The Aroma of Coffee ...

Gram's coffee ... I can just smell the aroma of her kitchen. Pap's big, old, clunky white mug, Gram's much smaller brown one, always a plate of cookies and a can of Evaporated milk setting on the kitchen table. They were the ones who started me on Coffee. Remember coffee soup? A lightly toasted piece of white bread, some sugar, a pinch of nutmeg, half a cup of coffee and half a cup of milk.

Back in the day Gram perked her coffee on the stove. Never had ground coffee, she ground her own. Never had coffee filters, she used an egg. You're thinking an EGG? Yes, an egg. Start with a pot of cold, fresh water. Add the amount of coffee you desire directly into the water. Add a dash of salt. Perk on medium heat until you see the perking coffee through the glass on the top of the pot. Turn heat to low. If it foams you have to turn up the heat a little. Allow it to perk until desired color/strength. Turn off the heat, leave the pot on the burner and crack an egg into the pot and let set for a few minutes. Don't move the pot. The egg congeals the coffee grounds into itself as it cooks. The kitchen/camp has never smelled better! And yes, sometimes you might get a stray piece of cooked egg but you will live - just fish it out with a spoon!

The coffeemakers today are nothing like stove perked coffee. Electric perk pots are ok too. I have Gram's old pots. Small and large, glass, enamel, stainless steel and aluminum. She had one electric perk pot and I have it too.

My Mom has the coffee grinder. I have an electric one I use. There is nothing like grinding your own beans and making your coffee however you choose to brew it. Fresh ground coffee beans are the best! Yes, I do keep my beans in the freezer in tight containers. I tried keeping coffee out on the countertop but there was no aroma and the taste was different. So many places online tell you not to store in the freezer but my tastebuds disagree.

I like to use the perk pots with the coffee strainers along with the wrap around filters. This works best for me. Next time lets talk about your favorite coffee brand.

I found this pic on line. I laughed to myself and agreed ...

I recently read an article from the Goverment about Coffee.

I work as a Manager for the local Senior Center in my town and I am always looking for Health Related information. Here is two links to read ...

http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Health/2007
/7-01-22-SeniorCitizensFind.htm


http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins
/2007/7-08-07-OlderWomen.htm

So get out those old percolator's and try coffee the "old fashioned" way. Let me know your thoughts ...

Grandma's Apron ....

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect
the dress underneath, but along with that, it served
as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven;
it was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on
occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken-coop the apron was used for
carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched
eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came those aprons were ideal hiding
places for shy kids; and when the weather was cold,
grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,
bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling
wood were brought into the kitchen in that
apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled it carried out the hulls.
In the fall the apron was used to bring in apples
that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road,
it was surprising how much furniture that old apron
could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner
was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch,
waved her apron, and the men knew it was time
to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents
something that will replace that "old-time apron"
that served so many purposes.

Remember this!

"Grandma use to set her hot baked
apple pies on the window sill to
cool. Her granddaughters set theirs
on the window sill to thaw."