French Fries Pizza at Urban Ski

Date:  Dec 8, 2015

Today, we bring the whole family for our final lesson @ Urban Ski.  The main focus is Kay Kay.  I really wanted Kay Kay to enjoy skiing.  It seems like we are going to go skiing for many many years to come.  It is a very fast speed sport and needed to take a lot of precaution so that you don’t get injured.

And yes, Urban Ski is available in Singapore.  It is at Millenia Walk.  And they are getting extremely popular now.  I heard coach Aaron next week going to coach this lady for 8 hours lesson over 4 days.  Wow.  So, people really get the idea of learning how to ski before you go to Japan or Korea or even Europe for skiing.

In fact, this is our third ski.  And later you can see how much Kay Kay has improved.

My wife also learning, but she is an adult, so, she will finally get it.  

But I am so glad to see Kay Kay is having so much fun!

Check out our previous two lessons and see how much we improve….

An Hour at Urban Ski:  http://miniliew.blogspot.sg/2015/08/an-hour-at-urban-ski.html

Urban Ski Lesson #2:  http://miniliew.blogspot.sg/2015/10/urban-ski-lesson-2.html

This is the third year Jay Jay into skiing.  So for him, it is a matter of recollection of his memory to make it work.

The first 10 minutes, the kids are trying to remember how to stay stable on this running carpet (snow field).

Kay Kay: “errr…. I don’t want…..”  

He is still a bit scared.

Today is about getting him ready for skiing.  I hope today’s 1-hour lesson will be enough.  This is his third time here.

In order to make him get used to the French Fries and Pizza, coach Aaron placed a clip in front of Kay Kay’s skis to keep the two skis close at all time.

So, I also get my chance to ski.  And watch him from behind.

Unfortunately, some one fell, and the carpet stopped, and I fell too.

Since I know a little bit of skiing already, I think I better be the camera man today.

Into the 20th min mark, Kay Kay still trying to get used to the skis.

Suddenly he gets it.

It is just like a scissors ya.  Open and close, open and close.  French fries and pizza, french fries and pizza.

Even Mommy got it too.  Slowly.

Jay Jay is playing.

He is flying.

He is floating on snow.

Imagining that.

And he is really having lots of fun!

French Fries…. Pizza Pizza..

He really gets it!

French Fries to move.  

Pizza to stop.  But just that Pizza at Urban Ski means you move to the back.  

At the real skiing hill, Pizza means stop.

Both Jay and Kay is enjoying.  Now coach Aaron is spraying water onto the boys.  To keep the ground wet.

Now they learn how to go left and right.  They are really skiing like that.

Can over take too.

And now comes the testing…

OK.  I think we are ready for the skiing trip to Hokkaido next week.

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Ditmas Park CSA Extended Season Week 2

Fall foods, earthy, and not as vibrant as the summer varieties

Is there a better way to get your weeks food then with a group of like minded people sharing a supporting a farm? You can say hello to your farmer, swap recipe ideas, swap unwanted vegetables with your neighbors, ask questions. Its nice. Hundreds of times nicer then the grocery store.

I bought two of five weeks of the extended share option from my neighbor. That breaks down to a whole share, every other week. I will spend less time rushing between my neighborhood and Ditmas Park, a bonus. The trick is for me to spread the extra food over 2 weeks before it wilts. Not so hard with potatoes, beets, onion, and squash. Tomatoes, peppers, turnip, and bok choy are on this weeks menu.

Ditmas Park CSA Extended Season Week 2
8 oz honey!
1 fat turnip
2 green peppers
1 big head of bok choy
2 tomatoes
6 small beets
10 small potatoes
3 big onions (I swapped my broccoli and cauliflower one onion, I just cant eat that much food)
1 big honking daikon
1 hubbard squash

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New system Part 2

We cleared the site yesterday. Going to do it all properly.  My earlier idea of using the old water tank is not really the way to go. Especially if we are going to be showing people around.  Behind the tractor on the right is our store. Ill be using it as our office and keeping fish food etc. Off to but the tanks later today.

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Reef tank part 2

Continuing on with my saltwater reef tank project. Today we went to a store called Bio-reef to check out some of the stock and pickup some supplies for the tank. I got a bag of instant ocean salt to mix up 50 gallons of saltwater and on the way home we stopped at Home Depot to pick up (2) 50lb bags of play sand for the tank substrate.

I got home and cleaned out all of the shells I was storing in the bottom of the tank,


then we poured in one of the 50lb bags of sand. turns out I only needed one bag. oh well it was $3.50 a bag so no great loss there.



I crushed up the shells that i had sitting in the tank and added them to the sand. the shells contain a high amount of calcium which helps to maintain the proper PH levels in the water.

Next came the rock.At one point this rock was loaded with life from the reef in figi, it also cost me about $4.00/lb when I bought it years ago. Sadly, after I tore the tank down and pulled the rock from the water everything died off and now its just base rock. What im going to do is purchase some fresh live rock and add it to the base rock. this will seed the base rock and after a short while you wont even know the difference, the dead rock will be live again.






next steps:
finish the canopy, add the lighting, fill up the tank, drop in a dead shrimp or two to start the cycle, add a few pounds of live rock to the base rock and throw in the cleanup crew. Since I live at the beach Im going to go collect a few dozen red legged hermits if i can find some this time of year.

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DWC Raft Construction Update 2

OK...so I have finished hooking all the components up for the new DWC rafts in system 2. All is working according to plan. The only adjustment I had to make was to the riser tube coming off the bottom of the FTs. I had to shorten it by 1" as I was having an overflow problem in one of the FT as the ebb/flow grow bed were draining. Easy fix, with a hacksaw and 2" coupling. I have also built a weather protective box for the pumps and air blower. I still need to paint it to match the greenhouse...shouldnt take more than a couple of hours to paint.

I have included a video overview of the system so far....

  I purchased 4  - 4 x 8 extruded polystyrene 1" foam sheets from Home Depot for use as my rafts. I then cut these into 4 sections and drilled 3" holes, using a hole saw, in each to accommodate 3" net cups.

 I have 5 rafts that each have 36 holes on 8" centers and I have 3 rafts that have 16 holes on 12" centers. This gives me a total of  228 holes for plants in both rafts combined.  The 8" center hole rafts will be used for leafy vegetables such as lettuce, Kale, Greens, and Herbs, while the 12" center rafts will house tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli.   I had to paint the tops with a latex based paint to provide some protection from the UV rays of the sun.

All painted up and installed in the rafts.

I also drilled 1" holes about every 2 for air stones coming off the 1" PVC airline running down the middle of the rafts. As you can see from the photo, there are plenty of bubbles coming up against the rafts.

After completing all of this work, I noticed that the top layer of weed block was breaking fairly rapidly in the sun, so I decided to lay down UV resistant tarps over the weed block, hopefully I will get a couple of years use out the tarps before they need to be replaced.

 Ultimately, I will be placing pea gravel down over the weed block, but no time for that now...Im off to get some Mozambique Tilapia at Overton Fish Farms....

Next up ....the Tilapia.

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Australias Exotic Fruit Farm 2 Fruit Tasting

Tasting fruits in whole form

Youre greeted with a cool glass of water with splash of West Indian Lime at the Cape Tribulation Exotic Fruit Farm on arrival. The flavor is recognizably lime, but subtler, less tart. The fruit farm has been collecting and growing unique tropical fruits since 1988. The tasting is a chance to get up close and personal with some very rare fruits, many of which are grown on the same land the farm sits on. Trish, our instructor also offers lots of information on recognizing when the fruit is ripe, peeling and cutting the fruits, and recipe and flavor pairings. Its a fruity dream in a tropical rain forest.

Tasting list

Breadfruit is a large spiky fruit. When its fully ripe, its a falling apart mess. Its eaten in its starchier state, and has lots of uses. We had ours roasted like potatoes. The flavor was nutty, and rooty. Very like a parsnip.

Roasted breadfruit

Youve probably heard of the next one, jakfruit. Its available in a can in the states, and Ive had it in halla halla, an Asian dessert. The canned version doesnt have much to do with the real thing. Its a monster. Jakfruit is the biggest tree-born fruit and can weigh as much as 88 pounds. The segments of the jakfruit are removed and cut into pieces after the skin is removed. The fruit is full of a sticky latex that will aggressively adhere to skin and clothes. Its recommended to wear gloves when cutting it up, and wipe your knife to prevent build up.

Cutting the jakfruit

The flavor is beautiful. Bright honey, banana, even a little watermelon in there. The texture is crunchy, and smooth. The segments contain seeds, which can be boiled and eaten too.

Jakfruit segments

Pomelo are becoming less and less exotic. They are widely available in New York City markets. These Burma bases fruits are the granddaddy of a many other citrus fruits, namely grapefruit.

Cutting the pomelo

Pomelos are still very similar to grapefruits. The fruits are triple the size with a drier texture. The fruit, pith and rind are all edible. The flavor is less bitter than grapefruit, but with a good citrus taste.

Pomelo fruit

After the first 4 fruits the tasting took a real departure towards very exotic. Sapodilla is small brown fruit which turns a caramel color when ripe. An indicator of its sweet caramel flavor. I found it similar to a fresh date, but fleshier with a little mealy texture. Its wonderful.

Cutting the sapodilla fruit

The sapodilla is also used to make gum. The seeds should not be eaten. The sapodilla fruit is best fresh, and hard to cook.

Sapodilla, soft and sweet

Yellow sapote was another fruit first for me. Its texture is like no other fruit. Its velvety soft and a little dense. The flavor was mild. My eyes may be playing tricks on my palette, but I detected some pumpkin notes, perhaps a little peachy too.

Yellow sapote in halves

Because of the yellow sapotes unique texture it goes very well with cheese, in yogurt, and ice cream. Its just a delight to feel it in your mouth and shines with its stand-out yellow color. Of all the fruits I tasted I really imagine this one having its own place in the commercial market.

Yellow sapote fruit with a creamy texture

Next Trish held up what looks like a plus size unripened tomato. In fact even the farmers have a hard time knowing when this fruit is ripe. They watch the birds to know when to pick it. The black sapote is ripe 4-5 days later. From then you must be quick to eat it, or falls apart.

Youd never guess whats inside the black sapote fruit

Black sapote is also known as pudding fruit, because its flavor is just like pudding, Jell-o pudding to be more exact. Its related to persimmon, and shares a similar taste. The flavor is sugary, and undistinguished. But its minimal flavor and decadent texture makes it a great palette for other flavors. Go ahead and add cocoa powder or orange juice, maybe some cinnamon or spice. Black sapote could be the healthier vegan alternative to custards and richer desserts. If it werent so hard to package I can imagine this fruit also having a greater life in the international market.

Black sapote the pudding fruit

Davidson plum is local to the Daintree rain forest area. Its another surprise, but this time not so sweet. The tiny plum is mouth wrenching sour. Remember warheads? Its that sour, but I believe with more of a physical effect. Your face can not stop its self from puckering and twitching. The color is as large as the flavor, fluorescent magenta. How does nature event this stuff?

Mini Davidson plum with a huge flavor

The davidson plum is popular in savory foods. It does well in sauce with gamy flavors. Kangaroo with davidson plum anyone? It can also be used to color foods with 10x the color of a beet. If I got my hands on some of these plums you can bet Id make some really radical sour pickles.

Davidson plum electric sour flavor

The star apple is neither an apple or a star, discuss. Well, there is a star revealed by cutting the fruit in thirds. The flavor is mellow and sugary, a bit like a fresh fig. The texture is velvety and airy. Emphasis on the mouth-feel rather than the flavor.

Cutting the star apple

The star apple should be eaten in wedges. The skin is not edible.

Star apple

The next fruit has many names to many people. Guanabana aka soursop aka custard apple or the peoples jakfruit. Its the best fruit Ive tried yet. The flesh is wet and avocado soft with some fibers. The flavor doesnt know when to stop. Complex flavors are sweet, acidic, and a bit perfumed. Describing the taste is like describing the flavor of a banana. Nothing compares.

Saving the best for last, guanabana

Guanabana is ripe when the scaly skin is pale green. The stay away from the toxic seeds. The fruit is often paired with champagne. This fruit has an international reputation already, and I cant remember seeing it in America. I am dead set on finding it at home.

Guanabana aka soursop aka custard apple

With or without the exotic fruit farm the Cape Tribulation in Northern Queensland is a spectaluar place to visit. Combind with this special farm dedicated to collecting, and educating people on the delights of fruit I think its a number one destination for anyone interested in food. Really interested? Try a work stay or a few nights in their B&B. You only stand to risk to spoil your senses.

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Vents 2 0

I am disappointed with the automatic vent openers. The few that did work would only open a few inches. I was worried about cooking my plants, or even worse, the kids remaining fish! So I set off to go build a better mouse-trap.

Ill have to warn you, I run an IT department, so I know how to program and tinker with electronics....

I wanted to completely automate the greenhouse so I didnt have to keep an eye on it. At my disposal, I had an old laptop from work. I then purchased a couple of USB temperature cards and a relay card (dlpdesign.com). Next I found some used windshield wiper motors (surpluscenter.com) and started tinkering.

I wrote a controller program that was able to monitor the temperature of the greenhouse. Based on the temps, the vents are able to open & close on their own. Its easier to watch how they work, then to explain it, so heres a link to YouTube: Click for Video

Here are a couple of closeup pics of the vent opener:




The controller is also able to plot a history of temperatures. Heres a 24 hour snapshot.

Red=outside temp
Green=inside temp
Blue=tank water temp
Black Up Arrow=vent opening (one set opens at 73, the other at 75)
Black Down Arrow=vent closing (one set closes at 72, the other at 74)
Yellow=amount of sunlight entering

So far, Ive very happy with the results. Im thinking about using the same controller to control a hydroponics system next year. Stay tuned for future posts!

Thanks.
<<Additions

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Christmas Tree 2015

Date:   Nov 27, 2015

Time Flies.  Blink your eyes, and 1-year has quickly passed by.

 

I can still remember last year when we set up the Christmas trees with the Smith’s sisters.  And now, it is the time to decorate the Christmas Tree 2015.

Below is a link of last year Christmas Tree 2014.  Enjoy!

Christmas Tree 2014:  http://miniliew.blogspot.sg/2014/12/christmas-tree-2014.html

 

Getting The Tree

Looking at our next few weeks schedule.  It seems that today is the only day the kids can do something about the Christmas tree.  I will be traveling for the whole week, so, there should be no playdate next week, and after that, the Liew family’s vacation is due, and follow by the Smith Family vacation.

So, the parents exchanged What’sApp to discuss about it in the morning.  And here we are at Ikea on a Friday afternoon.

I never like the trees from Ikea.  So, I think it is a bad idea.  Although it is cheap, but look at the trees, so pathetic.  So, still a NO from Ikea.

So, we end up at Far East Flora @ Queensway there.

The kids were so excited as this is the first time they shop together for a Christmas Tree.

Yup, the kids get to choose the tree.  They outnumbered the parents, 4 to 3.  As Mr. Smith has work to do at the office.  :)

Are you sure Kay Kay, you want this small little tiny tree?

The kid has seem to decided on this one.  6-7 feet tree.  Not too bad.  Not too scary.  Not too tall.

They always enjoy the wrapping of the tree.

This is our tree in the wrapping process.  It is the first time the Smith’s sisters seen this.

Done!  Please follow the tree.

Let’s pay for the tree and bring it home!

 

MacDonald Dinner

It is cool for the kids to have dinner together at MacDonald.  

Easy for the parents as they no need to cook dinner tonight.  It is all about decorating the trees.

 

Transporting The Tree

All four kids get to sit in the car with the Christmas tree.  The love the mell of the tree.

And then few minutes later, we are at home.  Smaller tree also means lighter for me to carry.  I like!

Squeezing the tree into the lift.  No problem!

Let’s unwrap the tree.

Here is the tree.

Kids, let’s feed the tree ICE WATER, and then, we can start decorating the tree.  Kay Kay, why you are blending in with the tree!!!

 

Decorating The Tree

It seems that the kids has chosen this year theme.  Not gold, not silver, not blue, but purple.  So, we recycled all the purple decors and use it for 2015.

Let the fun begin.

Jay Jay & Ashlyn.  They will do the “taller” part.

Purple is my sister’s favourite colour.

No wonder Ashlyn is always in her smile.

After the experience from last year, the kids knew what to do.

Of course, we showed them the last 6 years Christmas tree so that they have an idea what to do.  And how to do it better.

I must say, it is very nice.  90% kids efforts.  I myself DID NOT EVEN TOUCH ANY DECOR this year.  

That means the kids has grown up.

And Kay Kay found his Christmas hat!

Let’s put on the butterfly.

Now, decision time.  A purple star?

Or a Gold Star?

And you have your answer.  A gold star it shall be.

Lovely kids sit together.  How I miss my fireplace back in Canada.  hahaha

Decision of Gold Star, definitely not from this cat!

The Smith’s Sisters.

So happy smile.  

The Smith Family. (Daddy went to Boss’ event at Cricket Club).

The Liew’s brothers.

Jay Liew ang the tree.  He is very happy that his Gold Star won over Auntie Ai Loon’s Purple Star.

Kay Kay is happy because he found a Christmas Hat.  The only one left.

May I present the family photo with the tree covered.  

????.  These two kids going to P1 next year!

Jay & Ashlyn has grown up so much.  Looks so mature, both of them.

Some time cute too.

This is from our first Christmas Tree in 1993.

 

The Star Jump

Let’s do some Star Jump.  Not easy to take the photo without sunlight.  But, let’s do it.  It will be cool.  It will be something for them to remember.

Ashlyn.

Kay Kay.

Jay Jay.

Colette.

 

Decorating The Enterance

When Santa’s little helper is in town, do not hesitate to ask them to do anything.

Nice.

Reindeer.

They are so experience and they can do this very fast!

What About the Christmas Tree Downstairs At the Club House

We saw this tree by the swimming pool.  Condo usually do not have lots of budget to decorate the tree.  And it is so ugly.

What can the Santa’s little helpers do?

Let’s see what we can do about it too.

Let’s start the decoration.

Within 20 minutes… The Condo’s christmas tree make over is almost done. 

Wow, I am impressed.

Kids, Be very proud of yourself.

 

Christmas Tree 2015

Looks nice where it is.

Look, a surprise visit from Nicole and his brother Owen.  Let’s take a photo with the tree.

Colette with the tree.

Let’s this tradition continue more years coming… 

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