When I first bought my Lathe (back in the USA 2006….), I had a few projects to cut some aluminium. Then bought a laser cutter probably in 2009.
I also discovered Quilling which I thought would be something nice for my Mum to get into….I made some very average box and some templates for my mum….
Only 10+ years later my mum has started to use the quilling kit for a special occasion.
[More updates…April 19]
Feb. 2019 : I m back at it!
Trying to make a real French baguette….been trying this since 2012….check my initial effort.
Best one so far ….
It is all in the Flour, need to buy T55 flour and it all becomes a lot closer to true French Baguettes…all made in the UK.
Ingredients :
How to Make :
Prepare the day before a mix of 150ml of warm water, the yeast, and 100g of the flour. once you have mixed it all, cover with cling film and put in the fridge overnight.[update : I have experimented with sourdough starter approach with multiple days of feeding looks promising] Also check this : Here
Next day, bring all ingredients out of the fridge and let everything rest at room temperature for a while so that Water+Flour+Levain is all around 20 to 25 degres celsius. Put all the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl with hook mixing attachment. Put on slow speed for 10 minutes [update : sometimes is require 15 minutes to get to right consistency]
Need to get to a smooth ball of dough. Keep needing if not smooth.
Put in oven to raise for 30 minutes.
Cut the dough in 3 equal pieces and shape all 3 parts in baguettes. The following method is important. Extend the dough between your hands, then fold each side back on the middle on top of each other.
Then do the same but length wise, folding half of the baguette on itself.
You can optionally do this (length wise fold) a second time with a 15 minutes rest time between the previous step.
Then roll with your hands to provide the long shaped baguette.
The dough will rise again and get puff up some more. [update : I do not let the bread rise on a cloth anymore, I put baguettes directly on the “form” and let rise on it]
Put the 3 baguettes on a “form shape” so it can rise again in a humid environment. I put in my steam oven which has a proving option. But simply putting in a closed oven with a bowl of steaming water is fine. You can also use a cloth to keep the shape of the baguette.
Let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes.
[update : once bread has had its second rise, cover gently with flour, then make a few deep cuts with “grignette” or sharp blade, this is important for the look but also for the crunch of crumb] If you want the “traditional look” , make 3 cuts in a S shape on top of the baguettes just before putting them in the oven. About 1.5cm deep. (I did not on this occasion)
Warm the oven to 230 degres celsius, with a tray in the bottom of the oven.
Once oven is nice and warm put the baguettes in the oven and throw a glass of water in the tray to create steam. This will provide the crispy outside of the baguettes. Cook until you have your desired colour of baguettes. Between 20 and 30 minutes.
Let bread rest of tray to allow for cooling down and a nice crispy outside to form.
I did more this week ….only 2 baguettes with same dough content. Better.
Original : 24th Nov 2012
I love Osso Buco, it taste so nice and is a great dish for autumn. A great comfort food dish. The house smells beautiful and gets everybody in a good mood.
Ingredients :
Garlic – Carrots – Celeri – Onions – Shallots
Pepper – Salt – Nutmeg – Flour – Butter
Chicken Stock – Osso Buco Veal pieces
Couscous or Pasta to go with it
It is very easy to prepare. Buy some nice pieces of veal, make sure there is no “loose” pieces of bones and dip in flour on both sides.
Seal the meat in your “Creuset” with a nice piece of butter. [update : I also add a bit of olive oil to make the butter foam-up a bit] Do not hesitate to put butter, it is a comfort dish, not some sprouting beans…Watch the temperature of the butter so that it does not burn too much. you just want to seal the meat, not cook it. Put some pepper to taste. I like it when it has a little bit of a kick. Do not put too much salt at this point, because you will put the chicken stock later which is salty on its own.
Once the meat is browned, put on the side and stir the onions. Again, do not burn the onions, you simply want to melt them and “clean” the dish to get all the nice flavours in the juice rather than sticking to the pan.
When the onions have started to get transparent, throw-in the other vegetables, carrots, celery shallots, garlic. Stir constantly until the dish is nice and clean at the bottom. (see the pictures). At this point, I like to add a little bit of nutmeg. This is the “secret” in my recipe of Osso Buco.
Prepare a chicken stock. (500ml approx)
Put the veal back in the Creuset pot, putting the meat on the bottom and the vegetables all around and over. Then cover with the chicken stock. I usually cover up to the top of the meat. You can put more or less depending on how juicy you want the final product. I prefer juicy and the kids like it that way as well.
Put the Creuset dish in the oven with the cover, at 160 degrees Celsius. For at least 90 minutes, or until the veal comes off the bones. This is almost a slow cooking dish. So do not hesitate to leave longer. The meat will not get dry, because of the juices from the vegetables and the chicken stock. If the stock evaporates too much, simply add a bit of water. But usually this is not necessary.
When ready to serve, I like to serve it with Couscous or Tagliatelle pasta.
Enjoy…
[update : It is ok to cook this in advance of people coming to the house and re-heat on time. It is also great on day 2 after a day in the fridge]
Only 4 days to go…
Saw this in the back of the European Headquarters’ building in Uxbridge , made me laugh…
We have not been “Rank Xerox” since 1997…
I never joined the club…maybe I missed on something special !
Can’t wait to spend some time on “me” and start to “grow” again…
As I organise my leaving party, I am amazed by the number of Xerox people who want to join me for a celebration drink and a bit of fun.
Anything Special about 4 ?
Four is the only number in English that is equal to the number of letters in its name.
Four on a calculator uses 4 LCD segments
The ancient Greeks associated the number four with earthly balance, believing that everything was made of four elements: earth, air, fire and water.
Pythagoras maintained that the soul of man consists of a tetrad, the four powers of the soul being mind, science, opinion, and sense.
I usually calculate the X4 by simply doing X2 twice…
While trying to convert the Irish into Christians, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity with each leaf representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So when a Shamrock has a fourth leave, it brings “luck” to the party.
Only a few workdays to go before I get released from my duties at the office….
I feel relieved from the inappropriate pressures but still sad for all the people I leave behind.
I need to grow, learn, be inspired and feel loved, all of which I have felt for the last 25 years but not today.
Number of days left :
Did you know you can quickly calculate the 9 table ?
Let’s say you want to find out what is 7 X 9 ?
Simply take the 7 take 1 off it => 6
Then think what would be the complementary number to this 6 that would make it go to 9…that’s 3. Because 6 and 3 make 9.
So the result is 63 !
2 x 9 = 1…..8…..18
3 x 9 = 2….7…..27
4 x9 = 3…..6….36
Easy calculus…
I have actually tried to make Cassoulet a few times but never got it to work. The following recipe is the closest I have ever got to a truly delicious Cassoulet that all the family likes.
Ingredients :
How to Make :
Jules and I are making an Iphone App for my Tesla…we hope to be millionaires soon…
The best part is probably just the fun of playing together.
A short Video :
Long time since last update.
A friend leaving the office (we have plenty of those at the moment), reminded me that I should post more often…
This is a very very very nice way to make Brioche bread. My sister in law gave me the recipe.
Ingredients :
How to Make it :
If you take out of the mould too quickly it might crush on itself but it won’t affect the taste !
All the family love this one.
Simple Recipe :
How to Make it:
Mix all dry parts first, including herbs.
Then add olive oil, 2 to 3 tablespoons
650ml lukewarm water (a bit warmer than blood …about 40degrees)
mix with a fork in the bowl
work the dough manually (for therapy effect), use the machine if you want.
keep dough fairly moist
put on the work surface and work the dough, about 5 minutes.
“tuck-in” the dough into a ball and put into a large bowl with a bit of flour
let rise for 1 hour
put the dough into a large baking tray (clay or ceramic one) with olive oil in the bottom
poke the dough so that the tray is fully filled
put a bit of olive oil on top
let rise a second time for 20/30 minutes
poke with 1 finger in even spaced holes
pre-heat oven to 250 degrees.
Put Rosemary on top of the dough.
poke the dough with 1 finger until holes evenly spread
add a bit of rock salt on top.
put in the oven for 20/30 minutes or until golden brown and dry inside.
Take out and let cool for 30 minutes
These are great gifts, I like to make them, I like to go to somebody’s house who still have them for many years before. In some way, I like the idea that it is a piece of me in other people’s lives.
They are made with 3mm bamboo sheets, which har more and more difficult to source. These ones are caramel colour.
I usually use 3 layers or 3mm bamboo, laser cut, then glued in place.
Then a fair amount of sanding, polishing to get to the nice sheen and touch feeling that the final product gives.
I like the texture and the feeling you get when you touch these when they are finished.
I was inspired by a first design discovered on Pinterest and decided to make a few variations, I still have a few more ideas of variations to make but need to find a reliable source of bamboo sheets.
Now that I have learned to use the software tools such as Fusion360 and Adobe illustrator, I am able to go quickly from design to finished product with minimum waste of time or materials.
This weekend, made a tray for Bathroom to hold toothbrushes etc…with draining holes and stainless steel hardware.
I remember the days of my youth when I was waiting for these tools to be available to use. I knew it would come but it has been very slow coming….
My observation today, is that the software has evolved well but the interface to the production machines such as the laser or the 3d printer are still very buggy or cumbersome. There is still a lot of progress to happen here.
For example in 2006, when I bought my first CNC the software was very DIY and reflected how the machine worked rather than how the human would want to interact with the machine.
An example of that would be: Assume you want to simply carve a circle in a material. The 2006 software would require you to provide “all” the parameters and would require you to calculate the offsets of the tools using a text editor and some G-Code.
Today it is better but still not great. You draw in Fusion to ensure precision in the drawing, export to illustrator to get an SVG or another file format that the CNC/Laser can understand, then provide parameters to the machine for cutting, then start cutting.
Still, I find the laser and amazing tool to go quickly from Design to Finished product…
Simple / Quick / Delicious….
Made one this Saturday morning was all done before I could finish my coffee…
Can be eaten hot or cold with salad and bread,
Nice smell in the house for the kids to wake-up.
Ingredients :
How to make :
A colleague in the office just got 30 years of Company.
He told us of an old story that his dad (an ex-Xerox as well) told him many years ago. without going into the details, the below poem is worth a bit of reflection.
The Indispensable Man
Sometime when you’re feeling important;
Sometime when your ego ‘s in bloom;
Sometime when you take it for granted,
You’re the best qualified in the room:
Sometime when you feel that your going,
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions,
And see how they humble your soul.
Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining,
Is a measure of how much you’ll be missed.
You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop, and you’ll find that in no time,
It looks quite the same as before.
The moral of this quaint example,
Is to do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There’s no indispensable man.
Just a few things done during the weekend to clear my mind …
Quick pint with the kids, trash talk, laughs, (the best).
Longboarding in the sun (second best, especially with the right Playlist)
Raspberry pi Programming, painful on my old brain but rewarding
(ultimately for the Tesla charging app)
3D Printed Bracket for music speaker on the bike. (Preparing for summer rides)
Digital Embroidery of new “Boule Club” of Jules. (He made it, I am so proud)
Laser cut tracker for fish feeding…Fusion 360 Design to Finished product in 3 hours.
(Action trumps perfection)
I still feel I have done very little of what I could do.
Amused by all the commotion around some cold weather front…feels like a lot of emotion and not much process…I am in Aberdeen….not playing tennis tonight…
Update : Was probably to “flippant” about the weather, my “karma” got adjusted this morning with the boiler not working and freezing conditions….12 degrees celsius inside at the moment and dropping.
Still cannot believe I have spent 25 years, or half of my life, working for Xerox…
Started on a 6-month non-renewable contract, thanks to a very clever manager that saw some potential in a young and
in-experienced lad.
Some days I think I was lucky, others I think I worked hard…
When I look back, I am always proud of the legacy I am still building and grateful to the “giants” that coached me and thought that I could be trusted with the keys of the business .
