w-TEA-f?!

On cold night's like this, tea really hits the spot. My current favorite is green tea with barley. It has a nice toasty flavor to it.

With so many varieties...what is what??

Most tea is from the Camilla sinensis plant and depends on how it's processed. As soon as the tea leaf is picked, it begins to wilt and oxidize (ferment). Drying the tea leaves stops this process. The longer the oxidation the more robust the flavor. However fresh leaves (ie unoxidized leaves) have higher levels of some phytochemicals, especially antioxidants...this applies to white, yellow and green. All these teas derived from the C. sinensis plant contain caffeine. Here are the different varieties from youngest to oldest.

• White: Wilted and unoxidized
• Yellow: Unwilted and unoxidized, but allowed to yellow
• Green: Unwilted and unoxidized
• Oolong: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized
• Black: Wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized
• Post-fermented: Green tea that has been allowed to ferment/compost

Now I've never heard of yellow tea, but read that it is allowed to dry slower than green, which causes the leaves to yellow. Sometimes the smell can be mistaken for black tea, but the taste is in between white and green. Post-fermented tea are aged in open air for additional months to years, with the most common variety being Pu'er.

You also have other varieties such as:

• Rooibos: African for "Red Bush". Commonly called South Africa red tea. High in antioxidants and no caffeine.
• Chai: Black tea (therefore caffeinated) of Indian origin with spices. Can be sweetened with sugar and mixed with milk/cream.
• Herbal: No caffeine. Varieties include ginger and chamomile.

Now every tea has an optimal brewing temperature and time. This is to ensure the flavors properly develop without becoming bitter. General rule of thumb is that the younger the tea, the lower water temperature to avoid destroying their delicate flavors. Older teas such as Oolong and Black can withstand higher temperatures which will also allow more complex flavors to be extracted. Steeping time and how many times you can infuse your tea leaves will vary as well.

Here's a general guideline:

Type	Water Temp	Steep Time	# of Infusions
White Tea	65 to 70 °C (149 to 158 °F)	1-2 minutes	3
Yellow Tea	70 to 75 °C (158 to 167 °F)	1-2 minutes	3
Green Tea	75 to 80 °C (167 to 176 °F)	1-2 minutes	4-6
Oolong Tea	80 to 85 °C (176 to 185 °F)	2-3 minutes	4-6
Black Tea	99 °C (210 °F)	2-3 minutes	2-3
Pu’er Tea (Post-Fermented)	95 to 100 °C (203 to 212 °F)	Limitless	Several
Herbal Tea	99 °C (210 °F)	3-6 minutes	Varied

Now grab some tea and get brewing!

Soba Noodles (my favorite carb)

I was introduced to the wonders of soba last year in 2010 by my friend Tim Wut. WTH is soba you ask? Simply put, it's buckwheat noodles, traditionally Japanese.

And all I can say is that I LOVE it. It's high in fiber, good source of protein, low in fat AND cooks in 5 minutes (while brown rice can take up to 45 minutes). But be careful, not all brands are the same. Some have virtually no nutrition value, so be sure to read the label. My favorite brand so far is by the company CJ. It's actually a Korean brand, but they also make soba noodles called "zarusoba". It has a combination of buckwheat flour and yam flour which gives it it's high fiber and protein content.
 

 Looking at the label, you can see that each serving dishes out 270 calories, 11g fiber, 17g protein, 0g of fat as well as 24% of your daily value (DV) iron. Compared to 1 cup brown which has 216 calories, 4g fiber, 5g protein, 2g fat, and 5% DV iron. The downside is  that it's much higher in carbs (about 42%) as well as containing loads of sodium. I'm hoping most of it leeches out while I'm boiling the noodles.


Even with those high numbers, I still prefer soba as a quick meal in a pinch. It's easy to make, tasty, and filling. Boil in water for 5 minutes, strain and rinse with cold water (or warm if you like your noodles warm) and serve with your choice of veggies and/or protein. There's also soba sauce, which is flavored with soy sauce and bonito flakes, but loads of sodium as well, so use in moderation. I like to toss in whatever I have on hand. Pictured below I have spinach, corn kernals, toasted sesame seeds, dried seaweed, and fresh crab ^_^

 
CJ brand foods is a wholesale company, so you can only find their products in stores and a few online stores. Korean markets will carry it, such as H-Mart, but so far I find that Freshia market is the best value at a pack of 8 bundles for $5.49. This is defininitely a staple in my pantry!

Not-So-Evil Sprouts

It's been awhile since I've blogged. I know I've neglected it for a looooooooong time. I didn't really have a strong focus back then, writing about whatever food. But after starting grad school this year with a focus on a masters in nutrition, I've been excited about good healthy food again!

Now I've always had this bad connotation about brussel sprouts. I blame it on TV. Kids giving disgusted looks when they see brussel sprouts. And I figured it tasted pretty gross too.

But I had brussel sprouts some time last year from a friend who was obsessed with Jean Claude Van Damme aka "Mucles from Brussels". And I'll admit it tasted pretty good. And I just recently been eating it more often now since it's a winter crop, so it's pretty abundant at markets such as Trader Joe's and Costco.

It's a cruciferous veggie and in the same family as cabbage, collard greens, broccoli, kale.

A 1 cup serving of these sprouts offer over a full daily value of Vitamin C (125%) and K (195%), with some Vitamin A and folic acid as well (13% DV each). And 3g of fiber to boot.

Plus it's super easy to cook. I usually just like to rinse, cut it half or quarters, saute with a bit of olive oil and garlic, and seasoned with salt and pepper. Be careful to not overcook (turns soft and gray) which can cause a sulfurous odor, glucosinolate sinigrin, to be released, which can also taste a bit sharp like horseradish. May be the reason people dislike brussel sprouts in the first place!