a quick rundown of my life

[afuna]

- Wondering what it would take to make a simple iPhone client to catch up to my reading list with ReadItLater integration (exor674 has the Android client well in hand so I'm not going there!)

It took me a week and a half to download 4.33 GB... and then the download failed and now it says it'll take me another 15 days to start from scratch D:

+ update page, chugga chugga chugga

+ a surprise, but I don't want to say anything about it until it's ready (more chugga chugga chugga)

+ getting the dog groomed, so he no longer looks like a rat with a mop on its head :-)

- dog's vet called reminding us that their vaccinations need to be renewed, but I don't feel comfortable with this guy because he doesn't seem to know how to handle the dogs properly...

+ dropped by Zentea again, tried out their almond milk tea (mmm). The naicha is still better, but this is good 'nuff

+ lots of mangoes and singkamas. SUMMER IS HERE

- perhaps too many mangoes; mom bought two kaing (big baskets) worth, at 60-80 pieces in each... :D

+ but this means that we can have mango float / refrigerator cake (layers of mango slices + cream + graham crackers, leave in the refrigerator for a couple hours so that the cream soaks into the graham, serve cold)

+ getting to sit down and talk with someone local who loves knitting, who is close to my age!

- only because she's moving to another country for a couple years and needs to sell off her current yarn stash

+ (from the perspective of my stash) buying said yarn stash off her hands
- (from the perspective of my wallet) buying said yarn stash off her hands

+ she's lending me all her knitting books while she's away! (needs someone to keep them who'll take care of them since they're too heavy for her to lug everything across an ocean)

+ she also recced the Fully Booked in Fort which has a full shelf worth of knitting / crochet / sewing books *_*

- having to leave behind some of said books because of budget

- having to drive at night on EDSA

+ overcoming my fear of driving at night

+ overcoming my fear of driving on EDSA (main thoroughfare)

+ remembering to gas up the car yesterday so I don't have to deal with it today

+ making plans to meet up with friends for merienda or lunch (some time in the future)

+ family stuff

- other family stuff


I believe that all leaves me ahead by a couple thousand ;-)

Comments

[kerravonsen]

but this means that we can have mango float / refrigerator cake (layers of mango slices + cream + graham crackers, leave in the refrigerator for a couple hours so that the cream soaks into the graham, serve cold)

Oh that sounds scrumptious! I'd like to try making that. If I remember next summer, which is eight months away... 8-(

It has been many years since I lived in Brisbane, which was a great place for getting lots of mangos, but at least living in Melbourne I can get them in mango season, even if they aren't cheap.
Things I usually do with mangos:
1) Just eat them. Yum.
2) Chop, freeze, then make mango smoothie (milkshake) with my trusty stick-blender. Yum.
3) With my ice-cream machine, mango sorbet. Yum.

[afuna]

Quick recipe in case you ever do end up making it :D

Need:
Mangos, all purpose cream, sweetened condensed milk, graham crackers

• Slice up mangos into lengthwise strips
  
• Mix four parts all-purpose cream to one part sweetened condensed milk
  
• Spread one thick layer of the cream mixture as a base in a nice big container
  
• Lay down graham crackers on top of the cream beside each other, whole not crumbled. You can leave a bit of space between each because they'll expand a tiny bit as they absorb the cream, but not too much space because they're what keeps the structure of the whole thing
  
• Lay down a layer of the mango strips, slightly overlapping (not important but it looks pretty! Though by the end no one really knows hah)
  
• Repeat the layers in order: cream, graham, mango, ending in a cream layer
  
• Leave in the refrigerator a couple hours so that the graham can absorb the cream
  
• Serve cold
  

You might need to tweak the cream to condensed milk ratio, adjusting to taste *g*


And oooh yum. Heartily agree with (1) and (2) -- though I hadn't thought about freezing the mangoes. Should be easier than trying to combine the mangoes with ice cubes :D Less stress on the blender as well.

Jealous of you for potential mango sorbet. Yum!

[kerravonsen]

Thanks for the recipe. I have a similar one with just chocolate biscuits and whipped cream, which has got to have one of the highest "easy" to "yum" ratio of any dessert. In Australia it's called "Chocolate Ripple Cake" but in the US it's called "Snowlog". In that recipe, the biscuits are vertical with whipped cream in between them, rather than in layers.
But I hadn't considered that something similar could be done with fruit in the mix as well.
Do you whip the cream or not?
We can't get graham crackers here, but I suppose Milk Arrowroot Biscuits would do instead. They're an awkward shape for layers, though; oval rather than rectangular.

Should be easier than trying to combine the mangoes with ice cubes
And less fattening than using ice-cream. It makes a lovely thick milkshake.

Jealous of you for potential mango sorbet. Yum!
It is, indeed, yum. I made a couple of batches last summer. I must put the recipe up on my site sometime; it uses Erythritol instead of sugar, which means it isn't overly sweet, which means one doesn't have to add lemon juice to cut the sweetness (unlike many sorbet recipes). Just pure mango taste. Mangos and bananas make the best sorbet, because they are naturally creamy in texture, so you don't get that icy feel as one often does with sorbet.

It can be a toss-up when it comes to sorbet versus ice-cream; sorbet always has a more intense flavour, because the flavour isn't toned down by the added dairy, but ice-cream usually has a nicer (creamier) texture.

[afuna]

Oh that sounds yummy. No we don't whip the cream, just mix it with the condensed milk so it's nice and thick. I may have to think about trying out whipped cream once just to see what happens!

(As long as they're fairly sturdy and won't crack under weight, they should be fine. You can even overlap a bit; the beauty of something as sloppy as this dessert is is that it's completely not delicate and it doesn't matter *G*)

[jeshyr]

Note for future reference: You can make the same type of refrigerator cake with lots of different summer fruits - my family used to use sliced strawberries, kiwifruit, and passionfruit! Rockmelon/cantelope also works well as do any berries and pretty much any of the "fruit salad compatible" type summer fruits.

Nice to see another Melbournite around here :)