Dr. Zhivago and "The Secrets we Kept"

This is a terrible way to waste 15 minutes, but I've been researching the use of polystyrene foam as disposable coffee cups. I'm reading a spy novel ("The secrets we kept" by Lara Prescott). It's 1956 and the typing pool is gathered at the coffee shop (in Washington DC, and I don't yet know who the spies are but the latest fad in novels is to have bright young women save the West as spies). Here's the line that stopped me. "The Agency's own brew, though brown and hot, tasted more like the Styrofoam cups we drank it from."

Doesn't that sound like an anachronism to you? So of course, I looked it up. Not a lot of history (with dates) for polystyrofoam cups, but AI tried. Seems this environmental disaster was developed in 1954 and the foam cups created in 1957. Sometime in the 1960s they began to be used for disposable coffee cups, and 7-11 popularized them around 1964. The big use expansion of these cups was the 1970s and 80s. That's the bare bones, and right now if you're drinking disposably, it's probably a paper cup with a thin plastic coating (which may be leaching into your coffee), and the BIG advancement was in the development of the lids.

Back to the spies. This novel is built about Boris Pasternak's "Dr. Zhivago," and although I'm not sure I read it, I did see the movie several times. Also I took Russian in college and I can pronounce the names. The author's name is Lara, as was the love interest in Pasternak's novel.

https://youtu.be/WiWWa-T0EIY?si=e22chGIuSSxQafZX  Lara's Theme

Not a big crisis, but. . .

As crises go in the Bruce family, this was not serious, but my coffee maker died yesterday morning in mid-drip. So today I went to Wal-Mart after the gym to buy a new one. I finally found one that didn't look like the dash of my new Pacifica, but there were no boxes except on the top shelf labeled, "Ask for assistance." So I went to the front of the store to ask an employee for help. She didn't speak English, but after wildly waving my arms and pointing to the ceiling she nodded and set out to find someone. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I went back to find her and through sign language she told me she had asked someone. I kept an eye on her and saw her talking to the disabled door greeter. He very slowly came back to the H aisle and asked what the problem was, and I explained it. He was tall, but greeting customers was really all he could do. And bless Wal-Mart for giving people opportunities to work. He seemed confused, so I asked him if he could find another employee with a ladder. Another 5 minutes and he'd found a short, able-bodied woman who could speak English, and she knew where the ladder in dry goods was. She carried it over to kitchen appliances and climbed to the top of the step ladder (which you shouldn't do) and retrieved the box. I examined the contents carefully, and the four of us decided I'd buy the coffee pot.

I've now made one pot of coffee; it's very slow, and it sort of spits, but after that much time (good thing I'm retired), it's not going back.

A busy New Year's day

I started the day out right--I cleaned my coffee maker with vinegar and water.  So many germs can grow in your automatic coffee pot, you should clean it often. The smell is strong enough to open your sinuses!

Follow these steps to a quick coffee maker cleaning:

1. Empty your coffee maker, rinse the carafe and ensure that the filter basket is properly set and empty. Remove the permanent coffee filter as well as the water filter, if applicable.
2. Fill the water reservoir with a solution of equal parts of water and regular white household vinegar.
3. Run it through a drip cycle.
4. When the cycle is finished, turn off your coffeemaker but allow the water/vinegar to sit in the carafe for a few minutes, to remove any scale deposits, then discard the solution.
5. You should run clear water (no vinegar) through your coffee maker at least twice, allowing your brewer to cool down between cycles. This will remove any lingering vinegar residue.

1. This is a good time to thoroughly wipe the exterior of your coffee maker and clean the removable filter basket, permanent filter and carafe with hot soapy water. A change of water filter is also a good idea if your brewer has one.
2. https://www.thespruce.com/clean-coffee-maker-with-vinegar-1907384?

Then I signed up for a class at Coursera, an online education site from colleges and universities all over the world.  I picked "Understanding clinical research: behind the statistics."  I worked in the Veterinary Medicine Library for 14 years and although I still love reading the medical literature, my eyes glaze over when it comes to statistics. There are several levels of classes, and I chose this one also because it is free unless you want credit.  I don't plan on needing a credit course, so free is good.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/clinical-research/home/welcome

I've printed off the "keynotes" which go along with the videos and text--85 pages.  I also signed in to my "peer" group, which aren't really my peers--medical students, pharmaceutical reps, doctors, etc. But they are from all over the world--one poor guy is from Syria and living in Ukraine!  And I'm off!

And I spent some time looking at old Fulton J. Sheen videos.  His may be the best explanation of Communism and prophecy of the future ever. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen did this program in 1955. He was a hater of Communism, but lover of the Russian people. He reads from Dostoevsky who in 1871 predicted what was to come for his country, and possibly ours. He died in 1979, and since he was from central Illinois, his pronunciation sounds fine to me. "Warshington."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE9FNwG5myA

Friday Family photo-me at the lake

My favorite t-shirt--Chocolate God's gift to women

Friday morning is Farmer's Market in Lakeside, so I walked down to Walnut and bought a rhubarb pie from the pie lady and half a bag of decaf at a vendor I'd never seen before,  Fresh2UCoffee.com. I walked back home and brewed a small pot in my Mr. Coffee. My, that's tasty. (If you can say coffee tastes good--it should be it tastes less awful.) So I decided to go back and get another one. Fresh roasted, organic, fair trade, and locally owned. But the lady ahead of me got the last half size bag, so I walked back to the cottage and got more money.

Fair Trade Coffee

This morning I saw an ad for a coffee brand on TV that prominently promoted the "Fair Trade" label. That label now appears on a number of products from developing countries and originally was intended to get the little guy a better price for his labor. There's no evidence that has actually happened, but it has become a huge marketing campaign, and makes people (you and me and especially churches) feel better. It's a product produced in the poorest countries consumed by the richest countries--22% by the U.S. and 67% by EU. Because it's intended to help the small farmer, large corporate producers don't qualify for the label, even it they pay their farmers more, provide schools and hospitals for the community and use sustainable/organic agriculture. 

"Fair Trade USA is a nonprofit, but an unusually sustainable one. It gets most of its revenues from service fees from retailers. For every pound of Fair Trade coffee sold in the United States, retailers must pay 10 cents to Fair Trade USA. That 10 cents helps the organization promote its brand, which has led some in the coffee business to say that Fair Trade USA is primarily a marketing organization. In 2009, the nonprofit had a budget of $10 million, 70 percent of which was funded by fees. The remaining 30 percent came from philanthropic contributions, mostly from foundation grants and private donors.

People in the coffee industry find it hard to criticize FLO and Fair Trade USA, because of its mission “to empower family farmers and workers around the world, while enriching the lives of those struggling in poverty” and to create wider conditions for sustainable development, equity, and environmental responsibility.⁶ “I’m hook, line, and sinker for the Fair Trade mission,” says Shirin Moayyad, director of coffee purchasing for Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. “When I read [the statement], I thought, there’s nothing I disagree with here. Everything here I believe in.” Yet Moayyad has concerns about the effectiveness of the model, mostly because she does not see FLO making progress toward those goals." 

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_problem_with_fair_trade_coffee

 http://www.foodrepublic.com/2014/02/19/what-does-fair-trade-coffee-really-mean/

 https://www.organicconsumers.org/sites/default/files/What%20is%20Fair%20Trade%20Certification.pdf

 http://www.nature.org/greenliving/gogreen/everydayenvironmentalist/buy-sustainable-coffee.xml

Advertising

How many believe the hype, labels and advertising? I just made some "bullet proof" coffee, and the coconut oil label promises that it's pure, extra virgin, gluten free, certified organic by QAI (which has USDA approval), chemical free, Hexane free (a petroleum based solvent used in some processed foods), cold pressed, no trans & hydrogenated fats, a BPA free container which is reusable, bottled to retain nutrients, flavor and color. Ah, but here's the clincher. It promised me a "healthy soul." Not even my church promises that.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/10/bulletproof-coffee_n_6424258.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/style/the-cult-of-the-bulletproof-coffee-diet.html?_r=0

Welcome June!

Ah yes, but I now drink decaf. I never thought it could happen, that I would look forward to it, but I'm fine now. And I have my dark chocolate drink for the energy boost.

May is something we look forward all winter, and yet it goes by so quickly with all it's memories. We've had really hot, and really cold, and some all in the same day. We started out yesterday about 3 p.m. for a Conestoga event, quite warm, and within an hour I was so glad I'd brought along a jacket. Not only was it a cold front, but it came with rain.

Coffee research

Free image from Pixabay.com

Do you need some more reasons to enjoy that cup of coffee in the morning? I switched to decaf because of a-fib, but it still has the good stuff. A really good summary of current research. http://samadimd.com/latesthealth/coffee-and-your-health

I watch Dr. Samadi on week-ends on Fox, and find him a good balance between sound research and alternative concepts.

I've tried several brands of decaf (never brewed coffee until about 2 years ago) and have settled on Folger's. I like it with some half n half, or if mixing it with dark chocolate, about half a cup of 2% milk. I use a little Mr. Coffee machine, and have no problem with reheating in the microwave, which brings nightmares to purists.

Prayer a good start to the day

Some days I'm quicker to start the coffee pot than to pray, but the message is still good. Today I started in the bathroom brushing my teeth and praying for those in the Philadelphia Amtrak accident, for the injured, for the families of the deceased, for the first responders. We don't need to be on our knees. God is the original social media source. Never misses a call.

Coffee vs. Chocolate for caffeine

Woot! “A typical cacao bean contains less than 1/20th of the caffeine present in coffee . . .” Caffeine Content

According to Livestrong.com dark chocolate has heart and blood pressure benefits:

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

. . .  dark chocolate, which is packed with antioxidants known as flavanols. These antioxidants help the body's cells resist damage. Specifically, flavanols are believed to improve vascular health by lowering blood pressure and improving blood flow to the brain and heart. Flavanols can also help blood platelets be less sticky so that they don't form clots as easily. The higher the cacao content, the more flavanols the chocolate will contain. When choosing a dark chocolate, look for a high cacao content with the least amount of sugar or other ingredients that add calories.

According to the Live Well web site by Jillian

Caffeine in Coffee

Eight ounces of generic brewed coffee averages 95 milligrams of caffeine, according to the National Nutrient Database. The range is 102 to 200 milligrams. A 16-ounce cup of coffee -- the “grande” or medium size in most coffee shops -- contains 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine. A coffee shop’s standard 1-ounce shot of espresso averages 75 milligrams of caffeine, while generic brewed espresso averages 40 milligrams. A 16-ounce vanilla latte contains 150 milligrams of caffeine.

Decaffeinated Coffee

Decaffeinated coffee does contain some caffeine. In a study published in the October 2006 issue of the "Journal of Analytical Toxicology," University of Florida researchers found that 16-ounce cups of brewed regular decaffeinated coffee, a medium coffee at most coffee shops, contained anywhere from 3 to 13.9 milligrams of caffeine.

Caffeine in Chocolate

A 1-ounce square of unsweetened baking chocolate contains 23 milligrams of caffeine. A large 3.5-ounce bar of very dark chocolate, which contains 70 percent to 85 percent cocoa, averages 80 milligrams of caffeine. Regular dark chocolate, with 50 percent to 69 percent cocoa, contains around 70 milligrams in a 3.5-ounce bar. The same amount of plain milk chocolate contains 20 milligrams of caffeine. Hot cocoa averages 9 milligrams of caffeine per 8-ounce cup.

From comments at Jillian’s site.

“Journal of Chromatographic Science, Vol. 46, pp 892-899 (2008)

Standard Reference Material 2384 Baking Chocolate from the National Institute of Standards & Technology (Gaithersburg, MD), 90 % cocoa solids, was determined to have 26 mg/g (2.6% by weight) theobromine and 2.4 mg/g caffeine.

Food Research International, Vol 42, pp 707–716 (2009)

Chocolate with 60% cocoa solids (from a leading Croatian chocolate manufacturer) was determined to have 9 mg/g (0.9% by weight) theobromine and 0.8 mg/g caffeine.

Even taking the lower, latter figure for caffeine content, this translates into 23 mg of caffeine in 1 oz (28.35 g) of chocolate containing 60% cocoa solids (e.g. bittersweet baking chocolate). “

Like everything else on the internet, people disagree on the amount of caffeine in chocolate—some claiming there is none naturally, that it is added.

Q. How much caffeine is in Chocolate?

A. The small amount of caffeine present in chocolate occurs naturally in the cocoa bean, unlike the caffeine in soft caffeine drinks which is added during the manufacturing process.

Here caffeine are some comparisons that may be helpful:

Coffee 8 fl. oz. 65-120 mg

Cola-type soft drinks 12 oz. 30-55 mg

Milk Chocolate 1 oz. 5-10 mg

Dark Chocolate 1.4 oz. 7-50 mg

The amounts of caffeine in specific HERSHEY'S chocolate products are listed on the Chocolate Products Caffeine page.

Maybe I’ll go with this explanation:

“Chocolate derived from cocoa beans is a weak stimulant. It contains two stimulating methylxanthines (a class of alkaloid molecules), a significant amount of theobromine (and theophylline) and a small amount of caffeine. The slight stimulatory effect of chocolate is it seems as much due to the combination of theobromine and theophylline than caffeine.

Generally, caffeine and theobromine have very different effects on different people. Theobromine is relatively mild and helps elevate serotonin levels producing a really nice side effect of feeling good over a longer period of time. Caffeine is a stronger stimulant and acts relatively quickly as a wake-up drug. Compared to the caffeine, the theobromine has about one-quarter the stimulating power.

However, chocolate contains too little of these compounds to create a similar effect to portion equal to coffee. A typical cacao bean contains less than 1/20th of the caffeine present in coffee (from zero to 1000 parts per million of caffeine per bean).”

 

Remember the Folger’s ads?

A prose poem about a coffee shop and snow

I used to belong to an internet writing group called Poetry Thursday. I was really enjoying it but the owners quit so the group fell apart. On Feb. 15, 2007 we were assigned to write a prose poem. I had no idea what that was, but here is mine about sitting in the coffee shop during an early morning snow.

"Come sit by the fire with me. Sit by the gas flames rising from fake logs. Warm us bright blaze in the dark by the pseudo-bricks as we tip Styrofoam cups with plastic lids, sip black brew browned with cream factory made. Animate brain cells, stir up stiff tongues tropical beans, red and bright when picked by dark hands, traveling on tankers guided by pale hands to bring us warmth and happy thoughts, brown after roasting in mills and bursting to dark beans, trucked by many hands along concrete interstates and asphalt by-ways to loading docks at dark coffee shops. Come sit by the fire with me in the dark, tasting warmth, watching the snow fall on icy lines--pity the bird toes--sending power to heat water piped and purified, dripping hot in the pot held by ethnic hands that fill my cup which warms my nose by the fire where we sit."

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mother's birthday--she would have been 101. Sweetest woman in the world. I’ve been cleaning out some things I rarely use—like cake pans. One last trip through the dishwasher then off to the resale shop.  I'll keep the coffee pot from the 70s I never use since it was a gift from Mom, but I make terrible coffee.  I think that was the reason for the gift—she was sure it must be the tool, and not me.

Fall 1983 when Mom and Dad visited us in Columbus.

Caffeine in energy drinks

If you get a little buzzed on coffee, watch out for those energy drinks.  Chart if from “patient page” of JAMA (free for download).

No Panera’s this morning

High winds, sleet and snow from Sandy. I'm skipping the coffee shop this morning, but I'm guessing the bakers and clerks will be there.

"It's like a weirdly inverse chart, where the folks with secure government jobs, the ones with SUVs and more affluent addresses, get to stay home, bundle up and wait out the storm. And the folks working the minimum-wage jobs, who frequently rely on public transportation, have to find a way — any way — to make it to work." Washington Post

 

Coffee Frappe

I don't care for cold coffee, and rarely make coffee at home, but this one I might try. It's from my new Desperate Housewives Cookbook, p. 200.

If you have left over coffee, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. Transfer the frozen cubes to a sealable bag and keep in the freezer.

3 coffee ice cubes
1/2 cup milk (or soy milk or skim milk)
1/4 cup reduced-fat evaporated milk
1 packet artificial sweetener or 1 tablespoon superfine sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and run at high speed until smooth. Pour into a tall chilled glass.

The story in the book is that Lynette seems to have a caffeine addiction.

Good news for coffee drinkers

Not only are we happier, but we're less likely to develop dementia.

"Midlife Coffee and Tea Drinking and the Risk of Late-Life Dementia: A Population-based CAIDE Study." Marjo H. Eskelinen, Tiia Ngandu, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Hilkka Soininen, Miia Kivipelto. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Vol 16, No 1, January 2009 (in press). Link.

Abstract: Caffeine stimulates central nervous system on a short term. However, the long-term impact of caffeine on cognition remains unclear. We aimed to study the association between coffee and/or tea consumption at midlife and dementia/Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in late-life. Participants of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) study were randomly selected from the survivors of a population-based cohorts previously surveyed within the North Karelia Project and the FINMONICA study in 1972, 1977, 1982 or 1987 (midlife visit). After an average follow-up of 21 years, 1409 individuals (71%) aged 65 to 79 completed the re-examination in 1998. A total of 61 cases were identified as demented (48 with AD). Coffee drinkers at midlife had lower risk of dementia and AD later in life compared with those drinking no or only little coffee adjusted for demographic, lifestyle and vascular factors, apolipoprotein E ε4 allele and depressive symptoms. The lowest risk (65% decreased) was found in people who drank 3-5 cups per day. Tea drinking was relatively uncommon and was not associated with dementia/AD. Coffee drinking at midlife is associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD later in life. This finding might open possibilities for prevention of dementia/AD.

But an even better reason to drink coffee is that it is good for the environment! "It is projected that 340 million gallons of biodiesel can be produced from the waste coffee grounds around the world. The coffee grounds after oil extraction are ideal materials for garden fertilizer, feedstock for ethanol, and as fuel pellets." Link. That clinches it--will probably become law now that you must drink coffee.

Ouch! That hurt!

This morning I reached around the kitty with my left hand for my coffee cup while reading Martin Luther and felt a sharp pain in my ring finger. I wear 3 rings--wedding, engagement, and a special band that I think was a Valentine gift about 3 or 4 years ago. But I'd worn a different 3rd ring for years before that--anniversary of our first date I think (my husband is very romantic). Something got pinched. After each move toward the cup, it would hurt more, so finally took the rings off. Oh my. All the fat is gone on that finger from 48 years of wearing rings. So when it's naked, it looks sort of deformed. It used to be a 5, but I think it's gone down a bit. Just rubbed it away--probably went to my hips, that's what happened to my ear lobes. I finally put the wedding band back on, but put the other two away--I won't say where because the cat sometimes reads my blog, and she loves to climb up on the furniture and knock things on the floor.

Italy, little oops

There are still honest people in the world. Twice I left my purse, but it was returned. The first time was in a rest room, and I hung it on a door hook in a stall, and left it there. The next user came rushing out with it and said, "Is this yours?" Whew! Actually, I wasn't carrying much in it except a few Euros, Kleenex, comb, lipstick, a notebook and my phone list, but the purse was expensive. Then after our visit to Pompeii, I left it in the restaurant, but a waiter found it.

Italy has wonderful gelato (ice cream) and we thought my husband was spilling drops on his trousers, and we finally figured out it was so hot that the stain on his leather watch band was dissolving from perspiration and dripping on his pants. We had to remove his watch, wrap it in a paper towel and put it in a baggie.

The gelato was so good, one time I decided to get adventurous and pointed to lemon--lemon being the BIG flavor of the region. Usually I ordered chocolate. But I got a surprise. It was lemon sherbet (don't know the Italian word) which is a bit tart, and not a favorite.

Cafe Americano whether from behind the counter in a shop or from a machine in the hotel is a bit disappointing. They just add hot water to espresso. It had no flavor at all. Even the Russians make better American coffee than the Italians.

Sweety, have you seen my glasses?

House cleaning tips

I'm now officially an S.O.B. Yes, I've joined the State of Ohio Blogger Alliance. I looked through a few of the sites, read some good ones and decided to join. I had a little trouble with the code, but you can find it down the left side, somewhere below medical and before the 50+ folks.

Today I ran clear water through my little 3 cup coffee maker. I always go out for coffee--in fact, I'm known for my bad coffee. But I made coffee for my dinner party Friday night and this morning for my husband (I usually bring it home, but forgot). Everyone commented on how good the coffee was. Now that I've cleaned the pot, I've probably removed whatever was causing that.

The clothes my husband brought home from the Haiti mission trip were really dirty. He unpacked in the laundry room and put everything in sorted piles, and then cleaned the suitcases. Haiti is very dusty and dirty because over the years the people have cut down all the trees for fuel and cooking. When I went down to load the laundry this morning, I discovered the cat had thrown up a hair ball and last night's supper in the shirt pile. Oh well, saved the carpet.

I heard a laundry tip on the radio a few months ago that really seems to work. Wash your whites with bleach in COLD water instead of hot. The bleach works more effectively. I was skeptical, but I think I'm a believer.

Omama. I have change, hope and a future.