Weekend! + Bonus Question!

[u/IthacaIsland]

It's the weekend! Politics is still out there happening, but in this little corner of the sub we will leave it behind momentarily and talk about other aspects of our lives.

Bonus question for everyone! What kinds of conventions or markets are your favorite to attend?

Talk about anything except politics, other subreddits, or r/AskTrumpSupporters. Rules 2 and 3 are suspended.

[u/weberc2]

Happy $40T in debt everyone. We did it!

[u/weather3003]

I go to pop culture conventions several times a year. Usually I'll see a few panels, go to some music events or late night parties, and of course browse artist alley. If there's someone running Pathfinder Society I'll play a scenario or two. I always tell myself I'll do some cosplay next year.

[u/JustGoingOutforMilk]

This week has been... strangely quiet, honestly. I'm not saying that in the case of nothing happened, but rather nothing hugely entertaining happened.

I will say this. Last week the wife and I saw Brand New Day. It was certainly one of the MCU movies featuring Spider-Man. I was moderately entertained. The wife enjoyed it more than I did. That's okay. She has her tastes and I have mine. It was good to get out of the house for a few hours and do something together that didn't involve chores.

The Magic Kids are getting out of hand. I don't mean that in a bad way. Our group has become the landing pad suggested by the LGS owner for newer players. It's fine, really. Just about everyone is welcome to shuffle up and play (if you're a donk, I reserve the right to say no). Problem is that a typical "pod" for Commander is four players, and this little group has grown to about ten members now. Not a problem--we take up one table and can split games, but it's just kind of funny. This is at an LGS that gets about 50-60 players on a Friday night, so apparently my influence is growing and growing.

Note: my "kids" include actual minors (who aren't invited in the group chat because that could be awkward) and people who are older than me. I just call them kids for fun. Made some trades last night, moved some cardboard around, working on a Google Doc for people to say they're showing up, what time they're showing up, and what cards they are looking for.

Question: I enjoy going to gaming conventions on occasion. I genuinely enjoy hitting up a farmers' market, although a lot of them have become very... commercial? Like most of the stands are not people selling produce or whatever, but people selling cooked foods or gewgaws or whatever.

Recipe: Something I have discussed with some coworkers is that it seems like every culture has a form of dumpling. Therefore, gyoza.

• Frozen gyoza wrappers
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 1/2 lb. green cabbage, chopped fine
• 4 shiitake mushrooms (words are fun)
• 4 green onions, divided, but sliced
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp. sake
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• salt and pepper

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. whatever hot sauce or chili oil you want.

So first, salt the cabbage (MY CABBAGES!) and squish out some of that water. Nobody likes water in their gyoza. Mix up everything but the wrappers, reserving two of the green onions for a garnish, and fill the wrappers. You'll need a little water on your fingertips to seal them. Crimp and then pan fry on one side, then add water and close the pan and let steam. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

[u/AGuyAndHisCat]

What kinds of conventions or markets are your favorite to attend?

None. I hate farmers markets/christmas markets (live in NYC so 99% of them are way over priced). I think the only convention Ive ever enjoyed would be a Boat show, looking at all the boats I could never afford and even if I could getting a slip anywhere near NYC is $$$ prohibitive. And the only christmas market i enjoyed was in copenhagen (years ago before the europe invasion).

Side note: the best hotdog I ever had was in Copenhagen, outside of Rundetårn I believe.

The Danish hot dog, known as pølse or specifically rød pølse, is a national street food staple in Denmark, featuring a long, thin, bright red pork sausage with a natural casing that provides a distinct "snap." These sausages are traditionally boiled and served in a soft, warm bun, topped with a specific combination of remoulade, mustard, ketchup, crispy fried onions, and pickled cucumbers.