Potato Soup and a Nor’easter

  

Early this week I decided to make one of my family favorites; potato soup. I thumbed through the recipes, finally remembering I didn’t have one, and sat to remember the ingredients and process.  Through contemplation I assembled ingredients and began the task.  I can’t, however, make potato soup without recalling a nor’easter in 1993.To those of you unaware of the term, a “nor’easter” is a winter storm.  It dips to the Gulf of Mexico and pulls in moisture then turn north-east, following the line of Appalachian Mountains toward Maine.  Tremendous amounts of snow and wind can result when the moisture from the south meets cold air dipping from the north. In January of 1993 conditions were perfect for just such a storm and central Pennsylvania was the target.  Snowfall amounts ranges from 28-38 inches, but accumulation was difficult to measure due to the amount of drifting and blowing that accompanied the storm.  Living in a rural area, our electricity was out for several days and roads were impassible for about a week.That’s when things got interesting.  During that time of being homebound, we had heat, thanks to a wood burning stove in the basement that was large enough to heat the rest of the house.  Without electricity, however, water from the well was not possible, so we melted snow, which as I mentioned, was plentiful.  And we had potatoes.One afternoon, with boredom and hunger on the horizon, we made potato soup from melted snow and stored potatoes.  To this day, that’s the experience I remember most vividly from that storm, and I have never since made potato soup without remembering the days we were snowed in during January 1993.Many years have passed since then, but, like any parent, I didn’t miss the opportunity to tell my boys about the time we made soup from melted snow on a wood stove.  It’s never tasted as good as it did then.

Memories of November….

In the few days prior to my birthday each year I remind myself to make one very important pre-birthday phone call.  My third grade teacher, Mrs. Hall, now in her 80’s, has a birthday a day before mine and I call to wish her a happy birthday as I have done each November for the last 25 years.

As years passed we would have our annual conversation, spending a few minutes to catch up on each others’ lives.  I heard about her grandsons going through junior high school, high school, and into the workplace.  She heard of my college experiences, teaching, marriage, and the births of my children.  We would pick up each conversation where we left off the previous year.

I always liked school, but third grade was great!  Mrs. Hall, who occupied the basement room of Benson Elementary, was the kind of teacher that cared about her students, never forgot them or what made each one special.  It was her genuine love of kids and teaching that made such an impression on so many of us.  She is one of the reasons I became a teacher. 

Thank you, Mrs Hall, for your friendship, your willingness to listen, and the care and love you’ve shown countless children while teaching them to be caring and loving adults. 

I wonder how much we could accomplish if we had more Mrs. Halls.

(Did you have an influential teacher?  Click on “Leave a Comment” and tell us about it!)

It’s that time of year again…

When riding a roller coaster, there’s a split second at the very top when you are faced with a huge plunge into a wild ride that will leave you wondering what happened. That split second is now.

Early November allows us a moment of relief from the sugar induced frenzy that was Halloween. (You understand this all the more if you have small children, as I do, who had been wearing their costumes and practicing their “Boo!’s” for weeks.) We stare down the barrel of what lies ahead; Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, a wild ride that will leave us in early January wondering, “What happened?”

Remember this. “What happens” is family, friends, children, and community. As families gather for what may be the only time in the year to catch up, reminisce, and enjoy each other’s company, it’s easy to be distracted by other things. Resist. The dishes will wait. The sales will return. Take time to listen, talk, and laugh. Watch children get excited to see Santa. Take a stroll or ride to look at lights.

In the words of “Til The Season Comes ‘Round Again”, recorded by several artists including Amy Grant, Kenny Rogers, and Linda Eder;

Come and gather ’round at the table
In the spirit of family and friends
And we’ll all join hands and remember this moment
‘Til the season comes ’round again

May this new year be blessed with good tidings
‘Til the next time I see you again
We’ll all join hands and remember this moment
And we’ll love and we’ll laugh in the time that we have
‘Til the season comes ’round again

I hope you have a great start to this wild ride, but don’t forget to enjoy your fellow passengers.

One last thought… Feel free to pass this along…

Autumn in Full Swing

In Central Pennsylvania, autumn is spectacular. As a life-long resident of Pennsylvania I am always amazed and awed as the leaves turn from green to a million shades of reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. As Charles Kuralt, from CBS’s “Sunday Morning” once mentioned regarding autumn in the northeast, “The color so overwhelms the senses that one forgets from one year to the next how spectacular it is.” That’s how I feel about this time of year. There’s something therapeutic about a nice cup of apple cider or, better yet, coffee as the sun goes down, the moon rises, and the evening nip fills the air. Besides, my boys love to play in leaves.
Speaking of coffee, I have lately been drinking a Mexican Altura high grown coffee, medium roasted, and french pressed. With a medium body, the Mexican is a very smooth, easy drinking coffee, with a hint of sweetness. The real kicker in this coffee is a slight smoke flavor that lingers in the mouth just after swallowing.
With this flavor profile, this coffee is an excellent solo coffee. If you’re thinking of pairing with food, may I suggest the following; Breakfast- eggs, any style with bacon or sausage and toast; an omelette filled with cheddar or smoked gouda or greuyere. Lunch- BLT and BBQ chips, smoked turkey or chicken club, or reuben. Dinner- anything smoked: salmon, ribs, you name it. Dessert- grilled fruits (visit WEBER.com for grilled dessert ideas)
Whatever you do with it, there are some “don’t’s”. Don’t refrigerate it… or any coffee for that matter. If you need to keep it more than 14 days, freeze it in a zip-top bag and let it come to room temp before brewing. Don’t keep it in the bag you take it home in. Get it to a sealed container, out of light and air. Don’t let it get stale. As I tell people in person, “Just because it doesn’t grow hair doesn’t mean it isn’t stale.” Stale coffee is bitter, lifeless, dull, drab without the nose and house filling aroma. Coffee’s a baked good….. the fresher the better. Get in touch with us. We’ll hook you up.
www.mistergcoffee.com

As Time Goes By, Part 2

Well, it’s here. Autumn. My favorite time of year. Fresh apples and cider, carving pumpkins with my boys, football, (GO STATE!) and cooler temps! There’s something special about fall, especially when there’s roasting smoke wafting through the air during those brisk night roasting sessions. And the smoke has been flying!
The Mister G Coffee Company is the official coffee supplier for Mitchell Field, home base for Indian Valley and Lewistown High School football. We are solidifying our fundraiser schedule, including schools and organizations raising money for the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life”. In addition, The Mister G Coffee Company has started supplying two more coffee shops, with another starting early 2010.
On top of that, we’re getting ready to kick off our “Autumn Special”. This year, for people whi sign up for a coffee membership or tour you get free shipping for the first 2 months! That’s freshly roasted coffee at your door every two weeks, and as always, you pick the bean and the roast, or opt for the Coffee Tour and sample coffees from all over the world!
I’ll also be sending word out soon about holiday gift baskets so stay tuned!
Have a great weekend and, as always, enjoy the coffee!

One small step….

This summer marked the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing. As I heard again the stories of the people who worked so tirelessly on that mission, I admired with new eyes the sacrifices, courage, and pioneer spirit that put humans on another celestial body.
I had to remind myself of that pioneer spirit several times as I contemplated moving The Mister G Coffee Company. I knew it would take work, energy, and a little sacrifice. (Don’t get me wrong, I am in NO WAY what-so-ever comparing my move to landing on the moon…) II had to take the opportunity when it was presented.
A year ago or so, I started supplying coffee to the Reedsville Seafood Company, purveyor of fine seafood. As part of an expansion on their part (and code compliance on mine) the owner and I agreed that I could use part of their new space. Win-win.
Another byproduct of this move is the opportunity to expand the coffee available to my customers. (This will be showing up on the web site shortly as a ‘Breaking News’ flash on the home page an a new ‘Order’ page.) I have brought in another Nicaraguan, also from the Diego Chavarria Estate, a Brazil Sweet Yellow Daterra certified by the RainForest Alliance as bird and animal friendly, and an Indian Monsooned Malabar. More choices to come.
If you havent gotten the chance to check us out, I suggest doing so. If not for you, perhaps as a gift. Coffee makes a great hostess or housewarming gift, or for any other occasion you can think of. I need not remind you that Christmas is coming….
Thanks for your time and, as always, enjoy the coffee!

A Funny Thing Happened…

My wife, kids, and I spend eight, usually sweltering, days in western Pennsylvania at the New Wilmington Mission Conference. This is a gathering of Presbyterian missionaries from around the world. The purpose is to tell their stories, bring us up to speed on hapenings in their corner of the world, and tell young and old alike how they, too, can be missionaries in their own land.
As we returned to our dorm hall after lunch a hall-mate of ours was sitting on a folding chair, talking to another gentleman. When they saw us approach our friend said, “Here’s the guy you want to talk to!” which immediately made me nervous.
The stranger said his name was Robert, he was from Uganda, and he was looking for a market for his villiage’s goods. Intrigued how I was to play a role in this, I asked, “And what goods might this be?”
He mentioned that his villiage makes beads and baskets. “Uh-huh,” I thought… And they grow coffee.
You, my friend, have my attention.
He told me of how the farmers aren’t getting a sustainable wage for their labor, and how direct buying would be possible and best for those involved. Through this direct-buy program the farmers would get much needed money to fund their families, schools, and farms.
We excanged emails. I started making phone calls that very day to friends in the coffee importing business. We have gone through more red tape than I care to think about.
It’s taken almost a year and we’re in the final stretch. In about a week we should have everything in line for our first shipment of Ugandan coffee. Finally.
For more information on the New Wilmington Mission Conference, click www.nwmcmission.org

From Uganda, with love…

For the last year I have been working with a pastor in Uganda to directly import coffee from his villiage for roasting and sale through Mister G Coffee. How this came about and steps needed will come about shortly, but I wanted to give an update on where we stand.
Currently, we are arranging shipment, which is no small feat from East Africa. The poor beans will have more air miles on them than I care to think about, and several transfers will be required. All that to say, we are looking forward to our first installment by the first of July.
Why go through the trouble? Simple. Our philosophy is founded on helping our local and global community. By buying from a specific villiage we can get funds directly to those people for what they need. Period. Call me a romantic. Call me crazy. Call me Ishmael. But this opportunity was too important to pass up. Like I said, more on the process later.
Actually, that and other important happenings on the horizon.
Till then, Enjoy the Coffee!

….as time goes by…..

It seems to me that no matter what else is happening in the world, people keep talking about time. Lines take too much, family gets too little, recharging ourselves gets little if any.
We’ve heard the story of the jar; first the big stones, then the smaller ones, then the sand, then the coffee. (Actually, I heard it using water, but what fun is that?! Besides, this is a COFFEEE blog..) Since each of these represent amounts of time and priorities, we must decide what gets put in the jar, and in what order. Choose wisely. Those seemingly little adjustment in where you invest your time today can have huge repercussions down the road.

Enough philosophy; lets get down to coffee. This blog’s feature is a favorite of some and an unknown by many; Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. (That’s YEER-guh-shef or Yeer-guh-SHEF-ay depending on who you ask.) Ethiopia is commonly understood to be the birthplace of coffee, and the legend of Kaldi, the goat herder who discovered it, leading the way. I don’t know much about goat herders but I understand why todays people are so attracted to the coffee of this region; clean, sweet, fruity.
A light to medium/light roast Yirg is known by the vast majority of my customers for its cleaness. There are little, if any, lingering aftertastes and this coffee cuts through heavier flavors in entrees or desserts. This attribute also lends itself well to being a great morning coffee.
The natural sweetness of the coffee is the second dimension. A high percentage of people who try this coffee at an arts show are party comment on its sweetness, even to point that “I wouldn’t have to put sugar in this coffee!” That may be extreme but it seems as though this is a quality that catched people off guard.
Finally, I am always amazed at the fruitiness of this coffee. The citrus/lemony aromas and background flavors make pairing this coffee a joy. Aside from the pairing mentioned earlier, other ideas include fruit desserts, fish and shellfish entrees, as well as chicken dishes.
For those of you out there who are in it for the caffeine, here’s your fix. Remember; the lighter the roast, the more the caffeine.

‘Til next time, think about what you drink.
Cheers!

Welcome!

This blog was designed as a place for people to share their ‘over coffee’ experiences.  Feel free to recount stories that come to mind where coffee was involved; stories of friendship, hope, tragedy, family, community, romance.  Everything is fair game if coffee’s involved.  (Remember, however, it’s a family show… ’nuff said.)