spinning wool right off the bunny

they really don’t want you to grow mistletoe but admit it can look nice

“This is primarily a reference book, but can also be read for pleasure by readers interested in this topic.[8]”

Citations Not Needed on this fact

“The Queen Of Waxes”

The Beautiful Squirrels

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callosciurus

How to Operate the Proteo

How it works

An espresso machine just pumps hot water through coffee at high pressure and also usually has some facility for steaming milk. The Proteo is a “single boiler” pump machine. That means that it has only one boiler which is used for heating both coffee water and for making steam. There are two thermostats on the boiler, one to regulate the water temperature for coffee and the other to regulate to the higher temperature required for making steam. The “Coffee/Steam” switch (showing a puff of steam) switches between the two thermostats so that the boiler is heated to the proper temperature if the “Power” switch is also on. The “Coffee” switch energizes the pump, which pushes hot water through the coffee pack in the portafilter.

Before starting

Remove the entire drip tray assembly and take out the water reservoir. Fill it to the “Maximum” line and replace it. Make sure that the pump intake tube ends up inside the reservoir - it likes to hide out behind it. Plug in the machine.

Powering up

Verify that the reservoir contains sufficient water and turn on the power switch. If the water is low you can add water through the funnel built into the housing at the back. There is supposed to be an indicator lamp which comes on when the heater is heating but it failed and has been removed. Make sure that the “Steam” switch is in the “Out” position unless your intention is to make steam. Otherwise your coffee will be too hot and bitter. Wait for the machine to reach operating temperature. If the indicator worked it would turn off when the water is hot enough.

Making Espresso

Ideally you will have a burr mill. Grind the coffee very fine but not to dust. It’s hard to describe the proper grind but it is just fine enough to clump like good snowball snow. Not much finer than that. Much finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as icing sugar.

Fill the “basket” of the portafilter to overflowing then scrape off the coffee with a flat object like a knife. Use the tamper to press the coffee into the basket. Not much pressure is required - it doesn’t actually make all that much difference if the coffee is properly ground. The pressure of the pump is going to apply about 400 pounds of force to the top of the coffee which will pack it down nicely.

Now that the coffee is packed into the portafilter, fit it into the machine, rotating the handle firmly to the right to make a good seal against the gasket. Push the “coffee” button and the pump will start. It will start noisily and quiet down when the water comes up to pressure. Espresso should “drool” out of the bottom of the portafilter. If it drips out one drop at a time the grind is too fine and the coffee will be bitter. If it runs out quickly and sprays around then the grind is too coarse and the coffee will be sour.

The standard technique is to draw 1.5 fluid ounce (45 ml) of espresso in about 30 seconds. You will get a lot of conflicting advice and some people even use stopwatches but, really, if it is drooling from the portafilter it will be about right. If the coffee is fresh and ground properly the coffee will develop “crema”, a light brown foam, on the top as the shot progresses. This is a good sign suggesting that you have the grind right.

Drink the espresso.

Hot water

If you open the steam valve when the boiler is at brewing temperature then hot water will come out of the wand, which is useful for various purposes such as converting an espresso into an americano.

Steaming Milk

If you want to make a milk drink like cappuccino, latte, or macchiato you need steamed milk. You will need a little metal jug, preferably with a round bottom. Whole milk is easiest to steam. The milk should be as cold as possible.

Push in the “Steam” button. If the indicator worked it would go on as the heater cut in to get the water up to steaming temperature then go out when it got there. Since there is no indicator you need to wait a few minutes and hope you got it right.

Meanwhile, fill your jug with about half as much milk as you think you are going to need. The milk will expand with air as you steam it. When the machine is up to temperature open the steam valve and blow out any water that might be in there. Close it again and put the wand into the milk. Turn on the steam and the milk will start to scream. Lower the jug until you can hear air being sucked into the milk. You need air because steam doesn’t blow up the milk, it just condenses and heats it. Blow in air until you have about half as much froth on top as you have milk. Now lower the jug again so that the wand is in the froth and start plowing that foam back down into the milk. Don’t let any more air get in - you already have all the air you need. The tip of the wand needs to be just under the surface - any higher and air will be sucked in, any lower and it will not suck down the larger bubbles. The bubbles will get smaller and smaller until you can’t see them anymore. You are done when the jug is getting too hot to hold in your hands. If the foam is crappy at that point it’s just too bad because if you keep steaming the milk will scald and taste funny. Don’t forget to return the machine to coffee mode or it will be too hot for your next shot.

Pour the espresso you made into the mug you are going to serve it in and follow with the foam, swirling it artistically. Drink and enjoy.

If you are making multiple drinks make multiple shots first then make the foam. Professionals make the foam first and then the coffee but they have machines with two boilers so they can do both things at the same time. If you make the foam first on this machine you will end up with nasty-tasting bitter coffee because the water will be way too hot. If you wait long enough for the water to cool down to coffee temperature your foam will all collapse.

If you take enough steam out of the boiler it will eventually run dry, which is bad. You will know because the steam pressure will fall. At this point you must add water to the boiler somehow. The easiest way to do it is to take the machine out of steam mode temporarily, which will cause the pump to come on because it thinks you now want hot water. When the pump has filled the boiler return to steam mode and wait for the water to come to steaming temperature.

Modifications

This Proteo has been modified. The original machine has a special pressure regulation mechanism in the portafilter which is supposed to guarantee good crema every time. Fine, it even sort of works, but good crema is not the same thing as good coffee. It gets clogged and proved more trouble than it was worth so it has been removed. The machine is now just a regular espresso machine and you have to get the grind right to get good coffee and good crema.

The missing indicator is just a “NE2” indicator, which you can buy. It needs a series resistor but most of them come with that. It is wired across the heater so that it comes on when the heater is heating the water.

This machine is just a rebranded “Estro Vapore” or “Saeco” so you can still get parts for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccmML8EkjKE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galalith

milk based phenolic resin

Now we’re talking

The navy bean, haricot, pearl haricot bean, boston bean, white pea bean, or pea bean, is a variety of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) native to the Americas, where it was domesticated. It is a dry white bean that is smaller than many other types of white beans, and has an oval, slightly flattened shape.

Game Of The Year, 2000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ryyAenmzHM bunch of guys going hog wild with a shovel set to music

did i post this one before?

The pink-hued $1000 banknote has an obverse with the same portrait of Elizabeth II used on the $2 banknote [...] The reverse features a pair of pine grosbeaks [...] Originally, it was intended to use an image of a spruce grouse, but its nickname "fool hen" was "considered too controversial".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_of_Canada_(banknotes)#$1000_note