Pandemic Food Blog 1

Spent more time cooking. Can’t get take-out and have to use the goods I get. Gives something to work on. Might as well share. Don’t expect some amazing insta food blogger picture quality. Here goes.

Tried my hand at homemade Hoisin sauce. Pretty happy with my first attempt.

Hoisin sauce:
⅔ soy
⅓ Mirin
about a dl soy so scale up or down from there.

1 Chili chopped
1tbs red flakes
1tbs brown sugar
1tbs honey
1tbs peanut butter
1tps peppercorns
1tps cayennes
Cloves

put in a pot and reduce by a third, until sticky and like a glaze.


Hoisin Roasted Chicken & Potatoes

Used the sauce to roast a chicken.

Salt on chicken, Brush with Hoisin.
Half a whole garlic, one half in the chicken half in pan.
Peel potatoes.
Toss potatoes in Hoisin. Put in pan.
Pan in oven. 40 min at 230 degrees.

Chicken and Rice bowl

Plain rice however you normally do that.
Leftover roasted chicken.
Refried potatoes, I used duckfat why not.
Quick pickle of cucumber. Just mirin and salt, over de-cored and sliced cucumber.
Fermented pickled cabbage. Look up a sauerkraut recipe.
Fried egg, crispy.
Hot sauce to taste.

The Apocalypse

I’m gonna use this place more. Something to do, to keep sane during the goddamn apocalypse. For context it is April 2020 at the moment. So I’ll just post stuff.
I can’t write songs or music and I feel like an pompous ass when trying write poetry so. Same stuff I write but might see some out of left field posts. Some more personal stuff or just snippets or writings or musings.
Might be terrible but so what the world just ended.   

(Lack of) Control

One of my first posts I made on here was in anger. Or frustration, I guess that is a more accurate word. The post was titled “F#!% you BioWare!” was out of frustration for the game Dragon Age Inquisition (DA:I). Bioware the company behind the Dragon age games also made the Mass Effect games, Mass Effect 2 remains one my favorite games of all time. The Dragon Age franchise of games had also been some of my favorites, even the not so great DA:2 was really enjoyable and I played through it maybe a few to many times. That is high praise indeed I know, so what prompted this change, my love for Bioware suddenly turning to anger. I know being angry with Bioware is pretty much the norm now For me it was a bit different, I.couldn’t play DA:I. I could not move the player character. A small change in the control scheme made it impossible for me to play. Those controls were locked on PC and I can’t play on console. Here’s the thing I’m disabled, basically I can (mostly) only play using the mouse. Bioware had for some reason chosen to lock the actions of the mouse button. I was mad, not that I couldn’t play the game, I’m used to that. I now realize I was mad because I thought I could play and I couldn’t. My expectations were shattered. I knew I could play Dragon Age and was looking forward to play My game when other games are a gamble or just plain impossible for me. In the end I played through DA:I with some annoying phenagiling and workarounds but my experience was tainted and I never truly enjoyed my time in Thedas. Something good came out of it though. I wrote my final thesis for my university degree about accessibility in video games. Fast forward to today. Video Games have the same problems for me. Seems like things are changing, slowly but surely. I see colorblind settings in most AAA titles and pretty extensive ones at that. Subtitles are getting better as well. Seems like accessibility options are getting more mainstream. Doesn't’ help me personally. Then a big development happened (fairly recently). Microsoft came out with the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Announced back in 2018. The controller lets you connect any 3rd party device to one the many usb ports. Letting you customize this xbox controller in any way you need. This still confines you to a pc or xbox for your gaming. Compared to no choices at all that is huge. So I bought the thing as soon as I was able, I must confess the hype got to me. The controller got a lot of buzz on the back of its Superbowl ad. Now I have the thing but then the question becomes what to do with it. The controller is nothing on its own, it is very simple and barebones. It is meant to be customized, to be adapted to my needs. With a little research on Microsoft website and some help from google, I found the Quadstick controller. A joystick designed for Quadrapeligecs. Makes it possible to play most anything only by using your mouth and face. Combined with the Adaptive Controller it would give me access to pretty much every Xbox and PC game. If I can set it up right. So I bought one. That is only the start of a journey. Now comes the hard part. Setting everything up and getting the software up and running. Then learning and mastering the Quadstick. I set a lofty goal, I want to beat a From Software game, From games have a reputation for being some of the most difficult games. If I can beat a Dark Souls game or even Sekiro, I should be able to play almost anything. I probably won’t be playing a new Dragon Age game anytime soon though.

Tears in Rain, A Summer Rain mystery - Chapter 11

11 - Veneer

Not very it turned out.

The veneer of sophistication and class was as thin as the week old chipped polish

on my nails.        

Tears in Rain, A Summer Rain mystery - Chapter 10

10 - The Menagerie 

When I left the Neon Diner It had gotten late and I still had a job to do even if I’d just been roped into another mystery, I couldn’t abandon Nora. She was actually paying me.
I had agreed to meet Stark at the morgue the next morning to look at the body. I had asked to borrow a black light from the precinct in return, the request had surprised Stark but he agreed to it without hesitation. That’s what friends a for, I guess.
To think that just this morning I had been bored out of my mind with no jobs and nothing to do other than daydrinking the day away. Now it felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day. I guess when it rains it pours.     
Speaking of. It had begun to rain in earnest. Not as bad as expected. Not that I mind either way, I like the rains. It was a constant light fall obscuring the city’s uglier parts making it a sleek neon and water soaked beauty. I still had time so I walked through the city heading to Nora’s place of employment, hoping that her shift wasn’t over.

I found my way to the address she had given me, it was on the westside in the Boiling Pot.
It wasn’t quite mainstreet but Nora’s club was not far from the hustle of downtown.
The neighborhood had gotten its name after a showdown between the Firebreather and the Superior Seven, the fight had turned the water in all the water towers to steam. After the fight the locals nicknamed their home the Boiling Pot. The name stuck and now the investors doing all the gentrification use it. Sounds neat I guess and it helps with appeasing the less inclined of the locals.
The Boiling Pot was one of those former rundown neighborhoods that would have been scary just a few years ago. Now the gentrification had made it a home to coffee shop chains and hipsters. Well, it wasn’t quite there yet, the makeover had been quick and some of the old was still visible under the surface. The new really just a thin veneer.   
The club was the same thing, part of the old school trying to fit into the new, and failing.
A big neon sign.read The Menagerie in purple letters next to a picture of bird in a cage also in neon. It probably hadn’t changed since neon signs were invented.
The signs boasted live music, drinks and beautiful woman. A couple of goons in ill-fitting suits were hanging out in front. Old school.
Looked like a nice place at first glance. Well it tried very hard to look classy. It worked at least on the outside. I went inside to find out exactly how deep the surface level of class really went.

Tears in Rain, A Summer Rain mystery - Chapter 9

9 - History

“Let’s not go there” I gave him a small smile that I didn’t really mean or put effort into. Ancient history, Ha, doesn’t feel that ancient. Call it what it really is, trauma, that’s what he meant. Hell, I was past it but somethings you never get over. My ‘history’ with metas and masks, almost killed me. It broke my heart and a lot of bones. Stark knew my rules and where they came from. I don’t work meta cases. And I don’t talk about her, about Julia. But I couldn’t get mad at him. Stark really/truly cared but he didn’t know the whole story, I couldn’t tell him. tell anyone for that matter, And when I say that. I mean I’m not allowed to. That story is burrowed deep in some D.O.D vault guarded by a forest of red tape, top secret beyond black. Stark had read my service record, the non-redacted one. He knew I lost someone and that I blamed myself. Classic survivors guilt I’m told. Call it whatever you want.But this wasn’t it. This case was not about me. I could help with this. Couldn’t hurt, right? “If you ever want to talk. About her. About anything. I’m alway here. You know that right?”“Yeah. yeah” I remembered Julia. “Thanks”. I said and gave him a honest smile and meant it. 

“About the case” I said, wanting to change to the subject  “Can’t tell you anything you don’t already know, not really. But we can solve this we’re not half bad you know” I took a sip of my coffee, realizing it had gone cold.“Yeah I know, I just hoped you knew more about him, thought you knew who he was” He said rubbing his forehead,“Is that what this is? You thought that I knew who he was and that I’d tell? Give up his identity. You know how dangerous that is. Illegal too” I responded, surprised.“I know the rules” he replied “You aren’t above breaking a few”“Bending” I corrected.  “Well I don’t know. So there, but we can do without” I said honestly.

The rules Stark was talking about was the Masked Hero Act. You see the rules in our state, our city, is a bit different than in the rest of country. The masked heroes patrolling our city are important. Not for security, not really. Don’t get me wrong, they do good and make people feel safe. No if you ask me the good they do is probably matched by the bad they attract. The freaks that hound our city looking for a challenge. But that is not it, Millenium City IS the city of heroes. People come from all over to watch the metas in bright colors fly through the skyline. We need them, we can’t be Millenium City without them. So the city passed the Masked Hero Act back in the 80ties. It makes life a bit harder for people like Stark and myself. The law, in the words of our illustrious politicians, is there to “protect the privacy of the individual that choose to wear a mask and protect our great city”.

Basically it means powered vigilantism was legalised and has been legal for over 20 years. It means that all criminal cases involving masks and metas goes to the Major Crimes taskforce. It also made it illegal to run fingerprints or blood from masked heroes, only F.A.T.E agents can do that. Meaning that it is illegal to reveal the identity of superheroes. Makes cases like this very delicate. Stark didn’t want to lose his job, get sued or worse. He was a cop, a good one. Real police. above all he wanted to solve this thing. I knew the mystery gnawed at him as much as it did me. I could help, screw my self imposed rules and pity. A man was dead.“How can I help? Anything. Just don’t make me do something super illegal” I said    

Tears in Rain, A Summer Rain mystery - Chapter 8

8 - Legends

“He could fly right, we don’t have a list of his powers. We don’t know much about him actually. You pulled his file way back when, you’ve read it”I eyed him suspiciously “How do you know about that?”“I know people too” he smiled“Sure, don’t tell me” I said “Those files are not worth the paper it is printed on. It is redacted as hell and it won’t tell you anything useful anyway. It is just his legend” I said with old resentment.“His legend?” Stark asked“Sorry, craft talk old habit.” I said
“His cover, his persona. It is the identity the company gives you, makes up. Just a story you tell. It’s what they call the lie you tell. Makes it sound more noble I guess… It is to protect you, the lies. It is what you tell your family, your friends” I looked at him forlorned. “Or the thing you hide behind, to infiltrate, to turn or to get what you want.” I still sounded bitter.
“I’ve had a few legends, you don’t even know all the things I did over there” Not about you, Rain. Focus..
“I digress. With metas the term applies I think. We make them legends, it makes them more than humans. Makes us normal boots on the ground feel safe. Makes the enemy more scared of us. It is a good piece of counter intelligence really. If any outside forces gets their paws/hands on the intel all they get is a scary story, a myth, a legend” I said.“So our files are as good as theirs” Stark grumbled. “Better even” I smiled “sorry not helping”"Listen" I said “All I’m saying is, if it says he’s bulletproof you have to take it for what it is, a story. Not the facts. Trust the evidence. He sure as hell can bleed we know that.” “Yeah, tell me about it” He said. “I’m sure there is a file out there with all the dirty secrets but that was way above my paygrade. I don’t think the really big guns even have to tell the government anything if they don’t want to, I mean what's gonna happen? they’ll get arrested I don’t think so” I said“Hmm, I’ll go on what we then, which isn’t much. This one is good at keeping his secrets, Rain” He said.“They all are” I said “I’ll help if I can”“I appreciate it, but I can manage you don’t have to drench up ancient history, I know how hard that can be” He said