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slavic-roots-western-mind · 3 months

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Desserts in China

There's quite a large variety of treats and desserts in China (more than you can imagine), so here are some of the most common ones!

Almond jelly/tofu - 杏仁豆腐 - xìngréndòufu Despite the name, almond jelly doesn't actually have almonds in it. Almond jelly is made from gelatin and almond milk, although some recepies use dairy milk instead.

Glutinous rice balls - 汤圆 - tāngyuán These rice balls are made from glutinous rice balls with a sweet filling, such as red bean paste (a pretty popular filling in desserts, I've been fooled more than once when purchasing what I assumed to be a chocolate filled pastry).

Red bean buns - 豆沙包 - dòushābāo One of my favorite desserts so far. These are steamed buns with a sweet red bean paste filling that I'd definitely recommend.

Egg custard bun - 流沙包 - liúshābāo A sweet and savory bun, with a lava-like egg yolk filling. A pretty interesting dessert, as it's both sweet and savory.

Pumpkin cake - 南瓜饼 - nánguābǐng I haven't tried this yet, but it definitely looks good. A fried and crunchy cake with a sweet filling such as red bean paste.

Eight treasure rice pudding - 八宝饭 -bābǎofàn This is a pretty popular dessert, especially during the Lunar New Year. It gets this name becase of the toppings, which are eight or more different types of dried fruits and nuts arranged on top of the sweet rice, with (once again) red bean paste.

Hawthorn stick/ Candied Haws/ Sugar coated haws/ Bingtanghulu - 冰糖葫芦 - bīngtánghúlu This treat has quite a few translations and you may have probably already seen it. This is basically candied fruit covered with a sweet, crunchy and sugary syrup. Traditionally, Hawthorn is used but other fruits such as grapes, strawberries and oranges are also popular options.

Sachima - 沙琪玛 - shāqímǎ I haven't tried this snack yet, but it looks quite fascinating. Sachima is made from fried batter stuck together with a sugary syrup, with an interesting texture.

Sesame balls - 芝麻球 - zhīmaqiú Similar to the rice glutinous balls, this treat is also made from glutinous rice flour with varying fillings including lotus seeds, mung bean and red beans, and sesame seeds.

Water chestnut cake A sweet pan-fried cake made from chinese water chestnut, with a unique semi-transparent appearance.

Wintermelon puff/ Wife cake/ Sweetheartcake - 老婆餅 - lǎopóbǐng This cake has many names, mainly because it has several different origin stories, each more fascinating than the next. This dessert is a flaky pastry with wintermelon, almond (not red bean this time!) paste and sesame filling.

Fortune cake - 发糕 - fāgāo Not a fortune cookie! This is a spongy steamed cupcake cake commonly made for the New Lunar Year celebrations and occasionally other events. They're usually a white-ish or brown-ish color, but they're often dyed bright colors to add extra festivity.

Mooncake - 月饼 - yuèbǐng This is a pretty well-known dessert, commonly prepared for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes are smallish steamd/fried (depends on the region) cakes with a sweet filling that can also sometimes have an egg yolk inside.

Osmanthus cake - 桂花糕 - guìhuāgāo This is a unique traditional pastry made from glutinous rice flour, honey and osmanthus. This cake has a really interesting texture, as it's quite dense but also airy in a way? I'd definitely recommend trying it, as it's not super sweet and goes really well with tea.

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najia-cooks · 7 months

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[ID: A large bowl filled with rice noodles, julienned carrot and cucumber, piles of herbs, and grilled 'chicken' strips; a bowl of sauce with minced chili and garlic is to the side. End ID]

Bún sườn nướng chay (Vietnamese rice noodle salad)

This is a vegetarian ("chay") version of bún gà nướng, a Vietnamese rice noodle ("bún") salad with grilled chicken ("gà nướng"). Chewy rice noodles, fresh vegetables and herbs, and a tangy, slightly spicy sauce combine with grilled or pan-seared 'chicken' to create a rich, flavorful, well-rounded dish. A marinade of lemongrass, sugar, garlic, and vegetarian fish sauce caramelizes around the 'chicken' as it sears, creating a sweet-and-savory crispy coating that perfectly complements the bright, herbacious salad. This dish can be made with Vietnamese sườn non chay, or with any meat substitute you have on hand.

Recipe under the cut!

Patreon | Tip jar

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the nước chấm (dipping sauce):

1/2 cup water

Juice of 1 lime (2 Tbsp)

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1/4 cup vegan fish sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

1 red chili (de-seeded and sliced)

3 cloves garlic, minced

Fish sauce doesn’t take “like” fish, merely fermented and intensely salty. You can buy a bottle of ready-made vegan fish sauce from a Southeast Asian brand such as Au Lac, or you can make your own by combining the following ingredients:

For the vegan fish sauce (nước mắm):

3 Tbsp liquid from a jar of fermented bean curd

1 Tbsp white miso paste

1 Tbsp light soy sauce

1/4 tsp salt

For the chicken (gà):

300g vegan chicken substitute (I used Gardein), or 100g sườn non chay

2 cloves garlic

1 stalk lemongrass (or substitute lemon zest or a bit of preserved lemon pulp)

Juice of 1 lime (2 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp vegan fish sauce

1 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce

1 Tbsp Vietnamese soy sauce

2 tsp vegetarian 'chicken' broth concentrate, or bột nêm chay (optional)

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp neutral oil

Sườn non chay may be found in bags online or at your local Asian grocery–the bags will be labelled “sườn non chay” as well as “vegan meat slice,” “textured soy bean protein,” “vegetarian food,” or “vegan food.”

Bột nêm is a Vietnamese seasoning sold in powder or granule form. Vegetarian (“chay”) versions of the seasoning may contain shiitake mushroom, lotus seeds, carrots, tomatoes, and kohlrabi, as well as salt and MSG. It can be purchased in pouches or boxes from an Asian grocery store, or you can use any other vegetable stock powder.

For the salad:

300g vermicelli rice noodles

2 cups bean sprouts

1 large carrot (julienned)

1 seedless cucumber (julienned)

6 leaves romaine lettuce (julienned)

1 bunch fresh cilantro

1 bunch fresh rau răm (Vietnamese mint), or mint

2 stalks green onion, sliced

Handful of peanuts

Fresh Vietnamese herbs can be found in the refrigerator section of an Asian grocery store, particularly one that specializes in southeast Asian food. You can also experiment with whatever leafy herbs you have on hand.

Instructions:

For the chicken:

1. (If using sườn non chay:) soak meat slices in cool water until rehydrated. Squeeze out excess water and cut each slice in half along its shortest dimension, to get two blocks of the original height and width.

2. Slice lemongrass. Peel away any tough, dry outer leaves to reveal the yellow-green leaves within. Remove the root end of each stalk, as well as the tough green portion at the top of each stalk (reserve this latter to boil in stocks). Thinly slice the tender yellow portion of each stalk.

3. Mix all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Marinate chicken for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the nước chấm and vegetables.

4. Remove the chicken from the bowl, leaving any excess marinade behind. Heat a couple teaspoons of oil on medium in a large pan then sear the chicken, turning once, until deeply golden brown on both sides (or use a charcoal grill). (If using a pan) filter marinade to remove lemongrass slices, then pour extra marinade over the chicken and cook, stirring often, until coated.

5. Cut chicken into strips, or as desired.

For the nước chấm:

1. Mix vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Remove from heat and add minced garlic and chili. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool.

For the salad:

1. Boil the vermicelli according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to halt cooking. Toss with a little bit of neutral oil to avoid sticking.

2. Roast peanuts in a dry pan on medium-low, stirring often, until golden brown and fragrant.

3. Julienne carrot, cucumber, and lettuce. Roughly chop herbs.

4. Plate vermicelli followed by vegetables, herbs, chicken, and peanuts. Spoon some nước chấm over the salad and set remainder to the side to serve.

#Vietnamese #cooking #vegan cooking #vegan recipe #gluten free #cucumber #carrot #mint #green onion #chicken #lettuce

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resonancewitness · 2 months

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imagining "Everything is Lovely" as a form of poetic dialogue

continuing the fanfiction/ clownery from the previous post

...first of all, I have some issue with this translation of 万物可爱

as my level of Chinese is very basic, I find it very entertaining just to stare at the characters, and I loiter a lot just shuffling them around a bit in search of meaning

and at the end, I stay with the sum of “multitude” + “(can) exist” + “love”, letting these three clouds of meaning cross-pollinate, dispensing with grammar structure, without rushing to press them into something superficially-intelligible

for me it is not just “many things are loveable/cute”, but also, for example, “many loves exist”, or, if we imaginatively insert a time-measuring character, "love exists for very long time"

the key line in this song for me is “lotus has taken root under the mud. please, don’t look back, lotus flower”

the symbolism of lotus is that it is a spiritually cleansing flower that represents longevity. the lotus seeds can stay under the dry mud for years until the circumstances are right, the epitomes of patience and resilience

but when they finally sprout and take root, the plant grows for many years.

this line in my mind entered in a poetic dialogue with one of the songs gg sang at “Our Song” show, “Loving You is Loving the Loneliness”:

I only want to hear you say

you are willing to love me

until the end of the world and the next century

I really only want you to say

what am I in your heart?

give me an answer, it is not an extravagant request

...what am I in your heart? ...lotus flower.

say you are willing to love me until the end of the world and the next century

lotus has taken root. it is here to stay, despite everything.

I love the early spring, and I love the late autumn, I love the young, and I will love the old

I love the black hair and I will love the white hair

I love the travellers. life will be simple when they return to the door

are these the same fellow travellers that we had heard about earlier that year? the ones that embrace under the same sky, singing the same song? for whom the miracle thousands of miles away is so beautiful that love goes beyond distance?

does going the miles and days apart from each other feel like sleepwalking? do you feel more awake when you meet?

but it is life either way, not to be disparaged or de-valued just because not all the dreams come true at the same time

I love to be awake, and I love dreaming. I will love the sleepwalking time when I wake up.

so much time apart.

but please don’t look back (with regret), lotus flower

I am willing to chant just to give him a glimmer of hope, - my mind offers from a quote from “Twenty”

yes, there are beautiful things that happened in the past and will never be recreated in the same way, and I love them

and people I love, I will never let go of, when the right time comes

...

what I hear is a beautiful declaration of long-term commitment, a reassurance

this is my galaxy brain, my wild imagination, this is total fanfiction, clownery and cpn

to be continued

#yizhan #witnessing something precious #bjyxszd #everything is lovely #poetic dialogue #songline #fellow travelers #I am willing to chant just to give him a glimmer of hope #now i realise: to love you is to fall in love with loneliness #love goes beyond distance #art connects the private and the generally shared

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cookierunauprompts · 3 months

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Hehe,I’m ready to ramble about DRAGONS!-and a fallen hero!

1.devil passionfruit dragon cookie bio!

"i like sssseeing cookiesss run in FEAR!"

species: dragon (first one ever)

allignment: evil

apperance: devil passionfruit dragon cookie is a relativley thick average height cookie with brown dough, they have silky tourqouise hair tied into pigtails with little eyes at the bottom and another eyeball on their shoulder, they have some seeds in the hair and darker markings on their face,they have spikes on their hair and four wings. they wear They wear scarlet scale armor with magenta accents and a red gemstone in the middle of their torso. They wear armor shoulder blades that have two spikes going up. They wear a helmet with five spikes going up and a diamond shape in the middle. They have a red tail that fades to a palm green. Both of their legs have two light green spikes on the side.

desc:Devil passionfruit dragon cookie embodies the Darkness of Fear, a corruption of their original Virtue of Courage. They were the original owner of Pitaya dragon cookies's Sword and souljam (I think?) on the armor, being stripped of it upon their descent into villainy.

personality: devil passionfruit dragon cookie A true troublemaker decorated in bright red raspberry syrup, they are shown to enjoy enjoy pulling destructive pranks when the other fallen heros became evil. they are shown to especially enjoys throwing their Passion devil Bombs, which blow up like fireworks. Surprisingly, the smoke from their exploded bombs smells sweet and can relieve one of all stress in the world.

in the far past,they were given the task of teaching the cookies courage,but when they descended into villany,they sought to bring fear to all cookies and make them remember their name.

2.the dragon oc with TRAUMA! 2.1: who they are now

pronouns: they/them

rarity: dragon

type: support

title: The dragon of the petals

apperance: Dragon fruit Cookie they have long pink hair with two mini pigtails sticking out at the top that resemble cherry blossom petals. They wear a long sleeved white blouse with puffy shoulders and a bell-shaped, two layered skirt with the first layer being pink and the second being white. Their wings are a cherry pink color with a darker pink inside.

when they loose their power They sport a black conductor's hat and a black uniform with oversized sleeves, as well as a white necktie. they also have a gold star-shaped accessories near the ends of their sleeves.

personality:They are a ardent towards their nation as one can be and refuses to back down when it and their comrades are threatened. However, their passion can often boil over and lead to actions fueled solely by their strong emotions and unmoving beliefs;Dragon Fruit Cookie is never one to hold their tongue—and their bow—when their dignity or that of those they cherish is insulted.

Though, Dragon fruit cookie Cookie is a serious, smug, and intellectual perfectionist, and does things with absolute precision. They speaks in a formal and calm accent and is often brief with their words, to the point of rudeness. their facial expression generally defaults to a composed and confident smile, but there are instances where they don't bother hiding their displeasure or exhaustion (such as when faced with a preventable failure or Pitaya dragon cookies foolhardiness).

qoute:

pre gacha:Grrr... You dare challenge me?

draw: "Ssso you want to see my true form? i ssspouse so..Only on one condition"

2.who they were before!

"the lotus dragon is cruel!? no,the lotus dragon protects all!"

'faded elegance-dragon fruit cookie costume'

species: plant cookie

apperance: hibiscus cookie was a average hieght cookie with pale hibiscus colored dough and fairytale pink eyes, she Has lavender hair that goes down to her back and almost swings over one of her eyes. she wears a cameo pink dress with a lotus flower print on it

personality: hibiscus cookie was a kind and gentle plant cookie,wanting to know more about regular cookies. She is incredibly friendly,being nice to every single cookie she comes across in the forest. she was so excited about her lotus rite and gain her powers (like the gem mermaids seafoam rite) but was shocked and confused when she didnt get any powers.she cares deeply about her sisters and her handmaid,Purple hydrenga cookie. however,she is quite naive,blindingly trusting deadly nightshade cookie since he got her out of a trap by hunters. she gave him her flower before he betrayed her trust and sold the flower on the black market and then left her heartbroken and her trust destroyed.with the help of lotus dragon cookie,she became a dragon and lost her old personality entirely,now being cruel and power hungry,yet still holding a sense of compassion and her respect and admiration to lotus dragon cookie,being ever so grateful for them helping her in her darkest time.

costume desc:"Beneath the quaint, moonlit surface of the lotus forest, lived a Cookie whose laughter was brighter than any flower. Hibiscus Cookie embodied the bright lotus dragon and pink Flowers, with a smile so beautiful and pure that everyone in the Kingdom were mesmerized! But the Vines of destiny are unknown, as is the future... The light of the Little Lotus of the Dragon cannot shine forever." Yep,good ol trauma.

Oooo!! This is very interesting! I do hope to see more of Dragon Fruit Cookie in the future!

#not a prompt #oc rambles #other's ocs

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ailelie · 11 months

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Lotus Seeds

Because of MDZS/Untamed/etc fic, I am making lotus seed buns.

Lotus seeds, I've learned, are vaguely sweet in the way raw cashews are sweet and do have a nutty flavor. They are soft like chestnuts, but I'm not sure the flavor is comparable beyond nutty.

The centers of lotus seeds are, as promised by fic, bitter. However, they aren't just bitter. I love bitter. These are medicinally astringent bitter. When you first bite them, they seem fine and then they fill your mouth with more flavor than seems possible by the tiny little bit of green and white. If I had to describe them with a single word, I'd go with astringent over bitter.

Anyway, I am currently boiling a pot of seeds to soften them. Once it boils, they'll simmer for an hour. And then we move on with making the paste for my buns!

This is the recipe I'm using btw: https://www.seriouseats.com/chinese-lotus-seed-buns-recipe

#lotus seeds #lotus seed buns #adventures in cooking

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triciamfoster · 1 year

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The Herbs of the Moon

"Dreamwork and the Inner Self

Energies: psychic knowledge, dreamworking, childbirth, fertility, past life recall, imagination, the subconscious mind

Colors: lilac, silver

Number: 2

Metal: Silver

Stones/materials: pearl, abalone, moonstone, selenite

Deities: Selene, Nuit, Luna, Artemis, Sin, Inannur, and Khonsu

Herbs: almond, anise seed, cabbage, camphor, cucumber, fennel, iris, jasmin, lettuce, lily, lotus, moonwort, mugwort, pumpkin, violet, watercress, white sandalwood"

From The Herbal Alchemist's Handbook: A Complete Guide to Magickal Herbs and How to Use Them by Karen Harrison

#nature witch #green witch #kitchen witch #pagan witch #witchcraft #witchy #witch community #herbal magick #pagan community #witchblr

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rosethornewrites · 2 months

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T & G reading since 2/26

Finished

Teen:

The Twin Blades of Yunmeng, by GhostySword, ofmindelans (18 chapters)

Then Jiang Cheng brings both blades around, two sword glares flashing, and—oh. Wei Wuxian knows the second sword’s red and silver glare better than any other. His brother is wielding Suibian, the first and last sword that had ever belonged to Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Cheng and the Jin sect took away different treasures after Wei Wuxian's death. When Wei Wuxian comes back from the dead, his brother has some theories, some feelings, and two swords strapped across his back. Now Wei Wuxian must solve a Chenqing-charged mystery while surviving a passive-aggressive custody battle between Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji.

you'd get your knuckles bloody for me, by Cataclysmic_Calamity

For once, someone says something that Wei Wuxian can’t laugh off when he’s at a party. Upon seeing this, Lan Wangji, who has never broken a rule in his life—or even raised his voice—does something about it.

to heal with the sunrise, by justdoityoufucker (orphan_account)

It’s almost eleven years after his death when the Yiling Laozu is revived.

Jin Ling does not hear of it until news comes from Lotus Pier—or, more accurately, news comes about Lotus Pier. In the midst of his shushu being exposed as the mastermind behind many recent horrors of the cultivation world, his jiujiu has met a horrific and unexplained end.

And Jin Ling cries—not for his jiujiu, no.

He cries for his best and only friend, who is now free of Jiang Wanyin.

Or, the one where Jiang Wanyin suffers as he deserves.

Retracing my steps (I found you), by Asphodel_Meadow (reread)

When Wei Wuxian activates the travel array, he doesn’t expect to be sent back in time, and certainly not to the lectures in Cloud Recesses.

General:

The White Jade Hairpin, by YilingSani

Happy Birthday, dear Hanguang-Jun!

Mulberry seeds, by OurLadyoftheRain (5 chapters)

Is there anything more bothersome than a little brother hellbent on not being the youngest of the family anymore?

Yes. A little brother being smug about having gotten exactly what he wanted.

Into the murk, by MissCellophane

Wei Wuxian is dead.

Lan Wangji wouldn't believe those words until he sees it for himself.

Unfinished

Teen:

What Remains After the War, by Swan_Song

There is a child in the burial mounds.

Looking at the face of a sobbing toddler, crying for the man he once called brother, Jiang Wanyin he can’t find it in him to care that the boy has Wen blood.

He takes the boy home

Something Warm and Safe, by Winxhelina

"Rich-gege!" A-Yuan exclaims happily.

"You can't call him that," Wei Wuxian admonishes gently. He puts an arm around Lan Wangji just as his knees give out, "Hey! I'm holding a child, you can't pass out on me like that. Oh. Oh, your back is covered in blood. Is that - is that your blood, Lan Zhan?!"

"Mn."

"Oh. Oh, you're bleeding a lot! Hold on! I'm putting A-Yuan down. A-Yuan, walk on your own for a bit. Can you also hold the basket for me? You're so mature and responsible! Okay, Lan Zhan, stay with me. I've got you."

"Is Rich-gege hurt?"

Lan Wangji doesn't hear the rest of that conversation.

In which Granny Wen manages to convince Wei Wuxian to take A-Yuan and hide away from the world. Lan Wangji manages to find them.

General:

Once upon a lifetime, by HuaisangsIntellect

The second he awakens, Wei Wuxian realises that he has been sent to the past, but at what cost? How will he prevent the Sunshot Campaign and make sure none of his loved ones die? And... why is Lan Wangji so different than what he remembered?

(Or: Wei Wuxian somehow finds himself back in the past and causes trouble along the way.)

Lies and Truth, by parodismal (🔒)

What happen if Lan Wangji decided to actually check Qiongqi Path after Wei Wuxian leave?

....

It leads to a domino effect towards a new Chief Cultivator

Is it a better?

Or worse?

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #untamed fanfiction #cql #chen qing ling

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grewlikefancyflowers · 2 years

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I just wanna share (since I don't have bl friends irl) that I finally joined Twitter hell for Wangxian, but the first tweet I saw was a wx stan saying that "LWJ goes where the chaos is to continue WWX's legacy❤" & I'm just like WHAT

been contemplating this ask for like 2 days because do people think that i am not a wx stan ????? let it be known that i am a wx, wwx, lwj, overall just raving mdzs stan.

that aside, yeah lwj's 'being wherever the chaos is' has nothing at all to do with wwx. chapter 7, fyy 'Elite cultivators like them normally disdained to take notice of low level prey, but Lan Wangji was an exception. He was never selective about what he hunted, and would never refuse to go after a monster or demon just because it wasn’t violent or fierce enough for killing it to improve his reputation. Ever since he was young, as long as someone requested help, he would come. Thus, “appearing where the chaos is” was the phrase everyone used to describe Hanguang Jun’s night-hunting habits, and a form of praise for his character.'

lwj has always been this way! we see it ourselves in lotus seed pod when he travels to a lotus lake and, on the way, helps an old lady remove leaves from the roof of her house and holds up a roof for hours to shield an injured farmer from the rain while they wait for a doctor. he got so distracted by side quests, the lotus lake was closed by the time he got there :c lwj will always help regardless of how small the matter is.

we are also told in intrusion that lwj and wwx's approaches to nighthunting were quite different.

'When Wei WuXian heard of Lan WangJi’s reputation for being wherever the chaos was, he didn’t think it’d be too hard, but right now as he tried it in person alongside Lan WangJi, he discovered that it was truly a test of one’s resolution. It wasn’t difficult. In fact, it was too easy. When he went on night-hunts in the past, he always liked to choose strange, adventurous locations, so naturally his trips were full of thrill and surprise. However, Lan WangJi wasn’t picky. He did anything he deemed that he ought to do, and so he’d often come across some night-hunt targets that were unchallenging to Wei WuXian. (exr)

they have being disinterested in hunting prey for acclaim in common, but other than that their respective nighthunting philosophies were quite different! a white rose and a red rose but at their core the same <3

#got a minor haunting problem?? lwj will be there. got leaves on ya roof?? lwj will be there #mdzs #and post-canon #wwx doesn't really care what he's nighthunting... he's happy being anywhere doing anything with lwj <3

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buffetlicious · 7 months

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We used to purchase mooncakes from Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel many moons ago until we switched over to Raffles Hotel due to their Champagne Truffle Snow-Skin Mooncake. With the latest price increase this year and low discounted offer, our pocket just couldn’t take the hit anymore. We went back to Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant (万豪轩中餐厅) from the former hotel as they are offering a bigger discount! Immediately went online to order two boxes of Assorted Snowskin Mooncakes (萬豪精致冰皮月饼). Original price is S$88 less 40% corporate discount so we paid S$52.80.

On the day of collection. I was dismayed to find out that the so called Mini Mooncakes (迷你月饼) are real dainty in size that one can pop the whole piece into the mouth! While the packaging was beautifully designed and accompanied with a stylish cooler bag, the boxes containing the mooncakes only had loose plastic cover so it doesn’t keep the contents airtight. Coupled with the tiny size of the mooncakes, the glutinous rice skin was dried out and hard. :(

Yuzu Honey with Peach Passionfruit Praline (蜂蜜柚子蜜桃百香果奶心冰皮月饼) – A fruity and refreshing treat made with fresh Yuzu and pure honey. Featuring a medley of zesty yuzu, passionfruit and peach – the end result is a harmonious symphony of flavours when you bite into the praline.

Blueberry with Maple Cream Cheese Praline (蓝莓枫糖奶油芝士奶心冰皮月饼) – A favourite of my sis with visually stunning with eye-catching hues of blue, this new creation offers a burst of blueberry goodness coupled with a luscious maple cream cheese centre; unveiling a dense and chewy bite.

Irish Cream Latte with Baileys Praline (爱尔兰奶油拿铁百利甜酒奶心冰皮月饼) – Attention all connoisseurs of Baileys! Get boozy with this treat – sweet, milky and notes of vanilla from the Baileys praline paired with velvety smooth latte. Every mouth pack a distinctive taste, making this is my favourite of the four flavours.

White Lotus Seed Paste with Salted Egg Praline (白莲蓉咸蛋奶心冰皮月饼) – Here’s a modern spin to a beloved classic. Imagine sweet and smooth White Lotus Seed Paste accompanied with rich creamy salted egg praline – bringing out the perfect balance of sweet and savoury flavours. This is the closest match to the traditional baked mooncake with salt egg yolk but with a chewy glutinous rice skin.

PS - Kudos to the team at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel for their swift action in getting in touch with my sis after she feedbacked to them on the dry and hard snowskin mooncakes. The hotel replaced our two boxes of mooncakes and I am glad to say that the snowskin got back it soft chewy texture.

Selected images from Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant.

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internetofth · 6 months

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Recipe for Golden Sesame Balls These delicious Chinese pastries with lotus paste filling are made from golden sesame seeds and are simple to prepare at home. Specialty Asian markets sell white lotus paste. 1 ounce white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 cup white sesame seeds, 3 ounces glutinous rice flour, 2 ounces ice cold water, 2 cups vegetable oil for frying, 1/3 ounce shortening, 4 ounces white lotus paste

#golden sesame balls #pastry #lotus paste #chinese #vegetable oil #home

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r1kysblog · 7 months

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My honest opinion on what Ang should have done after the atla war, and this is probably my hc too,

1) i think Ang should have left the world the moment zuko, and other two nation were stable,

2) i think Ang should never have had a fanclubs or acolyte they just feel cheap and a waste of human life,

3) Ang never should have reciprocated katara feeling at the End, he realize hes got to much on his plate so has to do this on his own, im sorry kataanger, but the boy is on a new level, and he needs time to learn grow with this power, (aka Energy bending), so no girlfriend , no gang, just him appa and momo, unless katara say screw you I'm coming and they build there relationships on the road, but I still think she better off serving her people, and let Ang be for now, Ang will always love her til his last breath but he got to do something,

4) Ang from 12 to 21 should have been spent in cold blooded training and deep meditation and sadhana, he should have settle down on some cold mountain for 21 years just him and his practice, should let appa and momo free for a time to find other bison and lemor,

5) Ang once he's 21 should already be physically power and spiritually stable, well balance with each of the elements and is an expert or master in energy bending, and knows the spirit world inside and out,

6) Ang should go from village to village leaving small pockets of energy bender and practice to people, and walk to every town, village, kingdom spreading small seeds of energy bending,

7) Ang should create energy temple for people in each village, to help them become better at energy bending, healing, meditation, or learning,

8) Ang should download the Avatar memories of martial arts, music, wisdom, knowledge, healing experience, into an energy seeds and place those seeds in the temple so people can learn from all the past Avatar life,

9) Ang should live with a boundless identity, not just Air nomad, by doing this he is free from the suffering of the past of his people,

10) Ang should eliminate all the dai li by using the white lotus and as the Avatar order there disbandment, take there bending away for all the torture and mind manipulation on the people of ba sing sei,

11) Ang and the white lotus should eliminate every last southern raiders,

12) Ang should go to republic city, and set up a energy temple, and use it as his base of operation, people from all ova the world from the places he left powerful energy, come to spend time with him, and later became a devotee and a follower of the NEW bending art, And later known as a new nation, these bender will one day energy bend the Air nation back into the world, putting the world in balance,

13) Ang never forgets katara, and seeks her out if she happily married he will carry on, if not he will see,

14) Ang offer azula the chance to go beyond the power of the fire nation, if she say yes, then her training begins, if no Ang will leave her with the seed of energy bending anyway,

15) Ang offer ozai a chance to undo the block on his bending, so that in his next life he can bend again, he must offer zuko all firenation secret and wisdom to rule,

16) Ang will rebuild the Air temple to its former glory, and cleans the temple from all the hurt and sad full energy and spirits, he creates a small energy space that those of the new Air nomad will be able to learn from all the past Airnomad Avatar and there culture and history and experience,

17) Ang finds appa and momo with all the other bison and lemur and allows the now formed energy bender to take care of them,

18) Ang goes to ask ran and shaw for there blessing and teaching in the Tru form of fire bending and there experience in the form of dragon fire, Ang turns the mystic fire into a energy seed and brings it home to the temple,Ang seal the flame in a hall full of elemental significant power,

19) Ang goes to tui and la for there blessings and brings back some spirit water to place in the temple elements,

20) Ang goes to the great tree and ask for its blessings and takes a sampling and plants it in the hall of the temple elements,

21) Ang goes to Wang shi tong library, and destroys the bird, and leaves,

22) Ang goes down to the spirit world to deal with koh the face stealer, Ang unleashes the full power of the Avatar on koh, and koh is destroy,

23)Ang travels see him with many followers, both former dai li, white lotus agents, former southern raider, yu yian archer, both northern and southern water tribe wolf pack, earth kingdom farmers, scientists, artist, musicians, dancer, mother, father, children follow Ang, until he settle down in republic city, and these people are the builders and architectur of the city of light, and Established a state in his image,

24) Ang sets up or earth bend a huge mountain to surround the city for natural protection,

25) Ang established the military and police with the help of toph, sukki, sokka, Tai Lee, kyoshi warriors,

26) Ang ask katara if she can teach those now energy bender learn water bending, and seeks to get close to katara and renew there friendships,

27) Ang ask toph if she can train those energy bender in earth bending and metal bending,

28) Ang ask sukki to train the mother and daughters of the nation in the fight style of kyoshi,

29) katara is the chieftain of Southern water tribe, and sokka is ambassador,

30) Katara, zuko, king kuaei, and the nothern water tribes chieftain, come to the city of light, the world summit and council,

31)Ang sheds himself of the Avatar spirit of ravaa and all his and her past life's, by using his mastery in energy bending he consciously release ravaa spirit to go and find a new body,leading to the birth of BABY KORRA,

32) Ang suffers to hold his body, soo retreats into the deep mountain to work on himself, with him not being the Avatar the world thinks he's dead, thus katara is heart broken, ones she hears of korras birth,

33) katara now in her thirtys, hears of a power being in the high mountain, she's training korra, and goes to see this being,wen she gets there she sees Ang is all grown up, and filled out and Bearden and dreadlocks,

34) everyone thought he was dead, and katara is both heart broken and happy, but there's just one problem, he's hasn't moved for ova ten years,

35)katara hands the chieftain title ova to korra father and goes to republic city to live her life with all her friends and family, but most of all to be with Ang,

36) katara waits and calls, sing dances, gets Angry, sad, happy, crazy, all for Ang, she knows he's still alive, katara has loved this boy for soo long now, and she knows he still loves her, she waits,

37) one of Ang disciples, is now a powerful energy bender show katara a simple method to connect to Ang, she learns and one day he opens his eyes to see her,

38) Ang and katara live in the mountain, relearning everything abt each other, Ang ask katara the word, will you be with me,

39) katara say?

Ang impact on the atla world in as an energy bender is soo so big, long lasting, transformational, Enduring, fruitful, this path would gracefully push the world into unity, the Golden age that's last ten thousand years, anyway THE END

#atla #kataang #ang #aang #anti zutara #angxkatara #antizutara #kataang defense squad #tlok korra #tlok

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najia-cooks · 2 years

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Vegan pork and apple gua bao with pickled carrots

"Gua bao" (literally, "cut bread") consist of a savory filling--usually pork belly with condiments and toppings--in a fluffy, steamed "lotus leaf bun." Other types of bao include baozi, which are sealed shut around their filling (this type of bao is usually meant when the term "bao" is used without any qualifiers). The term "bao bun" is actually an example of the kind of tautology common in bilingual borrowing, since "bao" already means "bun"!

In my take on this dish, a classic pork-and-apple filling is transformed by the addition of miso paste and a hit of fruity, floral Sichuan peppercorn. The sweetness and acidity of pickled carrots stand out wonderfully against the background of the savory, umami filling. For the filling base you may use any type of vegan pork substitute, or TVP.

Recipe under the cut!

Patreon | Tip jar

Makes 12 bao.

EQUIPMENT:

A large skillet

A grater or food processor

A bamboo or metal steamer, or a wok / large, deep pan / large pot, with a closely fitting lid

Parchment paper

INGREDIENTS:

For the bao:

1 1/2 cup (300g) all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp (9g) cornstarch

1 tsp (4g) active dry yeast

1 tsp (6g) sugar

1 Tbsp neutral oil

About 2/3 cup (140 ml) lukewarm water

For the filling:

380g (13oz) vegan sausage, or 200g TVP hydrated with 140mL vegetarian pork or beef broth from concentrate

1/2 medium tart apple, washed and cored

1 small yellow onion

1 stalk celery (optional)

2 tsp white miso paste

1 tsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp vegetarian oyster sauce

1 tsp honey or agave (optional)

1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground

1/4 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and ground

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 Tbsp neutral oil

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1-inch chunk (10g) ginger, washed (no need to peel)

1 tsp rice vinegar

For the pickled carrots:

3 medium carrots (180g)

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

To steam and assemble:

1 Tbsp neutral oil

Romaine lettuce, chopped peanuts, or other desired toppings

INSTRUCTIONS:

For the pickled carrots:

1. Julienne three carrots and stuff them down into a medium-sized jar.

2. Combine white and rice vinegar with salt and sugar in a small pot and heat, whisking occasionally, until vinegar is simmering and sugar is dissolved.

3. Pour vinegar into the jar over the carrots. Allow to cool completely to room temperature (glass risks breaking if subjected to rapid changes in temperature) and refrigerate for several hours, or overnight.

For the bao:

Bao should be light, fluffy, and chewy. The dough for the bao is kneaded, proofed, kneaded again, shaped, and proofed a second time before the bao are steamed.

1. Whisk flour, cornstarch, yeast, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add oil and mix to combine.

2. Add water a little at a time until the dough holds together in a smooth, non-sticky ball. You may need more or less than 2/3 cup.

3. Vigorously knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about ten minutes until very smooth, or use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment on medium speed for five to seven minutes. An insufficiently kneaded dough may lead to a pockmarked texture later on!

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a kitchen towel that's been dampened with warm water. Allow to rise for 40-90 minutes, until just doubled in size. Avoid overproofing the dough.

For the filling:

1. While the dough proofs, prepare your filling. Mix miso paste, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and agave in a large bowl. Grate the onion, garlic, ginger, sausage, apple, and celery, or pulse in a food processor, occasionally scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, until a coarse crumb texture forms.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp of a neutral oil in a large pan on medium high. Add ground Sichaun peppercorns and fennel and allow to bloom for 30 seconds until fragrant.

3. Add sausage mixture and cook until browned, flipping once. Once cooked, remove the filling to the bowl with your sauce mixture.

4. Deglaze the pan with 1 tsp or so rice or white vinegar, and add any bits that had burnt and stuck to the bottom into the bowl with the rest of your filling. Mix to combine.

To steam the bao:

1. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for another five minutes, until dough returns to its original size and appears very smooth in texture.

2. Roll dough out into a large cylinder and, using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, separate it into twelve even pieces. If you have a kitchen scale, you can use it to ensure that your pieces are all the same size--mine ended up weighing about 40g each.

3. Roll each piece of dough out into an oval of about 4" x 7" (10 x 18cm), covering the pieces you're not working with to prevent them from drying out. The dough should be moderately thin (4-5mm) without being translucent.

4. Lightly brush the top of the dough oval with a neutral oil and fold the dough over lengthwise to form a semi-circular shape. Place each shaped bun in a parchment-paper-lined bamboo steamer, or on a similarly prepared plate. (If you don't have a steamer, choose a plate or plates that will fit inside a wok or large pot--see steaming instructions.)

5. Allow the shaped buns to rise for another 20 minutes until slightly puffy. They will rise further while steaming.

6. Steam the bao. Place your bamboo steamer in the bottom of a wok or large pot, and fill the wok with enough cool water to cover the bottom rim of the steamer by 1/2". If you're using a metal steamer, tie a kitchen towel around its lid to prevent condensation from dipping back down onto the bao, which would jeopardize their rise and texture. If you don't have a steamer, place a small bowl in the bottom of a wok or large, deep pan or pot. Place the plate containing your bao on top of the bowl--the plate should fit inside your pot. Make sure that you can cover the plate and bao with a lid and leave some room to rise without the bao making contact with the lid. If your lid is domed, there is no need for a kitchen towel, since the condensation will run down towards the outer rim. If your lid is flat, tie a tea towel around it just as you would with a metal steamer. Fill your cooking vessel with 2 or so centimeters of cool water.

7. Raise the heat to high and allow the water to come to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and cover your steamer or pot. Allow bao to steam for eight minutes and remove from the steamer (there is no need to wait five minutes to avoid collapsing, as some recipes suggest!).

To assemble:

1. Reheat filling in a large skillet. Serve lotus leaf buns alongside filling, lettuce, carrots, chopped peanuts, and other toppings and fill as desired.

#vegan cooking #vegan recipe #cooking #bao #gau bao #TVP #sausage #apple #celery #carrot #lettuce #miso paste #Chinese American

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gingersnapwolves · 1 year

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One line any fic! Rules: pick ten of your fics, scroll to somewhere midpoint, pick a line chunk and share it, and then tag ten people.

I got tagged by @lynne-monstr ^_^

I’ve selected semi-randomly, going back through and revisiting some of my old faves as well as some of my newer stuff, going to the chapter exactly in the middle, and choosing from there. I included only one WIP, because it’s one of my current faves and it needs more love.

1) up in flames (Not Me, 2022)

“I did what I had to do. And even now, Black is still a bad influence on you! Even after everything I did to keep him away from you!”

Fury erupted in White like a forest fire, and he lunged forward. He was brought up short by Gumpa grabbing him around the waist, actually lifting him off his feet as he struggled to get free. “Where’s my brother?” he shouted. “What did you do to him? Where’s Black?!”

His mother’s mouth pursed even tighter. She took a step backwards, then turned on her heel and left, slamming the door behind her.

“No! Tell me!” White fought harder to get free. “Mom! Tell me where Black is! Tell me what you did to him!”

2) 10 Things I Hate About Dating at Gusu Academy (The Untamed, 2021)

“Look what I can do,” Lan Wangji said, and before Wei Wuxian could stop him, did a handstand.

“Very impressive,” Wei Wuxian told him.

Lan Wangji’s shirt, which was too big on him, promptly fell around his ears. Wei Wuxian took a moment to really appreciate that. Lan Wangji’s chest was pristine, an ocean of skin that Wei Wuxian wanted to lick every single inch of. Then a muffled voice said, “Wei Ying. I cannot see. I require assistance.”

3) Adult Wolf (Teen Wolf, 2019)

Tom looks down in amusement at the sofa, where Stiles is sprawled out on top of Derek. “I brought breakfast,” he says, shaking Stiles’ shoulder.

Stiles stirs and mumbles, “The eagles are coming . . .”

Tom snorts. “Why couldn’t the eagles just take the damned ring to Mordor? That’s what I want to know.”

“Actually,” Derek chimes in, without opening his eyes, “there are several good reasons why that wouldn’t work. First of all, the eagles aren’t a taxi service. They’re proud, sentient beings and would have had a lot of good reasons not to risk their lives doing that. Secondly, secrecy was key to Frodo’s mission. The eagles would draw a lot of attention, and since Sauron and Saruman both had spies everywhere – ”

“Nerrrrrrrrd,” Stiles says into Derek’s chest, snickering.

4) Setting Fire to a Stone (Shadowhunters, 2016)

“Mm.” Magnus shook his head. “Are you familiar with the sunk cost fallacy?”

Alec looked away. “Yeah.”

“Then you understand that while what you’re saying makes sense, you still shouldn’t allow it to persuade you. Yes, you have wasted time trying to please your mother. But that doesn’t mean that the logical thing to do is continue to waste time even though you’ve concluded that you’ll never get where you want to be. There’s an old proverb which I think applies here: no matter how far you have gone down the wrong road, turn back.”

“It’s just – making her happy is the only thing I’ve ever wanted.” Alec studied his hands. “I’m not sure I even know how to want anything else.”

5) What Goes Around (Teen Wolf, 2018)

When Derek doesn’t reply, Stiles reaches out and twines his fingers through Derek’s. “Look, it’s okay to just mark time for a while. In case nobody’s ever told you that. It’s okay to not be ready to move on from what happened.”

“Thanks,” Derek says.

Stiles leans over and gives him a brief kiss on the mouth, then pulls away and says, “Now let’s get some sleep. I have big plans for tomorrow. I wanna try a reverse cowboy.”

6) picking up the pieces (The Untamed, 2021)

Nie Huaisang had grabbed a dozen lotus seed pods on their way past them as Lan Wangji controlled the boat, and studiously began to remove and shell the seeds. “And that,” he said, “is how to have a private conversation without drawing the attention of absolutely everybody. Honestly, Lan-xiong, do you have any idea how subtle you aren’t? Just showing up at The Unclean Realm for the first time in two years, immediately stating we needed to talk privately, and then shielding the room?” He shook his head. “Honestly.”

Lan Wangji felt his cheeks flush pink. “I was not trying to be subtle.”

“Yes, you were. That’s the appalling part.” Nie Huaisang popped a lotus seed in his mouth. “Because if you hadn’t been, you would have just told me everything that was going on. You didn’t want me to realize there was more to what you were saying than what you said, but you might as well have shouted it from the rooftops.”

7) That was Then, This is Now (Teen Wolf, 2014)

“Damn, I’m sore. I remember when I could sleep in that treehouse without a single knot in my shoulders afterwards. Are we getting old, Christopher?”

“Maybe,” Chris said. “Allison’s turning nine this year. Melissa’s probably going to be divorced within a year if Rafael keeps this shit up. Laura’s talking about what colleges she wants to apply to. Claudia’s dead . . .”

Peter raked a hand back through his hair. “Hey, Chris,” he said, and the werewolf gave him a questioning look. Peter gave him an impish smile and said, “Catch me if you can,” and then bolted off into the woods. Chris laughed despite himself, and followed.

8) Whatever Works (Teen Wolf, 2016)

“Oh, now you have faith in me to handle this?” Stiles loses his temper and gets in Peter’s face. “You arrogant piece of shit! I’m not one of your faint of heart little secretaries that you can walk all over. I’m not some company lawyer who quakes in fear when I hear your name. You cannot do things behind my back and then tell me that you did it that way because you respect me. That is the most concentrated heap of bullshit! You don’t fucking respect me at all! And do you want to know what, Peter? You know how you kept asking me why I was doing this? Yeah, it was to help Derek, because I like Derek. And yeah, it was because Jennifer pissed me off. But it was also because I can’t fucking stand the way you look at me! Ever since we met, you treat me like some God damned second class citizen just because I have the terrible fucking luck to be your soulmate! I thought maybe, just maybe, I could use this as a way to show you that I’m smarter than you think I am. I thought maybe you would respect me if I could play your game. But I’m not smart, apparently. I’m a fucking idiot, because I should have known better to think that you would ever think of me as anything but – ”

He gets that far before Peter shoves him up against the wall and kisses him.

9) Like a House on Fire (The Untamed, 2020)

“I’m not sure I’ll remember this later,” Meng Yao continued. “I feel very fuzzy. It’s warm and good. You should record me in case I forget.”

“If you’d like,” Lan Xichen said, amused despite himself. He pulled out his phone and started recording. “There, you’re on camera.”

“Hello, future me,” Meng Yao said. “You might not remember this because of the massive amounts of painkillers I’m on right now. So we are recording, for posterity, because when I am sober I am not going to say this. You just survived getting shot. Go you. You are a rock star. You should stop dicking around and ask Lan Xichen out. Stop saying you aren’t good enough for him. See above, rock star.” His eyes closed for a brief moment while Lan Xichen turned an even darker pink. Then they opened and he said, “Okay, stop recording. You’re so pretty. Do you like Italian food?”

10) Stranger Twins (Not Me, 2022 [WIP])

Abruptly, Black collapsed. Gram and Sean both cried out in alarm as he went down like a marionette whose strings had been cut. White landed half on top of him, and Gumpa hurried over. He was about to say something, but then he saw the look on White’s face as he stared down at his brother. Almost blank, jaw ajar, stunned.

Then he smiled, a smile full of relief and love and joy, the most beautiful smile Gumpa had ever seen. “Phi,” he murmured, and gently touched Black’s cheek. “I found you.”

I don’t know ten people and I don’t know who’s already done this meme so I’m tagging anyone who wants to play!

#thanks for tagging me!#fic stuff #why did it put in weird extra spaces?#tumblr why

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wawerrell · 10 months

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Affirmative Action

Dissenting in Students for Fair Admission, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson describes the pernicious way that, in the wake of any law aimed at establishing meaningful equality, certain white Americans feel “slighted.”

This is nothing new; Justice Jackson illustrates this by citing the disastrous Civil Rights Cases of 1883, in which an 8-1 majority found the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to be unconstitutional, bringing an end to Reconstruction and an unconscionable halt to legal protections for Black Americans. The language of that majority opinion is eerily prescient; the author, Justice Joseph Bradley, writes what one might easily mistake for an evening monologue on Fox:

“When a [Black American], by the aid of beneficent legislation, has shaken off [enslavement], there must be some stage in the progress of his elevation when he takes the rank of a mere citizen,” Bradley the Bootstrapper writes on behalf of the Court, “and ceases to be the special favorite of the laws.” Bradley displaces responsibility for inequality from those who wrote the laws to those who were captives of the laws, complaining that, owing to the progressives’ insatiable appetite for equality, the scales of justice tipped too far toward favoring Black Americans. (It is all too easy to project more contemporary debates — the stubborn resistance to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Juneteenth as Federal holidays, for instance, or the mere existence of Black History Month — onto this one-hundred-forty-year-old opinion.)

Having defined the present injustice, Bradley then pivots to a two-part redefinition of the past. He first hearkens back to those halcyon days of racial harmony during slavery — “There were thousands of free colored people in this country before the abolition of slavery enjoying all the essential rights of life, liberty, and property the same as white citizens” — before lamenting the divisive overreach that indoctrinated ill will and sowed the seeds of racial discord: “yet no one at that time thought that it was any invasion of his personal status as a freeman because [the Black American] was not admitted to all the privileges enjoyed by white citizens.” Remember those bucolic days on the plantations when we just got along, when we weren’t taught to hate one another or ourselves simply because of the color of our skin?

If they hadn’t banned every book that mentions race (and weren’t incapable of stringing together a coherent compound-complex sentence), Moms for Liberty could have written that sentence. After all, white victimhood and wistful appeals to fake memories are not endemic to judicial arguments; they instead are so pervasive as to be the very bedrock undergirding American conservatism and the platform of major candidates.

Memory is a powerful, malleable, fallible thing, and, as a shepherd wields a crook, Republicans employ treacly glosses of the past to lull voters into a terminal nostalgia, one that has substituted “Leave it to Beaver” for actual childhood memories. Nikki Haley, spastic conservative colon of South Carolina and bush-league politician, is good for more than just compromising the Social Security Numbers of every South Carolinian; her rhetoric, clumsier and more obvious than Larry Craig in an airport bathroom, lays bare the big game: “Do you remember when you were growing up, do you remember how simple life was, how easy it felt? It was about faith, family, and country. We can have that again, but to do that, we must vote Joe Biden out.”

Life is never simple. Life has never been easy. But the “Again” in MAGA is nevertheless conjured up daily by conservative lotus eaters on Facebook who share insipid “copypasta” about how they rode their bikes for hours around the neighborhood and weren’t afraid of anything and school was mandatory and teachers were people you could trust and respect and how they watched their mouths around their elders and dressed respectably and how their angelic mothers wielded both fresh cookies and her wooden spoon and always stood there lovingly at the end of curfew with her arms akimbo when her boys showed up muddy.

Of course, such memories are patently fake: the middle of the century in America was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of civility, it was the age of sit-ins and German shepherds, it was the epoch of scientific wonder and space, it was the epoch of thalidomide and Agent Orange, it was the golden era of nonviolence, it was the bloated body of Emmett Till, it was afternoons spent without care, it was the Lavender Scare, it was the summer of flowers and love, it was the summer of assassinations.

Any glancing familiarity with or conversations about these wildly heterogenous realities, however, would eliminate the win condition for Republicans: that voters are stupid enough to conflate fake memories with real values. A Republican win requires willful denial, a blind embrace of a whitewashed past. Republicans need a “Mandela effect”: a fake memory in which Nelson does not die but instead publicly voices that he’s cool with Apartheid.

And because Republicans like DeSantis and Trump need an electorate with as complete a knowledge of American history as a CCPedia article on Tiananmen Square, they are hellbent on destroying education in America. As the “Woke Mind Virus” throws up cannons to the right, left, and front of the White Brigade, Republicans rush to codify provisos and slash budgets to ensure that only the most anemic history and only the most anodyne perspectives appear on any syllabus. (Shoutout to Mary Wood, ratted out by her students for daring to assign them Ta-Nehisi Coates.) As allegations of “grooming” and “indoctrination” abound in schoolboard debates, Charlie Smirk leads his benighted crusaders against college campuses, those petri dishes of communism and hedonism.

Affirmative action — to such empty suits the death knell of classical meritocratic education — was among the largest targets for conservatives; a less diverse campus, after all, means more “free speech” (i.e., bigoted speech without repercussion or consequence). All told, “Students for Fair Admissions, Inc.” is a grand old victory for the Republicans in their war against education.

The case was brought before the Supreme Court by an incorporated body of mediocre students, helicopter parents, alums who never framed their degrees, and the racist windbag Edward Blum — all purporting to have been treated unfairly, all bemoaning an imbalance in admissions. The only possible explanation for why they were rejected from Harvard or UNC, this corporation argues, is that their dream school lowered standards in order to admit a less-qualified and undeserving Black student — solely because of that applicant’s race. (Note that Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. did not target legacy and donor admissions. Makes you think!)

What is their “evidence” for this?

The existence of a Black student at any institution that has ever rejected a white applicant (or, with kudos to Blum’s excellent ventriloquism and shameless manipulation, an AAPI applicant).

In his opinion eliminating affirmative action, Chief Justice John Roberts directly rebukes Justice Jackson with a lengthy excerpt from a case thirteen years after “Civil Rights Cases”:

‘Justice Harlan knew better,’ one of the dissents decrees. Indeed he did: ‘[I]n view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.’

Most anyone who has written a high school paper will recognize Roberts’ brackets, which indicate a writer has meddled with a quotation. Roberts’ alteration here may seem small — the streamlining of a quotation; the weird APA practice of capitalizing after a colon — however, its diminutive size on paper belies its unbelievably large admission. Because in the full text of Harlan’s famous dissent to “Plessy v. Ferguson,” the word before “in” is “But”:

The white race deems itself to be the dominant race in this country. And so it is in prestige, in achievements, in education, in wealth and in power. So, I doubt not, it will continue to be for all time if it remains true to its great heritage and holds fast to the principles of constitutional liberty. But in view of the Constitution…

Harlan, born to a Kentucky family that purchased, owned, and sold humans, believed that, barring any perverse swerve away or premature exit from white “heritage,” white people were comfortably on cruise control in the United States. Such a supposition reveals his belief in a fair and balanced order of races, and that that “natural” hierarchy dictates that the white person — even an Abigail Fisher — “naturally” dominates non-whites.

The underlying belief of this corporation and the majority of the Supreme Court is not that different from Justice Harlan’s opinion (the portion, that is, John Roberts did not excerpt) and not that different from Justice Bradley’s: most anything past abolition and enfranchisement is undue overcompensation, the special treatment and even coddling of Black Americans. Race blindness in admissions, they believe, will restore the “fair and balanced order” that affirmative action jolted askew. Race blindness will ensure that only the most qualified applicants — which is to say the white applicants — receive large envelopes, thereby rectifying the imbalance and diminished standards of college campuses.

Top: Daniel A. Varela / Miami Herald via AP file

Bottom: AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana

#scotus #affirmative action #politics #woke

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