#but really cheese curds are the most important | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

rabbitcruiser · 3 months ago

Text

National Tofu Day

Tofu, the bean paste meat replacement, is enjoyed and appreciated by people all over the world. For vegans and vegetarians, it is the perfect way to be able to avoid eating meat while still getting enough protein in the diet. Tofu has been around for centuries as a traditional eastern dish.

Tofu can be prepared in a variety of delicious ways and can be placed in so many dishes that it is the perfect filler. Tofu Day aims to celebrate the creativity that tofu incites in people and celebrate its long history as a beloved dish by many.

For those who don’t think they are really fans of tofu (because, honestly, the name “bean curd” isn’t doing anyone any favors), this would be the perfect day to try it – or try it again.

So get some tofu on that plate and get ready for Tofu Day!

History of Tofu Day

Tofu is considered to be an essential part of the diets of people in a variety of different cultures, especially in the Eastern Asian diets. Having much the same importance as meat, milk, and cheese, tofu is undoubtedly a staple. Although it might be newer on the scene in the West, the earliest recordings of tofu were in 900 AD, most significantly in Japan.

Tofu, a word literally meaning bean curd, has been called numerous names in the Chinese and Japanese languages, some meaning “morning prayer” and other interesting cultural references. It wasn’t until the 1800s when English-speaking translations of cookbooks came around that the term tofu was used. Then, later on down the road when the meat substitute really began to gain popularity in the West, cookbooks in the 1970s began using the term Tofu as its official name.

After being passed down through thousands of generations, Tofu today has become an iconic food and healthy alternative, particularly for those who wish to live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

Tofu can be prepared in numerous ways, and in Japan, each province has its own way of preparing tofu individual to its local culture. This soybean creation is loved by many people, as long as they know how to use it well.

Tofu Day aims to celebrate the long and intricate history of tofu, and showcase how it has influenced cultures everywhere. Tofu Day is celebrated on this day each year all over the world as one of the most versatile and nutritious foods on the planet!

How to Celebrate Tofu Day

On Tofu Day, people go out of their way to eat tofu and get creative with their cuisine by adding tofu to any dish. It’s fun and easy to try something new with tofu, or to go back to a well-known and appreciated standard recipe. Try out these ideas for paying homage to this versatile and amazing food on Tofu Day:

Try Making Dishes with Tofu at Home

Tofu can be used in so many dishes, so one of the best things you can do on this day is to look up recipes involving tofu and give it a try! Try a hand at making pad thai, bibimbap, tikka masala, and soba salad with tofu.

Get Creative with Tofu Dishes

The problem some people have with tofu is that they think of it only in one way: chunks of a slightly soft and slimy substance. But it doesn’t have to be that way! The complete versatility of tofu means that it can be cooked (and even baked) into a wide variety of dishes that will enhance and complement the flavors.

Try these interesting ideas for creative ways to use tofu at home:

Vegan Creamed Spinach. For those who have chosen a healthier, more earth-friendly vegan lifestyle, they may be missing out on some favorite dairy dishes. Tofu is a great way to bring those favorites back by using a tofu cream cheese substitute.

Vegetarian Taco Bowls. Tofu isn’t just for Asian type foods! Try substituting the meat from tacos with tofu and create a whole new style of food.

Crispy Tofu with Maple Soy Glaze. Tofu doesn’t need to be soft! Change the texture by draining it and then cooking it in hot oil. Drizzle with glaze and garnish with scallions.

Host a Tofu Day Party or Gathering

For those who are looking for something to do closer to home, then celebrate Tofu Day by hosting a party with all tofu dishes. Invite friends and family to the celebration and help them learn more about the benefits tofu can offer. Plus, if they are a little skittish, this is a great opportunity to open their minds about the way tofu can really be very delicious.

Take a Trip to Japan for Tofu Day

Those who truly want to experience tofu in all of its glory should head on over to Japan, where tofu started. In the midst of various tourism activities, take the opportunity to try some delicious tofu dishes on the eastern side of the world.

Between the bamboo forests, cutting edge skyscrapers, and placid religious temples, Japan is a place like no other. And because they invented tofu, they also know how to make it better than almost any other place on earth. Try out these Tokyo restaurants for some excellent tofu dishes:

Asakusa Hamasei Tofu Kawakaze. Just a delightful ten minute walk from the subway stop, this restaurant offers daily specials and seasonal menus that will delight the taste buds. Its location offers a sense of calm and serene in the midst of a busy city.

Tofu Room Dy’s. Enjoy a meal in or get a quick lunch to takeaway–or enjoy a quick bite with a traditional afternoon Japanese tea. For dessert, don’t forget the Tofu Cheesecake which is delicious and refreshing.

Sasanoyuki. This famous, old-fashioned restaurant offers traditional charm with some of the best tofu in Tokyo. This place is considered by some to be the inventor of the silken tofu.

Source

#National Tofu Day #food #restaurant #USA #Canada #New York City #Spicy Okra Tofu Pork #Kimchi Mandu Jeongol Hot Pot #I don't like tofu that much #I prefer meat #NationalTofuDay #1 September #Toronto #original photography #travel #vacation #summer 2018 #2013

2 notes · View notes

hello-im-not-a-possum · 2 years ago

Text

Shattered Identity

Chapter five: Pizza party at Vlad's! And gross horrors, lots of gross horrors.

Chapter one. Chapter two. Chapter three. Chapter four.

"Jeez, you two almost gave us a heart attack!" Tucker halfheartedly scolded the half-ghosts in the hallway as he texted Danny the message that the two broke off their fight on their own. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad things didn't get uglier than this, but next time, at the very least, yell for us if something happens instead of just turning the office into a haunted confetti storage room."

"Sorry Tucker, I didn't know you and Sam were here in the first place."

Danielle sheepishly twiddled her thumbs while her new little brother tapped on the bandages on his neck with an annoyed huff in response.

"Oh.. right, no vocal chords, my bad..." The geek winced. "Maybe we can get you an airhorn later."

"Or he could just scream without words." The technically older clone offered. "You two heard the ghost speak, right?"

"Huh, I always figured that ghost speak would sound... creepier and less like random animalistic noises?"

"♓︎♐︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ⬥︎♋︎■︎⧫︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⬧︎□︎◆︎■︎♎︎ ♍︎❒︎♏︎♏︎◻︎♓︎♏︎❒︎," [if you want it to sound creepier,] Jack cracked his neck at an unnatural angle, the sickening sound followed by the squelches of wet ripping noises reverberated through the mansion and the action left the bandaged head dangling limply, giving the impression it was only attached to his body through the bandages on his neck themselves... "♓︎ ♍︎♋︎■︎ ❍︎♋︎🙵♏︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ⬧︎□︎◆︎■︎♎︎ ♍︎❒︎♏︎♏︎◻︎♓︎♏︎❒︎..." [i can make it sound creepier...]

"Gah! Never do that again!" She shivered and punched the older halfa's arm, who let out a raspy chuckle as he reattached his head and opened the office door.

An uncomfortable silence fell as the destroyed state of the office was discovered, much worse than how the sparring spirits left it, large globs of bright magenta ectoplasm had grown(?) all over the office, globs that weren't just the messy aftermath of the brawl, they were writhing and squirming as if they were alive, some of them even had developing eyes and teeth..

"❄︎◆︎♍︎🙵♏︎❒︎, 💧︎♋︎❍︎, 🙵♏︎♏︎◻︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎❒︎ ♎︎♓︎⬧︎⧫︎♋︎■︎♍︎♏︎..!" [Tucker, Sam, keep your distance..!]

The two humans, while they didn't understand what the ghostly host said, understood the unknown nature of the threat at hand as well as his body language and backed away from the scene while the mansion's owner took a slow, hesitant step into the infested office, trying not to catch the attention of the strange creatures, their unfocused eyes instead drifting over the room itself as the bandaged ghost gingerly searched through the rubble looking for the most important items to salvage from it.

"...What are these things..?" Danielle's voice stayed small to not catch any unwanted attention from the unknown ghostlike entities as she followed him, her fist alight with a charging ectobeam as she kept an eye out for sudden movements from them.

"I_D-O-N-T_K-N-O-W" He spelled out on the recovered Ouija board "I-V-E_N-E-V-E-R_S-E-E-N_A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G_L-I-K-E_T-H-I-S_B-E-F-O-R-E"

Sure, from their perspective, 'Jack' not seeing anything like this was a given, he hadn't existed for very long, but Vlad had genuinely no idea how he had done this. A failed copying attempt that he didn't think through during the fight? Maybe a mishap with etco-barriers? ...Something else entirely..? All he really knew was that this was his ectoplasm everywhere and that it was alive.

Cheese curds! He should've known that he was biting off more than he can chew!

How was he supposed to handle this on his own?!

His powers were useless like this at best and detrimentally unstable at worst,

he couldn't get across how important this was to Danny without telling the truth,

but he can't tell Danny the truth!

Let alone Dani!

If they know that he's the real Vlad and he has all his memories but almost none of his powers,

they're going to take advantage of his weakened state and kick his butt!

and

at this rate all of Amity park is going to be enveloped in whatever this horrific ecto-gunk was before he even had a chance to carry out his plan-

and

Maddie is going to see it-

and

use it as a reason to make MORE of those horrible guns-

and

use them on the gunk as well as every single ghost in her sights-

and

she'd naturally set her sights on the ghost zone itself-

and

there wouldn't be a war between humans and ghosts,

and

except that it would be a genocide that he couldn't stop-

and

and-

Snapping out of the downward spiral of negative thoughts, Vlad felt the familiar lab coat being draped over his shoulders as well as two people touching him, one hugging him from behind (the person in question being small enough that people might mistake it for a piggyback ride), and the other who was awkwardly patting his shoulder.

Ugh, was he crying..?

Well, now he had another reason to keep his true identity secret from Danny and the others.

He would die of embarrassment if they knew that he wasn't a clone, still had his memories intact, and yet was still reduced to this weak, pathetic, over-emotional wreck, either they'd find it hilarious or worse, still pity him despite everything.

Part of him wanted to break off the hug to preserve the tatters of his pride and dignity while another part of him just wanted to stay like this a bit longer.

As humiliating as it was for him, it was also kinda nice to be held, to be reassured (albeit clumsily), to be comforted, to be loved.

"Uh, guys, hate to interrupt something but I just wanted to let you know Sam's ordering pizza, what flavors do you want?"

Both saved and damned by the pizza orders, the three halfas broke it off and Vlad put the lab coat on properly.

"Uh Pepperoni?" Danny shrugged.

"Also Pepperoni" Dani nodded.

"E-X-T-R-A_C-H-E-E-S-E_P-L-E-A-S-E"

"Got it" Tucker gave them a thumb's up and turned to head back to Sam before popping his head back in. "Will the cats try to attack the pizza guy?"

"NO_I" He fumbled with the planchette in an attempt to cover up the slip. "V-L-A-D_D-I-D-N-T_O-R-D-E-R_T-A-K-E_O-U-T_O-F-T-E-N_E-N-O-U-G-H_T-O_W-A-R-R-E-N-T_T-H-A-T_T-O_M-Y_K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E."

"Okay, thanks!"

The tech geek left for real this time, leaving the three to their own devices.

"So Danny, have you met my new little brother?" The physically youngest ghost gestured to the tallest.

"Jack? Yeah, he showed up at my house and named himself after my dad."

"You named yourself after someone you just met?" Dani snorted in amusement.

"T-H-E-R-E-S_W-O-R-S-E_N-A-M-E-S_T-O_G-I-V-E_Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F_A-N-D_B-E-S-I-D-E-S_H-E_S-E-E-M-E-D_P-R-E-T-T-Y_N-I-C-E" Vlad shrugged nonchalantly.

From the dishonest ghost's actual perspective, it was something done because he named himself after the first thing he saw (that being the giant oaf) and he stuck with it because in foresight, 'Vlad naming his son after him', would break Jack Fenton that much more during both the reveal of Vlad's death as well as the funeral, in which he and Maddie would either figure out on their own or he'd tell them in his speech that he never had the chance to meet his father before his untimely tragic fate. And Maddie would feel all the more guiltier when she finds out that her horrible gun has taken a human life, one that, while she didn't care very much for, was important as well as cherished by many...

"So how did you know how to find Danny's house so quickly? Or did he bring you there?"

"H-E_F-O-U-N-D_M-E_I-N-J-U-R-E-D_A-N-D_T-R-I-E-D_T-O_H-E-L-P" The bandaged spook explained, being honest yet vague. "A-N-D_I_C-A-M-E_B-A-C-K_I-N_T-H-E_M-O-R-N-I-N-G_T-O_P-R-O-P-E-R-L-Y_I-N-T-R-O-D-U-C-E_M-Y-S-E-L-F."

"Well that's my super-cool cousin for you!" she playfully punches her gene-donor's shoulder. "Always willing to help!"

"Heh, yeah..." Danny gave a nervous smile to his clone and a concerned to 'Jack'. "Hey, speaking of which, you and I need to talk about your... 'issue' in private."

"G-I-V-E_M-E_A_S-E-C-O-N-D_T-O_G-R-A-B_M-Y_T-R-A-N-S-L-A-T-O-R"

Danny nodded and waited as the lanky spirit visually followed the charger to the discarded aid and cleaned the non-living ectoplasm off of it before putting it on his neck and giving him a thumb's up which Danny gave back.

Following the fourteen-year-old out of Dani's presumed ear shot, the lab coat wearing specter nervously picked at his hand's bandages wondering what 'issue' Danny was talking about, his mind almost imminently racing towards him asking 'did you get your memories back?' or something similar.

"Okay, so, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you and Dani aren't fighting with each other anymore, but right now, we're playing with fire with this cover up. You might not remember, but she's been through a lot because of you- er, Vlad, I could not care less who else does and doesn't know the truth, but she needs to sooner rather than later."

Unbeknownst to the two of them, the clone was eavesdropping out of their sight. Her concern for her new little brother turning into intrigue.

"I know." he nodded somberly. "I plan on telling her everything after the funeral itself. I agree that she does need to know soon, but right now there's too many moving parts to keep track of and I don't know how she'll react to it."

Danny crossed his arms as he frowned at the taller halfa.

"Look, I might not know what I've done, but I get that I've done a lot before waking up and that there's no amount of verbal apologies that would undo all of it. However, this is for her safety too. Like it or not there's two problems that take top priority: Your mom's gun that will cause ghost zone genocide if nothing's done with it, and the power vacuum Vlad's death will inevitably cause. If you think that it causing genocide is just a hyperbole, think back on it, all it took was one hit to reduce a fully-grown, powerful halfa down to just a damaged core desperately clinging onto life, a core that would've shattered if left on its own, so tell me, what do you think would happen if you or her got hit with it?"

"...We'd instantly die..."

"Exactly, and your mom, a competent ghost hunter, knows how powerful that thing is and if it doesn't have any drawbacks from her end, she most likely wont stop using it until every ghost in her sights is dead, yes, even the good ones as well as the not as good but still likeable ones. As for the power vacuum, there are a handful of ghosts who know Dani's origin other than us, ghosts who would be more than happy to kill the only known heir to Vlad's estates while she's none the wiser. But if I handle the funeral *just* right, I could kill two birds with one stone, keep your mom from using the gun ever again and seal up the power vacuum. I know that she'll hate us-"

"Us? Where did you pull 'us' from?"

"Danny, she'll hate me for obvious reasons and hate you because you knew this big secret about me this entire time and never told her. But it'll be okay because she'll still be alive when she hates us, alive and safe. Which in a messy situation like this is the absolute best possible outcome."

"...Right..." Danny sighed.

"Hey," Vlad put his hand on the teen's shoulder reassuringly "she might hate me forever, but not you. Either someone she knows and trusts other than you will talk some sense into her or she'll cool off on her own and realize that you're not the bad guy in this. That in some cases, there isn't a bad guy when there's a bad situation and that sometimes, bad things just... happen and good or neutral guys are bad at handling it."

"Yeah... Thanks, I needed that..." he softly smiled.

Assuming that the conversation was wrapping up, Dani flew back to the office with new secret information to chew on for herself as well as keep hidden from her cousin and brother.

She already knew about Vlad's death and some things were self-explanatory, like the new gun being a big problem, but just how much did Jack Masters know? What dark secrets did the clone of Vlad hide that he shared with Danny and yet were so horrible that she'd never forgive him if she knew?

Was his original purpose not to tie up the loose ends Vlad's death left behind like he said but instead he was made with some of his gene donor's memories intact so that Vlad had pseudo-immortality only for Jack to betray his 'father' by living a different and new life?

Did he try to hunt down Danny and his parents just like how she originally tried to capture him?

Maybe even something worse..?

At the very least, they weren't worried about his malnourished frame meaning something bigger than it was, or Vlad's disease being fatal for Jack, or even the living ectoplasm he created was dangerous like she originally assumed the talk was about, and she could find some comfort in knowing that he valued her safety and well being over their bond as family. Her new brother might be shady, but he had a heart somewhere in those shadows.

"Oh hey guys! How was the talk?" She innocently greeted them as they approached the office.

"It went well."

"Yes, it was rather... informative." Jack picked at the bandages on his forearms while looking around the destroyed office for a distraction. Wait, where did the living ectoplasm go?! "Oh right! I can't believe I almost forgot the records!" He blurted out to keep the two from panicking as much as he was.

"...Records?" Danny raised an eyebrow at the pair.

"Yeah, fake marriage certificates, divorce paperwork, birth certificates, Social Security Numbers, school documents, passports, a not-fake-but-still-legally-questionable death certificate, maybe a fake death certificate for a woman who doesn't exist or two..." Jack listed off on his fingers "My job's more than writing the death certificate and will and calling it a day."

"Woah, woah woah! What do you need all that for?"

"Daniel, the days where someone can just pop into existence as the ages we are without any records of existing prior without drawing suspicion are long behind us. Sure, we could get away with not having them if we intend to live as a state-crossing nomads for a couple of weeks or months if we're lucky, go feral in the woods and let the public come to the conclusion that we were raised by animals while our bio parents abandoned us, or live in the ghost zone where there's a lot less organized existence trails, but we can't live like the average human person without this stuff, not in the long term in the human world. Sooner or later, the government is going to catch up to us and when that happens, we at least have something to shoo them away."

"Huh..."

"Wait, going feral in the woods is an option?" Dani asked her two-day-old physically older brother.

"Yeah, but it's not a good one. Trust me, I tried." Vlad waved off without further elaboration and shuffled the documents.

"Guys, pizza's here!"

Saved by the pizza yet again, the three changed back to their human forms and followed the geek back to the Mansion's foyer, where Sam was waiting for them along with several boxes of pizza and cans of soda were set down, almost enough to feed a frat party rather than a small group of teenagers who happened to have different diets. ...He had a strong feeling that they paid for all of this with one of his debit cards.

"Here you go." Tucker handed the bone-thin halfa five boxes. "I figured you could use it."

"Thanks..." Vlad stared at the boxes in his hands and gestured with his head. "...I'm just gonna, eat these in the other room..."

"No! No! You can stay, we won't judge!" Dani tugged on his sweater sleeve while giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, but all of you get ONE question each, so use it wisely." He set the boxes down and sat on the floor next to them, crossing his legs while opening the top box

"What makes you think we're going to ask questions?" The goth raised an eyebrow "Everybody but Danny already saw your gross ecto-oozing fa-OH MY GOD!"

Everybody but Dani stared at the sight of Vlad's scarred, almost mangled-looking face in horror as the eldest teen just rolled his eyes at their terrified expressions, pocketed his face mask and munched on a slice of cheesy pizza while the others gawked at him like he was some sort of monster.

"...Does it hurt?" Dani was the first to break the awkward silence. "To eat, I mean..."

"Nope, I don't have any working nerves in my face." He lied nonchalantly between bites, not wanting them to know how much pain he was actually in. "Regardless of if its supposed to hurt or not, I can't feel a thing."

"..So if I punch you in the face, you wont feel it at all?" Sam was the next to ask.

"Yes, and you wasted your one question on that, so now you can't ask if you can test it." Vlad immaturely stuck his tongue out at her while she rolled her eyes out of annoyance and took a slice of her cheeseless mixed veggie pizza.

Tucker sat down near Jack and subtly studied his face while opening up the box of meat lover's pizza, if he was only going to get one question about this clone of Vlad's abnormal medical condition, he wanted to make it count.

From what he could tell, the marks on his face were less like acne scars like he assumed they should be (given that the clone probably had ecto-acne at one point, just like his gene donor with a chronic condition) and closer to... either really severe chemical burns or someone pouring boiling acid on his face. Closer, yet not identical to.

He couldn't tell how damaged the upper half of his face was due him having band-aids covering up some of the damage, but even then it was clear that the disfigurements around the clone's mouth were the most intense.

Whatever was used to scar his face ate off his lips and chunks of his cheeks, giving his left-side profile a ghoulish, too-toothy grin regardless of if its owner felt like smiling or not while the right side had a half-inch wide strip of flesh ending the 'smile' while also creating another hole in his face, and if he looked closely enough, he also seemed to be missing a part of his tongue in a way that made it look like there was a bite taken out of it...

"...Can I help you?" Jack asked without bothering to hide the irritation in his tone.

"O-oh uh... I just wanted to ask..." Darn it Tucker, think! You can't waste this question! "I couldn't help but notice that the lower half of your face seems more visibly damaged than the upper half, and that part of the inside of your mouth was partly eaten too, I don't mean to sound insulting but was that just random chance or was your... ...illness on the top half of your head focusing primarily on eating chunks of your brain instead of your face? Again, I don't mean this in an insulting way..."

Sam burst out laughing while Jack's expression went from annoyed to mildly intrigued, he opened his mouth to answer, paused, thought it over, and his mild intrigue turned to dawning horror...

"I... I might have to get back with you on that because I don't know either." Jack cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his nervous voice crack. "Oh Calzones, if he's right and I really am physically losing my mind... Oh Bread Sticks..." He muttered under his breath while holding his head between his hands. "...It explains so much, too much..."

Danny lightly tapped the older teen's shoulder. "Have you ever tried to eat by sticking food through the hole in your cheek?"

Vlad let go of his head and stared at him blankly, seemingly gone through the five stages of grief in five seconds and left so perplexed by Danny's question that it seemed his mind was catching up with the second halfa's words.

But you know what? He hadn't tried before, before, his time was too swamped with hospital trips and robberies to afford the hospital trips to mess around with the odd yet neutral characteristics of his condition. He should fix that while he could, for science.

His index finger idly traced part of the hole to make sure it wasn't bleeding while his other hand picked up and rolled up a slice of pizza, and he stuck the entire slice through the hole, chewed it for a bit and swallowed it.

"I have now, and the experience isn't different enough from eating normally to warrant switching to the hole."

Danny blinked at him, processing what he had just witnessed. "...Okay, I know you said one question but now I have to know; do you have two sets of jaws?!"

"I'll... Also have to look into that." He nervously smiled while screaming internally.

#danny phantom #vlad masters #vlad plasmius #danny fenton #tucker foley #sam manson #danielle phantom #body horror #fanfic #Shattered Identity

22 notes · View notes

waluigijpeg · 1 year ago

Text

most mozzarella recipes you find online are lying to you. (OR they only show half the process. but THAT one is for a good reason.)

nearly all recipes you see call for adding acid, either citric acid or vinegar, to milk, which curdles it and lowers its PH and makes it stretchy, and then stretching it. some recipes add rennet.

that is… well, it's not really our beloved mozzarella. that will make you cheese that tastes like milk. now cheese is still cheese, i'm not hating! and you can call it whatever you like.

but it's missing two major processes of making delicious mozzarella, which i'll get to in a second.

SECONDLY, you'll sometimes see videos of "making mozzarella" that are just: cutting up mozzarella curds and stretching them.

now this is for a good reason. because making mozzarella curd is a pain in the ass! it's expensive, time consuming, takes up unreasonable space, and milk gets contaminated SO easy. so these cooks are letting the dairy make good mozzarella curd, which transports way better, then stretching it fresh.

this is basically the best of both worlds. your old-school new york italian spots tend to do it like this, ordering curds from a good dairy. your italian-american grandad, if he makes mutz, might make it this way. it's great.

NOW, back to the real topic, what are these fake mozzarella recipes missing?

first, they're missing culture. the sourness of really tasty cheese comes from lactic acid produced by certain bacteria. this kind of fermentation also produces many other flavors, most of which we find pretty delicious. in the recipes i have, that bacterial culture is usually thermophilic (enjoys growing at high heat) lactic acid bacteria. but if you're careful with heat, you can use a mesophilic culture, which also exists in yogurts, so you can start your cheese with yogurt or buttermilk or whatever.

the bacteria grow, they sour the cheese, and they also make it delicious! something that citric acid doesn't do.

the SECOND missing ingredient is even more important. it's lipase. lipase is an enzyme that exists in milk that breaks fats into fatty acids. for instance, it's what's responsible for the flavor of provolone. it's got that bite to it. that little bit of "mmm!" that's characteristic of good italian cheese.

it is also what makes milk go rancid.

thankfully, it is deactivated by heat pasturization. this is usually ideal, but we want this enzyme in cheese! so we add it back.

without lipase, your cheese will have no piquancy. without culture, your cheese will be okay, but it will have no character.

i would say that these flavors are essential to good italian-style cheeses of all varieties. also i barely mentioned it, but please add rennet too.

cheese is delicious and you deserve the good stuff. thank you. that's all

#waluigijpeg #food #mozzarella

6 notes · View notes

cloverhighfive · 1 year ago

Note

Returning the question. Is there something you really like about your country/culture that you would like to share? :D maybe a favorite food, that would be really interesting

Well, it's surely not all poutine and maple syrup over here, but yes I do love our staples, and I am damn proud poutine is ours. I get super protective and if someone DARES say poutine comes from Ontario, I get super angry. I'm ok with "it's a Canadian dish". But if you want to narrow it down, it's Québec. And please oh please would people on youtube stop putting all sorts of greenery on it???? It's fries. cheese curds. gravy. Not grated cheese, not cubed old cheddar. Cheese curds. No parsley wtf. No side of carrots and celery for vitamins. NO. Fries. Cheese curds. Gravy. ...and a small cardiac incident for dessert.

I'll take you on another route. I think winter has shaped us a lot.

Winter cools spirits down. Once you've cleaned up your car, shoveled your driveway, and changed mittens twice in the process cause they got wet and cold, you're exhausted. If you want to piss off your neighbour, here, you buy a bigger TV or a bigger snowblower.

We're pretty chill on very important issues. The last referendum we had, I was in uni. We had international students friends from warm countries where there's a lot of fighting. They were very anxious. After all, the vote was to decide to get out of Canada. They were worried for a full-blown civil war the day after (the results were 49%-51%). We were baffled. We said, oh no, we'll just carry on (very British of us haha).

And I also think we're like this because of our 4 seasons. We're BUSY. Spring : put away all winter stuff. Prep for summer. Summer : vacation. Home repairs. All the hobbies while it's summer. Fall : back to school/work, take out all the winter stuff. Winter : shovel. Watch series on that big TV.

I think also our insults are meant to work when you have a scarf on your face and your teeth clenched from the cold. Indeed, it's easier to understand a good "va chier" (piss off) through the fabric than "putain de con" (fucking twat), the p and the t making you eat the wool off your face cover lol

Most people whine about the cold (not me) but even they have to admit a nice soft snowfall at night is magical - albeit from inside LOL

I love winter. :) It makes us who we are.

Also, it's soup season.

#clover answers #poutine #winter

3 notes · View notes

inevitably-johnlocked · 4 years ago

Note

Hi Steph!

Love you ♥️

Can you and your followers maybe help me out? I'm writing a story where John is Canadian, what are some Canadian dishes that he'd be easily scandalised over if done wrong? You know, in this joking way like when we butcher some Italian dishes for example and you get an Italian village throwing pitchforks (all jokes fam)

I think poutine is Canadian? What are some do's and don'ts?

Thank you :3

Hey Nonny!

AHHH what a fun question! Ahhhhh, funnily enough, a lot of our cuisine is very American, BUT the one I was going to suggest WAS the poutine hahahah. It’s legit one of my FAVE foods, and my city has a Poutine Fest every summer when we’re not in a pandemic, LOL, and it’s just the best thing ever.

It’s the one that is ALWAYS make or break for me personally! It differs by region and nowadays, because of the ease of “buy everything in a can” for food, but a poutine can be greatly affected by what type of the three main ingredients you use.

A proper “original” Canadian poutine (pron. POO-TEHN) is made with fresh potatoes skin-on, gravy made from beef broth (dark brown, THICK gravy... this REALLY REALLY matters), and cheese curds (NOT shredded or chopped up blocks of cheese). BUT because not everyone’s tummies can tolerate ALL THAT HARD TO DIGEST FAT AND DAIRY, obviously these days, any poutine is good, as long as it’s got good fries, hahah. Poutine Fest has trucks that sell “hamburger” poutine and “mac and cheese” poutines (I’ve had both, and they are delicious), so really, it’s all about what you like. But yeah, IF you can eat cheese, get it with curds.... it’s NOT the same without the curds. I know many Canadians judge a poutine by the curds you have in them. It’s because they melt and get SUPER stretchy, which is why it’s fun!! This website here, actually, has a pretty good rundown of how a good Canadian poutine should be made :)

These days I make my poutines with bagged frozen fries, St. Albert’s Cheese Curds (one of the local cheese farms that sells in-store), and St. Hubert canned Poutine gravy (very subpar, but it’s the best of the canned gravies for poutine), topped with bacon bits, green onions, and a dash of salt. TOTALLY not an every day snack, but it’s nice to treat myself once in awhile. Really though, there isn’t a RIGHT and WRONG way to make poutines, but I CAN say that Americans make very.... subpar poutines. Except New York Fries. Theirs is really good.

Ah, hmm, what else? Timbits (doughnut holes) are the perfect snack. Popular “group” snack, since you can order them in Party Packs.

Maple syrup, very important! The best syrup comes from sugar farms, costs a lot, but SO worth it. There’s a BIG difference between pure maple syrup and whatever fructose crap sold in bottles on the store shelf. Canadians have “maple season” from February to April where you go to a sugar shack (cabane à sucre), pour hot maple syrup onto the snow to make maple taffy / candy and eat it. Best thing ever. Every Canadian kid who grew up in Northern Ontario of my generation has gone to at least ONE during a school trip.

And another one I am REALLY fond of and miss, are Persian Buns. It’s COMPLETELY a local thing in Thunder Bay where I grew up, and when I was a kid, you made sure you had money to buy a Persian on Persian Day at school lest you look like a LOSER. It’s literally a cinnamon sweet roll with strawberry sugar icing on it. They were the best, and I miss them so much.

AHHH sorry, I got super nostalgic there. That last one is completely not an all-Canadian thing, but it’s very VERY localized.

OH!! BEAVERTAILS. Americans call them Bear Claws / Paws, we call them BeaverTails, they taste better, and they’re shaped like a beaver tail, LOL. Staple of Canadian ice skating winters on the Rideau Canal. We actually have stands here where I live all year round, but yeah, people go NUTS for them. It’s literally a pastry with cinnamon sugar, sometimes with additional toppings (see the link above) and they’re HUGE, like the length of your forearm and about an inch thick.

OH!! A Tourtière (pron. TOUR-TEE-AIR, but faster and roll the ‘R’ because French people talk fast and all our R’s are rolled LOL), which is a meat pie made with beef and pork. Some Québecois will not be happy if you make them wrong, LOL. Traditional French dish my family has on Christmas Eve.

OH. NANAIMO BARS. One wrong mess up in a recipe will ruin them. Trust me, I did this once, EEEEEE.

Montréal Style Bagels. The best bagels you will ever get, tastes like heaven, that’s why they’re shaped like halos.

OH! And Canadians are VERY VERY proud of our craft domestic LOCAL beers. Wherever John lives in your story, look up the local brewery, because that shit is important to some Canadians, and it will make the story more believable. Same goes for wines, especially if your John is from the Niagara region. They’re popular for their wineries and wine tours. And Canadian beer is better, and I don’t even like beer LOL.

Hee hee! I was just scrolling to see if there’s any other I have a comment on, and I actually found this great article about Canadian things you HAVE to try, so yeah, these are all staples of Canadiana! <3

Food Network Canada also has some here too! I have lots to say about all of them minus the seafood and the Caesar, but yeah, all of it is delicious, and just makes me proud to be a Canadian! <3

AND finally, some a lot of the best-known Canadian cuisine comes from the French Canadians and from our First Nations People [see here for some make-at-home recipes] (bannock bread is AMAZING!!), so have a look see at that too – these are the cultures I grew up with and currently live around, so they’re the ones I’m most familiar with. I know that there’s regional food out west, in the Territories, and out east that I’m unfamiliar with, but do some research on Canadian food, it’s all very unique and amazing.

As I said, a lot of Canada has a lot of “local” things, so many of us make things in our own ways, and we’re pretty easy going about it all, because it’s food and we love food. But yeah, I think poutines are the biggest one. Most Canadians who love poutine will tell you every other poutine EXCEPT a French Canadian poutine is inferior, LOL.

If any of my fellow Canadians have anything local to their region to share, or has some words about poutine because it is very divisive, please share LOL.

This was such a joy to write, and now I want Persians. :D

#steph replies #little canadian things #happy posts #i LOVE talking about being canadian #Anonymous #look i didn't bring up bagged milk aren't you proud of me all??

65 notes · View notes

bouncyballcitadel · 3 years ago

Note

V important question:

Does Danton have a local county fair? Or do the locals go to the Wisconsin state fair instead?

In either case, which character can eat the most cheese curds?

ily :)

A DANTON QUESTION ehehehe

Danton puts on a fair for Danton Day, which--as the name might suggest--celebrates the day Danton was founded (and, yes, this is the same fair where Vic won Fish the fish). Danton also has a pretty huge farmer's market every Saturday in the spring/summer/fall that Danton locals and Citadel employees (especially Dr. Sloan) love to frequent.

As for cheese curds...

The winner would probably be a toss-up between Eli and Dr. Grey (it honestly would depend on how competitive Dr. Grey is feeling that day lol). Dr. Sloan would come in at a close 3rd. Jean could probably pull ahead of Vic into 4th if they tried really, really hard but they might throw up in the process. Davy is actually lactose intolerant so they probably wouldn't participate unless their pride was on the line, in which case they'd just take a ton of Lactaid lmao.

#citadelwip #elliot sanford #ellen sanford #davy jackson #jean liu #victor uytterhoeven #victoria uytterhoeven #peter grey #ivy sloan

31 notes · View notes

zebrabaker · 5 years ago

Text

Demon’s Daughter: 02

Hey guys! I made a twitter for my stories (@ LilnomeStories) where all polls will be held from now on! Don’t forget I also have a Patreon and a ko-fi now, the links to which are in my bio. Here we go!

Part 1

The same day at lunch, Marinette had just exited the classroom after everyone else had left when she was accosted by a figure dressed in all black. She stumbled back a step, barely catching her balance. She managed to look up at the figure, only to squeal when she saw who it was, and eagerly return the hug.

“Uncle John!” She cried when he picked her up and swung her about. John was not the man’s real name, but a nom de plume he used to blend with the humans. The full name was John Therapon, and he was listed as one of her legal guardians (she had a lot).

“Little Mari!” He shouted, setting her down. He was an odd looking man, with waist length platinum hair in a warrior braid and green eyes like poison, he would always draw attention. He only drew more with his fashion sense. Her Uncle wore a long black trench coat over black skinny jeans and a black button up, with a clunky looking wallet chain. He also wore a thick chain-link necklace and heavy motorcycle boots. Over all, he looked like someone’s goth/emo/punk cousin more than an ancient immortal being who reaped souls.

“Are you the one Dad said was coming to check on me?” She asked, stepping back and adjusting her buns, which had come loose when he had glomped her.

“Indeed, I am, little chaos bringer!” He twirled her around and bowed low, pressing a kiss to her hand. “And for your birthday, I have a very special surprise!” He reached into his coat and pulled out a small business card, presenting it to her with a flourish, and she giggled as she took it.

Turn around!

It read. Marinette spun on the spot and looked up, only to scream in delight.

“DAD!” She flung herself at the tall, slim figure. Sebastian caught his daughter, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Hello, dearest.” He smiled, flashing his eyes magenta. She flashed hers as well, making them shine a darker shade of gray.

“I thought you were in India, visiting Uncle Agni?” She asked, stepping back.

“A simple deception, dearest. Now, let’s go pick up your mother and Papa, I made reservations at Raven’s Writing Desk.” Marinette cheered. Raven’s Writing Desk was a Michelin-starred restaurant. The owner’s father had made a questionable deal with Sebastian (ten years of life and a successful business, then Sebastian got to eat his soul), so the family got reservations for the best tables and half off whatever they wanted. “We’ll even have some others joining us.” Sebastian teased, patting her head. Right as they reached the sidewalk, a crash echoed from a few miles away, and a plume of smoke filled the air. “Oh dear. It looks like we’ll all have to call and reschedule our reservation. You go handle this, dearest. I’ll go catch up with your mother and Papa.” She sighed, kissed her father on the cheek, and ducked into an alleyway, opening her purse. Plagg zoomed out with a sigh.

“Ooh! Raven’s Writing Desk! I love their cheese curds! Let’s finish this.”

“Agreed.” She grumbled. “Plagg, Claws Out!”

X0X0X

Hell-Cat raced over the rooftops, soaring through the air. The pads in the shape of a cat’s paw on the bottom of her boots silenced her steps, meaning she was a silent black and silver streak, soaring through the air. She landed in a crouch next to her partner and confidant, Coccinelle. Coccinelle nodded at her, twirling her yoyo in front of her as a shield.

Coccinelle’s costume was very different from Hell Cat’s. While Hell Cat wore a black body suit with silver highlights and a pair of pauldrons, Coccinelle wore a short red dress coated in ladybug spots and black leggings. Hell Cat’s boots reached her knees, while her partners went maybe an inch above her ankle. Whereas Coccinelle’s gloves were plain black and only went to her wrists, Hell Cat’s had wickedly sharp silver talons and reached her elbows, where they came to a point.

Even their masks were different. Coccinelle’s was round, and made her blue eyes look huge, while Hell Cat’s was slim and came to wicked looking points on each side of her eyes, making her look more feline. Another feature of Hell Cat’s mask was the magic that made her entire eye gray, the iris a few shades darker than the sclera. While Coccinelle had long, flowy ash blonde hair, Hell Cat’s, when transformed, barely reached her shoulders, and had a blue sheen. While Coccinelle was bright and colorful, Hell Cat was sharp monochrome. The only splash of color was the blue bow around her neck that tied in the front. Lots of small children tended to ask Coccinelle if she was a fairy, since she had wings (They were the tail ends of the scarf she wore) while teens and young adults tended to gravitate towards Hell Cat.

The Akuma was flinging a series of items at them, which all bounced off Coccinelle’s yoyo. The common theme seemed to be car repair. Hell Cat glanced at her partner.

“What’s the plan?” She asked.

“The Akuma is in his utility belt. I distract, you slash, I swing. From there, clear skies! Ready?” Coccinelle asked. Hell Cat nodded and crouched down, her ribbon tail flicking behind her. She waited until the Akuma reached for yet another projectile and Coccinelle began to monologue before diving at him, claws extended to their fullest. She slashed the belt as soared past the Akuma, who quickly dropped to his knees. As the dark magic bubbled from his skin, Coccinelle landed in front of him and captured the butterfly.

“No more rainy days for you, little akuma! Au revior!” She released the now-purified butterfly, and waved to the cheering people. “Kitty, can you handle the victim?” Coccinelle asked, reholstering her yoyo on her belt.

“Sure, I didn’t use my powers, so I’ve got a few minutes.” Coccinelle waved to the watching civilians and ran off, leaping to the roof of the nearest building with the help of her wings. Hell Cat sheathed her claws and knelt beside the victim; a young man dressed in a repair shop jumpsuit that was covered in grease stains.

“Hell Cat? Was I…?” The young man asked, staring at her.

“I’m afraid so, monsieur. May I ask why?” She set a hand on the man’s shoulder and guided him over to a nearby ambulance. The paramedic handed her a shock blanket and she wrapped it around his shoulders, as the other paramedic handed the victim a glass of water.

“My family repair shop isn’t doing so good.” He sighed. “My mom was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, and Dad remortgaged the shop so that he could still support the family and pay for Mom’s nurse. Now, we’re pretty successful, so we almost have it payed off.” He growled, clearly frustrated. “Except some big shot at the bank is demanding the remaining twenty-five-thousand euros in a month, or they foreclose the damn shop.” Hell Cat hissed. The bakery was the most successful in all Paris, maybe even France, and they catered a great deal of important events. Even during the busiest time of year, they would struggle to make that much, let alone have that much that didn’t need to go to other bills and buying ingredients. She had an idea.

“What bank is it, and who’s the one demanding the payment?” She asked, plotting. She did need to make another deal soon; her reserves were getting a little low.

“Um…Monsieur Gerard Lilac, at Goliath Banking. Curse his name!” No one asked why she needed the information. Everyone in Paris knew, if you had a problem, Hell Cat could solve it. No one knew how, just that she made problems (and occasionally people) disappear.

“Hell Cat!” Someone cried, and she looked up to see Alya charging towards her. This was yet another problem with Alya. She never considered the victims, just the next scoop. Hell Cat stood and blocked her view of the victim, and nodded to the paramedics. The two nodded back and hustled the man into the ambulance, quickly flipping on the lights and driving towards the nearest hospital. All Akuma victims got three one-hour therapy sessions, one right after being cleansed and then one each week for two weeks.

“Yes, mademoiselle?” She asked, crossing her arms.

“Why was the victim Akumatized? What will you be doing to help them? Do you intend to use this to track Hawkmoth? Do you have a statement for the press?” Her phone was inches from Hell Cat’s face. Hell Cat’s ears were pinned back, and she was really trying not to hiss. How she was ever friends with the girl she’d never know.

“Mademoiselle, the reason for Akumatization is never leaked to the press. We use every attack to track Hawkmoth. And the only statement I have for you is to get your phone out of my face before I break it, along with your hand. Goodbye.” She drew her staff and extended it, vaulting away.

#cambion Marinette #Sebastian is Marinette's dad #black cat Marinette #dd #ml salt #Adrien Sugar

191 notes · View notes

rockofeye · 3 years ago

Note

Hi!! I hope you are well. What are your favorite things about Haitian culture??

Hello!

I am doing well and hope the same for you.

What a big question! There are a lot of things I really love and appreciate about Haiti...I probably can't name them all, but let's see how far I can get.

I love the language. Kreyòl is a uniquely expressive language...English and French are nowhere near its level of expressing meaning and describing life. The understood sound effects alone as part of how people illustrate day-to-day life are something that English certainly doesn't have and it's something that communicates unique meaning. The history of the language and its development is also special, as it has really developed into its own record of living history.

The unique art created in Haiti is something special, and I include traditional dance under the art umbrella. Whether it's painted kwi or drapo for ceremony or the history of Haiti expressed through dance, it's something very unique to Haiti and its something that really grabbed me when I got started.

The art of Haiti really ties in to something that isn't present in the US or other Western societies. In Haiti, religious practice is so tied into daily life that it is inseparable. It's really hard to describe in a way that makes sense because US culture very much does not have that; folks in the US tend to place their religious practice in a box instead of weaving it into daily life. In Haiti, it's just life...nothing is boxed up or held separate. When you plant your field, of course you give to Kouzen. When you go to the cemetery, of course you go and salute Baron. Of course you go to the dance in the temple down the road, even if you are only going just to dance...and of course you know how to dance. Like, it's so woven together that even people who don't serve the lwa actively still participate. Of course you go to Sodo. Of course you celebrate Gran St Anne Charitab. This is all just...normal everyday stuff. It's really beautiful to behold and it's really clear what the Western world has lost in selling its soul to enslave others.

And of course the food...griot, soup joumou, lanbi boukannen, mayi moulen (apparently I am in the minority for liking it...especially with epina, tomat, sos pwa nwa, and maybe a little zaboka), pate, makawoni au gratin (Haitian mac and cheese is Amazing), and you cannot beat a cold Prestige on a hot night in the temple, or a little rum punch (Barbancourt, jus grenadya, grenadine) and some kenep on the beach. Also...lots of folks don't know, but Haiti has a really solid patisserie/baking history, which might be the only good thing leftover from French occupation. Haitian bread is delicious, as is Haitian cake. Regular vanilla cake filled with passionfruit curd or limon curd is so good...cake here is so light and fluffy and delicious. I loooove bonbon siwo (comparable to gingerbread...made with siwo kan/cane syrup instead of molasses and my favorite is when there is little shreds of sugar cane baked in), and there's also dous makos (a chocolate and vanilla fudge-type candy) and ti karol, which is kinda like a fruit juice popsicle. And the JUICE...I so look forward to coming and have some jus cerise/acerola cherry juice (one of my sisters makes it with a little lime and it is Perfection) or jus kowosol/soursop juice or jus grenadya/passionfruit juice or really whatever juice is available. The best is a 'milkshake' which is juice mixed with milk over ice. Sounds a bit weird to most Americans but sooooo good.

I really love how family is so different in Haiti...by and large, family is FAMILY and nothing can change that. That has its upsides and downsides of course, but the commitments people have with each other, whether they are related by blood or via the lwa or by chosen family are deepdeepdeep. It took me a long time to kind of come around to to that because things have been so different for me...jaws drop when I tell people I am essentially estranged from my family, as that's so strange for them to hear. But...it's something that I have really come to appreciate.

Something that I had a hard time internalizing at first was how Haitians often give each other respect. One of my brothers broke it down for me: Americans (and others) seek to be understood, as being understood translates to respect, and that's different in Haiti. In Haiti and among Haitians, one of the things I have come to learn (and was shown by people who care about me) is that understanding someone/something is not at all related to respecting them/it. Like, when I explain some things about my life or who I am to folks in Haiti, they very much want to listen and hear what I have to say because they care about me and are curious about who I am and what life is like for me outside of Haiti...but what I tell them may not make sense or may seem really weird and they won't understand at all why that is a thing. However, they respect me regardless of what they may/may not understand. It maybe sounds confusing when I write it all out, but I think about how, in the US, we so often equate someone understanding who we are as something that is the pinnacle of respect. It was mindblowing when I finally understood that, and it's something that's been really important to me and honestly been very healing in a lot of ways. I have a lot of gratitude for that.

That's what I can come up with off the top of my head. There is certainly lots more, but how do I boil down such a wide and varied cultural heritage into words?

Thanks for your question...please don't hesitate to ask more.

#vodou #haitian vodou #haiti

4 notes · View notes

klarastjarnljus · 4 years ago

Text

So much of normal season prep was lost this year that the most important decision I've made was to not stress or worry about missed musts or missed opportunities. Tradition-wise, christmas cleaning is to be done either (family) before first of Advent or (old tradition calendar) starts 20/12.

We put up advent decorations even though it was still messy and kept tidying little by little.

Christmas laundry should be done on the 2/12, but since I chose just one tablecloth and the christmas curtains has stayed up for years, and I have no christmas rugs or bedclothes to change to, etc, focus has been on eliminating the laundry before my winter break is over.

Anyway, holiday atmosphere settled, school break started and solstice rolled around. Usually, I bake saffron buns for Lucia day (13/12), and make sun bread from the same dough, to eat on solstice after singing a song about the longing for the sun's return. This year, I spent Lucia day at work without any celebrations, and had spiced wine and gingerbread in the evening.

This year on solstice I sang to myself on the couch, caught in a grey bubble of not feeling like much, with spiced wine, and thought of my friends.

A tradition my husband and I have kept to for almost two decades, is watching Nightmare Before Christmas before christmas, and we did it this year as well.

After a week in quarantine, I was able to spend Christmas Eve (that's the big day to celebrate here) with my parents. My husband wasn't well so he stayed at home with the cats.

My mother makes most food for christmas, herself, but I chip in by baking something sweet. My mom makes pickled herring of different flavours, she bakes spiced bread, meatballs, cook brussel sprouts from her garden and prepare the ham. The broth from boiling the ham is often salty and spiced and used for dipping bread in.

For dessert, she makes risalamand. That's rice porridge with whipped cream and diced orange, and I cannot by any physical law eat too much of it.

For after dinner coffee, I had made chocolate peppermint cookies especially for the occasion. Baking is both a family tradition and a passion of mine, and chocolate peppermint is one of my very fondest childhood christmas flavors.

I also baked butterscotch cookies, but I didn't get any good pics of them.

The process of mixing, kneading and shaping is always a ritual for me, especially when baking for a person or an occasion. The physical work transfers love and purpose.

As the days grow longer, I miss 2nd day and 13th day dinners at my Grandma's. She sent pics of her living room and of herself with a present ribbon as a headband, so silly and cute that it hurts me not to be able to be near her.

Tomorrow I will make what I'd really liked to choose for this post, so you'll get another post a day too late.

For new year's eve every year, in my family we make egg cheese, an old traditional Swedish westcoast dish that's made by heating and curdling a mix of egg and milk, collecting the curds in a cheese mold and letting it drain and set overnight. The result is a soft, almost pudding-like, cheese, with a fresh, neutral taste.

Some eat it as-is with herring, but we prefer to sweeten the curd and eat it with berries or jam.

The recipe I have is the one my mother taught me, that she learned when she was young. My aunt's husband has another recipe that he swears by, and my paternal grandmother yet another one. The recipes were dearly kept secrets back in the day, and in some places still are. Contests between households in the Bohus peninsula were taken very seriously, and disputes about who makes the best egg cheese could go on for years.

This is probably the tradition I value the most, as it's deeply personal and also signifies the returning sun, but that post is gonna have to wait until tomorrow.

@graveyarddirt

#hagging out #baking #cooking #traditions

12 notes · View notes

rochnariel · 5 years ago

Text

Critical Bakes - Nott/Veth Week

When @criticalbakes released this week’s prompt, I immediately reviewed what alcohol we had in the house (and what other supplies. quarantine is a bitch when no one has open delivery spots), and we came up with this spread: whiskey bacon hamburger (with homemade bread bun cause that’s what a tiny tavern would have. not because we have no hamburger buns in the house), bread pudding with a brandy sauce (and the leftover raspberry curd from last week), and a moonshine drink (because someone must be making their own alcohol in these tiny towns and nott would probably love it).

Yeah we apparently had a decent amount of alcohol in the house….

(and that’s not including the wine. maybe we’ll revisit that when beau week comes around)

Recipes, such as they are, under the cut. I did my best to give actual measurements because I never measure anything when I cook. Baking, especially finicky macarons, is different which is why last week had actual weights.

Whiskey Bacon Hamburger

1 lb of ground beef

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Paprika

Cheddar cheese

4 strips of bacon cut in half

½ cup whiskey

1/8 cup brown sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Buns

I know, I promise ingredient amounts and then I don’t give amounts for any of the burger spices. But I really have no idea.

Anyway, make your favorite hamburger recipe. I use ground beef and the spices listed above. Use your hands to mix the spices in making sure to now compress the ground beef too much. It can make the burgers tougher if you do. Form into patties. Since this was the only day we were eating this, I made ½ pound patties.

For the whiskey cause, cut the bacon in half and cook in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Once bacon is done, remove from the pan and set aside on paper towel to drain.

Add brown sugar to the pan and cook for approximately 3 minutes. If you have onions at home (and like them), you can add onion before the brown sugar and cook those down before adding the brown sugar.

Add the whiskey, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Cook down for another 2-3 minutes until it forms a thick sauce for your burgers.

Cook your hamburgers however you like to whatever doneness you like. Since it is actually snowing here again, I cook might in a skillet over medium high heat on the stovetop until they were medium-well. 150 degrees on the inside.

(if you cook meat and you don’t have an instant read thermometer, i suggest it. it’s an easy way to know for certain that whatever you’re cooking is done and done how you like. no worries about undercooked meat. no overcooking things because you’re afraid it isn’t done. no cutting into it and trying to see if it is done. and they’re pretty cheap)

Assemble your burger and eat. We’ve got bacon, whiskey sauce, and cheese on our rustic bread.

(if anyone is curious about the bread recipe, let me know. it’s a no knead baguette recipe that you make and toss in the fridge and then pull out and shape as needed. dough lasts about a week in the fridge)

Note: I made the sauce with way too much brown sugar. It was a new recipe and I didn’t trust my instincts. That’s why it looks funny in the picture. I changed the amount for this recipe.

Bread Pudding with a Brandy Sauce

Loaf of challah or other soft bread, cut into 1 inch-ish cubes and left to dry over the course of a few hours or two days….

8 eggs

4 cups milk

½ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp all spice

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup butter

2 tablespoons cream (or milk if you still have no cream)

¼ cup brandy (or more if you want more alcohol)

Heat the milk and ¼ cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted.

In another bowl mix the eggs, ½ cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, vanilla, and cloves (and raspberry curd if you happen to have some) until well combined. Add the hot milk mixture slowly mixing the whole time in order to not cook the eggs.

In a casserole dish, dump in the bread and spread into an even layer. Pour the milk and egg mixture over it. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until a knife stabbed into the dish comes away mostly clean.

Remove from oven and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup butter, cream, and brandy until everything is dissolved and combined evenly.

Pour over the warm bread pudding.

Eat! (clearly the most important step)

Moonshine Cocktail

2 shots blackberry moonshine

1 ½ cups-ish chokecherrry tea (cold)

Pour together.

Mix.

Drink!

btw this is chokecherry tea. its apparently a north dakota thing. i think. i don’t know. my friend there sends it to me.

feel free to message me if you have questions. although i am out of quarantine and back on the road in a few days, so it might take me a bit to respond.

#critical role #critical bakes #nott/veth week #burgers #bread pudding

21 notes · View notes

rabbitcruiser · 1 year ago

Text

National Tofu Day

For those who don’t think they are really fans of tofu (because, honestly, the name “bean curd” isn’t doing anyone any favors), this would be the perfect day to try it – or try it again.

So get some tofu on that plate and get ready for Tofu Day!

History of Tofu Day

After being passed down through thousands of generations, Tofu today has become an iconic food and healthy alternative, particularly for those who wish to live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

How to Celebrate Tofu Day

Try Making Dishes with Tofu at Home

Get Creative with Tofu Dishes

Try these interesting ideas for creative ways to use tofu at home:

Vegetarian Taco Bowls. Tofu isn’t just for Asian type foods! Try substituting the meat from tacos with tofu and create a whole new style of food.

Crispy Tofu with Maple Soy Glaze. Tofu doesn’t need to be soft! Change the texture by draining it and then cooking it in hot oil. Drizzle with glaze and garnish with scallions.

Host a Tofu Day Party or Gathering

Take a Trip to Japan for Tofu Day

Sasanoyuki. This famous, old-fashioned restaurant offers traditional charm with some of the best tofu in Tokyo. This place is considered by some to be the inventor of the silken tofu.

Source

1 note · View note

kalis-scribbles · 5 years ago

Text

French Canadian Cooking 101

So I was discussing French-Canadian food and I came up with the idea of making a little guide for Writeblr and @caz-writes. So for anyone writing or roleplaying in Quebec here’s what the locals often eat!

Side note on other cuisines: Quebec is a very diverse province and Quebecers eat a variety of dishes of foreign origin. Couscous is always popular, so is spaghetti, Chinese-Canadian cuisine resembles American-Chinese food a lot, with a big emphasis on starch.

I’ll put the rest under a cut because this will probably a long-ass post.

Poutine

Everyone knows this one, the queen of fast food. (Poutine is feminine in french) at its base, poutine is fries (preferably “brown and greasy” rather than light and crispy) with gravy and cheese curds.

However, poutine doesn’t stop there, any poutine restaurant worth its salt will offer dozens of topping options. such as various meats, sauces (including spaghetti sauce) The Diallo restaurant chain for a time advertised hundreds of possible combinations.

Paté Chinois

Despite the name, it’s not a paté in the traditional sense. Also, despite its name translates to ‘Chinese paté’ is has nothing to do with Chinese cuisine. What it is, is a layer of mashed potatoes over a layer of creamed corn itself over ground meat, typically with onions.

It’s a simple hearty dish that’s often eaten with plenty of ketchup and I spent most of my life despising. (My mother’s was inedible...)

Hachis

Probably the simplest and laziest dish on the list, Hachis is chopped potatoes and ground beef cooked together, typically with onions and Worchester sauce as seasoning and sometimes with whatever vegetable you have laying around as leftover. Some liquid is generally desirable.

Ragout de pattes et boulette (Leg and meatball stew)

This simple stew is a mix of pork hocks and meatballs along with potatoes, cinnamon and cloves are often used as a seasoning. The base typically includes finely chopped onions and garlic.

Tourtière

Depending on where you are, tourtière can have very different meanings. In Montreal, it’s typically a simple ground-meat pie, but in some region like my mother’s native Lac-St-Jean, it means cubes of meat with potatoes. Cinnamon, Clove, and nutmeg are often the spice of choice to give a kick to this dish.

Either way, this is the iconic Christmas dish in Quebec.

Cretons

Cretons is a simple paté of finely ground pork, fat, onions, and spices. It’s typically served on toast, often with mustard. It’s a breakfast item and many restaurants will include it as an option with full breakfasts or on its own with toast.

Soupe aux Pois

This very hearty wintery soup is made of split yellow pea and salt pork, along with carrot, onions, and celery. For those who can’t be bothered to make it, it’s easy to find in large cans.

Montreal-Style Smoked Meat

This dish was created by the Jewish population of Montreal and is a Deli favorite (with Schwartz as the uncontested king of smoked meat.) Smoked-meat consist of slow-smoked marinated beef brisket. It’s served with mustard on rye bread.

It’s not really something people make at home, although pre-prepared packages of smoked meat are easy to come by in grocery stores. Typically served with pickles and marinated peppers.

Montreal-style bagel

Montreal-style bagels are thinner, denser, and sweeter than their New York counterpart and are always cooked in wood-fired ovens. The two predominant varieties are poppy seed and white sesame seed.

Orielle de Crisse (Pork Rinds)

A traditional food, pork rinds are known as Orielle de Crisse (Lard ears). Not much else to say there.

Full Breakfast

Many restaurants in Quebec serves full breakfast, which here typically means; your choice of two eggs, toast, baked beans, sausage, ham, bacon, fried potatoes, baked beans, and fresh fruits. This also typically come with a choice of jam, peanut butter or cretons for the toast.

Fêves au Lard (Baked Beans)

Baked beans are a traditional breakfast item and come in several varieties; old fashioned, in tomato sauce, with maple, or molasses. Most people buy theirs out of a can, ready to eat.

Cabane a Sucre (Sugar Shack)

Okay, so it’s not a dish, but an important and (admittedly odd) element of Quebec food culture. La Cabane a Sucre is a restaurant located among maple forests where people come to get maple candies and eat.

Cabane a sucre typically have a flat price for all you can eat breakfast items such as egg, pancakes, hash browns, toasts and etc. Obviously maple syrup is plentiful.

It’s common for schools and community centers to organize trips there. Because they are remote they tend to have other attractions to keep quests such as discotheques, winter games, sketch artists and the like.

This is also where you can get the following treat;

Tire a la Neige (Maple Taffy)

Okay, so this is probably the most aggressively Canadian thing ever. Maple taffy is made by taking hot maple syrup and pouting it in thin strips on clean snow and letting it crystalize. That’s it!

Pet de Soeur (Nun’s fart...)

Okay, so ignoring the bizarre name, Pet de Soeur or politely known in English as nun's pastries are rolls of pastry dough with cinnamon or molasses in between the various layers, which is sliced into disks and then baked.

Queue de Castor (Beavertails)

No this has nothing to do with actual beavertails, no rodents were harmed in the making of this iconic carnival dish. Beavertails are at their core a sweet fried dough.

Where they shine is the many, many different toppings you can add to them; from spreads, spices, fresh fruits, it’s hard not to find one that’ll do you good.

Bûche de Noël

This cake is a staple at Christmas celebration and is easily bought in stores around that time of the year.

Tarte au Sucre

This traditional Quebec pie is about the simplest you can get; a firm mixture of flour, butter, salt, vanilla, cream, and brown sugar or maple syrup.

Sucre a la Crème

Can’t be bothered to make a pie? You can basically make this little confectionary. It’s sugar, cream, maple syrup, and vanilla mixture that’s boiled and then set to cool in square molds.

Pouding Chômeur (Poor Man’s Pudding)

Not the custardy type pudding, is a little airy sweet bread typically served covered in caramel sauce.

Ketchup Chip

It’s a stereotype at this point that Canadians love ketchup and... we put them on chips so we can’t exactly argue against it... This one is a bit more Canadian than Quebecer but still very popular alongside the ‘normal’ flavors.

Another popular unusual flavor is dill pickle chips, generally Lay’s.

Clamato and Ceasar

I don’t think anyone but Canadians would think to mix spices, clam juice and tomato juice, bottle it and sell it, but here we are. Clamato is a local drink and quite iconic.

the Ceasar is a cocktail of clamato and vodka, typically with a rind of celery salt, a few dashes of Worcester sauce, tabasco and garnished with a celery stalk and lemon wedge.

That’s about it, folks! I’ve probably left a few things out and might make some latter addendum but for now this is my little 101 into French-Canadian food.

#writeblr #writing resource #writing reference #food #quebec

63 notes · View notes

lazywitchling · 5 years ago

Note

I want to know now; why should you never throw away your parmesan rinds? And how do you make awesome mac & cheese for a lactose intolerant person? :D

SOUP! SAUCE!! Parmesean rinds are amazing, and they are NOT GARBAGE. The rind is just dried cheese, not a wax or coating of any kind. The cheese is aged for 2 to 4 years, and in those years, the outer half inch (ish) dries out and forms a natural crust. Basically, it’s JUST DRY CHEESE. Now, it’ll be rock solid and probably unpleasant to chew on (though you could, if you want, I guess). BUT. Throw that shit into a soup as you heat it, or into a pasta sauce. It’ll add that delicious parm flavor, but it won’t melt completely, so it adds flavor without adding stringy-cheesiness. You use it kind of like a bay leaf, where you chuck it into the pot, cook your stuff, and then remove it and toss it afterwards.

ALSO. If your store is selling big blocky chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano with like REALLY big bits of rind on it? They are ripping you the hell off.

THIS is a good cut of Parm. It’s long and pointed, which means you’re getting some of the center of the wheel (which is where it’s the most flavorful). You’re also getting a bit of the outside rind, which is important, because that’s where they give it the stamp (literally they burn a branding into it to say This Is Some Good Shit). Also that jagged cut means that this piece has been cut by hand with the proper hand tools, not by a wire or... [shudder]... an electric slicer. If you’re in a store that’s selling a piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano and it looks like that? I guarantee they employ someone who really really knows what the fuck they’re doing, and you should make friends with them. And also tell their bosses that they’re amazing.

THIS is a bad cut. It’s completely flat, which probably means that someone put it onto an electric slicer, and you really really really better hope they didn’t use the one they also use to cut through meat at the butchers. (Legit, some places do that.) So first off, it shows that they don’t have someone who knows what they’re doing. Second, you see how there’s not only rind along the back, but also along the bottom? That’s bad. You’re paying full price for that rind, and that’s a ripoff. At best, the store doesn’t know that they’re doing it. At worst, they’re intentionally ripping you off.

A little rind along the back of the piece is good, and it shows you’re buying quality. The rest of the rind (the unstamped part from the top and bottom of the wheel) should be sold separately, at a lower price than the cheese itself.

AS FOR MAC + CHEESE FOR LACTOSE INTOLERANT PEOPLE...

First off, disclaimer, lactose intolerance is not the only kind of dairy sensitivity. If someone legit is bothered by all dairy, then don’t do this. If someone’s doctor says “Hey, stop with the dairy, it’s going to fuck up your system”, then listen to the medical professional. But if it’s specifically LACTOSE INTOLERANCE, then the thing that makes the person feel sick is the inability to process the SUGAR in the milk. (Lactose. Lact = milk, glucose = sugar.)

Now here’s the thing. When cheese is made, you separate the Curds (the fat and vitamins and solid stuff in milk) and the Whey (the moisture). The VAST MAJORITY of the sugar leaves with the whey when it’s drained. But there’s still some remaining in the solids. But as a cheese ages, the cheese cultures basically “process” the sugar into salt. If a cheese is aged more than... I wanna say a month? maybe two months? then the sugar left in the cheese is basically zero. So if you’re lactose intolerant, stay the hell away from brie, ricotta, fresh mozzarella, cottage cheese... all these things will still have high sugar content and fuck your system up.

But more aged cheeses? You’re probably good! My recommendation is to start with a small piece of a really well aged cheese, and see if you can have it without any issues. If so, YAY! Cheese! If not, then it’s probably not the sugar that’s messing you up, and is something else in the dairy. Don’t make yourself sick.

ANYWAY, all that is to say: If someone’s lactose intolerant and they severely miss mac+cheese, you can make it with well aged cheeses, just make sure they’re at least two months aged.

As we say on the internet, “not to shill on main, but...” Beemster cheeses are your friend. These are Gouda cheeses from Holland, and they’re the ones with the cow-massager-and-water-beds I mentioned. Their animals are RIDICULOUSLY well cared for. This is not a giant industrial corporation. This is a farmer owned co-op located patch of land in a drained lake where the grass is amazingly green and perfect. They don’t have one giant herd of cows that they don’t give a shit about. It’s smaller herds of less than 100 cows, each maintained by their own farmers, who in turn are well paid. I THINK they run on 100% green energy? I think? If it’s not 100%, it’s very nearly that, and they’re pushing for it. But yeah, these guys make absolutely ABSOLUTELY certain that their people, their animals, and their land are sustained, happy, healthy. And BY GOD does it show in their cheese. If you’re ever like “Hey, I want to try a fancy cheese, but I don’t know what’s good...” Beemster. If you see a Beemster cheese, it’s delicious. There is not one single mediocre product that comes out of that place. Their care for their craft absolutely shows in the flavor of their cheese.

Ugh, I could talk about Beemster forever, I love them so much. THE POINT IS: All of their cheese is lactose free.

So TL;DR - If you wanna make mac and cheese for someone who is lactose intolerant (or someone who isn’t!), grab some Beemster goudas and have at it.

#long post #not witchy #I'm gonna have to start tagging these cheese posts #because y'all did NOT come here for this amount of cheese infodumping I KNOW #aj-grimoire #questions

29 notes · View notes