#Plan to make a veggie soup with it later

[bonefall]

Would bone broth be a common thing among the clans if they could find something to wrap the bones in (we use cheesecloth but I don't know if there's a wild equivalent)?

Wait you guys wrap your bones

I just boil the shit out of mine, let it cool, and then skim the fat off the top, you guys have fancy bone-fat-cheesecloths?? Do you clean them also? They'd get so greasy!

I've just had the Clan cats be boiling and skimming, especially since that fat's actually really important for them. Especially in WindClan where the fat quantity of rabbits is so low that every little bit of congealed lard is important.

[hellyeahsickaf]

Cooking While Disabled

One of the things I miss most about being less disabled is cooking. It was one of my favorite things to do and something I've always been good at.

On good days there are things I can do that make it easier. It's not the same as before, but I hope that sharing what makes it possible for me to cook helps others who struggle with it.

Tips for cooking while disabled:

You can incorporate precooked food in your meals. For example, stir fry with precooked rice with the ingredients of your choice, or taking frozen pasta (like the ones with maybe sauce and a couple other things) or plain microwave pasta (I prefer these, but heat it first) and putting it in a pan adding other ingredients like vegetables, cheese, garlic, etc

If it comes frozen or canned that can really help. Frozen rice you can just microwave, frozen cut veggies and garlic and onions are good as well

Buy a chopper with different shaped blades, spiralizer, electric slicer/grater, food processor, or any appliance that will save you energy. Ideally machine washable. Stand mixers are also better than manual ones. Especially helpful if you have joint/wrist issues

You can always prepare ingredients ahead of time. I find that sometimes it helps to prep (chopping or mixing ingredients, etc) earlier in the day or even a day before. Then you can put it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to cook the full meal

Look up easy recipes or recipes for elderly/seniors. With the latter you may find more nutritionally balanced food but an unbalanced easy meal is better than none

You can sit while you prepare ingredients.

You're allowed to take breaks. You can turn the stove off, maybe put a lid on it to retain the heat, sit down, maybe take something for your symptoms. Some things you may not be able to stop in the middle of like making pancakes or deep frying something, but if you're making soup or curry or chili or something, often you can turn it off for a bit and take care of yourself.

If you need help and can get it, please ask for help. I know many of us need to work on asking for help including myself. Even if it's just washing the pots and pans or chopping something. You are not a burden you hear me?

Stretch before and after cooking just as one would before a workout. It will likely lessen any joint pain or stiffness as you are still exerting yourself

Listen to your body. Just as you're allowed to take a break, you are allowed to decide you won't be able to finish what you're doing. You may put away your food before it's done (if this won't ruin the meal). You are allowed to leave a dirty pot in the sink and come back to it later (just make sure you or someone else does before it gets gross). You can wash them in the dishwasher. I know this is bad for the seasoning on pots and pans but you can reseason them to be nonstick again and use nonstick spray

You can buy seasoning mixes rather than using individual seasoning. Instead of parsley, oregano, basil, etc you can buy Italian seasoning. Instead of paprika, pepper, cumin, oregano, salt, etc, you can just get taco seasoning. This may sound obvious but it can save a lot of time and energy

An issue I have is buying perishable ingredients thinking I can use them, having a bad week or two, and the ingredients have gone bad. Try to plan out your meals before shopping and ask yourself if there's an easier alternative for any ingredients. Maybe pre chopped fresh onion instead of a whole one, sliced mushrooms instead of whole, frozen vegetable blends instead of individual, powdered ginger instead of the root, bullion instead of stock that you may not be able to use all at once. I know this is like one of the other points but these are what I find most helpful

Use supercook.com! You input the ingredients you have on hand and you'll get a list of recipes you can make with what you have. Often there's a wide range of complexity and difficulty

Make enough food to freeze or refrigerate leftovers. It helps if you can portion it into single servings in Tupperware or freezer bags. You can prepare frozen burritos for your next few lunches or dinners, separate portion sizes of spaghetti, portion salads, etc

Feel free to add any additions!

[angstigone]

«keep up my game» you had muttered to aki before taking the plate of vegetable soup he had slaved onto, and bringing it to the table, where power was comfortably sat with meowy in her lap, waiting to be served.

it took aki a few minutes to realize your 'plan' as he noticed you lay down the plate of soup right in front of power; he thought that you had forgotten that - under no circumstances - power ate vegetables, but he was quick to understand that you remembered, you just had come up with a plan.

«you must have mistaken your rations with my own, dumb human» the pinkhaired fiend commented with her usual crassness, while you retained an almost seraphic serenity.

«no, power, it's your dinner» and stalling the fiend from throwing the plate, you were quick to add «... it's made of a special kind of meat».

power looked like she didn't believe you fully but the fact that she hadn't yet thrown you off was a sign of growth as both aki and denji stared at you from the safe haven of the kitchen counter.

«how dumb does she think power is?» denji simply said albeit he looked onto your efforts quite attentively.

«... is it?» power asked still diffidently but her hand released the plate, clearly not having - for the moment - the intention to throw the plate right in your face «it smells like veggies».

«it doesn't» you were quick to say, although not quick enough to seem suspicious «... it's... a special kind of meat. it does smell like veggie but it's wholly meat».

«meat of what?» power inquired definitely curious.

«duck!» you muttered taking a good luck at the color of the soup «can't you tell from the color? also... duck is a very... esteemed meat. we were lucky to grab some of it at the supermarket!».

that did it, strangely enough, as power's eyes filled with what looked like a deep sense of utter pride and getting up from the low table - almost sending her own plate flying - she declared raising her fist up in the air.

«ahhh, you finally recognized power's true value! and you are rewarding it accordingly!» she then sat down as fast as she had gotten up and pushed her spoon into the soup, with little to no protest at the taste much to denji's and aki's startlement.

they didn't utter anything, worried that power might catch onto and then that'd be a whole mess that neither wished to deal with; still, the pinkhaired fiend quickly finished her whole plate and sent you to get another one praising the taste and insisting that she could feel the blood of the hunted duck.

dinner, hence, fell into a utter bedazzlement as even the usual awkward small talk was avoided, till denji and power moved onto their nightly routine while you and aki went to clean up the dishes.

«how... how did you come up with?» he asked promptly as soon as he regained his ability talk just to make you lightly chuckle.

«I have been observing power and I did realize that she has been lying, most often choosing which foods she might like or not, so I thought that she wouldn't be able to recognize which type of food is which» you explained and aki couldn't help but think that you had put too much thought into this, especially considering that the fiend's health didn't depend onto healthy human habits «... although in all truth, it was something that my mom said about how she convinced me to eat spinach by telling me it was mint ice cream».

«please tell me that you didn't fall into that as power» aki pleaded with a laugh at your offended look.

«I absolutely didn't! I clocked it out at the first taste and required some mint ice cream as compensations» you shot back promptly before joining aki's laugh as well «... still, I thought that it might be easier with soup and meat, especially with the little I gathered... mmh, wonder whether I can use it for something else...».

«we could brainstorm later» aki joked as you took him seriously before realization settled into you «... oh, c'mon, I do have to admit it was ingenious, alright?».

«you don't apprecciate me enough, hayakawa» you turned your back to him, crossing your arms over your chest, obviously pouting your fake displeasure. aki couldn't help but huff, although his heart filled with tenderness and endearment.

there was something downright domestic about the way you bickered with him. with how you cared about denji and power as if they were humans. as if they were your children.

the thought startled aki, as he gently went to hug you from behind, if not to truly ease you to ease his swifly moving mind which pictured a whole other scenario: you were still pouty, with swollen ankles and an heavy belly, blaming him for something that hormones made you feel.

"it's alright, just a few more months, sweetheart" he'd say instead of apologizing for not seeing your brilliant genius.

«you better apprecciate me!».

«I do, sweetling» he said softly, gently kissing the back of your head, as he tried to shun away the thought of you acting this way with children, your children.

you had always agreed that you were better off without children in your professions, neither wanting to leave behind any orphans.

still, it was tickling aki at how well you handled the manchildren that you had been tasked with; it wasn't just forcing them into good habits. it was the way you genuinely cared for those two even though you shouldn't have because they were liabilities.

«mmh, I don't know if I am convinced» but you were smiling, even turned aki can tell yo were smiling and suddenly he thought for a moment of a life where it's your children that you trick into eating vegetables and it brought some pricky feelings to his eyes, not that he'd define them as tears.

no, this isn't a life that he can have.

even with you.

so, he'll have to make this one last.

[under-theweirwood]

o'knutzy week day two!

a little angst, a little tremblay sibling bonding, a little emotional hurt/comfort. @oknutzyweek2023 && @lumosinlove cred4ever

(note: vaincre spoilers! set sometime after logan's move)

Sydney wasn’t Logan’s first choice sister for emotional support. She was his first choice sister for lake days and horror movies and practicing shootouts but not usually affairs of the heart. Noelle was better at that, or even Aubrey. Sydney was maybe a bit too much like Logan. 

But she was the one in Manhattan, the one who had called him, interrupted his usual pastime of laying in his empty apartment being sad, telling him that she was in town for one night because a game got rescheduled and she wanted to check on her little brother. The little brother in question might have gotten choked up a little just hearing her familiar accent, the slight nasal in her voice, the clack of her nails when she put the phone on speaker and typed in his address.

And then she was there after practice, like they were kids and they’d just finished up practice on the same rink.

“Lolo,” she’d yelled, sounding the same she’d always sounded, waiting outside for him to finish getting changed. She was so much the way she always was that it almost made Logan cry again. He stayed choked up even while he shushed her, gave her a tight hug, and knocked her beanie askew just to make her scowl. 

He was drained, from practice and from not sleeping and missing Finn and Leo every second of the day. She was tired too, her season just as much underway back in Canada as his was. And Logan knew she didn’t really need to come into town, could have gone up a day early for her next game. She came to check on him because she loved him, because he could try not to call his boys but he couldn’t ever hold back from calling his sisters.

They got coffee from the place just around the corner from Logan’s apartment, ordering the same drink that Finn had been calling sugar-water for years. Two iced mochas with cinnamon, almond milk. Lo and Syd, same as always. 

Logan even thought he had done a good job playing host, even just showing her the blue walls of the Rangers facility and the few restaurants and cafes the team had shown him. It wasn’t like it was her first time in the city, but still, it felt good to show her his little life there. To prove, maybe, that he was hanging in there. 

It got harder to keep his spirits up later in the day. By dinnertime, Logan’s phone had blinked up a few notifications from the boys, wrenching his heart a little each time. Outside the city was lit up but inside felt cold as ever. It felt silly to hang things on the walls of the apartment that was so not home, but that didn’t mean it felt good looking at all the blank, anonymous walls, the way that the space still looked exactly like it had when he toured. Dirty shoes and some duffels by the door, ready for practice, but that was about it. 

“Ouais, Lo, I’m making dinner.” Sydney clapped her hands, interrupting his moping, sliding into the open plan kitchen on her socked feet. “I know you must have something in this fancy apartment of yours.” 

Logan pulled himself off the couch and slid across the room to stand next to her by the cabinets. 

“I can make soup- for sure, I can make you some tomato soup.” Sydney pulled out the can, and turned to the fridge to see what else there was. Logan was almost sure there was some cheese, maybe some veggies. He planned to go to the store after practice the day before-- or two days earlier? But it was so easy just to order in, pick something up on the way home. And that was if he was hungry anyway. Sometimes his stomach just hurt too much in his empty apartment, and he just made tea and got into bed and tried to sleep. 

“Lolo, you really don’t have much here do you?” Sydney’s voice was soft when she looked over. The fridge was empty, just some condiments and half a burger growing mold in its styrofoam to-go container. 

Logan’s chest felt tight. There was his sister and his empty fridge and he couldn’t even make it to the grocery store to pick up some essentials. He was an adult and he didn’t even have milk on the shelf. 

“Your big boy NHL paycheck and you don’t even get some fruit?” Sydney was teasing him in her familiar way, but she must have been able to tell that something was suddenly wrong because her voice was soft, and then she was moving across the kitchen to wrap her arms around him. 

Logan tried to answer but all he got out was a kind of whimper. Sydney tightened her arms, shushing him gently. “I know, leaving Gryff has been hard on you, I know.” She was the same height as him- which Logan would deny, of course-- but just then he felt tiny, tucked into her side like a little kid. “Lolo, c’mon, it’s okay.” she shushed him gently, running her hands through his hair. 

He tried to breath slowly, calmly, but all he got out was another little sob. Logan didn’t know when he’d started crying, only that he felt suddenly unmoored, totally adrift. What was he doing in New York City, playing at being okay on his own? He wished he was in Gryff, of course, sandwiched between Finn and Leo on their couch, or even at home in the house he’d grown up in where nothing was ever more wrong than Sydney taking the last biscuit or running late to a practice.  

Sydney rubbed his back back comfortingly, one hand still in his hair as she guided him over to the couch and pulled him down so he was curled against her. “They shouldn’t have made you come here,” she said finally, when Logan finally caught his breath. 

“Ouais,” Logan sniffled. “They shouldn’t have, we were so good together.” He wasn’t sure if the ‘we’ was the lions, or Finn and Leo, or the Dumais kids clambering over him. It was all so good. 

Sydney understood, of course: Hockey was hockey, and they were lucky enough to have beaten the odds to play the game as a career. That meant giving up some security, though, accepting that a call could come from way up and change everything. 

Sydney paused in stroking hair hair, the way she did sometimes when she was deciding what to say. “You know,” she said slowly, “we never talked about it but I had to- when I got traded to Toronto Amber was still in Montréal. It was... a year, I think? Maybe two?” 

Logan sniffled, distracted for a second by what he thought Syd might be trying to tell him. 

“Amber your? Your friend from college?” He remembered Amber, he thought- all his sisters had been popular, bringing back friends for weeks in the summer and ski trips in the winter. Amber stood out, Sydney’s closest friend. She was taller than Logan and even more muscular that Sydney, with short hair and smooth dark skin. 

Sydney snorted out a laugh. “Lolo, my... friend? My friend from college?” She pulled away to raise both her eyebrows at him, speaking slowly like he was a toddler. 

Logan was confused. “You missed her when you played in different cities?” That made sense, it was always hard to go from sharing lines to facing someone across the ice. Logan hadn’t even really needed to do it until this, until now, but it loomed over the season. 

“Lo, you are so smart sometimes but also so dumb...” Sydney massaged the corners of her forehead, cracking up as she shook her head. “Amber my girlfriend? My girlfriend who I also had to do hockey long-distance with?” 

Logan blinked back at her. “You’re gay?” 

Sydney sighed exaggeratedly and flopped backwards on the couch. “Yes I am gay Logan I thought that when I brought my girlfriend of multiple years to our house for holidays that made it clear? Maybe when we lived together in Montréal? Maybe now that we literally own a house together I thought you would realize?” 

Logan sat back, considering. Parsed out like that, it did seem a little silly that he didn’t realize. But living together? He’d thought they were roommates, and he hadn’t actually spent more than a few hours in that apartment when he was visiting. And the house that they bought? That was harder to understand, but Logan had assumed it was like, a townhouse? Something with multiple apartments that they co-owned? Everyone talked about the high cost of housing, sharing didn’t seem too crazy. Once, he and Finn had talked about buying some house under the stars on a lake they could skate on. He and Finn... Logan sighed. It was coming together. 

“I guess I just assumed you were like me and Finn, really close friends?” Logan chewed his lip thoughtfully. 

Sydney threw her hands in the air. “Yes, Logan,” she said still speaking slowly. “Just like you and Finn. For example, together!” 

“You mean- this whole time, you’ve been gay?” Logan couldn’t believe it. He’d felt so alone, so broken, for so long. Even telling Noelle, telling his sisters about how he felt, it was a dark secret, a burden to be shared. Never did he think that he could have another queer sibling. 

“This whole time, Lolo,” Sydney rolled her eyes. “You were just too worried about your boy to think about it I guess. You think you all are the only queers in hockey?” 

“Sorry about that...” Logan felt bad as she said it. Of course he hadn’t noticed anything, he did spend all of college and most of his first year in the NHL obsessing over Finn, or obsessing over how to stop it.

“Oh, shh,” Sydney laughed, slouching against him as she pulled out her phone. “Aubrey and I were betting on if you had noticed anything last summer. She owes me a favor, I knew you weren’t paying any attention.” 

“Ugh,” Logan sighed. “I can’t believe you guys placed bets.” He’d been thoroughly distracted from his feelings by Sydney’s revelation, and now he felt embarrassed to be such a baby, not to mention for being clueless. Also, hungry. “So, dinner?” He imagined Leo, what Finn and him were no doubt sitting down to eat at home. It didn’t hurt as much as it would have an hour earlier, though, not with his sister splayed out on the couch next to him, making fun of him. 

“How about we order dinner, what about that?” Sydney was already scrolling through options on her phone. “Neither of us is really a cook, huh.” 

That made Logan snort out a laugh, even if he still had tears drying around his eyes. They’d burnt plenty of toast (and soup, and pasta, and...)  together growing up. 

“There’s good sushi here,” he said, leaning over to tap Sydney's screen when she scrolled past. 

“Bet,” she said, making him laugh with her exaggerated American accent. 

“Bet,” he parroted, “Ouais, let’s order, I’m hungry.” 

Later, they would talk about everything. About first crushes and first kisses, glances in locker rooms and hands held on busses to roadies, about feeling alone and then the magic of feeling alone together with someone special. Eventually, over the course of years, they would talk about what it meant to be queer kids growing up in hockey, about the women’s league and how things were different from the NHL and how things were the same. 

That night, though, they ate sushi, and slept side by side on Logan’s bed, curled around his laptop playing French cartoons from when they were kids.  For the first time since he moved in, Logan fell asleep easily, the familiar sound of his sisters breathing reminding him that he wasn’t alone. 

[hunieday]

Yuki - Daily Life Rabbit chat part 5 - Holiday Market

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4 - PART 5

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access them, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yuki-san, thank you for your hard work.

Takanashi Tsumugi: We'll be appearing together on a music program next week! Everyone is already looking forward to working with Re:vale-san!

Yuki: Good work, I got a call from Okarin a while ago. Looking forward to it as well

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

Yuki: I was actually thinking of rabbichatting with Maneko-chan

Takanashi Tsumugi: With me?

Yuki: Yeah, we’re at the roadside station you recommended the other day.

Yuki: Thanks to you we’re having a great time

Takanashi Tsumugi: Wah! So it’s your day off today! I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves.

Takanashi Tsumugi: I'm sorry for bothering you on your day off...!

Yuki: Don't worry about it

Yuki: I actually have some free time right now, so keep me company for a bit

Takanashi Tsumugi: Aren't you with Momo-san?

Yuki: He's trying his hand at the vegetable-packing activity, so he’s waiting in line to give it a try

Yuki: I think he's more into veggies than I am

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

CHOICE:

1) Don't you want to try the challenge?

Yuki: I'm just watching. Tried it once, couldn't pack much at all, and ended up losing money. So I've been appointed as Momo's cheerleading squad ever since

2) Is Momo-san good at the packing challenge?

Yuki: Like a pro. Even when we were struggling, he used to join housewives at the supermarket and work his hardest. Momo brought back the loot with a perfectly packed bag, looking absolutely cool

3) What are you planning to do after this?

Yuki: I'll watch Momo eat a parfait. We were talking about coming back later for dessert after lunch, but my stomach's still full.

Yuki: Momo’s working his hardest to stuff the bags alongside the housewives

Yuki: Though I'm a bit worried about the carrots

Takanashi Tsumugi: I know what you mean… I tend to pack the same vegetables instead of going with a variety since it’s easier…!

Yuki: Maneko-chan, do you have experience with this?

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes I do! There are packing challenges at the local supermarket sometimes, so I give it my best whenever they happen!

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

Yuki: Impressive

Takanashi Tsumugi: Sometimes I end up with nothing but carrots or sweet potatoes though, so I stick to the same vegetable menu for a while after that...

Yuki: What kind of menu do you go for?

Yuki: I might pickle some carrots tomorrow so I'm looking for some inspiration

Takanashi Tsumugi: I finely chop and add a lot of them to soup, or grate them and arrange them in different ways like a salad! 

Yuki: A salad sounds nice. You can sandwich it in bread so you won’t get tired of it

Yuki: Back when Momo brought back a ton of carrots from a packing challenge, we used to make curry or stew for days

Takanashi Tsumugi: Momo-san was in charge of packing them and you were in charge of the cooking!

Yuki: That’s right

Yuki: We were broke, so we only had curry roux, and I remember having curry with nothing but carrots for three days straight.

Takanashi Tsumugi:

Yuki: I thought my body might turn into curry on the third day

Yuki: Momo said everything tasted delicious, though

Takanashi Tsumugi: I'm sure it’s thanks to the love you put into it...!

Yuki: That's true

Yuki: That’s always been my secret ingredient

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

Yuki: I think I'll stop Momo soon.

Yuki: He's working hard to pack those carrots, but his bag looks like it's about to rip and burst.

Takanashi Tsumugi: Yes! I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Yuki: Mhm. Thanks for keeping my company

Yuki: I'll do my best to make those flower crowns and send you pictures of my cute Momo

Takanashi Tsumugi: Looking forward to it...!

Takanashi Tsumugi: 

[stupidbeecandle]

Overnight we dried some sheetpan veggie mixes from costco with some herbs and salt to make instant soup jars. This one is our first tester jar, it could be a fun way to bring lunch to work :3

Later today the plan is to do some kale chips just because we can, and then soon we are gonna try making roll ups

[airplanned]

Acts of Service

One Piece live action fic! 2,000 words. E for everyone. Maybe part of a series if another one pops fully formed into my head.

Summary: Zoro can be a nice guy and an asshole at the same time. (Friends and frenemies on a boat!)

Well, we knew this was coming. I have the day off today, so I had some time.

---

1. Nami

The waiter was trying to figure out everyone's favorite foods in order to ingratiate himself into the crew, which was pretty pathetic.  He incorrectly thought he was being subtle.

Usopp was easy.  The conversation went something like this:

Waiter: I can make you something special if you like.  Whatever you want.  Just name it.

Usopp:  Anything?  Well...Actually...Nah, don't worry about it.  Unless you can make Tapalapa.

Of course he could make tapalapa.

The waiter's eyes had lit with a kind of evil victory, and that night there was a kind of long bread that they were supposed to eat with fancy ass eggs, which Usopp declared both "the best he'd ever had" and "way fancier than his mom made."

Two days later, they had the bread again, but this time with beans and no little green mess to decorate the edges of their plates.  Usopp had moaned through the whole meal, not even realizing that he had been defeated.  

The waiter didn't stop grinning, his eyes all crinkled at the corners.

Luffy was harder, because anything the waiter made, Luffy would announce, "This is great!"  When the waiter straight up asked what his favorite meal was, Luffy listed off six meals in detail, none of which had anything in common except they all had meat of some sort.  He would have kept going except a sea monster showed up, and the sea monster was somehow on fire, and he had gotten distracted. 

He tried to smile through it, but clearly the waiter was dying on the inside.

Which amused Zoro to no end.  Luffy was the best.

Zoro and Nami were even harder, because they knew what was going on and refused to participate.

"Anything special you want for dinner?"  "No."

"I'm going on a supply run.  Anything I can get for you while I'm in town?"  "Nah.  I'm good."

"Fruit? Veggies? Pastry? Noodles?"  "Whatever."

When asking got him nowhere, he started just handing them random things to see if he could get a reaction.  Little things in tiny bowls that were less than two bites for Nami and one big inhale for Zoro.  It was a burst of flavor in his mouth, always good, but if Zoro had any food preferences, it was that there be a lot of it, so already he was off to a bad start.  Ice cream on a banana slice with chocolate sauce.  Thick soup in a shot glass.  A date wrapped in bacon.  Half a deviled egg with Nami getting the other half.  A fried dumpling filled with crab meat.  A spoon with sea urchin and roe.  Yellowfin nigiri.

That one was hard, because Zoro really liked yellowfin.  But he chomped it down, gave a distracted nod, and handed back his plate just as he always did.

With Zoro, it just annoyed the waiter, because Zoro was a petty asshole and annoying him was the point.  With Nami Sanji was eventually going to have an aneurysm, because he desperately wanted Nami to like him.  Which was funny because he would surely grow on her if he just calmed the fuck down.  She was soft in the middle like that.

"Why would you not want the food you like?" Luffy whispered in confusion. He sat like a frog with his knees up around his ears.

Zoro shrugged, still looking out at the sea.

Luffy shook his head. "Seems stupid."

Luffy didn't get it.

They'd been in port for a day when Nami kicked at Zoro's leg where he’d made himself comfortable on the deck with his back to the mast.  “Hey.  Let’s go.”

He lifted an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t move.  “Go where?”

“A bar.  And you’re coming with me.”

“You running a con?”

She gave him a smile with a plan bit between her teeth.  "I need someone with a select skill set."

"I'll come!" Usopp shouted.

"You don't look intimidating enough," she shouted back.

"Ah.  Yeah.  That's fair."

"I can go!" the waiter called.

She looked up at him and gave him a consoling smile (see, already she was starting to thaw).  "I need someone who can pretend they don't know me."

"Oh," Luffy said, slumping over the railing. "That doesn't sound fun."

She turned back to Zoro.  "I'm buying."

That got him up.

He'd have gone with her anyway.

"Get me a donut from the place!" Luffy shouted.  "Two donuts.  Maybe half a dozen."

Zoro waved over his shoulder in acknowledgement.  A dozen donuts it is.

They walked into town mostly in silence, Zoro with one hand casually on a sword hilt.  It wasn't a big enough town for Nami to be causing trouble.  It wasn't a big enough town for there be much trouble to get into.

"You gonna tell me what's going on, or do I have to guess?"

"What's going on," she said, her smile turning bright, "is I am going drinking with my friend."

"Yeah right."

"Believe me or not, I don't care," she said, hefting open the heavy bar door and nudging him inside.

Zoro sat sideways at the bar to keep an eye on things while Nami leaned forward on both elbows and ordered.  Beer for him, rum and coke for her.

When their drinks came, she threw it back for a big swig, set down with a clunk, and said, "So I'm homesick."

"What?"  Oh.  They were drinking.

"I know.  It's not something I've experienced before, so you're going to hang out with me until it passes."

"You've been homesick," he said into his beer.  "I've seen you homesick."

"That's it though!  This is different.  Before it was...longing.  I wished for the place that used to be there.  For the people who used to love me.  I knew it didn't exist.  It was a fantasy.  I hoped that one day, after I set everything right, it would be true again, but even then, I...I don't know if I ever believed it. 

"But now...Now there are people out there who care about me.  I could turn around and go back to them.  And...I miss them.  As they are and not as I wish they would be.  Does--I don't know--does that make sense?"

He grimaced.  It made sense, he guessed.  Not that he had any personal experience.  It made sense she would miss a place that liked her more than she would miss a place that hated her.  What didn't make sense was "Why'd you want to tell me about this?  I don't do--"  He used his beer to gesture at whatever emotions she was having.

"Because we're friends, you idiot.  And you're the only one who will listen without trying to solve it.  I don't need anyone to fix me, I need someone to sit there while I whine and then say something rude to cheer me up."

She was right: if she wanted that, she didn't have other options.

"Gah!  And you know what the worst part is?  More than anything right now, do you know what I want?"  She leaned in as if it were a secret and someone might overhear.  "A Coco Village tangerine tartlet."

He snorted and didn't bother trying to hold back a smirk.  "There's a real easy way to make that happen."

"I'd rather stick my hand in boiling water than give him the satisfaction."  She threw back the rest of her drink.

And see?  This was why he liked Nami.

#

"Hey, waiter, I got a request."

Sanji blinked at him once before excitement rippled over him, lighting his eyes, pulling him taller.  He was so genuinely happy that the smugness wasn't as bad as usual.  "Oh?  You have a request?"

"Yeah.  You want to write it down on your little waiter note pad?"

Sanji smiled at him.  Indulgent.  Like Zoro was cute and Sanji was winning.

Fuck, he hated this guy.

"The last island had tiny pies with orange filling."

"Tiny pies?  Like...hand pies?"

"A pie.  But small."

A moment to process, and Sanji's smile blossomed like this was the best day of his life.  "Do...you mean...a tartlet?"

His glee set off all Zoro's hackles.  There was no way he was saying the word tartlet.  "I mean a tiny pie.  Put some tangerine crud in there--"

"Tangerine curd?" Sanji looked fucking delighted.

"--Some whipped cream and sunflower seeds on top."

His face fell into confusion.  "Sunflower seeds?"

"On the top."

"..."

"Makes it look like a flower."

"..."

"You take them out of the shell first, dumbass."

Sanji took a breath, like he was going to argue but couldn't find the words, and then just froze there, too confused and disgusted to move.

Oh, he broke the waiter.

"You can't make it?"

That snapped him out of it.  "What?  Of course I can make it!  I'm not sure I should tho.  It sounds like an abomination."

"Fine," Zoro said, already turning away.  "Don't make it."

He went out to sit on the deck, and predictably, a few hours later the waiter came out carrying a tiny pie on a plate.  He was back to being a delighted asshole as he tucked one arm at the small of his back and bowed low to get eye level with Zoro.  "Your tangerine tartlet, sir, with citrus infused whipped cream and sunflower seeds.  As requested."

The filling was bright orange, the surface shining in the sun, like it would crack when a spoon went through it.  A spiral of sunflower seeds interrupted the shine in a way that actually looked a whole lot like the center of a sunflower.  It would have been impressive, if Zoro were in the mood to be impressed.

"Cool," he said, and took the plate without taking any bait.

He then waited for Sanji to leave.

Which he didn't.  He just stood there and grinned.

"You gonna watch me eat?"

"I want to see the look on your face."

Zoro set the plate down, and Sanji's face fell.

"Come on!  You can't not eat it!"

"Don't look at me, weirdo."

"I want to know if you like it!"

"It's fine."

Sanji threw his hands in frustration.  "You haven't tried it!"

Zoro got up, bringing his plate with him, and muttered "Fuck off," as he headed inside.

"Are you kidding me?!" Sanji shouted after him.  "You childish asshole!  See if I ever do anything for you again!"

It was the most empty threat Zoro had ever heard.

He knocked and let himself into Nami's room.

She was bent low over a map with her glasses on, a pucker between her eyebrows that told him she might not even realize he was there.  The plate bumped her arm after he slid it across the table, and only then did she look away from her work.  Her eyes widened, then snapped up to him.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his grin smug and vicious in a way that reminded people why he was called the demon.

"You asked him!" she accused.

"I didn't say it was for you."

"Are you kidding?  He's going to know it's for me.  What, he's going to think it's for you?"

"He's not real smart."

She muttered, "He's not the only one," but she pulled the plate closer, giving it a good inspection.

He wanted to tell her how much Sanji bitched about the sunflower seeds, how much Zoro had had to put up with to get this thing.  But the barely there softening of her face, the curiosity and familiarity that sparked in her eyes stopped him.

She took up the spoon and took a bite.  A warmth spread across Nami's face, her shoulders relaxing with a sigh, one of the most genuine smiles he'd ever seen pulling at her cheeks.

"Thanks, Zoro."

He jerked his chin to show he heard her, and she scoffed as she took another bite of her tiny pie.

[apolloendymion]

listen to me. i am talking directly in your ear now.

save your kitchen scraps. I'm talking carrot tops, peels, and greens. the tops & skins of onion and garlic. celery leaves. squash rinds. citrus peels. apple cores. tomatoes and lettuce that are just a little too wilted/mushy to be palatable. eggshells. cheese rinds. chicken skin. potato skins if you washed the dirt off. the water/oil from canned foods. BONES!! skins, peels, stems, leaves, anything that isn't poisonous but you wouldn't normally eat. we're going to make some fucking Broth.

(note: cruciferous veggies like brussels sprouts are ok in small quantities, but keep in mind that they're bitter and may bitter-ize your broth in larger amounts.)

put those scraps in a bag in the freezer. I'd recommend storing the liquids in a separate bag from the solids. add scraps whenever you've got em, until you've accrued about half a gallon ziplock of solids. now, you're Ready.

put a little oil at the bottom of a soup pot. just enough to sauté your solids. add some minced garlic and herbs/spices, if you have them (dried is fine, but i don't recommend powdered spices unless they're all you've got.) i like warming spices like star anise and cardamom pods; they make it taste like pho, sooo cozy. and of course, bay leaves!! if you have them, put at least 3 in there. minimum. trust me.

(if you don't have/want animal parts, add a little more oil than necessary for sauteing. you're gonna want the extra, believe me. I'd also sauté for longer, and pick an oil with a little flavor if you can, like olive. canola/vegetable is perfectly fine though.)

add the solids and sauté. i usually just thaw them in the oil, but if you're better at planning than me, you can put them in the fridge the night before. ideally you should sauté until the veggies start to brown. I'm not always that patient. it's fine. just make sure everything fully thaws and separates from one another. get a thin coat of oil over everything.

next, add the liquid ingredients and fill the rest of the pot with water (taking care to leave some space in case it boils over.) bring the pot to a boil, then turn it as low as your stove allows and leave it to simmer for as long as possible. this is KEY. let that shit MARINATE. let it STEW, no pun intended. i usually try to start this project in the morning, so i can leave it for the rest of the day. i have left it on overnight before but i can't recommend that in good conscience. do not burn your house down for broth. 2 hours would probably be my absolute minimum. stay close by, and stir it every so often so it doesn't boil over. chill on the couch. watch tv. enjoy the smell that permeates your house and makes it feel like a home. it's cozy time.

add salt, tasting as you go. you don't want to overdo it. some folks say to add the salt at the sauteing stage, but i feel this gives me too little control over the final product. i need control. I've got anxiety. but you do you. live your life. I'm not your boss.

once it tastes how you want it, strain out the solids. if I'm going to make soup right away, then I'll strain the liquid directly into another pot, throw in the soup ingredients, and simmer till everything's soft. otherwise, put it in a container you can freeze for later.

rejoice. broth be upon ye.

sip it when you're sick, make it into soup, use it in a casserole, cook rice with it. give a jar to your neighbors. you are the broth god. you are unstoppable. you will never waste a vegetable piece ever again.

go forth and Experience The Broth.

[doulayogimama]

Sky made a friend, they have hung out 2 days in a row 😭🙏🏽

Sky played with her for a couple hours today and we plan to have the girls see each other most days because they really love each other (they are also BOTH half Cuban) 🇨🇺

I made homemade veggie + lentil soup as well as mushroom alfredo fettuccine for dinner and Sky demolished both my plate of pasta and Kevin’s bowl of soup 🙌🏽

I was raised by really picky eaters who ate a lot of junk and so that’s what I ate for most of my life. My big brother was actually the pioneer in our family for healthy eating. He started experimenting with fresh pressed juices and being vegetarian way before I ever considered it. I’m really grateful that he broke our family (especially post divorce when it was just me, him, and my mom living together) out of our “standard American diet” of fast food, processed junk, and sodas all day long. I love all of those things and I will indulge as an adult when I want, but I’ve trained myself to crave mostly what makes my body feel good.

I’m just grateful as hell for a kid who is so open minded about food and is willing to try what we try. Which makes sense; as a kid I remember my mom proclaiming she didn’t like tomatoes, so I said I didn’t like them (without trying them) and literally never ate a tomato (ie I picked off the diced tomatoes on my tacos at Taco Bell) until my late teens. 

I ended up learning that I actually love tomatoes later in life 😅

[obsessivevoidkitten]

*cracks knuckles* I literally did crack my knuckles right before I started to type this. I can literally ramble about my garden and gardening in general, you have just opened up a giant post. The thing I am most excited about this year is strawberries, very excited they are a new addition this year and I pre-ordered some red and some white ones. They spread via runners so within a year or so I will have a nice huge patch of them. Strawberries are both the cheapest and easiest berry to grow, though not technically a berry. Another new addition is peanuts! I wanted something with a long storage capability as well as something high in protein, while also not being too difficult to grow, peanuts fit the bill. I am also going to try sweet potatoes in a larger quantity this year, last year I just had one to plant that had been donated by the food pantry and I just could not produce much with it and it was also crowded with normal potatoes. I am still growing potatoes this year, I saved some potatoes from my fall harvest and they are going to be good to plant towards the later half of March. I am excited to replant my purple viking variety but I also got my hands on the all mighty kennebec. Perfect ratio of starch to make a good soup potato or a good fryer, also high yields!! I also plant to grow carrots, cosmic purple and lunar white. Radishes are going to make a return but I am adding a yellow variety instead of just de 18 jours radish. Everyone who knows me knows I will be attempting corn again, we had such a good result last year and it gave us a lot of food, I would like to triple production to donate excess to the senior center. I am growing moonshine, glass gem, and of course the ever amazing and personally endorsed damaun ks super sweet corn. I had so much success with tomatoes that I am branching into new varieties. Yellow, purple, orange, everything but red really. Going to go with some micro dwarf varieties like orange hat and patio choice yellow, the regular sized plant cherries I will be growing include yellow pear and bosque blue bumblebee, regular size slicers will be sart roloise, and kentucky beefsteak. Last year I grew many many many extra tomatoes and donated them by the bucketful to the senior center, family, and neighbors. And I was only growing a couple varieties last year. Pumpkins will be planted again, moranga, Rouge Vif D' Etampes, and of course the flat white boer pumpkin. I grew a crap ton of the white boers last year and they were a wonderful food source and the extras I gifted to people for decorations. I would like to try burdock root if possible. I have plans to grow a bibb lettuce mix, little gem lettuce, and merlot. For cabbage I am just trying one variety, a faster growing one good for early in the year so I can start gardening sooner, red acre cabbage. I failed with beets last year but now armed with more experience I hope to tackle the mammoth red mangel beet, it can literally grow to sizes larger than a toddler. If I can grow these I will be able to feed many many people beyond just me and the elderly lady I care for. Seriously though, google them, they are H U G E. I also want to grow some much smaller albino beets. For squash, other than pumpkins, I am growing yellow crookneck, candy roaster, honeynut, lemon squash, and golden zucchini. Hopefully I can fend off SQUASH VINE BORER. I would have had a lot more success with squash last year had it not been for SQUASH VINE BORER. In my gardening, I have many powerful enemies. The squash bugs that resemble stink bugs, and have the same stink power, the swarming Japanese Beetle, cucumber beetles, tomato.... horn... worms... the ceaseless devourer, but only one is my arch-nemesis and that one is SQUASH. VINE. BORER. And, my absolute favorite veggie, the sturdy and vigorous veggie that never lets me down, the cucumber. Varieties this year include poona kheera, dragon's egg, and pick-a-bushel. With this wonderful variety I shall grow many pounds of cucumbers, especially the high yielding pick-a-bushel. I hope to donate many of these. Now, for flowers, we don't have too many, but we do have a few. They are essential in attracting and supporting local pollinator populations but also in feeding birds. I am growing a few different types of sunflowers, the birds and pollinators go nuts for them. Chocolate cherry, russian mammoth, short stuff, and double sunking. If you are a novice gardener I cannot recommend sunflowers enough they can take some serious neglect and bad weather, droughts, storms, heat. They are so great, the senior center took some cut blooms for decoration and I still had enough for the birds and enough to save many seeds. I am also growing marigolds again and nasturtiums, which are also edible. I also was gifted some celosia seeds to try. For green beans I am growing two bush varieties, cantare and jade II green beans, they have excellent rust resistance which was a big issue for me last year. For onions I am only really going to try one variety and that is borettana, it grows fast and somewhat small, good for a beginner. Sadly I cannot actually grow any root vegetables in my clay soil, so all the potatoes/tubers/peanuts/carrots/radishes/beets cannot actually be cultivated here. The clay soil is hard and compacted and I dont have compost and soil to soften it up. I wanted to grow them in tubs, and I have a friend helping me get some to grow in, but I still have to raise over 100 dollars to get enough soil and mulch to fill them all. I also still have to get the cabbage, onion, some of the corn, some of the sunflower, and some of the tomato seeds. I do have two tubs filled so I can at least plant several potatoes. I am going to grow as much as possible and exhaust myself in the garden because I have a lot of people that get food from me and I cannot let them down. Anyway I hope that answers your question, may have over answered, lol. I hope you have a nice day too.

[verybarbarianpuppy2]

Sometimes I feel like it helps me to outline what meals I want to eat this week just so that I don't waste any food/money (which is crucial for a broke college student haha)

Meal options for this week:

Breakfast (in cafeteria)

scrambled eggs (estimate two eggs)

fruit or 1 slice toast

Coffee! aka life

multivitamins or die

Lunch or dinner (in cafeteria)

salad from the cafeteria with random veggies with either vinegar or to go with bolthouse farms ranch in room

bring fruit/apple/banana to go for later

Other lunch or dinner (not at the cafeteria)

oikos protein yogurt cup with chia/hemp seeds and fruit

power crunch protein bar with almonds or fruit

progresso protein soup

rice cake pizzas

Tasty Bite madras lentils microwavable pouch

SNACKS

lesser evil popcorn

go-go squeeze pouches

fruit stolen from cafeteria

energy drink

chocolate rice cake with tea (for sweet cravings)

almond pouches

trader joe's fruit leather bars

tea

gum

For context, I get two meals from the cafeteria each day, I try to make the most of my meal plan by taking food (like fruit) to-go just since I'm not eating a lot of food there anyway

[healthy444]

How can I lose weight without feeling hungry?

Losing weight without feeling hungry is all about making smart food choices and managing your portion sizes. Here are a few tips:

Eat High-Fiber Foods: Foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes keep you full longer because they take longer to digest.

Include Protein in Every Meal: Protein helps you feel satisfied. Think lean meats, beans, tofu, or Greek yogurt.

Stay Hydrated: Sometimes thirst is mistaken for hunger. Drinking plenty of water can help keep those false hunger pangs at bay.

Have Healthy Snacks: Keep healthy snacks like nuts, seeds, or cut-up veggies handy to avoid feeling starved between meals.

Eat Mindfully: Pay attention to what you're eating and savor each bite. This can help you feel more satisfied with smaller portions.

Don’t Skip Meals: Skipping meals can make you hungrier later and lead to overeating. Try to eat regular, balanced meals.

Choose Low-Calorie Dense Foods: Foods that are low in calories but high in volume, like soups or salads, can help you feel full without consuming too many calories.

Add Healthy Fats: Foods like avocados, nuts, and olive oil can help keep you full. Just be mindful of portions since fats are calorie-dense.

Opt for Whole Foods: Processed foods can leave you feeling hungrier and faster. Stick to whole, unprocessed foods for better satiety.

Eat Slowly: Giving your body time to signal when it's full can prevent overeating. Try to chew thoroughly and put your fork down between bites.

Use Smaller Plates: Sometimes, a smaller plate can trick your brain into feeling satisfied with less food.

Incorporate Spices: Adding spices like chili pepper can increase metabolism and make meals more satisfying.

Get Enough Sleep: Poor sleep can affect hunger hormones and make you feel hungrier. Aim for 7-9 hours a night.

Manage Stress: Stress can lead to emotional eating. Find healthy ways to cope with stress, like exercise, meditation, or hobbies.

Plan Your Meals: Preparing meals ahead of time can help you make healthier choices and avoid grabbing unhealthy snacks when you're hungry.

Incorporating these strategies can make it easier to stick with your weight loss plan without constantly feeling hungry.

P.S: "Get Your Dream Body Without Dieting – Order Today!"

[yourgamemasterthewhiterabbit]

Any further tips/advice for freezing veggies? Or any kinds of dish that are good for frozen veg that loose their usual texture (like celery, potatoes etc)?

Basically, cut and clean them to the size you will want in the final dish, since they'll be a bitch to try to cut once freezing makes them soft. For anything juicy, spread it out to freeze first so it doesn't all stick together in one chunk, or portion it into the servings you want to take it out in.

[When I get a camera cord, remind me to photograph my freezer stash, I have mixed potatoes, cabbage, celery and some other things in there now waiting on doing a duck roast,]

And honestly I haven't noticed much loss of texture after cooking. Unless you are used to very lightly steamed celery, the difference in texture there, as example, isn't notable. I don't use celery in stir fry, for example, because I don't eat stir-fry, but I use it in sauces and soups or in tiny bits in stuffing for poultry, so there's no difference there.

If it's the kind of thing that browns you can try tossing it in vinegar or lemon juice but honestly I don't care much about the look of my potatoes or whatever oxidizing slightly.

Pasta sauce and soups, or sauce put put on rice, curry etc.. is a good use for bits of frozen veg.

Really any dish where they normally get cooked a lot in with other things or fluids of any kind. Even tossed into meat pies I haven't notice a difference. It seems scary when they're raw because they seem weirdly soft like if they went bad, but it's because the water in their cells has burst out, much like it would with cooking anyway.

You can puree onion and garlic or herbs instead of having to cut it and make ice-cubes with it, and toss them in a bag, or even pre-caramelize all the onions and then make ice cubes of them to take out one at a time.

And potatoes, potatoes you don't freeze after cooking into a dish, you freeze them pre cut into either chunks for boiling, fries, wedges or shreds, freeze them, and when they come out you put them in whatever you would normally, like boiling them to make mashed potatoes, or mixing them into hash or latkes... It's like how you can get bags of frozen french fries and they bake or deep fry like fresh. I would not pre-make mashed potatoes necessarily because the other ingredients might separate oddly, unless I was making perogis to freeze for later or something. But freezing can even help get out extra water so they're easy to drain and dry or squeeze out for frying or adding to batter.

The goal isn't to necessarily find something to batch cook, it's to just get them cut up in a usable state and in the freezer with as little work as possible before they spoil. Deal with actual meal planning later as a whole separate process.

Pre-shredding carrots can mean having shred carrot to add to things easily, like cakes, tomato sauces, meat or vegetable pies, soups potato hash, ect, but it might help to freeze it spread out on a tray so it all doesn't stick together in a lump, or ice cube tray it, and then bag it, or -alternately- dehydrate carrots in a dehydrator in thin slices for soups. Dehydrated carrot is shelf stable a long time but if you freeze it dehydrated they last indefinitely, which can help make use of those huge bags of big cheap carrots that go on.

I'm not big on eating vegetables raw or half raw due to digestive sensitivities, and boiling or baking them makes them way softer than freezing does anyway. It isn't going to give you something lightly roasted or steamed, but it's better than throwing them out.

If you want to get clever about it keep track of how you cut up various veg for various meals and settle on 1-2 sized you are okay with them being in a variety of things and go with that.

The main thing is to predict to some degree what you'll want to make, but the benefit is being able to just reach into the freezer and grab pre cut veg. I like to grab out a pinch of frozen onion slices one meal at a time, rather than having an onion to work through in the fridge.

And if you are really into soups, you can actually puree tomatoes, cucumber and even lettuce that's about to go off, just clean it up and blend it, and then add it to soup stocks and stews and sauces, where it won't add much to the texture, but it'll add in those nutrients you would have missed from throwing them out instead. Most veggies that turn to utter mush when frozen can be blended and used for soups and sauces so long as you are at peace with them not adding any texture, and looking like goop or a block of coloured ice coming out of the bag.

Just make sure you clean and cut them like you would for meal prep first. You will NOT be able to clean and cut them properly -after- freezing, so you can't just shove them in there thinking you'll deal with any of the prep later, you have to do it first.

Personally, I batch prepare veggies this way into freezer bags before winter and stock up my box freezers with them, that way I have veggies all winter that are nearly fresh. I can just reach in and grab pre-cut peppers, onions and mushrooms to toss into a meal.

It's kind of easier to batch process like 10+ bell peppers at once and not worry about any other meal prep and then just have them for later, as example, and you can buy the bulk packages of stuff that's on sale because it's about to go off. It ends up saving money, sure but also means you are eating a more well rounded diet because you end up with this selection of veggies to just grab and toss in to anything on a whim... That aren't going bad.

You can buy enough corn on the cob to feed a big family, when it's cheap or on sale, and then just defrost one or two at a time for yourself.

Frozen ginger gets soft enough that you can squeeze out all the juice with a garlic press and leave behind the stringy bits, so if you cut it into 1/2-1inch chunks it can be good for that, and then you can take the crushed bit and brew it in a cup of tea, or soup stock... just rinse the ginger off before freezing it.

I also buy huge cuts of meat when they are on cheap, portion them myself and freeze them for later, so basically any meal just becomes taking out your pre-portioned ingredients and doing the actual cooking part with about 0 food waste. I also take the bones and fat off of meat I am cooking and freeze that separately for soup later, or frying or baking etc. Bones are a mash of bits by the time I am throwing out the remains.

Have leftovers you don't want to eat immediately in the following day? Frozen for later! next time you are hungry and don't want to cook you just toss that boy in a baking dish, bam! No food waste.

And when a whole bunch of something is about to go off, you don't have to stand there trying to figure out what you want to cook in the next 3 days that's going to use up 20 potatoes, you just cut them up and put the pause button on them.

If you don't have a box freezer, they are typically sold for 100$ second hand on facebook or kijiji and are a good one time investment when a tax cheque comes in.

Just make sure you are actually using the frozen food. You can't be thinking of it as less good than fresh or harder to make use of, because if you avoid using it and just keep buying more, you are going to run out of space and end up with freezers full of food you aren't eating. Get comfortable reaching for portions of frozen vegetables to add into things, and shop your freezers when you are getting ready to cook meals. [Pinch of bell peppers? Don't mind if I do! It's like a spice rack of vegetable add-ins now! Peruse.]

The last tip I have is to not buy a bunch of stuff to do this with all at once thinking you will have the spoons to do a week of meal prep with it all. Space it out. Buy the big bag of onions one trip, and get most of them frozen before you worry about grabbing a big bag of apples or potatoes, buy cabbage and celery the next trip and cut up most of those to freeze when you get home, or in the following days. Whatever is about to go bad, if it comes to that, just clean it up cut it and freeze it. or prep the whole things when you get to the meal you bought some of it for, depending on what it is, and freeze what you don't use.

Before long you'll have a stash of basically everything you use on hand. Then you can get pickier about waiting to buy things until they are on sale when you can. Like I buy butter on sale only and keep it frozen, but I also buy raw cranberries once a year at Christmas for 2$ or less a bag and just rinse and freeze the whole bags [they have holes int he bags for air flow]. I buy pumpkins for sale -after- halloween and cut them into quarters, bake the quarters so they are squishy, fold them flat into freezer bags, and then have a quarter pumpkin to use in pies or whatever I want. You get pumpkins for like a dollar, so you get each bag of frozen pumpkin for 25 cents [I have known people who do this -after- carving them for Halloween, if they aren't outside, just rinse bake and freeze them for food]. They have a sale rack sometimes of food that's about to go off that's all been bagged up together and discounted, and that is your friend if you are taking home one thing at a time and actually using it.

Frozen apple wedges, btw, do fine in an apple pie. And apple dehydrates nicely at home too. Same logic applies as carrots, if you dehydrate and then also freeze them, they don't stick together and you can have them indefinitely, and they take up a lot less space. But really I just freeze apple slices and then make pie filling with them [or add them to stuffing].

I will eventually formalize and share actual recipes, but so much of the cooking I do is measuring with my feelings that I need the spoons to go through making each dish and documenting what has it come out the best. There's some batch cooking things I do like pre-roasting chickpea flour to coat dumplings and rolls in so they don't stick together in the freezer. I make about 50+ spring rolls at once from frozen bean sprouts and etc, and then freeze those to eat 2-3 at a time.

I just can't stand having food go bad in the fridge if I don't have the energy to cook, and I hate the idea of simply not eating vegetables because of it. I'm trying to save money and also eat well and my response to problems tends to be a little "smash it all with one simple elegant solution". If you have any specific questions please let me know <3

[ro-valerius]

Calm Before the Storm: Cooking

Shortly after his run in with the mage, Tofu socially-awkwards his way into cooking lessons. Kore belongs to @sorrel-haven

Tofu bounded down the stairs, surprisingly quiet for a man of his height and the speed he had taken, ready to head back out for another patrol of the area. Like hell was he going to let anyone take any of them off guard again. He paused at the bottom of the stairs, catching sight of Kore and Ro in the main area. Ro was on the couch, reading, but he turned his attention to Kore. Something he had heard her say before he had tried not to listen to her and Lament in the yard bothered him; for one, she was not stupid.

“H-hey Kore?” he started, though he had no plan for getting the thought across without revealing that he’d heard at least some of the conversation. “S-so… You’re…one of the smartest people I know, do you think you could help me…learn to cook?” 

Kore looked up from sharpening her knives and chakrams while sitting on the floor. A bit of surprise plainly written on her face gave way to a smile. She set down the whetstone next to her and leaned back a little. propping herself up with one arm.

“Of course! I’d be happy to! I’m pretty handy in the kitchen, if I do say so myself.” Her excitement at the idea of cooking was palpable.

Tofu blinked in surprise. He hoped she didn’t intend to start with lessons right away, but was it too late to specify a different time…? She sure set aside her whetstone like she wanted to get up and get to teaching right away…

“I haven’t had much opportunity to cook lately, what with all the recon I’ve been doing.” She spun a chakram like a top, using a little magic to keep it going. “What should we make?”

He struggled to keep his cursing to his inside voice, but he managed. His outward expression held a blank smile to mask his panic. She…was so excited for this. He couldn't tell her no now. 

"U-um…something easy? Using as little fire as possible?" he said, though it came off as more nervous than he was hoping. Though to be fair, a lot of it had to do with how he almost set the kitchen on fire last time Blomma tried to teach him…

“Hmm, I think I have an idea. Back in the village, we were taught a trick for if we ever needed to make food without fire. We call it fire crystal soup. You make whatever soup you want and plop a few fire crystals in. Best with broth based soups, cream soups get messy.” She stood up and walked over to Fiora’s alchemy table and fished out a handful of small fire crystals. 

“I’ll replace these later.” 

Her smile put the sun to shame as she turned back to face him and he lost all ability to say no. It was rare to see her excited about something these days, he couldn't bring her down now. He hesitantly smiled back.

"R-right. So… what do we start with?"

He should have just gone on patrol without a word…

Kore took his hesitation as simple nerves; she had seen the curry incident. She walked over and took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She guided him to the kitchen and began taking out a few supplies and ingredients, pulling out what was needed for a veggie and potato stew - something simple to start. They could make something with meat once he mastered this. 

Kore explained them all as she did and lined them up neatly. She showed him how to pick the most flavorful ingredients. She showed him knife cuts, and guided his hand as he tried it himself, humming to fill the silence between instruction and questions. She could stay like this, with him, forever.

Once the prep was done and they set the pot on the stove with the broth and heartier veggies, she picked up two of the fire crystals.

“Now the best results for these, add in two at a time and give them a bit of a sparking start before throwing them in like so.” She struck them together like one would a flint and steel. 

They created some sparks of fire aspected aether and she plopped them in the pot. The resulting sizzle and steam showed that it was working. It was going much better than he expected, though his chopping skills left a lot to be desired. Although the shaking that had begun in his hands certainly didn’t help matters much. 

Suddenly, pain spread through his chest, harsh and unrelenting, white hot starting in the center of his chest where one of the mages had marked him with the sigil. He was cognizant enough to make sure nothing was in his hands before he staggered back from the counter, hand gripping his chest tightly. He sank to his knees, a low, pained moan escaping from his throat.

Kore rushed to him, crouching in front of him, hands outstretched in worry. “Tofu! What’s wrong?!” Tofu leaned forward and pressed his forehead into the crook of her neck as if to ground himself. Kore turned to Ro with wide eyes. “Help?!” she managed to get out in her panic.

Ro was up off the couch and at Tofu’s side in a heartbeat upon hearing the panic out of Kore. She knelt beside him, eyes scanning his body for answers. A realization hit her and she dug into her pocket, pulling out a talisman - one of the ones she used to keep Fiora’s curse in check - and lifting his shirt enough to slap the seal onto his chest.

The pain subsided slightly, though his body still trembled and his breath came in pained gasps. Kore held him, one hand stroking his hair in an attempt to soothe him. She shuffled him to be more propped up against her.

“Tofu…we have to tell them. We can’t keep this from them anymore…” Ro murmured, brushing a strand of hair out of his face, though his eyes were still buried in Kore’s neck. 

“Tell us what? What happened?” Kore snapped, but tried not to shout it with Tofu’s ears so close to her.

“Please…please don’t…” Tofu whispered between gasps.

“Tofu. I am telling them. Now,” Ro said firmly. Tofu pressed his face further into the crook of Kore’s neck.

“Please don’t think less of me…” His words were barely audible, so much so that only Kore would have heard them.

And Ro told Kore about Tofu’s condition.

“His body doesn’t react well to magic. It reacts quite terribly, actually. During his vengeance rampage against the mages that cursed Fiora, he returned with a curse himself… That’s why the same seal that keeps Fiora’s voidsent at bay managed to dull his pain just now.”

Kore subconsciously held Tofu a little tighter. She looked down at Tofu as best as she could, kissing the top of his head and murmuring, “Why would that make me think less of you? You… you’re precious to me.”

It was hard to tell if the tension in his jaw was from physical pain or emotional pain. 

“Because it makes me weak…” 

“No, it doesn't.” Her voice was soft. “You’re plenty strong. This doesn’t change that, strength is more than being able to take a beating, or how you react to magic… Your strength comes from inside, and from those around you. They can hold your strength when you need it.”

Tofu put both arms around her loosely, keeping his face hidden. The pain had subsided. Not fully gone just yet, but it was manageable. He didn’t respond vocally, but hoped she could tell that he was listening and trying to take her words into consideration. 

He had sincerely hoped to keep his condition a secret from Kore until he'd found a way to fix it. To him, this felt like one more thing for her to pity him over, and he hated it…

[ahedderick]

Friday

   Today’s attempt to make forward progress involved an hour picking raspberries (peaceful and rewarding), time with my daughter in the garden weeding, pruning, and mulching (hot, sweaty, and rewarding), a trip to town to see the eye doctor (I need new glasses), and an hour+ on hold with the college savings plan to figure out why the dickens I cannot get a distribution to pay the college bill. Turns out they won’t do distributions until August. The bill is due late in July (’cause of COURSE it is). School actually starts Sept 4. I’m. That was not rewarding.

   There is a tray of perfect, tasty raspberries in the freezer to be saved for the winter.  I made a rather good pot of chicken and veggie soup. The chickens got watermelon rind treats. I’m hoping for a big storm later. The last of the really distressing chores is an issue with the Dept of Motor Vehicles. I got an ominous email, but can’t actually figure out what they want. Monday will be soon enough to deal with. that.

[nancypullen]

Typical Tuesday

I live a very small but sweet life.  I don’t spend my days running a company or defying death.  Most folks would be bored stiff in my shoes, but I absolutely love my simple life. My boat was rocked often enough in my younger years to make me appreciate calm seas.   This was my day today, and it’s my day just about every day - some of the chores change, but the rhythm remains the same. 

I wake up 7-ish and play Wordle to get my day started.  This is also when I do the stretches that loosen up my lower back. Multitasking is my jam. I get up and make the bed.  Pillows are fluffed and placed just so, and all cats are chased from the room.  Next I scoop the cat litter and sweep or vacuum around their box. I usually do this twice a day because I like it that way.  No one would walk into my hose and say, “Oh, you have cats.”  At this point I check laundry baskets and start a load if I need to - seems like I always need to. Today I did two loads, towels and darks. Then it was on to the kitchen where I started a big pot of vegetable soup. This is also where I make the executive decision about dinner.  Salad? Salmon? Chicken? Something exits the freezer and begins to thaw for later. The mister enjoys a bowl of soup for lunch every day, he usually has some crackers and a piece of fruit with it. So I try to have homemade soup handy all the time.  Today’s was a hearty combination of ground turkey and  every veggie in the house in a tomato base, good on a chilly day.  While the soup simmered I decided that I should get all three bathrooms cleaned. That doesn’t involve much more than squirting and swishing the toilet bowls, wiping down seats and surfaces, then spraying and wiping sinks.  I didn’t bother with floors or baseboards today because I just didn’t care enough.  Don’t check my baseboards if you visit.  Once the soup was finished and the spouse had a full belly, I drove up to the auction house to pick up his winnings from last night...a vintage typewriter (???), a drill, a set of speakers (???), and and old Brownie camera with a big flash attachment (???).   I’m starting to think he’s planning to open an antique shop when he retires.  I have to admit that the old typewriter is cool - it’s an Underwood, manufactured during World War II, but what exactly is he going to do with it?  I suppose it’ll look cool in his office, and he said he’ll write me love letters on it.  It could grow on me.  Anywho, I left the auction house with a full trunk and headed to the library where I picked up a book that I’d placed on hold (The Seven Daughters of Eve) and then popped into the post office. I made one pit stop at Walgreen’s before going home. I enjoyed a couple of lazy hours before making dinner and there were a lot of things I should have been doing, but I didn’t.  I checked my email, roamed Instagram for a bit, went down a rabbit hole researching forever chemicals in our laundry detergents (I wish I hadn’t looked), and finally got up to prep a little for dinner.  I trimmed some fresh green beans, got the rice cooker out and piddled a bit until it was time to start cooking.  We had artichoke stuffed chicken breasts, roasted green beans, and rice.  No one will starve on my watch. Yesterday was salmon  and broccoli, tomorrow will be colorful salads with chicken on top. I’m not worried about Thursday yet, there’s plenty in the freezer. Now it’s my favorite time of day.  The kitchen is cleaned up and closed for business, and we’re ready to turn on Jeopardy and find out how stupid we are. I can usually answer the literature and art questions, some pop culture and geography.  Mickey usually nails all of the science, history, and sports.  Between the two of us we have a mighty fine brain. See what I mean?  A boring day by anyone’s standards, but one that I’m always grateful for - my sweet, simple life.  I’m on the sofa in my cozy home, a purring cat is snugged up to me, and I’m laughing with my husband over Jeopardy questions about rappers.  I’ve heard from both sons today and had a lovely chat with my sister.  Does it get any better than that?  A safe place to live, full cupboards, and people to love who love me right back- who would dare ask for more? Not me. I hope that you’re busy appreciating the best parts of your life tonight.  Even when other parts fall apart, there are usually steadfast friends, a job you love, supportive family, or a faithful pet.  Sometimes just loving the fluffy comforter that you slide under at night is enough. Life doesn’t have to be big and flashy to be good.  Happiness finds us just as easily in quiet times as it does during exciting days.  Gosh, sometimes all it takes is a beautiful sky to make my day and put a smile on my face. While driving around town today the sunshine was my traveling buddy, put me in a really good mood too.  Alright, alright, I’m shutting up.  I don’t have much to write about so I decided to share my day with you, then realized how boring it would seem to most people ( and rightfully so). But I’m filled with appreciation for days like this one. Stay tuned, I’m going to get wild this week.  I may paint some flowers, I may mix up some bright clay colors and make spring earrings.  There’s no telling how crazy it’ll get around here. Heck, I may play Wordle after I get out of bed. WaCkY!   Sending out love tonight. I hope it finds you if you need it.  Stay safe, stay well, stay grateful.

Nancy