posted by Scraps on Aug 30

So I made it halfway through Little Shop of Tapas (which included creating 3 supporting characters and designing 2 interiors. I feel awfully accomplished.

Until I realize that I’m only 16% through the comics.

Crap.

But hey! There’s a holiday next Monday and I WILL make the best of that day drawing my fingers off. And as much of this week as possible (I spent a lot of Sunday blogging for the week so I could be freer in the evenings to draw; we’ll see how that pays off.) I can’t believe how much harder it is to draw a page of a completely fictional story compared to the pages I’d draw, ink and be done with in a night (or less) for my own comic about my life. It’s tough to pull these worlds out of your head, didn’t you know?

Well, neither did I.

So the webcomics will remain on hiatus for September and I’ll see how things look at the end of the month as to whether I can resume them in October. I miss telling the other stories, like friends who are on vacation, but this is the way it needs to be.

And because I haven’t posted a scan recently, here’s a couple of panels I’m really proud of from the last few pages.

Panels from Intro, Page 5

Panels from Little Shop of Tapas, Page 7

Back to the drawing board–literally!

posted by Scraps on Jul 12

Can I get a big ol’ high five?!

Yes, folks, that’s right–this week I wrapped up the main recipe testing for What to Feed Your Raiding Party!!! Basically, I have 1 or 2 recipes I want to play with a bit more, to make that much better, and 4 drinks to design (1 punch and 3 individual drinks).

Not only that, I also finished the script for Fellowship of the Grill (oh, yes, I went there) while sitting in the waiting room for my gastro appointment today and started on the script for the last comic story (not counting the epilogue). Soon–so very soon!–I’ll actually start working on pages of art for the book. Eeee!

Here’s the pictures from the last bit of testing:

Baked Apples (served a la Mode)

Stuffed with brown sugar, butter and dried cranberries and baked until delicious.

Coconut Corn Chowder

Studded with vegetables and completely vegan, this “chowder” uses both a light roux as well as the thickness of coconut milk for it’s creamy texture.

Cheddar-Chive Buttermilk Biscuits

These buttery, tangy biscuits are so simple to prepare and so very tasty. They go great with soups and stews and somewhat resemble a certain biscuit by a certain seafood chain.

Seafood Lasagna

I borrowed the idea of individual lasagnas with woven noodles from an episode of Giada at Home but the scallop, shrimp and crab filling is all my own. It would also work perfectly fine in a single casserole for larger groups.

Brownies

What’s better than a no-fail, dense and fudgy brownie recipe? One that will work with all sort of variations–swap out the chocolate chips for butterscotch ones, swirl in some sweetened cream cheese, add nuts or just top with an rich and tasty frosting.

Rosemary Cheddar Bread

For those who want to try their hand as a yeast bread I’m including a fairly simple (yet always tasty!) Italian bread studded with shredded cheddar and fresh rosemary. Makes your whole kitchen smell like a bakery!

Want more? Today over on Nibbles ‘n Bites I talked about our experiment with Pineapple Can Game Hens–like Beer Can Chicken only so not. Also, it’s not too late to start your own batch of Limoncello and play along with me over at Sips & Shots.

posted by Scraps on Jul 5

Do you know what I discovered this week?!

I’m only 12 recipes away from the upper goal of 75 recipes! Actually, I have 71 recipes tested in total but some chapters are heavy a few extras (like G rilling & Roasting) while others lack more than half (Baked Goods & Drinks). This weekend I managed to wrap up the Appetizers & Snacks chapter with 2 very tasty dips, knocked out an updated side dish for that over-abundant Grilling chapter and tested both a dessert and a drink.

Tomorrow I’ll be making a vegan corn chowder (one thing I noticed when going over the classifications of my recipes was that I could use a few more veggie-friendly items as written instead of just expecting folks to make substitutions) and Wednesday will be a seafood lasagna with rosemary cheese bread. After that I’ll only need 1 more dessert and 4 more drinks and the recipe portion of things will be finished! Except for a couple I want to refine a bit.

But, wow! That’s going to feel like a major accomplishment. 75+ recipes…

And here’s the pictures from this weekend!

Black Olive, Feta and Date Tapenade

Spicy Seafood Dip

Baked Apples a la Mode

posted by Scraps on Jun 14

Last week I took the leap and put other projects on hold so I could concentrate more on this one–how has that worked after one week?

• I scripted another chapter of the comic story–I know, after pulling teeth the last go ’round I was just able to sit down and plow through it! Hoping to do the same this week!
• Began the task of organizing my notes and the pieces of random paper with different recipes onto note cards to be worked into the filing system I started at the beginning of the project and promptly abandoned. Best laid plans and all that, right? Still, it does work when I use it (as systems are prone to do) and I’m using it more so it’s helping more.
• Tested a few more recipes (and more to be tested this week). It’s really getting down to the odds and ends as far as recipes go so once this weekend and some this week I’ll be throwing appetizers into the dinner mix just to get those tested, too.

Here’s the photo evidence:

Chicken Curry over Rice

Orange-Scented Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Spinach & Cheese-Stuffed Pork Chops

Roast Pork Egg Rolls

Steamed Pork Dumplings

Chicken with Cranberry-Cornbread Stuffing

And another week’s worth ahead! I was supposed to be making salmon sticks (grown up fish sticks!) and 3-cheese macaroni and cheese tonight but I’m feeling a tad under par so will put that off ’til tomorrow, when I’ll actually enjoy the cooking and the eating so much better.

Until next time!

posted by Scraps on Feb 22

How is it almost the end of February?!

• Complete the intended recipe-list spreadsheet.
• Finish the Chapter 1 comic script. (75%)
• Design the art for the screen printed items. (20%)
• Design 1 or 2 wallpapers for download. (40%)
• Work on chef-to-gamer translations. (in progress)

Well, Little Shop of Tapas (the Chapter 1 comic) has taken a turn for the steampunk and I couldn’t be happier. It does mean the script isn’t quite finished yet, though, because I spent much of this week reading Fix the Pumps as research. But, really, the project will be better for it! Or, at least it will be once I pare down this monster of a strip I’ve got already! Something tells me my original estimates for 6-12 pages of comics per chapter might need to be altered. But, really, I don’t think that’s the worst thing in the world.

Art designs are still in progress. I’ve got pencils down for the first wallpaper and I’m just tickled with the way my Short-Order Ogre came out. Sure, he’s a little more Dreamworks than D&D but I’m not sure I’d want the ogre from the Monster Manual cooking me breakfast, would you? Pencils are always the hard part for me, they take the longest so I think I’m well on my way to having the first wallpaper complete in the upcoming week.

Speaking of this week, it’s going to be pretty busy: I’m hosting a wedding shower on Saturday so just keeping some forward momentum is going to be challenging. It does mean that I’ll be able to test several recipes (at least 4!) for yields and actually measure the bits I do by habit.

And for this reason I’m not going to create a new to-do list, just keep up with the current one and not push it.

What did you think of the menu suggestions for Shadowrun, last week? I had a blast learning about the game and thinking them up! This week we’re going Arabian Nights with the AD&D 2nd Edition Al-Qadim manual and I’m thinking a bit of Moroccan flair is called for!