DIY在花園、廚房、木工室 DIY at Garden, Kitchen & Workshop
今次分享的內容計有：用一個花盆製作小池塘、廚房除味和防止螞蟻上樹的方法、第一次吃自己種植的割韭菜、自製防蝶網架、新買的木工工具，和咖喱魚蛋做法。
This post covers: a mini-pond I made from a planter, methods for removing kitchen odours and preventing ants from climbing up a tree, the first time eating home grown Garlic Chives, making my own butterfly net frame, my new woodworking tools, and making Curry Fish Balls.
1. 花園小池塘 Mini-pond
將一個花盆變成了小池塘，原意是引入野生生態環境進花園，帶來青蛙、蠑螈等動物來減少鼻涕蟲的數量。料不到當我凝視這個小池塘時，寧靜平和的感覺湧上心頭，不知不覺間，臉上綻放起微笑來。
I turned a planter into a charming mini-pond with the intention of inviting more wildlife into my garden and, potentially, diminishing the slug population by introducing frogs and newts. Little did I expect the tranquil sensation that washed over me as I gazed upon it. Without even realising it, a serene smile lit up my face in that very moment.
2. 咖喱魚蛋 Curry Fish Balls
有香港朋友的聚會，咖喱魚蛋是很受歡迎的菜色。我混合咖喱醬、沙爹醬、沙茶醬三種醬料，做出多層次的味道，醬料和魚蛋是在中式超市買的，豬皮和蘿蔔則在本地超市買得到。夏天不是蘿蔔當造的季節，皮很粗糙多根，結果去皮後，剩下很少份量！
At gatherings with my Hong Kong friends, Curry Fish Balls is a highly popular dish. I created my own sauce recipe by mixing curry sauce and two kinds of satay sauce to achieve a multi-layered flavour. I bought those sauces and the fish balls from a Chinese supermarket, while the pork rinds and mooli were bought at local supermarkets. Since it is not the prime season for moolis, they have rough skins. After peeling away those thick skins, only a small amount of mooli was left!
3. 廚房除味 Kitchen Odour Removal
每次煮飯後點一枝蠟燭，可以把空氣中有氣味的粒子燃燒，去除氣味。這個做法在英國屋子、抽油煙機力度甚弱的環境下，特別有需要。
After cooking, lighting a candle can help burn off odour-causing particles in the air, effectively eliminating smells. This practice is particularly useful in UK houses as the power of the hoods is usually rather limited.
4. 防止螞蟻上樹 Preventing Ants from Climbing Trees
花園有棵樹生病了，樹幹上不斷有螞蟻爬上爬落。在找到專業人士來幫忙前，我先採取一些方法截住螞蟻，比如用蒼蠅紙圍著樹幹斷截斷螞蟻的路徑，以及利用咖啡渣的氣味驅逐螞蟻。擺好陣後，突然覺得這個格局就像一個部族的儀式，族人圍著樹幹保護它。
A tree in the garden has fallen ill, and ants keep crawling on its trunk. Before finding professional help, I took some measures to deal with the ants, such as wrapping fly paper on the tree trunk to block their path and using the scent of coffee grounds to drive them away. After setting these up, I realised that the arrangement resembled a tribal ritual, with tribe members surrounding the tree to protect it.
5. 割韭菜 Harvesting Garlic Chives
去年種不成韭菜，因種子質素不夠高。今年發了兩次種子才終於成功。種了三個月，第一次收成，只有一小束，但足以用來做普寧豆腐那韭菜鹽水。韭菜的氣味十分濃郁。這是移民英國兩年來首次吃韭菜呢！
Last year’s cultivation of Garlic Chives was unsuccessful because the quality of the seeds was not good. This year, I tried germinating seeds twice and only succeeded the second time. Three months after sowing the seed, I had my first harvest. There was only a small bundle, but good enough to make the Garlic Chlives Brine for Po Ning Tofu. The flavour of the Garlic Chives was incredibly rich; and it was the first time I had Garlic Chives since moving to the UK two years ago!
6. 自製防蝶網架 DIY Butterfly Net Frame
去年首次有自己的花園，什麼也不懂。有天看見蝴蝶在芥蘭附近翩翩起舞，覺得很美很浪漫。然後，芥蘭的葉片漸漸出現很多洞，翻轉過來才知道原來蝴蝶產了卵，孵出一大堆毛蟲，在吃掉我的心血！今年做了這個網架，防止蝴蝶侵略我的農作物！
Last year was the first year I had my own garden and I had little knowledge about gardening. One day, I saw butterflies dancing near the Kai Lan I was growing and I found it so beautiful and romantic. Soon after, the leaves of the plant started to develop holes. When I turned them over, I discovered that the butterflies had laid eggs, which hatched into a bunch of caterpillars, devouring all my crops! This year, I built this net frame to prevent butterflies from invading my crops!
7. 新木工工具 New Woodworking Tools
想買了一段時間的兩件工具，最近summer sales加Amazon Prime Day，終於忍不住手！
Been wanting to buy these tools for a while. With the recent summer sales and Amazon Prime Day, I couldn’t resist anymore and finally made the purchase!
