What I REALLY Want For Yule/Christmas/Festive Guilt & Debt Producing Holiday Is:

[Sibling Chatty]

_______________________________________

So, whadda ya want?

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

I'm afraid I'm not too creative. I need money for debate trips, since they ain't cheap, and some for books, since I've devoured everything I've got at the moment. I also want a copy of the Conservative Soul, by Andrew Sullivan.
What about everybody else?

[Aggie]

Uhmm....  Silicon spatulas. Too much teflon in my pot and pan drawers for metal utensils.

[Sibling Chatty]

HA!! I'm NOT a weirdo!

I've always wanted books and kitchen toys, and people have always told me i'm strange for not wanting jewelry (I don't wear it, so why have it to sit in a box somewhere) or perfume (don't usually wear it, because the ones that don't trigger allergies are too expensive) or expensive clothes and such. (Yeah, I need a cashmere sweater to do laundry and walk the dog...)

Actually, I need bookshelves and kitchen storage. (I have 15 fry pans. FIFTEEN. Four or five are cast iron in various sizes, and the rest are all "good" ones. I gave away another 5 or 6 when we moved.)

Books and kitchen stuff are always good gifts.

[Aggie]

Actually, I need bookshelves and kitchen storage. (I have 15 fry pans. FIFTEEN. Four or five are cast iron in various sizes, and the rest are all "good" ones. I gave away another 5 or 6 when we moved.)

That'd work too.  I could use another wardrobe like I put in the bedroom just for pot, pan, and dry goods storage. 

One of my favorite gifts from last holiday season was a meat grinder.... still love it (good heavy-duty Czech workmanship, too).

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Okay.  I'd like a coffee grinder.  Not one of those miniature whirly-gig blender-types.  A real conical-burr hand-cranked fully adjustable coffee grinder - like you'd have seen in the dry goods store at the turn of last century, before vacuum-packing made pre-ground coffee practical.

If we're wishing for things, I wouldn't say no to a coffee roaster, either. A very small one, that would roast a few ounces of beans at a time - basically a single batch, for one pot of coffee.  I've already found a nice source of green coffee beans (non-roasted).

I'd also like a source of quality loose teas. Mostly what you find in stores 'round here, is the bagged variety, and it's also so old, that it's barely within the fresh-date (if the packaging even has that).  But, I like to brew certain types of tea in boiling water--loose, so as to extract the full body of flavor. I then pour it through a fine mesh screen made of nylon. Mmmmm!  nothing quite like FRESH teas, simmered over very low heat for 20 minutes.  Brings out all the oils and such-- flavor AND caffeine.

Then again, chocolate is ALWAYS welcome at my house - any sort, any flavor.  I appreciate all of it, from the very darkest, bitters to French mild to American milk right up through white chocolates.  With or without nuts.  With or without gooey centers.  Plain. Mixed with gormet peanut butter. Mixed with vanilla-bean candies. Mixed with coffee. Mixed with various mint flavors, both real and all natural.

As a candy.  As a glaze.  As a drink.  As cake, pie, cake-pie, ice-cream. I like it all.

Let me put it this way:  I never had a chocolate that I didn't find SOMEthing to like about it! 

[Aggie]

Okay.  I'd like a coffee grinder.  Not one of those miniature whirly-gig blender-types.  A real conical-burr hand-cranked fully adjustable coffee grinder - like you'd have seen in the dry goods store at the turn of last century, before vacuum-packing made pre-ground coffee practical.

After drinking biryani-spice flavoured coffee this morning, I can firmly say I need another coffee grinder, and a hand-cranked one would be lovely provided it ground fine enough for turkish coffee.  Not this year, though.  We've been firmly shifting the emphasis off presents and onto food (more so than usual, but less sweets and overly rich foods) the last few years.  Handmade wonton soup is the new traditional Xmas eve fare.

[Sibling Chatty]

OK, guys, you'll need to get some help from Swatopluk or DeadPoet to find out what's up, but--Zazzenhause has, in the past, made both the mills you've discussed. Their site doesn't show them, however.

http://www.zassenhaus.com/

(See http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.zas.shtml for the kinds I was talkin' about.)

Peugeot has a few styles of hand grinders.

http://cookingnaturals.com/products/products.asp?c=11&cat2id=145

Bob, how are your woodworking skills?

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32867&cat=1,250,43298

Heh...you could just set the thing on top of a can and grind, for that matter!!

[goat starer]

I would like medieval II total war for PC and then I promise not to bother anybody till new year. I would also like a bottle of Oban and a pair of slippers

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

OK, guys, you'll need to get some help from Swatopluk or DeadPoet to find out what's up, but--Zazzenhause has, in the past, made both the mills you've discussed. Their site doesn't show them, however.

http://www.zassenhaus.com/

(See http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.zas.shtml for the kinds I was talkin' about.)

Peugeot has a few styles of hand grinders.

http://cookingnaturals.com/products/products.asp?c=11&cat2id=145

Bob, how are your woodworking skills?

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32867&cat=1,250,43298

Heh...you could just set the thing on top of a can and grind, for that matter!!

Cool! Thanks, Sib Chatty!

I had already seen
http://www.zassenhaus.com/ previously, but the last one-- cool.

My woodworking skills are "above average", I suppose.  I've built quite a number of kitchen-cabnents (some completely from scratch) over the years.  So a simple box should be zero problem.  I've read about coffee-boxes, and it's been suggested that food-grade mineral oil makes a very good finish in these cases.  But, any polyutherane is good, too, as that cures to a non-toxic hard finish.  Obviously, the inside finish is key, here.    If left unfinished, the species of wood would play a part of the flavor-- ha!  Beechwood would be my first suggestion.  Redwood or pine could give an interesting "flavor" to the coffee, too. <ha>

"Sir! What is that interesting extra flavor to your coffee?  I can't quite place it, it's very subtle."

"Madam, that is a house-secret." 

[Aggie]

I've read about coffee-boxes, and it's been suggested that food-grade mineral oil makes a very good finish in these cases.  But, any polyutherane is good, too, as that cures to a non-toxic hard finish.  Obviously, the inside finish is key, here.    If left unfinished, the species of wood would play a part of the flavor-- ha!  Beechwood would be my first suggestion.  Redwood or pine could give an interesting "flavor" to the coffee, too. <ha>

"Sir! What is that interesting extra flavor to your coffee?  I can't quite place it, it's very subtle."

"Madam, that is a house-secret." 

Oh, now you've got me really interested (as did that Turkish Zassenhaus mill) as I am a lapsed woodworker with a love for the exotic.  I wonder if one could get wood from the cinnamon tree, or line the box with ponderosa pine bark?  Or use something like rosewood...  or recycle a few staves from a whiskey barrel.

Conspicuously absent on my Christmas list this year are several thousand dollars of woodworking equipment.

[Sibling Chatty]

Dan's doing the same thing you guys are...

He's got family in Kentucky. If we end up buying an aging barrel, i'll let you know. However, since my grandfather was a cooper for over 50 years, if it's one with his mark, it'll stay whole and we'll buy another. He only did whiskey barrels for a few years (Baptist deacon, ya know) but they've been highly prized by the small distiller he made them for. He chose to do some 40 and 50 year aged in wood bourbons in them, so they'd be hitting the market soon.

We have about half the woodworking tools needed, but the only place to set them up is my dining room.

[beagle]

The original question reminds me of an anecdote I heard years ago. A broadcaster asked a group of ambassadors what they wanted for Christmas. The German ambassador said he would like an end to poverty throughout the world. The French ambassador said he wanted world peace. The British ambassador said he would like a small box of crystallised fruit.

I'll settle for the box of fruit too, if it isn't being too optimistic.

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

I had forgotten about Total War. I want that, too, and Spore.

[Sibling Kephra (Tansy)]

Shelves... books...(a circular problem there lol)
All of my friends I miss here for a nice long visit!  sigh..