Pots and Pins

Postum, Inka and Pero...

I'm always the last to know - so this won't come as a surprise to many of you but Postum is gone...if you want to read it's obit, click on this Deseret News article.  A friend and devoted Postum drinker was bemoaning the fact that her last jar of Postum will indeed be her last - and with her precious and limited supply she very generously made me a cup of the stuff - loaded with creamer and sweetener it wasn't half bad.  I seem to remember my grandpa drinking Postum - and I even found an old jar of it in my pantry.  In an effort to help my friend with her addiction to this wheat-based drink, which really has an acquired taste, the mister and I went on a hunt for Postum - after checking 4 different grocery stores we found the cupboards were bare - not one jar left anywhere!  But we did find Inka and Pero - and so I decided to have a little taste test myself and for you Nancy - so when you've drunk your last cup you can replace Postum with one of these...

As you can see, Postum has the darkest color - which means nothing.  (Do you think I could sell this 10 year old half-empty jar of Postum?!?) 

Pero is in the middle and has granules, like coffee and Postum

Inka is a powdered mixture - made from barley, as is Pero.

Both Pero and Inka suggested using either hot water or milk to mix - Postum only mixed with water.  I used hot water for my scientific taste test.

Both Pero and Inka look like Postum/coffee....both smelled about the same, too.  But that's where the similarity ends.

After much sipping, spitting and sipping - unadulterated and with creamer and sweetener I'm happy to announce that my highly evolved taste buds have picked.....drum roll please....PERO!! 

Actually, it wasn't much of a contest - Inka was just plain blah but with a nasty after-taste.  Pero was almost good...and certainly better than Postum.  I realize that this is practically blasphemy, writing about coffee alternatives while living in Seattle, but there you have it. 

So, for all of you Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons and Health Nuts out there -

Pero is new the Postum.   Bottoms up.

Tea Time...

At my pity party the other day, I fixed myself some herbal pomegranate tea - as I was trying to drown my sorrows but wanted to do so with as many antioxidants as possible...it was a healthy pity party okay?!  As I was sitting there - sipping away my blues - I spied my new napkin holder - my "umbrella" purchased at the Spice Market in Pike Place Market - purveyors of fine spices and teas and umbrella napkin holders.  Isn't it great?  I love it so much that it practically ruined my party - actualy it DID ruin it - I found myself smiling when I looked at it - which is a quick-fire way to squealch the most pitiful of pittying.  Next pity party I'm not inviting my umbrella napkin holder or its cheery little napkins...in fact, I'll definitely forgo napkins altogether...

My friend Lori gave me the beautiful little teapot and the matching cups and saucers - even the pretty gold teaspoon.  She went to London to visit the Queen and brought them back to me - they are much too good to use for a pity party but I threw caution to the wind and used them anyway...don't you just love the red sugar heart that sits on the rim of my cup?  Now THAT makes me wince...remembering what I paid for a box of them...obscene...and had it not fallen into the hot tea I probably would have continued my pity party for a bit longer - stupid purchases make me crazy...so really, given my history of stupid purchases and the degeneration of brain cells that they cause, it was not my fault that I spent what amounted to a year's supply of C&H Sugar on heart-shaped sugar cubes - oh, they came in red AND white...if you come for tea or a pity party, I'll serve you ONE...oh yeah, one is all you'll get - if you want more you'll have to pay the sugar kitty....meow. 

Brunch Punch for a Crowd...

One sip and you'll be back for more....it's cool and refreshing and my new favorite party punch:

Brunch Punch: 

1 carton (64 oz.) orange juice without pulp

1 bottle (64 oz.) Welch's Light White Grape and Peach Juice

1 litre Diet 7-Up

Combine all in large punch bowl - add ice and serve.  It will all be gone before you know it!

Serves 30.

Have You Tried This?!

I only discovered Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Chocolate TODAY!  It's been out in the stores since before Christmas and I just found it!  Where have I been??  I go to the grocery store at least once a day - or so it seems - I just can't believe I overlooked this delicacy for FOUR months!  Since it's a "limited edition" I probably found the only cartons left in the entire city...which is so sad because it's so good!   If you haven't tried it, don't look for any at the Cost Plus near me as I bought every last one...Now please excuse me as I go put my feet up and take a Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Chocolate break...I think I'll even use a straw!! 

Make Mine a Mocktail....

Ha!  This picture cracks me up....I was in such a hurry to take this picture that I just set my glass down in my workroom...aka sty....on top of yellow construction paper with a corrugated box as a backdrop!  So glamorous!  But don't let the cheesy shot fool you - this is a wonderful mocktail and it beats Martinelli's or grape juice or any other fake wine because it's not too sweet.

Pomegranate Mocktail 

To make 1 mocktail:

1/2 cup Diet 7-Up (it's not as sweet tasting as regular)

1/3 cup Pomegranate juice cocktail **

1 small lime slice

splash of apple cider, about 1 teaspoon

pomegranate seeds to float

crushed ice

To make 1 mocktail, approximately 6 ounces:  Mix Diet 7-UP and Pomegranate juice.  Add  lime slice and a splash of cider; mix, pour over crushed ice, top with pomegranate seeds. 

**If you really don't like sweet drinks, use pure Pomegranate juice - but you might want to up the amount of cider you put in because it probably will need a little more sweetening!

Cider "Bugs"...

It was 1984 and we were living in Shoreview, MinneSNOWta....I had been asked to join a Children's Hospital Guild and when I went to my very first meeting - I discovered Cider "Bugs!"  I don't know who came up with the idea - it could have been any one of the amazing women in that guild - they are the most talented bunch of women that I have ever known - and the most kind hearted. The monthly meetings were filled with fun and great ideas of what to make for the annual Children's Hospital Bazaar, which raised money for families who could not pay for medical care for their children.  The Cider "Bugs" were made and sold, and they always went fast.  I was smitten with them instantly and since 1984, I have made them at Christmas every year.     

I like to have some on hand to give to guests who might stop by during the holidays....and I love to put them in the packages I mail - when the package is opened the recipient is first greeted by the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and orange....which hopefully puts them in a forgiving mood for when they see my gift! 

Cider "Bugs" are a little fussy to make but I like to turn on a Christmas movie - The Hallmark Channel has some of the best - and while I watch the movie I assemble the "bugs"....oh, they are called "bugs" because they resemble one when finished - not because there are actual bugs in the "bugs"...

Cider "Bugs" are not just a pretty, little Christmas novelty....oh no...they serve a wonderful purpose, too!  You drop the entire "bug" into a quart and a half of cider and let it simmer for 30 minutes - serve it hot and enjoy!

If you're a drinker then you can add 1/4 cup of Brandy to the hot cider and have yourself a nice Hot Toddy!  Either way, it's a mighty fine drink.

Have you been on the ride at Disneyland/World called California Adventure?  On the ride, when you "fly" over the orange groves you can actually smell the oranges....well, baking oranges in your oven is not quite a Disney ride but it will smell like one!  I think that's what I love most about these "bugs"... the smell!

   

Speaking of smells....I had the oranges baking....the spices open and on the counter....the kitchen was smelling so, so good....and yet...there was something - somewhere.....I opened the cupboard under the sink to sniff the garbage can....nothing....I opened the fridge to see if there were any tell-tell odors in there....nothing....

I even lifted up Caesar Beezer The Wonder Dog's tail so see if...well, he was clean as a whistle....and I apologized to him immediately for having suspected him!  He's such a good boy.

I looked in the mirror - there was nothing on my upper lip!  Where could it be coming from?!?  Now I was on a mission....got the flashlight out, looked under the stove - nothing....I was totally stumped!  And then, out of the corner of my eye, I spied something underneath the sofa....

  Something white...as I got closer I knew I had found the offending object....a McDonald's bag!  It was shredded and what remained were wrappers and dried pickles and pieces of dried hamburger buns! 

C A E S A R !!!!!   Not a good dog after all! Bad dog....very bad dog!  He had gone into his brother's room and carted off his trash - then hid it under the sofa!

Mystery solved - dog banished - back to the "bugs."  Once the "bugs" are assembled I place them into cellophane bags and tie them with a pretty ribbon.  I also put a sticker on the back of the bag, with directions for using the "bug."  I tried to take a pic of the sticker but it didn't come out...I'm hoping Santa will bring me a new camera for Christmas.  If you don't use stickers you can just make a little tag and attach.

Cider "Bugs" - Pots and Pins

To make 20 Cider "Bugs" you will need:

10 Navel oranges, cut in half, pick the biggest oranges you can find, as they shrink

1 lb. of brown sugar

10 cinnamon sticks, cut in half, for the body

5 whole nutmeg, cut in quarters, for the head

40 whole Allspice, for the eyes

160 whole Cloves, for the legs

The day before you assemble the "bugs," cut the oranges in half, juice them - fresh orange juice is such a luxury - and remove all the pulp - all of it!  I use a grapefruit spoon to do this.  If you leave any pulp in the orange peel it will not dry and the sugar will absorb the liquid from it and become hard.  Place the oranges on a cookie sheet and into a 200 degree oven for about 3 hours, until the peels are completely hard and dried. 

Fill each dried peel with brown sugar, mounding up the "tummy" area.  Let the peels sit, with the sugar in them for about 30 minutes - just until the sugar dries out a little on top.

Place a cinnamon stick, that has been cut to approximately 1 1/2 inches in length in the center of the "bug" for the body. 

Push 8 cloves into the sugar for the legs - four on each side.  Carefully push the sugar up and around the cloves and body to hold them in place.

Place the nutmeg into the sugar at one end of the cinnamon stick, making the head.  Place two whole Allspice on either side of the nutmeg, at the top, for the eyes.  Your "bug" is now complete!

Carefully slide bug into a cellophane bag or wrap it in plastic wrap and tie with a ribbon.  Attach directions and you're all done.

Directions:  Drop Cider "Bug" into 1 1/2 quarts of cider and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup of Brandy, if desired.  Serve hot and enjoy!

This is a great activity to do with kids - they like making "bugs!"

                                                                              

The Best Hot Chocolate - Pinkie Swear!

   A friend emailed this morning asking for this recipe - I gave it to her a few years ago before she moved to Georgia - miss you Shauna - and she had misplaced it...anywho....I told her I would post it - and it's a keeper...trust me - you will love this stuff!  It's thick - not quite as thick as a pudding that you cook over the stove - but almost - and if you use the good cocoa, the Dutch processed kind, it will be much richer than the stuff I grew up on - Hershey's - not that there's anything wrong with that - but for this recipe and pretty much for anything else in life, richer is definitely better!  Feel free to quote me on that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trick to making this hot cocoa is to slowly stream the milk into the pan....I tried to get a shot of me doing that but more milk was going on me and the stove than in the pan - so I gave up - but don't get excited and try to rush this - it's worth the wait.

You can see how thick this is - but it's still drinkable...see how it coated the spoon and notice that little droplet just ready to fall?  Aahhh, and it smells so nice. 

In the Northwest, everyone drinks coffee, or tea or hot cocoa, especially this time of year.  There really is a Starbucks on every corner - or there will be - I'm sure they have plans to take over the world!  My mother once asked, as we were walking around Pike Place Market, if everyone in Seattle was in the logging business?  Due to the amount of people she saw wearing jeans and flannel shirts and fleece jackets - did I mention it was June?  Oh, she also thinks that the downfall of civilization, as we know it, will be thanks to Bill Gates who allowed his Microsofties to wear shorts and sandals to work - and now everyone is doing it!  Degenerates!  In her day everyone wore white shirts and ties to work and would never, ever think of wearing sandals - not even to the beach!  Northwesterners love to be comfortable, love to "dress down" and love to warm their hands with a mug of something hot - we've got to try to stay warm any way we can! 

The Best Hot Cocoa - Adapted from The Pacific Magazine, Seattle Times, 1998

1/4 cup dark (European Style) cocoa powder

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 cups whole milk

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla

Put cocoa powder, brown sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to mix.  Add the water and whisk until smooth.  Put the pot on a burner over high heat and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a full, rolling boil.  Gradually stream in the milk, whisking all the while.  While adding the milk, keep the mixture hot and steamy, just below the boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and stir gently for 3 to 5 minutes, or just until the mixture is thickened and beginning to boil.  Remove the cocoa from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.  Ladle into cups and serve right away, or pour into a vacuum jar to keep it hot. Serves 4.