Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

What I notice is that it's folded up rather than being on a beach with someone in it, @WoomyNNYes ....

@Sunsy Not bad today. We did a three hour hike to visit a waterfall… with each layer it got harder, and we had to scramble up wet rocks to reach the top. Fun, the view was quite nice, but I’m definitely taking a rest for another few hours. It was also pretty hot too! At times I did have sweat pouring into my eyes. It’s not pleasant!

@Losermagnet Now that’s a good choice of films. Speaking of, the BBC ran a really cool article on Princess Mononoke, since it was the 25th anniversary yesterday. They interviewed Neil Gaiman, who wrote the English script, and he described how detrimental Harvey Weinstein was. Give it a read!

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220713-princess-mononok...

As for my own reviews, they’ve gone really well! It’s really hard to pick a favourite since each stands out in its own unique way, but I really liked The Wind Rises, recency bias aside. Whisper of the Heart, Tale of the Princess Kaguya and Mononoke also up there.

They’re good movies for de-stressing, though they bring their own melancholy… but good luck on your interview! Hope you make a good impression!

Howdy, y'all!

How's everyone doing today?

I really fancy going for a hike this weekend, but I don't live near any exciting hike-zones and I don't have a car. Maybe I can bike out to a lake or something!

Also, a question: I sometimes enjoy spending my entire Sunday preparing a meal that takes hours, like a bolognese, handmade gyoza, or char siu pork. Does anyone have recommendations for something like that?

Anything at all's better than being cooped up at home sometimes. It's probably worth biking out for a few hours...

@KateGray
Sometimes on Sunday morning I cooked instant ramen noodle for my breakfast with some vegetables such as carrot, onion spring, bean sprouts, etc and I used extra noodles to get extra portion as 70 gram of dried noodles is not enough for my tummy.

I only ride mountain bike as my vehicles as I cannot drive car nor motorbike, still afraid with high speed and concerning about air pollution so mountain bike is my only vehicles to go to my working place at school and other places as long not too far away.

@KateGray
I'd like to recommend Flemish Beef Stew.
Here's the best recipe in English I could find:
https://www.diversivore.com/carbonnade-flamande

Note: please don't use a pressure cooker or you'll get to experience the fury of a thousand Belgians. 😉

@seaboyluca YESSSSS THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT, thank you!! I have a dutch oven that I like to use for slow-cooking, since I find an actual slow cooker makes things way too watery. I live near a well-stocked beer shop which will definitely have some Belgian beers, too!

@Anti-Matter I would LOVE to make a good ramen some day. It's hard to get/make dashi and that super-tender chashu pork though my bike is a road bike, but there aren't too many mountains around here anyway!

@TheJGG I agree!! And I think the weather will be nice. I feel not only cooped up in my house, but cooped up in the area between my house and the grocery store — I never really get the chance to venture out further. Now is the time!

@KateGray Go for it by all means! Since you don’t have a car the fastest way away would be by bike anyhow. Always look both ways before crossing… and fare thee well my cyclist to be!

@KateGray
Glad I was able to help.

One last suggestion for the side dish, if I may: Belgian witlof (chicory) salad. Chop the vegetable, add chopped apples, mix it with mayonaise and season with a dash of black pepper and a splash of lemon.
Oh, and fries... you need fries.

Happy cooking!

A quick question for anyone here who knows if you don't mind: if you're ignored by someone, does that mean you can't see their posts? I'm not going to name who it is who potentially blocked me unless absolutely necessary since I wouldn't want to berate them for something they chose to do but whenever I click on their profile, it says they have no comments or posts whatsoever, even though they're clearly still posting stuff in the threads. I've never been blocked before so I don't know whether this just happens when that kind of thing takes place but I'm curious nonetheless. Thanks for hearing me out if you're reading this!

@Fizza
I believe that's the case, yes.

@Fizza There's an ignore function and a block function which are separate - if you ignore someone then you stop seeing their posts but they still see yours, whereas block goes both ways.

@seaboyluca @Dogorilla Thanks for letting me know! I don't really know what I did to incur something like this but hey, it's their choice and I have to respect that. You know what they say:

@KateGray here’s another time consuming recipe for another day:

https://www.mylatinatable.com/authentic-mexican-chiles-en-nog...
https://mexicanfoodjournal.com/chiles-en-nogada/

(Both sites cover the same recipe, just linking both to have more options!)

These are a traditional patriotic and fancy food here in Mexico. Expensive to make, but very picturesque, basically food for a special occasion.

I should be trimming down to paddle right now... but I would give up a day of portaging around waterfalls and beaver-dams if I could roll, rim to rim, about a giant bowl filled with chiles, creamy salsa, fruit and meat filling...

It’s like the good version of Rachel’s English Trifle!

@KateGray I'm doing OK, I suppose. I've been a bit depressed recently, though. Hope all is well with you.

@KateGray I may as well jump on the food train while it's hot (heh). While I'm not sure whether or not it would take too long, fully homemade pizza is absolutely to die for. Kneading the dough, mixing the sauce, chopping the toppings, it is some of the most stress-free cooking I've ever done. My personal preference when making them is pepperoni topped with oregano leaves and a tiny smattering of chopped up sausage and chicken. Very basic I know, but it is simply MUAH when it comes to the taste. Get yourself either a detailed cookbook or video guide on standby and it is an amazing time with an even better payoff.

@Eel AH!! Despite Nova Scotia being VERY far from Mexico, it's weirdly easy to get poblanos here — they sell them in my local supermarket, in the regular veg section, and I'm always looking for ways to use them! Thank you!

(I have used my Sunday Cooking Time to make birria, carnitas and tacos al pastor in the past! We also make our own corn tortillas from scratch!)

@seaboyluca I do love a cronchy salad <3

@KateGray ah that's great because you'll definitely want to include tortillas!

Can't eat Mexican food without a tortilla in your other hand.