#Brown Sugar Market Size

[intrepidacious]

fluffy drabble request: going to a winter market with steve? 🥺

keep me warm

pairing: steve rogers x f!reader

word count: 476

warnings: wintery fluff and nothing else 💛 please note that my blog is rated 18+. minors dni. ageless/empty blogs will be blocked without warning.

a/n: i literally just went to my first market of the season earlier today and absolutely loved it 💛 also i listened to keep warm by drew sarich a lot while writing this

—

"You didn’t tell me there was a ferris wheel!"

Steve smiles to himself as you tug on his arm again, urging him along towards the far side of the market. The cold air smells like sugar and cinnamon, and a pleasant hum of chatter surrounds the two of you as you pass through the maze of stands.

"I thought you’re just here for the food," he reminds you and you tut at him.

"That’s because you didn’t tell me there was a ferris wheel." You crane your neck. "D’you reckon that’s the line?"

He follows your line of sight past the booths selling scented candles and mulled wine. "I think that’s for those crêpes on the right."

"Perfect."

Immediately, you pick up your pace. Steve just manages to catch your hand in his before you run off and he loses you in the crowd. Your fingers interlace with his automatically, and even though you’ve done it hundreds of times before, it never fails to make a wave of fondness wash through his chest.

"You want to go right now, don’t you?"

"Pleeease," you grin. "You can choose the next thing."

"They haven’t even turned all the lights on yet," he argues half-heartedly. He’s not actually about to deny you when you’re this excited, no matter how he’s planned out this evening in his head.

"We’ll just have to go for another round later," you reply with your most innocent face, and he rolls his eyes fondly.

You pass a child eating a hash brown the size of their head who’s looking at Steve with wide eyes. He tucks his hat down a little, giving the kid a wink.

"Oh, that’s how it is?" he says as you round the corner, the actual queue for the ride coming into view.

"Yes," you tell him happily. "Well, if they let me back on. I still fully intend to eat my weight in funnel cake and potatoes."

"I expect nothing less." He leans closer to your ear as you’re walking, adding, "And I’m not above using my cap card if it means we’ll get to see the lights."

"See, this is one of the reasons I love you," you say, squeezing his hand as you settle into the line.

Honest to god, Steve’s never going to get sick of hearing you say those words. That little felt box is burning a hole into his pocket. Patience, he tells himself. Don’t just blurt it out.

And then you lean back against his chest as you wait, pressing a kiss to the palm of his hand, and Steve … well, Steve doesn’t think he’s ever been this perfectly content before in his life. So if he maybe whispers his question a couple of hours earlier than he’d planned, his arms wrapped around you to keep you warm, well, who could blame him?

[twst-drabbles]

Lilia 9

Summary: Tracking down a pack of stealing faeries, General Lilia finds their path ending on a lone human being forcibly bathed.

(A reminder that I am not a spoiler-free blog. I tend to read ahead and skip around for my entertainment. That being said, time travel shenanigans with the Janitor who gets caught up in all this. Is it canon to the Janitor AU? Probably not but the thought is fun.)

Soaps. Since when has Lilia ever heard of those little faeries, those pixies sneaking into stores and flea markets for the sake of stealing soaps? It’s not unusual for them to pick and take what they like. He’s had a number of sugar cookies stolen right from his hand just as the grateful citizens stuffed them in his palm. The faeries love for sweets would rival that troublesome princess’s love for her egg.

Lilia usually isn’t one to deal with smaller problems such as these, as they resolve themselves, but pixies are unusually sensitive to scents, to the point of avoiding cities and villages alike. For them to go out of their way to steal these scented soaps tells Lilia that something was wrong. Off. While the signals are usually more subtle, often the little faeries are the first to know of incoming danger.

Lilia only hopes this wasn’t the case.

Hiding his presence among the leaves in this forested area was second nature to him. He didn’t have the hollow bones of birds, but his steps would tell one otherwise. If even the pixies can’t tell he’s tailing them, then who was he to deny the claims?

Ahead of him was a light in this dark night, and in his ears Lilia heard the rush of a river. He took a deep breath in just as the water pixie dipped out of sight with their hoard of coin-like soaps. However, rather than the crisp scent of midnight grass and river water, Lilia was hit with the sharp smell of roiling magic.

It was the likes that Lilia has only witnessed when the princess was well and truly fed up.

“Ah, that’s too hot!”

In his concentration, the blunt sound of voice nearly made Lilia’s heel slip from a branch.

“Oh, these next? Alright, hand them here. Let’s hope it gets the smell out,” landing on the nearest tree, Lilia spots an immaculate white tub with clawed feet right below the gaze of a tree house that may as well be mansion. Inside the mess of bubbles that covered everything except for the face was you, a lone human surrounded by faeries with their little arms hauling the soaps they’ve stole.

A human? Here? You’d basically be a sitting duck in this location, and yet here you are, unmarked, cursed by no one, and actually being bathed by them?

The water pixie Lilia was tailing dropped the silver soap into the tub. Another surge of bubbles came forth and overflowed the tub, blue in color. A triplet of wood faeries carried a brown bucket over your head before dumping water to rinse you off.

You wiped the water from your eyes with a sigh, “Nope. I still stink of magic. Let’s try the next one.”

The water faerie jingled out their tune of frustration, a quick and harsh number. You picked up a handful of bubbles before blowing them at their feet.

“I’m sure I’ll get back to smell like my old self eventually. It was a crazy reaction of spells that interacted, so it is going to take some time.”

The water faerie landed on your palm, sneezed and flew right back to the branches, only to come face to face with Lilia in his mask. The poor little thing screamed.

It’s easy to come to the belief that the smaller the fae, the less powerful they are. To the ignorant, it’s the truth, but for people such as Lilia, with their small size comes a certain amount of finesse that not even the princess would be able to replicate. It’s why they can combine their forces so well to make the forest yawn open to expose his location and manipulate the river current to aim right at him.

Too bad Lilia’s dealt with his fair share of angered pixies. With a leap, soared over the water and landed the tips of his toes on the edge of your tub.

“Never would I see the day,” Lilia leaned down to your stiff face, “that a human would receive the favor of the faeries. How did you do that, Human?”

Perhaps this was trick, or a mistake of some kind. Humans would have to resort to such things, of that Lilia wouldn’t be shocked by. Creatures with lives as short as yours are often so protective of their own flesh, so, one would have to forgive Lilia for being caught off guard when you kicked his feet and had him land face first into the water.

“At least let me get a towel first,” you grumbled out as you reached over a pulled it off the grass, “I don’t need anymore stress. Things are already tiresome and confusing as they are.”

It seems that General Lilia has found himself in the company of rather interesting human.

[tastesoftamriel]

Sadri's nix-hound noodles

This dish is considered a bit too simple by Telvanni standards to be served in mushroom towers, but nix-hound noodles are a traditional Dunmeri favourite that the commoners of Morrowind love! Spicy, fragrant, savoury, and packed with flavourful nix-hound meat and Morrowind's tastiest mushrooms, you'll find this ubiquitous dish at any market stall or tavern, like The Retching Netch.

For the hungry ones, serve with boiled kwama egg marinated overnight in saltrice sauce! Makes 4 portions.

You will need:

200g thin wheat noodles (like somen)

350g minced beef, turkey, or chicken

5 button mushrooms, or any other mushrooms of the equivalent size, chopped finely

2 shallots, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 spring onions, chopped small

1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine

1 tbsp mala peppercorn oil (optional)

4 tbsp Lao Gan Ma crispy chili oil

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp tahini

Vegetable oil, for cooking

Method:

In a pan, lightly fry the shallots, mushrooms , and spring onions. Once the mushrooms release their water and start to shrink, add the garlic and continue to fry until the garlic and shallots are browned.

Add the meat when the vegetables soften, and add a splash of soy sauce and about 2-3 tsp sesame oil to infuse the fragrance. Stir-fry until browned and cooked through, then set aside.

Liberally salt your water and boil your noodles for 4-6 minutes (depending on the brand/type of noodles this may vary, please see packet for instructions).

While the noodles cook, prepare the sauce. Combine the Shaoxing, Lao Gan Ma, mala oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and tahini in a bowl, then mix well. Pop the mixture back into the pan with the meat, and quickly mix together on low heat to warm it up.

Strain your noodles and divide into bowls. Top with the meat sauce and serve immediately.

Optional: serve with boiled eggs marinated overnight in soy sauce. Hard boil your eggs and peel them, before leaving them to sit in a tupperware container overnight in the fridge, submerged in 1/4 cup dark soy sauce and 1/2 cup water. Serve cold as a side to your noodles.

[joansdidions]

apple cider.

0.6k words

10 large apples, quartered

a large bag of apples sit on the kitchen counter. crimson red, the colour of fall, freshly picked from the farmers' market. ross cuts the apples steadily in the kitchen. neat. clean. it's the only task you gave him so he goes above and beyond. each piece of apple is similar in size to the next.

1 orange, halved

now the scent of fresh citrus fills the kitchen. the last remnants of summer. the smell of oranges linger on your fingers and you dream of sweet kisses with ross. rolling around in crisp bed sheets and freshly squeezed orange juice in the middle of a hot summer day. you wipe the bead of sweat that trickles down his forehead in the beaming sunlight. he smiles under your touch and holds your hands to his lips. the scent of citrus fills his nose.

spices : 4 cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp. whole cloves, 1 tsp. whole allspice, 1 whole nutmeg

the beginning of fall smells of cinnamon and auburn leaves falling to the ground. its the smell of rain and the feeling of stepping on falling leaves. the world is silent in the fall. the season of gentle decay, you suppose. but then, fall also means the warmth of spices. the ones that warm your stomach, a new kind of content that nothing else can beat. gentle, warming, the spices flood your home. you think it can't get better than this. and your sous chef comes and envelopes you in a hug. you think this could be a contender for the feeling spices make you feel. no matter the season, ross smells just right. he smells like everything and nothing all at once. your mind empties itself of all words, leaving one behind. and so you have no choice but to describe his scent as home. it goes beyond that, you tell yourself but you've yet to find the right words to encapsulate how he makes you feel.

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

sugar, spice and everything nice. fall is for freshly baked cookies. the ones ross could devour in one sitting. he accuses you of adding some form of drug to keep him addicted and you laugh at the incredulity of his words. the gentle giant sits across from you with crumbs on his face and chocolate smeared across his lip.it’s a sight to behold, really. the “manly man” looking like a child, a boy, your boy.

serve apple cider warm

the smell of spiced apples fill your nose and both of you share a look that says the apple cider is ready. you rush to taste your new elixir. the spoonful of golden liquid meets your lips and marks the beginning of fall. you close your eyes for a moment and let the liquid slide down your throat. gold. it tastes like gold. and like a cliché from your favourite romantic comedy, a drop of apple cider falls from the corner of your mouth. ross, always staring at you with adoring eyes, is quick. his thumb meets the corner of your mouth. he wipes the cider away and his thumb lingers. fall is quiet. the kitchen stills. and he takes the chance to kiss you, stealing a cheeky taste of your shared creation. you look up at him and you watch his eyes crinkle at the corners. a slight tinge of red blooms on his cheeks. he leans in to kiss you again, fingers gently grazing your jaw. you taste of cinnamon and sugar and everything good in his life. your lips taste of the most intoxicating apple cider. fall can finally begin.

[smol-stardust]

Good kinds of tea for me to try??

I’m glad you asked, please, sit down while I ramble away about my beloved known as tea :)

(Disclaimer: some of teas I’m thinking of might be specific to brands I can get here so sorry if one piques your interest but isn’t available) Long list ahead

Herbal Teas:

Mixed Berry Teas

Rose hip tea

Honestly any fruit tea haha

Chamomile

Apple chamomile warm fuzzy happy feels

Apple Cinnamon

Lemon Zinger: cold relief and soothing zingy taste beloved

Sleepy Time: soothing minty and just calm

Candy Cane Mint Tea

Gingerbread (holiday tea) high in cinnamon and very calming and soul warming :)

Pomelo Tea If you can get like a jar of pomelo, and mix it with water or black tea it’s kinda sweet and tangy. And, sore throat soother :)

Caffeinated

Lavender White Tea (iced) it has a bit of a slight oily feel that’s hard to get used to at first. But if you like the scent of lavender you’ll like it.

Genmaicha (brown rice and green tea) it’s kind hot an earthy taste, not everyone’s cup of tea, but one of my personal favourites. Also boosts impunity and had many gut & health benefits :)

Strawberry black tea or green tea (make your own and shove in the fridge) 2 tea bags got 1L of water, add some lemon slices/juice and strawberry purée or juice (or pineapple juice :)

Peach Green Tea

CHAI CHAI CHAI!

^ Add some milk and cinnamon too if you want :)

MATCHA try osuicha (thinner, less thick and strong) first if you’ve never tried matcha

(but also… uh, white stores sell like one type so stick with about one to two thumb sized scoops) SORRY FOR THE SHADE! it’s kinda true tho

GREEN TEA (do not leave your teabags in past 2 minutes, gets bitter at that point)

Oolong (taste is strong. Not for everyone) have with milk and brown sugar tho! It’s good that way too :)

Rooibos with a dash maple syrup

Classic Orange Pekoe/ English Breakfast with milk

MISC CATEGORY

ICED BARLEY TEA (grew up on this stuff in Taiwan haha ) idk if they sell that stuff here, but I love the light sweetness and it’s got this cooling effect (hence why it’s a summer drink)

WINTER MELON TEA. sweet kinda syrupy Taiwanese must have. Sorry…I doubt you could get it overseas, but look out for the condensed chunky block forms at Asian markets maybe? To cook a batch at home

Anyways, long tea ramble!! Try some out and hope you like them :)

[timetraveltasting]

ARMOURED TURNIPS (15th c.)

I finally found some turnips at the grocery store after many weeks scouring farmer's markets and grocers in my area, so I was able to make this Tasting History recipe, which has been on my to-make list for several weeks now: Armoured Turnips, a 15th century version of potatoes au gratin. The recipe comes from De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine by Bartolomeo Sacchi, also known as Platina, and it was published in Renaissance Italy in 1499. A contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, this cookbook was actually one he owned! I chose to make this recipe because you can't often go wrong with a dish starring cheese and butter, and I thought it would be fascinating to try a dish that Leonardo da Vinci may have made himself. See Max’s video on how to make Armoured Turnips here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from his website.

My experience making it:

This recipe felt a lot less specific than some of the other historical ones I've made, especially in terms of ingredients. While Max used two probably very accurate cheeses to what Leonardo da Vinci would have had, I lazily decided to use two cheeses I knew would melt well and have a little taste, but not enough to overpower the dish: white cheddar and gouda. For my Poudre Douce, I used some spices that Max recommends, but I threw in a few of my own choosing. I used ginger, brown sugar, nutmeg, black pepper, clove, and cardamom. For the butter, I went a bit fancy and used some sea salt butter from Brittany. The turnips I used were three large, white ones. I didn't include the parts of them that seemed a little too fibrous.

I first peeled and boiled the turnips, then let them cool and chopped them into slices (not quite knife-blade thin, more like the size Max sliced them). I put together my spice mix, partially based on Max's recommendation, but adding in a few spices I enjoy to make it my own Poudre Douce. Individually, I'm not a big fan of each spice, but together they did smell very lovely. Layering the turnips, spices, cheese, and melted butter in the casserole dish was actually super fun, and quite satisfying. Despite the fact I would have needed more layers, I did wish I had listened to the instructions and cut the turnips thinner. I tossed the Armoured Turnips in the oven, and took it out once the cheese was bubbling and sizzling. I served it with some serrano ham and creamed cauliflower and broccoli. The butter pooled a little on top, and serving it was difficult, but impressive; one strand of cheese stretched about a metre!

My experience tasting it:

My first bite, though it contained turnip and spice, was mostly a mouthful of melted cheese. No complaints here! The cheese, like Max mentions, is really the star of this dish, and I can imagine that the taste of the dish would change drastically if you used different cheeses. Luckily, I think the white cheddar and gouda I chose suited the turnips and the spices nicely. I will admit, the spices really take a back seat in this dish, adding just a hint of flavour. The tunips themselves were cooked nicely and did suit their cheesy armour, but in future, I would slice them thinner in order to make the dish a little more cohesive (the turnips and cheese did separate from each other quite easily). While my husband and I both enjoyed Armoured Turnips, it is definitely a dish you only want to have a little of due to the amount of cheese and butter in it - not only for health reasons, but for the sheer decadence of flavour. In future, I would make this dish only once in a while, and even then, I might consider using potatoes instead of turnips, if only to absorb some of the butter so it doesn't look so absolutely artery-clogging. Still, I would consider this dish a keeper, but only for special occasions! If you end up making this dish, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Armoured Turnips original recipe (1499)

Sourced from De Honesta Voluptate et Valetudine by Bartolomeo Sacchi, AKA Platina, 1499.

Cut up boiled or ash roasted turnips; do the same with rich cheese, not too ripe, but make the cheese pieces thinner than the turnip. In a pan greased with butter or other fat, make a layer of cheese first, then one of turnips; repeat, pouring in spice and butter from time to time. It should be quickly cooked and quickly eaten.

Modern Recipe

Based on De honesta voluptate et validudine by Bartolomeo Sacchi, AKA Platina (1499), and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs (700 g) turnips, washed and peeled

3/4 lb (340 g) cheese, flavorful but not too strong, Max used Fontina and Taleggio

1 stick (110 g) salted butter, melted

Poudre douce*

*Poudre douce, or sweet powder, is a spice mixture that changed slightly from person to person. It typically was made of spices like clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and sometimes sugar.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).

Roast or boil the turnips. I cut mine in half because they were rather large, and boiled them for 15 minutes. Whether you roast or boil the turnips, don’t overcook them because they’ll get cooked more in a little bit. Let the turnips cool.

Slice the turnips “as thin as the spine of a knife”, and slice the cheese a bit thinner than that, as best you can.

Coat the bottom and sides of a small casserole dish with a little of the melted butter.

Place a layer of sliced cheese on the bottom of the dish, cover that with a layer of sliced turnip, then sprinkle a large pinch of the spice mixture over it and drizzle some of the melted butter over that. Repeat the layers of cheese, turnips, spice, then butter until the dish is full, and finish it off with a layer of cheese on top.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and starting to bubble around the sides.

Let it cool for 5 minutes, then serve it forth.

[anna-neko]

A SALES POST a la forever soup

a friend used to joke how anyone who’s friends with me long enuff will “cosplay as me” at some point**…. now you too can join that totalz not-exclusive group!

**by either gettin my hand-me downs Big Sister style, or literally borrowing my clothes for cosplay meets or cons

ElhofferDesign sweater-vests / lolita & kawaii fashion stuff / Maya Kern skirt / steampunk boots

✶✦..˚.　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. 　　　.   　˳·˖✶ ✦　

Elhoffer Design cute sweater-vests. both are XL size Zelda themed (triangle shell) Lord of the Rings themed (warrior maiden)

✦..˚.　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. 　　　.   　˳·˖✶ ✦　　 Ongoing Lace Market sales - link

✦..˚.　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. 　　　.   　˳·˖✶ ✦　　

unsold but still available

~ long black dress 2xl size ~ Milky Ange bishop-sleeves white blouse ~ Milky Ange 'sugar blue' XL size dress ~ Dandy Puppeteer star shower socks ~ Dandy Puppeteer glorious funeral socks ~ Witches Wings - star-charm shoes ~ Haenuli x MossBadger Mystic Wandering Spirit collab dress set ~ Lady Sloth spookygotchi skirt 3xl size ~ handmade Summer Lemonade skirt

✶✦..˚.　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. 　　　.   　˳·˖✶ ✦　　　

BROWN BOOTS!

I've worn them with cosplay, I've worn 'em with frills! They really add that bit of steampunk or classic feel to an outfit if need be, ya know?

'offbrand' (aka an American brand) size US 7 1/2 (were brand-new in 2008) Zipper is legit, the textures are cool, the buckles do nothing

[michameinmicha]

2, 5, 11 & 32? c:

Hello :)

2. Do you drink tea or coffee? How do you take it?  i drink coffee every day (with milk) but im not super into the taste, its mostly just for the caffeine. I like tea too, some faves are earl grey (with milk, sometimes sugar) chamomile and peppermint (both with nothing) and this one chistmasy-blend called kaminfeuertee which you only get in the autumn market and is very special to me <3 (with sugar) But yeah there are so many good teas!

5. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?  Yeah i have one of those ikea sharks (hes all out of shape by now, hes old but i love him, cause hes the perfect size to hug) and a smaller polar bear that i borrowed from my mum last year when my cat died. The bear lays where the cat used to sleep next to my head :,3

11. What color are your eyes?  i think it's a brown-ish green-ish mix? nothing special, but i like it

32. If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?  uhhhhhhh my first response is 'my bed' because its such a sleepy feeling day today, but if i'm trying to think bigger i'd say the beach? any beach tbh. i haven't seen the sea in years and i miss it a lot. would love to be at the beach and play in the sand and smell the salty air!

thank you for the questions! <3

[nanoland]

i’m publishing a new book! here’s the first chapter!

Dough is a contemporary M/F small town romance that’ll be available for purchase on December 23rd; HOWEVER! you can, if you like, preorder it right now, as preordering is a way of helping out independent creators like myself who don’t have a marketing department at our disposal. i’d be really, really grateful if you did. 

here is the link! 

and here, as promised, is the first chapter: 

Chapter 1

Lucy Laufenberg’s Christmas display was, once again, the talk of the town.

Last year, she’d constructed an entire cookie forest, with wafer trees and coconut snow, through which a herd of gingerbread reindeer cavorted – one with a fat juicy cherry on its snout – their respective positions and size carefully calculated to create the illusion of depth. An architecturally-accurate cabin of pocky and marzipan had nestled in the background, a snickerdoodle pathway leading up to its front door, beside which stood a beaming fondant Mrs Claus.

Adorable, her customers had said.

Genius, the mayor had said when he’d come round for a photo op.

A waste of God-given talent, Pastor Carl of the local megachurch had said in reaction to the banner she’d put up over the display reading ‘Happy Holidays!’, and she was proudest of that.

This year, just to really fuck with Pastor Carl and his Facebook Flat Earth freakshow, the theme was cosmology. The Earth, a marzipan geoid, orbited a sun made from yellow cake, both elevated by thin, transparent plastic rods to seemingly hover against a black liquorice backdrop. The stars were one hundred and seventeen vanilla cookies, nestled amongst nebulas crafted from purple-pink candyfloss and dark chocolate pizzelle singularities.

To render her creation adequately festive, she’d added a bright red fondant sleigh being pulled by a fondant rocket ship, racing a pair of gumdrop meteors.

“Heck, kiddo,” said her Dad when she texted him a picture. “Guess that engineering degree wasn’t a total waste after all!”

The inevitable self-loathing spiral that line would have usually initiated was, thankfully, quickly cancelled out by the already-existing spiral of anxiety she’d been caught in all morning.

The magazine people were coming round at noon.

There would be photographs taken.

In between shovelling batches in and out of the oven, she’d dusted and polished every last inch of the shop. While one hand was giving a customer change and handing over a dozen hot croissants in a brown bag, the other was applying Tarte Maneater Voluptuous Mascara. When Antoinette arrived, dapper as ever in her waistcoat and tweed hat, Lucy left her in charge while she ducked into the kitchen to finish bullying her dense brown locks into an Amy Winehouse-style beehive decorated with delicate snowflake hairpins.

“Very nice,” said Antoinette, her white sleeves already rolled up and busy placing shortbread triangles into a pale peach box emblazoned with their looping logo: The Sugar Palace.

Lucy glanced at one of the six full-length mirrors that lined the shop’s walls to make it look bigger than it was, studying her gold nails, sparkling heels, and very favourite cute, deep green babydoll dress with frills and big, functionless wooden buttons running down the front, currently obscured by her apron. “Not too much?”

Her best friend and staunchest ally was firm: “No such thing as too much. You’re a goddess.”

“Aw.”

“Feel good? Feel powerful?”

“Yeah. Totally. Totally powerful.”

“Good. Now, there’s your coffee. Have a sip, then process what I’m about to tell you with patience and decorum.”

One month older than her, Antoinette Reynolds was the only childhood accomplice who’d stuck with Lucy all these years and Lucy was still ashamed that it had taken her so long to recognise that she had anorexia – long enough that her by-then business partner, ever proud and fiercely independent, had been well into her first battle with recovery when the truth had come out. The last half decade had brought marked improvement for them both, health-wise, though Lucy was still compelled by habit to check with a glance how brittle Antoinette’s nails were looking as she gently placed the mug in Lucy’s hands.  

Lucy shut her eyes. Took a sip. Set the mug back down. “I’m prepared.”

“He’s back.”

“Back?” she hissed, spinning towards the shop’s front window. “No! No, no, no! He’s visiting his grandma in Atlanta! He’s not due back until tomorrow!”

Though her cookie cosmos partially obscured her view, through the candyfloss clouds and gleaming glass she could just about make out a thirty-year-old pickup with duct tape where its back window should have been and thick mud coating its tires. “Dammit. This is not okay, Ant. I went out of my way to ask his brother when he’d be back. The magazine people can’t see him. Absolutely not.”

Antoinette sighed, absently brushing a strand of her artfully messy bob out of her eyes. “Lucy, I get it. I do. This sucks. It’s a blow. But let’s be rational here, right, and let’s not make any hasty… Lucy?”

Lucy was already out the door.

He’s not getting away with this, dammit. He’s not. 

0   

Her holiday displays were only one of many ways Lucy worked her ass off turning her little shop into the cutest thing this side of town.

The front of the building was painted duck-egg blue with creamy yellow stripes. Dense flowering bushes grew in wooden tubs on either side of the main window, dribbling purple petals everywhere. A small cobblestone path meandered down to the road, flanked by a dozen lawn flamingos wearing bonnets and berets. Off to the side stood a perfectly-pruned lemon tree from which hung a charming handmade birdfeeder.

To be clear: Lucy hadn’t been trying to make the colourless, featureless block across the road crummy by comparison. If anything, she’d been trying to draw attention away from its dowdiness.

Alas, the result was the same. As The Sugar Palace had blossomed, Murkins’ Laundromat had become ever greyer and meaner-looking.

(As had its owner, Antoinette was fond of saying.)

But you couldn’t get to Strut Murkins without first wading through an army of half-feral relatives.

A grubby adolescent nephew, Kyle or something, sat warming his ass on the pavement next to the truck like he was guarding it – like there was a single human on Planet Earth who might want to steal it – and smoking a cigarette Lucy tore right out of his mouth as she passed.

He leapt up with a strangled ‘The fuck? Bitch!’ that elicited an amused chortle from the tall man with the world’s most God-forsaken mullet striding out the front door carrying a bulging garbage bag; Bronco, Strut’s younger brother by a decade, twenty-something and looking, as per usual, like he’d spent the morning traipsing around the woods.

(Maybe he had. Rumour had it he was a poacher.)

Getting in Bronco’s face, Lucy snarled, “You let the kid smoke? He’s a child, for God’s sake.”

She punctuated her sentence by throwing the cigarette on the ground and stomping on it, her sparkling heels failing to deliver the decisive ‘thud’ she’d have preferred.

“Hell with you, lady!” Kyle screeched.

Bronco shrugged, which was his default response to everything. “Eh. He’s a li’l shit.”

Then something else, low and incomprehensible as he glanced away. Like her, the Murkins clan wasn’t from round these parts. Some trailer park in Alabama – that was the rumour. Their accents supported it. Lucy got the distinct impression that those accents thickened, quite deliberately, when they were talking to people they didn’t like.

“You said your brother wouldn’t be back until Wednesday,” she insisted.  

Another shrug. “Strut does what he likes.”

Bronco resumed walking, flicking his fuming nephew’s ear as he went by. Gritting her teeth, Lucy stepped inside the laundromat and was instantly assaulted by the only thing worse than holiday carols; holiday bro country.  

‘That Christmas tree ain’t the only thing getting lit this year!’ sang FGL, making her wish she’d brought a baseball bat.

The twins were perched like exotic birds atop a tumble dryer, all gangly limbs and bangles, Priss painting her nails black while Barb groped her own left breast.

“Would you cut that out? Customers gonna think you’re a perv,” sneered Priss, tossing back her long bottle-blonde hair.

Barb, drabber and with a buzz cut, snapped, “The internet said this is how you do it! Catch ‘em early and the doctors can zap ‘em with a laser. Catch ‘em late and they gotta hack your tits clean off. I’m being fucking responsible, you whore. And you should be, too! You wanna work in Hollywood one day, yeah? How’re you gonna do that if they’ve hacked off your tits? Not like you’ve got anything else going for you.”

“Where’s Strut?” Lucy interrupted, before they could descend into one of their habitual screaming matches.

Seemingly at the sound of her voice, the baby, playing in a plastic laundry basket placed below the twins’ dangling feet, started to cry. Dee, real name Dorothy-Amber-Leslie Murkins, was the only member of the family with big, beautiful green eyes, doe-like and dewy. Everyone else’s were blue and squinty. Lucy endured ten seconds of silent, identical squints before giving up and stalking over to the back room.

“He’s busy!” Barb called.

“So am I,” muttered Lucy, pushing the door open and finding Strut Murkins standing there with his dick out, pissing into an empty Coke bottle.

Stream unfaltering, he growled, “Y’all mind?”

He was a broad man with close-cropped dirty blond hair whose body language had two settings – looming and skulking – and was, Lucy guessed, somewhere between forty and forty-five, with deep frown lines and thin lips prone to curling.

“Told you he was busy!” Barb chimed as Priss cackled. Evil little rats.

They all expected her to clutch her pearls and flee. Damned if she’d give them the satisfaction.

“A word, Mr Murkins,” she said icily, glaring at the bottle, because what was the alternative? Pretend it wasn’t there? “Please.”

At last, the stream trailed off.

Strut gave his dick a brisk shake before tucking it back into his pants and screwing the cap back on the bottle. “No time to chatter today, girlie. Some of us work for a living.”

He put the bottle down on the floor, just close enough to Lucy’s feet that its contents would splatter all over her shoes if it toppled.

Her eyelid twitched. Behind her, Dee was still wailing, atonal and shrill. “You have a bathroom.”

“Toilet’s fucked. Plumber won’t be here ‘til late afternoon. Nothing be done about it,” he informed her airily, then added, with a nasty grin, “unless a fine, charitable person like yourself feels inclined to let us use the one in your shop?”

Inspecting her nails, she said, “Mm. I’m afraid that won’t be possible today. Photographers from Transcendentally Domestic will be coming by. The shop needs to be pristine. The whole street, ideally. That’s why I’d appreciate it if you’d move your truck to somewhere a touch more discrete.”

She’d deliberately adopted her snootiest voice, knowing that it was the fastest way to piss Strut off and that pissing him off was the fastest way to getting what you wanted out of him. He’d explode, call you names, make threats, and then Bronco or the twins would reluctantly intervene and tell him to chill out and cooperate before someone called the damn police.

The police, she’d noticed, were the only people, the only entity that not a single member of the family cared to fuck with. Antoinette’s leading theory was that Strut used the laundromat to smuggle cocaine in and out of town.

True to form, storm clouds were already gathering on Strut’s face.

“Hell’s wrong with my truck?” he growled. “That’s my legal goddamn property. Can park it wherever the fuck I like, thank you oh so very much.”

“Well, no. You can park it where the law says you can park it. Now, at the moment, where it’s parked wouldn’t be a problem – if it weren’t for the picture, Mr Murkins. I believe we’ve already had a conversation about the picture.”

Dee unleashed a particularly piercing cry and Strut cursed and stuck his head out the door to yell, “Brats! Y’all deaf? Feed the fuckin’ baby!”

“Already did!” Barb hollered back.

“Then check her fuckin’ diaper!”

He turned back to Lucy with folded arms and a sneer. “Picture on the truck’s a damn masterpiece. Took Bronco three days to spray paint that shit on.”

“No, it didn’t. It’s an anime mermaid with comically huge breasts. It looks like it took half an hour and as I have told you before, it’s not in keeping with the neighbourhood’s tone. I run a bakery renowned for its cookies and sweets, Strut. I have little, impressionable children coming in every hour of the day. What will their parents think, seeing that… that monstrosity?”

“Eh. Frankly, you got off lightly,” he drawled with a shrug. “Bronco’s a furry. He wanted to make her a sexy fox ‘til I put my foot down.”

“Regardless. Please move the truck. At least until the magazine folks have come and gone. Then you can move it back, with my blessing.”

She graced him with a tight smile.

Scratching his stubble and pursing his lips, he said, “They’re gonna – what? Do an article ‘bout that weirdass school science project you got in your window? Why? Who gives a shit?”

Prick.

“Transcendentally Domestic is currently putting together a series on small female-owned businesses and the challenges of managing a start-up in this economic climate. It’s actually very interesting.”

Bronco burst into the room, almost knocking over the piss bottle and brandishing a phone. “Strut! Call for you. Think it’s Sergio.”

Taking it, Strut gave her a final glance, grunted, “Answer’s no,” and stalked out.

“Your lesbian friend’s looking for you,” Bronco told her, oblivious to her clenched fists and gritted teeth. “Says the magazine woman’s here.”

[cacaonnoisseur]

Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) in a bowl and set aside

Mix wet ingredients (butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla) in a large bowl until creamy

Mix in eggs, one at a time

Slowly mix in dry ingredients from bowl

Stir in chocolate chips and nuts with a spoon

Place tablespoon-sized drops of dough onto a baking sheet

Bake at 375 degrees Farenheit for 10 minutes

Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes, remove and place on cooling rack

Amidst the throes of the Great Depression, Americans were without many of life’s small pleasures. Ingredients were harder to come by because of sinking wages and work opportunities, so most of the 1930s were characterized by cheap, rationed meals of essential nutrients. In 1938, the popularization of the chocolate chip cookie was a much needed relief for many families craving an easy, inexpensive treat to satisfy children and adults alike. From a supposed happy accident to the icon of the Nestlé company, the history of the chocolate chip cookie reveals how a local favorite has the potential to explode in popularity onto a national level.

The most common tale of the creation of the chocolate chip cookie is attributed to Ruth Wakefield, the owner and operator of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts. The story goes that Wakefield had run out of an ingredient (some sources claim it was nuts, others say butter) for her existing ice cream cookie recipe, and in a pinch, she chopped up a chocolate bar and added it to the dough instead. It is said that this last-minute improvisation was so successful that it became a permanent recipe in the kitchen, and soon after gained national fame.(1) However, as is common when exploring the origin of well-known innovations, there were some embellishments to the tale throughout its history. The true story of this delicious creation likely has less to do with coincidence and more to do with baking knowledge and business savvy.

Ruth Wakefield deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the popularization of the chocolate chip cookie, but evidence suggests that when she served them for the first time, similar cookies were already on the market in some places. As early as 1928, newspaper advertisements for a cookie that, for all intents and purposes, resembles the chocolate chip cookie were being circulated, meaning they were a delicacy already being sold in some bakeries and inns.(2) In that period, chocolate was more accessible than ever with cocoa powder on grocery store shelves, so naturally chocolate was slowly finding its place among common baked goods. As the culinary world increasingly embraced chocolate, innovative chefs like Wakefield added it into recipes for existing treats. Though she was not the sole inventor of the chocolate chip cookie, Wakefield’s real story is emblematic of the circumstances of the time, and the process by which the cookie was created. 

The Toll House Inn, opened in 1930, was a small restaurant that Ruth Wakefield owned with her husband, Kenneth, which served travelers and locals alike. With her college education as a dietician and experience as a chef, Wakefield’s menu appealed to the masses, especially her hand-crafted desserts. The particular cookie that Wakefield first added “chipped” chocolate to was meant to accompany ice cream, a kind of drop cookie that was a crunchy side dish to compliment the smoothness of ice cream.(3) It is unlikely that the circumstances leading up to Wakefield’s famous “Chocolate Crunch Cookie,” which was published in her 1938 “Tried and True” cookbook, were anything but the result of baking skill and purposeful creation.(4) The simple yet delectable treat was a massive success, and the Toll House Inn boasted the patronage of names like Eleanor Roosevelt and Joe DiMaggio stopping in to try Wakefield’s chocolate chip cookies.(5) The true popularity boom came when Betty Crocker featured the recipe for Toll House chocolate chip cookies on her radio show, giving Americans a twist on a dessert made of inexpensive and widely available goods. In 1939, the Nestlé company acquired the recipe and the Toll House name from the Wakefields in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate and, arbitrarily, one dollar.(6)

The social importance of chocolate chip cookies was concretely verified during the years after the Nestlé deal, as the beginning of World War Two sent Americans overseas by the thousands. Soldiers in other countries craved a piece of home during their time away, and chocolate chip cookies became a staple of care packages sent to Europe and the Pacific Theater. Seeing an opportunity for profit, Nestlé and other chocolate companies ran advertisements encouraging women to bake cookies with what little chocolate was available to send overseas: “for that soldier boy of yours.”(7) 

As chocolate chip cookies were being sent abroad, they were cemented into the minds of Americans as something to comfort us in hard times, just as they did during the Great Depression years before. The chocolate chip cookie, with its cheap ingredients, simple baking process, and warm, spirit-lifting sweetness, has defined the tastes of Americans since its creation in the early 20th century. The story of the Toll House Inn is representative of the kind of innovations that Americans were creating in the face of a massive financial depression, and how innovation is sometimes rewarded with national acclaim.

Jon Michaud, “Sweet Morsels: A History of the Chocolate Chip Cookie,” The New Yorker, December 19th, 2013, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/sweet-morsels-a-history-of-the-chocolate-chip-cookie

Claudia Geib, “The Best Known Chocolate Chip Cookie Origin is a Myth,” Eater, April 21st, 2022, https://www.eater.com/23033968/toll-house-chocolate-chip-cookie-myth

Claudia Geib, “The Best Known Chocolate Chip Cookie Origin is a Myth”

The Sugar Association, “The History of the Chocolate Chip Cookie,” Sugar.org, March, 2020, https://www.sugar.org/blog/the-history-of-the-chocolate-chip-cookie/#:~:text=The%20original%20recipe%20was%20created,intended%20to%20accompany%20ice%20cream.

Claudia Geib, “The Best Known Chocolate Chip Cookie Origin is a Myth”

Jon Michaud, “Sweet Morsels: A History of the Chocolate Chip Cookie”

Jon Michaud, “Sweet Morsels: A History of the Chocolate Chip Cookie”

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Pherusa (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- The Golly Goddess, Bearer of Fruits by the people of Olympius

Mom by her daughters

Age- 37 (immortal)

Location- Arcadia, Olympius

Personality- She's a bubbly goddess with a carefree aura. She's creative, free-spirited, & close to nature. She's a lesbian and is casually dating.

She has the standard abilities of a goddess except shapeshifting. As the goddess of substance & farm estates her other powers/abilities include karpokinesis (fruit manipulation/generation), juice manipulation, limited photokinesis, being able to telekinetically control farming equipment, limited chlorokinesis (as it pertains to hay & grass), and limited atmokinesis.

Pherusa is the mother of the seasonal goddesses- Thallo (goddess of spring & new growth), Auxo (goddess of summer, vegetation, & plants), and Carpo (goddess of autumn & fruits).

She lives in the state of Arcadia in a french style cottage. There's a few acres of farmland along with a LARGE orchard (meant for fruit production). The interior design of the cottage is very romantic and provençal with a mix of vintage and country furniture pieces, a color palette of cream, beige, tawny, pale blue, & pastel yellow, artwork with pastural or natural themes, natural hardwood flooring, and toile de juoy patterns on wallpaper & curtains.

In addition to the farm animals, she has an animal companion- a female griffin named Honey. Honey is Pherusa's usual mode of transportation when traveling great distances, like visiting her daughters in New Olympus or visiting faraway friends. She mostly gets around in her classic 70's style bright orange VW beetle.

She always starts of her mornings with a session of yoga.

Instead of lotion, she moisturizes her skin with coconut oil.

Pherusa loves her "chickadees." She doesn't play favorites and loves her daughters equally. Pherusa not only makes it a priority to spend time as a family, but also individually- whether it's surfing with Auxo, bike riding with Thallo, or going to the farmer's market with Carpo. They also play music together with Pherusa being a featured artist on The Gypsy Belles' bonus track "Prairie Poets" on their album A Vintage Year.

She can play the acoustic guitar, autoharp, & the dobro!

A typical breakfast for her is belgian style whole grain waffles topped with cottage cheese, sauteed apples, maple syrup, and cinnamon sugar along with a fruit salad parfait & scrambled eggs added with sausage, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. She also likes several slices of lightly toasted white bread topped with butter & different kinds of fruit marmalades. From her own cereal brand her favorites are the summer berries flavor, the vanilla spice flakes, the apple cinnamon o's, and the oatmeal peanut butter.

Pherusa keeps her red hair in a neck length lob. She likes the Glory's Crown citrus and herbal musk shampoo & conditioner as well as the apricot oil hair spray.

Instead of perfume, she prefers to use fruit essential oils (behind her ears, inside her wrists, on her ankles, between her bosom, and on the side of her neck). Her favorite essential oils are the pink grapefruit, passionfruit, cherry, & apple.

Pherusa's closet consists of form hugging dresses, wedges, platform sandals, flowy mini skirts, bright colors, bold patterns, high waisted flare pants, and peasant blouses.

A go-to drink for her is her homemade carrot juice. She also likes coconut water, watermelon juice, citrus infused mineral water, iced tea, peach lemonade, ginger ale, pomegranate tea, lychee-passionfruit boba tea, red sangrias, aperol spritzes, orange soda, appletinis, cherry sazeracs, seabreeze cocktails, and champagne. Usuals from The Roasted Bean include a large iced green tea & an olympian sized fruit punch splash.

Pherusa's favorite makeup products to use is the Olmorfia blush powder in "strawberry crush", the plumping lip glaze in "persimmon" (a bold reddish brown), and the Museology UV liquid eyeliner in "electric shock", a bright neon yellow.

Her ultimate guilty pleasure is a large pizza topped with pineapple, yellow peppers, & jalapeños.

Pherusa's primary source of income comes from her cereal brand Golly Grains, the 2nd most popular after Earthly Harvest. Golly Grains' animated commercials and online ads are quite popular as well as its slogan- "A golly way to start your day!" To help out her daughters, she models for their clothing brand Treis Epochés.

From The Bread Box, she likes the chicken salad sandwich along with a watermelon feta salad.

Some of her favorite frozen treats include pineapple coconut ice cream, mango sorbet, and pomegranate sorbet.

In the pantheon Pherusa has a deep friendship with most of the agricultural deities like Demeter (goddess of the harvest & agriculture) and Eunostos & Promylaia (goddesses of the flour mill). Pherusa is the noná to Krysothemis (Kristy), the daughter of Karmanor (demi-god of the harvest). Her best friend is his sister Karme (demi-goddess of the harvest). Pherusa loves traveling to Eleusis to see her, looking forward to her delicious corn pudding! She even views Eubouleus (god of the swine & ploughing) as a father figure.

She's also friends with Kéfi (goddess of mirth), Apheleia (goddess of simplicity), Oeno (goddess of berries & wine), Thilasmós (goddess of nursing), Anatole (goddess of sunrise), Damia (goddess of naturalness), Elais (goddess of oil), Spermo (goddess of grains), Nymphe (goddess of self-care), Rhapso (goddess of sewing), Hestia (goddess of the hearth), Philotes (goddess of sex, friendship, & affection), Pan (god of the wild, satyrs, shepherds, & rustic music), Livádi (goddess of meadows), Eváeros (goddess of air & the zodiacs), and Záchari (god of confectionery).

She loves snacking on plaintain chips.

Her and Thilasmós often bond over about the attention and comments they get due to their ample chests.

Pherusa went to New Olympus Fashion Week for the first time last year when Rhapso got her & Eváeros exclusive front-row tickets.

She appeared once in a nude spread for Zeus' mens' magazine. Her photoshoot "broke the internet" for a few minutes when the images made its way on Fatestagram.

Some of her favorite desserts are Záchari's honeyed fig crostatas (dusted on top with an extra helping of powdered sugar), Eváeros' ambrosia salad, Karme's peach bourbon upside-down bundt cake, and the orange lemon pound cake from Hollyhock's Bakery.

As for her love life, Pherusa is enjoying her singledom and meeting new people. Her last serious relationship was with an anthousai named Amaryllis. Pherusa has a few dating apps on her smartphone- also having gone out on more than one date with a maenad named Rhiannon.

A couple of months ago Pherusa flew to Cyprus to hang out with Philotes. They had fun at a nightclub, got a bit tipsy, and ended up making out on the dancefloor. Things got steamier when Philotes went down on her in the nightclub's bathroom. Days later, Philotes reached out to her to "clear the air" with them admitting their attraction to each other. Pherusa was taken aback when Philotes offered up the idea to sleep with each other while her husband Priapus (god of fertility, vegetable gardens, livestock, sexuality, & masculinity) watches, without participating. She hasn't given her an answer yet.

Pherusa has a growing collection of Diamond Ave. fruit themed jeweled clutches. She herself was able to get the orange slice one (which costs 4,000 drachmas) while Karme got her the peach shaped one. As a summer solstice gift last year, Rhapso got her the pineapple shaped one!

In her free time she enjoys sunbathing, gardening, swimming, cooking, baking, bike riding, reading, shopping, spending time with her daughters, golf, fishing, and spending time with her friends.

Her favorite meals include chilled peach soup with fresh goat cheese, roasted lamb chops with a cherry glaze, and coconut chicken curry with white rice.

"If you eat today, thank a farmer."

[ladyfly]

Tennessee Whiskey PT1 Eclipse

The inspiration for this piece is this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zAThXFOy2c&list=LL&index=3 It's Chris Stapleton - Tennessee Whiskey 

You had just moved to a small rural town in Tennessee. The Veterinary Clinic in town needed a new large animal specialist. The hustle and bustle of the city was exhausting. The rude people and hostile atmosphere had worn you down. Not to mention no one where you lived was romantically interested in you.

You were optimistic that moving was the right choice. Not only for your mental health, but your social life too. At the very least you would make some new friends. Out of all your old friends, only one supported your move. The rest acted like you abandoned them or something.

You had managed to find yourself a nice one bedroom home. The house had a living room dining room combo, a full bathroom, the bedroom, a small attic space, and a garage. It sat on one acre of land and had a tiny flower garden. Just the right size for you and a potential pet.

You were thinking a hermit crab. Or maybe some exotic fish? Heck even regular fish would be cool. Some tetras and goldfish. Maybe little shrimp friends. You wanted to get a little more settled before going for something that would need more care. Like a dog, cat, or ferret.

Moving in was easy enough. You didn't have a lot of things to bring with you. Some furniture, clothes, and kitchen essentials. The home was basically a blank canvas for you to decorate! You were excited about it. It helped everything feel like a fresh start. Far from the apartment you used to live in.

The vet practice you got a job with is nice. They have two veterinarians to work in the building. Most of what your job will be is farm calls. There are several ranches, farms, and stables in the area. You were looking forwards to spending time outside tending to animals.

You had two weeks before work started. You planned for this for your mental health. A nice vacation. It also gave you a chance to get to know the area and it's people. It was strange. On average people were a bit mean but willing to help you. That's not to say everyone was a jerk. No there were a lot of nice people.

It was four days into your vacation that you decided to check out the nightlife the small town had to offer. Aside from the standard nightlife fair. A night market happened twice a month on Friday and Saturday night. You found yourself in a repetitively busy bar called "Springers".

It was a country bar. Definitely a refreshing sight from the nightclubs you were used to. There was only so many flashing lights you could stand. The inside of the bar was glorious. A large rectangular bar with a rainbow of liqueurs. Hardwood floors made a pleasing sound as you walked on them.

Brown leather bar stools dotted the bar. About ten tables sat across from the bar with a dance floor between them. Sitting in a corner by the bathrooms was a jukebox. You could smell burgers and other bar food wafting from the bar area. You decided to sit at the bar for food and drink.

The bartender was an older woman with her silvery hair in a french braid. A caramel tan and brown eyes. Calloused wrinkled hands and a kind face. She looks like she used to do hard labor. Given the area you wouldn't be surprised if she worked on a farm at some point in her life.

You sat down on a stool with an empty space on either side. The smell of burgers was drawing you in. The bartender handed you a menu before tending to another customer. Looking it over you decided on a bacon cheddar burger with fried pickles and a whiskey sour sounds perfect.

The woman returns "Sorry bout' that sugar. I'm Mary. What can I get you?"

You smile "It's fine. I'd like the bacon cheddar burger with a side of fried pickles. I'd also like a whiskey sour."

Mary jots down your order "Pale or smokey on the drink?"

You grin "Ooo smokey please!"

She nods "Alright! I'll be back in a moment with your drink."

You spin around on your stool to look around the room. At one table are a mouse and a dog animatronic. The mouse is grey with a purple dress and the dog is blond with a green dress. Several couples dance together on the dance floor. Another table had five men chatting away.

You spun back around as your drink was set down "You must be new around here. Never seen you before."

You nod "I moved here a few days ago. I like it here."

Mary nods "Your food will be out in a moment. I hope you have a good time here."

You sip your smokey whiskey sour. It's divine! You know you are going to want one more after this one. Maybe even two! But no more than that. You get the feeling someone is watching you. A quick glance around the bar show no one looking. Not that you're paranoid. You just want to know whose interested.

Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" plays from the jukebox. You can't help humming along. Your burger and pickles are placed in front of you. You happily wiggle in place at the food. A wide grin on your face. You thank Mary and take a big bite of food. It's so good you let out a soft moan. The drink pairs well with it.

A low gravely voice with a light southern accent rumbles out "Well, hello there darlin'. Ah haven't seen you around before."

His voice reminds you of Luke Taylor. You turn to look at whoever is talking to you. It's an animatronic that looks like the sun. He has four five inch rays in eggplant and nine smaller rays in burnt umber. His eyes are a soft moonlight yellow. He has four arms each of which are ombre.

Starting burnt umber and ending in eggplant. Two are on his shoulders and two just above his hips. Eclipse is seven feet five inches tall, if you include his rays. Denim wrangler jeans with a plaid dusty green button down. A black stetson hat on his head and dark brown leather boots finish his look off.

You swallow your mouthful of burger "Oh! Uh. Yes! I'm new here. Just moved a few days ago!" You take a sip of your drink and tell him your name "It's nice to meet you..."

The man shakes his head "Mercy me! I forgot to tell you my name! I'm Eclipse. What's a sweet little thing like you doin' here all by yourself? Your partner at home?"

You shake your head "Naw. Don't have a partner." You want to say a flirty line but you are nervous about it.

Eclipse smiles "Well then. Mind if ah join you?"

You pat the seat next to you "Long as you don't mind me finishing my food. Otherwise you can leave because I'm hungry."

Eclipse lets out a hearty laugh "Oh! We wouldn't want you ta go hungry now! Say, let me buy you another drink."

You snicker and pop a pickle into your mouth "You flirting with me?"

Eclipse leans forward "Well that depends. Is it working?"

You think hard for a moment. IS it working? He is attractive.... but you don't do one night stands. You have to get to know someone first. Fall in love first. You can't just bang every Tom, Dick, and Janey that bats an eye at you.

You smile warily "A few things you should know up front. I don't do one night stands. I have to be in love with you to .... have sex. It's not that I'm a prude or anything. I'm Demisexual." You shrug.

Eclipse leans on the bar resting his head in his hand "We'll ah don't think that's an issue. My father- er! Creator used to tell us growin' up that the best things in life are worth waitin' for. Even if they take some effort." You must have made a face because Eclipse continues "I have two... Well we aren't brothers but we are a family! Moon is the youngest by a few minutes, Sun is the middle, and ah'm the oldest. We run a cattle ranch! Sometimes we board horses."

You sip your drink "Well! I'm the new vet who's going to take care of your animals. Also, your flirting is working. At least a little."

Eclipse smiles "Well! I'll take a little over none! Ah look forward to seein' you on the ranch. Although Ah'd rather see you at my dinner table."

You point to the burger "Too bad I already have this." You shrug again and playfully state "I guess that means I HAVE to come to dinner some time. Alternatively you COULD come to mine. You do eat right?"

Eclipse nods "Yep! The three of us got those bio-mechanical upgrade to eat and drink! Although we don't have to."

You look down at his stomach "That's so cool."

Eclipse chuckles and pats his belly "Ah'll have to show you some time! When we get to know each other better. Ah don't just show this to anyone you know." He waves to the bartender and points to your drink indicating two.

'Lyin' Eyes' by The Eagles starts and you let out a gasp before singing along quietly "City girls just seem to find out early. How to open doors with just a smile. A rich old man, and she won't have to worry." You catch yourself "Sorry! My... my dad loves this band. I love The Eagles too."

Eclipse takes you by the hand "Nothin' wrong with that! 's a good song. So, if ah may ask. What brings you ta Tennessee?"

You eat another pickle, you finished the burger already, "Honestly? City life was exhausting! It took a tole on my mental health. Moved here instead! So far I'm doing heaps better! And who knew I'd meet such a handsome... I'm sorry, what are your pronouns?"

Eclipse takes a sip of his new drink after the bartender sets it down "He, him, they, them, and it. What about you sweetheart?"

You nod "They and them."

Eclipse takes another sip of his drink "You have a great taste in drinks! Wonder what else you have great taste in."

You look at him out of the corner of your eye "Well, I'm talking to you aren't I?"

His eyes go wide for a brief moment "Wait here a moment will ya. Gotta change the song."

[atinyladybug-daydreams]

Boba Flavour Profile, Thoughts and Tips

Something something a list to organise my boba flavours and shit. Not ranked yet. Just organising flavour profile, explaining flavour and giving tips. Feel free to reblog with your additions, tips and commentary. I don't mind reblogging with commentary or using tags. I'll read all.

Keep in mind that I am not specifically talking about the bigger branded ones like Chattime or Each-A-Cup but instead Night Market ones. Not sure if this tip can extend to Mall and Branded Boba stalls but can be attempted if available.

All is based on my own opinion and experience.

List of good/decent boba tea flavours:

Original pearl milk tea - tastes like teh tarik in a sense. OG is good. The boba balls absorb flavour well

Champagne - it's blue and good. Non-alcoholic and refreshing. Not too sweet or sour.

Strawberry (Sour) - imagine strawberry ice cream but with boba. Sometimes has the seeds texture in it. Good texture

Ice cream - it's blue. Tastes good. My comfort drink for a few years before I started trying other stuff. Haven't tasted it in a while so I forgot the exact taste of it but it's close with champagne

Butterfly Pea - sour aligned. Think lemon but pretty and very refreshing. Great for sunny and hot afternoons

Brazil Cuppocino - to summarise, coffee with boba. Can feel weird cause it's like drinking iced coffee but with extra texture (ice blended and boba). Pretty okay. Not sure if it gives caffeine side effects since I have no idea how caffeine affects me.

Lavender - imagine perfume but as a drink and with boba. Extra points for literally tasting gay. Also the drink is purple

List of boba tea flavours to avoid:

Mint - it's like drinking toothpaste. Very minty and sharp.

Brown sugar - way too sweet (good for people who has a sweet tooth tho)

List of flavours to try:

Matcha

Mocha

Chocolate

Peach?

Other Tips/Misc. Notes:

Do NOT drink boba with milk during/before/after meal time. It will actually make you feel really REALLY full and sick. Milk is known to make you full. I made that mistake. Don't.

Also I don't know about types of milk affecting the taste of boba. Like almond milk and stuff. Never had that before and I don't drink boba with milk. Reblog your addition with results if you start experimenting. I'm curious.

Try the smallest size first to get used to the drink and flavour. Also cause it's cheaper and not that big of a waste if you hate the taste

Boba pearls can be switched out to jelly if you don't like boba pearls. There's other options for pearls too.

Switching boba pearls to other options can and will change the entire experience of a drink since some has flavours and different textures (jelly tends to be harder and sour aligned while the red exploding ones kinda burst and also tastes sour).

Liking a flavour in something else does not necessarily mean you'll like it in boba. Taste really become different. (I love mint but god fuck mint boba.)

Drink comes either ice-blended or regularly iced. I personally like ice-blended cause I think regularly iced kinda affects the taste when the ice melts but could try to experiment what you prefer.

Put your drink in the freezer when you're not drinking it. Reminder not to forget about it.

[plotholes-and-spellingerrors]

I want to highlight something, because I'm seeing a conflation between this "AI" system and "AI art" (as being part of the AI spectrum on the whole) and I want to reiterate that these are really, really different technologies. "AI" Is not a technology! It's a marketing term that is applied to basically any computer-automated system these days to get that sweet, sweet VC money.

First of all, here's an article talking about BakeryScan. I'm pretty sure it's the article in the original screenshot.

The "AI" being talking about in this article began being developed in 2007 - back when ideas like Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Neural Networks (the mathematical and computational ideas on which modern generative models are built) were only just beginning to enter the public conscious. Remember DeepDream, the first "AI" image generation that took the internet by storm with its trippy dog images? That came out in 2015. AlexNet, which is considered to have kicked off the current AI boom using deep learning on GPUs, gained recognition in 2012. The ImageNet dataset, a foundationally important training and bench marking tool in computer vision, wasn't even published until 2009.

[E]ven if Kambe and his team could have photographed thousands of pastries, they couldn’t have pulled a neural network off the shelf. Instead, the state of the art in computer vision involved piecing together a pipeline of algorithms, each charged with a specific task. ... They started by trying to get the cleanest picture possible. A document outlining the company’s early R. & D. efforts contains a triptych of pastries: a carbonara sandwich, a ham corn, and a “minced potato.” This trio of lookalikes was one of the system’s early nemeses: “As you see,” the text below the photograph reads, “the bread is basically brown and round.” The engineers confronted two categories of problem. The first they called “similarity among different kinds”: a bacon pain d’épi, for instance—a sort of braided baguette with bacon inside—has a complicated knotted structure that makes it easy to mistake for sweet-potato bread. The second was “difference among same kinds”: even a croissant came in many shapes and sizes, depending on how you baked it; a cream doughnut didn’t look the same once its powdered sugar had melted.

These engineers were not pulling up TensorFlow to tune an existing image-recognition software to differentiate pastries. They were basically building something from scratch:

Kambe argued [at a 2018 conference] that there are tasks for which deep learning is still impractical. A few years earlier, BRAIN had tried replacing their hand-tuned system with a deep neural network. The new system managed to recognize pastries just as effectively, but the catch was the amount of data it required. A Japanese bakery, Kambe said, might introduce a new pastry variety every week, but the deep-learning system required thousands of training examples. Where would all the pictures come from? Show BakeryScan a pastry never seen on Earth, and it’ll recognize the next one of its kind about forty per cent of the time; according to BRAIN, after just five examples, it is ninety per cent accurate, and after twenty it’s nearly perfect. Moreover, whereas deep-learning systems are relatively inscrutable—you can’t look at a neural network and say exactly why a decision emerged from it—BakeryScan’s judgements, based as they are on a hand-engineered system, are more articulable. If the system misidentifies something, you can figure out why.

(Which is not to say that deep learning is useless:

Because of COVID-19, many pastry shops had violated one of their golden rules and begun wrapping items individually in cellophane. This helped ease customers’ fears, but the unpredictable reflections from the plastic threw off BakeryScan’s algorithms. It turned out that, for this problem, they had a big data set. For years, they’d been collecting images from customers like me, as we checked out; they also had more recent pictures, in which the same pastries were covered in cellophane. They had trained a neural network to see through the plastic. Deep learning took the wrappers off; BakeryScan did the rest.

But the main point is that nowadays, when we see the marketing term "AI", we imagine general artificial intelligence: A tool that's trained once, and can then go do any task you set it. (BTW, no such technology currently exists; ChatGPT can generate what plausibly reads like a business plan because it's ripping off a lot of real business plans and can generate plausible sentences, but it cannot ingest information about your particular business and the market, think about that information in a business context, and create for you a real business plan. It is not a knowledge model!)

This article (and the original tweet) came out in 2021, which I suspect is why they call these systems "AI" - it's the big buzzword. A few years ago, we probably would have called BakeryScan "an algorithm". (It's actually a cascade of algorithms, but we can have a little simplification. As a treat.)

Again, my main concern is an educational one: the term "AI" really is used to mean almost anything these days; I can't even say it's used to mean any system that uses machine learning through neural networks, because BakeryScan does not use deep learning! (Except to "see through" the packaging, but we're talking about the core functionality here.) When you see something useful like this described as an "AI", I beg you, do not fall into the trap of believing that what is happening is that we've finally found a good use-case for ChatGPT!

Since the time of room-sized computers run on punch cards, the best use-case for computers has ALWAYS been to automate repetitive tasks so that human time can be freed up to do more enjoyable and socially necessary tasks! But notice that the human job of engineering the system was not handed over to computer automation.

It's a testament to BRAIN's engineers' incredible feat that a system designed to identify bread can be re-tuned to identify cancer cells! This is a really cool story! Though it's only a success story for medicine if the system is fed good data, which still requires a lot of doctors to do a good job and identify cancer cells correctly. But as an early-detection system, I think that this is amazing.

Just remember that it was domain-specific knowledge and years of engineering, not under-paid offshore labor and environmentally catastrophic computing, that brought this story about. Thanks for reading.

[amrutatbrc1]

Specialty Sugars Market By Product Type, By Manufacturers, By End-User And Market Trend Analysis Forecast 2033

The specialty sugars global market report 2024 from The Business Research Company provides comprehensive market statistics, including global market size, regional shares, competitor market share, detailed segments, trends, and opportunities. This report offers an in-depth analysis of current and future industry scenarios, delivering a complete perspective for thriving in the industrial automation software market.

Specialty Sugars Market, 2024 report by The Business Research Company offers comprehensive insights into the current state of the market and highlights future growth opportunities.

Market Size -

The specialty sugars market size has grown steadily in recent years. It will grow from $38.78 billion in 2023 to $40.65 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to growing health and wellness trends, expansion of the food and beverage industry, increasing home baking and cooking, rise in disposable income, and increasing demand for specialty sugar.

The specialty sugars market size is expected to see steady growth in the next few years. It will grow to $49.18 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to growing demand for healthier alternatives, surge in demand for new flavors, increasing demand for bakery products, growth of the packaged food industry, and increasing demand for ready-to-eat convenient foods. Major trends in the forecast period include the introduction of organic and natural products, expansion of e-commerce channels, sustainability and ethical sourcing, growing interest in gourmet and artisanal foods, and development of innovative and creative products.

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The Business Research Company's reports encompass a wide range of information, including:

1. Market Size (Historic and Forecast): Analysis of the market's historical performance and projections for future growth.

2. Drivers: Examination of the key factors propelling market growth.

3. Trends: Identification of emerging trends and patterns shaping the market landscape.

4. Key Segments: Breakdown of the market into its primary segments and their respective performance.

5. Focus Regions and Geographies: Insight into the most critical regions and geographical areas influencing the market.

6. Macro Economic Factors: Assessment of broader economic elements impacting the market.

Market Drivers -

The increasing demand for bakery products is expected to propel the growth of the specialty sugar market going forward. Bakery products are a diverse range of sweet and savory baked goods that use specialty sugars to enhance their taste, texture, and appearance. The demand for bakery products is rising due to shifting consumer preferences towards convenience foods, expanding retail channels, and a desire for indulgent and diverse food options. Specialty sugars boost bakery goods by increasing flavor, texture, and visual appeal and catering to changing customer preferences for natural and premium ingredients. For instance, in May 2024, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, a US-based federal executive department, in 2023, Canada's total baked goods export value was 2.80 billion, up from 2.70 billion in 2022. Therefore, the increasing demand for bakery products is driving the growth of the specialty sugar market.

Market Trends -

Major companies operating in the specialty sugar market are developing rare sugars to provide a low-cost, healthy sweetener alternative to sugar. Rare sugars are a specialty, low-calorie sweetener that substitutes standard sugars in food and beverage recipes. For instance, in January 2023, Bonumose, Inc., a US-based early-stage food ingredient and enzyme innovation company, and ASR Group, a US-based refiner and marketer of cane sugar, initiated the production of tagatose. It has essential functionality such as bulking, mouthfeel, caramelization, freezing-point depression, and low hygroscopicity, making it suitable for existing food production systems. Tagatose has a minimal glycemic index of 3, as opposed to 68 for sucrose and 100 for glucose, making it ideal for people with diabetes. Tagatose is 92% sweeter than ordinary sugar and has a clean, no-aftertaste flavor profile. It is the first sweetener to achieve the NutraStrong prebiotic verified certification, confirming it as an attractive ingredient for businesses seeking functional, low-calorie products.

The specialty sugars market covered in this report is segmented –

1) By Type: Brown Sugar, Icing sugar, Demerara Sugar, Muscovado Sugar, Other Types

2) By Sales Channel: Business-To-Business, Business-To-Consumer, Online Retailing

3) By Application: Food And Beverage Industry, Food Service Industry, Retail

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Regional Insights -

North America was the largest region in the specialty sugars market in 2023. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the specialty sugars market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.

Key Companies -

Major companies operating in the specialty sugars market are Cargill Incorporated, Wilmar International Limited, Louis Dreyfus Company, Raizen, Suedzucker.com, Tereos, Eid Parry India Limited, Tate & Lyle, Lantic Inc., Florida Crystals Corporation, Tongaat Hulett, Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Ltd., Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., Triveni Engineering & Industries Ltd., Manildra Group, Dhampur Sugar Mills Ltd., Dwarikesh Sugar Industries Limited, Guyana Sugar Corporation, Nordzucker, Belize Sugar Industries Limited, Thai Roong Ruang Group

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Specialty Sugars Market Report Structure

3. Specialty Sugars Market Trends And Strategies

4. Specialty Sugars Market – Macro Economic Scenario

5. Specialty Sugars Market Size And Growth

…..

27. Specialty Sugars Market Competitor Landscape And Company Profiles

28. Key Mergers And Acquisitions

29. Future Outlook and Potential Analysis

30. Appendix

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