Manarelle tinkers

[raptron]

On 12/6/2020 at 10:00 AM, Manarelle said:

Started reading the Fika book this morning, after breakfast so I wouldn't be too tempted to start a baking binge. So many recipes I want to try! One of the biggest downsides to the pandemic for me is that I can't bring baked goods into work. The gentleman and I don't really eat many sweets (I mean, I want to, but I know better... he just doesn't like sweet things), so I usually make something, keep like 1/4 of it for us at home, and then take the rest in to work to be disposed of. The recipes in the Fika book seem to be smaller batches, so I might be able to halve them and be ok. I still miss baking for others tho, alas. 

I do drop offs to my friends' stoops sometimes after a big bake. I just make sure to practice extra good sanitation while I'm baking for others and ensure the drop-off containers are disposable/not something I need returned to me. There has been no evidence that you can get COVID through food or food packaging, but I ensure the folks who receive these things are okay with it in advance! It's a nice way to try to do a good thing for people while most folks are holed up at home. 

[MezzotheLefty]

Following late because I'm slow. 😊

 

I love Lore Olympus! I was really into Greek mythology in school and I find the art style beautiful.  

You're working on a layout for print version? 

[Ann of Owlshire]

On 12/6/2020 at 3:00 PM, Manarelle said:

One of the biggest downsides to the pandemic for me is that I can't bring baked goods into work. The gentleman and I don't really eat many sweets (I mean, I want to, but I know better... he just doesn't like sweet things

 

Seriously, sometimes I want to make cupcakes or a cake or something but Mr and I aren’t that into sweets and so a dozen cupcakes or a whole cake is way too much XD I miss having guests/visiting others to share them with. 

 

(Also, we may not be that into sweets, but if you put a cake in our kitchen with no one else to share it with, we will end up eating it because we don’t like wasted food :P)

[Manarelle]

 

23 hours ago, Red1263 said:

Will you be sharing the contents of these books with us? Or will you be telling us about your experiences with them?

 

Uh.... The one continues to be about various, hm, social mores? Values? in Sweden and a brief history of where they came from. I have no frame of reference for if they're true or not, but I can share ones I remember as I read through it. The baking one... there will be photos, yes.  I REALLY wish I could just shove the excess baked goods through the screen and send them irl to you. 

 

2 hours ago, raptron said:

I do drop offs to my friends' stoops sometimes after a big bake. I just make sure to practice extra good sanitation while I'm baking for others and ensure the drop-off containers are disposable/not something I need returned to me. There has been no evidence that you can get COVID through food or food packaging, but I ensure the folks who receive these things are okay with it in advance! It's a nice way to try to do a good thing for people while most folks are holed up at home. 

 

Agreed that this is a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, I have only one friend that lives in my state, and she's doing an elimination diet with zero dairy at this time... and you cannot convince me that baked goods without butter are acceptable. My parents will be coming by at some point before Christmas, however, so I can freeze a bunch and send it home with them. Mom will eat anything sweet and dad will eat.... anything, I do believe. We used to give him our apple cores on family trips and he'd just eat the whole thing. Craziness. 

 

6 hours ago, MezzotheLefty said:

Following late because I'm slow. 😊

 

I love Lore Olympus! I was really into Greek mythology in school and I find the art style beautiful.  

You're working on a layout for print version? 

 

Lol, no worries. Very few things I do are time-important. I am, indeed, doing a print version, but not officially or anything. I love the story, I want to reread it often, but I hate being glued to a screen. My gentleman has been taking old comic book runs that never got a TPB and getting them professionally bound, just for himself and his co-fans (if that wasn't a word, it is now). I know someone who works at a print shop; figure if I just print and bind it for myself, that shouldn't be a problem. And if anyone else wants to layout files, and to print and bind themselves... no money changes hands, and the artist will have full billing on the cover and inside, so eh. I'm basically laying out out so there are three "columns" on each page - it reads down and to the right. 

 

5 hours ago, Ann of Owlshire said:

Seriously, sometimes I want to make cupcakes or a cake or something but Mr and I aren’t that into sweets and so a dozen cupcakes or a whole cake is way too much XD I miss having guests/visiting others to share them with. 

 

(Also, we may not be that into sweets, but if you put a cake in our kitchen with no one else to share it with, we will end up eating it because we don’t like wasted food :P)

 

Exactly this. I want a cupcake, not a whole batch. I hate wasting food, too, but I prefer to shove things in the freezer and let them slowly burn.... I'd be in the bathroom for a week if I ate that much sweet stuff. 

 

Oh, hey, a week passed already. Since I don't have my electronics stuff yet, update on the boring goals:

• Exercise: Yup, and designed a new workout starting today. It was tough but good. 
• Languages: French - yes. Russian - 2. 
• Learning: Working on this one. I have a tendency to have multiple books going at once, but I'm making progress. 
• Cosplay: Waiting for stuff to arrive. 
• Extras:
  • "Greenhouse" under the stairs: No, and it needs a redesign. 
  • 3 chapters of LO laid out: Making good progress. 

This will be the fourth year of the under-stair "greenhouse," and I'm seriously thinking of redesigning it. I've basically re-used the same 2x4s every year, and they're getting not only warped, but also smaller each year as I cut them down to fit the shaky re-assembly. It looks like we're gonna get a legit winter this year, and I'd hate to have the crafting/ smoking area be leaky and possibly collapsible if it snows too much. I was pretty ticked off at having to wait for weather when I was making Thor; I'd hate to be in that position again if I make progress with the wings and have to wait for weather again. So yeah, I just talked myself into getting new boards and re-designing that. When it's supposed to rain all next weekend, and it's usually in the 30s by 5:00. Ah, well. 

 

Otherwise, decent week. Oh, and since @Red1263 asked for baking updates... I was intending to make baklava on Thanksgiving, because I know I've had it before, but I don't have any impression of whether it is good or not. I bought a thing of phyllo dough and, for once, pulled it out to thaw in sufficient time. Found a decent recipe and scan-read it, said 1 hour 10 minutes to make. Fab. Pulled out everything on T-day, and noticed a tip at the bottom that said "for best results, allow it to sit for 8 hours at room temp to let the honey syrup soak in properly." Sssssssoooooooo not really 1 hour to make, then, thanks for nothing. I chucked the phyllo back in the fridge and grumped about it til this weekend, when I needed more fridge space and said eff it, I'll make it. I'm not super big on walnuts, so I found a recipe that called for a mix of pistachio (which the gentleman loves) and walnuts. I'm a moron, and didn't think that if you cut at an angle.. and then cut at a 90° angle to that.... you just get squares... but it turned out ok:

 

 

That said, it still didn't leave an impression. It tastes.... ok? I guess? I can taste the honey, and the nuts, the flakiness of the phyllo and the spices and citrus I put in there, but... it just doesn't do anything for me. I ate a small non-square, and because it was so flaky, I had to shove the whole thing in my mouth so as to not make a mess. Chewed a few times for the nuts, but the phyllo layers basically just dissolved, and I was left with a honey-nut jumble that neither wowed my tastebuds nor felt particularly filling, other than as a leaden lump in my stomach an hour or so later. There was no sense of "ooh, I want another" that I feel sweets should have, and certainly not the feel that it was worth the hour of boiling, stirring, and dealing with all those (stupid) layers it took to make it. Perhaps I made it wrong, perhaps I'm just not a baklava sort of person, but I sha'n't be making it again. 

[Anim07734]

35 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

That said, it still didn't leave an impression. It tastes.... ok? I guess? I can taste the honey, and the nuts, the flakiness of the phyllo and the spices and citrus I put in there, but... it just doesn't do anything for me. I ate a small non-square, and because it was so flaky, I had to shove the whole thing in my mouth so as to not make a mess. Chewed a few times for the nuts, but the phyllo layers basically just dissolved, and I was left with a honey-nut jumble that neither wowed my tastebuds nor felt particularly filling, other than as a leaden lump in my stomach an hour or so later. There was no sense of "ooh, I want another" that I feel sweets should have, and certainly not the feel that it was worth the hour of boiling, stirring, and dealing with all those (stupid) layers it took to make it. Perhaps I made it wrong, perhaps I'm just not a baklava sort of person, but I sha'n't be making it again. 

That's pretty much my feelings on baklava.  I've had it a few times and while everyone else is ooo-ing and aah-ing over how great it is, I'm just "eh, it's a thing."  So you're not alone there.  And I have a huge sweet tooth and will eat all of the cakes and candies if I don't stop myself.

[Red1263]

2 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Uh.... The one continues to be about various, hm, social mores? Values? in Sweden and a brief history of where they came from. I have no frame of reference for if they're true or not, but I can share ones I remember as I read through it. The baking one... there will be photos, yes.  I REALLY wish I could just shove the excess baked goods through the screen and send them irl to you. 

Sigh... If this was possible, I'd be 100 lbs heavier. One can dream though

 

I'm sorry that your Baklava didn't turn out the way you had hoped. Hopefully the next thing you bake will knock your socks off!

[Ann of Owlshire]

4 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Exactly this. I want a cupcake, not a whole batch

 

And sometimes I just want to *make* the cupcakes. It’s not about eating them.  

[KB Girl]

I’ve had so much baklava in my life (part Turkish) and most of it has been “eh” but there have been a few that were just incredibly divine. Like seriously. Just thinking about it is making me salivate. 
 

9 hours ago, Manarelle said:

and you cannot convince me that baked goods without butter are acceptable.

I used to feel the same way but a couple months ago a new fake butter came out here and it’s been incredible. I can finally lick the brownie batter again. 

[Manarelle]

11 hours ago, Anim07734 said:

That's pretty much my feelings on baklava.  I've had it a few times and while everyone else is ooo-ing and aah-ing over how great it is, I'm just "eh, it's a thing."  So you're not alone there.  And I have a huge sweet tooth and will eat all of the cakes and candies if I don't stop myself.

 

Glad to know I'm not the only one. I've never just been ambivalent about a baked good; it's very weird. 

 

1 hour ago, KB Girl said:

I’ve had so much baklava in my life (part Turkish) and most of it has been “eh” but there have been a few that were just incredibly divine. Like seriously. Just thinking about it is making me salivate. 
 

I used to feel the same way but a couple months ago a new fake butter came out here and it’s been incredible. I can finally lick the brownie batter again. 

 

1) What made the difference between eh and great, if you don't mind me asking? 

2) Teach me your fake buttery ways, oh learned one!

 

8 hours ago, Red1263 said:

Sigh... If this was possible, I'd be 100 lbs heavier. One can dream though

 

I'm sorry that your Baklava didn't turn out the way you had hoped. Hopefully the next thing you bake will knock your socks off!

 

Hahaha, one can, indeed, dream. And no worries. I do enjoy trying new things, but usually go back to an old favorite afterwards, especially when the cold weather sets in. I made banana muffins for the gentleman's breakfast, and I'm almost out of cookies again. Perfect weather for molasses spice cookies now; make the house smell all nice and spiced up, mmmmmmm.

 

7 hours ago, Ann of Owlshire said:

And sometimes I just want to *make* the cupcakes. It’s not about eating them.  

 

Oh yes, absolutely. Both for the satisfaction of making something and, for me, the satisfaction of feeding other people and making them happy and cozy. 

[mkdutch]

Even if you didn't like the baklava it still looks really pretty. 😍

[Tova, Warrior of the Wilds]

Ditto on the baklava. My mom has a particular recipe that also has orange juice. It is the standard that I hold all baklava to.

[Snarkyfishguts]

Sometimes you just need to make the thing. And look how your baking brought us all together!

[Harriet]

On 12/8/2020 at 3:14 AM, Manarelle said:

That said, it still didn't leave an impression. It tastes.... ok? I guess? I can taste the honey, and the nuts, the flakiness of the phyllo and the spices and citrus I put in there, but... it just doesn't do anything for me. I ate a small non-square, and because it was so flaky, I had to shove the whole thing in my mouth so as to not make a mess. Chewed a few times for the nuts, but the phyllo layers basically just dissolved, and I was left with a honey-nut jumble that neither wowed my tastebuds nor felt particularly filling, other than as a leaden lump in my stomach an hour or so later. There was no sense of "ooh, I want another" that I feel sweets should have, and certainly not the feel that it was worth the hour of boiling, stirring, and dealing with all those (stupid) layers it took to make it. Perhaps I made it wrong, perhaps I'm just not a baklava sort of person, but I sha'n't be making it again. 

 

 

I, too, am here to say... "noooaw... not really" to baklava. It's too sweet. And I don't like nuts.

[Manarelle]

10 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

Sometimes you just need to make the thing. And look how your baking brought us all together!

 

Indeed. I was not expecting this much conversation around an eh baking attempt, though it is appreciated. 

 

Got a third library book last night called Scandikitchen Christmas that I don't remember ordering, but I'm glad I did. It covers more than just baking and looks divine. There's a recipe in there for a roast duck that look freaking amazing, and some breads that look pretty delightful as well. We popped over to the grocery store right up the road that used to be.... not great.... but has been bought out and updated by a pretty solid company. We had to get some cat food because kitty was reacting badly to the old brand we used to get her. Stopped by their spice rack because why not, and surprisingly, they had cardamom and caraway. Also mentioned to the IT guys that I hang out in Discord with all day, and they said they would be happy to "share" my baking adventures, so probably next weekend I'll have a baking day. Pictures will be shared.

 

In other news, the gentleman's Backlash cosplay is now waiting purely on me. I had contacted a friend of a friend to try to do the gems for the harness and the belt... back in March. They finally said it was ready this week and dropped off a single cylinder of the color we wanted, saying surely we could cut it down into the two pieces we want. /facepalm. If I had the tools to do that, I'd have just made them my damn self, but I was trying to not spend money on yet another craft that I'll use very rarely. Rather than fight it further, I'm just going to see if I can find someone else who makes gems on Etsy or something, and get them done properly. Annoying, but it is what it is. The last piece, then, is the stupid hood, which I am unenthusiastic about making, but I need to just bite the bullet and power through. Going to try to get that done before the end of the year so I can start 2021 with nothing but Valkyrie on my list. 

[raptron]

I feel like all of the best baklava I've had has REALLY GOOD nuts that are deliciously toasted and somehow irresistible? 

 

21 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

Got a third library book last night called Scandikitchen Christmas that I don't remember ordering, but I'm glad I did. It covers more than just baking and looks divine. There's a recipe in there for a roast duck that look freaking amazing, and some breads that look pretty delightful as well. 

Ooooh. I'm considering roast duck for my xmas dinner this year. Excited to see what you get up to! 

21 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

Also mentioned to the IT guys that I hang out in Discord with all day, and they said they would be happy to "share" my baking adventures, so probably next weekend I'll have a baking day. Pictures will be shared.

Aw yay!

 

21 minutes ago, Manarelle said:

so I can start 2021 with nothing but Valkyrie on my list. 

2021 is gonna be SO COOL

[zeroh13]

Hey!

 

Those cosplays look great!

 

I’ll happily surprised for a real winter. Instead of just cold, like it is now.

 

Last year I read a book called “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning”. Which at its core is about decluttering. I really enjoyed it.

[Manarelle]

2 hours ago, raptron said:

I feel like all of the best baklava I've had has REALLY GOOD nuts that are deliciously toasted and somehow irresistible? 

 

Maybe that's my problem. I'm not big on walnuts, and I just chucked them and the pistachios in raw. I keep meaning to figure out how to toast nuts (ha), but haven't gotten around to it yet. 

 

2 hours ago, raptron said:

2021 is gonna be SO COOL

 

It friggin' BETTER BE.... goodness knows we've waited long enough for good things.  But yes, I am enthusiastic, so long as I can clean out the "ugh I don't wannas" from this year. 

 

1 hour ago, zeroh13 said:

Hey!

 

Those cosplays look great!

 

I’ll happily surprised for a real winter. Instead of just cold, like it is now.

 

Last year I read a book called “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning”. Which at its core is about decluttering. I really enjoyed it.

 

Thank you and hello! I am surprised that we're getting any winter at all. Last year, with the jet stream split, we basically had a few chilly days and that was it. We're actually getting COLD this year. Which stinks for outside cardio, but yay for a real winter. Slow would be much appreciated as well, since I'm working from home now. I have run into the phrase "death cleaning." Looked into it briefly, but it didn't have much insight for a minimalist. Still neat to read on. What were your takeaways?

 

This day... In typical pandemic fashion, this day has lasted a year and a half already. I put in my third amazon., sigh order an hour ago, and so far nothing else has come up, but I'm not calling it safe just yet. Kitty puked again at lunch, so apparently it wasn't a reaction to the new food, but it means I have on idea what is causing it, and I'm REALLY tired of cleaning puke. She was also a little b!tch at 1am this morning and tried running into my room when I got up to pee, necessitating turning a light on to get her out, which did not help the "go back to sleep" process at all. As usual, I'm torn between "I don't want a living thing to suffer" and "I hate cats, would you please pass peacefully in your sleep already?" Thankfully, the gentleman called out of work today for no real reason, so I let him clean puke for once, rather than interrupting my lunch again to do so. 

[sarakingdom]

1 hour ago, Manarelle said:

Maybe that's my problem. I'm not big on walnuts, and I just chucked them and the pistachios in raw. I keep meaning to figure out how to toast nuts (ha), but haven't gotten around to it yet. 

 

Raw nuts would definitely make a nut-based recipe 527% less good, according to science.

[zeroh13]

2 hours ago, Manarelle said:

I have run into the phrase "death cleaning." Looked into it briefly, but it didn't have much insight for a minimalist. Still neat to read on. What were your takeaways?

One important point, it’s generally something for older people, but I think it has come good concepts to approaching what you keep and why. And that people don’t like talking about dying and final arrangements, and culturally in a lot of places that doesn’t happen enough. And if I remember right, the other said that was a concept that the older generations in Sweden really valued, but it’s kind of starting to get lost.

To summarize, death cleaning is going through all your stuff before you die, and deciding who inherits what, and encourages you to go ahead and gift it to them if it’s not something you’re using or really need sitting around your home. And also finding out, subtly, if what you want to give them is something they actually want. And also going through things that aren’t going to be gifted or inherited and, if it doesn’t have a use for you, or to borrow a term from someone else, “spark joy”, donating it or trashing it. So that you don’t put a burden on the rest of your family.  That burden is something that people in my family have talked about before. Cause I have older family members who are hoarders. And multiple people have said that they won’t go through all that stuff. Which makes it harder for the people who are willing to.

 

For me, the main takeaway was that we should be thinking about what are we going to leave for our family. Which for me ties into, what do we want our legacy to be?

[raptron]

17 hours ago, zeroh13 said:

One important point, it’s generally something for older people, but I think it has come good concepts to approaching what you keep and why. And that people don’t like talking about dying and final arrangements, and culturally in a lot of places that doesn’t happen enough. And if I remember right, the other said that was a concept that the older generations in Sweden really valued, but it’s kind of starting to get lost.

To summarize, death cleaning is going through all your stuff before you die, and deciding who inherits what, and encourages you to go ahead and gift it to them if it’s not something you’re using or really need sitting around your home. And also finding out, subtly, if what you want to give them is something they actually want. And also going through things that aren’t going to be gifted or inherited and, if it doesn’t have a use for you, or to borrow a term from someone else, “spark joy”, donating it or trashing it. So that you don’t put a burden on the rest of your family.  That burden is something that people in my family have talked about before. Cause I have older family members who are hoarders. And multiple people have said that they won’t go through all that stuff. Which makes it harder for the people who are willing to.

 

For me, the main takeaway was that we should be thinking about what are we going to leave for our family. Which for me ties into, what do we want our legacy to be?

I really love this.

[WhiteGhost]

On 12/8/2020 at 10:14 AM, Manarelle said:

I REALLY wish I could just shove the excess baked goods through the screen and send them irl to you. 

I would totally sign up for that

 

 

[Renate]

Sigh, such awesomeness

 

If you don't like walnuts, there is no point to baklava. If you ask me. None of the other nuts work as well with the syrup. Pistachioes were a good choice to try, regardless Because I like it when they TOP the baklava with pistachioes.

 

The trick for me is, to make sure the middle part is soft, the top layer is cruncheh, and the lowest part is kind of caramellised.

 

The nuts need to be roasted, I think.

 

And moar nuts. To balance the sweetness. Otherwise it's to sweet for me too.  Turkish people usually cut them in half of your squares, I think. And eat it next to tea?

 

I dunno how to do all that though.

 

And it's definitely not something I want to eat every week or so. Once a year maybe twice 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

6 hours ago, Aθena said:

And moar nuts. To balance the sweetness. Otherwise it's to sweet for me too.  Turkish people usually cut them in half of your squares, I think. And eat it next to tea?

 

I would suspect Turks drink coffee with their Baklava. They're rather known for their coffee. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_coffee

[Renate]

4 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I would suspect Turks drink coffee with their Baklava. They're rather known for their coffee. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_coffee

 

Ah yes. No sugar but baklava and a glass of water on the side.

 

Cookies (kurabiye) with the tea:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_in_Turkey

 

[Manarelle]

On 12/11/2020 at 4:57 PM, Aθena said:

Ah yes. No sugar but baklava and a glass of water on the side.

 

Cookies (kurabiye) with the tea:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_in_Turkey

 

I could definitely see baklava going well with sugarless coffee. And those cookies look good, too.

 

Check in with goals before I get started:

• Exercise: Yup, feeling good. 
• Languages: French - 4 out 5. Russian - 2. 
• Learning: Err.... somewhat?
• Cosplay: Wings - no, Backlash hood - yes. 
• Extras:
  • "Greenhouse" under the stairs: No
  • 3 chapters of LO laid out: Yes, starting on a 4th.

Workout is going well, though I'm still not particularly enjoying the treadmill instead of outside walking.  It's been consistently below my cutoff temperature, though, so it is what it is. Thankfully, it's been warm enough during lunch to get outside and get some sun, so I'm not going winter depression, either. I missed a day of French due to kitty health issues, but that's acceptable (kitty is better). I... sorta scanned through the Scandikitchen Christmas book, but then got buried back in Mindhunter by Douglas and Olshaker. I've read it before, but it's one of those that you pick up on different things each time you read. It's about how the Behavioural Science Unit at the FBI got started in the 1980s-ish, and I find it fascinating. Still, not the goal. No progress on the greenhouse, but I did get 3 more chapters of LO laid out, and sent a couple pages to a friend at a print shop who confirmed it'll print out fine, so yay. 

 

Still waiting on parts for the wings, which is annoying, but I figured out how to attach the mask to the hood and got a good amount of work done on that today, including the much-loathed handsewing portion of the project. Tomorrow, I will sew the velcro strips to close it on the back and the magnetic bits to attach the mask and... oh, no, sorry, and then all that will be left is cutting down and attaching the wig. Yay. I know the pictures look ridiculouls with all the safety pins, but the gentleman is needlephobic (whatever), so I can't leave open pins in stuff he tries on. 

 

      

 

Had a thought on the gems for Backlash. I can't find anyone who's willing to do just one of each size and shape we need, but I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff to cast my own, either. I was poking around looking for alternatives when I remembered that Worbla had a new product last year - Crystal Art. It's basically small pearls of clear material that you can heat up and work like putty.... including making casts of shapes. Even better, it can be dyed with regular polyester fabric dye, and the results I've seen are pretty amazing. A 4oz bag is only $14,  and I've been meaning to order a new sheet of the regular Worbla anyway, because I know I'll need it for Valkyrie, so I'll probably order that in the next week or two. 

 

The rest of the week was spend cleaning random piles that had accumulated around the house, taking kitty to the vet, and all those annoying little tasks that really don't take much time but are so annoying to sit down and do. We also finally got more runner rugs to put around the litter box area, so hopefully kitty won't track litter into everywhere. I'm still not completely pleased with having a cat around, but we're reaching some compromises that will let us both live. 

 

Internet tax: 

 

 

I have since switched to a water glass with a lid, and got her her own water dish up in my room. Wench.