans like me. I was actually Googling a manual method for crafting pods for a Melita One-to-One pod coffee maker I'd picked up and found iNeedCoffee.

iNeedCoffee.com has a variety of information, from roasting, brewing and recipes to coffee history, business, cafe culture and even comics! Items are posted to the site on a monthly basis and are all gathered from volunteers who are interested in coffee and want to contribute to the site.

Here's the mission of iNeedCoffee.com:

INeedCoffee is a labor of love. It was started in 1999 when Michael Allen Smith, Ryan Jacobs and Lura Lee combined their computer skills and creative talents to create the site. We're selling a few products (t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and mousepads) in the hope that we'll cover the operating expense of maintaining the website. We do not sell coffee ourselves, nor do we accept advertising revenue. To learn more about the advertising that appears on our website, visit the Friends of INeedCoffee information page.

INeedCoffee.com intends to be the most comprehensive gathering of coffee information on the Internet. It is dedicated to providing quality coffee-related information, instruction, and entertainment. INeedCoffee.com's contributors aim to provide a fun, comfortable environment for visitors to learn about and celebrate their favorite beverage.

INeedCoffee.com is intended to be reflective of the knowledge and tastes of its readership, not just its creators. Readers are encouraged to contribute articles, reviews, stories, and links that enhance their fellow readers' appreciation for coffee. Contributions may be edited for style and/or content.

One thing led to another and I emailed one of the owners of the site, Michael Allen Smith, offering some of the coffee-related writing and sketches from this blog for publication. Michael liked my work and offered to immediately take one of my cafe sketches and some writing from the blog for the October issue. So I offer to you my first entry on the iNeedCoffee website, Foggy Morning.

If you're a fan of coffee like me, stop by iNeedCoffee and enjoy the creative and informative information they offer.

Technorati Tags: coffee, sketches

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

August 18, 2005

Indian Curry Recipes Request

Last weekend we travelled down to Illinois, to attend one of Nathan's friends' 3rd birthday party. While we were there, I had a chance to meet and talk with a friendly Indian couple attending the party with their daughter.

I mentioned how much I love Indian cuisine and curries particularly, asking a few questions about curry (what's good, where to but it, etc.). Before I could say “I love chicken curry” the woman I was chatting with offered me some of her own home-made curry! While our kids played, she zipped across the street to her home, and bagged up a good amount of yellow curry and a big bag raw spices to grind my own garam masala, complete with ingredients and instructions! Wow!

I was so very honored to be given a gift such as this, and boy, she gave me probably half a pound of her mother's own hand-ground curry mix and a raw spices for garam masala curry! I thanked her for the curries, but more importantly, for the honor of being given such a wonderful gift!

Recipe Research
The couple also pointed me to Bawarchi.com and their food section, which I checked out back home. Unfortunately, I was a little overwhelmed with the choices, terminology and options at the site. I was able to find one good-looking chicken curry recipe after a bit of Googling, but I'd love to have some more personally recommended recipes to try with this precious curry.

Readers to the Rescue
Today I thought, hey, why not throw it out to my readers and the blogosphere? So, here I am, asking anyone out there with good curry recipes to share them with me! I particularly love Chicken Curry (Murgh Kari), but any Indian fare with (or without) curry involved interests me.

If you don't have recipes to offer but can share suggestions for websites with good recipes or which can help me understand terms, history, and other things about Indian food, I would greatly appreciate it.

Once I've gathered good recipes and links and have tried a few out, I'd like to post a follow-up article with everything compiled in a nice posting, with credit to those who have helped out (e.g. names and links).

I better go get my stack of blank 3x5 cards ready... :-)

Technorati Tags: curry, food, recipes

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

July 4, 2005

Our Little Lavazza Moka Pot

Once and a while I come across a tool that has been forgotten, but proves its worth and comes back into my consciousness again. This weekend, I was reminded how wonderfully useful our little Lavazza Carmencita stovetop moka pot is.

Gail, Nathan and I traveled up to a friend's cabin for the long 4th of July weekend, to get away from the city, spend some time sailing on their boat and just hanging out with friends. On a lark, I grabbed the Lavazza moka pot and some Café Goya espresso for the trip. I wasn't sure how much use it might get, yet I talked myself into taking it along.

The Lavazza is small and light, yet simple and effective. It's a coffee pot made of heavy-gauge stainless steel, designed for brewing delicious espresso-like coffee on a stovetop. Really, it would even work on a campfire or anything that can generate sufficient heat (maybe even an engine block).

Making coffee is dead-easy: Simply unscrew the upper and lower portions from each other, and the lower chamber is filled with water just below the steam release valve. A metal filter drops into the water chamber and receives the loose, ground coffee. Next, screw on the upper part of the pot and put on medium heat.

The upper portion of the pot has a filter and circular rubber gasket to hold it in place. Heated coffee escapes past the filter (which traps the grounds) and travels upward through a long narrow tube, and is deposited at the top of the tube, into the upper chamber of the pot.

Once brewing is done, the pot grows quiet and the can be removed from the heat source. The top section of the pot has a handle, which is used for pouring coffee into your favorite mug — and boy-o-boy is it tasty!

Cleanup is quite easy: just dump the grounds and wash the pot off to make it ready for the next batch of tasty, rich coffee.

I understand from Italian friends, that these types of moka pots are quite popular in Italian kitchens, and I can see why. If you love good coffee and have a chance to try one out, give it a spin!

Technorati Tags: coffee

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

October 19, 2004

South Beach Notes

My wife and I have been following the South Beach Diet since July and we've both lost over 20 pounds, and are keeping it off. Our friend Michael Ashby had an impact on our decision, along with several other friends seeing good results doing South Beach.

Some of the most enthusiastic proponents of South Beach have been physician friends we've spoken with about the diet. Interestingly enough, one of those physicians started the diet himself, after speaking with us and seeing our and other people's good results.

At the core of South Beach it's really quite simple: avoid highly processed foods, (particularly processed carbohydrates) in favor of complex carbohydrates, veggies and moderate amounts of lean meats and nuts.

For 2 weeks (Phase 1) you cut out carbs completely, to get your blood sugar and insulin production in balance. Then, in phase 2 and 3, good (complex) carbs are introduced to achieve a balanced diet. It's not really about no carbs — it's about good carbs, in moderation. For example, rather than highly processed white bread or even wheat bread that uses processed, enriched flour, we have substituted whole grain wheat bread, pitas or whole grain tortillas.

In my opinion, the diet has been sensible and flexible, taking into account that I'm probably going to eat desserts and "bad" things now and then. But here's the key — if I consider these "less healthy" foods as special treats, eaten occasionally, I can have nearly anything in moderation. If I fall totally off the plan, I can return to phase 1 for a week, to clear out my system. However, I've had no need to do this yet.

Another key for me has been the emphasis of flavor and taste over quantity. I find I'm eating less now, and can turn away even tasty things more easily, because I'm not in "craving" mode all the time. The severe reduction in sugars of phase one helps reduce cravings, and the introduction of complex carbs helps meter out the sugars in my system.

Tips
Since I'm now apparently a South Beach evangelist, I thought I'd share some tips my wife and I have discovered on our journey, in case you're considering the diet.

Teamwork. If you can do the diet as a couple, that's a HUGE advantage. Because Gail and I both were on the same team, we could commiserate about challenges during the first two weeks of no-carbs. It's great to have someone challenge and cheerlead you toward eating better, when you're feeling that you can't go another day without bread or chocolate. ;-)

Sweets. For phase 1, sugar-free and no sugar added popsicles and fudgesicles can be very helpful. after a long day of eating a carb-free diet (phase 1) a sweet-tasting popsicle hits the spot! Dittos on sugar-free hot chocolate. Other friends have commented that sugar free Jello was also very helpful.

Look Ahead. Right about the second week mark of phase one, it's likely you'll want to quit. Just keep telling yourself it's only one more week to go. By keeping my mind on the limited 2-week time of phase 1, I was able to deal with the restrictions. Once you start losing weight in the middle of week two, the dropping scale numbers will stoked you up for a strong finish.

South Beach Recipe Book. We found that the recipes in the green "diet" book were pretty good, but too limited. Once we started phase two, we picked up the orange South Beach Recipe book, which helped greatly in "what to make for dinner" dilemmas.

Take it Slow. When you start phase two, don't go nutzo on carbs. Pick one thing you really love and add it in moderation.

Hummus. I've come to love hummus. In fact, I'd say I'm addicted to the stuff. You can find it as a dry mix (Fantastic brand is good) or there's a good recipe in the South Beach book, though it's a little messy and putzy to make. But it's very tasty.

Olive Oil. I've also come to love the flavor of olive oil. I now have it with whole grain bread and hummus for lunch, and also on chicken when we grill. I now thoroughly enjoy its slightly bitter taste.

Wine. In phase two I have also added a small glass of red wine (6-8oz) at dinner. I've heard red wine praised as a benefit in South Beach and by other sources, and am coming to enjoy the taste of Merlot and Shiraz quite a bit. I understand it's also quite good for heart health.

Nuts. Most nuts are quite good for you, according to South Beach, again in moderation. We especially love cashews, and I am a fan of roasted soy nuts. The South Beach book also has an easy recipe for roasting your own chickpeas.

Cheese. We love cheese, and have found several brands that offer reduced fat versions that taste great and are better for you. String cheese rules!

Excercise. We've tried to incorporate more walking in our lives and have found that even short walks seem to kick in the fat burning process. As a cyclist, my rides also seemed to help, though with winter coming on, I'll have to settle for rides on my trainer in the basement. Whatever you do, keep active!

If I think of other tips, I will add them here. And, if you are a South Beach dieter, or just have some good suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

By the way, a few weeks back, I read the article Effects of age-old diet long-lasting. This article mentioned the healthy benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet. As I read, I kept thinking "this sounds alot like South Beach." Sure enough, the writer specifically mentions the South Beach diet near the end of the article.

I was encouraged to see our choice to change our lives through diet confirmed. However, we we're already confident that our choice was a good one. It might have something to do with watching our fat melt away, the scale showing smaller numbers, feeling clothes flap around and fall off, and the return of our energy levels. We feel better, are eating better, are eating less and enjoying it.

What's not to like? ;-)

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

June 14, 2004

Cranky Al's & Mrs. Java

This weekend, my wife and son visited Cranky Al's & Mrs. Java, our favorite local coffee and donut shop. Of course we had a great time in their little storefront shop, sipping good coffee, eating hand-cranked donuts, and interacting with fellow visitors.

Al and Suzy are quite the fixture in the small community where they operate and they have done this in just a few short years. Its as if they're a community gathering spot, offering a welcome place for kids to grandparents and everyone in-between — even hip young singles and couples in the area.

It has something to do with good coffee, donuts an pastries, but it also has something to do with their real personalities and the environment they've created at the shop. They are active participants in creating this friendly, homey environment, which is quite different from a more corporate setting of a Starbucks. It's something more like being in a small town bakery, coffee shop or greasy spoon diner.

For instance, it's not unusual to walk into the shop and have Cranky Al bark some friendly, yet cranky comments at you. If someone orders an espresso drink, Al will shout "FANCY COFFEE!" and immediately move to the next customer, letting the barrista handle the lattés and cappuccinos. To the kids he might offer, "Hey, line up along the counter and have your choice ready, this is a donut shop, not K-Mart!". In between friendly jibes at customers, comments pop out such as "Cranky Al's donuts, they're Krispy and Kremey!"

On the surface it sounds cranky, but you immediately know it's an endearing welcome, similar to the crankiness waitresses feign at Ed Debevic's 50's burger shops. Of course you have to have a sense of humor to detect this — which I imagine might be a problem for too-uptight, literal visitors. :-)

As a final example of this cranky yet funny and friendly humor, this is the text of sign posted on their donut counter:

"Unattended children will be given two shots of espresso and a puppy"

I think it's wonderful that a place like Cranky Al's and Mrs. Java exist for people to visit. In a world where chain stores and corporate attempts at homeyness are so prevalent, a genuine instance brings a smile to my face and my tummy. :-)

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

May 28, 2004

CoffeeGeek.com visits a McCafé

As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of coffee. One site I enjoy visiting from time to time is CoffeeGeek.com, for interesting and informative articles I find there. Even though I'm not quite as fanatical about technical details as many of the CoffeeGeek writers, I do enjoy learning about coffee.

Thursday, I came across a very intriguing article called McEspresso Comes to Town, about McDonald's exploring the coffee chain arena with a McCafé in Raleigh, North Carolina. Just the idea of McDonald's going after Starbucks' was curious to me, as I often think of Starbucks as the McDonald's of coffee joints.

Peter Giuliano's entire article is quite good, but there were a few tongue-in-cheeks portions I got a chuckle from:

As I approached the counter, Bonnie, the register keeper, hollered “Welcome To McCafe! Can I help you?” with a big smile. I don’t mean to review Bonnie’s personality here, but it occurred to me a couple of times that she was almost aggressively friendly. She had a take-no-prisoners kind of cheerfulness that clearly was a big big part of what she wanted to communicate to the world.

Maybe Bonnie had a few too many McEspressos that day? ;-)

Here's the other favorite bit from that article:

The big moment during the Cappuccino preparation was when she produced a special customized tool designed to shield certain parts of the drink from the shower of cinnamon she poured from a shaker. This operation resulted in a cute little “M” on the top of the cappuccino, reminding me that I was, indeed, in a McDonalds. Cool! The coffee was for some reason given to me in a paper cup, and I got the whole thing on the same kind of brown plastic tray McDonalds had when I was a little kid.

If you're a coffee fan, I suggest reading the whole article.

So, what was Peter's verdict? Weak, thin and less than hot specialty coffees, but he found the drip selection pretty decent. I imagine that for those who dislike the strong, burnt coffee at Starbucks, weak but smooth McCafé coffee might actually be attractive.

Not for me. I much prefer an expert cranking out a fresh shot of espresso at a local coffee house like Alterra Coffee. But of course I'd give a McCafé a whirl out of curiosity, if that opportunity ever presents itself.

Have a great and long weekend everyone! :-)

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

April 2, 2004

Mike's Rooibos Chai Recipe

Been having much more tea of late, including a little black tea and red Rooibos tea from South Africa. I especially enjoy Rooibos, because it tastes so good and is quite healthy for me, since I have a tendency toward kidney stones (related to tannins).

I actually love British style black tea, milk and sugar, but just can't have a whole lot of it, due to the tannins. Rooibos has freed me a bit from worry, since it's tannin and caffeine free and has many other health benefits.

Anyway, about a week ago, I decided to try a chai-like version of Rooibos after hearing about Rooibus being blended with chai-like spices.

Being inspired, I throw Rooibos and my favorite spices (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, allspice) into a cone-style tea infuser, and put a teaspoon of honey in the bottom of the mug. Then, I pour boiling water over the tea and spices, steep for 4-5 minutes, remove and stir.

Wow! This is wonderful stuff. Easy drinking and smooth, it's a little exotic, and very chai-like. Now I need to pick up some cardamom and throw in a little black pepper for full effect.

My espresso maker's frother might have to get some use, if I try to create a Rooibos Chai Latté. Hmmm, I'm getting thirsty! :-)

Food & Wine also has a Rooibus Chai recipe that's more complex than mine, in case you're curious.

Have a great weekend!

Update 2004-04-02: FYI, I bought my organic Rooibos from Rishi Tea, through a local coffee shop. I think Rishi also does online ordering.

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

March 2, 2004

Arrogant Yogurt Packaging

Today for lunch, I enjoyed a nice cup of Yoplait yogurt. After I'd finished, I happened to read the package (something I often do). I found a bit of text in red letters on the back of the cup:

PROTECT WILDLIFE
CRUSH THIS CONTAINER BEFORE DISPOSAL

I thought about this for a moment and said to myself "Hey, what a great gesture by Yoplait. Being a good corporate citizen and all that."

But, after thinking about it and considering the industrial design of the container a little longer, I actually got a bit angry. Why?

Well, the reason a Yoplait yogurt container is more dangerous for animals is that the opening is smaller than the base of the cup, so if an animal tries to lick the yogurt inside it, their head can get stuck.

So, here's Yoplait, telling me its my responsibility to crush the container so an animal can't get its head stuck inside? I don't mind crushing the cup before I recycle it, but that's not the point.

The point is, why doesn't Yoplait change the design and shape of their packaging, so it's like every other yogurt container (wider at the opening than the base) so it slides off an animal's head (should that situation arise)?

Funny how design can seem to be a surface or graphics issue, until you face something like this. Just goes to show that design is often critically important in more ways than just how something looks.

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

February 23, 2004

A Tough Coffee Decision

Looks like my love for french press coffee will be short lived. Since I spent time extolling the french press coffee on the weblog, I felt an obligation to tell you why I've decided to severely limit my intake of french press coffee, for health reasons.

Last week, I visited my doctor about my under-the-weather status after returning from PalmSource DevCon. Turns out that my heart is good and strong, but my cholesterol and weight must be reduced. I have already been working out, and that's good — but I need to really focus on my eating, which is a whole another issue.

So, this weekend I began plans for modifying my long term, lifelong diet with the goal of reducing weight and cholesterol. This included changes to what I eat, why I eat and how much I eat. I've been inspired by Mashby, who's lost about 10 pounds last month on the South Beach diet, and and my friend's father, who lost 50 pounds over 2 years, by eating less and exercising. I'll just be eating less and better... no fad diets for me.

I know... that's a long explanation about limiting my french press coffee intake! You may be thinking to yourself "What's the deal, Mike?"

Well, back when I first got my press, I vaguely recall coming across an obscure tidbit in my research that mentioned increased cholesterol with press coffee. At the time I this seemed a minor concern, but now, after facing up to a high cholesterol number, that nagging tidbit bugged me into digging deeper.

So, Sunday night I did a Google search. Well, it appears there was a study done in the Netherlands (second link), comparing drip and press coffee drinkers over several weeks. When the study ended, the press coffee drinkers all had significantly elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol. The oils in french pressed coffee which taste so good, also contain high levels of cafestol and kahweol. These two compounds, heightened cholesterol levels in the french-press drinking study participants, but not in those drinking paper-filtered drip coffee.

Espresso also provides these same coffee oils with cafestol and kahweol compounds in them, but in much smaller quantities. I'll still have espresso and cappuccinos during the week, in place of drip coffee (maybe 2 or 3 days per week). Unlike french press and espresso makers, drip coffee makers and paper filters apparently keep a large majority of these nasty compounds out of the brew.

So, I've made a hard decision about my french press and the tasty coffee it produces. I feel I can't have the daily carafe of coffee I've enjoyed each morning, knowing my cholesterol has to drop. This morning I brewed my cuppa in the Braun drip maker with a paper filter and it was pretty good, but I will still miss my french press.

By the way, there is also an alternate source questioning this study, but I think I'm still going to limit my french press intake for now to be on the safe side.

Of course I'll still use french press, but its use must now become a Saturday morning ritual rather than a daily one. I still love the manual nature of brewing good coffee in the press, and the good coffee too... so I don't want to abandon it completely.

But hey, life is all about tradeoffs. I can still have my coffee, I'll just need to adapt. In the end the change in my overall diet and outlook is to enjoy foods for their taste, texture, and flavor rather than their quantity... the same holds true for coffee, especially if my health and life may be in the balance.

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

December 12, 2003

Starbucks Has Landed

"I'd like a double-espresso, Peruvian mint-mocha, latté with two shakes of Swiss chocolate bits and a dusting of Mexican vanilla powder.... to go."

"That will be eight dollars sir..."

Starbucks has come to our little neighborhood. I've suspected it was a Starbucks for a while now, but just this week the "Starbucks Coming Soon" signs went onto the small building just around the corner. I actually first heard the rumor at the local Caribou coffee from one of the employees and the more I saw of the building as it was raised, the more that rumor was confirmed.

What's odd is, this Starbucks was built in the parking lot of the new hospital building in our neighborhood, which replaced a few old hotels. Apparently the little plot Starbucks is on used to be an old gas station, which was not sold to the hospital. It might have been a pricey purchase too, since the hospital didn't go for it and because its situated on a main road and is very near the Interstate.

Should be interesting to see how the local traffic flow changes on the main boulevard with no left turn gap in the median where the Starbucks is situated. I can already imagine seeing many u-turns at the next gap going northbound to get to the café. Even more likely are long lines at morning rush hour, blocking the right lane going southbound, which leads to the highway on ramp. But maybe not. It may all depend on how traffic flow works and how quickly Starbucks employees can crank out $4 lattés. :-)

I'll also soon find out if Caribou's few months of already being in the neighborhood will help them compete well with Starbucks. Caribou has a better location overall, being on a corner of two main boulevards, though now I could see southbound coffee buyers maybe going for Starbucks instead. This is going to be interesting to watch.

So, now I'll have my choice of Starbucks and Caribou within a reasonable walking distance of home. I'm hoping that the Starbucks will have WiFi capabilities, but it seems Milwaukee is not on the radar yet... though we are a test market for WiFi McDonalds (which I still need to check out). Once Starbucks has opened up, I'll have to take a field trip.

Have a great weekend all!

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

November 5, 2003

Black Coffee Convert

Funny, that I should write this post, since for a really long time I wasn't a fan at all of straight, black coffee. Always thought it was too bitter, too acidic and much preferred smoothing out my coffee with a little cream, half and half or with some frothed milk.

Well, something happened in the last few months, and I must give credit where it's due, which would be the old French Press coffeepot that Michael Ashby turned me on to a while back. Since making coffee in the French Press, I've actually started to grow fond of drinking it black. Initially, I did it to taste the coffee and see how it compared to drip, but as I did this and tasted the rich flavors of the coffee oils, I grew attached to that flavor. Now I really love the taste of freshly ground black coffee.

Of course, I still love a frothy cappuccino, a smooth, milky latté or some good quality half and half in a rich cuppa coffee. But now, I'll bypass the creamer section at the local coffee shop and drink it black 90% of the time. Maybe for those of you who love a cup of black joe, that's normal, but for me, it's quite a change... and it's a good change too.

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

October 13, 2003

French Press Coffee Fan

Back in August, I mentioned making changes in my daily coffee routine, which included picking up a Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Coffee Press coffee maker for $30 (at the advice of Michael Ashby) and giving it a try.

Well, after about a month and a half of using the French Press, I've become a huge fan of the coffee it produces. I think the best way to describe it is this:

"French press coffee tastes like fresh ground coffee smells."

Yep, the scent of freshly ground coffee is something I believe you can literally taste in French press coffee. And boy, it's good stuff.

I've learned that the oils of the coffee bean carry much of its delicious coffee flavor and scent. French press coffee retains these oils, while drip coffee traps them in a paper filter or boils them into oblivion. These oils, left in press-style coffee are what sets it apart.

Two other important differences are: a coarsely ground coffee bean, and water temperature that's hot but not boiling. Coarse ground coffee mainly keeps the metal filter from clogging up, though I think it may also have some impact on flavor. Meanwhile, boiling water can cause the coffee oils to scald and get bitter, while hot but not boiling water leaves the oils and their flavors intact.

If you're being tempted reading this account, the French press process is quite simple. First, heat water on the stove or in an electric kettle. Place your coarse coffee in the carafe (about a tablespoon per 4oz cup). Let the water boil, then take it off the heat until boiling stops. Pour the hot water over the coffee in the carafe and stir the coffee into the water with a plastic spoon. Put the plunger on the carafe but don't press it down yet (I do this to trap heat inside). Wait 4-5 minutes and press the plunger. Pour and enjoy!

The only real caveat to press coffee is, you'll have a little more cleanup on your hands than with a drip pot. You can't just toss the old paper filter full of grounds and rinse out the carafe like you can with a drip coffee maker. With French press coffee, the carafe and the plunger assembly needs to be at least rinsed off and dried before making a new batch of coffee, (I tend to wash everything each time). Still, the coffee you get is well worth the extra hassle of cleanup and like me, maybe you'll find the cleanup therapeutic.

The product of this combination and process is a delicious, rich and smooth cup of coffee... which is a little bit of a problem. Now when I visit my favorite local coffee shop, I'm less impressed with drip-brewed coffee. I've been utterly spoiled by my French press pot! :-)

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

September 16, 2003

Howdy Caribou Coffee!

It all started when one fine day, Giuseppi's, an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood, posted a liquidation sale sign. Giuseppi's restaurant had been on the corner of Bluemound and Highway 100 for ages, and I was a little concerned about what might replace it. Last thing we needed around here was a cheesy strip mall.

I watched and waited, until one day, a sign went up with a rendering of a new shopping center. Giuseppi's decided to rebuild on the same spot and anchor the group of shops with a compact version of their former restaurant! They had also secured a Qdoba Mexican restaurant and a Caribou Coffee shop as their other tenants. Yeah!

I'd been to Caribou in Minneapolis downtown and at the airport and loved their coffee and great design sense. In fact, I now realize I'd been to Caribou way back in the 90's -- long before visiting my first Starbucks. So, you could say I was pretty happy to get this news. :-)

As the months passed, I watched the building being built. The design of the structure (I hesitate to call this a strip mall because it's so classy) looked quite nice, with cherry wood trim, high ceilings and full glass windows at the front of each store. On one end of the building there was an odd little bit jutting out, which would become Caribou Coffee.

Fast forward to Tuesday, September 16th (today). This was the first day Caribou was open to the public, and to celebrate, free coffee of the day was being offered to anyone who stopped by between 11am and 1pm. Being one to not turn down good coffee (especially for free), Gail and I brought Nathan over to Caribou, to pay a little visit. There was a good amount of traffic into Caribou, though I suppose free coffee will do that. Still, the shop is located in a great location and should do well.

I'm quite pleased that Caribou has come to our neighborhood, because it will offer me a nice place to work if I need a change of pace and It's just only a 5 minute walk away. Caribou's interior looks like an Alaskan lodge, with wood everywhere, comfortable chairs tucked into the corners of the shop. There was even a fireplace burning near the entrance. All in all, a slightly different (and nicer) atmosphere than the average, much more sterile Starbucks. I really like that it feels comfy and inviting.

By the way, Caribou makes it pretty clear they're going after Starbucks, which is good to see. One sign in the store suggested that their coffee is always fresher (21 days old max) and below the headline, sat two bags of coffee -- a Caribou bag on the left and next to it a green coffee bag with circular logo covered by a paper bag with eye holes. It was pretty clear this represented ol' Starbucks.

The coffee was very good -- not bitter or over-roasted. I'll have to try their espresso shots another day. I've heard good reports from other coffee-loving friends who love Caribou's coffee, and I must agree, they were on the money.

Now I just need to convince the store manager to install free WiFi with Internet access, and I'll be set -- the perfect office away from the office, just 5 minutes away. Dyn-o-mite! :-)

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

August 29, 2003

A Coffee Update

I'm a coffee lover who is always looking for ways to improve the coffee I drink. I've come across some revelations since I posted Good, Cheap Coffee back in June that I wanted to share.

First, I received some great comments on the Good, Cheap Coffee post, primarily from Daniel Stout and fellow Palm OS User Council member, Rachel, which got my mind thinking about making better quality coffee. Daniel offered suggestions about nice espresso makers, and the difference in quality between his old Krups (like mine) and his new Gaggia. He also mentioned how important fresh coffee is to the mix.

Well, as much as I would love a Gaggia or other high-quality home espresso machine, we can't really afford it at the moment. Darn. However, I was able to take Dan's fresh coffee suggestion to heart, by picking up some fresh espresso roast at Milwaukee's Alterra Coffee Roasters. Wow, that made a big difference in the flavor compared to the pre-ground Goya espresso I had been using.

Then, in August, fellow weblogger and coffee freak, Michael Ashby mentioned digging up an old Bodum French Press pot after his coffee maker busted and how much he was enjoying the excellent coffee it made. When I mentioned his post to my wife, she reminded me that the now defunct Coffee Trader (a very popular Milwaukee east-side coffee hangout in the 80s and 90s) used to serve tasty coffee in french press pots. Many memories of visits to the Coffee Trader and the delicious coffee they served, floated to the surface of my mind.

So, Inspired by Michael and memories of the Coffee Trader, I used a part of my PalmSource Champions $50 quarterly gift certificate to pick up a Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Coffee Press coffee maker. I should have it next week, and I can't wait to try it out! :-)

With my mind still on coffee, I re-read comments by Rachel on the original Good, Cheap Coffee post and saw that she loved the coffee she makes with her Italian stovetop Moka Pot. I had a stainless steel pot like this in my single days, and really loved the coffee, but have since lost track of my pot.

Then I remembered -- Gail and I had been given a Lavazza Carmencita moka pot and two demitasse cups as a wedding gift by Martin & Thea, two good German friends who had come over for our wedding. So, today at lunch, I located and dusted off the Lavazza, and cranked out several ounces of thick, rich espresso-like coffee on the stove. Mmmm, and was it ever good stuff!

So, I am happy to report that I'm re-learning ways to make really good coffee and it's still surprisingly cheap -- the Bodum French Press is only $30 and Moka Pots start at around $30 as well. Maybe they're a little more work than a Mr. Coffee drip maker, but the results are so much better.

Hey, have a great weekend!

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

August 22, 2003

Mmmm... Sushi!

And now for something completely different... Sushi. I was reminded of the first time I had sushi because a friend and I visited Nanakusa, a Milwaukee sushi bar this week for lunch. I thought sharing my story might encourage you to try sushi too. Here goes...

For a long time, I wanted to try sushi. Yeah, the idea of eating raw fish seems odd, but I'm a curious guy, and wanted to try sushi before dismissing it out-of-hand. I thought, "never know... might be good!"

Well, about 3 years ago while on a business trip to Germany I had an opportunity to give sushi a try. One of my work colleagues in Germany named Rafael, was a sushi enthusiast, driving to the Frankfurt airport on weekends or into downtown Frankfurt to get a weekly fix of sushi. He lobbied me heavily to give sushi a try and being curious about it, I agreed, but not after some thought and contemplation.

After all, I was in Germany and was concerned about heath risks of sushi, especially since I still had meetings to attend and still needed to fly home to the US. Rafael did a great job of telling me about the healthfulness of sushi. I decided to give sushi a try.

So, Rafael, myself, and another work colleague made a trek to downtown Frankfurt to see the M. Night Shyamalan film Unbreakable at the Frankfurt English-language theater. Following the film, we visited one of Rafael's favorite sushi bars called Sushi Circle.

What a cool place! Sushi Circle had a rectangular sushi bar with rounded corners, with sushi chefs preparing selections in the center, behind the bar. Meanwhile, a conveyor belt wound its way around the top of the bar, separating sushi-eaters from the sushi-makers. Once a chef completed a dish he would place it on the conveyor on a plate with one of several color-coded edges, each designating the price. As dishes came around the "circle" you could let them pass, or grab one off the conveyor and enjoy it.

We started dinner with miso soup and hot green tea, then began watching the conveyor belt for the most attractive dishes. My first taste of sushi was a California roll, made of rice and vegetables wrapped in a seaweed strip, followed by an 'Inside out" roll with rice surrounding the vegetables in the center, rather than seaweed. I especially enjoyed the wasabi (a special green horseradish paste) and dipping my sushi into soy sauce with chopsticks. After getting into a groove on the sushi thing, I started to try a few sushi dishes like tuna and salmon which were all extremely tasty!

I had built up the idea that sushi would be very "fishy" tasting but was I quite wrong. The flavor of raw fish was very mild and the texture was smooth as silk. What a surprise! i could really understand how this could be a delicacy. We spent the next hour and a half enjoying different selections and trying more of our favorites.

We stayed until closing time at Sushi Circle and were rewarded with some "freebies" by the chefs, who had been watching the three of us enjoying their hard work. Each one of us received at least 3 free selections from our chefs -- I assumed the free sushi dishes we were given most likely wouldn't be any good the next day. I really appreciated that these chefs would rather see customers enjoy their good sushi than toss it away.

When the time came to depart, payment was quite easy: we just brought our stack of plates to the register, where the hostess added up the cost by plate edge colors. Now, sushi is pricey because it's a delicacy, handmade by trained chefs, but I felt the extra cost was worth it. I figured I wouldn't be having sushi every day, and splurged a bit.

So, if you every have the opportunity to give sushi a try, I can highly recommend it, particularly if you enjoy seafood. You might be surprised too. :-)

Have a great weekend!

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

June 24, 2003

Austrian Culinary Delights

While everyone else is commenting on Apple's new PowerMac G5, 64-bit desktop tower computer, or Microsoft's new Windows Mobile (a.k.a. Pocket PC 2003), I've decided to get this week's blog posts rolling with something completely different.

Here at the Rohde household, we have a special guest with us for the next two weeks. Andy Bauer is a very good friend from way, way back. We've known each other since the early Macintosh days when we both used Powerbook Duos and were regular posters on the popular and now defunct, Powerlist.

Andy has actually visited us twice before: first for my marriage to Gail in September 1999 and again in April 2002 just for the fun of it. Gail, I and our friends have thoroughly enjoyed Andy's visits and all of the fun activities we've had with him. So, Andy decided to get away from his daily grind and give Milwaukee a try in the midst of summer.

Now, Andy is an Austrian (living in London) and on this third trip over, he's brought along some traditional Austrian recipes to make for us. On Saturday evening, I was fortunate to enjoy the results of his first experimental culinary delight, Marillenknödel, or apricot dumplings. Andy told me that these "fruit dumplings" were really of Czech origin, but since the Czech republic was part of Austria in the old days of the empire, the recipe is known more as an Austrian speciality.

In brief, a Marillenknödel is an apricot with the pit removed and replaced by a sugar cube, then wrapped in a thin layer of egg dough. The dumpling is boiled; when it pops to the surface it's rolled in bread-crumbs sauteed in butter then sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Mmmmmm, they were delicious and surprisingly filling! I was also surprised to learn that Marillenknödel are a main course in Austria, which for me was a bit odd since they're sweet. However I can see how 4 or 5 off these guys would be very filling. They certainly filled us up!

Andy was able to translate all of the ingredients for the dumpling dough properly (particularly a complex equation to get flour weight into cups) and make very tasty Marillenknödel in the unknown environment of an American kitchen. In fact he said they were quite good -- almost as good as his grandmother's.

So, you may be asking yourself, "what does this story of Marillenknödel have to do with technology?" My answer is... nothing. This is my weblog and I can write what I like... besides, I like to think of the my weblog as an occasional respite from the flurry of high-tech news and rumor-mongering. So there. :-)

In fact, for the next two weeks it's likely I'll not be posting as often as normal, as we'll be spending time during these brief two weeks with Andy. However, it might provide some funny experiences with our guest, so stay tuned...

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us

June 17, 2003

Good, Cheap Coffee

One of the things I've grown fond of over the past few years is good coffee. In particular espresso. It all began on a Friday morning in the early 1990s when I stopped into a downtown bakery cafe near my office called La Boulangerie. I normally bought a dark coffee, but that day decided to try a cappuccino.

Wow! I fell in love immediately. I really loved the rich flavor of espresso blended with creamy and slightly sweet foamed milk. From that day onward I began getting cappuccinos on Fridays as a reward for making it through the week.

My love of good coffee was reinforced on my trips to Germany in the mid 90s, particularly because of Matt Henderson, who happened to have his very own Italian Gaggia espresso maker and loved to make cappuccinos for his guests.

Seeing Matt enjoying his espresso machine at home got my gears churning... what if I could make cappuccinos and lattes right at home? Hmmm. Well, I loved the idea of home-brewed espresso, but a good quality machine like a Gaggia was a bit beyond of my budget at the time. However, I stored the idea in the back of my mind.

It wasn't until 1998 that I began seeing inexpensive espresso makers appear at stores at prices I could afford ($50-100). I asked for an espresso maker for Christmas and was surprised to receive a Krups espresso maker from my little brother Pete. Woohoo!

Since then, my el-cheapo Krups espresso machine has provided me and many guests with delicious espressos, cappuccinos and lattes. I make a coffee for myself almost daily, and I've found I really enjoy brewing "fancy coffees" for guests.

Some thought the little Krups unworthy of good coffee, like Roberto, and Italian friend of mine in Germany who would supply me with Illy coffee on my trips to Europe. When I told Roberto about the Krups he politely told me "Throw it away! You need a good Italian machine for good espresso!" Well, I haven't thrown the Krups away and despite its low cost, I think it still makes a great coffee. Besides, I still don't have the budget for a "real" coffee maker.

I do enjoy "fancy coffees" when I go out, now and then, but when I see their prices I realize how inexpensively I can make the same drink at home! A cup of milk and a half ounce of high quality Illy ($11 per 8.8oz) or even less expensive Goya ($2 per 8.8oz) espresso costs maybe 50 cents. That makes a $4 latte at Starbucks a pretty hard sell!

So, why am I sharing this? Well, because I love good coffee and I know others do too. I also thought it might encourage those of you addicted to $4 lattes at Starbucks to consider a cheap $30-50 espresso machine for your home. You can save $3.50 you would have spent on a fancy Starbucks espresso drink. Besides, you might impress your friends and family with "fancy coffees" after a nice meal or just for the heck of it. :-)

Permalink | | Food & Drink | add to del.icio.us