Posted in Likes, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, family, home, inspiration, memory, Thoughts on April 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Today would have been The Whippersnapper‘s 109th birthday. I was hoping to post another photo of her but my father, keeper of the family album, is out of town.
For now just let me say to my grandmother, dancer, baker, tea maker and all-around excellent human being:
I miss you, but I love that you were here.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, appliances, home, technology, Thoughts on March 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I managed to spend the whole day learning things, yay, but nothing that’s ready to share right now. I did do a load of dishes in the new dishwasher. If you (like me) have wondered what exactly goes on in there, this video is for you.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #theyreallydontmakethemliketheyusedto, home, Thoughts on March 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
You were bright, quick, clean
But now you sleep the long sleep
Our first dishwasher.
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Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, chocolate pudding recipe, home on March 3, 2022| 3 Comments »
You may be tired of hearing about chocolate tofu pudding, and honestly, I’m a little sick of making it. But! I didn’t go through another five batches of the stuff not to document the results, so here we go.
In the end, I tested five different versions of this chocolate pudding: caramelized white, orange caramelized white, milk, maple milk, and dark.
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Hang on, you may say, you made five batches and each batch made five pudding cups?
That’s right.
That’s hmm, let me think, a *lot* of freaking pudding!
You aren’t wrong. The good news is that it turns out that this pudding freezes quite well. My initial research discouraged freezing, and it’s true that regular tofu undergoes a fairly dramatic texture change when frozen and then thawed. It’s a great way to make a ground meat substitute, but I wasn’t sure what would happen to the creamy texture of the pudding. Fortunately, the silken tofu had no trouble with the temperature change and after defrosting a few hours in the fridge I couldn’t tell it had been frozen.
My favorite variant changes depending on my mood. The orange white has a really good citrus flavor, but there’s something about the acidity that keeps the tofu taste more front and center. I like it anyway, but Mr. Man liked this one least. He wouldn’t eat it straight from the blender but after two days actually liked it. Surprisingly, after a concerted lobbying for the milk chocolate option, his favorite is the dark chocolate. (Also, caramelized white chocolate straight from the spoon.)
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Chocolate Tofu Pudding: The Recipes*
Ingredients vary slightly but the method is the same for all.
Instructions
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Additional Notes:
Chocolate, flavor and related characteristics
Tofu, obviousness of
Sweetness, excess of
Melding, which is what I’m calling time spent in the fridge for the pudding to think about what it wants from life
And that, folks, is all I have to say about this pudding.**
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* Because I scribble notes on scraps of paper and then forget where I put them.
** For now. There’s still mocha to try, and peanut butter, and raspberry basil white, and…
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Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, memories, Thoughts on January 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
After a long hiatus, I have returned to the world of waffle making. They really are delicious.
My father used to make us the best weekend waffles. Even the batter tasted great. The leavening made little bubbles that popped on the tongue.
For whatever reason, this week I got it in my head to make waffles. We had a cream-based seafood stew and as I pulled it out of the fridge I thought, “Chicken and waffles!”
For the uninitiated among you, chicken and waffles is a thing. A delicious, savory, creamy Pennsylvania Dutch dish that etched itself in my culinary memory from childhood.
The traditional Pennsylvania Dutch version consists of a plain waffle with pulled, stewed chicken on top, covered in gravy.
— Chicken and waffles – Wikipedia
Obviously, seafood is not chicken, but hey, I thought, close enough. I want waffles! Crispy outside, fluffy inside, what’s not to love? After a deep dive into the long-term storage situation I excavated the waffle maker from the bottom shelf of the basement cupboard. A not-so-quick cleaning* and dinner was served.
I made extra because waffles freeze well and if you want a quick dessert, say, don’t need more than visit to the toaster and a healthy dose of maple syrup.
Have we taken advantage of that fact?
Maybe!*
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* Sadly, in my experience waffle makers tend to be plagued by poor design and are difficult to maintain. Our current version is no exception.
* * Um, yeah. Hundred percent yes.
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home on January 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »
According to my local bird store, today is Squirrel Appreciation Day. Now, I’m fairly sure that the local squirrels object to being relegated to just one day, but given the monopoly they have over the neighborhood feeders, I think they’ll get along fine.
To avoid the possibility of a Great Squirrel Uprising (TM) however, I have arranged to send one squirrel to a resort and spa for the day.
Also bird seed. Works every time.
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, inspiration, Thoughts, winter, yay on January 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s a snow day! True, I still have to work and all that but regardless, there’s something about a fresh blanket of deep snow that brings back childhood feelings of joy.
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“Perhaps I write for no one. Perhaps for the same person children are writing for when they scrawl their names in the snow.”
― Margaret Atwood
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cats, home, illness, loss, Thoughts on January 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Recently I was asked if I was ready for another cat, and I have to say that I’m not quite there yet. My memories still fill the house with cat-shaped holes. I see Neko around corners, on the stairs, by the patio doors.
So, not yet. But someday.
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Posted in Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, health, home, stupid Covid on January 7, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, community, home, Thoughts on December 26, 2021| 1 Comment »
Today is Boxing Day, a Commonwealth holiday unfamiliar to most Americans, and a national holiday in Canada since 1871.
And it has nothing to do with fighters in a ring with a bell.
While its history is a little fuzzy, traditionally Boxing Day was thought of as a time for alms-giving, and for lords and ladies to distribute gifts to household servants, dependents and the poor. It was originally known as Offering Day.
Fiction-related note: Charles Dickens mentioned Boxing Day in “The Pickwick Papers,” which was published as a monthly serial in 1836 and 1837.
These days, Boxing Day in Canada is more like a second Black Friday, an excuse for big sales and shopping shopping shopping.
I have no servants but as you may know, I like to contribute to the community and causes that matter to me. So today, I’ll help support some of the groups out there doing good.
No boxing necessary.
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J.R. Johnson 
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