31 Days off Your Duff {Day 10} - Lapsang Souchong Salmon

Last week, I noticed that my shop's supply of the smokey Lapsang Souchong Tea was getting pretty low. I was just about to put it back, wondering how soon until I sold the last cup of that tea, when a great idea struck!

I should marinate some salmon in this tea! Brilliant!

Hooray! I love great ideas, and I knew this was a good one.

Implementation

Friday afternoon I took out some fish to thaw... and saw that I had 1 salmon fillet left, and 1 tilapia. I was skeptical about cooking the tilapia in my Lapsang, but I did it anyway just for sake of the experiment.

After the fish thawed, I put them in a little bowl of my steeped tea and let them soak it up for a couple of hours.

Steeping in tea!

Then, because I was worried that wasn't enough, I cooked them in all of that liquid too. On hindsight, I don't believe that was exactly necessary, but I'll have to see next time.

I definitely took them out at exactly 165 degrees... because I never overcook fish so far that it reaches 190, no, not every single time...

Results

Hooray, time to try the fish!

This is exactly what my finished product looked like

They were a little soggy as I poked into them with my fork, having been cooked in liquid... but that wasn't the point of this. I wanted to see if they actually absorbed the smokey tea!

The salmon turned out really well! Of course, I put absolutely nothing on it but the tea, so it could definitely taste better. BUT, the important thing is that it tasted smokey!

Salmon, success.

Tilapia.... I can't really tell you how it turned out. I took a bite - or maybe a drink, I'm not sure. It REALLY didn't like being cooked in all the liquid - I gagged, and immediately shoved the memory of the experience out of my mind. It was so awful.

Tilapia, no. Just don't do it. No.

Conclusion

My results state that:

"Everyone should get off their duff and try some Lapsang Souchong Salmon!"

Just be sure not to boil it in liquid, and go ahead and spice it. Oh, and don't cook it to nearly 200 degrees.

Not that anybody would do that.

31 Days off Your Duff {Day 9} - TeaMind

Mmm, tea leaves are beautiful.

Okay, so this post isn't exactly about getting off your duff... it's more about sitting right down on it and relaxing!

Now, I don't mean relaxing like "I'm going to watch TV and laugh at other people's misery for a while." I mean relaxing like taking a few minutes for yourself to calm down, put your mind at peace, and really savour something.

You know what works perfectly to help you achieve these precious moments? Tea.


"The whole problem with civilization is that we've been trying to squeeze the mind into the brain and it won't fit. The great Gift of the Leaf is that it relaxes the brain, freeing it to float to its true home in the boundless and inexhaustible - the sublime state we call TeaMind"
-The Minister of Leaves, quoted from Republic of Tea's book Tea Chings

The Wonders of Tea

Tea is an extremely healthy drink for the human body. It has a few good vitamins, and green tea especially has the highest health benefits; it is full of more than 30 polyphenols ( a kind of antioxidant).

If you start looking into it, you can read about all kinds of studies that say tea does things like:

- reduce your risk of several types of cancer
- improve the health of your teeth (tea naturally has some flouride)
- provide you with more energy (we knew this one)
- lower your cholesterol
- soothe your aching stomach (again, you probably knew that)
- help sunburns to heal and stop hurting (you are supposed to steep yourself in a bath of black tea)

There almost seems to be no limit to the benefits one can get from tea!

I'm also convinced that tea makes you a happier person. If you noticed my little "About Me" over there, you'll know that I own a shop that sells tea. I have to say that rarely, do I get a tea drinker who is angry or frustrated.

Tea is made to be sipped and savoured, and I believe most people can feel this. It makes you slow down and appreciate life. As Republic of Tea says, enjoy life

"sip by sip rather than gulp by gulp."

31 Days off Your Duff {Day 8} - How to Beat Motion Sickness

As you may or may not have noticed, I did not post this on time yesterday. That would be because I was riding in a car, and I get very sick when I try to focus on something inside the vehicle. Just entering the car makes me feel a little nauseous.

However, a realization struck as I was thinking about my blog on the way back home. I had just eaten dinner, and was sitting staring out the window wondering if I would have the energy to write something when I finally got home, when it hit me; I wasn't feeling that little hint of nausea!

As I thought about it, I eventually came to the conclusion that having food in my stomach was the deciding factor here. When I had started the car ride, I was hungry, and therefore very susceptible to nausea. On the way back, my stomach was nice and satisfied, thus leaving me feeling just fine!

Finally, after two decades of misery, I noticed there was a hunger-to-motion-sickness ratio. Awesome.

Other Natural Ways to Combat Motion Sickness

- Eat mint; mint leaves, mint gum, mint tea, whatever you want
- Eat ginger; again, real ginger, ginger mints, ginger tea, etc.
- Apply pressure a little below your wrist, between your tendons (allegedly a nausea-controlling
  pressure point)
- Get up out of that car and walk around (there, this counts for a getting off your duff day, right?)
- Crack the window for some fresh air and a chilly breeze, both of which help me if
  I'm not too far gone


Don't forget, it's okay to walk a mile or two (or more, if you're up for it!) to your destination. The best way to beat motion sickness is to carry yourself with your own two feet!