To Lorraine or Florentine

Quiche,

I am sorry, you are nice, but it just doesn't work for us.

I will still have a slice of you from time to time, whoever you are, Lorraine or Florentine, but I am not going to make you anymore. It's your crust, I am really done with your crust.

I tried very hard to accommodate your crust. Use knifes, not hands; careful with water, don't soak the dough; blind bake the crust first; check any cracking.

It is still leaking.

Starting from scratch is always my principle in most things, but quiche, you make me question my life ideology.

Especially when two ready-to-bake crusts at Métro cost only $4.5.

I guess I may turn to Tortilla, your Spanish neighbour with no crust, if I crave for an eggy cake one day.

Take care.

Chan

都還在

興之所致時胡亂整的手工，想來已有三年。心意雖然爆棚，但質素都是業餘，叫做還未爛吧。

至今還能看見它們各守崗位，那是如此的微不足道卻又如此的意義重大。薄薄的布塊把我的念頭都掀起了。

年輪的故事

今年是楓糖漿的豐收年，因為今年初春的天氣屬日間溫度高於零度、晚間又跌至零下；這種天氣條件令楓樹中引出來的sap（楓糖液）特別多。我們在Carp將鄰居因太多而轉送的一加侖sap放在火爐上讓它綿綿地煲，三天後它濃縮到約莫只餘1公升，就成為了楓糖漿了。

我們很高興地在早餐中以楓糖漿取代蜜糖，又給朋友品嚐，包括剛退休的園藝教授Phil。當我們提到今年楓糖業豐收時，Phil說希望這不會令楓樹太stress，接著他就給我們解釋了一個有趣的樹木現象。

在這樣的豐收年，楓樹sap流出特別多，即樹內貯下的sap會減少。Sap是樹木用於天氣惡劣時的營養庫存，如果那年之後的日子特別乾燥或大風，樹的水份不足，就會著緊於用庫存來挨日子，而不能再集中在樹木生長上，那麼年輪的擴展幅度就會較往時為小，而新枝幹也會較平日的短，這些都會記錄在樹上，毋須細微科學驗證也可以察覺得到。

聽起來既合理又不複雜的現象，但我可從來沒有想過，還覺得有某點浪漫感。