To say that I drink a lot of coffee is silly. I drink an enormous amount of coffee but to be fair, it’s usually decent brew. I come from a heavy coffee drinking family. In fact, usually when I’m visiting my mother, she’ll use me as an excuse to make another pot.

“If I make more will you drink some?” She will ask. Because you know, coffee!

A friend of mine is intimidated by the Starbucks menu. Seriously intimidated. And I know some people who sniff at the “unnecessary complications” they feel Starbucks…and other coffee houses… force upon their coffee choices. Sometimes to the point of having kind of this anti-elitist attitude about the brew saying things like…. I just want a cup of coffee or None of that fancy shit for me.

Thing is… it’s not that complicated. And it’s kind of how the world drinks coffee.

Starbucks and other coffee shops did not invent espresso drinks. They existed long before anyone put on a hipster douche apron and asked for your name to put on a cup.  I drink a medium to dark roast every day but it’s a regular coffee. However, I do like having espresso drinks if I’m running around. The flavour is different and the pull is more intense. But coffee is…and probably always will be… something I have to calm my brain and help me focus.

Because… you know… coffee.

I ran across this and said, Oh! I need to share this because it does demystify the espresso menu in most places. Not to say Starbucks etc. don’t crazy-up their drinks but this is the basics.

And yes, I do speak Starbuckian. My preference is a Triple Vanilla Soy Latte, No Foam.

My friends and I come from very diverse backgrounds. Most of us on the Left Coast here are of Asian descent which for all intents and purposes, really don’t have a “casserole” niche in our food groups. We have a dear friend from Minnesota (a mythical land of snow and unicorns) who has repeatedly attempted to educate us about this mysterious dish… or as she calls it: Hot Dish.

We constantly tease her about casseroles because really, it’s a very foreign dish for us… at least the way that they eat it over there in Narnia Minnesota.

Wikipedia says of the subject: “A traditional main course, hotdish is cooked and served hot in a single baking dish and commonly appears at family reunions and church suppers. The most typical meat for many years has been ground beef, and cream of mushroom remains the favorite canned soup. In past years a pasta was the most frequently-used starch, however tater tots and local wild rice have now become very popular as well.”

The main thing stymieing us Left Coasters is the lack of spices in the traditional making of this dish. Salt and pepper are flashy. *grins*

Now I DO make a casserole. Sorta. It’s more like a pasta dish that’s done on the stove. It’s a fast dinner and I’d probably fail the Minnesota Hot Dish test because damn it! I need spices! *laughs*

So tonight’s dish is a simple tuna pasta dish with grilled onions, peas, carrots, black olives, parmesan cheese and the classic mushroom soup because I’m lazy. Spices are garlic, black pepper, salt and believe it or not, a bit of Old Bay. So my apologies to the stalwart souls in Minnesota for the blasphemy I am about to serve you.