“5 Favorites” is a new feature here at Pixelvania Publishing. On the last Friday of every month, I’ll be posting 5 FAVORITE THINGS I’ve recently (or not-so-recently) enjoyed, in case you’re looking for something neat to experience.

Whew! Since the Crooked Neck Kickstarter ended, I’ve been busy fulfilling items for my backers. But I didn’t want to leave you hanging this month! Here’s five things I REALLY enjoyed in April 2024.

📖 The Africa Files (The LawDog Files Series 2)

(Ebook and Paperback, available at Amazon)

Okay, confession time. I haven’t actually read this book YET. But my husband read two excerpts to me and I laughed my head off both times. Now I’m waiting for my paperback copy to arrive so I can read it on paper. I don’t usually buy books but I already know I want to own this one!

The Africa Files are memoirs by a gentleman who goes by “LawDog”. This book is a collection of his memories of growing up in Africa. For example, when LawDog was a kid he and his brother accidentally trapped a honey badger in a hole they had dug.

If that does not intrigue you, I do not know what will.

If you enjoy the humor stylings of Dave Barry but have maybe read all of his books and have most of them memorized (not that I’d know anything about that…), you’ll probably want a copy for yourself.

🍝 Chef Boyardee’s Spaghetti

(Recipe and educational history video)

After watching the Chef Boyardee episode of TASTING HISTORY WITH MAX MILLER, I had to try making the sauce myself. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. It both tasted like the canned sauce (which was a bit of a trip), but so much fresher and yummier, without a lot of extra effort.

Pro Tips:

• Instead of crushing the tomatoes manually, I use a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes along with a 6 oz can of tomato paste. You can also use lightly dried basil (in the cold area) instead of buying super fresh if your home (like mine) is where fresh herbs go to die. (plz link store)
• To do the carrots, I throw some baby carrots into a food processor and the blades turn it into flakes/chunks. That way I don’t have to buy regular carrots special and do all the knife work.

🐂▶️ Gaming Historian: The Story of the Oregon Trail

(Documentary, YouTube)
A fantastically executed longform documentary about the making of the OREGON TRAIL video game. Chill, upbeat vibes and informative, too. I’ve enjoyed Gaming Historian’s videos in the past, but he’s really outdone himself with this one!

🎮 Batman: Arkham Asylum

(Game, Steam, and probably some other places)

I know, I know, I’m tardy to the party…But Arkham Asylum is everything I ever wanted a Batman game to be, full of action, actually fun(!) stealth and puzzling. Plus, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill returning to voice Bats and Joker respectively? Be still my heart!

If you haven’t played it, I can’t recommend it enough (though it’s definitely PG-13/T-rated).

And I’ll just leave this here for the Deck users…

🌶️🍳 Lao Gan Ma Hot Chili Sauce

(Condiment) (My local grocery store carries it, though, so you may want to check yours before ordering online)

I heard about “chili sauce” a month or two ago. When I asked my husband to bring some home, he brought me this. At first I thought it was the wrong thing since the sauce was chunky…then I started eating it with eggs and now I CRAVE IT.

This sauce is not punishingly spicy, but it’s extremely flavorful–the crispy/chunky bits are soooo savory and yummy.

This has become my new favorite breakfast:

1. I warm about 1 Tablespoon of the sauce in a small frying pan.
2. Once it starts bubbling, I add 1-2 eggs, (fuming if I break a yolk because I like them over easy).
3. While they cook, I spoon the sauce them gently.
4. After the whites are set and I flip them (over easy, remember?), I serve them over some air-fryer roasted potatoes. (I tend to make a big batch of those and reheat them as needed.) The runny yolks plus the roasted-creamy potatoes and the crispy bits of the sauce…just heavenly!