30/03/2019
The update is less and less regularly here and I blame my DELF! Well, just need to be more studious.
I am completely hooked up to Fleabag season II this year. After feeling season I a bit hum, I am surprised I am so addicted to its season II. It's not about the priest, I can assure you.
And I can't wait for Killing Eve II to come this April!
Sunday 31 March 2019
Saturday 23 March 2019
2019 weekly - Week 12
17/03/2019
I might have done something right last night on my Bechamel sauce as it turned out one of the creamiest I've done. For a long time, I've always felt my Bechamel sauce, although no visible lumps, always tastes a bit grainy/sandy, as if I could taste the very fine flour particles on my tongue. It's not velvety smooth as you would taste clotted cream, which is what I am aiming for.
But I learned a good tip from Youtube which is to mix high moisture cheese (such as cream cheese or Mascarpone) with low moisture ones (such as Cheddar or Parmasen). This is to help hard cheese with deep flavor melt more easily. So that's one thing I did differently last night and I am extremely pleased with the texture and the taste with my Bechamel sauce.
This is the recipe I use:
75 g butter
75 g flour
400 ml whole milk
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
salt to taste
100 g cream cheese
100-125g cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg (optional, for Mornay sauce)
Cook the roux until the flour seems disintegrated into butter. Stir in ground nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Heat off before adding the milk in batches. Stir the mixture constantly and incorporate milk fully before adding the next batch. After all milk has all been added. Put the pot back on the stove with medium heat. Stir until the sauce thickens.
Once the sauce has thickened. Heat off. Mix in cheddar first and stir for a minute before adding in cream cheese. At this stage, I no longer heat my Bechamel. I simply used the residual heat to melt the cheese.
Depending on how the Bechamel is used for later, you can mix in one egg after the cheeses are fully melted.
18/03/2019
My business trip this week was cancelled today. I am beyond happy.
Happy so much that I look forward to sitting through another French class even though I could only understand 50%!
19/03/2019
Alarm set off at 5am this morning, for a mind numbing project.
Getting up extremely (?) early seems to unset my biological rhythm completely every time. My head is heavy and clouded until 11am. I eat uncontrollably all day long. Not sure why. Thank God it's only once every 2-3 months.
20-22/03/2019
An 8am-start for the next three days. But nothing beats to be in your own bed every night.
I might have done something right last night on my Bechamel sauce as it turned out one of the creamiest I've done. For a long time, I've always felt my Bechamel sauce, although no visible lumps, always tastes a bit grainy/sandy, as if I could taste the very fine flour particles on my tongue. It's not velvety smooth as you would taste clotted cream, which is what I am aiming for.
But I learned a good tip from Youtube which is to mix high moisture cheese (such as cream cheese or Mascarpone) with low moisture ones (such as Cheddar or Parmasen). This is to help hard cheese with deep flavor melt more easily. So that's one thing I did differently last night and I am extremely pleased with the texture and the taste with my Bechamel sauce.
This is the recipe I use:
75 g butter
75 g flour
400 ml whole milk
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
salt to taste
100 g cream cheese
100-125g cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg (optional, for Mornay sauce)
Cook the roux until the flour seems disintegrated into butter. Stir in ground nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Heat off before adding the milk in batches. Stir the mixture constantly and incorporate milk fully before adding the next batch. After all milk has all been added. Put the pot back on the stove with medium heat. Stir until the sauce thickens.
Once the sauce has thickened. Heat off. Mix in cheddar first and stir for a minute before adding in cream cheese. At this stage, I no longer heat my Bechamel. I simply used the residual heat to melt the cheese.
Depending on how the Bechamel is used for later, you can mix in one egg after the cheeses are fully melted.
18/03/2019
My business trip this week was cancelled today. I am beyond happy.
Happy so much that I look forward to sitting through another French class even though I could only understand 50%!
19/03/2019
Alarm set off at 5am this morning, for a mind numbing project.
Getting up extremely (?) early seems to unset my biological rhythm completely every time. My head is heavy and clouded until 11am. I eat uncontrollably all day long. Not sure why. Thank God it's only once every 2-3 months.
20-22/03/2019
An 8am-start for the next three days. But nothing beats to be in your own bed every night.
Saturday 16 March 2019
2019 weekly - Week 11
13/03/2019
Since I had a new French teacher, I've felt I've skipped a level or two! Ultimately it's a good thing to push me to learn but I am getting really frustrated this whole class year. The listening bit is just awful. If I manage to understand 50% of the content, I count myself lucky. Usually it's much less.
That being said I registered for another DELF this June. By studying the material I know I am not as bad as I feel in the class. But now it just makes me even more frustrated.
Well, I just need to focus on my DELF and perhaps take her class again next term.
Since I had a new French teacher, I've felt I've skipped a level or two! Ultimately it's a good thing to push me to learn but I am getting really frustrated this whole class year. The listening bit is just awful. If I manage to understand 50% of the content, I count myself lucky. Usually it's much less.
That being said I registered for another DELF this June. By studying the material I know I am not as bad as I feel in the class. But now it just makes me even more frustrated.
Well, I just need to focus on my DELF and perhaps take her class again next term.
Saturday 9 March 2019
2019 weekly - Week 10
06/03/2019
I've had minor annoyances for 3 weeks. First is the neck pain which restricted my motion. I think it all started when I didn't sleep properly one night and the pain just stayed, getting slightly better and worse again by my gym workout. Googling around, I made myself a cervical pillow by rolling up a thick hand towel and putting inside a pillowcase along side my normal pillow. The idea is to give your neck some support as the neck bone is curved. It worked nicely to alleviate my neck pain and I dare say that it even speeds up the recovery.
I also used my air travel pillow as my neck brace during the day. This one works particularly well as it provides solid but comfortable support on one side of the neck so I put it on the side where my nect was painful.
So I hope to say good-bye to neck pain.
But tonight I started to have back pain. Mid back on the left, perhaps some twisted muscles after Bounce Fit today?
Arrggh, can my body just please stop trying to make me feel old?
I've had minor annoyances for 3 weeks. First is the neck pain which restricted my motion. I think it all started when I didn't sleep properly one night and the pain just stayed, getting slightly better and worse again by my gym workout. Googling around, I made myself a cervical pillow by rolling up a thick hand towel and putting inside a pillowcase along side my normal pillow. The idea is to give your neck some support as the neck bone is curved. It worked nicely to alleviate my neck pain and I dare say that it even speeds up the recovery.
I also used my air travel pillow as my neck brace during the day. This one works particularly well as it provides solid but comfortable support on one side of the neck so I put it on the side where my nect was painful.
So I hope to say good-bye to neck pain.
But tonight I started to have back pain. Mid back on the left, perhaps some twisted muscles after Bounce Fit today?
Arrggh, can my body just please stop trying to make me feel old?
Saturday 2 March 2019
2019 weekly - Week 9
02/03/2019
We have had a unseasonably warm week. Internet is full of "comparison" photo of February between this year and last year. Something like this:
It's everywhere in the UK. Google photo reminded me how 01-March-2018 was for me and it looks like this!
We have had a unseasonably warm week. Internet is full of "comparison" photo of February between this year and last year. Something like this:
 |
| March 2018 |
and this year we are like this:
 |
| March 2019 |
The weather is becoming less and less predictable. We can't cover our eyes and do nothing anymore.
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