#monthly preview

[spooniechef]

March Sneak Preview

I’ve made a point to actually plan out my meals for the month in more than an abstract way. Part of that is down to you guys, because it’s encouraged me to try recipes I’d been pondering but having executive dysfunction about, so thank you. I thought I’d give a quick overview of what recipes I’m going to be trying this month, and talk a bit about ways of cutting costs for recipes in general.

First, March content - these are the recipes I’m trying this month, or just plain keeping in the rotation because variety is a good thing.

Curry (specifically lamb dopiaza and aloo gobi, my absolute favourites)

Beef stew (I recently bought a slow cooker; more on that later)

Roast pork shoulder (not only how to initially roast it, but three or four ways to use the leftovers that’ll make one roast last the best part of a week)

Chicken broccoli pasta bake (with notes about how gluten-free and lactose-free substitutions will affect things)

Treats (specifically three-ingredient peanut butter cookies, home-made shelf-stable instant hot chocolate, and for those with a dehydrator, cinnamon caramel apple chips)

Given that a few people following this blog have come up with some great variations on the recipes I’ve already posted, I really look forward to seeing what you do with these!

A couple of those recipes above are kind of tricky when it comes to their base ingredients. Mostly the stew and the curry. The meat’s expensive, yes, but oddly, the spices are worse. Herbs and spices are one of those things that can really make or break a dish but also start getting expensive when you buy them all at once. I noticed this a lot with the curry, honestly; it’s a great one to have in the personal recipe book for a spoonie because it’s literally just “throw everything into a pot for a couple of hours”, but the number of spices it needs can be really intimidating, price-wise. So I thought about it and came up with a couple of ways that the sticker shock can be at least minimised when it comes ot herbs.

Grow your own. I know how that sounds, I really do. I will say this, though - it’s not as hard as some people seem to think. I live in a north-facing apartment that really does not get a lot of light and last year was an absolute bonanza of fresh herbs to use in cooking. Plus combine that with a dehydrator and you’ll be more likely to give away cooking herbs than to have to go buy them from the supermarket. Hell, my Scarborough Fair Collection (literally parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme) has been surviving outdoors in a pretty horrific cold snap, as has some mint and my strawberry plants (though they’re obviously not bearing fruit right now). I was also growing marjoram, oregano, dill, cilantro, and basil, plus cayenne peppers, peas, and tomatoes - most of which I’ll have to replant this year. Even if all you’ve got is a windowsill, these plants are hardier than you’d think. Just requires doing the rounds with a watering can. If that’s a route you decide to take, get one of the little 1 litre watering cans; something small and easy to lift. If you’re short on space, priority for planting should be basil (lots of basil - pesto sauce is super easy to make), oregano, cilantro, dill, thyme, rosemary. ...You know what? I’ll just stick with “this gets its own post later”.

Buy in bulk ... a bit at a time. The good thing about dried herbs and spices is that they take a very long time to go 'bad’, and you don’t normally need a whole lot of each in a recipe, so you don’t run out quickly. Still, stuff like green cardamom pods tends towards the costly, and the cornucopia of spices you need for a good curry ... it adds up. So buy the spices a piece at a time - turmeric and cumin one big shopping day, garam masala and clove on another big shop, green cardamom pods on their on the next time, and so on. It takes some organisation, but it helps in two ways - spreads the cost, and gives you time to arrange some space for your sudden bounty of spices. Don’t buy in bulk the first time, just in case you don’t like the recipes you can use this stuff with, or if it’s too much spoon expenditure. But if you do find something you like, usually you’re using a teaspoon or less of these things, so you’ve got a lot of time to buy a bulk package of those items over the course of a lot of shopping trips, and just refill the original spice jar from that when it’s empty.

Honestly, that’s about it. There are ways to spread the cost and to do away with it entirely in some cases, but at the end of the day, stuff costs too much money and there’s not a whole lot we can do about it at this point. I’ll keep adding money-saving tips to these recipes, since I know it’s incredibly tricky to manage a budget when maybe you’re not up to working full time, or when more money than is reasonable needs to go on medication etc. I find it helps to remind myself that yeah, that pork roast was expensive but that’s five-six days’ worth of meals right there, so a lot less I need to buy; doesn’t make the pain of sticker shock go away, but it soothes the burn a little.

[rox-of-iu]

ayo guys guess what time it is again :)) 💜💜

spoiler warning for cultivate ch 41-46

hehe finally scrambled brain enough to be able to catch up and cultivate makes me go 🥰🥰😌🤗😊😊

cultivate of course by @neonghostcat beloved

[noisyghost]

preview of septembers postcard over on the patreon! today (8/31) is the last day to sign up for this design :)

[bundleofboys]

Bundleofboys on Patreon!

January's monthly exclusive art is UP!

$5+ patrons, please enjoy a comic (and some bonus thumbnails/sketches) of Zarak being sidelined by Thorn 😂

[burning-academia-if]

I wanna pelt Lars with tomatoes

Me throughout the entirety of chapter 2

[overscientific]

how has no one made any fanart of her yet

[delimeful]

May 2023 Patreon Previews

Here is the end-of-month patreon summary for May! <3

how easy you are to need (redux) (6)

preview:

When he wasn’t sleeping, the humans held meals with him. Unperturbed by his stubborn silence, they would chatter on just as much as they had back when he’d taken refuge under their floorboards, the thread of conversation frequently derailed by quips and rambling anecdotes.

He thought he had figured it out after that first night, between the food he’d assumed was drugged and the sting of the silverware in his grip— not pure silver, but close enough to burn.

But he’d only felt more and more clear-headed as time passed, and the moment one of them had noticed his fingers spasming around a fork, they’d all kicked up a fuss and instantly swapped the silver utensils out for carefully carved wooden ones.

est. release date: July 29, 2023

(link)

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a weapon turned (1) [Original Work]

preview:

It was his own fault, in the end.

He’d leapt at the chance to work on a big SlireCorp facility, relishing the opportunity for employment in his field and a hefty paycheck. Sure, it was an awfully long way from any other inhabited planets, and even longer from his home or anyone he knew, but that was just a part of the dedicated security measures they had to deter any corporate espionage!

If he’d known then what sort of work they actually did, he wouldn’t have set even a single claw onboard their blighted transit vessel, let alone agreed to live at their physical on-planet facility.

Of course, by the time he found out, it was already too late.

(link)

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to taste your beating heart (8)

preview:

Anx hadn’t really believed the hunters about the whole ‘protecting the innocents’ thing.

Sure, he believed they believed it, but that didn’t necessarily make it true. There were all sorts of ways to ‘save’ someone, and there were all sorts of reasons to deem someone guilty instead of innocent. Especially if that someone happened to be a monster.

Hunters were hunters. They could try and use pretty words to conceal the truth of their occupation all they wanted, but it wouldn’t fool Anx.

They’d realize he couldn’t give them what they wanted soon enough, and then he’d be fair game; subject to however they actually treated the other vamps they ran into.

That’s what he’d thought, anyhow.

est. release date: August 5, 2021

(link)

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taking the fall (6)

preview:

Bewilderingly, Roman was now in the possession of a sword.

He’d been dumbfounded when the demand had been accepted, so certain in requesting it that he’d finally found a hole in the too-good-to-be-true arrangement that Logan had been presenting.

It didn’t count as an actual deal, he had told himself. Obviously, the human wouldn’t actually give his captive a hand-crafted weapon, which meant he wasn’t planning on fulfilling his end of the deal.

Thus, Roman was under no obligation to stick to the terms, and could make his grand escape without besmirching his honor!

Just over a week later, there was a sword hilt in his hand and a considerable amount of screaming in his head.

Had he really just signed himself up for a heaping helping of Stockholm Syndrome, all for the sake of a sword?

… Admittedly, it was a really nice sword.

est. release date: August 12, 2023

(link)

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helpless (7)

preview:

Janus managed to bite three different people before they finally pinned him in one place long enough to force the makeshift muzzle over his head.

He didn’t regret it, persay, but the little victory would have been far more gratifying if he hadn’t gotten his head slammed into a wall hard enough to make him see stars right afterwards.

If it weren’t for the cobbled-together gag, he would have started swearing. It was already extremely unlikely that he’d make it out of this particular clusterfuck unscathed, and seeing double certainly wasn’t going to improve his odds.

est. release date: August 19, 2023

(link) 

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Thanks so much to everyone who’s supported me this month, and I hope this June proves to be an excellent pride month! :)

[malevolent-monthly]

Fic Preview Saturday

Welcome to Malevolent Monthly Fic Preview Saturday, where we showcase previews for WIPs that have been submitted to us!

If you have a snippet of a WIP for one of our January prompts and want it to be showcased on Fic Preview Saturdays, send it our way via our askbox!

Here's an example snippet from our very own @splitting-infinities, following our Ghost Hunter AU Prompt!

Clip 6: Dawn. ARTHUR is sitting on the front steps of the mansion with PARKER. PARKER is wearing a parka and a beanie that says “Believe” with an image of Bigfoot on it. ARTHUR is wearing a fedora and a trenchcoat. Their breath is visible - it’s clearly cold outside. PARKER (charming): So… Does this change anything? ARTHUR: I still don’t believe in ghosts, if that’s what you mean. PARKER: Oh I see, you’re committing to the bit. ARTHUR (laughing): What bit, there’s no bit! It’s science! Plain and simple. You’re the one who freaked out. JUMP CUT Clip 7: A camera is bumpily following PARKER as he runs down the stairs frantically. It’s dark, and his flashlight only catches glimpses of his face. PARKER: Nope! Nope! Oh (CENSOR)! Oh (CENSOR)! Oh God. Nope! The camera pans quickly back to the top of the stairs, where a silhouette stands backlit by the window. It looks like ARTHUR but it is too dark to tell. The camera pans back around to find PARKER trying to unlock the front door of the mansion. PARKER: (CENSOR)! Art, this isn’t funny! Ah no, no no no. He finally unlocks the door and escapes into the night. The camera follows him down the dimly lit driveway for a few seconds before going black.

[inkedmyths]

Consider this my Inktober Day 18

First time really trying out accent making for this year's Riot of Rot! It's pretty simple, idk if I'm really happy with it but hey, nothing ventured nothing gained

[heartvisor]

ultras.. are really cute huh..

[segacity]

Electronic Gaming Monthly #38, Sept '92 - 1992 Fall Preview Issue.

[feartheoldblog]

gilded rot angsty chapter time (naked mal) 👍

[limustg]

Desert Bus Live Stream

[bundleofboys]

February's Patreon Exclusive was Casio and Co. x Alice in Wonderland theme!

♦️♣️😺♠️♥️

[ripcarrotchan]

i hope this team continues to be given the budget to make every masterpiece their heart desires

[luminyu-art]

～ Eve- preview - April 2024 patreon reward ～

● If you like what I draw, you can share and reblog my art to support me :3 ● Follow me on my other social medias to stay updated for streams and news. ● Consider pledging to my Patreon if you want to support me directly and get tons of monthly drawings & patreon only exclusive content. ● Disclaimer : all the characters I draw are 18+ or older  

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