mailto: blog -at- heyrick -dot- eu

You are not reading my b.log using HTTPS. You can switch to HTTPS by clicking here.

Soy

As we are reaching July, and the bean plants were getting leggy, I decided on planting them out.
I would have done this an eternity ago, had it not been for the fact that nights drop to single-digit temperatures, even now. So it is a mixture of hope and luck going into this.
Soy and rice

 

Rice

See the pot (actually a washing tub) at the top of the picture? That is perhaps the world's smallest rice paddy. I have only planted 12 seeds as it is late in the year and the rice will take 3-5 months to be ready (depending on where you look). The rice itself is Oryza sativa, a variety called "Koshihikara. I could buy the real thing, but I think it is more interesting to attempt to grow it.

You see, I grew up with Uncle Ben's. It was exactly as described on the box - a plump white long grain rice that never stuck, no matter what god-awful microwave treatment I gave it.

However, this, Shinode rice... a Japanese-style rice (actually grown in Italy) that is gummy, gloopy, sticky, and takes twice as long to cook. On the face of it, the only thing in its favour is the stickiness makes it easier to eat using chopsticks.
But then you get to the taste. If I was younger and stupider, you might have been able to call Shinode a totally different thing. Like there's wheat and barley, there's rice and shinode. They really are that different. The traditional white rice I am used to seems somehow... insipid. Lacking. I can't compare because they just don't compare.

Mick will be visiting soon (about a week). I plan to present him with two rice bowls - one with Uncle Ben's and the other with Shinode, and see what he thinks.

As for my opinion, people use white rice to accompany. They put chili on it, use it to pad out risotto, mix honey into it, and so on. Rice on its own is usually a side helping to the main meal. Few people eat the rice on its own.
The Japanese, however, make something called Onigiri (rice ball) which is basically a lump of rice squeezed together. Animé girls eating white triangular things are eating onigiri. Why? Because this rice is so flavourful it can be a meal in itself. I have cooked up some, and eaten it. As-is, with nothing else. Taste like that, why ruin it with a sauce?

 

Satsuki thanks!

Speaking of which, at the time when I was ill, there were only two things I was able to keep in me (skip this if you have TMI issues). The Shinode rice, and Sweet Sakura Tea. I spent three days with nothing but that for my diet. I guess there's a lot to be said for purity and simplicity...

 

Sunrise

I like, on longest day, to watch the sun rise. It's only one day a year, but this year it was ruined by crappy weather.
So I waited until the morning weather was nicer - no clouds, and I felt so inclined. The difference being about 4 minutes. Anyway, here are the sunrise photos (taken with my phone).

Almost:

Sunrise, photo 1.

Peeking over the horizon. This is the moment of actual sunrise:

Sunrise, photo 2.

Unmistakable:

Sunrise, photo 3.

 

Your comments:

Please note that while I check this page every so often, I am not able to control what users write; therefore I disclaim all liability for unpleasant and/or infringing and/or defamatory material. Undesired content will be removed as soon as it is noticed. By leaving a comment, you agree not to post material that is illegal or in bad taste, and you should be aware that the time and your IP address are both recorded, should it be necessary to find out who you are. Oh, and don't bother trying to inline HTML. I'm not that stupid! ☺ ADDING COMMENTS DOES NOT WORK IF READING TRANSLATED VERSIONS.
 
You can now follow comment additions with the comment RSS feed. This is distinct from the b.log RSS feed, so you can subscribe to one or both as you wish.

No comments yet...

Add a comment (v0.11) [help?] . . . try the comment feed!
Your name
Your email (optional)
Validation Are you real? Please type 41398 backwards.
Your comment
French flagSpanish flagJapanese flag
Calendar
«   July 2011   »
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
    23
678910
1213141516
181920222324
2627283031

(Felicity? Marte? Find out!)

Last 5 entries

List all b.log entries

Return to the site index

Geekery

Search

Search Rick's b.log!

PS: Don't try to be clever.
It's a simple substring match.

Etc...

Last read at 20:10 on 2024/04/23.

QR code


Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional
Valid CSS
Valid RSS 2.0

 

© 2011 Rick Murray
This web page is licenced for your personal, private, non-commercial use only. No automated processing by advertising systems is permitted.
RIPA notice: No consent is given for interception of page transmission.

 

Have you noticed the watermarks on pictures?
Next entry - 2011/07/04
Return to top of page