Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

So, I've spent more days than not in the last two weeks in "Host Mode." Basically, trying to be a gracious host, socially mingle, present stuff to groups, and the like. Today was the last of those days for a while.

While I'm not an introvert, and can maybe be a tad overbearing as an extrovert, I do need to "recharge" on my own to recover. I've not had that chance these last two weeks. But now that I'm done, I can rest.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed doing it all. But I'm not just out of spoons, I'm out of forks, butterknives and all I have left are the steak knives, chopsticks and soup spoons.

Literally and mentally. 🙂

This picture doesn't do it justice, but when the sun hits it at just the right angle, it's radiant.

Pictures Before Bed:

Getting some 'me' time. I was kind of getting bored with VR "experiences" when I realized that these environments could literally be total living spaces on their own. So why not just live in a super cute Japanese kawaii train? I mean, I'm already living in a spaceship in Second Life....

I need to find a better movie, though.

Oh wow. The northern lights tonight are powerful tonight.

I believe it was a wise philosopher who once said "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me."

Thoughts Before Bed

Heckuva day, y'all. Let's do it again sometime.

After the pride event, I took a quick shower (IT WAS WARM) and headed over to Lissa and Crystals for an after party. And by after party I mean EAT SMOKED MEAT AND COLLAPSE ON THE COUCH.

I was going to treat myself to some ice cream, but my body craved citrus instead. I made sure to give it what it wanted.

Ten months from "Sure, I'll go down there to be there with you" to "We did it."

An incredible ten months of working, managing, guessing and hoping, to this.

Great job everyone. Absolutely great job.

#duvallpride #getinvolved

Well. That's one way to get ready for tomorrow's pride event...

Nice to check off another bucket list item.

#aurora

Looks like it's time to install the AC. Temps in the 80s this weekend.

This whole crazy journey began almost two years ago when I chased off someone from stealing a pride flag from a local business.

Today it feels like the end of that chapter. But the book has taken an interesting turn.

So it turns out the missing ingredients were in the dipping sauce and not the nuggets, so I just added them proportionally and...

THIS WEEK'S FANCY PANTS MEAL: Karaage

Japanese chicken nuggets are the best chicken nuggets. And frankly, if I ever want to make chickie nuggies, this is the recipe I'm going to. Despite all the sauces going into the marinade, the nuggets have a very mild flavor, and the potato starch with double fry makes for a super crispy chickie nuggie.

The dipping sauce is...hoo boy. I'd probably pull back on the amount of wasabi unless you enjoy having your sinuses flushed out. I do, but this is even a bit much for me.

Absolutely a make-again meal. Maybe try a different dipping sauce if wasabi isn't your thing.

# Karaage
Street Fighter: The Official Street Food Cookbook

0.25 cup Japanese mayonnaise
2.0 tbsp prepared wasabi
1.0 tsp black pepper [wasabi mayo sauce]
1.0 tbsp tonkatsu sauce
2.0 tsp rice vinegar
0.3333333333333333 cup soy sauce
3.0 tbsp sake
8.0 cloves garlic (grated)
8.0 grams ginger (peeled) (grated)
1.0 tsp sugar
0.5 tsp salt
1.0 tsp black pepper [karaage]
2.0 pounds chicken thigh (boneless) (skinless) (cut into bite sized pieces)
1.0 cup potato starch
1.0 tsp ground ginger
peanut oil
1.0 lemon slice

Dipping Sauce:
1 - Combine the mayonnaise, wasabi, black pepper, tonkatsu sauce and rice vinegar in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Karaage:
1 - Combine the soy sauce, sake, garlic, ginger, sugar, salt and pepper in a large sealable bag.
2 - Toss in the chicken thighs and mix together until fully coated. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
3 - After the chicken has marinated, combine the potato starch and ground ginger in a small bowl.
4 - Fill a deep heavy pot with 1 1/2 inches of peanut oil, and heat to 325°F (165°C) over medium-high heat.
5 - Transfer the marinated chicken into a large bowl.
6 - Drain as much excess liquid as you can, at leasttfo the point that it isn't soaking.
7 - Add the potatoe starch mixture, and mix until all the chicken is covered. It will become pasty and look a bit patchy.
8 - Once the oil has reached the desired temperature, carefully place a few pieces of chicken in the oil, making sure to not overcrowd the pot.
9 - Fry for the 90 seconds.
10 - Transfer to a plate covered with paper towels. Repeat in batches with the remaining chicken.
11 - After all the pieces have been cooked once, increase the oil temperature to 350°F (180°C).
12 - Refry all the pieces of chicken in batches for 60 seconds.
13 - Transfer to a plate covered with paper towels. The second T extra crispy! Serve with lemon slices and the dipping sauce on the side.

Yields 4 servings at 37.5g carbs per serving.
Calories 670
Total Fat 37g
Total Carbohydrate 33g
Protein 41g

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

This Week's Bread: Japanese Milk Bread

When it comes from a bakery, I love this bread. SUPER soft, mildly sweet.

This version is not as soft, but still super soft, and that may be because I might have overcooked the tangzhong, which is a kind of "dough conditioner." Still, it softened the bread wonderfully. I was also surprised to see there was cinnamon and cardamom in this, which gives a nice flavor on top of the sweetness.

# Japanese Milk Bread

Street Fighter: The Official Street Food Cookbook

2.0 tbsp bread flour [tangzhong]
0.5 cup milk [tangzhong]
1.0 tbsp active dry yeast
0.75 cup milk (warm) [dough]
1.0 tsp salt
1.0 tsp ground cardamom
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.3333333333333333 cup sugar
1.0 whole egg (room temperature) [dough]
0.25 cup unsalted butter (softened)
nonstick spray
1.0 whole egg [eggwash]
2.0 tbsp milk [eggwash]
2.75 cup bread flour [dough]

Tangzhong:
1 - Combine bread flour and milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2 - Whisk until it comes together, about 1 minute. Set aside to cool.

Dough:
3 - Combine yeast and milk in a small bowl, and let rest for 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to become active and frothy.
4 - In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, combine the bread flour, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, and sugar.
5 - Add the tangzhong, yeast mixture, and egg to the bowl, and mix until it just comes together.
6 - While the dough begins to form, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time.
7 - Knead the dough for 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 tablespoon (8 g) of flour at a time. If it is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time.
8 - Lightly oil a large bowl with a neutral oil or nonstick spray. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm location for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
9 - Punch down the dough, and knead for a few minutes.
10 - Divide the dough into 3 equal portions.
11 - Grease a deep loaf pan or other deep bread-baking pan.
12 - Take one of the portions and roll the dough out into a long rectangle. Make sure the width of the rolled-out portion is not wider than the baking dish you are using.
13 - Starting from a short end of the rectangle, carefully roll up the dough. Place in the prepared baking pan, seam-side down. Repeat with the other portions.
14 - Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise again at room temperature for 30 minutes or until it doubles in size.
15 - Preheat an oven to 350°F

Egg Wash:
16 - In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk to combine.
17 - Remove the plastic wrap from the baking pan, and brush the top of the bread with the egg wash.

Dough:
18 - Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Makes 1 loaf of 10 slices at 37.5g per slice.

Calories 246
Total Fat 2g
Total Carbohydrates 37g
Protein 7g

#thisweeksmeals #baking #cooking

Usually on May the 4th I watch the original trilogy (de-specialized) and two of the prequels (in Machete order) but the last few days have been busy busy busy.

Let's fix that now....

It's May the 4th and you know what that means!

There's a saying in the LGBT community that "It gets better." Sometimes, you have to be one of the ones who makes it better. Get involved and things can change.

I FINALLY sat down and finished Transformers: Devastation after who knows how long. Admittedly I used the chapter restart to drop the difficulty, but I finished it!

Which game so I do next? SF5 I have for my PC, and I'd rather not play MKX until I play MK9. So this leaves Horizon: Zero Dawn as my next game or Final Fantasy 7.

Which should it be?