hellenhighwater

[hellenhighwater]

She's having A Day

[hellenhighwater]

I have wildly overestimated how much steamed milk can go into this London Fog.

I'm doing the worst job today. How is everything going this mediocrely wrong

[hellenhighwater]

All part of the pepper jam process 🥲🥲🥲🥲

i have fired SERRANO JUICE directly into my EYEBALL

[hellenhighwater]

i have fired SERRANO JUICE directly into my EYEBALL

[hellenhighwater]

Lady Jane Grey is the maddest she's ever been.

Guess who just figured out how to climb inside the woodstove???

[hellenhighwater]

This is the belly and beans pre-woodstove, for comparison.

Guess who just figured out how to climb inside the woodstove???

[hellenhighwater]

Baby Jane broke into Calcifer's house

Guess who just figured out how to climb inside the woodstove???

[hellenhighwater]

Guess who just figured out how to climb inside the woodstove???

[hellenhighwater]

If we've absolutely fallen in love with one of the kittens you're fostering, is there a way to reach out to you or the foster/adoption center to inquire about adopting once the foster period is over?

You guys can always message me about adoption of the various temporary babies! I foster through a local(ish) shelter and they do require that all cats be spayed or neutered first; there's a fairly nominal adoption fee. The shelter doesn't do background checks but does require a copy of a driver's license or state ID to keep on record.

I will say that Darcy (and very probably Bingley) are spoken for.

I'll also point out that while I adore my fosters especially, any shelter local to you has kittens and cats that are every bit as adorable and deserving of homes, so if you're far from me, don't let that stop you from adoption or fostering.

[hellenhighwater]

How does mal-meatball like the babies?

Normally she hisses at them, but she's warming up to this batch, and Jane especially! They're getting very tentative supervised interactions, just because if Malice does decide that the kittens are cool then they won't be a potential source of stress for her. And it's not bad for the kittens to meet other animals, to prepare them for later adoptive homes.

Vice is still not a fan.

[hellenhighwater]

Size comparison of Jane v Meringues was requested. To clarify:

The size of Jane is an unpredictable variable.

Smaller than Malice, though.

This is a double batch of meringues--8 eggs total.

And this is Jane.

[hellenhighwater]

Size comparison of Jane v Meringues was requested. To clarify:

The size of Jane is an unpredictable variable.

Smaller than Malice, though.

This is a double batch of meringues--8 eggs total.

And this is Jane.

[hellenhighwater]

Wake up there's drama

[hellenhighwater]

This is a double batch of meringues--8 eggs total.

And this is Jane.

[hellenhighwater]

If you've ever looked at a bit of crumbling drywall and gone "boy am I hungry right now" then meringues are the recipe for you. They're simultaneously very simple and very finnicky, but if you can get the hang of them then you can experience eating chalk (but sweet!) whenever you want, with none of the limestone content involved in eating real chalk. A batch of meringues is just 3 egg whites, (at ROOM TEMPERATURE) 1/8th teaspoon cream of tartar, 3/4 cups regular white granulated sugar, and a half teaspoon of vanilla extract. (or you could do a different flavor, if you like your conkrete to be fancy. I do not. I am here to experience texture with minimal flavor.)

You combine all the ingredients but the sugar in a mixer with a whisk attachment, and whisk at high speed until soft peaks form. Then slowly sift in the granulated sugar, whisking as you go. Once all the sugar is whisked in, keep mixing for another five minutes--the mix should be glossy and sleek, not dry.

Then pipe the cookies onto a parchment-lined pan, about two inches across, leaving an inch of space between. If you have fancy frosting tips and a piping bag, use them. Bafflingly, I do not have those (why? what have I been doing with my life that I own three machetes but not frosting tips?) so I just used a gallon ziplock with a hole poked into it and made beautiful little angel turd shapes.

They bake at 200 F for 45 minutes, and then should be allowed to rest in the oven for another half hour with the temperature off. Don't open the oven while they bake! Let them cool completely, and then you can eat something that has both the visual look and the mouth-feel of a packing peanut.

I love these things. I'll post an out-of-oven picture when they're done in like an hour.