Cupcakes, Tea, and Tabletop RPGs

Youthberry Tea, good pens, and a character sheet = Perfect Sunday

The brother and I are going to start DM-ing a game of Fourth Edition Dungeons and Dragons in a few weeks. In typical fashion, I've come at the challenge with lists and book-buying and Google Form creation. To say I'm freaking out would be putting it mildly, but at the same time I'm really excited.

Creating a world for yourself to play in as completely different from creating one where other people are supposed to come along and help make the story with you. What's particularly interesting about DM-ing is that it brings with it a slew of "thinking on your feet" that I usually only have to deal with when my characters start running away from me. Or turning evil for no obvious reason.

Suffice it to say, I am making blog posts instead of finishing my campaign because I am still trembling in my boots about it.

And, because I am me, I am also Procrastination Baking.

Here is my latest creation: Vanilla Cupcakes with a salted caramel frosting. The frosting turned out a little too salty, but the cupcakes themselves were very tasty and the recipe was pretty easy so odds are it's on the "To Make Again" list. The links go to Chow, a very cool website that sends me recipes on a daily basis. And sometimes those recipes are delicious and sometimes they are pretentious, but they are always fun.

Also, you will notice the tea pots in the top pictures. Those are real teapots, filled with real tea. Tea is wonderful and warm and the best afternoon pick-me-up ever. Plus, it takes a little bit of work to make so even if you've done nothing else all day, you can still think, "Well, I made tea" and it's something. Especially loose-leaf because then you need to warm the pot before and let it steep just right and use the awesome little Victorian strainer cup and put honey and milk in and it's time-consuming.

...This has been an update on the baking and Tabletop front. Tune in next time for more dithering, this time probably involving bread again because I think I know the secret for why mine keeps coming out so dense...

The Strange Tale of Solomon Jones

A new story to go with the new semester (which I am not participating in because nyah, I don't wanna). Also because I am lazy and now it looks like I'm going to have graduate, low GPA or no. Which...is terriyfing. Absolutely terrifying.

But on to the fic. This began as a very late night chat fic with the Captain as we killed time waiting for Steam to load. He needed a haircut and I was feeling exceedingly silly. Enjoy it in the spirit in which it was written.

--*--*--*--

On the morning of February the 23rd, Solomon Jones opens his eyes and curses. He cannot see, can barely breathe, and the sound of his alarm clock is unmistakably muffled. The Curse of the Poof has flared up again. Solomon Jones staggers across the room, blinded by the Curse. It is flaring up in shorter intervals, especially since he had started seeing the Mad Korean for an antidote. He doesn’t have a choice, though. Not after what Ines Hernandez did to him the last time he had seen her for the cure.

So I Saw The Hunger Games...

I have A Story about The Hunger Games (that pretty fantastic YA series by Suzanne Collins which...look if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're under a bigger rock than I am...). When I first picked it up, it was at the recommendation of someone whose reviews I had really enjoyed online. So I set off for the closest library and indulged myself in some YA fiction. And got hooked. And had to immediately drive to two different libraries in order to pick up the sequel, Catching Fire. Which I finished and promptly put myself to work searching for the final book. The problem was, Mockingjay, the conclusion of the series, wasn't even published yet, let alone at the library.

So I put myself on the list for it. At position number 274. Which isn't that big a deal especially since I ostensibly had other things to read (like my school books). But then the Miami-Dade Public Library system set up a new thing where in order to check out books, you have to renew your library card each year, and in order to renew, your account has to be paid off. So. Since I had a bit of a backlog of debt I am very forgetful, you understand they turned off my card and cancelled my holds.

Including Mockingjay.

So I haven't finished the series and I hadn't re-read the books in a few years when the spoilers and casting photos and otherwise general tomfoolery for the movie began to seep into my Internet Spaces.

That was all to say: 1) spoil me and die, 2) I'm coming at the movie with a book-ish spin, and 3) Really. Spoil me and DIE

I'm gonna start off by saying that I actually really enjoyed the movie. But by far one of the best parts of it was getting to see it with my sister. Considering the SCoM rarely reads the same books I do, it was a pleasure to go see a movie based on a book we had both read. As well, because she absolutely adores the book, she finally got to see how I feel when my babies are put on the big screen.

This isn't going to be much of a review, if I'm being honest because I didn't take any notes as I usually do. However, the SCoM and I did have a discussion in the car on the way to the comic book store about the differences and how we felt about them, so that's what I'm going to discuss.

Regardless, ye shall be warned:

Right, so the movie opens pretty much exactly as the book does, with less of the flashbacks and various "setting up the setting" details we need in a book. The cinematography in this movie was excellent, as was the set design. The Powers that Be did a fantastic job in really capturing the colors and feel of the different areas. The grittiness of the outlying districts in comparison to the garish decadence of the Capitol was not something that was just explained, rather it pretty much punched us in the gut whenever there was a shot of backgrounds.

As well, for a book that is told pretty much from the confines of Katniss' head, the writers and directors and Jennifer Lawrence herself did a phenomenal job in conveying her turmoil and the roiling thoughts that are in her head. In addition to the acting Lawrence is able to do with just her eyes, the scriptwriters also nicely fleshed out the world of the book, giving us insight into the Gamemakers, the Sponsors, and all of the other background elements that Katniss hints at but can't really devote any of her thoughts to (as she's, you know, trying not to die). Providing the audience with the shape of the world as well as presenting the movie as if we are Capitol-dwellers watching it did a lot to convey the storyline.

But. Okay, here's the thing. When I read the book, I remember really disliking Katniss. When I re-read it a few days ago I changed my opinion slightly (I like her a little more now) but I distinctly recall kind of hating her. And a lot of the reason for this was the waffling and machinations she gets up to in her own head.

Being in Katniss' head throughout the book really lets us see that she is actually Acting Out the romance with Peeta because she becomes aware that this is the only way she and him are going to make it. By selling their story to the viewers, they might make it out of the games alive. Being in her thought process reveals to us, the reader, that not only does she understand the game, but she thinks that Peeta is playing it, too. And he's better at it than she is.

That's why the ending, when Peeta is so injured he physically cannot leave the cave, has blood poisoning, and is essentially dying in her arms is so important and such a turning point in the novel. It's the part where the stakes are high enough that she must make a senseless decision - she has to risk her life in order to save Peeta's, effectively cementing their relationship in the eyes of the viewers (and probably Peeta). But even at this part in the book, Katniss isn't sure of her true feelings. She actually says:

"I haven't even begun to separate out my feelings about Peeta. It's too complicated. What I did as part of the Games. As opposed to what I did out of anger at the Capitol. Or because of how it would be viewed back in District 12. Or simply because it was the only decent thing to do. Or what I did because I cared about him." (pg. 358-359, THG, 2008)

 Throughout the book, Collins makes it clear that Katniss is putting on a show. The packages she gets from Haymitch nudge her in the direction she should be acting, but she is very aware of the fact that she is playing a part for the viewers of the Games. Without insight into Katniss' mind, it is pretty difficult for that to come across for an audience of a movie.

My feelings about the movie, then, are confused. On one hand, I liked it. The visuals were gorgeous, the way they filled out the world was welcome, and the acting was a lot better than I really expected. As well, seeing it with a bunch of people who also read the books (and most of whom were 14 year old girls) was quite the...experience. There was a lot of screaming and people yelling at the screen, and yes. That's why I like seeing movies when they premiere.

On the other hand, I found myself constantly filling in the scenes with what Katniss was thinking during them throughout the novel. And in retrospect, while I liked the movie, I can't quite separate whether I would have liked it had I not had that supplementary commentary running in my head.

But my biggest nitpick has to be the end. When Peeta and Katniss are essentially trapped in the cave near the end of the book, they are hopeless. Katniss is just trying to figure out what she needs to say in order to be rewarded with the medicine she needs to save Peeta's life while Peeta is honestly just trying to survive. His wound is described as festering, he has blood poisoning and is nearly incoherent. He is so wounded, after the medicine he can barely walk and once they're free of the games, Peeta is given a false leg because even the Capitol couldn't save his.

The wound and its care are major plot points in the book and they dictate what Katniss does as much as her possible feelings for Peeta.

So while I can forgive a lot of the minor differences between the two mediums, making Peeta's leg wound a non-issue is not one of them. Taking away the stakes that result from the severity of his injury make Katniss' turmoil less apparent and appears to cast her as Peeta's actual love interest. Which, if that's the way they were going, should have been more apparent.

I felt the movie didn't commit to having Katniss and Peeta really be in love nor to Peeta being so injured Katniss has no choice but to save him regardless of her feelings. And that lack of commitment didn't do the film any favors.

I liked the movie, I really did. I'm just not sure as to some of the choices the writers chose to make. That didn't stop me from enjoying it. Nor did it stop me from crying when this happened:

Like a baby, I cried. Me and the SCoM both. Rebellion gets to me, okay?

Whole Wheat Soda Bread & Other Problems

In the interest of keeping up with my bread-making (and my utter failure at it) I took a few steps backwards in the Bread Zone and went back to the basics.

In this case, soda bread.

For the unitiated (and me) soda bread is pretty much one of the easiest breads you can make outside of the boxed bread machine ones. Most of the ease comes from the fact that it takes no yeast, so there's none of that horrible waiting for the dough to rise and then the punching down and the kneading... Possibly I am too impatient to make good bread, but I digress.

Anyways, soda bread is ostensibly The Easiest Bread since all you need is the ingredients, a baking sheet, and an oven. Of course, the first time I made soda bread it was both crumbly and far too hard for human consumption. Don't ask me how I accomplished this as I have no idea.

But this time I followed the instructions found in Paul Hollywood's 100 Great Breads, combined all of my ingredients until there was no free-floating flour in the bowl (a process that took far too long so I added more milk...oops?), made a ball of bread, smushed it down, cut a cross in the top and popped that sucker in the oven for the prescribed 25 minutes.

In retrospect, substituting sour cream for buttermilk may have turned out to be a mistake as the reaction between the baking powder and buttermilk is a main part of the dough but...

No bread I make can be anything but fraught with problems, and this one was no different.

I exulted at my bread dough looking like bread dough as it went in the oven and retired to my laptop with a mug of tea and Bruce Springsteen's new album.

An untold amount of time later, my dad popped his head in the room and asked me how much time the bread was supposed to cook for.

"25 minutes," I said, removing one of my earphones. "The time left should be on the microwave timer, since I didn't hear it beep..."

My father cocked one eyebrow at me.

"The microwave says 23:03 and it hasn't moved."

I felt color leave my face, jumped out of my chair and ran for the oven. There was my bread, looking like bread. I know the rule about impatient bakers and undercooked foods, but I had to do something, so I popped the oven open and poked the bread.

The problem with bread is, unlike a cake where you can poke it with a knife, there really isn't a way to know when it's done. So I shoved my finger into one of the cracks and deemed it "uncooked...probably" and gave it eight more minutes.

When the alarm dinged this time, I went and removed my bread from the oven. It didn't look any different from the last time I checked but it was slightly less squishy.

Somewhere in my life I must have read something about bread because, unbidden, the thought came to me, "Isn't the way you test to make sure bread is done to knock on it? If it sounds hollow it's done..." Since I had nothing else to go on, I knocked on my bread.

...I'm not sure if it's true advice, but knocking on it gave me a relatively hollow sound so I let it sit on its cooling rack.

It turned out a little crumbly, a little dense, and a little saltless, but overall I can say this is my first succesful bread.

My brain decided to take this slight success and run with it, so I have a baguette and a brioche lined up to try tomorrow.

...oh boy.

On Baking, Bread, and The Precious

I've been baking.

On its own, that statement is not a cause for concern. Or rather, not much concern.

I've been baking since I was very little, at first helping my mom out, and then making a total mess out of the kitchen All By Myself. A few years ago, however, I started baking in earnest. This is right around the same time I started knitting again as well as sewing. In all honesty, I think I probably picked up handicrafts again as a tribute to my grandmother who passed away last year and also as a form of procrastination. Regardless, I do a little of everything but baking is one of my new loves.

I have slowly been acquiring gizmos and whatsits over the course of a few years and I have an interesting collection now...I think. Some Williams-Sonoma cookie cutters - the Marvel superheroes faces and the Star Wars vehicles - some pretty nifty food colors, all sorts of muffin tins, a cookie-scoop, and The Precious.

What is The Precious, you ask? Why my good fellow:

Me and The Precious at my birthday last year.

The Precious is the 6 quart capacity, bright red,  KitchenAid Stand Mixer I received for my birthday last year. This year one of my goals is to add the tengwar found on the One Ring to it in order to more properly connote its name, but until I do, that's just what I call it.

C'mon, you knew exactly what I was referring to when I said the tengwar. ...^^it's this.

So of course, upon receiving The Precious the first thing I did was baptize it in mocha and chocolate.

I'm not going to lie, having a stand mixer is a marvelous step up from using a hand mixer and my own brute strength. Paramount among the awesomeness is the ability to leave the mixer running while I melt/whip/add things. It just smooths everything out. ...I love my mixer, okay?

The problem with the Precious is it doesn't really help me with bread. I've decided that baking a decent loaf of bread is right up there with making a passable Apple Pie on "Things I Want to Do" but it's been...difficult. To that end I picked up a copy of 100 Great Breads from the Barnes and Nobles at school when I went to the bookstore to buy socks...long story...

Unfortunately, the man is a master baker and I just started making bread without the Bread Machine so mine came out all lumpy and weird. :| Going to try soda bread until I can make passable loaves.

Anyhoo. Because I made A Commitment to this blog and its general upkeep, I've decided to go ahead and start keeping better track of the things I bake. I won't make any promises as to the state of the pictures I'll take (synching my phone for pictures is enough of a hassle) but I will be doing more upkeep. And as soon as I figure out how, there will be a nifty "Baking" tab at the top of the blog where these posts will be housed.

But for tiding over, here are some pictures of stuff I've baked lately.

(Left to Right) Apple Pie, Vanilla cupcakes w/ chocolate comic book sayings, Kahlua cookie bowl with ice-cream, mocha cupcakes, apple cinnamon muffins, Star Wars cookies and blue milk.