Small Town Oil Wife: April 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Chinese Food and a Great Oriental Market in Aberdeen, Scotland - Plus a healthy, quick breakfast idea that's good for you on-the-go types!

If you are looking for a great place to get Chinese food, The Manchurian in Aberdeen has got it! Dim sum? Yes, please! I highly recommend this place. We went for lunch on Sunday. Everything was very good, and the staff were so friendly and helpful with the menu. Photos from Jessica Hall. Thanks!

Egg custard tarts! Yum!

After lunch, we headed next door to Matthew's Oriental Supermarket. I needed a wok, some food stuff, and a couple of bamboo steamers. I wanted the bamboo steamers because I've recently become interested in learning how to make steamed buns. I'm starting with Mantou. I bought some frozen mantou at Matthews and got lucky! They were good!

I got all of this for only £37 (about $57). Not bad for a nice wok, a giant bag of jasmine rice, steamers, and other products.

Moving on. I'm always looking for new ideas for eating healthy. I try to avoid boxed products as much as possible. We've really tried to cut down on things with lots of preservatives or processing. I found this blog page on Pinterest for Overnight, No-Cook Refrigerator Oatmeal. I gave it a try, and so far I think it's pretty good. I made the mango-almond type and the chocolate-banana type. Here is the recipe in a nutshell:

1/4 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1/3 cup of milk
1/4 cup of Greek yogurt (low fat if you want)
1.5 teaspoons of Chia seeds (but I used 1 tsp of milled flaxseed) for additional nutrients.

That is the base, and then there are extra ingredients for the different flavors. You mix everything in small mason jars for individual serving sizes and then put them in the refrigerator overnight. I used almond milk instead of cow's milk, but I think I'll test the cow's milk just to see if it makes it a little thicker or gives a slightly different flavor. I also used flaxseed instead of chia seeds because I couldn't find chia seeds. Flaxseed is good for those additional nutrients!

You may have to tweak the recipe depending on the type of oats you buy and possibly even the type of milk (I'm investigating this). It only took me about 10-15 minutes to dice the fruit and mix everything. If you tend to rush to work or don't always have time for a lunch break, I think this would be a great option to make sure you are getting the nutrients you need to get through the day. Now, the pictures on her blog were nice and pretty, so I'm claiming mine as "real life" first time. I couldn't find jars but these snap-lid containers work well. Remember that it's individual serving sizes, which is why they aren't filled to the top.

Before!

After. A little thicker. This is the chocolate-banana flavor.

Walk Aberdeen - Urban Walkabout to St. Machar's Cathedral and U of Aberdeen

This weekend we decided to do an "urban walk" instead of a hike on one of the hills. Our walk was a little over 4 miles round trip. We walked to Saint Machar's Cathedral and then to the University of Aberdeen with our friends Jessica and James. It sounds strange to walk around a University, but if you want to get out and about Aberdeen, this is a good walk with lots of neat views. We started near Rosemount Place.

There are always interesting things to see around the city, especially if the city looks different from your hometown. Or sometimes, you happen to just catch the ordinary at the right moment.

I love the cobblestone streets here, unless I'm on my bicycle.

Saint Machar's Cathedral
We arrived too late in the day, so we couldn't go in the cathedral, but at least we got to walk around the churchyard.

The street you walk down to find the cathedral. :o)

Headstones in the shape of crosses have beautiful designs on them.

Old Machar Churchyard

University of Aberdeen
From the cathedral, we headed up High Street to the University of Aberdeen. I recommend taking a walk down this street. It's just neat.

Kilau Coffee. I love their sign up top, and I agree.

National Animal of Scotland

National Animal of England

Saturday was a good day. I really enjoyed walking around the churchyard and the campus. We headed back to our house for pizza and card games. Interestingly, they put corn on pizzas here. Also, you can go to Asda and have a pizza made special for you to take home and cook in your own oven. Yum!

I didn't do much today other than cleaning, which is why I'm writing about the weekend. I think I'm getting a cold, but I'm hoping it's just allergies. I've been drinking loads of water and white tea. I think I'll try a bath tomorrow. A friend of my mom's suggested putting 100% clay cat litter in a sock and put that in a bath with some oils. The clay is supposed to help remove toxins from your body. I'll add a little Argan oil for softness and maybe some rosemary (good for circulation and sinus/respiratory issues).

Friday, April 26, 2013

Gaining Light at the Top of the World

Okay, so maybe we aren't exactly at the top of the world, but we are much closer than Texas! BBC Weather says that sunrise is now at 5:33 AM and sunset is at 20:31 (8:31 PM). I think we are gaining about 4 minutes of extra light per day. I took the below picture on our way to the park at 8:40 PM.

A friend of mine told me that during the peak of summer, it doesn't really get properly dark. She said it just maintains a twilight-state at night. It's a good thing we have those blackout curtains. Well, for that and for the streetlight and our neighbors floodlights. Word of advice: If you install floodlights (the big, bright, spotlights outside), please be considerate enough to try NOT pointing them toward your neighbors' windows. Thank you.

Flowers of the week(s):

Did you get any flowers this week? What color? :o)

Just for fun:

The word "peak" is often misused.

From: https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourwords/peak-peek-pique/

Let's look at three homophones: peak, peek, and pique. Peak is a topmost point, such as a mountain peak, or to reach that point:

We're sort of at peak demand right now.

A peek is a glance or a quick look, like you do with the unwrapped Christmas presents at the bottom of your loved one's closet. It can also mean to glance or to peer at. It's frequently paired with sneak, which can lead you to use the incorrect peak:

Residents take a peek at bike and pedestrian safety plans
Yellowstone Offers Sneak Peek Of New Visitor Center

Finally, pique is to upset or excited someone. You will sometimes see peak one's interest for pique one's interest, but don't be fooled. If you're piquing someone's interest, you are exciting their interest not taking a quick look at it:

If that doesn't pique your interest, you can leave (but I'm keeping your shoes).

Here's your mnemonic device:

You have to reach to gain the peak.
If you peer at something, you are peeking.
And if you're piqued about something, there's usually a question in your mind about it.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Slains Castle and The Bullers of Buchan Walk

Yesterday, Pam and I had planned to go on a walk with some ladies, but that walk was cancelled so we planned our own! We drove out to Slains Castle, the supposed inspiration behind Bram Stoker's Dracula. Apparently Bram Stoker stayed at a hotel in Cruden Bay while writing and was pretty obsessed with the castle. I have to say, it was sort of creepy in some places.

The unfortunate thing about Slains Castle is that it is not maintained by any organization, so the trash left by tacky people just stays there. A word of caution: The castle is fine, but the walk is not suitable for small children. The cliffs are dangerous. It's VERY windy there, and sometimes you are only about a foot or so from a cliff edge. Also, don't walk too close to the edge to look over or take pictures even if it looks solid. The grass is slippery, and the edges can give way due to erosion.

How to get there:
We found that the best way was to drive through Cruden Bay (small village) down the A975 and when the road splits turn right toward Peterhead. You'll cross a small bridge and come around a turn where you'll see a very small car park on the right that is FREE. Park there and walk down the road toward the castle. After viewing the castle, walk back toward the road, but stay on the other side of the fence, following the path around the sea inlet and to the right to continue toward the Bullers of Buchan. Alternate paths and additional information can be found here.

This sea inlet acts as a natural moat around the castle! Beautiful.

What do you think these are? Storage?

I had to carry Angel up the stairs. She didn't like them.

View from the top of the tower.

A few ships have met their end on those rocks...

There were some creepy dark rooms... bring a flashlight... if you dare.

Angel kept peering over the cliff edges. It made me soooo nervous.

Pam in front of the detached rock island known as Dunbuy.

So what is the meaning of "The Bullers of Buchan?"

"The name "Bullers" has been thought to be derived from the French "Bouillir", meaning "to boil", as the water in the pot appears to boil during stormy weather, but another explanation says that the word is an old Scots word meaning "rushing of water", which sounds more likely - the sound made by the waves crashing in through the archway opening into the pot, perhaps."
From: http://bullersofbuchan.me.uk/names.htm