i'm very much not good at this.

[fox]

my sister-in-law asked me the other day what i wanted for christmas, and i realized It Has Begun. so. none of you is my sister-in-law, but some of you have been known to ask me similar questions, which is why i now bring you tartanshell's Wish List Meme.

Step One

- Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.

- If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.

- Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, or link to this post (it'll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two

- Surf around your friendslist (or friendsfriends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

- If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.


1. i do have an amazon wishlist. details upon request.
2. music. there is some music on the above amazon wishlist, but music it hasn't occurred to me to wish for is also very good. CD is fine; mp3 is also lovely; m4a is also great. at the moment i'm irked that if i want Queen in any sort of complete way from iTunes, i'll have to buy it one song at a time. rar.
3. books. ditto amazon and things it hasn't occurred to me to wish for.
4. DVDs. same again.
5. (stealing this one from ellen_fremedon) art for anything i've written.
6. i'll never turn down paid LJ time or extra icons. (if anyone hears about permanent accounts becoming available again, i hereby raise my hand.)
7. recipes that are simple to follow, difficult to ruin, and ideally use as few dishes/pans/etc. as possible. (i am allergic to mushrooms and mildly lactose-intolerant, and i don't eat lamb or veal or much shellfish, or especially enjoy duck or mutton -- but otherwise anything goes.)
8. (what the hell.) upgrade-ness to Comfy Class (business or first, i'm not picky) on any or all of the transatlantic flights i'll be taking over the next two years.
9. [resists the urge to say "That would be tougher penalties for parole violators, Stan. ... And also, world peace."] more seatbelts!

now would be a good time to stop reading, if you're likely to roll your eyes at me. (or, if you're likely not to enjoy rolling your eyes at me, i suppose.)

i know that is only nine things. nobody can give me #10, which is, i want my friends who are unhappy to be happy instead; i want [nope, still not over it, and doesn't that just suck? -- in fact, failing what i want, i'd settle for getting over it; anyone know where i can find some?]; and i want my aunt and my grandparents back, just for an hour.

i told you you shouldn't have read this far.

Comments

[setissma.livejournal.com]

Mum's Stroganoff
4 oz sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 pound steak, thinly sliced (dredged in flour, salt, and pepper
optional)
Onion or garlic

Sautee steak, with onion optional, in 1 tbsp of margarine. Add a
little bit of water, then mushroom soup and sour cream. Simmer
uncovered, stirring, 30-35 minutes. Serve over noodles.

Shrimp Batter
For: 1 1/2 pounds shrimp
1/4 cup oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon spicy seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients into thick batter, dip shrimp in resulting
mess, and let 'em fry. Makes a very floury, fluffy coating.

Beef Gravy
1/2 lb. beef
3-4 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 tbsp water

Brown beef until crumbly; remove from pan, leaving fat behind. Remove
from heat and drain off all but two or three tablespoons of the fat.
For every tablespoon of fat, add one of flour, plus salt and pepper to
taste. Add beef back into pan, return pan to heat. Add water until the
beef is in a thick gravy. Serve hot over mashed potatoes, or bake
between biscuits.

Sloppy Joe
1 lb. Beef
1/4 cup Ketchup
2 tbsp. mustard
Garlic, salt, and pepper to taste

Brown beef and drain; mix in ketchup and mustard (and etc.) until a
thick sauce is formed. Eat on toast or rolls.

Macaroni and Cheese Biscuits
2-3 cups macaroni
3/4 cup milk - warmed
4 tsp butter
4 tsp flour
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese (or mix jack with muenster)
1/3 recipe baking mix biscuit dough OR 1/2 recipe biscuits from Pastry
section

Cook macaroni and drain; set aside in casserole dish. While you do
this, warm the milk and grate the cheese. Once milk is warmed, remove
from burner.

In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour and whisk together to create a
roux. Add milk and whisk until smooth and slightly thickened. When
thickened, add the cheese and mix, until desired thickness. Mix the
biscuit dough and set aside.

Pour cheese over macaroni. Mix well and top with biscuit dough. Don't
worry if the dough doesn't cover completely; it will spread. Bake at
350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cheddar Potato Soup with Bacon
2 bacon slices, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup sour cream or to taste
grated Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until
crisp. Add onions and cook over moderate heat until softened. Add the
flour, cook for 1 minute stirring constantly and then add the chicken
broth, potatoes, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes, or until
potatoes are soft. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, stir in sour
cream until blended. Pour into blender and puree in small batches;
return to pan. Stir in cheese to taste.

Pumpkin and Peanut Soup
1 small onion, finely minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped
2 T butter
2 T flour
5 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 29 oz. can pumpkin
OR equivalent fresh cooked pumpkin (3 - 4 cups)
1/2 cup half & half
1/2 tsp. cayenne or curry powder
1 1/2 T grated fresh ginger

Melt the butter in your stock pot and saut? the onion, celery and
garlic in the butter for about five minutes or until soft. Add flour
and stir.
Add the stock, followed by the remaining indgredients, whisking the
mixture so it remains smooth.
Simmer for about fifteen minutes and serve.

Grandma's Scottish Shortbread
1 c unsalted butter
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups flour

Soften butter. Stir in sugar, salt, and egg yolk. Add flour a little
at a time until mixture is too stiff to work with a spoon. Turn onto
floured board and knead lightly drawing in flour all the time until
the lump just begins to crack. Divide into two balls, pat out into two
rounds, about 1/2 inch thick, on ungreased cookie sheet. Pinch edges
of rounds like pie and prick all over with a fork. Bake at 350 until
delicately brown. Cool on cookie sheet.

[setissma.livejournal.com]

Crisco's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 cup butter flavor crisco
1 1/4 cups firmly packed browns ugar
2 tbs. milk
1 tbs vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375. Cream crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in
large bowl. Blend until creamy. Blend in egg.

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture
gradually. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop rounded measuring
tablespoonfulls of dough 3 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake for 8
minutes for chewy, 13 for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheet 2 mins.
Makes 3 dozen 3 inch cookies.

Alton Brown's Puffy Cookies
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
31/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 eggs
3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the shortening, sugar, and brown
sugar in the mixer's work bowl, and cream until light and fluffy. In
the meantime, sift together the cake flour, salt, and baking powder
and set aside.

Add the egg, add vanilla. Increase the speed until thoroughly
incorporated.

With the mixer set to low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the
shortening and combine well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill the
dough. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 per sheet. Bake for
13 minutes or until golden brown and puffy, checking the cookies after
5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool and store
in an airtight-container.