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laurkamkitchen · 3 years

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This was the final course in the big dinner I made my family on my last night at home. I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for them for a while, as there’s nothing they love more than chocolate chip cookies, and who doesn’t love a good layer cake?

I went ahead and used regular flour here since the gluten free thing isn’t an issue for us, as well as almond milk and dark chocolate chips. For some reason, I couldn’t really get my butter to blend with my other wet ingredients, which may have been an issue with the brand I was using, the Miyoko’s stuff from Trader Joe’s, but who knows. I finally gave it up and just poured it all in with the dry, and from there, I was finally able to get it all stirred smoothly.

We don’t have a 6-inch cake pan, which I didn’t realize until yesterday, but my mother suggested I use loaf pans instead, which worked well enough. We have three, and since I didn’t have a lot of time to do multiple batches and wait for them all to cool, I went ahead and split this into three rather than five layers. They thus took longer to bake, probably about 35 minutes rather than 23-25, but I just kept checking with a toothpick until it came clean for all three.

Every time I make a cake recipe, whatever the frosting calls for always ends up producing way too much, so I went ahead and halved the amount for the vanilla buttercream here. I didn’t bother sifting the powdered sugar, as that seemed like a silly amount of work, and slowly added more bit by bit as I saw fit; maybe around 2 cups in total. I really loved the addition of the coconut cream here; it created such an amazing, fluffy texture and genuinely produced one of the most delicious frostings I’ve ever made. I would totally return to this recipe for that buttercream alone.

My assembly was a little wonky, as not only was I a little rushed, but my layers had not quite cooled, and so this certainly did not turn out as one of my prettier creations. (I ultimately served it from the kitchen while everyone else was sitting at the table outside.) I cut the top off of one of them since it was a bit dense and crusty and then began smoothing big glops of buttercream on from there. I had left the buttercream in the fridge while I was waiting on the cakes to finish, which was probably good considering they were still warm, although things were getting melty on the bottom by the time I was at the top. I only had enough buttercream to get between each layer, but I think that actually worked out well, as it left the whole thing more cookie-like, which I knew my family would prefer.

This went over really well and was so yummy — again, that buttercream was just divine. The cake itself was a bit dense, which I think was a result of the ingredients, but for being vegan, I was overall impressed, and I’m glad I finally checked this one off my list.

#chocolate chip cookies #cake #vegan #dessert #vegan desserts #family dinner #gluten free

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hardtchill · 4 years

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Players report card

AD- overall good, fumbled a bit on some balls but kept them out of her goal so it’s all good. Had no blame in the goal, she couldn’t have stopped that. Tierna- pretty solid, didn’t see many mistakes. The Japanese didn’t pressure too much but nevertheless Tierna held her ground. Nice to see her back to playing, hoping they are being careful with her so she doesn’t get injured again.

Abby- good overall, again not much pressure from the Japanese in the first half. Only thing i noticed were some gaps left by Abby and Tierna but this could be down to them not being used to playing together. Didn’t lead to major problems but should be addressed when facing teams who put on more pressure. Nice to have her knowing she can keep going for 90 minutes without trouble, one of the few who didn’t seem tired.

KO- Good game, good teamwork with Tobin, held that right side down. Passing could be a bit more accurate but that goes for pretty much everyone and is probably because they are not in season.

Crystal- i love you Dunny. Just overall amazing, so spot on in her 1v1. Proved that the Spain game was a fluke, she is without a doubt the #1 in the position. Impressed with her playing her third game in a row as well and keeping her level.

JJ- tank as always, just amazing. Same as with Dunn i’m impressed with her nailing it every game and keeping up her energy. She is really a leader on the field and our future captain.

Sam- i liked how deep she was, passing to Chris in the first half could have been more accurate but i will forgive her for that because she did have the right ideas. Was very present and impressed me with how quick she was on her feet. This may sound weird to anyone who doesn’t play soccer but it’s a whole new challenge to play small opponents when you’re very tall and strong yourself lol.

Lindsey- scared me when she took that knock to her shoulder but powered through. I liked how she connected with Sam, we don’t see that much since usually only one of them plays. Did have a slippery moment when the goal happened, she should have been closer to Iwabuchi. Slowed down in the 2nd half somewhat but scored a beautiful goal anyway which seemed to renew her energy.

Tobin- busy body as always, almost was playing more like a 4th midfielder in the first half, in the 2nd half she was a little deeper. Good to see that she can change it up when she has to. We have seen her in the same role for years under Jill, i almost forgot she is actually a very versatile player.

Christen- what can i say. She scores when she wants to ;) Happy to see her be played in the #9 spot because i just want Tobin, Chris and Pinoe on the field at the same time. I think overall she did what she had to do. She has the speed and skill to be dangerous in every position.

Pinoe- boy was she busy today and boy was she good today. Beautiful goal, decided to make me swallow my words about her not taking direct free kicks anymore (sorry Pinoe i love you). Great to see her back to her old self, really showed her worth by the amount of pressure she managed to put on the Japan defense.

Subs

Mal- had some nice moments but almost caused the 2-2 by wanting to much. Overall i don’t see Jmac or Lynn outplaying her so i do hope she will get more minutes in the april friendlies. Becky- glad she was subbed in, not because Tierna didn’t play well but the Japanese really got better in that 2nd half and they needed the experience she brings.

Carli- personally getting a bit fed up having to say this but i’m hoping her poor finishing isn’t becoming a habit. The game became more open and she got more open chances than Christen did but just couldn’t finish. Put on a lot of pressure though, impressed that she keeps going even if she has to it on her own. Really hope she can shape up on her finishing because she really is a solid forward in all other aspects.

Rose- Had some good moments, pretty good overall but didn’t stand out. Had some wonky touches but they all had that.

Casey- finally we got to see her play. I was impressed with her ability to play herself out of situations instead of having to shoot the ball out of bounds. Hoping that along with Mal she will get some more playing time.

Lynn- the right sub at the right time. This is the role i would envision for her, supersub running a defense ragged when they are already tired.

Overall

A heck of a game, fun to watch. Japan nailing it in the 2nd half and a great fuck you to all officials looking down on women athletes.

#christen press #tobin heath #megan rapinoe #kelley o'hara #crystal dunn #julie ertz #carli lloyd #lindsey horan #casey short #mallory pugh #ad franch #becky sauerbrunn #abby dahlkemper #rose lavelle #sam mewis #lynn williams #tierna davidson

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theawkwardterrier · 5 years

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2018 fic roundup

Buffyverse

well tell her that I miss our little talks So Hurry Up and Lose Me, Hurry Up and Find Me (Again) Here We Are, Trapped (But Is It a Trap If I'm With You?) To All Our Histories Which Haven't Yet Happened

MCU

But A Walking Shadow Out of the Frying Pan Hand in Hand, Side by Side to walk to where you are sleeping To The Neighborhood Oh, But Aren't You Already My Darling? By Those Who Show Up Stitch Together In Spirit of the Season Childhood Friends

Veronica Mars

not just about being new (it’s about a change)

1. Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?:

Still not predicting, but probably around the predictable amount? I've gotten a little longer, I think, but I'm writing fewer stories overall, and I've really fallen into a few specific fandom categories - haven't added a new one in a while.

2. What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?:

Dick/OC. Dick/anyone was a surprise. I'm generally frustrated and uninterested in Dick, so taking him on as a main character - when typically he's been a side role in my fic at best - is unexpected. I was just really drawn to the prompt.

3. What’s your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest?

I'm really proud of To The Neighborhood. I like the POV, I think the character flowed well, it has a particular tone throughout, and everything is built using small details without info dumps. And I'm always a big fan of domesticity too - sweet, settled life is always a joy for me to write!

4. Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

It's weird to say at this point, but I think I've been playing around with AUs a little too much. Here We Are, Trapped (But Is It a Trap If I'm With You?) and Hand in Hand, Side by Side are really prime examples of this: they aren't just timeline changes or ways of placing the characters in similar roles in non supernatural settings, they are way, way big and entire AUs. I really like them conceptually - ya girl loves a good (or not good!) romcom - but they are really quite out of the ordinary. I guess I learned that I kinda don't care - I wrote it because I liked it, and I had fun with it!

5. Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year?

Nah. I finished my Woman Borne sequel, which was the goal I had set at the beginning of last year, and I'm probably just going to resign my work on my too ambitious Chase/Cameron fic, so I'm good.

6. From my past year of writing, what was…

Story Most Underappreciated by the Universe:

But A Walking Shadow. I'm not afraid to say how sad I am about this. I'm really, intensely proud of this story: the writing is good, the characters are good, it's lengthy (for me), it's chapter fic, it's part of a universe I've already worked on, there's action instead of just Emotional Talking - it felt like I did everything right, and it still didn't make a difference.

Most Fun:

Hand in Hand, Side by Side probably - I like Steve/Peggy and a Virtue/Moir AU for them was a blast to write. But I actually had a lot of fun with a bunch of them!

Most Disappointing:

By Those Who Show Up is a little too liberal wonky - too much political talk, not quite enough emotional buildup. To All Our Histories Which Haven't Yet Happened is also a little exhausting and repetitive in concept and would have probably been better if there were more substance between the little stories, but I really like the title, so that helps it out.

Most Sexy:

Steve and Peggy end up in a bed and kiss there in Oh, But Aren't You Already My Darling? so ha ha ha, that is extremely sexy!

Hardest to Write:

They kinda ended up in either the "it took four days from beginning to final edit" category, or the "I'm afraid I might just be writing this for the next several years" one this time around. I took a lot of care with But A Walking Shadow, and I stopped writing Childhood Friends for a while to work on other stuff and there was a point where I couldn't make In Spirit of the Season not incredibly depressing and a piece of Peggy character assassination, but most of my Buffy fics were like this (well tell her that I miss our little talks was the exception - that's why it's listed as posted like three weeks before the rest of them).

Most Unintentionally Telling:

As I was writing In Spirit of the Season, I literally said aloud, "I think I might have something weird going on internally with motherhood."

Choice Lines:

From But A Walking Shadow:

The force of her fingers, the directness of her gaze: for a moment he fears that she is about to kiss his mouth with the desperate confidence he’d felt before he’d boarded Schmidt’s plane. But instead, she leans up and presses her lips beneath his ear. He shivers; he always does, there, and she knows that.

He just can’t think of the noise and the flames, the collapse, when his mind and heart and guts weigh so human inside him.

The anger is worn and so tired inside of him.

"I don’t want to kill you,” says the man, pushing the words out. The soldier's arm, built to last, built to kill, shakes at the thought that he will die gasping. “And I don’t want to die. And I can’t bring you to meet my family like this.” His frame trembles. His eyes are magnified, wide as the stars.

There is such future and fragility in yet.

He remembers the way she fit in two hands the first time he held her, how she sometimes trips downstairs and curls up sleepily in his lap when he comes back from a run early in the morning. He loves her so much. Finally, he hugs her. “Have a good day, sweetheart,” he says, and lets her go.

From to walk to where you are sleeping:

“Enough is enough,” she tells herself most mornings, when she wakes up gritty-eyed and already teary from dreaming. “Enough is enough,” when she wants to tell Steve about her day, when she spots hair like his from the corner of her eye, when she has another lonely cup of tea at her table, when she wants just a bit of his optimism to drive her onward. “It was two years out of more than twenty, it is time to be done with mourning, enough is enough.” And then one night she opens her eyes into the darkness of her bedroom and tells herself, “Enough.”

He is here, he is here: what fragile and disturbing joy.

She watched so many good people die - not just Steve, not just her brother, but the boys who came from her home village, and the sweet air force pilot she’d kissed on the New Year of 1940, and the lady who’d sold ice cream through the Blitz and been suffocated by an improperly constructed Anderson shelter - and perhaps she doesn’t have to turn her grief out of doors and lock herself up.

From To The Neighborhood:

For a moment, she regrets not having one of those emergency call buttons that her daughter Joan (Dr. Oglethorpe hasn’t been allowed to call her Joanie in years) recommends when she makes her monthly call from Columbus, or at least a cellular phone.

From Oh, But Aren't You Already My Darling?:

Steve rests his hands on her wrists, so gentle, and she wants to cry. “Peg,” he says quietly, “can you maybe track me down a pair of pants? I know my legs aren’t really working yet, but I’ve had enough of showing off in a hospital gown for one lifetime.”

From By Those Who Show Up:

“Hell yeah,” says Bucky. “I was over there ten years and only lost an arm. Six months of doing this with you and I’ve basically lost my life.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’m thinning up top, Steve, I swear to God.”

From well tell her that I miss our little talks:

(Note to self: start organizing things on the kitchen calendar. Note to self: get a kitchen calendar.)

There's basically cartoony whistling sound, like her optimism is Wile E. Coyote falling off a cliff.

She hugged a pillow against her chest. She’d sign him up for a couple of community college mailing lists; maybe sitting in the back of some dense philosophy class would remind him why college wasn’t for everyone, or at least distract him. Her luck: he’d get all nerdy enthusi-Angel and just double down on the college fun talk. She really missed him. “Anyway,” she recalled herself. “I’m thinking maybe going all in on the spick and span could have something to do with you turning the dial up to Angel on the Broodometer.”

"....You’re allowed to think that you’re worth more than him, even if he was the one with the pulse.”

From So Hurry Up and Lose Me, Hurry Up and Find Me (Again):

Also, Angel has to be worried about being ‘busted, and not just in the Dust way.

How glad she is for him, knowing what he’s been through, knowing for herself how frightening it is to dangle unsupported and exhaust yourself hoping for a loving hand.

When Willow is like this, firm steps and a commanding voice, closed eyes as she puts a hand on the last sorcerer's shoulder, it’s hard for Buffy to hold in her mind Willow shy and sweet at sixteen. But then Will nods to Buffy, and without a thought, Buffy fells the robed woman. They’ve both changed. Neither of them will ever be sixteen again.

From Here We Are, Trapped (But Is It a Trap If I'm With You?):

“No. I’m counting on you to do the right thing for everyone, even if it might happen to include you.”

From To All Our Histories Which Haven't Yet Happened:

“He was younger than I am now, and older than you would want to be.”

From Childhood Friends:

Peggy, who had spent the afternoon she received the letter holding the hand of a boy - and he had been a boy - as he screamed and screamed toward death, had delayed replying, as she had not been able to summon a response to such grievances for nearly a week.

That she had spent her childhood at this very house with her dresses in a hopeless muddle and her knees insistently grass-stained, and that Steve had recently seen her in both a wrinkled nurse’s uniform after a night shift and indifferent mourning crepe below a tear-stained face, made her only more determined to put her best foot forward in this encounter.

...and Peggy concentrated on the feeling of his hand in hers, on the heat of him through his jacket, and felt despair and grave hope.

But her husband, who remembered a similar expression on his own mother’s face when he had professed his intention to marry Amanda, upon hearing whose surname even Charles II would have replied “Whom?” pulled her toward himself once more and said only, “Let them dance.”

#the only thing i still post on livejournal #my fic reflections for the year

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handmadecp · 6 years

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Leather Camping stool.

This weeks project is a three leg small camping stool. Some one sent me a picture of one they saw on holiday and I said..gotta have one..ya know..like you do lol. So..here’s how I made mine..which I might add..is super comfortable.

Pic 1: I remembered I had an old camping stool in my shed..you know those nylon and cheap stitching ones that fall apart after a few uses, I’m glad i didn’t throw it away as it came in handy as a Template. I used it to mark out a shape on the leather for the seat as shown and to get the sizes for the leather pieces that would become the leg ‘pockets’. As seen here the leather was cut and then ..as is quite usual these days i figured what a waste of leather just to cut it and leave it bare..so I found some designs in my book and cobbled something together that I think suits nicely. I did the usual tracing the design then transferring it to the leather using a metal ball point stylus.

Pic 2 : I was told in my early days that I shouldn’t use Tracing paper as it gets wet from the wet leather and will tear....well I’ve never had a problem with it and it’s very cheap..just don’t press too hard and don’t use a normal pen or pencil as that is asking for trouble if it should tear. seen here the pattern is taped down to prevent it moving around whilst i transfer it. I use decorators paper tape it doesn’t stick as much so won’t harm the leather...it works for me..but do what feels right to you.

Pic 3 : You can see here the outline transferred onto the leather..I didn’t have to press hard at all so no issue with the tracing paper.

Pic 4 : I used my new arthritic finger friendly swivel knife from Tandy to carve the picture ready for tooling. (No it’s not called that lol..but the fatter grip helps reduce the cramping in my fingers. )

Pic 5 : I used the dividers first to mark the line and pushed a bit harder on the second pass to have a slight groove already which I found helps to guide the actual ‘Groover’ seen here and keeps it from slipping quite so much.

Pic 6 : Using the dividers I marked the second line for the next stitch groove, I’ve since learned that it’s best to sand your edge smooth all round first because later when I did it I ended up getting a bit close to the stitch groove..so lesson learned there..but it worked out ok.

Pic 7 : Then I used the edger to round things off a bit on the edges..always very satisfying doing this bit..don’t know why..just try it yourself and you’ll see what I mean lol.

Pic 8: Ok, so stitch grooves are done which created a nice border line which just screamed out for a border stamp so I used one of my favorites as shown here and with the extra thick leather it came out lovely and deep and crisp with a nice dark out line thanks to wetting the leather first. You can see on the back of the leather I have again used the paper tape to help avoid too much ‘stretching’ of the leather whilst Hammering on it with stamps and tools etc.

Pic 9 : close up of the stamp used.

Pic 10 : The finished border stamp.

Pic 11 : The bevellers I used to do the outline tooling. I did add more to the design towards the end as will be seen later.

Pic 12 : The added design adds something more to the overall ..I think. and the stippled back grounder has done a great job. All done using just the basic tooling kit you can find online. I usually like to make a deep carve with lots of flower petal lifting etc..just my own choice and taste..but with this being a seat I didn’t see the point as it would only be flattened by all the bums sitting on it .

Pic 13 : I then used the Time Bond glue by Evo-Stick to initially attach the leg pockets, I used this instead of 528 because I figured I might need to peel off and try again if my lining up didn’t go well...it went ok. I only realised after gluing these that I could really do with adding some extra leather for strength inside the pockets because when sat on the legs will want to push through the tip ends of the seat..so, what did I do to get around this ??..read on.

Pic 14 : Ta daaa..well ok..not a major fix but does the job..next time I’ll attach these before I glue the pockets on. I cut these to fit and glued them inside the pockets..does the job and looks ok.

Pic 15 : used the edger again to round the edges off a bit more.

Pic 16 : Next comes the stitch holes, I used a 4mm gap Craft Tool stitch punch as shown here rather than the stitch awl as there were a lot of stitches on this one.

Pic 17 : I used the Saddle stitch with a slight slope for effect on this one, ohhh my god it took for ever..if ever there was a case for spending on an Industrial sowing machine..this is it, sore hands cut fingers..but also..a great sense of achievement once finished. the Dark Brown waxed thread I used looks great against the leathers natural color and as it’s sunken inside the stitch groove line I don’t need to worry about it getting ‘worn’ by bums rubbing on it as it’s sat below the level of the seat itself.

Pic 18 : I decided to add one extra touch both as part of the design and also for extra strength.I used Copper Rivets and here you see the tools I used, peen hammer, low cutter snips and the proper rivet tool to help fix the rivet caps and to dome the cut end ready for the hammer and the copper rivets themselves. note the thickness and quality of the leather used..this seat should last for many years.

Pic 19 : close up of the copper rivets underneath. Yes..the stitching is a bit wonky underneath..mainly I think because as I hit the stitch hole punch the leather wobbled as it sticks up...more care at this next time should remedy that..another lesson learned to improve my work.

Pic 20 : And finally, I coated the whole thing in Fiebings Leather Sheene to water proof and protect. It goes on a milky color but dries clear and can be buffed to a really nice shine very easily.

Pic 21 : The finished seat..still drying in this pic hence some of the darker areas, here you can see the design and how well the copper rivets go with it.

Pic 22 : I’m very happy with how this came out, it’s quite an easy project for someone who’s used the tools and has a basic understanding of what’s what so why not give it a go, maybe share your pics with us.

Pic 23 : The finished stool, I’ve attached metal tripod legs to this one temporarily but will be making some wooden legs for it, these will be available on my ETSY shop as soon as they get made..plain leather ones in flesh color or reds blues blacks Tans Browns..what ever I can come up with...if it’s on the shop it’s for sale. I will also be making some with a decorative border and will accept commissions for Hand tooled / Carved Personalised ones such as this one..offering with wooden legs or these solid black metal legs. I can be contacted via the messages on ETSY. Thanks for following my little projects, I hope you’ve enjoyed this build along and maybe it’s convinced you to have a go yourself. feel free to drop me a line I’m always happy to share ideas. I’m not a professional I started myself just 3 years ago this October hence the title of my blog but I am well and truly addicted to it now. many more projects to come this year so watch this space and as always..Stay Crafty.

#camp stool #leather stool #personalized stool #Crafts & Hobbies

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