Too much tea!

Regulars here at SGR might be aware of our interest in tea. See entries on 17th and 25th of June, 2004. Last week, as I reorganised the kitchen cupboards, I decided to put all the teas in one place. In doing this, I made a startling discovery. We have a lot of tea. I mean A LOT of tea. Just a second… [TOM REACHES FOR HIS THESAURUS] … We have a SURFEIT of tea in this place.

I discussed this with the lads and we came to the surmise [TOM KEEPS HIS THESAURUS HANDY] that none of us can pass up a bargain and the supermarkets keep putting the darn stuff on special. Nevertheless, we now have a gamut of hot beverage alternatives and excellent tea-erudition to match. So I thought I might enumerate all the teas we dominate and engender a few benevolent heeds. For those of you who abhor tea, I’ve mentioned a couple of biscuits in there too.

The SGR Tea List:

• Dilmah Loose leaf Tea: This is our only loose leaf tea. Since pot tea is usually my preference I tend to choose this one. It is a lovely Ceylon tea, your classic cuppa.
• Dilmah English Afternoon Tea: A refreshing, less intense flavour. Very Soothing.
• Lipton Black tea: Your classic tea. Nothing special yet always a winner.
• Tetley All-rounder: A rich, strong, delicious cuppa. Perfect for first thing in the morning.
• Twinings Ceylon Orange Pekoe Tea: Again, a delicious refreshing cuppa. Never fails to satisfy.
• Tetley TeaPlus Balancing: Moving away from the classic teas now, TeaPlus is Tetley’s refreshing taste with a hint of fennel and lime flower. It is also low in caffeine. Perfect for an evening tea.
• Vital Organic Rooibos Tea: a new favourite here at SGR. This South African “Red Tea” is excellent for the digestive system and is also beneficial for allergy sufferers. With delicious earthy flavours and being naturally caffeine free, Rooibos is one of the few herbal teas that can be enjoyed with (or without) milk. Perfect at the end of a long day. Try it!
• Lipton Caramel flavoured Black Tea: See the “New Tasty Teas” entry from Thursday June 17 2004.
• Twinings Lapsang Souchong Tea: See the “Watch out for some disturbing teas!” entry from Friday June 25 2004.
• Twinings Lemon Scented: Bracing flavour; black tea with a twist of lemon.
• Twinings Lemon Twist: Bracing flavour; black tea with the scent of lemon.
• Lipton Green Tea – Jasmine: Aromatic green teas. Personally not a fan of green tea, but I’d make a cup of this just to smell it.
• Nerada Organic Green Tea – Earl Grey: Green Tea with Earl Grey’s distinctive bergamot flavour. Personally I prefer your classic Earl, but, whatever floats ya boat.
• Arnott’s Chocolate Scotch Finger Biscuits: Fun and ambrosial. Following a blind taste test carried out by Jono and myself, we concluded that Arnott’s Choc Scotch Fingers are significantly nicer than Home Brand’s.
• Arnott’s Monte Carlo: Artificially fruity and sickeningly sweet – one of the best biscuits ever.

We yearn that this has been affable, heuristic and mirthy. We hanker any animadversion or plaudits.

Bibliography:
Fergusson, R. (2001). The Penguin A-Z Thesaurus. Penguin Book Ld: St Ives.

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Washing Up

As we established on Monday, we all must eat. (See previous entry if you’re having problems so far). It follows logically then that we all must do the washing up.

When plates get used, they get dirty and they need a wash. The same is true for cutlery, pans, bowls, cups, mugs, the cheese grater, the chopping board, the beaters (even [especially] after you’ve licked them) in fact just about anything used in the food making process. Don’t be fooled by the term “Doing the dishes”, there’s a lot more to it then that.

While doing the washing up is a universal fact of life, how one does the washing up seems to vary greatly from person to person. I have discovered that a great deal of feeling can be behind a person’s washing up habits, it reflects how they were raised and what makes them feel secure. Here a SGR, we are all brush users, but we have a sponge and a cloth on hand so that if a non-brush user volunteers to do the washing-up he (or, most often, she) will not feel uncomfortable. We’re very kind like that.

Some may say that I am looking too deeply into what is, at surface level anyway, an ordinary, mundane aspect of life. Others may say I am loopy, and others still may say that I am just killing time, hiding out in my room until someone else comes home and does the dishes for me. And while these hypotheses (one in particular) are quite valid, I think the world would be a more friendly place if we were all understood eacher other’s little ideo”sink”racies.

I’m Tom of SGR

Food

If you’ve survived more then a few weeks on this Earth, I’m sure you would have, at some point, consumed some food. Along with oxygen, water, love, and a comfortable pair of shoes, food is critical for our survival.

Presumably if you, like me, are relatively well off (I mean in the grand scheme of things – you have the internet after all), then food may not seem as important for survival as other things. When you sit down to lunch, you don’t say: “Gad, I must eat this, lest I perish”, you’re far more likely to just eat up, and then maybe say “I wonder if I should have had the chicken instead…”

Food is a social cornerstone of our society. Unlike other bodily functions which must be executed in privacy, eating food is almost always a public affair. Whenever possible we dine with company, only alone when we need to.

Where is my point leading?

Nowhere in particular, but I will leave you with this recipe for a delicious and novel snack which is cheap, healthy and fun to make.

Two Minute Noodle Omelet

Ingredients

1 packet of two minute noodles (You can get 99% Fat free varieties)

1 or 2 eggs

1.5 dashes of milk or cream (if you like)

Herbs, spices, other things you might put in an omelet. (Today I’m going to try sweet chili sauce and fresh chopped coriander.)

What to do…

1. Cook the 2-minute noodles as per instructions. For a bit of texture, cook them a little al dente, a tiny bit underdone.

2. Drain the noodles and add the egg, herbs, spices, etc. Mix well taking care not to break up the noodles too much.

3. Add the omelet mixture to a hot, greased, non-stick pan and cook on either side.

4. Serve

State of Serenity

What a week it’s been! For the last six days I’ve been living it up in Queensland at the 26th World Congress of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, and what a congress it was! Rubbing shoulders with the Who’s Who of Speech Pathology (or is that “Who’s whom”?) and enjoying the wonderous Brisbane.

May I say what a beautiful town Brisbane is? It was simply spectacular, if you’ve never been, go! If you have been but not in the last little while, go again! If you’re lucky enough to live there, open your window and shout out something wonderous and subtropical!

Anyhue (preferably indigo), I must end now. The world is an amazing place.

PS As my esteemed friend and house mate Dan pointed out in a recent reply, no body seems to be replying to entries! Does this mean nobody’s reading them? It’s really not that hard, folks! You’ll find comprehensive instruction on the right of screen. Talk to me!!

I’m Tom of SGR, Goodnight.