Lynn Strong

Cozy fantasy and beyond

Tag: rose pickles

  • Preorders and Pickles: Sweet and sour rose pickles

    , , , , , ,

    (Part of the recipe collection from Haroun and the Study of Mischief. But also, it seemed like a pink and rose-petaled recipe was quite suited to start off February! And I’ve just opened preorders for Chai and Charmcraft this week; I’ll keep adding links to the page as more distributors come online. I seem to…

  • Cheeses: Qanbaris, dahi, and paneer

    , , , ,

    Including Mad Alchemist’s Cheese and Accidental Earl Grey Paneer

  • Cheeses: Haloum and Halloumi

    , , ,

    (from the recipe collection in Haroun and the Study of Mischief) The spice mixes in this collection also make delicious additions to cheese. You could stir atraf al-tib into a drained Greek yogurt or sprinkle za’atar into the makings of qanbaris or dahi. Mozzarella balls or paneer or halloumi chunks rolled in za’atar and served…

  • Spice blends: Za’atar

    , , ,

    (Part of the recipe collection from Haroun and the Study of Mischief) Za’atar can mean Syrian thyme / Origanum syriacum by itself, but it’s also meant thyme-based spice blends from the Middle Ages until today. In Nasrallah’s Treasure Trove recipes 529-33, the za’atar blend she describes is used for flavoring cheese and involves moldy bread…

  • Spice blends: Atraf al-tib

    , ,

    (Part of the recipe collection in Haroun and the Study of Mischief) The dividing line between food, perfume, and incense was much blurrier in the medieval Middle East than it is in many places today; you can find recipes for breath mints that can also be burned as incense, or for spice blends that also…

  • Sharbat for the Shahzada

    , ,

    (One of the recipes from Chai and Cat-tales) This is based on several historic recipes, most particularly sharbat e badam. Sharbat and sekanjabin and ‘aqsima / oxymel are very old beverages. Similar syrups were recorded by the 11th century’s Canon of Medicine by ibn Sina (known in much of Europe as Avicenna), with further details…

  • Zulabiyya for the Eldest Archivist

    , ,

    As part of my quest to make recipe post with history notes available for all the book recipes, here’s another from the Chai and Cat-tales collection. This one is everything from historical to modern. Zulabiyya is one of the recipes that has the “peanut butter and jelly” problem, in that everyone assumes everyone knows how…

    A close-up view of piles of jalebi sweets arranged on a wooden tray, with a metal pot containing batter nearby, displayed at a food stall.
  • Warm comfort: Golden milk and chai

    , , ,

    (looking around nervously) so uh is 2025 really truly over yet please?

  • Pumpkin Spice Season and Conference Season

    ,

    HearthCon and Cozy the Day Away are coming this weekend! …amid 9 other conferences and conventions in a 5 week window ahahahahawhimper

  • Book release: “Haroun and the Study of Mischief” Gets Unleashed!

    , , ,

    In which Two Very Good Boys might like to fight crime, if there has been a crime other than their fashion sense. (50 pages of bonus recipes in the book! Grandmother’s karkadeh is included here.)

  • Oh My Dog… two weeks to unleashed!

    , , ,

    Salted lemon pickles sound like the perfect recipe for the massively overscheduled brine I’ve gotten myself into this week…

  • Ranveer, The Next Book, and The Dagobah Swamp Ramen

    ,

    I’m working on getting Haroun and the Study of Mischief ready for publication — that isn’t the book I thought was coming next! But it went from 0 to 60 in 8 madcap days over spring break for the Cozy Quill Pitchfest, and then I had a finished standalone book! And I’m still figuring out…

    An 1825 illustration of an Indian artisan from the British Library via Unsplash
  • Paperbacks and Pickles

    Paperbacks, publishing, pickles, and persistence…

    Red pickled onions in a glass jar and bowl. Credit to Nigel Cohen from Unsplash.
  • Cozy the Day Away and Lassi Nog

    , ,

    It seems odd that I might be the first person to combine the ideas of egg nog and sweet lassi? The experiment turned out delicious, though.

  • Book Launch and Mouse Party!

    , , ,

    If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the Big Parties, you’re not alone. Here’s a very Small Party for whatever level of ambition you feel like.

  • Coming in December: The Childless Cat Lady’s Tale, and a new book

    ,

    The night before the election, when I hadn’t slept for two days from pain from both the literal stormfront and the pressure of what was hanging over the world, I asked my friend Celia Lake for a sanity check on how crazy it might be to try to publish a book before the end of…

  • Cozy Fantasy sale, birthday wishes, and a bouquet of beverages

    ,

    Karryn Nagel’s Cozy the Day Away sale is happening July 12, which happens to be my birthday. I know what I’m doing…

  • Midsummer at the House of Jasmines

    , ,

    It’s Midsummer, and my jasmine plant is loving it. I, meanwhile, am looking for simple but cooling drinks when hot chai sounds less appealing. This chameli/mogre infusion hits the sweet spot.

  • Neurodiverse fantasies and Sahar’s Misty Evening Chai Latte

    , ,

    April 26 has a cozy fantasy sale, April as a whole is Autism Awareness month, and Sahar the soft and gray gets her own misty evening chai latte blend.

    Gilded blue teacup with a golden handle. The pattern is reminiscent of palm leaves.
  • Happy Book Release Day (and Discount Chocolate Eve)!

    ,

    Wyngraf’s Valentines Edition gives me a reason to like the 14th even aside from Discount Chocolate Eve.

    Hot chocolate pours into a mug next to another with a cinnamon stick. Spices are scattered around the table.
  • Pre-orders, previews, and Priye’s brindle chai

    , ,

    Wyngraf’s Valentine Special is available for preorder! Come celebrate with Priye’s brindle chai: chocolate, orange, and chai masala. But Priye and I are low on spoons, so this is the easy version for kittens.

  • Rahat’s namesake sweets: Rahat-al-hulqum / Lokoum / Turkish delight

    , ,

    This story started with Ashar’s rose chai and the idea that there should be more Prince Charmings in the world of different ages and colors and body types and confidence levels, but I needed something for Ashar to call him other than his own name. (Ashar is still pretending that as long as he never…

  • Asharan’s Rose Chai

    , , ,

    I originally came up with this chai recipe in 2019, for the last all-together role-playing session my friends and I had before one of us moved to Chicago. (And if anyone is wondering, the character I played, whom Asharan is built from, is a D&D 5e glamour bard. 😀 That’s how I’m keeping myself honest…

  • Cozy fantasy with a splash of rosewater, and many cats

    Lynn Strong (who uses any pronouns, or none, with the pen name) has been a professional writer for over 25 years. But Lynn had never ventured beyond fanfiction until Wyngraf Magazine accepted a story for the February 2024 edition. Well, Lynn thought, I guess I need a website, then. (Hi!)

  • Preorders and Pickles: Sweet and sour rose pickles

    , , , , , ,

    (Part of the recipe collection from Haroun and the Study of Mischief. But also, it seemed like a pink and rose-petaled recipe was quite suited to start off February! And I’ve just opened preorders for Chai and Charmcraft this week; I’ll keep adding links to the page as more distributors come online. I seem to…

  • Cheeses: Qanbaris, dahi, and paneer

    , , , ,

    Including Mad Alchemist’s Cheese and Accidental Earl Grey Paneer

  • Cheeses: Haloum and Halloumi

    , , ,

    (from the recipe collection in Haroun and the Study of Mischief) The spice mixes in this collection also make delicious additions to cheese. You could stir atraf al-tib into a drained Greek yogurt or sprinkle za’atar into the makings of qanbaris or dahi. Mozzarella balls or paneer or halloumi chunks rolled in za’atar and served…

  • Spice blends: Za’atar

    , , ,

    (Part of the recipe collection from Haroun and the Study of Mischief) Za’atar can mean Syrian thyme / Origanum syriacum by itself, but it’s also meant thyme-based spice blends from the Middle Ages until today. In Nasrallah’s Treasure Trove recipes 529-33, the za’atar blend she describes is used for flavoring cheese and involves moldy bread…

  • Spice blends: Atraf al-tib

    , ,

    (Part of the recipe collection in Haroun and the Study of Mischief) The dividing line between food, perfume, and incense was much blurrier in the medieval Middle East than it is in many places today; you can find recipes for breath mints that can also be burned as incense, or for spice blends that also…

  • Sharbat for the Shahzada

    , ,

    (One of the recipes from Chai and Cat-tales) This is based on several historic recipes, most particularly sharbat e badam. Sharbat and sekanjabin and ‘aqsima / oxymel are very old beverages. Similar syrups were recorded by the 11th century’s Canon of Medicine by ibn Sina (known in much of Europe as Avicenna), with further details…

  • Zulabiyya for the Eldest Archivist

    , ,

    As part of my quest to make recipe post with history notes available for all the book recipes, here’s another from the Chai and Cat-tales collection. This one is everything from historical to modern. Zulabiyya is one of the recipes that has the “peanut butter and jelly” problem, in that everyone assumes everyone knows how…

    A close-up view of piles of jalebi sweets arranged on a wooden tray, with a metal pot containing batter nearby, displayed at a food stall.
  • Warm comfort: Golden milk and chai

    , , ,

    (looking around nervously) so uh is 2025 really truly over yet please?

  • Pumpkin Spice Season and Conference Season

    ,

    HearthCon and Cozy the Day Away are coming this weekend! …amid 9 other conferences and conventions in a 5 week window ahahahahawhimper

  • Book release: “Haroun and the Study of Mischief” Gets Unleashed!

    , , ,

    In which Two Very Good Boys might like to fight crime, if there has been a crime other than their fashion sense. (50 pages of bonus recipes in the book! Grandmother’s karkadeh is included here.)

  • Oh My Dog… two weeks to unleashed!

    , , ,

    Salted lemon pickles sound like the perfect recipe for the massively overscheduled brine I’ve gotten myself into this week…

  • Ranveer, The Next Book, and The Dagobah Swamp Ramen

    ,

    I’m working on getting Haroun and the Study of Mischief ready for publication — that isn’t the book I thought was coming next! But it went from 0 to 60 in 8 madcap days over spring break for the Cozy Quill Pitchfest, and then I had a finished standalone book! And I’m still figuring out…

    An 1825 illustration of an Indian artisan from the British Library via Unsplash
  • Paperbacks and Pickles

    Paperbacks, publishing, pickles, and persistence…

    Red pickled onions in a glass jar and bowl. Credit to Nigel Cohen from Unsplash.
  • Cozy the Day Away and Lassi Nog

    , ,

    It seems odd that I might be the first person to combine the ideas of egg nog and sweet lassi? The experiment turned out delicious, though.

  • Book Launch and Mouse Party!

    , , ,

    If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the Big Parties, you’re not alone. Here’s a very Small Party for whatever level of ambition you feel like.

  • Coming in December: The Childless Cat Lady’s Tale, and a new book

    ,

    The night before the election, when I hadn’t slept for two days from pain from both the literal stormfront and the pressure of what was hanging over the world, I asked my friend Celia Lake for a sanity check on how crazy it might be to try to publish a book before the end of…

  • Cozy Fantasy sale, birthday wishes, and a bouquet of beverages

    ,

    Karryn Nagel’s Cozy the Day Away sale is happening July 12, which happens to be my birthday. I know what I’m doing…

  • Midsummer at the House of Jasmines

    , ,

    It’s Midsummer, and my jasmine plant is loving it. I, meanwhile, am looking for simple but cooling drinks when hot chai sounds less appealing. This chameli/mogre infusion hits the sweet spot.

  • Neurodiverse fantasies and Sahar’s Misty Evening Chai Latte

    , ,

    April 26 has a cozy fantasy sale, April as a whole is Autism Awareness month, and Sahar the soft and gray gets her own misty evening chai latte blend.

    Gilded blue teacup with a golden handle. The pattern is reminiscent of palm leaves.
  • Happy Book Release Day (and Discount Chocolate Eve)!

    ,

    Wyngraf’s Valentines Edition gives me a reason to like the 14th even aside from Discount Chocolate Eve.

    Hot chocolate pours into a mug next to another with a cinnamon stick. Spices are scattered around the table.
  • Pre-orders, previews, and Priye’s brindle chai

    , ,

    Wyngraf’s Valentine Special is available for preorder! Come celebrate with Priye’s brindle chai: chocolate, orange, and chai masala. But Priye and I are low on spoons, so this is the easy version for kittens.

  • Rahat’s namesake sweets: Rahat-al-hulqum / Lokoum / Turkish delight

    , ,

    This story started with Ashar’s rose chai and the idea that there should be more Prince Charmings in the world of different ages and colors and body types and confidence levels, but I needed something for Ashar to call him other than his own name. (Ashar is still pretending that as long as he never…

  • Asharan’s Rose Chai

    , , ,

    I originally came up with this chai recipe in 2019, for the last all-together role-playing session my friends and I had before one of us moved to Chicago. (And if anyone is wondering, the character I played, whom Asharan is built from, is a D&D 5e glamour bard. 😀 That’s how I’m keeping myself honest…

  • Cozy fantasy with a splash of rosewater, and many cats

    Lynn Strong (who uses any pronouns, or none, with the pen name) has been a professional writer for over 25 years. But Lynn had never ventured beyond fanfiction until Wyngraf Magazine accepted a story for the February 2024 edition. Well, Lynn thought, I guess I need a website, then. (Hi!)