Jollof Rice With Black-Eyed Peas

Dec. 31st, 2025 04:16 am
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Jollof Rice With Black-Eyed Peas
Servings: 6 to 8 (makes 7 cups of vegetables and 5 1/2 cups of rice) Total time: 45 mins

Ingredients

One (14.5- or 15-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted, with their juices
Water
2 cups uncooked brown basmati rice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups (12 ounces) chopped yellow onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced or finely grated
1 cup (6 ounces) chopped carrots
2 cups (9 ounces) chopped green cabbage
2 tablespoons tomato paste, preferably double-concentrated
1 3/4 cups homemade or canned no-salt-added black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed (from one 15-ounce can)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for optional garnish
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving (optional)
Fine salt, for serving (optional)

Steps

1. Drain the tomatoes in a fine-mesh strainer set over a large measuring cup. Add water as needed to total 4 cups, then transfer the liquid to a large saucepan. Add the rice, set the saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir and cook, uncovered, until the rice is tender and has absorbed the liquid, 30 to 35 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until simmering. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots and cabbage, tomato paste, drained tomatoes, black-eyed peas, turmeric, thyme and crushed red pepper flakes. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture is thoroughly warmed through, about 4 minutes.

3. Divide the rice among individual plates or transfer to a serving bowl. Spoon the vegetable mixture on top. Sprinkle with parsley, more thyme and salt, if desired, and serve.
tamaranth: me, in the sun (Default)
[personal profile] tamaranth

See them all on LibraryThing

What I read in 2025...

* 211 books, including a couple of scanned books on Internet Archive; including, this year, most rereads, but not re-skims, DNFs or audiobook 'rereads' which I have taken to as an accompaniment to gaming / housewerk / getting to sleep.
* 141 by female writers, 54 by male writers (some collaborations, not all books tagged)
* 36 rereads

My categorisations (some books will have more than one of these tags):
* 85 fantasy, 29 SF, 54 historical (predominantly Classical Greek)
* 28 romance (majority non-het romance)
* 25 YA/children's
* 31 non-fiction


My reading challenges
:
* The 'Something Bookish' Reading Challenge
* The Speculative Fiction Challenge
* The 52 in 52 Challenge
* The Non-Fiction Menu
* My own rereading challenge

Authors I read most by:
* Victoria Goddard (mostly rereads)
* Megan Whalen Turner
* Mary Renault
* Elizabeth Wein (mostly rereads)

Best five (based on my enjoyment, not their perfection):
*The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley
*Pagans by James Alastair Henry
*Slow Gods by Claire North
*The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
*A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H G Parry

Last year's 'books read' post

Early Morning

Dec. 31st, 2025 11:10 am
poliphilo: (Default)
[personal profile] poliphilo
4.30. Got up

5.30. Left house

6.45. Dropped Wendy at Gatwick

(An endless stream of people under artificial light riding a travellator up into the airport building- like a scene from Fritx Lang's Metropolis......)

7.45. Driving into the sunrise.

(Is that a hill or a cloud bank? Actually it's both, a cloud bank in front of a hill, both the same height. The cloud bank breaking up to reveal the solid outline of the hill behind.)

8.00. Dropped in on the cat we're minding for a friend.

9.00. Ordered and ate a full English breakfast at Favo'loso 

highlight

Dec. 31st, 2025 09:51 am
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[personal profile] dolorosa_12
The last day of 2025 dawned clear, freezing, and frosty. I've spent the morning curled up in the living room, watching the sun rise, drinking Christmas spiced coffee, and reflecting on the year that was. I've been enjoying seeing everyone else's thoughts on their own 2025; mine are behind the cut.

And the only sound is the broken sea )

What I Did in 2025

Dec. 31st, 2025 07:58 pm
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[personal profile] flamebyrd
Reading
The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst
Lady Eve's Last Con - Rebecca Fraimow
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
Sword Crossed - Freya Marske
Murder by Memory - Olivia Waite
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea - Rebecca Thorne
A Pirate's Life for Tea - Rebecca Thorne
Tea You at the Altar - Rebecca Thorne
The Kamogawa Food Detectives - Hisashi Kashiwa (translated by Jesse Kirkwood)
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes - Hisashi Kashiwa (translated by Jesse Kirkwood)
A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers
The Archive Undying - Emma Mieko Candon
Alchemy and a Cup of Tea - Rebecca Thorne
Death in the Cloisters - Valentina Morelli (translated by Edward Maltby)
Skysong - C. A. Wright
Queen Demon - Martha Wells
The Enchanted Greenhouse - Sarah Beth Durst
Menu of Happiness - Hisashi Kashiwa (translated by Jesse Kirkwood)
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy - Becky Chambers
Death at Noon - Valentina Morelli
The Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson Bennett
A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett
Brigands and Breadknives - Travis Baldree

I got all of these from my libraries, so yay! Also I was catching the bus a lot and I turned mobile data off for all social media so I was motivated to read more.

Watching
Murderbot (Apple TV+)
Lots of YouTube

Playing
Farm RPG
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket
Cats and Soup

Projects
A little more work on my static site generator.

(no subject)

Dec. 31st, 2025 09:36 am

Me-and-media update (Happy New Year!)

Dec. 31st, 2025 10:25 pm
china_shop: An orange cartoon dog waving, with a blue-green abstract background. (Bingo!)
[personal profile] china_shop
Previous poll review
In the dance dance revolution poll, 5.8% of respondents had danced with other people that week, 1.9% with a pet or other animal, and 28.8% had danced on their own, while 46.2% said no or not yet. Making the poll prompted me to dance with my sister in the kitchen for half a Spin Doctors song, but I didn't change my vote on that basis.

In ticky-boxes, "enthusiastically and fervently loving what you love" came second to hugs, 63.5% to 76.9%. Thank you for your votes! <3

Reading
Read more... )

Kdramas
Read more... )

Other TV
We finished Pluribus, which was super interesting in terms of a) moral quandaries, and b) difficult personalities crashing into each other. Finished the available episodes of Stranger Things and season 3 of Dark Winds, both of which were a bit dark, hence the doodling.

I've just signed up for Neon (NZ HBO), so this morning I did my stretches while John Oliver slagged off the British monarchy. I'm planning to try the new hockey sensation, but I'm saving it for while Andrew is in hospital, and we don't yet know when that will be. (In the meantime, no spoilers, please!)

Audio entertainment
The usual: Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American. Plus the AI episode of Our Opinions Are Correct.

Writing/making things
Read more... )

Goals
* keep on top of my email inbox
* get my arms back on track
* finish a fic WIP (I keep starting new things and foundering -- which is a problem given picking stalled things up again isn't my strong suit)
* make some [community profile] fandomtrees fills
* work through chapters 1 & 2 of the drawing book
* something for the next round of [community profile] fan_flashworks
* restock the well, whatever that looks like (this isn't a specific, measurable, blah blah goal, I know)

Good things
The boy. The cat. Guardian. Jung Eun-Chae. Strawberries. We still have some Christmas mince pies left. TV. Kdramas. Colour pencils. Sleep. Watching things while I'm on my exercise machine. Audiobook re-listens. My garden. All of you. <3

It's New Year's Eve here, so Happy New Year!! <3

Poll #34022 Comfort food
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5


My preferred comfort food is

View Answers

chocolate
3 (60.0%)

other sweets
1 (20.0%)

savoury carbs
3 (60.0%)

other savoury
1 (20.0%)

tea
3 (60.0%)

alcohol
0 (0.0%)

other drinks
0 (0.0%)

other other
0 (0.0%)

ticky-box full of juicy intricate poetry words
2 (40.0%)

ticky-box full of pushing on through
3 (60.0%)

ticky-box of glow worms vs fireflies vs angler fish
1 (20.0%)

ticky-box of ninja gibbons searching for lost things behind the fridge
2 (40.0%)

ticky-box full of hugs and hugs
3 (60.0%)

tamaranth: me, in the sun (Default)
[personal profile] tamaranth
2025/202: The Riddle of the Labyrinth — Margalit Fox
The pull of an undeciphered ancient script comes not only from the fact that its discoverer cannot read it, but also from the knowledge that once, long ago, someone could. [p. 38]

Margalit Fox offers the 'first complete account' of the decipherment of Linear B, the earliest Greek script, which was first identified on tablets excavated by Arthur Evans at Knossos. Fox worked with the newly-opened archive of classicist Alice Kober's papers to uncover her role in decoding an unknown language, written in an unknown script, with unknown meaning. 

Read more... )
luzula: a Luzula pilosa, or hairy wood-rush (Default)
[personal profile] luzula
Oops, forgot to make a check-in post for the 30th. *facepalm* Since various people have already checked in for the 30th, let's just make this the final check-in post for both the 30th and the 31st. [personal profile] trobadora will be taking over in January, so head over there after this. It's been an honor to host you! And I will endeavour to write SOMETHING on this last day of the year. I'll make a final tally post tomorrow.

Tally:
Read more... )
Day 29: [personal profile] luzula, [personal profile] china_shop, [personal profile] garonne, [personal profile] brithistorian, [personal profile] badly_knitted, [personal profile] trobadora, [personal profile] goddess47, [personal profile] ysilme, [personal profile] the_siobhan, [personal profile] sanguinity, [personal profile] sylvanwitch, [personal profile] ysilme, [personal profile] sanguinity, [personal profile] cornerofmadness, [personal profile] chestnut_pod,

Day 30: [personal profile] ysilme, [personal profile] china_shop, [personal profile] sanguinity,
tamaranth: me, in the sun (Default)
[personal profile] tamaranth
2025/201: Skyward Inn — Alisa Whiteley
‘I put my hands in the mud and it said to come here. Mud, speaking to me in my head. They had a word for that when I was young: touched, they would have said. But here I am, and I’ll be touched if that is what’s next, because I felt certain it was Tom’s voice. Can you tell me—was it Tom’s voice? I suppose it couldn’t have been.’ [loc. 2155]

By the author of Three Eight One, this novel is set in the aftermath of interplanetary war. Two veterans of the war, Isley and Jem, have returned to the Western Protectorate (Devon and Cornwall: 'a small area of a small country that decided to secede from modern life, from space flight, from the Coalition and the conquering spirit of the new age') to run the Skyward Inn, née the Lamb and Flag. Jem is human, and comes from the nearby town, where her brother Dom (the Mayor) looks after her estranged son Fosse. Isley is a Qitan, from the side that lost: he's in charge of preparing the Qitan drink, 'brew', that the pub serves. It may be addictive, and it is certainly popular.

Read more... )

Just One Thing (31 December 2025)

Dec. 31st, 2025 08:01 am
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[personal profile] nanila posting in [community profile] awesomeers
It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!
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Posted by Carrie S

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you!

Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun!

If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section with exclusive content and events.

Everything you’re used to seeing at the Hot Pink Palace that is Smart Bitches Trashy Books will remain free as always, because we remain committed to fostering community among brilliant readers who love romance.

[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by SB Sarah

Thank you to everyone who ordered some of the Smart Bitches candles! I’m so happy that so many of you are enjoying them!

The candles are a limited time only event, and will not be available after January 4. So if you’d like to get one or both, this is your moment to order some  Smart Bitches limited candles!

A black 11oz jar candle with the bad decisions book club logo on it - a burgundy book open like a tent with light coming out, with just one more page written on the side .     A white jar candle with the SBTB logo of the four 50s ladies with a 20th anniversary insignia on the bottom front  


 Wax Cabin Candle Company, an independent small chandlery, has been SO FAST with shipping, too. It’s frankly alarming.

And please allow me to share some of my more goofy promotional images because Photoshop and I had a rollicking good time.

You saw this one – she had to order three, one for each hand.

The cover for Castles in the Air by Christina Dodd, infamous because the heroine, a woman in a long white gown, has three hands. Kneeling above her is a knight with a red cross and chain mail. They're in a gold frame, and next to each of her three hands is an SBTB candle.

And of course, Decadent.

Decadent by Shayla Black - a gold background with a spoonful of dipping honey with the two candles photoshopped into the honey

(Why Decadent? It’s only the most famous, and most NSFW work review ever written. SRSLY NSFW!)

But even The Very Virile Viking was ready for some candles!

The very virile viking by sandra hill, which features a shirtless man with his hand on a sword hilt and his blonde shoulder length hair blowing back, and there's a candle in his hand!

As was The Reluctant Viking, who chose one of the 20th anniversary candles!

The reluctant viking by Sandra Hill, featuring a shirtless man with a mullet kneeling with his back arched. Behind him is a woman in a dark purple cloak with green trim, and she's holding an SBTB 20th anniversary candle

Not to be outdone, Kushiel’s Avatar ordered both. Balance is important!

Kushiels Avatar by Jacqueline Carey, featuring a illlustration of a woma with white pants sitting sideways on a wall with her legs up. In front and behind her are some SBTB candles.

John de Salvo needed some light for the piglets, so a 20th Anniversary candle was the perfect choice:

Let Me Come In by Linda Jones, featuring John de Salvo reclining with some white piglets ? next to him. He's shirtless, with a read blanket on his lap, and a 20th anniversary candle in his hand.

Is this book the prequel to The Three Little Pigs?

And even Beloved Rogues love the Bad Decisions Book Club candle! 

Beloved Rogue by Penelope Williamson. A woman in a gold off the shoulder dress is kneeling while pulling on the top edge of her bodice while a guy with a jacket and white shirt kneels behind her, embracing her from behind. In her upturned hand is a SBTB Candle

I really love how the absurd Photoshop, and the candles themselves turned out. I wanted the scents to be mellow and pleasant. I was going for ‘warm and elegant,’ and I think I hit it.

Amanda Matta even compared the scent to the As Ever signature candle which knocked me flat on the floor. (Thank you!!)

 

 

The Smart Bitches 20th Anniversary candle is an 11 ounce hand poured soy candle with notes of sea salt, book pages, sandalwood and jasmine.

The Bad Decisions Book Club candle, also 11 ounces, is designed to be the perfect pairing for late night reading, with scents of sweet tobacco, book pages, leather, rose, and sandalwood.

Each candle is $28, or $50 for both in a gift set, with free shipping on orders over $70. The candles are hand-poured with 100% soy wax, and each is in a glass jar that you can reuse or refill. They should burn between 60 and 70 hours.

So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for yourself or the book lovers in your life, the 2025 Smart Bitches Candle Collection will be available now for a very (very!) limited time.

You can shop small, support the site, and spread light and warmth this year. Thank you for your support, y’all, and thank you for being a light in my world.

 

Storygraph challenges

Dec. 31st, 2025 03:14 pm
fred_mouse: pencil drawing of mouse sitting on its butt reading a large blue book (reading)
[personal profile] fred_mouse

Captured at the beginning of the year:

The current reading challenges are 50 Best horror (5/50), 75 best Sci-Fi (11/75), 50 best SF (6/50), Hugo best novellas (12/58), Aussie SFF (3/10), 50 Best fantasy (4/50), Agatha Christie Complete works (5/89), Hugo best novels (10/73), Canada reads 2023 (1/15), one dozen decades (49/120), plus some itty bitty ones.

In the last week, I've been working through and archived some. Plus, added at least two more - one from [personal profile] pedanther for detective fiction, and one I set up myself on SF novels by women. Where they are now:

  1. The Haycraft List of Detective Story Cornerstones - joined today, 1/75 read. Looking forward to adding some of these to the planned reading list.
  2. 200 Significant Science Fiction Books by Women, 1984–2001, by David G. Hartwell, created by me in the last week, 9/200 read - I own lots I haven't read (at least in the years I've been tracking reading, and many will be good to revisit).
  3. The 50 Best Horror Books of All Time (Esquire, 2022) - NEW VERSION - 5/50 read; no change. Not sure how many of these I can get my hands on, so I might decide to archive it at the end of the year.
  4. The 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time (Esquire, 2024) - 12/75; one more than last year. Quite a few are on my shelves, so should be possible to make progress. I also had the 50 book version, it makes no sense to have both, so archiving the shorter one. I thought about checking whether any fell off, and decided not to.
  5. Esquire's 50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time (2022) - 4/50, no change. As with the horror, if I don't get through any of those this year then I should archive it.
  6. Agatha Christie Complete Works - 5/89, no change. This is a lifetime achievement list (from whenever I started tracking) so even though I'm making no progress I don't intend to abandon it.
  7. Hugo Best Novels - 10/74 - this is negative progress, because there is an additional book! I am, however going to use it as a jumping off point for reading more books I own in 2026.
  8. One Dozen Decades: 120 Years in 120 Books - 61/120 - this is the big win, taking me from 49 prompts complete; not sure how many are short fiction, and choosing not to care. As with the Christie, this is a lifetime achievement goal, so leaving it to tick along slowly (also, some of the missing years are covered by hugo books I own...)
  9. Hugo Award Winners for Best Novella - 13/58, one more.

Plus the ones that I've decided to archive in the time that I've been writing this:

  1. 2025 Hugo Award Finalists - 13/24 read plus one of the bonus. I didn't look to see whether I actually intend to read any of the rest.
  2. Hugo Awards 2024 Shortlist - 4/6 read, and I know I'm never going to read one of them.
  3. CBC Canada Reads 2023 Longlist - 2/15, one more than last year. I haven't made an effort to hunt down any of these, and it will be an effort, because I tried looking in the local library for a couple and had no luck; as the 2026 overarching goal is 'read what I own' this can be abandoned.

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