THE COFFEE POT DIED

GOOD MORNING WORLD

Can you think of a worse thing first thing in the morning?  It made coffee yesterday though the heating was iffy.  Since I rarely get to drink a hot cup of coffee the heating part was not an issue.  Today hit the button and nothing.  Hit the button again of course.  Nothing.  Fiddle with the timer/time button try again. Nothing.  Take it out of that plug and plug it into another.  Now mind you the clock is working so the plug is working.  I just had to try everything.  Nothing.  I hand it to my better half so he can get it to the recycle before they pick up.  He pulls off the cord for use later and off goes my coffee pot.

Now this would be a real dilemma had we not treated ourselves years ago to a Keurig.  I am sporadic in which I use.  Sometimes it is the full pot for multiple drinks sometimes the one at a tie and sometimes water for tea.  At least I can still have my coffee this morning.  Now what to do!

The what to do comes from my completely nonsensical dilemma of the Keurig.  Now do not get me wrong.  I like the machine.  The coffee it makes is good once you find your formula.  For me one small cup is to strong.  One large cup is still a bit too strong.  So I make one large cup and one small cup of the same KCup and it is a perfect taste.  I have the basket that fits in the cup space so use my own coffee not their KCups.

The thing that bothers me about the Keurig is the fact that the water stays in the well.  If you do not use it for a couple of days there is no way to get the water out..  If you use the machine daily of course the water is cycling through.  I am not a germaphobe by any stretch of the imagination, it is simply that sitting water seems unhealthy to me?

So the thought for today – the unwanted task – new coffee pot.  Which one?  12 Cup?  4 Cup?  Resurrect the percolator from the basement.  Go back to the on the stove coffee maker in the basement as well?

There are those out there who believe the only good coffee is a cup that has been made using a percolator.  Any one remember these? This is a coffee pot that has an electric cord.  Inside the pot is a hollow stem with a basket at the top.  The coffee goes in the basket.  The water is put in the percolator around the stem to the level of the basket.  It is cycled up through the hollow stem to come back down through the basket over and over until the time is up.  The perking (recycling the water over and over through the basket) ends and the coffee is ready.

The stove top coffee pot works the same way yet is heated on the stove not with an electric cord.  You have to be the judge as to how long it has perked for a good cup of coffee.  Had a glass Pyrex one once and that was terrific as you could watch the color!  Better yet if it boiled over and I caught it the coffee was perfect.  Not optimum yet making the best out of a bad situation.

What to do? What to do? What to do?  Hit the web to research then hit the store to buy.  Need multiple cups tomorrow as it is Saturday and copious amounts of coffee are consumed on the weekends!

Had not planned to shop this day.  Oh well most of the days in this new year have been filled with unplanned, some not so welcomed, activities.  Coffee pot here I come……….

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…

 

 

 

PLASTIC vs GLASS

GOOD MORNING WORLD

I could subtitle this as Tupperware vs Pyrex.  I tossed most of my Tupperware into the recycle bin during a fit of angst Sunday night when I could not find a cover to match the dish I held in my hand.  I just scooped up every single cover and container and tossed them out the back door.  Well that is a clear picture however that is where the recycle bin sits so I did not just toss them to the wind as the previous sentence sounded.  It was a very freeing experience.

I had been thinking of doing this for some time.  I have been in the process of divesting myself of the plastic containers.  I have some of the larger items and do not use them that much though when I want a grater the cover of the green Tupperware set is the one I look to find.  This is probably too old for Tupperware patrons today to remember.  Also I still have flour and sugar and crackers in containers.  It is the little reusable ones that drove me to the brink.   I have a small sense of betrayal as Tupperware bought BeautiControl for whom I sell products as well as use them myself.  Truth be known and to let myself off the hook a bit, a lot of the plastic containers were also reusable Hillshire Farms container.  Out they went!

I started replacing the plastic a few months ago when I tossed the narrow necked plastic juice pitchers in witch I have been known to mix a batch of Bloody Marys.  They were not coming as clean as I wanted in the dishwasher even after we got a new one.  I just was happier once I got two glass pitchers and could look and see clean inside and out.

My dad used glass containers recycling pickle jars to hold dribs and drabs of leftovers for another meal.  I did not understand why he just did not buy the plastic stuff.  Now I do.  I also understand that some sort of chemical is given off by the plastic if you reheat them in the microwave.  Dad rarely uses his microwave either.  At almost 91 perhaps he knows more than I thought.  Oh that is a silly statement.  Just ask him – he knows it all!

Yesterday I bought a set of Pyrex that will now hold my leftovers.  It was interesting to look at what was available in the local large box store.  The set I purchased do have plastic (color coded) covers so hopefully no drips as my husband takes them back and forth to work.  They are a blue hued glass which is quite attractive. 

Talk about retro.  I have a green dish with a glass cover to hold my butter.  I am looking for other glass products to suit my needs.  I am going backwards in my kitchen.  I remember my aunt having plastic covers that fit perfectly around her bowls of leftover like little berets.  I am seeing those again and I look forward to getting some of those for my own use.  What’s old is once again new again.  

Perhaps one day I will learn to cook for just two again and I can avoid the whole issue.

…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…