Espresso - Techniques for Home

After a few years of making espresso at home,  it's time to write up some methods and observations about home machines, grinders, coffee beans, and results.

The espresso machine:  Espressione Minuetto Professional  (~$149)
The grinder:  Capresso Infinity  (Jura, Inc)  (~$99)   Conical burr grinder.

Modifying the portafilter basket for finely ground coffee.

Top of basket showing array of fine holes in first wall.
The second wall is less than a millimeter below the first one.

Many home machines come with double-wall baskets.   The first wall has the same small holes as a single wall basket.  A second wall,  with a single larger hole , is used to slow the water flow when a  coarser coffee grind is used.   If you use finely ground coffee, the total resistance could be too high.  This can lead to a slow extraction  (see below for times,  etc.)  I used two approaches:  1. enlarge the hole in the second wall, and 2. remove the second wall entirely.   Both approaches risk penetrating the first wall which will render the basket useless. 

First method:  I used a drill to  enlarge the single hole in the second wall.  I damaged a basket by drilling though the first wall.  On the second try, I was more careful.  Second method:  I removed the entire second wall by carefully grinding around the edge of the basket.

Basket with second wall removed by
progressive grinding around the edge.

. 

Basket with enlarged hole in second wall.  

 Note the risk of drilling through the first wall.

Espresso Making at Home

It's easy to "choke" an espresso machine with a too fine grind or by pressing too hard with the tamper-  choking occurs if the flow rate is very small, or zero, when the basket is pressurized.   Note: Never attempt to remove a portafilter under pressure.  If the machine is choked turn it off and wait for pressure to subside.   Most machines have a pressure relief path in the off postion.  Be patient.  

Finding The Right Grinder Setting

The two finest settings on the grinder are useful for espresso.  The others are too coarse.   I found that the optimum grind depends on the bean characteristics.  Sticky beans need to be ground a bit coarser than dryer beans.  

Tamping

A solid metal tamper is required. The tamper must match the basket diameter closely - around half a millimeter smaller.    

Fifteen Years Since Cancer Diagnosis

 It's approaching 2023 - the saga started in mid 2007 - surgery in December 2007 - so it's been fifteen years.    What have I learned in the last 15 years?  Am I wiser now?   I think so.    I've asked myself how I would react if a received another cancer diagnosis or one that is serious with a much shortened life expectancy.   I'm pretty sure I won't be shocked, surprised or stunned.   It makes sense to lower one's expectations of health and vitality as we age.   The young and healthy tend to have delusions of immortality or at least,  a long life.  There is no doubt I thought I could avoid any dealing with doctors especially oncologists.   

Hot Chili Peppers: How to Cook & Handle Them

There are thousands of web pages devoted to the cooking and handling of hot chili peppers.  The "hot" in chili peppers come from the chemical capsaicin .  Capsaicin is an irritant which causes a painful burning sensation on skin, eyes, and mucus membranes.   It's especially nasty in the eyes and airways.

So why would we even bother to eat these beastly fruits.  In food,  when properly cooked,  the right amount of chili pepper produces a hot sensation in the mouth (and nose)  and creates a euphoria probably due to the release of endorphins in the brain.   It is this good, warm feeling that pushes us to endure the dangers of handling spicy chili peppers

Handling Fresh Hot Peppers

Hot peppers are pretty safe when they are whole and not damaged or crushed.   Once you cut through the skin the dangers begin.  Touching the flesh,  and especially the seeds,  gets the capsaicin on your hands.  Chopping fresh peppers releases capsaicin into the air which will affect your eyes and airways.  Fresh firm fruit tends to squirt when cut or squeezed so one approach is to soften the peppers slightly by heating them whole in boiling water.   If you cut them raw, cut slowly and use a sharp knife.  Open windows to allow for adequate ventilation.  If  you are using bare hands,  you don't want to touch anything until the pepper pieces are safely contained.   Also note that pepper juice can squirt on your face, hair,  arms and clothing.  It's very easy to transfer capsaicin to your hair and face from your hands - avoid touching yourself until your hands are completely clean. 

Using gloves can help but remember to decontaminate or dispose of them with contaminating other items.   A disposable head covering (shower cap) is also useful. 

Washing Hands, Clothing and Other Items.

Hand washing is the first thing to do.  Every time you touch a contaminated item,  you need to repeat hand washing.  You can transfer capsaicin to any item you touch, so it goes both ways - even the detergent bottle and faucet handle are at risk.   Capsaicin is oily and dissolves in vegetable oil.  One approach is coat the hands with vegetable oil and remove as much oil as possible with paper towels.  Then follow up with a dish detergent wash which works better than hand soap.  

Cutting boards, knives, etc. must be washed with detergent and dried with paper towels.  Spray kitchen cleaners can be used on other surfaces.   

In serious cases, clothing should be removed and washed.   Hair, head and face should be washed in the shower.   If you get it in your eyes,  use the shower to flush water directly into them.  Wash your hair several times.

Flatbread or Flat bread

Bread is an ancient food and the original form was likely flat.  The simplest formula is to make a dough based on  flour and water.  Flours are made from may crops: cereals such as wheat, maize, rice or rye; legumes such as peas, or lentils;  and starchy root vegetables such as potato, cassava,
A leavening agent,  from the Latin levare - to lift or raise, is used to entrain bubbles of a gas - such as carbon-dioxide - into the dough.   Adding living yeast,  which coverts starch into carbon-dioxide,  is a common leavening method.

Unleavened Flat Breads

Unleavened flat breads are arguably older recipes.   

Yufka , "saj bread" bread made on a saj pan. 

• Markook,  shrak,  also called sac ekmeği (saj bread) , or yufka,  in Turkish,  are made with a saj or tava , a large metal pan. Traditional village sac pans are large and convex facing up. They are mounted over a wood fire on stones, brick or metal frames.   The thin dough, also called yufka in Turkish, is similar to filo dough - see below.
• Roti -  also known as chapati, is made from atta flour - a whole wheat durum flour - and baked in a tandoor oven.   Paratha is a related bread.
• Paratha -    Paratha is made by using a roti dough and making layers by repeatedly coating with ghee and folding - creating a puff pastry effect.  Parathas can be filled with layers of potato or
  meat.
• Filo dough , called yufka  in Turkish,  is the base for many flat breads and pastries.  Filo (phyllo), leaf in Greek, is about as thin as a sheet of writing paper.   
• Börek is a class of filo-based pastries many of which can be considered flat breads.  
• Su böreği - 'water börek'  -  a thin filo-like dough (with eggs) is boiled briefly in large pans, A mixture of feta cheese, parsley and oil is scattered between the layers. The whole thing is brushed with butter and laid in a masonry oven to cook.
• Lavash - (Armenian) is soft, thin, unleavened flatbread baked in a tandoor oven.  It is common all over southwest Asia.  
• ....

Leavened Flat Breads

• Bazlama -  is a Turkish, sourdough flatbread with a light yellow color.   A fermentation starter is added to the dough and it is left for a day to ferment .  It is baked on a hot plate. 
• Pita -  is a slightly leavened flat bread that puffs up during baking and forms a internal pocket. This is due to high oven temperature, thickness of the dough form, leavening, and moisture content. 
• Naan, or nan,  is a  leavened, oven-baked, south Asian bread.  Nan tends to be made from refined, white flour these days. Nan is traditionally baked in a tandoor.
• Sangak - from Persia,  based on whole-wheat flour,  is baked on a bed of small river stones in an oven.  
• ....

Tenth Anniversary of Surgery

It's been ten years since cancer surgery.  I have new camera. :)

 

Utility Pole Replacement in Cambridge (Riverside)

Last night a wooden utility pole cracked at the base and fell toward the neighboring pole across the street. This caused the wires to droop to within ten feet of street level.  The fire department blocked the street around midnight. The pole was partially supported by a large tree which allowed service to be maintained all night and continued even during the new pole installation. There was no break in service. The old pole is temporarily attached to the new one until all services are transferred.  These include the transformer near the top of the pole. The highest voltage wires are at the very top pole. Typically the voltages are from 2 to 35 kV.  The transformer reduces the higher voltage to typical input for residential use -  120 to 240 volts.  These lower voltage wires are run below the transformer. Cable TV,  internet and telephone wires are run below the low voltage feeders - these are the lowest components on the utility poles.

Click on photos to enlarge.  

Stabilizing the old pole.

Removing the fence to access the pole. .Poles can be located on private land.

A horizontal cut is made with a chainsaw near the base.

Cables are detached from the pole to allow movement.

The old pole section below ground is removed.

A large auger drill is used to enlarge the original hole.

The top soil is pretty deep.

The new post is lifted into position before trimming to height.

Connecting a hydraulic chainsaw.

A hydraulic chainsaw
is used to trim the new post.

The trimmed post is placed
in the enlarged hole

"Post foam" (expanding plastic)  is used to
"set" the post in the ground.

Mixing the "post foam".for setting the post.

The trimmed-off section  of the new post.
The new post has a bigger  diameter than original.

The new post is now set , the stabilizer "claw" can be released.

The excess top soil is removed.

The old post is mounted on the new one with metal plate and large through-hole bolts.

A top connection needs to be placed.

The bucket arrives to connect the  posts near the top. 

Awaiting the bucket truck to make  upper connection.

Service truck.

The temporary base plate, and
trimmed post, are removed.

The upper connection is made.

Loading base and trimmed pole.

Phone cables still on old post.

The transformer and HV feed have
 been moved to the new post.

Thank you for reading.

The post.

Reasons Why Beer is Better Than Religion

Thanks to Marco for triggering this post.  

1. No one will kill, or torture, you for not drinking Beer.
2. Beer won't insist you drink the entire bottle.  
3. Beer labels are generally true.  
4. Beer can make people look more attractive.  
5. Beer doesn't tell you how, when or why to have sex.
6. Beer has never caused a major war.
7. No one will insist that you try their favorite beer. 
8. Beer does not care if you don't like beer best.
9. They don't force Beer on children who can't think for themselves. 
10. You don't have to wait 2000+ years for a second Beer.
11. You don't have to die to meet the brew master. 
12. Beer does not care about your personal life. 
13. If you've devoted your life to Beer, there are groups to help you stop.
14. Beer and food go together well.  
15. Beer will make you sleepy......oops...

This is an old internet meme -  the oldest page I found is here.

http://ifaq.wap.org/society/beerandreligion.html

Ashure, Aşure, Noah's Pudding: A Turkish Delight

Aşure  with walnuts, pistachio and pomegranate
July 18, 2015 - David Cohen

Aşure,  or Ashure,  also known as Noah's Pudding , is a Turkish dessert porridge made of a mixture of grains,  legumes, fruits and nuts. It is an ancient and symbolic dish.  The word comes from the Arabic for ten or "tenth" -  ashura -  عاشر   - derived from the Aramaic and Hebrew word for tenth,  asor .  It is served during the first month of the Islamic calendar, Muharram.    The Day of Ashura (Arabic: عاشوراء‎ ʻĀshūrā’ , colloquially: /ʕa(ː)ˈʃuːra/; Urdu: عاشورا‎; Persian: عاشورا‎ /ʕɒːʃuːˈɾɒ/; Turkish: Aşure Günü),  is on the tenth day of Muharram. 

Recipe Template for Aşure: 

Note: Not all ingredients are needed -  the basic idea is to have at least one of each group: grain, legume, fruit , nut and spice. The dish can range from simple to quite elaborate.

Grains Wheat, dehusked (Aşurelik Buğday or dövme=dehusked wheat (buğday) )  Barley, dehusked (dövme arpa) Rice - dry	Quantity ~250 ml - 200 gm ~200 ml ~150 gm ~60 ml  - 50 gm	Processing Boil - water ~ 500 ml add water as needed similar Boil - water ~200 ml
Legumes White beans Chickpeas	100 ml ~60 gms  dry similar.	Soften by soaking overnight  - then boil  about 400 ml  water , add water as needed.
Nuts Walnuts Almonds Sesame seeds Pine nuts Pistachios	150 ml   ~60 gms	Note:  not all types are needed
Fruits Apricots - dried Figs - dried Raisins Fresh orange	~60 grams one small
Sweeteners Sugar	~200 ml ~150 gms	Sweeten to taste
Spices Cinnamon Orange peel Rose water Cloves	Two sticks Optional Optional A few	Spice to taste

---

A bit dry at this point

• Cook, or par-cook, each grain and legume separately.
• Combine for final cooking in a double- boiler. (~ 60 minutes)
• Add the spices to the combination..
• Add water if needed to keep the mix liquid.
• Add some diced, dry apricots or other fruit . 
• Add sweeteners carefully, we don't want it too sweet.  
• Taste in process. The mix should be soft but some body should remain. We are not making baby food. :)

.
.

.

Add water as needed - note the use of the double-boiler
technique.

Do not add nuts to the hot mixture. Allow the mixture to cool.  We want the fresh flavors in the final mix. 

.
.
.

---- text 

Cold Soups - Gazpacho, Ajoblanco and Okroshka

Gazpacho is a Spanish cold soup from the region of Andalusia. It's similar to the Russian  okroshka and popular in warm weather. In this post I focus on gazpacho and note the differences with okroshka. and ajoblanco.

The standard gazpacho base ingredients are tomatoes and cucumbers. Ajoblanco , sometimes called  "white gazpacho" is based on almonds. Okroshka is special in that it is uses kvass ; a low-alcohol, beer-like, beverage made from rye bread. Typical okroshka ingredients are raw vegetables, potatoes, ham, and sometimes hard-boiled eggs.

Basic Gazpacho Andalus Recipe

• Fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded. - ~ 1 kg
• Raw cucumbers - peeled and seeded. - ~ 500 gm
• Raw sweet pepper - any color. - ~300 gm
• Onion - ~ 200 gm - amount depends on mildness.
• Garlic - to taste - I like to add several cloves of lightly fried garlic in olive oil, or one clove of raw mashed garlic.
• Olive Oil - ~ 60 ml
• Lemon juice - ~ 50 ml - the amounts, and ratios, of lemon juice and vinegar depend on your preferences.
• Vinegar - ~ 50 ml - I like an interesting tasting, wine, or sherry, based vinegar. Balsamic is a nice choice.
• Salt - to taste - I add it slowly after everything is mixed together. Salt can mask sour flavors so you need to balance sour, sweet and salt as in any soup.

Additional Flavors and Spices (optional but interesting)

• Cumin - fine ground (lightly toasted in a bit of olive oil)
• Black pepper
• Hot chili pepper e.g. Tabasco sauce.
• Jalapenos
• Coriander leaf or seed
• Fennel
• Basil

Texture Options and Thickening

Typically soaked, mashed, white bread is added to thicken the soup if needed. Gazpacho texture can range from completely smooth to very chunky. If you choose to make it very smooth, you can add garnishes before serving. Not all ingredients need to be blended in total You can choose to leave some in chunk form.

Garnish Options

• Croutons
• Chopped cucumber or other vegetables
• Chopped nuts
• A blob of mayonnaise or aioli,

This is it so far. Updates likely

Russian Food #3: Pancakes

Russian Pancake Types.  

Blini (Russian: блины)  Somewhat thicker than crepes.
Blinchiki, Blintzes  (Russian: блинчики ) are thin crêpes made without yeast.
Filled blintzes are also referred to as nalysnyky (Ukrainian: налисники), nalistniki (Russian: налистники) or nalesniki (Russian: налесники)

Anna's Cabbage Oladyi 

 Oladyi (оладьи) (diminutive: oladushki оладушки, further abbreviated as ladushki ладушки), oladky (Ukrainian: оладки).  Small thick pancakes made from yogurt-, kefir- or soured milk-based batter (without yeast).  The batter may contain various additions, such as apple and raisins.

Draniki   дранікі -  Potato pancakes -  Belarusian (as дранікі draniki), Czech (as bramborák or cmunda), German (as Kartoffelpuffer or Reibekuchen), Hungarian (as tócsni and other names), Iranian, Jewish (as latkes or latkas, Yiddish: לאַטקעס, Hebrew: לביבה levivah, plural לביבות levivot), Latvian (as kartupeļu pankūkas), Lithuanian (as bulviniai blynai), Luxembourg (Gromperekichelcher), Polish (as placki ziemniaczane), Russian (as draniki, драники), Slovak (as zemiakové placky,haruľa or nálečníky), Ukrainian (as deruny) and any other cuisines which have adopted similar dishes. It is the national dish of Belarus.

 Syrniki (Russian: сы́рник[и]; Ukrainian: сирники; Belarusian: сырнікі) are fried quark pancakes, garnished with sour cream, varenye, jam, honey, or apple sauce. The cheese mixture may contain raisins for extra flavor. In Russia they are also known as tvorozhniki (творо́жники). The name syrniki is derived from the word сыр in Russian or сир in Ukrainian (transliteration: syr), meaning "cheese" in both languages.

Russian Food #2: Stews

Russian stews

In Russian, the names of many cooking methods are based on the Russian word for heat - жара  (zhara).   

Fried -  жареные,  zharenyye

Broil -  жарить ,  zharit

Roasted - жареный - zharenyy

One Russian stew is called Zharkoye .   Here is a photo of one of Anna's versions. 

more to come.

Russian Food #1: Dumplings, Buns, Pies

Some Russian Dishes

Dumplings

Close up of Anna'a pelmeni

Pelmeni  Russian: пельме́ни — plural, пельмень pelʼmenʼ — singular) are dumplings consisting of a filling wrapped in thin, unleavened dough. The Polish version is called pierogi - not to be confused with the Russian term pirog meaning pie (see below).

Anna's homemade pelmeni - ready for freezing

Varenyky (Ukrainian: варе́ники, singular "варе́ник") are stuffed dumplings of unleavened dough. The name varenyk means literally "a boiled thing". The word is cognate with the adjective "boiled" (Ukrainian: варений).   Varenyky are generally larger than pelmeni.

Galushki , Lazy varenyky (Ukrainian: книдлі, ліниві вареники, Russian: ленивые вареники) in Russian and Ukrainian cuisine are gnocchi-shaped dumplings made by mixing tvoroh (curd cheese) with egg and flour into quick dough. The cheese-based dough is formed into a long sausage about 2 cm thick, which is cut diagonally into gnocchi, called halushky in Ukrainian, galushki in Russian, and kopytka in Polish. 

Uszka,   Russian: ушки (úški)   (meaning "little ears" in Polish), are small dumplings (a very small and twisted version of Polish pierogi) usually filled with  wild forest mushrooms and/or minced meat. They are usually served with barszcz, though they can be eaten simply with melted butter and herbs (usually chives) sprinkled over. When vegetarian (filled only with mushrooms and/or onion) they are a part of traditional Christmas Eve dishes in Poland and Ukraine, and are either added in the soup, or eaten as a side dish.

Belarusian: вушкі (vúški) Ukrainian: вушка (vúška)

Kalduny or kolduny (Belarusian: калдуны́, Russian: кoлдуны́, Polish: kołduny, Lithuanian: koldūnai, used in plural only) are stuffed dumplings made of unleavened dough, filled with meat, mushrooms, etc,  in Belarusian, Lithuanian, and Polish cuisines, akin to the Russian pelmeni and the Ukrainian vareniki.   In Slavic languages the word means “magicians” or “sorcerers”, but it is unclear how the word became associated with the dish. 

Manti or Mantu (Turkish: mantı; Kazakh: мәнті; Uzbek: manti; Kyrgyz: мантуу; Pashto, Persian, Arabic: منتو‎; Armenian: մանթի) are dumplings filled with spicy meat. 

Buns and Pies

Pirog or pyrih (Russian: пиро́г), pl. pirogi пироги; Belarusian: пірог; Northern Sami: pirog; Ukrainian: пиріг, pl. pyrohy пироги) is a pie that can have either a sweet or savoury filling.

A coulibiac (Russian: кулебя́ка kulebyáka) is a type of Russian pie (pirog) usually filled with salmon or sturgeon, rice or buckwheat, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, onions, and dill.    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulibiac

Kurnik, Russian savoury pirog with layers of blini, filled with chicken, mushrooms and rice

Pirozhki (plural form of pirozhok, Russian: пирожок, пирожки, which means a little pirog), sometimes transliterated as pyrizhky (plural from Ukrainian: пиріжок), is a generic word for individual-sized baked or fried buns stuffed with a variety of fillings.  The Russian plural of this word, pirogi (Russian: пироги, with the stress on the last syllable [pʲirɐˈɡʲi]), is not to be confused with pierogi (stress on "o" in Polish and English) in Polish cuisine, which are similar to the Russian pelmeni or Ukrainian varenyky.