tasha's quest log

comics, drawings, and random thoughts by tasha sounart (formerly known as tasha harris).

[tashasquestlog]

Favorite games of 2013

Device 6 (ipad) - Just finished this game and I absolutely loved everything about it! I think this is the best example of "interactive fiction" that I've played. Not only because it has great interactivity & makes you feel like you're part of the story, but because the words themselves are playful and part of the game design. All aspects of the game worked wonderfully together. This is the type of game that makes me excited for where games are headed in the future. Loved the song also :D  

Mario & Luigi Dream Team (3ds) - I think this game has gotten a little overlooked because of the more traditional Zelda & Mario games that just came out, but this one is worth a play as well.  Super charming, weird, and polished RPG.  And tons of content!  I have over 40 hours and still haven't finished it.

Guacamelee (PSN) - I love the look of this game so much.  It's also really funny and contains a lot of clever references to other games.  Don't think I could get through it if I wasn't playing co-op though, it gets really hard!

Zelda: Wind Waker HD (Wii U) - Currently playing this one since I got a Wii U for Christmas!  I was never able to get very far in Wind Waker when it first came out - the sailing was just too tedious.  In this new version they have done a couple things to make it a little faster, which I appreciate.  They have really done a great job upgrading the graphics.  It's just beautiful to look at, and the soundtrack is one of my favorites.

Persona 4 Golden (Vita) - Ok this came out in 2012 but I played it at the beginning of this year, and it's one of the best JRPG's I've played in a long time.  I love how you build up your relationships with the different characters as the game goes on.  The battle system and fusing personas are also really fun.  

Games I still need to play:

Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies

Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Super Mario 3d World

Tearaway

The Puppeteer

Games everyone else seems to like but I couldn't get into:

Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Just feels like chores to me!  Playing with friends is way too difficult because multiplayer is done so clunkily.

Dragon's Crown - This felt like a downloadable title to me.  Art looks nice in screenshots, but in motion, eh.  The main "town" is just a series of screenshots.  Quests are boring and have you visit the same areas repeatedly.  Played this a few times co-op with Joe and then we just dropped it because it was so uninteresting.

[tashasquestlog]

Smoked Shrimp BLT

I actually made these about a month ago, but am just now getting around to posting...cause y'know, babies and stuff.  Anyways, I wanted another excuse to use the smoker Joe bought me, and this seemed like a pretty straightforward recipe. Yes, they turned out to be easy to make and REALLY good! It's hard to go wrong with shrimp & bacon.

I started out by putting the shrimp in the smoker over some alder chips.

You're only supposed to cook the shrimp halfway in the smoker (they finish cooking in the sauce.)  While these were cooking I put some bacon - Niman Ranch Maple, my favorite - into the oven.  A good way to cook bacon is to crumple up some foil so it's all wrinkly, then uncrumple it and lay the bacon on that in the oven - this keeps it elevated a little so it's not resting in fat and makes it crispier. Here it is - this would make a nice wallpaper if you're really into bacon.

Next step was to make the sauce, which was really simple - just water, lemon juice & butter all whisked together.  The shrimp are then cooked the rest of the way in the sauce.

Look at this pretty loaf of bread from Thoroughbread Bakery.

The slices of bread are brushed with olive oil on one side and placed under the broiler.  Even though I burnt them a little bit, I thought this was pretty clever because they only get toasted on one side so the other side stays soft and you don't hurt the roof of your mouth when eating.

To assemble the sandwiches I added some tomato slices, mixed greens, and homemade mayo. One thing I would have done differently besides not burning the bread, is leave the shrimp in the smoker a little longer.  There was a hint of smokiness to them, but it could have been stronger.  And also not add salt to the homemade mayo (I think I made that same mistake before) But overall they turned out great and I would definitely make these again since they had a good easiness to tastiness ratio.

[tashasquestlog]

This is actually from a few weeks ago but finally got around to drawing it.My mom stayed with us for 6 weeks after the baby was born, and this is how I felt after she left.

[tashasquestlog]

aka: how you know you're near the end of the 3rd trimester

[tashasquestlog]

This pregnancy has had its share of complications so I really haven't been in the mood lately to make comics.  But, we're getting close to the end - due next month!  So I'm feeling a little less worried and excited to meet our son!

[shelzie]

beat Costume Quest a couple days ago, what a wonderful little game! ♥

[doublefine]

Super adorable! Everyone should play it.

[tashasquestlog]

woah, just saw this.  love it! :D

[doublefine]

Knight concept art from Costume Quest

Art by Tasha Harris and Scott C

[tashasquestlog]

The knight was originally going to be blue & gold.  I think we changed it because the robot was blue also and those are the first 2 costumes you get.

[doublefine]

Unicorn from Costume Quest

Art by Tasha Harris, Scott C, and Christine Phelan

[tashasquestlog]

I finally finished another comic!  I must admit I've been pretty baby-obsessed lately so my comics (and cooking) have sort of moved to the back burner...that doesn't mean I'll never do them, you just might have to wait a little longer for updates. :)

[tashasquestlog]

Creamy Smoked Tomato Bisque

There are a few recipes in "Cooking My Way Back Home" that require smoking (like, smoke from wood chips, not cigarettes), but I live in a smallish apartment in San Francisco and don't have room for a barbeque or outdoor smoker so I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish these recipes.  Then I found out about these nifty stovetop smokers http://www.amazon.com/Camerons-Products-Stainless-Stovetop-Smoker/dp/B00004SZ9D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357498859&sr=8-1&keywords=stovetop+smoker Joe got me one for Christmas so I had to try it out.  I decided to start with the most simple sounding recipe from the book - a smoked tomato bisque.

The first thing I did was add a small pile of hickory wood chips to the smoker.

Then the drip pan and grate are placed on top of the wood chips, and the halved tomatoes are placed on top of the grate.

I had to modify the recipe a bit for my stovetop smoker- this was made easier because the smoker came with a booklet that included a recipe for smoked tomatoes.  It turns out the stovetop smoker works a bit faster than a bbq grill smoker...the cookbook recipe required smoking the tomatoes for 2 1/2 hours and the smoker booklet recipe only said to smoke the tomatoes for 15 minutes.  I chose the 15 minute option.

Yes, a little bit of smoke escapes while you're cooking, but if you have your oven fan on it really isn't bad.  Also, I think it smells pretty good.  After 15 minutes in the smoker, the tomatoes didn't look that different, but the skin was peeling off a bit and they smelled like a campfire.

I peeled & diced the tomatoes and combined them with more tomatoes (that weren't smoked), onion, garlic, and thyme.

These ingredients are cooked for a little while, simmered with chicken stock, then blended in a food processor.  A little bit of heavy cream is added at the end.

Of course we had to make some grilled cheese sandwiches to go with the soup!  This turned out really great!  Such a simple recipe with few ingredients, but the smokiness gives it a really unique character.  It's perfect to only smoke half the tomatoes because if you smoked all of them it would be pretty overwhelming.  The grilled cheese dipped in the soup went together so well...dang this is making me hungry now.

[tashasquestlog]

Merry Christmas!

[tashasquestlog]

my favorite games of 2012

My top 5: 5. Borderlands 2 - Still not finished with this one yet, but I've been having a ton of fun playing co-op with my boyfriend. The writing and quest variety seem much improved over the first one. 4. Fez - Loved the core game of this, and the art style.  Got frustrated that I couldn't get all the extras without online help, but the core game was awesome. 3. Mark of the Ninja - I usually am not a fan of stealth games, but this turns stealth into almost a puzzle solving game.  Very cool art style & animation also. 2. Mass Effect 3 - I've been a huge fan of this series and loved this all the way through (including the (original) ending! Maybe I'm the only one…) 1. Journey - All the elements come together so nicely in this game to create a special experience. (Visual art, sound, music, gameplay etc.) I wouldn't complain if more games were this length :) BTW - Austin Wintory just got nominated for a Grammy for the soundtrack, first video game score nominated for a Grammy! Honorable Mentions: Rayman Origins - Amazing level design, catchy music, super fun co-op but can get very difficult!  Best 2d animation I've seen in a game. But, technically this came out last year. Radiant Historia - Another older DS game that I just got around to playing now.  JRPG with a cool time-traveling mechanic.  Pretty long though so I've been playing it off & on all year and still not finished.  Sound Shapes -  Cool visual style, love the music.  Overall very pleasant. Biggest disappointment: Diablo 3 - I was expecting to get addicted to this like I did with WoW, but it just didn't hook me.  The abilities were fun, but all the loot gathering just felt so shallow when it's not backed up by any sort of goals besides "go here and kill this".  I wish the quests had had more substance to them.

On my xmas wishlist:

XCOM Enemy Unknown, Super Mario Sticker Star, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

[tashasquestlog]

Here are some photos from my trip to Tokyo at the end of October.  For the full set (plus captions) go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/tashasquestlog/sets/72157631983921509/

[tashasquestlog]

[tashasquestlog]

Tuna Tartare with Tabasco Vinaigrette and Fried Green Tomatoes

This is a recipe I've been wanting to try for a while, since it seems like such an interesting combo.  It requires a few different components, so I started working on it a day ahead, by making some garlic oil.  Garlic oil is easy to make, and it smells really good- all you do is simmer some crushed garlic cloves in some oil for 5 minutes, then just let it sit off the heat for 3 hours, then strain.  I recommend eating the cooked garlic cloves on some toast - don't want them to go to waste!

The next day, I started by making the vinaigrette which would be mixed with the tuna tartare.  This combined the garlic oil with some vinegar, shallots, and hot sauce.  The recipe called for Tabasco, but I'm not a huge fan of Tabasco so I substituted Valentina hot sauce. 

Next, I roasted a red bell pepper in the broiler to prepare it for the red pepper aioli.

The aioli was made by blending the chopped up roasted pepper with the typical homemade-mayonnaise ingredients (egg yolk, vinegar, oil) and some garlic.  It came out more watery than the mayo I usually make.  Maybe because of the added moisture from the pepper?

Then I prepared the tartare.  I had gotten some sushi-grade ahi tuna from Monterey Fish Market and it looked really nice, so I was excited to eat this.  The guy at the fish shop told me the dark red part is the bloodline, and doesn't taste as good so I should cut it out. Good to know.

I diced the tuna and mixed it with the vinaigrette and some chives.  Then put it in the fridge while I worked on the tomatoes.

Green tomatoes are a bit hard to track down.  Since they are actually unripe tomatoes you can't just buy them in your normal grocery store.  I sent the call out to our work email "foodie" list, and found a co-worker, Ben Rillie, who had a tomato plant in his backyard and offered to bring in some green tomatoes for me.  Score!

The tomatoes are sliced, dipped in buttermilk, and covered in a flour/cornmeal mixture.

The tomatoes are then fried up in batches in a cast iron pan.

Perfect!

Then the final dish is all put together.  I really felt like an Iron Chef plating this one.

I'm pleased to report this tasted as good as it looks.  You wouldn't necessarily think that raw tuna would go well with fried green tomatoes, but all the flavors in this worked really well together.  The tomatoes lent a slightly fruity taste, plus some tang and subtle spice from the hot sauce-vinaigrette.  The soft texture of the tuna was a really nice contrast to the crispy coating of the tomatoes.  I would definitely make this again!

[zac-gorman]

Inspired by Costume Quest—a fantastic Halloween game that you can go grab right now for 50% off on Steam—which came out back in 2010 and has since been a part of my yearly Halloween tradition.

[tashasquestlog]

love this so much...thank you zac!

[dudleyworl-blog]

68 year old peter glazebrook producing onion weighing 18lb beating his own world record and giant cabbage weighing 81lb 6oz

i love u peter

[squaremeal]

Whoa.