I love coffee. It’s one of my favorite beverages along with sparkling water, and as vices go, it’s relatively harmless. The best coffee is coffee that’s made properly, and the Italians have a great expression for that, which Alton Brown covered on a fabulous Good Eats episode back in the day: La Miscela La Macinazione…
Someone asked me recently what my morning fuel of choice is. The answer is coffee, but in many different forms depending on the day. We’ve got a Keurig machine at work, which does an able job of making coffee. It may not be the best quality, it may not have any cool factor whatsoever, but…
David B. Thomas inquired recently about how hard it was to make your own Sodastream-style machine at home. For those unaware, Sodastream machines are home soda-making machines. They involve a countertop appliance, CO2 canisters, and specialized bottles to carbonate water and then add flavoring. The answer to Dave’s question is, not terribly hard – and…
Every year at the office potluck, I try to find new and different ways to make stuffing that requires the largest, longest possible warning sign while still being delicious. Why? It’s the fun and challenge of kitchen chemistry. Fortunately, lots of people bring different kinds of stuffing, so it’s not as though mine were the…
A bit of backstory about this particular recipe: I learned it thanks to the power of marketing years ago. I was speaking at the Educational Travel Conference, and at the conference, the trade show floor could only be described as culinary magnificence. Many of the exhibitors were educational departments of embassies, and few things demonstrate…
I’ve never been a fan of sweet flavors for breakfast (except for coffee). It’s just not my thing. I’ve especially never been a fan of sweetening hot cereals like oatmeal and farina. No matter what my mother or grandmother did, adding more sugar or honey didn’t make the experience less unpleasant. As I got older,…
My friend Chris Brogan enjoys making the joke, “It’d be like grilling rice”, a way of suggesting that an effort is futile or highly impractical. Conceptually, grilling rice does seem absurd. Why would you ever attempt something like grilling rice? If you’ve ever been to a hibachi grill, you’ve likely had the fried rice made…
One of my favorite comfort dishes is simple Japanese miso soup, often served in Japanese restaurants as an appetizer. Miso soup is made from a few simple ingredients such as miso paste, bonito flakes, and seaweed; while it’s not difficult to make, there are some tricks to make it as close to restaurant quality as…
This week, let’s look at a general pest repellant for the garden. I’m a fan of natural solutions when the science behind them is sound. I’m also a fan of making things yourself whenever possible, because that’s the only surefire guarantee that you know what the ingredients are. The intent of this DIY garden pest…
One of my favorite spices is horseradish. I’m not as much a fan of capsaicin-based spice like chili sauces, etc. as I am of allyl isothiocyanate-based spices like horseradish or wasabi. They’re a different type of spice, one I prefer. An application I particularly enjoy is horseradish sauce, the sweet, vinegar horseradish blend you often…
