Lacto-Ovo-Veggie-What?

since I'm supposed to be actually saying something, how about a fic rec?

Go to Teland.com.

Read ANYTHING. She's amazing. She does for DC what Maverick and Dark Angel did for The Vampire Chronicles - took it, made it her own, and did it better than the originals.

Thought I ought to post something just to prove I still exist.

So...

I EXIST.

Unfortunately, I don't yet have a new computer...yet. This one keeps crapping out on me, but I have a new one in mind.

I have a recipe for a mean veggie lasagna that I got from my (new!) stepmom, who got it from a woman she works with.

10-12 lasagna noodles
3/4C water or vegetable broth
1 onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic
1-28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 box frozen spinach with all excess water removed
10oz sliced mushrooms
1/2tsp sugar
1/2tsp oregano
15oz ricotta cheese
1/2C parmesa cheese
16-24oz mozzarella cheese (more=better)
1 1/2tsp parsley flakes
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350F degrees.
In large skillet, saute onion and garlic in veggie broth.
Add tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, sugar and oregano.
Let simmer for 10 minutes.

In separate bowl, mix egg, parsley flakes, 1/2 of the parmesan cheese and all of the mozzarella cheese.

Layer in 9x13in pan:
- Layer 1) 1/2 vegetable mixture
- Layer 2) noodles (Sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese over noodles prior to the cheese mixture.)
- Layer 3) cheese mixture

Repeat layers as above.

Cover pan tightly (allows noodles to cook) with foil and bake for one hour.
Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

This is really very yummy. If you don't like spinach (but you should, it's good for you!), you can substitute one large zucchini, sliced in half-moon sections. Just saute it with the other vegetables.

Try it!

The book? Here Be Dragons by T.A. Chase
Read the original review at Top & Bottom Book Reviews http://topandbottomreviews.wordpress.com/2007/06/19/here-be-dragons

I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to agree with LdDurham: the plot didn’t maintain my interest and I kept having to refrain from rolling my eyes. I also found the main characters’ (Kael and Hugh) personalities to be very wishy-washy and poorly planned out. Both characters acted out-of-character or like a completely different character for no apparent reason. It would have been far more plausible if Kael’s backbone had grown over time and with much therapy, not just randomly. And why would Hugh need someone to defend him from the captain’s advances? As a plot device, needing to defend your lover (or potential lover) from unwanted attention is a good way of explaining a character’s sudden aggressiveness/possessiveness/protectiveness, but Hugh was not portrayed as a man who needed that help. Instead, he is portrayed as someone who can take care of himself and those around him. For Kael to come to his rescue is unbelievable for both characterizations.

I wish I hadn’t spent $7.99 on this book. Is this an old release by the author? What I mean to ask is if this is one of the author’s first releases? Because I found some aspects very entertaining (such as the idea of Kael being on the run from his ex and worrying over any other person he thought might be in the same boat as he was), but I din’t like how the author tried to cram in so many different…things. Elves, vampires, catpeople, magic, “real” science, government-army secrets, etc.

I truly believe this book could be made better with a good beta-reader and focusing on a few different topics, rather than mashing them all up in one huge hodgepodge of fantasy.

Hmm…sorry if this post was too long. I look forward to reading some of the other books reviewed on this site. I really like how you give both pros and cons for the books and give the links to the books. The reviews themselves are fun to read and I like how each reviewer backs up their arguments instead of simply saying, “This book blows chunks. Don’t buy it!” Or, “OMG! U relly got to rede this book! It was Da Bomb!”

So, thanks, Top & Bottom, for your hard work and worthwhile reviews.

My God. Just...my God. After I graduated, I went to live with my grandparents for the summer and help on their farm before I went back and started my job.

We didn't have any internet until yesterday.

I didn't realize that LiveJournal had gone crazy until this morning.

I didn't stop crying (on the inside) until just now. And it still hurts.

When, exactly, did people (whom this may/may not apply) forget the difference between reality and fiction? And where the fuck did they get the notion that they had the right to terrorize others? And FORCE others to conform to their beliefs?

This is a sad time for freedom of expression and I pray that the world comes to its senses soon.

And just so that, if anyone reads this and still doesn't understand:

Reading/writing about a 10 year old boy being fucked by his pet goat (or whatever) is not illegal.

Forcing a 10 year old boy to be fucked by his pet goat (or whatever), taping/photographing said fucking, and posting it on your livejournal? Totally illegal.

Prosecute the latter, not the former, dimwits.

Last night I tried to make Totoros out of fondant. Unfortunately, the link on the page lead to traditional fondant, rather than rolled fondant (sugar paste). Rolled was what was needed, but a glaze-ish frosting was what I made.

Grr.

Here's the link to the sites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/7674801/in/photostream/
for the totoro instructions

Supposedly, a person can buy fondant, but I don't know where to get it. A website suggested the following recipe:
Recipe 2 - Marcia Stedman's Recipe
I learned this recipe from a class at an ICES convention. It yields a nice, smooth fondant that is slightly more prone to cracking (if it gets too dry) than the one above, but reduces any problem with elasticity. I use this for models, adding a bit of GumTex/CMC/Tylose/Gum Tragacanth when necessary. In general, though, this is a super-cheap recipe because it doesn't require any specialty ingredients.

These are US measurements. Australians may need to alter this.

2 lbs powdered/confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
2 oz water
2 tablespoons powdered gelatin
As above, dissolve the gelatin and mix in the corn syrup. Add wet mixture to the powdered sugar and mix thoroughly.

Tips
With both recipes, you need to keep it warm to be pliable. As you mix/knead, or if you've had the sugarpaste in storage, warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds (and I really mean a few, like 5 at a time, or it'll melt and be awful!). That'll make it easier to work with.

Avoid using liquid food colouring, as it turns the sugarpaste to goo. If you cannot find colouring paste at a craft or cake shop near you and must use liquid food colouring, I have found that you can avoid the gooey problem by premixing the liquid colour with a bit of powdered sugar. Put the amount of colour you intend to use in a small mixing bowl, then add powdered sugar slowly and mix, continuing to add until the mixture is a thick paste. This does thin the colour somewhat, but you can always add more later.

Here's the link: http://kimberlychapman.com/crafts/cakes/cakedec.html

As soon as I get to the store, I'm going to see if I can find the powdered gelatin and gum. I think gum will be harder to find; gelatin I can get with the baking stuff, I know, because I've seen it before.

On a veggie note!
I found spinach nuggets in the organic/vegetarian section of Kroger! They were really good. Also, did you know there was a vegetarian taco meat substitute that came in a box and you just had to add water and oil?! How fun! I can't wait to try and slip in veggie subs on my family and see if they notice.

Also! We're going to see Grindhouse tonight!

Breakfast: I was in a hurry, so I only had a cup (8oz) of soy milk with chocolate malt syrup added and a few bites of veggies-n-cheese rice.

Lunch: Two tofu dogs wrapped in a slice of 9 Grain bread each. I added a packet of ketchup and mustard and some hotpeppers to each one, also.

Dinner: It's going to be at Sonic, so I think I'm going to get tator tots and some kind of fruit slush.

Snack? Well, I meant to have a thing of applesauce, but I got busy at work and forgot.

About work! Today I typed up the job description my boss planned out for the position I'll be starting in the fall. It looked...busy. There's a lot of stuff in there that I'm not certain I know how to do and other things in there that I currently do. But on the whole, it looked do-able, with the proper instruction. She (my boss) will be giving me a formal interview when I go into work on next Friday. I'm supposed to bring in my resume and we'll be going over the job description together. I suppose we'll also be talking about salary, benefits, and...what else does one talk about in an interview? Hopefully, I'll be able to discuss living arrangements with her. She offered to let me stay with her and her husband until I get my own place and I might have to take her up. The appartments that I want to stay in are appropriately located, within my price range (I think) and have the added benefit of a really nice running track. However, one of the stipulations in the contract is a paystub indicating a monthly income of at least three times the rent, which I won't have at the beginnning of August, when I plan to start working. I'll have to wait until the first full paycheck to have proper proof of income, which will take a few weeks.

ARGH.

Maybe some other appartments won't have that kind of block, but I'm sure the nicer, more respectable ones, the ones I would want to live in, all do. There is a clause in the contract that states a leaser may use a cosigner (in the cases of a recent college grad without employment history), but I DON'T WANT TO! I want to do this without any help from the rental units. I want this to be all mine, without anyone being able to hold anything over my head.

I hope my boss is willing to pay me a better than decent amount, because with rent, utilities, truck payment, credit card payment, truck insurance, STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS, and other living expenses (which include the necessities like food and internet), I'm looking at a the most bills I've ever had in my life. Holy crap. I feel broke already.

I plan to consolidate my student loans through a bank, so maybe that will reduce the payments a little. I guess I'll find out on Tuesday, when the school (bless their souls) are giving us our "loan exit examinations," which will tell us all about who we owe, how much we owe, and how many units of blood we'll have to sell to make ends meet over the next 25 years.

Or maybe I could just sell a couple of eggs? I'm a healthy young woman with no history of disease or other nasty health conditions, I have red hair, I don't have unhealthy habits like smoking, and I have a college degree (all right, so it's in FRENCH, which doesn't amount to much, but I have a B.A. dammit!). Don't these all make me a prime genetic donor? And I hear that eggs go for thousands. Hmmm...I wonder if it's an outpatient procedure?

While soy milk may contain milk-like goodness, it does not COOK like real milk.

How I know this: while preparing instant oatmeal, the soy milk wouldn't cook down and leave me with an appropriately slimy pile of goop. Instead, I was left with a bowl full of pink soy milk (I was preparing strawberries and cream flavored) and runny goo.

But I still ate it because I was late for work and really hungry.

Dammit.

So...first entry of (hopefully) quite a few. I would have started this five days ago, but for some reason, Livejournal decided not to work for me.

But that's okay! Because it's working now.

Right, okay. First entry, then...

I have been a meat-free for five days now. That's right - a vegetarian. But not a lacto-ovo vegetarian or vegan. I'm simply cutting out all meat products from my diet. I'm doing this for myself, though, not for the animals. I come from a family with a history of high cholesterol and heart problems and so I have decided to start now, at 22, on a more healthy life-style. I want to use this journal to help keep track of my goals and eating habits.

Occasionally, I'll throw in non-dietary life bits. Like the fact that I'm graduating from college in THREE FREAKING WEEKS. Three. Freaking. Weeks.

But I'm okay! Really! I'm not spazzing out or anything...I'm just...anxious terrified worried cautiously optimistic. Yeah, that sounds good.

Anyway, I need to figure out how to put a to-do list in my side border because that would really keep me on track. And I need to get on the ball with my homework; I have senioritis in a bad sort of way.

Enough of that. Back to the new diet. Today I had:
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt with grapenuts thrown in.
7 reduced fat triscuits with a wedge of "The Laughing Cow" light spreadable cheese. (A single wedge spreads forever! This is one of my favorite snacks.)
1 container of Musselman's Natural Unsweetened Apple Sauce.
A homemade pizza made from a pita, some pizza sauce, 2 slices of tomato, and a few bits of fresh mushrooms.
A grilled cheese sandwich with thousand island dressing and pickles.
A small bowl of nonfat frozen yogurt with a smidge of chocolate syrup.


Because I tend to get hungry every couple of hours, I'll have a snack tonight of a packet of instant oatmeal. I really prefer the non-instant oatmeal because it isn't as slimy, but as a dorm resident without access to any kind of real kitchen (I have only a microwave and toaster ovens aren't allowed), I have to make do.

I've only been drinking tea, water, milk, and (no sugar added, 100%) fruit juice.

I think I'm doing okay, so far. I can't wait until I get my own apartment (ohmygodohmygodgraduationisinTHREEWEEKS) and can try out lots of new recipes. Summer is going to be rough, though, because my family members are all avid omnivores and mock the vegetable-inclined. This may be a cause of my 41yo father's recent heart attack and uber high triglycerides. As in, the doctor asked him how he was still ALIVE.

And Dad refuses to eat properly (the doctor prescribed vegetarian diet with some tuna thrown in). BUT! At least he's quit smoking. And is exercising. Go Dad! *waves the banner*