(no subject)

[the_rck]

My breathing was fine all day yesterday and then abruptly got bad again just before Scott got home (so shortly before midnight). It remained bad for a little more than an hour and then abruptly resolved itself. It feels like an allergic reaction to something, but there isn't anything new. I had avocado with lime juice and salt just before, but all three are things I consume regularly. Also, the avocado is generally a once a week thing and can't have had anything to do with Monday's issues.

I've had a headache all day. Nothing I've hit it with has helped. I'm hoping that a night of good sleep will help.

I haven't been wearing my thumb splints because, while they're semi-washable, they're not that washable. My hands are unhappy about this choice, but I haven't been able to think of a workable alternative.

I'm pretty sure we'll be out of toilet paper before the end of the weekend. I'm not looking forward to that, but I don't really see what we can do about it. Scott looked every day for a week, and now, the stores all close before he gets off work. He's reluctant to go out before work just for that, partly because he can't predict how long a stop would take and partly because he can't pick up other things (perishables) before work. They'd go bad, sitting in the car for 10 hours.

Also, I think he's convinced that there's no way he'll find any even if he looks in every store in town.

Scott's employer is encouraging people to eat their lunches in their cars. Scott didn't mention if breaks in cars were suggested, too, but it wouldn't surprise me. I think the concern is that the break room can't be reliably kept as clean as it needs to be. Probably also that there's not enough space for social distancing otherwise.

I've been making biscuits with mashed squash, Bisquick, and shredded cheese. I can't give amounts because I just mix the squash and Bisquick to the right texture and then add cheese. My best guess is two parts squash, two parts Bisquick, and one part shredded cheese, but that may be more than a little off.

I'm the only one in the family who really loves squash, and I can't eat all of a standard sized butternut or acorn squash, so this is a good way to get Scott and Cordelia to eat some, too. I baked an acorn squash, uncut, on Sunday, and put away the pulp. I used half of that today. Probably I'll make biscuits again on Thursday or Friday.

I have a story in the All the Nice Things flash exchange archive. Author reveals won't happen for a couple of days yet, and I'm curious as to whether or not the story is identifiable as mine. I suspect it might be, but I'm also not sure how many people who read here also read in that fandom. I'm not necessarily good at the follow through, but if anyone (bar my beta reader) guesses which story it is, I'll at least try to write something for them.

The exchange was entirely about having nice things happen to the requested characters, so the stories in the archive ought to skew toward being happy for those characters. Revenge was one of the 'nice things' a person could request, though.

Comments

[lunabee34]

Those biscuits sound yummy.

[the_rck]

They are! They’re also a good way to use up squash. I expect that something with bananas and Bisquick could work, because overripe bananas have similar texture. I don’t think I would want cheese with those, however.

[lunabee34]

Yeah, cheesy banana biscuits don't sound good. LOL

[the_rck]

I'm now thinking about what I might put into a mix of bananas and Bisquick to make it more than just meh. Bisquick is really bland and (I think) kind of skewed more toward savory flavors by the ingredients.

Dried fruit? Chocolate chips? Slivered almonds?

[lunabee34]

Chocolate all the way!

[evalerie]

Beware exploding squash! I know someone who baked a whole eggplant and had it explode on her, and you don't want that to happen with squash, either.

The biscuits do sound yummy!

[the_rck]

I know that it can happen. The thing is that I'm not physically capable of cutting a raw squash. I usually stab each one a couple of times with a knife before I put it in the oven, but the possibility of explosion is, well... I accept it.

If I want squash, this is the best way to do it. Uncut squash is stable on a counter for months and, unlike frozen squash doesn't get buried under other things. (Cubed, raw squash is too expensive for weekly purchasing.)

Waiting for Scott to cut the squash tends to mean that the squash stays on the counter, untouched, for 2-6 months. (Vegetables that go into the refrigerator tend to be out of sight, out of mind and therefore never get cooked.) He's waiting for me to ask, and I'm only remembering at points when he's not there or when I don't have time to cook the squash right then.

I'd buy canned acorn or butternut squash, but I've never seen any, just pumpkin around Thanksgiving time. Unsweetened, unseasoned, canned pumpkin is a reasonable form of squash, but we're still better off with buying whole butternut or acorn squash.

As it gets warmer (and for as long as we're having issues with our oven), I'll probably be using the pressure cooker for these. If one does explode in there, it'll be very easy to clean up.

[evalerie]

Oh whew!! My understanding is that as long as the squash has been stabbed and it can vent, it should be okay.