Apparently, word has gotten out that Jessica and I live in Seattle, a city obsessed with coffee.  I was never much of a coffee fan until Jessica introduced me to Turkish coffee a few years ago, which soon had me curious about espresso and other high-strength brewing methods (I still can’t drink “normal coffee” because it tastes watered down).  A coworker recently caught my attention with an unusual device he kept on his desk.  It’s made of industrial grade plastic, and doesn’t really look like anything to do with food, but he assured me that it produces some of the best coffee that anyone has ever tasted.  It’s called an Aeropress, and it’s made by Aerobie, a company better known for frisbees than for cooking.  I’ve been obsessed with this device ever since I got my first taste, and have been recommending it to friends and family alike for the last couple of months.  When I woke up this morning in need of some coffee, I knew that it would be the perfect thing to use for my first “Tools and Gadgets” post.

The aeropress basically contains 4 parts: the main chamber, the plunger, a stir stick, a funnel, and a coffee scoop for measuring.  Pieces like the funnel and stir stick are made of what appears to be industrial strength black ABS plastic, and the main chamber and funnel are made of an equally-durable semi-transparent variety.  The plunger also has a high quality rubber tip.  The aeropress uses small paper micro filters that cost about $0.01 each (the kit comes with 300 or so to start you off).  You’ll need to provide your own coffee, water, and coffee mug.  For the purpose of this demonstration, I chose to use a glass instead of a mug, so you can see the whole operation in progress.

The funnel is only required to keep your workspace clean when filling the chamber, but it does a good job.  The scoop is made to measure out enough grounds to make one “shot” of coffee, and the chamber has numbers on the side to mark out the water fill line, depending on how many shots you would like to make.  You can use whatever grind setting you like with the aeropress, but I would recommend using as fine of a grind as possible so that you can get the best flavor extraction.  The only caveat is that you will have to apply considerably more pressure with fine grinds, which some people may find difficult.

When making coffee for myself, I usually measure out two scoops and fill to the 2-shot marker, but have found that I need less coffee when using an espresso grind to make larger batches.  My coworkers and I have found that the water absorbs slowly into four scoops of espresso-grind coffee, and if we use four scoops and fill to the 4-shot marker, we usually only get 2 shots worth of coffee out.  When making two double-shot cups with espresso grind coffee, we usually put in 3 scoops of coffee, but fill to the 4-shot marker.

Aerobie recommends using water at 170–190°F (75–80°C), and I’ve found that the hot-water spout on the water cooler at work produces perfect coffee.  At home, I use the automatic “beverage” setting on my microwave, which heats the  water to  just below 190°.  I tried using near-boiling water a couple of times, but the coffee was so bitter I had to throw it out.

Making the coffee couldn’t be simpler.  You pour the water into the chamber, stir for 10 seconds, and press it into your cup.  I should warn you that if you are making more than 2 shots with finely ground coffee, you will need to apply quite a bit of pressure to extract all of the liquid.  It’s not uncommon that  I have to put most of my weight onto the plunger in order to make four shots.  Make smaller batches or use a standard drip-coffee grind setting if you find that you don’t like this effort — personally, I appreciate having to work a little for my food.  For those who prefer something that looks a little less like tar, you can top off a single- or double-shot cup with hot water or (soy) milk to produce an americano or caffè latte.

I haven’t quite figured out what it takes to get a nice crema like good espresso, but it appears to happen more frequently when making 2 shots at a time.  Different styles of coffee beans also produce better crema than others, too.  I miss the visual appeal of seeing crema on top of my coffee, but I usually like to drink my espresso with a bit of honey and the crema is usually gone by the time I’m done stirring, anyway.

Cleanup couldn’t be simpler: you unscrew the black plastic filter cover from the bottom of the chamber, and press the plunger down all of the way to eject the filter and grounds into your compost bin.  As you can see, the grounds are pressed into a “puck” just like in an espresso machine, so they won’t produce much of a mess if you prefer to use a trash can.  Once the grounds have been ejected, you can just rinse the aeropress pieces under warm water (soap if you like) and set aside to dry.

If you’re not trying to set things up for a photo shoot, the entire process takes about 60 seconds if your water is already hot.  This makes it ideal to use at work; it doesn’t really take any longer to make yourself a good cup with an aeropress than it does to pour yourself a cup of the burnt overcooked drip coffee that you’ll find in most offices.  You’ll soon find yourself sharing the duty of making “space coffee” as your coworkers get a taste, too.

The aeropress costs $20-30 and is available online and in many brick and mortar stores.  Replacement filters cost about $4 for a pack of 350.  Compared to a $250 espresso machine (about as little as you can pay for a decent one), or the $10,000 Clover device Starbucks is starting to advertise, it’s worth every penny.

Update: Please see the Aeropress inventor’s comments below about applied pressure. I still run into the occasional situation where I have to apply a decent amount of pressure (usually when making four shots from fine espresso grounds), but by following his advice you should be able to slowly press out a nice double shot of espresso with very little effort. I should also point out that the resulting coffee definitely tastes better, and even consistently has a nice crema on top (small bubbles that linger, unlike the larger foam shown in my photos, which quickly dissipates).

Okay, I haven’t perfected my oatmeal cupcake yet. When I do it will be legendary, but I may have to turn to the world of molecular gastronomy if I want this baby to keep its shape after a spin in the microwave.

What I have perfected, though, is the weekday morning breakfast.

It’s no secret to anyone that weekday morning breakfasts have gone very literal: all the do is break our nighttime fast and keep us going until we have our first real meal at lunchtime, or dinner if lunch is a grab-and-go affair. I “work” from home (I’ll remove the quotes after I get a publishing contract), I have a love and appreciation for breakfast born of watching so many people be nourished by our two-course offerings at the Inn, and even I have a hard time sitting down to something substantial most mornings. Sure, sometimes I’ll make myself an omelet and realize how little time it takes, but any reform is usually short lived. Within a week, I’m reaching for the cereal box again or just waiting for lunchtime.

The cure for this is my steel-cut oatmeal. Not only does it take very little hands-on time on my part, especially if I have the dry ingredients mixed and at the ready in advance, but it makes fantastic leftovers.

	Of course, this photo might have you asking the inevitable question: how? This is what the oatmeal looks like after sitting in the pan while Chris and I ate as much as we could. Actually, it looks worse than this, because I stirred it up before I took the photo. Not only does it turn thick and gummy as it cools, but it forms a dry crust on top from evaporation. For this reason, it never even occurred to me to keep the leftover oatmeal. We’d make a single batch and stuff ourselves eating the whole thing. But then Trader Joe’s started selling frozen, precooked oatmeal. I bought it, tried it, and it was pretty good, though not as good as mine. Then it hit me: I could do that!
	All you need is a silicone muffin pan. I just fill mine up, mounding each one little over the top if I can to make it a good serving size, and pop it in the freezer as-is. You can put it on a sheet pan for stability, but the flexible muffin pan with its grippy bottom actually does a good job of conforming to the shape of the food it’s set on. Once the “cupcakes” are frozen solid, you could pop them out and store them in a freezer bag, but I usually eat mine within the week I make it so I don’t even bother. I just leave them in the muffin pan and pop one out whenever i want it.
	When you’re ready for breakfast, put a frozen block of oatmeal in a bowl. I used to follow the directions that Trader Joe’s provides on their packaging–heat for two minutes, smash up with a spoon, and heat for one to two minutes more–but when I was trying to make oatmeal cupcakes (I wasn’t joking about that), I learned that it’s easier just to cook them for four minutes on high, plus or minus 30 seconds depending on the power of your microwave. While the oatmeal does its thing in the microwave, I take those four minutes to get my fruit in order: slice up a mango, supreme an orange, chop an apple…whatever I have on hand.
	This is what the oatmeal looks like when it comes out of the microwave. See why my cupcake experiment didn’t work? I know it doesn’t look so great right here, but stir it up…
	…and it looks just as good as the day you made it. The dryness completely disappears, so you don’t have to worry about any rubbery bits mixed into the oatmeal like you might think there would be.
	So, not bad for a weekday morning breakfast, right? You have whole grains, fruit, dairy for protein, lots of vitamins and minerals, and a great-tasting, easy-to-eat meal that will fill you up and keep you going without feeling like a load of bricks in your stomach. I’ve been known to turn to is as an evening comfort food snack in front of the TV as well. When I’m sick, it makes me feel warm and cozy, like someone has been slaving away over a pot of oatmeal just for me.

My favorite of that second sort of task was the opportunity to come up with new dishes, which leads us to today’s recipe. (You’ll notice that it’s still on their list of sample breakfasts, although I have to say that I never put papaya on it, mostly because I have yet to meet a papaya I’ve got on with well.) This oatmeal was my star contribution to the breakfast lineup, the only one that really stuck, the only one that it was imperative to leave the recipe behind when I had to leave long before I ever wanted to.

At the Inn, there were several discussions about what to call the oatmeal. I have to admit, it was a hard sell every morning I made it. When you say “oatmeal”, most people think of the instant kind that you hide under lots of milk, brown sugar and raisins (if you fall on the pro-raisin side of things). Even qualifying it with “steel-cut” didn’t do much good. This was a few years ago, and steel-cut oatmeal wasn’t on the average American’s radar yet. It needed a good name to recommend it to the uninitiated.

I liked to call it “Pirate Oatmeal”, both because of the fruit and because I sometimes added rum at the end of the cooking time. (Pirates of the Caribbean was big back then, and it seemed like the thing to do.) No one else seemed to like the name, so I kept thinking. The names I came up with weren’t any better. I think I even tried “Oat Risotto” out on the owner at one point as a way to hint at the cooking process and upscale nature of the oatmeal. Thankfully, he shot that one down, too.

I still call it Pirate Oatmeal when the need for a name arises. However, it’s never fit all that well, so I’ve decided to dub it “The Tiger’s Oatmeal” in honor of the launch of this site. I think that both captures the exotic twist of the spices and fruit and the way this oatmeal invigorates you for the day ahead.

Components

Cardamom Yogurt
Spiced Ginger Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Fruit, preferably tropical (mango-pineapple-strawberry is my favorite combo), sliced and diced as you see fit
Toasted coconut flakes

Acknowledgments

The Cardamom Yogurt was derived from a recipe for Mango with Yogurt in Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, and my oatmeal evolved from Alton Brown’s delicious Steel Cut Oatmeal, but both diverged from the original recipes long ago.

Method

One of the great things about cooking the same thing for a crowd week after week is that you learn how to make it in your sleep and you figure out all sorts of tricks for increasing efficiency and serving things to a large group over an extended period of time. One of the great things about writing for a food blog is that you get to share those tricks with other people. Here’s what I’ve learned about making steel-cut oatmeal over the years.

	The yogurt’s quick and easy: whisk it with the maple syrup and cardamom until smooth. Both the syrup and cardamom should be done to taste, so make sure you start with a conservative amount of both and work up from there. For instance, I like a lot of spice in anything spiced, so I use eight times as much cardamom as the original recipe. I think it tastes better that way, but a few people out there would disagree, I’m sure.
	The yogurt is best made the night before you want to use it. This gives the cardamom time to disperse its flavor throughout the yogurt. If you’re making it the morning of, though, you can add more cardamom so that it will have more flavor right away. I usually make an entire large container of yogurt at a time and put it back into the fridge, making sure to clearly label that it’s cardamom yogurt, not plain. It’s great to put on top of all sorts of fruit, with or without oatmeal, and I find if I have it in the fridge, it always gets used. It helps, of course, that yogurt has an excellent shelf life.
	Here is another part of the recipe that can be done the night ahead. I usually put the oatmeal in a sealable container and shake it up with the spices (and any dried fruit). It can be used right away, left on the counter overnight, or put away in the cupboard until you want to use it. Even if you’re going to make it right away, the advantage is that the spices are evenly distributed throughout the oatmeal from the start. Here I’ve added a lot of cinnamon with smaller amounts of ginger, cardamom, and pumpkin pie spice (I was too lazy to grind cloves). Like I said, I like spiced things to taste like they have spices in them. In these photos I’m making a double batch of the oatmeal (I always do, for reasons that will become clear later), and I think this is about as much as I would’ve liked to have used on a single batch.
	This is what it looks like all shaken up. When I’m eyeballing the spices, I usually go until it’s quite a bit browner than this, but unless you’re like me on the spice thing, this is a good ratio to start with.
	Everything up until this point can be done beforehand. (If you’re using the coconut flakes, you can also toast them ahead of time for about 2 minutes in a 350 degree oven, making sure only the very edges turn toasty and brown.) When the time comes to make the oatmeal, make sure the first thing you do is to get the water boiling. This saves you time, and worry over burning the oatmeal while you fiddle with your tea or electric kettle. Ginger is the key to this entire recipe. I don’t remember when I first tried it in the oatmeal or why, only that it imparts a flavor to it that I now can’t separate from the taste of steel cut oatmeal. When I get steel cut oatmeal elsewhere, it’s never quite the same, and the crystallized ginger is the key.
	I have a pinched nerve that causes a lot of pain in my shoulder, which is why I don’t cook professionally anymore. Chopping and slicing hurt it more than just about anything else, especially tough things like crystallized ginger. Only recently did I think of the answer: I put the ginger in a bowl and pour just enough of the boiling water for the oatmeal to cover. After two minutes, the ginger is soft and much easier to dice. (Be careful. It’s also very hot.) Because I count on all of the flavor from the ginger, plus the hint of sweetness from the sugar encrusted on it, I reserve the water it soaked in and use it as part of the water for the oatmeal. Problem solved.
	Now it’s time to cook the oatmeal. First, melt the butter in your pot over medium heat. (You can get away with using less (or more!) butter, depending on whether you’re going for health or luxury.) While it melts, make sure your water is boiling.
	Add the spiced oatmeal. Stir well to evenly coat with butter.
	Toast the oatmeal for about two minutes, stirring the whole time to keep it from burning.
	Add the boiling water. It will bubble dramatically as soon as it hits the bottom of the pot, so beware of flying flecks of hot, wet oatmeal! I got hit by one right at the moment this photo was taken.
	Add the crystallized ginger and stir together, just until everything is mixed, then stop and turn the heat down to low. Because the oatmeal is hot and the water is boiling before they meet, you won’t have to wait for them to come to a boil. Leave it to simmer, uncovered. Set a timer for 25 minutes and don’t touch the oatmeal until it goes off. While the oatmeal cooks, you’ll have time to cut up fruit and toast coconut flakes, if you haven’t already. If you have, then make yourself a cup of tea with any excess boiling water and relax.
	After 25 minutes, add the buttermilk. Once again, stir only long enough to combine. Set the timer again, this time for 10 minutes, and leave it to simmer again, uncovered. If you are making a large batch of oatmeal for a lot of people, and won’t be serving it all at once, you have another option. After the timer goes off, rather than adding the buttermilk, just cover the pot and turn off the heat. Then, make the oatmeal to order by scooping it into a second, smaller pan, adding a little of the buttermilk and cooking it until it starts to bubble.
	After the ten minutes have passed, turn off the heat. Give it one last stir–this would be the best time to add that rum, if you’re feeling pirate-y.
	Serve the oatmeal, topped with the yogurt, fruit and coconut.
	One way to convince picky eaters (children or adults) to try the oatmeal is to cover it all up with the yogurt and a ton of fruit. (If they hate yogurt and fruit as well, I can’t help you.) You know, I’ve been following too many bento blogs lately…sadly, though, I still couldn’t figure out how to give my tiger stripes with the fruit I had on hand.
	I mentioned above that I always make a double batch of oatmeal, even if I’m eating alone. The reason is that this oatmeal makes fantastic leftovers, something I only figured out a few years ago. This is already getting awfully long, so next time I’ll demonstrate how to do that.

I hope you will try out this oatmeal. I still have the same problem I did at the Inn: there really is no way to make it sound as good as it tastes, even if I use every superlative in my arsenal. I never can pick a favorite book or TV show or scene I’ve written for one of my novels–it’s that whole choosing between your babies thing–but this is my number one, super-favorite recipe I’ve ever come up with. I can’t help wanting everyone to taste it.

So, what about you? Do you have a personal recipe that you’re more proud of than any other, one that’s special no matter how many times you make it?

To experience this oatmeal in its full glory (and to see more detailed, illustrated instructions and extra tips and tricks), check out The Tiger’s Oatmeal, which is served with cardamom yogurt, toasted coconut flakes and tropical fruit.

Ingredients

1 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 oz crystallized ginger, finely chopped
3 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons rum (very optional)

Directions

1. Put the oats, spices and crystallized ginger in a container with a tight lid. Seal and shake until evenly combined.
2. Bring the water to a boil.
3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once it starts to bubble, add the oats and stir to coat evenly with the butter. Continue to stir until the oats are nice and toasted and you can smell the spices, about two minutes.
4. Pour in the boiling water. Stir the oats well, then lower the heat and leave to gently simmer for 25 minutes, undisturbed.
5. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine. Let the oats simmer for another 10 minutes. At this point, you can stir them occasionally if you want, but they’ll be fine unattended.
6. Stir once more. (This is the time to add the rum and the salt.) Serve and enjoy.

Notes

• You can easily customize this recipe to fit anything you have in your cupboard. Try adding different spices or dried fruits (I personally recommend keeping the ginger in any variation). I’ve even made a vegan version on the fly by nixing the butter (you could use canola oil instead) and replacing the buttermilk with orange juice and maple syrup.
• This recipe makes a great breakfast to serve to a large crowd, because you can double or triple it without increasing the cooking time. I’ve found that like rice, the ratio of water-to-oats decreases as you increase the amount of oats, so use 5 cups of water for a double batch and 7 for a triple.
• I always make a double batch, even if I’m only cooking for myself, because this oatmeal freezes very well. Simply freeze any leftovers in a large silicone muffin pan. To reheat, place an oatmeal “muffin” in a bowl and microwave for 3-4 minutes. Once you give it a good stir, you have a healthy, hearty weekend breakfast on a weekday morning, especially if you take those minutes and use them to chop up some fruit to go on top!
• If you want to hold a large batch of oatmeal over an extended period of time (up to three hours in my experience at the Inn), you can cook the oatmeal up through Step 5. Then, rather than adding the buttermilk and continuing their simmer, stir once, cover the pan, and turn off the heat. Then, as people filter in for breakfast, combine as much oatmeal as you need with a portion of the buttermilk in a smaller pan and stir over medium heat until the oatmeal bubbles. The other advantage to this method is that you can accommodate individual salt restrictions this way, leaving it out for those who can’t have it.