What is in your cup?

[orlok]

Originally Posted by astra

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.

― Mark Twain

I'm reminded of the old Sun Newspaper advert "5 Million readers can't be wrong". I always used to shout at the telly "Oh yes they bloody can!"

Originally Posted by VydorScope

Surely you have heard of the bandwagon fallacy(aka Argumentum ad Populum) ?

If I knew what the hell you just said I'm sure I'd totally agree with you too...

[VydorScope]

Originally Posted by orlok

If I knew what the hell you just said I'm sure I'd totally agree with you too...

I'll take it!

[astra]

Cuppa #8

Bojenmi

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

[*sniff*]

So many of you have chicken blood in your cups! If not in your hearts!

[Good thing I changed to my meatless avatar!]

Gotta be careful about that avatar, someone might copy it.

Seriously, the whole point to this was to learn to do it the right way to to honour the chicken while ensuring it is done as humanely as possible.

Diet Coke #2. And I am trying to give this stuff up. Sigh.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by astra

My parents told me a story about my dad attempting to kill a chicken. First and the last time in his life.
He bought a chicken on a market. They told him it would be easy peasy. Just grab an axe and chop off its head.
He did it in a big court, surrounded with 5 store blocks of flats.
Both of them still remember this running headless chicken... and neighbours sticking their heads out of windows, laughing and giving tips

Yup. Turns out that's just about the least humane way to do it, and not at all easy. We used Joel Saliton's cone method.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

My parents occasionally run a course like that for members of the Norfolk Smallholders Group. How to kill, pluck, and clean a chicken to make it ready for the oven. Chicken provided!

Nothing in my cup at the moment.

When I was little, we had chickens and rabbits. I hated when dad would kill them and mom and I had to pluck/clean them for the pot. I would hide when he got the ax out, as I hated to see when they got away and ran around headless. Dad finally made a box to put them in and just leave their heads out for when he killed them. I still hated plucking all those dang feathers! What made it worse was that I usually named them all and felt bad about eating my "friends" (well, not the ones that use to peck me when I was gathering eggs. ).

Last of my morning coffee in my cup.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by dreams

When I was little, we had chickens and rabbits. I hated when dad would kill them and mom and I had to pluck/clean them for the pot. I would hide when he got the ax out, as I hated to see when they got away and ran around headless. Dad finally made a box to put them in and just leave their heads out for when he killed them. I still hated plucking all those dang feathers! What made it worse was that I usually named them all and felt bad about eating my "friends" (well, not the ones that use to peck me when I was gathering eggs. ).

Last of my morning coffee in my cup.

Memo to self: Unfriend dreams ASAP - before she gets hungry!

[astra]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Memo to self: Unfriend dreams ASAP - before she gets hungry!

Cuppa #9
Keemun (The Chinese Tea Company)

(I am still playing with steeping time/amount/temperature)
Time is usually the same - 4min, temp., was this time about 95°C (not 90°C as I did in the past). 2 very heaped tsps.
Nice tea. I enjoy it. The only drawback is its price. I would not pay more than half of its so called RRP - £30.40/100gr.

[CRussel]

Afternoon cuppa: Okayti Estate First Flush Darjeeling. Quite nice. Subtle, floral, and almost green. My first from this estate, and I'm quite pleasantly surprised.

[Stitchawl]

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and they carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZKB-ZQTkO8 )

... Occupy this... occupy that. When we did it, we called it a "Love In..." Still, it's good to see the support for the movement.

Good morning, everyone. Monday morning sunshine spilling in through my window. Ahmad "English Breakfast" tea in a big mug beside me, a plate of babbaganoush and hummus next to that, and a good start on the day!

Originally Posted by orlok

I think I've said this before, but Liptons are the biggest selling tea in China! Surely umpteen millions of tea drinkers cannot be wrong .

Sure they can. Just like millions of US voters can be wrong. The proof is in Afghanistan, Iraq, Djibouti, Kenya, and a few other places right now. We all make mistakes!

Originally Posted by CRussel

Plus, being an omnivore, I think it's important to understand and be in touch with my role and place in the food chain.

I salute you in your attempt to connect with your food supply. I think if more people did this, there would be a lot less 'assembly line' chicken farming, beef mutilation, etc., etc. Of course there may also be a lot more vegetarianism too. I always hated having to field dress game, clean chicken I bought from the street markets, etc., but it really put me in the know about how I wanted my food handled.

Originally Posted by astra

I found today English Breakfast made entirely of Keemun

I wonder if this can really be called a 'blend?'

Lapsang Souchong is an interesting animal.
I would dare a guess that wiki is the most accurate but it would be only a guess.

From my own perspective, I've found Wikipedia to be remarkable inaccurate! While I do use it, if I really need absolute facts I'll always go to a second (and often third) source to verify. I like Wiki, but take it with a grain of salt. All too many errors.

Poohbear, why is your avatar that of a Pterodactyl?

Time for another mug of Ahmad. I'll need to go into Osaka in the next few days and try to buy some more!

Stitchawl

[poohbear_nc]

Poohbear, why is your avatar that of a Pterodactyl?

Nay, nay - I'm a "meatless" chicken - it's my Halloween costume!

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Nay, nay - I'm a "meatless" chicken - it's my Halloween costume!

Oop! My apologies. But wouldn't a 'meatless chicken' be a Tofu?

Happy Halloween!


Stitchawl

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by orlok

I'm reminded of the old Sun Newspaper advert "5 Million readers can't be wrong". I always used to shout at the telly "Oh yes they bloody can!"

I always have the same thought!!

Originally Posted by CRussel

Seriously, the whole point to this was to learn to do it the right way to to honour the chicken while ensuring it is done as humanely as possible.

I agree with the "humanely" part, but for "honor"... Why so? We COOK it, then EAT it anyway (and with pleasure!)... Do cooking and eating sound very humane/honourable?
Should we chop garlic and crack the eggs humanely, and with honor, too?

My point is, we should do it fast. That's all. Please don't use big words for everyday activities.

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Oop! My apologies. But woudn't a 'meatless chicken' be a Tofu?l

Good point

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

Should we chop garlic and crack the eggs humanely, and with honor, too?

Frankly, I LOVE to listen to the garlic scream in terror as I approach it with the cleaver....


Stitchawl

[CRussel]

I agree with the "humanely" part, but for "honor"... Why so? We COOK it, then EAT it anyway (and with pleasure!)... Do cooking and eating sound very humane/honourable?

By making sure that we use every possible part of them, rather than tossing out the less obviously good parts to the dumpster (bin, in the UK.) You may not like that way of referring to it, but it's one commonly used. Unlike pigs, there are parts of the chicken that aren't usable (but even they can be composted if you know how to compost properly.)

Wasn't trying to start a discussion of chicken ethics here, really. Just talking about doing something very different than my usual day, which is spent in front of a computer.

In my glass: a wee dram of Glenmorangie.