Welp, I am pleasently surprised. Other than my legs hurting like mad, it really wasn't that difficult to make.

Unfortunately, the past two months my taste has been extremely erratic, so I can't say how this tastes, other than very beany (but I do know it should taste just fine. I've made gorditas with this same sweet bean paste for at least two years now. Tested with the wife, though, and the cinnamon I added is what is the strongest flavor).

As for the mayocoba beans, they were the best for making sweet paste that I could reliably find around our little city.

As for the recipe. Meh, there's nothing really to write down. I have never been a heavy sugar eater, and these health issues have made eating lots of sugar a bloody pain in the arse. So I added just enough sugar...(maybe, as I really can't taste the sugar right now. So I guessed, HAH!). A wee bit of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.

Now, as for the mochi, I did follow a recipe I found on youtube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzfKNUL78pY)

12 oz. Water
8 oz. Sweet rice flour
4 oz. Sugar

mixed the mochi in a skillet, let it soak for a bit and rolled the sweet bean paste into balls, fried on medium heat, then low heat, then placed onto a pile of cornstarch, and went from there.

It really didn't stay as hot as I was afraid it was going to be. The bean paste could have used a light freeze/chill, or drying as most of it was too sticky to form the mochi. Plus, I should have made a slightly larger batch, as I tried to thin the mochi up which tore on several of them. Meh, live and learn.

I wish I could taste them to their fullest, but meh, it's my fault for trusting a doctor, HAH!

Just adding this an hour later to show how bloody erratic my taste is. Now the bean flavor is extremely faint and the sugar is very very strong. Now it's almost sickly sweet, 🙄, and I know I didn't add that much sugar to the bean paste.

I keep forgetting about the Lemmy groups, and my health sucks, so this post is just trying to make my addled brain remember these groups, heh.

Anyhoo, this project is for my elder son (if anyone remembers the Vault Boy one I made for my younger son a few months back), and I'm attempting a few new tricks.

1. I stapled this monks cloth to a painting frame. It does look like I'll need to do some tightening once I'm done, though. So I hope I can figure that out.
2. I painted the outside, eyes, and mouth, and I do like how the mouth and eyes make the fabric pop.
3. I found a larger needle that came with a kit on one heck of a sale at Hobby Lobby, and that is what I'm using. However, it is a tad too large for the yarn I got. So quite a bit of it looks rather frazzled, :thinking:.
4. And I'm attempting (all-be-it a poor one) flow. (I have no idea what the proper term would be, heh, but it's where the thread leans in one direction, or flows along a line so each row...erm...flows with every other row. (Oof! Well hopefully you can understand that gibberish, HAH).

Meh, regardless of the issues (and boy can I not draw worth snot) it still looks pretty darn good. Now for the body...:grimacing:...The proportions are just a tad off, but it'll have to do.

woops! Guess I didn't post about the Vault Sweet Vault here...Well, here's that one.

I'm almost 50, and my knee kept me awake all night long. I have a son going in for a colonoscopy, so I tell my wife I may not be able to stay awake...I got yelled at for it.

God damn I wish I could find a job my broken body could do and get the fuck out of this house. Just leave.

End rant.

I've been using one of the Pandora services, but I've been getting a little annoyed with the stations (which I presume I would get the same annoyance from other services, too). So I'd like to be able to create a station and add songs that I own and that wouldn't normally be in that station. (And I know you can add artists to the stations, but some artists only have a few songs I like, and I surely don't want the station inundated with similar artists of the music I don't like. Shudder the thought, 😬 ).

Not as I envisioned, but still not too bad.

About four years ago I had come up with this kind of design for a dandelion as a representation of pain. Which, this one gives a sense of loneliness, too (at least for me. My wife is beginning to show her anger and hatered towards me again. So it's definitely how I have been feeling today).

First time doing an odd shaped fabric thingy, so the edges aren't too great. Plus, didn't figure out a better method of punching around the outlines til close to the end...Meh, still makes us all giggle like school children, heh.

Oh, if anyone knows of a video tutorial on folding over, shaping, and gluing monks cloth with odd shapes (i don't have this issue with softer fabrics)...I'd be so thankful, heh. I just could not get it to work, so I just gave up and rubbed marker over the edges.

Forgot to mention what I used.

Lavor needle with the largest needle in the package.
The black yarn is sport weight "I Love This Yarn" (the maximum this needle could handle).
The white is an unknown we had in our stash, and a faint thinner than the black.
Artiste Monks cloth, 1yd x 62in. (unknown thread count, purchased from Hobby Lobby).

And here is the frame I made.

This is the second frame I made, and since I used my table saw to cut the dowel, it left a large gap, to which I used the jute as a means to grasp onto the cloth. However, it was partially intentional as I wanted to put more into the dowels holding onto the sides of the fabric over the center parts.

The only real problem I had with it was the dowels. It's not easty gripping and twisting to tighten the fabric down. I much prefer the square ones I made on my first model. They offered a much better grip for tightening. Once I feel up to it, I'll make a couple for this one, but they'll have to be thinner than the first model. Which might not be possible. Hmm! Still haven't decided on what I'll do yet.

Seen it's been rather quiet here, I figure a new off the wall message might be helpful to break the silence, 😉

Anyway, on top of the many chronic pains, and the medicinally induced GERD thanks to the chronic pains and the paranoia over opioids (Yay, to being a guinea pig...👿 ). Now I get the old man stuff. A pulled muscle where I never knew a pulled muscle could be. Hairs, tickling the side of my nose...GROWING FROM INSIDE OF MY NOSE. Long hairs on the sides of my ears..."Look, Ma! I'm a linx" 🙄 .

Then there's the brain drain...Hoo boy, the number of times I almost cut myself or have to be extremely...I mean extremely careful when using my power saws...Yeeeeeeesh!

And, to make this circus even more fun, I really really should see a doctor...And I have decided to just say screw it and go into deep debt...Me thinks the medicinally induced GERD has gone into a new phase. The first year was extreme dizziness, difficulty breathing, plastic smelling sweat, and bad chest pains. 2nd year, it got better, and the dizziness wasn't that bad. Going on the third year now, and hoo boy, the discomfort I had in my belly just below my ribs (both sides) are now pains...Holy halibuts can they hurt. Then there's some new pains in the middle of my back (New? Maybe? I don't have a bloody clue...It's hard to remember what's old and what's new...🤨 ). That's not all, but that's not the embarrassing stuff...Also, the plastic smelling sweat has come back pretty bloody strong, too. (And there goes a sharp stabbing pain just under my ribs about three inches from my right-most side...Yeesh).

Oh yeah, then there's my lungs being used as a damn kidney...WTH is that all about? If I eat too much salt, tums, alka seltzer I'll hack sodium/salt out of my lungs. Too much sugar? That'll come hork up, too...Hell, I made some shrimp with some lemon juice and was hacking up citrus flavored phlegm...Holy Mother of Zeus...

On a good note, these new things have...erm...dulled? quieted? masked? the majority of my pains. So I've been able to cook & clean more. So...That's...um...well...nice...I guess. 😶 ...

Ok! That's my message for the day...Now wasn't that so much fun? "Not really, my belly hurts", 🤣 🤣 🤣 And now I'm hungry...again...I miss spicy food...😢 and I miss being able to out eat my entire family..."Long live high metabolism"...

He put lemon in the coconut (milk)
He fried the shrimp up
He put lemon in the coconut (milk)
He fried the shrimp up
He said, "Honey, I have but one little wish".
He said, "honey, for you to try this little dish".
He said, "Honey, taste this tiny shellfish."
He said, "Honey, C'mon try this little dish".

Aaaaaand, that is pretty much the only reason I wanted to post this, 😂. I think I pulled something laughing so hard when it came to me. 🤣

Anyway, it is really good. Like really really good.

10 small shrimp, deveined.
1/4 c. The thick coconut cream on coconut milk.
1 tsp. Lemon juice.
1 clove crushed garlic
pinch of ground ginger
a large handful of Rao's Fusilli noodles.

cook noodles then cool and set aside. Keep 1/4 cup of the noodle water.

fry shrimp in a tablespoon of coconut oil til well cooked. Add in coconut cream, ginger, and garlic. Cook for about a minute or two. Add in noodle water. Cook for about two minutes. Toss in noodles, add salt and pepper and continue cooking for two to five minutes, til thickened.

Why did I mention coconut cream? Well, because of this milk

It had a large chunk of cream on the top, and I didn't think about checking for it, heh. However, it was awesome, and worked beautifully. So why not add that bit of info? 😏

And just in case the link doesn't work again, 🙄 , https://forum.lettucecraft.com/t/rosemary-lamb-pie/28337

Oof! Quite pained from making this, but meh, I'm in pain all the time anyway, 🤣 🤣 🤣 .

Anyway, this is quite good, and I do think I should have added a wee bit more liquid to it before baking, but meh, not a problem, heh.

Huh! This is actually good.

Oat pancakes

Blend dry ingredients together.

1/2 c. Flour
1/2 c. Oat flour
1/4 c. Buttermilk powder
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
Pinch of salt

Date water

in a small sauce pan, boil 5 medjool dates with one cup water til the skins fall off. Take out all but two dates, and blend the dates and water til smooth. (note: you only really need two dates...Uh, I wanted to eat them after boiling, so I wasn't even planning on making the rest, heh. That just happened as I really wanted to use the water in something).

(Substitute the date water with 1 Tbls. sugar and 1 c. water if you don't want to use dates)

mix well date water, two tablespoons melted butter, and one egg into the dry ingredients.

cover and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

make pancake.

Spiced Cherry Sauce

(unfortunattly, no real recipe, but I bet the measurements will be close enough).

in a sauce pan, mix and heat

1 c. Cherries
2 Tbls. Water (add half a teaspoon at a time if you need more water)
2 Tbls. Sugar (add 1/4 cup or more if you want it sweeter).
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
Pinch of ground clove

Cook over medium low heat til the cherries fall apart and the sauce thickens.

For the cherries, I used Great Value frozen cherry medley.

i did the dumb thing of trying to separate the skins from the pulp...Tlagwv osdi vsgi yigesvna (Cherokee: That was not that great). It took about three times as long to Thicken. Pshew! Also, was completely unnecessary as the mash tastes just as good as the sauce, Meh, was curious, and that curiosity was...erm...sort of satisfied. Heh!

Just finished the video, which is crap, buuuut is good enough, heh.

(my wife made this on her phone, and I just love it, heh).

Cast on 4 stitches.

1. kfb S2 wyif move yarn to back, slip last slipped stitch to left needle. Knit in the front of the last stitch on the left needle, slip stich, knit in the back.
2. kfb ( K1 S1 wyif )2 kfb
3. kfb K1 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K1 kfb
4. kfb K2 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K2 kfb
5. kfb K3 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K3 kfb
6. kfb K4 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K4 kfb
7. kfb K5 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K5 kfb
8. K7 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K7
9. K3tog K4 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K4 K3tog
10. K2tog K3 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K3 K2tog
11. K2tog K2 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K2 K2tog
12. K2tog K1 ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K1 K2tog
13. K2tog ( K1 S1 wyif )2 K2tog
14. Reorder stitches (From left to right) as follows, 5,3,6,4,2,1

(Realized a little late that 5 & 3 could be knitted together before moving the stitches to the right needle, and would move the yarn to the left side for starting the I-cord knitting, but yeah, you can do that. If you don't do that, then just change the K1 in row 15 to K2tog).

15. K2tog K2tog K1
16. K3
17. K2tog K1
18. K2 Repeat 18 to the length of tail you want.

Pull tail through remaining two stitches. Sew in ends.

Notes:

Reorder stitches (From left to right) as follows, 5,3,6,4,2,1

WIthout using the tail, slip the first two stitches, slip the next stitch onto the front of the right needle, slip stitch, slip the last stitch from the left needle. Slip the first stitch from the right needle onto the left needle. Turn the left needle and knit those two stitches together through the back. (The video will help with this).

Added times to jump to different parts in the video description.

Ok! Hopefully that's all good...enough...

(and to make sure Lemmy or Connect doesn't remove my link, here it is in text form https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zzwqjmdkNd4...And Lemmy/Connect kept this link after posting...So I guess I don't need this...But I'll leave it down at the bottom anyway).

Just made/created this for my wife. It still gets below freezing, so I'll pop this into her truck tonight after she goes to bed tonight. Will be a nice surprise when she leaves for work tomorrow morning, 😊

One slight little hiccup, it seems like it's a bit too soft, but it just may need to rest in the fridge for much longer. I just wanted to get it ready before she got home. Meh, she'll still like it any way.

Jesus! Thought the recipe was linked...welp, here it is again.

Caramel Swirl Fudge