Overnight Zucchini Pickles
Overnight Zucchini Pickles
Chinese supermarkets are no stranger to pickles. In fact, it was only after moving to China that I really examined the term “pickle” and realized it doesn’t always mean “pickled cucumber”, as I had erroneously grown up thinking. However, getting your standard jar of crunchy dills can be a bit of a challenge. Supermarkets usually only carry one or two kinds of pickles and they tend to be both expensive and not to my tastes.
So, when a friend in Dalian mentioned he was making some Bread & Butter pickles, it got me curious about making my own. One problem — no cucumbers. What I did have, however, was a zuchinni hanging out in the fridge that was eager to be put to use. I had briefly read somewhere that zucchini can be pickled similar to cucumbers, and so decided to give it a shot.
To be honest, my expectations were quite low that things would turn out very good. As such, I was a bit half-assed with the recipe, eye-balling most things. The results were pleasantly surprising though, so as best I remember, here’s what I did:
Questing Hainan – best Google April Fools yet!
With the countless number of days (and nights) I spent callousing my thumbs in the company of various NES RPGs, this is hands-down my favourite Google April Fools yet.
Chinese cover of Radiohead’s Creep
Few things stir up high school nostalgia for me quicker than Thom Yorke going on about how un-special he is. Even now, Pablo Honey is a regular shuffle on my iPod (and still my favourite Radiohead album). Throw in the fact that I’ve been trying to re-dedicate myself to learning Chinese lately, and I was …
Home Cooked – Sauerkraut
I’m not sure the wisdom of starting a new category on the blog with a misnomer in the title, but, well, here we are.
For years I’ve enjoyed cooking, but it’s really only been the last few months that I’ve started developing it from an abstract interest into a full-on hobby. As I’ve really only had one “hobby” for the last two years, it’ll be nice to have another topic to blog about.
And thus the reason for this category (and the inaugural post in it) — I’m going to start sharing some of the experiences, recipes and photos that evolve out of this interest.
Casey @ 22mos
Just a few photos of Casey playing at the park and around the house. Chatty Casey And a little video with Casey and his cars.
36 hours in Guangzhou
Shangxia Jiu - Guangzhou's famous high street.
Tuesday morning Maggie, Casey and I crawled out of bed at the ungodly hour of 4:15am to head to the airport and catch a flight to Guangzhou. The quick two-day trip was a necessity so that we could apply for Casey’s Canadian passport and Maggie’s visa for a visit to the TNS&F in May.
The early flight-time was due to the Guangzhou Canadian Consulate only accepting passport applications between 9am and 12pm, leaving only a narrow window for us to get in and get it done. The flight from Haikou was brilliant — cheap and fast. Less than an hour in the air, and around 400RMB each way (incl. tax).
I’ve voiced my gripes about the whole guarantor system enough on Facebook, but other than that, the trip to the consulate went without hiccups. The mid-April arrival of Casey’s passport has us sweating a little bit about some of the other hoops we need to jump through to get the boy out of the country, but troubles for another day.
Haikou winters make me wet
As this has been our first winter in Haikou, I wanted to hold off with this rant public service announcement until I was confident it wasn’t just a passing thing. Unfortunately, I think I can confidently state, on the record, that Haikou winters suck.
Crap winters aren’t something new to me. Growing up in Southern Ontario, I’m used to cold, slushy, sleety, snow-filled months from the end of October until the end of March.
The problem with Haikou winters isn’t even really the cold. The mercury shares its time riding just above and just below the 20°C mark, and so isn’t really “cold” by this Canuck’s standards. However, it’s not so much the (lack of) heat, it’s the humidity. I don’t think I’ve been dry since December.
Five Years – Wood, Water and Wine
The smile of a man who knows he's just won the lottery.
I have a hard time believing that it’s been half a decade since Maggie and I exchanged marriage vows with sand between our toes. But there it is, for five years I’ve been married to the most beautiful, most amazing, person I could ever hope to meet. She is my partner, my confidant, mother to my son, my best friend, and the love of my life.
Wood, Water and Wine
There is this thought that smiles in me,
On wood, water and wine.
Something simple within these three,
All tangled on a vine.
Wood so solid and protective,
But blows and bends in time.
Water clean, clear and reflective,
On seaside alter bind.
Wine the produce of affection,
That fates allowed to find.
Noteful, soft, ripened perfection,
Five years aged and refined.
New 2012 Site Design
Just over a year ago I retired my old “The Humanaught” moniker and replaced it with the current domain. The change-over brought in a new site design — but not one I was ever overly happy with structurally. It had some things I liked, and a bunch of awkward things that I was constantly working around.
So the other day I decided enough was enough and started fresh. As this is my personal blog, I wanted a design that was fun, interesting and showcased various things I like. I also wanted a bit of a sandbox that I could play in with new CSS3 and HTML5 goodness. And so the 2012 edition of the site was born.
