A little trip to the Hirome Ichiba food market in Kochi city today for lunch.

Beer made by my friend Ken (next batch to be bottled is one which I helped brew)

Tacos by my friend Masa!

I love eating and drinking things and knowing the people who made them.

A wooden table with mask related request sign, on top of which is a brown bottle containing sweet potato stout beer, it has a primarily white label with gold and maroon highlights and black text. In front of the bottle is a plastic tray containing a colourful handmade vegan taco.

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Been quite the journey, I suspect this will be his default state for a day or two.

The head and shoulders of a black and white dog asleep on a grey carpet tiles floor.

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Wandered to the local market earlier today (to find it was closed) and took a picture of a more mature rice field than previously photographed.

I’ve never seen rice plants at this stage, and not being an area of expertise for me, I actually had to ask my wife if they grow like barley and wheat (which given the answer was yes, wasn’t as stupid a question as I thought it might be).. anyway, got to imagine these will be harvested relatively soon.. will keep an eye out!

A green, well developed rice field takes up the bottom two thirds of the shot with a large hill and blue sky filling the rest. semi-visible are the ears (?) of the rice plants in the foreground.

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A shot just a little downstream from the brewery I’ll intern at from this week. This is the 仁淀川 (Niyodo river) and it is stunningly clear. The picture was taken from the parking lot of an onsen but they had no vegan food options so we didn’t stay.

A beautifully blue river with lots of rocks around, the water looks calm just now. There are trees in the background and a very small bridge is nestled amongst them.

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The wild garlic pestothon continues.. pizza!

I liked this iteration, topped with spinach and a splash of balsamic vinegar shortly after the photo.

#vegan

A lightly baked, floury based, thin hand-stretched pizza on a brown chopping board. The toppings are green wild garlic pesto, brown chestnut mushroom slices, slightly caramelised onions, green peas, sliced jalapeños and a sprinkling of vegan grated cheese.

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Perhaps slightly early in the season but as we are moving out of our house in a little over a week, my wife and elder daughter were keen to harvest some wild garlic from the woods for one final batch of pesto pasta.

It was pretty tasty, but more subtle than more mature plants.

#vegan

Close up of a white bowl containing green pesto coated fusilli pasta, topped with sea salt, black pepper, vegan parmesan, nutritious yeast and some white wild garlic flowers. There is a stainless steel fork handle protruding from the pasta and slightly out of focus in the background is a brown wooden table and a kids purple and yellow bowl with pasta.

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Had this soft drink the day I applied for my Japanese visa, in a neat wee cafe in Stockbridge, Edinburgh. It was alright, but I really bought it because I love the word rapscallion.

(Posting primarily to test something on my site, ‘scuse me)

Close up of a short glass tumbler filled with an orange fizzy drink. To the right of the glass also in focus is a metal can with white and orange label, text in black says Rapscallion Soda - C_01 Ginga Ninja - Fiery throat kick.


My final three beers brewed in Scotland!

  • A hoppy citra, motueka and mosaic hazy IPA
  • A cacao and chestnut brown ale
  • A coffee, chocolate and vanilla stout

Delighted with how they taste and this conclusion to the first chapter of my brewing journey.

Three stemmed (goblet style) glass schooners with the word BEER printed on them in black letters. In the left is a slightly opaque, orange hewed pale ale with a white head. The middle glass holds a roasted tea coloured brown ale with large creamy white head. The last glass holds a black stout with light brownish bubbly head. the glasses are on a light beige bamboo chopping board. the background is a blurred kitchen scene.

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Introducing Jura!

Named after one of the Scottish Western Isles, that just happens to be home to a whisky distillery.. much like her sister’s island Islay.. The whisky connection is coincidental, we just liked these as names for our daughters.

A tired, somewhat greying middle aged man white a white and ginger beard, wearing a black hoodie, stands proudly holding his newborn baby daughter. She is wrapped in green blankets and has a pink and white wooden hat upon her perfect wee head.

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