Since an anniversary dinner a few weeks ago at Woodwork (awesome dinner, and spectacular cocktails with my fabulous wife – 27 years together!), I’ve become very interested in cocktails that use bitters. Never had one until this dinner, and I found them to be very intriguing – and surprised how they can impact the flavour of a drink.
This evening I was ‘experimenting’ 🙂
I took a slice of lime, about 1/2″ thick, quartered it, then tossed it into a highball glass.
Added a raw brown sugar cube, and then added a couple dashes of Fee Brothers Orange Bitters onto the sugar cube. Added a splash of Lime Perrier soda water, then muddled to cruh and dissolve the sugar cube and release the lime juice.
Added 2 oz. El Jimador tequila, then added some ice cubes to fill the glass, and then more soda water, and a gentle stir.
Very tasty !!!
Well, I finally got around to getting a replacement control box, and a new pump. For just over 6 months I’ve been making pour-overs (and enjoying them) – while my espresso machine sat idle. The control box was behaving erratically, I suspect because of excessive heat within the machine. Then the vibe pump failed around New Years.
So, I replaced the control box with another Giemme RLO 1E/1S/3C/F, and the pump I ended up replacing with a different one – an MG 071 Fluidotech Oscillating Pump. This pump is a 70W pump, vs. the 52W Ulka vibe pump – should fill a little more quickly, resulting is shorter cycle times, and hopefully, last longer. Another really pleasing feature, is that it’s SUBSTANTIALLY quieter!
Everything was easily swapped out – and after getting the boiler refilled, everything is working great once again!
I think I might tear it down again though in the not too distant future, and see about rewiring the machine so that I can tidy up the wiring, and relocate the control box in the space where the water reservoir was (I have the machine plumbed in, so no water reservoir is required).
I also found a place where I might be able to get the old control box repaired – would be nice to have a backup that didn’t cost so much!
Decided to try a bit of gardening this year – and my son Davis and I built 3 raised garden beds, each 3′ x 5′, from cedar 2×6’s. We also got some large planter pots, 3 of them, that are about 2′ in diameter, and a couple feet tall.
This past weekend we picked up the soil, and Davis and I filled up the garden beds. Then Tracey and I decided on vegetables. Here’s what we’ve planted, mostly from seed:
While at the garden center, we also picked up some flowers and herbs that we’ve planted in large planter pots. The herbs are in a big pot by the pizza oven which should be handy 🙂
Now we just have to remember to water and weed everything!