chowdesign

design-engineering-crafts-photography-adventures-fun A place for past work, current projects, inspiring finds, as well as the occasional random thought. Thanks for visiting.

[chowdesign-blog]

Introducing the new calf to our Jersey steer. He is still a bit unsteady because he had a bacterial polyarthritis when we first got him.

[qualitymeat]

[iamthesuckdickforclogsgirl-deac]

this is one of my future activities

[amerikansk-kvinde-deactivated20]

Gentle Barn in Tennessee 😀

[chowdesign-blog]

Be right back. Gonna add a window to the mudroom.

[chowdesign-blog]

Snap snowstorm brought an unexpected amount of snow.

[chowdesign-blog]

Added another set of lights. Pretty excited about the garden this year.

[chowdesign-blog]

New pup. Hopefully he can keep the chickens and cows where they are supposed to be.

[chowdesign-blog]

Had a bit of wind trouble with a tree and the fence. Benson is apparently contemplating an escape attempt.

[chowdesign-blog]

Hot air ballons

Seems to be a pretty popular thing around here.

[chowdesign-blog]

First Rifle Season for Elk

We went out last month to try to fill our tag. Didn't get one, but it was a great experience anyways.

Weather came in overnight.

Didn't let up all day. Made for some pretty awesome scenery. Wife also got her first try at winter camping.

[chowdesign-blog]

Camping in the foothills, round 2

The trees were still bare the last time we went out, but this time the aspens were in their full summer coat.

We moved our camp up into the hills and were rewarded with a nice view out over the valley.

There is also a reservoir nearby for fishing.

[zakuromochi]

The other day, my friend and I went to the owl cafe in Osaka, called Owl Family Osaka. We had a 60 minute time slot, the beginning of which we were given detailed instructions about the manner and way of handling the owls. After the instruction, we were able to play with the owls.

The women running the establishment were really friendly and were so loving to the owls, they really helped us to understand the owls that we interacted with! 
There were a few owls we were allowed to handle in our allowed time, while some others were in an area where they rested. 
It was a really great experience!! The owls were very well behaved and were incredibly friendly. There is also a really cute little owl goods shop in the cafe~!

You should definitely visit someday if you have the chance!

Here’s their blog: http://blog.livedoor.jp/owlfamily/

[fat-birds]

oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my gohhhdddddd

[chowdesign-blog]

I have a mighty need to go to this place

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These look like pretty cool toys for kids (at least until they can tie decent knots). Actually, I want a few for camping, easier than lashing something together with 550 cord.

[chowdesign-blog]

Beer update

Our pale ale just finished so we cracked one open for Memorial Day.

It turned out quite well, if a little stronger than expected. The changes to the hops additions seem to have worked. There is good balance, without any of the of intense bitterness. Strangely enough the aroma starts of slightly hoppy and takes on strawberry notes as the beer warms. The orange peel and coriander aromas that were so strong in the wort have mostly faded.

All in all a pretty decent pale ale, just in time for summer. 

[chowdesign-blog]

Chinese snacks (煎堆)

Haven't found a place around here that makes these, so I figured I would just make some myself.

Ah, the taste of home. Turned out pretty close to what it should be. It is a simple enough recipe:

- Rice flour (sweet)

- Water

- Sugar

- Sesame seeds

- Sweetened Red Bean paste or Ogura-An

[chowdesign-blog]

Camping in the foothills

Went camping over the weekend. A little early for the Aspens, but in a month this area will be perfection.

[chowdesign-blog]

Bottling beer

Bottled up our Short Batch Pale Ale a few days ago.

Just 10 more days until it is ready for tasting notes. Smells good so far, but had higher than anticipated attenuation. FG of just 1.006 (about 6% ABV).

[chowdesign-blog]

Busy in the kitchen (making cheese and brewing beer)

Been a while since I have had something to post. We just finished up a batch of Feta and are getting ready to bottle our Short Batch American Pale Ale, so I figured I would share.

This is our Feta. It is a 50/50 goat/cow milk blend cheese. We store it in brine to preserve it and help equalize the salt content.

It is a very creamy cheese (probably due to the high fat content of whole goat's milk), but still crumbles well enough for salad topping. I really like the way the goat character comes through without being overpowering. I am glad we cut it with cow's milk. It has mellowed out some now that it has been in the brine a week (it is dry salted during drying so it was very salty on the outside). This is an easy cheese to make, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in getting into cheesemaking.

Here is our beer in the carboy. It is a fairly traditional Pale Ale (2-row, Vienna, Crystal 20l, Safale-05) to which we have added orange zest and coriander. Hops are Centennial pellets. Recipe target was 38 IBU, but we wanted to cut the bitterness a little in favor of aroma, so we shifted a bit of the 60 and 30 minute additions to dry hop in the carboy. 

The reason we named it Short Batch was because it was supposed to be a 1 gallon BIAB, but I made a mistake in calculating the water lost to the the grain. We still managed to hit the 1.051 target OG, but ended up a bit short on volume.

I will update with tasting notes in a few weeks after it gets done carbonating.

[chowdesign-blog]

Rocky Mountain Ring

I recently designed this ring as an anniversary present for my wife. 

I started with several 3D models and, through an iterative 3D printing and testing process, was able to come to a design that I was happy with.

Here you can see an early prototype next to the final product.