Category Archives: posts by j

maintenance

a little voice has been nagging me: “do i need to do anything to maintain the silvia?” apparently, i do. so i did it today. maintenance is often forgotten, especially by me, as i prioritize things that have to be done now (or things i enjoy more) over things that *should* be done every month/3 months/6 months/year.

the silvia was used for a few months back in 2008 and then put into storage. we brought it back out last november and i’ve been using it regularly. today, i unscrewed the dispersion screen screw and soaked the screw, dispersion screen, grouphead jetbreaker, and “eco space group nickel” in a cafiza/hot water mixture. i used a toothbrush to scrub all the residue and grounds from both sides of everything. i used a paper towel to wipe the residue off the body plate that sits adjacent to the brass plate (i have no idea what this is called). i wanted to do this before i backflushed the system so i wouldn’t shove all the residue back up into the machine.

rancilio says machines manufactured prior to 2008 (ours is 0907) don’t need to be backflushed. the espresso tech in the valley said backflush only water. everything else online says backflush with cafiza. eee gad. well, i backflushed with only water (cool to medium) before pulling any espresso. a little residue/grounds came out but nothing major and the water was clear, not brown. i think i’ll backflush every week. next, descaling, because my steam wand is dripping just a little bit of water and i know the zojirushi needs descaling, even with brita water, so i’m pretty sure the silvia could use some love in this area as well.

silvia screen

update @ 12:42: after a quick google search and bbb’s inability to take my phone call, i decided to use my citric acid to descale the silvia. i have it. i use it. why do i need to buy a name brand descaler? given the machine’s 9-year history and our hard water, i don’t think this pale blue is too bad. (note: the wb is as accurate as i could get). yay!

descaled water

per seattle coffee gear’s videos, i waited 20 minutes and ran another 12-16oz through the boiler. after another 20 minutes, i dumped the citric acid water in the reservoir and ran 48oz (16/16/16) of fresh water through the boiler. after the first 16oz, the water ran clear and then i tasted it after the 48oz passed through. for kicks and giggles, i taste tested it alongside hot water from the zojirushi: the same. now it only seems fitting to pull espresso for an afternoon latte. (and apparently, coffee and milk is the only thing that doesn’t upset my stomach…)

update @ 13:47: the steam knob seems more sensitive/receptive. there was a lot more initial pressure when i started steaming the milk. the espresso pulled for 20 seconds/2 oz and was sour like it hasn’t been sour in a while so maybe, just maybe, i’ll get a 23-28 second pull. i cleaned the grouphead and then backflushed it 3 times before i shut the machine down.

Blue apron


We have tried Blue Apron for 2 weeks now and have had some luck and some disasters. The photo above shows the roasted potato wedges that accompanied the thai seasoned chicken burgers that I made today. These looked amazing to me, but were a little overcooked and could’ve used more salt (even though I added 13 full turns of the OXO). If I were to make them again, they are Yukon golds baked at 475 degrees for 24-26 minutes; drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. I actually baked mine for 26.75 minutes due to laziness: i didin’t want to reset the :46 seconds that were already on the polder timer.

I didn’t love my chicken burger today and there was too much ginger which I suspected but tried to follow the recipe anyway. The potato bun was like other potato buns (I’m looking at you Shake Shack!) in that it squished down but kept it’s integrity even paper thin. I also liked the sriracha in the burger. I hated the hoisin mayo. This was my least favorite meal.

#5: Beef albondigas; but I loved the French baguette and was amazed it kept in the fridge. Toasting instructions: $50 degrees. Baguette halved cut side up on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake 10-12 mintues or until golden brown. Smear garlic cloves and the cut half of a tomato along the face after it has been toasted.

#4: Buttermilk chicken sandwich with collards; but I loved the collards and the mayo. I just didn’t love the whole package.

#3: Pork chop with corn, kale, farro. Except for the fact that I undercooked it, and it was a bit too sweet, I thought this was awesome and made me want boneless pork chops which I never do.

#2: Cod. So far, the fish dishes are standouts.

#1L Catfish. Tangy and spicy ponzu. I loved it.

If there were no m in m+j (and if Blue Apron provided single servings), I might Blue Apron my home-cooked meals. It’s easy and convenient and introduces you to tasty combinations (we remembered how much we love farro!). But the “green” side of me dislikes all the little tiny packages of paper and plastic. I mean, I love the little plastic containers but I *hate* the little plastic containers. You know what I mean?

single shot espresso

a quick google search and sites will tell you not to use the single shot basket. but i’m good at doing things other people tell me not to… i drank a single shot 12oz starbucks latte yesterday and it had a nice weakened sweetness to it so i decided to try my hand at the single shot basket.

i used 6.7 oz ice cold milk. i ground 8g of beans +1 to put it at 9g. i ground, picked at, and brushed all the grounds out so my ground espresso weighed the 9 it is supposed to. i pulled the shot using the spouted portafilter for about 17-18 seconds and a visual yield of 1-1.1oz. and it was exactly what i expected: weakened sweetness. i tasted the espresso and it seemed more balanced than what i usually pull, but i could be making that up.

i just tried it again with the decaf – which was opened much earlier – and no joy. it started around 3 seconds and i only got an 11 second pull before it ran watery. the espresso smelled like fireworks but it didn’t taste as bad as i expected. i used 5.4 oz of milk and it doesn’t taste like much but at least it’s not undrinkable.

dishwasher milk

this is not outer space; it is the dishwasher after being tainted with dirty espresso paraphernalia

espresso puck

this is not a brownie; it is the espresso puck in the knockbox

garden update

disclaimer: i cheated and adjusted the saturation, green luminance, and green hue in these photos. since i’m actually using water, they are quite green to begin with, but i can’t help making the garden look even greener!

Baby scoby!

Today is Day 6 — we can start taste testing tomorrow, bottle this batch, and make another one!

venice sushi #1: restaurant hama

When I first moved to LA…

  • People honked less.
  • I didn’t realize the best food was in a strip mall.
  • I very quickly learnd to stop at striped pedestrian crosswalks.
  • I could wear whatever I wanted without public commentary. This is still true. No one cares about you — only themselves. I like it that way.
  • I was told no one walks or bikes but I found that to be false.
  • I didn’t think I would miss rain as much as I do.
  • I couldn’t understand why anyone would exercise in a gym. I still don’t.

fermentation

i keep a sourdough starter mother in the fridge (and I have since 2009). i have made kimchi. i am making kombucha. all successfully, i might add. although, i might argue that my kimchi fermentation wasn’t as successful as it could have been due to eating the kimchi sooner rather than later. kimchi requires patience – patience i just don’t have.

kombucha scoby