🍾 Shrimp's Birthday Bash 🎁 [CLOSED]

shrimp • 18 October 2024 at 8:31 PM

tadpole • 18 October 2024 at 8:35 PM

provo7demons • 18 October 2024 at 9:11 PM

So excited for this! Happy early birthday!!!

What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?
DEFINITELY Lord of the Rings! I got into it in 6th grade, and it quite literally changed my entire outlook on the world. It's a huge comfort for me even now, and it's just something that's been a part of me for half of my life now, it's gotten me through a lot and I've made some wonderful friends as a result ❤️

twilightshine • 18 October 2024 at 9:35 PM

Happy birthday and thank you so much for hosting

If you could choose one Thanksgiving or Fall tradition to remove, what would it be?
Adding cinnamon to everything
I hate cinnamon

redflipflap • 18 October 2024 at 9:37 PM

Happy early birthday, shimp!

1) What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?
The Unwind series. This creepy dystopian book series follows the story of a handful of teenagers who live in a post-war society where the fight between pro-life and pro-choice is over. Their solution: unwinding. 99% of the body is surgically removed and used as transplant material, minus the appendix of course, bringing the human life expectancy up to approximately 150 years. Parents with delinquent children can legally decide to have their children unwound as young as age 13. It's BEYOND creepy, deffo gave me nightmares as a kid, but so so good.

Family recipe: First Lady Mamie Eisenhower's Fudge recipe
**This recipe was included on the back of marshmallow fluff containers in the 50s and my grandma has used it since! Best fudge recipe BY FAR.

12 oz. semisweet chocolate morsels
12 oz. German's sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 cups marshmallow cream/fluff
4 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) canned evaporated milk
Nuts are optional, we never do them. About 2 cups.

-Mix together the chocolates and marshmallow fluff into a bowl.
-Bring the sugar, salt, butter, and evaporated milk to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil for 1 minute. Reduce the heat and simmer 7 minutes, stirring continuously. Do not let it sit, it'll burn so so so quickly.
-Pour mixture over the chocolate, and mix until smooth.
-Let her sit at room temp, preferably overnight. Maybe in the fridge if you're fancy.

pings:
@poe
@chapus
@prairie
@pipkitten

dibabeebees • 18 October 2024 at 10:25 PM

Happ birf!
3) What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?
My dad's green bean casserole is the most delicious thing i've ever had in my life. He makes it every christmas, and every thanksgiving, because it's a complicated mess. But it's amazing. I beg for it constantly, and he has a simpler version he makes sometimes.

Family Recipe: Snickerdooles!
1 cup of room temp butter - 3/4th cup of granulated sugar - 1/2 cup of light brown sugar - 1 egg - 1 yolk - 1 tablespoon of vanilla - 1 teaspoon of baking soda - 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar - 1/2 teaspoon of salt - 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon - 2 3/4th cups of flour

(Special cinnamon sugar mix):
1/4 cup sugar - 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheight. Line a baking sheet w/parchment paper and set it aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light & fluffy. (Or until it feels right).
Next, add in egg, yolk, vanilla, baking soda, cream of tarter, salt and cinnamon and mix for one minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl when necessary.
Turn mixer to low and slowly add in flour, mixing until just combined.
In a separate container, make the cinnamon and sugar mix

For the cookies themselves, scoop 2 tablespoon balls (or size you think is best) drench them in cinnamon sugar mix (roll around in it until covered), place 2" apart (or what feels right) on baking sheet, then bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 3 to 4.

chaotictreat • 18 October 2024 at 10:31 PM

Happy (early) shrimpday!

3) What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?
I mean, we don't celebrate thanksgiving here, but Duck Island Ice Cream has just come out with the most amazing new pumpkin spice flavour and that's definitely my favourite at the moment! Otherwise probably Christmas mince pies which we make from scratch (cutting up the dried fruit is so annoying but so worth it).

Update I couldn't find our mince pie recipes, will have to ask my parents later - however I did find the Christmas pudding recipe we use! It's a bit long so here's a photo https://ibb.co/st3gHjD 😸

heatherm19 • 18 October 2024 at 10:47 PM

What an awesome giveaway! I really like the story behind it! Happy early birthay to you, hope you have a great one!

1) What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?
This is such a hard question because I used to be *such* a reader and can easily name 5+ series that still feel special to me. I think I have to pick Nancy Drew, but specifically the original editions of the first (35?) books in the original series (before the revisions). I still own most of them and while I love Nancy Drew in all most forms, the originals just hit different. I'm not sure if it's the simple differences in language/slang/etc that comes from books written in the 1930s-40s, or the differences in Nancy's personality, I just treasure those books.

Bonus Entry: Unfortunately I don't have actual recipes for any of the holiday foods my family used to make. I can give a summary of my mom's deviled eggs, which was her specialty that she brought to pretty much every family holiday celebration when I was young.
Hard boil the eggs, then run cool water over them to prevent overcooking (mom always used running water instead of a bowl of cold/ice water).
Peel them carefully, so they remain as pretty as possible. Cut each egg in half.
Remove the yolks from all eggs and combine them into a bowl. Mash the yolks until in crumbles.
Mix in mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar (I think mom used white vinegar?), salt, and pepper. I have no measurements for these sorry.
Gently spoon mixture back into the egg whites (you can get fancy with the way you do this to make it look sorta like an ice cream swirl)
Sprinkle paprika on top
(for variations you can add bacon crumbles on top, or add relish to the mixture. My mom used to make a lot of different variations because many family members had their 'favorites', but this is the kind I remember.)

opalquinze • 18 October 2024 at 11:07 PM

happy early b-day!

3) What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?
not sure if i can call it a “holiday food”, but pumpkin spice muffins just hit different (prob cuz it tastes like gingerbread imo (i usually buy it cuz i can’t bake))

lia • 19 October 2024 at 1:55 AM

happy early birthday & ty for hosting!!

3) What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?
pineapple tarts! i haven't perfected baking it but every big holiday my aunt makes them for us ^^

musical_slytherclaw • 19 October 2024 at 2:47 AM

Happy early birthday! 😊 Thank you for hosting this wonderful giveaway ❤️

1) What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?
Two book series, for the same reason: the Grishaverse and the Shadowhunter Chronicles. While they're both YA series and not always the best written and don't always handle things in the best way, in both, there's a lot of children/teenagers/young adults that are essentially political pawns. All the characters suffer unjustly quite a bit due to their society, and there's quite a bit of nuance when it comes to their handling of mature topics like discrimination and prejudice.

Family Recipe: zhajiangmian
My family isn't super big on holidays, but whenever there's an important day or celebration, we eat zhajiangmian. The mian part is pretty simple (it's just noodles), so you boil them in plain water until they're fully cooked. Some of my friends say they like them al dente, but I personally think that's a crime when you're eating zhajiangmian. The zhajiang part is the effort part, we like to use both fermented soybean paste and sweet bean paste, or sometimes you can find some sketchy paste that combines the two. Either way, the important thing is that it's both fermented and sweet at the end of the day. We cut pork (honestly any kind, I prefer no fat at all but my family says the best is the kind with fat so do whatever you prefer) into thin strips, which you can marinate with whatever seasonings and sauces you like. Some choices include soy sauce (non-negotiable), oyster sauce, and hoison sauce. Stir the pastes together with your choice of sauces, (we don't add any because we like the taste of bean paste) some sugar, and water. Everything is measured with your heart (just taste while you're mixing.) Dice garlic and slice cucumber into long thin strips. In a wok (we use a pan which is suboptimal), stir the meat to fry, put in the garlic (and your choice of aromatics, we really like putting in star anise) and continue to stir. Pour the sauce into the wok/pan and cook on high heat until it feels right. It should end up being a slurry. Then you can eat it mixed with the noodles and cucumber strips. Sometimes we replace cucumber with carrots or whatever is currently growing in my grandmother's garden. ^-^

abysswalker • 19 October 2024 at 2:59 AM

Thank You For Hosting And Happy Birthday @Shrimp.

What Is Your Favorite Holiday Food And Do You Make It From Scratch?
My Absolute Favorite Holiday Food Are Pirozhki's And I Do Make Them Myself Sometimes With A Little Help.



Bonus Entry- My Family Didn't Really Celebrate Much, But I Do Know That Everytime In The Fall Months At Some Event My Mum Would Make Some Kind Of Homemade Cranberry Sauce. I Do Not Know The Exact Recipe However I Do Know That She Used The Basics Of
+ One Cup Of Sugar
+ 1 Cup Of Water
+ Bag Of Ocean Spray Cranberries/ Frozen Sometimes
What She Said She Adds To It Is
+ 2 Tablespoons Of Ginger
+ 1/2 Cup Of Orange Juice
+ 3 Tablespoons Of Honey/ Depending On How Much Is Made.
+ Two Tablespoons Of Lemon Zest
How She Stated The Recipe- Mix Sugar, Orange Juice And Water In A Saucepan And Bring To A Boil Until The Sugar Has Dissolved. Add The Whole Bag Of Cranberries And Continue Boiling Until The Cranberries Have Thinkend Into A Sauce Making Sure To Stir It Occasionally. Remove From Heat And Add The Honey, Ginger. And Lemon Zest Then Mixing It Together/Optional.

megamisama90 • 19 October 2024 at 7:39 AM

3) What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?
Any holiday? Gingerbread cookies that I make from scratch. I really hate the grocery store ones or the grocery story dough. The taste is horrible and most of them are really thick. Mine are perfectly thin and the cookies I make have been passed down for generations.

Bonus Entry:
Lingonberry parfait (Puolukkajäädyke) or is it called an ice-cream of some sort? Not sure at all what it's in English.

2 eggs
1½ dl sugar
4 dl cream
3 tsp vanilla sugar
4 dl freezed lingonberries

Whisk the eggs and sugar into a foam. Foam the cream. Puree the freezed lingonberries. Mix lingonberries, cream and vanilla sugar to the egg foam. Pour the mixture to a ice-cream bowl? moistened with cold water (Casserole, pan, tray. I don't know what to call it in English). Cover it with it's lid/serving tray.

Freeze at least for 5h. Moist the bowl to the rim for a moment with hot water and turn the bowl upside down on it's lid/serving tray. And there you go!


Really hard to translate as to me some words definitely don't describe what I mean. Anyway this is something I've done yearly for Christmas for about 10 years now. It's something my family enjoys ❤️

cranberrycat1 • 19 October 2024 at 9:55 AM

Happy early birthday 🎉

1) What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?
- my favorite book series of all time is Harry Potter I’ve read it a million times times and watch the moves another million times it never gets old. I’ve always liked to read fantasy and I think jk Rowling did a great job adding to the plot not making it slow or confusing. But a more recent series that I also love is the Empyrean series but I do have to warn you all the books in these series are not out yet and might not be out until 2027-2028.

Family Recipe: pumpkin roll recipe
(It’s not really a family recipe cause we kind of always use google but we love making pumpkin rolls for thanksgiving)

3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup white sugar
⅔ cup pumpkin puree
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter
1 (16 ounce) package confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar for dusting, or as needed

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter a 12x17-inch jelly roll pan and line with parchment paper; butter the parchment paper. Generously dust a kitchen towel with confectioners' sugar.

Step 2
Beat eggs, white sugar, and pumpkin together in a bowl until creamy.

Step 3
Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg together in a separate bowl; gradually stir into egg mixture. Stir to combine. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Step 4
Bake in the preheated oven for exactly 10 minutes.

Step 5
Immediately turn cake onto the prepared kitchen towel. Starting at a long end, roll up pumpkin cake and towel. Let rolled cake rest for 10 minutes.

Step 6
Beat cream cheese, butter, 16-ounce package confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract together in a bowl until smooth; fold in pecans.

Step 7
Unroll cake; spread with the filling. Roll up cake (without towel). Cut off any jagged ends. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Cut cake in half; sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.

mythisea • 19 October 2024 at 6:45 PM

Awww I loved reading the intro to this giveaway! Your NPC is great and I enjoyed the artwork ❤️

2) If you could choose one Thanksgiving or Fall tradition to remove, what would it be?

I'd get rid of Black Friday. I always feel bad for the retail workers :/ My friend got injured one year working Black Friday and it was a whole thing. I've honestly never been shopping on a Black Friday and have no desire to AT ALL. I'd be content with it all being online only for people's safety and employees' sake of not having to work that mad rush.

sparklefox • 20 October 2024 at 6:24 PM

Happy birthday! Thank you for hosting this giveaway.

Does your family have any odd or inside/personal holiday traditions?
Ignoring a lot of traditional holiday foods since a lot of my family are obnoxiously picky with food. "Christmas spaghetti" has become an inside joke, for instance. Branching out from tradition can be rather fun. We're not very big holiday people here.


This is practically "every special occasion" food for some particularly picky people: homemade lentil soup. Don't know how different this is compared to regular recipes as it's been tailored to very specific tastebuds over the years. I'm not super knowledgeable on the recipe itself as it isn't really me who eats/cooks it, so this might be a bit too vague or perhaps a bit wrong, but...

Since this is made with people eating it over multiple days in mind, the amounts might sound a bit absurd. Obviously adjust them to whatever you'd like if you ever wanted to try. A larger pressure cooker is used, but not required. You'll need:
- a ton of water
- ~500g red split lentils
- a lot of carrots
- ham and vegetable stock
Fill the pot about 3/4ths of the way with water, then add the lentils. Simmer it then add the carrots. Once they've softened, slightly mash the carrots in the pot up (this step is optional). Add the ham and vegetable stock. Thicken it up to your preferences. I'd imagine you could substitute the ham/vegetable stock with meat/vegetables of your choice.

If that's not to your tastes, another is basically dumping mincemeat, peas/baked beans, carrots and (optionally) beef stock into a pot full of water. Afterwards, boil some potatoes to put on the side. Bam, family holiday meal. These may both sound a bit boring and empty, but from what I've learned these passed down recipes were all about making the most of the little you had.

blazepaw • 21 October 2024 at 12:53 AM

Hi, Happy early birthday, @shrimp!
So..... I love the Erin Hunter series as it can be loved by literally EVERYONE. But I personally love the Warriors series. It has cute cats, and the structure works JUST like humane society. I think

Bonus:

My family has this weird obsession with apples. Apple pie, apple syrup, apple bread, you name it! So.
Ingredients (=^ェ^=)

Freshly cut apples, 3 and a half
Cinnamon 3 teaspoons
Sugar
Bread. (Croassant recommended)
How to cook (≡・x・≡)

Get the bread, cut it into half
Cut all apples to bite size.
Put Cinnamon and Sugar on apple.
Microwave 2min
Put the mixture on bread and enjoy.


U^ェ^U

kediset • 21 October 2024 at 9:09 PM

Early Happy Birthday Shrimp ^^

3: Favourite holiday food is pumpkin pie ^^ have to store buy because I wouldn't be any good at making it from scratch..

mindassala • 22 October 2024 at 6:59 AM

If you could choose one Thanksgiving or Fall tradition to remove, what would it be?

I'd do away with 'pumpkin spice'. Why? Because it's overdone and everywhere. Pumpkin spice this, that, and the other thing. Enough already! 😊

Just give me a nice hot apple cider.

Wishing you a happy birthday, Shrimp.

lexicon • 22 October 2024 at 8:16 AM

Happy Early Birthday, your Shrimpliness 🦐🎂

*holds hand out to Fenfang to recieve goodies*

I'm gonna do favorite series this year because I read too much. Gonna have to give it to Villains & Virtues! It's a fantasy romance where the villain gets the girl, need I say more?? I will though- it's super cute, great world building, and absolutely loveable characters, I couldn't put it down! I'm on the last of the trilogy now c:

Optional recipe: Creamed Corn- my absolute favorite Thanksgiving side dish! Note: I've been making this for over 10 years now, so I don't really have a recipe or specific measurements, it comes from the heart and what feels right but is easy enough xD

1. Make a roux. Melt like a stick of unsalted butter in a pot on medium heat. Add flour and dissolve until a roux forms.

2. Add in whole milk slowly, continuously whisking. This determines how much you're gonna make so it'll vary. Also add a generous pour of heavy whipping cream. Let simmer together a few minutes until it starts to thicken.

3. Season with salt, black pepper, and white sugar to taste!

4. Add in as much sweet corn as you want, I typically use about 2 bags of frozen corn depending on how many people you're making for.

5. Let it all come together and simmer for 10-15 minutes until corn is softened and it's ready to serve!

Enjoy! 🌽

Thank you for this generous giveaway!! ❤️

wonder404exe • 22 October 2024 at 7:38 PM

The story is so cute!! its nice to see fenfeng again lol

1) What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?
I never read books unless the books are required for me to read. My teacher would select three books for us pick from and read throughout ~ a month. and like the procrastination expert I am, I always wait until last to finish reading. This book is no exception to any of that but I love it: Outsiders
I don't know if it has anything different than other books & stories I've read. I've seen too many deaths of characters, plot twists, and themes adjacent to this book. idk why, it just stuck with me. The characters are interesting and I bonded with them like any other character I've seen BUT IT JUST HITS DIFFERENT AAAA
kind of off topic: my teacher made us do assignments related to the books we read and one of them was to make an OC (kind of) Of course I did that and I made a little guy🥹 (not much of a self-insert; just a little character)

RECIEPIE (I know I spelled it wrong I'm too lazy to change it)
I don't have family recipe ._.
but my FACS teacher gave her class a recipe for soft choco chip cooookies that my parents loves

YIELD: ~16 cookies

INGREDENTS
(1)
2 TBSP suger
1/4 C packed brown sugar (just brown sugar but you gotta get in the crevices of ur measuring thingy and squeeze the sugar so there's no air gaps)
1/4 C Softened butter (best way I found out to do this is to put the butter in ur pocket ---i know i know disguesting---and wait for it to melt while you grab all the equipments and ingredients you needed)

(2)
1 TBSP liquid egg (or just one egg but only the white)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

(3)
1/2 C all-purpose flour (any flour works find I think)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 C choco chips

Grab mixing bowl and every ingredient in (1) using electric mixer (speed 3) for 3 mins OR until it looks like cream cheese

Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed using a rubber scraper add all of (2) and keep blending until well mixed

In a different bowl, add all of (3) and mix with a spoon then scrape all of it in the first bowl with the cream-y cheese-y looking goop.

Set for ~3-5hrs

Preheat oven (recamend large oven but I have a small oven and that works fine with no adjusted numbers---maybe its only the brand) to 350F place each scoop one inch apart from one another and set timer for 11 mins. when done, set dry for 5 mins. and the cookies should be done!!

prettyiggy • 22 October 2024 at 10:41 PM

Happy early Birthday shrimp! 🎂🥳🎉

Thank you for sharing this with all of us 💕

What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?

Candied Yams definitely made from scratch!

My easy personal recipe is:
Yams 3 - 4 medium (or 3 large)
1+ cups of medium brown sugar
1+ stick of butter, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup of flour
cinnamon to taste

Cook yams thoroughly (I repeatedly nuke them, them finish off in a 375' oven)
In a bowl, add flour, 6 or so tablespoons (or more) of soft butter & brown sugar, hand mixing them to "crumb" stage.
Peel cooked yams. Add 3-4 tablespoons of butter to help mash them. On bottom of greased glass dish add first layer of yams, then a layer of well distributed butter/sugar crumb mixture, another layer of yams, then another layer of butter/brown sugar. I usually wind up doing 3 layers of each.
Cook in a 375' oven for approximately 40-45 minutes. The top edges should be bubbling with butter when ready. Let cool for 5 minutes and Enjoy!

wizardsage • 23 October 2024 at 7:11 AM

happy b day!
a book series that has stuck with me is legendborn duology. it one the corretta Scott king award and really makes you think about some big problems. it's a modern take of a king Arthur story, kinda like Percy Jackson.

shrimp • 26 October 2024 at 8:43 PM

Thank you everyone for the responses so far! I'll be making a post at the midway mark to send out participation prizes to everyone who's entered so far ❤️ Loving these recipes!

cavengau • 7 November 2024 at 7:18 PM

What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?
APPLE PIE. No doubt its always the best thing when fall comes by, and sadly no I don't make it myself, I have no skill in baking.

Extra entry
My greatest grandmother would make these things called Syrniki and it was passed down from like ancient times. Heres the recipe tho I am also pretty bad at writing stuff..

1-3 cups of Tvorog
A half of tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of vinegar
3 Tablespoons of sugar
5 eggs
3/4 cups of flour

Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and eggs in some sort of bowl then you take another bowl and mix the vinegar and baking soda together. After all that you need to mix everything together then shape the batter into a hand sized circle with flour all over put that in a skillet 3 or 5 of them together, flip them until they turn brown-ish. Once done sprinkle some sugar and fruit/jam if wanted. I don't know times IM SORRY. OwO

🦐 Happy early birthday Shimp

sartre • 11 November 2024 at 8:47 AM

Happy early birthday Shrimp 🥳

3) What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?

Yams in syrup, sometimes with marshmallows, so good 🍠

flakes • 12 November 2024 at 1:50 AM

Happy early birthday 🎂🎁 and thank you so much for hosting!

1) What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?

Hunger Games because I do find the dystopian genre interesting and the movie version helped make this series stick with me 🏹

anarchy • 12 November 2024 at 5:05 AM

happy early birthday shrimpo!!! 🎉🎂🦐 hope it's an awesome one :] thanks for hosting this, i loved reading the little blurb :']

--

1) What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?

a series called the chronicles of ancient darkness! i read a loooot of young adult fiction type stuff growing up but this one was always one of my favorites. the author actually came to my school to sell and sign the first few books which is how i discovered the series, and it has some really killer prehistoric worldbuilding and ancient fantasy magic which aren't usually things i gravitated towards at the time but i still had a great time reading anyway. it definitely had a lot of major influence on me and my interests as a child. i believe it's also the only series with more than four entries that i read in its entirety (sorry artemis fowl and a series of unfortunate events... i loved those too but i was just not a very organized child lmao)

the chronicles of ancient darkness also had a recent revival with three new books being released which i was super stoked about!

--

i can share a general summary of the blueberry cheesecake recipe my family usually makes, i don't know exact measurements off the top of my head though :']

ingredients:
> graham crackers
> butter
> sugar
> cream cheese
> vanilla
> milk
> lemon juice
> blueberries (we usually just buy canned)

> put the graham crackers in a ziplock bag and crush with a hammer until they're all crumbs. then combine them in a blender or food processor with sugar and melted butter to make the crust (you can actually just skip the first part and put the graham crackers in a food processor directly, the hammering thing is just how my parents got us involved in the process when we were kids lmao)

> line the graham cracker crust on the bottom of a pan or baking dish, making sure to press it on the edges so it's secure.

> in a bowl, whisk the cream cheese, milk, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla until it's smooth. then place it on top of the crust.

> top the cheesecake with blueberries, either as is or after making it into a blueberry puree by heating it in a pan with some sugar or corn syrup.

> put the cheesecake in the fridge and let it chill overnight 🍰

kataclysm • 12 November 2024 at 5:28 AM

What's a book series that’s stuck with you and, if you want to provide more information, why?

There have been a lot, but not many I'm sure I can recommend on a platform like EggCave. So, for a recommendation that was put into my hands at the tender age of eleven, I want to bring up the Skulduggery Pleasant series. At the time, my mind was rocked by how fantastical and dark and weird the story was. More and more books have been released, and as an adult, I'm still snatching up the fresh releases when I see them on the shelves because they're that good. Funny, truly unique, and written by an author with sharp wit? Fantastic stuff. I want y'all to read it and come back to me. There will be a pop quiz.

(Also, you know, thank you for hosting this and happy birthday!)

((Also also, regarding holiday recipes, I no longer have any family to share these with, so have the recipe I follow for my Christmas fave, Lebkuchen:

- 200g sugar
- 200g almonds
- 1 heaped tbs candied orange, lemon, citrus fruit etc
- 50g flour
- pinch of baking powder
- lemon zest
- pinch of salt
- 50g vanilla sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbs rum (optional)

Combine all the ingredients, and spoon the dough by teaspoon onto small moulds (but none too deep). Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F/180C, then cover with chocolate or sugar glaze to finish.))

valorieviolet • 12 November 2024 at 6:21 PM

Happy early Birthday, crustacean! 😃

Thank you for hosting! I adore the flyer that Fenfang created for your birthday bash ❤️

What’s your favorite holiday food and do you make it from scratch or buy it?

My favorite holiday food (specifically from Thanksgiving and Christmas time) was always my cousin's cheesy potato casserole. The potatoes were always diced in small cubes, so there was no way they were ever under-cooked. The potatoes were mixed with sour cream and cheddar cheese to make them extra creamy (in a good way) and the crust was made from simple corn flakes. Just thinking about it right now has my mouth watering fr lol I would always go back for seconds (thankfully my cousin knew to make extra) and even stuff a little styrofoam cup full of it to eat on the ride back home 😋

She's given me the recipe before, but honestly, I don't think I could ever perfect it the way she does, so I sadly don't have it saved to share for a bonus entry ;(