Sign you watch/read too much scifi

Looking at a crack in the train window today, my first thought was "Oh no! If that blows we'll all be sucked into the vacuum!"

I think this can be blamed specifically on having watched the first disk of "Planetes", which has the most realistic portrayal of future zero G space travel etc I can think of (It has the advantage of being animated)

Also: Borders has 20% off for teachers and students for the next three days! Since I am neither (AT LAST) I thought I'd enjoy the sale vicariously :)

Adventures in food (that you can't get from Coles)

Over the holidays I decided to try out a bunch of foods, especially once the local asian supermarket/vegetable shop started stocking a bunch of interesting looking stuff I can actually eat.

Quinoa(pronounced keen-wah) from Kakulas brothers
This is a protein rich grain which is very popular amongst the vegetarians and the gluten intolerant on my flist. I first saw it for $8 a packet at the nedlands IGA which I decided was a bit much for a rice substitute, but then found it for $7.50 a kilo at Kakulas brothers in the city (which is still pretty pricy but at least I could buy a small amount)

Cooks and tastes like a cross between cous-cous and rice. Quite nice, works really well with a little stock added.

Buckwheat Pancakes From the nedlands IGA
Also gluten free. Ok, but in my opinion not as nice as these

Dutch Cocoa from Kakulas brothers
Mmm. Nice.

Taro (frozen) from local asian supermarket
Just cooked it up with some chicken, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and chicken stock. Quite tasty, a bit like a potato. After some googling I realised what it reminds me of is taro cake from yum cha.

Jackfruit (frozen) from local asian supermarket
I miss the stalls selling fresh tropical fruit that were everywhere in singapore and malaysia. Anyway, this stuff makes for a nice jackfruit milkshake (Cam loves these, and I am always sad that I can't have them since they're made with full fat milk)

Takoyaki (octopus balls) from local asian supermarket
Like little tasty balls of chico roll mixed with octopus! So tasty!

Plus of course hazelnut macaroons.

The asian supermarket also has a bunch of other interesting looking veggies: manioc, purple yam, and lotus root
Anyone who's familiar with them got any cooking suggestions?
I'm not going to make frozen imported fruits and vegetables a staple of my diet since it's both expensive and environmentally unfriendly, but it's nice to try them out.

Other things I haven't tried yet are the red bean and lotus paste seed buns, and some nice looking chocolate mantou (which I've never tried, but they look nice, and are dairy and cocoa butter free!) Plus a bunch of savoury yum-cha-esque dumplings etc, with the ingredients conveniently listed on the side so I can see which ones are safe. I pass this place every day on the way home from work! I'm dooomed!