JoNorvelleWalker

I have the 4th edition on Kindle. Sadly I tend not to read eBooks.

That coffee looks like scary stuff!

There are at least two bean roasters in Princeton, the town south of me. Even though they are fairly close it would be difficult for me to get there. Used to be walking distance when I was younger and in better health. @weinoo had said good things about beans from George Howell. If the George Howell beans are bad I can blame @weinoo. There is a Trader Joe's on the highway south of Princeton but I have never been there. Speaking of beans, what is the best way to keep them fresh? Freezing? Vacuum sealing? I forgot to put that in my list of questions.

I put my dinner plates on top of my Anova oven.

Good question. The source is the Millstone river by way of a Mavea water filter. Of course I could go down to the creek.

A friend gave me a tea bag. How every good story should begin. And so, down the rabbit hole... Her kind tea bag and the current sales led me to order a Fellow Stagg EKG Pro Studio kettle -- since I couldn't see employing my priceless, high maintenance iron tetsubin for herbal tea. I must say, the Stagg is rather nice. Which got me thinking. I have not been a regular coffee drinker for years. And I hate bad coffee. My first coffee experience was with my high school Latin class at a Greek restaurant. At home I was not permitted coffee, but occasionally I could sneak out to a brew to order vending machine that actually was pretty good. In college I eventually kicked the caffeine habit. Until one night I was assigned to provide coffee for an evening genetics class. Not to do things halfway, I went out and purchased some half decent beans, the best that I could find. Of course I had to try some. Good coffee I enjoy. Over the years since I've gone through instant coffee, which I despise. I've tried a plastic Melitta filter, a French press, even an espresso machine which once sat where my Ninja Creami resides now. I never could achieve potable coffee with any regularity. I have no use for drip machines, percolators, that sort of thing. However since I now have the Stagg kettle in house, I have made a commitment to pour over. I poured over (sorry) ancient eGullet threads and googled much opinion. But I need sound advice. Please, in this topic let's not discuss, compare, or contrast other types of coffee making. In addition to the new Stagg kettle and my trusty scales I have the following accouterments on order: Bodum 11592-109 pot (couldn't afford Chemex) TIMEMORE Manual Coffee Grinder Chestnut ESP Pro Chemex paper filters Wablade Japanese ceramic filter In the past @weinoo has mentioned George Howell as bean purveyor. I have three bags for delivery tomorrow: BOA VISTA GUADALUPE MIRAMAR DOTA These are all light roasts which George Howell recommends for pour over. Things with which I need help: How hot the water (which tastes better in Celsius)? How fine or coarse the grind? Ratio weight of beans to water? How long to brew, which I believe comes down to how slowly to add water? I'd love advice on best beans and best filters: the Wablade ceramic filter was something new I saw today. I'm not thrilled by the Bodum metal and plastic filter. I'm sure there are more questions than I've thought of. But, no, @rotuts, I have no space in the bathroom for a coffee roaster. Thanks in advance.

My dinner last night was quick tuna salad -- but not that kind of quick tuna salad.

I have not cooked green beans since my health faltered, but with the ones I used to purchase I always had good luck. I believe they were imported from Guatemala.

Welcome @Enchant3ress. The dinner thread is a great place to post unless you have a specific question. In my case when I joined I needed help with braising.

Just a thought, I've not received it yet but I ordered a Fellow Stagg kettle that is currently on sale: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Like Zojirushi, the Fellow is not cheap even when on sale -- however the Fellow's cost is small change compared to that of my non-electric iron kettle that requires ceremonial levels of attention and care.

I'm not saying the acacia board is hard, just that it felt hard when I tapped on it. Just now I did the same experiment with a couple of walnut boards and they felt hard too. I think tapping may be more a test of density than hardness. However after a few moments googling I found an article on acacia hardness. Apparently acacia is hard... https://woodworkly.com/how-hard-is-acacia-wood/ Whether acacia is bad or good for a cutting board I still don't know.

No cookware in your living room?

At the risk of being tedious I use my Anova every day -- couple hours ago for toast (6 minutes, 186C, 100% steam). My big oven I've used twice in the last six months: for baked potato and for a frozen pizza that specified not to use a toaster oven. However I'm guessing a Breville will work well for what it does.

On the subject of wood cutting boards, I received an acacia cutting board today. The idea was to use it as a serving platter when I have bread and cheese, however it turns out to be a bit large for the purpose. Even though the board is beautiful considering the modest asking price, the acacia wood feels hard to my hand. I thought I'd ask before cutting on it. Thoughts?

Hinoki is said to be anti-microbial. While I have a couple of hinoki boards, I use the good one only with my Watanabe nikkiri. Not only do I believe hinoki is anti-microbial, the only maintenance is rinsing with clear water. Hinoki should not be oiled.