Oh My God!

Did everyone else know how easy it was to post photos to Blogger and they just forgot to tell me? Wow, it was almost impossible to put pictures up when we drove across the country--and now it's a piece of cake.

Anyway, this is my most prized possession, my Bialetti espresso pot. Technically, it makes four 2 oz shots of espresso, but I use it to make 2 shots, and it works like a dream.

Like most young adults, I have a powerful caffeine addiction, made worse by a dislike of coffee qua coffee. Keep in mind, I learned to like coffee by eating coffee ice cream at the University of Wisconsin. So for the last 5 years, I've been hitting the latte pretty hard--particularly over the last 3 years, when I've lived within walking distance of 2 or 3 Starbucks. But who likes to spend $4 a day on a coffee-flavored glass of warm skim milk?

I'm also old enough to have already tried owning an espresso machine. I think maybe every young couple has that moment in the housewares department, where they see the Krups espresso maker and think: Hey, we could make our own espresso! And it's only $99! Then they break up, and the smarter one "graciously" allows their ex to keep the machine, knowing perfectly well that it doesn't work and they never used it. (Because you need some serious pressure to make decent espresso, and it can't be produced in the tank of a $99 espresso machine.)

But magically, it can be produced in the cast aluminum belly of a $30 espresso pot. Add some skim milk, et voila! Latte!



This particular latte is made with cold milk--it was a warm day. But on chilly days, it takes no time to pour the milk into a sauce pan and heat it up while the Bialetti ticks over.

That's actually my favorite part--you have to be veeerrry quiet to hear the Bialetti do its magic. For 3-4 minutes, it's totally silent. Then it burbles very, very softly for about 30 seconds, and gives off one whiff of steam. If you miss the burble or the steam, you could stand around quite a while, waiting for your espresso. It's like waiting for a caffeine fairy to come and leave you a magical treat. You have to have faith.