A bunch of random crap

[theleaveswant]

My mental/emotional state continues somewhere on the order of "sludge at the bottom of a septic tank", and the other day I slipped on an icy sidewalk and bruised the right side of my ass (odd, given that I landed on the left), so everything hurts more differently than usual. Attempting to face any of the things I ACTUALLY SERIOUSLY NEED TO DEAL WITH makes me cry so I'm la-la-la-ing around doing things that don't help me and feeling guilty about it, huzzah!

To that end . . .

Informative essay on the popular practice of nipple piercing in the Victorian era.

Frequently obnoxious, occasionally brilliant: LiarTownUSA.

A friend of mine is looking for information/recommendations of resources on Black Canadian history. Suggestions? Bueller?

Contemplating changing DW user name to "hyggenaut", possibly AO3 as well. I dunno. Been a while since I changed alias, having trouble finding pros and cons.

Thinking of trying to make my own mayonnaise; soy-free Veganaise is pretty good but unnecessarily expensive, especially given I'm buying it for the "soy-free" and not the "vegan".

Grain-free dairy-free soy-free chocolate peanut butter muffins; I tweak the ratios for more peanut butter and less oil. Also grain-free (-ish; there's cornstarch): almond pear cardamom pancakes; haven't tried yet but have the ingredients, should get around to it before the pears rot and the almond meal rebels.

Comments

[graydon]

Yay food!

(I have been eating a lot of apple slices with peanut butter. It's a remarkably effective snack.)

Yay late Victorians, thoroughly recovered from their grandparent's horrified reaction to said grandparents' parents' depravity during the English Regency.

Mayonnaise is one of the things that there's a recurrent fashion of making at the table -- fresh so much better than jar, apparently -- so it probably doesn't involve dread and eldritch sacrifices to get it to work. (And it can't have the meringue ritual-degreasing issue.)

[theleaveswant]

My first mayonnaise experiment didn't go so well. Texture a little too thin, flavours of olive oil and apple cider vinegar too strong. I salvaged it into a honey dill aoili-type sauce, since it was meant as dressing for a potato salad anyway, but still disappointing. May or may not try again with canola oil and/or white vinegar.

[graydon]

Yay, honey-dill aoili-type sauce!

As I understand it, flavouring the stuff is much harder than the plain-plain version, rather like meringues. Might be similar reasons for it in egg chemistry, even.

[kore]

Attempting to face any of the things I ACTUALLY SERIOUSLY NEED TO DEAL WITH makes me cry so I'm la-la-la-ing around doing things that don't help me and feeling guilty about it, huzzah!

WHEE, DISPLACEMENT ACTIVITY //heartfelt fistbump

[theleaveswant]

Three weeks later, I have made absolutely no progress. //returns fistbump and continues forward motion until lying face-down on the floor

[kore]

From my position on my nice secondhand leopard-print sofa I salute you. //with bag of dark chocolate M&Ms //yay menstrual migraines

[thatyourefuse]

If I could successfully make mayonnaise during my disastrous spell at culinary school, I strongly suspect anyone capable of using a whisk can do it with a little practice. (Hollandaise, now, hollandaise is the devil.) It's good made with tarragon vinegar, if you like that kind of thing.

Also, that nipple piercing article is just crying out for some Penny Dreadful fic.