Written by: adekun on 30 June, 2010 10:57 pm - Filed under: garden —
Not for the pot?
There has been quite a lot of rain fall recently. Weeds are running rampant despite weekly culls. The odd day of sunshine offers a chance make things a little more orderly.
Quite mushroomy
Several mushrooms have popped up. It would be nice to know what they are. No doubt they are common; somebody will know. The second has a strong mushroomy smell and appears to be more Agaricus than Amanita.
Tags: fungi, garden, weather
Written by: adekun on 23 June, 2010 10:09 pm - Filed under: food —
Biwa
Known as Japanese medlar or loquat, biwa are a member of the rose family. Pictured are some slightly under ripened, ideal for jam or chutney; and some perfect for eating once they have been peeled. They can be used to flavour shōchū, much like umeshu or sloe gin. In addition, the leaves can be used to make tea (biwa cha):
- Rub the leaves to remove the bristles
- Leave to dry a few days
- Chop
- Add five grams of the leaves to a litre and a half of boiling water
There’s also a biwa pale ale brewed down in Kagoshima.
Tags: food and drink, fruit, japan
Written by: adekun on 16 June, 2010 5:52 pm - Filed under: garden —
Garden somewhat weeded
The rainy season reached Kagoshima on Friday. Rain reached here yesterday. Strangely, today is hot and cloudless. With work starting late in the day, there wasn’t reason to skimp the blossoming garden chores. June is especially punishing if the weeds are untamed. Firstly, the month grants ideal conditions for them to run rampant. Second, it is generally an unpleasant time to exert oneself outside; hot and humid with purposeful mosquitoes on the prowl. Continue reading
Tags: garden, herbs, sweet corn, tomatoes, weather, weeds
Written by: adekun on 9 June, 2010 8:31 pm - Filed under: blog —
Three years ago I posted about the self-seeking election campaigning that pervades all: Waking babies everywhere. I had hoped the politicians would have changed tack to become all the more civil. True to form, there hasn’t been any change during the recent wave. Moreover, they have supplemented their nuisance with impromptu audience free addresses. Continue reading
Tags: news, politics
Written by: adekun on 2 June, 2010 2:55 pm - Filed under: blog —
The forth consecutive ‘heredity’ Prime Minister has announced he will resign. Although the electorate could be described has fickle, the complete switch in approval is not without reason. In the eight months since Hatoyama took the helm, there has been money scandals, dithering, garish shirts, the reneged pledge to remove the Futenma US base, and the loss of a coalition partner.
Tags: news, politics
Written by: adekun on 28 May, 2010 10:13 pm - Filed under: blog —
There was an interesting report on the BBC website, documenting both the rise of the medical robot and the lack of nurses in Japan. Despite the shortage, the immigrant workers face a difficult test to remain beyond three years. The fail rate is 98%.
Japan may pick robots over immigrants is a good question to ask. Almost everybody I put it to ranked robot care/treatment over that of a foreigner’s.
Tags: news, politics
Written by: adekun on 23 May, 2010 6:42 am - Filed under: garden —
Short straight scape, rather than the usual snaky scape.
Early last week I harvested the garlic scapes. I wanted to get them earlier, as last year they were a little tough. The Elephant garlic tends to produce a long upright stem, whereas the rest curls once or twice. Chopped up, they go very nicely with a little sliced pork.
Tags: garden, garlic, scapes
