camp chaos online

Found the post from November 2007, but a) there was only one recommendation, and a LOT can change in 2.5 years and b) I'll like to shop around a bit rather than just go straight to one shop.

Thoughts, anyone? I'm in Burnaby, so Van/Burnaby/New West is preferred. Tri-Cities/Surrey/Richmond/Delta will be considered if the work is truly outstanding.

Thanks, vancouver!

As you may have heard elsewhere by now, SF author Spider Robinson's lost "my best friend, teacher, partner, lover and co-grandparent" - his wife Jeanne - to cancer this past weekend. See Spider's first public words on his beloved's passing from this plane ...

[shameless plug]
As of eight or so weeks ago, when Jeanne ceased chemotherapy, and three weeks ago, when another benefit auction was announced, Spider and Jeanne were still "most gratefully" accepting donations to assist with medical costs, etc. Her passing does not magically evaporate the bills already accumulated, and it will no doubt be some considerable length of time before Spider is mentally and/or emotionally capable of remunerative work. So We Dream for Jeanne contains a PayPal link to donate to the Robinsons directly, and a link to applicable eBay auctions. There is also another auction listed on Spider's home page

Also, Jeanne's partners in The Stardance Movie have indicated their intent is to move forward with the project in Jeanne's memory. As with any Major Artistic Endeavour, sponsors and funding are in short supply. So those so inclined can add themselves to the roll of Honourary Stardancers (also via PayPal, though it lists a snail mail option for cheques) to keep Jeanne's dream alive.

If neither of those strikes your fancy, many of Spider's books, including the Stardance Trilogy (see previous paragraph) are available as eBooks from Baen.com.

See also the Callahanians LJ community

Yes, times are tough for many if not most people. But they just got a brutal metric truckload harder for Spider, their daughter Terri, and Jeanne's mother and siblings. As one who has benefited from Spider's words, I thought I would recite a few that he might benefit from in the time of his great loss.
[/shameless plug]

Dance among the stars at last, good lady, and rest in peace

***CRASH***

ed. note: Chico Bags are reusable bags that fold into pocket size pouches and can be clipped anywhere, so you never have an excuse for taking a single-use bag at the store. My normal M.O. has four of them, two hanging off each purse strap. They come in polyester (the Original ones I have) and recycled PET, as well as other styles including messenger bags. The ones I have are around $5US each, but they're having a clearance special on older bags after re-designing their logo - five bags for $10US.

Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 11:46 AM
Dear Chico Bag,

I originally purchased a light blue non-branded Chico bag at Rainbow Market in San Francisco, CA in the spring of '07. I was so pleased with it that when Whole Foods at home in Canada offered the branded bags, I bought three more (I think it was late summer of '08) - another light blue and two red. Unfortunately, the carabiner on one of the red bags has failed, and that bag has nearly gotten lost a couple of times. The bag itself is still in great condition, so I'd like to make some sort of arrangement to replace the 'biner and put the bag back into service again.

Thanks,
Geri

Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 13:56pm

Hi Geri,

I would be happy to send you a caribiner. Can I please have your address? We appreciate your business!

Thank you,
{name redacted}
Customer Service ChicoBag

I was fully prepared to pay for the part and the international shipping to Canada - I like these bags that much. But these folks Get It about how to look after people.

from Anjelika Petrochenko, general manager LiveJournal US

However, the code update that you refer to is not live and did not have any chance to go live. That was a beta release, we always push code to beta to see if everything works correctly. In many cases it does not and we either fix bugs or pull the code from the final release plan.

We were going to add a gender field to the sign up user flow, which is fine, but by mistake it became a mandatory "female/male" field for everyone. This is why this is not going live. And this is what beta releases are for, to see problems and solve them before any user faces a problem.

Whether this is truthful, or the uproar convinced them the error of their ways is semi-irrelevant (though I'm sure y'all know which *I* think without me having to draw you a map). As my friend technoshaman put it - It did not go live. While this is sort of proof of a negative, I still say that, whether we really tipped the balance or not, we got what we wanted. So keep it up, folks, not just with LJ, but with whomever you have Issues. Get the word out, stuff somebody's inbox... it does work.

(via annathepiper)

Just saw this on celandineb’s journal: apparently LJ is about to make the Gender field a mandatory setting on new account creation, and word has it that you’ll have to set it to Male or Female. “Unspecified” will no longer be allowed. Details on this can be found over here.

Since I have several transgendered and genderqueer friends, I find this generally displeasing, especially when coupled with the likelihood that this’ll lead to gender-targeted ads for non-paying users of the system. As per synecdochic’s post, I’ll be sending in some feedback on this to (politely) express my displeasure. I recommend any of y’all who feel likewise do the same.

ETA: some research has turned up the email address of the general manager of US operations: anjelika@livejournalinc.com

Please copy any email you send to Feedback to her.

I've stood by them despite the history of various shenanigans and thoughtlessnesses, but this is just about the last straw. I spend more time on Ravelry and Facebook these days anyway.

grrrrrrrrrr ....

Since my Plan A recipe for supper didn't work out - due to the produce I'd been planning on using needing to be composted - I had to come up with something on the fly. Normally I suck at improvising in the kitchen, which is why I'm a better baker than cook. But since the produce I did have was pretty much the same as from the last major dish I made (which was what cynderella328 had for lunch today), I needed to shake up the flavour some. This is what I came up with

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Annie's horseradish mustard
several Tbsp minced ginger
a couple dashes Thai fish sauce
(no garlic as it's not a flavour cynderella328 enjoys)

combine with a few Tbsp of water, and pour over ~1lb of sliced tofu. Stir every few minutes while slicing everything else to distribute marinade.

2 carrots (I would have put more but CynHubby finds carrots too sweet in generally savoury dishes)
1/2 a small red onion
1 japanese eggplant (the long skinny ones)
1 sweet pepper
4 small zucchini
1 medium summer squash
~1/2 cup toasted cashews

toast raw cashews in pan, stirring frequently.

in wok saute onion, then add eggplant and carrots. meanwhile in frypan, fry tofu. when removing the tofu from the marinade, reserve liquid for use with squashes.

transfer fried tofu to plate with lid, then transfer eggplant mix to frypan (eggplant takes a while).

Toss zucchini & summer squash with marinade, then deposit all in wok. Stir frequently to distribute marinade, but also allow to simmer with lid to completely cook vegetables. 90 seconds before service, return tofu to wok for reheating.

serve garnished with the toasted cashews.

Notes for next time - more salt, more tofu, less zucchini

ETA, the next day: cynderella328 pronounced the results "yummy!"

I don't know the man, but it seems like a quarter of my friends' list does. May his music and his memory shine on, and bring some solace to his loved ones.

Rest in peace, drfilk.

**CRASH**

This recipe is a combination of cynderella328's, one from a covenmate, and two from Recipe Source, because none of them seemed 'right'. I brought it to a coven meeting last night

1) Take 2 cups dried chickpeas, and soak overnight in cold water that's several inches deeper than the peas. Drain and rinse.

2) Cook in fresh water (approximately 10 cups) with 7-8 bay leaves for approximately one hour. Peas should be soft but not falling apart. Drain, reserving up to 1 cup of the cooking water in case the puree is too thick. Some folks save all the cooking water as vegetable stock for other recipes.

3) Put half the cooked chickpeas in the food processor, or all of them if your machine will take it. If you do all of them at once, remember to double the rest of the ingredients in the next step.

4) Add 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 4 generous teaspoons of tahini (sesame seed paste), 2 teaspoons of salt, and 4 cloves of garlic. Puree until all peas are finely chopped, but not completely smooth. Taste and adjust flavourings as necessary. If you want a thinner & smoother hummus, add small quantities of the reserved cooking liquid and process until it looks right to you. Repeat with other half of chickpeas.

5) Enjoy with chips, vegetables, crackers, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

The covenmate's reply to the last instruction after I posted the recipe on our group blog? "What struck my fancy was the desire to find a spoon and chase everyone else away from the dish." darthfrog reported that our half of the batch was "a bit dry" today (about 24h after making it), so although I loved the texture when it was freshly made, I may thin it out with more liquid next time.

reposted from http://www.purple-ducky.com/2009/0…
with the necessary food allergen modifications (in brackets)



5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour (I used Bette Hagman's Featherlight Mix - The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, p. 40)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg (I used 1T Ener-G powdered egg replacer & 4T water)
3 tablespoons milk (I used Breeze Almond Milk)
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional) (Enjoy Life dairy-free chocolate chips)
A small splash of vanilla extract (I used 1/4 tsp)
1 large coffee mug (I guess I must have small mugs because I needed a bowl!)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. (My oven is *old* - I did 4 minutes at 700 watts)

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! (Didn't rise over my bowl, which was half full of raw batter)

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

It is as easy and fast as claimed. And as dangerous. It is a little more rubbery in texture then regular oven baked cake, but oh so chocolaty, so who cares LOL. I am interested in seeing what else could be added, maybe some cherries, or cherry preserves for a lovely chocolate cherry cake. MMMMMMMMMMMMM! The possibilities are endless!

x-posted here, celiac and my FB page

I promised a covenmate I'd post the recipe for this to our group blog after the last potluck I brought it to. Since I'm about to bring it to the next one ;) I figured I'd better get around to posting it there, and here since that's a simple copy & paste

It's a combination of a recipe from an allergen-friendly cookbook and one from a newspaper clipping taped into one of my paternal grandmother's mainstream cookbooks. The flour blend I use for the topping is Featherlight Rice Mix from The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread by Bette Hagman - Owl Books (Henry Holt and Company), New York, NY, 1999, p. 40. The mix is 1 part rice flour, 1 part tapioca flour 1 part cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon of potato FLOUR (not potato starch) for each cup of the other stuff (1 cup of each and 3 tablespoons, for instance). I mix this up 9-12 cups at a time so it's always on hand for recipes like this.

The base recipe for the topping is from There is a Way: An Allergy and Food Sensitivity Cookbook by Beth Gorham - There is a Way Publishing, Doaktown, NB, 1987, p. 85. The base recipe calls for adding extra sugar and the seasonings to the apples before adding the topping. My apples don't need the extra sugar, and I put the seasonings in the topping.

Six cups sliced apples with the peel left on from my backyard tree (Macintoshes, my foster sister thinks), thawed from bag in freezer. Pour into a 2.5 qt/L casserole dish, arranging the apples evenly.

Topping
1 and 1/2 cups flour mix
1 cup tightly packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil

Combine flour, sugar, spices and salt. Add enough oil to make mixture 'crumbly'. Pour over apples.

Bake uncovered in a 350F over until done, approximately 45min - 1 hour. Add an extra 10min if the apples are not completely thawed before cooking begins.

Enjoy hot, or cold the next day - if any makes it that far ;)