November 2020 – Rainy Saturday Creative

Thanksgiving Vacation Highlights and Zoom Love

Posted on November 29, 2020 by jsunrain

I have been doing solo Thanksgiving for a few years. All of us were in Wisconsin and then all of a sudden I was the only one. A couple have moved back, but they are an hour or more away! So a Pandemic Thanksgiving by myself is just a normal Thanksgiving. Didn’t feel like cooking and I have mostly been lazy these few days off but got some small projects done.

I ordered broasted chicken and mashed potatoes from a local restaurant. I used a generic stove top stuffing box. As expected it was meh. My family also makes an orange cranberry jello. I ended up making it on Friday. I wanted to use this fancy mold I found at Goodwill. I apparently didn’t let it set up enough, but it still tastes really good!

I am going to save Saturday for last and talk about today for a second. I have a hate/hate relationship with my stove. There are some things I can do, but anything to be made in a shallow pan is a pain. I hate Black Friday, but I had to go grocery shopping anyway and I usually do so at Meijer. The one I go to doesn’t get overrun with crazy people so I was able to get a $30 griddle for $20. Figure I can cook pancakes, eggs, bacon, whatever else on the griddle and not curse like a sailor. This morning I made pancakes and am super happy with it. Yes, my kitchen is small, crowded, and a hot mess!

Saturday my best friend and I went on a road trip to Viroqua Wisconsin. The independent bookstore, Driftless Books and Music, was selling grab boxes of books. You tell them the subject(s) you wanted and what you wanted to pay and they would put a box together for you. You PayPal the money and pick up the box from their porch. Some I will be giving to Goodwill because they aren’t my taste, but others I look forward to looking at. I love grab bags of books, but I also participated because I knew it would be a beautiful drive.

For the love of Zoom! As I mentioned above my family is spread out now. Last night we had a really sweet family get together via Zoom! Our first ever! It was really nice seeing everyone. I was the first one off since I still had another hour and a half drive home. When I got home I learned my three nieces were still talking to each other.

Already for a few months, once a week I have been doing a Zoom dinner with some friends in other states. It is the highlight of my week! Despite the pandemic, it is nice to have this way of keeping in touch with people. Even without the pandemic, it is a great way to keep in touch!

Lemon Cake and Sprite

Posted on November 21, 2020November 21, 2020 by jsunrain

I saw this meme this last week. I had never heard of it before. Apparently this idea has been known about for years. Mix a can of soda with cake mix and bake according to the box directions. I chose the lemon cake with sprite soda. Took a while for the bubbles to calm down, but I kept on whisking. I buttered and floured a glass 13×9 pan and poured the batter in and baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

It came out really good, that is tasting good. It however, did not come out. Well it sorta did, but I dropped it on the cooling rack. Looks like a hot mess. I let it cool down while I was thinking about what to do.

This is what I did. Layers of cake with frosting. It didn’t look like I was using a lot of frosting when doing it, but I was wrong. Hopefully this won’t happen to you. I should have done cupcakes, but I am not disappointed.

The Queen’s Gambit: Netflix series versus the Book

Posted on November 16, 2020 by jsunrain

When I first saw the preview for The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, something said to me I do not want to watch this. But then a friend of mine encouraged me to watch. So I watched the first three episodes. It isn’t that I hated it, but there is only so much depressing I can watch. I figure I wouldn’t finish it. Then another friend encouraged me to watch. So I somewhat begrudgingly finished watching it. Not that it isn’t well done, but it is pretty depressing until the last episode, episode seven, where it all comes together. But you can’t appreciate that episode unless you have watched episodes 1-6. The fact that it is depressing is just the nature of the story, it can’t be helped. No one did anything wrong. Life isn’t always the Hallmark Channel. I wasn’t in love with it as many of my friends were, but I wasn’t in hate with it either.

Then one of my friends mentioned the book. What??? This is based off a book??? I had no idea. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one. But now I was intrigued. Books are usually better, not always, but I can’t think of any examples of the opposite off the top of my head right now. I can read poetry and short stories, but I am not good at reading longer books. My attention span isn’t that good and I like to multi-task. Which is why I am so thankful for audio books. I am a member of Audible and at the time I downloaded The Queen’s Gambit, it was free for members. I can’t promise it will be should you try to download it from Audible.

I just finished listening to the audio book today. There are really only minor differences between the series and the book. The book has a few more scenes. Some things played out differently in the book than the series, but not major enough to be bothersome. But there was one scene in the series I really hated that thankfully was not in the book. And it is hard to want to point it out without being accused of a spoiler alert. I am less sensitive about spoiler alerts than other people, but I still want to be respectful.

Otherwise I think the main difference is Beth herself, though it is very subtle. I didn’t hate Beth in the series. She was thrown into a chaotic life, and people react to that in different ways. Somehow though, I liked the Beth in the book a little bit better. She seemed more redeemable. But maybe that isn’t it. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I know it’s silly. The Beth in the book had more warmth, not that she wasn’t without a lot of darkness still just like in the series.

If you were to only do one or the other I would recommend the book, but if you have the time and willingness, there is no harm in doing both.

Scallion Kimchee and Congee

Posted on November 15, 2020November 16, 2020 by jsunrain

I have always been scared of the idea of congee. Aside from eating vegetables like a picky 5 year old child, I am really picky about the texture of food. I don’t like mushrooms, just too slippery? There must be a better word than that!

I decided this was the weekend to make congee. I had been wanting to make scallion kimchee for some time, so I did, thinking it would be good with the congee! I also made crispy shallots to go with the congee.

Then I made the congee. Most recipes call for 1 cup of rice with 6-10 cups of water depending on how thick or thin you wanted it. Different kinds of rice were used and some used chicken stock instead of water. I wanted a thicker congee and I didn’t want to make so much. I used a half cup of short grain rice and 3 cups of water. Rinse the rice 2-3 times. Put it in a pot with the water. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and partially cover with a lid. Cool until desired consistency. Make sure to stir occasionally to keep the rice on the bottom from burning.

I don’t know what I was afraid of? I think I thought it would be more like a rice jello, but it is closer to risotto. Along with the scallion kimchi and crispy shallots, I added soy sauce and sesame oil. It was really good!