Coffee beans. In a colander. No, I haven’t been roasting my own beans or anything fun like that, although I would like to try someday. I was going about my daily coffee ritual as usual yesterday. Boil water, dump coffee into french press, fill press with hot water, brew for ~5 minutes. But in a classic morning-stupidity maneuver, I forgot one crucial step: grinding the beans.

I grind and press coffee every morning. You’d think I would have the process down by now.

Based on a quick Google search, it looks like a lot of people like California Chips’ Earthquake Potato Chips. I can’t really blame them–I really wanted to like them, too. I mean, they’re earthquake flavored! The cafeteria was out of the Dirty Chips I usually have, so I figured these would make a good alternative: the packaging enticed me with claims of being cholesterol/trans fat/gluten/preservative-free. And they were earthquake flavored.

Apparently, “earthquake” here means “will violently assault your taste buds with excessive salt and vinegar.” I detected a hint of onion, but I couldn’t taste the paprika and tumeric that were supposed to be in there. They’d probably be good with sour cream or plain yogurt, but unfortunately, my coworkers seem to have finished off the leftovers from yesterday’s potluck. The barely-touched chips are sitting in my lunch bag now, waiting to be transported home for experiments.

I should note that I’ve grown accustomed to a diet that’s lower in sodium (and sugar), and my taste buds have adjusted accordingly. Even so, I don’t think chips should be that salty anyway.

Update: Well, if anything, eating more of these chips has whetted my appetite for the tabbouleh I’m about to have for dinner. Sour cream helped, but I still couldn’t finish the rest of the snack-sized bag in one sitting. I hate to discard food, but I really don’t want to finish these either.

I’ve been putting off this entry all week. Apologies to all three of my readers–I’ve been distracted by the prospect of a new kitten (or two)!*

I found this cookie thanks to the empty half-and-half container I found on the counter on Sunday morning. “We need to get half-and-half for coffee,” I said to Bryce. “Or coffee.” Less than an hour later, we were headed for Mishka’s downtown. (I tried their coffee for the first time during that visit, by the way, and I didn’t realize brewed coffee could be so flavorful.) The cookie was an impulse buy.

This was my first gluten-free pastry, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t as sweet as most other cookies. Probably not a point in its favor if you like your cookies loaded with sugar. It did have a light dusting of sugar and cinnamon, which I was ambivalent about: on one hand, it was tasty. On the other, it was messier than I expected; if I want pastries coated with cinnamon sugar, I’ll make some churros.

(Note to self: make some churros.)

It wasn’t the best cookie I’ve ever had, by any means, but it was a nice change from the usual sugary pastries. If you’re interested in trying it for yourself, it’s made by Sun Flour Baking Company in Sacramento.

* Yes, I know this is worthless without pictures.