Air fried venison rack



I love my air fryer, a rack cooked to crispy outside and still pink inside ready in just 20 minutes, beat the traditional oven. 


I seasoned the rack for a day with 5 spices, basil salt and rosemary salt made last year and black pepper. 
At the bottom of the air fryer, I place some blanched frozen green bean from last year’s harvest, it will warm up and catch all the dripping from venison. Next to the rack I have onion halves brushed with oil, a meal all in one pot. 




Cleaver drink





A very wild and invasive herb in the field, with tender squarish stem that stick to your clothes. Just learn that it is also a traditional medicinal herb that supports the lymphatic system, reduces swelling, and flushes toxins via the kidneys. 
Sounded good and since there is a lot around, no trouble to pick some fresh every day to make a drink by steeping in cold water. 

2026年4月2日 種植大計







順序:
-有艷紅花朶的桃樹,果子味道清淡,樹下種了津菜、士多啤梨;

-光禿禿的是無花果,細看果子葉芽已經現身,七月有甜美果子可吃,樹下是菜芯,第一次種菜芯,非最喜歡的青菜;

-長有白花的是車厘子樹,種了三年,仍然未吃到果子,永遠懷希望;角落是株每年都翻生的physalis 燈籠果,橙黃果子又甜又酸好滋味,八月收成,最遲收成的莓果;樹下種了唐生菜;

-這個raisebed 種了芥蘭苗,棚架旁已經埋下青豆,等待發芽;

-最後一個種了白蘿蔔苗,在台灣買的種子,看看生長如何,上回用香港的種子很快就抽苔,沒有收成;兩旁空間,已經混合撒下紅蘿蔔、紅色黃色甜薯、通菜和芫荽種子,誰先長大就先收成。

天氣仍然冷,十度以下,春天尚未到來,然而,是年種植大計,已經在二月中開始了。

取出金莎小溫室,一輪輪地發種子,第一批以抵得冷的十字花科為主,芥蘭、芥蘭頭、菜芯、白蘿蔔、椰菜仔、津菜、唐生菜等。第二輪是番茄、茄子、甜椒、西瓜、蜜瓜和香草等,種子較細少,又喜歡在較暖的地方發芽。

第三批是大粒的種子,例如甜粟米、青豆、豆角、毛豆、蠶豆、苦瓜等,可以直接種在小盆泥中,放在溫室內的propagator 內,日間有十幾廿度,有望順利發芽。

種植,是每年初要好好計劃的項目,才有望四月底開始,有源源不絕各種蔬菜可以收成,在餐桌上出現。

 




 

Sister Ping’s Kitchen, Limerick







Invited by friends to try this new Chinese restaurant, run by a Hunan Chef. Ordered many dishes and all are properly made, with authentic flavour. Very pleased to see this new addition in a nearby city. 

Hard boiled egg mayonnaise



Saw this recipe on internet and thought what a wonderful idea, I like mayonnaise but really don’t want to eat so much oil. This is an oil free high protein eggy-naise sauce, very smooth texture, a lot of possibilities to add other flavouring, like chop up fresh herbs. 



1 hard boiled egg
mustard
salt
vinegar

Blend to fine puree, adjust seasoning. 

Seared Monkfish




Seasoned this fillet of Monkfish with salt, pepper and seaweed flakes, Seared in butter with spring onions around, and the lid on. In just a few minutes it is cooked, the pure white flesh cracked open beautifully. 

Served with Brussel sprouts and home grown asparagus and fennel fonds. 

Venison bone stock soup




With a big bag of bones after butchering the whole Sika deer, it is time to cook them to make a rich stock for later use. 
I like to add in a lot of homemade dried pear slices, Chinese soup ingredients, ginger, garlic, star anise, aged mandarin peel etc. 
It will take 2 days of repeated boiling and keeping hot in the vacuum pot. During reheating, I will take some out to make soup for the day. 
This one is venison stock, loose meat with carrot, home grown Yacon and Staghorn plantain. Sweet from the pear and feels nutritious. 

2026年3月24日 投資樹林





愛爾蘭的樹林覆蓋率,在歐盟是數一數二的低,所以政府受壓要增加樹林比率。其中一個方法,是鼓勵人民植林,付錢,是一個見效快的方法。

今早就參加如此一個講座,講者不是投資銀行職員、不在華麗辦公室進行,而是到一個植林區,參觀樹林,由投資人介紹程序,遇到的問題,和政府的各種資助。

基本上有片合用土地後,政府會付款購買合適樹苗和植樹的所有費用,且每年每一畝植林地,有一筆定量金錢作為投資植林的回報,為期十五至廿年。

視乎土地價錢,一般估計是足夠收回土地價錢有餘。且可申請數項資助,作管理樹林的花費。

往後收採木材,有專門公司負責,以賣出木材的部份價錢作收費,其餘是自己的收益。

這項投資,其中一個賣點是那十幾廿年的資助和木林收入都不用付稅,之後若賣出樹林土地,亦不用付利得稅。

有點似買屋作收租用,從租金慢慢收回樓價後,持續有收入,最後賣樓取回本金,兼賺升值差價。投資樹林,少些人事問題、少受社會經濟影響,可以考慮。

自然最理想的投資者,是有祖家留下的大量土地,零投資,光賺政府每年的付款,和往後賣木材收益。




Slow cooked venison lap


After butchering the Sika deer recently, the first to cook is one of the lap. I seasoned with mountain spices from Georgia, black pepper and lots of rosemary, all rubbed on with some lard. Rest for a few hours and bake at 140˚C for 2 hours. 


Unlike lamb lap that I cook often, venison lap’s ligaments do not soften, even though the meat is already juicy soft. Nice flavour dark red meat, no gamey flavour.



Monte Frio Iberico Bellota ham



Our yearly enjoyment, a whole organic ham, a portion a week starting in Spring and finish by Autumn. Beautiful deep red meat with pinkish fat, sweet nutty flavour and not too salty. 



Sika deer/venison



Nearby hunter informed that he has shot Sika deer and have been aged for 3 weeks, ready to purchase, we bought the whole 20kg animal, for 60 Euro. Very cheap if you buy it whole, when butchered, it will be around Euro 15 per kilo. 



Spent an hour to cut up into portions we like, 38 portions for 2, with bones and though tendons for soup, really good value. 




Baked Monk Fish




Pure white meaty monk fish is easy to cook, good to pair with strong flavour. 

Prepare mixture of sweet corn, diced ham, red bell pepper, pickled lemon skin etc season with salt, curry powder and olive oil, place half at the bottom of baking dish. 

Cut fish into thick slices, season with salt, pepper and rice wine, please in baking dish on top of mixture, add the rest of mixture on top. Bake at 180˚C until fish just cooked, around 20 minutes. 

In the same oven, bake halved Brussel sprouts, seasoned with salt, pepper and 5 spices powders for a few hours (to soften). 

Spring flowers



Daffodils are in full bloom here and there in the land, March blooming cherry trees are having a great show, wild sloe trees in the hedge are having load of delicate white flowers. Spring is beautiful and invigorating. 

 







 

Garden in spring



 

So nice to come back to see the first lot of veg seeds growing well in propagators in the green house. 

Cherry tree and pear trees are bearing lots of beautiful flowers, so are peach trees inside green house. 




After adding a transparent lid on the asparagus bed to keep soil warmer, the first spear is already up for harvest!


 

Guadeloupe tour- main island Bouillante 5/5

 


This is our last stop in this tour, and the only place where we will be able to swim with turtles, at Plage Malendure. We booked a house up on the hill near the beach so that we can walk down to the beach, a smart move as this is a popular place with lots of cars parked along the road.






And yes, the beach is calm, in no time we are snorkeling with turtles. I like very much the feeling of swimming along them, they move gracefully and never in a hurry, make you feel peaceful.

The other famous tourist site is Pigeon islands where the water is the clearest in all of Guadeloupe and with coral near the rocky shores. One way to get there is by kayak, 15 minutes with the wind.









There are 3 areas to snorkel, with a lot of coral fish and very calm water. My favourite spot is near the edge of the small island where there is a sheer drop deep down to white sandy base . So many big and small fishes swimming around calmly, equally spaced out, feel like in an aquarium.

The return kayak trip is hard, against the strong wind with waves splashing us all the time, one visit is enough!

Driving north to see the area and to find beaches suitable for snorkeling. The north side is drier and the trees looks different than the rich greens in the south.

Very strong wind and no chance of renting a paddle boat to see the mangrove area. At the end, settle on a pebble beach, Anse Caraibes, very calm and next to rocky cliff.







Indeed a great choice, snorkeling along the rocky area at the right side of the beach, we saw millions of small fish, huge shoals, no end in sight. The scene is so beautiful with millions silvery fish  swimming around,  I seem to be among them, but they are like floating past in a different dimension, a mesmerising and unforgettable experience!