There is no known scientific link currently between vaccines and autism.
I’m honored to take part in RJ Scott’s annual Autism Awareness Blog Hop. I adore anyone who uses their voice and platform to do good, so hats off to RJ Scott for doing this. I’m the last stop for this year, but click this link to see what all the other fabulous authors have contributed.
Also, check out RJ’s master post by clicking this link. By commenting on the post, you can win signed copies of her books with characters on the autism spectrum, among other things.
Also, if you have the opportunity: consider donating to an organization working with autistic people like Lindengate or any other organization you want to support.
Every year the blog hop has a theme, and this year it’s food, and I thought I’d tell you about my current food project: learning how to cook Asian .
Unless you’re very new to my blog (in that case, welcome!) you know I recently moved back to Sweden after living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for close to nine years. I loved living there even if not everything is great about Malaysia (like the fact that being LGBT is against the law) and the best part was the food. Kuala Lumpur is a very diverse city with every kind of cuisine – not just Asian – readily available. But I loved the different kind of Asian food the best.
I’d had some Asian food before I moved. Chinese, of course. Sushi. Really crappy Indian food from the only Indian place in my tiny home town. And Thai, which was my favorite. But moving to a place with so much new (to me) and interesting food was paradise.
I ate my way through all the different cuisines. Malaysian of course (Beef Rendang, yum). Great Indian food instead of the crappy one I’d tried before. Korean (I ADORE Korean BBQ), Vietnamese (pho!), middle eastern, Indonesian, and awesome Chinese, just to mention a few. But my absolute favorites are Thai and Japanese.
So now that I’ve moved to a place where I can’t find that kind of food on every street corner, I figured it was time to learn how to cook it myself. I started with Thai and my favorite dish Pad Krapow and did pretty well, if I’m allowed to say so myself (and my husband agreed, he even called it authentic-tasting). I’ve branched out since, and I’m slowly learning about the flavors. How to use fish sauce and oyster sauce. The difference between light and dark soy sauce. How something tangy/tart/sour enhances every dish. And I’ve also learned that I really, really love fresh ginger.
The dish I miss the most is real Japanese ramen. Before I moved to Malaysia, the only ramen I’d tried was the instant variety which is kind of gross. So imagine my surprise when the hubby took me out on a date to have real ramen, saying You’re gonna love this, trust me. And I did. The rich, cloudy broth that’s been boiled for at least 12 hours, lovely noodles, tender chashu, seaweed, mushrooms, and eggs…YUM!
To borrow a term from the romance world: it was insta-love…and our relationship is still going strong all these years later.
So now my plan is to learn how to cook ramen. I bought a seriously great cookbook and I’ve been reading through it several times. The recipe for the broth is deceptively simple: it calls for 12 liters of water, 4 onions, and 15 pig’s feet.
I visualize myself in the kitchen halving 15 pig’s feet and roasting them in the oven before boiling them in a big ass pot for up to 18 hours.
What can possibly go wrong? 😁
A bowl of gorgeous tonkotsu ramen from my Ippudo, favorite ramen place in Kuala Lumpur.
Sully in my latest release Late Night Poetry, loves cooking and works in a kitchen. To win an ebook copy of this book, all you need to do is comment on this blog post. Tell me about your biggest kitchen adventure, or if you don’t like to cook, tell me about your favorite food in the whole wide world!
I will pick a winner on May 8.
A love story told in answering machine messages.
Saying “I love you” to someone who says it first, isn’t supposed to lead to a break-up, but that’s what happens to Sully and Lou. Sully is out and proud while Lou is in the closet, so when their relationship deepens, Lou runs.
But then Lou starts leaving emotional messages of remorse on Sully’s answering machine. Sully is torn between his love for Lou and his attempts to get over him. With each message, Lou’s regrets deepen. With each message, it becomes more difficult for Sully to forget him. With each message, Sully finds it harder to want to move on.
Can old love poems and heartbreaking honesty help Sully and Lou find their way back to each other?
M/M Contemporary, approximately 10 000 words
Nell Iris 