I'm not ready! I'm not ready!
So apparently November 1st will be here in less than fifteen minutes.
I'm going to try to do NaNoWriMo. Between having a full time job and what I'll call for now Secret Project Alpha, this is probably a very foolhardy proposition that will put my abysmal time management skills to the test. As Secret Project Alpha is actually a lot more important than this thing is, I was hesitant to do this, but I've promised myself that if I feel that NaNoWriMo is interfering, I'll have no qualms about pulling the plug on it. But hopefully it won't come to that. Besides, I think that the way modern life is, we're always going to be "really busy" at times like this, and if it was something one wanted to do badly enough, one can always make time for it.
I will promise myself this year that the novel does not need to read like a Nabakov novel. In fact, I'm allowed to suck. Otherwise rest assured I'd never finish it. Also I'd be panicking a lot more right now about how I don't have a plot.
Also, I will make the following pledge to spare my readership from the details: This will be the last NaNoWriMo post for the next 30 days.
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All Hallows Eve itself (i.e. today) was actually quite crappy for me. However I've noticed people like to celebrate early and as such Samhain was de facto extended to last Friday. Besides attending a couple of events, I didn't do too much. I did, however, pull out my "tome of forgotten recipes from the Ancients," and soon enough the following was rather well received:
In the tongue of the old ones I believe it was called Pumpkin Pie. According to the mad Arab Abdullah Alḥaẓred its creation led to the destruction of the island civilization of Lombos, so do be careful when making this.
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/4 cup water
1. Combine ingredients in this order, making sure that the shortening is cut up into tiny pieces first. Add water slowly, and knead for several minutes or until it stops coming apart (Note to self: experiment with bread flour instead of all-purpose flower in the future to see if it forms a stronger dough).
2. Flatten on a wooden board until it forms a flat circle of about 12 inches, taking care so that it's flattened evenly and so that there are no tears in the dough. Only sissies use rolling pins, real people use their bare hands! Also people who are too cheap/lazy to get a rolling pin.
3. Carefully cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Be extremely cautious and do not stretch the pastry, otherwise bad things will happen while baking. Cut of excess dough hanging off the sides.
Filling:
Pumpkin (I used a 15-ounce can from the supermarket. Cooler people use actual pumpkins. Should yield 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
3/4 cups milk
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add eggs and milk, and stir until combined.
2. Pour on top of crust. Cover edges of pie crust with aluminum foil, leaving a hole in the center. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake for 25 minutes, remove aluminum foil, bake for another 25 minutes. Remove from oven and drive mortals insane.
I'm going to try to do NaNoWriMo. Between having a full time job and what I'll call for now Secret Project Alpha, this is probably a very foolhardy proposition that will put my abysmal time management skills to the test. As Secret Project Alpha is actually a lot more important than this thing is, I was hesitant to do this, but I've promised myself that if I feel that NaNoWriMo is interfering, I'll have no qualms about pulling the plug on it. But hopefully it won't come to that. Besides, I think that the way modern life is, we're always going to be "really busy" at times like this, and if it was something one wanted to do badly enough, one can always make time for it.
I will promise myself this year that the novel does not need to read like a Nabakov novel. In fact, I'm allowed to suck. Otherwise rest assured I'd never finish it. Also I'd be panicking a lot more right now about how I don't have a plot.
Also, I will make the following pledge to spare my readership from the details: This will be the last NaNoWriMo post for the next 30 days.
-----------
All Hallows Eve itself (i.e. today) was actually quite crappy for me. However I've noticed people like to celebrate early and as such Samhain was de facto extended to last Friday. Besides attending a couple of events, I didn't do too much. I did, however, pull out my "tome of forgotten recipes from the Ancients," and soon enough the following was rather well received:
In the tongue of the old ones I believe it was called Pumpkin Pie. According to the mad Arab Abdullah Alḥaẓred its creation led to the destruction of the island civilization of Lombos, so do be careful when making this.
Crust:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
1/4 cup water
1. Combine ingredients in this order, making sure that the shortening is cut up into tiny pieces first. Add water slowly, and knead for several minutes or until it stops coming apart (Note to self: experiment with bread flour instead of all-purpose flower in the future to see if it forms a stronger dough).
2. Flatten on a wooden board until it forms a flat circle of about 12 inches, taking care so that it's flattened evenly and so that there are no tears in the dough. Only sissies use rolling pins, real people use their bare hands! Also people who are too cheap/lazy to get a rolling pin.
3. Carefully cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Be extremely cautious and do not stretch the pastry, otherwise bad things will happen while baking. Cut of excess dough hanging off the sides.
Filling:
Pumpkin (I used a 15-ounce can from the supermarket. Cooler people use actual pumpkins. Should yield 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
3/4 cups milk
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add eggs and milk, and stir until combined.
2. Pour on top of crust. Cover edges of pie crust with aluminum foil, leaving a hole in the center. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake for 25 minutes, remove aluminum foil, bake for another 25 minutes. Remove from oven and drive mortals insane.