The Coffee Problem

It's not that complicated to make a pot of coffee, right?

1. Empty carafe.
2. Empty filter basket.
3. Put fresh water in reservoir.
4. Grind beans and dump in basket.
5. Press the button.

And yet somehow I have managed to botch the process innumerable times, leaving out one step or another.  I have on an online pal who calls it the coffee bootstrap problem -- you need caffeine to think clearly enough to make coffee.  I do it even when I'm off caffeine, though.

This morning the younger boys both woke up at half-past Lord-have-mercy (at least I think that's what the clock said; I'm pretty nearsighted though).  When I bowed to the inevitable and got up, I decided to make banana muffins for breakfast since I had some extra time.  I started the coffee and started the muffins, attempting to strike the right balance between welcoming toddler participation and keeping some portion of my kitchen unfloured.  "Oh, no!" said Joe.  (Look at that -- a poem.)  "Hot coffee is spilling." 

I had forgotten step 1, forgotten that my husband made a pot of coffee last night and it went mostly undrunk.  Just in case you wondered, a carafe with six cups of coffee inside it will not accommodate an additional eight cups.

Comments

[mary]

"Oh, no!" said Joe.

You're a poet and don't know it.
But your feet do -- they're longfellows!

Sorry, couldn't resist. ;)

[Summer]

"Oh, no!" said Joe. "Hot
coffee is spilling." Six cups
plus eight equals mess.

[Moxie]

You ladies are making me laugh.

[Sarah]

Ah, man, but that's rough! My three year old wakes up about 5-5:30 EVERY DAY. Gawd. So I sympathize. I'm pretty impressed by your ablity to actually bake at that hour of the morning. Care to share the recipe? You can simply reference the cookbook, instead of typing in the whole recipe. That's a lot to ask!

[CJ]

A coffee haiku--
Anyone else want to play?
Summer started it.

Sarah: I almost never use a muffin recipe, just a formula based on one in Tightwad Gazette. In one bowl: 2 c. flour (I usually go whole grain and often use part wheat germ or flax meal or oats), 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. baking soda, 1/4-1/3 c. sugar (subst. brown if you wish, or use a liquid sweetener with the wet ingredients). Stir together. In a large measuring cup, beat an egg, add 2-4 T. oil, and about a cup of tart liquid (like yogurt thinned with some milk or water, or milk with a spoonful of vinegar added, or occasionally fruit juice, or a combination -- but acidic because it has to react with the soda (I don't like the baking powder aftertaste so I rarely use it)). For these muffins I mashed two ripe bananas with the wet ingredients and added a handful of walnut meats to the dry, but the possibilities are limitless. Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. Taste to make sure you haven't forgotten anything important, since you're not using a recipe. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. These took about 25 minutes in the oven, and I had enough batter left to fill a baby loaf pan that baked simultaneously.

Once you have the proportions in your head, you can get muffins or quick bread in the oven in no time flat.