Living la vida buena...

Two years ago I bought a small old-fashioned coffee grinder. You know, the silly wooden box with a drawer in the side and a little cup at the top with a crank. Pure nostalgia, theoretically justified by an upcoming cruise around Vancouver Island. (I also bought a mongo-huge coffee press for the trip, far larger than my kettle could possibly service but the only carbonate plastic one I could find at the time.)

This year's most-prized Winter Solstice gift is a tiny stovetop espresso, designed for yuppie backpackers who can't leave their starbucks addiction behind. (I, he said primly, am not addicted to starbucks; I much prefer Pané e Fromaggio's coffee. And I visit fair trade coffeeshops as a cheesy sop to my conscience.)

120 cranks on grinder (which has become steadily finer in grind over the two years, until it's really much too fine for the coffee presses, but that doesn't stop me using it for them as well) and I have just enough of my blended fair trade beans (two dark roasts and a medium roast, about equal) to make one espresso. I very lightly tamp it, with a spoon. Then turn on the burner and fire it up.

(One thing I'm missing is one of those cute little espresso pitchers the barristas at the coffee houses have; maybe for Summer Solstice, if I hint strongly enough to the family... a cute double-walled stainless insulated one, like they have at MEC...)

The cool thing about this set up, of course, is that it works entirely without electricity. It does need a stove. I mean, theoretically I could do this over a campfire, but realistically it aint happening without a focused small spot of really high heat.

So, my personal la vida buena? firing off the espresso, toasting two slices of raisin bread (yah, I can make that too), heating almost a pint of whole milk, pouring the espresso into the milk (and a teaspoon or so brown sugar or maple syrup), slathering a bit of butter on the toast and shaking cinnamon sugar over it... and calling it breakfast. I'm usually good for about 4 hours of work on that.