I went down to street level to watch our team pass and see my wife and eldest daughter dancing. Very proud of them.
]]>I went down to street level to watch our team pass and see my wife and eldest daughter dancing. Very proud of them.
]]>.. so rare that I am actually questioning whether I remember what this combination of words means and if I truly know what to expect when I open the packet..
.. please don’t be disappointment, please don’t be disappointment!
]]>Very interesting man who lives locally. He was a school teacher but took to carpentry after retirement. He uses the traditional no screws/nails approach and I am a big fan of his style. He is also an audiophile who has built a lot of his own speakers, amps etc. and has created a soundproof listening room in the middle of his very traditional house.
Anyway, he doesn’t take on so many projects these days and is a little bored. So, he is going to help us with our pub interior as an advisor, instructor and carpenter. Very excited! Not only will we have a cool looking place but if it also functions as a mini-gallery of his work and benefits him we’ll be delighted.
]]>Very surprised by the abundance of Columbus hops! The aromas from both varieties were excellent.
It seems like two more varieties are being grown on the other plot but it’s whereabouts are currently a mystery, hope to find out soon.
Excited to brew beers in the future using fresh hops grown in our village, and very grateful that locals are growing them unprompted on our behalf.
]]>We will miss the community tidy up day on Sunday as we will be on a business trip.. so today we did our bit by tackling the local play park.
This fan assisted jacket is a gane-changer! My battery can now outlast the rechargeable batteries of our weed-whacker
]]>This time my fan-assisted jacket helped a huge amount. By the time both weed whackers batteries were depleted I still had energy to continue.
Much of the previously cleared land had become overgrown again but it was easier to deal with than last time.. We are now maybe about 40% done but not much tough foliage still left
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]]>I hope that there is some female representation in the group in the future and have some plans in that regard.
]]>As well as a tomato tart for lunch, and some roasted tomatoes.. delicious.
]]>No really, we bought the Duplo for my youngest daughter.. absolutely not for papa..
]]>We made a tomato and red lentil pasta sauce with croutons, served with spaghetti. I think we have only bought 1 jar of pasta sauce since we moved here and not only due to the absence of variety.. we cook an array of kick ass sauces nowadays from scratch.
]]>Arrived while my wife is out.. challenging times lie ahead.. I have no regrets.. yet.
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]]>https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2023/10/29/food-drink/inaka-sushi-kochi/
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]]>About to start chapter 3 but very interesting thus far, it feels like I have read a large number of the papers Janish is referring to throughout my studies but it is much more pleasant to read them in a less jargon heavy, more easy to read format.
]]>Looking forward to absorbing it’s knowledge!
]]>Book: Craft Beer Design published by Gestalten
]]>Also, the local NHK feature about the brewery that has me looking awkward in the background is being shown on national NHK on Saturday.. not sure how to handle this much limelight..
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]]>Scots through some evolutionary genetic mutation, exude some sort of thistle, plant equivalent of spores.. and my understanding of international constitutional laws leads me to believe that land upon which thistles witnessed by Scots, and therefore presumably sown and breathed life within from those Scots, is automatically Scottish..
.. I should note that I have not spotted any roses around here..
.. anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk on how we move Scotland further away from her Tory overlords beyond her Southern border.
]]>The preferred site of our brewery is actually in the photo but due to the land’s designation as government subsidised farm land it is very difficult to have the designation changed despite over half a century passing since the subsidy. It is doable but probably not in the timescales that we are working with, so we will be elsewhere.. probably in close proximity to this area.
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]]>The family had our own personal ceremony and now after lunch the roadshow is off to the local schools before returning to Ōmura shrine.
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]]>That’s the second of the village mountains I have climbed in the past few weeks and definitely my second favourite..
]]>.. objective for today is to find “The Morag”..
(Agnes is an old-fashioned Scottish name, rarely used these days, provokes the image of an old lady with blue-rinsed hair and a two-wheeled tartan shopping trolley)
(Apologies to any Latinx Agneses, no offense intended.. I have a feeling it’s still a common name and adorned by many young people of Iberian decent)
]]>Not sure whether it was a complete success or not but pretty tasty, pretty gooey and my mouth afterwards has a chilli buzz so I think it was alright if unconventional..
.. on the fries were an aubergine (diced and cooked in an Asian chili paste), sliced soy meat in its own sort of marinade (from a company called Next Meat in Japan), some sun-dried tomatoes, olives and jalapenos, some corn and a couple of different vegan cheeses on top.. as well as some sriracha, some jalapeno tabasco and some sort of yuzu & togarashi seasoning..
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]]>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.
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]]>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!
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]]>I liked this iteration, topped with spinach and a splash of balsamic vinegar shortly after the photo.
#vegan
]]>It was pretty tasty, but more subtle than more mature plants.
#vegan
]]>(Posting primarily to test something on my site, ‘scuse me)
]]>Delighted with how they taste and this conclusion to the first chapter of my brewing journey.
]]>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.
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]]>.. woah.. there are so many more sprouts than I was expecting!
]]>My wife did most of the prep and I constructed most of the sushi as well as make the miso veggies.
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]]>The dish was decent but for me needed to be a little bit more savoury (probably regional variation based preference) and so next time I make it, I’ll probably substitute the nutmeg for mace and “enhance” the dish with marmite or whichever yeast extract I have available at the time.
Texturally though it was pretty good, after I gave it a half-mash that is.. will revisit.
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]]>Very much looking forward to having the time to read this book, and indeed to the act of reading it.. equally, probably.
]]>My guess: Sulfur Tuft Certainty: ~80%
Not edible!
]]>My guess: Common puffball
Certainty: ~90% \
]]>I’ve taken lots of individual photos, took notes, dissected them all and looked them up in the few books I have and some “mushroom identification” apps.. and still only about half.
Very open to advice on learning resources and techniques if anyone more knowledgeable (would be difficult to be less so) has any to share.
Boosts appreciated.
]]>Also picked a few wild mushrooms on the way home to try and identify.. I suspect these will not be consumed as initial glances suggest they are one of the ‘knight’ mushrooms and may be toxic.. will study a bit more as I may well be mistaken.
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]]>Baked potato and homemade baked beans, a ginger glazed Scottish flat mushroom and some grilled asparagus.. It was pretty tasty!
]]>Naturally, once home I looked for a free and open source fitness tracker in order to record my progress.. on the advice of a friend in the designers, I found FitoTrack and it is perfect for my needs.
Today, despite the stormy winds, I went out for a second bike ride and refined my circuit. Don’t judge me, I am very unfit and this is the start of my journey back to fitness! Anyway, I hope to build up to two then three circuits in a lunch hour but for now one is enough of a challenge.
]]>A Scotch broth like soup, maybe the best I’ve made so far (imho)
Chilli, salsa, guacamole (with whole coriander leafs because someone - me - forgot to chop them) and nachos with way too little chilli or cheese (alternative).
All #vegan and all delicious!
Eating this whilst thinking about my friend in Hidaka-mura who would almost certainly make a version that would put these to shame!
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]]>Who is a guy who dislikes xmas but loves cooking for any occasion? this guy! you’re damn right
Who is a guy who makes pigs in blankets, without pigs but better than just blankets? This guy’s wife! not a guy
(Tune bit which inconveniently splits the lines)
Who is a guy who most likely doesn’t remember the theme tune to Shaft! This guy? you’re almost certainly right!
….
“Giant sausage roll” - chestnut mushroom and nut roast with cranberry, cinnamon and nutmeg flavours in pastry
“Sprouts n stuff” - sticky, crunchy woodland mushrooms and shallots
“Crunchy spuds” - thyme, rosemary & garlic roasted tatties
“Sausage and bacongine” - vegan sausage wrapped in smokey marinated aubergine slices!
All from the the Bish Bash BOSH! Cookbook
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]]>Tomorrow much reading!
]]>Very attentive throughout, hopefully this will become a regular occurrence!
Today, I’ve also subscribed to a few brewing podcasts and bought one of my brewing science books in audio form so that I can enhance my upcoming studies with some auditory learning.
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