FIsh cracker

 

With a blender and a fruit drier, it is easy to make prawn or fish cracker, just a bit of work but can make a big batch to enjoy for a long time. Definitely high protein and healthier than eating commercial potato crisps. 

raw fish/prawn meat 500gm
tapioca flour 400gm
baking powder 1 tsp
water
seasoning, salt, white pepper, chilli powder

Blend fish/prawn with flour and water to make a dough. Form into fat sausages and steam for an hour. 
Rest for a day in the fridge, easier to cut the next day into thin slices dry in a fruit drier (or under the sun). 

Deep fry in 180˚C oil.

2025年8月12日 酥脆魚片

漁夫到岸旁釣魚，釣不到美味鯖魚，帶回十幾尾pollock 黑線鱈魚，味道質感是較hake 更下一等級的鱈魚，味淡質削，似雞胸肉，要有醬汁伴吃。

腦袋即時在轉，這麼多，這兩天吃不完，剩下的要怎樣處理才好？要自己喜歡吃的才理想，想起去年試做蝦片，效果不錯，估計應該可以用這白雪雪魚肉代替，香脆食物最可口，又好收藏。

用攪拌機把魚肉、木薯粉、梳打粉、水和調味料打作魚肉醬，做成兩條粗腸，蒸熟，切作薄片，吹乾就成。

今回有進步，下了梳打粉，蒸魚醬腸時在腸內起小泡泡，油炸時會有鬆化發大效果，吃時更酥，好滿意，漁夫安樂晒。

Short fin squid and oyster

Online fishmonger has short fin squid to offer, I will not pass by an order of fresh squid, my favourite. 
This is the short fin type, with smaller fins at the pointy end of the tube. 

The squids look fresh with the spotty pinkish colour vivid. It is a pity that this must be the spawning season. The body is so wasted after egg laying and very thin, only the legs are worth eating. 
Char grilled on bbq for extra flavour. 

 

Galway Bay Garry's oyster is still the best, meaty and so sweet. 

Stir-fry bitter melon

The 2 plants are growing big with many bitter melons in various sizes, what a wonderful sight. 

A quick stir-fry of bitter melon, eggplant with garlic, black bean, dried shrimp, anchovy, season with a little sugar, tasted great. Bitter melon goes well with strong flavour, and a little sugar. 

Picnic near the lake

A fine evening, decided to having dinner near the lake. Quickly assembled some cut ham, quiche, cheese, biscuits, salad with kimchi, mango and apple. 

Cycling Greenway near Littleton

This is a Greenway on an exhausted ex-boggy peat land,  very flat and easy to cycle. It covers surprisingly huge area even though there are villages around. Very nice to cycle with views of empty landscape, no construction. 

Moussaka

Had eaten this popular dish in Turkey and Greece, layers of eggplant, with mince meat, béchamel sauce and grilled cheese on top. 

With a good harvest of eggplant and tomato, I decided to make this dish using tomato sauce, it is really tasty. 

Eggplant
mince meat
tomato paste and tomatoes
garlic
grated cheese

1.Sear garlic and cook mince meat until lightly golden. Add peeled tomatoes and tomato paste to make a rich sauce, season with salt, 5 spices powder and some chilli flakes, thicken with cornstarch. 
2.In a baking dish, place a layer of thinly slice eggplant at the bottom, pour meat sauce on top just enough to cover, add another layer of eggplant and repeat with meat sauce. 
3.On top of the last layer of eggplant, cover with grated cheese. Bake at 180˚C until cheese golden, around 30 minutes. 

Mega harvest

Just a few days and I harvested another few big bowls of tomatoes, runner beans and climbing beans. 

The 4th batch of tomato paste, semi-dried cherry tomato raisins, and more dry baked bean to store away. 

Bitter melon duck carcass soup

Learned another popular recipe using bitter melon, to make a soup with pork ribs. After having roast duck, I thought to boil the carcass with bitter melon will have similar result. 

First long boiled the carcass then add bitter melon and carrot in the last half hour of simmering. Bitter melon still have a good dense texture and mild bitterness, the soup is nice. 

Crispy roast duck

Saw duck in the supermarket and the thought went to crispy roast duck instantly. Preparing in the traditional way to get the skin as dry as possible. First pouring boiling water over the skin, wipe dry then season meat with mixture of salt, miso, 5 spices powder, pepper and sugar. Brush vodka on skin that helps to draw moisture out, lay on rack and dry in the fridge for 2 days. 

Set on rotisserie to turn next to fire, with a tray of potatoes and veg below to catch dripping fat. Roast until skin brown and meat cooked through, around 1.5 hrs. 

Skin is very crispy and most fat is rendered out. It is unfortunate that Irish duck is very meaty but lacking exercise, dry meat with not much flavour and colour. 

2025年8月16日隨意做泡菜

見朋友做韓國泡菜，顏色艷麗吸引，即刻想起雪櫃尚有兩棵椰菜要消滅，可以用來做泡菜，而不用黃芽白。

我人懶，一向只求好味和順手方便，不求味道一模一樣，所以參考了食譜，照著那糯米粉和糖煮做糊的方法做醬底，加入的東西，小同大異，概念差不多，下了薑和蒜片，沒有用那麼多；沒有韓國蝦醬，改用切碎蝦米和鹹香anchovy；沒有韓國辣醬和辣椒粉，反正也吃不得大辣，就用些少其他辣醬和辣椒粉取代；加自家啤梨乾和紅蘿蔔絲；下大量不辣的紅椒粉，追求那顏色效果才似樣，引食慾。

坦白說，那艷紅不太辣醬汁，鹹鮮甜辣，拌什麼都好送飯！做兩瓶泡菜，慢慢吃。

那七頭椰菜同時成熟，又開始被鼻涕蟲咬吃，不得不全收成，正頭痕如何處理，剛巧朋友到來，愛爾蘭人，即刻送走三頭，國食是鹹肉炒椰菜，據說可以日日吃不怕悶的。

餘下四棵，隔日吃頓至剩下兩頭，每回打開雪櫃都覺得厭悶，好彩見到韓國泡菜食譜，的起心肝學做，家中多一樣美食。

Tour of North Mayo coast, Ireland 4/4 - Belmullet island and Greenway near Bangor

Drove over to Belmullet island in the west end of North Mayo, a peaceful underdeveloped farming and wild landscape with some holiday homes along the beaches. Surprisingly quiet for peak summer, mostly are foreign tourists. 

Went for a bike ride cross the island to see the wild area. Under the bright sun, the view of golden sand with blue sea is like in the Mediterranean. 

On the way home, went to Bangor to bike on a Greenway. These are old railway tracks now converted to biking/walking routes. Most are inland except this one, going past a national park, along the coast, over a bridge to Achill island. Really pleasant experience, wonderful views, more or less flat route and far away from road, a feeling of riding in the wilderness.

Greenway 單車徑

十九世紀工業革命年代，愛爾蘭建了不少火車軌，四通八達，連接大小城市，那年代，人口八百幾萬。

然後遇上馬玲薯失收，大饑荒死亡、大逃亡，人口下跌至三百多萬。

小城人口下降，火車不再能為本，路軌陸續廢棄，近年慢慢改作步行和單車徑Greenway。

大多數在內陸，不少在馬路附近，踩單車時聽到車聲，聞到廢氣，不最理想。

這段在西岸由Mulrany 去 Achill Island 的路徑，走在農田、國家郊野公園、海旁、經過小橋到小島，馬路大部份在遠方，最理想。

個多小時路程，一路上看山、荒草山谷、山中湖、和大海，好滿意為看風景而做運動的選擇。