Tumblr Doodles 24/12/16

The first of two freshly-posted festive doodles from my Tumblr. Happy holidays, everyone!

For more doodley nonsense, check out jilik1.tumblr.com.

Cooking: JiliK's Pork, Onion and Apple Stuffing

With Christmas now an inevitability, I'll shortly be whipping up another batch of the stuffing I've been perfecting over the last few years, ever since I overthrew the stodgy bread and onion stuffing that had been a mainstay at our family's Christmas dinner since the 90's. This is a much more flavoursome, meaty and moist stuffing, one that tastes great cooked separate from the turkey, which is a huge bonus because goodness knows, there's no way I'm getting elbow deep into that thing. :D

Here's what you'll need:

• 5 large onions
• 5 bramley apples
• 5 large sticks of celery
• 700g pork sausage meat
• 550g breadcrumbs approx.
• A handful each of fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme and sage OR 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons dried mixed herbs
• 5 tablespoons butter
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Sorry about the quality of some of these photos. These are all basically spy pics snuggled out of the kitchen while nobody was looking. With it being Christmas, there are inevitably family members hovering around any time I'm making this - ones whose very minds would shattered by the concept someone hunching over food, carefully taking pictures to post on the internet. :D

1. So, first up, dice your onions and celery, making sure to top and tail everything and to peel the skin, and  any tough outer layers off the onions. You don't have to dice these super finely. Not where this recipe is headed anyway.

2. Next, take a generous chunk of butter and melt it in your pan. I'm using pure, salted butter here (the kind you get in 1lb/454g blocks, at least in in Ireland), probably about 2 tablespoons (hey, I never said this would be healthy :D). Any type of butter (or oil) should do the job okay though, but you'll probably need to add some more salt later.



3. Add your diced onions and celery to the pan and soften them over a low to medium heat, stirring regularly. You don't want them to get burned, or even browned if you can avoid it, just soft.

4. Once your veggies are soft, take them out of the pan and set them aside for the moment

5. Next, peel and dice up the apples. Add another 2 tablespoons of butter or so to the pan and let it melt.; then add the apples. Again, cook them over a low to medium heat until they're soft, stirring regularly.

 Pre-chopped. I'm using my own herbs from the garden here. The sage (bottom) I've actually had in the freezer since the summer. Come December, sage leaves are hard to come by but I find this is an okay workaround.

6. If you're using fresh herbs, before you take the apples out, chop up your herbs finely, stripping the rosemary and thyme from their stems before you start. Then add them to the pan with the apples and let them cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

7. Take your apples out of the pan and set them aside for the moment. Now, add another well, let's say tablespoon of butter this time (the sausage meat will be fatty already so you won't need as much), let that melt and add the sausage meat to the pan.

Tee he!

8. Cook the sausage meat through over a low to medium heat once again, stirring more regularly this time because it'll burn faster than either than the apples or veg.

9. When the sausage meat is cooked, take it out of the pan and set it aside too. It's time to bring everything together...

Den Magazine Issue 9 - December 1994

It's been a while since I scanned of these, but just in time for the holidays, I present the Christmas 1994 Den Magazine for your viewing delight. In this issue: All the hot scoops about Nightmare Before Christmas, and Nintendo's replacement for Super Mario Kart (???); searing festive insights from Ant & Dec; the gripping conclusion of The Work's A-Z of the Human Body; an even less cool environmentally-themed super hero than Captain Planet; a crossword that I'm pretty sure is unfinishable, despite this issue carrying the lamest apology for last months's one also being unfinishable; and, for those looking to chill out at Christmas, boy, does this magazine have the Bon Jovi and East 17 VHS tapes for you!

Like last time, I've bundled this issue into a CBZ file for downloading and comic viewer apps, and for the less committed Den Magazine fans out there (boo! hiss! unthinkable!), I've also made an imgur gallery this time. Please enjoy.

Download (CBZ, 63 MB) | Imgur Gallery

And now, a bunch of recycled stuff from this issue that I already posted on Tumblr. :D

So, who wants to win a fantastic CD-I system?….. Anyone?

Squadala!

Searching for that perfect look for the holiday season? While also being trapped in 1994, and a child? Boy, have I got you covered!

I love how defiantly one of the kids must have protested the outfit he had chosen for him for it to get mentioned twice. Rory Murphy: truly the hero The Den Magazine needed.

Also, what’s with the quotation marks around The Prodigy but nothing else? *air quotes* Dance music? Whatever, kid. Now Boyzone: there’s real talent for you.

Dad jokes! You know, for kids!

You know, it’s only by scanning in these old magazines that I’ve been reminded of the travesty that Bird’s Double Thick Milkshake Mix is no longer a product. I never had the chocolate one much, but hot damn, the strawberry was freakin’ delicious, genuinely thick, AND you got to use a plastic shaker to mix it up like a cocktail. This was highly exciting stuff for an eleven-year-old fat kid. :D

Tragically, I don’t think this was actually available for very long though, maybe just a year or so, but it certainly left an impression - so much so that I’ve been desperately craving some ever since I laid eyes on this.

I wonder if thin Angel Delight would would do the trick. I’m guessing that’s pretty much what this was anyway…… Don’t judge me!