The Vent and Rant Thread

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

A friend is currently in Malta for a vacation, and offered to bring me back some Maltese coffee. Sure. But as I understand it, Maltese coffee as served is much like Turkish coffee, where you get something like coffee syrup as the end result, sipped delicately from tiny cups.

Well, not really coffee syrup if you really like coffee (Spaniard here, who usually misses her coffee when she leaves her country to Europe (Italy and Masta aside) or USA, as all the coffee (even those place that allegedly make expresso) is too "soft".

[DiapDealer]

Just figured out the baseball game I was very-much looking forward to this evening is only on a channel I don't get. :/

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Just figured out the baseball game I was very-much looking forward to this evening is only on a channel I don't get. :/

Got any sports bars near you?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Hey, Hitch. Try one of these. No more microwaving, and you always have hot water available. (Plus it is great for tea, since you can set it for as low as 160, or as high as 208.)

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Or just one of these, if you want it to cost less and also use less water. These are like the British ones, except that our power isn't 220V, so it doesn't go nearly as fast.

I do appreciate both suggestions, but...another source of more-than-minute friction here is that this kitchen, in this house, does NOT have the kind of counter space we need, or that I want. This was an issue when we were house-shopping, and what we have now is pretty much pure concession on my part. There's NO place for a water heater to sit. Not on an ongoing basis. And for something like that, you need the space for it to be handy--or you won't use it. Or, more accurately, we won't. ;-)

Hitch

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Or just one of these, if you want it to cost less and also use less water. These are like the British ones, except that our power isn't 220V, so it doesn't go nearly as fast.

Had to giggle. The frequently bought together was this kettle (great price btw) & a vacuum cleaner.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I do appreciate both suggestions, but...another source of more-than-minute friction here is that this kitchen, in this house, does NOT have the kind of counter space we need, or that I want. This was an issue when we were house-shopping, and what we have now is pretty much pure concession on my part. There's NO place for a water heater to sit. Not on an ongoing basis. And for something like that, you need the space for it to be handy--or you won't use it. Or, more accurately, we won't. ;-)

Hitch

Can I recommend a rolling cart, though that may block a cabinet?

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

OMG, yes. I would give probably some relatively-unused body parts if I could figure out how to make my FP do my coffee automatically. As I rise first nowadays, my former automatic FP coffee maker (Mr. H) is out of commission.

There's a Dunkin Donuts about a block from me. My SO is early to bed, early to rise (in bed by 10pm, up by 6am) and she's taken to bringing me DD coffee in the morning. I'm perfectly happy to brew my own, but she wants the exercise.

I could probably still find Mr. Coffee style drip unit with a digital clock and timer, but the need isn't pressing.

I've had real chuckwagon coffee--or as real as it gets, in the last century and this, and it, too, has that thick, gooey, pops your brain into overdrive status.

One thing I drank in the past was Morning Thunder. It's a Celestial Seasonings brand composed of a mix of black tea and mate, and touts having half again the caffeine of an equivalent cup of coffee. Drink it, and you're awake!

A teacher long ago described being a No Doze addict as a kid. She'd scarf No Doze and stay up all night and study. She decided that caffeine addiction was a bad idea, so she quit cold turkey. She took her giant economy bottle of No Doze to the park and fed the tablets to the pigeons. I've since I've had this manic vision of a male pigeon, wide eyed and pacing, and a female saying "Harry, come sleep in the nest and help me keep the eggs warm!" "I dunno what it is, Madge, but I can't sleep! My eyes are wide open! Musta been something I ate..."

Yeah, me too. I used to be worse--I mean, coffee, morning, noon, night...but as I've, er, seasoned, I've had to cut back. I've been an insomniac since the earliest I can remember, and now, coffee after noon seems to impact my ability to get to sleep, no matter how much I exercise, melatonin, etc. SAD, 'cuz, yes, I love my coffee. Which is why I want my morning coffee to be as perfect as it can be--I pretty much only get one (very large, granted) cup a day, so I want it to be right.

I've tapered off too. I have a pot in the morning, but drink tea after. The latter is medicinal - I don't need to see a weather report to know a front is moving in. My sinuses let me know, and my SO looks and goes "1, 2..." counting each one she can see bulging. Tea goes a long way toward controlling that.
______
Dennis

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Got any sports bars near you?

Lots of bars, but no sports bars. Only the kind with pickled eggs in a jar ... and very basic cable.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Just figured out the baseball game I was very-much looking forward to this evening is only on a channel I don't get. :/

Go, Yankees!

I don't get the MLB network either, but there's a free preview on Comcast.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by issybird

Go, Yankees!

I don't get the MLB network either, but there's a free preview on Comcast.

NE Ohio boy--born and raised. Browns, Cavs, Tribe.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

NE Ohio boy--born and raised. Browns, Cavs, Tribe.

Well, at least the Tribe have had a good run this year. They are almost diametrically opposed to the Browns.

Maybe the Brown's will get a win-streak too. Any win streak would double their total wins from last year.

I am a Mariners and Seahawks fan so I get that too. Mariners now have the longest playoff drought in the MLB. And the Seahawks can't figure out what they want to do.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

Or just one of these, if you want it to cost less and also use less water. These are like the British ones, except that our power isn't 220V, so it doesn't go nearly as fast.

I'd recommend something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072DWYBL7/

The kettle doesn't have the cord attached, and has a concealed element.

But I see that there are now a wide range of electric kettles available to Americans through Amazon. They were really hard to find in Denver around 2001!

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'd recommend something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072DWYBL7/

The kettle doesn't have the cord attached, and has a concealed element.

But I see that there are now a wide range of electric kettles available to Americans through Amazon. They were really hard to find in Denver around 2001!

Also available at Target and Walmart. They are getting to be more common. We also have way more just add hot water foods.
I think I bought mine at Sears in the 90's. The problem last century and early this century was kettles were a luxury item. Though my great grandmother had one from back in the who knows when. She had worked at a department store.

[Bilbo1967]

I put our kettle into storage when we had our kitchen updated recently. We now have a boiling water tap instead; no waiting for a cup of tea for me anymore

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Bilbo1967

I put our kettle into storage when we had our kitchen updated recently. We now have a boiling water tap instead; no waiting for a cup of tea for me anymore

Show off.

We even have to buy our water.