May. 2nd, 2022

ysabetwordsmith: Text -- three weeks for dreamwidth, in pink (three weeks for dreamwidth)
This blogging questionnaire celebrates Three Weeks for Dreamwidth (April 25-May 15). See the questionnaire introduction post.

What is your blog metaphor? Where are you, when you are in your blog?

My blog is typically a combination of office and living room.  These are adjacent in my house, and I use my blog both for work and socializing.  However, I host some other events with different metaphors:

* The Poetry Fishbowl on the first Tuesday of each month is a type of event typically held in a classroom or coffeehouse, where one or a few people do something in the middle and a bunch more people sit around to watch and kibbitz.  Next up will be May 3 with a theme of "Making Do."

* The Cuddle Party every third Wednesday has its own room full of soft furniture and a snack bar.

* Each year after Thanksgiving is the Winterfaire, a virtual street faire where folks can do their holiday shopping.
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
 [personal profile] jr_the_frog wrote this solarpunk microfiction.  I love the phrase "the lawn era."  :D
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Small Plates - A Food Ficlet Fest
Mixed Quotes Bingo Card 5-1-22
Today's Adventures
Birdfeeding
Bingo
Dreamsheep
Feathering the Nest
Hobby & Interest Friending Meme
Philosophical Questions: Meaning in Life
Moment of Silence: Neal Adams
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday: Spirituality
Supervillain Food: Doritos Roulette
Here and Now a Friendzy
Birdfeeding
Landrace Gardening: CMS
How to Troubleshoot Shielding
Birdfeeding
Missing Information
Good News


There will be a Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, May 3 with a theme of "Making Do." For recent readers, if there is a new prompter or donor in the fishbowl, you get a second freebie. Please mark your calendars, and I hope to see you then.


Three Weeks for Dreamwidth is running April 25-May 15. See my posts for this holiday:
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Ways to Participate
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Blogging Questionnaire

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth 2022

Blog Questionnaire
Blogging Questionnaire Day 1: Participation
Blogging Questionnaire Day 2: Celebrations
Blogging Questionnaire Day 3: Finding Dreamwidth
Blogging Questionnaire Day 4: Changes
Blogging Questionnaire Day 5: Likes and Dislikes
Blogging Questionnaire Day 6: Crossposting
Blogging Questionnaire Day 7: Account Type
Blogging Questionnaire Day 8: Blog Metaphor

Hippies
Hippie Culture
Bohemian Culture
Hippie History
Hippie Books
Bohemian History
Bohemian Books
How to Be a Hippie / Bohemian
Hippie Foods


There are two open epics at present.

"Rainshadow Road" belongs the Daughters of the Apocalypse series. Maggot isn't going anywhere soon.

"The Heart's Best Tenant" belongs to the Steamsmith. Cecily knows all the gossip.


The weather has been variable here. We got a little rain. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a flock of grackles, a flock of sparrows, a flock of mourning doves, a pair of cardinals, a pair of house finches, two brown thrashers, a robin, a blue jay, and two fox squirrels.  Blue grape hyacinth, hyacinths, pear, pie cherries, crabapples, Criterion apple, lilacs, bluebells, yellow bellflower, trillium, Solomon's seal, yellow violet, tulips, and celandine poppy are blooming. Alliums and a bush in the forest garden have buds.
ysabetwordsmith: Text -- three weeks for dreamwidth, in pink (three weeks for dreamwidth)
This year in Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I've decided to feature hippies. Today introduces the joy of hippie food, which we'll be exploring all week.

ExpandRead more... )

ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today we are making a traditional Nigerian dish, as we scored an African yam (aka true yam, puna yam) recently.  Beans and Yam Porridge uses some other African ingredients such as honey beans (oloyin, a sweet brown bean similar to black-eyed peas) and dried crayfish (actually freshwater shrimp).  We get our African goodies from a lovely little shop called Ashar in Champaign-Urbana, which is run by actual African immigrants.

So far we have peeled the yam and cut it into chunks, then put it in a pot to boil.  Many instructions will say to use a knife because a peeler won't cut the tough bark.  We were thrilled to discover that a Cutco peeler with formidable blades and ergonomic handle will indeed work on an African yam.  It still takes a lot of elbow grease because the yam is a woody vegetable, but it's a lot better than hacking with a knife.  It would be impossible to do with an ordinary peeler, especially the kind with a metal loop handle.  Our Cutco knives also did a good job of chopping; I used a small knife intended for peeling and cutting fruit, while my partner Doug likes the big chef knife.  Tools make a huge difference in cooking, particularly for challenging vegetables.  So if someone likes to cook African yams, a Cutco peeler and knife would be an excellent investment or gift.  It should also work on other woody vegetables such as celeriac, jicama, or rutabaga.

We also have the honey beans and onion cooking in the InstaPot, which is one of Doug's favorite appliances.  I can't abide the air-leak sound it makes, but I greatly appreciate its ability to speed-cook beans without needing to soak them overnight first.

EDIT 5/2/22 -- We finished the beans and yam porridge.  :D  It really is porridge, so if you like soft comfort food, this is great for that.  I didn't have (or want the heat from) the recommended dried chiles.  Instead I used a teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon green hatch chile powder.  That made good flavor without being too hot.  If you want yours hot, you can use fresh or dried chiles in it.  This makes a good one-pot meal for a crowd.  However, African traditions include fresh or stewed greens alongside everything.  If you want meat, this should be good with a nice hunk of goat or piece of chicken.  It's very filling.  It's also very fragrant.  Coming down the stairs meant walking into a wall of African aroma.

Birdfeeding

May. 2nd, 2022 05:15 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Today is cloudy, mild, and calm.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a male cardinal and one sparrow.  I heard a blue jay screaming but didn't see him.  Not much activity today. 
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
Tonight we watched the documentary In Search of Voodoo: Roots to Heaven by Djimon Hounsou. It explores different places in Benin and how people there follow ancestral traditions, with the challenges of colonization always lingering.  It's worth a listen for the language; there's a lot of African-flavored French with English subtitles.  The director also examines how voodoo is falsely, often mockingly portrayed in Western media. For a comparison, imagine if Satanism was the only branch of Christianity represented. In fact, voodoo is one of the few remaining religions that is still considered acceptable to mock and lie about in entertainment.  The film gives a great introduction to voodoo in society, and touches on some key beliefs although much of the religion is secret.  Note that this is one of the original African versions, which is a bit different than the African diaspora religions in the Americas.

One of the things I enjoyed most was seeing an African man tell the stories of his own culture.  There's starting to be more of that, and it's really encouraging.  You get a very different and much more comprehensive picture than when someone from outside tries to piece together what they can, or worse, puts their own spin on it for personal purposes.  Everyone should get to tell their own stories if they want to.  This one is rich and colorful.  Most highly recommended.

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