silentauror's Blog, page 37
October 28, 2021
ilsa-fireswan:
jordisstigander:
literalshittaker:
jordi...
Y'ever think about what absolute mad decadence we live in that “vanilla” means “plain”
Anytime someone says ‘it’s just vanilla ice cream’ I have to restrain myself from saying, “ah yes, the flavor produced by the seeds of a tropical orchid, a flower which blossoms for a single day before dying, the second most expense spice in the world. Just that.”
Historically, the spices I have in my cabinet are an embarrassment of riches. I have there a large container of whole black peppercorns which I grate fresh over my food. Multiple containers of cinnamon because I forgot I already had some. Ginger, cardamom, red pepper flakes, whole cloves and ground, nutmeg and turmeric. Kings and emperors have not eaten food so well spiced.
I have vanilla ice cream in my freezer (cold! frozen! when the rich would pay fortunes to send for ice from mountains to chill fruit in the summers). I am going to put on my silk robe, fix myself a bowl, and feast.
Fellas… there’s a reason it’s so ubiquitous when it’s so 'rare.’ 'Vanilla extract’ is derived from beavers. It’s bonkers, but that explains why everything can be 'vanilla’ and cheap. Try buying vanilla bean, that is where you’ll see the price actually reflects the scarcity.
Putting on your silk robe and eating your beaver gland flavored icecream, yup that’s decadence for you.
@literalshittaker i am baffled that there are still people that believe this. In what world are beavers in such abundance that they’re glands are cheaper than vanilla? Yes, the gland smells vaguely like vanilla. It was used briefly as a perfume and to enhance the flavor of real vanilla. But almost no one even does that anymore because it’s too expensive. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/castoreum/
Oh my gosh you guys
I have been on this website since February 2015, and I have witnessed a lot of shamings and misunderstandings, and part of me always wondered if it would happen to me and why. I never imagined it would be because someone would get snooty about me taking joy in something tiny, specifically putting on the recycled silk robe I got on clearance and eating cheap ice cream at 10 pm.
Like yeah, I know there are a lot of additives to most vanilla, but they’re mostly derived from other plants and trees. (I actually spent a stupid amount of time researching this post!) That doesn’t change the fact that vanilla is a flavoring that has only been widely available for less than two hundred years.
Writing that post was an actual pleasure because it gave me a chance to reflect on a few of the blessings of the modern world and not think about low paying jobs and health care and the fact that the ocean is on fire. So while part of me is laughing at the fact that someone was indignant and misinformed, there’s also the fact that someone saw my joy and decided to take a dump on it and it’s making me weirdly emotional.
I went to the notes because I got so excited about “plain” flavors. Like. Do you Know?!? Can you Get It?!? The whole idea that I have access to So Many pure flavors and that I have the option to PREFER a single flavor food.
Vanilla ice cream! Pistachio ice cream! Strawberry ice cream!
My meat doesn’t have to be salted or smoked!
My potatoes can be thrown out if they start to sprout!
I have eight different kinds of sugar in my pantry right now!
If I take a notion to try a new spice from the other side of the planet, I can just order it at some Global Shopping Website and have it in my hands in two days or less!
Amazing!
I can have enough strawberries in my fridge that sometimes I forget to eat them!!! Can you picture it? Have you ever grown strawberries? Have you seen some Medieval-esque movie where the Queen takes a bite of a single perfect strawberry and the camera just… lingers? THATS IT! That’s the experience when you have them in your garden. You won’t grow enough in your patio garden to top waffles for the whole family. You won’t grow enough to eat some and also make strawberry jam. Strawberries are decadence and a luxury!
Asparagus! I can go to the grocery store and buy enough to serve it as an entree if I want to! Again, have you grown asparagus? I almost bought a house I couldn’t afford because the seller had put in about half an acre of asparagus. It was mature! I could have harvested enough to cook with a family meal! For two weeks in the year I could have had fresh asparagus! I still have fantasies about that asparagus!
Mangos and almonds! Cherries and ginger! Mint and cocoa! Vanilla and durian! Rice AND wheat AND millet AND corn! All in the same kitchen at the same time!
Embarrassment of riches. I love that phrase. I try to keep my absolute wealth - both in a historical and in a modern global context - in mind every time I work in my kitchen. There are people in the world right now who don’t have the concept of a recipe because they don’t have the concept of choosing what you eat. There are people in history who don’t have the concept of mocking “plain vanilla” because it’s amazing and awesome and brilliant that it even made it to our kitchens.
Thank you for reminding me. Thank you for helping me be thankful. Be joyous! Be mindful! Be happy in the world!
I love this post and I love vanilla. 😊
October 23, 2021
Man, I can’t think of the last time a story I was writing got itself written so slowly, but I also...
Man, I can’t think of the last time a story I was writing got itself written so slowly, but I also can’t think of the last time I’ve had this little writing time in one period. That said, I did have a little slice tonight and the fic is now at 9,400 words and still going!
God, I love so many of the bakers on this season of Bake ...
God, I love so many of the bakers on this season of Bake Off just so much! Sometimes I sort of resent the front runners but Jürgen and Giuseppe are just so freaking loveable and humble, and I adore adore adore Chigs, George, Chrystelle, Freya… like all of them, seriously! Such a good season so far! 😊😊😊
October 20, 2021
Heyyy, look at this! My story Flesh and Blood and Bone and Heart...
Heyyy, look at this! My story Flesh and Blood and Bone and Heart just reached 30,000 hits! So cool! This story was my reaction to TAB, essentially. As always, I react via fic rather than making meta posts or joining in discussions - I just write my thoughts out through story form, so this is my own attempt to address some of the issues I was seeing, namely: 1) if Sherlock “overdosed”, then why was he showing almost no signs of it whatsoever? Considering that two of the other people present in the scene are supposedly medical professionals, shouldn’t they have been treating Sherlock if he was so high that he nearly died? Then again, he was completely able to stand and then walk without a shred of assistance just moments after the plane landed, no needle of adrenaline to the heart, nothing like what one normally sees in a screen drama about someone overdosing. And 2) if Sherlock really did overdose, was no one actually going to address the fact that it was a suicide attempt??? And 3) I hated that the ret-conning of the tarmac scene undermined so much of its emotional weight. It’s so like Moffat in particular to do that and I hate it. So this is my fix for all of the above. :) Plus it features an arc for Mary that just would have, in my own opinion, been a lot more fitting and consistent with her actions than what they did for her in series 4, so… that was satisfying to write, too. :P
Anyway, this is the 22nd of my 89 currently-posted fics in this fandom to have reached 30,000 hits, so huge thanks to any one of you who contributed to that heap! It’s truly flooring - thanks for giving this one a read! <33333333333333333333
October 15, 2021
jobooksncoffee:
estherlune:
[x]
Happy Curlday♥️♥️ @totall...
Happy Curlday♥️♥️ @totallysilvergirl , @annecumberbatch , @silentauroriamthereal , @jolieblack thought you might enjoy
I do, I do! I also really enjoy that this is now an international holiday, haha!
October 11, 2021
Heyyy, look!! My story At the Heart of it All just attained...
Heyyy, look!! My story At the Heart of it All just attained 50,000 hits sometime recently and I just noticed! I think my all-time favourite comment on this story was actually here on tumblr, on a reblog of my original post saying that it was up, which just said “Bury me with this fic.” Such a compliment, seriously! I would be deeply remiss if I didn’t say right now that if you choose to click through to the sequel, BE WARNED AND READ ALL OF THE WARNINGS FIRST. Please. I beg you. The sequel is the saddest story I’ve ever written. It has a 98% readership cry rate. It contains a major character death which occurs early on and then continues to punch you in the heart for the rest of the (short) story. Be warned. Also, there is no need to read the sequel if you don’t want to have that experience. Just saying!! At the Heart is one of my straight-up romance stories, very little casework and no angst at all. :) It’s also only the FIFTH of my 89 posted stories in this fandom to have achieved the milestone of 50,000 hits, so that’s hugely exciting! Thank you to every last one of you who gave it a hit! :))))))
October 3, 2021
raina-at:
fuckyeahfightlock:
holmesillusion:
Sherlock’s ...
Sherlock’s facial expressions in His Last Vow (Part - 1)
man remember when Sherlock ended right here and they never made any more episodes after that? controversial but brave, I’m in favour
Yeah, I remember how Sherlock ended with Sherlock getting off that plane, John running up to him, they kiss, credits. And that was the last ever Sherlock episode. Bold, brave, revolutionary. I loved it.
Yup.
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