Coffee versus Wine...

The other day I was thinking about the subtle differences between coffee and wine. Both can be addictive and damaging to your health, but in very different ways. I used to be a wine enthusiast (and still am when my husband and I drive up to Northeast Ohio – wine country) eager to try different varietals and interested in the background (terroir, etc.) of each. To be honest, I used to love to drink wine to soothe me after a bad day at work or to prepare me for the week ahead. We’re only talking a couple glasses a week, by the way, so I am hardly an alcoholic.

Nowadays I have a job I enjoy a lot more, but still find it difficult to always be as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I need to be to conduct my duties with accuracy and efficiency. This is where coffee comes in. I started drinking coffee gradually and infrequently over the last couple of years or so hesitant to become too dependent on caffeine for fear of suffering from caffeine withdrawal headaches on the weekends (like my husband, aka ‘Mr. Crabby Pants’ sometimes did). So far I have found just having a cup or two (probably far less than a pint) doesn’t seem to create that situation. However, I have been told that if I switch to something stronger – like Turkish coffee or espresso, that might indeed cause me a lot more misery later; advice I am heeding for now.

I have already toured several wineries, a few microbreweries, a distillery, and last summer in Kansas City, MO, a coffee production plant (The Roasterie). That’s where I learned the difference between brewing coffee with a Cafetiere (French Press) or a Cone Dripper. I think I prefer the Pour-Over (Cone Dripper) method where you place a funnel shaped cone over top of your coffee mug, dump in a few scoops of coffee, then gradually pour boiling water over the grounds until you’re satisfied with the strength (and you don’t overflow your mug).

I received a Cone Dripper for Christmas and brought it to work with me to try it out at my desk. That cup of coffee could best be described as ‘Heaven in a Mug.’ Okay, so partly that was because I chose my bag of Gevalia Chocolate-flavored ground roast (thanks for the recommendation Tina!), but I was also proud of myself for my success in making a decent cup of coffee on my first try.

My husband and I picked up an inexpensive Cafetiere from Ikea on a visit over Thanksgiving weekend and have been using that on and off as well. The nice thing about that is the volume of coffee you can make, which is enough to fill a decent sized thermos (if not a little extra to have a nip before taking the rest to work).

I am enjoying shopping for coffee whenever I go to a different grocery store and have so far amassed a collection of nine different flavors of coffee (not including the two or three I gave to a neighbor since I didn’t care for them) with my favorite being Folgers Chocolate Raspberry. There’s just something about the combination of Chocolate Raspberry whose flavors complement each other and make for a very enjoyable cup of coffee. I will definitely buy another bag once this one runs out (won’t be long!).

Since summer seems to have arrived early here in central Ohio, I finally got out the Cold Brew Coffee Maker I received for Christmas. It’s super easy to use and is just another way to make a less run-of-the-mill cup of coffee (though you need to allow time for it to steep overnight in your refrigerator). We’ve used it twice so far and I think it largely depends on what flavor coffee you choose and what you later add to your cup when you go to drink it. This time we just chose a plain flavor of coffee (Seattle’s Best Coffee – Born in Seattle). Andrew heated his up, while I chose to just add a bit of milk and a dash of choc syrup and a spoonful of sugar. It’s not the most exciting of drinks, but still refreshing on a hot summer (spring?) afternoon like we had today (and all weekend). I also enjoy Ice Coffee, which is just coffee poured over ice and flavored with cream or whatever (I like my Starbucks!).

Have a good week everyone and stay cool!

"Book Club"

On Friday night I decided to see this new film after having seen a poster for it in a local cinema. It stars a Who’s Who of senior Hollywood actresses: Mary Steenburgen, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton, and Jane Fonda. All more or less play themselves as far as personality traits go. Ms. Steenburgen’s character is a wife who wants to spice up her 35 year marriage. Ms. Bergen is a federal judge who tries online dating while also trying to get over her husband after a long-ago divorce. Ms. Keaton is a widow whose daughters treat her like a doddering old lady (but she has the last laugh after a romantic tryst with her pilot boyfriend). Jane Fonda is nothing if not a strong lady both in reality and in this movie. Thus, it’s not surprising that she’s reluctant to completely give herself over to an old romantic flame she runs into after 40 years. Although this movie is nothing if not predictable in every way, it’s still quite entertaining and a good evening out with a girlfriend (extra points if you’re a guy and want to please your lady). Looking around the cinema that’s exactly what I saw – pairs of ladies and one or two gentleman out with their spouses/dates for the evening. Take a chance on love and take a chance on this movie. You won’t be disappointed.

"A Quiet Place"

Last night my husband and I went to see this movie in lieu of doing anything else for Cinco de Mayo. The movie was the directing debut of John Krasinski (from the American version of “The Office”) and starred both himself and his wife, Emily Blunt. As I’m not normally a fan of horror films (though I did quite like “The Blair Witch Project” and the “Nightmare on Elm Street” trilogy), I probably wouldn’t have gone had we not seen a clip from the movie, and heard the two actors discussing it on our favorite British talk show, “Graham Norton.”

In a nutshell, the world has gone to hell in a handbag after being invaded by some sort of alien creatures (which may or may not have arrived via meteorites according to a news headline I read in the background) which stalk their prey based on sound (any sound). This movie is about a family of survivors: Evelyn (mom), Lee (dad), Regan (their adolescent daughter), Marcus (their slightly younger son),

and Beau, the baby of the family at a precocious 4 years old. Also, if just surviving day to day isn’t enough, we quickly see that Evelyn is pregnant and due soon. I read a review that compared the situation to a “ticking time bomb,” which is certainly an apt description.

I was pleased to see the ingénue, Millicent Simmonds, a deaf actress who also starred in “Wonderstruck” playing the role of their daughter, Regan. Having been a fan of the ABC Family network show, “Switched at Birth,” I have some idea how Regan took in her surroundings. One might think deafness ideal in a world where everyone has to be silent, but, as you might imagine, she had no idea of when or what sounds things made, so slip-ups are (and were) certainly possible.

Not to compare the movie in an unfavorable light, but it did strike me as a little bit like “Tremors” meets “Jurassic Park” with a bit of “Signs” thrown in for effect. Whoever designed the aliens had obviously seen “Alien” since they bear quite a few similarities.

Even if you’re not a fan of horror films, this isn’t your traditional slice and dice boogie man thriller. A lot of thought went into this film, and if you can’t imagine a scenario when all has gone quiet (try imagining an EMP outage if you really want to know), take in this film to have your eyes opened.

Kudos to Kasinski and Blunt. I only hope their efforts pay off at the Oscars next year.

"The Isle of Dogs"

Friday night we went to see the newest Wes Anderson film called “The Isle of Dogs.” We’ve been long overdue to see a movie as I can’t remember the last time we went to the cinema.

Even though Andrew felt the movie unfairly discriminated against cats (at least in the sense that they were hardly featured in the movie considering how much the Japanese like their cats – I mean Hello Kitty anyone?), he still enjoyed the film and agreed with the article in the New Yorker about “What ‘Isle of Dogs’ gets Right about Japan.” *

*https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-isle-of-dogs-gets-right-about-japan

Basically all the dogs in Japan are banished to Trash Island following an epidemic of Snout Flu. A young boy (reminiscent of The Little Prince) flies to the island crash landing his plane while looking for his childhood companion, Spots.

Some of the movie is in English, some in Japanese (only part of which is actually translated, but you don’t miss much). I found the young boy’s (named Atari) English commands to be rather amusing and the refusal of one of the dogs to take orders (he must have rebel tendencies).

Overall a really cute film without being overly sentimental. My only question is what did the few children in our audience think of it? They all sat through it patiently, so I guess they must have liked it.