Just an Introduction

Hello out there, internet.

My name is Derrick.  I live in the Midwestern United states and I love food and drink.

As of the time of this posting, I am a big fan of cooking, tea, and alcohol.

With regard to what you can expect on this blog...

FOOD
I especially love to cook American, Indian, Mexican, and Sichuan Chinese dishes.  I also enjoy Lebanese and Korean cuisine, but haven't gotten into cooking them at home at this time.  Occasionally I like to try to invent original recipes which is fun too.  I eat more of my own home cooked meals than I do eat out these days, so my recipes are heavily focused on being practical.  I love spicy food.

TEA
I usually buy tea online and I like many types - including black tea, oolong tea, green tea, herbal tea, and grain tea.  I drink tea nearly every day as my main caffeine source and it's mainly a day-to-day thing.  I only purchase loose leaf tea.  Sometimes I splurge on a more expensive tea if it's something I know I'll like.

ALCOHOL
Put simply I love dark beer and red wine.  Bold flavorful drinks is where I'm at.  I'm pretty open minded in my selection and like trying new drinks, even if it's a type I don't usually drink.  Very recently I've been trying various Asian rice wines, and I'm a big fan of Shaohsing (both at room temperature and heated).  I'm not good with hard liquors, though sometimes I have some that I enjoy.  I like to drink both on a day-to-day basis, and socially with friends.


Why am I making this?

As a human being, food and drink is a big part of my life.  I'm trying to make the most of it.  I put a lot of effort into my home cooking, and I'm naturally selective with what I pick out to drink.  I talk about it with my friends and family of course, but I would like to reach out to more people.

I've tried making a youtube channel, but I'm unable to keep up with the amount of effort required to maintain it with my day-job.  You can find that youtube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaFfb0g6rvwhvELOZSr8qVA

At the time of writing this, I have something of the following already recorded into my phone
~50 recipes
~150+ alcohol ratings
~i stopped rating my tea, but i should start again

These things are all stored in text form.  And as such, I think that a blog will be a much more accessible medium for me to share with.

Cheers.
--Derrick