#i don't have a microwave in my apartment so i use the stove and toaster for everything

[mmmthornton]

With all due respect, no human food recipe should involve wrapping food in a blanket and putting it on your couch?! There's a way simpler way to do this while using actual cooking instruments.

After the water boils, turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and then put the top of the pan on like this:

Using a clean napkin or kitchen towel, wrap it totally over the pan top and secure near the handle with a rubber band. Make sure the edges aren't in danger of getting crispy but you're only doing this when the pan is on the lowest setting so it should be ok. Leave for 15-20 min and then check to see if the water is completely absorbed. If it is, turn off the burner and take it off the heat but leave the top on.

My Cuban mother says the traditional way to do this is with newspaper but like we don't have those in 2023 just laying around and we're thinking sustainably here so napkins it is. Either way, the idea is to retain any moisture the rice still needs while also letting it vent what it doesn't, and the cloth also keeps cold water from condensing and dripping on the rice which will make it uneven and gooey.

Other important aspects of cooking rice: before cooking rinse it a couple times in cold water until it runs clearish, the right amount of water to cook it in is one finger joint up from the surface of the rice, and don't stir cooked rice but instead fluff it with a fork or a spatula when you're ready to serve.

I'm just interested in this. Pls reblog for a bigger voting block.

[rassicas]

hello!! lately i've been thinking about houses/interiors in splatoon as i've been pondering some up for my ocs, & i was wondering if there's any info on them in canon? so far the best that comes to mind is the splat 1 loading screen & that new art of acht, but I was curious on if there's anything about apartments & interiors specifically... tysm! :-]

Unfortunately we don't have much, and considering how much living spaces vary in real life even within the same culture, it's hard to say x thing applies to all splatoon households. the game developers are japanese, the game takes place in japan, and takes inspiration from japanese culture and daily life. taking that into consideration, where canon fails, i use modern japanese living spaces as a reference for imagining what an interior may look like in inkadia. headcanon aside. time to dig up what canon info i've found regarding homes and living spaces

In the Octotune album booklet we get one of the few examples of an inkling home interior, the Houzuki mansion. though pearl, as well all know, is Insanely Fucking Rich and our average inkling is NOT going to be living this luxuriously. one useful tidbit we can get from the text is this:

Q5: Wow! Is this the garage? Pearl: That's just the shoe storage, man.

the word she's using for shoe storage is ゲタばこ which is a cubby you're meant to put your shoes in before entering a house, located in an entryway. in other words, implying a cultural norm of taking your shoes off before entering (something adhered to more strictly in japan vs america). not like this is really followed in official art showing inkfish at home (except for this s1 era piece of an inkling watching tv) probs because shoes are cooler lol

let's see what else ummm bedding.

s1 and s3 dialogue for flounder heights mention futons. traditional japanese bedding typically laid out on the floor when in use, and folded up and put away in a big cubby during the day. its a common sight to see them hung out in the sun on the balcony to not get moldy. some of those things draped over the railings in flounder heights are futons.

not everyone in japan does this though- youll still see western style beds or even futons on bed frames since taking it out and putting it away is a pain in the ass. also not every apartment has a built in proper futon storage space. (...mine does, but i repurposed it into another closet and just use western style bedding lol)

same is true for inkadians too -the bed in the s1 splashscreen doesnt look like a futon to me. point is there's options for what do with the bed situation.

speaking of the apartment splashscreen for s1, there is a blurb in the artbook about it and how inklings are typically pretty tidy with their living spaces.

im sure there's plenty of messy inklings too. anyway there's just a few tidbits about living spaces in relation to canon info. unfortunately there's Nothing about the bathroom or how they bathe, though previously i shared my headcanons about how i think that could work. for the kitchen i think all we can do is assume. Acht has a fridge how surprising /s at the start i mentioned that i take inspo from japanese life where canon fails. ive spent a few years in japan so this works conveniently for me LOL but i assume most people following me do not have that experience. so for those who wanna take that japan inspo too, here's a few small things that are different in japanese living spaces that ive thought may be true for inkopolis? -living spaces are so much smaller on average (of course) -washing machines do not use heated water and like Nobody has a drier in their house. laundry is hung on the balcony, or by the window if there is none, to dry. you want a drying machine? go to the laundromat. -big ovens? like for baking? casseroles? this is Rare in japanese homes. more likely youll see like a little toaster oven. microwaves with an oven setting. i have a gas stove with a fish grill drawer like this. ive never seen this in america but i KNOW in my heart inklings would have this -tiniest fucking kitchens sometimes. a pattern ive often seen for little one room apartments is a pathetic kitchen space in the hall between the entrance and bedtoom where its like. one sink. and space for an electric burner. you want counter space go fuck yourself. if youre a broke inkling who doesnt cook much this may be the option for you. -i think every house ive been in has had a genkan in some form.

[unstoppable-juggleknob]

Things my roommate does that either bother me a little or make me want to go into a frenzied rage:

Girl never checks the mail. I was gone for 2 weeks and she did not go near the mailbox a single time, so of course packages got stolen.

Lets the kettle keep whistling for upwards of 10 minutes when making tea. I promise you it will still be hot if you turn the burner off.

Gets in the shower right when my alarm goes off, like clockwork. Best part is my alarms are at different times each day, and I literally always have to leave the house before she does.

Doesn't own a toaster and claims we don't have room for one anyways. She's been in this apartment almost 3 years so ofc I didn't buy a damn toaster before I moved in. I have to turn the whole oven on to make toast.

Uses more than one pot or pan for every meal of the day. We don't have a dishwasher and the sink is tiny.

Will only reheat food on the stove. She bought a microwave for the "aesthetic" and never uses it.

Leaves food out on the counter for several hours to "cool" because she's "only ever given herself food poisoning once." No I will not be sampling the risotto that's been sitting out since 9pm yesterday, thank you very much.

End rant.

[solarpunkism]

☀️Summer Energy Saving Tips☀️

Seeing your electric bill jump or double in the summer while just trying to maintain a livable space is extremely stressful. Having personally lived in the dry California desert, an unconditioned New Jersey apartment, and now the sweltering midwest, I have learned lots of different ways to beat the heat.

To give you the most information, I have also researched tips from energy companies and from eco-friendly sites and bullet point dumped every single one I found that was useful and affordable.

In this post I have compiled them into a list of quickest/easiest, and will have a second post up soon of less instant but still affordable and practical tips (second tier ideas, if you will).

☀️🤘Stay cool, stay safe, solarpunks! Please comment or reblog with any idea or solution that I have not included, and I will try to edit/add it to the list.

🧊Leave all doors to unoccupied/unused rooms closed. If it is unused, it doesn't need to be part of the cool air flow.

🧊Limit oven use, if possible. Cook with stove tops, toaster ovens, or microwaves. Stoves tend to generate a much larger amount of heat that lingers, especially when it is already warm.

🧊If your temperature is controlled by thermostat, keep all electronics and appliances away from it--they generate heat that can prematurely set off your thermastat.

🧊LED bulbs are the best bulb for staying cool because they do not generate heat, like incandescent ones. If you do not have LED bulbs, simply turning off as many lights as you can reduces heat.

🧊If you are going to be gone for 8+ hours, raising your thermostat temperature  {most electric companies say 78-86°, so somewhere in this range will be easiest to return to, depending on how cool you keep your home} until you return will lower your overall energy consumption.

🧊Use hot water as little as possible--cool showers, cool water when washing dishes & clothes--will reduce the heat being generated and then eliminated by temperature control.

🧊Use your big appliances (dish washer, stove, wash machine, dryer) at the coolest part of the day. This may mean getting up early or doing it late at night, whatever is most sustainable for you. What this does is similar to the tip above; reduces heat being generated by your appliances, and makes it easier on your thermostat to control that heat.

🧊Limit light & heat entrance by keeping blinds/curtains closed. DIY energy saving curtains can be made by hanging up a comforter or dark blanket over a curtain rod, or even nailing it directly to the wall. I have hung up rugs inside the window frame, and hung a thick blanket outside the window frame, and this has reduced the heat from entering through the window amazingly. $50 energy saving curtains are not necessary--you probably have everything you need lying around the house. If you have no available blankets, towels, or rugs, hanging up sheets, clothes on hangers, or using tinfoil will help as well. Any insulation will eliminate heat. Two ways to tell if its helping is 1. Is the room darker with the covering? And 2. When you touch the covering, is it less hot than touching the glass behind it?

🧊Heat leakage through door and window cracks don't have to be professionally tackled--my mom would roll up old towels and stuff them tightly into the windowsill. She would also sew a long tube and fill it with beans/rice and would use these on the window sills and at the bottoms of doors. Easy to kick away when you need to open the door, it is still heavy enough to keep air from getting through.

🧊Ceiling fans are your first level of defense, then energy saving fans (if possible), and then box fans. To make a box fan more effective, keep it clean, and with it's back not against a wall. Putting a pan of ice (or even cool water) in front of your box fan can sometimes cool a room down faster, too.

🧊Unplug any appliance not in use! This goes for TVs, computers, microwaves, etc. Leave your fridge plugged in, though, always.

Stay tuned for post 2 and 3! I am also compiling energy saving tips for specifically humid and dry climates, as both are very different; I hope you find them helpful as well.

☆ (Disclaimer: Suggestions such as "buy a new refrigerator so it is more energy friendly" I have not included because my blog is aimed towards people who are struggling financially. I want to give them information that they can use today, not tell them about another item that they need but cannot afford. There are many energy-saving devices and technologies out there, but this list is not about what you can buy but what you can eliminate/incorporate as soon as possible.)