by Fern Shaw | Mar 9, 2015 | Water
I cannot, for the life of me, when I think of the word Wasabi, say it as it’s written. I always martial-art-movie the pronunciation. And I do mean always. Say it with me now,’Wa-saaaaaabi!’
I have wondered whether wasabi was a chilli, pepper or mustard, but apparently it’s a horseradish. According to Wiki:
Wasabi is a plant member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbage, horseradish, and mustard. It is also called Japanese horseradish, although horseradish is a different plant (which is often used as a substitute for wasabi). Its stem is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong pungency. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard than that of the capsaicin in a chilli pepper, producing vapours that stimulate the nasal passages more than the tongue. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are E. japonicum ‘Daruma’ and ‘Mazuma’, but there are many others.
So, that’s clarified then. I did always wonder, as I’m okay with a little bit of bite – chilli wise – but I far more appreciate flavour over my digestive tract screaming like a girl and up and running away in fear when I eat something hot.
This is why I’m not so great with is hot mustard. It’s also where I fall spectacularly short in the stiff upper lip category of having the de rigeur hot English mustard with my rare roast beef.
Horseradish I can still do, but the glaring yellow of HEM, no. (The colour alone should be sufficient warning that your mouth will qualify for its very own ‘scorched earth’ tag.)
Then in wanders Wa-saaaaaabi! with its deceptively fresh, pastel-green colour that says, ’Hot, me? Naah, I’m all spring time meadows and buttercups – perfectly harmless.’
Blithely unaware, you mix a blob in with your soy sauce or you (‘you’ being the crazy, no taste-buds at ALL daredevils) smear it commando style onto your sushi and pop a piece into your mouth. Then the fire engine alarms start clanging, your nose receptors scream for mercy and your throat clamps shut.
I read recently that more often than not we’re not really eating real wasabi, and that the real deal isn’t even that hot. Also, the heat from real fresh wasabi, when grated, doesn’t last for more than about 15 minutes.
Genuine wasabi is pretty expensive – apparently a lot of it that we eat is a mixture of dyed mustard and horseradish root – which would explain a lot.
Whatever I’m ingesting, I’ve learnt to keep a jug of water on the table whenever Ojiisan Wasabi is paying a visit. Oh, and I think the winter warmer trick here is obvious. If you eat enough of the stuff, it’ll keep your head warm, your nasal passages clear and your brain all on fire like nobody’s business – you certainly won’t notice the cold.
by Fern Shaw | Mar 9, 2015 | Water
Some days, it’s all about wishing for warmer weather, sun peeking out, birds tweeting and other days, you just go with the chill. Today is one of those days.
I’ve always had a fascination with formation of snowflakes – to the point where I wished I could carry a microscope around with me so I could zoom in on their beautiful shapes. That didn’t happen, so this is the next best bet on uncovering the mystery.
*A snowflake has three basic ingredients: ice crystals, water vapour and dust. The ice crystals form as water vapour freezes on a bit of microscopic dust.
Scientists estimate the chances of two snowflakes being exactly alike are about 1 in 1 million trillion. Meteorologists think that there are 1 trillion, trillion, trillion different types of snowflakes.
The dust particles can come from many different places, including flower pollen, volcanic ash, and even celestial bodies such as meteors.
Snow forms in very cold clouds containing water droplets and ice crystals. As water droplets attach themselves to ice crystals, they freeze, creating an even larger ice crystal.
In any crystal, molecules line up in a pattern. In ice crystals, water molecules line up and form a hexagon. This is why all snowflakes are six-sided.
The temperature of the cloud it forms in determines the shape of an ice crystal. Likewise, the amount of moisture in the cloud determines the size of the ice crystal.
More moisture will create a bigger crystal. When several ice crystals stick together, they form a snowflake.
As snowflakes tumble through the air, swirling and spiralling, they each take a different path to the ground. Each snowflake falls and floats through clouds with different temperatures and moisture levels, which shapes each snowflake in a unique way.
Even though two snowflakes may form in the same cloud, their different journeys to the ground will affect their shape and size, giving each snowflake its own unique identity.
Now you know. Or perhaps you knew already, but now you know more? Anyhow, while you’re still trudging through the slush, hopefully this’ll give you something to appreciate about the magical snowflake.
*extracts from an article at Erepolis.org
by Fern Shaw | Nov 21, 2014 | Water
“Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water; she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.”
~ Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) Canticle of the Sun circa 1225.
I think I’ve detailed about how all-encompassing water is, whether it’s in our daily lives, daily usage and the fact that water surrounds us.
As we’re coming up for Halloween, a favourite celebration of mine and also, my colleague, Belinda – as she details in her Halloween blog, it occurred to me that throughout the world, and irrespective of one’s religious or spiritual belief, water plays such a huge part in so many rituals or traditions.
In Buddhism, water features in Buddhist funerals where water is poured into a bowl placed before the monks and the dead body. As it fills and pours over the edge, the monks recite, “As the rains fill the rivers and overflow into the ocean, so likewise may what is given here reach the departed.”
Water has an enormous significance in Christianity. Almost all Christian churches or sects have an initiation ritual involving the use of water. Baptism has its origins in the symbolism of the Israelites being led by Moses out of slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea and from the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan. After Jesus’ resurrection he commanded his disciples to baptise in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The use of water other than for baptism goes back to the 4th century in the East and the 5th century in the West. The custom of sprinkling people with water at mass began in the 9th century.
Water in Hinduism has a special place because it is believed to have spiritually cleansing powers. To Hindus all water is sacred, especially rivers, and there are seven sacred rivers. For Hindus, morning cleansing with water is a basic obligation.
In Islam water is important for cleansing and purifying. Muslims must be ritually pure before approaching God in prayer. Some mosques have a courtyard with a pool of clear water in the centre, but in most mosques the ablutions are found outside the walls.
In Judaism ritual washing is intended to restore or maintain a state of ritual purity and its origins can be found in the Torah. These ablutions can be washing the hands, the hands and the feet, or total immersion which must done in ‘living water’, i.e. the sea, a river, a spring or in a mikveh.
Shinto is Japan’s indigenous religion and is based on the veneration of the kami – the innumerable deities believed to inhabit mountains, trees, rocks, springs and other natural phenomenon. Worship of kamis, whether public or private, always begins with the all-important act of purification with water.
So, water truly is all encompassing in every aspect of our lives, from the physical through to the spiritual.
by Fern Shaw | Nov 21, 2014 | Water
I’ve had a look at a number of NASA astronauts in space clips and my favourites are always those when you see water globules floating around. The only astronaut sequence that doesn’t involve some inanimate object floating around that I enjoy has to be when Howie (Big Bang Theory) goes into space. Of course it’s all totally over the top, but I have a feeling that space travel / habitation for an extended period of time is actually more like that than all the edited stuff we get to see – astronauts having a barney with their families back home; weird idiosyncrasies coming out. I mean, think about all the weird you get to see and experience when you’re on a long haul flight – whacko passengers performing like toddlers because they’re cooped up for ᵡ amount of time.
Again, I digress. Stick to the topic at hand, Shaw! *kof* …
Why is it that water globs in space?
While researching the topic I learnt something new, again – marvellous, marvellous, marvellous and this is what it is:
Water floats inside a space not because there isn’t gravity (because apparently there is always gravity) but because when they are in orbit, they are actually falling (as is the ship), so everything else is falling too hence the floating food and liquids.
As you probably know, the Earth is curved and thanks to this, that’s where the magic really begins! You, your spaceship and everything inside it might all be falling towards the Earth, but because it is curved and you’re moving in a quick sideways movement in orbit, such that our planet is continually curving away, you never really reach the surface so start floating around instead.
So, although it’s unlikely you can you take your water cooler with you, if you were able to, and it wasn’t bolted down, you could probably pick the whole cooler up with one hand because of the weightlessness you would experience. If you could get it past Mrs. Furtheringstoke that is. Netticasinot Online :: kasinopelitfi
by Fern Shaw | Nov 21, 2014 | Water
We should all know by now that keeping hydrated is one of the givens whilst travelling – it really is one of the simplest ways to combat fatigue, puffiness (everywhere where it shouldn’t be), jet lag and generally feeling like you’ve partied with a roving band of Muscovites who’ve just been given furlough from their time in the Gulag.
But, as it happens, especially on those long haul trips, drinking sufficient water can often be the last thing on a traveller’s mind, as fatigue that stems from jet lag can take your common sense and twist it to the point that you can find yourself incapable of stringing together a legible sentence never mind remembering the R, K and E’s of healthy travel.
I myself have whigged out on occasion whilst in the air. An incident that I remember in particular was after almost 3 days of air travel with a crushing 6 hour layover in Dubai. I had very little money in the airport of bling and a pot of tea cost about £10. That was pretty much my only sustenance over the already 2 days of travel, so stretching the tea for 6 hours was asking a bit much.
By the time I landed at home I still had a final leg to do. The wonderful ground crew wouldn’t let me check-in early. Exhausted, grubby and with zero sense of humour, when I finally boarded the plane that was half empty, I was squished in next to 2 people and my claustrophobia rose to the surface kick-starting a panic attack of note. I barely managed to keep it together during take-off, then launched myself across my neighbours into the aisle and flung myself into an open row of seats further back, gasping like a guppy out of water, flight attendants peering at me all the while. All of this was done with much drama, drama, drama, but I was past caring.
I suppose that there are certain elements of modern travel that we just have to accept. This is something that I normally do with general aplomb. I Richard Scarry with the best of them; I’ve come up with ways to pretzel twist my rather long body so that I can get a bit of shut-eye (feet HAVE to be off the ground for me to sleep – I’m make a really poor soldier) but sooner or later (usually later) there’s a sense of humour failure that no amount of chugging water can prevent.
So, take it from me – rather drink your water as you should during the course of your travels and possibly avoid turning into that throw the toys out toddler that so many grown ‘uns seem to turn into – again, me being the case in point.
