Want to Get Away?

Lately I have been contemplating what it would be like to live in a remote cabin far away from other people. I am not necessarily a misanthrope or even antisocial. I enjoy other people immensely in small doses. I do my best to contribute to society and to not fuck up the part that I touch. I just really value the serenity or solitude. I think for a couple of months out of the year, let’s say 11, it would be beneficial and deeply satisfying to indulge my desire to get away. I think of all of the writing I could do, the routines I could fall into, and the bliss of being free from the restraints and obligations that life with other people imposes. I am not a big fan of Thoreau and what he did is not what I want to do. There are certain comforts that I require. Of course I would need some satellite TV and radio, some high speed internet, and a truckload of money to fulfill this dream. Dreams are almost always modified or put off indefinitely because of money aren’t they? The only legal ways I know of to get the amount of money required to buy or rent a cabin, ensure all of my bills are paid, stock the cabin with everything I will need, and cover the lost income during my disappearance is to either win the lottery, which I don’t play, or to write a bestselling something. I will not go into the illegal ways because I don’t want my blog to be used as evidence against me should it come to that, but let’s just say they are about as likely of happening as the legal ways. It is a nice dream, and maybe someday some version of it will come to be. For now, I will stay here with my satellite TV and radio, my high speed internet, a truckload of obligations and restraints, and my feet firmly planted on the wheel I must turn to keep it all going.

My Anti-Valentine Valentine for the One I Love

This is one of my all time favorites. David Byrne appears as a mad man mystic channeling messages from the universe. Of course each person who experiences this will have his or her own take on what Byrne is trying to say. That is part of what gives the song and the performance its genius in my opinion. For me the song is about getting lost in the day to day that kills our time and fills our lives(or vice versa) and not being fully aware of the life we are living. One day, in a moment of clarity, we look around and don't recognize anything about our lives. These things that surround us are not what we want, and worse than that, we don't know what it is that we do want. Once in a Lifetime we all have a choice to make while the days go by. Do we react to the alien life that we discover is ours? Will there be time to do this later? After all, time isn't after us. Time isn't holding us. In the present, there is no time. There is only now. So once in a lifetime is now and it is always now. Also, it is so much fun to sing along and have a good spaz out while listening to the song.

Vietnamese Coffee Time

I remember when I was a Vietnamese chef. Well, not really because I never was. I think it would have added some rich experiences to my life if I had been though. For one, I probably would have discovered Vietnamese coffee much sooner. For another, I would have a way to explain rapid weight gain. I have heard Vietnamese coffee described elsewhere as similar to melted Hagen Daz Coffee Ice Cream. I have also heard it described as liquid crack. I will not comment on either of those comparisons. It is very good though.

I have found two different ways to make this coffee. One is probably a little more traditional Vietnamese, the other a little more southern US. Both are very good as long as you use sweetened condensed milk. You can use either Trung Nguyen Vietnamese Coffee or Café Du Monde Coffee with Chicory. Both types of coffee are sold side by side at the Nam Hai Oriental Food Market along with the Vietnamese Coffee Filters and condensed milk. For those without an Oriental food market close, the filters are sold through Amazon as well as some other outlets. The Trung Nguyen might be a little harder to find, but it is worth a search. I purchased two coffee filters, 1 15oz can of Trung Nguyen, 1 15oz can of Café Du Monde, 2 cans of condensed milk, and 1 can of coconut milk for about $15 and went home and made some very good and some very bad coffee. The good coffee was made with the sweetened condensed milk; the bad coffee was made with coconut milk. I will say that I now appreciate the fact that I am not vegan and not lactose intolerant more than ever. The coconut milk does nothing to cut the bitterness of the Robusta coffee and frankly Robusta needs a little cutting. I didn’t try the Café Du Monde with coconut milk, but I do not imagine the results would be much better.

The drink starts with about 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk in the bottom of each cup. Then place the Vietnamese Coffee Filters on top of the cups. It’s good to have one filter for each serving to avoid too much rinsing and waiting if you plan to make multiple servings. The coffee filter is a simple contraption that fits on top of the cup. It consists of a base that goes over the cup with the sweetened condensed milk, a reservoir with a perforated bottom, a gravity press that goes inside the reservoir (there are also screw type inserts but those were not sold where I purchase mine), and a lid that doubles as a cup rest when the brewing process is finished.

Place the base over the cup with the milk, place the reservoir on top of that and add coffee. Recipes vary here. I experimented and found two tablespoons was right for me. The dry grounds have a tendency to slip through the perforations. I stop this by adding a teaspoon or so of water before I put the gravity press on top of the grounds. Once the gravity press is in place, add hot water (about 200 degrees is good) slowly until it fills the reservoir then place the lid on top of the reservoir. Now the brewing has started. This takes about 3 – 5 minutes and if clear coffee cups are used, it can be cool to watch the dark coffee drip on to the sweetened condensed milk.

Once the dripping coffee has stopped, remove the lid from the filter and place it upside down on the table then place the base and reservoir onto the upturned lid. This will prevent coffee from dripping onto place it shouldn’t. Now give the coffee and milk a stir to mix. The color should be close to chocolate milk. The coffee can be served like this, or if preferred it can be poured over ice in a tall glass. I have not tried it without the ice because I really like it over ice. Robusta has about 40% more caffeine than Arabica coffee which makes this drink nice as a pick me up in late afternoon. I know I have a hard time stopping at one, but I have not felt the urge to pawn my TV to get more, yet.