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I normally do not write about coffee. Not that I do not drink coffee &mdash; I do &mdash; but rather that I am really not a morning person and also that I do not consider it &ldquo;part of my diet.&rdquo; Here I am using <em>diet</em> as an adjective in the sense &ldquo;of or relating to a food regimen designed to promote weight loss,&rdquo; rather than as a noun as &ldquo;the usual food and drink of a person,&rdquo; or &ldquo;something used, enjoyed, or provided regularly.&rdquo;* Certainly coffee is part of my usual food and drink and in my house it is certainly used, enjoyed, and provided regularly, but I do not really consider it part of the regimen designed to promote weight loss in me. This journal started out as just a place for me to log my food intake so that I would not be surprised when I did not loose the weight I thought I would. Since then I have discovered a great community of people who love food for a multitude of reasons and love talking about it. I guess maybe it is time for me to loosen up a little bit and talk about the stuff I enjoy even if it has no caloric content.



The other reason, as I said, is that I am not a morning person. The ritual making of the coffee is something reserved for my wife and experienced by me only through the muted sounds of footsteps in the kitchen and the whine of the coffee grinder as heard from under the covers in the bedroom. Even the experience of drinking the coffee is filtered through the fog of trying to wake up &mdash; something that normally takes me several hours.



We are currently drinking <a href="http://www.folgers.com/wb_varieties.shtml" title="Folgers Whole Bean Varieties">Folgers Whole Bean 100% Columbian Coffee</a>. Columbian in this case refers to the country of origin, rather than the variety. The variety is, of course, <em>Coffea arabica</em>, which <a href="http://www.coffeeresearch.org/agriculture/coffeeplant.htm" title="Coffee Plant">accounts for 75-80% of the world&rsquo;s production</a>. We grind it ourselves with a <a href="http://www.krups.com/us/products/index.cfm?page=family.cfm&amp;query=uni%3DKAFFE%26fam%3DKUTEE" title="KRUPS - Expect the best">Krups Electric Coffee Grinder</a>. We like it fairly strong, so we let it grind until the beans have been broken down into their constituent subatomic particles &mdash; maybe 30 seconds. We also use a <a href="http://www.krups.com/us/products/index.cfm?page=family.cfm&amp;query=uni%3DESPRE%26fam%3DKOMBI" title="KRUPS - Expect the best">Krups coffee maker</a>. It is one of those with a built in expresso machine. What we discovered was that our regular coffee was as strong as the expresso and we could make it ten cups at a time, rather than half a cup at a time with the expresso machine. Plus, the expresso machine is a fairly high maintenance device, while the coffee machine is something that we can operate in our early morning stupor. If we had it to do again, we would probably just get a coffee only unit.



We used to use one of those re-useable gold filters but somewhere along the line somebody told Gretchen that the paper filters filter out something that increases cholesterol levels while the gold filters did not. Anyway, I at least talked her into using unbleached ones, though I can still taste the paper in the coffee.



We both drink our coffee unadulterated. No sweetener. No dairy. We do not like coffee flavored foods.



So, that is coffee in our house. It is not very exciting, but there it is.



I do have one recommendation about coffee though. If you are ever in <a href="http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/tourism/" title="Tourist / tourism information in the Harrogate district - Harrogate Borough Council">Harrogate</a>, go to <a href="http://www.bettysandtaylors.co.uk/" title="Bettys &amp; Taylors of Harrogate Ltd">Betty&rsquo;s Caf&eacute; Tea Room</a> and get yourself a cup of their special caf&eacute; blend. We loved it when we were there. For the die hard fan, you can even <a href="http://www.bettysbypost.co.uk/" title="Welcome to the Bettys by Post Mail order Shop">order it on the Web</a>. While you are there, I can highly recommend the Old Swan Hotel &mdash; lovely coffee made at the table in individual coffee presses &mdash; and definitely take a stroll through the gardens while you are there. If you would prefer to stay in nearby Ripon, I can recommend the <a href="http://www.unicorn-hotel.co.uk/" title="The Unicorn Hotel Ripon">Unicorn Hotel</a>. They have a lovely little pub (sorry but I do not remember their coffee :-).

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* Definitions via <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=diet" title="Dictionary.com/diet">Dictionary.com</a>.

Breakfast was an orange. I weighed in at 158 pounds. Before lunch I did ten squats, twenty sit-ups (two sets of ten), ten lunges, and ten push-ups (three good and seven pathetic). Lunch was the last of the butternut squash and vegetable gratin from the other night, a slice of what Gretchen calls &ldquo;Colonial&rdquo; bread &mdash; Colonial Rye, which uses Rye Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, White Flour, and Corn Meal&hellip; without the Rye Flour &mdash; with a glass of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=1" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Soave</a>.

<ins datetime="2004-01-24T19:34:00-05:00">Dinner was a bowl of chili, a salad, corn sticks, and corn muffins, with two glasses of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=1" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Soave</a>.</ins>

This President seems to talk a lot about his faith based programs. Now I have strong feelings about this President, but I was taught that members of polite society never discuss religion or politics, and this post treads dangerously close to both, but it really is not what this post is about. The point is that there are a lot of things that we do in this life that are not based on “scientific evidence.”



For instance, some might say that there is no scientific evidence of the existence of a supreme being. To be fair and balanced, others say there is plenty of proof of the existence of God. The point I am trying to make is that you cannot put Him in a test tube, expose Him to controlled conditions, and expect to get repeatable results, in the fashion of the scientific method. If you could, religion would be easy. There would be a right answer and a wrong answer. You would be able to tell people definitively that there is — or is not — a  supreme being. Not only that, you would be able to tell them His — or Her — name. Think about it. No more religious arguments. No more religious wars. No more jihads. No more crusades.



But the world is not like that. Belief in God is based on faith and faith alone. You either have faith or you do not. You either believe or you do not. But wait, for those that do not, there is a further breakdown. They are either convinced there is no God or they “wonder” about His existence.



The logic of those who wonder goes like this… Suppose there is a God and an Afterlife — the whole enchilada, just like they say. If there is, then you better behave they way they say to. If it turns out there is not, does it really hurt to act that way? Does it suddenly become a bad idea to “love thy neighbor?” Does it suddenly become a good idea to go out and start killing people or dishonoring your mother and your father? Do lust, anger, envy, gluttony, sloth, pride, and greed suddenly become virtues? Think about it.



So here is the point: Just because an action is not based on scientific evidence does not mean that it is a bad idea.



There may be no scientific evidence for a connection between feeding Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) infected cow byproducts to other cows and the development of BSE in those cows, or for a connection between eating food made from BSE infected cows and the development of variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) in the people who ate them. However, that does not mean that stopping the practice of feeding BSE infected byproducts to cows is a bad idea and it also does not mean that the practice of keeping BSE infected beef byproducts out of the food system is a bad idea, either.



My faith in God is between Him and me. I openly “wonder” whether it really hurts to behave as if cows should be fed a vegetarian diet or that BSE causes vCJD. I am willing to let scientists continue to search for scientific evidence for the existence of God and for the causes of BSE and vCJD. In the mean time, I am willing to go on faith and wonder.

According to the <a href="http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/0,1082,0_557_,00.html#trav" title="American Red Cross">American Red Cross</a>,    &ldquo;persons who have spent long periods of time in countries where &lsquo;mad cow disease&rsquo; is found are not eligible to donate [blood].&rdquo; <a href="http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/blood/supply/cjdv.html" title="In-Depth Discussion of Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease and Blood Donation">Specifically</a>, &ldquo;you are not eligible to donate if, since 1980, you&hellip; spent a total time of 3 months or more in&hellip; England&hellip; or spent a total time of 6 months or more in&hellip; Germany.&rdquo; Well, that covers me on all counts. It has been more than ten years and I have not shown any symptoms, but clearly the Red Cross thinks there is cause for concern. I do not believe I have variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) and I was exposed at the height of the crisis in Europe. Obviously the chances I would get it in Europe when I was there in the Eighties were much higher than the chances I will get it now, here in the United States. Also, I agree with the pundits who say that there is &ldquo;no scientific evidence&rdquo; of a connection between Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and vCJD. However, there were many people who were irreparably harmed by their lead plumbing and lead based paint (and lead enhanced fuels) before there was scientific evidence of lead&rsquo;s effects on the nervous system and infant development. In addition, there were many people who died from infection&rsquo;s received during surgery before there was scientific evidence of the existence of germs and bacteria. Just because there is no scientific evidence proving a link between feeding cows byproducts of BSE infected beef and the development of BSE in those cows does not mean that it is not true. Just because there is no scientific evidence proving a link between the eating of BSE infected beef and the development of vCJD does not mean that it is not true.



There is an old saying that goes something like, &ldquo;Crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting something different to happen.&ldquo;



If our own experience tells us that people who eat BSE infected beef seem to get vCJD and we do not want to get vCJD then the obvious thing to do is to stop eating BSE infected beef. If our own experience tells us that cows that are fed byproducts of BSE infected beef seem to get BSE and we do not want the cows to get BSE then the obvious thing to do is to stop feeding byproducts of BSE infected beef to cows.



Now I am all for personal responsibility, and trust me, I am personally going to be very suspicious of the beef I eat from now on. So, I am probably going to be eating only organic beef for the rare occasions when I eat beef for the foreseeable future. However, if the beef industry wants to get out from under this they will embrace change, they will actually call for government regulation. If they want anyone to trust them, ever again, they will not wait for scientific proof of a link.

• 12.352 Gallons
• $1.619/Gallon
• $20.00
• 298.0 Miles
• 24.1 Miles/Gallon
• 7¢/Mile
• 15 Days

Breakfast this morning was a bowl of mixed fruit — orange, pineapple, and banana. I weighed in at 158 pounds. I guess yesterday’s weight was an anomaly.



Lunch was Panda Buffet’s orange chicken with vegetables on chow mien noodles with hot and sour soup, a fortune cookie, and a small sierra mist. No walk today — much much much too cold, and besides, I have a meeting right after lunch.



<ins datetime="2004-01-23T19:16:00-05:00">Dinner was more of that butternut squash and vegetable gratin from the other night with a glass of <a href="http://www.bolla.com/view_wine.asp?nWID=1" title="Bolla Wines of Italy - Open Up">Bolla Soave</a> and a slice of cherry pie that Gretchen made today using cherries we picked and froze this past summer.</ins>

It’s winter, the season of luscious slow-cooked stews and hearty steak dinners. What is a beef-craving consumer to do?

Here, in Centre County, we have many options. The best and most logical is to know where your beef comes from. We are lucky to have farms all around us and many raise animals for meat. Making the connection between grower and consumer is easy.

At Tait Farm in Boalsburg, organic beef is for sale to the public several afternoons a month. Bill Callahan from Cow-a-Hen Farm in Mifflinburg and Sarah Rider, who raises Highland and Angus beef at her Blue Grass Beef farm on Upper Brush Valley Road, alternate selling dates at the Harvest Shoppe… and are happy to speak with consumers about their methods.

Lyn Garling, from Over the Moon Farm, sells pasture-raised beef to clients who sign up in advance, though she often has extra cuts available.

At the Granary, you can buy organic beef raised by Natural Acres Farm in Millersburg. Natural Acres products are also available at Nature’s Pantry, where Cow-a-Hen meats can be found in the freezer case.

“It is always safer if you know the source,” said Rider, who has been fielding many questions since the story broke. “You can talk to the farmer and find out where the animals are from and what they eat.” [Anne Quinn Corr]

The same foods can produce profoundly different sensations, pleasant or unpleasant, for different people.

The taste buds are linked to nerves that transmit sensations of taste, temperature and touch to the brain. Scientists have quantified how taste is determined by the number of taste buds and their distribution, affecting sensitivity to the major tastes — sweet, sour, salty and bitter — as well as to things like hot peppers and the fat content of food.

About 25 percent of the population are supertasters, blessed or cursed with a heightened sensitivity because the concentration of their taste buds can be 100 times as great as the concentration in nontasters, who also make up about 25 percent of the world. Regular tasters, about half of all people, fall somewhere in between.

Supertasters usually find sweet foods unpleasant, because sugar is twice as potent to their taste buds. The same holds true for some strongly flavored fruits and vegetables, like broccoli and grapefruit. [NYTimes]

Breakfast this morning was a bowl of mixed fruit — orange, pineapple, and banana. I weighed in at 156 pounds.



<ins datetime="2004-01-22T13:33:00-05:00">Lunch was an over four mile walk after a warm up of 10 toe-touchers, 10 squats, 5 pathetic push-ups, and 5 really pathetic sit-ups. <em>Pathetic!</em> I have nothing for lunch, but my stomach is growling. What to do? What to do?</ins>

<ins datetime="2004-01-23T12:52:00-05:00">Dinner was Lo Mien and the rest of yesterday&rsquo;s fudge.</ins>

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Vegetable Lo Mien

Ingredients

• ¼ cup Soy Sauce
• 3 cloves Garlic, pressed
• 1 tablespoon Ginger, ground
• ¼ teaspoon Dried Red Pepper Flakes, crushed
• 2 tablespoons Dry Sherry
• 3 cups Water, to cook noodles
• 5 ounces Noodles (Whole Wheat Spaghetti will do nicely)
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil plus 4 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 each Small Onions, chopped
• 1 Carrot, cut into match sticks
• 1 stalk Celery, cut into slices on the diagonal
• 2 cups Cabbage, shredded
• 2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
• ⅓ cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix ¼ cup of soy sauce, 3 cloves of pressed garlic, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, and 2 tablespoons of dry sherry.
2. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add 5 ounces of noodles. Reduce heat. Cook noodles until done — about 3 minutes. Drain the noodles and toss with 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
3. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a wok on high heat. Add the onions and stir fry until caramelized — about 1½ minutes. Add the carrots, celery, and cabbage. Pour the sauce mixture over the vegetables. Cook until the cabbage has wilted. Add the noodles and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Stir and cook for another three minutes.

Serve hot. Makes four servings. 

The objective of a tea gathering is that of Zen Buddhism — to live in this moment — and the entire ritual is designed to focus the senses so that one is totally involved in the occasion and not distracted by mundane thoughts. [The Embassy of Japan in Singapore]