Category Archives: food and drink

Beerlao

Posted on by
Reply
Beerlao
Beerlao launched in 1973 is the best selling brand in Lao PDR

Beerlao Lager is a European Pale Lager style beer brewed by Lao Brewery Co. You can’t go anywhere in Laos without seeing the Beerlao logo, because it’s effectively state owned and has a near monopoly on beer sales.

5% alcohol by volume and brewed using local rice and imported hops and barley it is a pale amber colour with a pleasant and refreshing taste. It’s well suited to the South East Asian climate.

Best drunk cold, of course.

Restaurant price for a 660ml bottle was about LAK30,000 (= approx €1.30)

Official website:

https://www.beerlao.la

RED Gardens – New page

Posted on by
These photos were taken in July 2019 in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Co. Tipperary, Ireland

RED Gardens Project, (Research Education and Development) consists of 6 family scale gardens each one 100m2 (1000sqf) and following a different methodology, or approach to growing vegetables. There is also a larger Black Plot, of about 1000m2 (1/4 acre) which is exploring issues and possibilities of an intermediate scale growing space.

Bruce Darrell manages all of the gardens and related research projects, as well as scripting, filming, illustrating, and editing the videos on this youtube channel:

Homemade blackcurrant jam

Posted on by
Blackcurrants (Ribes nigrum) can be harvested from late June to early July
Simmer 300g of blackcurrants with 250ml of water for about 20 minutes.
Add 300g of sugar and the juice of one lemon. Heat vigorously until temperature reaches 105ºC.
Pour the jam into warm sterilised jars close the lid and allow to cool. Tastes excellent on hot buttered toast with a nice cup of tea.

Crataegus pinnatifida

Posted on by
Reply

Commonly known as Snow Hawthorn  these red fruits which grow up to about 35 mm in diameter are now in season.

The ones in this picture, taken yesterday, are from Xiong Xian County in Hebei Province, near the city of Baotou.

Chinese Hawthorn, click for larger image
山楂 (mountain hawthorn) or 大红果 (big, red fruit)

They are used to make a number of deserts and snacks. In Northern China they are often sold dipped in a sugar candy coating on a wooden skewer  much like toffee apples are  in Europe and are called 糖葫芦 (tanghulu).

They have been associated with various medicinal properties especially as a digestive aid.


Today, I has mostly been eating…

Posted on by
Reply

煎饼果子 (jian1 bing3 guo3zi)

With quite a long history, “jian bing guo zi” is something quite unique to Tianjin. It is a kind of Chinese pancake that is usually sold as a fast breakfast food on the streets. “Guo zi” refers to the deep-fried dough sticks made in some places in northern China. Prepared on stalls on the street it comes with a variety of garnishes and relishes – very tasty.

They cost 4RMB.

for the longer HD youtube version click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSqIJuQSzsM

How to drink vodka…

Posted on by
Reply

http://www.russianvodka.com/how_to_drink_russian_vodka.html

“Russian starters, or zakusky, include pickled and fresh vegetables, baked potatoes, bread, cheese, salted fish and other readily available snacks suitable to accompany the shots of vodka.”

Russian Vodka With Onion, Garlic, Bread and Pickled Cucumbers

 

Russian Vodka With Bread, Herring, Baked Potatoes, Onions and Pickled Cucumbers

The Blue Boar and The Fox, Chipping Norton

Posted on by
Reply
Frontage
The Stable Room
Blue Boar Pub, 1 Goddards Lane, Chipping Norton

https://www.blueboarpub.co.uk

I like pubs, and here are some good ones from West Oxfordshire. They all serve food and the best cuisine is to be found at the Blue Boar, Chipping Norton

The Fox Chipping Norton
Morning Menu

However, the Fox Hotel is firmly at the top of the list. Reasonably priced accommodation, lovely atmosphere and excellent staff.

As a bonus it’s also a Hook Norton pub.

https://www.foxchippingnorton.co.uk
The Fox Website

Michael Jackson: The Beer Hunter

Posted on by
Reply
“Hello, my name is Michael Jackson. No, not  that Michael Jackson, but I am on a world tour. My tour is in pursuit of exceptional beer. That’s why they call me the Beer Hunter.”

http://www.beerhunter.com/

“Hello, my name is Michael Jackson. No, not  that Michael Jackson, but I am on a world tour. My tour is in pursuit of exceptional beer. That’s why they call me the Beer Hunter.


Michael Jackson presented ‘Beer hunter’ on British Television, an excellent series that ought to be repeated. This site has some great info about world beers but seems to not have been updated recently.

Update: Last update on the site was 2013. The site is really more of a tribute and an archive than a modern website, and I’m fine with that.

Luckily, Youtube has Michael Jackson’s beer Hunter series which can be found here:

Beer not fattening: official • The Register

Posted on by
Reply
 “beer in reality has less calories than wine, milk or orange juice
– 41, 77, 64 and 42 per cent per 100ml, respectively.”

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/09/beer_not_fattening/

From the web site:

“Those of us who like a few pints already know that beer fights cancer and is an absolute life-saver in an avalanche emergency situation, but what about the apparently proven effect of ale on the old waistline, eh?

What actually causes the beer belly is the overwhelming desire to partake of an enormous kebab or plate of curry after a particularly robust session, the BBPA says. This is true, although the BBPA is not taking in account something else all beer-drinkers know: that doner kebabs combat male pattern baldness and curry increases attractiveness to the opposite sex.

Which is why people who prefer wine are invariably bald and single – despite having a waistline like Calista Flockhart.”

Foodhub, recipes, cooking and baking

Posted on by
Reply
Chocolate muffins made by moi

http://food.hubcom.net/cgi-win/recipe.exe?1

Who needs to buy cookbooks when there are sites like this?

Update: back in 2005 `Recipe sites were a lot less ubiquitous than they are today. To be honest I can’t remember the last time I actually used a cookbook and not a website.

My personal go to website is the BBC, the rest I just bookmark into a folder if I like them.