Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #911
My dear friend A is visiting tomorrow, and given that he hasn't been to my house in a while, and given that my house was kind of a disaster area (no energy or motivation to tidy; these floors haven't felt the tender caress of a vacuum in far too long...), I figured that the thing to do is maybe try to make my house look a little bit less like a giant picked it up, shook it, and put it back down, hahaha...
But first, I wanted to make some noms. Which meant I had to do the dishes in the sink. So I did that, and then I made myself a tea; vanilla bean macaron, today:
Ravioli felt like the correct thing to do. This time, I wanted to try to combine my three favorite flavors, out of the ones I've found so far:
M didn't want any, so J and I split what I made between us. He had his plain. I put some premade alfredo sauce on mine:
...This certainly isn't a bad way to start a morning. I wish you were here to share it with us.
In any case. Once our bellies were full, J returned to his remote job, and I began tidying up and doing various random odds and ends. Mostly decluttering, sorting laundry, clearing off the dining room table (it needed help...), and cleaning the bathrooms. Clearing off the dining room table took the most time out of all of these, just because there was just so much clutter and old paperwork piled up that needed to be either sorted or tossed away. But I got it done:
...We actually have a table now! But I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it fills up with clutter again, because that is the nature of raised flat surfaces in a neurodivergent house, hahaha... But... at least for today and tomorrow, the table has some breathing room, which our cats seem to very much enjoy. Hoshi in particular seems to like sprawling over the smooth surface. It's very cute.
After this, laundry, bathrooms, and a few more dishes, I decided to take a short break to breathe life into today's wishes for you:
After that... I was pretty hungry, actually. So I had the remaining half of yesterday's sandwich, and... I felt inspired to make a little lemonade:
...I maybe added a little too much sugar this time, somehow. But it was still pretty good. I can't complain too much, haha...
Inspired, I tried to make grapefruitade; J's mother keeps sending us giant boxes filled with grapefruits every month, and... they don't always get eaten because... grapefruits can be rather hit-or-miss. The good ones are really fucken good; they can be sweet, tart, and slightly floral, with maybe just a hint of bitterness that adds a bit of character and balances the flavors out. Those ones are absolutely fucking perfect. But the bad ones... taste like stomach bile. They are difficult to eat. And since they take a bit of effort to peel, and the results are often inconsistent and unpredictable, well... my motivation to eat them is... not very high, to be perfectly frank. Haha...
...So I figured that turning them into grapefruitade might give me a bit more of that consistency of flavor I'm seeking. So I peeled and blended two grapefruits and added water and sugar, and... in the process, I discovered that, unlike with lemon juice, I definitely should not add any water to the grapefruit juice, because then there's very little actual flavor. Whoops.
The results weren't terrible, though, so I still drank it. And J didn't seem to hate it either. I'll know better for next time, and that's good enough. When I get it right, I'll send along some pictures.
The floors still need vacuuming. A couple more dishes still need doing. We have to get to the grocery to get things for our house, and also supplies with which to prepare a vegan meal for A. I thought about Beyond Burgers or Impossible Burgers with a good vegan cheese and the usual fixings – onion, tomato, pickles, lettuce, and etc. Maybe I'll get some vegan marshmallows and vegan chocolate, too; it'd be good to have an excuse to make s'mores, and we do have a tiny grill and charcoal...
…
Time has passed, and J and I have gone to the grocery, and we did, indeed, get everything that we set out to get. I even got some more lemons, thinking to make some lemonade tomorrow, in addition to everything else. Maybe I'll make confit garlic, too. Do you remember how to do that? Here, a link to the letter that contains the recipe, in case you forgot:
Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. It's where your interests connect you with your
Tomorrow will be good, I think. I'm looking forward to it.
I invited An, as well, just because he's going through a rough time, and I figure tasty snacks might help. Jury's out on whether he'll respond at all or just ignore it, though. I guess we'll see.
...You know, for once, I actually... managed to do everything I intended to do today. J will do vacuuming tomorrow, and everything else... is basically taken care of. It's been a while since last I've gotten through everything on my to-do list. Hm.
...Feels good!!
I'm not sure what to do now, though. I guess... since I have some free time, maybe I'll just play some more Terraria with my other dear friend until it's time to sleep.
...It'd be nice if you could play Terraria with us. I'd love to see what you'd build...
...
I love you. Lots and lots and lots. I wonder if you can see it and feel it from all the way over there, wherever you are. I'll have faith that somehow you do. I'll have faith that you'll be safe while you're out and about. And I'll have faith that you're on your way home.
I'll write again tomorrow. Presumably, with lots more pictures for ya than what I took today, haha!
Indulgence in Every Bite: Creamy Garlic Penne Pasta
Tonight’s culinary adventure led me to the heart of Italian cooking with this irresistible Creamy Garlic Penne Pasta. The fusion of rich cream and the zest of garlic creates a symphony of flavors that dance on the palate. Comfort food has never been so elegant. Join me in the kitchen, and let's create something beautiful together. Recipe link in bio!
A scorched, crispy, and spicy pasta dish from the Italian city of Bari. Served with a drizzle of olive oil.
Dried spaghetti was cooked in a cast iron pan with olive oil, minced garlic, crushed dried red peppers, and a little tomato purée until crispy, then flipped. After both sides had been seared a small portion of broth (that consists of boiled tomato purée, tomato paste, water, and Sicilian fine sea salt) was ladled into the pan and the pasta was gradually stirred into the mixture.
Each time the liquid evaporated additional tomato broth was ladled in and stirred around minimally. This process was repeated until all of the broth was used at which point the spaghetti should be al dente and ready to serve.
流沙包 / Liu Sha Bao
Custard quicksand steamed buns
a.k.a. Molten lava salted egg yolk custard buns
Sweet and fluffy steamed buns filled with a rich, sweet and salty, lava custard filling.
Salted duck egg yolks, water, powdered gelatin, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, white sugar, milk powder, instant custard powder, and unsalted butter were used to make the custard filling.
Beverage: Adagio Teas' 'White Peach' white tea. Unsweetened.
🍃 March 6th
Tea of the day: [Fire Emblem Awakening fandom blend] Donnel's Berry Basket sweetened with sugar.
Accompanied with a decadent and rich Pot de Crème au Chocolat topped with frozen blackberries, blueberries, and a strawberry.
(Made with heavy cream, whole milk, chopped Endangered Species’ tart raspberries + dark chocolate bars, instant espresso, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract. Steamed then chilled before serving.)
Sylvain has a pint of Ben & Jerry's Netflix & Chilll'd ice cream.
Lorenz's tea time consists of purple-colored TAZO rose tea latte, Endangered Species' tart raspberries + dark chocolate bars, Endangered Species' vibrant cherries + dark chocolate bars, and a silver macaron sprinkled with edible gold glitter stars and filled with homemade rose jam.
(Plush toys, table, and chair are by @TheGizmoForge on twitter.)
🍃 March 9th
Tea of the day: Formosa Oolong. Turned today's tea into an oolong milk bubble tea sweetened with sugar and topped with a layer of frothed milk.
Accompanied with taro balls in sweetened coconut cream / ขนมบัวลอยเผือก / khanom bua loi phueak. The taro balls have a soft and marshmallow mochi like texture.
(Steamed the taro roots, peeled and mashed them, then kneaded them together with glutinous rice flour, a couple drops of purple ube flavoring for color, and a little coconut cream. Rolled the dough into balls, boiled them until they float, then cooked them in a mixture of coconut cream, sugar, and a pinch of salt.)
