Cool Coffee Contraption

I can't go too long without talking about coffee, and I think I'm due and I have so much to share with you!

First of all, I repaired my French press once after the spout had chipped, but it broke again.  (Sadness!)  I have still been using it carefully since there are no sharp edges... but just when I was thinking about replacing it, I discovered a new brew method! (Joy!)

It all started when I was having dinner with a couple of gals from BSF and they realized I'd never had Philz Coffee.  So we planned to meet at this local chain coffee place, just a few minutes from the church that hosts BSF in Palo Alto, before leaders' meeting on Saturday (yes, at 6:40 am!).  I had no idea that this was going to revolutionize my coffee drinking!  I have been a pretty religious coffee drinker for years and an avid Starbucks fan (although I always enjoyed their lattes, frappuccinos, and other frou-frou drinks more than the regular coffee).  But I felt as though I was just discovering what coffee is supposed to taste like!

It was not acidic or bitter... just smooth and delicious.  I couldn't believe it!

They were also so nice and helpful, because my friend was late to meet me and I was overwhelmed by the choices!  I thought I'd be reading a menu of lattes, cappuccinos, and the like.  But Philz specializes in wonderful custom roasts that they prepare by using a pour-through system.  (The photo below is a bit blurry as I was taking it before my first cup this morning and also trying to not seem like a weirdo taking pictures of my coffee brewing...haha...but I think you get the idea. The barista pours the hot water through the filter as seen below, which holds the beans, and the cup is below the counter.)

I immediately began taking notes and making mental preparations.  I knew after my first sip that as soon as I finished the beans that I had at home, I was going to have to buy some Philz beans so I could duplicate this experience at home!

So, not knowing where else to begin, I hopped on Amazon.com and began browsing!  And I settled on this little baby...

 

(Best part? Costs about $5 with free shipping!)  Now, after my second time at Philz I was hooked (I am told that they do something to their cream and I think what they must do is add *crack* because this stuff is so addicting!).  But as it happened, I was told that another place, Barefoot Coffee, was also very good and prepared their coffee the same way.  Well, Steve had been given a bag of Barefoot beans for his birthday by a couple at church!  So I brought the beans in to the store in Campbell, CA to have them grind it for me and I learned even more from the very helpful baristas as I sampled their brew.  

Tip 1: How much coffee? 4 tablespoons of ground coffee per 12 oz or 3 tablespoons of whole beans. (24 g / 12 oz)

Tip 2: How fine do I grind the beans?  Similar to any conical coffee contraption, it should be about the consistency of salt.

Tip 3: How should I store my coffee?  NOT in the fridge or freezer, but at room temperature in a dark, air-tight container.

Wow.  As I type this, I am enjoying my first cup of Barefoot Coffee prepared in my new Melitta pour-over coffee brewer.  Ahhh....  

Note to self: Either that scoop you used is more than a tablespoon or you don't need 4 tablespoons per 12 oz of water, because this is Sta-rooong!

Note to Philz: I'll see you Saturday and I still love you more than Barefoot because you were my first!  And because of the "crack" in the creamer! ;)

There you have it... I'll keep you posted on anything new I learn as I go.  Also, isn't my new favorite mug so adorable?  It was a gift from a very dear friend and travel buddy!

Virtual Tour: Home Suite Home

Hey everyone!  I thought I'd take you all for a virtual tour of the place we call home these days :) So this is it... Home suite home away from home!  It's basically a very expensive (thankfully we're not paying for it!) furnished studio apartment with maid service and cooks.  We are so spoiled and we know it!

Here is where we lay our heads at night... the TV swivels to face the bed or the couch, which is quite nice!  This photo is taken from the "sitting area."  You may notice that the TV is situated on the only dresser and that we each have a night stand with just one drawer!  Let's just say we use every square inch of storage space in this place... and then some (like the suitcase to the left of the bed that is our "hamper"... which is very convenient for traveling to the on-site but not in-suite laundry!).

Here is the sweet little kitchen that I cook in!  It's not much, but it has most everything that I need (especially since I brought some doo-dads from home and have bought or have been donated a few things, like my french press, the tea kettle (that was free), a hand mixer on clearance at BB&B for just $10!).  As you can see, I have added some personal touches, including place mats, a lovely bunch of spring-y daffodils, and above, a wedding photo next to the bed.

 
Here is the sitting area and work space.  At that desk is where I now sit!  Behind me is the entrance.

And here's another view to show you where the bathroom is (door on right).  Next to that is our closet and to the left is the vanity area.  Complete with two whole drawers (the top is fake). 

 

So that's it, folks!  It's pretty interesting living in a hotel and very revealing at what a person really needs.  We actually have much more than we truly need here, and wayyy less than we have at home!  I imagine that the stuff we have at home will probably seem new again (and a lot of it is new since we got married)!  I'm looking forward to downsizing a bit, too...

Oh, here's one final parting photo... our view out one of the windows!

Field Trip: Bouquets to Art

About a week and a half ago, I got to go on a field trip with a wonderful family we met at Trinity Bible Church, the Murrays.  Emily told me about this special exhibit they do at the DeYoung museum every year called "Bouquets to Art," where floral artists create amazing bouquets inspired by the art at the museum.  So she picked me up and off we went to San Francisco.

We arrived at about lunch time and ate a packed lunch in the minivan.  Then we enjoyed a spot of tea! 

From L to R: Me, Jenny, Amy, Abby, and Emily in our cafe on wheels!

First we went to the top of the tower in the museum to see what we could see on a rainy, gray day in SF (which, as you can see, was a good day to wear a scarf!) ... which was not much...

But I did get a chance to see the living rooftop of the California Academy of Sciences from afar (which Steve and I did ran out of time to see while we were there)!  And it was still a lovely view despite the gray and haze.

Then we checked out the main attraction and, wow, was it amazing!  It was really fun comparing the floral art with the piece that inspired it to see what the connection was.  Some were very literal interpretations, some were more abstract.  But all were beautiful!  Here are a few of my favorites:

And for the finale, everyone loves art inspired by food, right?  This pastry-inspired display was a favorite, I think, for everyone!

It was a great day with this wonderful family and I'm so thankful that they chose to take me along on this adventure!  We really love our California church, TBC, and are thankful to God for placing us there to hear God-exalting truth being preached and to receive warmth, encouragement, and love from the people there!

Birthday Week: Celebration of Food

Last Monday, since it was Steve's "Birthday Week," I asked him what he wanted to eat for lunch for the week.  For two days we'd had Chicken Divan that I made that Monday (featuring curry, one of his favorite flavors!).  This is a recipe I got through an email recipe exchange that we both really love (recipe below; I always halve it)!  (And it's easy!  Don't let the curry scare you, it's not very strong.)

1 standard bunch of broccoli - lightly steamed
6 cooked large boneless chicken breasts (gently boil for 20-30 minutes, pull apart or cut into bite-sized pieces)
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (Or cream of chicken or celery)
1 cup mayo
1 teas curry powder
3-4 Tbl melted butter
4 slices - torn whole grain bread
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Place steamed broccoli in 13x9 baking dish and layer chicken on top. Mix the cream of mushroom soup, mayo, and curry powder.  Spoon over chicken and smooth to cover chicken to edges of baking dish.  Mix together torn bread and cheddar cheese and spread on top of it all and drizzle with melted butter.  Bake at 350 (F) for 30 minutes.  (I serve with rice.)

Steve's first birthday week lunch request was Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden copycat recipe).  So I made this for lunch on Wednesday.  (You may recall that this is the dish his love is conditioned upon! Haha!)  I tried a different recipe from the first time, but I'm not sure what, if anything, was terribly different.  The recipe is here (with modifications as in the first comment, dated January 22, 2009).  It's hearty, creamy, and zesty thanks to the hot Italian sausage. And must be served with warm bread-in-a-can (Pillsbury Italian loaf)... yum! (Soup must be served with bread!)

For those who don't know, Steve LOVES him some soup!  At some point I asked him what his favorite food was, and he said that his mom's chicken soup was at the top of the list (along with Hostess Ding Dongs!).  Whenever this was that I asked, I knew then that I'd have to at some point get her recipe and try to make it for him. And what better time than Birthday Week?

So after a call to Mama Miko, I got to it!  And the results were delicious! (Thanks Mom!)  As you can see, Steve really enjoyed it :)  (Also, isn't he so cute?!?!)

And to top it off, we had German chocolate cupcakes... another Steve-o favorite.

The cake was from a box, but the frosting was homemade.  (Side note: this photo was taken the day after they were made because the previous evening, I could not convince the frosting to set!  It was a very upsetting, runny, disaster-mess because I put it in a Ziplock instead of a bowl where it would be exposed to the air.  However, we persevered and ate them anyway because they still tasted good despite their looks!)  I learned a lot from doing this... besides how to get this frosting to set, I learned to not do too much at once!  This I found out after burning both the coconut and pecans while trying to toast them for the frosting because I was still finishing up the soup!  UGH!  (Good thing I had enough coconut still and could forgo the pecans!)

Anyway, Birthday Week was a great success overall! (Yes, these two soups got us through the week!)  I'll post next time about celebrating with church friends, so you have to come back for more buzz soon :)  And to see what else Steve milks out of Birthday Week (which he now thinks is Birthday Two-Weeks, haha!).

February swimming

A few weeks ago, on a Friday in February, it was so warm and sunny that Steve spent some time on his day off doing laps in the hotel pool.  (I opted out... the pool is heated but the air was still too cool for me for swimming, although I did stick my feet in!)  We had an extremely mild winter, even for this part of the world...until last week when it cooled down and got rainy and gray (which is the norm for winter).  (Yeah, that was the week where it was near record highs back home in Michigan so, me being selfish, it was no fun seeing that the temps were quite a bit higher there and that everyone was outside doing things...  But I am glad my Michigander friends and family got a visit from the sun, too!)  Hard to believe Steve was swimming in February but this past Monday at BSF I thought my toes were going to freeze off!

Anyway, it looks like spring is trying to return once more (although we actually do need the rain), so I thought I'd post these pics to remind me of what's in store soon (and why you should come visit)! Looking forward to some nice, sunny days! :)

Bay Area Experience: Chinese Pearl Tea

We (okay, mostly I... Steve works most of the time!) have had a lot of fun experiences since moving to the Bay Area and some of them involve experiencing different cultures.  I thought I'd share one with you... One of the things the BSF crew I hang out with these days likes to do is go out for Chinese pearl milk tea (aka bubble tea aka boba tea) and they have re-introduced me to it (I tried it once in college years ago).  Instead of going to Starbucks after BSF (as we did in Farmington Hills), we go to Verde, a local Chinese tea cafe.  So what is it?  Basically, what I'm going to tell you I have learned from Wikipedia... 

"Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit (or fruit syrup) and/or milk. Ice-blended versions of the drinks, similar to slushies, are also available, usually in fruit flavors.

One of the famous categories of bubble teas is "pearl milk tea" (also known as "boba milk tea" in parts of America), which contains small chewy balls made of tapioca starch, called "pearls" in Chinese (also known as "fenyuan 粉圆" or "zhenzhu 珍珠"). Pearls made of tapioca are also available in many places."

Let me just say this, I'm not sure about the "tapioca pearls" but the tea is yummy and refreshing.  It's just a creamy, sweet tea... that is sometimes fruity (although I haven't tried the fruity variation yet but need to!).

Here's a photo so you can see what I'm talking about.  Check out the big, fat straw that is big enough for the pearls to be sucked up! (Those dark brown balls at the bottom are the pearls.)

Just in case you're wondering, it has NOT replaced coffee in my life :)  But I will admit that the day these photos were taken I was satisfying my first pearl tea craving!

By the way, Michiganders, can you please send the sun back?  It seems to have left us (though I shouldn't complain because we need the rain!)... hopefully only temporarily.  Then maybe the sun will have the strength to be in both states (and maybe a few in between) all at once!  

So anyway, there you have it, pearl milk tea.  You are now informed.  Come visit and I'll take you for one :)

Majesty of Creation: Lake Tahoe

In February I had the awesome privilege of going to Lake Tahoe to Heavenly Ski Resort with some of the BSF leaders I serve with here in San Jose.  Poor Steve stayed home and worked :(  It was seriously one of the most breathtaking places I've ever seen.  Here are just a few photos I snapped while enjoying the awesome skiing!  (I had to keep reminding myself that I was there to ski, not shoot photos!)  I'll post more on Facebook soon.

Lake Tahoe is right on the California-Nevada border and Heavenly has ski runs in both states.  I found it amusing to see the direction signs that had "To California" (as above taken from the Nevada side) or "To Nevada" on them!

View from the chair lift...

Here's the view from the Nevada side.  Snow here, but not down there!

Glancing back up the hill.  The sun was out and keeping things warm!  I had to remove my gloves on the chair lifts to cool down between runs.  Now that's what I call perfect ski weather!

We stayed the first night in a hotel right across from the Heavenly Gondola that takes you to the base of the ski resort.  This is where I had my first glimpse of the beauty since we drove in at night and it was pitch black.

We arrived Thursday night (two of us drove up early) and then met up with the others on Friday.  One of the guy leaders has an aunt who has a cabin in South Lake Tahoe (the town where the resort is), and she graciously let us stay there Friday night for very cheap!  Then it was back to San Jose on Saturday afternoon so I could be back in time for church with Steve.  I definitely hope to go back and next time will bring Steve with me!

Celebrate!

We closed on my condo on February 15th!  Here's my celebratory Frappuccino enjoyed immediately after sending in the closing paperwork :)

We are so thankful to God for doing the impossible and doing it quickly!  We did not miss a single payment and they still approved the short sale only a couple of months after the offer was received.  Wow.  Everything went so smoothly.  Many thanks to all who prayed with us!

Do you know the way to San Jose?

Do you know that song?  I usually think of it at least once every time I go there.  If you don't know it, check out this Dionne Warwick classic here.  I actually only know that one line, but that doesn't stop it from getting in my head.

Anyway, last month (oops, I've been blog negligent!) we decided to keep our weekend-off adventure to nearby San Jose.  First, on Thursday we got free tickets to the San Jose Sharks (hockey) game.

That's us, not having fun (because we don't like the Sharks!).  Okay, it was kinda fun.  Sharky even came to our section!  (But we still don't like the Sharks, Dad, I promise!)

The highlight of the evening was the third period. That's when we got Dippin' Dots (you know, the ice cream of the future!)... Steve's first!

Ohhhh yeah!

Then on Saturday, we headed back to SJ to the Tech Museum.  We thought, hey, we're in Silicon Valley, it's a technology museum, I bet they have lots of cool stuff there!  Maybe like the first Apple computer or something.  Well, they do have lots of cool stuff there... if you're under 12.

But we did have fun anyway.  We got to experience a simulated earthquake (the only one we've felt here... the one that was reported recently we did not even feel though we were awake!) and had fun with the infrared camera.  They also had a lot of hands-on, interactive science exhibits.  The hundreds of germy children there seemed to love touching everything.  Ask Steve about that... we are pretty sure he contracted laryngitis from one of them!

They also had a few electric cars on display... but no Teslas!

Steve is recharging at the electric car charger!

After that, we went to this shopping area called Santana Row.  It's a few blocks of very posh shopping and some restaurants. We enjoyed dinner, Starbucks, and a walk around to peer into windows and people-watch.  And Steve got to check out the Tesla store front!  He got to sit in it... looks pretty good in the driver's seat, no? (I know you can barely see him! He wasn't too concerned about me getting a good photo...)  Let me tell you, that's a hot little car!  I'm sure it wouldn't beat a Lamborghini in a race, though (see my recent Facebook status for explanation).

So that was our San Jose adventure!  Hope you enjoyed the update and sorry if you (like me) now have that song in your head :)