Popsicles - Part One

I came across the Chow.com series: Seven Ice Pops that Break the Mold and decided to try the milk tea with tapioca pearls, vietnamese coffee, and the red bean ice pops.  I'm making these popsicles for my work party on Sunday, who will help me shovel soil and otherwise tend the garden!

Here are my thoughts on the recipes.

Milk tea popsicles:

Because I like Hong Kong style milk tea, I used Red Rose tea bags for the milk tea popsicles.  And let me tell you, six bags of that stuff makes a powerful brew!!  I even subbed out one bag for two bags of the weaker Mother Parker's orange pekoe (which is absolutely atrocious, btw; I just got a free box from a friend who didn't want it, now I know why!).  I think next time I'll use five bags Red Rose and one bag Mother Parker.

I found it odd that the recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk.  We always use evaporated milk in our milk tea at home.  But I went along anyway.  I found the milk tea base to be too sweet.  I figured, since it's a cold dessert, it may need more sugar to taste sweet, so I let it slide.


I liked the idea of having tapioca boboa, especially when described so:

The tapioca pearls start out solid, but they slowly thaw and turn chewy in your mouth. It’s a little like the bubblegum ice cream of your youth: After the creamy part is gone, the pearls remain to prolong the fun.

I used the same black bubble tea pearls I've been using for a while now.  They're tasty and pleasantly chewy when warm, but get kind of grainy even at room temperature.  In the frozen popsicle, they do indeed start out solid, then turn chewy.  But the core turns grainy again.  This may just be a flaw in this brand of bubble tea pearls.

I think next time, I will not have so many pearls.  The recipe calls for filling the molds halfway, freezing for one hour, then making another addition of pearls and tea base.  I think I will use only half as many pearls next time.

And I think I will not put them at the very tip!  Next time, I will fill the molds with an inch of tea base, freeze for half an hour, then add the pearls and top off the molds.  This is because when I try to unmold the popsicles, the tips melt slightly and reveal bulbous black pearls sticking out of the tip like some grotesque alien appendage.

Here, the tip broke off when I tried to pull out the popsicle:

And after a few seconds of eating, the tip looks like this:

I suspect the appearance may put off some dinner guests!!


Red bean popsicles:

I made my own red bean paste based on this recipe.  (Btw, 250g of adzuki beans turns out to be close to 1+1/3 cups.)

I dislike that the paste comes out brown instead of red; but next time I will not boil the beans in the soaking water!!

I may have added too much salt to the paste recipe, but it worked out once the paste was in the popsicle base.

Instead of heavy cream, I used coffee cream; and instead of whole milk, I used 2% (because that's what we have).

Upon tasting, I'll concede that it could have used more sugar.  I had cut back, but now I know to make them sweeter!  I like that the whole (or mostly-whole) beans settled toward the tip.

But I think I would have liked more variety of texture.  It felt like there were only whole beans, and pureed beans, and nothing in between.

Red bean paste (leftovers are probably enough to make another batch!):

Finished popsicle:

Not quite as red as I had wanted, but still kind of pretty.  I don't really like the light-coloured band near the stick-end, though.  Maybe I will have to stir the popsicles after they've just set.


Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles

I actually happened to still have some Trung Nguyen coffee grinds, so I decided to use those.  Unfortunately, we don't have a working coffee maker, so I improvised, using a metal strainer and a coffee filter.  This took a few tries, because the strainer would sometimes tip, spilling coffee grinds into the coffee below.

Watching the coffee drip gives me a new appreciation for drip machines.  It's kind of painful to watch all that liquid sitting at the top, drip so slowly down--especially with so much coffee grinds!

I actually didn't have as much condensed milk as the recipe called for; so this may turn out to taste more like a plain, strong coffee than Vietnamese -style coffee.  Again, I used coffee cream instead of heavy cream, because that's what we have here.

The taste?  ...  A bit too much like regular coffee, actually.  The coffee cream gives it away.   Next time, I will open another can of sweetened condensed milk if I have to!

I really like the way the ice crystals look after sucking on the popsicle a little.  The crystals are so distinct, dark and clear amidst the creamy brown...


Since I started writing this post, I've actually made more popsicles--I think I've been bitten by the Popsicle-Making Bug.  But these will have to wait for their own post, next time.  The flavours I've made are:  lavender lemonade and blueberry; green tea ice cream; strawberry and balsamic vinegar; and I may have time to make one more flavour before bed, though I haven't decided yet!

Meanwhile, I've removed each popsicle from its mold and wrapped in plastic cling wrap, then put into a zip-top freezer bag.  With the new popsicles, I've already filled two freezer bags and a third is on its way.  Hopefully I don't lose track of which flavour is which!

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Digital Cameras

My first "real" digital camera was a Sony DSC-P30, which was a hand-me-down from my eldest brother, sometime around 2005 (because the first digital pictures of mine that I can find right now are from 2005).  This giant of a camera featured 1.3 megapixels, and I loved it to bits.  I actually still have it, and it still works--except for memory stick read errors.  Soon after I got it, cell phone cameras boasted more megapixels, but I didn't care at all.  The pictures were always sharp and true to colour.

I forget if it ever broke on me, but the next camera I owned was also a hand-me-down; a Sony DSC-P8, sometime late 2007 (because the photos went from about 500kb, to 1500kb in December 2007).  Even though it was newer, it seemed to take worse pictures than my old camera.

I brought this camera with me to Kingston, ON in 2009, where it got wet and refused to turn on.  I thought it was broken, so I packed it away and bought the cheapest decent camera I could find, which was a Nikon Coolpix L20.  This was a relatively new camera in 2009, and the large display screen dazzled me.  When I came home and unpacked my Sony, I found the LCD screen cracked (it was in my luggage, not my backpack). Out of curiosity, I tried turning it on, and it worked!  Only, with the cracked screen, it was hard to see what I was shooting.  So I stayed with my Coolpix.

Early this year, or maybe late 2011, the battery hatch on my Coolpix chipped.  Ever since, I've been using an elastic band to help hold it in place.  But more pieces began chipping off, so it's now held together with tape.  But since the frame is made of plastic (my latest Sony's frame is metal), the hatch is now beginning to buckle from the pressure of the battery springs.  It will soon snap, and there will be nothing I can do to fix it.

So I'm looking into buying a new digital camera.  Here are my requirements:

• Must take AA batteries (or other non-proprietary batteries)
• Must be under $125 before tax
• Must be durable (can survive at least 2 years)
• Must have a macro mode
• Must be programmable 
• Should have a good auto white balance, or let me do it manually

If you read this blog, you'll notice I mostly shoot food and outdoor things, so macro mode is very important.  This camera is mostly an emergency, "Oh crap I need a camera NOW, one that won't break on me!" purchase.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know, either by e-mail (see side bar for e-mail address) or by commenting below.

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Seedlings: week 2

Been a crazy couple of weeks.  Here are some highlights.

Seed tray with cells:

 

  

Basil and some zucchinis:

Highlights:

• A bunch of broccoli seedlings died this week; it looked as if they had been touched too hard.  The top halves wilted and fell over.  I pulled them out and sowed new seeds on 25 Apr.  
• Calendula strong as usual.
• Only three brandywine tomatoes sprouted, so I sowed new seeds on 23 Apr.  Sowed two more Purple Prince tomatoes also.  
• Parsley still takes a long time to germinate.  Even longer than the purple confelowers.  Only two parsley have germinated so far.  
• Sunsugar has almost a 100% germination rate in the cells.  I sowed some in yogurt tubs for friends; those took a lot longer to germinate, some still haven't come up yet; I'm beginning to wonder if they ever will.  
• Zucchinis are going strong.  Again, the only ones that haven't germinated are in the plastic tubs.  I wonder why that is...?
• True leaves are showing up a lot sooner this year.  Probably due to the heat mat.  
• I will need a second light box next year.  But Mom might not let me grow seeds indoors next year because of her allergies...  

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Anticipation!

My babies are growing!  By "babies", I of course mean my plants, which I start from seed indoors.  It may not look like much in this picture, but there are over a hundred seeds (maybe closer to 150), who are slowly beginning to wake.  Actually, some have already awoken, sending down roots and sending up spindly stems with cotyledons (seed leaves) to gather light energy (see below!).

I'm using a heat mat this year.  A friend told me it cut down germination time by about half.

I debated buying this little "mini greenhouse kit", which contains: a tray, a lid, 72 seedling cells, and a heating mat.  It runs $35 at Canadian Tire and $45 online (before shipping andhandling).

But then I found these heating pads.  These two are by Sunbeam; this one is 12x15 inches and costs $25 and this "king sized" one is 12x24 inches and costs $35.

So, for less than the price of the mini greenhouse kit, I get a heating pad with four different heat settings (warm, low, medium and high), that automatically turns off after two hours, and can be used for it's original purposes (warming sore muscles) and even melting chocolate and propagating yogurt (with thanks to Alton Brown) and probably more things I haven't yet thought of!  It also comes with a waterproof cover--though, it doesn't completely enclose the pad!!

The choice was clear for me.  Then again a friend told me she germinates her seeds on top of her fridge--which may cost a lot of money but chances are you already have one!  I'm sure there are other "free" warm spots where one can germinate seeds!

The heat has definitely sped along seed germination for me.  Click here to see a record of what has sprouted (denoted "sp"; sprouted means the seed has germinated and sent up a visible portion above the soil, though the cotyledons may remain closed or even partially buried) and opened (denoted "op"; opened means the cotyledons have come out of the soil and have spread apart--or would spread apart if they weren't trapped inside the seed's shell!).  Once I get Google Docs to like me again, I'll switch from an image to an actual spreadsheet file.

With the heat pad off, it seems to be about 19C.  When it's on, it's about 21C outside the trays; though I expect it's even warmer inside them, say 22C.

Below are two of the more charismatic seedlings.  On the left is a zucchini seedling ("sungreen" variety; I also purchased "dark queen", which arrived just this week!) beginning to open its cotyledons!  I always think they look like little underground monsters who have just surfaced, mouths agape either to gobble something up, or in a goofy, slack-jawed grin.  On the right is a calendula seedling that I accidentally bumped and partially snapped!  I hope it makes it!

 

For my fellow gardening friends, do you have a favourite warm spot to germinate your seeds?  Happy gardening!  

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Starting Seeds for Friends

I've just started my seeds this Wednesday and I am just bursting with anticipation to see the first seed leaves appear!

Last year, I had so many leftover plants last year, I ended giving a lot away.  So this year, I started some seeds for friends, too; and they've offered to trade plants or possibly money for my efforts.  It's been difficult trying to decide how much to "charge" them.  I'm not in it for the money, so I should only charge them as much as it costs in materials and perhaps energy.  But what about things like shipping and handling (I buy seeds online); seedling trays and similar materials; electricity and materials for the light stand I rigged up (considering both of my friends have access to a similar light system of their own!); fertiliser; seeds that fail to germinate...?

In the end I decided that, for these large plants, I would consider the following:

• Seed:  5 cents each, but assuming a germination rate of 2/3 seeds, this means 8 cents
• Cocopeat growing medium:  15 cents (roughly)
• Fertiliser:  2 cents (SWAG)
• Miscellaneous (cinnamon and chamomile for fungus control, materials to fix broken things, ...):  5 cents (SWAG)

which means 30 cents per plant.

I think this actually works out to be a "competitive market price".  I think I remember seeing plants at Canadian Tire for a few dollars for a 6-pack of small cells.

Of course, this is arguable; there's a highly reputed organic nursery that charges much more, but has much better quality than say Canadian Tire or SuperStore.  I grow my plants mostly-organically.  I use organic methods whenever feasible (fertiliser and pest/disease control), but don't buy certified organic seeds nor soil.  I put a fair bit of time and love into them.  To harden them off, I pet them, put a fan on them and haul them outdoors and indoors, rotating the trays every few hours...  I don't want to charge money for a labour of love.

In any case, I replied to one friend, "If you'd like to contribute, I've worked out that it costs me roughly 30 cents of materials (seed, soil, feed) per plant."  She can decide herself how much she'd like to contribute.  As for the other friend, we've tentatively agreed to trade some plants, since she's starting some herself, too.


This year, I used only cocopeat as my starting medium.  This means I'll have to feed my seedlings fertiliser right from the start.  I've also sown seeds in plastic tubs from yogurt and margarine, with a few drainage holes poked into the bottom with a thumb tack.  We'll see how those work.

I also sprinkled a little cinnamon onto the surface of the cocopeat.  I've read that this helps prevent damping off (sources: here and here).


And I've put a thermometer nearby to get an idea what temperature my plants sit at.  I think I may also water with slightly warmed water, too.  It looks like the ambient temperature's usually just under 20C.

(This thermometer has a magnet on the back and cost under $3 at Home Depot.  I'm not sure how accurate it is, but it's a lot better than relying on the house central thermostat!)

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Time for Gardening Again!

Sometimes, I wonder if the "Chocolate
Easter Egg" originated as a prank.

I posted recently about how I needed to sort the soil from the mulch and rabbit poops in my future carrot bed.  Well, I tried making the soil sorter yesterday.  It didn't work.

Turns out, the material I wanted to use for the mesh was too weak to hold the weight of the soil.  Oh well, at least now I have three mini raised beds!

I spent most of yesterday outside in the sun, raking compost and rabbit droppings and working coco peat, bone meal and blood meal into the carrot bed.

This is going to be a hurried and mostly unorganised post because I already wrote one post today, and I need to prepare for final exams!!

Here are a few photos and comments from yesterday:

 

Above:  a 12"x18" raised bed, and not a failure!  I'm considering adding a bottom to these boxes so I can use them as planters.  Otherwise, I can plop them on the ground and fill with soil.  I think they'd be very pretty with some flowers (nasturtiums!) growing inside them.  Maybe I could even put them in the front!

Above:  The 3x6 foot future carrot bed, before taking any mulch or rabbit poop out.

 

Above Left:  A block of coco peat with some bone meal on top.  That block took such a long time to hydrate!
Above Right:  The bed after the block of coco peat hydrated.  I got sore from trying to hoe it all in.

Some quick thoughts:

•  I could really use a garden fork (pitchfork).  Why are they so gaddam expensive?  Alternatively, I could buy a soil turner, which I could really only use for turning soil.  But a garden fork, I could use for turning soil and for aerating and mixing my compost heap!  
• I think I should add some compost and sand to the carrot bed while I've got everything overturned like this...
• I found an onion while hoeing the bed!  It didn't appear to have grown at all.  

More later...

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Cinnamon Oats

I made steel cut oats for the first time recently.  I'm converted. As usual, click here to jump to recipe.

Lately (most of March and February) I've been falling asleep in class.  This is a bit unusual for me!  At first, I attributed it to the strong smell of tobacco smoke, which caused me to breathe more shallowly and thus probably reduced oxygen to my brain.  But then the person with this scent (who was both the classes in which I'd fall asleep) dropped out, and I was still falling asleep!

After some experimentation, I found that my oatmeal breakfast was the problem for two reasons:

• The oats weren't thoroughly cooked; and
• I was eating too much for breakfast.

Now, the reason I add old fashioned oats to instant is for the chewy texture.  And I really don't have the time to cook longer than I described above.  

I can't digest raw oats.  

I dislike the "raw food" perspective, that foods are always inherently "better" or "more nutritious" in their "natural" state, because it's sometimes wrong.  There are some foods that contain nutrients that are very heat-sensitive and are in fact better eaten raw--and there are times when cooking is necessary to make those nutrients bio-available.  (Here's an article from the Scientific American, and here's an experiment that someone put together and documented well; go to Part Two for nutritional info!)

As I started learning about grains and their digestibility, I learned about phytic acid, which can be found in grains and seeds.  It is not digestible to humans, and in fact makes certain minerals (eg: iron, calcium) unavailable for absorption!  It also makes niacin (vitamin B3) insoluble and thus unavailable.  For this reason, it is sometimes called an "antinutrient".  (There are a lot of vehemently anti-grain blogs out there, and there are many reasons one can be anti-grain!  I just choose to focus on its difficulty in digestion here for now.)

Long story short?  I now soak steel cut oats and make a batch for the next few days, which I reheat for breakfast.

There are different ways to soak your grains, but since I'm new to this, I'm using the simplest method I've read about, which is simply soaking in water, without any added acid.

This makes a lovely batch of oats for breakfast and usually lasts 3-4 Charlie-sized breakfasts (which may be smaller than yours!).  Something about simmering steel cut oats smells like cinnamon buns--not just the cinnamon, but the bready smell, too!

Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

Soak: overnight or 6-8 hours
Active cooking: about 40 min
Makes 3-4 small servings, or 2 big servings


Overnight Soak:

• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• large container with lid (eg: glass jar)
• enough water to come up twice the oats' height

Breakfast:

• all the soaked oats, thoroughly drained and rinsed
• 2.5 cups water
• 2 heaping Tablespoons, oat bran (if not using, then use only 2 cups water)
• 2 heaping teaspoons, cinnamon (or to taste)
• 1/3 cup raisins (I like green raisins)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• optional: 1-2 teaspoons, brown sugar (I like Demerara style)
• optional: 1 pat, unsalted butter (approx 2 tsp?)
• optional: 1-2 Tablespoons, unsweetened apple sauce, per serving
• optional: toasted walnuts or pecans

Method:

Soak the oats:  Pour the oats into the container.  Pour on enough water to double the height of the oats.  Cover and shake.  Soak overnight at room temp or 6-8 hours.  (You don't need an airtight cover, I just like to pick up the jar and shake the whole thing without it spilling!)

Oatmeal:  Drain and rinse the oats.  Let drain in a colander until needed.  Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan.  Stir in the cinnamon.  Add raisins (or wait til later, see note).  

Note:  If you add salt to the water now, it will interfere with the thickening of the oatmeal!  If you add the raisins in now, some of them will burst, lending their flavour and sweetness to the whole oatmeal.  If you add them later, they'll stay mostly whole.  I like to add them early.

When the water has come to a boil, stir in the oats.  Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring often for 5 minutes.

Then, reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 2-5 minutes to prevent bottom from sticking.  If you add the raisins now, you'll get juicy, plump raisins at the end.

After 30 minutes, add the salt.  Taste, and decide if you need more cinnamon, salt, raisins, brown sugar, and/or butter.  I personally like a little butter!  If you add the raisins now, they'll be just as dry and hard as they were before you put them in.

Serve (with apple sauce if you'd like), or let cool and refrigerate for breakfast.

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