This would make a good soundtrack for The Moon that Rises in the Day:
...
I'm reading Feng Shen Ji right now and it's probably the best xianxia type manhua I've read. Although the plot follows the xianxia template, the supporting characters all have a lot of depth.
30 April 2018
29 April 2018
Tangyuan
I spent 3 hours making 10 tangyuan yesterday... it's almost not worth it if not for the peanut filling. So much better than store-brought peanut tangyuan.
Lady&Pup is my go-to source for Asian recipes that go the extra mile. I used her dough and eye balled my own peanut filling: equal parts (⅓ cup perhaps?) demerara sugar and crushed roasted peanuts, with less than a tablespoon of peanut butter and peanut oil each and a pinch of salt.
Beginner's luck: the filling to dough ratio worked out exactly
Beginner's mistake: forgot to halve the amount of water, which resulted in a very sticky dough and a big reason why this took 3 hours. Next batch should be faster!
Some tips I learned on how to shape a sticky dough:
first failed attempt in the background & now I have glutinous rice flour all over my camera
Lady&Pup is my go-to source for Asian recipes that go the extra mile. I used her dough and eye balled my own peanut filling: equal parts (⅓ cup perhaps?) demerara sugar and crushed roasted peanuts, with less than a tablespoon of peanut butter and peanut oil each and a pinch of salt.
Beginner's luck: the filling to dough ratio worked out exactly
Beginner's mistake: forgot to halve the amount of water, which resulted in a very sticky dough and a big reason why this took 3 hours. Next batch should be faster!
Some tips I learned on how to shape a sticky dough:
- Roll the dough between 2 ziplock bags, these have some coating on them that's non-stick
- Very important to roll the dough such that the edges are thinner than the middle
- Remove just the top ziplock bag and shape the tangyuan on the other
- Wet fingertips when folding the dough to prevent it from sticking to fingers. But if enough flour is sprinkled onto the bottom bag, then the dough might not stick.
- Crushed peanuts are sharp and easily pokes through the dough, no tricks to prevent this aside from crushing them finely, but I happen to like bigger pieces so just had to be careful
- To help achieve a smooth surface after closing the dough, liberally wet the folded dough with water and try to smear the folds together with fingers. Wet > smear > dip in more flour > repeat. I'm usually happy with the smoothness after 3 rounds.
28 April 2018
bite
I wish I had a set of blue and white porcelain dinnerware since most food I make is beige/yellow/brown. Hauling a set from China doesn't seem like a good use of valuable luggage allowance, guess expensive shipping it'll have to be.
Food I ate ranked in terms of how appealing they look in photos (least to most):
This is actually a really good dinner to have during weeks when I have lectures. Healthy and very quick to heat up and eat. The congee base (rice, lentil, seaweed, dried shrimp) can be cooked in advance, and add frozen spinach when reheating one portion. Then stir in miso paste. I've always ignored instructions not to heat up miso paste too much, in fact I deliberately char the miso paste when I make my default soup. But after using miso as a condiment in this congee, I do admit that some flavour is lost from the high heat.
As one recipe comment says, I was skeptical of no garlic and no tomato. But I decided to trust the recipe, although adding some dried shiitake mushroom and dark soy sauce. Also swapped out some green lentil for red lentil because I have no blender to puree part of the sauce. The taste is great, mostly from the strongly cooked down carrot & onion, but the texture would definitely be better pureed as it currently doesn't cling that well to the pasta. It'd work well as a lasagna filling though.
I wasn't interested in mayo based dressing as I've always made pesto based potato tuna salads. But after liking a super simple leek/tuna/mayo bruschetta (on soda bread: nailed the dough this time with ¼ cup more milk, but messed up on the cooking "orz ), decided to continue the mayo and tuna theme. I do also need to start using up the bottle, and haven't made any grilled cheese yet. It turned out well, but I credit that to pickled carrots and salted olives.
A bowl meal from The Art of the Larder to use up the remaining of my white beans. It is time to start thinking of how to use up my pantry, guess I won't be buying any chickpea or buckwheat flour to play with :( I very very heavily seasoned the beans while cooking it, which makes a big difference. This would definitely be added to my regular rotation...except that'd require buying more beans.
I'm already dreading all the UK food that I'm gonna miss.
Food I ate ranked in terms of how appealing they look in photos (least to most):
congee form of my default miso soup
This is actually a really good dinner to have during weeks when I have lectures. Healthy and very quick to heat up and eat. The congee base (rice, lentil, seaweed, dried shrimp) can be cooked in advance, and add frozen spinach when reheating one portion. Then stir in miso paste. I've always ignored instructions not to heat up miso paste too much, in fact I deliberately char the miso paste when I make my default soup. But after using miso as a condiment in this congee, I do admit that some flavour is lost from the high heat.
As one recipe comment says, I was skeptical of no garlic and no tomato. But I decided to trust the recipe, although adding some dried shiitake mushroom and dark soy sauce. Also swapped out some green lentil for red lentil because I have no blender to puree part of the sauce. The taste is great, mostly from the strongly cooked down carrot & onion, but the texture would definitely be better pureed as it currently doesn't cling that well to the pasta. It'd work well as a lasagna filling though.
mayo based potato tuna salad
I wasn't interested in mayo based dressing as I've always made pesto based potato tuna salads. But after liking a super simple leek/tuna/mayo bruschetta (on soda bread: nailed the dough this time with ¼ cup more milk, but messed up on the cooking "orz ), decided to continue the mayo and tuna theme. I do also need to start using up the bottle, and haven't made any grilled cheese yet. It turned out well, but I credit that to pickled carrots and salted olives.
A bowl meal from The Art of the Larder to use up the remaining of my white beans. It is time to start thinking of how to use up my pantry, guess I won't be buying any chickpea or buckwheat flour to play with :( I very very heavily seasoned the beans while cooking it, which makes a big difference. This would definitely be added to my regular rotation...except that'd require buying more beans.
I'm already dreading all the UK food that I'm gonna miss.
27 April 2018
cradle
One more post on clothing / shopping.
I did end up buying a linen dress on Etsy to satisfy the need for a dress to wear when it's too hot and humid. It'sa my first custom order, pretty excited to receive it :D Even if the sizing isn't perfect, Bath does not seem to lack in tailors so I can adjust as necessary.
I also bought another navy skirt when I went to browse H&M as I was interested in a dress there before making the Etsy purchase. Reason for purchase: I like the design and it was cheap (on sale for 8.10GBP)
The stock photo doesn't do it enough justice. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it holds its shape on the body. It also works for both daily and special occasion wear, so hopefully my friends will start getting married soon. I've been avoiding white or black dresses because I want to start attending weddings ;_;
Overall, I have quite a good personal experience with H&M clothing. The many pieces I've had over the years have all held up really well (notably the 2 wool-mix coats) and I'm consistently the same size in every piece.
This is where I segue to topic #2 of this post: responsible fashion! The link being H&M as they actually rank pretty high on Fashion Revolution's 2018 Fashion Transparency Index. Adidas is another brands that I was surprised by, they did well o:
I see a lot of discussion on /r/ffa about sustainability and ethical fashion and was surprised that no comments mentioned that site & its resources. I read through their two fanzines*, which has a good mix of high level analysis and personal actionable items. I did just break my new years resolution of stop buying from fast fashion retailers with the H&M skirt purchase, but reading the fanzines have re-motivated me to stick to the resolution from now on. Another takeaway is that I'm going to do better than the UK average of owning clothing pieces for 3.3 years. I think most of my clothes are older than that, but now to actually keep track. If I'm motivated enough, I'll even make another attempt at an excel inventory and track cost per wear. Maybe I'll start small and track purchases from here on, then categorize the clothes here in UK, and finally remaining clothes after I head back. One more takeaway is their idea of writing love letters to your most cherished pieces. I sort of do that with some of shoes here on the blog, so I'll expand on that.
*the fuller context is that I'm experiencing withdraw after reading The Moon that Rises in the Day, the setup of which I'm a huge sucker for (Doha ;_; !!!!!) A symptom of manga withdraw is that Ifeel repulsed to can't read another series since that's betraying my feels. So I read reports instead XD usually on food system
I did end up buying a linen dress on Etsy to satisfy the need for a dress to wear when it's too hot and humid. It's
I also bought another navy skirt when I went to browse H&M as I was interested in a dress there before making the Etsy purchase. Reason for purchase: I like the design and it was cheap (on sale for 8.10GBP)
The stock photo doesn't do it enough justice. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it holds its shape on the body. It also works for both daily and special occasion wear, so hopefully my friends will start getting married soon. I've been avoiding white or black dresses because I want to start attending weddings ;_;
Overall, I have quite a good personal experience with H&M clothing. The many pieces I've had over the years have all held up really well (notably the 2 wool-mix coats) and I'm consistently the same size in every piece.
This is where I segue to topic #2 of this post: responsible fashion! The link being H&M as they actually rank pretty high on Fashion Revolution's 2018 Fashion Transparency Index. Adidas is another brands that I was surprised by, they did well o:
I see a lot of discussion on /r/ffa about sustainability and ethical fashion and was surprised that no comments mentioned that site & its resources. I read through their two fanzines*, which has a good mix of high level analysis and personal actionable items. I did just break my new years resolution of stop buying from fast fashion retailers with the H&M skirt purchase, but reading the fanzines have re-motivated me to stick to the resolution from now on. Another takeaway is that I'm going to do better than the UK average of owning clothing pieces for 3.3 years. I think most of my clothes are older than that, but now to actually keep track. If I'm motivated enough, I'll even make another attempt at an excel inventory and track cost per wear. Maybe I'll start small and track purchases from here on, then categorize the clothes here in UK, and finally remaining clothes after I head back. One more takeaway is their idea of writing love letters to your most cherished pieces. I sort of do that with some of shoes here on the blog, so I'll expand on that.
*the fuller context is that I'm experiencing withdraw after reading The Moon that Rises in the Day, the setup of which I'm a huge sucker for (Doha ;_; !!!!!) A symptom of manga withdraw is that I
26 April 2018
valley
Randomly discovered this shop via a tumblr post on their pleat editorial. pleats!
I am very much in love with that dress. Perhaps I'll also serendipitously find it in my size, on sale, when I have income haha ;_;
...
That was the start of a little rabbit hole down Proenza Schouler. I never thought about this brand since I wasn't a fan of PS1's design, which was all I knew. Then I found these:
...
On the topic of luxury purchases, I enjoyed reading Luxe's article "when you should save and when you should spend". She outlines a decision making model consisting of 3 factors: frequency of wear, utility, and unicorn, which is pretty much how I assess as well.
I am very much in love with that dress. Perhaps I'll also serendipitously find it in my size, on sale, when I have income haha ;_;
...
That was the start of a little rabbit hole down Proenza Schouler. I never thought about this brand since I wasn't a fan of PS1's design, which was all I knew. Then I found these:
filed under design that I very much like but also very much extraneous
...
On the topic of luxury purchases, I enjoyed reading Luxe's article "when you should save and when you should spend". She outlines a decision making model consisting of 3 factors: frequency of wear, utility, and unicorn, which is pretty much how I assess as well.
25 April 2018
breeze
My last two courses all required going to the CAD lab on campus because engineering software is not Mac friendly. I'm obviously not thrilled to be forced out of my room, but it does provide opportunities to take photos.
24 April 2018
might be over now, but I feel it still
Tonight's design report writing music:
and especially this (other artist's remix of the) song out of the mix:
...
It's been a while since I felt in the zone doing assignments. I'm usually very distracted ugh, especially when doing dissertation lit review. That one day in the public library studying for the grade 12 calc exam will be forever engrained in my mind as the time that I concentrated the best. Although design reports are the easiest to write, since you've done all the work and is just summarizing the highlights.
This week I learned the basics of artificial lighting design:
and especially this (other artist's remix of the) song out of the mix:
...
It's been a while since I felt in the zone doing assignments. I'm usually very distracted ugh, especially when doing dissertation lit review. That one day in the public library studying for the grade 12 calc exam will be forever engrained in my mind as the time that I concentrated the best. Although design reports are the easiest to write, since you've done all the work and is just summarizing the highlights.
This week I learned the basics of artificial lighting design:
23 April 2018
key
I've greatly underestimated how bearable UK's summers are. 20˚C + high humidity is already at the upper limit of what I brought clothes for.
So I've been searching for one more summer dress to buy. It's actually painful because I don't lack summer dresses at all, but shipping plus duties to bring one / few of the dresses I already own is about the same as buying a new dress. Never would I think that I'd not enjoy shopping for summer dresses (woah this sentence's grammar is weird).
I've checked all the regular high street shops, nothing appealing and don't want to risk buying something with poor quality polyester (aka 99% of things on asos) and deal with the hassles of a return. I've avoided checking Aritzia because I know I'll find something I like but on principle don't want to buy from a brand that I can buy at home (aka would prefer a UK/EU brand because fomo). Too bad Toast / Arket's silhouettes aren't what I prefer in dresses.
FFA was helpful, found a French brand IRO. Their dress designs are great, there's some detail that distinguishes it from plain basic, but not too much so. Too bad it's too pricy, at least they do ship to Canada.
Some more digging on FFA reminded me that a linen dress would be the most functional option. I do really like this from Etsy. Open back designs are my weakness, the need for finicky bras be damned ;_;
So I've been searching for one more summer dress to buy. It's actually painful because I don't lack summer dresses at all, but shipping plus duties to bring one / few of the dresses I already own is about the same as buying a new dress. Never would I think that I'd not enjoy shopping for summer dresses (woah this sentence's grammar is weird).
I've checked all the regular high street shops, nothing appealing and don't want to risk buying something with poor quality polyester (aka 99% of things on asos) and deal with the hassles of a return. I've avoided checking Aritzia because I know I'll find something I like but on principle don't want to buy from a brand that I can buy at home (aka would prefer a UK/EU brand because fomo). Too bad Toast / Arket's silhouettes aren't what I prefer in dresses.
FFA was helpful, found a French brand IRO. Their dress designs are great, there's some detail that distinguishes it from plain basic, but not too much so. Too bad it's too pricy, at least they do ship to Canada.
Some more digging on FFA reminded me that a linen dress would be the most functional option. I do really like this from Etsy. Open back designs are my weakness, the need for finicky bras be damned ;_;
21 April 2018
bow
This week Bath showed us a preview of what summer would be like. I finally had the chance to wear a bunch of clothes that I brought but have yet to wear.
Flowers are everywhere! I'm so glad my allergy doesn't occur in the spring. There's sparse cherry blossoms, most flowers I have no idea what they are, and some bluish purple flowers that look fluorescent during the blue hour.
I caved in and bought berries out of season and immediately regretted it upon tasting it raw. Looks perfect but still taste pretty bland. Much better cooked down with a good dose of sugar.
Flowers are everywhere! I'm so glad my allergy doesn't occur in the spring. There's sparse cherry blossoms, most flowers I have no idea what they are, and some bluish purple flowers that look fluorescent during the blue hour.
I caved in and bought berries out of season and immediately regretted it upon tasting it raw. Looks perfect but still taste pretty bland. Much better cooked down with a good dose of sugar.
20 April 2018
dalmatian
Finally made it to Bathwick hill in good weather! Luckily there's a bus stop next to the hill so it's easy to make the spontaneous decision to hop off the bus. Too bad I only had my phone as a camera today.
I get why almost every architectural photo is taken during the blue hour, it does make the artificial lighting really good. Perhaps I'm studying the corresponding course right now, but these scenes are so pretty.
I get why almost every architectural photo is taken during the blue hour, it does make the artificial lighting really good. Perhaps I'm studying the corresponding course right now, but these scenes are so pretty.
18 April 2018
Highlands
We were blessed with a sunny day up in the highlands, which is amazing but also means I gotta bracket every shot.
Haven't taken out my 12mm for a while, but this lens plus velvia is made for landscapes.
This photo of the tree is my favourite of the whole trip. Same composition / subject as this photo from Yunnan.
Looking towards Ben Nevis
I love the texture from the grasses (or are they lichens? am I even using the right terms? guess this is the consequence of never taking bio) in the highlands, it's better than the mountains, better than the lakes. Bonus that they're super cushiony to walk on. I've really enjoyed looking at moss after visiting Kyoto, which has now grown to a general fondness for texture of plants.
Haven't taken out my 12mm for a while, but this lens plus velvia is made for landscapes.
Callander
Glencoe / Loch Ness
The direction of sunlight when we arrived at Glencoe was quite undesirable. It's such a grand scene.
Fort Augustus / Callander
This photo of the tree is my favourite of the whole trip. Same composition / subject as this photo from Yunnan.
I love the texture from the grasses (or are they lichens? am I even using the right terms? guess this is the consequence of never taking bio) in the highlands, it's better than the mountains, better than the lakes. Bonus that they're super cushiony to walk on. I've really enjoyed looking at moss after visiting Kyoto, which has now grown to a general fondness for texture of plants.
17 April 2018
Edinburgh Old Town
I must admit that I took very few photos that are satisfactory inside Edinburgh city. Partly because the weather really sucked and I'm not good enough to capture the foggy mood, also partly because I can only concentrate on seeing interesting scenes when I'm alone. The results of this trip, and also Italy last December, is no where comparable to Japan or Charleston.
These are okay:
The right photo is my favourite in the city. It's of Lady Stair's Close. Something I really like about Edinburgh old town is that the layers of many buildings are clearly visible, you can easily see how each building changed throughout time.
These are okay:
The right photo is my favourite in the city. It's of Lady Stair's Close. Something I really like about Edinburgh old town is that the layers of many buildings are clearly visible, you can easily see how each building changed throughout time.
16 April 2018
Edinburgh Royal Botanical Garden
I always take too many photos at botanical gardens. It's always nice to walk through a garden (or many) in each city. Edinburgh's is free (except the greenhouse), unlike other cities, so there's no excuse to visit and re-visit. The overcast sky was actually really helpful for photographing flowers, no need to worry about blowing out any colours.
My camera lens had condensation on the front glass while int he greenhouse, but I quite like the effect it produced on the photos.
My camera lens had condensation on the front glass while int he greenhouse, but I quite like the effect it produced on the photos.
15 April 2018
bun
inb4 Edinburgh:
I always stress out during Animal Crossing's garden events, trying to get every item. Although I know better than to be a completionist in this game. The most recent garden event is Alice in Wonderland themed for Easter, I was obviously very excited about this theme.
One frustrating aspect of the game (oh there were many, but patches did fix most of them) is how the camera control is set when taking screenshots using the camera mode (which is the only way to get rid of the HUI). The perspective shifts as you pan the camera, aka a huge pain to stitch together different screenshots. They should really implement zoom, or at least the option to see your entire campsite in camera mode. "orz
I always stress out during Animal Crossing's garden events, trying to get every item. Although I know better than to be a completionist in this game. The most recent garden event is Alice in Wonderland themed for Easter, I was obviously very excited about this theme.
One frustrating aspect of the game (oh there were many, but patches did fix most of them) is how the camera control is set when taking screenshots using the camera mode (which is the only way to get rid of the HUI). The perspective shifts as you pan the camera, aka a huge pain to stitch together different screenshots. They should really implement zoom, or at least the option to see your entire campsite in camera mode. "orz
14 April 2018
Love in the mask
I made a bad decision of starting a very dramatic manga the day before I left. Sleeping on the bus and plane did make up for it a bit.
I really liked the story until the ending, which was way too deus ex machina for my preference. It'd be better if Hyun Bin stayed within the gang for the full contract period and actually had to kill people, then to reunite with Yun Ha and resolve the challenge of his actions together. This ending is even plausible as if Hyun Bin just accepted Bi Rak's sacrifice. The supporting characters are all sufficiently fleshed out and are just the right amount of annoying in their interference with the main ship, Gah Hyun and Yae Ha are especially well depicted.
...
Edinburgh photos will be up throughout the week as I devote myself to lectures
I really liked the story until the ending, which was way too deus ex machina for my preference. It'd be better if Hyun Bin stayed within the gang for the full contract period and actually had to kill people, then to reunite with Yun Ha and resolve the challenge of his actions together. This ending is even plausible as if Hyun Bin just accepted Bi Rak's sacrifice. The supporting characters are all sufficiently fleshed out and are just the right amount of annoying in their interference with the main ship, Gah Hyun and Yae Ha are especially well depicted.
...
Edinburgh photos will be up throughout the week as I devote myself to lectures
13 April 2018
12 April 2018
11 April 2018
no stars in the skies of Seoul
Woah I had this post drafted way back last year.
...
Gonna remember this analogy:
...
Gonna remember this analogy:
We once said we were like magnets
What we really meant was that as soon as one turned around, we’d drift apart.
10 April 2018
paprika
Things I've discovered that is reasonably reliable at motivating myself:
- Short term: food
- Medium term: travel or shoes
- Long term: ???
this preamble is so I can post about two new loafers that I'm eyeing from Meermin. They recently opened a NYC store, which I'll definitely check out when I go next.
My current Everlane loafers are pretty alright, but the fit is problematic (initially too tight, now stretched out too much that I have major heel slips). The leather is also...passable. But I also don't want to drop a ton of money on loafers, which don't get that much wear in Canadian weather compared to boots.
The concern of practicality doesn't stop me from wanting these much more expensive loafers as well *shurg*
I did have a lot of fun looking back at my old clothing posts to find the link for the Everlane loafers, so at least the value in terms of my own enjoyment is quite high :)
09 April 2018
08 April 2018
07 April 2018
promenade
Woodlots are really nice places to photograph in, there's so much texture and details to play with. These are from Sham Castle Down.
...
The purpose of this excursion is to visit the Museum of Bath Architecture, they have a architectural photography exhibit on right now. The entrance to the museum reminds me a lot of this set of photos in Charleston.
...
The purpose of this excursion is to visit the Museum of Bath Architecture, they have a architectural photography exhibit on right now. The entrance to the museum reminds me a lot of this set of photos in Charleston.
06 April 2018
flip
Some unsuccessful cooking experiments: because I know enough to not cook with a beginner's diligence but don't know enough to actually not pay attention to recipe instructions.
aka I deserved it, blah.
Mistake: not adjusting the quantity of buttermilk to account for varying thickness between mine and Joe's. I think it would actually turn out well if I used all the buttermilk and added some milk as needed. Right now it's very dense and chewy, which is in the right direction of how I like my breads. Also need to half to halved portion (so ¼ of the recipe quantity) since it's so filling. Might try shaping it into rectangles so the shape is more appropriate for sandwiches.
aka I deserved it, blah.
soda farl, which is a thinner soda bread cooked on the stovetop
Mistake: not adjusting the quantity of buttermilk to account for varying thickness between mine and Joe's. I think it would actually turn out well if I used all the buttermilk and added some milk as needed. Right now it's very dense and chewy, which is in the right direction of how I like my breads. Also need to half to halved portion (so ¼ of the recipe quantity) since it's so filling. Might try shaping it into rectangles so the shape is more appropriate for sandwiches.
Another flatbread that I ruined by rolling it too thin, I'm quite the idiot to make the same mistake twice. One out of the batch of four was thicker than the rest, and accordingly it was more chewy and flaky. I used too high of heat and not enough steam, which creates the chewy texture.
I recently watched a lot of Chinese food documentaries (舌尖上的中国，and one about 顺得 and 中山 each), and there's a lot of emphasis on 火候 which is heat level. Admittedly it's not a factor that I've given a lot of thought to, in fact I just cook everything on the highest heat level. That is very very wrong and I'll be paying more attention to this. It is difficult with an unresponsive electric stove, which means it's all the more important to use an appropriate heat level. Another related piece of knowledge I learned from /u/mthmchris on /r/cooking is that responsiveness is the actual reason why gas stove is preferable over electric for stir frying, and not because gas stove have higher heat output.
...
Brussel sprout salad has evolved into a hash in order to clean up my fridge before leaving for Edinburgh:
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I have a new favourite from Bertinet Bakery: cinnamon buns. It's a layered but yeasted dough (my guess) that's the perfect level of chewy and flakey. I much prefer this texture to a laminated pastry that shatters when you bite into it.
I need to eat lots of good pastry as a benchmark for when I start making them hue hue.
...
Brussel sprout salad has evolved into a hash in order to clean up my fridge before leaving for Edinburgh:
...
I have a new favourite from Bertinet Bakery: cinnamon buns. It's a layered but yeasted dough (my guess) that's the perfect level of chewy and flakey. I much prefer this texture to a laminated pastry that shatters when you bite into it.
I need to eat lots of good pastry as a benchmark for when I start making them hue hue.
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