Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

A lot of VR is IRC for extroverts.

@Mondobizarrro - it's turned into "what can we feed Rhett and Link today?" But the food looks REAL good.

Finally, it's here!

I've been looking forward to this for a while, because some of the food I've seen from Mythical Kitchen has been fantastic, and I've made the Orange Chicken Parm which was even more fantastic.

I had picked up Josh Scherer's first cookbook, the Culinary Bro-Down Cookbook, expecting Mythical Kitchen food and instead I got gourmet level junk food that would, with my blood sugar issues, likely have ended with my death by sweet sweet deliciousness.

The Mythical Cookbook looks REALLY good, and while it's still probably a little rich for my....health, I'm looking forward to tryin the stuff inside anyways.

Glad to see Cotton Hill's transition is going well. Pity about her head

I always find mascots that encourage you to eat their own kind really creepy.

Really good fish and chips, though.

I'm sad to say that the Second Life VR experience is very...lacking. I'll give it this: Second Life wasn't made for VR, and the VR setup is a bit of a hack/tweak.

The good news: It's in 3D. It really becomes a worldspace with physiciality. While you start in third person, you can go into mouselook and basically "BE" your avatar. The head camera works really well in third-person and mouselook, and once you zoom out in third person mode, you can have a really good 3D experience in SL. Which, really, is all you'll get.

The bad news: The controls are SUPER arcane. I had to look in multiple webpages on how to get Firestorm VR it up and running and started. There are controls for you Occulus controllers but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to work them, and after deleting several pieces of my house, I moved back to keyboard and mouse (good thing I can touch type).

In all, it's less a VR experience and more a 3D experience, and while the 3D is quite nice, it's just Desktop SL in 3D. But it's not TERRIBLE. I'll keep trying it, maybe it'll grow on me.

@NanoRaptor @socketwench - Do you have any Juice of Sapho? I need to set my mind in motion and caffiene is just not cutting it these days.

@Holocluck - You don't have to chill it, but it helps stiffen the protiens so whipping air into it is a lot easier.

@Orb2069 - It may have been an emotional experience. Not the VR part. But at least seeing myself reflected in a mirror and the reflection being one I liked.

Hello from Jenn inside a virtual Zelda body. ❤

#resonite

This Week's Bread: "Authentic British" Scones

So this one has a little bit of a story. A friend of mine, Taylor, is from Australia, saw my Angel Biscuits from the other day, and said, as most folks from outside the US say, "THOSE AREN'T BISCUITS THOSE ARE SCONES."

A lively discussion ensued about what was a biscuit, what was a scone, and why American scones AREN'T scones, either. So I decided to make Authentic British Scones, and I know they authentically British because even though a Mexican from Texas made them, the recipe says they're Authentically British.

Originally I was going to make clotted cream for them, but (1) proper clotted cream is illegal in the US, (2) I couldn't find anyone selling raw milk locally to MAKE it, (3) the recipe for a substitute took 24 hours to make and I wanted them tonight. So I made whipped cream instead.

These are GOOD.

They taste like a southern biscuit, not as salty and buttery but a bit more mildly sweet. They're also more crumbly than flakey. But with a dollop of jam and a dollop of whipped cream, these are just amazingly heaven.

Americans are missing out on proper scones, unless we actually MAKE proper scones, and they're just called something else like pop-bisc-yahoo-cookies.

# Authentic British Scones

Curious Cuisiniere
6.0 scones

2.0 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2.0 tbsp sugar
4.0 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
3.0 tbsp unsalted butter
0.6666666666666666 cup milk (dough)
1.0 whole egg yolk
1.0 tbsp milk (glaze)

1 - Preheat your oven to 425F.
2 - Beat the yolk and the milk for the glaze in a small bowl. Put aside.
3 - In a medium bowl, place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter.
4 - Rub the mixture together with your fingers to break up the butter, until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
5 - Add the milk slowly, mixing as you add, using enough of the milk to get your dough to come together with no lumps remaining. Your dough should be quite sticky. If a good consistency is not achieved with the listed amount of milk, continue adding until your dough reaches a good consistency.
6 - Spoon the dough out onto a well-floured surface.
7 - Generously dust the top of the dough and knead the dough 2-3 times to coat it with flour and smooth the surface.
8 - Press the dough into a round that is roughly 1 inch thick.
9 - Using a well-floured cookie cutter, cut the dough into 2 inch circles. (Be sure to press the cookie cutter straight down and up. Twisting the cookie cutter will impact the amount of rise you get on your scones.)
10 - Place the rounds onto a greased and floured baking sheet.
11 - Brush them gently with the egg yolk and milk mixture.
12 - Bake the scones for 12-15 minutes, until golden and firm.
13 - Remove the baked scones from the oven and let them cool for 30 minutes (if you can resist). If you like softer scones, cover them with a clean tea towel as they cool.

Website Notes:
This scone batter freezes well. We like to freeze pre-cut rounds of dough for easy baking (just thaw and bake as directed).
Alternately, freeze the baked scones and reheat in a low oven for 5-10 minutes after thawing on the counter.

Makes 6 scones at ~37.5g carbs per scone
Calories 246
Total Fat 7g
Total Carbohydrate 38g
Protein 5g

Normally yields 10 2-inch scones.

#thisweeksmeals #baking

This Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Pad Kra Pao

Oh, this is a five star recipe for sure. I had to make some substitutions (I didn't have any fish sauce and used regular basil for holy basil). It's essentially a meat and rice bowl with a fiery savoury spicy twist

Also while I've yet to have a bad meal from the Street Fighter Cookbook (yes, that's a thing), I need to look through the book way earlier. A lot of these recipes look good but call for exotic ingredients that I need to get from out of town.

Some caveats: I had trouble with the minced chicken as all I had was a blender which turned everything into a paste. As it cooked I kept breaking it up and eventually it became ground chicken.

Also be warned, the minute the chilies hit the pan your kitchen will become a capsaicin nightmare. Prepare yourself accordingly.

# Pra Kra Prao

Street Fighter: The Official Street Food Cookbook
4.0 servings

5.0 whole Thai chiles (stems removed)
5.0 cloves garlic (minced)
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
2.0 tsp oyster sauce
2.5 tsp fish sauce
0.25 cup chicken broth
2.0 tsp sugar
1.0 tbsp canola oil (for cooking)
canola oil (for egg)
2.0 whole shallots (thinly sliced)
1.0 pound chicken thigh (minced)
1.0 whole green bean (sliced into bite sized pieces)
1.25 cups holy basil leaves
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
2.0 cups rice (cooked)
4.0 whole eggs

1 - Place the Thai chiles and garlic cloves in a mortar and pestle. Smash and grind until a paste forms.
2 - Combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chicken broth, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
3 - Set a wok or large stainless steel pan over high heat.
4 - Add the canola oil for cooking and then the shallots. Sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.
5 - Add the chile-garlic paste, and cook until the garlic starts to turn golden brown.
6 - Add the chicken, and toss until combined with the paste.
7 - Add the sauce mixture, and continue to toss until the chicken is almost cooked through.
8 - Add the long bean, and mix in well. Continue cooking until the chicken is done.
9 - Remove from the heat, and stir in the holy basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10 - In a small saucepan, heat about a quarter inch of canola oil, then add an egg or two directly into the pan, and fry until the edges are browned. Fry the remaining eggs.
11 - To serve, place one serving of rice on a plate, add a portion of the chicken and top with a fried egg. Repeat with remaining ingredients, and serve.

Makes 4 servings
Calories 500
Total Fat 24g
Total Carbohydrate 35g
Protein 29g

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

This Week's Condiment: Whipped Cream

I was going to make clotted cream from scratch, but in my usual "I didn't read the recipe before I sat down to do it" it takes a full 24 hour to make it (12 hours of baking milk?!). I decided to go with Whipped Cream instead. Super simple to make, at least if you have a blender or really strong arms. I wonder what this will be used on?

# Homemade Whipped Cream
Sally's Baking Recipes
2.0 cups

1.0 cup cold heavy whipping cream
2.0 tbsp powdered sugar
0.5 tsp vanilla extract

1 - Chill your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for thirty minutes.
2 - Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3–4 minutes.

#thisweeksmeals #cooking

@retrosponge @pomegranate_stew - I used to record the output of the sound via an "Stereo Mix" option in the recording settings. I haven't done it in a while, and I remember the option being hard to find/enable as time went on.