Zaatar

We finally got around eating the Zaatar, and it was nice.  We tried to replicate it.  Lemon zests worked well, but orange zests definitely did not work.

Mini Mint II

A month after they sprouted, they are just about big enough to be transplanted.  They are still so tiny, so the transplantation was delicate like a surgery.  Come on, grow faster!

Walk in the Rain

In order to avoid crowd, we took the opportunity to walk in a rainy stormy day.  It was quite successful.

Mains Clipper

I had my eye on a colourful clipper for the last few months, but it was never coming back in stock.  I switched my attention to another clipper but still not available, so when I saw this "basic Wahl", I snatched it up from town.

I have always preferred mains powered clipper than batteries clipper, I considered them more stable and more powerful, except it presents a trip hazard.

I am looking forward to the shearing.

Musical Cars and Highvis Bike

My colleagues were moving the cars during the day to keep their cars in the shade.  I was on a bike, and I opted to put a highvis coat over the seat.

Mushroom Kit

After having heard so much about home grown mushrooms, I had the opportunity to look after Sarah's birthday mushroom kit.  What a waste of time.  This company has good rating, but I am not sure that is remotely accurate, I think they either bribe all the upset customers with new kit or the upset customers are too British to write up a bad review.

We had 3 mushrooms out of it in the last 6 weeks.  They all came one at a time, albeit extremely tasty and juicy.

My sister and Sarah's grandparents had their mushroom bags from a professional mushroom farm "waste", so they had quite good yield, but we shall avoid any hobby kits.

Lemon Cheesecake

We have some left over heavy cream, and I suggested to make a lemon cheesecake.  I didn't bother with measurement, just eye balled and whatever we had left, ie. two lemons' juice, 1 lemon's zest for decoration, 1 tub full cream cheese, 250mL of heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of sugar.

It turns out quite nice.  It tastes very dairy heavy, with a good quantity of lemon to cut thorough it, since I omitted any gelatin, so it will not sit well in room temperature, which is fine.

Home Allotment

When we visited Rachel, she started pulling out the spinach, radish and mint for Sarah.  Maybe I should have grown something with higher yielding like hers.

Shopping Spree

I am raring to go some shopping.  Not because I am a shopaholic, it is because I want to use up the vouchers just in case they go bust.

Fresh(er) Yeast

We baked with the yeast from a sachet, and the bread seemed to have risen more than normal.  Sarah reckons it is the foil sealed freshness of the yeast.

Smoked Gammon Hock

We bought a gammon hock when we were in Mackenzies.  We finally got around cooking it.  This time I poached it.  I only poached till cook, I didn't slow cook for hours.  

I was surprised how mild (not salty) it was.  It was very smoky, which slightly overshadowing the porky taste.  The tendons are still very much intact.  I shall try slow cooking next time, either poaching or roasting, which means I will need to get two more next time I am in Mackenzies.

Vox Tox

We attended Sandi's talk on Hay Festival and she mentioned about her new project Vox Tox.  I didn't look it up right the way, I didn't know what it was.  A few weeks later, I looked it up, and it is a series of video on various topics, namely women in literature, arts, rights and movements (in the past, aka history).  It is very educational, it augment my other history studies well.  It is only bite size, I would recommend Vox Tox to everyone, even those are not fan of history.

Sourdough Attempt V and Final, really

I remember seeing the sourdough recipe in my bread book using milk, so I thought I would give it a try with some off milk.

I mostly follow the recipe in making the "starter", left it to fester for three days and developed some noticeable bubbles, I proceeded in making the bread.  I following all the kneading instruction, kneading a very wet dough for a long time, my arm ache the following day, forming the dough by folding and letting it rise for over 6 hours.

I used the casserole dish as my base, the bread came out with a little bit of air bubbles, still very dense.  It was edible.  I am not sure what I have don't wrong, I suspect I should have let it rise for another few days?

No Men Beyond This Point

We watched a silly movie No Men Beyond This Point.  This dystopian comedy is great, almost desirable, where asexuality is the norm and enforced and other sexuality is suppressed; where science has cure cancer and the world has no war.

In additional to the awesome script, the movie has included a wide range of casts, ages, races, etc.  Highly recommended.

Fruits are Bad for You

I have heard about how fructose is responsible for obesity, as well as a wide range detriment to health, including heighten oxidative stress.   The European soda drinks are not fructose-based, but fructose is still naturally occurring in namely fruits, juice, maple syrups and honey.  Less fruit that is.

The Returns of Skinheads

We are all penned up for so long, and people took protests as a day out.  Off they went, drunken disorderly thugs are back on the streets.  Are they just pure stupid thug?  Or they are just stupid puppets fanned by the propaganda bots from the East?

uPVC Door Adjustment

After I checked the price on some of these locks online,  over a hundred quid,  I was spurred on the mend it myself.  I took out the multipoint lock and found the problem, so I mended it, only to find out why the last lot of idiots bodged it, there were a little misalignment.  So I adjusted the keeps,  hinges and now it works, as good as it can be.

Shortcomings of Home Version

So I never understood why anyone would buy a Windows Professional, Home versions are clearly adequate.  I was trying to sort out the VPN on the laptop, which connects like magic, then when I try to use remote desktop, it is not available for Home version!!!  I always take remote desktop for granted, but clearly is it not for Home use!

Taste the Difference Oranges

I thought I strike gold when I snatched up the Taste the Difference oranges.  I can definitely tastes the difference, but not in a good way!

Arium One-way System

We stopped at Arium for a quick stroll.  They one-way system is very well laid out, so we has a nice walk around.  We bought a plant to show support. 

Mackenzies Smokehouse

I was looking for places to go, and I found Mackenzies Smokehouse.  There was a few reasons I wanted to go, firstly, they are near the souvenirs, so we could make it on the same trip, secondly, they sell smoked gammon hock, lastly, they smokes salmons. 

They have a very nice carpark, nice layout, good products and nice staff.  We ended up with both the gammon and the salmon, as well as bacon and smoked cheese.  Delicious!

Inferior Dimsum

After having tried the Iceland dimsum,  I thought I would try the mass produced Dutch dimsum.   The Dutch stuff was quite inferior,  worse than the Iceland ones.   Never again.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post

We finally watched the Miseducation of Cameron Post.   The film was well made,  the cast was good.  As expected,  it was a reboot of But I am a Cheerleader less the funny bits.

Leeds Bread Co-op Click and Collect

After stopping trading for a few months, Leeds Bread Co-op are starting click and collect.  It works very well, bread is very nice, definitely will do again.

Catering Size Cashew

I was clicking around Holland and Barrett and found some short date salted roasted cashew, except I was too slow, I missed out on the salted roasted cashew, but I still managed to get the honey roasted cashew, now I am hacking away the 2kg bag.  They are all very large cashew, I am very happy with my lucky dip, and I will keep my eye peeled in the future.

Pak Choi Head

After Amy told us that her pak choi end were growing, we also have a go.  I now understand that there are a few germ in the pak choi's growth plate.  Let see if there is any yield in a couple month's time...

Tiananmen 31 Years On

It wasn't long since I commemorated it last year.

Horrendous 31 years ago, and horrendous now.

Caffe Valeria Wheldrake

When we drove to Wheldrake Ings I spotted Caffe Valeria being open.  So on the way back,  we stopped for gelato.  Sarah reckoned they better than Madison.  They were very good indeed.

Broken Tree Branch

The tree outside my house has a snapped branch.  I called up emergency line on Saturday to report it.  It would seriously hurt someone if it comes down, they still haven't done anything yet.  Let's keep my eyes on it, at least I know to avoid it.

Pak Choi Ends

After some recommendation, we are trying to grow the ends of pak choi.  I am not convinced it is worth its while.