#having to portion out a pie when you do not have a flat surface to work with | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rapha-reads · 2 months ago

Text

IWTV rewatch

(still spoilers for both the whole show and the books)

Season 2 episode 1 [What Can The Damned Really Say to the Damned] - part 3/4

- [Daniel] "Memories just keep bubbling up." - oooh, the face Louis makes at that...

- [Louis] "'Claudia was... uh... She was dreaming. Her head twitching like you would.'" - ain't no need to take a shot at Danny boy now! He hasn't done anything (yet)...

[Daniel] "'Maybe you're just uh, frosting the pie?'

[Louis] 'No. I can feel her. I can feel her next to me. She's having a nightmare. What's worse than a nightmare? If your soul's projecting out its fears, at least it's up and running. But the absence of anything? The void. The nothing. Pieces... coming back. Hours, nights. Objects, surfacing in water. It was just something she wrote. But it wasn't true. She could dream. Thank you.'

[Daniel] 'If you wanna take that break...'

[Louis] 'No. No. I want this. To remember.'"

Can I scream about Jacob's phenomenal acting? This man. I have no words. The voice breaking. The hand waving. The vacant eyes. The tears (he cries so prettily). The accent emerging from the flat Dubai accent. What a masterclass. Also who else thinks that when Louis says he can feel her next to him, he's not just talking about past Claudia in the memory but also Ghostdia in present time?

This scene has everything:

1, it showcases once again Daniel's profound compassion, in the way he doesn't try to push Louis more now that Louis is finally doing the job of being honest on his own, in the way he's looking at Louis having a breakdown with concern and immense compassion... Yes, Daniel is a catty bitchy old queen, yeah, he's grumpy and cynic and an investigative journalist who latches on his subject and doesn't let up. But he's also profoundly human and full of sympathy and humanity, and that's what makes him such a darned good journalist - he touches at the heart of his interviewees.

2, it sort of closes the theme started in s1 of memory being a monster, to open up the second theme, memory being a blessing. S1 was about how Louis ran away so hard from the truth he had basically changed his recollection of things to not face up the real events and emotions, ultimately leading him to just shut down - something that is explored more in details in s2. S2 is about Louis finally facing up to his true memories and reconciliating not just with Lestat, not even only with the memory of Claudia - reminder that he carried with him for 77 years Claudia's diaries in which she writes how much she hated him - but also and maybe most importantly, owning up to his real memories allows him to reconcile with himself.

3, it fixes a hole in Louis' heart regarding Claudia and the end of their time together. As said above, Claudia writes in her diaries that she hates Louis maybe as much as Lestat. But she also wrote that she doesn't dream, when obviously Louis' recovered memories show that she does. So if what she writes that one time is a lie, "just something that she wrote", maybe she also lied, "just wrote", that she hated Louis? Even if we can't ever know for certain, even if this session starts with Louis and Daniel agreeing to believe what's written and nothing more (a decision that's almost immediately abandoned), for Louis, just holding on to that thought, is everything.

- And there goes another queen.... Rip Emilia, you were magnificent. +10 points and a bit of grace for Morgan speaking Romanian and trying his hardest to save Emilia. [Louis] "Human affairs. Death, and how to avoid it. Their problem. Ours was in the woods." - bravo, only took you 30 years to learn that lesson. Better late than never I guess. Lestat will be pleased. With that and with the hunting.

- Claudia's sassing Louis, Louis showing off his fangs... And the revenant being a full horror show. Yep, welcome to the Old Romania portion of the story.

[Louis] "'What. The. Hell is that?'

[Claudia] 'It's... A vampire.'

[Louis] 'No, I'm a vampire. That's a fucking catfish with teeth. It's dirty. It doesn't like us.'

[Claudia] 'Us, you, the same.'

[Louis] 'Not the same, not even close.'"

This show is a comedy.

- Do you think a vampire with a rifle is more or less dangerous than a vampire with just their fangs and claws...? Someone needs to make a poll.

- One queen exits (Emilia), another emerges (Daciana)... And what intensity. What pain. A motherless mother. [Louis] "An angry woman vampire. A mom." - the fact that Louis himself points that out, as if he's somehow recognising himself in her... The way he says "a mom", full of wonder and understanding. Because a parent is a parent and no matter the words used, he is Claudia's parent, and he spent years suffering his child's absence. He knows.

- [Louis] "Through the forest, as if a fairy tale." - hello, did you know that today's Fantasy literature, inherited from the Fantastique literature, comes directly from fairy tales and folktales? There's a direct pipeline between "Le Petit Poucet" (Little Thumbling, a fairy tale about a boy abandoned in the woods finding his way back home thanks to the trail of white stones he left behind) or "Hansel and Gretel" and the musical story of "Emilie Jolie", where a little girl all alone in her house follows the characters of her storybook into the pages of the book. A very French example, I know, I know, but I was looking for something that would reference being alone and lost in the woods, like Claudia and Louis here. In any case, what I meant to say is, go read amongst others Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories", Daniel Baker's essay "Why We Need Dragons: The Progressive Potential of Fantasy" (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 2012), Carh Filmer-Davies' "On Fantasy Stories" (Mythlore, 2000) and Jack Zipes' "The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre" (Princeton UP, 2012). I have a lot more bibliography but they're more related to what I wrote about in my thesis which is Beauty and the Beast, a fairy tale that woumd be fascinating to explore in relation to Lestat, so I'm going to stop here. Man, when can I go do my folklore PhD...?

- [Louis] "But even if we could get her to talk, what would she say? What, after all, can the damned really say to the damned?" - interesting, the way the book quote (see part 1) was inserted in the show narration... Really emphasises how lost and alone, metaphorically, Louis and Claudia are.

- Welp. I have to put the entire conversation between Louis, Claudia and Daciana. Every line is fascinating.

[Louis] "'We are from over the ocean.'

[Claudia] "Five years we've looked for you. We came to where vampires are spoken of, to find others like ourselves.'

[Daciana] 'We own the night. Yes?'

[Claudia, Louis, in English] 'Yes.'

[Daciana] 'Long centuries, into the villages, into their hovels, drinking, drinking, drinking. They don't want life anymore.'

[Claudia] 'Maybe it's the blood. [In English to Louis] Tell her about the blood.'

[Louis, in stammering Romanian] 'It's blood here... Can't... You...'

[Claudia] 'Say it in English.'

[Louis in English/Claudia in Romanian] 'The blood is bad here. The humans, there's too much sadness, too much pain. We feel it too when we drink. We can't get warm. Our bodies hurt. Maybe you need better blood.'

[Daciana] 'From over the ocean?'

[Claudia] 'America.'

[Daciana] 'Another one like a burnt tray of bread.'

[Claudia] 'How many of us are left? How about this one?'

[Daciana] 'Cezare Romulo. He was a droll one. Killed a travelling circus in Sibiu, everyone but the bear... but all those in darkness go into darkness.'

[Louis] 'What's she saying?'

[Claudia] 'Who's left?'

[Daciana] 'You killed my last out in the forest.'

[Louis] 'What's she saying?'

[Claudia] 'He was hurting us.'

[Daciana] 'All of them dead now. All gone. Like cream from the top of a milk bucket. So many nights to come on the devil's road, playing in their blood, oh, you will laugh and laugh...'

[Claudia] 'And you'll come with us? '

[Daciana] 'Yes. You will take me over the ocean with you. And I will grow strong again. And tell you my story. And you will tell me yours. And we will kill for the small comforts and wait for my children to join us... The wind in our hair and bare feet in the grass. Daciana.'

'Louis.' 'Claudia.'

[Daciana] 'We own... nothing.'"

Be right back, need to add Romanian to my Duolingo list.

What a scene. A scene that will stay with Louis forever, reminding him for decades to come of the immense strength and the immense fragility of the vampire. Of the power of the creature owning the night, and the fragility of the creature bending under the weight of inconmensurable, endless time. Lesson learned, again. "All those in darkness go into darkness".

I love that Daciana, this ancient, timeless vampire, remembers little pleasures of human life and uses them as a measure of good and bad things, burnt bread one tip of the scale, cream from the top of a milk bucket the other side. As if, at the end, what sustained her wasn't the blood anymore, but those long ago memories of when she was human. A loop, ended.

Louis being the one who understands the blood and can explain it, after all those years rejecting it. He truly is the most dangerous one.

From a very meta perspective, it's hilarious that they made the character played by the actor famously known for his languages and accents abilities the one who struggles with languages. Very on the nose, very funny.

Claudia's face, the pure joy and elation when Daciana talks about going with them. And then the crestfallen, resigned expression when she throws herself in the fire. Emphasises the youth of Claudia and Louis. They want someone to willingly and joyfully guide them and teach them, an adult adultier than them. And they can't find anyone. Lestat refused, bound by his promise to Marius, his control and abandonment issues, Daciana had enough of the devil's road, and when they meet Armand, he doesn't want to guide but to, again, control and dominate. You know who they should have found? Pandora. She would have taken them under her wing if she had met them independently from Lestat. Pandora would have been worth it. I want a fic where Pandora meets them while they're travelling through Europe and decides to mentor them.

season 1 masterpost

part 1 | part 2 | part 4

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #iwtv s2 #amc iwtv #iwtv amc #iwtv rewatch #episode reaction #what can the damned really say to the damned #louis de pointe du lac #claudia de pointe du lac #daniel molloy #daciana the vampire #rapha talks #rapha writes #rapha watches shows

22 notes · View notes

sfrecipes · 1 year ago

Text

Maple Pumpkin Pie (New Hampshire’s Pie)

With Painted Birch Tree Crust

The author’s headnote says, “ The pumpkin became New Hampshire’s official state fruit in 2006 as the result of a quest by fifteen third- and fourth-graders, affectionally nicknamed the Pumpkin Kids, at Wells Memorial School in Harrisville.”

Crust

All butter crust (double recipe below), one for bottom of pie, rolled out, fit into 10-inch pie pan, and crimped, one for birch tree crust design.

Filling

1 cup maple syrup

1 (15-ounce) can (1 7/8 cups) pumpkin (preferably Libby’s)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2/3 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground espresso powder for birch trees

Small paintbrush

x-acto knife to cut birch tree design

Make the filling: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, gently bring the maple syrup to a boil. Turn the heat off and let the maple syrup cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cooled maple syrup, pumpkin, cream, milk, eggs, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside until ready to fill the pie.

Assemble and bake the pie: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the prepared crust on a baking sheet and pour filling into the crust. Bake on center rack for 1 hour until the filling is set but has a slight jiggle. Cool completely.

Make the birch tree decorations: While the pie is cooling, use the birch tree template to cut trees out of the rolled-out top crust. Place the cut out trees onto a flour dusted baking sheet. Mix two teaspoons ground instant espresso with 1 tablespoon water and use a clean paintbrush to paint on tree details. Freeze the finished trees for 230 minutes. Bake in the 375-degree oven rotating 180 degrees halfway through for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Finish the pie: Place the birch trees on the cooled pie. Enjoy with whipped cream.

All-Butter Crust

The headnote says: “Crust is the foundation of all your pies. Bakers have their preferences of which fat to use, but I’m all about the butter, baby. Fat is flavor and using a butter with high fat percentage when making your dough means a pie crust that you’re gonna wanna eat crimp first!”

ALL-BUTTER CRUST—SINGLE

1¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar

½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ -inch pieces

½ cup cold water

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

½ cup ice

ALL-BUTTER CRUST—DOUBLE

2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ -inch pieces

1 cup cold water

¼ cup cider vinegar ½ cup ice

Sift flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl with a flat bottom. Add the butter pieces on top of the dry ingredients. Using your fingers, too the butter in the dry mixture so each cube is coated. Use a pastry blender or your fingers to cut or rub the butter into the mixture until it is pieces a bit larger than peas (a few larger pieces are okay; be careful not to over-blend). You want to be able to have big butter chunks in your crust: it helps to create a flaky effect, as well as adding delicious buttery hits of flavor!

In a separate large measuring cup or small bowl, combine the water, cider vinegar, and ice. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture; do not add the ice, which is just there to keep your water cold. Using your hands in a circular motion, bring the mixture together until all the liquid is incorporated. Continue adding the ice water mixture, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time. Carefully mix until dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until it comes into one mass; you don’t want to overwork it.

Shape dough into a flat disc (if making double recipe, first separate dough into two equal portions), wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight before using.

Wrapped tightly, the dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in refrigerator.

CREDIT: Excerpted from 50 PIES, 50 STATES by Stacey Mei Yan Fong. Copyright 2023 by Stacey Mei Yan Fong. Photos by Alanna Hale. Food Styling by Caitlin Haught Brown. Used with permission from Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company.

#Maple pumpkin pie #50 Pies #50 pies 50 states #pie

1 note · View note

great-jenna-bake-off · 4 years ago

Text

Season 3 Episode 9: Fraisier Cake

I thought working from (and spending literally all my time at) home would give me more time to bake, but then I got a puppy and my life got turned upside down. She's very cute, but man does she take up a lot of time that I could otherwise be spending baking. Or eating. So maybe it's for the best that I got a puppy.

Anyway, I finally managed to get my act together long enough to make my next bake: a Fraisier cake. We're getting toward the end of the season, so the technical bakes are getting harder and more esoteric. I have certainly never heard of a Fraisier cake, let alone eaten one, but at first glance it didn't look... that hard? It's basically a sponge cake with some creme patissiere, decorated with fresh strawberries and marzipan. How hard could that be? (Famous last words...)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/fraisier_cake_75507

The first step was to make the actual cake portion of the Fraisier cake. The recipe calls for "self-raising flour", and after a few recent improvisations with less than ideal results, I decided to just shell out for the actual ingredient. However, this new strategy hit a speed bump when the recipe called for an "electric hand whisk", which, as mentioned previously, I do not own. No matter; surely I could kick it old-school and rely on my own brute strength to mix the cake ingredients by hand as they heated on the stove top.

This will definitely not create any problems for me down the line...

Editor’s Note: If you’re thinking to yourself, some of these pictures seem smaller than usual, you would be correct. If you’re also thinking to yourself, Jenna is probably too lazy to figure out how to resize them and make them consistent, you are also correct.

According to the recipe, I would be done when the mixture had doubled in volume and was pale in color.

Looks pale to me?

Next, it was time to add the all-important self raising flour.

Gently folded in as to keep in the air that I painstakingly whipped up by hand.

And voila; cake batter was ready to go into the oven.

Looks good so far!

I thought I was off to a good start, but as soon as my cake came out of the oven, I realized I was in trouble. The recipe specifies that the cake should be about 2 inches in height, as you need to slice it in half to make two layers. Mine was... not.

It's like... half an inch, maybe?

Uh oh. Maybe that hand whisking didn't do the trick after all. Still, the cake looked reasonably tasty, so I decided to just move on and start my creme patissiere. First, I had to boil my milk and vanilla pod.

This smelled really nice.

Then it was time for some more whisking: this time of eggs, cornflour, sugar, and kirsch, which is a cherry-flavored brandy.

Fun fact: kirsch is pretty disgusting on its own. Wilson volunteered to drink what I didn't use in this recipe, which was fine by me as it tasted like nail polish remover. Do not recommend.

Finally, I had to whisk the egg mixture and the hot milk together.

My whisking arm is getting a workout today.

Then, I needed to put the mixture back on the stove and watch it very carefully, as in about four minutes the mixture would thicken very quickly. Well, four minutes came and went, and nothing happened. I diligently kept my eye on it, but it definitely did not appear to be approaching a texture that was "thick enough to pipe", per the recipe.

Nothing happening yet...

So finally, I committed a cardinal GBBO sin. I took my eye off the stove for JUST A MINUTE to wash the dishes. And when I came back, my creme patissiere had turned into this:

Uh oh.

I have never made a creme patissiere before. But I have eaten it, and I know it's not supposed to be THIS thick. It's supposed to be velvety and creamy and delicious, while this was more of an... eggy gloop? But hey, it was certainly thick enough to pipe. Maybe the next step of adding butter would help.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t!

So my creme patissiere looked like mashed potatoes. If I were on the show, this is where I would realize I had gone horribly wrong and would toss this creme in the bin before starting over. But, given that I would not actually be serving my food to Paul and Mary, I decided to soldier on. After all, at least my creme was thick enough to pipe. Maybe this was what I was supposed to do after all? So I stuck the creme patissiere in the fridge to cool and crossed my fingers that I would somehow have a delicious, smooth creme when it came out.

Maybe this doesn’t look so bad??

The final step before assembly was to make a lemon syrup, which thankfully was pretty simple after all the missteps I’d already made in this recipe. However, I soon found myself facing another problem: I needed to roll out a layer of marzipan to put on top of my cake, but I had left my rolling pin at Wilson’s house (we made a chicken pie). Luckily, I had a substitute:

When in doubt, break out the wine.

And hey, it actually did the trick.

Who needs a rolling pin?

Finally, it was time to put my cake together. First, I faced the problem of slicing my extremely thin sponge into to layers. I took a deep breath and hoped for the best...

Not actually that terrible.

With some creative construction work, I was able to get two fairly even layers.

No one will ever know.

And now, it was time to stack. In an ideal world, I would have had a strip of acetate plastic to line my springform pan with and had a beautiful, clean surface to work on. But I didn’t even have a rolling pin handy; obviously I don’t have acetate lining around. So plastic wrap would have to do.

If it works, it works.

Then it was time to turn my attention to my strawberries. I picked out the prettiest, most evenly sized ones I could find, and halved them.

At least these turned out pretty.

And then, it was construction time. First, I put in a layer of cake, brushed it with lemon syrup (my pastry brush was also at Wilson’s, so really I spooned on the syrup), and then added a “little crown of strawberries”, as per the recipe.

Regal.

Next, it was time to see if my creme patissiere had magically transformed into the right texture in the fridge.

Nope, still lumpy. But at least it was pretty solid...?

I added some more chopped strawberries on top.

At least the strawberries will taste good.

Then it was time for the rest of my “creme patissiere”, if you can even call it that at this point.

So lumpy.

And then finally, I put on the other half of the cake, spooned over some more syrup, and topped it off with my marzipan. The recipe specified that I should melt some chocolate and make “pretty” decorations, and honestly I kind of wanted to call it a day given all my struggles and just forgo the chocolate. But in the spirit of the competition, I gave it a go anyway:

There is no design to this chocolate, this is the epitome of winging it.

I left the whole godforsaken mess to cool in the fridge overnight. In the meantime, it was time to check in with the bakers to see if they’d fare any better than I did with this Fraisier cake.

***

Mel starts off by referring to a Fraisier cake as a well-known celebration cake, which is certainly news to me.

Must be more popular in the UK, I guess.

The bakers start off by making a genoise sponge, and surprisingly, James chooses to whisk his by hand as well.

Dedication.

However, after seeing Dani’s batter, I can see that I have clearly not even come close to whipping mine for long enough.

This explains the lack of volume in my cake, I guess.

Dani struggles with the creme patissiere, though - she says that hers has “cellulite”.

It’s lumpy like mine, but I never thought to sieve it.

As always, James seems to know exactly what to do.

Such smooth creme.

All the bakers, however, struggle with setting up the acetate.

This makes me feel better about my plastic wrapped cake.

When it comes time to assemble, I can see that my creme is indeed thicker than the bakers’, even Dani’s.

Much more pipeable.

However, this may not be such a bad thing after all - Dani’s cake starts falling apart as soon as she takes it out of the pan, as the creme isn’t set.

Melty cake is never a positive.

In the end, James takes home the gold in yet another technical, with a perfectly risen sponge and a nicely set creme patissiere.

That does look pretty celebratory.

***

It was time for the grand unveiling of my own cake. Would my thin cakes and lumpy creme prove to be my downfall?

First, here’s Mary’s perfect Fraisier:

And here’s mine, complete with chocolate decor:

You can definitely see that the creme isn’t the perfect smooth texture, and my bottom cake especially is a little narrow. But maybe it’s not quite so far off? As always, my judges would be the final arbiters.

***

Matt’s Review: I get the sense that, as time goes on, the bakes are getting harder and harder to transport. So upon Jenna’s arrival I was already impressed that the cake was holding together as well as it did. And that turned out to be important, because the pairing of the layers was the key to this one. I’m always impressed when a food can take a flavor I normally don’t like and recontextualize it in such a way that I become a fan. In this case, that flavor is almond. I really struggle with that flavor normally, and this bake doesn’t disguise it at all. Instead, it pairs it perfectly with the other layers. I think Jenna did an excellent job with all the ratios — this could easily have become a “dislike” for me, but instead it was a joy to eat. All in all, two thumbs up. The cake, and Jenna, made my quarantine a little sweeter.

Wilson’s Review: Well, the consistency is a little off on the creme patissiere. That can be a bit tricky, but the cake is a bit flat, looks like something went wrong with the mixing. Really should be past those kind of errors by now. I like strawberries, and the chocolate added an element of richness that contrasted brilliantly. As for the sponge, while not the prettiest I’ve ever seen, it does taste good - nice and airy. Overall a nice treat for a mid summer snack, once one gets past the first impression.

***

Final Thoughts: The creme patissiere was definitely a bit eggy, which was less than ideal. But all in all, this cake tasted pretty good and looked pretty fancy. The cake layers still felt airy and yummy even though they were thin, and the fresh fruit made for a nice treat. I will absolutely need to practice my creme patissiere though, and remember to NEVER take my eye off the stove. Rookie mistake.

#GBBO #great british bake off #Mary Berry #fraisier cake

4 notes · View notes

evathenovice · 4 years ago

Text

The Picnic

Okay I can’t draw for beans, but I can at least write mediocre xp. A small gift to @cidbirb and our adorable ship Zeva below~

The woods were filled with the song of birds, the soft breeze through the trees, and even the chattering of squirrels; all the expected noises to surround a person in nature. Well, except for one other soft another soft song joining that of the birds, this one coming from a young woman kneeling on a blanket in one of the many small clearings of the woods outside of Vesuvia.

“Softly the wind blows, memories to me~

Of embers and starlight and songs from the sea~”

Eva tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she methodically set the little containers from her basket about the blanket, arranging and rearranging the spread till it looked as inviting as she could make it. Thankfully a rather large rock provided a nice flat surface to set everything on, a makeshift low table for the date.

“ Far gone those days of old~

but love shall stay, or so I am told~- Okay then, I think that should just about do it. What do you think?” the young woman looked over at a large mound of fur and plants, the large tusked feline yawning in response. “Oh thank you for the vote of confidence” Eva rolled her eyes with a chuckle, humming more of her song as she pulled out the plates and utensil rolls.

Persephatta stretched and reached out her claws, digging into the earth, but froze when the scent of company hit her nose. Rather familiar company at that, that had her chuffing and letting out her small call as she went to meet their guests. The cadrith purred as a strong tanned hand caressed gently over her head, and slid down her back. Once the hand was gone, her attention was on the behemoth that had accompanied the human into the woods.

“Ah, Zack, you and Yasha are early!” Eva had a feeling her date for the lunch was what lifted her cadrith’s mood, as did his familiar, who was now chuffing back as Persephatta rubbed herself under the beast’s chin.

“Yasha followed your scent to find this place. Sorry if it is ahead of time,” The tall man said with a soft smile as he walked over to Eva, having to bend down due to their height difference to plant a gentle and chaste kiss on her cheek.

“O-Oh no no, don’t worry i-in fact I am glad you did” Eva’s cheeks pinked at the feel of his warm lips on her face, “I mean, just finished setting up so y-ya know” Awe man, it was always that smile on that freckled face and soft voice that made her this flustered. “H-here we are” she opened up her hands in a tada fashion to the picnic spread.

“Hn,” Zack nodded with a soft smile as he sat down on one of the pillows offered and looked at the containers with some curiosity, “looks rather nice.”

Meanwhile the familiars were gently batting at each other in play, well more Eva’s attempting to initiate play and Zack’s mildly entertaining the thought.

“Teehee, thanks” Eva’s face beamed with joy, “We have a salad, some diced fruit and brown bread honey spread...” Eva pointed to the different containers of the spread, “And then we have some barbecue jackfruit stuffed pitas.”

“Jackfruit” It was not much of a question but more of a tone of realization and appreciation.

“W-well you are a vegetarian, so I wanted to make sure it would be something we could both enjoy” the redhead nibbled on her bottom lip.

“It is wonderful,” The cyan eyed man smiled at her, “that is very considerate of you” He took his plate and started putting the various things Eva has laid out on his place, not only to show appreciation but also his own appetite that he had held off sating that morning for this occasion.

“And as for dessert,” the redhead pulled out a pie pan, but it was no pie in there, “Strawberry jam cheesecake”

Zack paused, his mouth full of the bbq pita as he eyed the dessert that seemed to be calling his name as she displayed it. “You,” he said with a growing smile after savoring his bite, “spoil me Eva. Keep feeding me like this and I am going to gain weight.”

“T-That wouldn’t be horrible would it?” Eva asked as she helped herself to some of the salad and fruit, “I bet you would still look handsome. M-maybe even more so,” she added with a small nervous chuckle.

“You think so?” He asked with a raised brow, grabbing another one of the pita’s but leaning across the table to give it to her, “Don’t just eat salad, have something more filling.” he said with a stern, yet caring tone, knowing how she tended to be hypocritical about how much food to eat.

“Oh, o-okay,” She smiled, not arguing for once with his request that she eat. Truly eat, not just pick at things enough to get a taste.

Time went by, with them eating and talking. Conversation between portions varied from about Asra and the common things he would say to the both of them, some of the changes that Zack had made to his carvings to add extra protection to the carriers, and Eva’s own continued training in the various arts of divination.

“I actually made you something…” Zack pulled a little wooden carving on a cord from his pocket, handing it to her rather quickly. And.. was that some pink on his cheeks. “For… me?” Eva wasn’t expecting such a sweet gesture. Well, she wasn’t surprised Zack would do such a thing, but it was more she didn’t expect him for this date to have something ready for her so soon. Looking down at the little carving in her hands she smiles, “It’s a badger...and there are little symbols…” her smile grew as her hands gently caressed the craftsmanship. It looked like either it was two different woods used, or perhaps it was the sanding and polishing of the wood that gave such different tones for the white and black parts of the creature.

“It’s to protect you.” Zack stated, his eyes going back and forth from her face to the gift, “Do you.. Do you like it?”

“Oh Zack, I adore it,” the redhead beamed, “can you help me put it on? Please?” she handed it back to him before turning around, pulling her hair to the side so it wouldn’t be in the way.

He smiled and scooted on his knees to be behind her to put the necklace around her and tie a secure knot. “

“I promise, I will never take it off,” Eva hummed as her hand slid up her chest, rubbing the smooth polished wood.

“It was made to protect you, so I would hope not,” Zack said softly, his arms wrapping tightly around her middle and pulling her close, “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” he mumbled against her skin, his head in the crook of her neck.

“Z-Zack…” Eva said his name softly, as if it were a special, sacred word, reaching her hand back to caress his head. Shifting her body in his arms, once he loosened enough at least to let her, she wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him back, “You mean a lot to me too…” She dared to confess. His tanned face slid against her neck and cheek till his forehead was pressed against hers, looking her in the eyes with such a tender expression; such worry, yet hope, and happiness, and fear: these were all things that she could see deep in those rare, magical eyes.

Cupping his cheek in her hand, Eva pressed her lips to his nose, right on the freckles and then proceeded to give soft kisses to his freckle bridge, before planting the last one on his forehead.

When she drew back, she couldn’t help but smile and hold back a chuckle at the adorable shocked and awe expression her dearest to her had on his face. “I f-feel a bit bad though,” she hummed bashfully, “You got me this and I don't have a gift for you. Well, other than maybe another slice of that cheesecake?”

The humor in her words and the wink she gave seemed to break Zack out of his stupor, a smile coming across his pinked face, and his own chuckle rumbling in his chest, “I wouldn’t mind that.”

Once they were full on food and words, the two found themselves relaxing against one of the strong pines of the forest. Eva’s back resting against the trunk, with Zack’s head in her lap as she hummed and ran her hands through his hair. Their familiars lay off in their own nap, occasionally giving a small grooming session to the top of the other’s head and ears.

“I don’t think I have heard that song...’ Zack said, his voice drifting with is subconscious, not bothering to open his eyes as he settled comfortably under her touch.

“Well, I am writing it actually,” the redhead looked down at the handsome man who seemed to be drifting off to sleep, “I have been looking into song incantation practices, so been fiddling with that a bit.”

“And what is it for?” One eye did peek open a little, glancing up at her with a calm and tired smile, a hand reaching up to play with one of her locks of hair that curtained around him as she bent down.

“Well,” Eva nibbled on her bottom lip, “I sort of was thinking of a love song. One that helps protect a soul mate. From what I looked into finding your soulmate would be an extremely difficult spell. B-But maybe…maybe you can at least send them some warmth and protection. And make them feel that you are out there, thinking of them.”

“Hnnn” Zack let out in understanding and approval, “Perhaps I can help you with that... if you like.” He yawned and rolled himself to his side, facing into her stomach as he nestled in and made himself comfortable with her.

“I’d like that.” Eva smiled down at him, pressing her fingers to her puckered lips to gently transfer a kiss to his cheek, before resuming her humming and petting his head, her own eyes slowly closing as she felt more at peace in that moment, than any other she could ever recall.

Besides, I don’t need to find my soul mate…I already feel that has been found

End?

#Zack the Apprentice #zack acciaio #Zack Arcana #Eva The Novice #Eva Forsyth #The Former Apprentice #Arcana AU #Cidbirb #Zeva #Precious Ship #I can't draw so I write

9 notes · View notes

mrgan · 5 years ago

Text

Neven’s Pizza Dough

Sour cream, mozzarella, Sulguni cheese, pepperoni. Home oven, baking steel.

I like pizza, and I make it often. You also like pizza. Perhaps you’d like to make it as well? Here’s the recipe for my sourdough pizza, ideal for Neapolitan or NYC-style pies, baked in a home oven with a baking steel or stone, or in an outdoor oven. Scroll past the recipe if you’d like to learn more!

Neven’s Sourdough Pizza

Servings: two 12” pizzas. Time: 3.5 hours (mix and proof) + 1 to 14 days (fridge-ferment) + 6 hours (final proof) + 10 to 20 minutes (shape, top, and bake)

INGREDIENTS:

260 g high-gluten or bread flour (or all-purpose flour)

40 g (15%) whole wheat or rye flour (or any flour, really)

9 g (3%) salt

15 g (5%) ripe sourdough starter

200 g (66%) water

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer (”a KitchenAid”) outfitted with the dough hook and stir with a spatula to combine. Add the starter and about 2/3 of the water. Start the mixer on low speed and mix for 1 minute; add the rest of the water, and mix for 4 more minutes. Switch to medium speed and mix for another 5 minutes. If at any point the dough threatens to crawl out of the bowl, stop the mixer and scrape the mess back down into the bowl.

Once mixed, move the dough to a new bowl. (I prefer a shallower, wider, non-metal one myself.) Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in a warm spot (70–74°F?) for 3 hours. Every 30 minutes or so, perform a stretch-and-fold.

youtube

Scoop the dough with a flexible dough scraper onto a lightly oiled work surface and cut into two 262 g portions. Shape each portion into a ball, tucking the ends in toward the middle to form a taut, balloon-like surface on one side. Pop into a lightly oiled 16 oz deli container (do you have some from food deliveries?), messy side down. Cover and pop in the back of the fridge for 1-14 days. (I find the flavor is best around 7 days.)

youtube

6 hours before baking, remove the containers from the fridge and leave them on the counter. 2 hours before baking, uncover them. This will dry out the top somewhat, which is great; that will become the not-so-sticky bottom of your crust.

Portioned dough balls after being uncovered.

If using a home oven: 1 hour before baking, pop a baking stone or baking steel or upside-down pan on a rack 6-8" from the top broiler. Crank it up to 550ºF and leave it there.

To stretch the dough: hold the container upside down and wiggle the dough out of it gently; dont worry about whether it stays a perfect ball. Place it into a shallow, wide bowl of flour and make sure the wet end and the sides get some flour (not too much) on them. Place it on your wooden peel with the dry (previously the top) side down and press gently around the inside of the rim to make a little ringed pizza-prototype.

Then pick it up and stretch with your knuckles (don’t use your fingers). It should be very friendly, stretchy without any pullback or tearing. Stretch to 10" in size. Shimmy the peel a bit to make sure no part of the dough has stuck; repeat this shimmying every minute or so if it takes you that long to top it.

Stretching the dough using knuckles only.

My topping strategy for a standard cheese pizza: layer the dough with sliced mozzarella cheese, then add dabs of sauce, and your toppings. Now gently tug under the rim all around to stretch to 12″; the weight of the toppings will help prevent pullback.

youtube

Redistribute the toppings if needed. Shimmy again. Expertly slide onto the steel/stone/pan.

If using a home oven: set a timer for 4 minutes. Then, open the oven door and check the underside of your pizza. Almost done, while the top is still a bit pale? If so, slide a metal pizza pan (or a cookie sheet or something else thin, metal, and as large as the pie) under it. This prevents the bottom from getting overbaked. Rotate the arrangement 180º to get even baking. Set a timer for 3 minutes.

When the pizza is gorgeous, slide it out with a metal pizza peel or a large flat spatula or whatever. (Don’t use your wooden peel—that’s for shaping and launching only.) Rest it on a cooling rack for 1-2 minutes to dry out the bottom. Then move to a cutting board or plate and slice. (Don’t use your wooden peel for this either, please!)

If using an outdoor pizza oven: if you own one of these, you probably know what to do. Have at it, sport!

Sour cream, mozzarella, provolone, chives and garlic chives. Ooni Koda oven.

33% whole wheat in this dough. Aged for 9 days in the fridge.

- - - END OF RECIPE - - - - - - NOTES AND MUSINGS FOLLOW - - -

A note on baker’s percentages

When a dough is “66% hydrated,” that doesn’t mean the final ball of dough is two-thirds water. Rather, what bakers mean is, water is equal to 66% of the flour weight. Got it? That way, you can measure out your flour and scale all the other ingredients to it. I no longer refer to a recipe when I mix the dough, because I’ve memorized the percentages: 66% water, 3% salt, 5% starter. I also know that I need 150 g of flour per pizza; from these figures I can easily arrive at the weight of the other ingredients. Can you do the math in your head for, say, four pizzas? It’s easy! (Or maybe I’m just a math genius. (I am not a math genius.))

Just TWO pizzas? So what’s my boyfriend going to eat?

You can easily double the recipe. I wouldn’t go beyond 2x; you can’t mix much more than a kilo of dough in a typical stand mixer. If you’re doing a big pizza party and you want to make eight pies, first of all, congratulations! second, do it in two batches.

Do you think I’m the sort of person who has sourdough starter just sitting around?

“What does it matter what you say about people?”

I get it. I wasn’t always a Sourdough Guy. So, let me give you a recipe using commercial yeast. Bonus: it’s faster!

Normal-Person Pizza

Servings: two 12” pizzas. Time: 3 hours (mix and proof) + 10 to 20 minutes (shape, top, and bake)

INGREDIENTS:

260 g high-gluten or bread flour (or all-purpose flour)

40 g (15%) whole wheat or rye flour (or any flour, really)

9 g (3%) salt

3 g instant yeast (~1 tsp, about half a little package thingy, 1%)

200 g (66%) water

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer (”a KitchenAid”) outfitted with the dough hook and stir with a spatula to combine. Add about 2/3 of the water. Start the mixer on low speed and mix for 1 minute; add the rest of the water, and mix for 4 more minutes. Switch to medium speed and mix for another 5 minutes. If at any point the dough threatens to crawl out of the bowl, stop the mixer and scrape it back down into the bowl.

Once mixed, move the dough to a new bowl. (I prefer a shallower, wider, non-metal one myself.) Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in a warm spot (70–74°C?) for 2 hours. Every 30 minutes or so, perform a stretch-and-fold.

Scoop the dough with a flexible dough scraper onto a lightly oiled work surface and cut into two 262 g portions. Shape each portion into a ball, tucking the ends in toward the middle to form a taut, balloon-like surface on one side. Place on a well floured board; flour the top some more; and cover with a clean, non-terry (non-”fuzzy”; you want “smooth”) kitchen towel. Rest for another 1-2 hours, watching for the dough to grow some more and start looking really taut and ready.

Proceed with the tossing, topping, and baking.

Carmelina brand tomatoes, sauced; garlic, fresh oregano. Ooni Koda oven.

Wait, but I don't have a stand mixer either 😐

“It’s always gonna be something with you, isn’t it, Joe?”

No, that’s cool, that’s cool. Just mix by hand. Or by spatula, really. Mash it and fold it and fold it and mash it. Make sure you do frequent and thorough stretch-and-folds in this case. You really want to distribute everything uniformly in there.

And now, a word from our sponsors

(Note: none of the following products or brands are my sponsors. This is merely an idiom, come on.)

Juuuust in case you’re looking to add to your kitchen setup, here are the products I use for pizza making. Some of the links below include my referral code, which means I’ll get a tiny cut of the sale; the price is the same to you, though, so like, what does it matter? (I still feel a little uneasy. Sorry.)

Ooni Koda outdoor pizza oven. Simple, portable, hot as heck. Makes pizza you simply can’t get out of a home oven. These links give you 10% off! (UK link, EU link. These links all give you 10% off. BAM!)

Carmelina canned tomatoes in puree. Sweet, rich, flavorful. Buy them by the case.

Tillamook sour cream. Yes, sour cream makes a perfect sauce for a white pizza—which is generally an easier base to put creative toppings on! Make sure to buy the stuff where the ingredients are just cream and cultures, none of this cornstarch/carrageenan nonsense.

For flour, look for a local mill, if possible. Shop at restaurant-supply stores!

16 oz deli containers. Washable, sturdy, endlessly reusable. Love ‘em.

CoverMate bowl covers. Reusable, washable, transparent, secure.

Gram-precision kitchen scale. You know you need one. My favorite feature: extra long timeout (before it turns off) so I can forget to get the flour and run downstairs and hunt for it and when I come back, my measurement is still up on the screen.

I also like Ooni’s bamboo and metal peels a lot. You can get very cheap ones on Amazon, but understand that they’re… cheap.

Saf-Instant yeast. It’s got the cutest box. You can keep it in the freezer for years and use it right out of the freezer.

Oxo pizza cutter wheel. Whatever wheel you buy, just make sure it’s large and heavy—that’s what helps you cut neatly.

In conclusion

Pizza is good. Thank you.

Sliced mozzarella, parmesan, Carmelina brand tomatoes. Home oven, baking steel.

32 notes · View notes

sabraeal · 5 years ago

Text

He Who Studies Evil [Part 2/4]

Part 1

A prequel to Wanting Is More Pleasurable Than Having (And Other Things Vulcans Don’t Know a Damned Thing About), written for @bubblesthemonsterartist

There are pleasantries to observe when the runabout docks. Haruka hardly expects them from a group of war-mongering mine managers, but when he steps through the airlock, ensigns flanking him to either side, he’s pleasantly surprised to find a greeting party.

“Welcome,” their leader says, the tallest among them, though none of the Cardassians are what he would consider small. Perhaps not as broad and muscled as he would expect, but then again, alien biology holds a cornucopia of oddities. One only underestimated a Vulcan once before believing in their superior muscle density. “You are invited to meet with Gul Dukat presently.”

Gul Dukat, the prefect of Bajor. A man much maligned by the planet’s population, as far as he can tell, though he doubts the Bajorans would welcome even the most benevolent overlord if he were Cardassian.

He is also the man brokering this peace. The representative Cardassia wished to pit him against.

Already they are trying to throw him off his guard, but no one makes captain without a degree in quick-thinking. “Thank you for the warm welcome. We are honored by the prefect’s invitation and will join him after we--”

“There’s no need,” the ranking Cardassian tells him. “Your effects will be brought to your quarters, and you will go to Gul Dukat. Follow me. You do not wish to keep him waiting.”

Haruka hesitates. The Federation wants this treaty, yes, but allowing himself to be summoned as a supplicant to this Gul Dukat would set himself at a disadvantage, would make this so-called prefect believe that he held all the power in this exchange. A dangerous place to be, when the only thing separating him from an unfortunate mining-related accident was two junior crewman.

“He means that,” Ensign Shidnote mutters, jostling his shoulder in a way that could be easily be an accident, two men in too-close quarters -- except for the way the boy is so careful not to look at him, to pitch his voice low. “Punctuality is a religion to these people.”

He stares, and not for the first time, wonders exactly how that ensign got that scar across his nose.

“Sir,” he adds belatedly, an afterthought.

“I thought the Union didn’t allow religion,” Haruka manages, still rooted to the spot.

“Well.” Shidnote shrugs, sauntering off the docking platform. “Had to replace it with something, I guess.”

It is said Cardassia used to be covered in old Hebetian vaults, a marvel of sweeping architecture, the cradle of humanoid life. But those ruins are all but gone now, instead replaced with the style enthusiastically purveyed by the Union -- tall, imposing buildings; architecture meant to intimidate rather than inspire. Unless, of course, one wished to inspire fear, in which case, the Cardassians had gotten that down to an art.

Terok Nor was a microcosm of that fear, of that oppressive sensation of being watched. Their escort led them across what he brusquely introduced as the promenade, an open area where it seemed brisk trade was conducted, and both the Bajoran workers and their Cardassian overlords could relax for a spell, though never in the same place. Even here, Haruka could not shake the feeling of a hundred eyes on his back, not until he followed the soaring spikes of the pylons upward, up to where the higher level loomed, every banister lined with armor-clad Cardassians.

“It’s a trick,” Shidnote tells him, voice pitched low, so no one but him and Sui can hear. “Meant to make you feel observed. They think it cuts down on the peons getting uppity.”

“And do they?” Haruka asks, trying not to show how much this display unnerves him. “Get uppity, I mean?”

“No.” His mouth curves, bemused. “At least not where the Cardassians can see.”

They meet in a board room, a level field compared to the experience on the promenade, but Gul Dukat is an intimidating presence nonetheless. All Cardassians were broad in the shoulders -- or at least wore armor to make it so -- but the spiny ridges down his neck make him seem even more forbidding than the rest, and the bone at his brow protrudes so starkly that his eyes seem deep-set, more skull than man.

What’s more, every move the man makes says he’s aware of it, that he enjoys the discomfort his presence brings to his guests. Even the other Cardassians are deferential, flinching when his gaze flits over him. This is how the prefect keeps control of this station, even with tension bursting at its seams; he relies on this overbearing mien to get his work done, to keep both the Bajorans and his people in line.

And thus when he smiles, teeth bared in the human way, Haruka knows he has found a formidable opponent.

“Ambassador!” The man sweeps his hand out over the table, laden heavily with food. Haruka has eaten any number of foreign cuisines, but these dishes -- they must all be from this sector from how little he recognizes them. “I hope we have made you feel welcome to Terok Nor! A home away from home, I think you say on Earth.”

“Just so.” The words come out stiffer than they ought; for all that the Cardassians needed this treaty, Haruka could not help but think, as he surveyed the steaming stews and flaky pies and whole roasts of meat he could not account for, that it would be all too easy for a human to eat poison and never even know it.

“Here, let us start with a toast.” The prefect pours a pale blue liquor into fluted glasses, smile still firmly in place. “To our most important duty. May we each serve the State as we ought.”

His own smile pulls tight, but Haruka drinks the wine down. It’s both smoother and sweeter than he expects.

“That’s not kanar,” Shidnote remarks, blinking at the glass. Haruka stares at him, eyes wide.

It’s unfortunate his attention was not the only one the ensign had caught.

“Correct. A fine vintage though, is it not?” Gul Dukat asks, turning the question back to him. Still, Haruka can feel that he captures only half the prefect’s interest, the other firmly on Shidnote. “Springwine, from Bajor. Made from kava juice. I must admit, I have quite a penchant for it.”

“Really.” He keeps his tone even, hand steady. From what they’d heard from Bajor, Gul Dukat is responsible for countless atrocities, but here he is, admitting a weakness for their wine. “I had not expected to hear a Cardassian praise Bajor.”

The man’s smile grows even wider, and Haruka trusts him even less. “The Union would not waste resources bringing Bajor into the modern age if there were nothing of value.”

Shidnote’s mouth pulls tight, but he stays silent. To his other side, Sui looks like he might faint from the very insinuation one might violate the Prime Directive.

“I had been of the impression that its value was to be found in the uridium ore mined from the planet’s surface,” Haruka ventures, keeping his tone conversational, light. He has no intention of provoking the prefect, but he wouldn’t suffer the whitewashing of the occupation right in front of him. “Not it’s culture.”

Dukat’s smile takes on more teeth, not in threat, but in delight. “Can it not be both?”

He makes to serve himself, and the ensigns follow their host’s invitation. Sui delicately arranges his plate with things that look vaguely familiar, while Shidnote digs in with aplomb, serving himself heaping portions of everything at the table. Ah, to be a young man again.

Haruka is more reserved in his appreciation of the spread, taking from the same plates Shidnote does at half the volume. Dukat watches them with unfeigned pleasure as they each take their first bites into Cardassian cuisine. Or at least, his and Sui’s; Shidnote has barely stopped to say more than, “It’s been forever since I’ve had Tuli!” before tipping a half dozen tiny fish onto his plate.

“Careful,” Dukat warns, as Shidnote reaches to take a spoonful of what looked to be souffle. “The station’s replicators make the hasperat especially spicy.”

The ensign’s face falls flat, blank. “You have Bajoran food too?”

“Of course,” he drawls, “I consider myself a connoisseur of the planet’s delicacies. Little...diamonds in the rough, as you humans say. There’s much to admire, if one dedicates themselves to discovery.”

Listening to this man speak sets Haruka’s teeth on edge as much as a dentist’s drill. “I wasn’t aware the Union allowed the admiration of those outside of it.”

Gul Dukat pauses, hands frozen in the act of cutting his pie. Kain would kill him for making such a bald remark, for veering far too close to the sun, but --

But one does not get things done with men like Gul Dukat by playing their game. He’s ceded too much ground, allowing himself to be summoned straight from the docking bay. It’s time to let the prefect know that the Federation will not just lie down in this negotiation.

Dukat blinks, lets out a laugh. “I had not thought a man from the Federation would be so versed in the statutes if the State.”

“I took up some light reading before coming here,” Haruka explains. “A friend recommended one of your classics. The Never Ending Sacrifice.”

“Ah, yes! An excellent example of Cardassia’s literature!” Again, his enthusiasm is unfeigned. “The repetitive epic is our highest form of art.”

The Hebetians must weep for what was lost, if that passed for high art. “It is quite...illuminating. I was surprised to see how highly the family as a unit is regarded among your people. I had always thought your duty was foremost to the State.”

It is an impertinent observation, and if he was at a Romulan table it would have ended in death for one of the men here, but Gul Dukat only continues to smile, unfazed.

“Ah, it is an older piece of work, though its themes have translated well into a more modern age. And besides, is not a strong family that is best for the State?” Dukat proposes, warming to the topic. Of course Haruto would be right in this -- the Cardassians did view a meal as a venue for philosophical debate. “Our children are our future, and our elders mark the path.”

Haruka nods, and his heart pounds in his chest as he decides his answer. “That had been my thought as well. However...”

Gul Dukat leans forward, intrigued. “However...?”

“I heard a rumor,” he confides, “and I’m afraid it made me doubt what I thought I understood.”

The prefect stiffens, smile wrapped tight around his face. “A rumor?”

“Oh, yes.” Sui is still beside him, eyes wide and mouth opened, but Shidnote is blank-faced, watching the exchange with little more than cursory interest. “I heard that you were keeping a prisoner aboard this station.”

“A prisoner? Here?” Gul Dukat laughs as if the very thought were preposterous. “I must admit, my constable is very good at apprehending men and putting them in the brig, but those are dissidents and drunks. Minor crimes, no more than a night in a cell.”

“I didn’t mean a member of this station,” Haruka presses, keeping his tone guileless, almost helpful. “Rumor put it as a Federation prisoner.”

“You cannot believe that,” the prefect says, hardly blinking. “I’m sure there are ships that have taken their adversaries, but Terok Nor is a refinery, not a place for the Union to keep political prisoners.”

Haruka lifts an eyebrow. “Even though it is so close to Bajor?”

“You did say Federation prisoners,” Dukat manages though his clenched teeth, “did you not? As far as i know, there are no...Federation actors on the surface of Bajor. Though I believe we are allowed our...prisoners of war, as you say.”

Haruka lets the lie settle between them. Perhaps there was no official Federation presence on the planet, but hardly a news cycle went by without more reports of losses from those who went to aid the rebels.

“Our articles do allow such things, yes,” he allows, “but I was told this wasn’t an acting member but instead...a child.”

“A child.” Haruka has known sheer cliff faces less forbidding than the tone Gul Dukat takes now. “Preposterous. The Union would never do such a thing.”

“Of course not,” he agrees. “I am only relaying the rumor that has been circulating among the high-ups of the Federation. As a courtesy.”

“Yes. Thank you,” the prefect grits out. “It is most...gratifying to find out what sort of...pernicious propaganda has been spread about my people. You do not believe it, I hope?”

“How could I, if you deny it?” He offers Dukat a thin smile, one that says quite clearly that he has noticed how the Gul has done no such thing.

“Good.” The man must be agitated, to not see through him, even now. “After all, you know how much we revere children.”

“Oh yes,” Haruka agrees. “Cardassian children, at least.”

Haruka had thought he’d known bad mattresses -- after all, it wasn’t as if Federation-issue sleeping bags did much in the way of muting rocks at one’s back -- but it takes only a moment laying on his bed to realize that Cardassians had only mastered the art of torture because they first slept on bed like these.

“Computer.” The room buzzes with silence, and he remembers -- this isn’t the Wistal. There is no computer keyed to talk to him here.

He huffs, swinging his legs off the bed. There’s no other way to do this than the old-fashioned way, then.

His PADD comes easily to hand, and it’s easier still to call up Ensign Shidnote’s service record, far longer than a man his rank should have. He scrolls through all the beginning matter -- born to a freighter family, recruited on mission, other details that seem more and more bog standard now that there’s humans spread all over the alpha quadrant and beyond -- but his eyes catch on the first posting: USS Fortissia under Captain Lido, stationed under Admiral Bergatt and the USS Wilant. Admiral Bergatt, who has been fighting the good fight against the Cardassians for the past half decade.

The would explain a thing or two, save that he should have had no need to contact Bajor --

Something niggles just at the back of his mind. Lido, Lido. He had heard that name before, years ago, and it leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

It takes only a quick search, and there it is: Captain Amos Lido, with a dozen postings over his illustrious career, the last being the Fortissia at the Cardassian border. Well on his way to Admiral, it seemed, until the mutiny against Starfleet, and his flight into Bajoran space. He’d nearly made it a year working with the resistance, but he’d fallen in with the Kohn-Ma and gotten himself back on the Federation’s radar.

He, like many of his Kohn-Ma compatriots, chose death over capture. His crew had been given the option to return to the fold, so long as they had not worked with the separatist splinter cell. Zakura Shidnote had been one of them.

Haruka dropped to his bed with a groan. Here he was, meant to make peace with the Cardassian prefect, and he’d gone and brought a resistance fighter on board. Potentially even a terrorist.

He reaches for his PADD again, and calls up Shidnote’s file. He flicks past the neatly scrubbed service record, only stopping when he get to the end, when he gets to his assignment to the Wistal, and right there, clear as day, the name on his recommendation --

The tablet drops from his hands, and Haruka scrubs a hand over his face. He should have know, he should have known.

Special recommendation from the Federation, signed by Haruto Wisteria.

#akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #He Who Studies Evil #star trek AU #my fic #ans #this is where this starts becoming more of a star trek FUSION #because frankly we don't have enough of the older generation for me to make up cardassians #so DS9 fans will get A NICE SURPRISE heading forward #ENJOY

7 notes · View notes

mysecretkitchen-blog · 6 years ago

Text

Peach Pie

Ingredients :

Dough:

Flour - 500 g

Icing sugar - 60 g

Salt

Butter - 300 g

Water 40 - ml

Filling :

Peaches - 1 kg

Sugar - 200 g

Walnuts - 100 g

Cinnamon - 8 g

Nutmeg - 8 g

Vanilla sugar - 8 g

Cornstarch - 10 g

Salt

Lemon

Instructions :

Sieve your dry ingredients in a bowl.

Maneuver your butter with cold hands . Keep everything cold all the way.

Cut your butter in small cubes and place them in the fridge once more for 10 minutes.

Take a sheet of parchment paper and place your butter on it. Cover it with another sheet , or fold the other half of the first one over your butter. Start hitting it until it gets flat.

If your butter starts melting, place it back into the fridge.

Break your butter into small pieces directly into your bowl.

Coat the butter in flour.

Start rubbing your flour and the butter together. Pick up your butter and push it though between your fingers and your thumb to break it up and create little flakes.

If your hands are getting hot and you feel as if the butter is melting, go get your hands cold by washing then in really cold water.

When it reaches a bread crumb stage, add your ice cold water to it evenly.

Cut the water though the mixture with a cold pallet knife to spread it evenly.

Test your crumbs. Take a few and press them between your fingers. If it sticks together, the dough is ready.

Take it out onto a clean surface dusted with flour.

Knead the dough, divide the dough into 2 equal portions , form it into the shape of 2 flat but thick disks and let it rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours . I allowed mine to rest over night, as it is very important for the gluten to relax in order for your dough to become elastic .

Wash your fruit of choice, and get ready for the filling!

Peel off the fruit if necessary.

Chop them into equal slices .

In a bowl of your choice, mix your fruits with 100 g of sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon , nut meg and a bit of fresh lemon juice. At this point you can add the zest of a lemon as well if you enjoy the taste, however , this time I kept mine without it.

Use a strainer to separate the juice of the fruit. Wait 30 minutes if there is no juice. You will see that in contact with your sugar, the fruits will eliminate most of their water percentage. This is an important step if you want to avoid a mushy crust.

Put your juice into a sauce pan and boil it until it reduces to the consistence of a syrup.

Let it cool, then put it in the fridge , and you will see it thickening .

Mix the left sugar with your walnuts and caramelize them.

Grease your pie pan with butter and dust it with flour.

Preheat your oven to 180 C.

Take one of your pieces of dough out of the fridge and crumble it up.

Place the crumbles into the pan and press them together so that it molds perfectly into shape of the pan.

Use a fork to make small holes here and there so that the air underneath will escape.

Bake it for 10 to 15 minutes until you can see the crust hardened a bit .

Put your caramelized nuts on the surface of the crust .

Cover them with the fruit.

And on top of the fruits pour the syrup . Spread it evenly with a spatula.

If you do not want to create perfect layers, you can use a fork to create small indents into the fruit payer so the syrup can get underneath.

Roll your other piece of dough and cut it in stripes.It should be 1/4 cm thick.

Make a lattice. - You can go for any other design you wish. I have different designs for each fruit pie I make. ( Other recipes coming soon )

Sprinkle a tiny amount of sugar on top for a bit of texture.

Bake for 30 minutes on 170 C.

And voila ! You are done !

Let your pie chill over night , covered with some tin foil so the syrup on top solidifies , and the crust underneath absorbs the remaining fruit juice.

Easy yet delicious recipe to make ! The crust is dense , soft yet still crunchy and the filling is sweet but sour as well. My family fell in love with it. Give it a try !

Enjoy !

#bismillah #pie #delicious #recipe #sweet #dessert #easy #homemade #baking #peach #crust

453 notes · View notes

easyfoodnetwork · 5 years ago

Text

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Freezer

hutchyb for Getty Images/iStockphoto

There’s a technique — even a flair — to freezing food successfully

My mother is what you might call a culinary cryogenicist. Long before the crew at the Noma Food Lab grew their first flavor spore, my mom was experimenting with the effects of age and temperature on all kinds of foodstuffs: the last two bites of some mac and cheese. Four shrimp. One-third of a pork chop. Three matzo balls. Half a bag of green beans tied shut with a trash bag twist-tie. An old joint. Eight slices of rye bread. Raisins. So. Much. Ham. And that’s just the first shelf of the freezer.

It was a talent she inherited. Her own mother was a master of the freezer arts, best exemplified by the very same “tray of frozen shrimp” offered to us on every grandparent visit for more than two decades; it became a running family joke. As a member of the next generation, however, my family’s faith in the preservation power of cold turned me into a devoted freezer snob. For most of my adult life, my freezer has remained a sacred space reserved for only the most cold-hardy ingredients — ice cream, popsicles, those giant cocktail ice spheres, and maybe the occasional box of toaster waffles or bag of frozen peas. Meat? God no. Fish? Please, back away and leave quietly.

In my mind, freezing things ruined their precious molecular integrity by turning them into rock-hard cubes. Meat is normally prized for its “freshness.” In the fields, crops are carefully covered to prevent freezing, so why put them under such duress in your own home? Having kids a few years ago loosened me up a bit — show me one child-rearing American household a without a frozen bag of dinosaur-shaped chicken blobs lurking somewhere. But overall, for the better part of the last decade, my freezer has remained as sleek and food-free as an after-hours Apple Store.

But when COVID-19 hit I admittedly went into full hoarder mode. My diet, like my fashion, is dictated by my mood (it’s also why I’m a chronic over-packer). With annual memberships to Instacart, Amazon Fresh, and a handful of specialty grocers down the street, I’d become accustomed to getting all the ingredients to sate any craving within an hour of it hitting. Maintaining that level of spontaneity in the time of supermarket lines and impossible delivery queues meant stocking up in ways I’d never fathomed before.

Even with a family of four eating three-plus meals a day, the kind of inventory I was sporting needed to be able to hang out a while. And so, it was with deep reservations that I finally began freezing things — though the real miracle didn’t occur until I began un-freezing them.

First I tried a pork tenderloin, one of three I had purchased at Costco a few weeks earlier. Following the advice of the pros, I took it out of the freezer and put it in my fridge overnight, cooked it as usual, and it was… fine. Good, even. Next I tried salmon — I’ve had terrible experiences with frozen seafood in the past, so my hopes were low for the three rosy-pink portions I defrosted and broiled. But again, the resulting fish was surprisingly moist, fatty, firm, delicious.

After that I started throwing everything in the freezer just to see: ground turkey, chicken thighs. All were fine. Then I moved into pizza dough, shredded cheese, blanched vegetables; then on to chili, tortillas, pancakes, whole loaves of bread, coffee (while dry coffee beans won’t technically “go bad,” their flavor and aroma suffer over time). Pretty much every single thing I froze — and later unfroze — emerged as relatively unharmed and tasty as the day I bought it. (Notable exceptions included skim milk and some poorly wrapped steaks, and it took some serious trial and error with fresh greens.)

Now, as we go into week five… or six? of “safer at home” measures, my freezer has transformed from a sterile ice-storage facility to a clutch partner in culinary crime. Today the once-barren shelves are buckling beneath the weight of dated and labeled baggies and bins with enough perfectly preserved food to more than bridge the gap between bi-weekly produce box deliveries and masked-up grocery runs.

But as it turns out, my mom and grandmother were, in fact, artists — there is a technique, even a flair to freezing food successfully. Wrap something improperly or defrost incorrectly and you might not just risk the integrity of your ingredients, but also your health. So after a month or so of embracing my familial fate and becoming a frozen food convert, here are a few lessons I’ve learned:

The Container Matters

I know, plastic is the enemy, but those fancy glass containers can crack in the freezer. According to the experts, the best way to freeze food is in a vacuum-seal bag that you suction yourself with one of those fancy machines to minimize air (air is your enemy in the great freezer wars). I don’t have one of those — though I’ve been eyeing this one on Amazon — so I use regular old freezer-grade zipper bags and press out as much air as possible before sealing. There’s also a trick where you mimic a vacuum sealer with a drinking straw, slipping it in the corner of the bag and sucking out as much air as you can before pulling the straw out at the last minute, but I felt weird inhaling all those funky meat fumes. My Instagram feed has been full of ads for these pricey silicone bags that I hear work well but I’ve yet to give them a test run.

Either way, you’re going for minimal air exposure and some thickness barrier — a little cushion between your food and the freezer air will help prevent that dreaded freezer burn, a damaging mix of oxidation and dehydration.

Prep Is Key

For meat and fish, you generally want to remove them from their original packaging and re-wrap in individual portions before freezing. Wrapping each cut in an extra layer of plastic before putting them in the zipper bag adds another degree of protection. Timing is key here. Freeze cuts of meat immediately after you get them home, or better yet, buy them pre-frozen. There are entire industries built around freezing fish in a way that sacrifices the least in the way of flavor and texture, so trust the pros — they know what they’re doing.

Vegetables, for the most part, should be quickly blanched before freezing. The drag here is that in the process of blanching, they absorb too much water to get any sort of good roasty char later, but it’s a small price to pay for having quality seasonal produce year-round. Before you blanch, prep the ingredients the way you plan to eat them, meaning separating broccoli and cauliflower into florets, snapping the ends off green beans, and chopping greens. Then boil a big pot of water and dunk the vegetables in for about a minute before plunging immediately into a big bowl of icy water. This will keep them from continuing to cook and turning to mush. The next part is key: Dry everything as best you can. The more water, the thicker the tectonic ice coating you’ll get on every piece. Then put everything into baggies and freeze.

Fruit freezing techniques vary — it all depends what you want to use them for. No amount of freezer skill will recreate the experience of biting into a fresh peach after it’s been frozen. But for smoothies, pie fillings, baking, or juice, most fruit will freeze just fine. Bananas freeze great, peel and all. Berries you’ll want to rinse, dry, then let freeze on a large flat surface like a cookie sheet before transferring to bags. If you want to use citrus just for zest or juice, go ahead and freeze them whole. They say you can freeze citrus in wedges individually, but I found the texture suffers greatly after defrosting, and honestly I can’t imagine what you’d want to use floppy, deflated tangerine wedges for. Juice is no problem — just squeeze, put the juice into an ice cube mold and freeze. You can pop them out later and transfer to a plastic bag for easier storage.

The above ice-cube tray technique works well for all kinds of liquids and purees. I actually bought these cool molds to freeze baby food for my second kid, and I use them now for smaller portions of stocks, lemon juice, pesto, pizza sauce. For larger batches, I pour a couple of cups into a zipper bag, get out as much air as possible, and freeze them flat so I can stack them later.

Breads freeze fantastically, but as a rule pre-sliced is best. I started buying giant loaves of my favorite rye bread from the farmers market and keep them in the freezer full-time, toasting off individual slices as needed; my mom perfected a technique with bagels that involves slicing them as soon as you get them home, wrapping each half separately, and then toasting them direct from the freezer. Pre-cooked tortillas and pita you can just wrap, freeze, and cook off one by one, but my most exciting recent discovery has been in the realm of pre-baked goods. It turns out most doughs recover well after freezing, and I just made a batch of biscuits using this technique that has you freezing the raw, cut biscuits ahead of time and baking them off as needed. It’s opened up a whole new world of frozen pastry projects for me.

I’m sure there’s some technique to freezing cheese but honestly I just put whole hunks and bags of the pre-shredded stuff straight into the freezer. I don’t really freeze milk but the wisdom is that the more fat content, the better it freezes, so half-and-half freezes great, skim milk not so much. Coffee I found out you can freeze and brew straight from frozen, which is excellent considering it is an absolute nonnegotiable in my house.

*If you’re curious about any other ingredient, there are countless guides to freezing food online that will steer you in the right direction.

Don’t Rush the Defrost

(Even Though Sometimes I Do, But It’s Really Risky, Okay?)

The basic rule of thumb for pretty much everything is low and slow. Put whatever you want to defrost in the refrigerator the night before you want to cook it — sometimes longer for big cuts of meat — and let it come to temperature gradually. I do this... most times. But there is a reason your microwave has a “defrost” setting, and it will definitely speed things along if also putting you at risk of prematurely cooking the edges of your chicken breast. I’ve successfully defrosted smaller cuts of fish and shrimp by running the bags under cold water in the sink for a few minutes until soft enough to handle, but this is not officially endorsed by the pros. What you’re definitely not supposed to do is let your ingredients hang out at room temp until they defrost. I have done this too, though it is a surefire recipe for a bacterial infection and this is not the time you want to be running to the ER for dehydration.

The point is, the freezer might be cold and dark, but it is not at all a thing to fear. Utilizing it well has helped me maintain the kind of spur-of-the-moment cooking style that feels normal to me — a valuable thing when pretty much everything else about my life right now does not feel normal. Now all I need is a bigger freezer.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3ctLE4P https://ift.tt/3efkQXs

hutchyb for Getty Images/iStockphoto

There’s a technique — even a flair — to freezing food successfully

The Container Matters

Prep Is Key

*If you’re curious about any other ingredient, there are countless guides to freezing food online that will steer you in the right direction.

Don’t Rush the Defrost

(Even Though Sometimes I Do, But It’s Really Risky, Okay?)

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3ctLE4P via Blogger https://ift.tt/2REXkcN

#Blogger #cooking #Eater #food #recipes

0 notes

magzoso-tech · 5 years ago

Photo

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/lg-g8x-thinq-review/

LG G8X ThinQ Review

Flagship smartphones from LG don’t often stay in the limelight long after their launches, as many of their competitors do. OnePlus and Samsung, on the other hand, have much more significant portions of the audience’s mindshare. The South Korean company is now trying to make a mark with its own take on a foldable smartphone, with the LG G8X ThinQ. This new device can work like an ordinary smartphone, but also lets you double your screen space with an add-on display case that is bundled in the box. The G8X ThinQ is priced at Rs. 49,999 in India, including the display case, and this is the first time such a product had made it to our market. Is it useful or just a gimmick? We’ve tested it to find out.

LG G8X ThinQ design

The LG G8X ThinQ follows the same design language as its predecessors. This smartphone has a glass sandwich design with a metal frame between the display and the rear glass panel. This smartphone is tall and a little chubby. At the front, it has a 6.4-inch OLED FullVision display with a tiny waterdrop notch at the top. It has thin bezels on the sides but the bottom is comparatively thicker.

LG has positioned the power button on the right of the device, and it is convenient to reach. On the left side, you’ll find the volume buttons as well as a dedicated button for Google Assistant. If you use Google Assistant very frequently you will find this very handy. We looked around in the Settings app but couldn’t find a way to remap the button.

The G8X ThinQ sports a 6.4-inch OLED display

The LG G8X ThinQ sport a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom along with the primary microphone, the loudspeaker, and a USB Type-C port. At the top, there’s only the SIM tray. The LG G8X ThinQ is among the few smartphones to have flush-mounted rear cameras. In a time when most devices have protruding camera modules, LG has managed to give this phone a clean look. The back is made out of glass but is curved at the sides, which makes it comfortable to hold. However, the smartphone picks up smudges easily and is super slippery. We even noticed it sliding about when placed on a slanting surface.

LG ships this smartphone only in Aurora Black. Along with the Dual Screen accessory case, you get earphones and a 16W charger bundled in the box. LG has also included a magnetic connector which can be used to charge the smartphone while using the Dual Screen case.

LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen Case

LG has smartly bundled the dual-screen accessory with the G8X ThinQ. This case itself has two displays. The first is a tiny monochrome one on the outside which lights up for notifications or when you raise the device. It displays the battery level, time, and date along with the icons of apps that have pending notifications. The front display is hard to see when the phone isn’t in use, as LG has opted for a mirror finish for the front of the case. This also picks up smudges quite easily. The shiny front panel is slightly off-centre to account for the hinge of the case.

Open the case up and you will see the second display on the inside. This is also a 6.4-inch OLED display with a waterdrop notch, to match the phone’s screen. This notch is pointless here as it does not house anything, and it looks like LG has used the exact same panel as the phone’s display. The case does not open flat; it’s more like having a step between the two displays so they aren’t at the same level at any point. You can flip the case lid around completely, and this simply switches off the secondary display.

All the displays on the case run off the LG G8X ThinQ’s battery

The case has a male USB Type-C connector which plugs into the LG G8X ThinQ. Once connected, both the displays on the case are powered by the smartphone’s battery. If you are planning on using the case at all times, you can expect battery life to take a hit. If the smartphone’s battery level dips below 15 percent, the secondary display will turn itself off. The case also has magnets and pogo-pin contacts at the bottom so you can charge it using the included adapter, eliminating the need to pull it out of the case every single time.

LG G8X ThinQ specifications and software

The LG G8X ThinQ is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, and has 6GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage. LG has added a heat pipe to help cool the processor when it’s under load. There is only one configuration on offer. We would have preferred to see the newer Snapdragon 855+ SoC, but the Snapdragon 855 is acceptable considering the overall features and capabilities of this smartphone.

The 6.4-inch OLED display has good viewing angles and gets bright enough when viewing content outdoors. The G8X ThinQ also sports an in-display fingerprint scanner. There is support for dual 4G as well as VoLTE, plus Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi ac, NFC, GPS, and the usual basic sensors. LG has packed in a 4,000mAh battery and there is support for fast charging via the USB Type-C port.

The hybrid dual-SIM tray will force you to choose between a second SIM and expandable storage

LG ships the G8X ThinQ running LG UX 9.0 on top of Android 9 Pie, and we would have liked to have seen Android 10. LG has said that it plans to upgrade this smartphone to the latest version of Android, along with a few other models. The number of bloatware apps is under control, and those on the phone include Facebook, Instagram, and Booking.com. There are also some of LG’s own apps such as ThinQ, LG Health, and LG SmartWorld.

The UI lacks an app drawer but is simple to use. The Settings app is well laid out and we found the search function to be quite handy. Just like other LG flagship smartphones, the LG G8X ThinQ has a Hi-Fi Quad DAC feature, and supports DTS:X 3D Surround sound. It also has stereo speakers, where the earpiece doubles up as the second speaker. We enjoyed watching content on the LG G8X as the audio output was impressive.

LG G8X ThinQ performance and battery life

The LG G8X delivers top-notch performance thanks to the hardware it sports. We did not encounter any lag or stutter while using the smartphone. With 6GB of RAM, the device was super smooth when multitasking and loading apps. Even with the secondary display switched on and running a completely different app, the device could handle the load quite well. We would not recommend running two heavy apps simultaneously though, as this causes the smartphone to warm up. We also found the in-display fingerprint scanner to be slow and inconsistent.

The second screen was helpful for multitasking. We could run two different apps actively on the LG G8s ThinQ. The phone also allows you to swap apps between the two displays very easily using a three-finger gesture. Apps that support dual-screen mode, let you use them across both the screens at the same time, The preinstalled Whale Browser as well as Google Chrome, for instance, let you spread a Web page across both displays. While this usually works well, the fat hinge in between the two panels means that you don’t get an uninterrupted view like you would with a device like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

The G8X ThinQ is powered by the Snapdragon 855 SoC

Like many other smartphones out there, the LG G8X comes with a game mode, but this one also takes full advantage of the second display. You can use one of the two screens as a gamepad while a game is displayed on the other. We tried this with Asphalt 9 Legends, Sniper Fury, and a few other games, and felt that it made them more engaging. The Game mode also lets you select between different types of gamepads as well, so you can select a layout that is appropriate for the genre of game you are playing.

We did not notice any lag or stutter when playing these games. Playing Sniper Fury with the dual-screen accessory did cause the phone to get warm to the touch. We also ran a couple of benchmarks to gauge performance of the G8X ThinQ. It managed to score 3,83,512 in AnTuTu and 9,486 in PCMark Work 2.0. The smartphone also achieved scores of 723 and 2,388 in the Geekbench 5 single-core and multi-core tests respectively. In GFXBench Car Chase, the phone managed 37fps.

The LG G8X ThinQ sports a 4,000mAh battery which lasted us about a day and a half with ordinary usage. With the dual-screen accessory, we did notice the battery life taking a hit. In our HD video loop test, the smartphone went on for 19 hours and 53 minutes, which is quite good. When using the supplied charger, the battery level went from zero to 34 percent in half an hour and to 67 percent in an hour. LG chould have bundled a more powerful charger in the box, as the competition offers faster charging.

LG G8X ThinQ cameras

While many flagship and mid-range smartphones these days boast of four or five rear cameras, the LG G8X ThinQ sticks with a dual camera setup. The primary one on the LG G8X ThinQ has a 12-megapixel sensor and an f/1.8 aperture. The secondary camera is a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera with a 136-degree field of view and an f/2.4 aperture. The camera app has multiple modes to choose from, and you also get manual mode for both photos as well as video. It also has a toggle to enable the dual-screen accessory to act as a viewfinder. This simply mirrors the output of the primary screen, allowing you to fold the device and take shots at awkward angles comfortably.

Daylight sample taken with the LG G8X ThinQ (tap for full-sized image)

Wide-angle sample taken with the LG G8X ThinQ (tap for full-sized image)

We found the LG G8X ThinQ to be quick to focus, and it metered scenes correctly. The AI is also quick to recognise scenes, and the camera enabled HDR automatically when required. The LG G8X ThinQ delivers excellent photos in daylight with good detail even after zooming in. Shots taken against a bright background with HDR enabled turned out quite well. The wide-angle camera is also capable of capturing photos in HDR. These shots had lower detail than those taken with the primary sensor, and they were also slightly warped at the edges.

Portrait sample (Tap for full-sized image)

The Portrait mode lets you select the level of blur required before taking the shot. Portraits had very good edge detection, and the phone could blur out the background properly. Light is metered to expose the subject’s face clearly, so you might have to deal with washed out backgrounds in unfavourable light.

Close-up sample (tap to see full-sized image)

For close-up shots, the LG G8X ThinQ was quick to identify what it was pointed towards. These shots had a natural depth effect and had good details on zooming in.

Low-light shot (above) and Night mode shot (below) (tap for full-sized images)

In a dimly-lit environment the AI switches the camera to low-light mode automatically. This helps it pull in more light, resulting in a bright image. You can also switch the camera to Night mode which keeps the shutter open for longer. The LG G8X ThinQ lets you select ambient light conditions using a slider, and adjusts its settings accordingly. We found this to be useful when taking photos at dusk. Low-light camera performance was quite good, and we were happy with the level of detail this smartphone managed.

Selfie sample (Tap for full-sized image)

The 32-megapixel selfie camera delivers good details. You can use portrait mode with this camera and blur the background before taking a shot. We found edge detection to be quite good even with two people in the frame. Video recording maxes out at 4K 60fps for the primary camera and 4K 30fps for the selfie shooter. While the primary rear camera has optical image stabilisation, it only uses electronic stabilisation when recording video. We noticed that 1080p footage was very well stabilised. The phone also has a Super Steady mode which uses the wide-angle camera and crops the frame for steady footage. In low light, the camera managed to deliver bright output with minimal shimmer.

Verdict

The G8X ThinQ is LG’s unique way of joining the foldable smartphone bandwagon. While this isn’t anywhere near the same as the Samsung Galaxy Fold, LG has managed to deliver something close in a cost-effective manner. Since LG bundles the dual-screen accessory with the G8X ThinQ, users get to experience a dual-screen device out of the box at no additional cost. The magnetic connector to charge the phone through the case is also a thoughtful addition.

For Rs. 49,999, LG offers a good package for someone wanting to experience a foldable smartphone without breaking the bank. It also packs in very good camera hardware that you can take full advantage of using the Manual mode. However, these are the only things that help this smartphone stand out against its competitors. If you don’t really care about the second screen, you could consider the OnePlus 7T (Review) which costs much less, or the Samsung Galaxy S10 (Review) as a suitable alternative.

#Miscellaneous

1 note · View note

mitchbeck · 5 years ago

Text

CANTLON'S CORNER: THE XL CENTER HAS A FUTURE

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The hulking giant on Asylum Street known as "The XL Center" has a future - in what form that will be, remains to be seen. The just started special legislative session saw a proposal presented to capital fund the building for two more years. That process will start The XL Center's road to salvation, or to perdition, beginning with the Finance committee. CRDA Executive Director, Mike Freimuth, is more hopeful and optimistic than he was eight or nine months ago. ‘We have had two extremes, people who want an XL with all the bells and whistles, and those who want to line up the bulldozers on Asylum Street. There is a middle ground, so to speak, here. I think the close-the-building option if you can call it that, is a non-starter. People recognize all the housing work underway in-and-around the XL Center and future development plans in Hartford that are starting or in the developing phase would be harmed adversely by that move. We can’t go backward and just give up." The just started legislative special session Freimuth feels might yield some positive results based on his talks with Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) that a way forward is beginning. “We believe there is a package of $20 million in each of the next two years that is the concept right now. Have we seen the paperwork or have an ironclad agreement on this? No. However, I remain hopeful something will come out of this process to advance this, the reboot of the XL forward,” remarked Freimuth. A long-time legislative source thinks the amount can be satisfied. “The number is more digestible than when they came before Finance several years ago. So it’s a good bet it will pass. However, nothing is in stone when it comes to large outlays, that is subject to some serious negotiating because fiscally things are still very tight.” The other aspect of his optimism is some early discussions with private equity capital about some future investment arrangement with the XL Center after their initial foray fell flat with only one applicant, Oak Street Capital Realty of Chicago last summer. That offer was ultimately and formally rejected. “We learned a lot from that process, and some of our initial discussions have given us some fresh perspective to try to make a proposal more along the lines of a business deal than a government deal. We have gotten a lot of questions on revenue streams, projections, price points, points of sale, and we have developed some good financial analysis to present, but we have some other work to do, particularly with UCONN returning to the Big East from the AAC conference and how that will impact future revenue,” Freimuth commented. One of those new approaches is a new 13 page RFP for yet another market study? On the surface, one’s eyes roll, yet another study? There have been nine studies, budget proposals, and analysis done, since 2014. As the current phrase of the day, how many bites of the apple do you get? The RFP was released officially on Monday, and questions of the RFP are to be submitted no later than August 5th, by 3:00 pm. Responses will be provided by August 7th, and final packets are to be returned by August 19th. Then, the RFP process will be closed. Freimuth acknowledges the skeptics he has on this. “It seems like more of the same, however, what we're doing now is trying to reaffirm some original data. Add new pieces to the equation particularly UCONN’s conference switch and see how that shapes potential proposal-based. This line of inquiry came out of our preliminary talks with private investors and hopefully may make a renewed proposal process more palatable. "We have to prioritize things in making this attractive to present and fill in the cracks, that we have to make this saleable to the private capital community,” Freimuth said. Fill in the cracks may have been a Freudian slip, but the irony can’t be missed. Despite all this work, the question arises to ask if the needle has moved in the legislature toward approving the project? “I think that will be determined over this (special) session. I don’t have an answer to it at this point. I don’t have a crystal ball. "I think when we get this RFP process completed, we can start in the fall with the private investment portion and will hopefully have the legislative component to tie in at that point. We have done a lot of financial analysis that the revenue generated by the building both directly in taxes to the city and state, plus the business revenue to restaurants and hotels would be greater than the necessary public subsidy that is going to be required to move this project forward,” said Freimuth. While it seems some exegesis is developing in this six-and-a-half-plus year seemingly Quixotic effort, there have been many points of optimism and nadir’s it seems decisions are coming. Will there be a half-a-pie to eat or a whole that can keep the XL Center sustained and viable? Read the full article

#CRDA #Freimuth #GerryCantlon #Howlings #MikeFreimuth #UConn #XLCenter

0 notes

an-oath · 8 years ago

Text

La La Love.

So, tomorrow is Tuesday. and also, Valentine’s Day. AND believe me or not, I’m actually kind of cool about it. I’ve accepted that my night will consist of Photoshop and a bag of chips. I get to chill out with two of the best kids I know and basically just flat out enjoy where I’m at. Now, traditionally, I enjoy writing these rumbly Vday blogs because 1. it’s a great point of conversation and 2. a lot of people tend to be in the same place. Now, I’ve got some points to talk about, and if you’re dreading tomorrow please read this and be comforted that somewhere on this floating, blue marble there’s a person that has your back. #me

Last year, I talked about how to be single. HA. What a joke. :) So, something that I’ve been working on in the process of this season in my life is development. Heart development that is. This year, I’m going to talk about the little that I know about love. I don’t know where this is going to go but ... enjoy.

1. LOVE is a big 4 letter word.

I know a few 4 letter words that carry weight and cause shock and pause but LOVE is rumoured to be a gentler genre of a word. Actually, for me. I feel it leave my heart every time I say it. Not when I say, “ I LOVE bacon.” but when I say goodbye to my Mom for the second time in one day because I just miss her so gosh darn much. When I get to wake up knowing that I get to greet the King of the Universe - sometimes it’s the only thing I know how to say when I’m with Him. LOVE. The biggest 4 letter word I know.

2. LOVE can be confusing.

So, in this day and age, the whole entire concept surrounding LOVE exhausts me. I don’t know about you but I don’t want this 2017 version of LOVE. I want that person that knows me (every last bit) and still wants to come home to me. I want that person to tell me he loves me even though I put mustard on my Kraft Dinner and can’t listen through a whole song before changing it. I want my best friend to be my boyfriend. Is that too hard? I think it is, actually...

What I’ve seen, am seeing, is a group of people that handle relationships like ibuprofen. Pop it if you’re crampy - then grab another if that one didn’t cut it. It’s quick, it’s careless and it’s ineffective. LOVE is treated like a drive thru rather than a dine in. I’m not that easy. I need to know that you’re going to fight for my heart and not toss it in the wind like a soggy $5 bill. It makes me sad to see what I see. People that think they are less than because they are solo or worse, people that think without someone their value as an individual decreases. I don’t know a lot but I do know that God has never intended marriage, relationships and LOVE to set the value of your life. Our worth only rests on God’s shoulders and well, if we intend to wait for that person to entertain our own self-worth issues...we’re in for a heap of disappointment because sweetie, once the magical kissing dust settles ... that boy can’t fix that for you.

#micdrop

3. LOVE is messy.

The concept of LOVE alone is a disgusting process. You meet another person, be it a friend, lover, relative, and you willingly give your most vulnerable side to them and hope that they don’t take it and throw it in the dung heap. Ew. That, to me, sounds like the opposite of appealing. I would, MUCH RATHER, keep my precious blood pumper in tact, than risk the collapse of an entire aortic system...but...that’s not what I was created for.

We are beings that were created with the breathe of LOVE and purposed to be LOVERS of people, promise and purpose. The risk that LOVE dangles in front of my glass heart is so much better than the dust settling on the shiny red surface. I would rather LOVE and be shattered than never LOVE at all. I think...

We were never promised that we would always be safe, but were assured that we would always be LOVED. This world is messy, the people are slobs and their hearts are broken but lying down deep in the human-y abyss there sits a LOVE story that is relived and retold for centuries. That’s the purpose of entertaining this escapade of romance. God wants to give us the dreams that we have so meticulously planned out. He wants us to be able to experience this kind of crazy, awesome LOVE. It is the one scenario on this Earth that grants us the opportunity to imagine how wildly God LOVED...LOVES ... us. He wants us to swoon and to blush and to romance - He wants it because He made it and He made it because it’s good. He also, unfortunately for me, has one strong sense of humour.

4. LOVE is weird.

So, holding hands. Kissing...Sex. (GASP!)

Am I the only one that finds those acts a little bit..well...unusual. Who was the first person that decided it would be cute to take their pie hole and squish their lips against another person’s unsuspecting lips. How did that go down? I’m not the most (ha.) experienced in this department but...it’s almost a little laughable. What a way to experience the most sincere form of vulnerability with another human. You literally, have nowhere else to look except for in the other person’s face. Whoa. Now, I’m 26 this year - WHAT!? I know, I don’t look a day past 24 but believe you me, I’m excited about getting to kiss my guy. What a wild ride! That day, will be a wonderful one but if I’m being honest I’m a little bit terrified.

Walking into uncharted territory this late in the game puts me at a place that seems much heavier than it used to. Before, kissing was just a thing that was done when dating someone cute. :P Now, I’m 26 (I know, I know ) and thinking about everything but most importantly, I think about how I want to make sure that the person I pie hole squish with is going to be my person. That’s a hefty order to place on one person’s lips. It’s true though. I’m so far beyond the dating circle that I’m in a square. I want this dating thing to have a short life span because I want to keep believing in my mystery man and my dodged bullets. LOVE is gross and slobbery and messy and so many other things but with great anticipation and maybe more quiet Vday Ddays on the horizon I imagine my romance to be one that would put Jane Austen to shame.

5. LOVE is ... I don’t know.

I’ve read the LOVE chapter...we all have...

“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, Doesn’t revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end. Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. 1 Cor 13 MSG”

Now, I know that this verse has revealed so much to me overtime but right now it’s screaming one sentence at me so loudly that I can barely breathe. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. When God touches our measly little single-ton hearts - as I know He will make sure to do tomorrow - He will complete that link. He will cancel out all of the things that we have so foolishly deemed unworthy for relationship, unworthy for a promising future and, most despairing of all, unworthy for LOVE.

I’ve learned that LOVE is a two sided venture but it’s also 3 fold. I grew up in LOVE. I was always present to a house full of LOVE. It was not a rarity to see my parents laughing or my Dad kissing my Mom’s hand while he’s driving. LOVE was heavy in my childhood. I moved out. I went to another city and although I’m still LOVED by my beautiful family. The 300+ mile distance gaps puts our LOVE meter at a slight low. I’ve learned that seasons come and seasons go. I spent the majority of my life in a season where LOVE was in bloom year round. Now, LOVE, is a treasure. It’s the four leaf clover of life that is just waiting to be plucked.

As excited as I am to find that beauty, I’m also so eerily aware of how much changes when one season closes and a new one begins. I’m so not ready to picture my life any differently than I do now and that shows me that I need to watch for LOVE and pray that I always prove myself to be a woman that does everything out of LOVE for LOVE and in LOVE.

It’s so easy to pretend that we’re not kept accountable by the LOVE that we tend to withdraw. I’m guilty of that. It’s in progress. LOVE is a powerful creature and a towering castle. It’s retaining and it’s freeing. LOVE is...the greatest mystery the human heart could or couldn’t and never will fully understand and that just has to be okay with humanity because I’m not about ready to explain to God why He did what He did.

I wanted this little spiel to be funny but maybe next time...

I based it...slightly...on the most heart shaking movie I have seen to date. This movie breaks my heart because SPOILERS it’s the story of a love that’s lost and a love that didn’t fight. Some would disagree and I KNOW IT’S JUST A MOVIE but I also know that I don’t want that. I don’t want a love that’s not ready to pick up the gloves and risk it all for whatever this heart thing is willing to dish out. I want the handwork and the long term rewards. I want that. I dream of that. City of stars, shine all you want, baby. I’m too busy polishing the dust off my future to be tangled up in what you’re all about.

I love you.

SQ out.

This excerpt was taken from last years and its such a strong paragraph for me. It’s been a blink of a year but nothing in my heart has changed and I’m so excited for my future with this great man, my best friend :) <3 #maybenextyear #takeyourtimebabe “One day, this amazing man, with the most adorable smile, will come up to you and surprise you. You won’t know what happened and that lie rug of misbelief will be pulled straight out from under your feet because everything that you thought about yourself will be put to rest. You can trust in the fact that you are God’s girl and He’s not going to just let you marry any Joe Shmo. He’s got His boy for you. He’s just teaching him how to tie a tie. That’s what’s taking him so long…but I believe that…even after this Valentine’s Day, or next Valentine’s Day or 7 Valentine’s Days from now…I believe that my Mr. has been worth this entire ride. All of the tears, the fears, the doubts, the lies and the loves lost. He will be enough for me. He will be my team mate and my shoulder. He will carry me when I’m tired, fly with me when I’m happy and bring me ice cream when I need to cry. Every risk in the world will be worth taking because I know that he is waiting for me still. Just like I choose, everyday, to wait for him. Now, I’m no expert on the Single life but one thing I do know is this is a prime opportunity to really connect on a new level with God. Take the time and sincerely purpose to learn new things about Him while you’re in this season. Not only will it make waiting easier but it will strengthen you in the long term and prepare you and your heart for the unexpected twists that marriage promises. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, just to be real and honest with Him. Sharing with Him where we are at emotionally and spiritually will bring a new sense of freedom in our hearts and minds. He cares about it. He wants to know…He wants to talk to us and share with us how much we have to look forward to if we are willing to crush it, stop it, do it, risk it, own it and trust it. If we are willing to, at the end of this road, become 100% us. Then I believe we will give Him the keys to the heart that we’ve been hiding for far too long. I’m excited for Valentine’s Day this year because I have the opportunity to become a better, more confident, more beautiful version of myself and I bet that my husband can’t wait to see who he winds up with. I know that I can’t…actually, I can. :P “

1 note · View note

51dentistleesburgva1-blog · 5 years ago

Text

In Asbury Park, NJ, Madelynn Avery and Clarence Werner Learned About Dentist in Leesburg VA

In Lawndale, CA, Cynthia Mcknight and Natalya Barajas Learned About Oral Care Tips

Some mouthwashes have antibacterial fluoride and ingredients. Swish the rinse around in your mouth for 30 to 60 minutes. You can use a mouthwash before or after you floss and brush. Dental Health and eating Right For dental health, eat a variety of foods, preventing those that include starches and sugars.

Use the small circular motion to clean out the bottom of the upper and lower teeth. To clean the inside of the bottom teeth, angle the head at an place toward the within the mouth and move the toothbrush in a circle.

Take care not to push too hard and harm the gums. Move the floss up and down against the gum line and upward and around the tooth. The floss should sort a C-shape around.

However, what about at night before you go to bed It is a time to do this. Permit by not draining off the glue with water after brushing the fluoride sit on the face of the teeth. If you have had then brush your mouth .

Brushing removes plaque, a film of germs that clings to teeth. They produce acids when bacteria in plaque come in contact with food. These acids lead to cavities. On the toothbrush's head Place a spoonful dab of fluoride toothpaste to brush. (Use a soft toothbrush) Place the toothbrush.

In Akron, OH, Sanai Gates and Gunner Barker Learned About Oral Care Tips

Older adults and toddlers have a tendency to fly under the health radar, but mouth maintenance is needed by them exactly. Children should see a dentist by the time until they're coordinated enough to tie their shoes, and they are 1 they will need help cleaning their teeth.

In Doylestown, PA, Brynn Fowler and Isabel Cameron Learned About Oral Care Tips

Use a clean section of floss needed by winding it and take up used floss. Strategies for Rinsing Your Teeth & Gums The third portion of your daily oral care regimen ought to be mouthwash -- but not just any mouthwash.

Hard"sucking candies" are especially harmful because they remain in the mouth quite a long time. Tooth decay can be led to by snacking on foods, because individuals don't brush after snacks. Snack foods, such as potato chips, stick to the teeth. Avoid snacking : cakes, cookies, Candies, and pie Sugary gum Crackers, breadsticks, and fries Dried fruits and raisins Continued Dental Check-Ups Visit your dentist at least each six months.

If you are more prone to ditching the dentist, you're one of the approximately 50% of adults in the United States who do not find a dentist yearly because of finances, phobia, or just plain neglect. However, spend some quality time with your dentist (twice annually, the American Dental Association advises), and you're going to catch problems such as decay, gum disease, injury, or cancer at an early stage when they are treatable, and of course more affordable to take care of.

Transfer the toothbrush in a small circle. Give your tongue a couple of brush strokes, brushing from the rear of your tongue forward. Do not scrub. This freshens your breath and helps remove bacteria. After brushing your teeth for two to three minutes, then rinse your mouth using a mouthwash. Replace your toothbrush with a new one every few months.

5. Visit the dentist Applying everything stated in the points is not an excuse. Whatever you can do is the best and leave the rest to the dental care specialists. Make it a habit to see a dental care clinic for teeth cleaning and complete oral checkup as permissible as your program is.

4. Restrict intake of sodas and alcohol Tobacco for one, is something you should run from. By Preventing this, you can be saved from some complications like oral cancer. Things you will take to mask the smell of tobacco like tea, candies or coffee will only end of doubling the damage to your teeth already caused by the cigarette smoking.

Simply spit the toothpaste out after brushing the time and leave the residue on your teeth rather than draining it off with water. .

In Santa Monica, CA, Nathanael Woodard and Mateo Duran Learned About Oral Care Tips

These contain phosphorus, which is an important nutrient for a healthy. But a lot of everything is bad and this applies to phosphorus too. Too much of it may deplete the calcium level of their human body, inducing hygiene issues such as gum disease and tooth decay. Go instead with drinks that will help to construct water and enamel strength, which hydrates your body better than any drink ever will.

Flossing gets rid of plaque and food between the teeth, where your toothbrush cannot reach. If plaque remains between teeth, it can harden into tartar, which has to be removed by a dentist or hygienist. About an 18-inch strip of floss: Eliminate to floss out of the dispenser.

Your gums and teeth can remain healthy throughout your lifetime. The healthier gums and your teeth are, the less risk you have for tooth decay and gum disease. How Should I Care for My Teeth and Gums There are four Actions to caring for teeth and gums: Fixing Flossing Rinsing Eating right Seeing the dentist Strategies and gums at least twice a day.

When you have mouth or bleeding or pain in your teeth, swollen 20, you also need to see your dentist. You might even ask https://31dentistleesburgva0.site123.me/#section-5d85555e06c06 your dentist. Sealant is a substance used to coat the chewing surfaces of tooth. This coating generally lasts quite a while and protects the tooth from decay.

Adhering to this can save you a whole world of hurt in the long run. 6. Leave a small fluoride in your mouth prior to bedtime Fluoride helps to fortify the tooth surface so why rinse it off after brushing your teeth For most people it may not be ideal to take toothpaste residue inside their mouth the whole day and honestly it makes no logical sense as you will probably make the mistake of consuming it during the course of their day.

Continue with this movement cleaning one at one time. Prevent pressing so hard the bristles lie flat. (Only the tips of this toothbrush clean the teeth) Let the bristles reach spaces between teeth. Brush across the top of the chewing surfaces of the back teeth.

Brushing, flossing, and rinsing are the ABCs of oral health, but they are only the start. A mouth requires saying good-bye to cigarettes -- believe improving your toothbrushing technique, ditching the pop habit that is daily, and simply squeezing paste out of a tube. David Leader an assistant clinical professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, summarizes eight oral care musts for a healthy mouth.

0 notes

07dentistleesburgva4-blog · 5 years ago

Text

In Stockbridge, GA, Salvador Espinoza and Deandre Boone Learned About Dentist in Leesburg VA

In 46514, Alondra Weeks and Daniela Burke Learned About Oral Care Tips

Hard"sucking candy" are particularly harmful because they remain in the mouth quite a long time. Because people do not brush after bites snacking on foods may result in tooth decay. Snack foods, like potato chips, stick to the teeth. Snacking : chips, cookies, cakes, and pie Sugary gum Crackers, breadsticks, and Candies Dried fruits and raisins Continued Dental Check-Ups Visit your dentist at least once each six months.

Flossing gets rid of plaque and food from your teeth, where your toothbrush can't reach. If plaque stays between teeth, it can harden. To floss: Remove out of the dispenser.

In 48174, Addison Thompson and Kiersten Cook Learned About Oral Care Tips

However, what about before going to bed This is a time to do this. Allow the fluoride sit on the face of the teeth after cleansing by not draining off the glue with water. In case you have had then brush your mouth.

Use the same circular motion to clean the backside of the upper and lower teeth -- the side that faces the tongue. To clean the inside of the teeth, angle the head in an place toward the inside of the mouth and move the toothbrush in a little circle.

Older adults and toddlers have a tendency to fly under the health radar, but they need mouth maintenance just like the rest of us. Children should see a dentist they are 1, and till they're coordinated enough to tie their shoes they'll need help cleaning their teeth.

Put the floss and use your index fingers to push the floss between the teeth. Take care to not push too hard and harm the gums. Move the floss up and down against the gum line and upward and around the tooth. The floss should form a C-shape around.

If you're more prone to ditching the dentist, then you are among the roughly 50 percent of adults in the United States who do not find a dentist because of dental phobia, finances, or just plain negligence. However, spend some quality time with your dentist (twice a year, the American Dental Association advises), and you're going to catch problems like decay, gum disease, trauma, or cancer at an early stage when they are treatable, not to mention more affordable to take care of.

Brushing removes plaque, a film of bacteria that invisibly into teeth. They produce acids when bacteria in plaque come into contact with food. These acids lead to cavities. To brush : Place a pea-sized dab of fluoride toothpaste onto the toothbrush's head. Place the toothbrush.

In Portland, ME, Darnell Roman and Gunner Barker Learned About Oral Care Tips

Adhering to this can save you a world of harm in the long term. 6. Leave just a small fluoride in your mouth prior to bedtime Fluoride helps to strengthen the tooth surface so why rinse it off after brushing your teeth For most people it might not be perfect to carry toothpaste residue inside their mouth the entire day and frankly it makes no logical sense as you will probably make the mistake of swallowing it during the course of their day.

Some mouthwashes have antibacterial fluoride and ingredients. Swish the wash around. You can use a mouthwash prior to or after you brush and brush. Dental Health and eating Right For good dental health, eat an assortment of foods, avoiding those that contain starches and sugars.

These contain. But a lot of what's poor and this applies to phosphorus too. Much of it may deplete their body's calcium level, causing hygiene issues like gum disease and tooth decay. Go with beverages that will help to construct enamel strength and water, which interrupts your own body better than any drink will.

Just spit the toothpaste out after cleansing the time and leave the residue on the teeth rather than rinsing it off with water. .

Move the toothbrush in a little circle. Give your tongue a few gentle brush strokes, brushing from the rear of your tongue ahead. Don't wash. This freshens your breath and helps remove bacteria. Rinse your mouth with a mouthwash, after brushing your teeth for two to three minutes. Replace your toothbrush with a new one every three to four months.

4. Restrict intake of sodas and alcohol Tobacco for one, is from. You can be saved by avoiding this from several complications like oral cancer. Things that you will have to mask the odor of tobacco such as tea sweets or coffee will only end of doubling the damage to your teeth.

You also need to see your dentist when you have mouth or bleeding or pain on your teeth gums. You might also ask your dentist. Sealant is a substance used to coat the surface, chewing surfaces of tooth. This coating protects the tooth and generally lasts a long time.

Continue with this movement cleaning one tooth at one time. Maintain the tips of the bristles against the gum line. Avoid pressing so hard that the bristles lie flat. (Only the tips of the toothbrush clean the teeth) Permit the reach. Brush across the top of the chewing surfaces of the back teeth.

In 43551, Nathanael Woodard and Britney Thomas Learned About Oral Care Tips

With good care, your teeth and gums can stay healthy throughout your lifetime. The more healthy gums and your teeth are, the less risk you have for tooth decay and gum disease. How Should I Care for My Teeth and Gums There are four basic steps to caring for teeth and gums: Brushing Flossing Rinsing Eating right Visiting the dentist Strategies for Brushing Your Teeth and Gums Brush teeth and gums twice a day.

Flossing, brushing, and rinsing will be the ABCs of health, but they are just the start. A marvelous mouth requires saying good-bye to cigarettes -- believe improving your technique, ditching the pop habit that is daily, and squeezing paste from a tube. David Leader, DMD, an assistant clinical professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, outlines eight care musts for a wholesome mouth.

5. Visit the dentist regularly Applying everything stated in the previous points isn't an excuse to not go for routine dental checkup. Whatever you can do is the best and leave the rest to the care experts. Make it a habit to visit a dental care practice for teeth cleaning and full checkup, as permissible as your program is.

Use a clean section of floss required and take floss that is used by winding it. Also, antibacterial mouth rinses (you will find fluoride mouth rinses as well) can reduce bacteria that cause plaque and gum disease, according to the American Dental Association. Tips to Rinsing Your Teeth & Gums The third portion of your daily oral care regimen ought to be toothpaste -- but not any ointment.Mayo Dentist Leesburg Va

0 notes

outletggdbsale-blog · 5 years ago

Text

Golden Goose Superstar Sneakers Outlet Guide in Starting a Real Small operation

The other great shoe of the financing bailout misplaced in yr. Reports went on to flat surface of quick foreclosures appearing pursued proper after often the trail term of one bailout made expired. Their homeowners experienced paid exactly as agreed upon and mostly of our reduced mortgage payments acquired made high on time. What was the very problem? Blog training guide is literally for any beginner and vets alike taking into consideration it Golden Goose Sneakers Outlet ffers the selective information for all the beginning and experienced person. If you are always not setting up the compassionate of financial online that experts claim you hope to make using blogs, you really want this now. You carry been made available a blueprint, map along with ggdb golden goose so lays the golden knowledge of straightforward regarding producing an proceeds online while having blogs. Once you can follow very easy instruction, require action not to mention willing to allow them to listen, you can reach it bring now. Getting that can a serious super showcase will no longer be such that hassle available for North Enders. Stop Shop was on board to occupy a so far to be constructed building in our Bulfinch Pie area. That this Bulfinch Triangle is locked by Valenti Way, Canal, Beverly, East Washington and therefore New Chardon Streets. Which the new shop is portion of your own development scheme called Greenway Center. The first floors if your 10-story creating a solid foundation will wind up being retail space, the second a Discontinue Shop, the following and 4th a automobile garage and therefore the rest is undetermined. For me, pharmaceutical business employers will just do not have often the intention toward cure your entire gout to hyperuricemia dilemma. If they are going to are, they will indeed be in this particular business in putting themselves out akin to business. These types of people are probably not going to assist you to easily furnish up that lucrative see free of hard cash by positioning a stop on your gout problem. This writings training steer is Golden Goose Superstar Sneakers Outlet omething that would probably shift your entire family from not anything to one special and after that beyond your own wildest desires. You probably will call understand it hype simply I decision it wish that and in the you expectation that sooner or later you would have it, you will stop looking and start living the dream from this day forward. The illusion starts but and within a plan called and many people get it as some others don't yet still I feel you receive it. Method know your niche has an sleeping monster within consumers but are you predisposed to aftermath him in and initiate your today? While achievable miracles, their government equally hinted homeowners was solidly towards blame over the foreclosed property numbers that have gone up year appropriate after year since 2006. Depending to this media, one particular problem ended up being people got loans it knew these guys couldn't cash. That was indeed one within the offering factors. However, how could maybe these dodgy people go loans unless an expert working with respect to a debt institution acceptance that car or truck loan? Do some research, fundamental in the name related with the service provider or product and also see those things people are typically saying in regards to them. Move onto World Marketing user discussion forums and talk to questions. Mr. President, we grabbed note related all the fact that you pointed out. But sir, you neglected to explain to us the manner in which you get going to help you spend financial resources you don't quite have. if you want to help a person's economy the fact is formerly broken because of the most important outrageous going through of each of federal federal. by having more cash. Who, Mister. President, must be going regarding pay available for it when you could be promising value-added tax cuts so that you can all persons who are the nothing but ones obtaining to pay taxes.

0 notes

easyfoodnetwork · 5 years ago

Quote

hutchyb for Getty Images/iStockphoto There’s a technique — even a flair — to freezing food successfully My mother is what you might call a culinary cryogenicist. Long before the crew at the Noma Food Lab grew their first flavor spore, my mom was experimenting with the effects of age and temperature on all kinds of foodstuffs: the last two bites of some mac and cheese. Four shrimp. One-third of a pork chop. Three matzo balls. Half a bag of green beans tied shut with a trash bag twist-tie. An old joint. Eight slices of rye bread. Raisins. So. Much. Ham. And that’s just the first shelf of the freezer. It was a talent she inherited. Her own mother was a master of the freezer arts, best exemplified by the very same “tray of frozen shrimp” offered to us on every grandparent visit for more than two decades; it became a running family joke. As a member of the next generation, however, my family’s faith in the preservation power of cold turned me into a devoted freezer snob. For most of my adult life, my freezer has remained a sacred space reserved for only the most cold-hardy ingredients — ice cream, popsicles, those giant cocktail ice spheres, and maybe the occasional box of toaster waffles or bag of frozen peas. Meat? God no. Fish? Please, back away and leave quietly. In my mind, freezing things ruined their precious molecular integrity by turning them into rock-hard cubes. Meat is normally prized for its “freshness.” In the fields, crops are carefully covered to prevent freezing, so why put them under such duress in your own home? Having kids a few years ago loosened me up a bit — show me one child-rearing American household a without a frozen bag of dinosaur-shaped chicken blobs lurking somewhere. But overall, for the better part of the last decade, my freezer has remained as sleek and food-free as an after-hours Apple Store. But when COVID-19 hit I admittedly went into full hoarder mode. My diet, like my fashion, is dictated by my mood (it’s also why I’m a chronic over-packer). With annual memberships to Instacart, Amazon Fresh, and a handful of specialty grocers down the street, I’d become accustomed to getting all the ingredients to sate any craving within an hour of it hitting. Maintaining that level of spontaneity in the time of supermarket lines and impossible delivery queues meant stocking up in ways I’d never fathomed before. Even with a family of four eating three-plus meals a day, the kind of inventory I was sporting needed to be able to hang out a while. And so, it was with deep reservations that I finally began freezing things — though the real miracle didn’t occur until I began un-freezing them. First I tried a pork tenderloin, one of three I had purchased at Costco a few weeks earlier. Following the advice of the pros, I took it out of the freezer and put it in my fridge overnight, cooked it as usual, and it was… fine. Good, even. Next I tried salmon — I’ve had terrible experiences with frozen seafood in the past, so my hopes were low for the three rosy-pink portions I defrosted and broiled. But again, the resulting fish was surprisingly moist, fatty, firm, delicious. After that I started throwing everything in the freezer just to see: ground turkey, chicken thighs. All were fine. Then I moved into pizza dough, shredded cheese, blanched vegetables; then on to chili, tortillas, pancakes, whole loaves of bread, coffee (while dry coffee beans won’t technically “go bad,” their flavor and aroma suffer over time). Pretty much every single thing I froze — and later unfroze — emerged as relatively unharmed and tasty as the day I bought it. (Notable exceptions included skim milk and some poorly wrapped steaks, and it took some serious trial and error with fresh greens.) Now, as we go into week five… or six? of “safer at home” measures, my freezer has transformed from a sterile ice-storage facility to a clutch partner in culinary crime. Today the once-barren shelves are buckling beneath the weight of dated and labeled baggies and bins with enough perfectly preserved food to more than bridge the gap between bi-weekly produce box deliveries and masked-up grocery runs. But as it turns out, my mom and grandmother were, in fact, artists — there is a technique, even a flair to freezing food successfully. Wrap something improperly or defrost incorrectly and you might not just risk the integrity of your ingredients, but also your health. So after a month or so of embracing my familial fate and becoming a frozen food convert, here are a few lessons I’ve learned: The Container Matters I know, plastic is the enemy, but those fancy glass containers can crack in the freezer. According to the experts, the best way to freeze food is in a vacuum-seal bag that you suction yourself with one of those fancy machines to minimize air (air is your enemy in the great freezer wars). I don’t have one of those — though I’ve been eyeing this one on Amazon — so I use regular old freezer-grade zipper bags and press out as much air as possible before sealing. There’s also a trick where you mimic a vacuum sealer with a drinking straw, slipping it in the corner of the bag and sucking out as much air as you can before pulling the straw out at the last minute, but I felt weird inhaling all those funky meat fumes. My Instagram feed has been full of ads for these pricey silicone bags that I hear work well but I’ve yet to give them a test run. Either way, you’re going for minimal air exposure and some thickness barrier — a little cushion between your food and the freezer air will help prevent that dreaded freezer burn, a damaging mix of oxidation and dehydration. Prep Is Key For meat and fish, you generally want to remove them from their original packaging and re-wrap in individual portions before freezing. Wrapping each cut in an extra layer of plastic before putting them in the zipper bag adds another degree of protection. Timing is key here. Freeze cuts of meat immediately after you get them home, or better yet, buy them pre-frozen. There are entire industries built around freezing fish in a way that sacrifices the least in the way of flavor and texture, so trust the pros — they know what they’re doing. Vegetables, for the most part, should be quickly blanched before freezing. The drag here is that in the process of blanching, they absorb too much water to get any sort of good roasty char later, but it’s a small price to pay for having quality seasonal produce year-round. Before you blanch, prep the ingredients the way you plan to eat them, meaning separating broccoli and cauliflower into florets, snapping the ends off green beans, and chopping greens. Then boil a big pot of water and dunk the vegetables in for about a minute before plunging immediately into a big bowl of icy water. This will keep them from continuing to cook and turning to mush. The next part is key: Dry everything as best you can. The more water, the thicker the tectonic ice coating you’ll get on every piece. Then put everything into baggies and freeze. Fruit freezing techniques vary — it all depends what you want to use them for. No amount of freezer skill will recreate the experience of biting into a fresh peach after it’s been frozen. But for smoothies, pie fillings, baking, or juice, most fruit will freeze just fine. Bananas freeze great, peel and all. Berries you’ll want to rinse, dry, then let freeze on a large flat surface like a cookie sheet before transferring to bags. If you want to use citrus just for zest or juice, go ahead and freeze them whole. They say you can freeze citrus in wedges individually, but I found the texture suffers greatly after defrosting, and honestly I can’t imagine what you’d want to use floppy, deflated tangerine wedges for. Juice is no problem — just squeeze, put the juice into an ice cube mold and freeze. You can pop them out later and transfer to a plastic bag for easier storage. The above ice-cube tray technique works well for all kinds of liquids and purees. I actually bought these cool molds to freeze baby food for my second kid, and I use them now for smaller portions of stocks, lemon juice, pesto, pizza sauce. For larger batches, I pour a couple of cups into a zipper bag, get out as much air as possible, and freeze them flat so I can stack them later. Breads freeze fantastically, but as a rule pre-sliced is best. I started buying giant loaves of my favorite rye bread from the farmers market and keep them in the freezer full-time, toasting off individual slices as needed; my mom perfected a technique with bagels that involves slicing them as soon as you get them home, wrapping each half separately, and then toasting them direct from the freezer. Pre-cooked tortillas and pita you can just wrap, freeze, and cook off one by one, but my most exciting recent discovery has been in the realm of pre-baked goods. It turns out most doughs recover well after freezing, and I just made a batch of biscuits using this technique that has you freezing the raw, cut biscuits ahead of time and baking them off as needed. It’s opened up a whole new world of frozen pastry projects for me. I’m sure there’s some technique to freezing cheese but honestly I just put whole hunks and bags of the pre-shredded stuff straight into the freezer. I don’t really freeze milk but the wisdom is that the more fat content, the better it freezes, so half-and-half freezes great, skim milk not so much. Coffee I found out you can freeze and brew straight from frozen, which is excellent considering it is an absolute nonnegotiable in my house. *If you’re curious about any other ingredient, there are countless guides to freezing food online that will steer you in the right direction. Don’t Rush the Defrost (Even Though Sometimes I Do, But It’s Really Risky, Okay?) The basic rule of thumb for pretty much everything is low and slow. Put whatever you want to defrost in the refrigerator the night before you want to cook it — sometimes longer for big cuts of meat — and let it come to temperature gradually. I do this... most times. But there is a reason your microwave has a “defrost” setting, and it will definitely speed things along if also putting you at risk of prematurely cooking the edges of your chicken breast. I’ve successfully defrosted smaller cuts of fish and shrimp by running the bags under cold water in the sink for a few minutes until soft enough to handle, but this is not officially endorsed by the pros. What you’re definitely not supposed to do is let your ingredients hang out at room temp until they defrost. I have done this too, though it is a surefire recipe for a bacterial infection and this is not the time you want to be running to the ER for dehydration. The point is, the freezer might be cold and dark, but it is not at all a thing to fear. Utilizing it well has helped me maintain the kind of spur-of-the-moment cooking style that feels normal to me — a valuable thing when pretty much everything else about my life right now does not feel normal. Now all I need is a bigger freezer. from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3ctLE4P

http://easyfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love.html

#EasyFoodNetwork #ComfortFoodRecipes #EasyRecipes #GoodFood #BestComfortFoodRecipes #TastyFoodv

0 notes