Date Night In


We put the kids to bed and got take out. We've done that our whole marriage. 

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My French Press Recipe for 16 oz of Coffee

This is my recipe for making one large cup of coffee in French press. I use an insulated press and prefer it because I've broken two glass presses. My French press has two screens, but a cleaner cup comes from pressing the plunger very slowly. I learned that trick from James Hoffman. Grind coffee coarsely. Boil Water Preheat French press and then pour out the water. Weigh 27 grams of coffee into press. Keep it on scale but tare the scale. Wet the coffee to let it bloom. Start the timer for 4 minutes. At 3:30, stir the grounds. Then finish pouring water in to reach 405 grams. Preheat the cup. Put the lid on and wait. When the timer goes off, press the plunger down very slowly (30 seconds or so). If I'm being honest, the measurements have a little wiggle room. If you are really a coffee person, then you might hate this. Percolating coffee is pretty forgiving, so I don't worry if I overpour by a few grams. The coffee still turns out well. The 405 grams of water comes out to ha...
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Brewing 16 oz of Coffee in an Aeropress--My Coffee Recipe

I have a recipe for every type of brewer that I have (It's at least 5 off the top of my head). I wanted to share a recipe that I really like with my Aeropress because it was hard to find a good recipe for brewing a large cup of coffee in the Aeropress. I had to wade through comments on a messageboard to find something that sounded right. This is the second Aeropress that I have received as a gift. I wore the first one out several years ago. I've been experimenting with brewing a really good 16 oz cup of coffee for my favorite mug. It actually is best at only 14 oz. Here is what I've arrived at: Use the Aeropress the standard way over a cup, not inverted. Weigh 20 grams of whole bean coffee Grind it in between espresso and regular drip. That makes it fine, but not too fine. Boil the water. Let it sit for 30 seconds to cool down. Add the grounds to the Aeropress. Pour hot water over the grounds and stir for 30 seconds. You want some of the water to drip through into the cup s...
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Every Bret Lott Book Ranked and Described

I've been a Bret Lott fan since college. That means I've been reading his books for 20 years. With the release of his new book, I thought it would be the time to make an annotated list of his books. There are four that I haven't read. I plan to fix that this year, and I will update this post when I do.  Lott writes in lots of different categories. I'm going to list them according to categories and then rank them and give notes. One of my favorite things about Lott's writing is that he takes chances and doesn't just repeat the same things over and over. You can see that when you put the books into categories. I am listing them by how I rank them.  Novels A Song I Knew by Heart . This is my favorite of his novels. It doesn't do it justice to describe it as a modern retelling of the story Ruth. It is a lovely, slow story of brokenness, redemption, and healing where the places that the two women live become a part of the story.  Dead Low Tide . This is actually ...
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Apple Reviews: Ginger Gold, Zestar, and Unnamed

I meant to review Ginger Gold and Zestar last week, but got busy with other posts. And I'm super glad because my review of Zestar changed with one more week to ripen. Ginger Gold: Tastes like apple, nothing special in that department. But it is super crisp, which is not normal for an apple that ripens in August and September. This is a good early season apple because there is nothing off-putting like the toughness of the skin or the mushiness of the inside. Rowen Jacobson says in Apples of Uncommon Character that Ginger Gold is named for the wife of the farmer who discovered/developed the apple, not because it has a ginger flavor. I don't taste any flavor at all. Zestar: Last week, this apple wasn't quite ripe. It was crisp and juicy, but nothing special. This week, it tastes like an Apple Juice Slushy. The flavor is not the special thing, but the texture is both crisp and juicy. I've eaten more than one Zestar today. I love this apple. We looked forward to this...
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About Me

I'm a husband and father. Pastor of Manchester Baptist Church in Manchester, IL. I graduated from Bryan College and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I grew up in Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, and Georgia. I write about my personal and professional interests here on my website. I'm a former personal trainer and have stayed interested in fitness. You'll see a mix of things I'm interested in. Topics might include fitness, gardening, coffee, ice cream, church leadership, theology, tech, reviews, etc. This website is my social media. I deleted all of my accounts except for LinkedIn. That is why you won't find me in any of those places. * This is a personal blog. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. You can email me at joe[...
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