The Frugal Latte: The Moka Pot Answer

Wasting money on lattes? Ever so righteous financial pundits say this is bad. Very bad. Do the math--I found I was frothing away a full month's mortgage payment every year ($4/day = $1460/year). Pay attention here, Mr. Bernanke.

I crave the taste of a nice espresso based drink but I started to feel guilty when I was caught red handed with a retail latte in my car. I started hiding the evidence of my fiscal irresponsibility. But I couldn't give up my trips to see the barista. SO what to do???

As luck would have it, I found a Moka Pot left behind in a house we bought. I am way too cheap to buy an espresso machine and didn't want to have one cluttering up my counters or have to deal with the cleaning and complex operation of an $1000+ appliance. Well, you can imagine my glee at finding a stove-top espresso maker.

The Moka Pot is easy to use, requires little storage space and cleans easily. Mine was FREE!!! You can probably find one at an estate sale for a few bucks and they sell for about $18 online for a one cup pot. Now the coffee afficianado will inform you that a "Moka" is not a true Espresso. But I can't tell the difference.

The Moka Pot unscrews into three pieces. Fill the base with water to just below the pressure relief valve, fill the basket with your preferred amount of fine grind coffee (I fill a little less than half full), screw back together and place over medium high heat. A nice steam sound will ensue when done.

I also froth some milk to top it off. This I do in a small enamel pain over medium using whole milk and a hand frother -- I found this too--I think it belongs with bartending utensils. I beat the milk vigorously as it heats and, voila, foam. Spoon on top of your espresso.

So far I have not fallen off the wagon...

How to Make Biscuits

I am now the owner of several egg plates (those dishes for serving deviled eggs). My relatives from Wewa saw to it that I was welcomed to the South and had a properly outfitted kitchen complete with the requisite egg plate. I am actually pretty good in the deviled egg department. Now biscuits, however, are another matter entirely.

Not having the courage to admit to ignorance in the art of biscuit making, I have spent several years experimenting with same (rather than ask the Wewa relatives what I was doing wrong..) I am pretty sure that most cookbooks authors either don't know how to make biscuits or are assuming the reader knows the missing instruction that will lead to light flaky biscuits.

When I lived in Defuniak Springs, most folks went to the local Hardy's for breakfast and gossip and where they really made a great biscuit. I've often wondered about the secret of the Hardy's biscuit. The first lady from our church secretly bought frozen biscuits from the local Thriftway since she hadn't had success in the biscuit baking area. She served those Thriftway biscuits to the pastor while they were courting and apparently Pastor was impressed with her baking and shortly thereafter proposed...Those biscuits from the Thriftway freezer section came highly recommended!

I have noted that perhaps other ladies besides our church's first lady may be lacking in biscuit making acumen. Why most local cookbooks have recipe's entitled "Dave's Best Biscuits" or "Bubber's Flaky Golden Biscuits"! Perhaps it is a guy thing after all.

The key to good biscuits is not to overknead the dough or work too much flour into it. The dough will be kind of sticky -- if you lay into it too vigorously it will adhere to everything and you'll end up adding too much flour and the biscuits will be hard. So use a light touch. Second, don't roll them out too thin 1/2 inch or a bit more is about right.You don't want to bake a hockey puck. Third, use a convection oven if you have one, otherwise, bake on the top rack.

Here is the way I have been making my biscuits:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
4-5 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
6 TBSP unsalted butter
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut cold butter into small slivers with sharp knife over bowl and work into flour mixture with fingers or pastry cutter until consistency of coarse corn meal. Make a well in center of the mixture and add cold buttermilk and mix until adheres into ball. (I usually do all this with my fingers).

Now turn out on lightly floored surface, knead a couple times and roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch rounds with a floured glass. Place biscuits with sides touching in a seasoned cast iron pan (or on cookie sheet.) Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes in regular oven (top rack) or 7-8 minutes in convection oven.


If you have any hints for great biscuits, please add them.

Surgeons Go Head to Head with Harvard MBA's

Everyone has a story of some physician's risky investment scheme. Surgeons have been known to invest in ostrich farming, cattle ranching and similar ventures with little previous experience. Never mind the high failure rate for new restaurants, perfect money pit for the surgeon extraordinaire. (Some of the more tyrannical feel a kinship with "Hell's Kitchen" host, perhaps "Hell's Operating Theater" is in the offing.) Off shore investments, no problem. I am interested to hear your stories and I have included a short poll.

Don't you miss being a surgeon?

Hey, everyone wants to know after you retire if you don't miss seeing patients. You should have an answer ready before you contemplate retirement. Now that I don't take call anymore, I sleep in pajamas and not fully clothed in jeans and polo shirt. My husband thought my kids were weird because they all just climbed into bed in their daytime clothes. Now I can set a proper example for nighttime sleep attire.

I do miss my secretary and I admit to having spent the last two years of retirement painfully disorganized. My secretaries were all great over the years -- Liz, Sarah and Judy -- loyal, supportive, organized. Not having a secretary is what I miss the most. They told me where to be and when. They told me when I was behind. They were wonderfully compassionate to my patients. One even helped raise my youngest child. Once my secretary spoke so highly of me to the AAOS (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons), they let me on the Professional Liability Committee. So when you retire, you need to plan for a post-secretary world.

My solution to the problem has been an iPhone. I am a late adopter of technology. I am sure those other brands of digital assistants would have required reading instructions and besides the keyboards were ridiculous. If I might make a suggestion, an iPhone would make a wonderful retirement gift for the orthopedic surgeon.

The Biggies

In my post orthopedic surgeon incarnation, I buy foreclosures with my husband. We even bought our current home overlooking the local yacht club at a foreclosure sale several years back. The thing about it was that the people that lost their house ate out nearly every night, had a big boat, wore Don Alain clothing and took expensive ski vacations. Their college age daughter had a BMW. They looked great. Their friends figured they just had some bad luck in business. In reality, the problem was self-inflicted.

Look over your spending habits. Can you cut back in certain areas and still be happy? Can you eat in more than you eat out? Do you really need the upkeep and cost of an expensive toy (boat, airplane, etc.)? How much do you spend on vacations and were they worth it? If your child attends private school are you really getting more value than you would in a public school? Can you get a good value in a used car?

Part of the problem of working hard, especially as a surgeon, you expect rewards. First thing you know, you have rewarded yourself with, let's say, a big contribution to consumer spending. Maybe there are better rewards in life. Stay tuned.

Opening Thoughts

This blog is for everyone hoping to maintain on less. Several years ago, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) started to urge their members to reduce, reuse and generally live on less because reimbursement for physician services was going down at the same time malpractice insurance and other practice associated costs were going up. Apparently this program was successful. As urban legend would have it, the AAOS was invited never to return to Las Vegas for their annual convention. The orthopedic surgeons were blacklisted in Vegas for being too frugal. Casinos, hotels and restaurants simply lost money when thousands of penny pinching surgeons descended on the town. Now the orthopedists are reduced to meeting in places like, well, Chicago.

I may not get you blacklisted in Vegas...but I hope to show you how to "live like an orthopedist" or at least help you hold on to your money and make it grow.