What is in your cup?

[CRussel]

I enjoy going to new places for a vacation, but rarely enjoy the process of travel. The exception, of course, is when the travel itself is the point. Taking the Concorde to the UK, and coming back on the QE2 was an example of that. As is almost any cruise, where it's the cruise that's the vacation, at least as much as the places you visit. OTOH, most times the plane ride to get to that cruise is just a slog at best.

Travel for work, OTOH, is virtually always just not fun.

Waiting to get on the Ferry, where I will have cranberry juice with my breakfast.

[CRussel]

Good morning, all. After a bit of light rain yesterday, we're back to another perfect day in Paradise. I've done most of my day job for the week already, so I'm going to start a couple of batches of sausage here. Probably a batch of Mexican chorizo, and some Polish kielbasa. The later needs smoking, but both have 3 days of marinating before grinding and stuffing, so they'll be on a similar schedule.

This is clearly a tea day, so I think I'll start with Murchie's English Breakfast Blend tea.

[ProfCrash]

Oprah's Chai for the morning.

[CRussel]

Time to grind and stuff sausage today. I started two batches on Thursday, so they're done marinating today and they get ground and stuffed. One is Mexican chorizo -- it will hang for a day or so after stuffing, and then get vacuum sealed and frozen. The other is Polish Kielsbsa -- it's going to hang until tomorrow, then get smoked all day (first cold smoke, then hot) with hickory smoke. (Traditionally it would be oak but I don't currently have any oak, so hickory is the closest I've got -- a bit stronger, but in the right flavour profile.) Once out of the smoke, it will hang for a week or so, and if there's any left it will get vacuum sealed. Since it's a cooked sausage (I let it heat to 152F in the smoker), it doesn't really need to be frozen.

All this work calls for coffee - Peet's Major Dickason's Blend.

[Difflugia]

Some Taiwanese full-leaf oolong in tea bags that I found yesterday.



It's surprisingly good. I also got a similar box of Earl Grey. It's got a picture of buddha finger citron on the box, but the ingredients just list "Earl Grey flavour", so I'm curious what it tastes like.

Spicy chorizo sounds really good. There's a Mexican grocery nearby that makes its own with good pork. Probably not quite up to the standards of your own, but I think I need to stop and get some.

[CRussel]

Mine started out as a Dianna Kennedy recipe, several dozen iterations ago. But it's now all mine. It's not a particularly hot sausage - I figure one can always add heat later - but it has a real depth of flavour from the 6 different chilies in it.

Faux San Pellegrino.

[cromag]

Opened a fresh cannister of Puerh, today. I'm just now finishing off the last mug for the day.

[ProfCrash]

Gyokuro Imperial this morning. I am not sure what my day tea will be

[CRussel]

Good morning! A cloudy and misty kind of morning, here, but there's supposed to be clearing by the afternoon. IAC, a day for tea, and tea with authority. So, Peet's Irish Breakfast it is, then.

ETA: Oh, and headed out to the smoker right now to get the Kielbasa started. Had the left-overs from the stuffing process scrambled with eggs for breakfast. Yumm. This is going to be a good batch!

[Difflugia]

I'm trying the Taiwanese Earl Grey today and it's definitely a combination of flavors that I'm not accustomed to.

The citrus isn't quite as powerful as in English Earl Greys. It smells somewhat lemony, but the main flavor is definitely bergamot. The tea itself tastes less sweet or malty than Indian black teas. It has a strong earthy and almost smoky flavor and is very tannic, but it's not particularly bitter. The aftertaste of the tea lingers after I can no longer taste the citrus and reminds me of the smell of dry oak leaves.

[ProfCrash]

Sounds interesting.

I am drinking Earl Grey but the traditional US version. (grins)

[CRussel]

I don't even have any Earl Grey in the house any more -- I kind of went off that bergamot hit. But a couple of my recent Murchie's purchases have some bergamot in them, and they weren't bad. I may end up trying some Earl Grey versions again...

Meanwhile, drinking faux San Pellegrino while I work on a script and also smoke my batch of kielbasa.

[ProfCrash]

Teavana has an Earl Grey that is good and light on the bergamot, Earl Grey Cream. I am not drinking it right now but it is one of my favorites from them.

[Difflugia]

The Taiwanese oolong again.

[ProfCrash]

Darjeeling de Triumph. Good tea. Yummy tea.

I might disappear for a while. I have heard that there is this strange yellow orb that appears in the sky. Apparently it provides warmth and helps things to grow. I have not seen it but once in 17 days so I have decided a quest is needed.

Soooooo sick of the freaking rain. Done with it. Just send it to California were they want the rain. We are already at the monthly average and rain is predicted for the rest of the freaking week.

gggtrtttttttrrrrrrrrr