Yogurt

Yogurt contains Lactobacillus acidophilus (嗜酸性乳酸菌), Bifidus (比菲德氏菌，雙叉桿菌), and many other good bacteria. Maybe we will try to do it. But without proper way to maintain ~43 oC, we have to think about how to do it. We tried to use our rice cooker and found its maintenance temperature is too high. Maybe it is because this is a new one because it worked fine when we used our old one in US.

By the way, I saw some articles said that it is better not to use commercial yogurt to make your own yogurt even it said there is "active culture" inside the yogurt. They suggest to use commercial "dry yogurt culture" to grow active culture every time.

---- References ----
優酪乳發酵機 (ps. there are some useful information in here including what are those bacteria in yogurt, the nutrients composition in yogurt, and how to make it)

dave 2007: 自己做yogurt (ps. based on the wikihow "How to Make Yogurt")

Yogurt (ps. another person's experience)

How to Make Yogurt
Sure, it's easy to stroll down the supermarket aisle and throw a cup of yogurt into your cart; but have you ever been tempted to make yogurt yourself? Here's how to craft your own brand of yogurt in the comfort of your kitchen.

Ingredients

* 1 quart milk (any kind)
* 1/4 to 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk (optional)
* 2 tablespoons existing yogurt with live cultures (or you can use freeze-dried bacteria instead)

Steps

1. Sterilize the milk. Even though your milk has been pasteurized, it will still contain bacteria. Pour a quart of milk into a pot or the top of a double boiler. Use a metal spoon for stirring. Heat the milk until it is almost boiling. You'll see small bubbles form around the edges and steam beginning to rise. Keep checking the temperature: It should be around 180-185F (82-85C). A candy thermometer comes in handy. Heat slowly and stir often to prevent scorching.
2. Cool the milk to grow the yogurt. Allow the milk to cool at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Stir frequently to make temperature checks more accurate. Don't proceed until the milk is below 120F(49C), and don't allow it to go below 90F (32C). 105-110 (41-43) is optimal.
3. Warm the starter. Let the starter yogurt sit at room temperature while you are waiting for the milk to cool. This will prevent it from being too cold when you add it in.
4. Add nonfat dry milk, if desired. Adding about 1/4cup to 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk at this time will increase the nutritional content of the yogurt. The yogurt will also thicken more easily. This is especially helpful if you are using nonfat milk.
5. Add the starter. Add 2 tablespoons of existing yogurt, or add the freeze-dried bacteria.
6. Put the mixture in containers. Pour your milk into a clean container or containers. Cover each one tightly with a lid or plastic wrap.
7. Allow the yogurt bacteria to incubate. Keep the yogurt warm to encourage bacteria growth. Between 105F and 122F (41C and 49C) is ideal. An oven with pilot light is one option; see Tips for others. Use your candy thermometer to check on the temperature. Wait until the yogurt is thick, about the consistency of pudding. Keep the yogurt still during this process. It can take anywhere from 8-14 hours to incubate.
8. Refrigerate the yogurt. Place the yogurt in your fridge for several hours before serving. It will keep for 1-2 weeks. If you are going to use some of it as starter, use it within 5-7 days, so that the bacteria still have growing power. Whey, a thin yellow liquid, will form on the top. You can pour it off or stir it in before eating your yogurt.
9. Add optional flavorings. Experiment until you develop a flavor that your taste buds fancy.
10. Use yogurt from this batch as starter for the next batch.


Tips

* Your first batch is always the hardest.
* You can use any kind of milk, including whole milk, 2%, 1%, nonfat, pasteurized, homogenized, organic, raw, diluted evaporated, dry powdered, cow, goat, soybean, and more.
* All yogurt needs "good" bacteria. The easiest way to add this is to use existing yogurt. The first time you make your own yogurt, use store-bought plain yogurt. Be certain it has "active cultures" on the label.
* Alternatively, instead of existing yogurt you can use freeze-dried bacteria cultures (available in specialty stores), which are more reliable as a starter.
* Using a double boiler makes it easier to control the temperature.
* If your oven doesn't have a pilot light but does have an oven light, preheating the oven to the desired temperature, turning it off, and then leaving the oven light on to maintain the temperature.
* Another method is to turn your oven on and then off again periodically. Be careful that it doesn't get too hot.
* To check the oven temperature, you can put your candy thermometer in a bowl of water inside the oven.
* Other methods for keeping the yogurt warm are: hot water in a sink, stove burner, crock-pot, warming tray, large thermos, heating pad, sunny window, in your car on a sunny day, etc. Just use your thermometer and best judgment.
* The longer the mixture incubates, the thicker and more tangy the yogurt will be.
* Putting your yogurt in the freezer to cool it before to moving it to the refrigerator will result in a smoother consistency.
* Canned pie filling, jams, maple syrups, and ice-cream fudges are good flavorings.
* For a delicious appetizer, use your yogurt to make labneh cheese.
* Using a yogurt maker makes the incubation process a lot easier. It automatically maintains the proper temperature and you don't need to use the oven or watch the temperature. Most come with individual glass jars to put the yogurt in.
* Some food dehydrators, such as Ronco induction type, can be used as yogurt makers too. Read the instructions in the manual.

Warnings

* Watch your temperatures. Don't let the milk get too hot or too cold.
* Old starter won't grow yogurt.
* If your yogurt smells, tastes, or looks strange, don't eat it. Try again with a new batch.
* Get a second opinion on the taste of your yogurt, to make sure it's okay.
* Keep the yogurt still during incubation. Jiggling won't ruin it, but it makes it take a lot longer.

Read more!

Steamed cake

We have tried the first one. In the first time, it did not rise when we did not add baking powder. In the second time, it tasted a little bit bitter with some strange chemical taste because we accidentally bought and used baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) instead of baking powder. We are thinking if we should go to buy baking powder to try it again or try to add yoghurt to neutralize the base taste by baking soda. There is also receipt which does not require baking powder, but it will need to use about 4 eggs instead of 1 egg to make a cake.

Successful one (ps. we used chopsticks to do all beating and mixing in the beginning, we bought a mixer later.):

1 egg, beat well
-> + 2 TBSP sugar, mix well
-> + 160 mL milk (or milk+water) + 1.5-2 TBSP yogurt, mix well
-> + 220 mL plain flour (i.e. 11 TBSP), keep mixing while adding
-> + 0.25 tsp baking soda , try to spray evenly, keep mixing
-> + 10-15 mL vegetable oil, mix well and pour into pyrex container
-> microwave 7 min 55 sec (ps. This depends on the power of microwave)

(note) We don't need to coat the surface of pyrex with oil or butter because it won't stick on it. Yeah!
(note) Adding yogurt in can make baking soda reacts better and remove the bitter and chemical taste. It means that we can use "baking soda + yogurt" to replace baking powder.
(note) Vegetable oil is not necessary.
(note) Simple way: Mix everything except baking soda first by mixer, then add baking soda in to mix again before microwave.

--- References --------
Substituting in recipes
Baking powder is generally just baking soda mixed with an acid, and a number of kitchen acids may be mixed with baking soda to simulate commercial blends of baking powder. The most common suggestion is to use two parts cream of tartar with one part baking soda. Vinegar (dilute ethanoic acid), especially white vinegar, is also a common acidifier in baking; for example, many heirloom chocolate cake recipes call for a tablespoon or two of vinegar. Where a recipe already uses buttermilk or yoghurt, baking soda can be used without cream of tartar (or with less). Alternatively, lemon juice can be substituted for some of the liquid in the recipe, to provide the required acidity to activate the baking soda.

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Difference between baking powder and baking soda

Baking Soda

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise. The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat!

Baking Powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as single-acting baking powder and as double-acting baking powder. Single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double-acting powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven.

How Are Recipes Determined?

Some recipes call for baking soda, while others call for baking powder. Which ingredient is used depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. The ultimate goal is to produce a tasty product with a pleasing texture. Baking soda is basic and will yield a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk. You'll find baking soda in cookie recipes. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste. Recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk. Baking powder is a common ingredient in cakes and biscuits.

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肉桂葡萄乾蛋糕–5分鐘蒸蛋糕

材料

1.蛋一個
2.麵粉一杯
3.牛奶150~200ml(水也可以)
4.Baking Powder(泡打粉)2小匙
5.奶油or植物奶油or任何植物油10~15ml
6.糖1~2大匙
7.鹽半小匙
8.葡萄乾1/4~1/2杯
9.任何酒10~20ml
10.有機肉桂葉精油2~3滴(肉桂皮或肉桂枝精油建議從2滴開始放)

作法 :

1.葡萄乾先跟酒、1滴肉桂精油充分攪拌，放一旁待用(沒有酒亦可)
2.耐熱容器內先塗薄薄一層油，放一旁待用
3.把蛋打在另一大碗中
4.加糖1~2大匙及鹽半小匙，攪拌均勻
5.加一杯麵粉、2小匙泡打粉，攪拌均勻
6.加牛奶或水，攪拌均勻
7.加入塗剩的奶油或植物油及1~2滴肉桂精油，攪拌均勻
8.最後加入葡萄乾稍微混合後，把麵糊倒入耐熱容器
9.蓋上蓋子或用盤子，進微波爐or電鍋or炒菜鍋(隔水)or烤箱(隔水)蒸熟即可

HerbMama 小小P.S:

(1)泡打粉可以加到3小匙(1大匙)，發得越高越有形，但是加越多鹼味會越重，依個人口味斟酌
(2)糖可以加更多，依個人口味斟酌
(3)牛奶或水大約加到到美乃滋狀/手工皂trace濃度，加越多蛋糕約鬆軟，但是如果用微波爐做水份加太多比較不易成型
(4)除了紹興酒這樣氣味濃厚的酒不適合，很多酒都可以替代
(5)微波爐作法是微波3分鐘，倒扣出來到盤裡，頂端還有不熟的流動麵糊的話，再連盤微波個1~2分鐘就可以了。
(6)如果第一次做精油料理，可以從2滴精油開始；而若是妳蒸了3滴肉桂葉精油覺得還想再濃，先問問吃過的人再決定要不要再加，最多可以到4滴，先提醒你，3滴跟4滴間的肉桂香濃度大幅增加，很濃!
Read more!

Sick of bus 414 in Brisbane

We live in a place that we have to take 414 to go to school if we don't want to transfer to another bus. The problem of 414 is that it is scheduled 1 bus per hour and the last one to go home is 6 pm during weekday. There is no service for bus 414 in weekend and public holiday. OK, we adjust our schedule to fit into its schedule.

The bigger problem is that it always comes late. Sometimes it delays 10 minutes, that's OK, but most of time it delays 15-25 minutes for both directions or until we give up after 20 minutes waiting and take other bus to Toowang and transfer to another bus to school.

In one day morning in July, all passengers gave up after waiting 30 min and take transfer way. It delayed >20 minutes in one morning of last week. Then it happened again this morning and all passengers (>10) gave up and some people asked their family member to drive them to school and some took transfer way such as us.

I don't know what's wrong with the bus and driver. The bus stop we are waiting in the morning is almost the start. There is nobody on bus when it arrives every time. There is no traffic in this suburban living area. I don't understand why it can delay so much. The bus stop we are waiting in the evening in school is the start, and the bus never comes without people (>40) waiting more than 15 minutes. The estimated driving time is 25 minutes, but sometimes the waiting time is longer than that.l
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Russian borscht

I believe everybody has tasted Russian borscht (羅宋湯) before. We decided to try it today after eating chicken more than 1 month. We picked the simplest receipt to do it.

Roast blade Beef (~700 g)
10 baby Lady Chrstl Potato (white color) (~600 g)
4 Carrot (~500 g)
1 onion
2 garlic
some tomato sauce, salt, black pepper, white pepper
(ps. the volume of potato:carrot:beef = 1:1:0.8)

Put beef into small boiling water to remove blood
Then put everything into pressure pot, cover with water, cook 40 min

Following are some receipts from internet

1. simplest one
我們家煮羅宋湯都沒有所謂的比例ㄝ，只要準備牛肉(肋條的部位).馬玲薯.紅蘿蔔.番茄.洋蔥，
把它們切成差不多大塊(馬鈴薯要稍微大塊一點..因為煮久了會糊)
牛肉可以先川燙過..湯比較不會油膩，
把它們一起放到悶燒鍋悶..煮到洋蔥.番茄化的差不多，醬就ok了說。

比例就看個人喜好吧，如果真的要講比例的話，牛肉.紅蘿蔔.馬鈴薯應該是1:1:1，洋蔥跟番茄要稍微少一點醬。

2. more complicated one
材料：牛尾一斤，蕃茄四個，馬鈴薯三個，椰菜半個，洋蔥半個，紅蘿蔔半斤

調味：茄汁三分一枝，糖兩茶匙，鹽小許

作法：
牛尾洗淨，放一鍋滾水中飛水
-> 紅蘿蔔、薯仔切細塊，蕃茄切細件，洋蔥、椰菜切絲
-> 煲滾半煲水，下牛尾及紅蘿蔔，煲半小時
-> 下馬鈴薯，洋蔥及椰菜，再煲半小時
-> 下蕃茄，煲一小時
-> 最後，下茄汁及其他調味料，再煲約十五分鐘便可，喝時可下些香草

3. Complicated one
是俄國的一種雜菜湯，當然要有肉，才有鮮味。通常是用牛腩（牛肋肉），如果擔心牛腩太肥，牛骨又新鮮又多肉，也是很不錯的選擇。要煮羅宋湯，其實不用甚麼食譜，只要把所有你喜歡的菜和牛肉放在一起燉就可以了。加入香葉 bay leaves，番茄醬(tomato paste)，胡椒粒，和調入適量的檸檬汁，都可以使其變得更好吃。

材料：
4條 牛腩（或用牛骨）
2至3條 西芹
1至2個 馬鈴薯
1個 洋蔥
3個 番茄
1條 紅蘿蔔
1/4個 椰菜（包心菜）
2粒 蒜頭（拍扁）
10至15粒 胡椒粒 (peppercorn)
3片 香葉 (bay leaves)
3湯匙 番茄醬 (tomato paste)（根據你煲的湯量，自己衡量增減）
半個檸檬榨汁
鹽、糖、白胡椒粉各少許
2杯 雞湯 (或牛肉上湯)
煲湯清水 (隨量)

做法：
先把牛骨（或牛腩）飛水去血水，隨即放入煲湯鍋中的滾水中，加入雞湯。一邊煲，一邊預備以下材料。
-> 把所有蔬菜洗凈，切粒，大小隨自己喜歡。基絲汀喜歡切到不大不小，容易入口。
-> 起油鑊爆香蒜頭，下洋蔥粒，炒香。下西芹粒爆香。這兩種蔬菜，用油鑊爆過，才會帶出它們的香味。兜起。（如果你喜歡的話，可以逐一炒香其餘蔬菜。不過，基絲汀是要弄懶人菜式，所以其他不炒也罷。）
-> 把所有雜菜放入鍋中，加入番茄醬，胡椒粒，和香葉，同煲二至三小時。
-> 當所有材料煲至稔身，你覺得滿意的時候，就加入少許鹽，糖，白胡椒粉，和檸檬汁調味。一邊加，一邊試味，直到你自己滿意為止。趁熱盛入碗中享受喔！（可灑上parsley裝飾，隨意。圖中用了芹菜葉，嘻嘻～）

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Plastic free lunch contest

In the lunch room, people are promoting a plastic free lunch contest to save ocean in QLD, Australia.
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Fish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Some 4,000 fish species live in or around coral reefs, which are a very complex and productive ecosystem. Scientists now realize they must take into account the many interactions in such ecosystems. (AFP PHOTO/HO/JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY/FILE/NEWSCOM) (ps. This photo and description are from "a holistic approach to saving the sea".)

A holistic approach to saving the sea

Scientists recognize that species cannot be managed in isolation; management must be based ecosystem-wide – including earth and sky.
By Moises Velasquez-Manoff | Staff Writer of The Christian Science Monitor / June 27, 2008 edition, New York

Eager to correct for errors that might arise when viewing pieces of a greater whole in isolation, scientists in recent years have been calling for a more holistic approach to resource management. They’ve dubbed this approach “ecosystem-based management” (EBM).

In the oceans, EBM means managing for the health of the entire ecosystem – from small shrimplike copepods to large bluefin tuna – rather than just a single stock. It means that, when setting fishing quotas for a forage fish like herring, the needs of other predators, like cod, should be taken into account. And it means considering fishing’s effect (notably bottom trawling) on fish habitat.

In the larger context, EBM means considering factors like coastal development and pollution that affect the marine environment. It implies working across a wide geographical area as well as a range of agencies. Indeed, some say EBM is as much about reforming human institutions to work harmoniously and productively with one another as anything else......
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The Kazakh Miracle: Recovery of the North Aral Sea

I remember I saw the story on Discovery channel in US. It is really a sad story seeing the death of Aral Sea. Hope this recovery will be successful for long.

The Kazakh Miracle: Recovery of the North Aral Sea by Environment News service

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1, 2008 (ENS) - Water is returning to the North Aral Sea in Central Asia that had shrunk to a quarter of its former size during the last half of the 20th century. Fish, sea birds and reptiles have begun to repopulate the Aral Sea and surrounding area.

Although the seashore is shared by only two countries, Kazakhstan (哈薩克) in the north and Uzbekistan (烏茲別克) in the south, the Aral Sea Basin is fed by two large rivers, which run through the mountainous countries of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic and through the plains of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The Aral Sea began to shrink in the 1960s, when massive diversion of water for cotton and rice cultivation under the Soviet Union drained the two rivers that feed the sea, the Syr Darya and Amu Darya.

The resulting three-quarters decrease in volume of the Northern Aral Sea by 1996 devastated the surrounding environment and ruined the traditional fishing economy of the bordering villages.

This week the government of Kazakhstan announced that its US$260 million rescue program for the Northern Aral Sea is working. ......

找回消失的鹹海 by 科學人雜誌

鹹海曾經名列世界第四大湖，但為了灌溉農田，農民毫無節制地抽取水源，如今鹹海變成了貧瘠的荒漠。現在，人們正致力使湖泊復原。
撰文╱米克林（Philip Micklin）、阿拉丁（Nikolay V. Aladin） by Scientific American
翻譯／姚若潔

重點提要
■位於中亞的鹹海在1960年仍然是世界第四大湖，到了2007年，面積已縮減為原來的10％。人們從鹹海的主要水源阿姆河和錫爾河取水，對沙漠地區進行大面積的灌溉，使得流入鹹海的淡水變成涓涓細流。

■鹹海乾枯後，分裂成三個殘餘的湖泊，其中兩個湖因為太鹹，魚類已經消失。曾經繁忙的漁船也從鹹海上消失，從前的港都也沒落了。大面積的海床露出並乾枯，風把鹽份與有毒物質吹往人群聚居的地區，造成嚴重的健康問題。

■儘管如此，建於2005年的攔水壩，已經幫助最北邊的湖泊面積快速增加，鹽度大幅降低，魚類族群和濕地也正在復原中，這兩者也是經濟復甦的指標。然而南邊的兩個大湖卻可能完全消失，除非曾是主要水源的阿姆河可以重建；但這樣的工程要價數十億美元，政治上的認同也有困難。

■世界上還有其他湖泊也開始面臨同樣的命運，其中主要有中非的查德湖與美國加州南部的薩爾頓海。從鹹海的消失與局部復原得到的教訓，應該能讓這些地區提高警覺。
.....

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Steamed bun

We went to buy a electrical steamer on Sunday (10 August 2008). We tried to make steamed bun last night. Because we don't have a balance, so we tried to use volume to do all measurement. We both think this experiment is successful.

200 mL plain flour (i.e. 10 TBSP, 1 TBSP=20 mL)
5 g sugar (about 1 TSP=5mL)
2.33 g yeast (about 2.6 mL or a little bit more than 0.5 TSP)
60 g water
-> mix water and yeast, then mix them with flour and sugar until not sticky
-> cover with plastic wrap, keep inside microwave, rise 30 min
-> mix again and separate to 4 small buns
-> rise 30 min inside steamer
-> steam 15 min

(note) Another easy way to do it:
Ratio: flour:water:sugar = 9:3:1 (v/v/v). If using 3 rice cups of flour, it requires 1 Tsp yeast. 1 rice cup = 160 mL, 1 Tsp = 5mL.
Mix all dry materials, then add water slowly and stir with chopsticks. Rise 1-2 hours after making dough, then make the dough again and separate to 8 pieces, and rise inside steamer 30 min. Steam 15 min.


參考網頁：
白饅頭食譜
這個是網路上找到比較簡單的饅頭食譜，重點是很好吃喔！還有做出來的白饅頭是比較不甜的，要吃一般外頭的甜味，要加多一點糖喔！

材料：
中筋麵粉 300 g
砂糖 15 g (做黑糖饅頭，黑糖大約80g)
乾酵母 7 g
水 150 g

作法：
1.將麵粉及砂糖堆成粉牆；酵母和水混合溶解後倒入粉牆中，攪拌成糰再揉至光滑，蓋上保鮮膜發酵30分鐘。
2.將麵糰揉至光滑(可用壓麵機來壓至光滑)，再擀成長方型薄麵皮約(03.cm厚)捲成長條狀(要捲緊不要有空隙以免口感不佳)
3.稍加壓扁後，用刀將麵糰分割成每個40g(12個)，放入蒸籠發酵30分鐘。再以大火蒸10-12分鐘。
◆饅頭排入蒸籠要保留較大的空間；蒸到一半時掀開一下蒸籠釋放蒸籠內的壓力，以免饅頭縮小、皺皮。
◆饅頭揉好麵糰到蒸好最好在1小時內完成以免過度發酵失去彈性。

Christina---好吃的饅頭食譜(適合麵包機)
* 1/2杯糖
* 1/3杯水
* 4 杯麵粉
* 1 1/3茶匙 yeast
* 1 杯牛奶
* 1 茶匙醋
* 9 茶匙油
* 1 茶匙 baking powder

這個食譜可以做兩磅的麵糰。
把麵糰揉成圓形的，分10多個 再放到蒸籠蒸12-14分鐘後，就可以吃了。途蛋黃烤成麵包也行。

鮮奶饅頭

饅頭

饅頭製作常見問題及解決辦法
1．表面易塌陷
１成型時有斷層，成型時注意排出气泡，使面團內外形成均一整體
２面團醒發速度太快，可降低面團發酵溫度
３蒸汽不旺，可旺火急蒸
４酵母後勁不足，可使用安琪酵母發麵
５麵粉品質差，筋力不夠，可採用中筋麵粉

2．饅頭過於膨脹蓬鬆
１醒發時間過長，可縮短醒發時間
２麵粉筋度不夠，可採用筋力強的中筋麵粉
３酵母用量太大，可適當降低酵母的使用量

3．饅頭表面不白
１麵粉品質差，可採用品質好的中筋麵粉和安琪酵母伴侶
２成型不好，成型時要保持麵團表面光潔，可適當壓麵，撒些乾粉

4．表皮無光澤、起皺或開裂
１醒發速度太快，可降低發酵溫度
２蒸汽不足，可用旺火急蒸
３饅頭成型粗糙，保持面坯光滑，可用壓麵機壓延3-4次
４麵筋含量低，可改用中筋麵粉和安琪酵母伴侶

5．成品易老化、發硬、掉渣
１麵粉質量差，可改用中筋麵粉，用安琪酵母伴侶
２饅頭成型時水分不足，可適量用水
３攪拌不足，可充分攪拌，使麵筋形成網絡
４發酵不足，可選用發酵力強的安琪酵母

6．內部組織粗糙
１麵粉質量差，可改用中筋麵粉，用安琪酵母伴侶
２麵團發酵時間過長，溫度高，可縮短發酵時間，降低發酵溫度
３攪拌時撒手粉太多，可少撒手粉

7．發酵慢
１酵母量少或活力下降，可適當加大酵母用量，注意酵母低溫保存。
２和麵時麵團溫度較低，醒發溫度不夠 和面時可用溫水
３糖，油，鹽比例重，可降低糖、油、鹽用量

8．表皮起泡
１醒發濕度太大，可降低醒發濕度
２成形時有汽泡，可成形操作時盡量趕出汽泡
３蒸時水滴在饅頭表面 旺火急蒸，避免水直接滴在表面

9．饅頭體積小
１麵筋不夠，可改用中筋麵粉
２酵母用量不夠，可增大用量
３發酵時間不夠，可延長發酵時間

10．表皮起皺、收縮
１麵粉筋力太強
２發酵過度
３麵團未鬆弛

11．饅頭沒有發起來，成死麵和麵水溫過高，將酵母燙死，可用溫水和麵

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The Swarm

Friend told me about this novel, the Swarm. It is not a new idea that human being is the tumor/cancer cell of this earth or a roach/bug/parasite to the earth. When earth Gaia gets tired of our interference and bugging, Gaia can shake us away just like we kill those bacteria or bugs in our house. Enjoy the reading. This novel sends out the similar message as those Discovery programs and the movie "the day after tomorrow". I am just wondering if people will really change to save themselves. By the way, I do agree that environmental protection and nature conservation are for human's sake. Life will find their way with or without human.

【閱讀】群～der Schwarm/The swarm

In wiki, it said that the Swarm may refer to:

* The Swarm (film), a 1978 disaster film about killer bees that attack in giant swarms
* The Swarm" (Voyager episode), an episode of Star Trek: Voyager
* The Swarm (novel), a 2004 best-selling science fiction novel by Frank Schätzing
* Galaxy of Fear: The Swarm, the 8th book in the Galaxy of Fear series by John Whitman set in the Star Wars galaxy.
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School shuttle/bus in US

One of the things I enjoyed very much was taking shuttle when I was a graduate student in US. University provide very convenient shuttle services to their students. The service cover as far as 11 mile to campus and it is free for all students, staffs, faculties. University encourage students to take shuttle instead of driving to school.

There are also a lot of yellow school bus for high schools and elementary schools in US. You must stop when the stop sign is on from those school bus, otherwise you will face a huge penalty.

I am surprised to find that there is no this kind of service in Brisbane. All the university students take expensive bus (ps. they do have 50% discount to adult fare).

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Expensive public transportation in Brisbane

The public transportation is very expensive in Brisbane, but I guess it is more expensive to own a car. We have 2 cars in US and have no car in here now. We thought about riding a bike, but the slopes of those hills in every streets are 10 - 45 degree. It is not easy to bike in San Francisco city, I don't think it is easy in Brisbane.

Here is the information of public transportation in Brisbane area:
Translink bus zone map

South East Queensland zone map
Adult fares

When you travel in same zone, it is 1 zone travel. If you travel between zone 2 and 4, it is 2 zones travel. I am happy that at least the place we live and the university we go to are in the same zone.

The adult fare of a single trip for 1 zone travel = 2.4 AUD
The adult fare of a round trip for 1 zone travel = 4.8 AUD

For 1 zone travel:
monthly ticket: 76.8 AUD = 40 times with go card
3 month ticket: 211.2 AUD = 110 times with go card
6 month ticket: 403.2 AUD = 210 times with go card

We need to come to school 5 days per week, so it is 10 times per week. Should we use go card or just buy 3 month or 6 month ticket? It looks like that 3 or 6 month ticket can save us some bucks.

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Milk+butter+sugar bread

I don't know what's the English name of 奶酥，so I just use its ingredients in the title. It is one of my favorite bread. Below is its compositions from several different recipes, I tried a simple modified one.

milk powder : butter : sugar = 2:1:1 (v:v:v)
Microwave butter 30 sec to melt it, then mix with milk powder and sugar


Basically ingredients: Milk powder + butter + sugar + salt + eggs
1. 2 : 1 + some sugar
2. 55 g milk powder + 55 g butter + 40-45 g sugar (+ 1 egg (=15g))
3. 250 g milk powder + 250 g butter (1 block) +150 g sugar (+ some salt) + 1 egg
4. 100 g milk powder + 90 g butter + 50 g sugar + 1 egg
5. 200 g milk powder + 180 g butter + 100 g sugar + 60 g egg
6. 1.25 cup milk powder + 0.5 cup butter (=1 stick) + 0.5 cup sugar + 1 egg
7. 0.5 cup milk powder + 0.33 stick butter + 0.33 cup sugar

Mix well when mild heating on stove.

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Bread

We also want to make our own bread. We are still wondering if we should buy a breadmaker or small oven.

Here is a good recipe from Sullivan Street Bakery by Jim Lahey

Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

The secret of great bread: Let time do the work
Translation for this recipe
取一大碗, 加入三杯中筋或高筋麵粉, 1/4小匙酵母, 1又1/4小匙鹽和一杯半的水攪和均勻, 然後以保鮮膜覆蓋碗口, 靜置發酵至少十二小時, 長達十八小時尤佳, 是的, 妳沒看錯, 這漫長的發酵就是之所以不必揉麵團的關鍵, 然後取出上頭布滿泡泡的麵團, 質地極溼, 所以手上最好沾點麵粉, 將麵團置於略舖乾粉的工作枱上, 將兩側向內對折成長方形後再向內對折一次, 以保鮮膜蓋住醒十五分鐘。然後取一大盤灑上適量麵粉(或是細玉米碎cornmeal或小麥麩wheat bran), 以麵團不沾黏盤面為原則, 然後以沾上適量麵粉的雙手, 快速將麵團整成圓球形，置於盤上, 上頭再灑適量麵粉(或是細玉米碎cornmeal或小麥麩wheat bran), 以棉布巾蓋上, 二次發酵約兩個小時, 在發酵時間完成前半個鐘頭, 以四百五十度預熱烤箱, 同時將重量級鍋具連蓋一併放入烤箱預熱, 這個步驟就是麵包師研發出來可以以家庭烤箱烤出焦糖色酥脆外殼的秘訣, 預熱完成後, 將鍋具小心移出烤箱(鍋具極熱千萬小心), 打開蓋子, 將發酵完成的麵團, 在不破相拉扯太多的前提下, 以最快的速度迅速放入鍋具中, 蓋上蓋子, 烤三十分鐘, 打開鍋蓋, 再烤十五到二十五分鐘, 取出放涼, 切忌猴急切開, 放涼再享用的用意在於讓麵包堅硬成形, 若過早切開的話, 將落得皮開肉綻的下場。

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Here are some other good websites:

KO's kitchen
http://www.homemade-cake.com/recipes.php?id_cat=12

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Noodle

Because the price of Wu-Mu noodle is very expensive in here, we decided to make our own noodle, a cheaper and healthier one. We did not want to make complicated noodle, so we only look at those simple one.

I have tried the 1st method and I added some salt into it. Well, if I have rolling pin and 壓麵機，it will be better. Anyway, it tastes good.

I also used flour:water = 1:1 with some salt, then just use spoon to mix them well and drop spoon-full mixture into boiling water. It is good and easy.

以下摘自網路上的一些簡單的自製麵條食譜：

1. 自製麵條

麵粉 5 杯，水 2 杯。

5 杯麵粉先和 1 杯水用手抓勻，慢慢加入第 2 杯水，抓勻後，蓋上紗布或是保鮮膜醒 1 小時。
用手搓揉一下麵團，分成 4 小團，壓扁灑上些麵粉，放入壓麵機，壓出合適的厚度後，再放入切麵機。

**雖然可以馬上下鍋水煮，不過如果時間充裕，暫放置30分鐘或1小時稍為晾乾，麵條的彈性會更好。

2. 自製麵條 (拉麵)

基本麵條的配方:
中筋 麵粉...........................300g
水....................................130g
鹽....................................1t

自製麵條最有效率的做法是把麵粉放入食物處理機打個4分鐘，然後拿出麵團，放入鋼盆中醒個20分鐘，把醒好的麵團拿出來切成長條，然後就可以開始讓這台好用的機器開始壓麵和切麵。

3. 簡易麵條

高筋麵粉，鹽，和水。

豁在一起搓揉到不黏手，麵團光滑的程度就行 (鹽可以先溶在水中,再加入麵粉)。
然後靜置讓麵團發酵三十分鐘，發好後將麵團用桿麵棍壓扁，用菜刀切城長條狀(或自己喜歡的形狀)就大功告成囉!

4. 自製麵條

材料：高筋麵粉
器材：桿麵棍、刀子
份量：四人份
所需時間：一小時
作法：
將三杯麵粉加上一杯水（這是比較Q的比例）然後戳揉至麵粉團
-> 皆下來要醒麵粉團，將戳揉好的麵粉團放置20分鐘，可在放置的碗上蓋上過濾布。
-> 用小刀切成一小塊，約切成七～八塊
-> 每小塊用桿面棍桿開後，就像卷心酥把他捲起來
-> 用小刀沿著卷心酥的寬切成適當的寬度（看你要吃多寬）
-> 被切成一小調的捲心條攤開，就變成麵條了（如果覺得麵條太厚，拉一拉就變長啦）

ps.因為自製麵條，所以沒有加入其他附加品，因此若沒有煮完，請放在"冷凍"，若放在冷藏，只可以冰兩天，到了第三天麵條就會出現黑黑的一點一點的東東（我不知道這是啥，不過這時麵條已經不能吃了）

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If I can dream

Once I thought that I lost the ability to dream.

This time, let me start over.

Maybe I can pick up what I have lost, maybe I can remember who I am.

I won't talk about what has happened to me in the past. It is not because I already forgot it. I just hope this is a fresh start for myself.
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