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Potempa: Coffee and beans sprout an amazing rich history

Of all of the fad diets in existence from the centuries, “the coffee diet” has been resurrected repeatedly throughout the decades.

Dimestore heiress and “poor little rich girl” Barbara Woolworth Hutton, one of the famous wives of actor Cary Grant, once lost 40 pounds in three months on a strict diet consisting only of cigarettes and black coffee. The much-married Hutton, who died at age 66 in 1979 in Beverly Hills, was famous for her eccentricities. When I asked actress Jill St. John (she was the first wife of Hutton’s son Lance Reventlow) about “Babs” and her obsession with losing weight, she said the black coffee “crash diet” was originally prompted after Hutton’s first of seven husbands, Prince Alexi Mdivani, said she was fat on their wedding night.

It’s true. A six-ounce cup of black coffee contains just four calories.

This sometimes-bitter beverage is hailed because of its stimulant quality as an major source of caffeine, and the “go-to” for anyone who wants to stay alert while on task when required. Besides caffeine, coffee also contains more than 400 other chemicals, from traces of minerals and vitamins, to remote amounts of caramelized sugars.

For anyone who has ever indulged in a cup of post-dinner decaffeinated coffee with dessert, even most coffee designated as “decaffeinated” on the label or branding has been found to contain up to 5 milligrams of caffeine in a 5-ounce cup. The process to make coffee “decaffeinated” is a very involved technique requiring either a chemical treatment or by water extraction.

As a special treat, I occasionally visit my local Starbucks franchises, and over the years, have sought the refuge of a small table and electrical outlet of a friendly neighborhood Starbucks (while on the road) to pop open my laptop to file a column when on deadline. After a couple hours at the coffee shop, where fresh coffee beans are ground hourly, by the time I return home, my hair, coat and clothes all smell of the wonderful aroma of fresh coffee.

The Starbucks location at 2160 Morthland Dr., just outside of Valparaiso along U.S. 30, has a unique coffee distinction. About six years ago, while sweeping the floor, a Starbucks worker found a lone bean, which appeared unroasted. The team on duty decided to drop it into a cup with some dirt and a splash of water to see the result after placed in a sunny window of the store.

The bean sprouted.

Akin to the fairytale of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” the bean grew and grew providing a sizable healthy plant with shiny bright green leaves. I have continued to watch this coffee bush develop. It was originally displayed on the counter. Today, it has grown so large and robust, it now occupies its own wire plant stand in a corner of the coffeeshop.

The employees have also named the coffee bush, affectionally known to all as “Broomhilda,” a name derived from the chance origin of this lone bean once swept up and nearly disposed to the garbage can.

In my nearly 20 years of writing this food column and through four published books, coffee has been a key ingredient in recipes ranging from chocolate cake frosting to luscious brownies given an added “zip.”

But best of all, fresh brewed coffee is deliciously paired with a moist, warm-from-the-oven coffeecake. My mom Peggy has a birthday this month and pecan coffeecake ranks as her favorite.

One of the best recipes we have ever found is from the file of Valparaiso reader Kelly Ward, a member of the Valparaiso Iota Chapter of Tri Kappa. Famed for their annual pecan nut sales as a charity fundraiser, in 2003, the Valparaiso Tri Kappa chapter celebrated their 100 anniversary and Ward shared her recipe for an easy “crumb top” pecan coffeecake that never disappoints. She said the recipe is originally from her grandmother, Ruth Saunders, who was also a member of the Iota Tri Kappa group.

Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, P.O. Box 68, San Pierre, IN 46374.

Kelly Ward’s Tri Kappa Pecan Coffeecake

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, well beaten

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon maple flavoring extract

1 cup chopped pecans, divided use

Directions:

1. Sift flour and sugar, and add butter to make a crumb mixture, with 1 cup of the mixture set aside for reserved use later.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the other portion of the crumb mixture with all of the remaining ingredients to make a batter, beating well. Fold in 1/4 cup of the pecans into the batter.

3. Pour batter into a greased 9-inch-by-9-inch baking pan. Scatter the reserved crumb mixture and the pecans across the top of the coffeecake.

4. Bake coffeecake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes.