culture 'n stuff

[veronica_rich]

Far from being comprised of a homogenous row of white bread loaves *G*, my f-list is filled with a variety of personalities. On a weekly basis, I get from you guys all sorts of topics, including:

Ballet
Belly-dancing
Conservative perspective
Education about Palestine
Education about Israelis
Black PoC giving their two cents (using "black" because hey, Charlize Theron is also an African-American)
Asian and Asian-American PoC giving their two cents
Education about Irish rebels
Squeeing over blockbuster movies
Australian politics
Neoconservative perspective
Radical liberal perspective
Feminism
Torchwood
Anime
Classic literature
Porn, tentacle and otherwise
Independent film recs and analysis
Education about medical conditions I've hardly heard of
Dispatches from depression and mental illness
GLBT concerns
Actual pirate history
Costuming design and sewing
Military life
Legal analysis
The daily life of paramedics
Cooking!
Drawing and other artwork creation
History discussion
Moderate political stances
Cat care
The politics of teaching
The circuitous ins and outs of financing college these days
Marketing and PR
Jack
Diane
Two American kids doing the best that they can

But you see my point. If you have 5 minutes, list some of the issues you've learned something about through LiveJournal thanks to your diverse (and appreciated) f-list. Even if you're just surfing by and not part of my f-list or vice versa. :-)

Comments

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

(There might be a couple of families I'd have airlifted out.
It would be a kindness to leave them to enjoy the improvements: free health care, affordable quality post-secondary education and an upgrade in pre-university educational standards, for starters ;-)

two Floridians involved ... one of which we both know. *G*)
We'll introduce to Quebecois sugar pie, and she'll be so buzzed she won't be able to resist.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I demand a recipe. For proof. (Yeah. Proof.)

Tarte au sucre

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

According to a very old French-Canadian lady I knew, the usual recipe is flaky piecrust and piles of brown or maple sugar. That's it. Some people have taken to tarting it up by using cream in the filling and stuff. This recipe seems close to what I remember:
Pie dough
3 large eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
You can add 1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped if you want.

Arrange oven rack in middle position and top with heavy baking sheet. Preheat oven to 425°F.
On lightly floured surface using lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 13-inch round. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving 1/2-inch overhang, then fold over and crimp decoratively. Chill shell 30 minutes.
In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, butter, vanilla, brown sugar, and salt. Pour mixture into pie shell. (If you are using nuts, add them to the pie shell first and pout the mixture over top).

Transfer pie to baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F and bake until crust is golden and center is just set, 25 to 30 minutes more.

Transfer pie to rack and cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Without nuts it looks like this:

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

And she can wash it down with some Nanaimo bars:


Some recipes for them here