Not much of an update but...

I'm sorry I abandoned this blog for such a long time! Life has been hectic, with its ups and downs (mostly downs...sigh...), so I haven't really had time to read manga, much less translate it.

However....

I have been catching up with Enjouji Maki's new series, SPXBaby, through Icarus's scans over here! I don't know if anyone else has done it so far, but if no one has summarized it yet, I will probably ask her if I may lift some images off her website as thumbnails for me to summarize.

On the other hand, I recently watched an episode of Kyou wa kaisha yasumimasu...and I fell in love with the storyline. It's so damn relatable and realistic, but with a light splatter of shoujo elements that'll make your heart go kyun kyun at the same time. I've always loved Haruka Ayase and Tamaki Hiroshi, and I think they play these characters to the dime. Which...naturally got me interested in the manga, and I read it here at Raffmanga! It's not really a scanlation, but you scroll over each speech bubble to see the translation on the side, which is quite useful. And adding translations are easy.

The first 7 chapters are translated by a user named Scarlet (and I believe she's working on the 8th at the moment), so I decided to translate chapter 9. I'm not sure if I can do this on a regular basis (it took me over an hour just to translate because of all the adding speech bubbles, saving, website reloading business...ah, if I could only do so all in one go for an entire page), but this manga is really fun to read and I highly recommend it! Ok, the drama too (esp for Tamaki Hiroshi :p)

Although it's deviates drastically from the drama, I love both of them in their own right. Both of them are funny, genuine, and heart-warming, and they work well for their respective mediums. (Unlike the Korean version of Nodame Cantabile....le sigh)

Link to new Enjouji Maki's new series: SP X Baby

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't made an update in forever. I recently just found out that Enjouji Maki has a new series out, and the premise is of a girl becoming a bodyguard to a politician? (Or at least, in the first chapter, it's indicated the main male character's relative is the prime minister)

Anyways, I haven't been able to find any raws, but I found a wonderful site that does summaries and uploads raws to various series. You can find the first chapter of SP X Baby here !

Or just paste this into your browser
http://icarusbride.blogspot.hk/2014/08/raw-sp-x-baby-chapter-1.html

Meringue Caramel Epice

Sorry I haven't made a post in ages! I've had to put both this and the food blog on hold for a while because of how busy I'm with work (which while I feel guilty about, I'm also extremely happy that it's because I've finally found a job I love at an amazing company!) 

I took the liberty to update the food blog first. This dessert is called Meringue Caramel Epice, which is a concoction of all the basics, like French meringue, whipped cream, and a spiced caramel pastry cream. I've actually bookmarked the recipe for ages but was a bit afraid of trying a spiced dessert (since they remind me of icky Costco fruit cakes). However, a classic dessert called pain d'epice came up in one of the episodes of Shitsuren Chocolatier and I was so intrigued by the idea I finally had to make it. 

The caramel cream is actually super yummy! I ate it by the spoonful when I ran out of meringue shells to layer it with :) 

If you're interested in the recipe, please click here!

I've also noticed that Dear Brother chapters have come out, so I'll try to make an update tomorrow (as well as read them of course). I've not been checking as regularly since my interest in the story has kinda waned, but hopefully the two latest chapters have some kind of exciting change to them! (Enjouji-sensei, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you'll work your magic)

Food Blog Update: Mt. Blanc Recipe

New update! It's been ages since I've written anything for the blog, and feeling a bit guilty for neglecting it, I finally uploaded a recipe of Mt. Blanc. It's one of my favorite desserts to eat year round (but unfortunately I can't get chestnuts year round in the states...), so fall and winter are really the only times I can make it. The top picture is a type of Japanese candied chestnut that leaves the skin on and it's called shibukawani 渋皮煮. It's really delicious (and no the skin doesn't taste stringent or tough anymore after you cook it), but it takes a while to cook and loads of prep work to peel. Sigh...if only I was in Japan, I could just go out and buy a jar!

Anyways, if you're interested, you can read the recipe here.

I saw that the newest chapter of Dear Brother has been up, and glanced through it briefly...but unfortunately, it's nothing to be excited about. I'll post the summary up soon as these days are a bit busy.

Food Blog Update: Indian Roadside Snacks

It’s been ages since I’ve updated the blog, but I finally gritted my teeth and did it. This time it’s about an Indian restaurant in Berkeley that specializes in road-side savory snacks! Before I tried my first Indian salad (pictured below…) I only knew of curry, roti, and paneer.

But after I had the salad, known as bhel puri, I was in love. It’s spicy and crunchy and tangy and sooo delicious I could eat the salad for days. Like the majority of restaurants in Berkeley, they offer loads of vegan and vegetarian options (so it’s bound to cater to even the most finicky eaters). I only tried 4 things there (there were tons…all with names I cannot pronounce), and they had a lot of sweets behind the glass counter, and everything was really delicious. And the best part? The portions were very generous and the prices were reasonable. If you’re interested in reading more about Vik’s Chaat (the place I visited), click here!