#food wars review

[yukipri]

Yessssss i found it!!!! The TruMoo Blue Milk!!!!💙

Review: it tastes EXACTLY like a melted vanilla milkshake. Which, might not sound too appealing, but it’s actually quite nice! It’s very sweet, a dessert beverage, and thicker/creamier than most milks, but still definitely milk and not a milkshake.

It's a completely different beverage from the Disney Parks' blue milk, which I actually love! But this drink isn't citrusy or refreshing like Black Spire Outpost's; it is, again, a melted vanilla milkshake. It's not the most original or unique flavor, but also nothing weird or unusual, despite its coloring.

You can apparently find them at "select Cub, Hy-Vee, Coborn's, Walmart, and Target stores." Found mine @ Target!

[voidlightcomix]

Feast Your Eyes: Fandom Cookbook Recipe Review #1

Are These Smuggled Goods? - Star Wars: The Ultimate Cookbook

Suddenly finding themself employed on a high-class spaceship, our intrepid multiverse-traveling chef Aurum Leuci prepares a traditional dish from the fungal forest planet of Narqui— along with some questionably-sourced side dishes.

Tonight’s menu: sourced from the Star Wars Ultimate Cookbook

Appetizer: Cantonican Cactus Bites, pg 163

Main Course: Narquois Rolls, pg 45

Dessert: Kullgroon Drops, pg 95

Full review under the cut!

Aurum Leuci’s Log:

[Begin recording.] Hey, uh, Chef Aurum here. Sorry I’m late. I think I must have miscalibrated my dimensional portal generator, because I absolutely did NOT intend to wind up on a Neimoidian ship orbiting some random colony world— Narq, I think?— much less in a kitchen full of apparently-smuggled Kullgroon fruit and Cantonican vegetation. Luckily, I can handle myself in a kitchen— so let’s hope for my sake the politicians on this ship don’t know their kitchen staff by name. I can at least make some kind of fancy dinner for them before I find a safe place to reactivate the portal. And besides— I want to try that smuggled produce.

I’ll check in with you after the next jump, once it’s safe. Aurum Leuci out. [End log.]

The Feast Your Eyes Recipe Rating Scale

In this series, I’ll be rating each recipe based on five factors, each of which can receive up to five points. These reviews will be written out-of-character, detailing my (AJ) opinions and experiences with the recipes detailed in the post. I eat almost entirely plant-based, so any substitutions related to animal products will be denoted in the descriptions of dishes. The rating scale is as follows:

Difficulty: How easy or hard was this recipe to follow? Harder recipes will score lower in this category, while easier recipes will score higher.

Ingredients: How easy or hard were ingredients to source? This category will be scored similarly to Difficulty, and any substitutions made will be denoted in the recipe’s section.

Immersion: How well does this recipe fit the universe or world that it’s from? High scores in this category mean high immersion, while low scores mean that it’s not particularly immersive.

Time: How much time did this take? Recipes that take less time will score higher in this category.

End Result: With the recipe followed as closely as possible (according to my dietary restrictions/ingredient sourcing capability), how did the final dish turn out? Higher scores in this category denote a better final dish.

Side Dish: Cantonican Cactus Bites

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 3/5

Time: 3/5

End Result: 3/5

TOTAL RATING: 19/25

I came into this recipe REALLY wanting to give it a perfect rating. I love roasted brussels sprouts, and really, really wanted to like this recipe. It was straightforward to prepare, you could buy the ingredients at any grocery store, and it seemed like it would turn out really tasty. I was willing to put aside the fact that it’s just roasted brussels sprouts (not a terribly Star Wars-y dish) and was really hoping the taste would blow me away. Unfortunately, these turned out somewhat underwhelming. Despite following the recipe exactly, as you can see in the photo, these sprouts (and all of the tasty vegetables cooked with them, including fresh shallots and garlic) burned a little in the oven. This recipe definitely has potential- but as written in the cookbook, it’s somewhat middling.

Main Course: Narquois Rolls

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 3/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 5/5

TOTAL RATING: 23/25

This recipe was AWESOME, and a hit with my family. It only loses points on the sad fact that I wasn’t able to source enoki mushrooms (the main ingredient of the dish) and had to substitute in a mix of other mushrooms. Having done some research on the planet of Narq (also known as Narqui?), I don’t think this was terribly immersion breaking, since it’s a foresty, swampy planet with… large fungal forests! I would love to make it again with actual enoki mushrooms to see how those would have affected the taste and texture— these were delicious.

Dessert: Kullgroon Drops

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 5/5

TOTAL RATING: A perfect 25/25!

I was really skeptical about this recipe— it’s literally just frozen grapes and Jell-O dust. Surprisingly, this is my highest-rated dish from this review! Super easy, super quick (the only time sink is letting them freeze) and they come out delicious, chilly, and beautifully alien! They’d be a believable find in a snow-covered environment like Kullgroon, and they were absolutely delicious.

Tune in this Friday (6/7/24) for another fandom cookbook review!

[vegan-nom-noms]

Movie Night Ideas

Star Wars Wookie Cookies and Baby Yoda Mini Donuts

Inside Out "Joy" Lemonade and "Sadness" Blue Raspberry Cheesecake

The Good Dinosaur Dinosaur Birthday Cake and Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies

[beautyandlifestyleblog86]

When it comes to maintaining healthy physical health, it is important to pay attention to various areas of the body. Some key areas to focus on include:

1. Cardiovascular health: This includes the heart and blood vessels. To maintain cardiovascular health, it is important to engage in regular aerobic exercise, eat a healthy diet low in saturated fats and cholesterol, manage stress, and avoid smoking.

2. Musculoskeletal health: This includes muscles, bones, and joints. To maintain musculoskeletal health, it is important to engage in regular weight-bearing exercise, consume an adequate amount of calcium and vitamin D, practice good posture, and avoid overuse injuries.

3. Respiratory health: This includes the lungs and airways. To maintain respiratory health, it is important to avoid exposure to pollutants and irritants, maintain good indoor air quality, avoid smoking, and engage in regular physical activity to support lung function.

4. Immune health: This includes the immune system, which helps protect the body from infections and diseases. To maintain immune health, it is important to eat a nutritious diet, stay hydrated, get enough sleep, manage stress, and avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.

5. Mental health: This includes emotional well-being and cognitive function. To maintain mental health, it is important to engage in activities that reduce stress, practice mindfulness and relaxation techniques, seek social support, and talk to a mental health professional if needed.

6. Digestive health: This includes the gastrointestinal system. To maintain digestive health, it is important to eat a diet rich in fiber, stay hydrated, exercise regularly, and manage stress. Probiotic-rich foods can also support healthy gut bacteria.

7. Skin health: This includes the skin, hair, and nails. To maintain skin health, it is important to protect the skin from sun damage, stay hydrated, eat a nutritious diet rich in antioxidants, and practice good skincare habits.

Overall, maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity, a balanced diet, adequate sleep, stress management, and avoiding harmful behaviors like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can help support overall physical health and well-being. Regular check-ups with healthcare providers and preventive screenings are also important for early detection and management of any health issues.

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 06/17/2023

Dr. Stone: New World (Age of Exploration Arc) EP#38 (03) - First Contact: Despite the aerial photographs the oil field remains hidden. Autumn arrives so the wheat is harvested. Francois plans a gourmet celebration dinner, so Kohaku gathers boar piglets to raise on the farm for meat and while searching the photographs for a good spot to forage truffles, she accidentally locates the general location of the oil field. When they still cannot locate the oil Senku remembers the Sagara oil field was originally discovered by pigs bathing in oil-soaked mud. Managing to stop Francois in time they instead use the boars as sniffer-boars who lead them directly to the oil. Suika adopts a boar as a pet, naming it Sagara. After processing oil into gasoline Senku builds a rudimentary engine powered speedboat, allowing them to visit the ocean. Chrome begins to realise just how big the world is. Senku announces his next goal, to create a GPS powered by a massive radio tower and Senku’s wireless telephone. At Ginro’s urging Ruri almost uses the system to confess to Chrome but is interrupted by another signal. With his enhanced hearing Ukyo confirms the signal is coming from a second, functional radio tower, meaning other humans are alive somewhere on the planet, endlessly broadcasting the question "WHY?".

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal EP#08 - Darkness Before the Dawn: While they are on the train, Edred is still upset that he can't go home again and his own body is no longer with him. He begins to question what will happen to them once they successfully destroy the Evil. They suddenly hear a commotion and they run to see an attack by a werewolf, who is revealed to be Winston. Melinda accuses Edred who left him stranded instead of placing him to safety. Winston tells them what happened and is now cursed to be a werewolf, Winston says this is a good thing as he is part of the group so he can be with Emma. Merlin arrives and tells them the Evil is Otto and they go to the jungle, Merlin informed them as he continues his search, he joins up with the guardian spirit Rakshasa and destroys Otto's ship by which he didn't mention what happened to them in the end. Merlin decides to splits the group up to investigate the wreckage. As Edred and Winston go together, Winston confronts Edred of his actions but because of Edred he has become one of them now, Edred then tells him once they leave their hosts Emma becomes normal again while Winston has his curse, their arguing leads them to a fight. Seng and Copernicus discovers the deceased bodies of Rakshasa and Otto, which the Rakshasa's soul reveals to Seng not everything is as it seem. Melinda asks Merlin to remove Winston's curse for Emma's sake. However, Merlin has been possessed by the Evil and begins attacking Melinda causing Winston and Edred's to stop their fight and regroup with Seng and Copernicus.

Food Wars: The Fifth Plate (The BLUE Arc) EP#86 (13) Finale - Food Wars: Soma sets about making a new version of the egg tempura bowl he first served to Erina during his entrance exam, having incorporated techniques he learned during his time at Totsuki. Both Mana and Erina are caught off guard by how well it is cooked, which causes Erina to release the most powerful version of the Gifting seen yet. However, Erina still refuses to acknowledge the dish as delicious, since she will cook an even better dish. As Mana observes, she realizes that Soma's refusal to quit and his dedication to cook for someone he truly cares about are the elements needed to satisfy the God Tongue. Erina manages to present a dish that defeats Soma's, making her the winner of BLUE. At Soma's 2nd place victory party, the rest of the current and former Elite 10 reveal that they had been quietly dismantling the entire Noir organization while its leadership was distracted at BLUE. Frustrated at having lost to Erina, Soma decides to go on a world tour to improve his cooking. Meanwhile, Erina welcomes Mana home. Azami also returns and admits that Asahi is actually his illegitimate son, making him Erina's half-brother. Erina invites Asahi into the Nakiri family so she can finally fulfill her wish of having the entire family eat a meal together. Six months later, Soma returns to the Yukihira diner, inviting Erina and all of his friends and classmates. Erina arrives first and quietly realizes she has feelings for Soma just as the rest of the guests arrive to celebrate Soma's return.

[take-a-dip-in-the-deadpool]

My friend: we don't have Arby's in Bermuda what's it like?

Me:

[cybrics-corner]

What kind of meal would these chefs cook for you?

Click below and read my article about Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Amazon's bestselling "bitter lemon" energy drink was bottled delivery driver piss

Today (Oct 20), I'm in Charleston, WV at Charleston's Taylor Books from 12h-14h.

For a brief time this year, the bestselling "bitter lemon drink" on Amazon was "Release Energy," which consisted of the harvested urine of Amazon delivery drivers, rebottled for sale by Catfish UK prankster Oobah Butler in a stunt for a new Channel 4 doc, "The Great Amazon Heist":

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-amazon-heist

Collecting driver piss is surprisingly easy. Amazon, you see, puts its drivers on a quota that makes it impossible for them to drive safely, park conscientiously, or, indeed, fulfill their basic human biological needs. Amazon has long waged war on its employees' kidneys, marking down warehouse workers for "time off task" when they visit the toilets.

As tales of drivers pissing – and shitting! – in their vans multiplied, Amazon took decisive action. The company enacted a strict zero tolerance policy for drivers returning to the depot with bottles of piss in their vans.

That's where Butler comes in: the roads leading to Amazon delivery depots are lined with bottles of piss thrown out of delivery vans by drivers who don't want to lose their jobs, which made harvesting the raw material for "Release Energy" a straightforward matter.

Butler was worried that he wouldn't be able to list his product on Amazon because he didn't have the requisite "food and drinks licensing" certificates, so he listed his drink in Amazon's refillable pump dispenser category. But Amazon's systems detected the mismatch and automatically shifted the product into the drinks section.

Butler enlisted some confederates to place orders for his drink, and it quickly rocketed to the top of Amazon's listings for the category, which led to Amazon's recommendation engine pushing the item on people who weren't in on the gag. When these orders came in, Butler pulled the plug, but not before an Amazon rep telephoned him to pitch him turning packaging, shipping and fulfillment over to Amazon:

https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-let-its-drivers-urine-be-sold-as-an-energy-drink/

The Release Energy prank was just one stunt Butler pulled for his doc; he also went undercover at an Amazon warehouse, during a period when Amazon hired an extra 1,000 workers for its warehouses in Coventry, UK, in a successful bid to dilute pro-union sentiment in his workforce in advance of a key union vote:

https://jacobin.com/2023/10/the-great-amazon-heist-oobah-butler-review

Butler's stint as an Amazon warehouse worker only lasted a couple of days, ending when Amazon recognized him and fired him.

The contrast between Amazon's ability to detect an undercover reporter and its inability to spot bottles of piss being marketed as bitter lemon energy drink says it all, really. Corporations like Amazon hire vast armies of "threat intelligence" creeps who LARP at being CIA superspies, subjecting employees and activists to intense and often illegal surveillance.

But while Amazon's defensive might is laser-focused on the threat of labor organizers and documentarians, the company can't figure out that one of its bestselling products is bottles of its tormented drivers' own urine.

In the USA, the FTC is suing Amazon for its monopolistic tactics, arguing that the company has found ways to raise prices and reduce quality by trapping manufacturers and sellers with its logistics operation, taking $0.45-$0.51 out of every dollar they earn and forcing them to raise prices at all retailers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

The Release Energy stunt shows where Amazon's priorities are. Not only did Release Energy get listed on Amazon without any quality checks, the company actually nudged it into a category where it was more likely to be consumed by a person. The only notice the company took of Release Energy was in its logistics and manufacturing department – the part of the business that extracts the monopoly rents at issue in the FTC case – which tracked Butler down in order to sell him these services.

The drivers whose piss Butler collected don't work directly for Amazon, they work for a Delivery Service Partner. These DSPs are victims of a pyramid scheme that Amazon set up. DSP operators lease vans and pay to have them skinned in Amazon livery and studded with Amazon sensors. They take out long-term leases on depots, and hire drivers who dress in Amazon uniforms. Their drivers are minutely monitored by Amazon, down to the movements of their eyeballs.

But none of this is "Amazon" – it's all run by an "entrepreneur," whom Amazon can cut loose without notice, leaving them with unfairly terminated employees, outstanding workers' comp claims, a fleet of Amazon-skinned vehicles and unbreakable facilities leases:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/

Speaking to Wired, Amazon denied that it forces its drivers to piss in bottles, but Butler clearly catches a DSP dispatcher telling drivers "If you pee in a bottle and leave it [in the vehicle], you will get a point for that" – that is, the part you get punished for isn't the peeing, it's the leaving.

Amazon's defense against the FTC is that it spares no effort to keep its marketplace safe. As Amazon spokesperson James Drummond says, they use "industry-leading tools to prevent genuinely unsafe products being listed." But the only industry-leading tools in evidence are tools to bust unions and screw suppliers.

In her landmark Yale Law Review paper, "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox," FTC Chair Lina Khan makes a brilliant argument that Amazon's alleged benefits to "consumers" are temporary at best, illusory at worst:

https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox

In Butler's documentary, Khan's hypothesis is thoroughly validated: here's a company extracting hundreds of billions from merchants who raise prices to compensate, and those monopoly rents are "invested" in union-busting and countermeasures against investigative journalists, while the tools to keep you from accidentally getting a bottle of piss in the mail are laughably primitive.

Truly, Amazon is the apex predator of the platform era:

https://pluralistic.net/ApexPredator

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/#the-bitterest-lemon

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

[artemishasthebluez]

actually pissed the save gaza tags arent trending but shit like hazbin hotel was. please please PLEASE start spreading those tags. we need to speak up. thousands are dying. the isreal defense force and hamas is commiting war crimes against palestine. gaza’s death toll has reached 26,257 Palestinians killed and 64,797 wounded since the start of the war.

V**ziepop is a zionist and actively supports the war crimes Isreal is commitjng. She is DISGUSTING. She mocks the boycotts and is on Isreal and Hamas’s side.

if you have any available money, please donate to the following charitys, and if you dont, please speak up against hamas and isreal by spreading the word. the last remaining hospital in Gaza has been attacked. noone has anywhere to go.

update: i have been informed that tumblr is on isreals side. do NOT give tumblr good reviews, dont buy shit from them. they are supporting actual fucking war crimes. its time to stand up. we will not be silenced.

FREE GAZA AND PALESTINE.

Just because the strike is over doesn’t mean we stop fighting.

some other posts for info:

ALL OF THESE POSTS ARE NOT BY ME. I REBLOGGED THESE. PLEASE DONT CREDIT ME FOR THESE.

DO NOT STOP REBLOGGING

[yukipri]

Galaxy's Edge Foodstuffs & Drinkstuffs Reviews!

So last month, I was able to finally visit Black Spire Outpost, aka Batuu, aka Galaxy's Edge, aka Star Wars Land @ Disneyland!

This is a roundup of photos + reviews of all the themed foods & beverages that mum and I enjoyed during our trip.

Note that I visited Batuu West, in Disneyland California. Florida may have slightly different menus, and I know that menus change seasonally too! My visit was in January, 2023.

The rest of the photos + reviews under the cut!

Oga's Cantina

In the early morning on the very first day, we stopped by Oga's! We got some non-alcoholic drinks + some small eats to start the day off.

Non-Alcoholic drinks:

Memory's foggy, but I *think* the drinks are: 

Blurrgfire: Minute Maid® Lemonade, Pomegranate Juice, and Habanero-Lime

Review: Mildly zingy? but otherwise a pleasant juice drink.

Black Spire Brew: Cold Brew Joffrey's Coffee®, Honey, Falernum, Passion Fruit, and Citrus

Review: Probably the most questionable drink we had, but glad we tried it! The coffee + citrus gave it a sorta...sour? taste? and I'm not sure how I felt about that in my coffee! But it was certainly unique.

Blue Bantha: Blue Milk served chilled with Bantha-inspired Brown Butter Chocolate Chip and Coconut Cookie

Review: Realizing now we didn't get the cookie, sad ;_; It was ok, but idk it felt like it tasted a lot better from the Milk Stand! It was also kinda room temperature, though we *were* in the very first early morning round of people. Overall didn't stand out too much, but wasn't bad either!

Jabba Juice: Simply Orange® with Pineapple, Kiwi, Cantaloupe, and Blueberry Flavor-filled Boba

Review: A slightly mixed-juice but mostly orange juice with some blue popping boba! Was good in a normal, could probably make it at home sorta way.

Food stuffs:

Five-blossom Bread: Warm Pretzel Knot with Hawaiian Black Sea Salt, served with Calabrian Cheese Sauce

Review: It was super warm 'n toasty, surprisingly filling! It was a pretty normal pretzel and the sauce was a pretty normal slightly spicy cheese sauce, but it was still delicious!

Spiced Wroshyr Pods: Seasoned Edamame, Sliced Cucumbers, spicy Citrus-Gochujang Dip

Review: Ngl, these were just straight up plain edamame ^ ^;;; BUT the sauce was really good, preferred it to the pretzel sauce even!

I had another reservation at Oga's on a different night, and this time we tried some alcohol. Now, tbh I am not a huge fan of alcohol; I can drink it, but I just don't really like the flavor, and have never gotten drunk (nor do I really want to), and all it makes me feel is the vague urge to pee. But, I felt obligated to try something alcoholic at the cantina, so here's what I *think* we got!

Jedi Mind Trick (alcoholic): Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit and Rose Vodka, John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum, Bols Blue Curaçao, White Grape Juice, Lime Juice, and Grapefruit Bitters

Review: It was defs sweet? Fruity? But alas, Alcohol taste was strong for me ;_;

Hyperdrive (Punch It!) (Non-alcoholic): Powerade® Mountain Berry Blast, White Cranberry Juice, Black Cherry Purée, and Sprite®

Review: Got one non-alcoholic drink, and ngl it was definitely my fav drink out of the 3 ^ ^; Unfortunately don't remember much of it, other than that I was using it to cleanse the alcohol flavor...

Fuzzy Tauntaun: Cîroc Peach Vodka, Bols Peach Schnapps, and Simply Orange® topped with Tangerine, Pure Cane Sugar, "Buzz Button Tingling" Foam

Review: This was the most recommended drink by people we spoke to + blogs I read, so I figured hey let's try it. Other people have described the foam as "tingly," but tbh...neither mum nor I really felt it? It was very foam for sure, messy, hard to get at the drink without getting foam all over your face. Taste was pretty mild (+ alcohol, LMAO).

In conclusion: Kazu, u know u don't like alcohol, plus it's expensive. Let's just stick to non-alcohol next time and save our credits, yeah? ^ ^;

Docking Bay 7

I LOVED Docking Bay 7! It was surprisingly spacious, and perhaps because we went when it wasn't too busy, but there was never any trouble getting seating. With mobile pickup food was ready almost instantaneous, and the whole interior had such an awesome aesthetic with tons of cool design details!

Trandoshan-style Pasta with Braised Bantha: Chile-braised Beef, Buttered Garlic Cavatelli, Seasonal Vegetables, Zesty Avocado Sauce, Balsamic Glaze

Review: This is the green-lookin' dish! I LOVED this one, so much I went and got it again on a different day. It's pasta, which I'm naturally biased towards, but also a lotta meat and veggies too, and pleasantly spiced. It felt like a Good Food, while also being unique and interesting enough it felt sorta Star Wars, I really enjoyed it!

Endorian Fried Chicken Tip-Yip: Crispy Chicken, Roasted Vegetable Potato Mash with Green Gravy

Review: Also good! But tasted a lot more "normal." It's a nice piece o' chickin floating in a ton of mashed potato gravy. Warm and filling, but didn't really feel as themed.

Drinks!

Moof Juice: Simply Fruit Punch®, Simply Orange® with Pineapple, Chipotle-Pineapple

Review: Another pleasant fruit juice! Gosh there are so many fruit juice mixes here! Not complaining bc I love them. Don't really remember too much about this other than "sweet."

Phattro: Gold Peak® Unsweetened Tea, Minute Maid® Lemonade, Desert Pear

Review: Another mixed juice drink, mum and I could only tell it apart from Moof Juice bc this one was mildly less sweet, more tea. Both were good!

Cold Brew Black Caf: Cold Brew Coffee topped with Sweet Cream Cheese and Chocolate Puffs

Review: I actually really enjoyed this one!! Much more than the questionable coffee at Oga's. It's got literal cereal floating on top! One thing that we found was that it wasn't as sweet or well mixed right after picking it up (no duh), but if you wait for the cream cheese and cocoa puffs dust to trickle down (or just mix it), it's a lot sweeter and so much yummier!

Also from the Docking Bay:

Vintian Mineral Mousse: Banana Brûlée-centered Dark Chocolate Mousse, Strawberry Mousse, Vanilla Chantilly, Chocolate Crumble, Cherry Garnish

Review: THIS THING. Y'all, if I had to pick just one food item to recommend from all of Galaxy's Edge, it would be this. Wasn't really sure what it was at first, and almost didn't order because I'm not a huge fan of banana flavor, but I'm SO glad that we did. Each of the blobs is a different flavored mousse, the banana being the largest, and i *think* the blue was Vanilla, pink strawberry, though those may be flipped. They each had a sorta shell like covering with soft mouse inside. They all tasted incredibly fancy and delicate, like very expensive patisserie quality, and each blob was so distinctive so you never got bored. I even liked the banana one, though I preferred the other two. The best way to eat is to take a spoonfull, and then scoop through the crumble to pick up as much of it as possible. The added crunch makes it even better!

Overall, this not only tasted phenomenal, but it had gorgeous and distinctively "Star Wars" visual presentation, and overall was so unique!

Moving on,

Milk Stand + Ronto Roasters

While the Milk Stand and Ronto Roasters are completely different shops and aren't even close, I picked up drinks from the Milk Stand for breakfast on our second day, so reviewing them together!

Blue Milk: Plant-based blend of Coconut and Rice Milk with alluring fruity characteristics

Review: The Iconic Drink. I hear that people have mixed opinions about this, but I actually really liked it—and it also tasted SUPER familiar. If any of you have had ramune before, the Japanese soda drink in a funky glass bottle that you can find at most Asian markets, it tasted SUPER similar. Perhaps part of me is biased bc my Japanese ass associates blue = ramune, but really, if someone made a ramune slush and maybe added a wee bit more citrus, this would be it. I also happen to love ramune, and slushes, so of course this was a win! If you want to taste ramune to see what Blue Milk tastes like (at least in my own humble opinion, backed by mum), make sure to pick up the "original" flavor! Overall this was super chilled and refreshing, I loved it!

Green Milk: Plant-based blend of Coconut and Rice Milk with zippy citrus and tropical characteristics

Review: I read some reviews that this was nasty, but I didn't think so, it was also pleasant. There was a bit of a strange, possibly slightly medicinal aftertaste, and it was also "milkier" than the blue so it felt less refreshing. Of the two, I definitely prefer blue, but enjoyed my cup of the green too!

Ronto Morning Wrap: Scrambled Eggs, Grilled Pork Sausage, Shredded Cheddar, Peppercorn Sauce, wrapped in Pita

Review: A very yummy wrap from Ronto's, only available in the morning! I felt like of the 3 wraps, this one was the richest, with a lotta cheese, egg, sausage. It was filling and super good! I wouldn't say that the food item itself felt particularly unique, but Ronto's has a super cool setup, so just being able to eat in the vicinity puts you into the universe.

Evening on a different day, we tried the other wraps!

Ronto Wrap: Roasted Pork, Grilled Pork Sausage, Peppercorn Sauce, tangy Slaw, wrapped in Pita

Review: The classic. I was expecting to like this one the most, and while it didn't disappoint, the others were actually so good they all sorta evened out? For being the meat option, it had a lotta veggies and didn't feel unhealthy, at least compared to my usual diet LMAO. I liked this a lot, and like the morning wrap, it was very tasty in a normal food sorta way!

Ronto-less Garden Wrap: Plant-based Sausage, spicy Kimchi Slaw, sweet Pickled Cucumber, Plant-based Gochujang Spread, wrapped in Pita

Review: Usually not a huge fan of fake meat, but this vegetarian option was actually really good! Of the 3, I think I might have even liked the flavoring best? It had a bit of zing to it, possibly due to the kimchi. Either way, I'm glad I was able to split these with mum!

Hard to say which of the wraps I liked most, I think I liked all of them around the same! None of them stuck out as Exceptional, but they were all good!

Drinks from Ronto:

Tatooine Sunset: Gold Peak® Unsweetened Tea, Minute Maid® Lemonade with Melon and Blueberry

Review: Yet another pleasant fruity drink! Don't remember much about it, other than that I liked it, and it once leaned mildly less sweet than the other one ^ ^;

Meiloorun Juice: Pineapple Juice, Minute Maid® Lemonade, with Blueberry, Cranberry Juice, Lemon Juice, and Desert Pear

Review: THIS ONE. If I had to choose ONE fruit juice out of the tons I had, this one is my favorite. I want to say that "Meiloorun" in the name isn't biasing me (it may be), but no really, this one was genuinely so good. It felt denser? than the others, really citrusy but the flavors were really well mixed so it tasted like an all-new fruit, exactly what I'd expect a Meiloorun to be like! I chugged two of these lmao.

Got this on the final day, also from Ronto:

Destran Ice Cap: Sprite®, Orange-Tangerine Syrup, topped with Sweet Cream Cheese

Review: Wasn't sure about the whole "cream cheese in soda," but I'm glad I tried this because I actually really liked it! The cream cheese added a pleasant, well, creaminess to the orange soda of the rest of it, giving it a sort of ice cream float-like feel without the ice cream. Would defs get again!

Lastly,

Kat Saka's Kettle

Picked this up on the last day!

Outpost Mix: colorful blend of seasonal flavors (blend of Caramel and Chocolate-glazed Popcorn)

Review: Honestly just a pleasant popcorn mix! It was good, flavor wasn't too strong, pretty mild. Was a nice easily consumable crunchy snack. It says caramel + chocolate, but tbh I mostly just tasted "mildly sweet." I was hoping for the brightly colored purple/red mix that at least looks a bit unique, but perhaps that's for a different season? Either way, yeah, I enjoyed this but didn't feel it was particularly special ^ ^;

~~

Aaaaand that's my review! I didn't quite eat *everything* at Galaxy's Edge, but I tried a darn good majority.

Overall, the vast majority of food/drink was super darn good and well worth the money! Some was more unique than others, but the quality was consistently high throughout. I did not eat outside of Galaxy's Edge my entire trip and felt very satisfied with that!

My standout favorites were: the pasta & mousse dessert from Docking Bay 7, blue milk from the Milk Stand, and Meiloorun juice from Ronto's!

I also got all 3 of the thermal detonator-shaped water bottles, but well, the flavor inside was just your regular Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite. Still cool souvenirs!

But yes, in general, just so many fruit juices haha. Luckily I do love fruit juices, and also I'm glad that all of the bathrooms in Batuu were both clean, spacious, *never* had lines, and were also super cool-looking. Because given the amount of sugar water I was chugging, yeah. I visited them a lot!

While there's a good variety of food on Batuu and I think they did a great job with the menu, there were a few things that I hope they expand on in the future.

First, while there were some options for folks with dietary restrictions, they were extremely limited. Unsurprising, as most of the food shops already have an extremely limited menu with single digit menu items total. But it would still be nice to see these menus be expanded in the future, or possibly adding additional shops so that something, somewhere might work.

Next, I felt myself wishing for more take-home souvenir-type food. Liked boxed cookies, chocolates, y'know? Sure, you could technically take home the popcorn, but it's just in a brown bag. I'm genuinely shocked they didn't have Grogu's blue macaron cookies, I'm sure those would sell insanely well. Mouse-man, u listening?

Again, I know a lot of food menu items are seasonal/limited, so I hope I can visit again when things have switched around!

If you've been to Batuu, what were your favorite things to taste there?? Any hot items I missed?

Anyway, I hope you found this review to be interesting! Thanks for reading!!

[voidlightcomix]

Feast Your Eyes: Fandom Cookbook Recipe Review #7

Blue Noodles And Sweet Failure - Star Wars Ultimate Cookbook + Galaxy’s Edge Cookbook

Tonight's menu: sourced from Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge + Star Wars Ultimate Cookbooks

Main Dish: Gormaanda’s Glowblue Noodles, pg 103 of Galaxy’s Edge Cookbook

Side Dish: Hanava Pods, pg 185 of Star Wars Ultimate Cookbook

Dessert (not pictured): Aleen Firefly, pg 125 of Star Wars Ultimate Cookbook

Full review under the cut!

Aurum Leuci’s Log:

[Begin recording.] I just left the outpost. There was a chef in the tavern that let me help make a send-off dinner, and it turned out pretty good. I’m off through the multiverse again, towards one of the locations I ended up in on accident when the portals were miscalibrated. Not much else to report. Wait for my next transmission. Aurum Leuci out. [End log.]

Please see this post for my full review scale!

Main Dish: Gormaanda’s Glowblue Noodles

RATING:

Difficulty: 5/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 4/5

TOTAL RATING: 24/25

This was a fun recipe, and I was excited to do it since I finally got the butterfly pea tea bags for the colorant (no gel food coloring here!) When I eventually make it again I think I’ll probably use a thicker noodle, since the angel hair rice noodles were a little rough to work with, and the cookbook’s image resembles a soba noodle rather than such a thin noodle. The original recipe called for mozzarella balls (which I couldn’t find a vegan alternative for) so we just compensated with a couple extra tomatoes. It was delicious and alien and exotic, and at the same time incredibly homey and comfortable.

Side Dish: Hanava Pods

RATING:

Difficulty: 4/5

Ingredients: 4/5

Immersion: 3/5

Time: 5/5

End Result: 5/5

TOTAL RATING: 22/25

Not much to say about these; the recipe is a little overcomplicated (don’t boil your frozen edamame, just put them in the microwave). But aside from that, they were pretty well seasoned and tasty. The ichimi togarashi (japanese hot pepper flakes) was super, super spicy! So definitely wash your hands thoroughly after eating these.

This really only loses points for telling you to boil frozen edamame, and also for just being… edamame. They aren’t terribly immersive. But they are tasty!

Dessert: Aleen Firefly (mocktail)

RATING:

Difficulty: 1/5

Ingredients: 5/5

Immersion: 5/5

Time: 1/5

End Result: 0/5

TOTAL RATING: 12/25

If you look at the picture of today’s dinner, you’ll notice that there is no mocktail. Did I just forget to photograph it? Was it labeled wrong? What’s up with that?

Well, friends… I was very excited about this recipe. It was essentially a soda with pineapple juice and little jello cubes at the bottom. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of trusting the cookbook in its explanation of how to prepare jello. (Don’t do this.) By the time dinner rolled around, the jello had only sort of set and had just kind of turned into… pretty sludge?

Anyway, after trying to put it together as a cohesive drink, I realized that I wasn’t going to get anywhere close to the cookbook’s version (which looked very cool and pretty), so I decided to just try a sip of it. Even if it had been visually successful, I wasn’t a huge fan of the taste, so this recipe ties Pandora’s Shoreline Salad for lowest rating thus far. At least this one didn’t clog my sink!

Tune in this Friday (6/28/24) for another fandom cookbook review!

[esperderek]

I have to have a chuckle at the Screenrant article posted recently about the Galactic Starcruiser, which totally wasn't about Jenny Nicholson's video honest.

In part, because early in Nicholson's video, she talks about how unnatural it is to have your influencers speak in adcopy and copyright rather than the more colloquial nicknames, and how it makes the people speaking about the product seem very insincere and, well, paid off. Because normal humans don't speak that way, but advertising does.

What's the first two lines in this article?

"As a life-long fan of Star Wars, there was nothing quite as exciting as finding out that I would be working on the immersive Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience. Located at the Walt Disney World Resort, the Galactic Starcruiser opened on March 1, 2022, and welcomed passengers to board a two-day, two-night cruise through the stars, during which they could live out their own Star Wars adventure."

No one talks like this naturally. No one writes like this naturally.

This is supposed to be your passioned defense of the place you worked at, the people you worked with, and the memories you made along the way. C'mon! Why don't you open with a story, perhaps an anecdote about the best moment you had working there, or the devastation of the day you lost your dream job. We need to feel your humanity! But there's nothing of that here, to the point where you can just hear the TM behind Galactic Starcruiser.

The first half of this article continues in this vein, reading like a press release Disney marketing put out, just with past tense rather than present or future tense:

"Essentially, the Starcruiser experience was a 48-hour movie that passengers were actually a part of. It was all facilitated through the "datapad," which was accessed through the Play Disney Parks app."

"To facilitate the overarching immersive experience and storytelling, the Starcruiser built a jam-packed itinerary for each and every guest that would consist of a variety of important activities: the captain's toast at muster, a bridge training exercise, lightsaber training, and more. These types of events were essential to understanding what was happening, as they would give passengers the chance to interact with characters and build their story. This is why the Starcruiser could never be just a hotel; every part of it was designed for enthusiastic interaction."

Like, c'mon. I used to work in television. I've seen and used adcopy in my former job, and this is some serious adcopy. It honestly wouldn't shock me if the author dredged up some old adcopy they had lying around about the topic and just transferred it over, changing the tense. You're not here to sell us this product, because there is no product to sell. It's gone, it's been gone for a year, you don't have to sell us on IT. Speak about your experiences.

The next part is yet another topic that Jenny Nicholson pointed out, the bad faith excuses that influencers and advertisers made for the extreme price point:

"What many people don't know, however, is that the price included much more than just a room. The passengers' food, park tickets, recreation activities on board, non-alcoholic drinks, and more were all included - with merchandise being one of the few additional costs on board."

Which is absolute bad faith reasoning, especially when there are plenty of other vacation options that are ALSO all-inclusive, but are MUCH cheaper and offer MORE amenities than the Galactic Starcruiser did! Including Disney Cruises, owned by the same company! Seriously, you can go on a halfway decent sounding cruise or all-inclusive resort somewhere warm for, like, a week or two and spend far less than GSC cost.

Then the last part is essentially: "All the workers liked working there and the bad reviews afterwards make the workers who worked on it feel sad. :("

Which, like, companies have been hiding behind that reasoning for ages. Curiously, the author never offers....any reasons or stories. WHY did working on it impact you so much? What set it apart, what were the people like, what did you like about working there, why are you so passionate about it even a year later? There's nothing, just a generic sort of "We worked hard." and "We're sad it's gone." Why? How? What happened? The video you're obviously writing this in response to is filled with personal anecdotes and stories, it's the backbone of the video! Again, you need to give us something to show your humanity!

Especially when you consider that Nicholson repeatedly points out that the only highlight about her experience, the only thing that kept the damn thing going was the workers.

She had nothing but praise for them, and nothing but contempt for the higher ups who wasted and abused that enthusiasm, to the point where one of her last points was "Hey, Disney is basically exploiting labor."

Much like Jenny, I'm also not condemning anyone who had a good time working there. Good! If you were having a good time at work, that's great. If you have good memories about the people, awesome. But I'll note two things:

a) That doesn't meant you weren't being exploited, and

b) That doesn't mean you have to be a useful idiot for the corporation you worked for afterwards.

I'm not conspiracy brained enough to go "Oh, Disney TOTALLY forced this article into being.", because a cursory examination of the author's prior works and such suggests a lifelong passion for Star Wars, she did work at the hotel, and she's a Star Wars Editor (whatever THAT means in this day and age) for Screen Rant. Apparently one of the heads of Screen Rant says that Disney had no hand in it either.

Though, I can see why people would think that way. It READS like a press release, not something a normal human being would write about an experience they feel passionate about.

[sylvianritual]

🫒 Help a Gazan family 🇵🇸

My dear friend Dina is currently living in Gaza with her family. She has a beautiful daughter who is 2 years old, and a precious son, who is 3 months old, who she had during the war. Her family has lost their homes and their normal life to this oppressive, genocidal war, and I ask for your help to aid them in survival.

Dina and her children are currently living in tents in Gaza, exposed to the terrible heat and frigid cold, and vulnerable to snakes, insects, and disease. No human being should have to live like this, no one should face this inhumane punishment for the crime of being born a Palestinian.

She has told me that she has been feeling very frustrated because of GoFundMe's complete lack of urgency in verifying her information and releasing her funds. We are in the middle of the review process and the time they are making her wait for answers is ridiculous, especially when they know the situation in Gaza is urgent. To be ignored like that makes a person feel uncared for, and lacking in support. So I am asking you to please extend your support to my friend Dina and her campaign, so she does not feel that the world has forgotten her and her family.

You can make a difference to Dina and her children today by donating to her campaign. She will be using the funds to acquire food, milk, clothes, medicine, hygienic items, and other basic necessities we take for granted everyday. These basic needs have become astronomically expensive due to the crisis in Gaza, so she asks for your help and generosity.

If you are able, I ask you to please help my dear friend. I worry for her and her children every day. Any amount you can give helps. If you cannot give, please spread her campaign. Make your own post, send it to your friends, post it in servers, put it on your own accounts elsewhere. Every eye on her campaign is someone who might be able to help her.

Dina is vetted by association. Her brother, Mahmoud, is verified by 90-ghost here. And @dlxxv-vetted-donations has kindly shared a screenshot with proof they are siblings here. (Thank you for all your support friend).

I thank you kindly for reading my post today. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, I will do my best to answer them. ❤️🇵🇸

Tagging for reach:

@commissions4aid-international @northgazaupdates2 @remindertoclick @palestine @palestine-button-reminder

[bookhoarding]

War and Pizza: Part One of War and Peace

War and Pizza: Part One of War and Peace

Get the book now on Amazon and Bookshop. If you would like to submit a book for me to consider for review, please email Biancahknight @ gmail.com If you’d like to support me and my work (or see previews of my upcoming projects), check out my Patreon (it has Austen-themed tiers)! You can also consider donating to my Ko-fi. These funds go toward production fees, which helps me be able to share my…

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 05/13/2023

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal EP#03 - A Fateful Encounter

Food Wars: The Fifth Plate (The BLUE Arc) EP#82 (09) - The God Tongue's Despair: Erina easily wins her tournament match against one of the Noirs. Megumi then attends her match against the Noir Huang Zuiwang, with the theme being preparing a dish that can be made in fifteen minutes. It is revealed that Huang's specialty is using his assassin family's knowledge of poisons to create powerful seasonings for food, which are applied through special finger claws. However, Huang is swiftly defeated by Megumi with her Chinese-style lunch platter. With the first round of the tournament complete, Soma and his friends decide to confront the Bookmaster to figure out why Erina is being treated so harshly. As they arrive, they accidentally eavesdrop on a meeting between Erina and the Bookmaster, where it is revealed the Bookmaster is actually Erina's mother, Mana Nakiri. Anne explains Mana left the Nakiri family and abandoned Erina due to her God Tongue causing her be unable to tolerate the taste of food of any kind. In the second round, Takumi is matched against Erina while Megumi faces Asahi. Megumi overhears Asahi taunting Erina that only he can make a dish that can satisfy the God Tongue. Megumi challenges Asahi; if she wins, then Asahi must stop harassing Erina, but if Asahi wins, Megumi must stop being friends with Erina. In the matches, Erina defeats Takumi, and Asahi defeats Megumi. After the match, Asahi again taunts Erina, boasting that only he has the ability to overcome the God Tongue. Soma then intervenes, objecting to Asahi's assertion that his victory is inevitable.

Slightly Damned Page 1091: https://www.sdamned.com/comic/1091