Here is the line outside the elementary school where I vote. Wrapped around the block. At 6:30am.

The PTA was holding a bake sale inside the school. Young entrepreneurs determined that the best sales strategy was to carry trays of scones, cookies and brownies outside to the people in line.

“Get something to eat to help pass the time! Fifty cents each!” a redheaded 3rd grader hollered.

“Two for a dollar sound better,” her friend opined.

“Two for a dollar!” they both shouted as they continued down the sidewalk.

There were also small cups of coffee for $1 each. The girls yelled, “You know you didn’t have enough coffee before you left the house this morning!”

Smart kids, I thought, as I reached into my purse for a dollar bill.

As I’ve stated previously, I’m not inclined to buy a lot of gadgets to clutter my kitchen, but here’s one that is worth its space: a custom coffee grinder.  I have the Hamilton Beach model pictured above.

If you’re a coffee drinker, it allows you to only grind a few days’ worth of beans at a time and thus enhancing freshness.  You can set the lever to various grind sizes within categories of “auto drip” or “espresso.”

But I also use it for other things: if I need to quickly grind up an herb or a spice, or when I want to make some raw/demera/turbinado sugar more suitable for recipes (or to better dissolve in coffee).

Save yourself a future heart attack, though, by carefully wiping down the blade if you use sugar or any other substance that could get sticky.  Not because a sticky blade will cause a heart attack, per se, but because a sticky blade may not turn and will thus make you think your coffee grinder just died, which may cause severe distress.  But it didn’t die, and you can calm down, it’s just sticky.

There are two types of people: those who have bought merchandise at Starbucks, and those who haven’t… yet.

For anyone who frequents Starbucks, it’s bound to happen sometime. You’re in line, or waiting for the barista, and something surprisingly pretty and perhaps even mildly functional catches your eye. And before you know it, you’ve bought it.

I have in fact bought a lot of merchandise at Starbucks over the years, from travel coffee mugs and ceramic teacups to milk frothers and picture frames. (Really? Did I really buy a picture frame at Starbucks?) Given the fact there’s a website with online ordering, I must not be the only one.

These mugs are all part of the current offering. I saw them in person and they’re nice. I did not buy them, though. Yet.

There are two types of people: those who prefer baking and those who prefer cooking.

Despite my sweet tooth I am very much in the cooking camp. I am not very precise with measurements and I am liberal with substitutions. Therefore when I make dessert I usually make pudding, macaroons, fruit tarts and other things that can handle my lack of attention to detail.

These chocolate oat balls fit the bill. They’re no-bake, easy, and pretty.

Chocolate Oat Balls

Adapted from Anne’s Food, a wonderful blog

250 ml rolled oats
50 ml sugar
50 ml cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot, strong coffee
50 g unsalted butter, very soft

Put all ingredients together. Roll into balls. Anne suggested rolling them in coconut or pearl sugar, but I tried coconut and couldn’t get it to stick. Perhaps because it was unsweetened and therefore not sticky?

Eat soon. Store in refrigerator, but, better yet, don’t store at all. The next day they will begin to dry out considerably.

There are two types of people: those who drink coffee and those who don’t.

This is perhaps one of the most decisive splits out there.  Each side is baffled by the other.  “How could you NOT drink it?” versus “How can you DRINK that stuff?”

For me, coffee is so wonderful. The ritual, the warmth, the steam.

Oddly I do not have to have coffee. I can drink it 9 days in a row and on the 10th, forget or get distracted. No pounding head, for which I am thankful.

But… I like it, and am so happy to enjoy it.  So most days I drink it despite lack of caffeine addiction.

This photo is from my cousin’s house in New Paltz, NY. I do not have a french press myself but I enjoy his when I visit.