Doug Bolden, on Food & Health
on food, tea, recipes, health, hiking, and all sorts of related topics
Tea
There was a time when tea was the main purpose of one predecessor to this blog, believe if or not. It is partially the joke behind "Dickens of a Blog." Not that Dickens was necessarily a big fan of tea, just the fact that tea + books + gin + pipe smoking + ranting about social issues made me think the name made sense.
Tea Musings
Using Juice as a "Sweetner". I have found that mixing juice in with tea is not only yummy, but seems to have a nice energy boost associated with it.
Genmaicha. Green tea mixed with roasted rice, an excellent and different sort of taste.
Six quick signs you have over-steeped your tea (19 Nov 2009). Ok, not really, but I had fun writing this. And, well, maybe you did oversteep it. See if you answer yes to any of these. Honest.
Tea Recipes
This is the link to my original batch of tea recipes. There are four on that page, two are kind of a "breakfast tea", one is a spirited pick-me-up green/oolong blend, and one is a juice + tea mix.
Doug's Winter Mix for 2010-2011 (Lapsang Souchong and Assam based) (28 Dec 2010). Going to a friend's post-Christmas party, I wanted a tea blend that would match the fresh snow on the ground and the wood smoke in the air. This is the blend...
Tea Reviews
Blend Comparisons
Ready-to-Drink Tea Beverages
Product Reviews
Me Shopping for Tea
Trip to the Kaffeeklatsch to fill my tea chest (7 Aug 2009). I took a trip and got some new tea. I discuss it. I know, I know: boring to most of you. I care, anyhow.
My two trips to Huntsville, AL's new Earth Fare market (14 May 2010). I am cool with organic food, with cruelty-free strawberries, and non-high fructose beef collagen injected sodas: so a market that caters to those philosophies seems right in line with my way of shopping. I am also poor, generally speaking, and something of a misanthrope, so a busy and non-cheap store isn't quite my thing. Here, though, is my utterly non-definitive review of my first two trips to the Earth Fare market.
Health in General
An article on Rolfing, on why women slouch (hint: because you think you suck) (15 Aug 2011). A line in Brisco County, JR had me asking...what is Rolfing? Then I looked it up. And now I know. Also, I know why women slouch...
TMI post. Or, why the fook does my right arm-pit smell like the Doom that Came to Sarnath? (18 Sep 2011). While I would never, ever, consider myself a connoisseur of armpit smells, something has gone wrong here.
The Stink, Part II. Or, cup the breast and touch your left armpit. A guide. (18 Sep 20110). I've been doing the old Google on the old underarm stink. I've found something...unusual.
Five months after I discuss the strange fetishism of women's armpits, the trend continues. Salon is there. (10 Feb 2012). Last September, I discussed how so many pictures of women's underarms were transformed from standard pit shots to something like glamor. Salon.com explains and offers another picture for the fold.
Searching for statistics on self-reported health lead me to this rather obvious health-related observation (24 Jun 2014). I'm trying to find where a Gallup poll got its data. On the way, though, I found a rather obvious claim.
Foods Specific and in General
An American eating blutwurst (aka blood sausage) for the first time... (25 Sep 2010). With PICS!
Peanuts and Coke (29 Dec 2010). This somewhat Southern delicacy looks a little weird but I like it. Take a pack of salted peanuts and pour them into a freshly opened Coke. Don't shake, just wait a minute, and then enjoy.
Living in the days of miracles and wonder...oh my... (1 Mar 2011). I can now subscribe to Chicken Mushroom Ramen. Screw flying cars, the future is now.
Four short blurbs: Livejournal down due to political reasons, stupid sickness, [food - food coloring =], and being annoyed by 1-800-620-0371 (TakharGroup.com) (6 Apr 2011). The third of four short blurbs looks at people's reactions to food without dyes.
Unlabeled Pickled Sausage and Watching In Bruges and Wondering about Its Marketing Team['s drug habit] (24 Apr 2011). I have a jar of pickled sausage that has no label. Not a stitch. Not an ingredients list. Not a calorie count. Nothing. Why did I do this? Also, watching In Bruges with Kaz tonight I was struck by deep ironies and complex situations: most of them found in the discrepancies in the movie versus the back of its DVD case.
The manliest bagged hog lumps I have had the pleasure to try (10 Sep 2011). I have found perhaps the most punch-you-in-the-face pork skin product. Lee's Seasoned Curls.
Americans waste up to 40% of their food, or, why I cannot quite comprehend this number... (26 Aug 2012). According to an article, Americans waste up to 40% of their food. I'm not 100% sure about the claims of the article, but I'll go on a bit about it, anyhow.
Study tests links between eating disorders and vegetarian diets. "News report" adds to the confusion over the statistics and findings. I dissect... (1 Aug 2012). Hearing that some women choose to avoid meat [sort of] as part of a way to lose weight does not surprise me, but when certain facts and statistics are reported in a loose way, I feel the need to say something. When an article describes 52% as a great majority, I dissect what the actual study said, where it went wrong, and how the reporting of it went very wrong. Because that's the kind of thing I do.
A 1904 Vegetarian Cookbook via Project Gutenberg, with bonus question: What the hell is Protose? (9 Oct 2013). Found 100+ year old vegetarian cookbook. Relaxingly straight forward in many ways, but has a number of references to something called Protose, which meant I had to look it up.
One blogger's attempt to allay chemophobia when it comes to food (20 Jan 2014). One blogger's attempt to allay chemophobia when it comes to food.
You have to appreciate it when a food label is honest despite itself... (12 Mar 2014). Sometimes a food company just tells you like it is, but tries to hide it a little all the same.
Doug Responds to Things Spotted on the Internet: Someone maybe doesn't get banned book week and just one point about meat-substitutes (01 Oct 2014). Banned Books Week gets some flack, but at least one piece of flack feels weird. Also, while I get what some people are saying about meat-substitutes, let's be honest for a moment.
General Recipes and Food Attempts
Once more in defense of ramen (16 Jul 2009). This time I talk about how to make a semi-stir-fried sort of deal. It's tasty!
The Breakfast Quesadilla (aka 'Eat your heart out, Taco Bell') (10 Dec 2009). Not the best dish in the world, but definitely one to try sometime if you are bored.
What two WEBLTs might look like... (1 Aug 2011). Waffle, egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato...
The Things I Put in Jars [aka Pickling Habaneros, attempt 1, part 1] (5 Sep 2011). This weekend I pickled about a pound of habaneros. Now...how long do I let these things sit?
Vegetarian (with some Vegan) Recipes
Wheat Berry and Edamame Salad with Fruit and Nuts [Vegan] (7 Jul 2010).
Buffalo Tofu (Vegetarian, with a couple of photos) (10 Jun 2012). Buffalo sauce is, to a degree, its own reward. So let's slather it on some breaded, fried tofu, and enjoy.
The quick and versatile bean burger technique [Vegan cooking] (23 Mar 2014). Bean based burgers are actually kind of easy to make and have lots of room for modification. This adapted recipe [based initially off of one from Veganomicon] works well with many types of beans and many types of flavor combinations.
Hiking
How a nine mile hike became a personal lesson on dehydration (17 Apr 2011). Kazumi and I set out to do a hike today, but due to tenacity and youthful (but fading) energy, ended up going for about twice the length as planned. Resulting in a serious case of dehydration that could have ended up much worse, except luckily one of us does not suck.
Cathedral Caverns (state park near Grant, AL) with my mom, Kazumi, and McCoy - 29 photos (21 Oct 2009).
An Out-of-Shape Man reviews The Walls of Jericho (North Alabama) Hiking Trail w/ 22 pics (27 Nov 2009).
Kazumi and I are the new owners of this tent...now...what to do with it... (23 May 2012). Kazumi and I bought a tent. Now, where to go and what to do...
Life Tips and Herbal Cures
Hypnosure! Doug's New and Improved Anti-Insomnia Tonic and Spirit Water (18 Jul 2009). Some of my personal tips about how to deal away with insomnia. Mileage will vary, sure, but these tend to help me.
Maladies
Me and My Ear: the pain and sorrow that was March 2010 (19 Mar 2010). I've just went through all sorts of fun times with my ear causing me pain and other issues. This brief telling may count as a warning to the rest of you.
Diets and "Foods as Health"
Day One of the "Frat-kins" Diet (06 Dec 2009). I didn't stick with it, but this was my first day trying out the Atkins Diet.
Would high fructose corn syrup by any other name taste as sweet? (19 Sep 2010). Now they want to call it "corn sugars" to trick people into eating it. Trick sounds harsh, but what other words would you use for changing a product name to sell it to people after people decide they don't want it any more?
Life Experiments
The Solitude Project (March 24 through June 24, 2010) (23 Mar 2010). I have begun to wonder the power of solitude in our day and age. However, rather than some project where you go completely without contact, or completely without social sites, or some other extremes, the plan is to merely redirect some of the energy spent on social connections back into self-development, quietude, and peace. To perform this miracle of the modern age, I will use a simple Quadrant system. The time spent upon secondary contact (meaning all contact not fully developed or fulfilling) will be fourthed. The new free time will have new direction.
Hark, a new resolution approaches: The Walking Marathon (12 Jan 2014). Kazumi and I are thinking about walking a marathon. This may or may not entail us walking by ourselves for 26.2 miles in a single go. I'm not sure.
My No-Soap/No-Shampoo Experiment
Five (5) Days Without Soap/Shampoo in the Shower (5 Jan 2010)
Day ten (10) without soap and shampoo (11 Jan 2009).
The No-Soap and No-Shampoo experiment is over, my thoughts (23 Jan 2009).
The Standing Desk
My homemade, practically free, standing desk and why I'm doing it (18 May 2011). A week(ish) ago I worked out a simple, free [because it used things we already had] standing desk for my laptop to go into my study. The reason I did this? Well, I need to stand more. It's...ok. I'd recommend it to people, I think.
My final, permanent (and about 1/8th the cost) standing-style desk. Also: STILL F'ing SICK (22 May 2011). I should have been in bed today but instead: I made a project. One of my first search projects in a long time. It looks a bit wanky, is still a tad bit in complete, but I like. I give you my permanent, home-made standing desk.
Sex and Sexuality
How condoms can be a bother if not outright dangerous...etiquette, assumptions, and all that rubber jazz... (14 Mar 2012). Condoms have long been the standard icon of the prophylactic world, though recent debates on birth control have threatened to usurp. Figured I'd get a bit nostalgic about the ins and outs of the phallic sheathing with a couple of random oddities from my own life.
CC-BY 4.0 by Doug Bolden