food fetishes
Ever since we bought the espresso machine last summer there has been “talk” of getting a good grinder. It’s quite hard to get the coffee places here to give you a good grind for espresso (and as we have both learned it’s really important) so I caved and Dan picked up a grinder this week. It will really simplify the whole process and buying the beans is much cheaper. The funny thing is that the company who makes them has given the models human names, so the espresso machine is “Sylvia” and the grinder is “Rocky” (which is a bit of a silly one if you ask me, but some marketing guru must have though it was good). So anyway the really funny part is that it’s important to turn on the espresso machine beforehand to warm up the brass coil inside where the water will go and this has lead to a number of inevitable jokes about “turning Sylvia on” and the like. Funnily enough, Rocky is ready to go at the flip of a switch. I guess Rancilio knew what they were doing by picking the genders, anyway.
Dan also picked up some very nice espresso glasses this week. I was skeptical at first, but after using them I am a convert. They are the Bodum Pavina series and are wonderful in so many ways. There is a double layer of glass with an air pocket between them that insulates very well - no condensation for cold drinks. They are incredibly light (it’s like drinking out of an eggshell) and just look darned nice. I’m thinking of upgrading our juice glasses (which are reclaimed nutella jars, BTW) to these. They might make an appearance on the wishlist if I can wait that long!
Speaking of food, I have to say I am finally starting to learn to appreciate German food. Oddly enough there is a good smattering of German heritage in my mother’s family and at least according to my mom they ate typical German food as children. But my mother quite disliked it and set out to teach herself North American cooking when she moved out. She owned practically every Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from about 1960 to 1980 and had a collection of thousands of recipies, none of which contained cabbage or sausages. Dan’s family, on the other hand, has kept in touch with ther German cooking heritage and Dan has been slowly winning me over. Part of the trick is for me not to try and cook it, but to go to the German grocer on Queen Mary and buy everything pre-made. They make a mean saurkraut there as well as a delictable apple strudel that doesn’t contain corn syrup to sweeten it. Dan picked up some rouladen this week and although I was a bit skeptical at first they were actually quite nice. We also had spaetzle with some Jaegersauce (whatever it is - all the ingredients are in German and we had a hard enough time figuring out the directions). He also bought a roschti mix, which is a blessing since I tried making it on several occasions and have had nothing but frustration. Will try it next time.