Wholemeal Crank
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Posts posted by Wholemeal Crank
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Found a copy elsewhere, since it looked like I was going to be pushed into the second printing.
Why do you assume that you will be pushed to the second printing?
Just a guess based on pessimism, mostly, and my order time months after most of those discussing their delay notices before me in the forum. Then I happened upon a listing of a copy elsewhere, and needed to justify the extra cost to myself.
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I see two questions of interest here, one about combining infusions, and one about holding tea after brewing. I have even started a topic about the first question once upon a time, on "Resteeping tea -- multiple infusions"., that might be of interest.
I do a lot of "bulk brewing"--brewing up a quart thermos of tea to be carried to meetings or on trips, to be drunk over 3 to 8 or more hours. I also do a lot of gongfu cha sessions with different kinds of tea. I prefer the gongfu cha when I have a choice, but prefer my 'bulk brew' to no-brew or cheap bag brews.
So far, my impression is that the darker teas--traditional roast oolongs, black teas, houjichas--and aged or shu puerh do best. In part, I think, this is simply because they're already pretty oxidized, so their flavor is less impacted by exposure to air after brewing. I do occasional bulk brewings of white and green teas, young shengs and greener oolongs, but only if they're going to be drunk fairly soon after brewing--like preparing enough for a single round of drinks for a largish group at a meeting. And after a few really lame experiences I do NOT ever attempt to share my favorite Dan Congs this way, as most of the magic of the 'single-bush' teas seems to vanish with the mixing and holding even for an hour.
Some teas are more equal to 'bulk brewing' than others, and some even thrive under such treatment--I have a few very heavily roasted oolongs that I didn't like so well 'straight up' but that seem to mellow with the roasted flavor receding a bit and a background sweetness shining out more as they are held for a few hours.
Today's bulk brew is a relatively new favorite, an "old plantation" Qing Xin darkly roasted Taiwanese oolong from norbutea.com that is pleasing after hours in the thermos, but shines a little brighter when brewed gongfu cha.
I put together some slightly more detailed notes about what worked and what didn't on one of my tea pages here.
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They told me it was their only copy. But until I get an actual shipping notice, will keep mum.
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Found a copy elsewhere, since it looked like I was going to be pushed into the second printing.
Still have a week or two to wait for shipping, but that's better than the months I was set to wait.
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Started with Tai Ping Hou Kui today, from Wing Hop Fung, then on to some fall TGY from Jingteashop. Tasty greenness today.
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Thank you for posting this. His were the most amazing of the chocolates I had on my too-brief trip to Paris.
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I definitely continued the order, placed after reading the Q&A thread here on 2/23.
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Got the dreaded Amazon delay notice today, couldn't imagine why I hadn't already, with so many people ordering months before I did getting them, but it was the last day of their original 'estimated delivery' window.
And now they say "Still want it? We'll keep on trying. To keep your order for this item open, please click the link below. Otherwise, we'll cancel your order on April 16 2011, if we haven't located it by then." Sounds like I'm in line for printing #2.
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Definitely not a varietal I've heard of yet. Sounds tasty, though, and for all I know it might be one I've already had by another name, unless it is a new one. I have read interesting tidbits about an excellent tea breeding program in Taiwan.
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Anyone heard of Four Seasons Oolong Spring ?
No. What's the source for that tea?
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I like such short infusions with my green teas, at least as they're getting started, that I can't imagine doing them Grandpa style. I have on occasion done that with some of my more forgiving oolongs....
Today was a good day for tea. I started again with the Hon Yama Zairai sencha from Norbu, moved on to some fall Long Juan TGY from Jing Tea Shop, and then tried a new Dan Cong from Tea Habitat, 2009 "Ya Shi" aka "duck waste fragrance". It smelled a lot better than the name. More later when I have time for a proper review.
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as someone who's already damaged volume 3 by taking it into the kitchen (I hang my head).
You've simply added to the authenticity of that particular volume!
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(from SeattleGeek's review)
Suppose you want to turn a sauce into a thick gel with a particular mouthfeel for a dish you’re trying to create. Your Culinary Institute textbook might advise you to thicken by reducing, adding cornstarch, or perhaps using gelatin. But suppose that doesn’t yield the texture you’re after. A trip to the grocery store might reveal a few more options: xanthan gum, guar gum, fruit pectin, or perhaps even carrageenan. But which should you use and how should you use it?I've been making jams with agar since I heard Narsai David discuss it on his 'Cooking with Narsai' radio show 20+ years ago, because they free me from the tyranny of sugar required in my parents' pectin-based recipes. They're more consistent now, but it's still quite hit or miss. I can't wait to learn more about the thickeners I already have, and to see if there is something better out there, and apply those lessons to everything from jams to soups.....and the ever-present problem of textural damage due to freezing for my make-ahead lifestyle.
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Just think of them as very teeny-tiny lobsters. And little free-range escargots.
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What's making me obsessed about delivery times are how often I keep thinking to myself, "I wonder if I'll find a better way to do this when I get my copy of MC" as I'm cooking or thinking about cooking or reading other cookbooks. Just last night, reading the introduction to Dance of Spices, reviewing the role of heating spices in oil and releasing layers of flavor, I'm wondering about release vs loss of flavor, when is the gain of more accessible flavor elements balanced out by the loss of volatiles in the heating, and what does MC have to say about that? And should I prep some new batches of stock now, as the pantry shelves are nearly empty of it, or wait until I get my copy? Oddly paralyzing, when I consider that a few months ago this was not even on my radar.
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Today has been a day of variable success with tea. Much as the overall quality of my brewed tea has improved, there are still times like today when I think I've got it and blow it, even with a very tolerant and mellow tea--Bai Yun Yunnan Oolong, which is a favorite in part because it generally is so hard to screw up.
It started very well, with some Ya Bao wild camellia buds and flowers, and is ending well with some Hankook Korean Hwang Cha, which I keep infusing over an over. It's pretty much at the 'sweet water' stage, but this is a tea that keeps up the sweet taste in a pleasant way, so I'll keep going a while longer.
And when this one runs out of sweet, I'll try another infusion of the Bai Yun, to see if the packed leaves in the Kamjove have some more flavor left. I'm betting they do, and with a little more attention it will be very good again.
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Tajik Chickpea and Onion Stew, from Flatbreads and Flavors by Alford & Duguid: a simple soup with a marvelous twist of seasoning using cinnamon, saffron and cumin, plus peppers. The combination is fabulous, and served with a good cumin & scallion naan, it's as good as meal as I've ever eaten. This is very close to their recipe.
The recipe sounds good. Do you make your own naan?
Yes, the Uighur naan with cumin & onions from Flatbreads & flavors (my favorite cookbook). I don't have a proper tandoor, but with my bricks in the oven I get something that is quite pleasing nonetheless.
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Those of you who got revised shipping dates from Amazon.com--did the revised dates e-mail arrive before or on the original estimated delivery dates?
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A week or two ago, I finished off my sample packet of the 2006 Yong De Hand-braided Wild Arbor Sheng from Norbu, and it was time to break into the big beeng. But I wanted to get some good shots of the whole thing, because it is so amazingly beautiful as an intact cake. Time to show off my pu!
Wrapped
Unwrapped
Aside
Close up
Closer up
And the tea
And there are a few more images in the flickr set here.
It's quite a tasty tea, in addition to being beautiful.
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Two favorite chickpea dishes, not already mentioned here:
Tajik Chickpea and Onion Stew, from Flatbreads and Flavors by Alford & Duguid: a simple soup with a marvelous twist of seasoning using cinnamon, saffron and cumin, plus peppers. The combination is fabulous, and served with a good cumin & scallion naan, it's as good as meal as I've ever eaten. This is very close to their recipe.
Pasta Con Ceci, from Nonna's Kitchen, by Carol Field: A simple soup, put together from very plain ingredients, that never fails to please. Chickpeas, bit of rosemary, bit of tomato paste, garlic. I'm sure there are many similar recipes online, but this one is particularly nice and easy.
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Several days, no tea reports.
I've been working a satellite office, where the day starts too early to get in the morning sencha. Have has a little of almost every other kind of team, and looking back, nearly all were from Norbu--thermos-full brewings of Haiwan "Peacock Quest" shu pu from Norbu, some Yunnan Mao Feng, Diamond TGY, winter 2009 dark roasted TGY from Taiwan, and a wonderful series of infusions from some summer 2009 "high mountain beauty" alishan oolong; a good evening with ManMai young sheng puerh from Essence of Tea (featured in our recent TT&D here); and today, finished off the dark roast 2009 TGY, then went green with the 2010 Spring Wu Liang Mtn - Xue Dian Mei Lan.
I've definitely gotten better at getting what I want from my teas, even when, as was the case this morning, I realized I had managed to separate myself from all tea brewing vessels, and had to make do, preparing a thermos full of TGY for my drive using a nalgene water bottle. But so very nice to come back home to my cute new gaiwan, that is so exactly right for my preferred small-scale gongfu cha.
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Still seeing an estimated delivery date of next week, but no 'your order has shipped' or delay expected messages. Very odd. Given how late I was to the pre-order frenzy, it seems highly unlikely I'd get one of the very first copies....but still hoping. My birthday is coming up soon, would be great timing to get it just before....
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This afternoon, enjoying some of the Man mai, brewed in my Kamjove, infusion by infusion, on a bit larger scale than I usually do. Delicious--sweet, herbaceous, necessary for a siege of paperwork to come.
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As a first real experience with sheng puerhs, I can see that I have a lot to learn. The palate is quite different than my vocabulary permits me to explain, more subtle layers of flavor. I feel like I'm picking up some spice toward the end of the cup, but then it fades in the next sip and I can't find it again. I also feel like "grassy" is inadequate to describe that particular component; there's something older than grass in there and I can't quite get it out.
Fascinating stuff. I thought I was going to drink a cup of tea this afternoon, not contemplate the limits of my sensorium while staring into a white porcelain cup.
That's a key attraction of these lovely young shengs. They're complicated, demand attention, and reward it, as you discover new layers of flavor each time you brew.
What did You Learn (To Cook) From Your Parents?
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Mom taught me cooking basics: enough basic technique to read a recipe, follow it, and, sautéing, steaming, creaming, whipping, folding, to fry a chicken, bake a chiffon cake, keep myself & those around me fed adequately. But she cooked to keep her family fed, not because she liked it, so when we were reasonably trained, she gradually stopped cooking altogether.
Dad taught me a love of cooking and food, and that's why I'm here on the gullet. He too was a good cook with a repertoire of basic dishes, but then he started to explore, and while sometimes we felt more like experimental subjects than his children, the lessons stuck. He taught me to prepare and season a wok, mill wheat with fresh whole spices, and not be afraid to try new things, although the new things should never, ever include first-time tryouts of radical revisions of the traditional and much loved main course at Thanksgiving dinner.