iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Today's prompt is #cactus for #inktober #inktober2026 Could be better, I need to work on the hills in the distance and the light and shade on the cactus

An ink drawing of a desert scene with a cactus in the foreground and hills in the distance

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 03/10/2026

My first, maybe only, attempt at today's #inktober prompt #miniature Hands are hard

An ink drawing of a hand holding a tiny glass of liquid for the inktober prompt "miniature".

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 01/10/2026

Trying to do #inktober again, today's prompt is Apple #inktober2026 - I still have a lot to learn about shading curves surfaces

Three crude apple sketches in pen each one an attempt at learning shading with only a pen

A dressing of an apple crudely shaded in pen using the hatching method

A pen drawing of two apples on a branch, an experiment in cross hatching a curved surface

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 17/08/2026

Yesterday I made lasagna (freshly made ragu, parmesan bechamel, and some homemade pasta) for a friend. Not my best but it still tasted good

A rectangular glass baking dish with a multi-layered lasagna inside, parmesan grated on the top

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 07/07/2026

Not sure what my notebook doodles say about me

A crude fountain pen sketch of a man with the body and legs of a spider stood under a lamppost near a bench saying "meh"

A crude underwater sketch with squids, crabs, octopuses, lobsters and chambered nautilis drawn with several coloured fountain pens

A crude attempt at The Scream as a sketch made with multiple coloured fountain pens

A crude sketch of a man with a red top and blue trousers wearing a baseball cap reading a book while sitting with his back against a tree. Made with several coloured fountain pens

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 16/05/2026

Productivity hacks for the clutter-brained developer by Sara Gowen at #dddsw #sketchnote

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 16/05/2026

The way of the Tech Tead by Dan Abel at #dddsw #sketchnote

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 16/05/2026

Architecting for Observability by Steven Read #sketchnote #dddsw

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 04/05/2026

Think I may have done too much mushroom risotto for one... Tasty though

A generous portion of mushroom risotto dusted with parmesan on a white plate with a red rim

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 25/04/2026

More baking this weekend, this time brown butter cake with orange buttercream icing

A cake iced with a pale buttercream flecked with orange zest atop an upside down cake tin

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 18/04/2026

This is my first attempt at brown butter cake with brown butter, maple, and miso icing (I did mess the cake recipe up a little) and obviously my icing skills are rudimentary - hope it tastes good

A cake on a white plate with a red rim. It is a beige buttercream icing that has been clumsily applied

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 11/04/2026

Been playing around with buttermilk pie recipes, this time a brown butter and honey version... Just waiting for it to cool down before trying it

A gorgeous golden buttermilk pie cooling on a wire rack, just a hint of a dark brown on the right hand side where the filling had slightly overflowed onto the pastry so caught more

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 23/03/2026

This is what I'm calling Cacio e Pepe alla Nerano con Pollo... Sorry Italians for smashing together two of your traditional dishes It was tasty though

Two succulent pan roasted chicken thighs with crispy skin on top of a pile of spaghetti mixed with roasted and mashed courgette slices slightly covered in a sauce made from black pepper and cheese on a white plate

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 02/03/2026

Just cooking away... Making me hungry now as it smells good

A large red pot of chicken and chorizo (Spanish) gumbo. A brown sauce with green peppers , okra, onion, chorizo, and chunks of chicken floating at the surface

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 02/02/2026

First time making French Onion Soup. Caramelised the onions in a slow cooker over many hours before making the soup

A single person cast iron pot with a french onion soup topped with four toasted pieces of baguette and melted gruyère cheese

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 23/01/2026

True love is when someone has something to eat in their hands

A Jack Russell terrier with black and white patches looking intensely at someone off screen, eyes focused and his ears forward almost standing fully up but flopping forward at the tips

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 12/01/2026

And now it's complete - I think the intarsia ears are the best, I decided not to stuff those this time too

A denim blue knitted and stuffed teddy bear with a white, crocheted snout, white inside the ears, black nose, black eyes with a white accent in them

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 12/01/2026

Latest knitting project T-4, front and back done, snout crocheted, nose and eyes embroidered, ears made with intarsia this time, and mostly stitched up ready for stuffing

A denim-blur coloured teddy bear with white snout, white inner ears, black eyes with a hint of white, and a black nose. The ears are a little different in size, but that's character. It is flat and ready to stuff

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 26/12/2025

I prefer red wine but this is my favourite Chardonnay, buttery and delicious. I'd forego many reds for this. breadandbutterwines.com/wines/

An empty wine bottle of Bread & Butter Chardonnay, 2023.

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 25/12/2025

Christmas dinner, roast chicken, mash, duck fat roast potatoes and parsnips, pan roasted carrots and sprouts, braised red cabbage, tender stem broccoli, pigs in blankets, pork stuffing, and chicken gravy. With some Bread and Butter Chardonnay (delicious) A lot of effort for one but so worth ut

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 24/12/2025

I've been learning how to knit, these are the first two things I've knitted (I know, I should have started with a scarf). Trying to replicate my old teddy bear my mum knitted for me and there is no pattern to work from They're not perfect but they've taught me so much, even a bit of basic crochet.

Two knitted teddy bears. The one on the left is blue with a crocheted snout with black embroidered nose and eyes. The one on the right is brown with a knitted snout, black nose and eyes.

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 21/10/2025

Once more into the Cinnamon Parkin dear friends, once more

A loaf of cinnamon parkin cooking on a wire rack.

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 12/10/2025

First time trying this recipe for a Cinnamon Buttermilk Pie, I think the oven was too hot. Hopefully it will still be tasty

A buttermilk pie cooling on a wire rack, probably over-baked

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 11/10/2025

Simple dinner tonight of homemade spicy tomato soup (a bit too spicy perhaps) with cheese and pickle toastie

A cheese and pickle toasted cut I to triangles on a plate

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 05/10/2025

Ok, it turned out to be very tasty

A dish of baked lasagne with several layers of ragu, homemade pasta, and cheese sauce with a crispy cheesy topping

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 05/10/2025

Made pasta today, the white sauce today, made the Ragu yesterday, assembled this afternoon, going into the oven shortly... It's been a long time since I tried making a lasagne from scratch, hope it works out... Check back later

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 02/10/2025

Another attempt at cinnamon parkin baked

A loaf of cinnamon parkin on a wire rack cooling down

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 13/09/2025

Trying something out, a cinnamon variant of Parkin... Self-raising flour, oats, light brown sugar, butter, golden syrup, a bit of nutmeg, a decent amount of cinnamon Tried a little bit and it's quite tasty, may have to tweak the recipe a little

A "loaf" of my new recipe of cinnamon Parkin, brown crust with a few cracks in the top, sat on a wire rack

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 30/08/2025

Trying out my Parkin recipe before the proper Parkin season comes along, might have made them a bit thick (took a lot longer to cook than expected) but I did mess up the recipe a bit

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 25/05/2025

Spaghetti alla nerano with a roast chicken breast, inspired by Stanley Tucci

A plate of "spaghetti alla nerano", spaghetti with courgettes, a sauce made from the courgettes, pasta water, and parmesan. A roasted chicken breast on the side. With a dusting of parmesan on top

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 21/04/2025

Buttermilk chicken pakoras, red lentil dal, and a mint and coriander chutney... Very tasty but now I want to play with the recipes

A bowl of red lentil dal (a bit too wet)

A plate of deep fried chicken pieces (chicken pakoras) piles on a plate

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 30/03/2025

May not be authentic but a chicken and (Spanish) chorizo gumbo

A pool of gumbo surrounding a circle of white rice

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 01/03/2025

First attempt at Tom Kerridge's beef cheek Ragu... I may have added too much pasta water to this serving but otherwise very tasty (and I left it too late to start cooking)

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 01/12/2024

Coq-au-vin with potato dauphinoise - could be refined but still very tasty (Also, chef recipes should come with a kitchen porter to do all the washing up)

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 25/11/2024

Tried something new today: creamy Tuscan-inspired chicken

Pan fried chicken breast sitting on a bed of rice with a creamy tomato sauce

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 14/11/2024

I should really get around to finishing this at some point, it's been too long

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 22/06/2024

I was inspired to make swedish meatballs, very tasty, did forget to buy any veg but Lingonberry Jam counts doesn't it?

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 07/05/2024

Today's mistake was trying to do a chicken schnitzel and not having any egg so I tried mustard and cayenne pepper to bind the breadcrumbs but they all came off when I deep fried them. So it's chicken breast, greek salad, and panko "scraps" - oops (still tasty)

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 06/05/2024

Last night I made a batch of chicken & chorizo gumbo. It was very tasty and I've got 6 more portions in the freezer. Well worth the effort of chopping, cooking, and washing up

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 30/12/2023

Red wine marinated brisket, slow cooked with a beef bone and red wine sauce, mash, braised red cabbage, and roasted celeriac - it was very tasty (even if it looks a mess)

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 08/11/2023

So rare for me to do anything like this but I do love a good ribeye steak, braised red cabbage, roast carrots and mash but it was darn tasty

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 31/10/2023

Tried making gozleme tonight. Not perfect (among other things, the dough is undercooked in places) but still very tasty

A pile of gozleme, flatbreads stuffed with a lamb mince mixture

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 23/10/2023

Tonight I made a batch of butter chicken

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 22/10/2023

Yesterday's dinner was a chicken and chorizo gumbo (apologies to anyone from the southern states who know how to make a proper gumbo)

Chicken and chorizo gumbo on a bed of white rice

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Ian johnson @simplyian.net · 10/10/2023

Dinner was a simple sandwich tonight, chicken cutlet, rocket, spinach, homemade basil mayo and then a Greek salad as a side

Chicken cutlet sandwich on a chopping board

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