Plum and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

We were recently given an ice cream maker and a couple of kilos of plums. Immediately, I saw the possibilites and did some experimenting. Here are the results...

• 800g plums, halved and stoned
• 200g white sugar
• 500ml cream
• 200ml full-cream milk
• 2 vanilla pods
• 6 egg yolks

1. Place the plums and 50g of the sugar into a saucepan.
2. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Blend the mixture until smooth, strain into a bowl, and store in the fridge.
5. In a bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and egg yolks.
6. Split open the vanilla pods and scrape out the seeds. Keep both the pods and seed.
7. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and milk together with the vanilla pods, and bring it to the boil.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla seeds. Remove the vanilla pods.
9. Slowly add this hot liquid to the egg/sugar mix and whisk until combined.
10. Pour this mixture into a clean saucepan and gently cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until it is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon (this will be before its boiling point).
11. Once the custard is ready, transfer to a clean bowl and place in the fridge until thoroughly chilled.
12. Combine the chilled custard and fruit puree, then churn in an ice-cream maker for 30 minutes or until thick.

Note: If the custard curdles or separates, it is likely due to the custard being heated too quickly. If it has not curdled too far, it can be saved by taking the custard off the heat and putting it in a blender. This reconstitutes the custard and you can then return it to the heat in a clean saucepan.

Last.fm Visual Stats

This is a visual graph displaying my last.fm listening habits since I first signed up in August 2007. This was done using the last.fm Extra Stats desktop application.

Last.fm Wave Stats, originally uploaded by Nightwyrm X.

Lillies

Lillies, originally uploaded by Nightwyrm X.

Stir-Fried Hokkien Noodles with Chicken, Chilli, and Bean Sprouts

This is adapted from Kylie Kwong's recipe in her book "Simple Chinese Cooking".

There is a marinating time of 30 minutes for the chicken, but we've found that's how it takes to do the rest of the preparations so works out quite well.

Marinade

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin (we've found shao hsing wine or Bacardi are acceptable alternatives)
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Main

• 400g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm slices
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, cut into half and then into thick wedges
• 12 thin slices of root ginger
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 red capsicum, sliced
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 450g fresh Hokkien noodles
• 2 tablespoons mirin (see the above note)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon malt vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1/s cup spring onion, julienne
• 2 large red chillies, fine sliced diagonally

1. Combine and marinade ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly.
4. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 1 minute.
5. Remove from the wok and set aside.
6. Add the remaining oil to the hot wok with the onion, garlic, and ginger. Stir-fry for 1 minute or until the onion is slightly browned.
7. Toss in the noodles, capsicum, broccoli, chicken, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir-fry for 1 1/2 minutes.
8. Add the bean sprouts, spring onion, and half the chilli. Stir-fry for a further 30 seconds or until chicken is just cooked through and noodles are hot.
9. Arrange the noodles in bowls, top with the remaining chilli, and serve immediately.

Disabling iPhone Backups

I use two PCs to sync with my iPhone: my home PC for media and application syncing, and my work PC for contacts and calendar syncing. Understandably, it didn't make sense to me to back up my iPhone on two separate PCs - especially as the roaming profile on my work PC had a capacity of 30MB.

Apple in their infinite wisdom obviously didn't consider people syncing with multiple PCs, so didn't give us an option to disable backups. Therefore, I had to do my own investigations into how I could disable the backups running on my work PC. I did find a solution in the end - unfortunately I can't remember where I located this so I can't give out props for it. This solution involves editing the XML file containing your iTunes preferences...

• Search your computer for the iTunesPrefs.xml file. This is located in a hidden folder within your user profile in the Documents and Settings directory. For example, Vista users can locate this in C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes.
• Take a backup copy of the file (e.g. copy and paste).
• Open the original file in a text editor which shows formatting (i.e. WordPad rather than Notepad). This makes it a bit easier to see what you're doing.
• Search for the string <key>User Preferences</key>. Directly after the <dict> tag, enter the following text:

<key>DeviceBackupsDisabled</key>

<data>

dHJ1ZQ==

</data>

• Save and close the file. Your backups are now disabled on this PC.

Example Final Code:

<key>User Preferences</key>

<dict>

<key>DeviceBackupsDisabled</key>

<data>

dHJ1ZQ==

</data>

Devilled Chicken Wings

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1kg chicken wings, halved
• lime wedges for serving

1. In a shallow dish, mix the oil, paprika, cumin, lemon zest, and a good grinding of black pepper.
2. Add the chicken wings and turn to coat in the dressing.
3. Cover and marinate for at least an hour refrigerated, but up to 24 hours is best.
4. Gently turn the chicken wings in the dressing, adding 1/2 tsp salt.
5. Cook over a low to medium heat on an oiled barbeque hot plate for about 45 minutes or until cooked through and well-coloured.
6. Baste with the marinade juices from time to time.
7. Transfer the chicken wings to the grill rack for the last few minutes.
8. Transfer the chicken wings to a platter, sprinkle with salt, and squeeze over lime wedges.

Note: As we have a gas barbeque, I like to use a smoker box to add a bit of smoky flavour. If you don’t have one of these, add a stalk of rosemary to the heat source and let the wings absorb the smoke.

Serving: We eat this with a fresh garden salad and a warmed Turkish bread. Good with a beer too.

Self-Image

I thought it time to try a self-portrait.

It should really be noted that this is my usual expression (my wife tells me I can be a little antisocial).

Wait

Wait, originally uploaded by Nightwyrm X.

Handle the Corner

A bit of shadow play on my morning train.

Handle the Corner, originally uploaded by Nightwyrm X.

Urban Jungle

This is the results of an experimentation with Photoshop and a photo taken with my iPhone.

Ginger Crunch

This is something I’m a little addicted to.

Base

• 125g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups plain baking flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and ginger together. Mix into creamed mixture.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board, and knead well. Note: sometimes the mixture comes out a bit dry and crumbly; it does bind when pressed into the tin.
4. Press dough into a greased 20 x 30cm sponge roll tin.
5. Bake at 190°C for 20-25 minutes or until light brown.
6. Ice with hot ginger icing (see below). For a bit more zest, press crumbled pieces of crystallised ginger into the icing.
7. Cut into squares when cool.

Icing

• 100g butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger

1. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients.
2. Heat until butter is melted, stirring constantly.

Southern-Style Sausage Jambalaya

Adapted from Ainsley Harriot’s recipe in his book “Ainsley’s Friends and Family Cookbook”.

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 100g (4oz) chorizo sausage, thickly sliced
• 225g (8oz) smoked pork sausage, thickly sliced
• 225g (8oz) chicken thighs, thickly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunky strips
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into chunky strips
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon smoky paprika
• 225g (8oz) long-grain rice
• leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 400ml (14 fl oz) passata
• 300ml (10 fl oz) chicken stock
• leaves from 20g (3/4oz) packet parsley, chopped
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• salt and cayenne pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan. Fry the chicken slices until browned. Lift out and set aside.
2. Fry the chorizo and smoked pork sausage slices on both sides until golden. Lift out and set aside.
3. Add the garlic, onion, red pepper, green pepper, and celery then fry for 5 minutes until they are all lightly browned.
4. Add the chilli powder and paprika then cook for 1 minute.
5. Stir in the browned chicken, sausages, rice, thyme, bay leaves, passata, chicken stock, 1 teaspoon salt, and some cayenne pepper.
6. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Uncover and fork the chopped parsley into the rice. Scatter over the spring onions and serve.

The True Cost in Gaza?

Warning: the image in the linked story is quite provoking and may disturb!

This is literally one of the saddest things I have ever seen: Dead Palestinian Girl in the Rubble. Really makes the Israeli methods seem worth it (note: I'm not disputing the provocation, just their methods).

The newspaper that this comes from was so outraged and repulsed by the photo that they broke their own publishing standards to ensure the world gets to see it. The article is in Norwegian and here's the translation (from Reddit)...

This picture of the dead child in the ruins of her home which until Tuesday was her home is repulsive, and will provoke a lot of readers. It is a conscious provocation - and we have two reasons for it: Israel keep all western journalists away from the war in Gaza. The country's government claim 'the wellbeing of the journalists' as the reason, but this is an obvious lie. In modern wars, the 'strong side' does everything in its power to stop the press from documenting abuse of the civilian population, because this can weaken the support of the war.

BUT THERE ARE cameras in the war zone, and there are local photographers who are willing to go past everything that might stop them to get photos of a war in a tightly populated city out to the outside world. Pictures like this one.

There is no such thing as a 'surgical strike' in one of the most heavily populated areas in the world. This little girl died along with at least 11 other members of the Daya family when their 4-story house was bombed by Israeli planes yesterday morning. This - not the camo-painted israeli soldier, or the covered Hamas warrior, is the true face of the war.

Today we show the picture 'The Others' see, so as to better understand how they feel, Sven Egil Omdal (multimedia and cultural editor) writes.

THE MOST IMPORTANT reason for us to show this face, is that the Arab world sees pictures like these from Gaza every day. Not a single still, but hours and hours of TV-images of hospital floors full of small, dead bodies

Four year olds, two year olds, seven year olds, newly borns - THese pictures represent the war in Gaza for millions of muslims - and we wonder why the hatred against Israel and the west grows?

[digg=http://digg.com/world_news/The_True_Cost_in_Gaza]

My Year in Review (2008)

It’s been a interesting year to say the least for both myself and my family…

Children

At the start of the year, we discovered that my wife was pregnant with our second child, but she unfortunately lost the pregnancy making this our second early-term miscarriage. Oddly enough, it didn’t affect us as badly this time and we were able to bounce back quite quickly. We put this down to the pregnancy being so unexpected and the fact we hadn’t had time to get used to the idea yet. As we did the last time, we bought a plant and a pot, and buried what there was – this way we have a living reminder.

A few months later, we got pregnant again (albeit a bit more planned). This time, we successfully passed the first trimester and relevant tests, and we’re now expecting a healthy baby boy around the end of March.

In other child news, 2008 was year number two for our little girl Isla and she took to it with a vengeance. She’s running around with nearly a full set of teeth and a good vocabulary (including some unfortunate additions overheard from parents). In a couple of weeks, she enters the “terrible twos”… we’re already getting advance previews and are expecting drama, action, and hopefully some comedy. It’ll certainly be interesting to see her reaction to a little brother.

House

With the increase in family, we needed to get a bigger house as we were already bursting at the seams in our 90 sq.m three-bedroom. The plan was to get our house on the market, get a sale with a reasonable settlement period, and then look for a new house. This way, we would know our exact budget.

However, dreams don’t always match reality. We sold relatively quickly and had a four-week settlement period, but were unable to find a place that fit our requirements. This meant we moved out of our house and shifted in with my in-laws. As they lived about 50km in another town, I ended up referring to this as my “homeless exile” – this ended up being seven weeks.

We did end up finding a new house, after some extensive searching, and we are very happy. We have 150sq.m to play with plus a large double garage and a basement workshop.

Family

It seems that, out of my family, my brother had the most full-on year (although that may just be by comparison).

He spent about seven months as part of the NZ Army reconstruction deployment in Afghanistan, fortunately in a relatively safe region. He sent us regular newsletter updates and painted a picture of a very different culture and a country which had suffered a lot under the Taliban. It was interesting to see how the reconstruction efforts were progressing and how lives were gradually improving over there (e.g. can you imagine the impact of the training of midwives on a village?). In the end, it was a mostly uneventful tour and we were glad to see his safe return.

Not long after his return, we were surprised and somewhat shocked to find that he had severely constricted arteries and required a quadruple bypass (bearing in mind that this is a 46 year old here). Thankfully, he was able to be processed quickly and he is now home recovering slowly. As a bonus, his return to fitness plan seems to somehow involve my participation (oh joy!).

Personally…

I had a bit of a technology boom during the year (which is likely not to be repeated until Haley’s Comet returns), which resulted in my becoming the oh-so-happy owner of a PS3, PSP, iPhone, and LCD HD iDTV. Of these, the iPhone has become a fairly permanent fixture and it is rare to see me without it in my hand.

2008 is also the year in which I discovered social networking, which I embraced wholeheartedly. I’ve participated in site betas, tested others to see if they met my requirements, and generally had a good play. As the year drew to a close, I think I established a solid toolset but will always keep an eye out to discover others. As a side, I’ve found Twitter to be highly addictive (you evil buggers!).

Over the last couple of years, I went from buying books to borrowing from the library (due to costs). In 2008, I felt that I’d exhausted my interests in the written fiction sections and started borrowing the comic trade paperbacks. I hadn’t read comics for a number of years, and my interest was quickly renewed. I have caught up on some old favourites and discovered some great new works. To this end, graphic fiction has now become my primary reading material and I eagerly await each release day to see how my stories will unfold.

With my iPhone purchase and the lengthy commutes I endured, my interest in music was also reawakened. I have not only dug through my iTunes archives to rediscover old classics, but have been introduced to new genres which have rapidly become solid favourites (post-rock for the win!). This has been helped by last.fm and the excellent ways to discover new music through it.


In closing, my family and I have certainly had some significant highs and lows, some of which do make your pause to take stock of one’s life. We look forward to this year and can only hope that the good continues to outweigh the bad.

Things That Bemuse

There are many things in life that provide me with great bemusement. Here's a quick few...

1. People (unfortunately, mostly American) who equate Starbucks with great coffee. Sorry to burst your bubble, it's not.
2. Young folk who struggle to achieve personal individuality and express it by dressing like all their peers.
3. People who think their iPods/iPhones produce such wonderful sounds, yet are still using the bassless stock Apple earphones.
4. Young folk who think they're really cool smoking, but don't know they're just making jackasses of themselves cause they're not even smoking properly (inhale people!).
5. People who will stand for a pregnant woman on public transport, but not for the same woman later on when she’s struggling with baby and bags.
6. George Dubya ('nuff said!).
   

Can you think of any more?