london victoria library 11.58am sunny 21.9C friday 2017
Digital StillCamera
Digital StillCamera
a succulent plant, that i see growing and overflowing the planter in our estate. its fleshy leaves i like.
and i have learnt something new about hydrangea from this post today. it seems it is blue or pink depanding on the acidity of the soil. and that is because more acid soil makes it easier to absorb aluminium. amazing isn’t it? but what about if it is white?
White hydrangeas should be white every year but the soil pH will affect the tiny true flowers. But to keep them pure white they are best grown in some shade – in full sun they will turn pink through scorching.
i thought i saw a pink hydrangea in my estate but i think it is not. i realise it cannot be hydrangea when i see another plant with this intense red.
Digital StillCamera
Digital StillCamera
Digital StillCamera
its a pleasant day today 3.20pm 22.1C sunny. i got back from buying pork joint and a chicken from lidl’s. they are the cheapest £2.79/kg for the pork, £1.87/kg for the chicken. and for medium size chicken too. (its about 1.65kg)usually they increase the cost for the heavier chicken. heavier chicken have more meat, relative to their bones.
it is now roasting in the oven, whilst the pork is cut up and freezing now.
i find whole chicken are best for roasting. when i bought chicken pieces , i find they dont roast well, the skin was not crispy at all. maybe they might be better grilled… simon asked me why i dont buy them anymore… as he likes the thighs, he says he prefers them to breast or drumsticks. it surprised me as i thought he , like most white people, like breasts meat.. no bones see?
i realise the lidl pork has a lot more fat and skin to it. these are meant to be roasted , so they had a thick layer of fatty skin on it, to provide the crackling… when i buy them i dont use them to roast, but to stir fry, cutting them into pieces. but british people dont seem to like to stir fry their pork. you cannot buy any pork without the skin and fat layer. so i use the skin and fat to make crackling, by cutting them fine and frying them. and reserving the oil from it to use in cooking to add that flavour.
life is very nice , at least in london. other places like india or in texas are having its floods, so not nice for them. but there is always somewhere in the world that is not having a nice time. that is life really. isn’t that the truth?
we are now in september, the start of autumn, though it does not feel autumnal now in london.
alifesgayventure 
Beautiful photos and you are quite a chef haha! Looks yummy!
haha, i think anyone can roast a chicken. it is just putting it in the oven and the oven does the rest. so easy, right? it is strange that in s.e.asia it is not common to find ovens in households. i cannot think of any dish in s.e.asia that involves an oven, can you? yet it is so common here , pizza ovens, and aga(s). and their cakes involve an oven. the only thing that is a disadvantage in using an oven is that it uses up a lot of electricity, or gas to cook. that might be why it is not so common in asia. it is quicker and cheaper to make a chicken curry or stew, or steam a whole chicken, or even boil a whole chicken, and use so much less energy too.
It is just too hot to have an oven going in the apartment haha! My ovem has kaput due to lack of use and serves as a cupboard haha!
oh, that is a good reason why so few ovens in the tropics. the heat is too much. no wonder so few people use it to cook.