This Weekend's Test Subjects
(The usual pancackles were there on account of their being a safe, tasty staple.) Cajun fries leftover from dinner at Popeye's, and kou rou bao - a traditional steamed, savoury stewed pork bun. And um. Chicken skins. Yup. Chicken skins. That I stole from my cats, whom I feed raw. Rubbed up with 5 spice seasoning and left to sit in the fridge overnight.
The Results
Kou Rou Bao Fried in Bacon FatOooh glorious. Super light and crispy outside, fluffy and airy inside, and right in the middle - savoury stewed pork oozing fatty goodness. OoOooO. If you've ever had pan-fried or deep-fried mantou, this is exactly what they would be like if you stuck meat in them, then fried them in bacon fat. ;)
Cajun Fries Re-fried in Bacon Fat
Hrm... Well they were nice, but I can't say they were hugely improved one way or the other. Not going to do these again.
Five-Spice Chicken Skins Fried in Bacon Fat
TBH the five-spice seasoning kinda overpowered the baconnyness of it. Nuggetboy supplies that they were very much like pork rinds, which makes sense, considering they're... welll - chicken rinds? Not bad, but horribly, horribly dangerous to cook. O.o The oil was spitting and jumping and bouncing everywhere. I think next time I'll just marinade the chicken itself in the five spices for a less dangerous and equally satisfying bit of chicken.
Having seen the Error of My Fork Whacking Ways, I made up this batch by whacking it regularly as it froze, resulting in a much airier, finer texture. (Not that you can see it here. -_-) It's definitely less coarsely icy and granular than the lemon attempt, and I'm really quite pleased with it. Not to mention, a cup of coffee turns into a lot more granita than coffee! The combination of freezing and whacking seems to intensify the flavours. All in all - very pleased with this. In fact... dangerously so, because now I'm plotting a whole series of granitas! And I've gone so far as to buy more kitchen implements (eeeee!) because one of the instructions I turned up mentioned using a whisk in the initial stages for an even finer, creamier texture...
One of the things I've noticed about the F2P model is that some peeps seem to think that F2P (P2W) games are inherently inferior to subscription games - and that the only reason why people could possibly be playing F2P games is because they haven't got the cash for a subscription.
<.< Let's ignore that F2P games can cost a lot more if you aren't careful.
I'm not playing Forsaken World because it's F2P. I do use the cash shop - but I make sure that I don't spend more than a subscription would cost (in fact, I spend less right now, but that's just me).
The thing is, even if FW and WoW were both subs, or both F2P, I'd play FW over WoW in a heartbeat.
I am, however, a jaded ex-raider, who won't even pick up an MMO if it has 'endgame PvE raiding' as a feature. I'm also self-reliant to the point of neuroticism in MMOs. XD
So for me, FW is better than WoW. Not just 'better because it's free'.
Outright better.
Oh yah, for those who want 'support' for my statements about WoW... I played it for 3 years, starting in Vanilla. Stopped for 2 years just before WotLK came out. Had 10 70s at that point. Some very geared - since I mention raiding, that's a given. Went back for one month when Cata came out, levelled a holy priest from 1 - 85 on a fresh account. Cancelled after that one month. So I'd say I have a fair amount of knowledge when it comes to WoW. ;)
via simondale.net
You are looking at pictures of a house I built for our family in Wales. It was built by myself and my father in law with help from passers by and visiting friends. 4 months after starting we were moved in and cosy. I estimate 1000-1500 man hours and £3000 put in to this point. Not really so much in house buying terms (roughly £60/sq m excluding labour).
Main tools used: chainsaw, hammer and 1 inch chisel, little else really. Oh and by the way I am not a builder or carpenter, my experience is only having a go at one similar house 2yrs before and a bit of mucking around inbetween. This kind of building is accessible to anyone. My main relevant skills were being able bodied, having self belief and perseverence and a mate or two to give a lift now and again.
This is sooooo absolutely gorgeous. And amazing. O.o Eeee!
Another option for those without an ice cream machine is to turn this sorbet into an icy granita. To make a granita, transfer the chilled mixture to a large, shallow pan and place in the freezer, rather than processing in the ice cream machine. When you see ice crystals beginning to form around the edges of the pan, stir the granita using a fork, scraping it off the bottom and sides of the pan to ensure an even consistency when freezing; continue to stir and scrape, breaking up the ice crystals, every thirty minutes until it is completely frozen, about 3 hours. Stirring is a crucial step in making granita, as the goal with granita is to create coarse granular crystals of ice to achieve the perfect grainy texture.
via gildedfork.com
Moar info here too! I think I'll change the name when I make this again. I WILL MAKE IT AGAIN DAMMIT.
That, and next time (and this time too haha!) I'll call it 'granita'...
via explodingdog.com
Bacon-wrapped scallops
According to nuggetboy, the little buggers were rather hard to wrap in bacon. We wrapped most of the ones we defrosted in bacon, and tossed 4 other unwrapped ones to fry in the bacon fat with their more dressed-up brethren. >.>
Verdict! Uh. Scallops fried in bacon fat are better than scallops wrapped in bacon. O.o It's troo!
See, the scallops fried in bacon absorb a massive amount of bacon fat into their scallopy fibres, resulting in a bacon scallop explosion of taste when chewed. Oddly enough, wrapping the scallops in bacon seems to protect the scallop from... the bacon fat - resulting in scallops that are less bacony than the plain fat-fried ones, but with nice contrasting textures from scallopy goodness and bacony crispiness.
Lemon Sorbet Wannabe
I saw a recipe on the interwebs somewhere that said, make sorbet! It's easy! combine ice, sugar, juice, freeze in a flattish shallow container, and WHACK IT HARD REPEATEDLY WITH A FORK (and replace in the freezer each time) until it becomes sorbet. -_- What they neglected to mention was the exact technique for whacking with a fork until it becomes fine and grainy. Right now, it's at the crushed ice stage. I'm beginning to wonder if it would be better with a blender - but unfortunately, I don't have one. The recipe says whacking it repeatedly until it submits and becomes a sorbet is the way it's traditionally done... so I guess I'll just keep beating it up over the week.
It does taste awfully nice, even though in typical nugget fashion, I neither used the exact same ingredients, nor followed any measurements. XD What I used was enough water for a shallow soup dish, with a heaped tablespoon of manuka honey, and 3 lemons. It's very potently lemony, and quite refreshing, but if we do this again, I think I'll put 2 tablespoons of honey in rather than one. Nuggetboy likes his desserts sweeter, I do like honey, and right now, while my nuggetly senses can detect the honey quite distinctly, he can't taste it at all.
Updates on sorbet beating to follow!
via fxcuisine.com
via fxcuisine.com
The noodles must be 1.6mm wide. 'How do you achieve such regularity?' I asked. 'Easy. Just place your knife at a 1.5° angle and it will push back the guiding board just enough so that the next noodle will be exactly 1.6mm'. Right. There is nothing to tell the chef when he reaches 1.5° so I guess the pupils must get their money's worth if they learn to do it right in 30 days!