Heat wave
It has been an especially hot summer, and now at the (theoretical) beginning of autumn we are coming to the end of the longest heat wave on record for the city (since records began) if tomorrow is again over 30 degrees Celsius (which it is supposed to achieve). I personally don't mind hot weather (or cold or wet weather, for that matter), as long as I am not required to be outside in it. Which would generally be all well and good. Except...
I am trying to study, and my room is uncomfortably warm, so I end up in the lounge room, shared today with one of my housemates.
I am trying to study and my fairly old laptop has a tendency to overheat and shut down, sometimes at truly inopportune moments!
I am trying to study, and sometimes I would much rather be doing something else, like baking, only it is already too hot inside to heat up the kitchen (and the rest of the open plan dining/lounge area) by using the oven.
Which hasn't entirely prevented me from baking (one batch of biscuits - cookies for my US friends), but has led to some more creative use of my time.
Yesterday I spent several hours watching the clock so that I could work on a jelly cake. (I think Jell-O for those of you in/from the USA?) I had three packets of jelly crystals in different colours - red, yellow and green. I also have neighbours whose son turned three today, which gave a perfect excuse for making something like this. And I had instructions from my sister who has made a few jelly cakes in the last few months. Plus, how could this possibly go bad? It might not look pretty if things went wrong, but it was guaranteed to taste very good!
The process: make the jelly according to packet instructions - only one packet at a time. Put the jelly in the container you wish to use to shape the jelly, making sure it is large enough for the amount of liquid you will be putting in overall! (I was worried I might not have something which would fit three packets of jelly!) Leave it for about two hours so that it is not fully set, then make the next batch of jelly.
This is the point where I had a little trouble. My yellow jelly flowed into the red jelly, making something more orange than red and yellow, though with red streaks through it (which looked pretty good, but were not what I wanted). So I left it a bit longer before adding the green, and added the green more gradually, using a spoon rather than just pouring it in. And it turned out pretty well, actually! Clear layers of red/orange and green. Just the right amount of jelly for 6 adults and 2 children - although I'm sure we could have managed if there was a little bit more! I would love to share a picture of it, but we couldn't wait that long! So this will have to do:
On another note, I have drunk 2 bottles of water today, and I'm still thirsty. If only it were cool enough to enjoy more cups of tea! I'm off to see if the grapes in the fridge are still good. (Yes! They're good. Nearly the end of that 1kg bag, though.)
How do you cope with hot weather? Or with extremely cold weather? I have not had to deal with snow and all the problems that sort of weather may cause! What is the weather like where you are?
I am trying to study, and my room is uncomfortably warm, so I end up in the lounge room, shared today with one of my housemates.
I am trying to study and my fairly old laptop has a tendency to overheat and shut down, sometimes at truly inopportune moments!
I am trying to study, and sometimes I would much rather be doing something else, like baking, only it is already too hot inside to heat up the kitchen (and the rest of the open plan dining/lounge area) by using the oven.
Which hasn't entirely prevented me from baking (one batch of biscuits - cookies for my US friends), but has led to some more creative use of my time.
Yesterday I spent several hours watching the clock so that I could work on a jelly cake. (I think Jell-O for those of you in/from the USA?) I had three packets of jelly crystals in different colours - red, yellow and green. I also have neighbours whose son turned three today, which gave a perfect excuse for making something like this. And I had instructions from my sister who has made a few jelly cakes in the last few months. Plus, how could this possibly go bad? It might not look pretty if things went wrong, but it was guaranteed to taste very good!
The process: make the jelly according to packet instructions - only one packet at a time. Put the jelly in the container you wish to use to shape the jelly, making sure it is large enough for the amount of liquid you will be putting in overall! (I was worried I might not have something which would fit three packets of jelly!) Leave it for about two hours so that it is not fully set, then make the next batch of jelly.
This is the point where I had a little trouble. My yellow jelly flowed into the red jelly, making something more orange than red and yellow, though with red streaks through it (which looked pretty good, but were not what I wanted). So I left it a bit longer before adding the green, and added the green more gradually, using a spoon rather than just pouring it in. And it turned out pretty well, actually! Clear layers of red/orange and green. Just the right amount of jelly for 6 adults and 2 children - although I'm sure we could have managed if there was a little bit more! I would love to share a picture of it, but we couldn't wait that long! So this will have to do:
On another note, I have drunk 2 bottles of water today, and I'm still thirsty. If only it were cool enough to enjoy more cups of tea! I'm off to see if the grapes in the fridge are still good. (Yes! They're good. Nearly the end of that 1kg bag, though.)
How do you cope with hot weather? Or with extremely cold weather? I have not had to deal with snow and all the problems that sort of weather may cause! What is the weather like where you are?
It's so nice to hear about warm weather. I'm currently in -1 according to my computer! Last week we had weather over 10 and it was sunny, and I was hoping that Spring was finally coming. But alas, now we're back to around 0 and little bits of snow. It's so nice waking up to a white world, but it's not so nice when you have to actually go outside in the cold! You really should go somewhere that has snow- it's an experience.
ReplyDeleteI have been told that snow is a wonderful experience. One of my sisters commented to me when she returned from her school snow trip that I would love the views from the top of ski slopes, but wouldn't be likely to want to get to the top of the mountain and then ski down! Too true! Sorry to hear that spring is as slow to materialise over there at the moment as summer is to leave here - hope the weather improves soon!
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