#Cooking (Different cuisine like Indian

[whentherewerebicycles]

omg this basil-ginger veggie stir fry with braised tofu was INCREDIBLE I can see this becoming a staple in my quick weekly dinner rotation. I used this recipe but doubled the sauce (except for the sugar), added a bunch of extra veggies + ginger + red pepper flakes + scallions, and made the tofu in the air fryer (my beloved). YUMMMMMMM. I want to check some labels as I suspect that the sauce mix might have a lot of sneaky added sugar (how else could it be soooo rich and decadent) but yeah this one is a KEEPER.

[moonstruckmoony]

MCtober2024 - Introduce your MC!

I'm well aware I'm one week behind but this is literally the earliest I could finish this.. (moony crawling from the depths of irl problems) lol better late than never right? I'll try my best to catch up! · · ─────── ·❄ ❅ ❆· ─────── · · Winter Blackstone A 6th-year Ravenclaw, Winter Blackstone is quite the name at Hogwarts—mainly because she enrolled very late, took down a troll on her first day (as one does), and is known to mysteriously disappear between classes. Where to? Only Merlin knows. She’s also credited with helping stop Ranrok’s plans, though how big of a role she played remains a bit of a mystery to the students.

Winter’s mother, a Slytherin and skilled Curse-Breaker, tragically passed away when Winter was just 9 years old. Her father, though a Squib, is deeply knowledgeable about the wizarding world and has ensured Winter never felt out of place when it came to magic.

FAVORITE / HATED SUBJECTS? Winter’s top subjects are Potions, Ancient Runes, and Magical Theory—no surprises there for a curious Ravenclaw. But if you ask her about Arithmancy? That’s where you’ll hear a groan. While the concept and the theory behind it intrigues her, she absolutely avoids anything to do with numbers.

“I’m already so late to the world of magic, and now I’ve got to deal with numbers too? No, thank you!” she’s often heard saying. Yet, despite her complaints, Ominis constantly reminds her that she’s never scored a P, D, or T in Arithmancy—something he can’t say about his Potions work.

Her favorite professors? None other than Dinah Hecat, Aesop Sharp, and of course, the late Eleazar Fig.

SCHOOL CLUB Because of her late admission, Winter has little time for clubs—though she makes an exception for Crossed Wands. It’s the perfect way for her to sharpen her dueling skills, and she relishes every moment. PETS Winter has two cherished companions: Khione, her Barn Owl, and Snowball, her playful white golden retriever. Snowball was a gift from her father when she was 11, meant to lift her spirits after she didn’t receive her Hogwarts letter, leading her to believe she was a Squib. Little did she know, her letter would come at age 15, changing everything. Thanks to Professor Fig, she was given a nab-sack to sneak Snowball to Hogwarts, keeping him close even in her busy schedule. After a bit of help from Sirona at the Three Broomsticks following the troll attack, Snowball found a cozy spot to stay while Winter was in class. But when Professor Weasley introduced her to the Room of Requirement—well, Snowball ended up with a far more magical home within Hogwarts! Naturally, that little secret is kept under wraps. HOBBIES Winter has a passion for cooking, especially dishes from all around the world. As a child, she traveled extensively with her mother due to her mother’s unique Curse-Breaking work. Everywhere they went, Winter was enchanted by the local cuisine, jotting down recipes and experimenting when she got home. Now, in Hogwarts, she often recreates dishes like baozi, frikadeller, paella, oyakodon, and to Amit’s delight—Indian curry.

She frequently invites her friends to the Room of Requirement for her culinary experiments and is always on the lookout for rare ingredients. Thanks to her mother’s connections scattered in different parts of the world, Winter manages to have specific ingredients occasionally sent to her via owl.

[ms-demeanor]

You seem like a good sort of person to ask; how does one go about building up a good spice rack? Not only just having the spices, but knowing what they are and how to use them, when and in what quantities, and developing a wider spice palette in general? I grew up in white suburbia and my mother has no idea how to use anything other than salt and ground black pepper, and I want to start making my foods more flavorful. I am tired of utterly flavorless dry roast pork! But I have no idea where to begin lol.

I'd say to start by trying a lot of foods that use a lot of different spice profiles and seeing what you like. If you like Thai food, look into Thai spices and try cooking a few recipes. If you like Indian food, try Indian recipes. If you don't know if you like a particular kind of food, go out and try it and see if you do.

I think the best way to build up your spice rack is to do so slowly over time as you familiarize yourself with different flavors. Don't go out and buy a ton of stuff, go out and buy cumin and make a rice recipe that calls for cumin and see if you like it, then next time maybe add another spice like cayenne pepper to the recipe and see if you like it.

Spices can be really expensive, but they can also be really cheap if you're looking in the right places. Try to avoid the shiny organic spice jars, and see if there are packets of spices in the various "ethnic" food sections of your grocery store (in California it's pretty common to have a Mexican food section and an Asian food section in the store and you'll often find stuff like a packet of cumin for 70 cents that's got the same amount of spice as the organic jar that costs five bucks in the spice aisle).

Once you've got some basics down, start branching out and seeing if you've got any good markets nearby that have more unusual spices. Large Bastard and I get most of our bulk spices from a Middle Eastern market around the corner from our house or at an Indian market a few miles away because it's WAY cheaper to get allspice or turmeric or garam masala from those stores than it would be from the grocery store.

And if you're starting at the basic-basics, like how to season a simple pork roast, check recipe blogs. Find different bloggers and test their recipes until you find someone you trust, then follow their recipes. One good place to start is with Chef John and Food Wishes - he has a wide variety of cuisines that use a lot of different spices and has recipes that range from very simple to very complex.

Large Bastard really likes Food Wishes and trying recipes from Chef John - he cooks less than I do and has less of a sense of what to add to a pot to get something to taste the way he wants it to, but he's gotten very good at taking Food Wishes recipes and tweaking them or adjusting them and figuring out how to mix and match flavors.

Just cooking - finding a recipe that looks interesting and following it - is a really good way to get better at this kind of thing.

That's actually one of the reasons that I think meal kit boxes like blue apron can be worth it for people who want to learn how to cook - they give you recipes you wouldn't have thought to look for and provide small amounts of the required ingredients so you can sample them and figure out if you like them. My dad and sister got blue apron for like two years and it has significantly improved their cooking skills and ability to mix and match flavors.

It just takes time and money and trial and error. Easy, right? (It isn't, but there's also no way to make it faster other than doing more experiments. Thankfully there are ways to make it cheaper, and yeah looking at local specialty markets is a good way to save on spices)

[yawnderu]

okay but imagine simon having an indian!girlfriend/significant other. imagine them bickering with him about how different british and indian cuisine can be sometimes, him having to hear his share of "your country invaded mine for spices but don't use any of them". i can totally see him learning how to do henna for them and smiling under his mask when the love of his life decides to get dressed up in their traditional clothes :) *blushes*

This shit is making me giggle bc of all the colonization + spice stealing jokes 😭 I don't really see Simon as someone who adds a lot of spices to his food, maybe just about enough to make whatever he cooks tastier, but he'd absolutely devour anything his indian girlfriend cooks!!

ALSO he has a very steady hand. He's a sniper after all, but... he's not an artist. Making pretty designs of henna for you would take a while, but he secretly spends plenty of time practicing and using videos, even looking up designs and patterns that you'd like.<33

[feyburner]

a while ago you shared your rice onions bell peppers chicken recipe as your go to meal and i made it last night and it was amazing!!! tysm for sharing it. do you have any other chicken recipes that can be made in a wok/kadhai? I don’t have an oven so I was pleasantly surprised to make sth that actually tasted good and not just sth i whip up for sustenance 😅

Yeah for sure. I rarely use the oven when I’m cooking dinner, I do pretty much everything on the stovetop in a wok or frying pan. It's faster and gives me more control.

I think the best thing you can do is learn basic techniques. Once you have the basics down, you don't need a recipe to whip up a quick weekday dinner. You can just cook whatever you feel like cooking, with whatever's in your kitchen: whatever cut of meat, whatever veggies, whatever spices in your pantry.

99% of what I do is just the same basic techniques with different seasoning profiles, veggie sides, and carbs (rice, flatbread, potatoes, noodles).

Here are 4 things to do with chicken in a wok.

Dry Rub + Saute

The easiest and fastest. Simply make a spice mix, massage it into every nook and cranny of the meat (whole or chopped, either way), let it sit for a bit while you get other stuff ready and heat the pan (ideally you'd let it rest in the fridge for a few hours, but it's not necessary), then saute in oil.

The spice mix can be whatever you want (or a premade one, who cares). It's honestly hard to find a combination of random herbs and spices that doesn't taste good. After all, the basis of all cuisine is "doing stuff with whatever we have around," and I've never met a cuisine I didn't like. My go-to spice mix is 1 spoonful brown sugar plus roughly equal parts (1-2 tsp each) paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili or cayenne powder, salt, black pepper, plus 1-2 dried herbs. (Basically Cajun spice mix.)

How to saute (it's one of those things that everyone just assumes you know how to do, but maybe you don't!): First, heat wok over high/medium-high heat. You know the wok is nice and hot when you flick a couple drops of water in there and they instantly evaporate. Then, drizzle in enough oil to give the bottom of the wok a solid unbroken sheen. Swirl the pan so the oil coats the whole bottom. Watch the oil. When the surface is shimmering/trembling (should be very quick if your pan is already hot), it's ready. Carefully add your chopped meat or veggies in a single layer--don't overcrowd the pan, the meat will steam instead of brown. Let the meat sizzle untouched for like 2-3 minutes, then flip to brown the other side. You don't need to constantly stir or toss--that just lengthens your cooking time because the meat isn't touching the pan long enough to brown. That's how you get tough chicken! For chopped chicken, 6-7 minutes of pan-touching is plenty of time to cook through.

Marinate + Saute

Same thing as a dry rub, just wet. There are lots of ways to marinate chicken. The thing to remember is marinade = acid. Acid breaks down proteins, which tenderizes the chicken/meat.

Typical marinade acids: lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce, buttermilk, yogurt. Simply pick one and build the rest of the marinade around it. If you use something very acidic, like lemon juice or vinegar, you'll want to balance it with fat: roughly equal parts lemon juice and olive oil. For soy sauce, it's really salty, so you'll want to balance it with something sweet: honey, brown sugar (i.e. teriyaki). Buttermilk and yogurt are great bases for a spice mix--think US Southern buttermilk fried chicken, or Indian yogurt marinades.

Once you have a balanced base, you can add whatever herbs and spices you want. Then just make sure all the meat is coated in marinade, cover, and chill in the fridge for a few hours. Then saute as usual (though you might want to use a little bit more oil to avoid bits of marinade sticking and burning).

Curry

Very easy and delicious. There are 1 million kinds of curry. This is just me but I think of it as a spectrum from thin to thick. "Thin" would be like Japanese or Thai style, where the base is primarily broth or stock (sometimes with coconut milk/cream) thickened or flavored with roux or curry paste. "Thick" would be like certain types of Indian curry, like makhani style with the blended tomato-onion base, or yogurt base, or creamy cashew/peanut/etc. base.

The main building blocks are gonna be onion, garlic, ginger. Then spices and other seasonings, obviously depending on what kind of curry you're making: curry powder, garam masala, lemongrass paste, cumin, coriander, cardamom, chili, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, etc.

If you are making "thin" style, you might want to make a roux. A roux is just equal parts fat and flour cooked in a pan.

How to make roux: 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter. Melt butter in pan, add flour, stir constantly over medium-low heat until desired color. Light roux = cook 5 min just until blond/golden, use for white sauces like bechamel. Brown roux = cook until caramel color, use for curries and soups. Dark roux = cook until deep chocolate brown, use for gumbo or jambalaya (mostly for flavor, not thickening).

To make roux for a curry, make a light or brown roux and add curry spices near the end. Let it fry for 1 minute or so to bloom the spices. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.

Another way of thickening curry is to cook chopped or diced onion until softened, then sprinkle on 2-3 Tbsp of flour + whatever spices you're using and stir for 1 minute or so to cook the flour and bloom the spices. Then add liquid.

3 basic curry methods:

Japanese style. Make curry roux. Heat oil in a wok. Add chopped onion and cook until softened. Stir in minced garlic and ginger (or ginger-garlic paste). Add chopped chicken and cook, stirring, until white on the outside. Add 4 cups chicken stock. Add chopped carrots and potatoes. Season with soy sauce, honey, etc. Simmer 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until chicken is cooked and veg is softened. Take 1 ladleful of cooking liquid and whisk into your roux until smooth. Stir that mixture back into your curry. Simmer, stirring, 5-10 minutes until thickened.

Thai style. Heat oil in a wok. Add curry paste or ginger/garlic/lemongrass paste + curry spice mix and fry 1 minute to bloom. Add 2-3 cups stock a little at a time, whisking, to avoid lumps. Add chopped chicken, onion, potato, whatever else you want, plus 1 can coconut milk/cream. Season with fish sauce, tamarind, sugar, etc. Simmer 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until chicken is cooked and veg is softened.

Indian tomato-base style. Marinate chopped chicken in yogurt marinade with curry spices for a few hours. Heat oil in a wok. Add minced garlic and ginger (or ginger-garlic paste) and curry spices. Fry 1 minute to bloom. Add chopped onion (and bell pepper if you want) and stir together. Add 1 x 28oz can tomato puree. Cook, stirring, 5 or so minutes until slightly darkened. Carefully transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer back to pan. Add 1 can coconut milk/cream or 1ish cups heavy cream. Simmer 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, sear chicken on both sides just until browned and caramelized. Add to curry and cook for 10 minutes until cooked through.

All of these are very hard to fuck up, since they're so similar to soup. Pick a style, pick some spices, go for it.

Finally,

Stir Fry

Who doesn't love stir fry, the world's most versatile food. "Stir fry" as a technique is different from "saute" in that it uses a bit more oil and a slightly lower heat, so there's a slightly longer cook time. (And you're stirring more.) For stir fry, you'll want to velvet your chicken to make it super tender and juicy. Otherwise, all you're doing is making a stir fry sauce and then cooking chicken and veggies in stages.

To make a stir fry sauce: The equation is: Water + fat + balance of sweet, salt, spice, sour + thickener. My go-to is like 1/3ish cup water + 1-2 Tbsp sesame oil + brown sugar, soy sauce, hot sauce, lemon juice or rice vinegar + 1 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp water to create a cornstarch slurry. Just mix everything together and set aside. Then saute your chicken first, remove from pan. Add your veg to the pan in stages depending on how long they take to cook: first something like broccoli or carrot, cook for a few minutes, then onion and pepper, then minced garlic and ginger at the very end (garlic burns easily). Add your chicken back in, give a stir, pour your sauce in, give it a stir, done.

Good god this got long. Sorry. Work was slow today so what else am I gonna do.

Anyway, hope this helps! These 4 basic things, in combination with the wide world of seasonings, can create infinite easy meals. Let me know if you try anything. Good luck!

[seonne]

LMAO YOU GOT REQUESTS OPEN SO I SHALL DELIVER

So during the canon events of My Hero Academia, during the summer camp, the students had to make their own food- and so if I remember correctly, they made curry.

Now my Desi ass is thinking, curry in Japan is most definitely different than curry in India so if we got a Desi reader in there, she would most definitely be a little more than disgruntled at the difference.

Ahem anyways - Bakugou x f!desi!reader who sees our blondie start to make curry and then not only insults his cooking but show him how it’s ACTUALLY done /lh (Lmao no offense to anyone of Japanese culture, I bet your curry is amazing too <3 I just prefer what I grew up with 🤪)

But like imagine his surprise when he tastes our Indian curry and is shocked that it’s not only spicy and full of flavor but better than his????

And then when they get together you can bet he begs reader to teach him more about Indian cuisine 🤍

Hnnnnnggggggg THE WAY EACH TIME I SEE JAPANESE CURRY I CRINGE- (no offense to Japanese people or their cuisine but the dishes with same names but vastly different flavours are very wince-inducing) so yes queen, I will deliver this.

"What on God's ever green Earth are you doing?"

Bakugou turned around to look at you looking over your shoulder in slight disgust.

"I'm putting in the oyster sauce-"

He watched as you comically gagged.

"Oyster sauce? In chicken curry?"

His jaw ticked as you watched him with disgust, his mouth forming a scowl.

"Do you think you're better than me, you damn extra?!-"

"I am at making chicken curry, that's for sure."

Bakugou physically took a step back at the callous remark you just made. He knew you bit back to his quips but this was the first time your statement held a challenge behind it.

Bakugou stood up straighter, moving away from the stove.

"Oh yeah? Prove it then. Put your money where your mouth is."

You huff and roll up your sleeves, tying your hair up in a ponytail. You step closer to the stove and keep aside the curry that he was working on.

"Let's not touch that fishy thing lest it CONTAMINATES my chicken curry. Okay first things first, we need the good old Garam Masala."

Bakugou snorted. "We're in the middle of a forest, genius. Where are you going to get Garam Masala from?"

You grinned. "Good thing I always keep a packet on hand then!"

He watched you slack-jawed as you skipped to your bag and came back with an opened packet of garam masala. You started working on your curry, salvaging some of the chicken from the other batches of Japanese curry being made. The whole area soon filled with the aromatic fragrance of your delicious boiling chicken curry as you worked determinedly. Bakugou watched your every move, begrudgingly admiring you.

After you were somewhat done, you poured some of the curry into a small dish for Bakugou to taste. He frowned at it and sniffed it, before taking a small sip while maintaining eye contact with you.

Your smug grin widened as Bakugou's face lit up at the bomb of flavours going off on his tongue.

"Okay... woah..."

You laughed and fist bumped the air.

"Woah indeed. That's the taste of India right there. I hope my cooking skills did my ancestors some semblance of justice-"

"It's incredible."

You smiled softly at his sincere admission and soon your classmates started swarming you for a taste of your curry.

Some said it was too spicy but no one said it was bad. Everyone agreed that it was very damn good, even those who couldn't handle the spice.

"I'd pair this with puttu and my life would be complete as that as my only meal for the rest of my life."

Bakugou looked up at you as he scarfed down his helping of rice and your curry.

"Isn't that a steamed rice cake or something?"

You smiled brightly. "Yeah! It's a staple food of the south! Ooo you know what would really bang? Dosa and chicken curry! God damn if only I had some urud on hand..."

The night continued with laughter and games as dinner melted into a huge sleepover. After mostly everyone had gone to sleep, Bakugou approached you.

"Hey, dumbass. Don't get it too over your head or anything but... your curry was good, okay? And I... I liked it." He pushed out through gritted teeth. He pushed his hands into his pocket and looked away.

"So, I'd like to know how you made the damn curry."

You looked at him with a wry smile. "Are you asking me for the recipe?"

"Tch! I don't ask for shit! Now give me the recipe!"

Your smile turned smug as you crossed your arms.

"Only if you say please"

Holy shit it's done!!!!! I'm so sorry for the late post but I really hope you liked it!! Thank you for the idea too.

[gensokyogarden]

How well do each of your muses handle spicy foods?

Oh boy! given the fairies were discussing it I'll start with my canons/ocs at the SDM and then include some others that are interesting.

My take on Remilia comes from France so to answer this I decided to research a bit on French cooking. While there do seem to be a few spices used in traditional French meals they seem to have very few with hot spices. Remilia was born in 1491 and became a vampire in 1511. In the time that she lived foreign cuisines were not too readily apparent and I head canon she began eating a lot less upon going vamp so modern time hasn't given her much opportunity to adapt to spice. With that in mind, Remilia doesn't handle spice well at all.

A lot of the factors for Flan are pretty much the same with just slight variance. Frenchish (except technically her home is now in Belgium) born in 1496 became a vampire in 1515. The difference is that Flandre did not have a break with eating as Remi did. Since Flandre doesn't control her strength she can't effectively feed on blood so she has to eat actual meals. FDS reveals the fairy mades do a lot of the cooking but personally I headcanon that Meiling had been with the manor long before the fae staff (Sakuya may well have too). That means Meiling probably did a fair bit of the cooking in the past. Chinese food has a lot of spicy dishes. Meiling probably knew better than to just feed Flandre super spicy food but she can at least handle a bit of kick. Not Mapo Tofu but some other curries she can manage.

My Patchy was raised in China by Italian merchants. Both cultures have a good amount of spicy food in their cooking. However the issue is that Patchouli has several health problems (Anemia, asthma, etc). Personally, as someone without any of that, I am not sure what impact spicy food can have on that. For that reason I'm tentatively going to say that Patchouli handles spice okay but that they irritate her throat in large qualities. So only small doses of spice please.

Chimata is a Japanese market god. Don't know much about Japanese food but from what I can find they don't have many national spicy foods but that Chinese and Indian spicy foods have always been popular there, also some regional spicy foods. Spice itself has always been a big part of merchantry, which gives Chim-chim a good reason to have pretty big stockpiles. I think Chimata actually has the best spice tolerance of all my SDM muses. Spicy food is probably her preferred meal. Lots of Mapo Tofu for this lady.

For my rarely appearing Sakuya muse, she was raised in Mexico. Ate a lot of hot spices before being recruited by her vampire boss. Unfortunately, Remilia's distaste for spices means that since coming to the mansion she hasn't ate anything spicy. After all, the meals prepared are for Remilia (even if she often does not feel like eating). For that reason her spice tolerance has sagged with time.

Now for my SDM ocs.

Mizu is basically a water bucket brought to life. Capsaicin is an oil and her body is even more water than a human's is. Do not give her spice. It will just cause her entire body to feel like it were burning.

Fairies are nature spirits and Summer is one for the hottest season of the year. I don't think she'd have any problem with spice. In fact she enjoys some of the spicier peppers quite a lot.

Don't give the goblins spice. They're English house spirits, the hottest thing they've had is horse radish.

Lavender is not prepared for spice. She does not have Patchouli's background but does have her poor constitution so spicy food will wipe the floor with her.

Now a few other characters:

Reimu does not even seem to process that she's eaten something spicy when given it. Unphased.

Eirin will, similarly, eat some of the hottest peppers and spices known to man and look totally unphased afterwards.

Yuuka very specifically likes Mapo Tofu. Nobody has seen her eat any other spicy foods.

Byakuren can scarf down spices with no problem. Seems to really like it.

Reisen ate a bell pepper and became horrible pained. No spice for her please.

[mrhaitch]

Hello Mr.Haitch!!

I hope you and your family are doing well ^^

So my questions for you are—

1) Would you consider yourself a picky eater?

2) Thoughts on the debate around pineapples on pizza. Do you like/dislike Hawaiian pizza? Also mint chocolate ice-cream yay or nay?

3) If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

4) Can you give me a lesser known food related fun fact?

5) Do you like Indian food? (Also I’ll add a little rant)— As an Indian, it peeves me a bit, whenever people reduce Indian food to only Naan, Tandoori chicken, Biryani, and Butter chicken.

India has such a vast variety of food. With each state having its own cuisine. The food which the western world is more familiar with, hails from different states. Like butter chicken is from Delhi, tandoori is from Punjab and Biryani (originally from Iran, brought to India by the Mughals) is typically from Hyderabad.

Also, India has a vast variety of vegetarian food. As far as I know, India is the only country with a vegetarian menu for McDonald’s

Okay. My rant here is done!

I hope you have a great rest of the day!

And thank you in advance for answering my silly questions ^^

1. Nope, I'm a fairly opportunistic eater when not at home. Otherwise I've got a fairly loose regimen that I follow.

2. I'm fairly neutral - I'll eat it if it's there but I won't seek it out. Mint chocolate has never been to my taste but I wouldn't deprive someone else of it.

3. This changes often, but probably salted pistachios.

4. Button mushrooms are incredibly toxic, but only at high concentrations. Unless you eat your bodyweight in mushrooms you're absolutely fine.

5. I'm hesitant to answer, in light of your comments, but not because I disagree. It's a colonial hangover where cuisines from other cultures are imported, bastardised, and then the bastardised version becomes the standard. I love what we call Indian food in the UK: lamb Rogan Josh with saag aloo is my standard. We also cook it a little, particularly keema muttar. I still use the same Madhur Jeffrey recipe my mum used, but even that's likely to have been altered for western palates.

[saylessastrology]

Sex & Food in Astrology 🍓🍭

Sometimes mixing edible goodies can spice things up 😜 Here are some ideas 🤸🏿🤸🏿🤸🏿 More tips on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/SaylessAstrology?utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator

1. Aries: Aries individuals often enjoy energetic and fiery experiences. Consider incorporating spicy foods like chili peppers or exotic fruits that can add a zing of excitement to the experience.

2. Taurus: Taurus individuals appreciate sensual pleasures and indulgence. Incorporate luxurious foods like chocolate-covered strawberries, whipped cream, or a glass of fine wine to heighten their sensory experience.

3. Gemini: Gemini individuals enjoy variety and mental stimulation. Consider incorporating a selection of finger foods, like an assortment of cheeses, fruits, and crackers, allowing them to explore different flavors while maintaining a playful atmosphere.

4. Cancer: Cancer individuals value emotional connection and comfort. Incorporate homemade dishes that evoke nostalgia and a sense of home, like their favorite comfort food or a warm, homemade dessert.

5. Leo: Leo individuals appreciate grand gestures and being the center of attention. Consider presenting a visually appealing platter of colorful fruits, such as a fruit bouquet or an extravagant dessert that can be shared and enjoyed together.

6. Virgo: Virgo individuals appreciate healthy and wholesome choices. Incorporate fresh fruits, salads, or light and nourishing foods that align with their desire for cleanliness and balance.

7. Libra: Libra individuals seek harmony and aesthetics. Consider incorporating visually appealing foods like beautifully arranged sushi, elegantly plated desserts, or a charcuterie board with a variety of carefully selected ingredients.

8. Scorpio: Scorpio individuals enjoy intensity and passionate experiences. Consider incorporating foods with aphrodisiac properties like oysters, dark chocolate, or pomegranates to enhance their sensual experience.

9. Sagittarius: Sagittarius individuals value adventure and exploration. Consider incorporating exotic and international cuisine, such as spicy Thai food, flavorful Indian dishes, or a fusion of different flavors that excite their taste buds.

10. Capricorn: Capricorn individuals appreciate tradition and practicality. Incorporate classic dishes, like a perfectly cooked steak or a traditional meal from their cultural background, that reflect their grounded and reliable nature.

[weepinwriter]

RO’s favorite foods?

Because the cuisine of RTH is a little different from the normal world, I'll just use them as references for their ideal foods ☺️

Twenty - they prefer more sweeter foods (that are also healthy) over anything else. They have a big sweet tooth so their favourite foods will include desserts like strawberry pies, carrot cakes, cinnamon rolls and ice creams.

Nikita - he likes anything that has meat in it. Vegetables other than potatoes, capsicums and carrots are a big no go for him. Steaks, chicken katsu, lamb chops, kebabs and many more.

Victor/Vanessa - sweet and sour! Although not as classy as Nikita, they love eating tamarind chutney, sweet and sour chicken and sometimes oranges. Gotta stay healthy yknow

Emir/Evara - a true indian to the heart, E. likes to eat their food packed with all sorts of spices. Without that they'd probably starve to death. They love eating samosas, vada pavs, momos, butter chicken, and tandoori chicken. For desserts they vouch for a classic rasgulla over anything else.

Leo - they don't really have a preference for anything, as they have a rather particular taste in food. Neither too greasy nor too dry, not spicy yet not bland at all. However if one were to insist, they'd prefer a well done steak

Caesar - he's a simple guy. Some cheese sandwich will do :) working for the national defence force doesn't leave you with much time to cook good food. But he really liked the cheesecake his wife made that one time on his birthday. He tried to replicate it but couldn't do it

Gael/Gwendolyn - living in poverty and under constant surveillance doesn't give one much choice. They'll eat anything they get, but a nice juicy hamburger will do

[respondedinkind]

~ Character Info Sheet (MAIN VERSE)

name: Khan Noonien Singh

name meaning: Khan, which is more popular as a surname, is a Turkish boy's name meaning "prince". Khan is a shorter form of Khagan, and was originally a historic title given to military chiefs and rulers. Noonien is of Chinese origin and means "gifted one", though it's unclear whether this is accurate or not. Singh is derived from the Sanskrit word सिंह (IAST: siṃha) meaning "lion", and is used in the sense "hero" or "eminent person".

alias/es: John Harrison, created and given to him by Admiral Marcus as a smokescreen to hide his true identity.

ethnicity: Confidential information

one picture you like best of your chara:

three h/cs you've never told anyone:

During his time under Marcus' command, Khan was not only forced to create powerful weapons and design an entire warship fitting to Marcus' demands, but he was also forced to go through mental as well as physical abuse. Marcus used his crew to control him, threatened Khan to take their lives if he were to disobey; Two of his people died this way, leaving Khan devastated and broken.

Khan is, in fact, not human - this information is confidental, however, and the few papers existing from the time he was risen are locked up somewhere in the archives. Marcus knows, however, with him being of high rank - which is precisely why he wanted to keep and use Khan for his purposes.

During his time as a ruler in between 1992 and 1996, Khan maintained a close relationship to a selected few of his following (mostly males, with a few rare exceptions) - the mentioned relationship included connections of sexual kind, but didn't really turn into romantic love-interests. They all enjoyed each other's company together, as a group, on more than just one occasion.

three things your character likes doing in their free time:

Reading. He enjoys a lot of different genres, prefers the feel of real paper between his fingers, but will also use whatever electronic device is offered to him to entertain himself.

Stargazing. It reminds him of his childhood, back when he'd been risen in the twentieth century; The stars have always fascinated him, perhaps it has to do with his origins.

Cooking. He rarely gets the chance to do so, but Khan enjoys the logical but also creative approach of creating dishes - he's a big fan of the asian as well as indian cuisine.

eight people your character likes / loves: His crew, obviously. Seventy-two people, still within their cryotubes; He would do anything for them, as he knows they would do anything for him in return. He considers them his family, his friends, people he holds most dear.

Besides them, he doesn't keep any close connections at the current time. While residing under Marcus' command, he didn't really care about anyone else, only had the occasional chat with others working at Section 31, but nothing of significant nature.

The rest is entirely thread-dependent; Khan is about to connect to @darehearts, he also feels very close to @sxbaist (in every single Verse) and, besides that, is starting to connect tentatively to a few other muses. (Also very verse-dependent; In his MCU verses he's getting relatively close to @bloodstainedstar and is already deeply in love with @mehrere-musen - in one alien verse he is friends with @noblehcart and in another alien verse he is also deeply in love with @ssolessurvivor)

two things your character regrets:

Having put his people into the torpedoes he'd designed. Back when he'd done it, there hadn't been any other way available for him to try and smuggle them into safety - yet, with how the events unfolded in the end, part of him regrets that he's executed his own plan and, sadly, got discovered in the process, forcing him to leave them behind while escaping alone.

Having put himself as well as his crew into cryotubes to begin with. Back when all of them had been forced into exile, he'd planned for them to sleep a few years while their ship drifted through space, far away from earth, so as to allow them all to resume their lives at another point. That his own cryotube malfunctioned, didn't wake him up within the estimated timespan, he obviously didn't account for; Ten of his friends lost their lives because of that, and, in the end, Marcus found them over two hundred years after the Eugenic Wars had happened, resulting in the whole desaster that followed.

Phobias fears your character has:

The fear of losing someone he loves, either plantonic or romantic. Because of what he's gone through while being held hostage by Marcus, made to witness the death of two of his people caused by the Admiral's hands, Khan ever since experiences the overwhelming fear of being unable to keep someone safe and, therefore, lose them forever. Whoever gets close to him, he intents to protect, and he might become a bit overly protective because of his mentioned fear.

A mild 'fear' of doctors / scientists. It manifests less in actual fear but more in varying stages of discomfort; Because of what he went through as a child as well as under Marcus' command, he's not too fond of being handled by either of them.

tagged by: no one tagging: @bloodstainedstar because I don't think you did this yet. :)

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A bowl full of whole and ground spices in various shades of red, orange, and green. End ID]

カレー粉 / Kare ko (Japanese curry powder)

Kare ko is a spice blend that spread to Japan in the late Meiji era as a result of British imperialism. The blend (like curry powder in general) originates from a British approximation of a range of South Asian spice profiles. Domestic manufacture and sale of kare ko began in 1905 with Hachi; S&B, who began production in 1923, currently hold the major market share.

Kare ko is adapted to Japanese tastes, and is usually not very spicy. It is dominated by coriander, turmeric, and cumin, but also contains spices such as fenugreek, cardamom, clove, and star anise, as well as dried herbs including sage and dill. Popular comfort dish kare raisu ("curry rice," a pairing of rice and a curried stew featuring carrots and potatoes), uses kare ko as its primary source of flavor; kare ko is also used to make curry ramen and curry udon.

The benefit of making this spice blend at home is in its freshness and its customizability—play around with the proportions of different spices until you get something you like!

Recipe under the cut.

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Ingredients:

1 Tbsp (3.5g) coriander seeds

1 tsp (2.6g) turmeric

1 tsp (2.5g) cumin seeds

5-6 pods (1/2 tsp; 1g) green cardamom

1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg, or 1/2 tsp pre-ground (.6g)

1/2 tsp (2g) fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp (.7g) ground ginger

1/2 tsp (1.3g) ground garlic

1/2 tsp (1.5g) yellow mustard seeds

1/2 tsp (1g) fennel seeds

1 cm piece (1/4 tsp; .7g) cassia cinnamon

1/2 tsp (1.3g) black pepper

1/2 tsp (1.2g) paprika

1/2 tsp (1.2g) cayenne pepper (optional)

4-5 (1/4 tsp; .5g) whole cloves

2-3 (1/4 tsp; .5g) allspice berries

2 Mediterranean bay leaves (laurel)

1 star anise pod (2g)

1 tsp chen pi (dried tangerine or mandarin orange peel) (1.2g)

1/4 tsp (.2g) dried thyme

1/4 tsp (.2g) dried sage

1/4 tsp (.2g) dried dill

Pinch MSG (optional)

Pinch asafoetida (hing; optional)

Chen pi is commonly used in Chinese and Japanese cooking and can be purchased at an East Asian grocery store.

Though Japanese curry powder is ultimately drawing from South Asian cuisine, recipes for it tend to call for Mediterranean bay leaves rather than Indian bay leaves (tej patta; really a type of cinnamon leaf).

Instructions:

1. In a dry skillet on medium, toast large whole spices (cinnamon, star anise, green cardamom, cloves, allspice) for a few minutes until fragrant and set aside. Repeat with smaller seeds (coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, and fennel) and bay leaf. Set aside and allow to cool.

2. Remove skillet from heat. Toast ground spices and dried herbs, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Remove from skillet.

3. Grind all spices and herbs in a spice mill or mortar and pestle and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

[gothhabiba]

I've been on a bit of a curry powder kick with my recipes lately I think. curry powder is sooo interesting as a subject of study because of how much potential for localisation there is; the process of creating recipes for different regional blends of curry powder is really making me think about my philosophy with adapting dishes.

like, plenty of home cooks in China & Hong Kong will actually use imported curry powder from India or Malaysia to make Chinese curry, because they're "aiming at" a "foreign" flavor profile that was originally inspired by Indian cuisine (with this image of Indian cuisine being itself a result of colonisation, an innovation aimed at making the ~flavours of India~ more accessible to the English home cook in the 18th and 19th centuries—but Indian companies to-day do export "curry powder" blends to other English-speaking regions that they label "authentic" &c. &c.).

but this wouldn't be very interesting to me! I'm interested in and "aiming at" a specifically Hong Kongese adaptation of curry powder, and therefore I'm going to want to include as many Chinese ingredients as I can find 'attested' in Hong Kongese curry powder recipes (in my research into the spices used in commercial curry powder blends made and packaged in Hong Kong; home cook YouTube videos and interviews with restaurant owners based in Hong Kong; &c.). I'm never ad-libbing (i.e., adding in spices or aromatics that I don't see 'attested' in whatever local blends that I can find a trace of online), and I try to make the proportion of spices that I include in a blend basically adhere to the average of what I see in the recipes I consult (& the commercial blends, which don't list out proportions but do at least have some ingredients listed and organised in order of weight)—

but I still have my own tendencies that I'm interested in indulging (e.g., localised over generic; more over less; pungent over mild), and I'm able to fiddle around with all of those variables to produce a blend that is itself attested nowhere else, though each of its component ingredients can be traced back. so my recipe for Xinjiapo gali fen jumps at all of the 'Chinese' ingredients that Koon Yick Wah Kee includes (Sichuan peppercorns, Chinese black cardamom), but also includes more 'Indian' spices that other recipes include, but their's doesn't (e.g. green cardamom, fenugreek).

(as a side note for anyone who speaks French—on peut constater que the list of ingredients has been machine-translated from Chinese to English and thence to French, based on the fact that "star anise" has been rendered "tenez le primier rôle l'anis". other translation issues: what is listed as "dried parsley" in English [芫茜] is probably actually coriander seeds.)

[acti-veg]

Hi acti, I love your blog! I've been vegan for a little more than a year and doing great so far. However, sometimes I get scared I'll be an ex vegan someday. There seems to be lots of ex vegans, even people who've been veg for a decade or so. Every now and then I read their stories and health issues are almost always brought up. I cant deny that I am scared of health issues in the long run. I know I'm doing all I can to ensure I eat properly. But I also know I'm no doctor and I dont want to be arrogant and claim I wont have any issues for sure. I'm just doing my best and I hope everything will be fine. Do you have any tips about dealing with this fear? Thanks in advance.

I think that all too often, plant-based diets are treated as if they are all 'The Plant-Based Diet' - as if it were Atkins. Plant-based is an umbrella term, it covers a diverse range of diets, influenced by different cultures and preferences. Someone cooking and eating traditionally plant-based Indian vegan cuisine as their main staple would have a vastly different diet to someone veganising traditionally North American dishes.

This is part of why it is so frustrating to see people saying things like 'the plant-based diet wasn't healthy for me, I was tired, I didn't feel full etc.' That's just one version of a plant-based diet. If you felt tired or became anemic on a meat-based diet, you wouldn't assume you need to adopt a plant-based one, you'd just alter your existing diet to get more of whatever you're missing. There is no necessary nutrient, vitamin or mineral that cannot be obtained on a plant-based diet.

I can only make educated guesses from observations, but I think that for most ex-vegans, it came down to something other than health. Convenience, boredom, peer pressure, having gone vegan for the wrong reasons in the first place, having not actually been vegan (many who identify as ex-vegans were actually just plant-based dieters, particularly on youtube) and other such things.

If you're in it for the right reasons, you do your research and you stay engaged and education on the cause, then I don't think you have anything to worry about anon.

[rabbitcruiser]

National Dumpling Day

Celebrate the joy and deliciousness of everything related to these tasty little balls of dough with National Dumpling Day!

History of National Dumpling Day

When people think of dumplings, their minds may conjure up a variety of images depending on where they hail from. Chinese filled dumplings such as dim sum or bao (which are steamed instead of boiled) might be what comes to mind. Other people might think of dumplings that are in soup, while still others might have their mouths watering of Czech dumplings that seem more like a slice of bread than a dumpling.

The origination of dumplings in China was probably by a medical practitioner during the Eastern Han Dynasty which lasted from around 200 BC to 200 AD. Not long after, the first written recipe for dumplings seems to have appeared in Roman culture in a cookery manuscript referred to as Apicus that is believed to have been written around 400 AD.

Made out of dough that is some sort of starch base, like wheat flour or potato starch, dumplings often act as a blank slate upon which other flavorful meals and tastes can be built.

How to Celebrate National Dumpling Day

Consider some of these ideas for getting involved with National Dumpling Day:

Enjoy Eating Dumplings

Head out to a restaurant and order a big pile of dumplings in honor of National Dumpling Day! The best bet for finding dumplings on the menu might be to choose a restaurant that offers Chinese cuisine. But they can also be found at American restaurants that serve southern-style home cooking, like Cracker Barrel.

Grab some friends to take along and order a variety of different types and styles of dumplings to compare and determine which ones are the best!

Try Making Dumplings at Home

Part of the fun of National Dumpling Day might be engaging in the process of making them. First, choose the style of dumplings to make and then search for a recipe. The easiest dumplings to make are probably the kind that are dropped directly into soup, but other options that include rolling, wrapping and stuffing might be an extra fun challenge.

Learn Some Fun Facts About Dumplings

Don’t forget to tell friends about National Dumpling Day! Perhaps it would be fun to work it into conversation with some of these clever bits of trivia about dumplings:

More than 25 styles of dumplings exist. While many people think of Asian dumplings, most cultures in the world have some version of this, including Indian, Italian, Korean and more.

Dumplings can be savory or sweet. While many people think of dumplings as a main dish, they can also be filled with delicious sweet flavors like grated coconut, cane sugar and even chocolate.

Chinese legends say that dumplings were originally formed in the shape of little ears by a doctor who created them for people to eat to prevent getting frostbite on their ears.

Dumplings can be prepared in many ways: frying, boiling, steaming, baking and simmering are all methods used for making them.

Source

[thessalian]

Thess vs Food Stereotypes

Okay, really getting tired of this.

I didn’t want to hijack the post doing the rounds about “British kids try biscuits and gravy for the first time” and people getting judgemental about British cooking based on a few kids whose idea of ‘biscuit’ is very different than the American version and one British uni student’s aversion to spice. Thing is, though ... I live here, and I moved here from Canada (Montreal, even, which has a reputation for being as foodie as Paris but with a lot more politeness) by way of the United States. I’ve seen the stereotypes from all three countries, and when it comes to England, I’ve been everywhere from tiny hamlets to ... well, London, where I currently reside.

A lot of “traditional dishes” lack for spice here, true. However ... did y’all forget, while you were going, “American versions of recipes from other places have such flavour because poor / low class immigrants brought the recipes here”, that Britain was a fucking empire? We bitch about British colonialism all the time, and fair enough, but no one seems to have considered the huge variety of food that brought to this tiny wet little island. Even in the tiniest hamlets you’ll generally find an Indian takeaway, always family-run, always by families who came from the country from which the cuisine originated, some as recently as a generation ago. Bigger cities, and especially someplace like London? You’ll find a lot more. Hell, I live near an area that’s a blend of Afro-Caribbean, Nigerian, and Filipino, and the food you’ll find in the area reflects that. And I don’t just mean restaurants either; people who live here are clearly making that stuff at home, if the local markets are any indication. It’s the same all over, with a lot of emphasis on Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Filipino, and the foods of various African nations. Britain colonised these countries, and maybe the white people don’t make as much use of the spices they got by doing so as they could? But some do.

Also ... dude, they have herbs here. And they use them. Stews are full of thyme and sage and bay leaf. Sauces are a thing - mint for lamb, applesauce (not the sweet dessert kind; the kind where the tartness of the apple is maintained) for pork, fucking horseradish for beef. Root vegetables like parsnips and carrots are often roasted in a honey glaze, and never underestimate how a flavour profile changes if you change what fat you’re using for roasting a potato. (Seriously, just try roasting potatoes in goose fat.) Gravy? They have gravy; not as thick, and more generally devoted to the flavours of the juices of the roast, but they have gravy.

Britain has a different, earthier, occasionally sweeter flavour profile to a lot of its traditional dishes than other countries, yes. And there are a lot of people in this country who fear anything more than one clove of garlic, yes. However, there are Americans who fear anything that doesn’t taste of grease and mayonnaise, too (which is the stereotype, I’m afraid). So maybe can we lean less into the stereotype and, while trying unfamiliar foods, also do some research and try a variety of those unfamiliar foods instead of judging an entire country’s palate based on a couple of school kids who don’t know the American South’s version of a biscuit? Just be happy they’re loving it.

And go try some bubble and squeak sometime. Lancashire hot pot. Cornish pasty. Cullen skink. Hell, shepherd’s pie! It’s not all boiled everything, y’know.