Happy fall!

So I know it's not officially here yet, but man oh man this weather is perfect! Book, check. Coffee, check. A lonely library table outside in the lovely fall weather? Double check. Time to head outdoors!

Peace and love, Ath

It's FINALLY here!!!

That's right folks, Borderlands 2 is finally out!  And yes, we pre-ordered it.  And all the expansions.  Because it's awesome.

Goodbye world, I've got Rakk to kill and Eridium to gather.

Peace and Love, Ath

Please, oh please...

Okay, so I don't normally get excited over geeky clothes...

I lied, I totally do.

OH MY GOSH HOW CUTE IS THIS SWEATSHIRT?!

It's from their new Mists of Pandaria collection.  The monk class sweatshirt...  of pure awesomeness.

You can find it (and buy if for me!) here, for $69.99 at J!NX.

Give me...

My running wish list of stuff I want!  But then again need and want are soooo easily mixed up...  Especially with transmog gear... but that's another story completely.  Anyways, here's some cool stuff that I would love NEED to have!  Enjoy these six picks, and should you go looking for other game-inspired gifts--happy browsing!

Hand-stamped "Soulbound" bracelet, $14.95, found here.

A not so subtle hint... Would love to get this from the Hubster sometime... *ahem*

Portal poster, $7, found here.

Okay so this poster is also available with a ton of other sayings.  My other favorite?  "Keep calm and hearth out."  Isn't that just the story of Ath's life?

Minecraft fridge magnets, $17.69, found here.

AAAHHHH!!!!!  As if I don't already spend enough time in the kitchen...  I can't even imagine how long I'd spend rearranging these!

Tetris inspired shelving, $1500+, customizable here.

So if I dropped these in a pile, theoretically they could make some really cool shelves... Tetris everywhere!!!

RPG class-inspired perfume oils, $17.99 each, found here.

Here's what's available... they all sound great to me!

CLERIC: Rose amber, frankincense, myrrh, champaca flower, Peru balsam, cistus, palisander, cananga, hyssop, and narcissus absolute

FIGHTER: Leather, musk, blood, and steel

MAGE: All mystique and thrumming power: gurjum balsam, Sumatran dragon's blood resin, olibanum, galangal, oleo gum resin, and frankincense

PALADIN: Immaculate white musk, sweet frankincense, bourbon vanilla, white leather, and shining armor

RANGER: Untamed wilderness: buckskin accord with Terebinth pine, Russian birch, black ironwood, elder bark, hay, armoise, juniper, patchouli, galangal root, Spanish moss, and cabreuva

ROGUE: Soft, well-worn black leather, hemp, and rosin

Minecraft chest set, $90, found here.

Stash your stuff in style... and wooden chests.

Pandora Pots

I've decided that my living room lacks life.  While my dear husband is away, it's just eerily calm and quiet around here...  so to spruce things up a bit, I planted some greens!

Now, I know what you're thinking.  Silly Ath, why don't you go buy a fish?  Don't you already have pets?  What's the big deal?  Well, I am a firm believer in having plants in the house.  I'm looking for a little hint of life, not another animal that I have to take care of.  I've learned that I don't have much of a green thumb, but I can manage to keep succulents and cactii alive.  That's why all of my houseplants are succulents or similar low maintenance species... ugh I'm a plant murderer.  

I love succulents because they add the green that I was looking for, but they also come in a hundred varieties, so if you intend to set up a pot in your home, be prepared to spend some time looking for the ones that look good together!  There are way too many choices out there, and if you go to your local nursery just look for ones with similar care labels.  Hint hint they're desert plants so they don't really require much tending-to.  I just love that sedum.  If I ever got a chance to travel to the Borderlands planet, Pandora, I imagine these are the types of plants I'd find there.  Yay for desert living!

A handful of gravel, some soil, a $3 thrift store pot, and about $12 worth of plants...  Not bad for a day's work.  All totaled, I spent about $15 on the plants and the pot.  As they grow and mature, I can transplant out into larger pots or separate the bunches that I've got growing.  BUT that's a little way into the future, and for now I'm just going to focus on not killing them right off the bat.  

There you have it.  A half hour of time and $15, and you can bring a little bit of life into your home with this simple potted centerpiece for your coffee table.  

A little smell of heaven...

I got a present!

What ARE those little pebbles? Rocks? Gravel? Well... no.

Why, that's what frankincense and myrrh look like.

The iconic smells come from these little dried up pieces of tree resins. They're like little gems of fragrance, and you only need to heat them up in order to release their smelly goodness. In my imagination, they smell like summer heat and the outdoors. It belongs in a market with food and people and mystery. Maybe like the ones in the Tol'vir's desert cities in Uldum or Ezio's Damascus... Oh man, I'm a dork.

Aaaand... I should have taken pictures before I ripped the packages open...  Anyways... So, in order to make your house smell like the market in the Lost City of Tol'vir, all you need to do is lay your hands on some of this stuff. You can purchase it online, but knowing me, I prefer local sellers. This one's from Idaho!

To heat it up, you can place some pieces on hot coals, or on a piece of tin foil in a skillet over low heat. Be sure to put tin foil under the pieces, though, because it does melt a little and you don't want to ruin a good pan! If you're like me, though, and you don't feel like heating up the house in the middle of summertime, you can improvise with a candle warmer, like I've done.

Oh how I wish I could send you some scent through the computer! Trust me, it's great.

Peace and love, Ath

Goldenbark Apple (Pie!)

So, anyone know what's up with Warcraft and pies? Freaking cherry pies everywhere... Sure there's plenty of apples as in-game items, but not a single apple pie to be found! (If you find one, let me know!)

After I scored a dozen incredible apples at our local farmers' market, I decided that I'm going to take the extra step that the Azerothian bakers seem to get stuck on... and make a pie. Seriously. If you can make a cherry pie, you can make an apple pie... just sayin'.

These bad boys look a little bit like Goldenbark Apples, a level 35 food item. They're so delicious! I had a hard time chopping them all up to make my pie--I kept eating the slices! *sigh*

Goldenbark Apple Pie

  Pie Crust:
     2 cups all-purpose flour

     3/4 teaspoon salt
     1 cup vegetable shortening, room temperature
     1 egg
     2 tablespoons cold water
     1 tablespoon white vinegar
  Apple Filling:
     5 Braeburn apples
     3/4 cup sugar
     2 tablespoons flour
     1 tsp. cinnamon

Combine the flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, water, and vinegar together to blend, and then pour evenly over flour mixture. Stir with a fork until a dough starts to form. We can't use the dough as is, without letting it chill, so divide dough in half and shape each into a ball, and then lightly flatten. Wrap up those dough circles with plastic wrap and let them rest in your fridge for 20 minutes.

When the dough is ready, dust rolling pin and work surface with flour. Roll the dough to a uniform thickness, about 1-inch larger than your pie dish. So if the top of your pie dish is 8-inches across, roll the dough into a 10 inch circle. Carefully place one dough circle into your pie dish and gently press it into the pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel, core, and slice your apples. In a large bowl, mix apples, sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Carefully scoop the apple mixture into your pie crust. Place the top crust on, and form the edges of your pie crust, making sure to leave no gaps between the top and bottom crust. Cut slits in the top of your pie. Bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, keeping an eye on the edges of your crust. If you have a pie ring, use it. If you don't, you can make one out of tin foil. This will protect the edges of your crust from becoming burnt.

And, yes.  I kept my tradionalness under control and did not add sharp cheddar. My pie tasted great, but honestly, apple pie without cheese? Ugh... If you've never had apple pies with cheese, you're missing out.

The next time you're craving an apple pie (or the next time you start to feel like destroying a bunch of apples--a la Cro Threadstrong), don't reach for the ones in the freezer section! Pies are easy to make and even easier to eat!

Peace and love, Ath

P.S. I strongly encourage you to head on over to Shattrath and pick up a couple of Cro's Apples. So maybe they're apples... but on the battleground, maybe they're the skulls of your vanquished enemies. Just give it a try!

Booty Bay drinks!

To celebrate Mel's recent successful Booty Bay massacre, I've concocted two little treats to honor the town that we so rudely destroyed last night.

The pirate atmosphere of Booty Bay demands a strong drink, something manly. Hmmm... well, once you've bought your Jug of Bourbon, you can mix up one of my favorite drinks, the Rolston Special. So the next time you decide to wipe out an entire tropical town, mix yourself up one (or several) of these pretty little shots and you'll be ready to go!

Rolston Special: Layer 1/3 oz. Kahlua, 1/3 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream, and 1/3 oz. bourbon into a shot glass.

There's also the beachy tropical island look of the town that maybe demands something a little more fruity, like a Blue Kamikaze. If you prefer to hang back on the deck, sit in your hammock, and peer off into the sunset as the sounds of dying goblins surrounds you, mix up this bright blue drink and kick back. Don't worry, you can always slaughter NPCs later, right?

Blue Kamikaze: Mix ice, 1 oz. vodka, 1 oz. Blue Curacao, 1 oz. lime juice, and a splash of coconut milk. Strain into a glass.

Enjoy! However, if you really feel like murdering an entire town or you do, in fact, hear goblins... maybe you should stop drinking.

Runn Tum Tuber Surprise

Here's where this gets fun: investigative WoW cooking. This Runn Tum Tuber Surprise was a special request from my friend and fellow game crafter Angel Mel.  The recipe has only one ingredient, Runn Tum Tubers.  I thought, is that a potato?

So I looked up the item and it looks like...  A parsnip? I think it's a parsnip. Yup.  Definitely parsnipish.  AND then I thought, what's so surprising about a parsnip?  I proceeded to look that up too, and I found out that the completed Tuber Surprise looks like soup.  That's a boring surprise if you ask me...

My parsnips... about to meet their doom.

So what kind of soup-ish thing has a bunch of veggies and looks sort of like that?  Minestrone!  A minestrone is the most versatile and delicious kind of soup to make.  You can customize what vegetables you want, based on what you like.  You just need to pick some of each of the following categories.

1. Slow veggies: beets, parsnips, potatoes, turnips
2. Medium veggies: green beans, turnip greens, mustard greens, green savoy cabbage, kale, chard, collards
3. Fast veggies: broccoli, zucchini, tomatoes, spinach, basil, parsley, mushrooms, peas, bell pepper, squash
4. Small pasta: ditalini, anellini rings, tubettini, orzo

What a lot of chopping!

Basically, a minestrone is just a vegetable soup.  I like to add Italian sausage to make it a little heartier, but you can omit it if you'd like.  You add ingredients in order of how long they take to cook.  Here's the basic formula:  First, make your aromatic base out of spices, carrots, celery, and onions.  Add stock and "slow" veggies, boil 10 minutes.  Add "medium" veggies, boil 10 minutes.  Add pasta, beans, and "fast" veggies, boil 10 minutes.  Yes, it is that easy...  The hardest part is picking out which vegetables you want!  Below is the recipe for my favorite combination.

Runn Tum Tuber Surprise

     1 16 oz. package Italian sausage
     2 Tbsp. olive oil
     1 onion, chopped
     2 carrots, diced
     1 celery stalk, diced
     2 cloves garlic, minced
     1/2 tsp. each of dried thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes, oregano, and sage
     2 bay leaves
     5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
     2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
     1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
     1/2 cup orzo pasta
     2 cups fresh or frozen chopped spinach
     1 zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
     1 large tomato, diced
     Salt and pepper

Prepare vegetables. In a large soup pot, brown sausage over medium heat. Remove sausage, then add olive oil to your pan. Add onion, carrots, celery, spices, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes. Add stock, parsnips, and any other "slow" vegetables. Bring to a low boil, and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. If you're using "medium" vegetables and sausage, add them. Boil for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the cannellini, orzo, spinach, zucchini, tomato, and any other "fast" veggies. Boil for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove your bay leaves. Serve with bread sticks, and garnish with Parmesan and your favorite fresh herbs. Serves 6.

Please note that the type and age of a stove and the quality of a pan can change the way your food cooks, and subsequently increase or decrease your cooking times. If your minestrone starts to look like a stew, add more stock or water. If your veggies are not cooked enough, just cook it longer!

Talfuris's Puddin

In honor of a friend, here's a quick, easy way to make homemade custard pudding using ingredients everyone should have in their kitchen. So maybe it's not an actual WoW food, but it should be...

Puddin

      1/3 cup sugar
      2 Tbsp. cornstarch
      2 cups milk
      2 egg yolks
      2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
      1 tsp. vanilla extract

Put all of the ingredients except the vanilla into a blender. Be sure to sprinkle the cornstarch in, as it is prone to clumping if you just dump it in. Blend for one minute. Pour into a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a low boil. Add vanilla, then continue to stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a serving bowl. Place in your fridge for at least an hour until fully set.

You can modify this to suit your taste. Just before serving, fold in a cup of chopped bananas, berries, or your favorite cookie. If you want chocolate, add chocolate shavings to the blender. Heck, you can even use Splenda. It's totally up to you. 

Puddin.