Ok, But In Hawks Verse, Mail Spikes His Hair, So It Looks Like Little Horns All Over His Head. Horns

You know at least two of those are poisonous, right?

Nature’s Food Photo dump💕

Perfectly Easy (and Tasty) Microwave Mochi Recipe

For those of you who are interested, this is how I make mochi. I used to do it the traditional steamer way but that took forever, and this is just as tasty but pretty quick to whip up! Also, there’s no possibility of you accidentally spilling boiling hot mochi all down your arms as you try to transfer the glop between cheesecloths (yes that’s happened to me and it was NOT. FUN.). If you don’t know what mochi is, it’s a Japanese sweet rice treat that is absolutely addictive: chewy and soft and YUM. I’m part Japanese and lived in Hawaii for a lot of my life so it’s a staple comfort food for me! I used to make it only for New Year’s and special occasions, but now that I microwave it I can make it whenever I want. Which is good, because look at how gorgeous it is:

Microwave Mochi Recipe (makes about 20 pieces)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups mochiko (glutinous rice flour. Sold at most grocery stores in the Asian food section, look for a white box)

1 cup white sugar

1 ½ cups water

2-4 drops vanilla (this is optional, or you could use coconut extract/other flavorings instead, but I like vanilla)

Approximately 4 drops of food coloring. Traditionally you color mochi pink or green, so 4 drops of either green or red, but of course the color is really just up to you.

Instructions:

First you need a microwavable bowl. I use a tupperware container, it’s shallow but wide, like a pan. Any microwavable container that’s big enough would do though, I imagine.

Mix mochiko and sugar together in the bowl/dish until well blended (I use a fork). Add water to mixture and stir until no lumps are left, the mixture should be liquidy and smooth. It has a consistency similar to that of warm syrup. I like using a fork because it’s easy to break up the lumps and make sure the water’s well-integrated. Now add vanilla and food coloring, and stir until color is even throughout mixture. 

Put microwavable dish into the microwave and loosely cover with plastic. If you are using a tupperware container that comes with a lid, like I do, then just rest the lid askew on top of the dish so that it can vent but is still mostly covered.

Ok, now here’s the trick on how to make sure it turns out nice. Microwave the mochi on high for seven minutes total, but not all in one go. Here’s how I do it: Microwave 2 minutes, then take out of microwave and stir with that handy dandy fork. The edges will be more cooked than the middle, so mix it all together and try to get it as even as possible, then place back in microwave. Microwave 2 more minutes, then repeat; mixture will be stickier now. Microwave 2 more minutes and stir again, then microwave 1 more minute, take out and stir, and you’re done! The mixture will be really glossy and brightly colored now, and very very hot. It will also be basically glop, so stirring is more just folding the mix a little to make sure it’s even. So to sum up: Microwave 2 minutes and stir, repeat twice more so you have a total of 6 minutes, and then microwave for 1 minute and stir one last time. I microwaved for eight minutes once and the mochi wasn’t nearly as good, it got hard, so STICK WITH THIS TIMING.

The mochi will be VERY hot. Let it sit for … I’ve never timed it, but I’m guessing it’s about five minutes. Basically you need it still warm, but not hot. You want it to still be pliable so you can shape it, but don’t want to burn your fingers! While the mochi is cooling, you can make the powder you need to coat it in. This is also very simple:

Ingredients:

½ cup potato starch (again, should be in Asian food aisle. Some people use cornstarch. DON’T USE CORNSTARCH.)

¼ cup granulated white sugar

Pinch of salt (not very much at all, you don’t want your mochi to taste salty, eew. I think the original recipe I’ve adapted this one from called for ¼ t but that was too much for me, so I just use a tiny pinch now. Your call.)

In small bowl, combine potato starch, sugar, and salt.

… There, you’re done making that! Easy, right? XD

Now it’s time to shape the mochi.

[Technically, you could just leave it in the pan to cool completely (depending on your dish’s shape) and then cut it up into pieces with a plastic knife. If you’re planning on doing that, then mix the mochiko up in a separate bowl and oil your microwavable dish with vegetable oil before pouring mochi mixture in to cook. I’ve never done it this way though so I’m not sure how well it would work, considering you’d be stirring a lot. If you want to try though, it’s probably doable.]

The most important thing to remember is that warm mochi is incredibly sticky, but it doesn’t stick very much to plastic. This means that whatever utensils you’re using/surfaces you’re putting the mochi on should be plastic! To shape my mochi I actually use two plastic spoons I got from Yogurtland, haha, but to each their own.

Anyway, once the mochi is cool enough, take a plastic spoon and scoop up some mochi! Approximately a Tablespoon per piece is what I do, but the size is really up to you and your spoon. I use two spoons so I can scoop with one and then use the other to separate the scoop from the rest of the mochi, and to make sure the scoop is shaped nicely–you know, like when you shape cookie dough with two spoons? Like that.

So scoop up a dollop of mochi, and then drop it into the starch/sugar/salt mixture. Roll it around in the starch until it’s coated. Then pick it up with your fingers and just roll it in the palms of your hand until it’s a nice smooth ball shape. This is fun because it’s so squishy, like a stress ball. And finally, place on a plate to cool! You don’t have to worry about it being sticky any more because the powder coats it to keep it from being sticky. Aaaaaaaand you’re done! Just repeat with the rest of the mochi until the mochi is all nice and powder-coated, and that’s all. All that’s left is to eat all the mochi, which is, alas, way too easy to do. So yummy.

More fun things to do with Mochi:

Make mochi ice cream! No more going to the store for your mochi ice cream fix, just make your own! Microwave only six minutes (2 + 2+ 2) and then shape as usual but flatten instead of leaving a ball shape. Scoop a bite size dollop of ice cream, place in center of flattened mochi, and fold mochi closed around ice cream. Make sure it’s well coated with the powder, and return to the freezer to eat later :D

Wrap the mochi around other things too: Lychees, strawberries, sweet red bean paste …

If you add cocoa powder to your mochi mix before microwaving it, you make chocolate mochi!

You can also use green tea in lieu of plain water to make green tea mochi! I’ve never tried substituting other liquids but I know coconut milk works, and I am planning on making a batch of chai tea mochi soon :D

This recipe turned out pretty long because I ramble but honestly this stuff is SUPER easy to make. So have fun with it, happy eating, and happy new year! :)

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Reblog if you're comfortable receiving crabs on Crab Day (July 29th) so all your beloved followers know who they can comfortably crab on crab day (July 29th) without feeling nervous about crabbing someone 9n Crab Day (July 29th).

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I find a lot of arguably mean things funny, but there’s a special place in my heart for hardcore hipsters who insist they love tea despite having no idea how to brew it and just choking down that hot bitter disaster while insisting it’s God’s gift to man

made a crab out of paper,, life is good

the assusination of julius caesar

Creative & DIY

Robin Musings, as per Jon Kent

aka Superboy (when Kon is not around), Certified Baby, Farmboy Extraordinaire

Robin I/Nightwing

Hi Mr. Damian's Mom

Oops sorry

Wow you're nice

How come Damian's so snippy then

Nightwing is so cool

Can I be your heir, daddy already has Kon

Oh no Damian's hissing again

Robin II/Red Hood

Golly!

You're really big and muscular

Like a cow

That wasn't an insult, cows are really strong!

Dami said that he thinks you're cool

But he won't tell you himself for some reason

Oopsie

Robin III/Red Robin

Oh hi Timmy, Kon's upstairs

Daddy said that I have to go with you because he doesnt want y'all to be Naughty

So since you can't go out, can you help me with my homework

Math is hard :(

If you help me, I'll take my time in going to the kitchen

Deal!

Oh no, I feel devious

Is this what Dami feels like all the time

Robin IV/Spoiler

Hiya Steffie

Why're you hiding up here

Is Uncle Bruce mad at you

That's alright, he's in a rotten mood today

It might be because I set fire to the coffee machine

I didn't mean to, I can't control my heat vision

I guess we have to go on the lam together

Do you need a sidekick

I look good in purple

Robin V/Damian Wayne

Dami :D

Are you coming to the farm for our sleepover

It's not a reconnaissance mission Dami

Mom says that we gotta he in bed by ten

Sneak out!?

But that's bad :(

Oh no I am falling into the trap of peer pressure

Later…

But moooooom

We saved the world!

I can't believe that we saved the world and got grounded

Omg a de-aged Obi-Wan/Jon fic. They both were de-aged to like, 14-15 and don't have their memories past that. They're trapped in a Sith Temple with Very Stressed Cody, a Confused and Concerned Rex, and Low-key Entertained and Terrified Ahsoka. Chaos, emotional pain/bonding, and stress screaming occurs

Rex feels a little like he got run over by a bantha.

“Easy, Rex,” Ahsoka says from somewhere close, and then there's a hand on his shoulder, helping as he struggles up. Rex appreciates the assistance; he feels as if his head got rung like a bell, and his body right along with it. There's no ringing in his ears, though, none of the shakiness that a concussion grenade would have left him with, and when he pries his eyes open Ahsoka looks rattled, but entirely unharmed.

“What the kriff was that?” Rex asks, putting a hand to his head. A few paces away, Cody is stirring on the stone floor, sprawled out uncomfortably, and Rex pushes up, lets Ahsoka grab his arm and steady him as he staggers over to Cody's side.

“Some old Sith trap,” she says disgustedly, and drops to her knees next to Cody, gently pulling him over onto his back. Rex crouches down as well, pulling his helmet off, and when Cody's dazed eyes flutter open, he gives him a crooked grin.

“Come on, vod,” he says. “I know your head’s hard enough to survive that.”

“Go away, Rex,” Cody says with a groan, and Rex scoffs. Before he can say anything, though, Cody's eyes fly open again, and he jerks up. “The general!”

Ahsoka turns, pointing towards the huge, heavy stone door that stands tightly shut. “Master Obi-Wan and Master Antilles threw us clear when the trap went off,” she says. “I tried to get the door open, but it won't move.”

Cody blinks for a moment, staring at the door. Then, carefully, he squints at Ahsoka, and says, “I thought Jon Antilles died on Queyta, getting the swamp gas antidote.”

Well, Rex thinks wryly. That definitely puts a new spin on Obi-Wan’s surprise when he dropped out of the rafters and sliced apart one of the half-mad native beasts that was chasing them.

Ahsoka grins. “It’s like a Temple game,” she says. “Whatever record-keeper is on duty when one of Master Antilles’s death reports comes in has to buy the rest drinks that night. I think it’s happened twelve times in the last three years.”

Jetii, Rex thinks, and rolls his eyes. Cody just looks pained.

“They're trapped in there?” he asks, climbing gingerly to his feet. “We need to get them out.”

That, Rex thinks, is an understatement. They're deep in the bowels of a Sith temple, with several dozen dangerous creatures, Sith ghosts, and a whole trap-filled maze between them and the exit. And Anakin is lost somewhere in here with them, separated early on but probably neck-deep in trouble if Rex knows anything at all about his general. They’ve got no comms, no backup, and no way out except right through the most dangerous parts of the temple.

Just another Centaxday, Rex thinks, and wonders if Fox will be willing to recommend some good ulcer medicine when the stress invariably gives him one. Or several.

“I already tried the door,” Ahsoka says, as she and Rex follow him up. “There's some kind of shield over it—I can't cut through—”

As if in response to her words, the doors shudder, creak. They bow towards Rex, Cody, and Ahsoka, like something is pushing from the inside and straining against the lock, and Cody shout a warning. He falls back, dragging Rex with him, and Rex would be offended about getting manhandled like a shiny if he wasn’t more concerned with grabbing Ahsoka and pulling her along. She eels out of his grip, though, darts in front of them and drops into a ready stance, drawing her lightsaber. The green blade ignites with a hiss just as the doors snap back to flat—

With a yelp, a flail, a flurry of cloth, two bodies pass right through the stone like it’s an illusion, tumbling out onto the floor. Behind them, something slams into the door with enough force to rattle it in its frame, and the figures scramble up, untangling themselves quickly.

Rex thinks, with a distinct sinking feeling, that he would know that red hair anywhere.

“What was that?” the teenage boy—probably sixteen at most—with Obi-Wan’s hair and accent demands. He grabs the arm of the other boy, just about the same age but completely enveloped in an oversized cloak that’s closer to green-grey than standard Jedi brown, and they scramble backwards, right into Ahsoka. She yelps, dropping her lightsaber, and all three of them go down in a tangle of curses.

Rex doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t.

“What the heck,” Cody breathes.

“Master Obi-Wan!” Ahsoka complains. “Ow, ow, you're on my lek, get off—”

Antilles scrambles up, leaping back like he just got stung, and he jerks around—

Rex catches his arm. “Sir, just wait—”

There's a wrench, a sharp, startled sound, and suddenly Rex is airborne. He yelps, hitting the ground on his back, and wheezes as all the air is knocked from his lungs. Someone hisses, and Ahsoka cries out angrily, and Cody takes a half-step forward in alarm.

And then, before anything can happen, Obi-Wan shoves himself between Antilles and the rest of them, herding the other boy back a step. “Wait!” he says loudly, and Antilles twitches, ducks his head, but doesn’t move out from behind Obi-Wan.

“Wait,” Obi-Wan says again, raising his hands, and Rex pushes up on one elbow just to take in the sheer weirdness that is Obi-Wan baby-faced and beardless, padawan braid trailing down behind his ear. “You just startled him, that’s all. He saved me from the beasts in there, he isn't an enemy. And I'm not, either.”

Ahsoka glances back at Rex as she straightens, and her expression is caught between pure bewilderment and rising horror. “Master Obi-Wan?” she asks warily. “Do you recognize me?”

“Master,” Obi-Wan repeats, bemused. “I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I'm a padawan. I haven’t even made Knight yet, let alone Master.”

Behind him, Antilles shifts, and Rex thinks he sees him swallow. He steps forward, and when Obi-Wan turns to him in alarm, he half-raises a hand, almost touching Obi-Wan’s arm, before he hesitates and drops it.

“If you need a Knight,” he says, “I'm Knight Jon Antilles.”

Rex blinks, exchanging glances with Cody, who looks equally confused. After a moment, Rex just shrugs. He hasn’t heard of Jedi making Knight so young, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

Ahsoka looks far less at ease with this information. “You're a Knight?” she demands. “But you're fifteen—”

“Sixteen,” Jon mutters, sort of shrinking back under his hood.

“—sixteen,” Ahsoka corrects without missing a beat, “and most Human Jedi don’t make Knight until they're at least twenty!”

There's a moment as Obi-Wan blinks at Ahsoka, and then he looks from her to the dropped lightsaber. “You're a Jedi,” he says in surprise. “I don’t recognize you from the crèche, though. Are you not from the Coruscant Temple?”

“Of course I'm from the Coruscant Temple,” Ahsoka says. She holds out a hand, calling her lightsaber to her, and studies Jon and Obi-Wan for a moment. “Do you…remember anything about the war?”

“War?” Jon asks, quietly alarmed. He steps forward—

Obi-Wan catches his arm, pulling Jon back to his side, and says, “Which war? Were we called out to negotiate? But why would two padawans be sent?”

“My Master is somewhere in this place,” Ahsoka says, and it’s a sidestep worthy of Obi-Wan. “We need to find him, but the only way back up to the main part is through that door.”

Jon and Obi-Wan glance back at it just as something hits it from the inside again, making it shudder. Obi-Wan’s expression firms into bloody stubbornness and he reaches for the lightsaber on his belt, but before he can draw it, Jon catches his arm.

“Have you tried communicating with them?” he asks softly, glancing at the doors. They shake again, and he hesitates, then says, “They have minds, beneath the rage and darkness. I can feel it.”

“They were a little too busy trying to eat us for us to try that,” Ahsoka says, watching him. “You think you can manage it? Even with how angry they are?”

“He can if we help him,” Obi-Wan says, hope rising in his tone. “The three of us together should be strong enough to influence them.” A smile breaking across his face, he turns his hand, catching Jon's arm, and says, “Let us help, Jon.”

Jon stares at him for a long moment, eyes wide beneath the shadow of his hood, and then very deliberately ducks his head so it hides him completely. He doesn’t answer, just jerks his head in a quick nod, but Rex can practically feel the rising heat of a blush. And, judging by the way Ahsoka's brows are rising, that’s not the only thing to feel.

“Oh,” she says. “Oh, wow. Mas—Obi-Wan? He’s your type? But everyone in the Archives always talks about how you and Jango Fett—”

“What,” Jon says blankly.

“What,” Cody says, at twice his normal volume.

“I'm everyone’s type,” Obi-Wan says, miffed. “And I certainly don’t know anything about Jango Fett, but whoever he is—”

“Wait, wait,” Rex says, more plea than anything, and raises his hands. If this goes on for much longer, Jon is going to dissolve into a puddle of sheer embarrassment behind Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, and since he’s got an idea how to get them out of here, Rex has a vested interest in not letting that happen. “We need to focus. Sir—Knight Antilles, can you really get those animals to let us through?”

“Yes,” Jon says, apparently relieved to escape the previous topic. “I—”

“We’re helping,” Obi-Wan says firmly, and tugs Jon a step closer to him. Jon looks a little like a deer in the lights of an oncoming transport, but he allows it without flipping Obi-Wan over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. Not that Rex is annoyed about that. Much.

“Okay,” Jon says, almost soundless, and when Obi-Wan smiles at him he twitches like he wants to bolt.

Cody rubs a hand over his eyes and mutters to himself, which is the equivalent of anyone else beating their head against a wall while swearing. “We need to find General Skywalker as soon as possible,” he says. “Ahsoka—”

Ahsoka rolls her eyes, but heads for Obi-Wan and Jon, grabbing them both by the neck of their robes. “I'm the same age as my Grandmaster and I'm stuck in an old Sith temple with my Master missing, a legendary Jedi Master tripping over his own feet whenever my Grandmaster smiles at him, and no good way out. This is fine.”

Ahsoka, Rex reflects, has been learning far, far too much from Anakin. It’s mildly horrifying.

Jon makes a low, offended sound, but lets her steer him. “You're like Knol,” he says, as if this is some damning indictment of her character.

“Master Ven’nari?” Ahsoka says, suddenly far more interested. “Can't she breathe fire?”

Jon pauses, clearly caught off guard by this unexpected response, and gives her a wary look. He doesn’t answer, which is probably for the better. At least as far as Rex's stress levels are concerned.

“Beasts,” Rex says firmly. Ahsoka doesn’t need the ability to breathe fire. Rex doesn’t need Ahsoka with the ability to breathe fire. Not in the least.

“Who even are you?” Obi-Wan asks, cuttingly polite as he eyes them. “Planetary officials?”

“Soldiers,” Cody says. “Your soldiers. We serve the Jedi.”

Another traded glance between Jon and Obi-Wan, this time bewildered.

“Oh,” Jon says, soft. “You're not twins, you're clones.”

Cody very clearly makes the decision not to ask how he knows. “We are,” he agrees. “It’s our duty to get you out of here safely—”

From the look on Obi-Wan’s face, incredibly unimpressed and vaguely offended, this goes over with his general at sixteen about as well as it does at thirty-six. Jon doesn’t look all that much more convinced, either.

Ahsoka snickers, because she’s terrible. “We’ll get them out, too,” she tells Obi-Wan soothingly, and Obi-Wan snorts softly.

“We’d better,” he says, and turns, giving Jon a bright smile. “Are you ready, Jon?”

Jon stares at him for a moment, and then very carefully, very deliberately, he slides his hands out of the enveloping shadow of his cloak and offers them up. He’s not wearing the gloves he had on as an adult, and Rex can see Obi-Wan’s eyes lingering on the scarred skin for an instant before he reaches out, wrapping his fingers around Jon's.

“And what am I? Bantha fodder?” Ahsoka asks, unimpressed, and drops a hand on top of theirs, making them both startle.

“Ah, young love,” Rex murmurs, trying not to grin, and Cody groans.

“Can you knock me out again?” he asks.

Rex would, but the doors are opening, the Jedi are doing something, and there’s a big, ugly feline with long teeth bearing down on them, so he has slightly more important things to worry about at the moment.

[On AO3]

and everyone else that can use reusable ones