從種菜、抹窗談到試硬水 Grow Vegetables, Clean Windows, Test Hard Water
今期的DIY故事包括：自製羅勒青醬、種蕃薯葉、芥菜替代品、抹窗小貼士、平底鑊儲存法、雞翼醃料、水軟硬度測試。想了解內容，請到這裏。
Come here to read about my stories about making homemade pesto, growing purple potatoes, finding a substitute for Mustard Greens, cleaning window, organising pans in a drawer, making a yummy chicken wings marinade, and doing a water softness test.
1. 自製羅勒青醬 Homemade Pesto
從超市買回來的羅勒，分株後，越種越茂密。最近有見天氣日漸變冷，豐收期漸結束，便收割下來做青醬，留著慢慢吃，把夏天的豐收延續至秋冬。
The basil plant I bought from the supermarket has flourished after propagation. As the weather gradually turns cooler lately, the prime season for growing basil is gradually coming to an end. Thus I harvested them and made some pesto to enjoy later.
2. 種蕃薯葉得紫薯 Growing Sweet Potatoes
五月中旬從Suttons買來蕃薯苗，本來只打算吃葉，所以種植得比較密。不料幾個月下來，還是長出了紫心蕃薯！
I bought some sweet potato seedlings from Suttons and planted them in mid-May. My intention was to consume the leaves instead of the roots so I planted them quite close together. This week I delightfully found that some purple sweet potatoes did emerge!
3. 芥菜替代品 Substitute for Mustard Greens
看了梁芷靈的短片介紹用這個菜來代替春菜，我想，不如試試用它來做「芥菜」鹹蛋豆腐湯。結果雖然它的味道跟芥菜不同，但湯還是挺好喝的。最重要的是，這個菜用來炒或灼都太粗糙，用來煲湯則一流。在英國，葉菜選擇有限，這個「芥菜」提供了多一個選項。
Inspired by a video by BackpaCooking who used the Greens to substitute a kind of Chinese vegetable, I made this ‘Mustard Greens’, Salted Egg and Tofu Soup, using the Greens to replace Mustard Greens. Though the flavour of this vegetable differs from Mustard Greens, the soup is still delicious. This Greens isn’t ideal for stir-frying or blanching due to its coarse texture, but it works perfectly for soups. In the UK, leafy greens options are limited, and this ‘Mustard Green’ is a nice addition to the range of vegetables we can enjoy.
4. 抹窗小貼士 A Tip for Cleaning Windows
以前在香港住高樓大廈，抹窗要抹外面非常困難。在英國住house，樓下的窗可以跑出屋外抹，樓上的，窗框有這個掣（紫色那個），可以用來調教窗口的位置，推開後空隙加闊，伸手出去抹，非常方便！
In the past, when I lived in high-risers in Hong Kong, it was a very difficult to clean the outside of windows. Now, living in a house in the UK, I can easily clean the downstairs windows by standing outside the house. For the upstairs windows, there’s a button (the purple one in the picture) that I can use to adjust the position of the window, pushing open a wider gap so I can reach out and clean the outside.
5. 平底鑊儲存法 Organising Pans in a Drawer
這樣打直放置櫃桶裏面的鑊，既省位置又容易拿取。
Arranging pans inside the cupboard vertically not only saves space but also makes it easy to take them out.
6. 美味雞翼醃料 Yummy Chicken Wing Marinade
按著「職人吹水」這個炸雞髀食譜來醃制雞翼，然後半煎炸，好好味啊！ 調味料有：甘筍、洋蔥、西芹、紅椒、香葉、八角、黑胡椒粒、薑、蒜頭、乾葱、生抽、紹酒、蠔油、沙糖。材料那麼豐富，很難不好吃吧？
I marinated some chicken wings using the method in this Fried Chicken Leg recipe by Sing Sing Kitchen. Then I pan fried them. The result? Absolutely delicious! The ingredients in the marinate include: carrots, onions, celery, red peppers, bay leaves, star anise, black peppercorns, ginger, garlic, shallots, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, and sugar. With such a rich variety of ingredients, it’s hard not to make something delicious, isn’t it?
7. 測試水的軟硬度 Testing the Hardness of Water
很好奇家裡的硬水軟化器和濾水壺，把硬水變軟的作用到底有多大，於是買了些試紙來測試。花園水喉、廚房水喉的水沒經過軟化，是最硬的；廁所的水喉水經過硬水軟化器處理，差不多等同雨水的軟硬度。Brita濾水壺的效果也不相伯仲。
I was curious about the effectiveness of the water softener and the water filter jug in softening hard water. So I bought some test strips to find it out. The results are shown in this picture. The water from the garden tap and kitchen tap, without any softening, is the hardest. The water from the taps in the toilet, processed by the water softener, were of a softness close to rainwater. The Brita water jug was doing a comparable job.
