Pooks Canyon

After my old theater-style popcorn maker went kaput, I mourned for a while and then started the search for a smaller footprint popcorn maker. As it turned out the device was already in my kitchen... a wok!  I know I can make popcorn in a pot, but that involves so much shaking and (often) burning. With the wok, since only a small area in the lowest part of the pan is directly heated, it makes a great popcorn maker.  The heavier un-popped kernels stay near the heat source while the fluffy popped pieces spring away.  My wok is electric which makes it easy to dial-in the heat but you could do this with a regular wok on a small burner as well. To make the Wok-Corn happen, I had to study how popcorn pops. A few facts: Popcorn pops at about 350 degrees F (180 C) Before it pops the inner starches, fats, and water need to make a gel. The gel is how popcorn becomes fluffy. Once it reaches 135 psi the hull breaches.  By then, if you have a hull filled with a soft...

Great coffee does not have to cost a fortune.  As much as I want a Nespresso, or, heck, an Italian espresso machine that costs as much as a car and a live-in barista to run the thing, in the end we do the French Press thing here. While the French Press is widely lauded as a simple and inexpensive way of making superb coffee at home, often the coffee we make tastes bitter or just does not have the kick of, say, a small cup of Starbucks brewed coffee.  I find myself venturing outside the home when I really want to get pepped up. The set up. Today I resolved to stop cheating on my French Press, so I set out searching the web for the best French Press methods.  Here is what I learned: 1.) Use good beans- duh.  I bought the Pike Place whole beans from Starbucks for this project. They are similar in price to the Peets' Major Dickinson beans we previously used but give me the peace of mind that I am really replicating that jittery Starbucks brew I love so much. ...