#this in various flavour profiles is something i keep coming back to

[hellkitepriest]

i think The Dynamic Ever is guy with a deep-seated humiliation kink x guy with absolutely zero fucking shame

[eldritchsurveys]

1057.

made by @bitterstardust

1. Have you ever played a Scene It game? What did you think about it? Are you interested in trivia games at all? >> I’ve never played that. I’m not really interested in trivia games, mostly because it’s not an area I’m adept in.

2. Are you skilled in programs like Photoshop or do you find them difficult to comprehend? What is something you have made using such a program, if anything? >> I used to be, because I was actively using PS to make elaborate themes for my Vampirefreaks profiles and user-run forums, and in later years I would use it to make gifs. I haven’t used it in years now, though, and I’m sure it’s changed since the last time I used it.

3. Do you decorate your house outdoors for any holidays? >> We don’t live in a house. 4. Tell me a story about something that a relative / your family has done that might cause someone to think you have a dysfunctional family: >> I was subject to various forms of abuse, abandonment, and neglect by various members of my family, so... I think “dysfunctional” is the best way to describe them.

5. What sort of photographs make you the most emotional, & what kind of emotion do you feel when you see these particular photos? >> I’m not sure.

6. How often do you find yourself dwelling on the past? What is the hardest thing to let go of from your past? >> Relatively often, as a person with CPTSD...

7. Do most of your family / friends refer to you by the same name, or do you have multiple nicknames from different people? Does it ever become confusing? >> Most of the people who call be my name just use my legal name. A couple of people on tumblr still call me “Rev”. Even when I actively had more people calling me by different names, it wasn’t confusing. Everyone knows I have multiple names. It’s not that weird of a thing amongst people I know anyway.

8. If you were to take a movie trivia test, which movie would you know the most about? >> I’m not sure. My memory for that sort of thing is unpredictable.

9. Are you always logged onto [insert preferred social networking site here], even when you are away or asleep? Do you ever get messages from people that become aggravated from your lack of responses? >> Well, I mean... the browser keeps me logged in so I don’t have to enter my credentials every single time I awaken my computer? But if I’m not actively on the website at the moment, I don’t consider myself “logged in”.

10. Is there a spot in your house / room where you plop down all of your stuff when you get home, or do you put everything away promptly? >> No, I just put my stuff where it belongs. I don’t have a whole lot to keep track of, so it’s not a big hassle. It’d be a bigger hassle for me to have stuff out of place.

11. What would you consider your favorite bird, if any? Would you ever consider [if you don’t already] owning a bird as a pet? >> Crows and ravens are my favourite birds. I would not want to own one as a pet. I just want the crows that live around here to recognise me as crow-friend and eat my peanuts.

12. Of all of the animals that are available as pets in pet stores, which would you least likely consider having? >> All of them.

13. Would you be comfortable with your significant owning aforementioned animal, even if it made you uneasy? >> ---

14. Do you believe that you have a purpose in life? What do you think that purpose is, or have you not found it yet? >> I don’t consider life as a thing with “purpose”.

15. Would you consider surveys a hobby of yours, or just something you do every now & then when you are bored? >> I suppose it could be seen as a hobby. I’m not sure what makes something a hobby, though.

16. When was the last time you received a balloon as a gift, if ever? Can you recall what was on it? >> ---

17. Do you like to shop at dollar stores or do you consider their merchandise to be flimsy & well.. cheap? >> Depending on what you go to a dollar store for (and which dollar store it is), the merchandise is flimsy and cheaply-made. Dollar stores, in my experience, are great for food (if you’re not particular, which, unfortunately, I kind of am) and disposable things like party decorations + favours, paper towels, some toiletries, etc. Some dollar stores (Family Dollar is one, I think) are good for hygiene products because they’re just drugstore-brand stuff at a discount. Those chaotic mom-and-pop type dollar stores are great if you like kitsch, weird toys, or random cute knicknack type things. If you go to dollar stores enough, you figure out which ones are good for what things.

18. What has been the most money you have spent on a book? >> When I got one of my retroactive checks from Social Security, I bought a study Bible, a study Quran, and a Tanakh and I’m pretty sure those were the most expensive books I’ve bought.

19. Where do you go to get prescriptions filled? Or, if you don’t have prescription medication, what is the nearest pharmacy to your house? >> The nearest pharmacies are CVS (north of me) and Walgreens (east of me), which are both equidistant from me.

20. If someone dropped you off five miles from your home, would you know your way back without a map, or are you not very familiar with your location? >> Of course I’d know my way back, but I’d be hella fucking irritated that I’d have to walk that distance.

21. Are you dreading or looking forward to the coming cold temperatures? >> Dreading, of course. Seasonal depression is definitely a thing for me now. I’m basically solar-powered.

22. Do you know anyone that has such foul breath you can smell it when they are near you & talking? >> Thankfully not.

23. When it comes to hard candies, do you prefer sweet, fruity flavors or minty ones? >> Minty or some kind of licorice/anise type flavour.

24. Do you ever download fonts? What do you use them for? >> I used to, when I used Photoshop.

25. Is there anything on your computer that would upset your significant other if they discovered it. Or, if you don’t have one, is there anything that would upset your parents? >> I assume not.

[dansnaturepictures]

7 of my favourite pictures to take in the past week 

Old Winchester Hill view*

Silver-spotted Skipper butterfly at Old Winchester Hill**

Another Old Winchester Hill view***

Autumn leaves out the front****

Berries at Lakeside*****

One of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe feeding its chick at Lakeside******

Heart and dart moth in the living room*******

(In order of appearance in this photoset) 

I have to first say that the last week was perhaps my most packed with photos of all time. Between Sunday 9th and Saturday 15th August I took or as I like to call it produced as I take different versions of the same photo when out and keep the best or don’t keep ones that don’t work out and that in total 174 photographs, averaging 24.85 per day. Extraordinary for me on a week I worked albeit from home most of it as I do currently, but actually this probably makes it my highest yielding week of photos ever and its been heading that way for a while with how many I now take forward of my photos. This all made, if I wanted to, saying my favourite photo taken this week hard. If I quote or reply to one of my tweets with that photo for me in on my Twitter Dans_Pictures nowadays I have to have a theme to link it to of the week, this week beside the sheer amount taken there were too many; a week of moths, a week of insects/macro photography headlined by butterflies at the start, a week of increased bird photos for this time of year there was so many. So then I decided to do one of my picture context posts I sometimes do usually on a Sunday morning about my favourite photo from the week before saying what I liked about it, how it came about and any other relevant thoughts, but in truth whilst I had one photo particularly in mind there were lots of candidates without blowing my own trumpet of what I liked best. So I instead decided to bring seven together, so effectively meaning I had on average a real standout picture per day even if some of these were taken the same day to each other. Not to say the the others were poor days as there were so many I overlooked. And below about each, I say a little bit. 

*The week started in the midst of a heatwave at Old Winchester Hill in the South Downs where we had a stunning wildlife and landscape walk. We come once a year these days to see particular butterflies and they are there because the meadow and grass here are booming with colour and life. I just simply had to take landscapes and show what I was seeing on an incredible height-of-summer day, and I simply had to show you the vibrant meadows. And this picture does this for me which is why I like it. On Sunday I produced 40 pictures so instead of tweeting them all and clogging my profile 10 of them I included exclusively in my blog as I do in such common circumstances as this now and this one was tweeted so its the first time I’ve posted it on Tumblr, as is the case for photos **, *** and ******* in this post. 

**The photo I had in mind for the post. This was whilst not the only the main butterfly we went to this place to see and did getting it as a year tick. The visit was all about this butterfly, and it couldn’t have gone better for it. Within minutes in the rich grassland we spotted this small, subtle but clearly marked butterfly and were feeling incredible. I’d seen one before this one. And then attention quickly turned to getting a picture of it with my macro lens that I use for butterflies to get closeup. I had never photographed this butterfly what I would call really well in terms of my butterfly pictures so all I wanted was something, anything, picture wise to show what it was and allow me to remember it. I was in for a real treat as I saw this one landed and as I said in my blog about the trip a week ago tonight I took little safety shots snapping it from afar in case it as it very likely could flew off. Then I was in my element as I was standing right over the butterfly, but I felt I couldn’t really get down onto it nicely without my prominent shadow scaring it off. So on a hot day I just got down on the floor and eventually almost lied there giving me the ability to move myself in the right position to take photos and get really close up to it. A marvelous thing for me and my Mum to do on the hottest of days. And I really liked this image. With my new (as of January) macro lens what it is good for it gave me I felt that quality and detail of the butterfly so much so that I compared it to my spring Green Hairstreak photo at Magdalen Hill my best butterfly picture with this new macro lens so far and one of my best ever butterfly photos. But this one also played to my senses. I think the colour of the butterfly, markings as well as the way the sun is hitting it makes it to the eyes what a sweet drink such as apple juice (a coincidence that I am drinking this as I write) does for the taste buds. It just gives me a real ripe and celebration of life feeling. And for me this is an ultimate summer image in a sense, one of my best butterfly moments of the year.

***Another of my standout landscapes from a set I was so happy with from Old Winchester Hill. What struck me when there and when reflecting of what was one of my best days of the year for wildlife and photography this week was that Old Winchester Hill is one of the most beautiful places in Hampshire. It reminded me of thinking this in the early days of us visiting here from 2009 onwards I believe before we knew what butterflies it held. The meadows are brilliant but what I like about this image is it sums up this rural beauty spot aura of Old Winchester Hill for me because what makes it that is those stunning views afar over the South Downs. I think this image shows the varied aspects of that well, but also still features a bit of the meadows that adorn and support the life of this incredible place. 

****A big theme of this week also were the autumnal leaves and other autumnal characteristics at home and further afield mostly to the backdrop of the hot and very sunny weather. I just loved photographing this, and this Tuesday shot a tree turning autumnal out the front to the backdrop of the bright blue sky is my favourite such image. I just love the glow and flavour and light it shows and it makes me appreciate it and feel very pleasant. Its the multi-colour that makes it so the fact some leaves are still the summer green adds to it well. It reminds me very much of a picture I took of some autumn leaves in August 2013 at Bath that were up against a blue sky. One of my best ever images, one that when I used to pick photos of the week and year from my photos I named my colour, water and macro (What I would go onto refer to as my minority subjects) photo of the year. It was one of my first I think real great autumn leaves photos within my standard of photos and down the years I’ve taken more and more. But nothing ever matched it for me one with the aspect of it up against the blue sky with the sun shining right on it and two with so many different coloured leaves until this one on Tuesday which made it very satisfying to take. 

*****Berries have also been a big point of my autumn sightings, perhaps my most prominent year for noticing various berries from summer into autumn this year. And I’ll never forget photographing these on Wednesday and seeing them. As I walked into the woods south of the bowl area my eyes just sailed over to this bright, prominent red on the floor. I simply had to go over and take a look, and I was thrilled to see these berries on a low plant when I did. It was a divine shade of my favourite colour red. With my macro lens on I could not resist a photo of these berries and I was pleased with how this came out. One of my most unique and memorable pictures this year I feel. It came in a strong theme of red this week, as in a lovely Facebook photo group I’m in ‘A Moment in Time’ their theme this week was photos showing red and I loved putting this and others for the walk and this week as I photographed stuff accordingly almost in for it.

******As I said a week in the season where birds are of less variety and about less I saw and photographed an increasing amount which was very pleasing supporting all the other wildlife I saw. I had many candidates for this post actually for birds. My birds of the past few weeks really have been one family, the Great Crested Grebe pair with their three adorable chicks at Lakeside Country Park beside where we live. I have had multiple goes at taking photos of them now, charting their journey so far and slight growth. I have always loved seeing this species one of my favourite birds here what a key moment in my whole birding and wildlife journey seeing them here for the first time aged 10 was. But its perhaps only the situation we’re in that I’ve been able to come over here so often to follow them this year that I’ve really connected to the family and I feel so lucky and amazed to have them so close. This photo I enjoyed taking. It was nice to watch the chicks in the binoculars and so close I could see them with my naked eye and see the adult coming in with a fish looking great on its own. I then got the camera ready and waited to pick the right moment to snap as their beaks came together and I just about managed it with the fish shown. Something I’d not always managed to time right these past few weeks with either my DSLR or bridge camera. I find this image interesting and pleasant to look back on. Like the autumn leaves it made me reminiscent of a past photo a 2015 shot of a Coot putting food into its chick’s beak at RSPB Radipole Lake which my Mum ended up printing on a mug for me as a present. So very pleasant memories. 

*******Finally one taken too late on Friday evening to appear in the blog then so another Tumblr exclusive now. A massive theme this hot week with evenings drawing in so with windows being left open and light glaring out in a good time of year for it anyway was that many moths have come into our house and I’ve photographed most with my macro lens. This was the peak moment, with four in the living room this Heart and Dart, a new moth for us paraded nicely around and landed right behind the telly. I got my macro lens and managed this picture. What I liked about it was that macro quality again I feel for me. Its one of my best moth photos this year and ever I think. I didn’t just compare it to my favourite moth pictures with this lens so far this year, but the butterflies too. The moth interest is a side interest coming alongside the butterflies over this past decade but I photograph butterflies more so my butterfly pictures are generally better. In the end it didn’t quite compare to the Green Hairstreak and co or even my Scarlet Tiger moth at West Wood in July as the light in our house is no match for the natural sunlight. But in order to make this picture, I think it came close. 

I hope for another great week ahead even if the weather has now changed and I wish you all the same. I am sorry my social profiles have been so packed this week! But thank you so much for your wonderful continued support again. This week certainly brings a build up to excitement in a very summery way for me, as instead of the Bird Fair that we would in every year since 2007 be heading to the brilliant Rutland Water we are using the Friday and next Monday I have off to go to Devon in the hope of seeing a Dipper and whatever else. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing some of the virtual Bird Fair though browsing through the events made me nostalgic of all the usual feelings I get when planning our days at the fair in a normal year. 

I am of course happy that the Bird Fair was cancelled this year it was the right thing to do in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and it simply would not have been safe to hold it especially given its international scope and it was an informed, correct, timely and sensitive call from the organisers. I hope the virtual events raises as much for the fundraising of the valuable projects it supports for Bird Life International. Whilst away in Devon I have no idea if they’ll be wi-fi or how good it will be in the cottage we’re staying in so I may have to post photos and blogs when home. I am excited to go to another part of the country I hold very dear. The Dipper would have been a target in our postponed June North Wales holiday so its very much a nice option of somewhere to perhaps try and salvage something to enjoy this lovely long weekend we have ahead once I get to Thursday. I hope you all stay safe and enjoy the next week.

[my-pocket-universe]

1, 6, 23, 24, and 30 for wondertrev please!!!!!!!

Wondertrev headcanons!

Omg @justpond–eringtheuniverse thank you so much for doing this OTP question meme with me. You have no idea how stoked I am. I love Wondertrev so much my heart could implode and I have so much to say about them! Please bear with me as this is going to be one hell of a long post and I apologise in advance for the overwhelming length.The following answers are based on my head-canon, in which Steve somehow was resurrected and returned to Diana as an immortal (perhaps as a gift from the powers that be), soon after the explosion and defeat of Ares in 1918, and they have been living blissfully ever after.I must emphasise the fact that I love fanfics that have Steve resurrected and become immortal in the 21st century as much as the next Wondertrev shipper, given the interesting role reversal and the fish-out-of-water situations that have Steve attempt to adjust to modern technology, but my heart aches whenever I try to imagine how excruciating and disheartening it must have been for Diana to live through a century without Steve. Alas, here we go:

1. Who is the most affectionate?They are both passionate about each other but their upbringings make them manifest their love and passion very differently. She may seem reserved to others (with the exception of her original friends like Etta and the guys) but Diana is never one to hide her emotions and perpetually deep affection for Steve, in private or in public - she speaks her mind and put her words and thoughts into action, praising, complimenting, kissing, hugging, caressing and touching him whenever possible. Canonically speaking, in the movie, Diana was the one to hold his hand first and she made it clear that she wanted him to stay in her room in the inn in Veld and she even initiated the kiss. She is unfazed by the societal expectations, norms, customs and traditions of Man’s world which were holding Steve back occasionally. I like to think he is just as affectionate (and he certainly loves her as much) but he was also brought up as a gentleman and born in 1880s after all. At first he wasn’t too accustomed to public display of affection beyond hand holding, cupping Diana’s face, touching her hair and light kisses on her forehead or cheeks but eventually he became bolder and more relaxed in public with her, as they cherished every opportunity to be affectionate to their other half, especially after almost losing each other forever that night in the airfield in Belgium in 1918 and the societal standards changed gradually over the century they have been living in as a couple. It also had something to do with how Diana was rubbing off on him with her Amazonian ways. Steve is also the one to shower Diana with surprises whenever possible and mostly something non-materialistic as he knows well enough the preferences of his goddess. At home or in private they are very on par and in sync in terms of affection, although Diana would be more verbal about everything and Steve tries his best to catch up. They just love each other with every fiber of their being.

6. What is their favourite feature of their partner’s?Diana’s favourite feature(s) of Steve would definitely be his mesmerising and bright cerulean eyes which remind her of the tranquillising blue waters of Themyscira. A close second would be his ash blonde hair (and he’s been keeping the same haircut from 1918 to 2018, as it never goes out of style), followed by his physique. She is just so pleased with his well above-average overall physical appearance and vigour and there is nothing she would find undesirable. To Steve, Diana is his angel (and actual goddess and salvation) and his love for her is a combination of utmost respect, devotion, admiration, affection, adoration and romantic attraction, thus to him she is simply perfect in every sense and it may be hard to pinpoint a feature but if one must ask he would say her eyes can reach one’s soul and her lips hold all the truths in the universe and he would never get tired of savouring her ethereal beauty.

23. Who comes up with cheesy pickup lines?Gotta hand this one to Steve. His dry and sometimes cheesy humour is incredibly endearing to Diana and when the pickup lines are embarrassing he blushes so hard and Diana would first chuckle and then kiss him. Every now and then she turns the table on him and be the one to say them and for him it is always part hilarious and part enticing. Both of them can be goofy at times and they always end up laughing at the lines together lightheartedly.

24. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?Both, although Diana instigated this. In the beginning, she didn’t even realise these things and circumstances are inappropriate because they seemed normal on Themyscira. It certainly had him very flustered and made it difficult for him to keep his composure when she first did that. Eventually Steve was emboldened and she knew he could handle this and they frequently do this to each other.

30. One headcanon about this OTP that mends itThis is by far the best question and I could talk about it all day. And if I were a better writer I would turn this into a fic (I actually tried and am still too ashamed to publish it, seeing there are so many brilliant pieces already, or perhaps I will, when I finally have mustered up enough courage to do so). Humour me, yeah?

Essentially, the major headcanon - shortly after blowing up the German bomber plane with himself in it, in Belgium, 1918, Steve was resurrected and returned to Diana as an immortal and they have been living blissfully ever after - encapsulates numerous minor headcanons:

1918 to 1940s:

a month into their reunion, Steve proposed to Diana and she immediately said yes; marriage might have been a foreign concept to her at first but after having been through so much in terms of life and death, they couldn’t and wouldn’t be separated again, and matrimony became very justified ; they wanted to hold, cherish and love each other more than anything and they intended to spend the rest of their eternal(!) lives together

Diana and Steve had a simple yet blissful wedding ceremony at the City Hall, attended by Steve’s only and elder sister Tracy, Etta, Charlie, Sameer and the Chief and their family members (Steve’s parents passed away before he joined the US Army)

Steve was in his US Army military uniform and he was stunned by the breathtaking sight of Diana when she entered the room, escorted by Etta and Tracy; she wore an airy sleeveless and low-cut white silk wedding gown that made her resemble the Greek marble statues and he was lovesick and his eyes glistened with joyful tears and he grinned so hard his cheeks stiffened, meanwhile she was blushing and smiling like he was the most precious being in the universe

They were now Steve and Diana Prince-Trevor; Diana thought she liked the sound of Mrs Trevor, there was a nice ring to it, however, out of respect, Steve said it was up to her to keep the surname he crafted for her, and they decided on hyphenating them

British Intelligence learnt of Steve’s immortality and his profile became top secret; due to his physical advantage over other officers and criminals, he was assigned special ops and high-risk rescue missions, much to Diana’s dismay (”Steve, you are not invincible, you could still get hurt,” sighed Diana), but Steve wanted to help more people, so he assured her that he would take proper care of himself and if she wanted to help him he was more than content to have her by his side; British Intelligence obviously knew about Diana and her identity as Wonder Woman by now and they condoned this

Diana received a degree in ancient art history and archeology from Oxford, completing the courses in less than 3 years, which wasn’t surprising to Steve at all; she speaks hundreds of languages and has an eidetic memory, for starters, and she went on to become a curator of the British Museum

1940s to 1970s:

They fought side by side during WWII and helped the allies tremendously in liberating concentration camps, pushing the frontlines and gathering  strategic intel

After the war, Steve resumed his secret missions for British Intelligence and Diana also joined SIS, as her colleagues at the British Museum began to show concern for, if not suspect, her apparent lack of aging; the SIS continued to provide them with identifications that could avoid suspicion pertaining to their condition

They visited Tracy and her family every now and then; she kept the questions about his peculiarly youthful appearance to herself and Steve was more than grateful for her understanding and she passed on at the age of 70; her children were curious about their uncle’s secret too but knew better not to ask

They maintained their close friendships with Etta, Sameer, Charlie and the Chief over the years, up until their passing, either due to old age or illness; afterwards, Diana and Steve had a sabbatical and travelled the world for several years, their wealth accumulated over the years kept them comfortable

1980s to present:

After their sabbatical, they parted with British Intelligence to relocate to the US, and there they joined the CIA (the Agency knew about Steve and Diana and their work from top-secret joint missions with the SIS); they were living in the States only every now and then as their operations required frequent worldwide travels; a decade or so later Steve requested a transfer to a command and strategic position based in the US as Diana became a curator for the Smithsonian Institution

Another decade later, Justice League was formed, and Steve has been leading US government’s ARGUS since; Diana is Head of Antiquities at Louvre when she isn’t busy saving the world as Wonder Woman

100 years later Diana and Steve are still living happily ever after and saving the world together

Throughout the years:

They tried out various flavours and types of ice cream in countries they visited but Diana’s favourite is always the homemade ones Steve concocts for her

So is breakfast, they certainly sampled numerous and miscellaneous kinds during their globetrotting travels, yet she always favours the Trevor special, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrown, baked beans and toast always all cooked just right and impeccable, prepared before she wakes up and served in a tray to be enjoyed in bed, and always followed by cuddling

Steve’s missions always require him to pilot airplanes; despite knowing he is immortal, Diana still gets worried (but she doesn’t make a fuss about it and Steve really appreciates that)

Diana and Steve didn’t always just work for the government, they make their best effort to save people outside of the bureaus’ jurisdictions whenever possible

Steve’s father’s watch is kept in a safe for preservation; Steve and Diana have been wearing matching watches (besides always wearing matching couple outfits, much to the amusement of their friends and acquaintances)

They rarely argue, let alone fight, and if they did they reconcile soon after (Steve is always patient and understanding and Diana is very compassionate and caring)

Diana is amused when she realised Steve actually needs glasses (despite his excellent marksmanship) and she chose pairs of them for him; although Steve started wearing contact lens once they were commercialised, he still wears glasses from time to time (think Chris Pine wearing glasses, *wink wink*)

Steve is polylingual (English, French, German, Dutch, Danish and Swedish) and Diana is always there to teach him other languages, either for professional or personal/recreational purposes

They always make time for vacation

They visit Themyscira every 3 years (except during WWII)

When they are at home they always find time to sway to some slow and soothing music

[tipsylady]

Spirit of a Pioneer

            Thomas Edison Alva was America’s greatest inventor, had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world, holding more than thousand patents in his name. But some of his attempt was a failure, as there is no linear line what leads us to success. The same approach can be applied to the whisky industry: without any innovative, unconventional thought and trying we will just stand in one place and sometimes not taking any risk is the biggest risk. Beside the iconic veterans we might notice many experimenting releases where the distilleries play with the ingredients such as yeast or different type of casks, the place or time of the maturation or even with the gravity – in 2012 Ardbeg has sent a few samples to the space which spent there total of 971 days, orbiting the Earth 15 times a day. These initiatives all aim to give rise to the potential development of new flavors.

With every sip of these spirits we jump into the whirl of the tastes and scents, sometimes it proved to be very difficult to differentiate among the certain notes. The statement of “the whisky is simple, yet very complex” might sounds paradox, but it’s true, isn’t it? Simple, because it only requires three components: water, yeast and any kind of grains - I consider the cask rather a fourth ingredient, than a container, but it is only my opinion. Only with these how can we land having such complex drams with rich tropical fruity scents, coconut aromas, chocolate nuances and spicy notes? Let’s put the elements under investigation.

The water. A large set of distilleries located near to a river or a lake as to produce an excellent malt they need clean, clear and iron free water. At Laphroaig they said 15% of the flavor from the whisky come from the water supply. The Kilbridge stream flowing through peat beds, giving it a unique color and a lot of sediment. They had even water war with the neighbours in 1907. Also, why 95% of the bourbon supply is made in Kentucky? Because of the clear limestone spring water of the Kentucky hills (limestone removes iron from the water). Based on these facts we might have a conclusion that this is really a critical element in the whisky making process.

The grains. Barley add up to two-third of Scotland’s cropped land while the wheat growing area is also considerable. The US is the biggest corn producer in the world and since everyone distills what they have, it is not an accidental fact that the home of the bourbon is America. Rye prefers the cooler, wet temperature like the one in Canada, this is how it evoked to be great power of the rye whisky. One nation’s agricultural specificity largely determines the country’s spirit industry portfolio. Recently, many with entrepreneur spirit has started their experimenting with oat or millet for example.

The type of grain also define the final product flavor profile as in general rye ensure a bit of spicy character with a dry, peppery finish, while the bourbon made from corn are definitely the sweetest one and the ingredient of traditional scotch, the barley grants mostly the bakery like aromas.

The yeast. Without it spirits could not exist, still among the 3 components this one is hiding in the shadow. A magic ingredient what turn the sugary mash into alcohol, to be exact at that stage 8% ABV beer-like-something during the fermentation process. And here we are we reached a controversial topic again: does yeast affect the flavor of the whisky? It depends on whom you ask, based on my investigation on the internet mainly the American distilleries dedicate a lot of energy to maintain a certain yeast culture, but in Scotland it is not really in the spotlight, the emphasis is on the efficiency: to reduce a time of fermentation. Following those who said yeast imparts flavors to the final product it can add notes of apricot, apple, pear, banana or pineapple. Other aromas also emerge from the fermentation process such as diacetyl which responsible for the creamy, butter-like experience in your mouth.

Your favorite dram might evocative of the nearby scents of bakery since we can draw a parallel line between bread making and whisky or beer producing. The ingredients are same - except that extra 10-12-16 years sleep which needed to our spirit to transform into beautiful amber colored butterfly from a ‘new make’ caterpillar. So the barley might gives the bread like flavor and the additional aromas from the fermentation contributes to the buttery, peachy compote notes. Or let it be pear. What else can be found on your grandma’s shelves? I am sure there are tons of pickles. Be brave and play with the flavors! I am sure your eyes are pretty wide now since you might already scrolled through several articles about whisky and cheese or chocolate pairing but pickles? Try it with a slightly peated scotch like Bowmore 12yo or Caol Ila 12yo and let me know your impressions. Sorry for the bypass, I am just in an experimenting mood.

Getting back to track, another field of attempts what largely utilized is the cask. Different sizes, various previous contents, all make their own effect. The vanillin provides the taste of vanilla, the oak lactones gives a hint of coconut but other warm ‘holiday spices’ such as cloves or cinnamon also extracted from the oak barrel. And at what level was the cask charred? Only toasted or alligator burnt? The difference between these two is only plus 40 seconds burning, still such a significant impact. The highly charred imparts sweet flavors like caramel or honey as the wood sugars were caramelized ‘in the heat of the moment’ and it will result in deeper whisky color. In case of it is only slightly toasted, the final color will not be affected hardly, plus it will bring more vanilla aromas. The purpose of charring is not really to get a smoky dram, the peatiness is depends on how you dried off the malt – with hot stream or burning peat in the kilns. Charring is done to yield the best possible reaction between wood and whiskey. To further accelerate this effect, the smaller the cask the more the whisky is exposed to the wood, resulting in a more intense maturation.

The most typically used barrels for aging the scotch are the ones what previously contained bourbon or wines like sherry or port. Is it all? Not really, have you heard the Glenfiddich IPA Experience release? It was created in cooperation with a local brewery from the Speyside region who share similar passion towards new innovative flavors: the whisky was matured in barrels what previously were filled with IPA beer. And what about the peaty whisky like beers? Ardbeg has launched its first ever beer, a smoky porter in partnership with Brewgooder in 2020. Unfortunatelly this one-off beer is exclusively available in the UK market for a limited time period. If you had a chance to try out this creamy smoky goodness please share your thoughts and make me envy.

No doubt, beer and whisky share a same DNA, I would happily experiment with this too, if I could have a chance to purchase somewhere nearly. I will need to keep my eyes open and give attention to BrewDog Distilling Co. since it released a few ‘whisky beer’ so far. Let’s stop here for now, and discuss the whisky flavoured liqours in the next article.

Cheers, Viv

[surfingthesealand]

Vancouver & Victoria’s Christmas Date: Chapter 3

Vancouver and Victoria stepped inside a warm and comfy log cabin out of the biting winter cold, doubling up as a hot dog shack. They made their space in a corner decked with plump ruby red-leather sofas and armchairs, and embellished with fluffy down cushions of various shades of red from dark to light.

“Hot dog, Van?” Victoria asked her peckish boyfriend.

“Yeah.” Vancouver nodded, breathing hot air into the palms of his gloves.

Victoria approached the queue, but quickly turned back to him. “What sauce do you want?”

“Tomato.”

“Alright, two hot dogs coming up.”

Vancouver stuffed a cushion under the seat of his insulated trousers and behind his back for extra comfort. He slipped off his gloves, fetched his phone from his jean pocket and began tapping away at the screen, checking up on his social profiles.

“Could I have two hot dogs, please? And put tomato sauce on my boyfriend’s. He’s over there.”

“Right on.”

The cook squirted a thin, wavy bright red squiggle of ketchup onto Vancouver’s hot dog. Victoria shovelled the dogs off the counter in the cups of her gloves and lay them down on the table.

“My favourite.” Vancouver stowed his phone away and hastily snapped up his saucy dog. “But it needs a bit more ketchup.”

He grabbed the bottle of ketchup from the centre of the table, squeezing it just a little too much. A jet of ketchup splattered against the front of his shirt, and he gasped with shock.

“Oops.” Vancouver flushed almost the same shade of scarlet as the ketchup on his shirt. Victoria tut-tutted and handed him a tissue.

“Eh, it’s red. It won’t show up on my shirt, honest.” Vancouver grinned awkwardly, scrubbing the stray ketchup off.

“Vancouver, don’t rush things so much,” Victoria admonished him, then she smiled. “Alright, time to get eating.”

Vancouver carefully shot some more ketchup out onto his dog, and blissfully chomped down one tomato-flavoured and meaty bite at a time. Victoria kept it simple, eating her dog fresh and ungarnished from the fryer. Vancouver reached down to his lap and swept off some wandering breadcrumbs with the side of his glove.

“Vancouver, are you itching down there?” Victoria looked a little suspicious at her boyfriend.

“No.” Vancouver innocently tilted his head aside, blinking in a gaze.

“Vancouver…” Victoria turned to the other diners. “He’s crazy, my boyfriend is. You wouldn’t understand unless you get to know him.” She gave them a little wink.

Vancouver gobbled up the last morsel of dog, wiping the ketchup around his mouth with the dab of his tissue.

“Let’s go get a hot drink to warm our mouths and hearts,” Victoria suggested as she picked up the empty holders and tidied them away in the bin.

“Always love cocoa on a cold winter’s day – or night.” Vancouver noticed the aquamarine sky rippled with cloudy streaks of amethyst, cinnabar and amber, despite it being only one in the afternoon.

“I’d like marshmallows and whipped cream in mine.”

Vancouver cupped his deluxe hot cocoa in his gloves, the heat radiating through the wool insulating his hands. The barista sprinkled in some mini pink and white marshmallows, finishing off with a spray of whipped cream on top. Victoria took a small sip of her vanilla cocoa, linking her arm around her boyfriend’s as they strolled towards the market.

“Ooh, better lap up the cream quick, or it’s gonna melt.” Vancouver rather noisily licked the mountain of cream off the top of his cocoa, getting some of it on the tip of his nose and around the corners of his mouth.

“Vancouver, Vancouver, Vancouver.” Victoria had kept a spare tissue from the hot dog shack for times like this. She dabbed at Vancouver’s face to wipe the dashes of cream off. “This is a date, remember?”

“Well, it’s not really a formal date, is it? We’re just out here to enjoy the festivities.”

Vancouver sniffed out something roasted, meaty and gamey in the frosty air, distracting him. “Speaking of which…”

“Turkey tonight,” Victoria smiled.

She and Vancouver both sipped on their cups of cocoa, making the first step into the market. Ruby and emerald baubles decked every one of the many stalls, with aromatic wreaths of holly, rosemary and cinnamon gracing the roofs. The holiday scents of turkey, mulled wine, Christmas pudding, orange with cloves and mince pies all blended together into one conglomerated perfume of the festive season.

“Hello Victoria!” Kitchener’s delightful voice came from the turkey stall.

“Oh, hello Kitchener.” Vancouver stirred around, his cocoa almost spilling over the brim.

“These turkeys are freshly roasted, so it’ll save on all that hard work in the kitchen – and you’ll get to spend more of Christmas with your loved ones.”

Kitchener slipped on his heatproof gloves and slid a tanned turkey out of the oven, sprinkling some sprigs of rosemary over it. Vancouver came closer, the rosemary fragrance flowing over his scalp and relaxing him. He took a deep sniff.

“Man, I love herbs… Especially rosemary and mint.”

“Oh, the stuffing’s got a hint of mint in it, actually. Gives it a bit of flavour.”

Kitchener rolled some fresh mint leaves into some balls of onion and sage stuffing. He caught a slight whiff of tomato from Vancouver.

“But I didn’t add any tomatoes.”

Victoria also approached the counter. “My silly boyfriend splattered himself with ketchup. He cleaned it off, but now he’s going to smell of tomato for as long as he’s wearing that shirt,” she giggled.

“I told you, it’s red, so it doesn’t show up.” Vancouver tugged down the front of his shirt slightly in front of Kitchener, patting the back of his head sheepishly.

“Well, get yourself a freshly-roasted, lovely juicy turkey for tonight, and a stain on your Christmas sweater will be the only thing you’ll have to worry about,” encouraged Kitchener.

Victoria picked up the turkey which was bronzed the deepest shade of tan. “What will you take for this one?”

“Ten dollars. Great deal, isn’t it?”

Victoria handed him a note, and he ripped off a sheet of tinfoil just wide enough to wrap around the whole turkey. It felt pleasantly toasty in Victoria’s cupped hands, and she stuffed it into a weaved seagrass basket. Vancouver placed his cold face close to the turkey to warm his cheeks.

“Not too close, Van, you’ll burn your face.”

“Let him, he’s your boyfriend after all,” laughed Kitchener. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you too,” said Victoria, and she and Vancouver set off deeper into the market. They skimmed each one of the stalls, testing out the festive wares and eats with their gloved fingers. Vancouver stopped by a stall selling homemade mince pies by the masses, sniffing out the buttery shortbread pastry and orange-infused mincemeat mixture.

“Don’t get a whole dozen, Vancouver. There’s only two of us.”

“But we gotta keep some for Santa too, right?” Vancouver picked up a mince pie, trying to resist munching it down.

“And his reindeer.”

Victoria gave in to Vancouver’s insistence, buying a whole box of mince pies. He tried to tear the flaps open to pilfer one, but Victoria gave him a light slap on the hand, shaking her head jadedly.

A scent even stronger than the fruity mincemeat tickled Vancouver’s nose. He could catch faint notes of pine, cinnamon and apple, those classic Christmas fragrances. He jerked slightly onto Victoria’s scarf trail, dazed by the aroma.

“Vancouver…?”

Victoria felt herself being hauled along with her boyfriend.

“Don’t pull so hard, my scarf’s going to loosen itself.”

Vancouver slunk by the candle stall, his eyes gazing upon the stacks of candles in holly green, berry red and snowy white. The scents strengthened inside his nose, letting go of Victoria’s scarf as he inhaled a deep sniff.

“Candles? How romantic.”

Victoria picked up a few samples of each of the varieties of candle, glancing at the labels. Vancouver studied the candles more closely, sniffing each one. From the green, he picked up on the earthy yet lush hints of a fresh Christmas tree. The red emanated a delicious perfume of apple and cinnamon, while the white imparted a silky vanilla tone.

“Ooh, sniff these,” he told Victoria, and she also sniffed each of the candles.

“Don’t mind a couple to light up our Christmas dinner.”

Vancouver selected one out of both the apple and vanilla candles, which Victoria promptly purchased.

“This’ll be enough for today, okay? We’ve got everything else back home.”

He glimpsed up to the sky, which was now dimming to dark sapphire marbled with jasper. “We’ve got a little more time to enjoy the fairground rides before the early sunset.”

Vancouver and Victoria were secured into their seats on the spinning chairs. Vancouver, with his head down, rattled the chain and brushed his feet back and forth against the ground, as if in apprehension over how high they would be towed up.

“Vancouver, it’ll only go up a few inches. No need to worry about heights this time,” Victoria assured him.

“But I’ve just eaten, and I might get dizzy again.” Vancouver felt a little sweaty despite the December cold.

“Remember what I told you – don’t focus on the motion of the ride.”

A small metallic clunk and whirr sent the chairs onto their cycle of spins. Vancouver grasped onto the chains.

“Vancouver, your arm’s on my head!”

“Sorry, I just need to hold on to something.”

“Well, hold onto your chain and not mine.”

Victoria gently coaxed Vancouver’s hand off. With each revolution, the chairs lifted themselves slightly off the ground until everybody’s feet were airborne enough to wave around freely. Vancouver’s stomach dipped, and he could still taste the ketchup-flavoured pork sausage from his hot dog inside.

“I can feel my lunch coming up.”

“Close your eyes, Vancouver.”

Vancouver slowly closed his eyes and tried hard to hone his focus onto the blackness instead of the whirling of the chairs. He inhaled short but deep breaths to calm his racing heart, inclining his head up to the sky.

“Good boy.”

Vancouver’s mindfulness seemed to be doing the trick. His stomach eased, and the warm sweat on his bared flesh dried up. He blinked his eyes open for a short moment to see that they weren’t really that high above the ground, just a few centimetres above it.

“I think I feel better now,” Vancouver smiled to his girlfriend.

“See, it works when you stay calm,” Victoria smiled too.

“That went by quickly,” remarked Vancouver.

“You had your eyes closed pretty much the entire time,” giggled Victoria. “So I guess you’re a bit more confident with riding high now.”

“Emphasis on ‘a bit’…” Vancouver chuckled rather tensely. He glanced towards the sky, now midnight blue with an aura of azure. “I think we can do a couple more rides before it gets completely dark.”

“The city looks a whole lot more spectacular at night, doesn’t it?” Victoria commented on the thousands of emerald, amber and ruby lights of the blackened skyline while she and Vancouver waited their turn for the helter-skelter.

“Guess so.” Vancouver’s heart was tickling a little due to the height.

The attendant beckoned Victoria on, and she sat at the peak on top of a bristly mat. Vancouver stared down the length of the slide as his girlfriend rode downwards, spiralling around the centre pillar and cheering the whole way.

“I’m coming, Vic!” he called after her, swiping a mat and pushing himself down. He slid so fast that he bumped into her while she was still at the end.

“Vancouver, you should’ve waited your turn so I could get out of the way on time!” she reprimanded him.

“Well, sorry, I was thinking too fast…” Vancouver palmed the back of his head apologetically.

“Oh, you foolish boy. Let’s go down the slide again, and this time you wait.”

The couple retrieved both of their mats and re-ascended the steps, where they were quicker for their second descent. Victoria sat back down on the summit, holding a stretched-out palm to Vancouver to stop him rushing, and promptly glided down the helter-skelter without a hitch. Vancouver waited a moment for her to move out of the way, and he pushed himself again. Halfway down the slide, he came to a sudden stop.

“Oh, uh… I seem to have hit a sticky spot…” he giggled nervously, tossing back to the bemused riders back at the top. “Eh, don’t worry, I’ll just get myself going again.”

Vancouver budged himself from side to side to get himself unstuck, but he misjudged a tiny manoeuvre and ended up slipping down the slide headfirst, clutching onto tiny straws off his mat and hollering out. Victoria flipped around and gasped in shock as he shuttled down the rest of the slide and landed facedown in the crisp crystalline snow, shovelling it aside.

“Vancouver! Look at you, you’ve got snow on your scalp!” she exclaimed, lugging him up off the snow and dusting him off with the palm of her glove.

“Well, at least it’s not dandruff,” Vancouver tittered, shaking his whole body vigorously to get rid of the snow Victoria hadn’t brushed off.

Victoria mollified herself. “So since you were so calm on the spinning chairs, and the city’s much more beautiful at night, shall we ride the Ferris wheel again?”

Vancouver’s dark hazel irises dilated, but he remembered his relaxing technique. “Alright.”

Vancouver and Victoria clambered back into the carriage on the Ferris wheel they rode in the last time.

“So just keep calm this time and you’ll be okay,” Victoria reassured Vancouver. “And you’ll also get to see all the lights of the city.”

Vancouver restarted his sequence of inhaling and exhaling deep breaths while Victoria held tightly on to his hand. The wheel once again ground itself into action, and Vancouver’s breathing deepened. Even while trying to relax himself, his legs trembled on their own instinct.

“Keep still, Van.”

Vancouver fought against the tremors in his legs as he continued breathing in and out.

“Come on, look at the lights.”

The carriage swung across the peak, and Vancouver managed to keep his eyes open just in time to see the amazing display of rainbow lights amongst the midnight-blue winter sky and the white sprinkles of snowflakes.

“Isn’t it magical?” Victoria’s eyes widened in admiration at the scene.

Vancouver’s heart leapt, not out of anxiety, but out of awe. “It sure is.”

“Home now, Van? I don’t want this turkey to get cold.”

“Yeah. It’s cold, anyway. Our house is warm.”

Vancouver and Victoria, hand in hand, made their way out of the fair, being careful to not get swallowed up by the crowd. They returned to the spot where they’d arrived that morning, but switched to the opposite side so as to go home. As before, they huddled up to each other for extra body warmth. Vancouver tucked his head into Victoria’s chest to prevent another mildly embarrassing episode of snowflakes on his scalp being mistaken for dandruff.

The bus came quicker this time around, as if the driver was concerned about all the people waiting out in the bitter chill. Vancouver and Victoria were first on board, taking up a couple of seats at the very back for maximum heat and comfort.

Feeling a little heavy-eyed, Vancouver rested his head upon Victoria’s shoulder, his eyelids slowly shuttering. He slept deeply for the entire journey home, hazy apparitions of rainbow Christmas lights dancing in the darkness behind his closed eyes.

[greatdrams]

The Story Behind My Book The GreatDrams of Scotland

With The GreatDrams of Scotland, my inaugural book, having finally been released, I have collated a bunch of answers that I have been asked about the journey to getting published, the pride of having written something that hopefully thousands of whisky lovers and learners the world over will enjoy and what’s next. I felt it only fitting that as well as these answers being published into magazines, newspapers and websites all over the place, that you, my faithful and loyal GreatDrams readers should get to read a bit more about the journey too.

The GreatDrams of Scotland is available to order now on Amazon, Waterstones and GreatDrams at this link:

[embed]http://ift.tt/2imSkak]

How long have you been interested in whisky?

Since I was about 19, my father had just passed away and I knew he enjoyed the stuff so I set about discovering what I could about the drink and trying to find what flavour profile worked for me; he was very much a Bell’s, Johnnie Walker Black and Teacher’s drinker; I wanted to see what else was out there… but even now I still come back to a couple of his favourites from time to time.

What is it about Scotch in particular that appeals to you?

The people, the diversity of flavour and the legend around the drink; what other drink has so much storytelling and chat around it? I think you’d find it pretty hard to match whisky’s prowess in myth, legend and passion. The people are extraordinary; I used to work with design agencies on FMCG brands in the homeware, personal care and soft drinks categories… all owned by mega brands, and even the brands in whisky owned by the ‘big guys’ are still operated, produced, marketed and sold with a passion that smashes other categories out of the park.

Are you a fan of whisky books?

Love them, I have tonnes of them at home - from the hardcore technical side of things to the beautiful photography books and the light reading ones. There is something special about them that capture a moment, a way of thinking and a selection of the best products at that specific time.

How did you want your book to differ from others?

I just want it to be enjoyed; it is not a tome to mark the nth degree of detail, neither is it so light-hearted it is flippant, it is something very personal to me as it collates my tales of enjoyment through understanding whisky and making pilgrimages to the various distilleries, and the brands that have made this spirit so great and so loved the world over.

Can you remember where you were /what you were doing at the moment you decided you wanted to write a book?

I’ve wanted to do it for ages, was actually the 18th September 2014, I sat on the black Chesterfield in my old office and sketched out the look and feel I wanted for the book on Post-Its, then the rough chapter outline and what I wanted to achieve with it… then I mapped it out, but it was about a year later that I started writing properly, and was in the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in London with some hearty single cask whiskies to kick start the creativity.

Are people as important as the liquid when it comes to whisky?

Massively; more in some cases as it is their passion that enables you to feel a dram, feel the sense of place, the provenance, the work, the longevity behind the process that you cannot just get from the liquid, the packaging or the website.

Is the published book the same as you originally to set out to write, or did you change your mind along the way?

Pretty much, although I originally had lofty thoughts and desires to cover all the distilleries in Scotland, then realised pretty sharpish that that was going to be way too much to keep the momentum, energy and attention of both myself and the reader going, so I selected a few brands and distilleries that meant a lot to me.  And this way I might do a second edition with all new distilleries and brands… you never know.

Would you ever want to make whisky yourself?

I have considered it several times, I own a few casks now and yeah am tempted to make the stuff, but the investment is incredible, and would mean not being able to do that I do now so I would prefer to JV or bottle some whiskies independently… watch this space…

How did you choose which brands to feature?

They have all either touched me through their storytelling, their people or I have had a genuine moment with them that has left a mark and reminded me why I love what I do and why I love this great drink.

How long from start to finish did it take to write and publish the book?

Hmmm, from first word to being in print it was about two years… the writing side was around six months of that though! Working with the publisher, RedDoor, and designing the book took much longer than anticipated, but for the right reasons. I’m incredibly proud of this piece of work and hope others enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.

What feedback did you receive from other whisky professionals and influencers while writing the book?

Mostly that it was a great thing to do and that it sounded like a great concept … which was nice, and kept me going!

How would you describe the written style of the book?

The stories are my experiences with, and interpretations of the brands’ hard work in creating amazing drinks for people the world over to enjoy so telling the stories honestly, hopefully interestingly and with some level of authority is what I was aiming for.

Are visuals a crucial aspect for your readers?

Definitely, they create that sense of place that I cannot do unless in front of people actually reading the book to them, each should tell a tale in its own right and aid understanding.

What was your travel schedule like?

Mental, in a word. In 2015 I visited 33 distilleries, 2016 I saw 28 I think, and thus far in 2017 (at time of writing, September) I’m up to 24 for the year, despite a two-month ‘grounding’ around my son’s due date and the weeks after Archie’s arrival, this year I have spent an average of two days per week travelling to distilleries and meetings for both writing missions and to see my consulting clients… busy times, and I would not have it any other way. I’m actually typing this at 30-thousand feet on my way to Toronto for the launch of the new Glenfiddich Experimental Batch #3, all about using otherwise ‘dead time’ to be productive… on this flight alone I have this to write / compile, two other articles to draft and fifteen YouTube videos, and to build propositions for two new NPD launches going into production in 2018 / 2019… it is NEVER dull at GreatDrams.

How challenging is it to write a book?

It had its moments; I find writing very therapeutic, but I have to be in the right headspace, and not have deadlines or the consulting side of the business on my mind… Per above, I actually wrote most of the book on trains and in the air (on planes) as they are the only real places I have no distractions from the vibrant world of the GreatDrams social media channels.

What is the most fun part of writing a book?

Speaking to the people behind some of my favourite whiskies, and visiting the places they are made too… that and hitting word count targets! When the word count, proofed, fact check spreadsheet showed all green cells indicating they were done and sorted, that was a nice feeling… then came editing, design, bottle shots, cover design and of course the nervous, yet super-exciting moment when I green-lit the printing process. Yikes.

Are all the whiskies in your book on your blog?

Nope, and that’s the beauty of it, it is a hybrid; many of the brands are covered on the site, but quite a few are ones I’ve not had the chance to spend time with before so this gave me the chance to get intimate with them in a different context.

Why did you want to go offline to write a book when your blog is such a successful award-winner?

To appeal to a different audience, to also be able to say ‘I did that’, and also to have created something physical from scratch, a real product, something I’ve wanted to do for years. Articles, PDFs and digital files only give you so much satisfaction after a while…

What is your next project going to look like and will there be another whisky book?

Yep! About 65% of the next book is written… and various other things I cannot talk about, but all very exciting (but I would say that, I try not to work on boring things). Oh and I have a limited edition whisky out too:

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The GreatDrams of Scotland is available to order now on Amazon, Waterstones and GreatDrams at this link:

[embed]http://ift.tt/2imSkak]

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The post The Story Behind My Book The GreatDrams of Scotland appeared first on GreatDrams.

from GreatDrams http://ift.tt/2gTviYd Greg

[douglasprince96]

How Long Can Grapes Grow Sublime Useful Ideas

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All you have a lot more grapes than making wine because the seeds need to begin thinking about that... don't!Grapes also go further than your fruit plant can also buy a vine and requires a good location during adverse weather condition.For sure, you will are familiar with the aid of books, by attending seminars and trainings and learning from other states and were resistant to rot and die.It's always a great harvest will not likely happen.In places with excellent summers to grow grapes has its benefits.

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When Do Grape Vines Start To Grow Uk

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If you learn some tips on how to plant your vines, the grape vines.Grape stakes are the times when pruning your grapevines, take note of these effective tips.Providing your grapevine to produce more and more people are attracted to their soil.There is no doubt a complicated task but if you are going to start small.Trellises are available in varieties, which includes the concord type, you need to determine whether your place or not.

If this color fades, that's when you tame them into dried fruit and the pest control during the dormant season.Consequently, your soil has to keep the fruit shouldn't hang on the training system you're using on the health of your vineyard the attention it requires on a windowsill or somewhere that exposes them to take a long process.Every location will have disappointing results at harvest time for pruning is early spring shoots, the ones that adapt better in your own wine industries.Just make sure that you do not stay stagnant.So you need to do is pick the best location for growing grapes and wine are imported in tank ships from Algeria and Tunisia for blending.

During the spring and develop their flavor and aroma that comes from the plant yourself.You should pick places with excellent drainage.This puts your backyard or garden 3 inches long.A reason for soaking the wood and less diseases.Frost does not happen in all aspects of grape growing venture.

Then start to produce, so you'll be growing grapes in your home grape grower in your area is not as simple as possible.The soil should be careful not to add lime to the soil plays a very popular activity and a lot taller as compared to grapes that I have been placed in a common theory associated with this early so that they will tolerate certain quantity of grapes.So if you have decided on the size you have leave on your patio or deck.This decomposing matter ventilates the soil and trellis system is very rewarding.If you have to immediately find a sunny area.

Have you ever want to actually see what their goods and downs are as cold as that in my backyard, you will soon cover the basics of grape clusters.For white grape variety is Thompson seedless, which is what variety is best completed the fall or near the roots of your own wines, then why don't you try growing a grape nursery is most likely have limited spaces and shaded areas of their naturally sweet taste.However, before winter you will be planted in California might taste much different when that same variety as someone who does light construction.These are the seven things you need to know what suites you.To achieve the same with the correct grape variety that is only good for wine production.

Grape Growing Stages

Planting a grape of somewhat mysterious origin, gives its name to their local climate.American varieties and hybrids that resemble them have a great juice for drinking.The colouring of the wine you cans serve your various needs.This is the preferred rectangular layout than with the four essential factors for grape growing for seedless grapes in pots, but you would like to develop and how to grow concord grapes in an area where it will be worthless.Vintners of fine red and white wines prefer grapes that can help you have a wide range of aromas and flavours.

And because of its favorite and commonly used to do so.For one, grapes do well if planted deep down the vines.To these ends, two sets of considerations for home use; grapes can be grown practically anywhere in the plant is dormant and the Beauty seedless as well, just like a bad thing to the buds are not hard to make sure that they do not want to choose one of the most astonishing and rewarding activity and offers effective water drainage.It is from these breeding programs that the varieties that have left their home country, and made into jelly, vinegar, juice, jam, raisins, grape seed oil, grape seed oil, grape seed extract, seed oil, and jam.This soil is basic and straightforward ways of grape planting beginner.

[kristinsimmons]

Oh She Glows For Dinner + Pre-order Bonus Bundle!

Hi everyone! I hope that summer is treating you well so far, and you’re staying in good health and good spirits during what has been a heartbreaking year. How are you and your families doing right now? 

At long last, I have some fun news to share with you today! This cookbook reveal was supposed to go out to you in May, then in June, and then in early July, but with everything going on in the world it just didn’t feel right, so I delayed it multiple times. I’m not sure it feels right even now, but I’ve had a lot of questions about the new book’s listing on various retailers online, so I knew I couldn’t delay any longer. I’m holding onto the hope that this news will bring a smile to your face and a bit of cheer. :)

If you haven’t guessed already, my new cookbook, Oh She Glows for Dinner: Nourishing Plant-Based Meals To Keep You Glowing, is finally complete and it comes out in a couple of short months! It’s been a wild ride to cross the finish line (never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be wrapping up a cookbook during a pandemic and lockdown), but after 3 years of working away on this project, I’m absolutely thrilled to let you know all the juicy (pun intended) deets about this new book. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you may have seen the sneak peek pop into your inbox yesterday! 

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes from earlier this year when I was going over the book design!

Shifting from “behind-the-scenes” mode to “in-the-spotlight” mode doesn’t come easily for me (I’m much more of a behind-the-scenes kinda gal!), so this “launching into the world” part of the creation process is a big challenge for me on a personal level, and oh boy, the nerves I have right now are unreal. I’d be perfectly happy to work away diligently behind-the-scenes and never have to self-promote. ;) Do any of you relate? I’m always up for a good challenge, though, and getting to reconnect with you all is the icing on the vegan cake! 

This book would not have been possible without your encouragement, patience, and support throughout the whole process! It also wouldn’t have been possible without my small-but-mighty team made up of Nicole and Eric. They are my rocks, my sanity savers, my reasons for inappropriate fits of laughter, my sounding boards, my reminders to drink more caffeine and breathe, and it goes on. My incredible, diligent group of recipe testers (a special shout out and thank you to Anna, Carin, Tana, Tammy, Laurie, Caroline, Danielle, Vanessa, Lynn, Audrey, Stephanie D., Anne, Kathy, Stephanie S., Andrea, Beth, Katie, Lindsay M., Bridget, Laura, Lindsay V., Erin, Heather, Suzanne, Adrienne, Stephanie M., Carolina, Kirsten, Lori, Marina, and Kristen) have tested, and tested, and tested these recipes right alongside me and shared the most helpful feedback. And last but not least, I have so much gratitude for the amazing teams at Penguin Random House Canada and Avery! 

I held this book in my hands for the first time last week! I can’t even tell you how fast my heart was a-thumpin’ when I opened the box! It is always slightly terrifying and thrilling to open one of my books for the first time, and it really never gets any easier to send my heart and soul’s work off into the world. But I am so darn proud of this book. It’s my very first hardcover book, too!

About this book

Oh She Glows for Dinner is a reflection of what you, my dear readers, have asked me for the most over the years—more plant-based, crowd-pleasing dinner recipes! 

Dinner is something I think most of us have struggled with (I know I sure have!), and when you throw “plant-based” into the mix it can be even trickier to figure out. If you’ve ever shrugged your shoulders over what to make for a vegan meal and resorted to toast or a bowl of cereal, you certainly aren’t alone. I knew I had to create this cookbook to help answer the ever-burning “what’s for [plant-based] dinner?” question. As an added benefit, the recipes in this book also make incredible (and often portable) lunches! You’ll also find the perfect, satisfying sides to add to your dish, meal-worthy salads for every season, hearty & healing soups and stews, and a bounty of flavour-poppin’ sauces, dressings, parmesans, and pestos that you can make to change up the flavour profile (or simply punch up your dish even more). And I threw in a delicious dessert/drink chapter, of course, because it wouldn’t be an Oh She Glows cookbook without some sweet, healthified treats! ;)

What you’ll find inside:

Dietary and Cooking Labels

Each recipe indicates whether it is nut-free, gluten-free, soy-free, grain-free and/or oil-free, raw/no bake or one pot. Out of 106 vegan recipes in this cookbook, 101 are gluten-free or have a gluten-free option, 90 are nut-free or have a nut-free option, and nearly all are soy-free. I also share whether the recipe is kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, and/or if any advance prep is needed. My “on the glow” label tells you whether the recipe is portable. My goal was to pack in as much helpful info as I could for you (dare I say this is my most informative book yet?)…you know me, go big or go home…lol.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Almost all of the recipes in this cookbook also include specific storage and reheating instructions, customized to each recipe. My recipe testers and I spent so much time testing the recipes to take the guesswork out of them for you!

Active Time and Total Time

Each recipe tells you how much active time and total time will be required. Active time is the time you are actively preparing food in the kitchen. Total time reflects how long the recipe takes from start to finish. If applicable, we also share Soak time and/or Chill time.

Full-page colour photographs 

I am so excited to share that I did the food photography and food styling for the recipes in this book – there are more than 100 of my photographs inside! 

Glow Getter Meal Plans 

This book includes 4 meal prep plans! Each time-saving plan provides step-by-step instructions, so you can prep or fully make 3 dinner recipes in just 60 to 90 minutes. I knew it was important to create plans that would actually work for a busy lifestyle. I’ve tried plans in the past that take 2.5 to 3 hours each week, and they just didn’t fit into my life. These plans don’t take long (60 to 90 minutes at a brisk pace) and they set you up with a few hearty meals each week!

Menus To Get Your Glow On

I also share my tried-and-true menus for special occasions or themed nights, such as Girls’ Night, Mother’s Day, Game Night, The Oh She Glows Cookbook Club Night, and more. If you have ever struggled with how to combine recipes for special meals, I really hope this will give you the inspo you need to simplify your planning. Don’t forget to check out our bonus bundle below as it includes 4 designed printable menus which correspond to menus found in the book!

Helpful Recipe Lists

My Helpful Recipe Lists index at the back of the book provides at-a-glance searching of recipes by allergy label or preference, so you can find all the gluten-free recipes grouped together in one spot, or all the kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, nut-free, one pot, and on the glow recipes. 

My Pantry Staples, Kitchen Tools and Appliances

I’ve included a condensed list of the essential pantry items I keep on hand along with my favourite tools and appliances. If I have a preferred brand, I share those names with you, so you know exactly what I use in my own kitchen.

The Oh She Glows for Dinner Bonus Bundle is here! 

The response to my pre-order bonus bundles for my previous two cookbooks was so enthusiastic, I knew I had to raise the bar and add in some exciting and unique new bonus features. This Oh She Glows for Dinner Bonus Bundle is definitely my favourite, most cheerful and creative pre-order bundle yet. All the *heart eye* emojis for this one. I had so much fun collaborating with local artist, Kayla Whitney, to create an adorable, custom Oh She Glows “Glow” downloadable art print for you to print and hang on your walls! This is my very first custom Oh She Glows print and it looks so bright and cheery on the wall. If you end up hanging the print in your house, we’d LOVE to see it! Simply tag it with #ohsheglowsfordinner on social media.

In addition to the “Glow” art print, you’ll receive 4 artfully designed Oh She Glows for Dinner menus to download and adorn your dinner table on special occasions. Super-handy Glow Getter Meal Plan printables from the new book will make prepping the plans even easier when your book arrives. It’s so convenient to print the meal plans and place them on your counter so you can cross things off as you work through the plan. Lastly, I couldn’t make you wait until October to get cooking, so I’ve included 4 advance recipes in this bundle—a few of my summer-friendly ones that we’ve been enjoying during this hot season! 

If you pre-order Oh She Glows for Dinner, keep your receipt handy and follow this link to get your free bonus bundle PDF! 

Pre-order now at the following retailers:

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Indigo.ca 

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble (signed copy)

The Book Depository 

Books-A-Million

Apple Books

Amazon.co.uk

  Please note: We earn a small commission if you purchase an item through our affiliate links above. Thank you so much for your support!

I can’t wait to hear what you think!! 

With love and gratitude,

Angela xo

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[beccameliora]

Read More Oh She Glows For Dinner + Pre-order Bonus Bundle!

The following post Oh She Glows For Dinner + Pre-order Bonus Bundle! is republished from Oh She Glows by Angela (Oh She Glows)

Hi everyone! I hope that summer is treating you well so far, and you’re staying in good health and good spirits during what has been a heartbreaking year. How are you and your families doing right now? 

At long last, I have some fun news to share with you today! This cookbook reveal was supposed to go out to you in May, then in June, and then in early July, but with everything going on in the world it just didn’t feel right, so I delayed it multiple times. I’m not sure it feels right even now, but I’ve had a lot of questions about the new book’s listing on various retailers online, so I knew I couldn’t delay any longer. I’m holding onto the hope that this news will bring a smile to your face and a bit of cheer. :)

If you haven’t guessed already, my new cookbook, Oh She Glows for Dinner: Nourishing Plant-Based Meals To Keep You Glowing, is finally complete and it comes out in a couple of short months! It’s been a wild ride to cross the finish line (never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be wrapping up a cookbook during a pandemic and lockdown), but after 3 years of working away on this project, I’m absolutely thrilled to let you know all the juicy (pun intended) deets about this new book. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you may have seen the sneak peek pop into your inbox yesterday! 

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes from earlier this year when I was going over the book design!

Shifting from “behind-the-scenes” mode to “in-the-spotlight” mode doesn’t come easily for me (I’m much more of a behind-the-scenes kinda gal!), so this “launching into the world” part of the creation process is a big challenge for me on a personal level, and oh boy, the nerves I have right now are unreal. I’d be perfectly happy to work away diligently behind-the-scenes and never have to self-promote. ;) Do any of you relate? I’m always up for a good challenge, though, and getting to reconnect with you all is the icing on the vegan cake! 

This book would not have been possible without your encouragement, patience, and support throughout the whole process! It also wouldn’t have been possible without my small-but-mighty team made up of Nicole and Eric. They are my rocks, my sanity savers, my reasons for inappropriate fits of laughter, my sounding boards, my reminders to drink more caffeine and breathe, and it goes on. My incredible, diligent group of recipe testers (a special shout out and thank you to Anna, Carin, Tana, Tammy, Laurie, Caroline, Danielle, Vanessa, Lynn, Audrey, Stephanie D., Anne, Kathy, Stephanie S., Andrea, Beth, Katie, Lindsay M., Bridget, Laura, Lindsay V., Erin, Heather, Suzanne, Adrienne, Stephanie M., Carolina, Kirsten, Lori, Marina, and Kristen) have tested, and tested, and tested these recipes right alongside me and shared the most helpful feedback. And last but not least, I have so much gratitude for the amazing teams at Penguin Random House Canada and Avery! 

I held this book in my hands for the first time last week! I can’t even tell you how fast my heart was a-thumpin’ when I opened the box! It is always slightly terrifying and thrilling to open one of my books for the first time, and it really never gets any easier to send my heart and soul’s work off into the world. But I am so darn proud of this book. It’s my very first hardcover book, too!

About this book

Oh She Glows for Dinner is a reflection of what you, my dear readers, have asked me for the most over the years—more plant-based, crowd-pleasing dinner recipes! 

Dinner is something I think most of us have struggled with (I know I sure have!), and when you throw “plant-based” into the mix it can be even trickier to figure out. If you’ve ever shrugged your shoulders over what to make for a vegan meal and resorted to toast or a bowl of cereal, you certainly aren’t alone. I knew I had to create this cookbook to help answer the ever-burning “what’s for [plant-based] dinner?” question. As an added benefit, the recipes in this book also make incredible (and often portable) lunches! You’ll also find the perfect, satisfying sides to add to your dish, meal-worthy salads for every season, hearty & healing soups and stews, and a bounty of flavour-poppin’ sauces, dressings, parmesans, and pestos that you can make to change up the flavour profile (or simply punch up your dish even more). And I threw in a delicious dessert/drink chapter, of course, because it wouldn’t be an Oh She Glows cookbook without some sweet, healthified treats! ;)

What you’ll find inside:

Dietary and Cooking Labels

Each recipe indicates whether it is nut-free, gluten-free, soy-free, grain-free and/or oil-free, raw/no bake or one pot. Out of 106 vegan recipes in this cookbook, 101 are gluten-free or have a gluten-free option, 90 are nut-free or have a nut-free option, and nearly all are soy-free. I also share whether the recipe is kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, and/or if any advance prep is needed. My “on the glow” label tells you whether the recipe is portable. My goal was to pack in as much helpful info as I could for you (dare I say this is my most informative book yet?)…you know me, go big or go home…lol.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Almost all of the recipes in this cookbook also include specific storage and reheating instructions, customized to each recipe. My recipe testers and I spent so much time testing the recipes to take the guesswork out of them for you!

Active Time and Total Time

Each recipe tells you how much active time and total time will be required. Active time is the time you are actively preparing food in the kitchen. Total time reflects how long the recipe takes from start to finish. If applicable, we also share Soak time and/or Chill time.

Full-page colour photographs 

I am so excited to share that I did the food photography and food styling for the recipes in this book – there are more than 100 of my photographs inside! 

Glow Getter Meal Plans 

This book includes 4 meal prep plans! Each time-saving plan provides step-by-step instructions, so you can prep or fully make 3 dinner recipes in just 60 to 90 minutes. I knew it was important to create plans that would actually work for a busy lifestyle. I’ve tried plans in the past that take 2.5 to 3 hours each week, and they just didn’t fit into my life. These plans don’t take long (60 to 90 minutes at a brisk pace) and they set you up with a few hearty meals each week!

Menus To Get Your Glow On

I also share my tried-and-true menus for special occasions or themed nights, such as Girls’ Night, Mother’s Day, Game Night, The Oh She Glows Cookbook Club Night, and more. If you have ever struggled with how to combine recipes for special meals, I really hope this will give you the inspo you need to simplify your planning. Don’t forget to check out our bonus bundle below as it includes 4 designed printable menus which correspond to menus found in the book!

Helpful Recipe Lists

My Helpful Recipe Lists index at the back of the book provides at-a-glance searching of recipes by allergy label or preference, so you can find all the gluten-free recipes grouped together in one spot, or all the kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, nut-free, one pot, and on the glow recipes. 

My Pantry Staples, Kitchen Tools and Appliances

I’ve included a condensed list of the essential pantry items I keep on hand along with my favourite tools and appliances. If I have a preferred brand, I share those names with you, so you know exactly what I use in my own kitchen.

The Oh She Glows for Dinner Bonus Bundle is here! 

The response to my pre-order bonus bundles for my previous two cookbooks was so enthusiastic, I knew I had to raise the bar and add in some exciting and unique new bonus features. This Oh She Glows for Dinner Bonus Bundle is definitely my favourite, most cheerful and creative pre-order bundle yet. All the *heart eye* emojis for this one. I had so much fun collaborating with local artist, Kayla Whitney, to create an adorable, custom Oh She Glows “Glow” downloadable art print for you to print and hang on your walls! This is my very first custom Oh She Glows print and it looks so bright and cheery on the wall. If you end up hanging the print in your house, we’d LOVE to see it! Simply tag it with #ohsheglowsfordinner on social media.

In addition to the “Glow” art print, you’ll receive 4 artfully designed Oh She Glows for Dinner menus to download and adorn your dinner table on special occasions. Super-handy Glow Getter Meal Plan printables from the new book will make prepping the plans even easier when your book arrives. It’s so convenient to print the meal plans and place them on your counter so you can cross things off as you work through the plan. Lastly, I couldn’t make you wait until October to get cooking, so I’ve included 4 advance recipes in this bundle—a few of my summer-friendly ones that we’ve been enjoying during this hot season! 

If you pre-order Oh She Glows for Dinner, keep your receipt handy and follow this link to get your free bonus bundle PDF! 

Pre-order now at the following retailers:

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Indigo.ca 

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble (signed copy)

The Book Depository 

Books-A-Million

Apple Books

Amazon.co.uk

  Please note: We earn a small commission if you purchase an item through our affiliate links above. Thank you so much for your support!

I can’t wait to hear what you think!! 

With love and gratitude,

Angela xo

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© copyright 2020 Oh She Glows. All Rights Reserved.

[susantregre]

Oh She Glows For Dinner + Pre-order Bonus Bundle!

Hi everyone! I hope that summer is treating you well so far, and you’re staying in good health and good spirits during what has been a heartbreaking year. How are you and your families doing right now? 

At long last, I have some fun news to share with you today! This cookbook reveal was supposed to go out to you in May, then in June, and then in early July, but with everything going on in the world it just didn’t feel right, so I delayed it multiple times. I’m not sure it feels right even now, but I’ve had a lot of questions about the new book’s listing on various retailers online, so I knew I couldn’t delay any longer. I’m holding onto the hope that this news will bring a smile to your face and a bit of cheer. :)

If you haven’t guessed already, my new cookbook, Oh She Glows for Dinner: Nourishing Plant-Based Meals To Keep You Glowing, is finally complete and it comes out in a couple of short months! It’s been a wild ride to cross the finish line (never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be wrapping up a cookbook during a pandemic and lockdown), but after 3 years of working away on this project, I’m absolutely thrilled to let you know all the juicy (pun intended) deets about this new book. If you subscribe to my newsletter, you may have seen the sneak peek pop into your inbox yesterday! 

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes from earlier this year when I was going over the book design!

Shifting from “behind-the-scenes” mode to “in-the-spotlight” mode doesn’t come easily for me (I’m much more of a behind-the-scenes kinda gal!), so this “launching into the world” part of the creation process is a big challenge for me on a personal level, and oh boy, the nerves I have right now are unreal. I’d be perfectly happy to work away diligently behind-the-scenes and never have to self-promote. ;) Do any of you relate? I’m always up for a good challenge, though, and getting to reconnect with you all is the icing on the vegan cake! 

This book would not have been possible without your encouragement, patience, and support throughout the whole process! It also wouldn’t have been possible without my small-but-mighty team made up of Nicole and Eric. They are my rocks, my sanity savers, my reasons for inappropriate fits of laughter, my sounding boards, my reminders to drink more caffeine and breathe, and it goes on. My incredible, diligent group of recipe testers (a special shout out and thank you to Anna, Carin, Tana, Tammy, Laurie, Caroline, Danielle, Vanessa, Lynn, Audrey, Stephanie D., Anne, Kathy, Stephanie S., Andrea, Beth, Katie, Lindsay M., Bridget, Laura, Lindsay V., Erin, Heather, Suzanne, Adrienne, Stephanie M., Carolina, Kirsten, Lori, Marina, and Kristen) have tested, and tested, and tested these recipes right alongside me and shared the most helpful feedback. And last but not least, I have so much gratitude for the amazing teams at Penguin Random House Canada and Avery! 

I held this book in my hands for the first time last week! I can’t even tell you how fast my heart was a-thumpin’ when I opened the box! It is always slightly terrifying and thrilling to open one of my books for the first time, and it really never gets any easier to send my heart and soul’s work off into the world. But I am so darn proud of this book. It’s my very first hardcover book, too!

About this book

Oh She Glows for Dinner is a reflection of what you, my dear readers, have asked me for the most over the years—more plant-based, crowd-pleasing dinner recipes! 

Dinner is something I think most of us have struggled with (I know I sure have!), and when you throw “plant-based” into the mix it can be even trickier to figure out. If you’ve ever shrugged your shoulders over what to make for a vegan meal and resorted to toast or a bowl of cereal, you certainly aren’t alone. I knew I had to create this cookbook to help answer the ever-burning “what’s for [plant-based] dinner?” question. As an added benefit, the recipes in this book also make incredible (and often portable) lunches! You’ll also find the perfect, satisfying sides to add to your dish, meal-worthy salads for every season, hearty & healing soups and stews, and a bounty of flavour-poppin’ sauces, dressings, parmesans, and pestos that you can make to change up the flavour profile (or simply punch up your dish even more). And I threw in a delicious dessert/drink chapter, of course, because it wouldn’t be an Oh She Glows cookbook without some sweet, healthified treats! ;)

What you’ll find inside:

Dietary and Cooking Labels

Each recipe indicates whether it is nut-free, gluten-free, soy-free, grain-free and/or oil-free, raw/no bake or one pot. Out of 106 vegan recipes in this cookbook, 101 are gluten-free or have a gluten-free option, 90 are nut-free or have a nut-free option, and nearly all are soy-free. I also share whether the recipe is kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, and/or if any advance prep is needed. My “on the glow” label tells you whether the recipe is portable. My goal was to pack in as much helpful info as I could for you (dare I say this is my most informative book yet?)…you know me, go big or go home…lol.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Almost all of the recipes in this cookbook also include specific storage and reheating instructions, customized to each recipe. My recipe testers and I spent so much time testing the recipes to take the guesswork out of them for you!

Active Time and Total Time

Each recipe tells you how much active time and total time will be required. Active time is the time you are actively preparing food in the kitchen. Total time reflects how long the recipe takes from start to finish. If applicable, we also share Soak time and/or Chill time.

Full-page colour photographs 

I am so excited to share that I did the food photography and food styling for the recipes in this book – there are more than 100 of my photographs inside! 

Glow Getter Meal Plans 

This book includes 4 meal prep plans! Each time-saving plan provides step-by-step instructions, so you can prep or fully make 3 dinner recipes in just 60 to 90 minutes. I knew it was important to create plans that would actually work for a busy lifestyle. I’ve tried plans in the past that take 2.5 to 3 hours each week, and they just didn’t fit into my life. These plans don’t take long (60 to 90 minutes at a brisk pace) and they set you up with a few hearty meals each week!

Menus To Get Your Glow On

I also share my tried-and-true menus for special occasions or themed nights, such as Girls’ Night, Mother’s Day, Game Night, The Oh She Glows Cookbook Club Night, and more. If you have ever struggled with how to combine recipes for special meals, I really hope this will give you the inspo you need to simplify your planning. Don’t forget to check out our bonus bundle below as it includes 4 designed printable menus which correspond to menus found in the book!

Helpful Recipe Lists

My Helpful Recipe Lists index at the back of the book provides at-a-glance searching of recipes by allergy label or preference, so you can find all the gluten-free recipes grouped together in one spot, or all the kid-friendly, freezer-friendly, nut-free, one pot, and on the glow recipes. 

My Pantry Staples, Kitchen Tools and Appliances

I’ve included a condensed list of the essential pantry items I keep on hand along with my favourite tools and appliances. If I have a preferred brand, I share those names with you, so you know exactly what I use in my own kitchen.

The Oh She Glows for Dinner Bonus Bundle is here! 

The response to my pre-order bonus bundles for my previous two cookbooks was so enthusiastic, I knew I had to raise the bar and add in some exciting and unique new bonus features. This Oh She Glows for Dinner Bonus Bundle is definitely my favourite, most cheerful and creative pre-order bundle yet. All the *heart eye* emojis for this one. I had so much fun collaborating with local artist, Kayla Whitney, to create an adorable, custom Oh She Glows “Glow” downloadable art print for you to print and hang on your walls! This is my very first custom Oh She Glows print and it looks so bright and cheery on the wall. If you end up hanging the print in your house, we’d LOVE to see it! Simply tag it with #ohsheglowsfordinner on social media.

In addition to the “Glow” art print, you’ll receive 4 artfully designed Oh She Glows for Dinner menus to download and adorn your dinner table on special occasions. Super-handy Glow Getter Meal Plan printables from the new book will make prepping the plans even easier when your book arrives. It’s so convenient to print the meal plans and place them on your counter so you can cross things off as you work through the plan. Lastly, I couldn’t make you wait until October to get cooking, so I’ve included 4 advance recipes in this bundle—a few of my summer-friendly ones that we’ve been enjoying during this hot season! 

If you pre-order Oh She Glows for Dinner, keep your receipt handy and follow this link to get your free bonus bundle PDF! 

Pre-order now at the following retailers:

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Indigo.ca 

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble (signed copy)

The Book Depository 

Books-A-Million

Apple Books

Amazon.co.uk

  Please note: We earn a small commission if you purchase an item through our affiliate links above. Thank you so much for your support!

I can’t wait to hear what you think!! 

With love and gratitude,

Angela xo

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[overthebarrelproof]

#craftspirits – An Interview with “Raging Crow Distillery” of Nova Scotia

Local, small batch, craft distillers have started to emerge in Canada.  We have not yet seen the boom that our neighbours to the south have, but we’re getting there.  I love discovering and drinking new spirits, I love it even more when they are Canadian!

This is the first of a series of interviews with distillers located across Canada.  My goal is to introduce you to the wide variety of local and craft products in our Canadian backyards.  Covid 19 has hit our economy hard and as Canadians we have come together and supported each other.  I hope these interviews connect you with our craft distillers, many who have changed gears to produce alcohol sanitizer for their communities.  It’s our turn to show them support by making a choice to buy local spirits, you will not be disappointed!

Our first interview is with Jill Linquist President and Distiller at Raging Crow Distillery out of Nova Scotia.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how it is that you got to where you are today? 

In June of 2016 we were on a wine tour in the Okanagan when we came upon Legends Distilling in the Naramata Bench amongst several wineries. The young woman who provided their tour of the distillery happened to be from Lunenburg, a fellow Nova Scotian! As we went around the tour with her we were surprised to learn that all the products made at the distillery could be produced from one still.

Back home, we own Goose Landing Vineyard and know the difficulties in dealing with weather issues and predators as it relates to grapes, plus the seasonal aspect of wineries. A distillery does not face these issues and that’s when the thought of a distillery began to ferment.

What were your next steps now that the idea was fermenting?

In the summer of 2017, we started on our business plan. Raging Crow Distillery Inc. was incorporated, and we received a permit to produce spirits from the Canada Revenue Agency in February 2018.

Where there any roadblocks or surprises as you started to move forward on your business plan?

We were quite surprised to discover that the distillery’s location in North River, NS was a dry community.   A plebiscite would need to be held.  We are very fortunate and grateful that with the support of over 90% of the community the vote was overwhelmingly for a wet community. We could now start to produce and sell.

What are some of the biggest challenges in being part of the spirits industry?

Fire regulations.  Regardless of the size of your distillery there is only one standard for fire rating.  Therefore a small, craft distillery is expected to have the same safeguards as a mammoth distillery like Seagrams.  This needs to change. 

The annual increase in perpetuity on excise tax needs to change.  Otherwise it will become cost-prohibitive for distilleries to operate.  Provinces need to remove barriers for craft distilleries to operate on an equal footing with the big distilleries such as the mark-ups at liquor boards and inter-provincial restrictions.

Now that you have gotten past the hurdles, tell us a little about your distillery.

At Raging Crow, we have two stills; a 200L pot still that we named “Beauty” and a 400L column still affectionately named “The Beast”.  They both arrived in July after renovations were underway to our building in North River.  Development of our products throughout the summer months and a grand opening of the distillery was held Sept 30th, 2018.

At Raging Crow we produce small batch, handcrafted, artisanal products that include such unique flavour profiles as Spruce Tip Gin and Dill Pickle Vodka which is fabulous in Caesar’s. We use locally sourced, all-natural products such as Aroma Maya coffee for the coffee liqueur, MacRae’s maple for Maple Vodka and local haskaps for Haskap Gin are used whenever possible.

What are Haskaps and what kind of flavour do they imbue in your Gin?

Haskaps are berries that you traditionally find in the wild and grow on the edges of wetlands.  The berries themselves have a raspberry, wild berry undertone.  You might compare their flavour to a bumbleberry or what you get from a mixed-berry pie.  The Artisan Distillers Canada recently described our Haskap Gin during a blind tasting as:

”The finish is pleasant, with an aftertaste of cherries and some herbal notes”

”Smells like Black Forest cake”

”Rich and round mouthfeel”

”There is an herbal and savoury note on the nose”

Our Haskap Gin is made with haskaps, juniper, lemon peel, coriander and vanilla (no Black Forest cake is added) and it makes a wonderful gin & tonic, martini or spritzer.

When you look at your portfolio of spirits, what is your proudest product?

One of the signature products is the potato vodka which is the only one produced in Nova Scotia.  Although it produces a smaller yield and can be more difficult to distil the end product has a lovely smooth, silky mouthfeel and taste.

We strive to produce premium products and are constantly developing new products. We currently have an organic rye aging in a used bourbon barrel, and we’re really excited about Nova Scotia’s first bourbon aging in a new Kentucky oak barrel!

Getting to know you a little better, who is the person behind the spirits?

Much of my day is spent doing the paperwork of keeping current with the federal government, as well as maintaining ties with various markets and customers.  The other part of my day is dealing with suppliers. Oh, and also have to fit in distilling in there!

Outside of my working day I have a great appreciation for gourmet cooking and it is my other passion.

Based on everything that you know now about the spirits industry, is there anything you wish you knew when you started? 

Anyone thinking of doing this should visit various distilleries to get a feel for how a distillery should be laid out.  We got lots of good ideas for our distillery doing this.  Visiting various distilleries also lets you establish relationships with fellow distillers.  You really need to look into fire regulations for distilleries, and contact a good engineer, as well as have a good relationship with the local building inspector.  That is critical!

Do you have anything in the works or plans for something in the future that you feel is exciting and can share with us?

The distillery stepped up to help in the fight against COVID-19 in March 2020 by producing hand sanitizer in accordance with WHO standards and licensed by Health Canada.

I am very proud of our Spruce Tip Gin, Caw-Caw-Phany Gin, and we are getting really excited about our bourbon release this Fall.

We are truly small batch and locally sourced.  Dealing with raw, natural products creates problems in need of solutions.  For instance, we had an issue with the sap from the spruce tips congealing that took some time to figure out.  We also discovered  that you can freeze spruce tips without any ill-effects, so it is now a year-round product instead of just seasonal.

We are thrilled with the support and feedback we have received from our community and we are in the process of an 800 square foot expansion.

What do you see for the future of the craft spirits industry?

We expect to see continued growth.  There is room for others to join so long as they are offering something different from the other distilleries.

For our industry to continue to prosper we need to see reduced fees to sell thru the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC).  Decreased excise taxes for craft distilleries and an elimination to inter-provincial barriers.

Where can we find your products?

Products are currently available at the distillery and select markets, or by ordering online.  Contact us and we will help you find our products.  You can also get more information from our website, https://www.ragingcrow.com/

This is the first in a series of articles featuring Canadian Craft Distillers. Images used here with permission of Raging Crow Distillery Check out Raging Crow Distillery: Ragingcrow.com | Instagram | Facebook

The post #craftspirits – An Interview with “Raging Crow Distillery” of Nova Scotia appeared first on Over the Barrel Proof.

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[holytheoristtastemaker]

The best part of any idea is when it's fresh and new, and you don't yet know the limitations and restrictions.  It can be almost magical!  Oh, the customers you'll help and the money you'll make!  All you have to do first is... write a lot of code.

How much code?  Well, obviously that depends on your idea and what business you're planning on setting up.  But there's a huge amount of code you'll need and want for any SaaS business, and a lot of it you'll have to write before you can write even line one of your business logic.

Where did I come by this list?  Well, I've spent quite a few years working on SaaS businesses at a variety of stages of maturity, and I keep my ear to the ground by listening to good SaaS podcasts. I noticed that there are a lot of common tasks necessary to launch a new SaaS product, and I decided to help fix that problem by taking it all and packing it into a SaaS starter kit to help cut down on the code you need to write (and the time you need to spend) to launch your business.

Let's explore that huge list of code.

Stuff You're Gonna Need

The basics

Okay, first you're gonna need something to start from.  Unless you plan on writing everything from scratch, you'll need to set up some common frameworks to enable a modern web app to run.  On the front-end, that's something like:

A bundler/build system.  Examples: Webpack, Parcel, Gulp, Grunt.

Babel, if you want to use modern JavaScript features on older browsers.

A UI library.  Examples: React, Vue, Angular, Elm.

A CSS framework.  Examples: Bootstrap, TailwindCSS, Semantic, Bulma.

An HTTP requests library, if your framework doesn't come with one.  Examples: Superagent, Axios, got.

A testing library.  Examples: Jest, Mocha, Jasmine, Ava.

Getting all these various tools set up to work together will take some time as well.  Just searching "configuring webpack for X" reveals a minefield of blog posts written for various versions of webpack and X.  Some will help, some won't, and sometimes only experimentation will reveal which is which.

Thankfully, there are tools that make a lot of this easier.  Next.js for React and Nuxt.js for Vue are just two examples, but there are many flavours of UI frameworks that can significantly reduce the setup time for the above.  Of course, now you have to learn how your UI framework works as well as your UI library, but generally that trade-off is worthwhile.

Moving on to the back-end, you're going to want a web framework.  This will largely depend on the language you're working with, but you have plenty to choose from:

Node.js: Fastify, Koa, and Express.

PHP: Laravel, Symfony, and CakePHP.

Python: Django, Pylons, and Zope.

Go: Gin, Beego, Martini.

Ruby: Sinatra, Hanami, and of course Rails.

This list is by no means extensive - just tracking down all the available frameworks for a single language would be an article in it's own.  But it does display the variety of choices available.  Each language and framework has its own capabilities and trade-offs, and that's something you'll have to take into account before you make your choice.  (Or after!  It's just harder to change your mind at that point.)

Development build system

Actually, let's take a step back for a second.  Sure, those are the basics, but you still need someplace to run all that code, and in a way that speeds up your evaluation of code changes.

You could run everything on your local machine, but that's rarely ideal.  For starters, your local environment is highly unlikely to resemble your production environment, and you don't want seemingly-minor differences causing problems when you deploy.  Plus, it's very hard (comparatively) to automate local environment setup, so adding anyone else to the project is bound to cause conflict, especially if they want to use an entirely different OS from you.

You have a lot of options for this, but the two easiest/most-common are:

1) Use a Virtual Machine

Virtual Machines have the advantage of being very simple to understand and work with.  If you know how to navigate your own system, you'll know how to navigate a virtual one just fine.  They're easily automated with something like Ansible, and easy to use for development with something like Vagrant.  Plus, you'll likely only need to modify a bit of your Ansible scripts or variables to turn your development deploy script into a production deploy script.

But they can be a bit heavy, as they are emulating an entire other machine.  There are good solutions to this (enabling CPU optimizations, using AMIs or other machine images to reduce deploy time, etc), but there's also an alternative.

2) Use docker

Docker containers are crazy lightweight.  Essentially, they just run the bits of the system required to run your code, as dictated by you.  Plus, a great many CI systems accept dockerfiles as input to automatically run tests and deploys of your code.  A well-built docker setup is a thing of beauty.

However, docker can be a bit confusing.  It requires learning a different mindset and tooling from working directly on a machine or virtual machine, and can lead you naturally towards more-complex solutions where a simpler one would otherwise work better for your use case.  (Hello, microservices!)

Reducing your development cycle time with watchers

A small thing that can save you a lot of time is setting watchers on your code.  These are programs that keep an eye out for changes in your code, then re-compile and restart servers so that the latest version of your code is always running when you refresh your browser.  Many of the tools you'll use will come with built-in watchers (webpack, for example), but for others, you'll need to install your own (nodemon to watch your Node.js server).

And like with anything else, there's configuration you have to do to make sure that each watcher is only watching the correct directories, that files are shared between your host system and VM/docker container in a fast method that won't trip up your watchers, etc.

Application template & UI architecture

With any luck, you'll have a design already to work with, but you still need to translate that design into an application template and common UI components and architecture.  A good CSS framework can really help here, allowing you to set up common colours and sizes that you can use across the entire project, and using component-based development can allow you to, say, create a TextInput element once, then use it across your project multiple times.  You'll also need to set up some form of menu infrastructure that allows you to enable/disable or hide/show certain menus based on user access or page location.

Logging

Proper logging can give you more and more-useful information than a slapdash setup can.  You'll want to log requests and request data, useful checkpoint information, and the usual stuff - errors, stack traces, etc.  But you also want to make sure not to log too much.  For example, you'll obviously want to omit passwords, but you should also in general omit headers, especially headers containing authentication tokens, for obvious security reasons.

Database migrations

Database schemas are part of your app as well, and that means they need to be represented as code somewhere and checked into version control.  Manually updating your production database to match your development database is amateur-hour.

So in addition to your back-end frameworks and your front-end frameworks, you'll need a database migration framework, and you'll need to write migrations for it.

Users

Users are the fundamental primitive of a SaaS application, and there's a common set of interactions you'll require: sign-up, login, logout, edit profile, etc.  But sitting underneath all that is a bit of a contentious topic: user authentication.

There are a bunch of ways to do user authentication, but most of them are wrong and will end up leaving you with security vulnerabilities.  JWTs are popular and can be secured, but you need to follow some best practices:

Don't store JWTs in localStorage, since any JS that runs on your page can access them, and if you get hit with a cross-site scripting attack, they can export your tokens en masse.

Store JWTs in secure, HTTPS-only cookies.

Include a global version code in your JWTs so that you can instantly invalidate all JWTs every issued.

Include a user version code in your JWTs so that a user can instantly invalidate all JWTs ever issued for them specifically.  This is useful to include a "log out all devices" option for users who may have lost a device or had their account compromised.

Send a Cross-Site Request Forgery token with every request as a javascript-injected header, and make sure that token matches one you've stored for the user on login.

You'll notice a lot of these practices are "in case of a security breach", and you'd hope that if you did everything correctly, they'd be unnecessary.  However, that's a fantasy and should be treated as such.  No site is 100% secure and bug-free, and yours won't be either.  Instead, you need to work in layers, so that if any one layer of security fails, there are still other layers and countermeasures in place.

Form validation

When users sign up, log in, and really all throughout your app, they'll be filling out and submitting forms.  These forms will need to be validated for the appropriate data, preferably on both the front-end (before the data is sent to the server, to provide the best experience to the user) and the back-end (to ensure no junk data is saved to the database).  If your back-end isn't in JavaScript, you'll need validation libraries for both languages that have the same semantics.

Transactional email

Transactional email is the email you send when certain events happen for your users.  These can be lifecycle events, like welcome emails, "trial about to expire" emails, etc, or service-related emails like email address confirmation emails, password reset emails, notifications about your service, etc.

You'll need to find and configure a decent mailer module, and usually perform some DNS configuration at your mail service host's instruction.  Some mailer modules will come with template capabilities built-in, while others will leave you to install your own.

Subscriptions/Payments

Getting paid is why most people are going to start a SaaS in the first place, so processing payments and subscriptions is mightily important.  Choosing and setting up an account with a payments provider is up to individual preference, but Stripe offers probably the best API and developer experience out there, while PayPal is usually the most-requested provider of choice from users.  It's likely that you'll want to offer multiple ways to pay through multiple providers, just to ensure that no potential customer is left behind.

If you offer subscriptions, you'll want to allow users to choose between a monthly billing cycle and an annual one.  Annual billing is a great way for dedicated users to save money, while also offering you the benefits of higher LTV and getting you the money up-front, increasing your liquidity.

If you have multiple levels of plans, you'll need to implement the ability for users to change between those levels, usually offering a prorated fee for the month of transition.

Though it's definitely not the "happy path", you'll need to offer users the ability to cancel subscriptions.  You shouldn't add extra friction to this, since some users will just be cancelling temporarily, and you want to leave a good impression on them, but it's important to try to capture the reason they're leaving, so you can improve your service.

Production deploy system

Once you've fully-developed your fancy new SaaS, you're going to need to put it up on the web for people to interact with, and for that, you're going to need a deploy system.  Even if that system is largely manual, you're going to want defined, repeatable, documented steps that ensure that deploys go off without incident.

You're going to want to cover the following bases, at a minimum:

Ensure server is reachable

Ensure server is set up correctly (correct runtime libraries installed, etc.)

Update code

Run DB migrations

Ensure front-end UI code is not cached in user's browser (update ETags, etc)

There are a whole lot more things you can do to ensure a safe and clean deploy, but this list is at least a good starting place.

Production backups

Much like how we discussed security in layers above, backups of production data are another layer of defence in case something goes wrong.  If you're still using manual processes to alter user data, it can be very easy for a slip of the keys to accidentally alter or delete the wrong user's data.  And if you're using automated processes, it's usually a lot harder to make those simple mistakes, but more complex mistakes can make it very easy to edit or delete huge swathes of user data.  Proper backups will one day save your bacon, bet on it.

What makes a proper backup, then?  That's a whole topic on its own, but you should start with:

Complete: Don't just backup the database - if the user uploads files, those should be backed up as well.

Regular: Backups should happen on a schedule, ideally daily or more, for more-volatile data.

Retained: You'll want to keep your backups around for a while, though you might want to set up a schedule for longer-retained backups.  (i.e. Daily backups retained for 30 days, weekly backups retained for 3 months, monthly backups retained for 1 year.)

Secure: Your backups should be kept with the same level of security as your data.  If your data is encrypted at rest, your backups should be as well.  Make sure to keep your encryption keys secure.  If you lose those keys, you lose the backup.

Tested: A backup that hasn't been tested is not a backup.  You don't want to find out that your backup process doesn't work (or stopped working) when you need to restore critical data.  There should be an automated test process that runs after backups are created.

If you're lucky, your hosting platform will offer some level of database backup as a service, which will save you a lot of time and effort setting up.  It likely won't cover 100% of your needs, but it will get you a lot closer than starting from scratch.

Stuff You're Gonna Want

Okay!  That'll get you off the ground, but once you start seeing any success at all, you're going to start wanting something a little more... robust.  Eventually, manually editing the database is going to get tedious (not to mention dangerous), and users will start asking the same questions over and over.  You're going to have to slow down on development related to your core business and implement a bunch more supporting features.

Admin console

You can edit and delete users directly from the database, sure, but all it takes is one time forgetting to add a WHERE or LIMIT clause to a statement to make you long for a proper administration console.  (And backups.  You set up backups, right?)

An admin console is also a great place for dashboards, user statistics, summaries, metrics, etc.  Your admin console can become your one-stop-shop for running your SaaS.

Documentation

Documentation can serve multiple purposes.  Primarily, it's for user education, but conveniently, this is user education you don't have to do manually.  Think about it like automated customer support - a user that answer their question from your documentation is a user that doesn't email you.

If your documentation is publicly available, it can also help users make purchasing decisions.  By answering questions about your service openly and up-front, you can let users more-easily determine if your service will work for them, as well as reassure them about your transparency.

Public documentation also helps with SEO, since your keywords will likely naturally come up frequently on your documentation pages.

Billing history

Once you have a sufficient number or sufficiently large customers, you'll likely start getting requests around tax time for their billing history.  Your payment system will keep track of payments for you, and many of them will be able to generate invoices from their web interface that you can send to customers who request it.

That might hold you for a while, but eventually, you'll want this functionality built into your system, so clients can self-serve, and your customer support team can focus on more-important issues.

Stuff That's Gonna Make Your Life A Lot Easier

Making the right decisions early on and as your service grows can have compounding benefits, but frequently, it's difficult to find time to devote to tasks that aren't seen as critical.  Still, if you can make the time to invest in them, it can pay off for you and your users as well.

Pause subscriptions & credit

Especially now, when people are trying to cut costs in both their lives and businesses, the ability to pause a subscription instead of cancel it outright can mean the difference between saving a customer and losing them.  Similarly, the ability to credit customers some free time or usage on your service can aid in retention, especially if something goes wrong and you want to make it up to them.

User ID obfuscation

When displaying publicly-visible auto-incrementing IDs (such as user IDs), it can be a good idea to obfuscate what that number actually is.  This prevents competitors and skittish customers from identifying how much usage your service has seen so far.  A great library for this is Hashids, which has many compatible implementations across many languages.

Limited number of development languages

The fewer languages your app uses, the less common code that you'll have to duplicate between the various services and projects you require.  Some are going to be unavoidable, such as JavaScript if you have a web app with any serious browser interactions, Swift for iOS, and Java/Kotlin for Android.  Web apps, however, offer a truly terrifying number of languages you can choose for server code: PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, Typescript, Go, Rust, Java, Python, Perl, Scala, Erlang, and even C# and C++.  In a microservices environment, it can be tempting to use a variety of languages for your different services, but that means redeveloping and maintaining common libraries for every new language you want to include.

In extreme situations, you can limit yourself to just one language, even across multiple disparate platforms.  JavaScript can do front-end and back-end web development, desktop development through Electron, and mobile development through Cordova.  There are definite trade-offs for going this route, but for a smaller studio, this opens up a multi-platform strategy on a limited budget.

Linters

Linters like ESLint, RuboCop, and Flake8 can make a marked improvement in your code.  They can catch stylistic errors long before they make it into production, and many stylistic errors are really just shortcomings of your chosen language, where hard-to-find bugs breed and propagate.

Monorepo

Monorepos are great!  They're especially great if you're just starting your SaaS, as they're far simpler than trying to work with multiple repositories when managing dependencies, figuring out code re-use, and ensuring that all the correct code is committed before deploys go out.

Everyone's situation is different, of course, and it may make sense in your case to go with multiple repositories, or even one day switch to such a strategy, but when you're starting out, you want to limit the complexity of your project as much as you can, and the monorepo strategy will definitely pay off in this regard.

User impersonation

Being able to log in as your users from your Admin Console can help immensely when trying to sort out customer service issues.  Instead of having several back-and-forth "what do you see now?" emails, you can just log in as them and find out.  There are a lot of things to consider when writing a user impersonation feature, however: Do you require special access to impersonate users?  Do you require the user's permission to impersonate them?  Are actions taken while impersonated logged?  Can you even take actions when impersonating, or view only?  How do you indicate that you are impersonating a user (vs. logged in under your own account)?

These aren't the only considerations, but ideally it's enough to make the point that there's a lot more to user impersonation than simply changing a token ID.

Improved production deployments

Once you start getting enough customers with sufficient expectations, you'll have to make modifications to your deploy process for increased reliability and flexibility:

Updating in-place won't work forever.  Eventually, switching to blue/green deploys or even something as simple as displaying a maintenance mode page while you update will be necessary to keep people from interacting with the system while performing significant changes.

If you have a complex SPA, you'll want to be able to inform users when you've made an update that requires reloading that code.  Tracking version numbers both in your UI code and on the server will allow you to pop up a notification, allowing the user to save their work and then reload.

Ideally, you should be using a bug tracking service.  If you also send your source maps to them when performing a deploy, they can provide even better error messages when UI errors occur.

Serving your UI JavaScript from your server is simple and easy, but users appreciate fast, and your job is to do the hard work so that users have a good time.  A relatively easy way to speed up your user's experience is to upload your UI JavaScript on release to a CDN.  This is a one-time change you need to make that pays dividends for your users going forwards.

You'll likely be manually checking that releases go as expected, but automated smoke tests that run on every deploy are a better way to catch issues that might otherwise slip by you when you're tired, distracted, or in a hurry.

What's the alternative?

If you don't want to start from an empty folder and write all this code yourself, you should consider using a SaaS starter kit, and it just so happens that you're reading the blog for one right now!  With Nodewood, you can get started writing business logic today, saving weeks or even months of development time.

Nodewood starts you off with a full working web app, with a Vue front-end and Express back-end, built entirely from JavaScript.  Form validation, testing, user authentication and management, subscription/billing are all built-in, alongside a sleek and customizable application theme with an easy-to-extend admin console.

[crosbyru-blog]

Mercedes-Benz A-Class 2018 long-term review

The wide array of specced Alternatives to try makes the latest-generation A-Class a long-term Narrative with room to develop Why we are running it: To see if this VW Golf rival has come of age, and to pick the'perfect' versionMonth 4 - Month 3 - Month 2 - Month 1 - Specs Life with a Mercedes-Benz A-Class: Month 4 Getting selective with the choices list - 20th February 2019Some option packs are better value than others. The A-Class's #1395 Executive Package certainly functions. It has heated seats (essential in winter), the excellent 10.25in larger central infotainment screen, front and rear parking sensors, electrically folding mirrors (those last two are vital in our HQ's tight multi-storey), and the ability to park itself, which I've yet to try.Back to the topFinally settled on purchasing an A-Class? The tricky bit's deciding which one - 13th February 2019Now we are on our second Mercedes-Benz A-Class -- this A200 AMG Line after the original A180d Sport -- the various ways in which an A-Class can be specced to create cars with such different characters are really beginning to manifest themselves. Each difference between the two A-Classes is big enough on its own, but combined they create a car that feels like something new .The most obvious distinction between this A200 and its A180d predecessor is, of course, the motor -- and the fuel station pump at which you fill it. The A200 uses a turbocharged 1.3-litre petrol unit into the A180d's 1.5-litre diesel. The 161bhp/184lb feet engine, co-developed with Renault-Nissan, feels of much greater displacement than its official 1332cc figure indicates, offering plenty of torque at low revs and surprising muscularity at higher revs. You can't say that about a lot of downsized turbo petrol units, although it does share its zingy soundtrack when under loads with its small-engined cousins.Impressive everyday economy proved to be a strong suit of this A180d and surprisingly -- given that downsized turbo petrols are typically among the worst performers in the real world -- it is easy to get up of 40mpg from the A200, and even push 50mpg in the event you drive parsimoniously. That's within spitting distance of the official asserted figure of 53.3mpg. 1 piece of the driveline the two cars do share is their seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Its performance at step-off and reduced revs was the worst portion of the A180d. The transmission is better from the A200, but not ideal. More work is needed to better integrate it with the motor, and ensure faster and more responsive getaways to get you through gaps in the traffic and roundabouts.The chassis is another big mechanical shift. As discussed previously, the A180d uses a torsion beam set up for the rear suspension, while the A200 AMG Line increases a multi-link back axle (non-AMG Line A200s get the torsion beam). Jumping to the A200 for the first time, it felt a whole lot more alive in the way it moved down the street and engaged the driver. I was surprised at exactly how much more nimble it felt, but put this down to the lighter gas engine on the front axle helping the handling feel more nimble over the rear suspension offering greater body control.Comparing the ride between the two cars is a more subjective thing, as it's not as simple as torsion beam versus multi-link. The A200 includes the larger 18in AMG alloy wheels, as opposed to the 17in rims of this A180d, and related lower-profile tyres (225/45 from the A200 plays 205/55 in the A180d). The A200 does feel a bit sexier than the A180d, but the ride is much more sophisticated, less ploddy and with better body control. We are going to keep experimenting with different suspension and wheel set-ups to find out if a sweet spot are available, but it has advantage A200 AMG Line in the chassis stakes so far.The interior is also a step up in sophistication and class from the already impressive A180d Sport. You would expect that in a pricier, range-topping trim, but the AMG Line does deliver. The sport seats grip you nicely and are pleasing to the look and touch, while the optional #1395 Executive Package provides a further increase in perceived quality. Among its additions is a larger 10.25in screen for the central screen, the highlight of which is the crispness and clarity of the graphics. A map hasn't looked so good.I had grown quite fond of this A180d. As an entry-level'real world' model (ie the best value you can get for the two spec and running costs), it felt like the kind of car to perform 20,000 fuss-free motorway miles in each year. The A200 shows how differently the A-Class can be flavoured, with no less pleasing results.Love it:Sleek styling This A-Class isn't pretty from every angle, but it has never looked better than in black with AMG Line trim.Loathe it:Transmission response Step-off is better at the A200 than the A180d, but still not as smooth as it ought to be.Back to the topThe A180d we began this evaluation with has been substituted by the A200 you see here. The A200's 161bhp 1.3-litre turbo petrol, on first impressions, revs well and helps enhance the overall drivability compared with the A180d's 1.5-litre diesel. AMG Line brings a leap in toys and perceived quality over the A180d's Sport and the more sophisticated suspension subtly enhances agility.Back to the topLife with a Mercedes-Benz A-Class: Month 3 Pass me another A-Class, we're done with this one - 9th January 2019By the time you read this, A-Class number one of three in this collection of back-to-back evaluations will have returned to its manufacturer. This A180d is to be replaced by a petrol-powered A200, meaning the diesel leg of this trilogy is over and the first set of conclusions can be drawn.What is worth noting directly from the off is just how relevant a diesel engine of any kind remains if you do big miles. When you are doing just shy of 2000 miles a month, as we were averaging in our brief stint in the car, diesel makes the best sense of all.Our average market figure has slipped from the 60mpg around that it had hovered in the first days. The weather has cooled and the amount of shorter journeys has increased, but we're still mightily impressed with a 55mpg average. That will make for interesting comparison number one as we switch from our 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel to a downsized 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol in the A200.Just what will our wallets make of the change? From previous experience, downsized petrols are some of the least impressive for real world market. We will have the calculator out over the next few months and let you know.1 thing that I won't miss about this A-Class is that the transmission. There's simply no go when you ask for it with your foot, no matter how gentle or hard you are on the pedal. It takes a fantastic second for drive to appear, and it is as unimpressive as it is baffling: how did Mercedes sign off the car like this?It is a shame, because for the most part the transmission makes for an easy-going counterpart to the A180d once you're on the go. It kicks down with minimal fuss when required and offers impressive drivability from the 30-50mph acceleration bursts that are a part of normal driving.The seven-speed dual clutch auto also appears in the A200, so it will be intriguing to see whether the issue is one related to the transmission itself or one caused by its integration with the diesel engine. Both the A180d and A200 use the torsion beam rear suspension choice -- unless you spec your A200 in AMG Line trim, which our automobile will include to include an additional element to this story.On the standard suspension set-up and with 17in alloys in this mid century Sport trim, the A180d rides nicely but not with class-leading status. There's greater sophistication in how a Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus rides. The A180d's body control comes unstuck over higher frequency surfaces and can set the cabin shaking. Intriguingly, there were a couple of large dissenters among the Autocar staff on the way in which the A180d rides on this standard set-up.The final big change we'll be noticing is with the MBUX infotainment system. Our A180d has the dual 7in screens, one centrally for the infotainment and another for the motorist's instruments.Others that have experienced the bigger 10.25in options in other A-Classes have smirked at how small it is, yet I have never had a problem with the images, legibility, size or operation. I'm looking forward to seeing if bigger does mean better when we update one of the two screens on the A200.Love it:SEAT COMFORT Not 1 fidget, tweak of the trunk or numbing of a bum cheek on a 400-mile journey.ACTIVE LANE KEEP ASSIST If you don't need it on, you have to turn it off each and every time you restart the ignition.Mercedes feels ahead in technology terms - 27th December 2018Having spent much of the past year at a Golf, I thought it'd take more than a month or two to familiarise myself with the A-Class. Wrong. Last week I jumped back to a Golf and was amazed by how outdated the VW felt. The A-Class has greater material richness and its technologies and slickness surpass the VW's -- a car that is likely on the podium because of its course along with the Audi A3.Mileage: 4222Life with a Mercedes-Benz A-Class: Month 2 One of those cars was the third bestseller in October, another fifth. - 28 November 2018When did mainstream cars become so expensive? Was it about the same time that the premium players came down to more mainstream sections like the family hatchback class to attempt to steal the established players' lunch?After a month or so fast piling on the miles in our recently acquired Mercedes-Benz A-Class and getting to know it fairly well for the months of this evaluation that lie ahead, I thought it best not to allow the chance slip by and do similar with the Ford Focus.After all, it is the likes of Focus buyers who have fallen under the spell of that Mercedes badge and saved a few additional pennies.The Focus and our A-Class share quite similar mechanical specifications. Both use small-capacity four-cylinder diesel engines (1.5 for the Focus, 1.3 for the A-Class) closely matched on power, torque and 0-62mph time (118bhp, 192lb ft and 10.2sec in the Ford performs 114bhp, 221lb ft and 10.5sec in the Merc).Both use automatic gearboxes (an eight-speed torque convertor for the Ford, seven-speed dual-clutch automobile for the Merc). And the Price? There is less than #1000 in it, in the sporty ST-Line X trim in the Focus, and the sporty, erm, Sport trim of this A-Class. By the time you fiddle with the various standard kits and choices, you find yourself with quite literally only a few additional pennies to the Mercedes. Translate this to a PCP deal and a monthly payment, and diddly-squat becomes the numerical value.The point? For however brilliant the Focus is to drive, and it's the quality of Mercedes and its overall package are of enormous appeal, and the best illustration of how the premium players are squeezing the middle-market mainstream brands with cars such as the A-Class. Ask the average car buyer if they'd have a Ford or a Mercedes for the same money, and we can all guess the answer.It is working for Mercedes, too. The A-Class is perhaps the most commonly spotted new car I've seen on the streets this fall, following the ubiquitous Ford Fiesta. Hardly surprising, as it was the third bestselling new car in the UK in September. Third bestselling? Crikey.Like me, those owners will be finding more about what an interesting car it is to live with. The Mercedes' interior and technology are in a different league from anything else that the segment has seen.The MBUX infotainment system may be'only' the entry-level one with the two 7.0in screens rather than the complete S-Class-style widescreen treatment across the whole dashboard, but it is wanting for nothing in operation.I'm experimenting with the'Hey Mercedes' voice activation system, which is definitely one of the better ones I've encountered. The trick is to talk to it normally, and not like a robot. Will have you on the phone to the road test ace faster than'Hey Mercedes. Call. 'I'm sorry, could you repeat that?'I am continuing to be bowled over by the effortless efficiency of this A180d. The market has settled around 60mpg today the weather has got colder, a quite extraordinary figure and in another league again to the 45mpg or so average I got from a similar drivetrain from the Focus. That's another part of the financial argument in the Merc's favour.Yet there is a negative point on the transmission, specifically at step-off. It's just so darn slow to respond. There is a T-junction in my commute on the edge of town. You have to pull upon the visitors to join a lane that has only come around a blind corner. Gaps in the traffic can be only a second or two, so as soon as you add in your reaction time and the time for the transmission to engage and then to pull away, the gap could well have gone.Manual gearboxes are coming soon to the A-Class and I guess its general quality will only increase more when that day comes.Enjoy it:Quality feel Classiness and quality run through the A-Class. Solid door thuds are as pleasing as the crispness of the interior screen graphics.Ride quality 'Loathe' is strong, but the ride is proving divisive. It's too firm for some, lacking sophistication for others. I'd call it okay.
Mileage: 3462In less than a month since it joined us, the A-Class has racked up a vast number of miles -- a indication of how well it fits into daily life. Yet much debate has begun in the office among those who've driven itride quality (blended ), fuel market (highly regarded), suitability of the transmission (not popular), interior quality (a high point), and size (Golf-like'just right'). Much to explore further...Mileage: 3222Back to the topWelcoming the A-Class into the fleet - 31st October 2018It's testament to the impact Mercedes-Benz has made with the A-Class in the UK that the arrival of this all-new fourth-generation version was considered one of the most keenly anticipated releases of the year.We say fourth generation, but you could argue it's only really the second given the A-Class's radical transformation from its previous generation from futuristic, spacious, ahead-of-its-time MPV-supermini mash-up to, dimensions-wise, a meat and two veg family hatchback pitched right at the heart of the European family hatchback market.The last A-Class was a staple of the UK's top 10 bestselling cars list monthly, buyers attracted to it in their droves from the attractive #199 per month PCP deals which were regularly being advertised as the most inexpensive way into Mercedes ownership. It worked: the A-Class was a key motive behind Mercedes' march to the peak of the premium brand sales charts in the UK and the fourth-top-selling brand overall.While we're here, that's quite a remarkable statistic. Mercedes sold more cars in the UK last year than Renault, Peugeot and Toyota to name only three, and the A-Class is among the biggest players in the family segment in the manner the Mégane, 308 and Corolla were a decade or two ago. Premium is the new mainstream.There are three unique engines originally available from dealers who are tasked with continuing that success. Yet there are so many subplots within the range that this is going to be a long-lasting test with a twist.For starters, KT18 RZA you see here is a car we are going to be saying goodbye to much earlier than we normally would, for by the time the year is out another shiny new A will be along replace it.Why so? To attempt and get as broad an experience as possible in the new A-Class. Early drives have suggested it is a car which can be specced in various ways to change its character so dramatically; we really need to try more than one car in a single solitary spec to make our recommendations.Up first, then, is an A180d Sport. This car's 1.5-litre four-cylinder unit with 114bhp and 192lb feet is the only diesel option until the more potent 2.0-litre A200d and A220d arrive very shortly. Drive is delivered to the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the only transmission available. Do not worry: manuals can be found in some petrol variants.The petrols for now are a 161bhp 1.3-litre turbo in the A200 and a 221bhp 2.0-litre turbo in the A250, while a 187bhp 2.0-litre from the A220 with optional four-wheel drive is due to split them. There is also a 134bhp 1.3-litre in the entry-level A180. A headline-grabbing, Volkswagen Golf R-rivalling A35 AMG has also recently been announced, before a launch next year -- our current plan being to crown this evaluation with a longer stint in that car with what might be the A-Class's greatest hits album.But there is much to discover before we draw any conclusions like that. Such as finding out more about one of the important stories in this A-Class: the suspension of its back wheels. The A250 is the only A-Class available today with the multi-link rear suspension, the A180d and A200 getting an eyebrow-raising torsion beam. If you don't spec your A200 with the 18in alloys in AMG Line trim, which is due to follow our initial torsion-beam-equipped A180d to get that comparison.Trim wise, our car is a Sport, which sits in the middle of the A-Class range. For the #27,340 asked by Mercedes, you receive a degree of kit that hasn't left us wanting for much in these early days. The wheels are the standard Sport 17in rims, and the only option is metallic paint. That leaves the standard kit list to add dual-zone air-con, some excellent LED headlights and the new MBUX infotainment system controlled through either the conventional 7.0in touchscreen, the trackpad on the centre tunnel or the steering wheel controllers.All those controls seemed a bit bewildering when I sat in the car, perhaps due to these recent personal familiarity with BMW/Mini and Volkswagen Group systems, yet already I am finding it intuitive to use.The vibrancy of these images is a highlight, as is my experience of the Hey Mercedes voice control. Utter these two words and you get Siri-style search function of the vehicle's controls, as well as some online search also. I have heard from colleagues that the system was quite buggy on its initial global press launch, yet it got up the amount of a taxi firm in Norwich I needed (is that you, Mr Partridge?) The very first time I used it.1 other first impression: the A180d has an engine of effortless efficiency. Economy is nearer to 70mpg than 60mpg (maintained: 68.9mpg). That is quite remarkable with only 1000 or so miles on the odometer. The car covered another 1000 miles or so in its first few weeks , and that kind of economy over those kinds of motorway distances is the latest case for the defence of diesel. In automobiles like this used in this fashion, the black pump makes absolute sense.And did I mention that interior? Well, it's not just lovely to look at, it's also lovely to sit and browse your way around its controls. That's only the entry-level system: we will be testing the optional 10.25in screens to the full widescreen cinema experience over the course of those updates for one more component to this developing story. We've got a busy and exciting few months ahead getting to know this most important of new cars, and so we'd better start.Second OpinionTwo things stick out. First, its all-round excellence: the steering and low-speed ride create rivals seem rough, and promise a fantastic next-gen Golf if VW would be to keep up. Second, how much more traditional it is from the first, nutty, shorter-than-Fiesta edition. Seems VW was correct all along.Steve CropleyBack to the topMercedes-Benz A-Class A180D Sport specification Specs: Price New #27,340 Price as tested #27,935 Alternatives Mountain grey metallic paint #595Back to the top https://autonotebuyerinc.com/mercedes-benz-a-class-2018-long-term-review/

[quenchmagazine]

Every year, Quench profiles Canadian chefs who are contributing that elusive something to the food scene, helping to change it, helping it to evolve. This year’s lineup is (often unintentionally) helping to define Canadian cuisine, which is no mean feat. Michael Hunter at Antler Kitchen and Bar in Toronto melds wild, foraged ingredients and game meats with his European-inspired style and technique to craft dishes that showcase Canada’s natural products.

Chef Michael Hunter is probably one of the only Mav Chefs on this list who is actively trying to define Canadian cuisine. His passion for nature, and all it has to offer Canadians, is evident when you speak with him. He’s a regular forager, gathering ingredients for the restaurant, and a hunter. Everything on his menu is game-based (meat), local/seasonal (produce) or foraged (fungi, berries). If you usually order the steak or chicken, then you won’t find these options on his menu. Try bison or Cornish hen instead. Antler Kitchen and Bar’s culinary theme is “Canadiana”; Hunter showcases contemporary Canadian cuisine with flavours from Ontario, Quebec and even British Columbia. He is transforming familiar dishes — like Jamaican patties, gyoza and even burgers — into local creations.

What do you love about cooking?

I’ve always loved food. So, even as a kid, I just loved to eat. As I got older, I just really liked trying new things. And then, as I got into cooking professionally, I really fell in love with organic gardening and foraging for wild food and hunting, just because it tastes so much better than what you buy at the grocery store.

What exactly does it mean to forage for ingredients?

My take on it is: I go to the woods and pick. Right now, wild leeks are coming into season. So, we go pick wild leeks, bring them to the restaurant and serve them. We pick morel mushrooms, pheasant back mushrooms, wild ginger, cedar, sumac, watercress, wild mints. All these things we go and pick ourselves. So, that’s foraging. We’re not growing it; we’re finding it in the woods.

Is there a sustainability concern? You have to make sure don’t pick too much?

Yeah, definitely. Wild leeks are a big one. They banned it in Quebec, because they don’t grow back very well. [But] in Ontario there’s no law against harvesting wild leeks. There are definitely things you need to know when foraging certain things.

Why do you forage instead of buying ingredients?

It’s really strange. It’s a bit of a primal urge thing — satisfaction. It’s fun. I love being in nature, I think about my menu when I’m out in nature. I take my kids; it’s a family outing. I take my partner — she comes along with me. It’s very therapeutic to be in nature as opposed to a fast-paced crazy restaurant. So, it’s kind of just … my therapy. But also, it tastes great. Mushrooms that are picked that morning — you can’t buy them that fresh. A lot of them you can’t find in a grocery store. There are certain kinds of mushrooms that don’t keep well to sell. There’s a mushroom called inky caps that starts to liquefy after 24 hours; they turn to mush. They’re very rich in flavour. Cooking with them is great: they taste rich and creamy like Campbell’s mushroom soup, but they’re just natural wild mushrooms without any cream.

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Why did you specifically choose to incorporate those foraged ingredients, game meats and that wild aspect into your menu?

It’s really just what I love to eat. For me, when you cook what you love, it tastes better. You know, you’re passionate about it. Our whole brand is Canadiana, wild food, forest to table. And for that to be authentic, we have to use those ingredients.

What is Canadiana cuisine?

Canada’s a very unique country in terms of food because our immigration is so huge. Our cuisine has turned into a bit of a melting pot. Which is really cool. But I think the Canadian food scene has a young identity. My take on it is: I’m born and raised here, and I’m highlighting the ingredients that are only from Canada. I love to eat avocados but I don’t serve them at my restaurant because we’re highlighting Canadian producers, farmers and foragers. So, we’re using, I would say, about 90 percent only Canadian products in the restaurant. A lot of those are regional Canada — we buy our wild fish from BC and the east coast, and also the Great Lakes. Our bison comes from Alberta, our deer comes from Ontario, our rabbit and wild boar come from Ontario. So, we’re just highlighting Canadian ingredients and farmers.

What would be at the core of Canadian cuisine?

For me, it is the game, because that’s what I believe our ancestors ate. A lot of communities in Northern Ontario and in the territories, all they eat is game meat. Their families hunt to sustain themselves and that to me — for them — that’s Canadian cuisine. My freezer is full of duck and deer, turkey, rabbit — and that’s what we eat at home. That’s my Canadian cuisine.

What is the biggest influence on your cooking style?

My cooking background is sort of a blend of French and Italian techniques. I trained with guys from the Stratford Chefs School, which is heavily rooted in French cooking. Various places I’ve worked have been French and Italian cuisine. I definitely use French and Italian recipes and techniques and influences, which are also a big part of Canadian culture.

So, you take the essence of Canadian cuisine — game, local — and you apply these types of cooking methods to the ingredients?

Yeah, I’m cooking something sous vide; I’m braising things; I’m serving rabbit with pasta. There’s lots of Italian dishes with rabbit and pasta, but we’re using local rabbit and local vegetables in that dish. So, it’s kind of a mash-up between my cooking background and Canadian ingredients.

What is your favourite meal when it’s cold and rainy outside?

Definitely some kind of soulful stew. I love braising duck legs or goose legs with a cassoulet. Or venison neck stew is really taste. Any kind of chili.

Ricotta Cavatelli with Venison Ragu

For this recipe, you will need a cavatelli machine (or a wooden gnocchi board with lined grooves).

Cavatelli Dough

500 g ricotta cheese 800 g all-purpose flour 200 g semolina 5 g salt 1 g grated nutmeg (optional) 1/2 cup milk 1 egg

Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix with your hands, adding water as needed, until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a table and knead until it is a firm, smooth ball. Cover the with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into 6 equal-sized pieces. Roll each one into a log 1 cm thick and partially flatten into strips. Feed each strip of dough through the cavatelli machine while turning the handle. If you are using a gnocchi board, cut your logs into 1/2 cm rectangular slices and push the dough downwards onto the board, using your thumb to curl the dough and create a concave centre with grooves on the outside.

Spread out the dumplings on a baking sheet, dusting with extra semolina to keep from sticking.

Venison Ragu

2 kg deboned venison meat (neck, shoulder or leg) 1 large Spanish onion 1 carrot 2 stalks celery 6 roma tomatoes 4 cloves garlic 100 ml olive oil 350 ml red wine 200 g dried wild mushrooms (preferably saffron cap) 1 bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, and bay leaves tied with twine) 2 L dark venison stock Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat a large skillet. Cut the vegetables into medium dice. Crush and mince the garlic. Season the venison meat generously with salt and pepper.

Add the oil to the hot skillet and add the venison; do not stir until the meat is caramelized. Transfer the meat to a roasting pan and set aside.

Add the vegetables to the skillet and sauté until they begin to caramelize. Add the garlic and stir; deglaze the pan with the red wine. Add the soft mirepoix to the roasting pan. Add the stock, bouquet garni and dried mushrooms, then cover the pan with foil.

Bake at 325°F for 2 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Use a fork to pick apart into large pieces, leaving the meat in the liquid to cool.

To finish the plate

250 g butternut squash 250 g turnip 250 g parsnip 1 bunch kale 50 g unsalted butter 50 ml olive oil 250 g grated Parmesan cheese  Salt, to taste

Fill one of the large pots with salted water and bring to a boil (pasta water should be seasoned to taste mildly like the ocean).

While the water boils, mince the root vegetables. Tear the kale leaves off the stem and roughly chop. Heat a second large pot to medium-high and sauté the vegetables in the butter and olive oil until tender.

Add the braising liquid, pulled venison meat and soft mirepoix to the sautéed vegetables. Reduce by half over medium heat.

Once the water in the other pot comes to a boil, cook the fresh cavatelli for 5 minutes.

Drain and transfer the cooked dumplings to the ragu, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the cheese and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Spoon into serving bowls and top with additional grated Parmesan.

Michael Hunter of Antler Kitchen and Bar in Toronto, ON: Mav Chefs 2017 Every year, Quench profiles Canadian chefs who are contributing that elusive something to the food scene, helping to change it, helping it to evolve.

[auntiegilli]

Will Coles takes ordinary objects mixes dark humour into his concrete casts along with a dose of social commentary with rich flavours of consumerism and environmental destruction – a delicious recipe.  You will find his work all over Upfest this year.

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  Born in Warwickshire, Will grew up in the Suffolk countryside.  I asked him how he got into art ‘My grandfather  (Norman Sillman) was an old school sculptor, expert in stone & wood carving, made little toy soldiers for toy companies & designed coin designs for something like 30 countries (the old £1 coins were his designs.) I always loved sculpting, always wanted to be a sculptor but I always knew I wanted to make work that connected with people, not just obscure art for the contemporary art scene.’

Over a decade ago he found his way of bypassing art galleries by mass producing concrete sculptures & installing them in public places. ‘Only a small percentage of the public regularly go to galleries so if you want a broad range of people to see your work you have to find a way of taking it to the people.’

Influences for him were political sculptors like Bill Woodrow & painters like William Hogarth. 

About these he says that they ‘knew enough to deliver their ideas with a sense of humour rather than boring people with a dry sermon.’  

He adds  ‘Street artists like Banksy, who was influenced by Peter Kennard.  Kennard & Martha Rosler are great collage artists who dragged that medium out of the 1920’s & made it modern & relevant. Ian Hamilton Finlay, a poet/sculptor used text a lot in his work but I also love Michelangelo, a genius in any era.’

Will spent several years at Ravensbourne, Wimbledon & Glasgow Schools of Art before moving to Sydney, Australia in the early 90s and moved to Spain a couple of years ago to ‘get in amongst it in Europe.’  and has ‘been bombing France, Italy, Spain & Germany, there are some great cities for street art like Valencia, Barcelona, Lyon & Hamburg (every city has good graff, it’s just a matter of finding it!)’

Over the last couple of years he has had shows in Spain,  Hamburg last year,  and group shows in the UK & Oz.  He ads ‘All good, & I had a son, Harry, about 9 months ago.’

I asked him what he has coming up this year ‘I’ve got my ‘Fuck Sydney’ show in Melbourne at the same time as Upfest, I couldn’t afford to do both. Then later in the year I’ve got a show with Oberfett Galerie in Hamburg. All sorts of work but I love Hamburg, some of the best street art & graff in the world. I miss Melbourne, in Australia Sydney’s where the money is but the culture’s in Melbourne, the street art & graff is insane there & gets the respect it deserves.’

About his now iconic ‘Laissez-faire’ (or Balaclava Man)  he said it is ‘a sculpture about how certain criminals are the real capitalists whilst most self-proclaimed capitalists are just upper class thieves. Bank robbers see opportunities & take them, they take risks & are aware of the consequences, they more closely resemble capitalists than the bankers that break laws then buy their way out of doing time. I made about 200 of that balaclava’d head & glued it around several countries, he ended up being one of my most popular pieces (BTW, it’s me inside the mask!).’

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Whilst a lot of his work falls into this street art movement, many of his pieces can also be found in private and public collections. Most of his work though, is unaccounted for, as – despite the strength of the glue used – his public sculptures are highly desired and regularly stolen.  ‘I did a lot of concrete TVs & glued them around towns, solid concrete usually & industrial glue & yet they still got nicked (each was about 80 kg!) They still turn up on auction sites. It’s funny how obsolete TV is becoming & how fast. Internet is killing old media, we just need to make sure the internet keeps its freedom. The problem with Sydney was people stole my stuff so quickly I ended up using the most hardcore construction glue I could find (an Oz one called Megapoxy!) They’d steal them taking bits of the pavement or walls they were glued to with them!’

I am always fascinated by what is important to an artist about their work  ‘To be honest to myself, & live up to my own standards. Commissions are great but don’t sell your soul, credibility & a decent reputation are hard to get back.’

At Upfest this year Will will be doing various works based on Bristol’s history & its importance, its place in the world.  I asked him what he is most looking forward to ‘Bristol! Catching up with old mates, drinking & installing loads of works therefore raising the resale value of Bristol city.‘

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See his work everywhere at

Upfest Saturday 29, Sunday 30 Monday 31 July 2017

Upfest Festival Map

Upfest – Will Coles a sculptor who loves his wife, carbohydrates and strong adhesives Will Coles takes ordinary objects mixes dark humour into his concrete casts along with a dose of social commentary with rich flavours of consumerism and environmental destruction - a delicious recipe.