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A revised version of the soba noodle soup recipe I made a while ago. This one has instructions adjusted just for me.

( Soba noodle soup )

Made this today for my mom's birthday: Key Lime Coconut Cake

10/10 would make again. Everyone enjoyed it. Preparation is very simple and the ingredients were all things that I typically have around (aside from the lime). It's a dense cake, slices well, and the glaze tastes very bright. Very recommended if you like lime.

(Though, it doesn't actually call for key limes, just regular limes, so I suppose the name is a little misleading. :V)

( Recipe copied from website under the cut )

Made some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins today! (Photo here)

I used a recipe that I came across on tumblr*; "Tim Cain's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins", which was included in the files of the dungeon crawler Stonekeep (1995). Never played the game, but I found the whole concept of hiding a muffin recipe in game files really delightful.

Transcription of the recipe under the cut. They came out pretty well! My parents enjoyed them too. Would recommend.

( Tim Cain's chocolate chip pumpkin muffins )

❀ I decided that mom probably had a point - being sick for three weeks meant there was something wrong. ;V I went to the doctor on Monday, and he confirmed that it was not just a headcold. After a week's worth of antibiotics for the infection, I'm feeling much better now.

❀ Had planned to go out for a bit today, but it's -33C. You know what, I think I'll just... stay home.

❀ Made a really nice Chickpea soup yesterday with a recipe from Occasionally Eggs. Only substitutions were cayenne instead of red pepper flakes, and crushed tomatoes instead of diced - and that ended up giving it a really creamy texture. It was VERY delicious, would definitely recommend.

❀ Been working a little on fic. It feels good to be coherent enough to write again. When I was ill, I kept trying to do it, and then falling asleep in the middle of it. ...Anyway, man, I really do need to get these auction fics done. Fortunately, for the one that isn't drafted yet, I figured out my way through a plot point that was sticking, so now it's just a matter of getting it all on paper.

❀ Accidentally took out too many books from the library again. Whoops. Well, I can't say I mind. Here's what I have out now:

☆ The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Academics and vampires and chasing a secret across Europe! I read this ages and ages and ages ago, and frankly I don't remember a thing about it except that I enjoyed it a lot at the time. So, figured a re-read was in order.

☆ The Fires by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir. The premise: after 800 years, the volcanoes in Iceland's most populous region are showing signs of life. I'm assuming this is going to be some kind of natural disaster thriller; we'll see.

☆ The Lover, The Lake by Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau. It's about a love affair between an Anishinaabe woman and a Metis trapper. The author is Cree and the novel was originally written in French. The cover summary describes this as an erotic novel, not just a romance novel, which I found unexpected. Anyway, I'm very curious about this one, and looking forward to it.

☆ Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm. After guests arrive at an isolated hotel in the mountains, one of the seasonal workers goes missing. The word "strega" means "witch" in Italian, but I don't get the impression that this is a fantasy/horror; the title might be more metaphorical.

☆ Tainna: The Unseen Ones by Norma Dunning. This is a collection of short stories centred around modern-day Inuk experiences and the feeling of displacement that comes from living in more southern parts of Canada. The author also wrote the collection Annie Muktuk, which I have read - I don't remember many specifics about it, but I do remember that I thought it was good.

☆ A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino. A man is found murdered on a bridge; that same night, another man is injured in a car crash, and it is discovered that he has the wallet of the dead man. This looks like a straightforward detective novel, which I sure read a lot of, but the Japanese setting is quite different from my usual fare.

☆ Burying the Typewriter by Carmen Bugan. Back summary describes it as "A childhood memoir of oppression and resilience under the Ceaușescu regime". Continuing my attempt to read everything the local library has that's related to Romania.

[/stares blankly into the distance]

Today kind of sucked. Not absolutely, but just kind of.

I deserve a little treat.

[Edit]

Made a chocolate mug cake (sans dairy due to medication shenanigans). Would've been nicer with milk, but you know what, this hit the spot.

zzzzzZZzzzzz

Recipe rec: Lentil Chili from Occasionally Eggs. Vegan-friendly and very flavourful.

Made this on Saturday; good decision. Takes a bit of time, what with having to finely chop the mushrooms, but it's very worth it. I'd made it early in the day with the intention of setting some aside for supper and freezing the rest, but when it was all cooked and I tasted it, it was pretty tempting to just chow down right then and there. :V

Definitely will be making this again. Might see if I can make a meat version of it too, since I have a lot of ground venison in the freezer and zero ideas for what to do with it.

+ I've been on my feet since 6 AM this morning and didn't stop until 7PM. What a day. (What a weekend). I feel like I need a day off from my day off.

+ Recipe rec: Lentil and Potato Stew from Occasionally Eggs. Made this for my mom the other day, and she really liked it. Definitely will be adding this to the "standard recipes" in my circulation. Reduced the pepper/cayenne and added two tomatoes and a sausage - but it'd be lovely as-is.

+ Rewatched Halloween (1978) this evening. Man, I still really like this movie. There's this slow, creeping atmosphere, and all the little glimpses that you get of Meyers in the background lead you to look for him even when he isn't there. And there's something about the slightly rough-at-the-edges way that it's filmed that really works with the vibe. (And of course the music is amazing.) It's not a movie I'd choose all the time, buuuuut once a year in October... yeaaah. (The 2018 sequel that retcons all the other sequels is also good.)

Man, I made orange sauce from this orange chicken recipe, and it was so good.

I didn't make the chicken - the sauce went into a vegetarian stir fry - but I bet it would be pretty good. Definitely will be using this sauce recipe again.

It helps that I already had most of the ingredients, and the ones that I didn't have were easy to get. A lot of the ones that I've come across call for dried orange peel, which I haven't been able to find in this town (I've been looking for a while). I could make my own dried orange peel, but that requires a level of thinking ahead that I'm not usually capable of. ;p

Anyway. Yes. It was delicious.

( Orange sauce recipe copied over )

Made some chickpea curry tonight. Really delicious, definitely will make this one again.

Recipe was Easy Chickpea Curry via Tasty. Details copied below.

( Easy chickpea curry )

Adjustments:
+ Used parsley instead of cilantro
+ Forgot the lemon juice, whoops
+ Left out the japaleno/chile pepper
+ Used 3 roma tomatoes, didn't measure them
+ Used 1 tbsp of tumeric instead of a teaspoon

Possible future adjustments:
+ Would make the tumeric at least 1.5 tbsp, but then again I love tumeric
+ Some cloves might be nice too
+ There aren't really any vegetables in this aside from the tomatoes. I usually add bell peppers and cauliflower to curry when there's about 7 minutes left to go; I think they'd be nice here. Or maybe some okra or something.

My mom gave me my grandmother's recipe for nanaimo bars, so I decided to post it here for reference (and to share it with all of you). I haven't tried it myself, and likely won't get around to it for quite a while, but in the meantime, here it is.

( Nanaimo bars )