Thorns

LiveJournal by ME by aphephobia. Make sure you check out the comments.

What are you guys favourite places on lj you think most people would think are cool?

I went through all the comms I'm on in this post, the ones I think would have most broad appeal are little_details, fanthropology and trashy_eats. Maybe cooking too.

I had to leave vaginapagina because of the constant barrage of nsfw posts waiting for me when I got home from work, but it's pretty cool.

So I just cut myself some of the bread I made earlier today and it's undercooked :( Mostly done, but a few mushy dough bits in the middle. Thanks to a mistake with temperatures it's a little overcooked on the outside so I don't want to bake it again (also it's cut now!)

Any clever suggestions on what to do with it? It's very nice bread otherwise, pumpkin spice with treacle.

Microwaving worked adequately, I guess, but it went a bit mushy. Toasting wasn't very effective. I guess I could make some sort of oven baked..thing (I don't think garlic bread would work with this bread!) Maybe bread and butter pudding.

Also googling "undercooked bread" found me a few other pumpkin/carrot breads(*), is this always going to be an issue? I did screw up the temperature (fan forced instead of regular), but not that much. Maybe I should make a smaller loaf next time.

EDIT: OOps, meant to post this to cooking. Well, if you guys have any ideas.... :D

(*)The only success story was cutting off the cooked bits then steaming the rest in the oven which I might try.

I've been asked to buy someone japanese incense for their birthday. Anyone know where I could find such stuff?

Also: thankyou all for your advice on icecream makers! We bought a Sunbeam Snowy ($50 from Retravision) and made some tasty, tasty banana ice cream.

So I have tracked down some dairy-and-soy free "icecream"(*). But afaict it only comes in licorice flavour. It's actually really nice, but the licoriceness gets a bit intense after a while. Normally I eat icecream with fruit or cake or whatever, but it's licorice flavoured. Anyone have suggestions for stuff to eat it with? Preferably soy/dairy etc free stuff :) I might try it with watermelon, that goes with star anise which is kind of licoricey...Maybe I should add some ginger. Hmm.

The company that makes it, "Gigi's Icecream" don't seem to have a webpage, they're a small QLD family business. I'm going to email and ask if they have any other (a) flavours and (b) WA stockists.

(*)Made with oats milk and eggs, bought from Maylands IGA

Updated version

I thought about doing a poll (and may later) but people are so complicated decided it was easier just to ask. Partly out of curiousity, partly because having such extreme restrictions myself has made me want to be aware of other people's issues and cater to them where possible.

So: what can't you eat? I'm including moral choices and extreme taste preferences (ie you can't stand chili), but not anything where you'd rather not eat it but can put up with it if you have to, the operative word is can't.

So, mine:
I've gone back onto gluten (THANK GOD) but am otherwise being quite picky. So this is just where I'm at for now.

dairy eg milk, cheese, butter
coconut
soy protein or tofu, soy sauce and miso are ok
chili, paprika, red capsicum
alcohol
cocoa or cocoa butter, tea/coffee
artificial sweetners
too much acid (egfruits like plums and citrus, most fruit juices, salad dressing, preserved veggies and pickles, soft drink, vinegar)
spring onions/leek/watercress/chives
peppermint
too much fat (ie deepfried stuff)
mustard
kidney beans
raw apple/pear
most raw or undercooked vegetables except cucumber or lettuce
pine nuts
asparagus
xanthum gum or guar gum

Also some artificial chemicals disagree with me but apart from artificial sweetners I haven't been able to pin down which exactly, so I just avoid overly processed foods. Gluten free flour mixes are definitely all bad, I think it may be the xanthum gum.

The usual disclaimers apply.

Who's considering going to Aussie con(*) in 2010? Cam and I are going, since I want to go to a worldcon with my entire being and it seems like a perfect opportunity. With my health as it is(**) I'm not really up to exploring strange cities etc, but we've been to Melbourne before so as long as we can get a hotel nearish to the convention centre I can pack a lunch, choose a comfy corner and just sit all day. And with enough notice we should be able to save the 3 grand or so it'll cost all up even given our currently constrained financial state.

Anyway, I know it's WELL early, we take ages to organise anything so I wanted to think about it in advance. And I was curious to know if anyone else we know is pondering it.

Anyone going to Montreal next year?

(*)Note to anyone using that website: don't miss the tiny, almost unreadable links on the side. They're actually pretty useful once you notice them :)
(**)I may be a bit better by then, but I may well not :/

I've been pondering doing one of these for a while, but wasn't sure I'd get the wording right. Since it worked so well on his lj, I've decided to completely steal the language of angriest's recent post instead(*).

1. Tell me your religious beliefs. It can be as simple as "I am an X" or it can be a lengthy paragraph if you like. If you feel your religious and/or spiritual beliefs are private, either don't reply or leave a note saying as much.
2. If you want to reply to something someone else has written, feel free - particularly if you want to ask them a question about the religion you've always wanted to ask but have never been able to, or felt comfortable enough to.
3. This is one of the biggies: if someone asks you a question and you don't feel comfortable answering it, do not feel obliged to answer. Either don't reply at all, or drop a quick reply saying "I don't really want to answer that".
4. Religious intolerance will not be tolerated. I'm aiming this particularly at the aggressive atheists who seem to get their kicks scoring points, but the rule applies in any direction.

I know a lot of you are on both flists, I decided to do it now while it's still fresh in your heads. You are quite welcome to repeat/post a link to your comment over there! And yes fred_mouse I know you were also planning on stealing his idea, but, well, there's no reason it can't be stolen multiple times :D

(*)And yes, I checked it was ok. Don't want to be sued for copyright violation by the big mean famous writer :)

So! As a reminder: here is the menu, it's in Hillaries Boat Harbour, and it's $37.95 pp for Saturday lunch (more if it was a Sunday or at night, cheaper for kids 12 and under)

[Poll #1289722]

My vote is Sat 22nd, if that counts for anything :D

First: it is gelignite and mandragor2003's birthdays in the next couple of days and I have gotten them absolutely nothing. Sorry guys, I've been struggling to just get my head around my current situation which has been very distracting, and my brain (which is not at it's best at present) has been remarkably unhelpful everytime I remember and try to decide what to get you. Do either of you want a steampunk clock thingy? :)

Second: To the vegetarians on my flist, specifically the ones who would consider coming to a hypothetical party for my own birthday, where are some restaurants in perth which do a moderately good buffet and offer acceptable vegetarian food? Note that, for me, "moderately good" implies it has meat, sorry :P(*) Last year (year before?) we went to the local pub which was fine for me but has one of the worst vegetarian spreads ever and you all looked rather sad, so I'm hoping a compromise is possible. I know how sad I am when people have parties at restaurants where there's nothing/little I can eat (ie most of them, thus buffet, where I can pick out what I want and nibble at a little bit of the bad stuff too)

EDIT2: Keep in mind I and Cam's multiple food issues. It's been so long since I could eat indian etc buffet it didn't occur to me people would suggest it. Unfortunately, pretty much all I can eat is chinese/japanese/korean/vietnamese (ie most asian food which doesn't contain coconut, chilli, lots of fat, or tofu)(**), italian/greek, and european style buffets since they serve slabs of plain meat and vegetables. And even there I have to pick out a lot of ingredients most places, which is why I like buffet.

(*)If nothing else, I have yet to encounter a vegetarian buffet which didn't make me feel REALLY ill afterwards. And, well, it's my birthday, and I like meat.
(**)I realise there's probably lots of other little countries whose food I can eat, but I'm just thinking of the ones who get dedicated restaurants here. Malaysian chinese is ok too, but not the sort of malaysian food with lots of coconut. Thai and indian are OUT.

So I was thinking not this week but the one after (ie the 10th) for Stargate, but I thought I should check with people (not that most of you even bothered to click "other" in my last one you lazy bums)

Remember: this is 6:30pm (till about 9:30pm) at my house in Bayswater, which has access by train and circle route. I will provide address details to anyone who wishes to come. People can arrive late/leave early if they have to.

[Poll #1250955]