summertime

london 7.35pm 23C sunny friday 2019

 

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

Digital StillCamera

i think they are roses. but their leaves dont look like roses nor do they have thorns. i googled it, and this came up. some kind of begonia. they are all the same type of flower ,just appearing in different forms and colour. i think it is amazing they look so different.

nothing much going on in my personal life.

there is the usual bad news of course, the ones going round is how some people and children become so anxious about climate change,  that they are getting a mental illness from it. there have been a lot of news giving dire fear mongering of possible futures if the warming continues. they have dropped all pretense that it is climate change, (no talk of it getting cold and freezing) and concentrate on saying it will be getting hotter till we fry.

and they give as an example that london in 2050 will be as hot as barcelona now. i suppose that sounds terrible to some who have not been to barcelona… but when i read that i thought that will be a fine thing. if only. it puzzles me why they can predict it so far ahead when you consider that they cannot forecast what it will be like in 5 days. of course they get round that by saying climate is easier to predict than weather. 

hmm, i would think it would be more scary  if they say it will be as hot as dubai now.  or did they think dubai will not like it  to compare it to future warming. i suppose they feel they can insult barcelona with impunity. but leave aside all that for the future, it is a lovely day today in london. 

nothing going on mind you. so i just took to wandering about in the buses, going to buy icecream cones at iceland. theirs is the best value, 6 for £1. and so many flavours to chose from. i went to the branch near waterloo, but they have completely empty shelves where the icecream used to be…

i saw on their website, that tesco sells these veg, so i decided to go to the tesco , the big one in brixton, (i have not been there before) to buy their 35p little gem lettuce. and peaches 4 for 45p. and i was reminded that iceland has a big branch in brixton, so i stop by it on the way back, and got the cones. now that it is getting so hot, i fancy eating icecream cones now.

it would seem that the tesco in brixton will be the nearest big supermarket branch of tescos nearest to me, now that the big one in kennington, which i normally go to , is closed .

there are lots of tesco express stores near me, and i went to them  but they dont sell these low priced goods. the little gem lettuce will make good salads, i intend to dress them with mayonnaise . summer time is a good time to eat salads.

how come hot countries eat so much hot foods?

london 5.49pm

curry soup, with chicken this time. its excellent for cold day, which is why i am surprised it is not invented by northerners, but is a dish of the hot countries, countries in the tropics, when it is so hot that eating this dish makes u sweat buckets and is very uncomfortable.

it sounds illogical to be eating such a hot sweaty dish on a hot sweaty day…you would expect people in the tropics to be eating salads, and inventing all kinds of dressings to go with it, but salads are  not big in the tropics. as a kid i never heard about salads as we here in uk eat it, as in these western countries consider to be what is typical of a dish we call salads.

in the tropics, if ever we eat any vegetables that are raw, it is likely to be in vinegar, like pickles. it is one of the strange paradox about the way cuisine is invented by people living in hot countries as opposed to what is invented when they live in cold countries.

the only reason i can make to account for it is that salads are made of raw vegetables, and since it is very difficult to get clean sterile water in the tropics, (you get a lot of water but it is difficult to ensure they are bacteria free), so that anyone serving salads run the risk of making people ill. boiling is the best way of killing germs, so it is perfectly logical to have dishes that involve boiling… so that is why all these hot countries invent  hot noodles soup dishes, and stews, or stir fried dishes where really hot woks are used that kill all the germs; all hot dishes both in terms of temperature and also chilli hot, which is itself antibacterial.

you can get a idea of how dangerous raw salads are by that food scare recently in america where the romaine lettuce got a bad press, in that they are asking people not to eat it, i thought some people have died from eating contaminated romaine lettuce but it seems not. so if even america with its strict hygiene and health and safety regulations can get this death by salads, how much easier it must be for such poisoning to happen in a less well developed country.

and it surprised me when i read it happening in america, because we here in the west are so used to the excellent hygiene regulations that govern all eating establishments and preparation of foods, that we take it for granted and assume it is a natural thing that we can eat raw salads anytime we like and not even bother to clean it thoroughly with sterile water.

talking of this reminds me of that time when  one of the asian women who i sat with when we were having the free pho, given by that eating place recently,  warned us against eating raw bean sprouts, and that even dipping it in hot broth is not safe… that is why  she dont eat her raw bean sprouts, which they have placed before her to add to her pho. i thought she was over reacting at the time… but now i come to think of it, if u have lived in the tropics, you would be aware of how dangerous raw vegetables can be.

and now i come to think of it, i have never eaten raw bean sprouts in all the time i grew up and lived in malaysia. and the only time we eat raw salads, was during chinese new year reunion dinner, when there will be raw chinese lettuce leaves which we will put minced pork in it , roll it with our hands and dip in hoi sin sauce and eat raw. i am trying to find a picture of that salad leaves , to illustrate it but i cannot find it in google. it has very frilly edges and is very common to see it garnishing a dish or eaten raw like the way we did. it must have a name, but i dont know what it is called. 

 

caeser salad

london 9.37pm 8C dry night friday 2019

i think its very mild for this time of year. it says 8C but it is a bit cold outside. you will need to dress up warm, with beanie , hoodie, gloves and scarf round the neck. its nice and warm when i went out like that. 

i read that europe is having snow storms and cold weather, but it seems to have bypassed the uk. i think the gulf stream is diverting it away.

i was walking past my downstairs neighbours door, and i noticed it was open and she was fiddling with it. i asked her what is up, and she said the door is being rattled everytime the outside door of the block is opened. she said it rattles so loudly that it wakes her up, and she is putting blue tac in the door jamb to mute it. i am surprised that the door rattles , because mine is very firmly against the door jamb. but maybe the suction that is created when the block door is opened is very strong and hers being on the ground floor and so near the main entrance door may feel the force much more than mine which is on the first floor.

i went to the tesco at about 7.30pm today to see if there are any bargains. and found prepared caeser salad, reduced from £1.85 to 19p. so i bought 2 packs. and it turned out to be quite nice really. lots of romaine lettuce  pieces, and separate plastic sachets of croutons, and parmiagiano cheese, and a large plastic bag of dressing. i ate one pack allready and really enjoyed it. the pack has been packed with some air in it, i think it might be nitrogen, to keep the leaves fresh. it certainly did the trick. and at 19p each, it costs much less than if i were to make it myself. fortunate that i bought another pack, so i can look forward to enjoying it again.

hmm, i can see why people buy these ready made packs even though if they buy it at normal prices it is expensive. it is just very convenient, isn’t it? its the first time i seen it being reduced this low, but i shall buy it again if i see it reduced like this next time. it all depands on pot luck really as to whether i shall find it reduced like this again. 

added 13.1.19 got a photo of it today.

 

shopping at lidl

london 10.56am 28C sunny friday 2018

fresh basil pot plant 58p for mozzarella salads.

i thought i better buy a basil plant instead as i seem to be making a lot of mozzarella with tomatoes as a salad, and the basil leaves does make a huge difference in taste. lidl was selling it, along with 35p cucumbers, and gem lettuce. i think their strategy of having 6 items at low price is a good strategy. it entices us to go there for those low priced items, and invariably we will find we need to buy extras for the dish we make out of them, and we find the other items are cheaper too. like for eg, their mozzarella, which i normally buy from sainsburys, i find here they are 5p cheaper.

every thursday they set out a new list of 6 items at reduced price, so it is a good thing to check them out online on thursday. and without thinking of it, i found i spent about £5 this shopping. with this kind of weather, salads are nice to have.

i find shopping for food very enjoyable. especially since i buy a lot of fresh food, and so there is the pleasure of handling the fresh produce. the vegetables and fruits are very firm and you get the feeling of lots of juice under the skin , that u get the impression that there is a lot just waiting to burst out of the skin when you cut it or bite into it.

 

thank goodness for aldi, the budget supermarket; they have salads and fruits going very cheap, all about 50p. so i was able to stock up to make salads. cabbage , carrots (and i should have bought the onions too, but i did not realise that they would be nice in a coleslaw. it is really easy to make , all you need is mayonnaise.

london 6.31pm 30.2C sunny/cloudy wednesday 2018

and iceburg lettuce , tomatoes, cucumber all go to make veggie salad with dressing. it is very easy to make home made dressing. no need even to slavishly follow the recipes the cookbooks tell you. after all, you can make it with more or less vinegar, all up to your taste. i like it more actually. this warm weather makes it perfect to eat salads, and coleslaw.

in fact you can warm up some parts of the salads, no rule that it must all be cold is there? and no rule that says u cannot have meat in it. and u can have cold meats or warm meats. it all adds to the taste and gives it variety. in fact, i added melons in the salad. it adds a sweet taste to the mixture.

ah this heat is here to stay it seems. 

salad tomatoes

london 11.43pm 17.8C cloudy , rain earlier, sunday 2018

supposed to be father’s day today. but not a lot of free offers for fathers. when i entered today’s unique number in the daily mail nectar points promotion , it tells me i can get a free 7day pass to pure gym. that is a nice offer, even if it is not a father’s day offer. i shall make use of it, to go to the pure gym near me in victoria. they normally charge £37 a month. i used to be a member long ago when it was a LA fitness  gym. they have a swimming pool , jacuzzi, and sauna in there, though if u go into their website now, there is no mention of it. i wonder if they have taken it out. surely not, because their other gyms cost less to join, £20 a month. 

there is a live show by westend musicals today (and yesterday too) in trafalgar square , to show case their acts. it is free but the crowd is so large, that i did not bother to go. they do this every year. in the past they used leicester square, but it is too small, and so now they do it in trafalgar square. but it means the planned eid festival to celebrate the end of ramadan, which should take place in trafalgar square at around this time did not take place. but the whole area was still very busy. even with the vast crowd in trafalgar square, china town and the area round it was just as busy with people. but there was no sense of it being too much people. in that sense london seem to be able to cope very well with the visitors crowds. unlike venice and so many other tourists towns.

i passed a local store near the paddington library, and saw they have tomatoes, displayed outside the shop, quite large ones, on sale for 79p/kg. both loose tomatoes and tomatoes on the vine. i thought that is a good price so i bought 5, 70p worth. i have never bought anything there before as usually these corner stores have  their prices way higher than anywhere. 

usually when i am in brixton or in the supermarkets, the tomatoes are so small and cost more. these will go very well in a salad. eaten with mozzarella and basil and olive oil, it is heaven.

added 1.51pm, i stopped by the sainsburys to buy the mozarella, and ate it for lunch. i used only one tomato, it was that big. 

 

drought in s.e.asia still going on.

london 1.59pm 23.1C sunny monday 2016. 8.17pm rain 17.9C

i have read  in some s.e.asian blogs mentioning they are sweltering in high temperatures and did not quite realise it is anecdotal evidence ( word on the ground) about the big drought affecting s.e.asia now.  i saw a report of it, this heat wave, affecting the region with record high temperatures.

interesting isn’t it? those living through it will be sitting indoors with the airconditioning on full blast. but, fear not those who are suffering the effects now,  i have a feeling the drought will be ending as when i look at the weather map in malaysia, it shows rain practically everyday.  that suggests the monsoon season has arrived. people can look forward to lots of fresh green vegetables and lower temperatures.

we here in london always have fresh vegies on tap, because we can buy them world wide, being quite a rich city with world wide trade links. so we can get fresh vegies in winter, and now with spring here and the harvest from local farms coming onstream we should be able to get more salad vegies soon. they are really very nice with mayonnaise, even the tesco basic one that i buy, which costs only 40p for 500mg, dont know how they do it, but they  make a really delicious accompaniment to salads that i find irresistable and makes eating salads such a joy. whenever i have them i associate it with summer. 

 

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prices here in sainsburys are much higher than elsewhere.

good morning from london

london

such a beautiful morning outside.

i am looking out of my bedroom window, whilst sitting up in bed.

the window is large and lies low to the floor. and i can see the blue sky with some clouds on it.

it is not sunny, usually the rising sun is reflected off the windows of the luxury flats across from me. it has white walls, and the penthouse is a  huge block of windows. i can see 6 rows of windows covering all the sides of it.

it is quite far away from my window, i have to use max zoom to get those pics.

oh, just realised it is still early. it is 7.25am and the fact it is not sunny is because the sun has not risen much yet. now i can see the rosy tint that the rising sun is making on the white walls.

it’s lovely to live in london and to be able to see the sky from my bed. don’t laugh, u must be thinking how mad is that, to be glad to see the sky. but if u live in large cities, u will know not everyone can see the sky from their bed. haha.

in new york for eg, u have to be very rich to be able to see the sky with all those high rise buildings blocking it. so u have to be rich and can afford a apartment high up to get that glimpse of the sky from your bed.

here in london, thank goodness things are not that dire as we dont have many high rise… though that might change in the future.

i have been eating a lot of salads recently. i dont know why, but i got a craving for it. and since aldi are selling salad veg , lettuce, beetroot very cheap at 39p each, i can indulge in it.

i use a hellman mayonnaise jar in the fridge. simon must have bought it, because usually if i get any at all i will buy the basic brand mayonaise. the hellman one is easier to spread, as for difference in taste, i have to admit it is nicer than the basic mayonnaise i would normally buy.

added 18.6.15 thursday, 6.02pm i have been using the tesco basic mayonnaise ever since writing the above, and i must say it is very nice indeed. it is more vinegarish than the hellman’s, which is sweeter. i like the vinegar as i like my mayonnaise more acidic. i think traditionally mayonnaise is vinegarish, but whatever it is, i like it vinegarish. the hellman’s is too sweet for me.

i think beetroot is just so delicious. and aldi is selling 500mg packs for 39p as part of their week’s 6 veg a day promotion.

wow, the sun is getting stronger and it is really bright reflected off those walls. 

added 4.3.15 wed. just read in the standard online about this hail storm at lunch time yesterday. funny really, because i live just by the tate britain, and never saw any of it.

quite possibly it did hail outside my flat, but often i dont know about it once i am in my flat. i dont often look out much when i am in my flat.

people moan about it but i find it really lovely, to get this kind of variety in the weather just 1 mile or so apart. 

i have been eating a lot of salads this summer

london thurs 2014

The reason is the supermarkets giving such good prices for them. today i read an advert by morrisons of 3 for £1.50 offers for celery, tomatoes, courgettes, plums, 4peaches, and pineapple. whilst tesco have a long running offer of 2 for 75p for celery, beetroot, lettuce.

I am waiting for my chromebook to charge up fully before i go off to buy them.

And their cheap prices makes it the reason why i am eating so much salads.

john came to visit me for the naked bike ride and he bought salad dressing for the salads. and i find i like them. usually i make my own french dressing using olive oil, mustard, and vinegar, but this salad dressing is rather nice. so now i am eating my salads with salad dressing but i have finished john’s bottle, and now going to buy my own. however, i am puzzled how they are different from mayonnaise.

 except for the price, mayonnaise is so much cheaper, i dont see or taste the difference.

there is a small amount of egg in mayonnaise, but so small amount it might as well not be there.

so i am settling for mayonnaise as a dressing. it comes in a bottle with a wide neck so easy to spoon every last bit out, whilst the salad dressing comes in a plastic bottle which u can stand upside down but the contents never settle and u are left with bits at the bottom which is impossible to get out. 

I have a weekend magazine that tells me how to make all the different types of salads, using rocket, and such like, but i find i am just happy to eat salads using only lettuce, tomatoes,beetroot, cucumber salads all the time. somehow i never get fed up of them. l wonder why? they are just so easy to make and the ingredients are available everywhere and like now, on special price and so cheaper. 

 Added. morrisons were selling 10kg basmati rice for £10. so i bought a bag. there was a time about 5months ago when rice price rose, to £12 for 10kg, or more. but thank goodness prices seem to revert back to £10.

though sometimes like what happened recently you might get lucky like i did, i got a 4kg bag of basmati rice for £1.95, reduced just because there was a tear in the bag.