(no subject)
This is going to be a really long post. Just so you're warned. :3
1. "Natsu is Natsu, and I was just the guy who played him. I never felt the need to compare the two." - Jin, Cinema no. 21
This entire interview. Just. It's been a long time since I really read over any sort of interview and this hasn't been the most touching, but oh, oh. We're catching more glimpses of the real person behind this image we've sort of set him up with. <3
2. I'm watching BOSS instead of Bloody Monday and Gundam 00 like I should be, /D;; The call of Mizobata Junpei and Toda Erika is stroooong. It's really funny so far, but I'm only through episode 2. I'll get working on Shige's arc of 0 Goushitsu no Kyaku later, but probably not until I get my English paper all tweaked and ready to go.
3. I want to do this singing thing. It's do_remi 's fandub thing, but idek if my microphone records in stereo. I think it does if I use Audacity beta. Regardless, I'm scared I wouldn't get past the first cut. Or the second, considering I'm bad with people. :| And some of these people are really, really good, with gorgeous voices and akgjdf they sound so much better than me. Thoughts, guys?
4. This week was a week of camwhoring, clearly.
five → my expressions
It's never difficult to tell how I'm feeling, from my smile to my frown. People often tell me that I always look discontent, but then again, I also think I smile more often than I used to. They also say that I can seem pretty unapproachable because I have this ever-present frown (which is just how my mouth is when it's relaxed! D:) but when I smile or laugh, everything just sort of warms up about me.
five.five → i can pull off the Yamapi face
(okay, so I was really playing with the sepia setting on the camera as well as the self timer, but whatever.)
six → my fashion sense
Okay, so sometimes it's questionable. Other times, I think I look pretty darn good. I don't dress cutely a lot because, um, it's school, no one's looking, but there are days when I wake up and think, "I think I want to wear a scarf today!" or something like that. Regardless, I'm good at finding clothes that suit my body type, which can be hard to do. Girls that have my shape at my school tend to be bad dressers, as they go for the outfits that only the slim girls can pull off well, but I like to think I can stay away from that. :3
That's all for this week! I think I'm having too much fun with Yokocho, but it's fun to play with. I have to get Amanda to teach me how to use the settings properly though.
5. In other news, I made melon pan last night/this morning. And took pictures this time so I could do the recipe.
This is my recipe card. I kind of mixed a bunch of recipes I found around the internet, but this is what I'm using.
In case you can't read it:
Melon pan (makes 9)
Bread dough:
1 2/3 cups of flour, plus extra
2 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of warm water
1/2 to 1 beaten egg (depends on how moist your dough is after the initial rising)
Outside dough:
1 cup of flour, plus extra if your butter is too soft
1/2 tsp baking powder
6 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
Sugar to top
Bread dough:
1. Mix flour, warm water, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Add some more flour if the dough seems too wet--it shouldn't be super sticky to the touch. (see first picture)
2. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel or the lid to the bowl/container, let rise for 1 to 3 hours, depending on how warm your house is. I put mine next to the fan of my laptop where warm air blows out to speed up the process. (pictures 2 and 3)
3. Combine the egg with the dough after punching it down and adding a little more flour. Spread some flour on a clean board or countertop and knead in the butter. You can do this piece by piece or all at once; I did it all at once to prevent too much gluten from forming in the dough. Just be a little patient as you knead it in, as it'll take a while.
4. Cover again and let rise for 40 minutes.
Outside dough:
1. Cream together the butter and sugar until white and fluffy. If your butter starts melting, put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up a little. (picture 1)
2. Add the egg and mix. The mixture doesn't look very appetizing and the butter will want to separate from the egg if it sits for too long. (2 and 3)
3. Sift together the flour and baking soda, then stir it into the butter mixture by the spoonful. Or all at once, but doing it spoon by spoon makes it easier and keeps it from getting lumpy. It should look like the third picture when it's finished, like sugar cookie dough.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Shaping and baking
1. Separate the bread dough into nine even pieces. Do the same with the chilled outside dough.
2. Flatten one piece of the outside dough into a circle, keeping it a little thinner at the edges than the middle. Do this quickly, as the heat of your hands will make the dough soft and hard to work with.
3. Cover each piece of bread dough with one piece of the outside dough, making sure the bottom is free to expand.
4. Use the back of a butter knife to score each of the buns in a criss-cross pattern. Don't slice the dough all the way through, merely etch the design into the top.
5. Sprinkle each with sugar, making sure you press some onto the sides. The best part is when sugar gets trapped in each groove of the top. :3
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about fifteen minutes; depending on your oven, it might take up to twenty. The tops should be pale and crisp, with the bottoms a light golden brown color. Mine are a little too brown at the edges. :x
THESE ARE REALLY GOOD WITH COFFEE FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN. *noms* They make really good breakfasts too, but they don't keep for more than two or three days before the outsides get soggy. Not that they taste any different, but they're just a little more messy to eat since they stick to your fingers. XD
You can also use cookie cutters that aren't too complexely shaped to score the outside of the dough for fun. Makes them less melon-y but they're cute.
If you want them flavored, you can put some red bean paste or candied melon in the middles when you're forming each ball of bread dough, or chocolate ganache (and then put chocolate chips in the outside dough!), or even some melon extract in the outside if you want "real" melon pan.
I personally like them plain, but Lizzie likes chocolate. I think I'll try the chocolate next time I make these, just for her.
Happy baking~! <3
THIS TOOK ENTIRELY TOO LONG but I hope you find the recipe fun and/or useful! :3
1. "Natsu is Natsu, and I was just the guy who played him. I never felt the need to compare the two." - Jin, Cinema no. 21
This entire interview. Just. It's been a long time since I really read over any sort of interview and this hasn't been the most touching, but oh, oh. We're catching more glimpses of the real person behind this image we've sort of set him up with. <3
2. I'm watching BOSS instead of Bloody Monday and Gundam 00 like I should be, /D;; The call of Mizobata Junpei and Toda Erika is stroooong. It's really funny so far, but I'm only through episode 2. I'll get working on Shige's arc of 0 Goushitsu no Kyaku later, but probably not until I get my English paper all tweaked and ready to go.
3. I want to do this singing thing. It's do_remi 's fandub thing, but idek if my microphone records in stereo. I think it does if I use Audacity beta. Regardless, I'm scared I wouldn't get past the first cut. Or the second, considering I'm bad with people. :| And some of these people are really, really good, with gorgeous voices and akgjdf they sound so much better than me. Thoughts, guys?
4. This week was a week of camwhoring, clearly.
five → my expressions
It's never difficult to tell how I'm feeling, from my smile to my frown. People often tell me that I always look discontent, but then again, I also think I smile more often than I used to. They also say that I can seem pretty unapproachable because I have this ever-present frown (which is just how my mouth is when it's relaxed! D:) but when I smile or laugh, everything just sort of warms up about me.
five.five → i can pull off the Yamapi face
(okay, so I was really playing with the sepia setting on the camera as well as the self timer, but whatever.)
six → my fashion sense
Okay, so sometimes it's questionable. Other times, I think I look pretty darn good. I don't dress cutely a lot because, um, it's school, no one's looking, but there are days when I wake up and think, "I think I want to wear a scarf today!" or something like that. Regardless, I'm good at finding clothes that suit my body type, which can be hard to do. Girls that have my shape at my school tend to be bad dressers, as they go for the outfits that only the slim girls can pull off well, but I like to think I can stay away from that. :3
That's all for this week! I think I'm having too much fun with Yokocho, but it's fun to play with. I have to get Amanda to teach me how to use the settings properly though.
5. In other news, I made melon pan last night/this morning. And took pictures this time so I could do the recipe.
This is my recipe card. I kind of mixed a bunch of recipes I found around the internet, but this is what I'm using.
In case you can't read it:
Melon pan (makes 9)
Bread dough:
1 2/3 cups of flour, plus extra
2 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of warm water
1/2 to 1 beaten egg (depends on how moist your dough is after the initial rising)
Outside dough:
1 cup of flour, plus extra if your butter is too soft
1/2 tsp baking powder
6 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
Sugar to top
Bread dough:
1. Mix flour, warm water, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Add some more flour if the dough seems too wet--it shouldn't be super sticky to the touch. (see first picture)
2. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel or the lid to the bowl/container, let rise for 1 to 3 hours, depending on how warm your house is. I put mine next to the fan of my laptop where warm air blows out to speed up the process. (pictures 2 and 3)
3. Combine the egg with the dough after punching it down and adding a little more flour. Spread some flour on a clean board or countertop and knead in the butter. You can do this piece by piece or all at once; I did it all at once to prevent too much gluten from forming in the dough. Just be a little patient as you knead it in, as it'll take a while.
4. Cover again and let rise for 40 minutes.
Outside dough:
1. Cream together the butter and sugar until white and fluffy. If your butter starts melting, put it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up a little. (picture 1)
2. Add the egg and mix. The mixture doesn't look very appetizing and the butter will want to separate from the egg if it sits for too long. (2 and 3)
3. Sift together the flour and baking soda, then stir it into the butter mixture by the spoonful. Or all at once, but doing it spoon by spoon makes it easier and keeps it from getting lumpy. It should look like the third picture when it's finished, like sugar cookie dough.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Shaping and baking
1. Separate the bread dough into nine even pieces. Do the same with the chilled outside dough.
2. Flatten one piece of the outside dough into a circle, keeping it a little thinner at the edges than the middle. Do this quickly, as the heat of your hands will make the dough soft and hard to work with.
3. Cover each piece of bread dough with one piece of the outside dough, making sure the bottom is free to expand.
4. Use the back of a butter knife to score each of the buns in a criss-cross pattern. Don't slice the dough all the way through, merely etch the design into the top.
5. Sprinkle each with sugar, making sure you press some onto the sides. The best part is when sugar gets trapped in each groove of the top. :3
6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about fifteen minutes; depending on your oven, it might take up to twenty. The tops should be pale and crisp, with the bottoms a light golden brown color. Mine are a little too brown at the edges. :x
THESE ARE REALLY GOOD WITH COFFEE FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN. *noms* They make really good breakfasts too, but they don't keep for more than two or three days before the outsides get soggy. Not that they taste any different, but they're just a little more messy to eat since they stick to your fingers. XD
You can also use cookie cutters that aren't too complexely shaped to score the outside of the dough for fun. Makes them less melon-y but they're cute.
If you want them flavored, you can put some red bean paste or candied melon in the middles when you're forming each ball of bread dough, or chocolate ganache (and then put chocolate chips in the outside dough!), or even some melon extract in the outside if you want "real" melon pan.
I personally like them plain, but Lizzie likes chocolate. I think I'll try the chocolate next time I make these, just for her.
Happy baking~! <3
THIS TOOK ENTIRELY TOO LONG but I hope you find the recipe fun and/or useful! :3