Nadiya in Yorkshire

Remarkable Place to Eat has not be able to maintain the jet-setting ethos, they are finally exploring the UK.  The latest episode was Nadiya in Yorkshire.  Most of the places they mentioned we either knew or been, it is funny to see Nadiya to be so at ease.  We had a lot of Indian savories in Leicester, it is time to try out some in Leeds, now as seen on TV!

Cottagecore

Cottagecore (also known as Farmcore and Countrycore) is an aesthetic inspired by a romanticized interpretation of western agricultural life. It is centered on ideas of more simple life and harmony with nature.

Outdoor Mint

We just had the first harvest of the outdoor mint.  It has more chlorophyll as expected, so does tannins.  Now we observe how fast they can grow back.

Spring Fruiting

Some of the flowers on the chilli plant was fertilised in Winter but nothing.  I have just noticed some of them are now growing!  In aid of the fruiting, I am trimming back some new growth, especially flower bud growth in order to keep more energy into the fruiting.  To be continue....

Lorax at 50

We didn't grow up with children books.   I only just learnt about Lorax.   This book was published in 1971, and we still haven't learn the lesson and continue to pass the baton to the younguns.   What a sad reality. 

Dibber

I came across a dibber in my online grocery shopping.  It reassembles an indoor tool...

Who Turned the Router Off?!

There was a connection issue,  everyone jumped into conclusion that settings must have changed causing the connection issues.

I took a step back,  cycled power on the comms box,  still nothing.

Finally,  someone noticed the router was off!

We made a note,  so we will know what to check in the future. 

Wasp Nest WIP

Just as I shut the garage door,  I saw something weird,  a round thing,  white in colour.   It was directly over the door,  so I has to shut the door to see it properly.   I had a good look and reckoned it was a wasp nest.   I didn't see any wasps,  so to prevent it to develop any further,  I wacked it off the ceiling.   I will be keeping my eyes out! 

Commercial Bell Pepper

So Steve told me common supermarket bell pepper seeds are actually viable.  I halfheartedly gave it a go last year, and it didn't sprout.  This year I made a better effort, selected 4 seeds and 1 has sprouted.  Let see if it would come to fruition.

Spring Weed is Here

Spring is here,  let's the weeding and mowing begin. 

Twinings Dark Brew

 

These were on offer, so I got one to try. I am not sure what is the point...

Midlife Crisis

I understand why Dave started talking about electric car and electric bike a few years ago.   Let's the new decade begin. 

Tea Shortage

I cannot believe I ran out of tea bags!   I will just have to drink water for a few days. 

Moka Pot Studies

Just when I was about to retire an old moka pot and initiate the new one,  I had a good look of them side by side.   The old one was definitely better made,  size of mesh,  length of spout,  etc,  and we decided to swap out the worn parts and made a better pot.  

Historic Files

Only when you dust off the old portable drives,  you find all the skeltons in them.   Thats where they are best kept,  if not destroyed. 

Old Tech Speed

I have plugged in my old portable harddrive to move some files to realise how slow and/or incompatible they are! 

Windows 10 Problems

The problem continues...  I spent all weekend trying to get to the bottom of it, and I have resorted to wiping it, again.

Manx Kippers

At first sight, it looks less meaty, and smokier, ie looking darker, than others we had recently.

The flesh was very juicy, aka oily, the smoke flavour is good, so the colour was distinctive. Coincidently, Scotland outdoor was just talking to the Manx smoker, whick verified my points! Aren't I a kipper connoisseur!

Whole Crab

After trying some crab claws and swore off taking crab apart. I saw a big boy crab, and I went for it.

I threw out a lot of the "brown meat". The "chest" was suprisingly high yield.

I am still not sure I would do it again.

Microwave White Sauce

What is better than an all in one white sauce?   Microwave white sauce!  I saw this recipe on Good Housekeeping,  we were skeptical at first.   It turned out perfect!!  No more mess,  yay! 

Free Range Organic Chicken

We took opportunity of the offer and got a free range organic chicken.  Organic usually results in slower growing,  I assume.  The legs seemed bigger than normal,  the tendons seemed thicker than normal!   It tasted nice,  but nothing to write home about.   I am happy to have done a little bit for the planet. 

Eat with Me

We watches Eat with me as part of our CPD.  That is all too familiar,  but this is especiallu educational to people of other cultures. 

No.1 Chocolate & Hazelnut Italian Gelato

With that flavour description, you may think of a chocolate spread, but it is nothing like it.  Delicious!

Birthday Takeaway

In place of birthday dinners, we are replacing it with birthday takeaways.  I just need to decide what I want, and what I can have, this year.

Teriyaki Grilled Squid

Union Fish as restocked the Cornish squid, so we went for it. They did the skinning and gutting for us.

It turned out nicely.

 

Crossgates Smokies

We got a smokies from the local fishmonger. It has not been advertised as "Arbroath Smokies".

Nothing could beat smokies hot off the barrel, I had a low expectation, but I was pleasantly surprised. This is quite smoky, the flesh and the texture was good.

 

Shrinking Cookies

I have fond memories of the M&S cookies.   I got some recently,  I swore they shrunk!   Still nice though. 

Pelotaunt

Who needs Pelotaunt when you have a Wii Fit.

The Wii Fit board keeps hinting that I am fat!

New ASDA Fewer Choices

ASDA now got a new owner,  two weeks after the deal is sealed,  changes has come.  More charges,  fewer choices,  no free range whole cluck cluck,  yogurt choices have been slashed.   I am not sure they can keep their "best grocer" title for much longer. 

Census 2021

The Census is coming!!  I am actually not sure I have done one,  anywhere.   They made it super easy and accessible this year,  so it should be quite straight forward. 

All in One White Sauce

So this is the second time I made white sauce.  This time I tried the all in one method.  It works, but a little inconsistent.