Girl Genius (![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
girlgenius_main_feed) wrote2025-08-11 04:00 am
girlgenius_main_feed) wrote2025-08-11 04:00 am
Girl Genius for Monday, August 11, 2025
The Girl Genius comic for Monday, August 11, 2025 has been posted.
Ysabet (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
umadoshi) wrote2025-08-10 02:49 pm
umadoshi) wrote2025-08-10 02:49 pm
Entry tags:
Upcoming media things!
Three unrelated things that have been announced recently:
- K.B. Spangler says that the sixth Rachel Peng novel is coming out in late October!
- Discotek has announced that they're releasing Monster: The Complete Series, which is very exciting since AFAIK only the first chunk was ever released in a physical edition the first time it was licensed. (I think the whole series is on Netflix, but I want to own a copy.)
- ANN reports that Minekura-sensei is not only resuming Wild Adapter after a nine-year hiatus but aiming to wrap it up in its eighth volume. If it's actually completed, I imagine that increases the odds of it being re-licensed in English. (I was more attached to Saiyuki, personally, but even though she resumed that last fall [and ANY of this is pretty miraculous, given my vague understanding of her health], I'm not even hoping for anything on that front. If I'm pleasantly surprised, that'll be awesome.)
starandrea (starandrea) wrote2025-08-10 01:53 am
starandrea) wrote2025-08-10 01:53 am"we'll never be as young as we are right now"
Me, yesterday: Did I get a new car because my old one failed inspection, or because I needed more room for plants?
My neighbor, today: This is your fault, you know.
*My new car is only nine years old, which is the newest car I've ever had. When I bought it someone asked how long I planned to keep it, and I stared at them in confusion. "Until it can't be fixed anymore," I said.
PS, the cannas are blooming and the dahlias are as tall as I am. Today I set up an auxiliary trellis so our passionflower vines would have more room to climb. They are v adventurous.
My neighbor, today: This is your fault, you know.
*My new car is only nine years old, which is the newest car I've ever had. When I bought it someone asked how long I planned to keep it, and I stared at them in confusion. "Until it can't be fixed anymore," I said.
PS, the cannas are blooming and the dahlias are as tall as I am. Today I set up an auxiliary trellis so our passionflower vines would have more room to climb. They are v adventurous.
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anime_manga2025-08-09 10:50 pm
stepnix) wrote in anime_manga2025-08-09 10:50 pmEntry tags:
Otakon licensing announcements
Discotek and AnimEigo both announced new licenses at this year's Otakon!
From Discotek we have...
Megaman (USA series)
Shin-chan (English dubbed version)
Urotsukidoji: Sequels of the Overfiend
Goldenboy
Lupin the 3rd: Castle of Cagliostro redubbed
Sgt Frog: The Movies
Zegapain
Digimon Movies 406
Monster: The Complete Series
Higurashi: When They Cry Kai
Higurashi: When They Cry Rei
Project ARMS
Zone of the Enders: Complete Collection
New Aim for the Ace
...and toku series like Kamen Rider Amazon and Kikaider 01
From AnimEigo we have...
Hotori: Simply Wishing For Hope
Alien Nine
...and updates on their release of Looking for the Full Moon, a magical girl series that's intrigued me for a while now.
The Gauche in the Machine (china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-08-10 10:16 am
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-08-10 10:16 amEntry tags:
Poll: Some questions about novel Weilan (major spoilers)
This contains major spoilers up to the epilogue, so I'm cut-tagging. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the relationship dynamic in the novel. Please approach with due caution.
( Spoilery novel poll )
ETA: Oops, I reworded the "how much has Shen Wei changed?" question and made the scale unclear. /o\ 5 = he has changed completely; 1 = he hasn't changed at all.
( Spoilery novel poll )
ETA: Oops, I reworded the "how much has Shen Wei changed?" question and made the scale unclear. /o\ 5 = he has changed completely; 1 = he hasn't changed at all.
Ysabet (umadoshi) wrote2025-08-09 03:23 pm
umadoshi) wrote2025-08-09 03:23 pm
Entry tags:
Weekly proof of life: reading + foodstuffs
Reading: scruloose and I finished listening to All Systems Red and are now maybe a third of the way into Artificial Condition.
Yesterday I finished The Hands of the Emperor, which I think I read some of every day and still took me something like a week and a half even though I continued to really enjoy it all the way through. (I did find myself wishing that some of the emotional arc with Kip and his family had been shorter; [ROT13] uvf pbzcyvpngrq srryvatf nobhg uvf snzvyl abg ng nyy tenfcvat jub ur jnf be jung ur npghnyyl qvq jrer inyvq, ohg gung jnf n YBG bs cntrf qribgrq gb znal vafgnaprf va n ebj bs ehaavat vagb lrg nabgure crefba jub qvqa'g trg vg naq jnf qvfzvffvir be vafhygvat, be fbzrbar jub QVQ xabj jub ur jnf naq univat na vagrenpgvba, naq va rvgure pnfr gurer jnf gura lrg nabgure yratgul qryvirel bs rkcynangvba, naq vg jnf whfg...n ybg.
After finishing that last night, I completely at random started reading We'll Prescribe You a Cat (Syou Ishida), about which I have no particular feelings at this time.
Eating/baking: ( fruit, baking, salad (HelloFresh), sadness about still not liking tomatoes )
scruloose and I finished listening to All Systems Red and are now maybe a third of the way into Artificial Condition.Yesterday I finished The Hands of the Emperor, which I think I read some of every day and still took me something like a week and a half even though I continued to really enjoy it all the way through. (I did find myself wishing that some of the emotional arc with Kip and his family had been shorter; [ROT13] uvf pbzcyvpngrq srryvatf nobhg uvf snzvyl abg ng nyy tenfcvat jub ur jnf be jung ur npghnyyl qvq jrer inyvq, ohg gung jnf n YBG bs cntrf qribgrq gb znal vafgnaprf va n ebj bs ehaavat vagb lrg nabgure crefba jub qvqa'g trg vg naq jnf qvfzvffvir be vafhygvat, be fbzrbar jub QVQ xabj jub ur jnf naq univat na vagrenpgvba, naq va rvgure pnfr gurer jnf gura lrg nabgure yratgul qryvirel bs rkcynangvba, naq vg jnf whfg...n ybg.
After finishing that last night, I completely at random started reading We'll Prescribe You a Cat (Syou Ishida), about which I have no particular feelings at this time.
Eating/baking: ( fruit, baking, salad (HelloFresh), sadness about still not liking tomatoes )
facethestrange (facethestrange) wrote in sid_guardian2025-08-09 03:35 pm
facethestrange) wrote in sid_guardian2025-08-09 03:35 pmEntry tags:
Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Bonus Stories: Sage 1 & Sage 2
Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong! We're finished with the main text of the novel, but the readalong continues - it's time for the first bonus stories. ♡
Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions in the schedule posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5), or via the !readalong tag.
This week's chapters:
- Sage 1: Many SID team shenanigans happen, including but not limited to: They have acquired a Samoyed puppy named Xiaomi who plays with Daqing. They talk about the new office they're moving to, and have some theories why Zhao Yunlan is not at work. No one tells Guo Changcheng that he's the wick, they just confuse him with questions and occasionally pluck his hair to experiment on. Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan talks to Shennong's mortar about the primordial past and Shen Wei's oath, and explains that some things are meant to be confusing. Shennong's mortar announces that he's leaving Zhao Yunlan's father's body. Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan take a walk together and cause spring flowers to bloom.
- Sage 2: The SID moves to their new office, which includes a sunny attic and Zhao Yunlan's vegetable garden, among other things. Everyone loves Shen Wei because his arrival means that Zhao Yunlan finally goes home. Lin Jing invents an invisible listening device. Daqing bickers with people, including Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan falls asleep trying to learn gardening from a boring book, and cuddles with Shen Wei (while also bickering). Guo Changcheng goes on an arranged date with a girl. Chu Shuzhi accompanies him and listens in on their awkward conversation, and then interrupts the date and drags Guo Changcheng away. They start dating, which is revealed to the rest of the SID by Lin Jing's listening device.
The corresponding chapters:
Sage 1 = fan translation Extra 2
Sage 2 = fan translation Extra 3
Excerpts:
( 1) The SID team speculating about Zhao Yunlan's activities )
( 2) Shennong's mortar leaves, and Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan make flowers bloom )
( 3) The new SID office )
( 4) Daqing 'practices yoga' )
( 5) Chu Shuzhi interrupts Guo Changcheng's date )
Questions:
Favorite SID shenanigans moment? (Or several - there are so many!) Do you think Xiao-Guo should be told that he's the wick? Do you understand what Zhao Yunlan explained about the primordial gods, or are you also a few thousand years too young? Are Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan consciously making flowers bloom, or is it just what happens when nature gods are happy? What is your favorite thing about the new office? Whose garden idea do you like the best, and why is it (not) the slutty eggplant? Any thoughts about the drama adaptation of these chapters, especially Xiao Guo's date?
You can answer as many or as few questions as you like, or just comment without answering any of them at all! And if you see this post and you're not actually reading the novel, I would love to know what you think about any of this with limited context. :D
And here is the schedule, where you can sign up to host a post. (There are only two weeks left!)
The Gauche in the Machine (china_shop) wrote2025-08-09 01:20 pm
china_shop) wrote2025-08-09 01:20 pmEntry tags:
Canada has come back to haunt me
Last night, Andrew and I and our tv-watching-with friend started The Sympathizer, a drama set just after the Vietnam war, about a Vietnamese double agent. It's structurally really interesting, and it has RDJ in multiple kind-of-gross roles, lol. Darkly funny, but deals with some really serious subjects.
Created by Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, who are also showrunners. Yes, that Don McKellar.
It also, features Sandra Oh. I did not expect either of their names in the credits! :D
Created by Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, who are also showrunners. Yes, that Don McKellar.
It also, features Sandra Oh. I did not expect either of their names in the credits! :D
libitina (libitina) wrote2025-08-08 03:40 pm
libitina) wrote2025-08-08 03:40 pmThings to do this weekend
Shows to watch
Friday night -War of Faith
Saturday 11am - Cancelled - The Heart Killers
Saturday 2pm -My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho
Sunday 1pm -Apothecary Diaries
Sunday 2pm -Moon Embracing the Sun
Things to do
Have tea with Egyptian friend to exchange stuff(Sunday night?) (postponed)
buy some groceries and work snacks from Aldi
get cash / deposit a check
pick up my laundry
buy gas (for the car)
Ask neighbor if he will help clear the plants out of my alley and backyard (in exchange for cash)
gardening! (there still are some plants not in proper pots)
Keep sewing my red SCA dress
package up the dried herbs so you can harvest more herbs to dry
package up craft swap things to mail to people!
new: put away the groceries
new: put away the dishes
new: put away the laundry
Things to cook/eat
Clear room to put pickled things in the refrigerator
eat pickles?
start another jar of cucumber pickles
Do I want to try making cabbage kimchi? (not with this cabbage - use a fresher one)
marinate tofu for dinners (try making spicy tofu with the chinese soybean paste in the sauce)
eat butternut squash!
make paste to take to work for some book repairs!
Friday night -
Saturday 11am - Cancelled - The Heart Killers
Saturday 2pm -
Sunday 1pm -
Sunday 2pm -
Things to do
Have tea with Egyptian friend to exchange stuff
Ask neighbor if he will help clear the plants out of my alley and backyard (in exchange for cash)
package up craft swap things to mail to people!
new: put away the groceries
new: put away the dishes
new: put away the laundry
Things to cook/eat
Clear room to put pickled things in the refrigerator
start another jar of cucumber pickles
Do I want to try making cabbage kimchi? (not with this cabbage - use a fresher one)
marinate tofu for dinners (try making spicy tofu with the chinese soybean paste in the sauce)
make paste to take to work for some book repairs!
Girl Genius (girlgenius_main_feed) wrote2025-08-08 04:00 am
girlgenius_main_feed) wrote2025-08-08 04:00 amGirl Genius for Friday, August 08, 2025
The Girl Genius comic for Friday, August 08, 2025 has been posted.
radiantfracture (radiantfracture) wrote2025-08-07 08:36 pm
radiantfracture) wrote2025-08-07 08:36 pmMore from Okanagan Backroads Volume One
Old Fairview: White Lake Observatory
Mile 12.1 (4.4) – Half a mile further along, the access to White Lake Observatory turns right. (White Lake itself is the alkali pond opposite the Twin Lakes turnoff.)
Because of their electrical systems, which interfere with the operation of the radio-telescope, cars are not allowed on the road to the radio telescope. The big dish itself towers above the other installations, listening eternally to signals from outer space. The maze of poles and overhead wiring back towards Oliver are another form of radio-telescope, which pick up very long radio waves. The observatory is well worth walking the three-tenths mile; what's happening is completely incomprehensible to the layman, but fascinating nonetheless.
(1975/77)
* * * * * *
This observatory still exists, under the rather grander name of the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. It is, so the government website tells me, "an internationally renowned facility for radio astronomy and leading-edge instrumentation." Until just now, I had no idea that it existed.
DRAO is still, naturally, a radio-quiet site, which must be more difficult these days than in 1975.
Dave Stewart, author of Okanagan Backroads, is quite right about its fascination. I am absolutely a lay person, and yet statements like this are weirdly thrilling: "The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is Canada's largest radio telescope. ... CHIME has no moving parts, but the Earth's rotation allows the telescope to map all of Canada's visible sky every day. CHIME was designed to survey atomic hydrogen from the largest volume of the Universe to date." No real idea why that would be important to do (feel free to explain!), but I'm glad it's happening here.
They have a Perseids viewing party next week!
§rf§
Source: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/nrc-facilities/dominion-radio-astrophysical-observatory-research-facility
Mile 12.1 (4.4) – Half a mile further along, the access to White Lake Observatory turns right. (White Lake itself is the alkali pond opposite the Twin Lakes turnoff.)
Because of their electrical systems, which interfere with the operation of the radio-telescope, cars are not allowed on the road to the radio telescope. The big dish itself towers above the other installations, listening eternally to signals from outer space. The maze of poles and overhead wiring back towards Oliver are another form of radio-telescope, which pick up very long radio waves. The observatory is well worth walking the three-tenths mile; what's happening is completely incomprehensible to the layman, but fascinating nonetheless.
(1975/77)
* * * * * *
This observatory still exists, under the rather grander name of the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. It is, so the government website tells me, "an internationally renowned facility for radio astronomy and leading-edge instrumentation." Until just now, I had no idea that it existed.
DRAO is still, naturally, a radio-quiet site, which must be more difficult these days than in 1975.
Dave Stewart, author of Okanagan Backroads, is quite right about its fascination. I am absolutely a lay person, and yet statements like this are weirdly thrilling: "The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) is Canada's largest radio telescope. ... CHIME has no moving parts, but the Earth's rotation allows the telescope to map all of Canada's visible sky every day. CHIME was designed to survey atomic hydrogen from the largest volume of the Universe to date." No real idea why that would be important to do (feel free to explain!), but I'm glad it's happening here.
They have a Perseids viewing party next week!
§rf§
Source: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/nrc-facilities/dominion-radio-astrophysical-observatory-research-facility
Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling) wrote2025-08-06 07:43 pm
edenfalling) wrote2025-08-06 07:43 pm
Entry tags:
a bit more trip reporting, plus a current life update
Hello!
So since I last posted, I reached the gathering site in Alberta (a very swanky "cabin" in the Canadian Rockies, and I will not be any more specific than that, thank you very much). The get-together was WONDERFUL, which is unsurprising, but alas all good things must end so the vast majority of people left Sunday morning (July 20) in order to fly home (or in one case catch a bus to Banff). I drove northeast to Drumheller, leaving around 11ish, and that was the only day where I had to stop on the side of the road to pee in a ditch because Google Maps decided to route me via county roads through the middle of nowhere so I had no chance to find a gas station.
The Royal Tyrell Museum was EXCELLENT and I highly recommend a visit to anyone who has the chance. If you have the time, arrive in the morning to take a badlands hiking tour (this obviously did not work with my schedule), but the museum itself is still damn cool. I then spent the night in a "hotel" that was 7 rooms above an Indian restaurant. The room was fine! It was just kind of a surprise. But on the bright side, I bought a double order of garlic naan for an evening snack and proceeded to munch on that as car snacks for the next two days.
I also bought a t-shirt, a pair of socks, and a travel mug (no handle, has a tea-and-dinosaurs pun) from the museum gift shop. No regrets!
Monday the 21st I drove back south into the US and then took the Going-To-The-Sun Road from east to west through Glacier National Park. (I had previously acquired an America The Beautiful pass which gets you into ALL national parks, plus any sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and US Army Corps of Engineers that charge an entrance fee.) Glacier is fucking BEAUTIFUL. Due to time constraints (and also weather; it was gray and drizzly during most of my visit) I didn't do any proper hiking, but I did get to walk upstream along Siyeh Creek for a little way.
I spent Monday night at a motel in Kalispell, west of Glacier, where I was able to wash a load of laundry. And I will post about the rest of my trip another day.
-----
In non-trip news, I am currently staying at Vicky's house while she is off on her own two-week road trip. She is circling through Chicago, Pittsburgh, NJ, DC, South Carolina, Tennessee, and then Chicago again on her way home to Minnesota. Meanwhile I am dogsitting Alfie, bringing in her mail, and generally making her house look lived-in rather than vacant.
What I get out of this is A) some distance from our parents, which is nice (I love them but it's still fundamentally awkward to live in their basement as a middle-aged adult); B) BETTER INTERNET (my parents' wifi works fine for anything word-based but is frankly tragic about images, gifs, and videos); and C) the company of one of the world's most adorable dogs. <3
In job search news, I have applied to two Not The IRS offices in the Twin Cities area (annoyingly you can't apply for a region -- you have to apply to each office individually). I have also updated my resume and tomorrow I am going to poke at LinkedIn until I can figure out how best to upload it and start refining my job search terms.
Also I may have fallen down a rabbit hole reading Ask A Manager columns, but shhh, we'll keep that as our little secret. ;)
So since I last posted, I reached the gathering site in Alberta (a very swanky "cabin" in the Canadian Rockies, and I will not be any more specific than that, thank you very much). The get-together was WONDERFUL, which is unsurprising, but alas all good things must end so the vast majority of people left Sunday morning (July 20) in order to fly home (or in one case catch a bus to Banff). I drove northeast to Drumheller, leaving around 11ish, and that was the only day where I had to stop on the side of the road to pee in a ditch because Google Maps decided to route me via county roads through the middle of nowhere so I had no chance to find a gas station.
The Royal Tyrell Museum was EXCELLENT and I highly recommend a visit to anyone who has the chance. If you have the time, arrive in the morning to take a badlands hiking tour (this obviously did not work with my schedule), but the museum itself is still damn cool. I then spent the night in a "hotel" that was 7 rooms above an Indian restaurant. The room was fine! It was just kind of a surprise. But on the bright side, I bought a double order of garlic naan for an evening snack and proceeded to munch on that as car snacks for the next two days.
I also bought a t-shirt, a pair of socks, and a travel mug (no handle, has a tea-and-dinosaurs pun) from the museum gift shop. No regrets!
Monday the 21st I drove back south into the US and then took the Going-To-The-Sun Road from east to west through Glacier National Park. (I had previously acquired an America The Beautiful pass which gets you into ALL national parks, plus any sites managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and US Army Corps of Engineers that charge an entrance fee.) Glacier is fucking BEAUTIFUL. Due to time constraints (and also weather; it was gray and drizzly during most of my visit) I didn't do any proper hiking, but I did get to walk upstream along Siyeh Creek for a little way.
I spent Monday night at a motel in Kalispell, west of Glacier, where I was able to wash a load of laundry. And I will post about the rest of my trip another day.
-----
In non-trip news, I am currently staying at Vicky's house while she is off on her own two-week road trip. She is circling through Chicago, Pittsburgh, NJ, DC, South Carolina, Tennessee, and then Chicago again on her way home to Minnesota. Meanwhile I am dogsitting Alfie, bringing in her mail, and generally making her house look lived-in rather than vacant.
What I get out of this is A) some distance from our parents, which is nice (I love them but it's still fundamentally awkward to live in their basement as a middle-aged adult); B) BETTER INTERNET (my parents' wifi works fine for anything word-based but is frankly tragic about images, gifs, and videos); and C) the company of one of the world's most adorable dogs. <3
In job search news, I have applied to two Not The IRS offices in the Twin Cities area (annoyingly you can't apply for a region -- you have to apply to each office individually). I have also updated my resume and tomorrow I am going to poke at LinkedIn until I can figure out how best to upload it and start refining my job search terms.
Also I may have fallen down a rabbit hole reading Ask A Manager columns, but shhh, we'll keep that as our little secret. ;)
she of the remarkable biochemical capabilities! (ursamajor) wrote2025-08-06 05:35 pm
ursamajor) wrote2025-08-06 05:35 pm
['cause] it's boiled [and] fried so
I have found THE WAY to make crispy firm tofu that I will now do forever more (or until I get bored and wander off to my next food obsession): brining it. It takes no longer than pressing it, is less messy, and the results are unbelievably crispy, even still a little crunchy after overnight refrigeration of the leftovers and then microwaving it, neither process designed to encourage that. And far more successful than any baking or cornstarch-dredging that I've tried before; will never go back. Noting here for my memories:
- Bring 4 cups water with 1/4 cup of salt (or, ratiowise, 1T salt for every 1 cup water needed to cover your tofu) to a boil, then turn off the heat
- Plop your cut-up tofu into the brine - the video did sliced planks, I did cubes so I didn't have two separate cutting steps, it came out fine
- Let it sit for 10-15 minutes
- Pan-fry the tofu in a little oil, flipping around the 3-4 minute mark; repeat until tofu is crispy enough to satisfy you.
As for silken tofu, for quick breakfasts/solo dinners, I've been nuking it with butter and soy sauce and a little bit of chili crisp, then topping it with a scallion that I chopped while waiting for the microwave. Maybe grating a little ginger over if I'm feeling fancy, or now that the lemons are slowly starting to come back, squeezing a little lemon over. It's like a hot hiyayakko, and might be more so if I ever remembered to pick up katsuobushi at Yaoya-San, heh.
*
In the meantime, our neighbors had been texting us while we were away about the annual plumpocalypse, and we came home to a carpet of purple underneath said plum tree, despite the neighbors coming by and picking up the excess while we were gone. Right now, we have enough to fill our entire dutch oven, withdozens hundreds more dropping daily. I really need to set up some kind of net situation to catch them before they hit the ground, I have made refrigerator jam literally every day for the last week and a half, and we are not keeping up. (Right now, our total jam despite our attempts to chip away at it fills my second-largest glass storage pan - 11 cups!)
But because my method so far looks like:
* sweep plums into a pile
* scoop plums of various softness into our largest kitchen bowl
* fill plum bowl with water and let it sit (hyounpark says in case there are worms?!)
* sort plums - only the intact ones make it through
* cook plums until just soft enough to pit
* pit
* weigh the puree, add 40% sugar
* cook, skimming off scum, until it passes the spoon test
* cool
* find a storage container to put the jam in in the fridge
* put on yogurt and toast ad nauseum because I have not committed to buying the whole kit for Proper Jam Making that would let the jam last longer than a few weeks in the fridge
At least our neighbors are equally meh about Proper Jamming so I feel less bad about not doing it, LOL. Still, I did take a cup and a half of yesterday's puree and turned it into a plum version of my favorite roasted applesauce cake for yesterday's block party, and it went smashingly; I was barely able to snag a piece for H and I to split!
Between the cake success and the tofu triumph and lovely August tomatoes marinating in a pool of olive oil and mint and salt and their own juices, I'm proud of these recent food feats. Now to figure out what I'm doing with the pork belly (for dinner tonight). Probably something that can get topped with some of the plum jam, heh.
- Bring 4 cups water with 1/4 cup of salt (or, ratiowise, 1T salt for every 1 cup water needed to cover your tofu) to a boil, then turn off the heat
- Plop your cut-up tofu into the brine - the video did sliced planks, I did cubes so I didn't have two separate cutting steps, it came out fine
- Let it sit for 10-15 minutes
- Pan-fry the tofu in a little oil, flipping around the 3-4 minute mark; repeat until tofu is crispy enough to satisfy you.
As for silken tofu, for quick breakfasts/solo dinners, I've been nuking it with butter and soy sauce and a little bit of chili crisp, then topping it with a scallion that I chopped while waiting for the microwave. Maybe grating a little ginger over if I'm feeling fancy, or now that the lemons are slowly starting to come back, squeezing a little lemon over. It's like a hot hiyayakko, and might be more so if I ever remembered to pick up katsuobushi at Yaoya-San, heh.
*
In the meantime, our neighbors had been texting us while we were away about the annual plumpocalypse, and we came home to a carpet of purple underneath said plum tree, despite the neighbors coming by and picking up the excess while we were gone. Right now, we have enough to fill our entire dutch oven, with
But because my method so far looks like:
* sweep plums into a pile
* scoop plums of various softness into our largest kitchen bowl
* fill plum bowl with water and let it sit (
hyounpark says in case there are worms?!)* sort plums - only the intact ones make it through
* cook plums until just soft enough to pit
* pit
* weigh the puree, add 40% sugar
* cook, skimming off scum, until it passes the spoon test
* cool
* find a storage container to put the jam in in the fridge
* put on yogurt and toast ad nauseum because I have not committed to buying the whole kit for Proper Jam Making that would let the jam last longer than a few weeks in the fridge
At least our neighbors are equally meh about Proper Jamming so I feel less bad about not doing it, LOL. Still, I did take a cup and a half of yesterday's puree and turned it into a plum version of my favorite roasted applesauce cake for yesterday's block party, and it went smashingly; I was barely able to snag a piece for H and I to split!
Between the cake success and the tofu triumph and lovely August tomatoes marinating in a pool of olive oil and mint and salt and their own juices, I'm proud of these recent food feats. Now to figure out what I'm doing with the pork belly (for dinner tonight). Probably something that can get topped with some of the plum jam, heh.
The Gauche in the Machine (china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-08-07 08:40 am
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-08-07 08:40 amEntry tags:
Poll: Running through Dragon City (drama)
( A couple more pics. )
Poll #33468 Winded
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14
Why does Zhao Yunlan get winded running through Dragon City in episode 20?
View Answers
he's out of shape (he only went jogging that one time)
3 (23.1%)
he hasn't recovered from his earlier visions / energy corruption
6 (46.2%)
he's running at top speed
7 (53.8%)
it's just a really long way
6 (46.2%)
he didn't warm up first
1 (7.7%)
other
2 (15.4%)
When you first saw the flashbacks in the first few episodes, what did you think?
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reincarnation
3 (25.0%)
time travel
1 (8.3%)
amnesiac immortals
3 (25.0%)
robot doppelgangers
0 (0.0%)
other
2 (16.7%)
I was already spoiled
5 (41.7%)
I was misleadingly "spoiled".
1 (8.3%)
Ysabet (umadoshi) wrote2025-08-06 04:25 pm
umadoshi) wrote2025-08-06 04:25 pm
Entry tags:
Nobody needs a drought, but here we are
The entire province is in a drought now, after a generally dry season that was already extremely dry in a lot of areas, and last I heard there was no rain in the forecast. Yesterday official word came out asking people to try to conserve water and telling everyone to stay the hell out of the woods. (Apparently there's a substantial fine, although my understanding is that no such fine has ever been successfully enforced, so that's...great.) So now is the time of hoping the farmers and crops come through as well as possible, and that wildfire season passes us by.
Commissioner Clawseau 🔎 (casemod) wrote in anime_manga2025-08-06 07:00 pm
casemod) wrote in anime_manga2025-08-06 07:00 pmEntry tags:
Pinch hits at Casefic Exchange!
caseficexchange is looking for pinch hitters to fulfil requests that include anime and manga fandoms.About the event: Casefic Exchange is a fanwork exchange focusing on investigations. These can be solving murders, retrieving stolen items, finding missing people, missions, and mysteries. As long as it has an investigation as its core theme, it fits with the exchange. We are an AO3 exchange; you must have an account and be 18+ to participate.
Minimum requirements: We allow three mediums: a minimum of 3,000 words for fanfiction, a minimum of 10 panels for a comic, or a recording of a completed fic of 3,000 words minimum with "casefic" as one of its tags. Works must include a fandom, character/ship and be of a medium that the recipient has requested.
Event link:
caseficexchange.Pinch hit link: Current pinch hits.
Due date: Friday 22 August at 11:59pm EDT.
Available post-deadline pinch hits:
Thank you for considering!
anehan (anehan) wrote2025-08-06 09:38 am
anehan) wrote2025-08-06 09:38 amEntry tags:
Not all danmei this Wednesday, but close
Recently read
Currently reading
Little progress on the old RIPs. Oops.
Up next
More farming in historical China, perhaps?
- Xue Shan Fei Hu, The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish, vol. 3. Silly and fluffy danmei. It's basically domestic fluff crossed with palace intrigue, except all the intrigue plots are resolved with minimal trouble and everything always works out for the main characters. Conflict level: -500. I don't know that I actually enjoyed reading this, because there was absolutely nothing of substance in it, but I still started vol. 4 right away. I blame the cliffhanger.
I'll have to start being less of a completionist about danmei, don't I? - Xue Shan Fei Hu, The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish, vol. 4. Yeah. I've no excuse.
- Gu Xue Rou, To Rule in a Turbulent World, vol. 1. Yet more historical danmei. I was pretty sceptical about this one, since the English translation is published by Via Lactea. Also, the translator/editor team is apparently Suika and Pengie, who made something of a mess of the TGCF and MDZS translations. Luckily, the quality of the translation and editing was better than I expected. Maybe nothing to write home about, but at least none of the tableware was tired of life, which was a step up from the TGCF translation.
But. The fucking epub file, oh my god. Rant incoming.
( Screeching about the epub. Accessibility, goddamit! )
It wouldn't have been a surprise if I'd just given up. I'm glad I didn't, though, because this was a surprisingly enjoyable read. So much so that I actually read it in one day.
The MC is a flightly young master from a filthy-rich merchant family who has been sent to the capital to study for the imperial exam and to eventually buy prestige for his family by becoming an official. The ML is a slave from one of the northern nomadic tribes, whose loyalty the MC earns by saving his life. Since the MC is a flighty wastrel at first, he'll naturally have to face some difficulties to grow as a person.
The prose isn't the most polished, but I liked the characters, and the pace of the novel is good. I also liked the farming, which is probably a weird thing to say about a story where the MC is studying to become a scholar, but there it is. A large part of this volume at least is taken up by restoring an old manor house and making the estate ready for spring planting. I happen to love stuff like that in fiction -- restoring something dilapidated, forging order out chaos, getting deep into the minutiae of a profession or craft -- but if you're bored by endless talk of watermills, then this might not be the book for you.
Some content warnings to keep in mind should you be someone who would like to avoid these things: age gap relationship (15/22), master/slave relationship. - A.J. Demas, Lion & Snake: Series One. Damn. Way to slay me again, Demas. Slow burn, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage, age gap romance in Demas's pseudo-historical setting. Basically tailor-made for me. I have this because I'm subscribed to Demas on Ream. I don't think it's available anywhere else (yet).
Currently reading
Little progress on the old RIPs. Oops.
Up next
More farming in historical China, perhaps?