望穿春水

終於停雨！落咗個幾禮拜，西班牙各大小水塘存水量都差不多或已經到頂，係時候好天勒！小麻煩又坐返落草地晒太陽，係真正回暖嘅指標哩 :)

亦都係我要做勤勞除／剪草小工蜂嘅時侯～

野蘭野蘭我愛您之二

尋日朝早帶麻煩去潟湖「晨運」，順便勘察其他地生蘭生長情況，不過依然未有 Orchis collina 以外嘅蹤影～ 老公知我渴望賞蘭，於是提議向 El Burgo 出發，沿途我都打醒精神，睇到有疑似蘭嘅物體或可能適合地生蘭生長嘅地段，我都叫停落車，展開「地毡式搜索」.... 雖然天陰有雨，能夠見到兩種之前未見過嘅品種，心情實在興奮！

Orchis olbiensis, 上年晌 El Torcal 附近已經見過

Ophrys picta, 屬於蜂蘭 scolopax 組別，第一次見！！！之前見過呢組內另一品種

估係 Ophrys lupercalis，屬於蜂蘭 fusca 組別，第一次見！！！眾多不同 dark bee orchid 品種實在分別細微，我並非專家，認錯機會好大！

呢個週末因為天災人亡關係，氣氛不免沉重，藉著欣賞大自然嘅美麗與巧妙，希望心情得以舒緩一下！

Ophrys 蜂蘭嘅少少介紹（節錄自維基百科）
Orchids of the genus Ophrys use sexual deception to attract pollinators to their flowers. In sexual deception, an orchid attracts male pollinators by producing the sex pheromone of virgin female pollinators in addition to providing visual and tactile cues. These signals stimulate mating behavior in the male pollinators, which then attempt copulation, called “pseudocopulation”, with the orchid labellum. During pseudocopulation, pollen from the flower’s column becomes attached to some part of the pollinator, usually the head or abdomen, and the pollinator inadvertently carries and transfers this pollen to other flowers when they are once again enticed into pseudocopulation. While the morphological cues such as the shape and texture of the labellum play a role especially at close range in inducing the pollinator mating behavior, the orchid’s pheromone mimic, or allomone, has been shown to play the most important role in enticing the pollinators to the flower.

The allomone produced by an orchid is specific for its pollinator, of which it usually only has one. The allomone is a mixture of alkenes and alkanes. There are one or more active species in this mixture that account for the attraction of pollinators. Pollinators and orchids use the same chemical compounds in the same absolute amounts in their pheromones and allomones, respectively.

 The Bumblebee Orchid (Ophrys bombyliflora) is a typical example. It has flowers that look and smell so much like female bumblebees that males flying nearby are irresistibly drawn in by this chemical signal, stimulating them sexually. The insect gets so excited that he starts to copulate with the flower. The firmness, the smoothness and the velvety hairs of the lip are a further incentive for the insect to enter the flower. The pollinia inadvertently stick to the head or the abdomen of the male bumblebee. On visiting another orchid of the same species, the bumblebee pollinates its sticky stigma with the pollinia. The filaments of the pollinia have, during transport, taken such a position that the waxy pollen are able to stick to the stigma. Such is the refinement of the reproduction. If the filaments hadn’t taken the new position, the pollinia could not have pollinated the new orchid.

Every Ophrys orchid has its own pollinator insect and is completely dependent on this species for its survival. Furthermore, duped males are not likely to return. They even ignore other plants of the same species. Therefore, only about 10% of an Ophrys population gets pollinated. This is enough to preserve the population, since each Ophrys orchid produces about 12,000 minute seeds.

那天再重聚

上年尾嘅香港行內，包含咗一個我期待咗一年嘅聚會－12/18 中學母校舊生大團聚－呢個活動之所以能夠「誕生」，臉書可謂功不可沒！

我嘅中學母校已經晌 1994 年結束，佢係跟隨香港學齡兒童人口轉型嘅產物：1977年9月，一間六層官小校舍，五層係小學生用，而第六層就係三班中一用；我係1979年入讀，第三屆，當時已經再無小學生嘞；1984年我中五畢業，而母校亦係第一年同另一間應該都係官小變官中嘅學校合辦預科班，不過母校係辦理科，我地文科三班嘅同學（除咗重讀中五嘅），都一定要同母校講拜拜；至1994年母校終於難逃「殺校」命運，初期好似改為教育局 office，而家又改返成小學。好一個循環！

自己由畢業後同大約十多個舊同學一直有聯絡，隨住年月同人海飄流，從最初一年兩次十三、四人嘅活動至近年最多四、五人一年一聚.....不過仍要感恩擁有廿多年嘅友誼。

2009年中晌臉書嘅 group 功能內用母校嘅名去搜尋，竟然已經有校友開咗個舊生 group，我當然立即加入，而且短時間內仲「重遇」幾個同級嘅同學。或者因為母校已經不再存在，我地返而對佢更加懷念，呢個 alumni FB group 有五百幾成員，係母校歷年學生總人數差不多三分一。而2009年尾終於有校友發起攪個 mega reunion，大家利用臉書作為號召聯絡人手嘅平台，之後 organising committe 成立、開會、策劃、各種行動，臉書理所當然地成為分享資訊、相片、進度嘅工具之一。

2010-12-18 我終於見到唔少廿多年無見嘅面孔，興奮之情今日仍然歷歷在目！

清菜+粗飯+柱侯豬軟骨

最近兩星期嘅 weekdays 多數係「獨居」，煮食自然完全只需要啱我口味，好爽！我係非常追捧每天「五色」蔬果飲食嘅人，亦盡量少食高升糖指數嘅澱粉類。

近年自己已經無咗失驚無神掛住港式食物嘅情況，亦無刻意晌居處同埋周邊城市找尋中式食材醬料嘅商舖，當然，路過碰到的話，價錢合理亦會購買 :)

上年尾回港臨走前兩日，貢入灣仔橫街一間蚊型超市作最後「衝刺」，當然有所斬獲。當時一心要買蒜蓉辣椒醬，咁啱柱候醬晌隔籬，於是買咗人生第一罌柱候醬！而開齋菜式係跟阿銀嘅麵醬柱侯豬軟骨..... 我無麵豉醬而阿銀提議我用日本dark miso，不過我亦無 dark miso，所以索性落多些少柱候醬算數；雖然味道層次無咁豐富，我已經心足，好味！

西班牙第一包

實在好耐冇整包，起碼兩年！近呢兩個月另一半斷斷續續哦我話想食自家包...... 趁住天氣開始回暖，順應「民意」整咗提子包。因為我唔食提子乾，咗一忽出嚟唔落。

新鮮出爐.....

無得話我落得唔夠多提子乾嘞啩！

小嘟咀

呢個係我嘅姨甥女，而家佢已經讀中三，高過我.....

細個嗰時佢係非常跟我，因為我同我家姐住得好近（步行兩分鐘），我一有時間就會過去同佢玩同佢一齊睇書，佢好鍾意聽我講古仔，同一故事百聽不厭......

上年12月返香港時我同佢一齊整 tiramisu，好多步驟係我講佢做，頭頭是道喎！又見過佢晌街度照顧細佢三年嘅眼瞓細佬..... 同三姨（我細妹）蹺住手一齊行街..... 英文會話水準好好同 uncle B 對答如流兼唔會怕醜..... 佢真係大個女勒！

我不嬲都覺得唔少父母（一廂情願地）認為自己嘅兒女聰明好樣可愛，不過呢次我自己都難免此弊，覺得自己個（姨甥）女小時了了，大果然佳！

野米撈

基本「飯底」係四分三速食米 (parboiled rice)、四分一野米..... 再加烚熟短度四季豆、baby carrot、baby 蠔菇、火腿粒粒......

晌歐洲好多唔同牌子呢類分好份量嘅「袋裝米」賣，用個煲加水就煮到。當然啲米同一般香港人鍾意食嘅質感好唔同又冇「飯味」。我其實麻麻地鍾意食黏性大嘅飯，有咬口粒粒分明嘅比較啱我，所以呢款我覺得唔錯，纖維又多喎！

野蘭野蘭我愛您之一

今季跑出第一名野生地生蘭 Orchis collina, Fan-lipped orchid

上年晌相同地點都見過佢，不過係遲少少。

味之謎

曾幾何時西多士被我認定為美食..... 應該係十歲上下..... 今時今日再食，已經不再有當日嘅雀躍～

最美最好嘅，唔通只有在回憶中？

Sabor de antes 古早風味！當真？

又係我貪新鮮..... 上星期晌「嘉落幅」見到佢，冇「奶油」唔試下......

上面係我烘焙時常用嘅冇鹽牛油......

古早味新嘢都係冇鹽，等我整下包先得～

My most diligent backyard guardian

Too many good food choices, too little time and capacity....

Before we left for HK, I had an ambitious plan to eat as much good Chinese food as I could. Well..... it turned out that we tried out some good restaurants but it's far far away from my target set beforehand. I got constant stomach ache during my last week there (will be explained in another blog entry) and I simply could not eat much, in fact, I did not have much appetite. One of the remarkable things was, Bart had managed to have some kind of mango desserts almost everyday. He definitely is crazy about mangoes and my elder sister bought him some fresh mangoes to bring home.

Totally not my cup of tea or coffee

Well, HK style Milk Tea has never been my favorite. I was a 'Hot Black Tea w/Lemon Slices' person when I lived in HK. A change of heart after I moved to Europe and I became a coffee person. My daily breakfast has been a cup of cappuccino for many years.

This time in HK, I tried to have some other breakfast options most of the time but I could not help to have cappuccino from time to time..... Big big disappointment.... We tried Delifrance, Starbucks, Pacific Coffee as well as Habitu and they all sell 'goldfish bowl' size cappuccino. That was not the worst part..... They simply give too little coffee and too much milk. I talked to the guy behind the counter in Habitu Wanchai Gloucester Road branch and he told me the truth, majority of their customers prefer that kind of size and taste. I wonder, where can I get a decent cappuccino as it should be in HK if I do not want to go to a hotel? And would I really get a 'real' cappuccino in a hotel?

p.s. My writing pad is not functioning well with Windows 7.0...... Probably I have to buy a new one.... sigh......

鴉瓜

嚟咗歐洲十年幾，一路都係飲瓶裝水，無他，我覺得水喉水好大陣味！一般歐洲嘅瓶水多數係「礦泉水」﹔蒸餾水（無試過飲唔飲得）係用嚟放入熨斗、車嘅水箱、增濕機.....等等度用。

我哋住呢區晌西班牙至硬水區之內，因此我哋裝咗一個  limescale prevention device 晌主喉，減低家電如熱水爐、洗衣機、洗碗碟機...... 內部喉管因硬水加熱後引致 limescale 積聚而壞機嘅可能。幫我裝呢個東東嘅英國佬 David 都係住晌呢個小區，賣花梗要讚花香喇：佢就咁飲水喉水兼且佢屋企電水壺因此唔需要常常 descale。其實個 device 係軟化唔晒啲「硬嘢」嘅，因為我仍然要久不久 descale 電熱水壺、espresso 機、同熨斗、洗衫時仍有落 Calgon（一半建議份量）、洗碗碟機都係用 Calgon tablets....... 不過我都係無直接飲水喉水........

直至四個月前，我發覺飲瓶裝水實在製造太多膠垃圾！（都製造咗十年多）於是....... 我晌 hypermarket 買咗個 Brita 濾水壺...... 我同麻煩開始飲水喉水嘞～ 而我煲水沖茶、整咖啡同熨衫都係用 Brita 濾咗嘅水..... 經過雙重處理，真係無乜 limescale buildup，至少我都幾個月唔駛 descale。而因飲水而製造嘅膠垃圾亦減少至一個月一個濾芯，自己都覺得無咁對唔住地球先生～

¿翻撻抽濕機?

地中海氣侯：夏季乾煎；冬季濕寒～夏天有需要勤力的話，一日洗三轉啲衫都乾！ 冬天哩..... 放屋外的話，可能四日之後摸上手都仲覺得係濕嘅..... 唔通要重溫十幾年前晌香港：成 rack 衫隊入房開行抽濕機？No, no, no, please.......

一個要經常出差嘅男人嘅卑微老婆嘅自私聖誕願望：拜託今年唔好似上年咁連續落多日雨！要落就落一日勁嘅之後一日好天吖！唔該！

Panna Cotta

曾經係我家「例甜」...... 不過某人實在太鍾意食呢啲35% fat 以上嘅甜品而個米芝蓮只漲不消（係荷包就正極），而家唔可以咁常整！
p.s. 砂糖 & dark rum 怕醜冇入鏡 ;)

再來Ø12cm

可能受節慶消費魔音催眠，無喇喇買個只夠煎一隻蛋嘅 pan 仔，要搵日剪彩開齋先得～不過都應該係2011年嘅事嚕.....

檳Brunch

身痕試下「粉紅香檳」

泡泡泡泡泡........


食哩....Iberico pork sausages、bacon toast、chanterelle and chive omelette on ham and cheese toast

雞飯侍候

連續兩次食完兔肉之後果日肚仔都唔老黎，唔通係 Revenge of the Rabbit?

p.s. 雞皮影完相後被執走～

我愛迷您模

買咗個 Ø 12cm springform cake tin，至啱整二人份一次「清袋」！

又係芝士凍餅，呵呵..... 材料簡單又容易嘛！不過今次分兩日食，少食真滋味 :D