So this book is a little different to the usual recipe book. The blurb states: “For years, Mark Bittman has shared his formulas, recipes, and kitchen improvisations in his popular New York Times Eat column, in which an ingredient or essential technique is presented in different variations in a bold matrix. Accompanied by striking photographs […]

I feel like my time is being squeezed on all sides at the moment. I am back in school, so feeling that dreadful “I should really be studying guilt”, I no longer work out before work as my placement starts at 6:30 AM – a bit too early to fit any sort of workout in […]

Let me start off with some straight up honesty. I have followed the blog 101 Cookbooks for many years, it was, after all, partly responsible for me starting my own blog – to stop buying books and start using them. I also own Heidi Swanson’s first two cookbooks, so was really excited at the prospect of […]

Phew! Phlebotomy rotation done! It was actually not too bad in the end, I managed to successfully draw blood from a long list of patients, including some totally successful draws from hand veins! Wooo! I am quite happy however that I won’t really have to do it again… pretty much ever, as while I can […]

This week has been a busy one. I started my clinical placement for my course, and the first rotation? Phlebotomy. “Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” Why? Well: a) the reason I became a laboratory scientist is so that I didn’t have to deal with patients; and b) I am scared of hurting people. However it is essential in order to […]

Some people have green fingers and thumbs. Plants just love them, and they are able to grow wonderful displays of colourful blooms and magnificent greenery, have vegetable plots with oodles of produce…….. I am not one of these people. I have the touch of death to plants in general, but have been having some luck […]

I seem to go through phases of using loads of egg yolks. I can’t bring myself to toss the rest, so then end up with a little bowl of egg whites in the fridge that is just waiting for me to do something with them. I also took a trip up to the city a […]

This week has been a busy one…. but an exciting one as it was finally time for Orientation, ready for me to start school again! The past few days have been full of meeting new people and filling out forms, learning new procedures……. I can’t wait to get started! Dinner wanted to be something fairly […]

It’s true. I did not quit my job to be a unemployed slacker, there was a reason, and the reason is my return to school so I can re-qualify as a laboratory scientist in California! Yeah! I am very excited, but that is of course partly because I am a super nerd who loves school, […]

Ok, so it’s not quite in line with the aforementioned quest as it is not embroidered, but I figured any crafted organism counts! These little guys are more in line with my cute little crochet Campylobacter, but instead of a twirly rod with flagella, Streptococci are made up of chains of cocci (spherical cells). Streptococci form chains […]