Culinary Camaraderie: Creamy Rice Pudding

Whenever my fridge is nearing emptiness and the craving for sugary substances is upon me, I find myself almost always having just enough leftover ingredients for rice pudding. In this particular case I doubled the recipe as I thought that a measly 4 serving size batch wasn't going to cut it. I was pleasantly surprised when J and I had enough for a full 3-day pudding feast.

The following recipe is in its original form for a 4 serving size portion.  I left the raisins out of the batch as whole and added them on a per serving basis.

Recipe (Source: All Recipes)

3/4 cup uncooked white rice (I used sushi rice)
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; stir rice into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

-In a clean saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, and raisins; cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

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Photography: Sugar Skulls

A shoot I did back around mid-October with model Arial (Model Mayhem) and MUA Elysia. The rest of the set can be viewed here on my Flickr page: Day of the Dead set

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Culinary Camaraderie: Gingered Cranberry Sauce

This Thanksgiving we were given the task of providing the traditional bowl of coagulated red fruit mess which no holiday table can apparently do without. Personally, i've never really liked cranberry sauce as its always come across as too bitter, full of unwanted nuts, and always seems to come presented atop a doily. This year, however, I made the discovery of this delightfully easy recipe that even I, the traditional nemesis of this dish, enjoyed most thoroughly.

The secret, my culinary comrades, is ginger.

Recipe (Source: Cooking Light ):

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger 
• 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries 
• Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 9 minutes or until the cranberries pop. Cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

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Evangelion Pinky:St

I've had these figures on my desk for the last few months and only recently had a chance to go out and photograph them. This particular set of Rei and Asuka has always been one of my favorites and I was excited to see them go on sale as an import back in March.

As per the norm of Pinky:St vinyl, these disassemble and their parts are interchangeable with any others from the line. This particular set came with two figures instead of the singular figure with alternate parts which is most typical.

I feel like the second set I received requires a slightly more "urban" background so photos will be up as soon as the opportunity arises.

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Culinary Camaraderie: London Fog

I almost hesitated considering this a recipe due to the rather short list of ingredients and crude measurements but the delectable final result was too delicious to pass up.

Servings size: 1

-Your favorite mug's worth of milk

-2 tbsp Earl Grey Tea (I used loose-leaf Cream Earl Grey from a local tea shop)

-1 1/2 - 2 tbsp Vanilla syrup 

1. Heat Earl Grey and milk in a small saucepan until just before boiling and stirring often to avoid scalding.

2. Pour contents through tea strainer into mug. 

3. Add vanilla syrup, stir and enjoy. For best results, drink on cold british-like afternoons.

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The Photography Expanse

I wish I had something a little bit more photo-heavy to post but life has been busy of late. Not in the "I hate my life and am going nowhere" sort of way, but rather the opposite. Here in the place of more entertaining visuals is a screenshot of a graphic project I wrote this evening in Python.

I am currently in my fourth week of school with a 13 credit-hour course load to ease my way back into things. I can already see that this was a wise decision based on my currently feral concentration levels. I anticipate this week to be filled with substantially higher volumes and focused amounts of study in order to more readily assure a straight A average.

Besides school, I have been keeping busy with an assortment of outings as well as at-home projects, some of which I hope to document and write about quite soon.  Thanks to winning runner-up to Photographer of the Year the other night at the Guerilla Photo Group 6th Annual Gala, I have become inspired to step up my photography game and take things a bit more seriously. I will be be taking my camera with me to more places as well as indulging in and planning much more elaborate shoots in the near future (so stay tuned).

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Cadaver Lab Field Trip (KALIMA!!)

Last night my friend and I were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the cadaver lab at the medical side of my university. Sadly (and understandably) there was a strict "no photos" rule in place which, in this case, I chose to abide by.

It was late on a Saturday meaning the buildings were as good as deserted as we made our way down "authorized personel only" corridors which eventually gave way to the chilly human anatomy classroom.  Inside, we were met with about 36 covered human bodies laid out on tables beneath arrays of medical lights and large LCD monitors.  At the foot of each plastic sheet was signage indicating the corpses sex, age, occupation, and cause of death. We were chosen one at random, a 92 year old female who died of lung cancer, to uncover.

I was surprised to find myself rather at ease with what I saw under the sheet. The head was wrapped in plastic and cheesecloth which was there to ease students into the idea of dissecting an actual human being. The stage of dissection was at the area of the chest where the rib cage had been cut open with the heart and lungs removed and wrapped in gauze. It was an odd feeling to have a human heart pulled from a chest in front of me and put into my hands. I felt my curiosity bubble as I felt along all the different textures of the organs I was handed.

The second body we looked at, a 72 year old male, struck me a little differently. Much of his skin was still attached and bits around the rib cage was perfectly filleted so it was as if he was wearing a jacket made from his own flesh. I must admit, it is strange to pick up a piece of leather-ish material with a nipple and chest hair still attached :/

After having left, formaldehyde still stinging my nose, I caught myself pondering my own mortality. I pulled at my chest and realized that, underneath it all, I am just like them. I am simply a compilation of various matter which can deconstructed as simply as those laying motionless in the lab.

In the end, we are truly all the same. It is what we decide to do with the time spent in these meat shells that sets us apart in the world and determines the quality of our remarkably temporary physical residency.

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Photography: Fruit in Color

Finally got around to a shoot i've had dancing around my head for some time now. I didn't have a definitive shot in mind for each color/fruit so there was a lot of experimentation in terms of lighting, poses and seasonal fruit choice.

This was my first real attempt at strobe lighting on my own so I was, in the end, incredibly pleased with the final product.

Each of the final images can be seen here on my Flickr page

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Shoes: Painted and Dyed

Because my colorful Japanese Fruits fashion phase is far behind me, I felt a strong need to throw black on top of one of my last remaining "kawaii" items, my Onmyodo shoes. I've never wanted to part with these because of their awesome comfort, leather interior/exterior and rounded-toe shape but now they finally have a permanent place in my closet. 

The (really old and terrible) photo below shows the shoes bright coloring and obnoxious cat print while the above shows the, nearly complete, stealth mod.  Black leather dye was applied to the suede sections while a matte black enamel paint was used to cover the smooth leather panels. One more top coat of paint will be needed to cover the kittens entirely but soon I will have these paired with my newly-polished gaiters. 

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Vintage Leather Gaiters

Got my shipment in from www.steampunkcouture.com today!  Inside this wonderfully old-timey wrapped package were a pair of vintage leather gaiters (shoe covers) stamped with the date 1957 on the inside flap. The outer buckle is made of pleather so its a bit too easy to distinguish against the distressed leather. A bit of shoe polish should fix up the color inconsistencies just fine, though.

 

Sadly, the back of one is a bit torn and catches on my shoe but should be easily fixable.  They wont be worn until the dying of the coordinating shoes is complete which should be sometime within the next week or so. ^_^

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Leading the Busy Life. Part 2

Projects
Photography - Since the beginning of 2012 my number of photo projects has dropped to below half of what last year heralded in. This is one thing I am changing rather immediately with a shoot tentatively scheduled for this afternoon as well as at least 2 more in the coming week. I want to build up a portfolio  of almost completely new material before years end which will no doubt take some time, research and effort.

Music - I've wanted to start creating music for some time now but that time may be well off into the future still. What I have been doing is practicing basic pieces at the piano so as to work at the rustyness i've acquired through years of laziness. Eventually once my skills are up to par, I want to start putting together my own breed of dark-electro/chip-tune/EBM awesomeness.

Video work - This is tied in with photography a bit but I want to start making dark short films with the feel of a Tool music video. 

Writing - This blog. Enough said.

(speaking of writing, I'm exhausted and am going to go back to watching Breaking Bad)

I will make a valiant effort to update with more photos and less ADD yammering from here on out.

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Leading the Busy Life. Part 1

So many things filling in the gaps of time between work and school, so much in fact, that its become a bit overwhelming to think about without some sort of written organizational schedule thing. So anyways, for my personal online reference, what is all in progress or soon to be happening?

Video Games
Just recently beat Arkham Asylum which I thought was quite fantastic and pulled me away from Assassins Creed for quite some time. As I have told many people, the fighting style of AA is how I wished Desmond would have laid it down within in the Animus in the first AC.

Speaking of which, I will be back and finishing up AC as well as Halo:Combat Evolved, Gears of War, and Half Life as well as putting in some time with Minecraft, BlazBlue and Skullgirls. I am looking forward to picking up Guild Wars II when the time rolls around and hopefully sneaking Diablo III away from a friend long enough to give it a play-through.

Art
My artistic endeavors have been horribly lacking in the last couple of years and I am very much hoping to make a real effort in the coming months to reverse that. The number one project on the list is the illustration and writing of a short ongoing graphic novel. Ive had a few ideas floating around my head, all of which are currently far too complex for any sort of audience but its all a work in progress. Besides the drawing I am also wanting to work more with fabric by creating simple things for everyday wear as well as going deeper down the cosplay road.

My first officially completed cosplay was done for A-kon 23 and was worn in conjunction with a friend of mine. The idea was pulled from the Uncharted games, 2 & 3 in particular, and our characters were Nathan Drake and Chloe Frazer. The costumes were pulled together a month before the con but upon seeing many fantastic cosplays both online and inperson as well as having our photo creep up on Cosplay America, i'm convinced that my costume construction will not see an end.


Reading
Graphic novels have been my main reading materials besides school books and those have even been a bit shy in volume. Currently, I am reading the 1st omnibus of Hack/Slash which is a fantastic horror themed novel featuring a personal hero of mine; the gorgeous goth-girl badass, Cassie Hack. The graphic novel itinerary is as follows:
- Transmetropolitan
- The Nikopol Trilogy
- Y:The Last Man
- Sandman
- The Umbrella Academy

In terms of novels the books are also sadly stacking up:
- Neuromancer
- Speaker for the Dead
- The Time Machine
- War of the Worlds

Education
Besides the school-related focus on Algebra and technical writing, i've picked up a few books geared towards my future Computer Science focus.

I feel like most things are going over my head in the first chapter of "Learning Java" but i'm also feeling fairly confident that things will start falling into place once the jargon i'm tripping over gets defined. Just this evening I ordered a copy of "Unix in a Nutshell", something i'm rather excited to read into so that my Macs and I can become better friends :3

To be continued...

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Music: Pretty Lights

I have to say that, so far, i'm very much enjoying Pretty Lights. It also helps that their cover art resembles an 80's Sci-Fi novel (much like my copy of Alien Death Fleet)

"glitchy hip-hop beats, buzzing synth lines, and vintage funk and soul samples."

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Nothing Really

Well hello there you much-ignored writing space, you. As is customary, I will apologize to the 0 readers I have and continue on as if nothing has happened, which in terms of this site is true.

I will, however, be posting content that may be of interest (probably not) to various internet adventurers  over the next few months and beyond.

That is really all I have to say. I dont want to get you 0 people all excited about content that may or may  not be coming. Ill just need to prove so by doing.

D.... Out

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What a sad little Miata...

So, I've been having a few car troubles...

Last week during an outing for cosplay supplies I was met with the magical disappearing clutch. In other words, the pedal turned into something of a plaything and I was locked firmly into neutral in a turn lane. In my panic I made my phone calls to friends for help then was met shortly afterward by a police officer who was happening by. The cop offered to push me to the side of the road but in doing so, pushed me into a curb which stopped all oncoming traffic and cracked my bumper.

Once in a parking lot I waited patiently for friends to arrive. My car savvy assistants were unable to diagnose the problem so my vehicle was pushed to a nearby neighborhood.

Later that evening J decided to take a look at the supposed clutch problem which turned out to be an over-zealous leak.

The night was not made any more relaxing by my negligence to take my credit card with me from Applebees.

Since then my car's been towed, i've paid out $300 in clutch repairs and I also have a cracked radiator. Thanks to my incredibly generous best friend, my car now sits in his garage with a brand new radiator for cost.

Oh what a week... I just wish I had enough money for Diablo III

:(

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Minecraft on the 360

For those of you who didn't know, Minecraft was just recently released on the 360.  Thankfully Sadly it was released on my day off so I have spent the last 6 hours in this chair hacking at blocks and my to-do list remains unscathed.

I suppose with a small mansion under my belt, its now time to head out, stretch my legs and partake in some photography fun-time :)

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Uncharted Cosplay

Flight and hotel are booked and A-Kon is right around the corner. Not a lot of time (or money) is left for costuming but my friend and I have decided on a speedy quick compilation of Chloe Frazer and Nathan Drake from the Uncharted games. My particular version will be pulled from Uncharted 2 while the Nathan Drake remains undetermined. The time frame is short but hopefully ill be able to pull this together with the quality standards I desire from cosplay.

Cosplay progress updates to come.

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From Out of the Deep

I think for awhile I simply had forgotten I even had this blog x_x

Its not like I have any readers, which is partly on purpose so that I can avoid writing myself a slew of embarrassments then hearing about it all later over dinner. What do I have to say at this time? Oh, just the usual. My job is sucking the happiness out of me, school organization for fall is stressing me to no end, and I have a small variety of emotional friend conflicts which i'm trying hard to solve.

I like to sometimes think that all my effort and hard work will eventually pay off. I suppose in some respects, it will but I also cant help but think that all my work is in vain. As a person who cherishes efficiency its hard to wrap my mind around the emotional loops I keep catching myself in.

Sadly my head is hurting from my jog and the current conversation im having with a very distraught friend. *sigh* So here's a picture of my cat and I (just because).

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Mangos and Internet Refreshment

Oh what a busy couple of weeks full of new thoughts regarding a future school career coupled with excruciating work days. Considering I havent yet thrown myself in front of a bus form retail-related stress, I think the past weeks havent gone all TOO poorly. Much delicious food has been prepared by me and my wonderful companion which I intend to post about in due time. On a similar note, I am attempting to use my camera more on the delicious edibles which I concoct as well as starting a creative self portrait project thanks to a new trigger I recently received. A tripod is still needing to be procured...

<--- Loser Blogger right here.

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Fresh Cobalt

So during a long weekend trying to keep my mind away from sadder things and my hands busy, I found myself with a new haircut and dye job. A very talented stylist friend of mine managed to pull the exact idea I had floating around and place it firmly on head. During my hermit-weekend I undertook 3 bleaching and a rather complicated/messy dying process which ended in, what I deem to be, a huge success.

The past week has felt like a sleepy sort of blur with school work, outings, and a rather hangover-inducing night at club. I find myself now sprawled out in my underwear in bed watching Top Gear and putting off the writing of a poetry essay.

I need a break from New Mexico like you wouldn't believe.

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Spring be upon us

On my way home from an outdoor dinner with Amelia I couldn't help but notice the blossoms which almost seemed to have sprung up overnight. It was their fragrance that first drew my attention and all at once I realized how happy I was to see the majority of winter behind me.  I've always felt refreshed during the spring and fall seasons due to the vast transitional qualities they hold.  I like to believe that spring will bring about many of the changes i've been hoping for during these past stagnant winter months. 

Tonight i'm meeting with Ariana to see Nico Vega and Hyperland at The Launchpad which i'm hoping will be a relaxing night of music and good company. 

Sometimes you don't realize how hard it is to focus on yourself until you jump into the project with both feet. 

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So Easily Distracted

So I thought this may be a good outlet for my daily ramblings and and other such related brain activity.  My goal is to write here every day for the next couple weeks in the attempts to hopefully organize some of my thoughts and make, at least a little more sense out of the collection of days that make up my life.

Right at this moment, however, I am distracted away from my writing by episode 3 of the The Walking Dead which has been offering delightful amounts of zombie killing as background entertainment.  Its going to be interesting to see how the next couple weeks pan out as i'm determined to stay as busy as possible and will be working hard to discover who I really truly am as an individual.

I normally like to brag that I have a natural talent for writing but Im just going to put this out there; this entry was so very beyond terrible.

And just like that I get a must unexpected text message...

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