time for some "steampunk". kinda scifi, but only with steam powered technologies. apparently, i've been digging steampunk for some years now, it just never dawned on me that Fullmetal Alchemist (just picked up volume 4, btw!), Tim Power's The Anubis Gates, most China Meiville, most Miyazaki stories, and plenty of other stuff i thoroughly enjoy fell under the umbrella of steampunk. It's like hard scifi, minus the headache.
and yes! I am back from the library! gots me a copy of William Gibson & Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine. Supposedly this is those two doing steampunk. It's not like Gibson or Sterling to dissapoint, so i'm excited. also nabbed a few Cowboy Bepop and Tokyo Babylon manga. that damn shojo Tokyo Babylon. . . it's dumb and cheesy, but i want to see what happens, and see if those two stupid boys hook up already. and speaking of boys with fashion sense, when is the library going to get copies of Paradise Kiss? it looks fashionably awesome. and cheeky.
i'm also into my ARC of Jackie Kessler's Hell's Belles. It's tagged as "paranormal romance". it's fun, funny, and unexpected. Not heavy, or earth shattering or magical, just very funny, and very fun. a good vacation read. Review to soon show up on Mutiverse Reviews.
i'm hungry. and i got pie crusts "resting" in the fridge, for this wine tasting party thingy we're going to tomorrow. one of them pies is gonna be filled with apples! and cinammon! and lots and lots of sugar! mmm mmm good! like porn, but way tastier. and with calories.
here's the secret apple pie filling recipe. you can use the frozen pie crusts from the grocery store. or you can wait till next time, when i give you the secret for the most incredible pie crust ever.
2 pie crusts - at room temperature, cuz your pie's gonna be covered.
6 apples - any combination of golden delicious, gala, or fuji (these seem to work the best).
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cinammon
1/8 tsp salt (a really good pinch)
a little later, you'll need:
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small peices
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinammon
1 tsp brown sugar
preheat the oven to 425F.
peel the apples, and slice into 1/4" thick slices. i've found this is quicker work with a sharp knife, than with one of those dumb apple corer thingys. in a large bowl, combine apple slices with the next 5 ingredeints. stir it up, and let it sit for 15 minutes, and stir occasionally.
take one pie crust and form it into your 9" or 10" pie plate. trim it so there's only a 1/2" or so extra all around. pour the apple mixture in, and top the mixture with the butter peices. to seal the top crust on, brush the edge of the bottom crust with ice water, and lay the top crust on it. trim the top, and seal the edge by pressing with your fingers. trim more, as needed. with a very sharp knife, cut steam vents into the top. mix together the last 3 ingredients, and sprinkle on top. put the pie in the oven for 30 minutes. slip a baking sheet under the pie and cook for another 40 minutes. once it's done, it will need to "set", so allow it to completely cool on the counter for a few hours.
it should look something like this:
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