#Eliza eating curry

[saetgvia]

spooktober story: darkness consumes all

welcome to my first spooktober! i wrote a story based loosely in the world of avatar the last airbender, based off a prompt in its discord server, and i thought i'd share it with you!

enjoy :D ______________________________________________________________

I peer out of my window, twitching the curtains. It’s dark outside. It’s always been dark outside, ever since the sun went out. I remember it so well.  I was with my family, sitting outside and eating ice cream. It was dripping all over my hands in a sticky puddle. And then all the light just… vanished. It was as if someone had simply flicked the light switch off on the world. Thankfully, my mum and I could get out of there and back home. All we could do from there was watch fearfully from our windows at the chaos that descended upon everyone else. 

Our house is brightly lit, and looking outside hurts my eyes because of how strong everyone’s lights are. Everyone knows light wards off the creatures. They used to be citizens, now victims to the ever-encroaching dark. I wince as one such creature comes into view, pockmarked with scars. Its eyes are red, and its mouth gapes open, revealing rows upon rows of glistening teeth and a long, lolling tongue. It holds my gaze, until the light starts causing the creature’s scars to sizzle. Hissing, it lopes away on its too-long limbs and I notice the stringy blond strands still clinging to its bald head. Entangled within them is a pink barrette in the shape of a bow. 

The realisation hits me, knocking the air out of my lungs. It’s my cousin Eliza. Eliza, who got coffee with me every day, who sat with me as we struggled through pre-calculus homework, who bent streams of water into the flames that sprouted when I got nervous. She didn’t make it. She turned into one of them. Her deformed face sears itself into my memory. 

‘Evelyn?’ It’s my mother. She’s calling from the kitchen.I get off my seat and walk towards her voice. She’s cooking - making curry. The delicious smell of sizzling garlic wafts up my nose as I lean a shoulder against the doorway and ask, ‘What?’

‘Can you get me some chicken?’

I’m still surprised that stores are open in these dark times (literally) but that’s capitalism for you. The news, now online, reported that many stores had received generous donations to continue running.

‘Sure.’

‘Evelyn…’

‘Yes?’

‘You okay?’

I pause. ‘Yeah.’

I step out of the house, closing the door behind me. My flame immediately flickers to life, pulsing in my hand. It’s weak, and sputters occasionally, but it’ll get the job done. I glance cautiously to see if there are any creatures around, and begin walking down the street. Most monsters have learned to avoid our city and find food elsewhere, but the newer ones come here often. As I’m walking, I catch a glimpse of a hunched silhouette. It’s a little further out, shrouded by darkness. There’s a sudden knowing in my chest. I slowly walk over, my feet making soft thuds on the stone. Once I’m close enough, I brighten my flame, and, against my better judgement, lean over to take a look. 

The sight is horrifying. Pale skin is erupting in scars in front of my eyes, pus bubbling out in streams of disgusting white goo. Their hair is decaying, sloughing off their scalp in clumps, teeth elongating and sharpening into points. The skin blackens and burns until in front of me lies a creature, the only shred of humanity left in it being the beautiful chocolate brown of its eyes. It notices me, and I draw a sharp breath. 

‘H-help me…’ it rasps. It’s female. Then her eyes flash crimson and she lets out a guttural howl. I stumble backwards, my mind spinning as I walk to the store. How many people had fallen victim to the hands of the darkness?

The warm air of the store is a stark contrast to the environment outside. I trudge over to the cold section, grabbing a couple packs of chicken breasts, and move to the counters to pay. It’s a well rehearsed routine, but this time, I’m lost in thought. The world is descending into chaos, and who’s going to save us? What happened to the Avatar? I collect my change and my bags, and pull my flame back out as I step into the frigid air. A crisp breeze is flowing, and I shiver in its icy fingers. I pull my thin cardigan tighter around me and increase my pace and soon enough, I reach the spot where I saw the girl. She’s gone. Chills run down my spine, and I hurry back to the safety of my own home.

The chicken sizzles deliciously in the pan as I hover uncertainly in the doorway, a fidgety shadow falling onto the kitchen floor. Finally exasperated, my mother turns to look at me.

‘Evelyn, what is it?’

‘Mum…’

‘Yes, dear?’

The questions burst out of me in a flurry, my tumultuous thoughts finally spewing forth in a flood. 

‘Where’s the Avatar?’ A pause. ‘Why aren’t they helping? Why doesn’t anyone try to help those who have no light? Why-’ My words stumble over each other.

‘Because,’ my mother speaks, ‘Everyone is too caught up in their own selfish lives to think about anyone else.’ 

Her eyes glint in warning, and I wisely close my mouth. My mother relaxes, and turns back to her chicken. It’s browned beautifully, and she’s mixing it into the curry. My mouth waters, and she smiles at me. 

‘Evelyn, go set the table please.’

I grab some plates. They’re glass, with a rim of blue flowers. The edges are chipped after years of use, but they’re good enough to eat from. There’s only two of us, me and my mum. My dad died when I was 15. I’d always taken him for granted, but now there’s a Dad-shaped hole in my heart. It aches every time I walk into his study to grab a book or something. The one thing I find consolation in is the fact that he didn’t turn into a creature. I wouldn’t wish that fate upon anybody. 

I eat my curry, but I can’t enjoy it. My mind is at war with itself. I can’t get Eliza out of my head, can’t stop seeing that poor girl’s expression, twisted in pain, every time I close my eyes. I finish my food. My mother tries to make conversation with me, but sees it’s no use. I’m too caught up in my own thoughts. I pick up my plate, and put it away. I clear the table, load the dishwasher, and wipe everything down. My actions are robotic and I fall into my bed, drifting asleep as my head hits the pillow.

***

I wake up the next morning, my eyes bleary and crusted with sleep. My nightmare rushes back into my head, all teeth and glaring faces and scarlet eyes. I turn the wheel on my lights, making them brighter, and drag myself out of bed and force myself to get ready for school. It feels as if I haven’t slept at all. I brush my teeth, shower, and grab a piece of toast before waving goodbye to my mother. Then I step out into the pitch black of the next day. 

My flame flickers to life, just as sluggish as I am. I can barely walk straight, stumbling tiredly on the footpath. I feel overwhelmed, the ideas from last night having sunk their claws into my brain and refusing to shake free. I don’t even notice, but I’ve strayed off the path. I’m walking further and further into the darker area of Republic City, the area that was abandoned after its civilians turned into the creatures. I make the mistake of not looking where I was going, and I stumble on a rock. Why is there a rock on the footpath? Suddenly, my flame has gone out. The darkness suddenly feels heavier. I can feel my mind going haywire, none of my thoughts make any sense and it feels like my sanity’s slipping away. I try to reignite my flame, but it only sparks pathetically before dying. An eerie whisper fills my head, and I can make out a laugh, a ghostly, evil laugh that fills my head and seeps into my veins. 

‘Who- who are you?’ I stammer, a growing pain piercing my skull. 

‘I am Vaatu!’ the voice whispers, edged with glee. I can barely remember who Vaatu is in my delirium. Raava, Vaatu- Oh no. The spirit of Chaos. That means… Raava… must be truly gone. The Avatar… is gone. ‘Finally, that damned Avatar is in my hands! When Raava and Korra re-fused, I thought I was done. But then they wandered right into my hands! And I have won.’ Vaatu ends on a cackle. I pick myself up, staggering to a pane of glass that is barely reflective anymore, trying to see what I’ve become. Vaatu, giggling hysterically all the while, shows me.  My skin is as dark as the night and as I touch my head, my hands come away covered in slime. My fingers are long and slender, ending in sharp points, and my back cracks and hunches until I am almost folded in half. I’m shaking, trembling, as I feel myself slipping away, until only the colour of my eyes is left, blue chips of ice in a black void. I drop the glass, and the last thing I see is a flash of blood red before I release an unforgiving shriek into the night.

______________________________________________________________

word count: 1577

© saetgvia 2023. do not copy or repost.

[pancakesplayssims]

Bob needed to go to the Spice festival for work, so Bob and Eliza had a little Work/date.

[osamuniichann]

Tagged!

Tagged by @idoljiminie sorry for doing this so late, i’ve been crazy busy! but thank u!

Nickname: Trish

Star signs: Taurus! Earth sign, Venus; yep!

What I’m wearing right now: Maroon tank top, blue shorts. Im in my house clothes leave me alone--

Favourite quote:

“Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.” - Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton. Idk it just reminds me that hey, breathe, take a look around, and calm down--everything’s okay

ALSO some honorable mentions, “Even when I fall and hurt myself, I keep running towards my dream” - BTS in Young Forever

“It’s alright even if you don’t have a dream. It’s possible not to have one. Just be happy” - Min Yoongi

Favourite food: oh boi ... this a hard question. i love seafood like calamari, garlic shrimp, crab, sushi?? oof. oh ya and definitely chicken wings like i live for that. i also love curry, hot pot, kbbq, etc. i honestly can eat anything i aint picky HAHA 

Favourite movie: The first thing that comes to mind was how in love I was with The Greatest Showman and its soundtrack! But I think it might be Spiderverse bc of the animation, the colors, the usage of comic forms, and idk Spiderman is my fave comic hero (other than the Flash)

Favourite song: Yall know I’m bout to wild out wit some bts songs LOL. I seriously love Pied Piper (that shits my JAM), Euphoria (I literally cry bc of how happy it makes me feel), Seesaw (i know the lyrics are sad but i just wanna dance to it at a family bbq wit a cute boi :c), Boy With Luv (idc what yall say, this is the best title track and im literally listening to it rn), HOME (the best song on the Persona album kldgjs), aaaand Ma City bc that shit wild af ooooof. I’m just goin off ljsdlgkjs

Favourite books: Oh definitely the mf Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series. god i love all of the main cast + some sides. the diversity, the humor, the action, the character development--i love it. i deadass need it to be accurately adapted into an animated Netflix series or sumn honestly hhhh also s/o to Trials of Apollo, i’m not caught up yet but I appreciate u LOL

Language: ughgh sadly i only know English. But I took 3 years of Japanese in high school and 2 years of Ilokano in college. I can do like basic, conversational with those 2. i wish I could retain the languages especially since Ilokano is supposed to be my native tongue and Japanese is beautiful (and useful in my major/chosen field)

What I hate: The childhood bully that Taehyung mentioned in a vlive once just said sumn that made my blood boil. dude literally STILL looks down on him, if u dont get ur musty ass out of herE--

Random fact: Lānaʻi (a Hawaiian island) has a cat sanctuary! They have about 600 cats c:

Describe aesthetic: oh boi this is hard. idk i like pastel colors a lot so that could be one or hmm, I thinkkkk like a cool, autumn day with cozy sweaters and hot chocolate or coffee. or the muffled sound of light rain hitting the window of a dimly lit room that has fairy lights as quiet music plays. bro iono i just love coziness dassit

Other blogs: This is my only one! I just reblog literally whatever im into whether it be book series, funny shit, anime/manga/cartoon series im into, bts, etc. but i do have a main personal twitter and a side account dedicated to bts c: 

Hogwarts house: I took the Pottermore quiz and I’m definitely a Hufflepuff HAHA

Patronus: Apparently a mink?? Man, idek what that is so i don’t really got anything to say about it LMFAO 

Favourite characters: Sasaki Haise - Tokyo Ghoul re (literally just this version), Percy Jackson - pjo/hoo, Hawks - BNHA, Pink Diamond - Steven Universe, yee

Tagging @nubbybuns @fineassdorito @hobi-joonie You guys don’t gotta do this if you don’t want to ~ c: 

[heavenrice7-blog]

25 Meatless Monday Recipes

Do you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!

Do you observe Meatless Monday? It’s a movement to once a week, eat all vegetarian and vegan recipes! In our own life, Alex and I take it a step further and do mostly meatless recipes during the week, and then splurge on the weekends. Though A Couple Cooks is a vegan and vegetarian food blog, it sometimes surprises people to know we’re not 100% vegetarian! (We call it flexitarian.) Whatever the case, Alex and I started eating more vegetables for two reasons: it’s improves our physical health, and the health of the planet. Keep reading for our favorite Meatless Monday recipes, a bit more about Meatless Monday, and a podcast episode that explains how eating less meat helps the planet.

What is Meatless Monday?

First of all, what’s Meatless Monday? Meatless Monday is a global movement with a simple message: one day a week, cut the meat. It was launched in 2003 as a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, working with the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal is to reduce meat consumption by 15% for our personal health and the health of the planet. Now entering its second decade, Meatless Monday is embraced in over 40 countries and in over 20 languages! How cool is that?

Why eat less meat?

There are lots of reasons to eat less meat. The two most important for us: eating lots of vegetables is good for our health. And it’s also good for the health of the planet. Why is it better for the Earth to eat less meat? In short: eating meat takes up a lot of resources. And growing plants uses less resources than growing meat. It’s a complicated topic, so we brought in an expert to help!

In our Small Bites podcast episode called Eating to Save the World, Eliza Barclay, Science and Health Editor at Vox.com, to breaks it down for us! She shared how what we eat affects the planet. We also talked about practical takeaways to help our world by eating more plant based meals: like all these Meatless Monday recipes! Listen below.

And now…our top 25 Meatless Monday recipes!

These loaded quinoa tacos are a delicious vegetarian taco recipe, featuring a taco spiced quinoa taco filling, bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and feta cheese! And they take only 30 minutes to make, putting them at the top of our list of Meatless Monday recipes.

This one’s the best veggie stir fry out there! This teriyaki vegetable stir fry is a favorite tasty and easy vegetarian recipe. The homemade teriyaki sauce is so easy to make: it takes just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes. The teriyaki also has no refined sugar, instead relying on maple syrup! This Meatless Monday recipe is so delicious, it’s become a serious go to in our house.

This white bean shakshuka recipe is a delicious vegetarian brunch or dinner recipe! The eggs are cooked in a savory tomato sauce, along with peppers, onions and white beans. Shakshuka recipes are having their moment, and this one’s one of the best.

This low carb burrito bowl with cauliflower rice is a delicious way to eat more vegetables! It’s Whole 30 vegetarian and customizable for all diets. And can we say chorizo eggs? The way we’ve cooked the eggs here has gotten rave reviews from readers. One reader even made the chorizo eggs to go on a breakfast sandwich too: this genius move makes for two Meatless Monday recipes in one!

This vegetarian sweet potato chili recipe is all star and a family favorite! It’s a delicious healthy dinner recipe where you won’t miss the meat.

Can’t decide between Italian and Mexican food? Have we got the perfect Meatless Monday recipe for you! This delicious Mexican pizza recipe features creamy refried beans, spicy jalapeño, and sweet corn. Make the dough in advance or use storebought dough for weeknight ease.

These sweet potato black bean enchiladas are delicious, crowd pleasing and one of our fan favorite best vegetarian dinner recipes! They feature tomatillo salsa verde that makes them “green” enchiladas, and they’re filled with sweet potato, black beans, and Colby Jack cheese.

This simple calzone recipe features a homemade pizza dough and a spinach, mushroom, and two-cheese filling. Make the dough in advance or use storebought pizza dough to make this easier for a weeknight in your Meatless Monday recipes repertoire!

Remember that Mexican pizza? This vegetarian Mexican lasagna uses the same Mexican and Italian fusion, and is the ultimate healthy dinner recipe! Layered with lasagna noodles, corn, and black beans, it’s full of zesty flavor.

Looking for a hearty meal? This sweet potato and kale soup features black beans and is flavored with cumin and lime; it’s vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Packed with red beans and okra, this easy vegetarian gumbo recipe brings New Orleans to your kitchen. With a few swaps, this recipe can be made vegan too.

What’s more classic than a margherita pizza in your Meatless Monday recipes? This homemade margherita pizza recipe features a time saving no-cook sauce. Although this pizza uses few ingredients, it packs in big flavor. Make the pizza dough in advance or use storebought to make it a weeknight meal.

These flavorful quinoa burgers are easy to make and keep well in the fridge for several days. Top with hummus and avocado and dig in!

This creamy coconut curry soup is a “pantry soup” made of only pantry ingredients you might have on hand. It comes together in under 30 minutes and is a simple plant based meal.

Looking for a quick sandwich recipe that will knock your socks off? This Mediterranean veggie sandwich is fast to make and loaded with deliciousness.

This creamy spaghetti pasta marinara recipe uses whole milk Greek yogurt to make it extra rich and flavorful. Serve this sauce immediately or freeze for later! If you eat vegan, here’s our Vegan Pasta Marinara instead!

This coconut lentil curry has it all: it’s a fast and easy dinner idea that’s healthy and full of flavor. Perfect for weeknights and your arsenal of Meatless Monday recipes.

This loaded veggie quesadilla recipe is one the tastiest around—and it’s packed with veggies! It’s perfect for healthy dinner ideas for kids, and adults too.

This Italian pasta salad is full of zesty flavor, featuring kalamata olives, capers, and crisp romaine. It takes under 30 minutes to make, which is perfect as a healthy weeknight meal. It’s also great for lunches!

These chickpea couscous bowls are a super quick dinner recipe: in just 25 minutes you have a fresh, vegan Mediterranean bowl covered in tangy tahini sauce.

These sweet potatoes topped with a zesty slaw and creamy Thai peanut butter sauce are an irresistible plant based dinner recipe! They’ve become one of our favorite go to’s for Meatless Monday recipes, and are a hit with our readers over on Instagram.

And finally, to round out our Meatless Monday recipes: Korean ramen! This easy Korean ramen recipe is vegan and full of flavor, topped with quick pickled cucumbers.

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Do you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!

Source: https://www.acouplecooks.com/meatless-monday-recipes/

[rubbarband]

What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

Uncommon Questions for OCs and their creators:

OC Question

@sleepdeprxved

"I suppose things like old malls, I don't even know what they're called but it was one of those big malls that have a food court and all these stalls and shops in it; I used to go there alot with my family. Walking around the place, looking at the pet stories and arcades, eating heavily greasy pizza pretzels- ha ha! It was chock full of things to do. I even had my first date with Eliza there. It's also where I got my ears pierced and my earrings."

That place is gone now, most of them are...it's sad going in there and seeing most places boarded up , catching cob-webs, I'll never forget Eliza took me to a curry place in the food court and I'll always remember how spicy and sweet it was, now I can barely remember the taste.

"Do I feel nostalgic over it? Yeah of course! Wouldn't bother keeping it in my mind vault if not, there's alot of old places around Portland I miss or remember walking or driving by, near my house there's a blockbusters just sitting there empty. Makes me feel old. I wish I could go back to those days."

[thesweatycollectiontyrant]

110 in the Shade

I decided to make it as pleasing as possible for myself to just profile each musical in alphabetical (and numerical? hence 110 in the Shade) order, starting with a gorgeous classic, 110 in the Shade.

Background Info

This is a musical that opened just after the Golden Age. It’s kind of in that area of musicals that people don’t really know how to refer to. Others in the area are a lot of Bock and Harnick musicals, like Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me, also, Jerry Herman favorites, Mame and Hello, Dolly!

Writers

The show has music and lyrics by the team of Harvey Schmidt who actually died exactly a week after my 18th birthday and Tom Jones who did not die exactly a week after my 18th birthday. Schmidt and Jones wrote other works together including, The Fantasticks (one of the longest-running shows in history), and the marriage profile, I Do! I Do! starring the likes of Robert Preston and Mary Martin (with a low Db), who were quite the duo, if you’d ask me. The book was by N. Richard Nash, who actually wrote a play called The Rainmaker, that was produced a few years prior.

Da System

The way I’m going to do this is that I’m going to write while listening. I’m always going to include the cast recording I chose to listen to.

Side note: Most of the time, I’m going to choose especially with classic musicals cast recordings that I feel have the best voices. ALSO, while I do listen to the entire show, I’m gonna just talk about highlights.

Who’s Singing?

For 110 in the Shade, I decided to go with a studio recording from 1997, starring Karen Ziemba as Lizzie Curry and Ron Raines as Bill Starbuck.

Time to dig into this loaded show.

Let’s Do This

For a while, I listened to the recording with Audra McDonald (one of my favorite voices of ALL time, period) as Lizzie, but eventually, I noticed that they transposed a lot of songs for her. Which by all means is okay although a bit surprising for a soprano, but I wanted to hear the way it was intended. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of Steve Kazee’s voice as Bill Starbuck (choppy vibrato), so I searched for a recording for something that is true to the original material, but recent. Thankfully, this recording served everything I was looking for. Another thing that’s funny listening to Karen Ziemba sing this instead of Audra McDonald are these two things: When I think of Karen Ziemba, I think of her phenomenal dancing and the fact that she’s an alto. When I think of Audra, I think of her amazing acting and the fact that she’s a soprano. It’s funny to me that they had Karen Ziemba do the part. Maybe, she was a soprano back in the day. However, despite her alto-ness, she really has quite the range and went OFF in this recording. Very pleasantly surprised.

As I listen to the score, I can say that it is incredibly picturesque. The Overture is both riveting and solemn. It reminded me a lot of Rossini’s William Tell Overture with the whole Morning section mixed with some Fireball. The orchestra is phenomenal. The orchestrations are very lush; something like a mattress that eats you up, but doesn’t make you sink. It’s very full for such a Western-esque score, and it’s perfect to me. It’s a lot like Copland’s Rodeo.

During the opening number, you find out from the Greek chorus (kinda) of townspeople. There’s a drought and it’s gonna be Another Hot Day. The opening number is special because it introduces many themes that happen all the way through the show. The interesting thing is that they introduce them in a way that it doesn’t get annoying to the listener. The motif is formed in many different ways all the way through the show. Also, most of the singing in this number is unison or counterpoint between the men and the women on different themes. The unison singing (while it can be beautiful at times) really gives you that bored sense of I Don’t Care What Happens Today Get Me a Palm Tree I’m Hot.

“Lizzie’s Comin’ Home” is very fun and gives you something you don’t get to hear as much. A trio between three men ("Sincerely, Me" anybody?), Lizzie’s father, H.C. Curry, and her two brothers, Noah and Jimmy. Nice harmonies at the end, and definitely something that could be performed in a concert/cabaret setting.

A few things happen: Lizzie gets her “I Want” song, addressed to Love, so she can get her a mans. The dudes sing about poker and stuff (which is actually a fun number, and a great example of a “Blow High, Blow Low” male ensemble number).

Then the male lead is introduced. Bill Starbuck(s)(?) claims to be a rainmaker (what about a coffee maker? wow now I need caffeine). He leads all the townsfolk in a SUPER DUPER FUN ensemble number that I honestly love, simply titled “The Rain Song”. It’s so exciting and something that you can listen to to get your blood pumping. WOW Ron Raines’ voice. Ooft. Love it.

“You’re Not Foolin’ Me” is a fun duet between Lizzie and Starbuck where they are doubting each other to the point that it’s comical, sort of Beatrice and Benedick meet “Anything You Can Do”.

“Raunchy” is the ultimate definition of a hoot. I don’t need to say anything else. Just watch Audra McDonald do cartwheels at Radio City Music Hall.

“Old Maid” serves as Lizzie’s nervous breakdown that she truly might never find love. She’s just met this guy who she thinks she might like, but she’s not sure, because she’s never really had a chance before, and now he comes along and she doesn’t know what to do, so she just resorts to imagining the thought of being alone forever. This is a fantastic example of amazing songwriting, from changing meter, repeated themes, chord voicing, orchestrations, character arc, everything. This is a great example of a song to give a superstar Soprano who has some fantastic acting chops.

Act Two traditionally opens with an ensemble number *squeals in excitement* called “Everything Beautiful Happens at Night”. It gave me some “Clambake” vibes, as it was written in waltz time, and has some really beautiful and interesting harmonies that just fed my musician soul like I had some Cracker Barrel. Then there’s a fun dance routine with either tapping or softshoe that sounded like tons of sweat, or as my high school theatre teacher called it, success.

Starbuck gets a really nice solo called “Melisande” which is a sort of tale he tells Lizzie. I’ll have to listen again to get specifics yikes but y’all know.

“Simple Little Things” is a nice little (kind of redundant, but still beautiful and necessary) solo for Lizzie.

Kristin Chenoweth made a little appearance in “Little Red Hat” which is more or less of a throwaway duet with one of Lizzie’s brothers, whom she is dating.

The Finale culminates in an enormous celebration by the ensemble when the rain finally comes and the temperature drops from 110 while they’re in the shade to a melancholy 100 in the shade. RIP I guess. The number has some fun A-flats for the Tenors and Sopranos. An interesting ending to a genuinely fun show.

Audition Songs

Cool thing about future posts. Most of the shows that I post about, I have access to vocal scores for, so if you’d like PDFs of songs for auditions or anything, just let me know, and I’d be more than happy to send to you! YouTube links will be posted with the title of the song.

Regarding this show in particular, while I mentioned that this is not in the Golden Age, per se, this is still a perfect show to take to an audition that asks for a Golden Age song.

“Love, Don’t Turn Away” - Lizzie, D4-F5

The song has a charming quality. Good idea for auditioning for a Rodgers and Hammerstein show, like Cinderella. It’s for a Soprano, but can easily be sung by a Mezzo, as it doesn’t go too high.

“Raunchy” - Lizzie, G3-Ab5

This song is so so so so so funny. Coincidentally, this would also be good for a Rodgers and Hammerstein/Bock and Harnick/Lerner and Loewe audition. Maybe something along the lines of Amalia Balash or Eliza Doolittle. The song is for a soprano. The situation is that she’s explaining to her dad how she’s gonna get her mans. There are some harmonies at the end between her and her dad that could easily be cut for an audition. That’s where the high Ab happens, so if you choose to cut the section where they sing the “Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo”s, the song goes up to a G5, which is only a half-step difference.

“Old Maid” - Lizzie, B3-G5

This song is featured in the infamous The Singer’s Musical Theatre Anthology: Soprano, Volume One. Disclaimer: I’m not hating on the series of books; I’m hating on the idea that many voice teachers across the country simply choose the same songs for their students to sing. While this is in the anthology, It is more of an unpopular one. Which is good *maniacal laugh*. This is a great song to show your dramatic acting ability, ladies. It’s an awesome song to take to a Weill or Bernstein audition because of its opus nature, but also it’s great to bring to an audition for the composers and roles mentioned in the above paragraph. This is a fantastic song.

“Melisande” - Starbuck, G2-G4

This song is pretty range-y, but it’s a story-telling song. It’s a good song to have fun with. Very appropriate for a Baritone or Tenor.

“Simple Little Things” - Lizzie, B3-E5

Not much to say about it other than I think it’s really pretty. Starbuck has a weird line at the end you can cut if you use it.

To Wrap It Up

This is actually a really fantastic show. I love the plot. Lizzie really grows up over the show, and shows that even people who are a little silly can find love too. This show is a really good choice for high schools. You can cast it as big as you need by adding to the townsfolk. Not sure if they have a lot of individual lines, but it could be solved easily. The revised version, offered by Tams-Witmark only has twelve characters. Crizzazy. I know the original version, also offered by Tams-Witmark has a similar get-up, but gives the option to add more to the ensemble. If you’ve got a dynamite soprano who can act really well, this is the way to go. It’s a very accessible show, and something that could really bring a group of people together.

Get it.

[bewitchingbooktours]

Shadow and Poison by J.B. Curry #PNR #ParanormalNoir

Shadow and Poison

The Dark Guard

Book 1

J.B. Curry

Genre: Paranormal Romance, hot paranormal noir

Publisher: Arcanic Media

Date of Publication: January 26 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7327900-2-5

ASIN: B08RLPVJGQ

Number of pages:472

Word Count: 112,000

Book Description:

When monsters stalk the darkness of Prohibition era Chicago, it takes a special kind of hero to kill them.

Private detective Mark Van Ryn’s supernatural power over shadow has made him an outcast his whole life. When a mutated creature starts eating Chicago’s gangsters from the inside out, Mark is the only man in the city who can hunt it down and destroy it. But a dangerous lady has a job for Mark too, one that might cost him more than his life.

Gifted perfumer Eliza Karlova needs a man. The most evil man Chicago’s got. And she needs Mark to find him for her. Because Eliza has a deadly power of her own and a family legacy she’s doomed to keep. But when forbidden passion flames up between Eliza and the angelically handsome detective, she has to decide between her destiny, and the man she loves.

War brews in the city as the Century of Progress World’s Fair draws near, and Mark and Eliza must find a way to trust each other if their love, and Chicago, are to survive.

Gritty and gripping, powerful and sexy, Shadow and Poison will have your heart racing with each kill and every searing kiss. ~ Max Watson, author of Chains of Nurture

Amazon      BN      Apple Books      Kobo

 Shadow and Poison Excerpt 1

Eliza’s face was carefully turned away from him as she cuddled up next to Duke. Pretending that if she couldn’t see him, he couldn’t see her, maybe.

That never works, sweetheart. Drink in hand, he ambled across the room toward the darling couple.

Duke watched him coming with a half-smile. “Mark,” he drawled. “We seem to be meeting everywhere nowadays. I see neither hide nor hair of you for years, and now here you are. Again.”

“Funny coincidence, eh Lionel?”

“Indeed.” He slid a glance at McGann and his boys, who were eyeing them right back. “Interesting friends you’ve made.”

“I might say the same for you,” Mark returned, his eyes on Eliza.

“Ah, where are my manners?” Duke said with a little laugh. “You remember Miss Karlova.”

She held out her hand in a languid gesture. “How do you do,” she said, with a polite, distant smile on her lips. As if those lips hadn’t been locked on his a few hours ago.

A hard smile edged his own mouth as he took her hand in his. “Yeah,” he said. “Eliza isn’t the kind of lady a man forgets. Thank you for the lovely morning we spent together, by the way. I hope you enjoyed the red hot sausage.” He brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over her gloved fingertips.

Her face drained of color as she stared at him, wide-eyed. She all but snatched her hand away from him.“You—you remember.”

Duke arched an eyebrow at her. “What’s this? You spent the morning with Mark? Why, how charitable of you to visit with a poor invalid, my dear.”

“Yeah, she’s a regular angel of mercy.” Mark kept his eyes on Eliza. “We could talk about the reason you came to see me, or we can dance. What do you say angel?”

“I . . . I . . .” she said.

“Speechless with delight, I guess.” He plopped his whiskey glass down on the table and all but scooped Eliza up out of her chair. “You don’t mind, do you old fellow?” he said to Duke. Without waiting for a reply he swept Eliza onto the dance floor.

It had been a long time since he’d danced with a woman. Not since the fluffy little debutantes of his youth. But she made it easy. She was a smooth, graceful dancer, responding to the lightest touch as he moved her around the floor. Her gloved hand rested light as smoke on his shoulder, the fingers of the other clasping his softly.

But though her body moved beautifully with his, from the neck up, she wasn’t happy with him at all. Her eyes were narrowed, her lush red lips drawn tight. “What are you doing?” she murmured. “Why are you trying to convince Duke you’re courting me?”

“Would you rather I told him you hired me to spy on him?”

“I would rather you hadn’t come here at all. What do you think you’re about, interfering with my plans like this?”

“It isn’t about you, sweetheart. I’m on a job. It’s just your bad luck if I accidentally wreck your chance to nab a murderer for a husband.”

“For your information, you can’t destroy my chance to ‘nab’ Duke, no matter what you do. You’re only making a fool of yourself, Mr. Van Ryn.”

“Since our lips got to know each other so well this morning, I think you can call me Mark.”

Her cheeks turned pink. “So you remember that too.”

“If you think I’d forget a kiss like that just because you tell me to, you don’t know me very well, Eliza.” He slipped his hand down her back an inch and squeezed her softly.

She sucked in a breath and her blush deepened. “Stop that. What do you want, Mark? Really.”

“I want to know what Duke told you about his pet monster.”

“Nothing. The only topic we’ve spoken about is the World’s Fair.”

“That’s all?”

“That, and all the important politicians who will be there on opening day. Lionel wants very badly to impress them.”

“So it’s Lionel, is it?”

“Yes. What else should I call my future fiancé?”

“The defendant?”

“Hilarious.” The band started winding up its tune. “Now that you’ve got what you came for, you can take me back to my table.”

“I haven’t got everything I want yet, angel, but I will.”

She didn’t dignify that with a reply, but pivoted, chin in the air, and marched off the dance floor, barely waiting for him to escort her.

Duke was watching them with hooded eyes. He got up lazily as they approached and held out his hand to Eliza. “You dance beautifully, my dear. All you need is a partner worthy of you, and you would be without peer.”

“I’m already without peer, darling, but I wouldn’t mind another dance,” she said with a saucy smile.

Duke immediately took her in his arms and danced her off as a new tune began.

“Have fun kids,” Mark said. The sight of Eliza in Duke’s arms did something nasty to his insides, so he turned away went back to the bar. He ignored McGann’s meaningful glare as he passed by their table and put his foot on the rail and his elbow on the counter. “Gimme another whiskey,” he said to the barkeep.

As the man poured his drink, McGann got up and huffed over next to him. “What are you doing? You’re not here to make time with some twist,” he said.

He looked away from McGann, staring into the long mirror behind the bar. His own ghost-white face stared back at him. Behind his reflection, Eliza and Duke danced past. “I know what I’m doing,” he said. “This is all part of the plan.”

“What plan?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bartender standing a few feet away from him, staring down into a sink behind the counter. He craned his neck for a better look and saw water bubbling up out of the pipes. The man took a piece of wire out from underneath the counter and stuck it into the drain, probing around.

The hair at the back of Mark’s neck stirred.

“Did you hear what I said, punk?” McGann barked. “What’s your plan to catch this thing?”

In the mirror, Mark saw Eliza stop short in the middle of the dance floor. She pulled away from Duke and spun toward the bar, nostrils flaring, eyes wide.

“Damn!” Mark lunged for McGann. “Get back!”

A fountain of greasy water exploded from the sink, shooting past the bartender and sending him tumbling to the floor. A tentacle like a long rope of jelly lashed out of the drain straight for McGann’s face. Mark got a fist in the gangster’s collar and yanked him away from the thing, but he wasn’t quite fast enough.

The tip of the tentacle whipped across McGann’s chin, leaving a wide red streak like an acid burn. One touch of that thing could dissolve human flesh. Mark released McGann and he flailed away, pulling out his gun.

Mark was dimly aware of the screams erupting around him, the Outfit boys leaping to their feet and drawing their heaters, people in a mad stampede toward the doors.

 But all his focus was on the mass of slime pouring itself out of the drain, across the bar and onto the floor. It was a rubbery, pulsing, roiling mass of greenish jelly that quickly formed a viscous blob three times as big as a man. Tendrils of slime shot out of the main body, probing around like long tongues licking the air, and then sucking themselves back in with an awful slurping sound.

There you are at last, you ugly bastard. He gathered his shadow and got ready for a brawl.

   About the Author:

J.B. Curry is an artist and writer. She has traveled to every corner of the United States, but currently lives in beautiful New England with her family and her vast collection of houseplants.

Come visit her at https://www.jbcurry.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authorj.b.curry    

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/J.B.-Curry/e/B07KVJ43V8

Boo

kbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/j-b-curry

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2568231.J_B_Curry

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[mudpuddling-moved]

a list of musicians i like that nobody asked me for

a. armada, afenginn, agnes obel, ajj, the album leaf, amandine, american football, amiina, among the oak & ash, amy winehouse, analogik, andrew bird, angus & julia stone, anna ternheim, antoine dufour, aphex twin, arcade fire, art in manila, asobi seksu, the asteroids galaxy tour, atomic square, au revoir simone, azure ray, ásgeir, baby fire, bad books, badly drawn boy, balmorhea, balstyrko, band of horses, bang gang, beck, ben folds, ben howard, benjamin francis leftwich, beyoncé, the bird & the bee, bitter:sweet, björk, the black heart procession, the blake robinson synthetic orchestra, blind pilot, blondfire, blouse, the blow, blue foundation, bombazine black, bon iver, boris, brand new, bright eyes, brika, british sea power, britney spears, the burns unit, car seat headrest, cat be damned, cat power, cbmc, chairlift, charlotte sometimes, choir of young believers, the chrysler, city & colour, clogs, coconut records, cocorosie, cœur de pirate, colleen, corrine bailey rae, crystal castles, crywank, cults, dads, damien jurado, dan black, dandelion hands, dark dark dark, daughter, david robbins, dawn landes, days n daze, dead man’s bones, death cab for cutie, decoder ring, denzel curry, devendra banhart, devotchka, diet cig, diners, donora, dosh, drive me home please, the duke spirit, edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros, eerie summer, efterklang, eivør, el perro del mar, electric guest, electric president, eleisha eagle, elephant revival, eliza rickman, elliott smith, elvis depressedly, emilie-claire barlow, emilíana torrini, emily jane white, emmy moll, erin mccarley, explosions in the sky, faded paper figures, fallulah, feist, a fine frenzy, first aid kit, the flaming lips, flatsound, florence + the machine, florist, fog lake, the format, foster the people, fox, fox academy, frankie cosmos, the frights, ghost orchard, ghostronaut, gin wigmore, glen hansard & marketa irglova, gobbinjr, grandaddy, great lake swimmers, green day, gregory alan isakov, grimes, haim, hammock, helena, hello saferide, high sunn, hilmar örn hilmarsson, hope sandoval & the warm inventions, the hotelier, huma, hurray for the riff raff, ichiko aoba, in love with a ghost, indigo girls, infinity crush, ingrid michaelson, iron & wine, islands, jared mees, jaymay, jeffrey lewis, jem, jesca hoop, joanna newsom, johnny cash, jolie holland, josé gonzález, joshua radin, jóhann jóhannsson, jónsi, julianna barwick, jurassic shark, kate nash, the kills, kimya dawson, la roux, lady gaga, lana del rey, lenka, lily allen, lion detective club, lisa mitchell, lorde, lotte kestner, lulu & the lampshades, lykke li, lymbyc systym, m.i.a., mac demarco, manchester orchestra, margot & the nuclear so & so’s, marian hill, mariee sioux, marina & the diamonds, marla hansen, martina topley-bird, massive attack, mazzy star, melody gardot, metric, mgmt, the microphones, the middle east, the milk carton kids, mirah, moa, modest mouse, mogwai, molly drake, morcheeba, mount eerie, mountain man, mugison, múm, mø, natalie imbruglia, nephew, neutral milk hotel, nicole dollanganger, nitin sawhney, no vacation, nouela, nouvelle vague, of monsters & men, oh!hello, old gray, orchid mantis, ólafur arnalds, panucci’s pizza, the paper kites, passion pit, patrick park, penguin cafe orchestra, people eating people, phantogram, phildel, piano magic, the pierces, pill friends, pinstripe sunny, pity sex, plushgun, portishead, protest hill, purity ring, queens of the stone age, quiet giant, rachel yamagata, radiator hospital, radical face, radiohead, regina spektor, retsin, reykjavíkurdætur, richie woods, rihanna, rocky votolato, ryan stewart, ryuichi sakamoto, santigold, sea of bees, sea wolf, seabear, seahaven, sia, sibylle baier, sigur rós, simone white, slow hollows, sneaker pimps, soccer mommy, sohodolls, sóley, spleen, stafrænn hákon, starry cat, stateless, strfkr, sufjan stevens, sundae crush, supreme beings of leisure, the taxpayers, teen suicide, télépopmusik, this will destroy you, the tiny, tiny ruins, tonals, trentemøller, troels abrahamsen, ulige numre, vampire weekend, walter mitty & his makeshift orchestra, waxahatchee, the weepies, the white stripes, whitley, wild child, wishing, the world is a beautiful place & i am no longer afraid to die, yeah yeah yeahs, yo la tengo, young the giant, zola jesus

[the-everqueen]

fic prompt: broom conservatory au, Alex goes on a shopping run

Alex sits in her lap the entire drive to the store. Eliza shouldn’t let him do that — even if he can’t wear a seatbelt, him nuzzling at her stomach is distracting — but he looked so pathetic when John left for the airport, and she can’t deny him his small comforts. She places him in the child’s seat of the cart, and he curls up, resting his chin on the handle.

A clerk stops her in the cereal aisle. “I’m sorry? Miss? We don’t allow pets in the store.”

Alex bristles. “He’s not a pet,” Eliza says.

The clerk gives her a skeptical look.

“He’s a…” faerie, pianist, boyfriend “… service animal.”

“Is it even legal to own a fox in this state?” The clerk shakes his head. “Whatever. Next time put a service vest on him. And maybe a leash.” 

Alex hisses as the guy walks away.

Eliza strokes his fur. “He might have a point. We could at least get you a collar, so people don’t think you’re a wild animal.”

A baleful glare. She can hear him saying, I am a wild creature.

“Well, yes. But would you rather explain the truth?” She tosses a box of Pop-Tarts into the cart. “Besides, I think you’d look nice in a black leather collar.”

He geckles. Behind her, a woman coughs and whispers “excuse me,” reaching for the breakfast bars. Eliza blushes and hurries to the next aisle to get rice. She’s thinking curry for dinner: quick, simple, and familiar. A nice first-time dinner in their new home. Which — oh, maybe she’ll add shrimp? She turns the cart toward the seafood section.

Alex sits up in the cart as they get closer, ears perked and whiskers twitching. He stares at the case of fresh fish and licks his lips.

“Alexander,” Eliza says, warning-tone.

“Can I help you?” the clerk behind the counter asks. She gives Alex a dubious look.

Eliza flashes her sweetest smile. She’s becoming like Alexander, she thinks, using charm to deflect human curiosity. “How much for a pound of shrimp?”

The woman rattles off a price. Eliza hums, considering. She could get more chicken for the same price, but then it’s just her and Alex this weekend. John is in Seattle doing a concert, even though he should be here with them, celebrating their move-in and eating curry and helping her line the windowsills with salt. Then again, she could freeze the extras and have lunch for the next week…

Distracted, she almost misses Alex leaping out of the cart.

Eliza grabs him by the scruff. He wails, a hideous noise that the whole store must be able to hear, and thrashes in her grip. She wrestles him back into the cart, keeping a hand on his neck. He wriggles and screeches, teeth snapping at air.

“Are pets allowed in the store?” the clerk yells over him.

“Service animal!” She’s already pushing the cart away with her elbows.

Forget shrimp, she’ll use tofu.

Alex doesn’t shut up until they reach the dairy aisle, where Eliza opens the package of Pop-Tarts one-handed and gives him a pastry. Then he hunkers down to gnaw on it, making churlish growls around mouthfuls of frosted strawberry. She grabs the tofu and soy milk and goes straight to checkout. She’ll come back alone, later, for the other things she wanted.

The kid working checkout coos at Alex. “He’s cute! And he likes sweets?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s got a real sweet tooth.” Eliza swipes her card.

“Cash back?” They lean over the counter. “And can I pet him?”

“Sure.” Alex is preening, so she figures he won’t nip. The kid climbs up onto the conveyor belt and reaches down to stroke Alex’s back. He purrs, arching into the touch. “No cash back,” Eliza adds.

She wrestles the groceries into the car, and Alex scrambles into the passenger seat, curling up into a tight ball. He sulks on the ride home.

“You really miss John, don’t you?”

Muffled grunt.

“But I’m still here.”

He buries his face in his tail.

She rolls her eyes. “Fine, be like that.”

He’s no help with the groceries in this form — she could swear he turns into a fox to get out of chores, sometimes — so she hauls the bags up the stairs to their apartment, him trotting ahead of her. He disappears under the couch once they’re inside, and she busies herself organizing the fridge and prepping ingredients for curry. Chopping vegetables takes the edge off her irritation; she hums along to her favorite playlist.

Something soft brushes against her bare leg. She looks down to see Alex rubbing his face on her calves. He turns those big dark eyes on her and gives an apologetic geckle. You’re here, I’m here, please?

Sometimes Eliza wonders whether she really understands him, or if she’s making concessions.

She gives him a piece of tofu.

[kissnovel46-blog]

25 Meatless Monday Recipes

Do you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!

Do you observe Meatless Monday? It’s a movement to once a week, eat all vegetarian and vegan recipes! In our own life, Alex and I take it a step further and do mostly meatless recipes during the week, and then splurge on the weekends. Though A Couple Cooks is a vegan and vegetarian food blog, it sometimes surprises people to know we’re not 100% vegetarian! (We call it flexitarian.) Whatever the case, Alex and I started eating more vegetables for two reasons: it’s improves our physical health, and the health of the planet. Keep reading for our favorite Meatless Monday recipes, a bit more about Meatless Monday, and a podcast episode that explains how eating less meat helps the planet.

What is Meatless Monday?

First of all, what’s Meatless Monday? Meatless Monday is a global movement with a simple message: one day a week, cut the meat. It was launched in 2003 as a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, working with the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal is to reduce meat consumption by 15% for our personal health and the health of the planet. Now entering its second decade, Meatless Monday is embraced in over 40 countries and in over 20 languages! How cool is that?

Why eat less meat?

There are lots of reasons to eat less meat. The two most important for us: eating lots of vegetables is good for our health. And it’s also good for the health of the planet. Why is it better for the Earth to eat less meat? In short: eating meat takes up a lot of resources. And growing plants uses less resources than growing meat. It’s a complicated topic, so we brought in an expert to help!

In our Small Bites podcast episode called Eating to Save the World, Eliza Barclay, Science and Health Editor at Vox.com, to breaks it down for us! She shared how what we eat affects the planet. We also talked about practical takeaways to help our world by eating more plant based meals: like all these Meatless Monday recipes! Listen below.

And now…our top 25 Meatless Monday recipes!

These loaded quinoa tacos are a delicious vegetarian taco recipe, featuring a taco spiced quinoa taco filling, bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and feta cheese! And they take only 30 minutes to make, putting them at the top of our list of Meatless Monday recipes.

This one’s the best veggie stir fry out there! This teriyaki vegetable stir fry is a favorite tasty and easy vegetarian recipe. The homemade teriyaki sauce is so easy to make: it takes just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes. The teriyaki also has no refined sugar, instead relying on maple syrup! This Meatless Monday recipe is so delicious, it’s become a serious go to in our house.

This white bean shakshuka recipe is a delicious vegetarian brunch or dinner recipe! The eggs are cooked in a savory tomato sauce, along with peppers, onions and white beans. Shakshuka recipes are having their moment, and this one’s one of the best.

This low carb burrito bowl with cauliflower rice is a delicious way to eat more vegetables! It’s Whole 30 vegetarian and customizable for all diets. And can we say chorizo eggs? The way we’ve cooked the eggs here has gotten rave reviews from readers. One reader even made the chorizo eggs to go on a breakfast sandwich too: this genius move makes for two Meatless Monday recipes in one!

This vegetarian sweet potato chili recipe is all star and a family favorite! It’s a delicious healthy dinner recipe where you won’t miss the meat.

Can’t decide between Italian and Mexican food? Have we got the perfect Meatless Monday recipe for you! This delicious Mexican pizza recipe features creamy refried beans, spicy jalapeño, and sweet corn. Make the dough in advance or use storebought dough for weeknight ease.

These sweet potato black bean enchiladas are delicious, crowd pleasing and one of our fan favorite best vegetarian dinner recipes! They feature tomatillo salsa verde that makes them “green” enchiladas, and they’re filled with sweet potato, black beans, and Colby Jack cheese.

This simple calzone recipe features a homemade pizza dough and a spinach, mushroom, and two-cheese filling. Make the dough in advance or use storebought pizza dough to make this easier for a weeknight in your Meatless Monday recipes repertoire!

Remember that Mexican pizza? This vegetarian Mexican lasagna uses the same Mexican and Italian fusion, and is the ultimate healthy dinner recipe! Layered with lasagna noodles, corn, and black beans, it’s full of zesty flavor.

Looking for a hearty meal? This sweet potato and kale soup features black beans and is flavored with cumin and lime; it’s vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Packed with red beans and okra, this easy vegetarian gumbo recipe brings New Orleans to your kitchen. With a few swaps, this recipe can be made vegan too.

What’s more classic than a margherita pizza in your Meatless Monday recipes? This homemade margherita pizza recipe features a time saving no-cook sauce. Although this pizza uses few ingredients, it packs in big flavor. Make the pizza dough in advance or use storebought to make it a weeknight meal.

These flavorful quinoa burgers are easy to make and keep well in the fridge for several days. Top with hummus and avocado and dig in!

This creamy coconut curry soup is a “pantry soup” made of only pantry ingredients you might have on hand. It comes together in under 30 minutes and is a simple plant based meal.

Looking for a quick sandwich recipe that will knock your socks off? This Mediterranean veggie sandwich is fast to make and loaded with deliciousness.

This creamy spaghetti pasta marinara recipe uses whole milk Greek yogurt to make it extra rich and flavorful. Serve this sauce immediately or freeze for later! If you eat vegan, here’s our Vegan Pasta Marinara instead!

This coconut lentil curry has it all: it’s a fast and easy dinner idea that’s healthy and full of flavor. Perfect for weeknights and your arsenal of Meatless Monday recipes.

This loaded veggie quesadilla recipe is one the tastiest around—and it’s packed with veggies! It’s perfect for healthy dinner ideas for kids, and adults too.

This Italian pasta salad is full of zesty flavor, featuring kalamata olives, capers, and crisp romaine. It takes under 30 minutes to make, which is perfect as a healthy weeknight meal. It’s also great for lunches!

These chickpea couscous bowls are a super quick dinner recipe: in just 25 minutes you have a fresh, vegan Mediterranean bowl covered in tangy tahini sauce.

These sweet potatoes topped with a zesty slaw and creamy Thai peanut butter sauce are an irresistible plant based dinner recipe! They’ve become one of our favorite go to’s for Meatless Monday recipes, and are a hit with our readers over on Instagram.

And finally, to round out our Meatless Monday recipes: Korean ramen! This easy Korean ramen recipe is vegan and full of flavor, topped with quick pickled cucumbers.

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Description

Do you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!

Source: https://www.acouplecooks.com/meatless-monday-recipes/

[santiagostyle]

hi this is me sending u every single emoji from the ask meme bc im too lazy to type out just the ones i want to ask

dammit jo why u gotta do this to me (jk I’m excited) (also I deleted some questions bc I’m stupid and idk what half of them mean or how to answer them COOL)

Send me emojis!

(hella long post sorry in advance)

☝ - How tall are you?

5′6″ I’m pretty sure

✔ - Sexual Orientation

Lmao good question

🚬 - Do you Smoke?

I mean ??? No but I’ve tried it does that count

🍷 - Do you Drink?

On occasion yes

♒ - Do you Take Drugs?

Negative

😳 - Age you get mistaken for?

TBH either 15 or 25 there is no in between

💉 - Have Tattoos?

Nope

✏️ - Want any tattoos?

Maybe?? Most likely a Florence lyric (”I’m gonna be free and I’m gonna be fine”) but I have no idea where I would get it

✂️ - Got any Piercings?

I have three piercings in each earlobe

✌ - Want any piercings?

Maybe a cartilage piercing or something idk

👌 - Best friend?

I have several and their names are Sandra, Temiqua, Macy, Layne, Megan, and there’s more ok I’m stressed I can’t list them all I’ll be here all day

♥ - Do you like anyone?

Unfortunately yes I think so but I’m pretty sure I’m getting over it

🎤 - Top 5 favorite bands?

Florence + The Machine, The Fray, Daughter, Prince (and the Revolution/and the N.P.G), The Cranberries

Special mention to: Marina & The Diamonds, Lana Del Rey (I know she’s a singer not a band but I love her don’t @ me)

🎶 - Top 5 favorite songs?

Sucker - Peaches

Salvation - The Cranberries

Lying - Amy Meredith

Caught - Florence + The Machine

America - XYLØ

Special mention to: 

Raspberry Beret - Prince (for sentimental reasons)

Shut Up and Dance - Walk The Moon (also sentimental reasons)

Wake Me Up - Avicii (you guessed it)

Regular Touch - Vera Blue

Little Numbers - BOY

😒 - Biggest pet peeve?

People who take advantage of the fact that you love them

📝 - Story from your childhood.

I don’t really have any interesting stories from my childhood but I have one super embarrassing one… when I was little I used to get really really bad migraines pretty often and one time when I was in 1st grade I got super sick super fast and I went outside to get a drink of water and I ended up throwing up on (in? idk) somebody’s backpack and wow it was horrible and I don’t know why I’m sharing this 

💬 - I wish…

I wish I didn’t get distracted/frustrated so easily bc I have so many ideas and I don’t have the focus or patience to follow through with a lot of them

‼️ - Something you’ll change?

I mean hopefully I’ll stop procrastinating at some point but that’s unlikely

💦 - What makes you horny?

JFC going to church and hearing the word of the Lord!!!!! anyway this is an inaPPROPRIATE QUESTION (I’m kidding there’s a similar question further down I might be more serious there)

🌟 - A wish you’ll wish for?

Well if I put it here it won’t come true now will it

🔥 - Something spicy you like?

I like green curry from the Chinese restaurant my family always orders from

👃 You hate the smell of ….

Fish ugh

👊 - Something you hate?

Discrimination in any way shape or form ugh

🚶 - Are you single?

Yes

💭 - Favorite foods?

I really love Nutella and burritos (not together)

☀ - Story about your day.

I had an 8:30am lecture so that was fun (sarcasm, people) and then a seminar right afterwards, then grabbed lunch with some pals from uni then came home and read fan fiction tbh my life is wild 

💘 - Top 5 celebrity crushes?

Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Andy Samberg, Robert Downey Jr, James Marsters circa 1999-2000

Special mention to: Ian Harding, Jude Law, Camilla Belle, Eliza Dushku, Keira Knightley, Karla Souza, Katie McGrath, Sarah Michelle Gellar circa 2001 jfc I love a lot of people

🎥 - Top 5 favorite movies?

Celeste & Jesse Forever: this movie ruined my life but I love it so much and also refuse to watch it ever again

Last Night: I was so angry at the end of this movie my best friend had to stop me from throwing her computer across the room but GOD it’s so so good 

Cruel Intentions: look I was like 15 when I first watched this movie and I was in no way prepared and tbh I am still #shook by how much people got away with in the 90s (and also… SMG with dark hair amirite)

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: idk I like mystery movies and Robert Downey Jr and this is such a guilty pleasure movie I watch it all the time

The Emperor’s New Groove: I will fight anyone who thinks this is not the greatest cinematic masterpiece ever created okay I’ve loved it since I first watched it when I was like 2 years old and I still love it just as much now

Special mentions:

Stoker: I studied this movie in school and good GOD I will never understand why the Board of Studies thought it was appropriate to show Year 11 students but it’s so beautifully shot and it’s so weird and bizarre and unsettling and I love it 

The Road to El Dorado: a childhood favourite and a comedic masterpiece and I literally forced all my friends to watch it with me on my 18th birthday it was wonderful

Bridesmaids: just bloody hilarious and I remember the first time my mum and I watched it together we were literally in tears by the end of it bc we were laughing so hard

📺 - Top 5 favorite TV shows?

Brooklyn 99: (duh) I don’t even need to explain this one

Utopia: I always describe this show as “the Australian version of The Office” even though I’ve never actually watched The Office but it’s just such wonderful Australian humour and I love it

Summer Heights High: another Aussie classic and good lord it’s so politically incorrect and full of horrible jokes but it’s basically an Australian rite of passage and as such I love it

How to Get Away With Murder: I love trying to solve everything and it’s funny and thrilling and also the cast is so beautiful

Thank God You’re Here: this show isn’t on anymore but I love improv so much and I love all the people who starred on it and god it was hilarious

Special mentions:

Have You Been Paying Attention?, Jane the Virgin, Gilmore Girls

✏ - Random fact about yourself.

I skipped Kindergarten??

✈️ - Where are you from?

Sydney, Australia

🚀 - Where do you wanna visit?

Europe. Just,,, everywhere

😍 - Do you have a crush?

I think so ??? I know I used to but idk if I’m over it yet

😷 - Something you hate eating?

Tomato

🙈 - What makes you shy?

MAKING PHONE CALLS

💃 - Can you dance?

I’m a dancer so I certainly hope so

💏 - Do you love anyone?

I love a lot of people but not romantically if that’s what this question means

👟 - Favorite shoe(s) to wear?

Idk I have this one pair of boots I wear pretty much every day

🌴 - A island you would visit?

I really want to go to Cuba

🌎 - A country you would visit?

Spain

🌀 - Favorite type of weather?

Thunderstorms, if I’m inside

🔮 - Do you believe in luck?

Yes

📱 - What kinda phone do you have?

iPhone SE

📅 - Favorite time of the year?

Christmas

📚 - Career goal you want?

Anything in the arts - acting, taking photos, writing, cinematography, dancing, producing, directing, stage handing, screenwriting, literally anything I’ll take it

🍭 - Favorite Candy?

TBH I love lollipops, specifically Chupa Chups 

(story time: one of my Year 12 teachers made a habit of bringing a whole packet of Chupa Chups to class every lesson because our class just would not shut up otherwise)

🍇 - Favorite fruits?

Strawberries, peaches, blackberries

🚘 - Dream car(s)?

I don’t really have one but I used to really want a Mercedes

🚔 - Have you ever been arrested?

Negative

🚑 - Have you ever driven in an ambulance before?

No but I’ve had to call one

🎫 - Do you have a license?

I have my learner’s but can’t drive by myself yet lol I’m working on it

🚼 - Do you have or want kids?

I don’t have any and I don’t know if I want any

🔞 - Are you under 18?

Negative I’m 19

🐶 - Do you own a pet?

No :( 

😔 - Something that makes you sad?

The fact that there are so many people struggling (particularly with mental illness) and feeling hopeless/like they don’t have a support system

😡 - What pisses you off?

Literally just discrimination of any kind but also people who are arrogant and condescending and passive aggressive

😏 - What turns you on?

I mean idk I don’t really have a whole lot of anecdotal evidence ya know but generally I’m a pretty tactile person so physical contact is usually a good time I guess 

😈 - Are you a freak?

Idk probably

💪 - Do you work out?

I dance and do yoga every week, does that count?

[soundcheckentertainment]

For many of us the May long weekend signifies the unofficial beginning of summer. Summer – with its warm days and long nights, gathering with family and friends to enjoy good eats, fine weather and the great outdoors.

Q the music…

CBC Music and Live Nation had a recipe for success when they teamed up at Ontario Place’s RBC Echo Beach in Toronto on Saturday May 27th, to kick off the start of summer (and Festival season) with the CBC Music Festival.

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

This 1 day festival was packed with land and water activities (SUP, kayak), food and beverage vendors, a VR tent, a scavenger hunt and showcased 20 Canadian artists performing across 4 stages for 9 solid hours.

And perform they did, for large and small crowds alike – including an impromptu gig by Scott Hellman in the commons with an intimate gathering of lucky fans. There really was something for everyone to enjoy, as was proven by the number of families in attendance. The fact that kids under 12 were admitted for free wasn’t just a brilliant marketing maneuver.

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

The Kid Zone had a wide range of activities for the little people, including a Rock N’ Roll Hair Salon and Tattoo Parlour (of the washable variety), an instrument petting zoo, as well as their own stage shows – hosted by CBC Studio K’s ‘Cottonball’. The area in front of the Kid’s stage became very crowded in the hour before Walk Off The Earth swung by to hang out for a Q&A session. Many in attendance wondering “What kind of instruments do you play?” “What’s your favourite song?” and “Who’s your favourite Super Hero?” to which each member of this down to earth group took turns answering. Before leaving the stage, they left their indelible mark on one tiny fan when they all agreed to sign her ukulele.

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

The first act to grace the Main Stage was an all-girl indie rock band called The Beaches, appropriately named for the Toronto neighbourhood they hail from. The smallish crowd that had gathered against the security fence surrounding the stage started growing from their very first electrified notes. Don’t let the idea of girl band confuse you, this wasn’t a Spice Girls performance; their sound was more Blondie meets The Runaways. Comprised of vocalist & bassist Jordan Miller, guitarist Kylie Miller, keyboardist Leandra Earl and Eliza Enman-McDaniel on the drums, these chicks know how to Rock N’ Roll and they brought it loud and hard! Performing a couple cover songs in between their own hits like “Little Pieces” and “Give it Up”, which is gaining radio play. This quartet quickly set the bar high for the rest of the day, and I’m sure gained more than a few new fans, myself included.

A wander past the food trucks and assorted market vendors was up next. It was a good thing too, because you couldn’t get near them later in the day. A sampling of pulpo, duck tacos, and curry fries filled the gap, washed down with a refreshing sudsy beverage. One nice thing about Echo Beach is that that the entire grounds are licensed, so attendees could wander from stage to stage with a can in hand, able to enjoy the music in person instead of relegated to far corner tent.

Needs sated, I detected a rhythmic hum filling the air, seeming to beckon me closer and drawing me in. It worked as I found myself standing outside the Tent Stage, catching a part of the Birds of Bellwoods set. These four young men from Toronto know how to bend the strings! Chris Blades on the electric guitar, Adrian Morningstar on the acoustic guitar, Steve Joffe on the Mandolin and Kintaro Akiyama on the upright bass (think cello). Their harmonies were smooth and I found myself wishing that I’d caught more than their last few songs. Definitely watch out for these up and coming talented musicians!

CBC Music Fest: William Prince. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

Back at the Main Stage we were treated to the stylings of William Prince. A phenomenal singer, songwriter, and storyteller, there’s a reason he was nominated for Aboriginal Artist of the year and won Juno for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year in 2017. His thought provoking lyrics and soft baritone voice were hauntingly beautiful. As people lounged on blankets around the stage soaking in the folk-country musical tales that were being sung, it seemed metaphorical of the ease with which William interacted with the gathered crowd, relating history and personal stories between songs. It’s hard to understand how we’ve not heard more from this Winnipeg native, but there is no doubt that we will be treated to future performances. In fact you can catch him for free at the NAC in Ottawa on July 13th at 6pm. Head to their website to secure free tickets.

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

I didn’t want to miss BROS over on the Q Stage, and arrived just in time to catch their introduction. You may know them from a little group called The Sheepdogs, however if that’s what you were hoping to hear, then you might have been disappointed…. but not really. Ewan and Shamus Currie added a brass ensemble to their keyboard and guitar and turned the funk WAY UP. An initial gathering of mainly classic rock fans exploded into an all ages dance-athon. From the tiny toddler wigglin’ his way into inadvertent splits, to the would-be Willie Nelson, and every type of stripe in-between, BROS got the crowd moving, grooving and loving what they were offering up. And when they broke news of the passing of Gregg Allman and dedicated a song, it only put pause on the festive spirit out of reverential respect.

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

Heading back to the Main Stage where I would ultimately end up the rest of the evening; the upcoming entertainers being part of the draw, the massive growing crowd being the other. Staking out a spot close to the stage would have required a lawn chair, a bottomless bladder and an unwillingness to enjoy any other artist since The Beaches took the stage hours before. Scott Helman was up next, and the squeals of teen and tween girls rose as he began his set with a little ‘PDA’. Relegated to standing on a small strip of pavement leaning against the VIP area, we were entertained by many of Scott’s familiar radio tunes, including: ‘That Sweater’, ‘Kinda Komplicated’ and ‘21 days’ – my personal fave, but that’s likely more a result of it being a song about zombies, and love, or maybe zombie love… but I digress. Whether he’s of the school of thought that “no press is bad press”, or he was experiencing overwhelming excitement, the crowd responded with amusement when he strangely exclaimed “Keep stealing my music!” Then realization set in, and he recovered with …. “or pay for it, if you want!” Scott’s genuine love and appreciation of his family was particularly evident when he enthusiastically exclaimed “That’s my Grandpa!” as one of many video cameras covering the event panned to a shot of a very proud looking patriarch grinning ear to ear, projected upon the side stage big screens. Scott ended his set with the catchy tune ‘Bungalow’ which brought more than half of the attendees to their feet, dancing and applauding.

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

I made the unfortunate decision to get food before Ruth B took the stage. However as mentioned previously this would become a futile exercise which resulted in missing most of her set. Hungry and dejected I gave up my quest and returned just in time to catch her original song ‘Lost Boy’ which was thoroughly enjoyable.

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

Up next was the day’s first headliner, Walk Off The Earth. By this point the sun had started its descent in the western sky and Echo Beach lived up to its name. The crowd’s thunderous greeting of the band’s arrival on stage was only the beginning of one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. Gathered with Whirley Tubes, and bells (and a back-up band) they opened the set with a recognizable YouTube cover of Adele’s ‘Hello’. They had the entire park on their feet from the moment they stepped on stage. Gianni, Sarah, Marshall, Joel and Mike Taylor aka Beard Guy, brought high energy and familiar tunes, of both original songs and covers, and were flawless in harmony and execution. Covering Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of you’ and Pharrell Williams ‘Happy’, the audience certainly was as we moved and danced along. They also delighted with a number of originals such as ‘Gang of Rhythm’, ‘Fire in my Soul’ and ‘Home we’ll go’ – a song written while on the road about missing Canada.

When the band asked for a song suggestion someone in the crowd yelled out ‘Queen’, to which Beard Guy agreed to play Bohemian Rhapsody on the piano as long as the audience sang along. It’s a good minute and a half into the song before I realized the other band members have disappeared from the stage, as myself and the other karaoke Kings and Queens in attendance belt out the lyrics. The rest of the band returned in time for the head banging guitar solo, and we all continued to jam out like it was one big backyard party. The night wouldn’t have been complete without a 5 peeps 1 (modified) guitar setup, and again the group delivered, playing Goyte’s ‘Someone that I used to know’, and morphing into snippets of a variety of familiar covers, including ‘Twist & Shout’. With beach balls flying through the air, the palpable feeling of inclusion, the pyro and glitter, the on stage Ninja fight during the ‘Tae kwon do’ song, the entire show was brilliant from beginning to end. As fireworks exploded overhead signifying the end of the set, WOTE walked off the stage and into the hearts of all in attendance.

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

Most of the families with young children headed out before the final act, but a couple of young girls camped out next to me told me they had waited all day to see their idol. Six time Juno award winner Serena Ryder took the stage and owned it for the remainder of the night. Opening with Stompa and like an implanted suggestion, the crowd got moving. The stage filled with lights and smoke, three guitarists including herself, drums, keyboard and two backup singers, she engaged the audience with her jazzy pop hit Electric Love. We were also treated to a song from her brand new Album ‘Utopia’ released just the day before. She returned to more familiar tunes such as ‘What I wouldn’t do’ before slowing the pace a little with a few songs like ‘Baby Come Back’ and ‘All for love’, which had the crowd swaying in unison. An intimate acoustic setting was created on a portion of the Main stage, complete with side table and night lamp, for which she asks the audience’s permission to continue. (Yes please! Do we mind?!) Serena’s song writing prowess speaks for itself, but to combine her powerful voice which conveys such emotion with gut wrenching lyrics can actually make one ‘Weak in the knees’; the performance of which had the crowd serenading her. Every phone in park swaying high overhead in her honour.

All in all the end of the night came too soon. So many Juno and various other award winners, many new up and coming acts, what an amazing way to showcase Canadian talent in a setting that is family friendly and that invites inclusion and participation. There were many other artists I didn’t get a chance to check out, but that gives me an excuse to return next year. I was blown away by the whole experience and would urge anyone that has any interest in music to check out the show. In fact you can catch highlights from the day, in a 1 hour special broadcast on CBC on Canada Day. For more information visit CBC Music Festival online

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CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Long War. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: William Prince. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Long War. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Sarah Slean. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Bobby Bazini. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Bobby Bazini. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Long War. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Long War. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Long War. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: William Prince. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Bobby Bazini. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Bobby Bazini. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Long War. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Iskwe. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Iskwe. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Iskwe. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Sarah Slean. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Sarah Slean. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: The Beaches. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Sarah Slean. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Iskwe. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Ruth B. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Sarah Slean. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Iskwe. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Bobby Bazini. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Walk Off The Earth. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: BROS. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Scott Helman. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: Serena Ryder. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

CBC Music Fest: William Prince. May 2017. Photo by Dale Sinclair

Reviewed and Written by: Leann Kennedy Photos by: Dale Sinclair | @dalesinclairphoto

CBC Music Fest: A Tale of Four Stages For many of us the May long weekend signifies the unofficial beginning of summer. Summer – with its warm days and long nights, gathering with family and friends to enjoy good eats, fine weather and the great outdoors.

[liquoronion0-blog]

25 Meatless Monday Recipes

Do you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!

Do you observe Meatless Monday? It’s a movement to once a week, eat all vegetarian and vegan recipes! In our own life, Alex and I take it a step further and do mostly meatless recipes during the week, and then splurge on the weekends. Though A Couple Cooks is a vegan and vegetarian food blog, it sometimes surprises people to know we’re not 100% vegetarian! (We call it flexitarian.) Whatever the case, Alex and I started eating more vegetables for two reasons: it’s improves our physical health, and the health of the planet. Keep reading for our favorite Meatless Monday recipes, a bit more about Meatless Monday, and a podcast episode that explains how eating less meat helps the planet.

What is Meatless Monday?

First of all, what’s Meatless Monday? Meatless Monday is a global movement with a simple message: one day a week, cut the meat. It was launched in 2003 as a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, working with the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal is to reduce meat consumption by 15% for our personal health and the health of the planet. Now entering its second decade, Meatless Monday is embraced in over 40 countries and in over 20 languages! How cool is that?

Why eat less meat?

There are lots of reasons to eat less meat. The two most important for us: eating lots of vegetables is good for our health. And it’s also good for the health of the planet. Why is it better for the Earth to eat less meat? In short: eating meat takes up a lot of resources. And growing plants uses less resources than growing meat. It’s a complicated topic, so we brought in an expert to help!

In our Small Bites podcast episode called Eating to Save the World, Eliza Barclay, Science and Health Editor at Vox.com, to breaks it down for us! She shared how what we eat affects the planet. We also talked about practical takeaways to help our world by eating more plant based meals: like all these Meatless Monday recipes! Listen below.

And now…our top 25 Meatless Monday recipes!

These loaded quinoa tacos are a delicious vegetarian taco recipe, featuring a taco spiced quinoa taco filling, bell pepper slaw, spicy sour cream, and feta cheese! And they take only 30 minutes to make, putting them at the top of our list of Meatless Monday recipes.

This one’s the best veggie stir fry out there! This teriyaki vegetable stir fry is a favorite tasty and easy vegetarian recipe. The homemade teriyaki sauce is so easy to make: it takes just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes. The teriyaki also has no refined sugar, instead relying on maple syrup! This Meatless Monday recipe is so delicious, it’s become a serious go to in our house.

This white bean shakshuka recipe is a delicious vegetarian brunch or dinner recipe! The eggs are cooked in a savory tomato sauce, along with peppers, onions and white beans. Shakshuka recipes are having their moment, and this one’s one of the best.

This low carb burrito bowl with cauliflower rice is a delicious way to eat more vegetables! It’s Whole 30 vegetarian and customizable for all diets. And can we say chorizo eggs? The way we’ve cooked the eggs here has gotten rave reviews from readers. One reader even made the chorizo eggs to go on a breakfast sandwich too: this genius move makes for two Meatless Monday recipes in one!

This vegetarian sweet potato chili recipe is all star and a family favorite! It’s a delicious healthy dinner recipe where you won’t miss the meat.

Can’t decide between Italian and Mexican food? Have we got the perfect Meatless Monday recipe for you! This delicious Mexican pizza recipe features creamy refried beans, spicy jalapeño, and sweet corn. Make the dough in advance or use storebought dough for weeknight ease.

These sweet potato black bean enchiladas are delicious, crowd pleasing and one of our fan favorite best vegetarian dinner recipes! They feature tomatillo salsa verde that makes them “green” enchiladas, and they’re filled with sweet potato, black beans, and Colby Jack cheese.

This simple calzone recipe features a homemade pizza dough and a spinach, mushroom, and two-cheese filling. Make the dough in advance or use storebought pizza dough to make this easier for a weeknight in your Meatless Monday recipes repertoire!

Remember that Mexican pizza? This vegetarian Mexican lasagna uses the same Mexican and Italian fusion, and is the ultimate healthy dinner recipe! Layered with lasagna noodles, corn, and black beans, it’s full of zesty flavor.

Looking for a hearty meal? This sweet potato and kale soup features black beans and is flavored with cumin and lime; it’s vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Packed with red beans and okra, this easy vegetarian gumbo recipe brings New Orleans to your kitchen. With a few swaps, this recipe can be made vegan too.

What’s more classic than a margherita pizza in your Meatless Monday recipes? This homemade margherita pizza recipe features a time saving no-cook sauce. Although this pizza uses few ingredients, it packs in big flavor. Make the pizza dough in advance or use storebought to make it a weeknight meal.

These flavorful quinoa burgers are easy to make and keep well in the fridge for several days. Top with hummus and avocado and dig in!

This creamy coconut curry soup is a “pantry soup” made of only pantry ingredients you might have on hand. It comes together in under 30 minutes and is a simple plant based meal.

Looking for a quick sandwich recipe that will knock your socks off? This Mediterranean veggie sandwich is fast to make and loaded with deliciousness.

This creamy spaghetti pasta marinara recipe uses whole milk Greek yogurt to make it extra rich and flavorful. Serve this sauce immediately or freeze for later! If you eat vegan, here’s our Vegan Pasta Marinara instead!

This coconut lentil curry has it all: it’s a fast and easy dinner idea that’s healthy and full of flavor. Perfect for weeknights and your arsenal of Meatless Monday recipes.

This loaded veggie quesadilla recipe is one the tastiest around—and it’s packed with veggies! It’s perfect for healthy dinner ideas for kids, and adults too.

This Italian pasta salad is full of zesty flavor, featuring kalamata olives, capers, and crisp romaine. It takes under 30 minutes to make, which is perfect as a healthy weeknight meal. It’s also great for lunches!

These chickpea couscous bowls are a super quick dinner recipe: in just 25 minutes you have a fresh, vegan Mediterranean bowl covered in tangy tahini sauce.

These sweet potatoes topped with a zesty slaw and creamy Thai peanut butter sauce are an irresistible plant based dinner recipe! They’ve become one of our favorite go to’s for Meatless Monday recipes, and are a hit with our readers over on Instagram.

And finally, to round out our Meatless Monday recipes: Korean ramen! This easy Korean ramen recipe is vegan and full of flavor, topped with quick pickled cucumbers.

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Do you do Meatless Monday? Here are 25 Meatless Monday recipes that will inspire your kitchen, including both vegetarian dinners and vegan dishes!

Source: https://www.acouplecooks.com/meatless-monday-recipes/

[healthandbeth]

With all these Year in Review posts doing the rounds, it got me thinking about lastyear and I thought to myself that I haven’t done much that I would like to. But then I looked through the photos on my phone and I realised just how much I had actually done!

It’s really easy to be judgemental to yourself, and it can be hard to find something that you’re proud of that you have done. This year has been so busy, and I’ve been through so many changes in my life, that it has actually been a busy year, so for this post, I thought I’d share some memories from the past year.

January

Every good January begins with a good stationery haul which is what you can see here. The bottom two images show my diaries and some stationery items for my Filofax that I picked up. I also bought a makeup brush cleaner up in the January sales and the top images are the before and after! Other things that happened in January include my best friend’s birthday where we had a lovely tea party, and we ended up dog sitting for my Nan who had to go off for a while and couldn’t take her dog.

February 

February, we still had my Nan’s dog, pictured above. Another one of my friends disappeared across the world to Australia so we had a leaving/birthday party for her which involved cake and Cards Against Humanity.  It was also the first time that I took myself out to the cinema. And I went to see The Greatest Showman and treated myself to a White Chocolate Mocha at Starbucks (which has now become my drink of choice there!) February also bought the UK to stand still with the sudden snow and cold weather. Being the Transport Clerk for the local college, it was not welcome for me. In fact, it caused a nightmare for me! But we did get a couple of snow days out of it!

March

The snow continued into March and continued to wreak havoc! I also went to a really amazing restaurant and had the most amazing steak! It came out on a hot plate and cooked in front of you so you can choose how your steak is cooked. Not only that but me and a friend travelled to London to see Hamilton! If you haven’t heard of it, I would definitely recommend you listen to the soundtrack! It will change your life!

April

I started April by reading Alex & Eliza which is a fictionalised story of Alexander Hamilton (title character of Hamilton the Musical). Then I started doing the cooking at home and making more PCOS friendly meals. I ended the month by seeing another show of Matilda. Again, if you haven’t heard the soundtrack… you must!

May

  May was a strange month and it started by me staying out all night with some friends, drinking and being merry. Believe it or not but I had never stayed out all night with friends before. Like actually out at bars, drinking  all night. I literally got home as the sun was rising! Then on the bank holidays, I went to a National Trust house and saw Morris Dancers. It was such a hot day, I remember that because they were wearing wool! My Dad retired so we went out for some drinks, and then we went to Aston Hall  in Birmingham to have a nose around.  And the end of the month saw the Birth of Health and Beth!

June

  I think you know pretty much everything that happened to me in June because I blogged every day! But as a refresher, I went to the Safari Park and redecorated the kitchen to name a few things. I also discovered Elderflower Lemonade jelly, and started playing Hogwarts Mystery on my phone. I also went to see I Feel Pretty with Amy Schumer and I love that quote. “I am brave. I am blonde. And I got this.”

July

  July was a mental month! Took me completely by surprise. I started off making Popcorn at an event at work and going to see Matilda on Stage (which is amazing and you should all listen to the soundtrack). Then, on a complete whim, I applied for a job at one of the local hospitals and I got an interview, my Grandad happened to have an appointment at the same time as my interview, so we ended up making it a family outing and after my interview, we all went out for breakfast. The following day, while I was in McDonald’s, they rang me up and offered me the job! I had a holiday booked for the end of the month, so I ended up leaving my old job a week after I found out I got the job! After that, I went on holiday.

I told you. Mental.

August

    I spent the majority of this month in France. We went to Carnac in Brittany which is famous for its megaliths. Its kind of like Stonehenge, but thousands more stones. No one know why they are there, like Stonehenge, but it is really interesting. After France, we spent a couple of days in Portsmouth where I went to see the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s ship that sank and was recovered 500 years later. Then on the 20th August, I started my new job the week before the bank holiday which I spent in Wales with my girlfriends and had a great time! We climbed to the top of Conwy castle and spent the morning at the Sea Life Centre in Rhyll. It was a great trip.

September

September was also a busy month, but I didn’t take alot of photos which is annoying for this post! Ha! September is my birthday month, and I also had my graduation ceremony a week later! To celebrate, my friend invited me round to eat curry and drink wine and play video games all night long. Again… very good night!

October

My friends and I went to a pumpkin farm in October. I’d never been pumpkin picking before, but it was fun. I picked up two. I carved one and made the other into a soup. I also had my first ever flu jab and became a simulated patient for the day, which was hilarious! I just had to talk about getting home to my cat! I also went for a Hike up a mountain believe it or not. I nearly died getting up there, but coming back down was easy!

Me and my Mom also went for afternoon tea in Smethick at this place called Mad as A Hatter which was amazingly Alice in Wonderland themed. It was so good!!

November

Remember, remember the 5th of November, and that’s what I did. I went to a couple of bonfires and firework displays which were great. I love Bonfire night. I also went to a memorial charity auction with my family, which was so good and we raised quite a bit of money. I also attempted my first Pumpkin pie.

December

And before you know it, it was December! It went by so quickly when you look at it like that. I went to Birmingham German market for the one day it rained all day! But it was still cozy and we ate in our favourite restaurant, Turtle Bay. I bought myself a new alarm clock which lights up rather than making a noise, I changed the buckles on my shoes… by myself! And I ended Christmas by making Egg Nogg, which was amazing!

Year in Review…

All in all, 2018 was a busy year and I can’t believe I forgot about half the things I actually did this year. It is so strange to think that this time last year I was still in my old job, with my old work colleagues that I’d been working with for the past five years, and this year I’m with new people who I’m still getting to know. I hope 2019 lives up to this last one!

I’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline for you guys and I can’t wait for you to see it all.

I can’t believe we’re already in 2019! I don’t know how it will top 2018, I’ve gathered my favourite images from the last year into a summary! Hello 2019!! With all these Year in Review posts doing the rounds, it got me thinking about lastyear and I thought to myself that I haven't done much that I would like to.

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The Comfort of Soup

by Lauren Gilbert

Dinner at Haddo House, 1884 by Edward Emslie

It's officially autumn (even though the temperatures do not reflect it where I live), and my menu planning is making a seasonal shift. As temperatures cool and winter approaches, a richer and more sustaining menu appeals. Soup is a favourite of mine for this time of year. An ancient dish, I suspect it evolved as soon as man figured out how to put edible things in a pot of water over heat. Soup is featured in virtually all culinary traditions and, of course, is a significant part of food history in Great Britain. As a history enthusiast, I enjoy reading details of normal life, including food, whether I'm reading fiction or non-fiction, as it gives an immediacy and life to the material.

The Forme of Cury

Peasant fare, elegant fare, or invalid fare, soup was a staple of the British diet. Early cookery books don't show as many recipes for soup as for other dishes. I suspect this is because it was assumed that individuals already knew how to make the standard daily dish for the household, made from local ingredients to personal taste. The Forme of Cury, a cookbook from c. 1390 (originally a scroll showing authorship by "the Chief Master Cooks of King Richard II"), contained some soup recipes designed to be served to the nobility. The names frequently included "soppes" or sowp" as the dish was served over bread. One was "Fenkel in Soppes" which was shredded fennel, cooked in water and oil with onions, seasoned with saffron, salt and a spice mixture ("powder douce" which was a sweet spice mixture, left to the cook's taste, that would contain some combination of cinnamon, galangal (related to ginger), nutmeg, sugar, etc.). It was served over toasted bread. Another similar recipe was "Slete Soppes", which called for sliced leeks (white part only) to be cooked in wine, oil and salt, also served over toasted bread. A rather different matter is a "Cold Brewet", which combines ground almonds cooked in wine and vinegar, seasoned with aniseed, sugar, green fennel shoots with ginger and cloves and mace. Cooked chopped kid and chicken meat is transferred to a clean dish, seasoned with salt and pepper, and boiled with the almond mixture. This soup was served cold.

Soup also had a medicinal function. Lady Elinor Fettiplace, during the Elizabethan era, put together a household book which included a recipe for almond soup designed for "a weake Back" in her recipes for October. For this soup, a rack of mutton and a chicken were boiled in water with raisins, prunes, and the roots and leaves of ditch fern until the meat was tender. The meat was removed and the broth strained. (Additional broth should be crushed out of the meat.) The broth was then thickened with ground almonds. The recommended dosage was 12 spoonfuls in the morning (fasting, i.e. before eating anything), and 12 spoonfuls before dinner.

There were also soups designed for particular religious periods. Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy         included a section of a Variety of Dishes for Lent, which included eel soup. This recipe harked back to the medieval recipes as it was served over toasted bread. For every pound of eels used, the cook used a quart of water, a crust of bread, 2 or 3 blades of mace, pepper, an onion and a bundle of sweet herbs. (One pound of eels made a pint of soup, so the cook could control the quantity accordingly.) The pot was covered tightly and boiled until half the liquid was gone. The broth was then strained. Bread was toasted, cut into small pieces and placed in a dish; the broth was then poured over it.

During the Georgian era, turtle soup was considered the ultimate in elegant fare. Live sea turtles were captured and kept for fresh meat by sailors. Any left were brought in by sailors returning to port in the 1740's-1750's and sold for very high prices to the nobility. The popularity of the turtle was assured. At one point, as many as 15,000 live turtles were brought into England in a year. Different cuts of turtle meat had flavours reminiscent of fish, veal, beef or pork. The Compleat Housewife by Eliza Smith contains instructions for cleaning and preparing turtle soup. Once the meat from the body and fins are cleaned, cut them in pieces and stew together until tender, then strain off the liquid. Thicken the liquid and put the meat back in with kyon butter (possibly a compound butter of some kind), spices, pepper, salt, shallots, sweet herbs and Madeira wine to taste. The dish is put into the deep shell of the turtle, and baked in the oven. The extreme cost of a live turtle and the flavours of the meat resulted in recipes for Mock Turtle Soup, which used a variety of substitutions for the turtle, including beef, veal, oysters, tongue and calves' heads. Hanna Glasse's recipe includes a calf's head (including the tongue and brains), veal broth, force-meat balls and eggs. The 67th edition of Mrs. Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery published in 1844 contains 3 recipes for Mock Turtle Soup. Mock Turtle Soup maintained its popularity into the 20th century. (One could even find canned varieties.) Lewis Carroll based his character, the Mock Turtle, in Alice in Wonderland on this soup (a turtle with the head and back feet of a cow).

The Mock Turtle from ALICE IN WONDERLAND by John Tenniel

Soup recipes evolved over time as new ingredients became available and tastes changed. A classic example of this was Mulligatawny Soup. This soup was a chicken soup flavoured with curry. Rea Tannahill in Food in History indicated this soup appeared in England in the 18th century. British trade in India had been established since the 17th century and curry became a popular seasoning during the Georgian era. By the Victorian era, this soup was very popular. The edition of Mrs. Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery mentioned previously has 4 recipes. The word "mulligatawny" (also spelled Multaanee and Malagatanee) was a corruption of the Tamil for pepper water. (The Tamil are an ethic group found in India and Sri Lanka.) The basic recipe called for onions and shallots, 2 chickens (or rabbits) pepper, butter, curry powder and turmeric, 2 quarts of strong broth, lemon juice and, if desired, a little curry powder to make it hotter. Keep in mind that curry powder was a spice mix made at home, to personal taste. (See English Historical Fiction Authors blog HERE.) One variation included cloves, and some garlic; another was made with veal, and the fourth included peas. This was a good way to use up leftover meat or vegetables. Subsequent versions included chopped apples. Cream could also be added; coconut milk may have been included. This soup is also still popular today.

Over the centuries, soup has been a common thread in culinary history. As we look back at some of the older recipes, the variety of seasonings and ingredients that are used today may seem surprising. We may not combine ingredients in exactly the same way, but it is easy to imagine how some of these soups may taste and the pleasure felt by the diners as they enjoyed them, whether elegantly spooning turtle soup at a formal dinner or enjoying the warmth of mulligatawny soup on a cold fall evening.

"Fall In For Soup", engraving by Edwin Forbes 1876

Sources include: Dickson Wright, Clarissa. A History of English Food. 2011: Random House Books, London. Glasse, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. A new Edition, with modern Improvements. Introduction by Karen Hess. 1805: Cottom & Stewart, Alexandria, VA. (Facsimile by Applewood Books, Bedford, MA) Rundell, Maria Eliza Kettelby. A New System of Domestic Cookery: Founded Upon Principles of Economy and Adapted to the Use of Private Families. From the Sixty-Seventh London Edition. 1844: Carey and Hart, Philadelphia, PA. (Nabu Public Domain Reprint) Smith, Eliza. The Compleat Housewife. 16th edition, with Additions. 1858: London. (Reprint edition published 1944: Studio Editions Ltd., London) Spurling, Hilary. Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book. 1986: Penguiin Books Ltd. Hammmondsworth, England. Tannahill, Reay. Food in History. 1988: Three Rivers Press, New York, NY. Websites: THE FORME OF CURY. HERE History.com. "A Spot of Curry: Anglo-Indian Cuisine" by Stephanie Butler, April 26, 2013. HERE GoogleBooks.com. Rumble, Victoria R. SOUP THROUGH THE AGES: A Culinary History with Period Recipes. 2009: McFarland & Company, Ind. Jefferson, NC and London. HERE All illustrations from Wikimedia Commons Images, except for the cover of Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt Book, which is a scan of my personal copy. About the author: Lauren Gilbert holds a BA in English and is a long-time member of JASNA. She lives in Florida with her husband, and is the author of Heyerwood; a Novel. Another book, A Rational Attachment, is in process and will be coming soon. Please visit her website HERE for more information.

Hat Tip To: English Historical Fiction Authors

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Top 10 budget beach B&Bs in the Seychelles | Travel

Colibri Guesthouse, Praslin

For a room with a five-star view, Colibri is hard to beat. Nine rustic rooms – all wood and stone – ensconced amid tropical foliage that tumbles down a hillside to the turquoise waters of Baie Sainte Anne. There’s no beach but you can use the small infinity pool overlooking the bay at neighbouring B&B Chalets Cote Mer, also owned by Sylvie and Stephan, and costing about €10 more a night. You also share the waterfront creole restaurant. The owners can help with car hire but it’s a five-minute walk to a bus stop – which will take you to Praslin’s most famous beach Anse Lazio and the Unesco-protected Vallée de Mai nature reserve – and the jetty for ferries to Mahé and La Digue. • Doubles from £112 B&B, +248 429 4200, colibrisweethome.com

Georgina’s Cottage Beach Guesthouse, Mahé

Beau Vallon beach. Photograph: Yoann Jezequel/Getty Images/Moment Open Who needs a pool when the glorious golden sweep of Beau Vallon beach is on the doorstep? Set on the north-west coast of the archipelego’s largest island, this guesthouse has nine air-conditioned rooms; first-floor rooms come with a balcony and sea views, ground-floor rooms are darker but have a terrace for sunset watching. Breakfast is served under a gazebo in the garden, there’s a shared kitchen and it’s close to several restaurants, including the atmospheric Boathouse with its all-you-can-eat creole buffet, and the weekly market, where locals set up stalls under the takamaka trees. Eddy, the hands-on owner, will give you tips on where to go and what to see, including the best snorkelling spots. • Doubles from £70 B&B, +248 424 7016, georginas-cottage.com

Carana Hilltop Villa, Mahé

Carana Hilltop Villa Photograph: Jorgen Andersson Eileen and Mike’s hilltop retreat looks out over the ocean all the way to Silhouette Island, and most of the 10 air-conditioned, en suite rooms have a private balcony. Take the trail up into the jungle-cloaked mountains or a 10-minute walk downhill to the stunning and usually deserted Carana beach. There’s a swimming pool to cool off in and a lovely garden where you can pick bananas, mangos and guavas off the trees – they also appear in the homemade jams at breakfast. It holds a weekly barbecue and there’s a shared kitchen; there’s even somewhere to clean your catch if you go fishing. • Doubles from £73 room only, £81 B&B, +248 424 1990, caranahilltopvilla.com

Le Port Guest House, Praslin

Anse Lazio beach, Praslin. Photograph: Alamy The ebullient Marie-Annette will greet you with cupcakes and mango juice at this friendly home from home. The two spacious rooms – one accommodates four adults – are set above her Baie Sainte Anne gift shop with balconies that look out over the bijou Anse d’Amour, so you’ll wake to the lap of waves. It’s close to a well-stocked grocery shop so you can make use of the kitchen; there’s free drinking water and, unusually for guesthouses, free Wi-Fi. Marie-Annette’s husband runs boat trips and her daughter is a masseuse for the island’s top resorts. And don’t refuse an invitation to dinner for delicious creole cuisine and an insight into island life. • Doubles from £55 room only, +248 4232 262, no website

Rosemary’s Guesthouse, Praslin

Rosemary and her son Herbert have turned an old property on the north-east coast of the island into a laid-back B&B. The nine rooms are spread over three buildings: the garden rooms are fan-only but the newer sea-view rooms have air conditioning. Breakfast is served alfresco and there are plenty of restaurants nearby, but if you’re on a tight budget, pick up a just-caught fish for the barbecue. Step through the back gate and you are right on Cote D’Or beach, where you can negotiate boat trips to Curieuse Island, home to a Marine national park, with nature trails and a colony of giant tortoises. • Doubles from £62 B&B, +248 423 2176, rosemarys.sc (website launches mid-February)

Le Passe Guest House, La Digue

Diminutive La Digue is the smallest of the three main inhabited islands and is home to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, where the laid-back inhabitants get around the sandy streets by bicycle. This good-value guesthouse has four no-frills but comfortable rooms: two come with air conditioning and a fan, two are fan-only. One room has a kitchen but it’s still worth splashing out £12 for a delicious creole dinner from the friendly owner, Mary-Anne. It’s a short bike ride to the coast or just submit to a tropical torpor and flop into a hammock in the garden. • Doubles from €65 B&B, +248 423 4391, la-passe-guesthouse.com

Buisson Guest House, La Digue

This charming house has a beautiful plant-filled garden and is tucked down a quiet sandy street that leads from a jetty. There are two simple rooms, a shared kitchen and a living room with a TV and DVD player. As well as dishing up a hearty breakfast – including vanilla pancakes and coconut cakes – the amiable Doris and Charles are on hand to help you rent bikes and organise snorkelling trips and guided island hikes. They’ll make dinner on request; perhaps a whole grilled fish with herbs plucked from the garden or a fish curry – and you can dine alfresco under a starry sky. • Doubles from £70 B&B, +248 259 2959, buissonguesthouse.com

Pension Hibiscus, La Digue

Anse Source d’Argent beach Pension Hibiscus is a family affair. La Digue native Jennita, has transformed her mother’s old home into a spotless guesthouse with buildings named Eliza after her late mother and Alice after her daughter; you can buy Alice’s colourful handicrafts in the small gift shop. Four of the six en suite rooms have kitchens and all have balconies overlooking the garden, where a thatched-roof gazebo is the perfect place for a local beer. Easy to reach, it sits between L’Union reserve and Anse Source d’Argent – one of the world’s most photographed beaches – and the jetty. For cheap eats the nearby Gala Takeaway is the best on the island. • Doubles from £70 B&B, +248 423 4029, hibiscusladigue.com

Zanboza Guesthouse, La Digue

Up a steep hill, a 10-minute bike ride from the jetty, this cosy creole-style house is in a tranquil spot, surrounded by towering palms and vivid hibiscus, with a backdrop of green-clad granite peaks. On the first floor of the main building there’s a lounge and terrace, perfect for stargazing, and three, air-conditioned rooms – each with their own private entrance and large enough for families. There’s also a two-bedroom, two-bathroom annexe in the garden. The friendly owners, Monica and Wilfrid, will organise snorkelling trips to the nearby islands of Felicité and Coco, and ask Wilfrid if he’ll take you to Anse Marron, a spectacular, hard-to-reach beach on the south of the island. • Doubles from £70 B&B, no phone, zanbozaguesthouse-seychelles.com

Cabanes des Ange Guest House, La Digue

This stylish newcomer has six apartments and three rooms amid a lovely landscaped garden full of tropical blooms. The air-conditioned rooms are cool and contemporary, with handmade wooden furniture, splashes of local art, king-size beds, a living space and a large terrace where breakfast is served. The apartments come with kitchens and an alfresco dining area is in the works. There’s a swimming pool with plenty of lounging space and it’s just a short walk – or you can rent a bike from the guesthouse – from the stunning beaches of Anse La Reunion and the centre of La Digue. • Doubles from £100 B&B, +248 423 4112, cabanesdesanges.sc Source link Click to Post