Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Coffee... Kickstarter... Comics

Hello everyone. I'm back after another hiatus. I keep having these nice long breaks where life tries to interfere.  What's new with you?


If you'll pardon the overused metaphor, I have pigeonholed myself with the blog.  I am more than a cook, and some of my earlier blog posts can attest to that.  So you should expect to see more blogs with a broader point of view.


For tonight though, I thought I would start by reexamining one of my favorite topics, coffee.

First go check out one of my older posts:


Next, go check out Coffee Cup News.  I admit it, I'm a snob about coffee.  Twitter has let me indulge this lately and I've found a community of people that share this love for this wonderful elixir of life.  One of the best resources has been @CoffeeCupNews.  They have a wonderful article listing the Top 10 interesting facts about coffee (http://coffeecupnews.org/top-10-list-interesting-facts-about-coffee/)


Finally, if you follow Kickstarter then you should checkout the red cup.  Monthly, Micro-roasted Coffee Subscriptions, a food project in Washington D.C.  This group has 20 days left to raise about $10,000.  




Try several coffee samples before you buy the whole bag!

Through a monthly sampling box, you get to DISCOVER and LEARN about great micro-roasted coffee* around the US. If you like the coffee, come to our secure, convenient, and central website to buy more of it!

We'll ensure consistent quality and taste by only coarse-grinding our coffees. AND! Depending on the subscription, you'll receive a free French press.
Equally important, you help us help the SMALL micro-roasters around the US. These micro-roasters would love you to fall in love with their coffee, but don't have the means to reach you. We will help you learn more about the people behind the beans, taste their passion, and make these micro-roasters household names through a blog and other media.
*Through the roasting process, coffee is transformed from a green cherry to a delicious brown bean. This is THE most important factor that contributes to a coffee's taste. Micro-roasters are shops that roast coffee in small batches with 100% of their attention - achieving a taste and quality that is NOT POSSIBLE on the industrial scale.

When you subscribe, you can get coarse ground or (JOY!) whole bean.

So go check out the red cup and donate (right now, but please come back)

Kickstarter Segway! (photo credit friscr)
Speaking of Kickstarter you should also go check out The Dixie Stenberg mini-comic!

www.pendantaudio.com


I've mentioned Pendant Audio before, they produce some fantastic podcasts.  Many of their productions originally came from the DC Comic Book universe.  Turn about is fair play!

This project will create a mini-comic adaptation of an original audio show produced by Pendant Productions (PendantAudio.com).

"The Dixie Stenberg and Brassy Battalion Adventure Theater" was Pendant's first (and most popular) original show! Join daring test pilot Dixie Stenberg as she fights the Nazis with robots, rayguns and moxie to spare!

Since 2004, all of Pendant's shows have been created and distributed for free. 


We are producing this mini-comic so we can gauge interest and possibly produce full-length comics in the future. We have a full creative team working on this project right now!

This campaign will fund the art and printing costs of producing the mini-comic, written by Jeffrey and Susan Bridges with pencils by Jerry Gaylord, an Umket ad by Peng-Peng, and colors by Bryan "Flash" Turner!

NOTE: When we say "mini," we mean it will only have nine interior pages. We are printing this at full color, full comic size! Woo!
Printing will be completed no later than July 2012.


The last time I checked, they were almost 75% of the way there!  Let's help them beat the goal and surpass it.  This is a very well written series - please go listen to it!

In the spirit of Coffee and WWII let's close today's blog with a recipe:

1942 War Cake

(Photo credit FotoosVanRobin)
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of other spices: ground cloves, mace, ginger
1 cup chopped raisins or other dried fruits
2 tablespoons orange zest
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

Boil together the sugar, shortening, raisins, dates, orange zest, salt and spices for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. When cool, add flour, baking soda and baking powder and beat well. Pour into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 min to an hour.  Or you can use a bundt pan for 35 minutes.  The cake is done when a toothpick inserted can be removed cleanly.
(Photo credit copyright 2007 Jugalbandi.info)
There you go folks!  We've covered coffee, Kickstarter, and comics.  Now go be an angel and support Pendant and red cup.  While you're at, click on ad or two and support me too.  Throw me a bone would ya?

Until next time, I wish you peace, love, and hollandaise sauce!