First proper taste of #NinjaBeer - super dry, extra touch of sugar and lemon required. Very drinkable nonetheless #food

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Perfect combination to kick off Sunday. #pancakes #food

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Boom! And the cup-muffins are outta the heat. need to cool before icing #food

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Our #carrot #megamuffins about to hit the oven. Recipe on blog soon. #food

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It's not all about eating - been working on this badboy #planter made out of eucalyptus #food #growing

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#eggyBread the #breakfast of champions #food

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You looking at me? You looking at me? Huh? - err, no mr tomato. #beefTomato #food #Hipstamatic #Loftus #DC

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Noodley goodness midway progress #food #Hipstamatic #Loftus #DC

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First Contact - first tasting of the #brew after 4 days bottling. Look at the pic with 2001space odyssey music playing in your kind :) #food

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Ok, so this time had finally come - and yes, i have been a touch impatient (only waiting 4 days - i mean what was i thinking ;) ). I stepped into the understairs cupboard and plucked out a lucky contender for the first sampling of the mighty brew. Felt like something out of Toy Story with the mighty claw coming to whisk away one lucky bottle.

Headed into the garden (yes, i actually managed to go outside as the 40 days and nights of rain had finally left us). And cracked the virgin cap and poured out the liquidy amber goodness.

I will stop being emphatic now - it had a nice fizz, good aroma, still a touch cloudy, slight bitter aftertaste but not unpleasant by any means (but i guess that's why its called ale/bitter). First impressions were rather good. Easily quaffable without feeling you are forcing down sprouts. Which was my last memory of homebrew.

Here's a vid of the first tastings

Will wait another week and a half before the next taster session.

Recipe: Speedy Ramen Noodles!

Ok, this is probably one of the easiest recipes for my speedy Ramen. A bonafide hit in our house for all ages. Succulent meat on a tangy soup with lashings of noodley goodness.

What you need:

Serves 2 - 3

Time: 15 mins

• Stock (made from 2 oxo or posh knorr pot, 2 pints water, 2 carrots, 1-2 leeks finely chopped, good finger of ginger chopped - all boiled for 15 minutes)
• Chicken breasts (1 per person)
• Sweetcorn (tinned)
• chilli (optional)
• lime
• coriander
• noodles (medium/thin egg noodles)
• pak choi (or spinach)

Method

1. Get the stock on the go as soon as you can. Throw everything in the pot and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
2. Whilst this is boiling, get the chicken on a griddle pan.
3. Brown with side then put foil over the pan with a splash of water just before (careful of the steam)
4. Whilst chicken cooking, boil noodles as per pack instructions (1.5 sheets per person)
5. Once noodles cooked, rinse thoroughly under cold water and put to side
6. When chicken cooked through, place on tray to rest (covered with foil)
7. Place pak choi on griddle (chopped in half) (if using spinach leaves, no cooking required - place washed leaves in bowl)
8. Once stock simmered, strain through sieve into new pan
9. Add noodles to stock to warm through over heat
10. Get bowls out
11. Add noodles to each bowl
12. Place in pak choi 
13. Sprinkle corn over
14. Ladel soup over til noodles covered
15. Place sliced chicken breast on top
16. Sprinkle coriander and chilli over
17. Place lime on each bowl for squeezing at the table

You are done! Enjoy!

Homebrew Label Design

As mentioned in an earlier post - one of the things that is great is the fact that you can design your own labels for any of your brews / foods etc. Its a surprisingly dark brew, and so have opted for a slightly dark-side name of '666 Brew - Dark Summer Ale'. I still have no idea what it is actually going to taste like.

Set myself a twenty minute challenge yesterday and came up with these two alternatives. Have decided to go for the simpler design in blue ... contrasted nicely against the red crown caps.

See what you think. Comments welcome.

design A

design B

Design A - in blue and applied to bottles