#cadri’s writing

[cadriona]

have some brainrot inspired by the anniversary genshin video where aether and lumine gets yeeted in a martial arts tournament (and of course this is beiguang)

not an actual fic, just mostly jointed thoughts that... end up somewhat coherent

beidou and ningguang knew each other way back, except beidou was a general and ning was the secretary of state? (archons are the emporers/empresses ig) and they were friendly with each other. Some might say more than friendly. But beidou also spends a lot of time in the army.

Then once beidou had refused to follow the imperial orders because the results would've been the loss of innocent lives, she returns to the capital, and for her disobediance promptly gets exiled (would've been execution if ning hadn't found out and pulled all the strings she could)

Then, they started holding martial arts tournaments. The winner could have a wish, or a request of the capital and the capital would fulfill it in any way they can, except a list of people are banned from participating (beidou among them).

Solution?

beidou decided to train someone up.

even exiled, she still has her connections within the capital, and ning subtly pushes baizhu and qiqi her way (ning worries for her pirate, ok?) and gradually people gather around the charismatic former general.

one day, she happens upon lumine, a kid fending off a wolf while trying to get through a forest idk, she has a soft heart so she picks lumine up and takes her home.

kazuha: wtf? baizhu and qiqi: now you know how it felt when she first brought you in? kazuha:... i mean-

ANYHOW. Fast forwards, and beidou just- continues to gather more people, and somehow they are now a rogue merc band that skitters on the outskirts of the country doing jobs and whatnot, all the while training lumine.

years later, and lumine is ready. xinyan wanted to be more of a musician and kazuha also ended up on the banned list due to some accidents a while back, and they go to the capital. As the group with the particpant, beidou has temp immunity.

tournament commences, and beidou finally sees ning again from afar. (she's still beautiful, still glorious, and in her eyes were steel.)

ningguang sees beidou, red eyes meeting another and an eyepatch (beidou was still stubborn, still boistrous and loving, and she was back.)

They can't meet- not when the entire country was watching everything happening in the capital.

Then- lumine fights aether.

beidou knew what would've happened as soon as she saw lumine's opponent- they looked too similar otherwise. She knew that lumine would cede the win, and beidou knew that she wouldn't fault the golden-haired teen for it. lumine lost, and in that glorious moment when ning left for backstage and the emporer's made their way down, beidou vanished into the crowd.

the interior of the palace hadn't changed much, and they met each other easily. small pleasantries, desperate touches, a parting once again too soon.

the next day came with a surprise. Aether had ceded his prize to lumine, who then used the chance to give beidou back her position. of course, it didn't come without benefits for the rest of the crew- as the actual wish was more along the lines of "legalize and grant noble status to everyone of the crux."

(baizhu and qiqi return to bubu pharmacy and promptly start renovating, the poor souls.)

and beidou- beidou returns to being a general again? except she refused the position when offered, the emperor's leniancy was but a fickle thing. The crux crew were now legalized, and beidou is now a citizen again, but she remained the head of the independent crux force, one that works, ahem, closely with the Secretary of state on matters of import.

(sometimes their meetings could last days behind closed doors.)

[queenaeducan]

Var Shiral'vhen - Chapter Fourteen: The Healer's Hands

Non-binary Lavellan/Solas. Rated M. Summary: After an evening sharing stories and music with their companions, Ian and Solas share a moment in the snow

“Ian, might I trouble you for your pipe?”

“Oh! Um. Of course, lethallen.” His satchel, ever close at hand, rests behind him in his chair. He turns, tugging it into his lap. The pipe is easy to reach, a dedicated pocket keeping it from bouncing around in the detritus that gathers in any well-loved bag. He hands it over, along with the parcel of dried elfroot.

Solas accepts his offering, rising to his feet. “Ma serannas. If you need it back, you know where to find me.” He lingers for a moment, as though the statement is half an invitation, before taking his leave.

Ian watches until the door closes in his wake, the conversations of his companions a low hum that fails to break through the sudden haze of his thoughts until Varric nudges him.

“Sorry,” Ian says, looking aside at his friend. “Did–Did I miss something?”

Varric follows where his gaze had left, the path Solas had walked still clear of other patrons. “Not yet,” he answers, dropping his own eyes back to his cards with a smile tucked into the corner of his cheek. “I just asked if you wanted in on this next hand.”

🌳 Read it here on AO3 🌱 Start from the beginning

[theharellan]

[ help ]  for your muse to lean on mine for support help mine with something

for @theshirallen’s cadri cadash

He cannot help noticing the self-satisfied look on Cadri’s face as she exits the rotunda, striding with all the confidence of a cat who got the cream. A hint of concern folds his brow as he enters after her, checking his seat for any surprises before he sits, flipping the tail of his sweater out behind him as he settles. One foot tucks beneath the back of his knee, almost ready to dismiss her appearance when his eyes fall upon the page of his journal. There, hidden among the lines, a smudge of errant ink has scratched out a word and written it again:

Concious. Conscious.

The word had looked right when he had first written it, but now his error shines in freshly written ink, the word wet to the touch. It occurs to him he could be cross that she had encroached upon his privacy, or ashamed that he’d made such a simple error, but all he can do is smile.

“It’s just a word, Baldy,” Cadri says, her dismissal undercut by how she’d hung back in the door to see his reaction. “Made just as much sense the way you spelled it.”

“Indeed it does,” he laughs, “but in this instance that it makes sense is the point of pride.”

“Ugh! If you’re gonna be weird about it that’s the last time I’m ever doing you a favour.”

[ourdawncomes]

THORA & THE LAST TWO YEARS

Thora diverges from canon in that she completes the events of Jaws of Hakkon and Descent before the defeat of Corypheus, giving her plenty of time to pursue other matters of importance to her which were less pressing than earthquakes in the Deep Roads and a dragon-god invasion.

Her Inquisition timeline lasts three years and change rather than one, putting Corypheus’ defeat in midwinter of 9:45 Dragon (having started by my timeline in August of 9:41 Dragon).

Thora’s main party throughout Inquisition varied, but she almost always had Solas with her. It was his responsibility to care for the Anchor in case it reacted strangely with anything they encountered, and they had good chemistry both in and out of battle. The vibe of her party changes with him gone, it’s often a little sadder as in his absence she does lose her best friend, but she’s still in good company. She finds herself missing him a lot through the next few years.

Ian ( @theshirallen ) takes over many of the duties Solas once bore, having been taught how to manage the Anchor through more practical means which supplemented Solas’ innate control over it. Ian often accompanied the Inquisition before then, but it isn’t until after Inquisition that the two started to become close friends.

She also grows closer to Iron Bull and Sera.* While she never disliked Sera, she often found herself at a loss when in her company, but through Inquisition she found herself starting to connect and understand her more. Bull was often kept at arms’ length (often unfairly) because of his place with the Qun, but after the events of his personal quest she relents. They don’t always quite connect (he doesn’t like it when she asks what’s wrong) but they do start to forge a friendship. More often than not, they accompany her, Ian, Cadri, and Cole.

As the months go by, she starts losing more friends. In what order varies, Dorian returns to Tevinter, Varric to Kirkwall, Blackwall comes and goes as he works on fixing past mistakes. From in-game dialogue it seems like Sera, Iron Bull, Cassandra, and Cole are the companions which remain the closest at hand. There are indications that they, especially Cole, wander, but I honestly headcanon that companions were sometimes deployed as agents during Inquisition itself so I think of it as akin to that.

Thora returns to the Free Marches for some time, sealing Rifts there and in northern Orlais, and securing weapons that can heal Rifts beyond her reach. I imagine she does so around about the time Varric or Dorian leaves, so she can see them off in the Free Marches rather than Ferelden.

In the Free Marches she visits her family, she stays with her sister Sylvi who has since moved back to Ostwick, and makes sure to stay hello to her father and Lantos, who is distant family but family all the same.

Her most important diplomatic trip is to Orzammar. She established ties with King Bhelen after the events of Descent, and the two eventually decide to meet. Sera, Ian, Cole, and Iron Bull accompany her, as well as Gorim Saelac, the official head of House Tamar after his Paragon wife’s death. She has conflicting feelings about what she sees, even if a lot of it is what she expects, but she can’t deny she was proud to finally lay eyes on the city. Her hands shake as she peruses through the Shaperate, barely able to believe her luck. The party stays in a suite provided by Queen Rica Brosca, who Thora strikes up a friendship with.

The artefacts they collected over the course of Inquisition are for the most part surrendered, excepting dwarven ones which Thora can reasonably lay claim to (although some of them are also parted with when she comes to Orzammar). The Staff of Tyrdda Bright-Axe was given to Stone-Bear Hold years ago, the recreation of Suledin’s Blade is given to either Keeper Hawen or was given to a companion Lavellan upon its forging, etc.

Thora continues her studies, learning more about language and history while her knowledge of nobility admittedly falls a bit to the wayside. She begins to be able to grasp more of what the Well of Sorrows is telling her. Over time, she begins to suspect Solas may have been an ancient elf along the lines of Abelas, mostly drawn from what she learned of him over the course of their friendship. In hindsight though she wonders if the Well had something to do with her hunch.

* This is obviously subject to interpretation and I don’t hold any writers of this character to any of these notes.

[queenaeducan-writes]

Pinned Post

This is a writing-only sideblog for @queenaeducan​. Here I’ll be posting or reposting things written by myself or, occasionally, my partner @theshirallen​’s as we have a shared universe together. You might also know me from my Solas rp blog @theharellan​ (currently on hiatus!) which I’ve run since DA:I’s release.

Several of the OCs that I will be writing about on this blog are the creations of my partner/spouse, Joly. Ian Lavellan, Cadri Cadash, and Miolvun are all theirs.

Basics

Name: Tas

Pronouns: She/Her

Fandoms: Chiefly Dragon Age, with a sprinkling of The Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect. Recently joined Baldur’s Gate 3.

Links

AO3: theharellan

Twitter: queenaeducan

Prompts: for DA DWC

Long Fics

Var Shiral’vhen - Solas x Non!Inquisitor/NB!Lavellan

Series

Thora Cadash: Become the Storm

Solas: Aloamin Heruamin

Current WIPs

Deep Roads Field Trip (The Ascent)

Red Lyrium Future

Thora Poetry

The Gang goes to the Denerim Alienage

Solian Longfic (Var Shiral’vhen)

Modern Thedas Pub Quiz Night

How would you stop them?

God!Gale meets Adventurer!Gale

[politikal]

Hi, Kylian!

I’m sorry kung ngayon lang. I had matters to attend to earlier kaya medyo late regalo ko. I read sa EnSanc na ngayon birthday mo, tama ba? Kung oo, Happiest Birthday sa best Jay ko! I know I said na babawi ako sa presents simula kahapon, pero medyo hectic pa. I hope you like this, by the way. I was going to write you a piece that had a happy ending, pero I thought na it would be better to have an embodiment of yourself instead. I don’t mean this as a way na sinasabi kong palaging malungkot ang buhay mo, I made this to tell you na proud ako sa iyo dahil bumabangon and you still manage to take a peek at the bright side of things. Kylian, I want you to know na I’m really glad to have met someone like you. I hope our friendship grows into something more beautiful—in a way that it lasts, and in a way that you’ll find comfort in our bond itself. I was really struggling to write this piece kasi sobrang bobo ako sa Tagalog, pero I wanted today to be special. You are the 2nd person I have written to in FilMed (Real!) and I hope it means much to you as it does to me. Please enjoy today, Kylian. I have something to give mamayang umaga, kaya get up early, ha? Need mo mag beauty sleep, pretty.

You can always lean on me, Kylian. All it takes is one message, and I’ll be there. Just call me when you need saving :)

Love, Cadri.

Ang huling paggising ng araw ay sisikat sa mutya mong mukha na napinturahan ng luha—sa pagyaon ng alon, sa ating pagpapaalam. Sa susunod na luluhod at mag lalabas ng singsing; nakikiusap ako na sana’y ibigin mo siya kahit sa pag pikit ng kaniyang mga mata, na alagaan ang aking minamahal kahit na ano man ang hinanakit na lumabas sa kaniya. Dumudugo ako ng pintura at sumusuka ang bibig ko ng Sampaguita—tayo ang mga tauhan ng trahedyang isinulat ng mitolohiya.

Dahil kahit anong pilit kong tumakbo papunta sa ‘yo, dumudugo ako nang dumudugo, at kung hindi man ako ay ikaw ang humaharap ng hirap—nakatakda tayong magkita, ngunit isang araw lamang sa bawat buhay. At sa tuwing magku-krus ang ating landas, nangangako ang ating mga mata na sa susunod na buhay, tayo ay susubok muli. Sa bawat bulaklak na aking pipitasin—tulad ng bawat piyesang aking ipipinta, ay magiging simbolo ang iyong pangalan.

Ang kaakibat nitong paraisong hihimlayan ay ang ligaya na nakaakbay sa bigat ng aking katawan—sa susunod na linggo, sa susunod na siglo, at sa segundo na ako’y kakapusan ng hininga. Anong gagawin kung wala ka?

[cloudgazercadash]

Does Thora have a relationship with Cadri pre-Inquisition? If Thora is Inquisitor, does she pay Cadri's debts for her? Or does she make her dear cousin work for it?

Cadri and Thora are cousins, and they’ve known each other since they were young, although they’ve not always worked together. Cadri is one of the few people who knows about Thora’s past, and the only person who probably understands Thora’s hostility to Bull. She considers Cadri a salroka, a companion who always has her back, and is generally irritated with people who underestimate or write off her cousin.

Part of Thora’s arc as Inquisitor (and as a companion, potentially) is finding worth beyond her station. She was born dust, but molds herself into something more. She wants to help Cadri do the same, and so will always take any action she believes will help Cadri break her ties with the Carta and do something that makes her happy.

This means encouraging her after her personal quest and at least helping Cadri with her debts. She’d want to pay all of them, but would believe part of self-discovery is helping yourself with the support of others. And it’s pretty easy to justify why she does it to anyone who raises an eyebrow– Cadri has fought and bled for the Inquisition, and deserves a second chance, which Thora becomes notorious for granting to people far less worthy of them.

[basketdouble29-blog]

Chicken-style vegan pot pie (Using frozen pie crust!)

It doesn’t get cozier than vegan pot pie. It is loaded with carrots, onions, celery, peas, and chicken-style seitan. Then it’s bundled up in a creamy cashew sauce.

This holiday-worthy dinner got a whole lot easier since it’s made with store-bought frozen pie crusts! And yes, there’s a top and bottom crust for maximum yum factor. Vegan & gluten-free option.

One of my favorite things about food blogging is seeing how my recipes take on a life of their own.

Food blogging is largely a solitary pursuit. (Except for my orange roommate who regularly comes by while I’m working – eager for treats, cuddles & fetch time.)

There’s recipe testing, food photography & editing. There’s writing, pin making (for Pinterest), and social sharing.

Then my recipe goes out into the world. And the people who make it in their homes take it and make it their own. It becomes a part of their special occasions or daily routines.

One example of this is my mini vegetable pot pie recipe. I shared it back in 2016.

In that recipe, vegetables in a cashew cream sauce are ladled into mini cocottes. Then they’re covered with homemade pie dough.

What results are individual pot pies. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and winter dinner parties.

Use frozen store-bought pie crusts for easy vegan pot pies

A reader and fellow Iowan, Janis, has made that recipe loads of times with just one difference. She uses frozen store-bought pie crusts for a full-sized pie.

Genius!

Plus, frozen pie crusts usually come two to a pack. So you get both a top & bottom crust out of it. That makes it doubly cozy!

As I’ve mentioned before on my blog, I’m not the pie maker in our family. That falls to my husband, David, who has been making pies from scratch since childhood.

So using a pre-made dough option is right up my alley! (In fact, until this post, I don’t think I’d ever put a pie crust on top of a full-sized pie. So if I can do it, you can too!)

I’ve had Janis’ substitution on my to-do list for a long while now. As we’re speeding into the holiday season, I made it a priority this week.

I knew there would be a lot of you, like Janis, who would like to make a pot pie for your holiday gatherings. It would be a terrific main course on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

And we can all use some shortcuts every now and again – especially this time of year.

Where to find frozen vegan pie crusts

There are a surprising amount of vegan options these days when it comes to pie crusts. Check out the frozen section of your favorite co-op, natural grocery store, or the health market of your mainstream grocery store.

I picked mine up at Natural Grocers. The pie crusts I used are from Wholly Wholesome. The 9 inch crusts come two to a pack.

(By the way, they also have a gluten-free vegan pie crust. Although, I’ve never tried it. )

There are lots of options, though. Just read the ingredient labels to find a pie crust that will work for you.

You don’t have to thaw the pie crusts until you are ready to cook.

What makes using frozen pie crust especially convenient is that you don’t need to thaw it until you’re ready to start cooking!

Frozen pie crust doesn’t take long to thaw. So as soon as you’re ready to cook, pull the frozen pie crusts out of the freezer, and put them on the counter. By the time you are ready to fill them, they will be thawed.

Since I was making a new version of my vegan pot pie, I decided to make another switch this time around. Instead of chickpeas or Great Northern beans, which I used in the individual pot pies, I went with seitan instead.

Seitan gives a wonderful chew to vegan pot pie. It’s reminiscent of the chicken pot pies I grew up eating.

I used an 8-ounce package of Upton’s Naturals traditional seitan. But feel free to use 1 ½ cups of the chicken-style seitan of your choice, chopped in bite-sized pieces.

Gluten-free option

If you’d prefer to keep this vegan pot pie gluten free, just use gluten-free pie crusts. Then opt for 1 ½ cups of chickpeas or Great Northern beans instead of seitan. Your call!

With rosemary, thyme, garlic, and onions, this vegan pot pie is loaded with warming flavors. The cashew cream sauce coats all of the vegetables in a way that’s incredibly satisfying.

How to make vegan pot pie

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Then pull a double pack of frozen pie crusts out of the freezer to thaw. Put them on the counter.

Now it’s time to make cashew cream. Blend raw cashews and water in a high speed blender.

If you don’t have a high speed blender, you’ll need to help your standard blender. You can either soak the raw cashews for several hours ahead of time, then drain the cashews before continuing with the recipe.

Or grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they become like a flour. Put the ground cashews into your blender. Then continue the recipe as written.

Sauté onions, garlic, and spices in a soup pot. Then add water, vegetable bouillon, carrots, potatoes, green peas, seitan, and salt. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, until the potato has softened slightly.

Then it’s time to add the cashew cream from the blender, stir, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Carefully ladle the pot pie filling into the bottom pie crust in its tin.

Take the second pie crust, and invert it over the top of the pie. Pull off the tin from the top crust. Then carefully pull at the crust to lay lightly over the top.

If the top crust has any tears, dab your fingers into aquafaba (chickpea liquid) or water. Then use your moistened fingers to smooth out the tears.

Remove any excess crust from the top. Press the tines of a fork along the edges of the crust all the way around to secure the top and bottom crusts.

Then dab your fingers into chickpea liquid or water (or use a pastry brush if you prefer), and add a very light coating to the top of the pie.

(Aquafaba is what vegans use instead of egg wash. It helps the crust to brown.)

Cut a few slits into the top of the pie. They will be air vents, so that steam can escape while cooking.

Put the pie onto a baking sheet. It will catch any filling that may bubble over. It also makes it easier for putting the pie into and out of the oven. (The aluminum pie tin is a little wobbly otherwise.)

Bake on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.

The pie interior will be bubbling hot when you remove it from the oven. So wait at least 15 or 20 minutes before slicing into it. The longer you wait to slice into it, the firmer the filling will be.

Serve the pot pie with roasted Brussels sprouts with apples, delicata squash salad, and/or orange cranberry sauce.

Cadry Nelson

Makes 1 pot pie

Serves 5 to 8, depending on slice size

45

Chicken-style vegan pot pie

Comfort food at its best - vegan pot pie with chicken-style seitan in a creamy cashew sauce. This cozy dinner is a great main course for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or holiday get-togethers. But since it's made with frozen, store-bought pie crusts, there's no need to wait for a special occasion! Enjoy this main course anytime you need something soothing.

20 minPrep Time

50 minCook Time

1 hr, 10 Total Time

5 based on 5 review(s)

Ingredients

2 (9-inch) frozen pie crusts

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons raw cashews*

2 cups water, divided

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion in medium pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 vegetable bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon no chicken base Better Than Bouillon

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots, cut into coins

1 medium Russet potato (about 6 ounces), chopped in small to medium pieces

1/2 cup green peas (Fresh or frozen are fine)

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped chicken-style seitan (I used an 8 ounce package of seitan)

Aquafaba (liquid from can of chickpeas) or water, to use as vegan egg wash on top of pie crust

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take the frozen pie crusts out of the freezer, and put them on the counter to thaw.

Make the cashew cream. Put the raw cashews into a high speed blender with 1/2 cup of water. Blend until it is completely smooth, a thick cashew cream. Set aside.

Bring a soup pot to a medium heat with extra virgin olive oil. Saute onion in oil for about 5 minutes, until it has softened slightly and is fragrant. Add garlic, celery, dried rosemary, dried basil, and saute for for a minute more. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups water, vegetable bouillon cube or Better Than Bouillon, carrots, potato, green peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and seitan. Bring to a simmer. Then lower heat, cover, and cook for 7 minutes, until the potato has softened slightly.

Add cashew cream from blender and cook for 5 minutes more over a low medium heat, so that the cashew cream can reduce slightly and flavors can combine. Stir occasionally. Taste for salt. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon, if necessary. But keep in mind, the filling will continue to condense while it bakes.

Use a ladle to put the filling into one of the crusts.**

Then take the second crust and invert it over the top of the bottom crust. Remove the tin from the second crust. Gently pull the top crust, so that it lightly lays evenly over the bottom one. If the top crust has any tears, dab your fingers into aquafaba (chickpea liquid) or water. Then use your moistened fingers to smooth out the tears.

Remove any excess crust from the top crust. Press the tines of a fork along the edges of the crust all the way around to secure the top and bottom crusts. Then dab your fingers into chickpea liquid or water (or use a pastry brush if you prefer), and add a very light coating to the top of the pie. (Aquafaba is what vegans use instead of egg wash. It helps the crust to brown.)

Cut a few slits into the top of the pie. They will be air vents, so that steam can escape while cooking.

Put the pie onto a baking sheet. It will catch any filling that may bubble over. It also makes it easier for putting the pie into and out of the oven. (The aluminum pie tin is a little wobbly otherwise.)

Bake on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.

The pie interior will be bubbling hot when you remove it from the oven. So wait at least 15 or 20 minutes before slicing into it. The longer you wait, the firmer the filling will be when you slice into it.

Notes

*If you aren't using a high speed blender, you'll need to soak the raw cashews in additional water for several hours to soften and then drain before continuing with the recipe. Or grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they are fine like a flour. Then add them to your standard blender with the water. If you're using a high speed blender, you can skip this step.

**Some people say that warm filling going into a cold pie crust will make for a soggy bottom crust. If you're concerned about it, you can let the filling cool on the stove before ladling it into the pie crust. Or you could make the filling ahead of time, chill it in the refrigerator, and then put the crust out to thaw for a while before putting the whole thing together. Personally, I didn't have any complaints with the warm filling going into a cold crust.

7.8.1.2

269

https://cadryskitchen.com/2018/11/16/vegan-pot-pie/

Thank you to Janis for the great tip on using frozen pie crusts to make vegan pot pie!

Disclosure: Post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Source: https://cadryskitchen.com/2018/11/16/vegan-pot-pie/

[syrupeel6-blog]

Chicken-style vegan pot pie (Using frozen pie crust!)

It doesn’t get cozier than vegan pot pie. It is loaded with carrots, onions, celery, peas, and chicken-style seitan. Then it’s bundled up in a creamy cashew sauce.

This holiday-worthy dinner got a whole lot easier since it’s made with store-bought frozen pie crusts! And yes, there’s a top and bottom crust for maximum yum factor. Vegan & gluten-free option.

One of my favorite things about food blogging is seeing how my recipes take on a life of their own.

Food blogging is largely a solitary pursuit. (Except for my orange roommate who regularly comes by while I’m working – eager for treats, cuddles & fetch time.)

There’s recipe testing, food photography & editing. There’s writing, pin making (for Pinterest), and social sharing.

Then my recipe goes out into the world. And the people who make it in their homes take it and make it their own. It becomes a part of their special occasions or daily routines.

One example of this is my mini vegetable pot pie recipe. I shared it back in 2016.

In that recipe, vegetables in a cashew cream sauce are ladled into mini cocottes. Then they’re covered with homemade pie dough.

What results are individual pot pies. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and winter dinner parties.

Use frozen store-bought pie crusts for easy vegan pot pies

A reader and fellow Iowan, Janis, has made that recipe loads of times with just one difference. She uses frozen store-bought pie crusts for a full-sized pie.

Genius!

Plus, frozen pie crusts usually come two to a pack. So you get both a top & bottom crust out of it. That makes it doubly cozy!

As I’ve mentioned before on my blog, I’m not the pie maker in our family. That falls to my husband, David, who has been making pies from scratch since childhood.

So using a pre-made dough option is right up my alley! (In fact, until this post, I don’t think I’d ever put a pie crust on top of a full-sized pie. So if I can do it, you can too!)

I’ve had Janis’ substitution on my to-do list for a long while now. As we’re speeding into the holiday season, I made it a priority this week.

I knew there would be a lot of you, like Janis, who would like to make a pot pie for your holiday gatherings. It would be a terrific main course on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

And we can all use some shortcuts every now and again – especially this time of year.

Where to find frozen vegan pie crusts

There are a surprising amount of vegan options these days when it comes to pie crusts. Check out the frozen section of your favorite co-op, natural grocery store, or the health market of your mainstream grocery store.

I picked mine up at Natural Grocers. The pie crusts I used are from Wholly Wholesome. The 9 inch crusts come two to a pack.

(By the way, they also have a gluten-free vegan pie crust. Although, I’ve never tried it. )

There are lots of options, though. Just read the ingredient labels to find a pie crust that will work for you.

You don’t have to thaw the pie crusts until you are ready to cook.

What makes using frozen pie crust especially convenient is that you don’t need to thaw it until you’re ready to start cooking!

Frozen pie crust doesn’t take long to thaw. So as soon as you’re ready to cook, pull the frozen pie crusts out of the freezer, and put them on the counter. By the time you are ready to fill them, they will be thawed.

Since I was making a new version of my vegan pot pie, I decided to make another switch this time around. Instead of chickpeas or Great Northern beans, which I used in the individual pot pies, I went with seitan instead.

Seitan gives a wonderful chew to vegan pot pie. It’s reminiscent of the chicken pot pies I grew up eating.

I used an 8-ounce package of Upton’s Naturals traditional seitan. But feel free to use 1 ½ cups of the chicken-style seitan of your choice, chopped in bite-sized pieces.

Gluten-free option

If you’d prefer to keep this vegan pot pie gluten free, just use gluten-free pie crusts. Then opt for 1 ½ cups of chickpeas or Great Northern beans instead of seitan. Your call!

With rosemary, thyme, garlic, and onions, this vegan pot pie is loaded with warming flavors. The cashew cream sauce coats all of the vegetables in a way that’s incredibly satisfying.

How to make vegan pot pie

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Then pull a double pack of frozen pie crusts out of the freezer to thaw. Put them on the counter.

Now it’s time to make cashew cream. Blend raw cashews and water in a high speed blender.

If you don’t have a high speed blender, you’ll need to help your standard blender. You can either soak the raw cashews for several hours ahead of time, then drain the cashews before continuing with the recipe.

Or grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they become like a flour. Put the ground cashews into your blender. Then continue the recipe as written.

Sauté onions, garlic, and spices in a soup pot. Then add water, vegetable bouillon, carrots, potatoes, green peas, seitan, and salt. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, until the potato has softened slightly.

Then it’s time to add the cashew cream from the blender, stir, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Carefully ladle the pot pie filling into the bottom pie crust in its tin.

Take the second pie crust, and invert it over the top of the pie. Pull off the tin from the top crust. Then carefully pull at the crust to lay lightly over the top.

If the top crust has any tears, dab your fingers into aquafaba (chickpea liquid) or water. Then use your moistened fingers to smooth out the tears.

Remove any excess crust from the top. Press the tines of a fork along the edges of the crust all the way around to secure the top and bottom crusts.

Then dab your fingers into chickpea liquid or water (or use a pastry brush if you prefer), and add a very light coating to the top of the pie.

(Aquafaba is what vegans use instead of egg wash. It helps the crust to brown.)

Cut a few slits into the top of the pie. They will be air vents, so that steam can escape while cooking.

Put the pie onto a baking sheet. It will catch any filling that may bubble over. It also makes it easier for putting the pie into and out of the oven. (The aluminum pie tin is a little wobbly otherwise.)

Bake on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.

The pie interior will be bubbling hot when you remove it from the oven. So wait at least 15 or 20 minutes before slicing into it. The longer you wait to slice into it, the firmer the filling will be.

Serve the pot pie with roasted Brussels sprouts with apples, delicata squash salad, and/or orange cranberry sauce.

Cadry Nelson

Makes 1 pot pie

Serves 5 to 8, depending on slice size

45

Chicken-style vegan pot pie

Comfort food at its best - vegan pot pie with chicken-style seitan in a creamy cashew sauce. This cozy dinner is a great main course for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or holiday get-togethers. But since it's made with frozen, store-bought pie crusts, there's no need to wait for a special occasion! Enjoy this main course anytime you need something soothing.

20 minPrep Time

50 minCook Time

1 hr, 10 Total Time

5 based on 5 review(s)

Ingredients

2 (9-inch) frozen pie crusts

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons raw cashews*

2 cups water, divided

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion in medium pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 vegetable bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon no chicken base Better Than Bouillon

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots, cut into coins

1 medium Russet potato (about 6 ounces), chopped in small to medium pieces

1/2 cup green peas (Fresh or frozen are fine)

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped chicken-style seitan (I used an 8 ounce package of seitan)

Aquafaba (liquid from can of chickpeas) or water, to use as vegan egg wash on top of pie crust

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take the frozen pie crusts out of the freezer, and put them on the counter to thaw.

Make the cashew cream. Put the raw cashews into a high speed blender with 1/2 cup of water. Blend until it is completely smooth, a thick cashew cream. Set aside.

Bring a soup pot to a medium heat with extra virgin olive oil. Saute onion in oil for about 5 minutes, until it has softened slightly and is fragrant. Add garlic, celery, dried rosemary, dried basil, and saute for for a minute more. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups water, vegetable bouillon cube or Better Than Bouillon, carrots, potato, green peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and seitan. Bring to a simmer. Then lower heat, cover, and cook for 7 minutes, until the potato has softened slightly.

Add cashew cream from blender and cook for 5 minutes more over a low medium heat, so that the cashew cream can reduce slightly and flavors can combine. Stir occasionally. Taste for salt. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon, if necessary. But keep in mind, the filling will continue to condense while it bakes.

Use a ladle to put the filling into one of the crusts.**

Then take the second crust and invert it over the top of the bottom crust. Remove the tin from the second crust. Gently pull the top crust, so that it lightly lays evenly over the bottom one. If the top crust has any tears, dab your fingers into aquafaba (chickpea liquid) or water. Then use your moistened fingers to smooth out the tears.

Remove any excess crust from the top crust. Press the tines of a fork along the edges of the crust all the way around to secure the top and bottom crusts. Then dab your fingers into chickpea liquid or water (or use a pastry brush if you prefer), and add a very light coating to the top of the pie. (Aquafaba is what vegans use instead of egg wash. It helps the crust to brown.)

Cut a few slits into the top of the pie. They will be air vents, so that steam can escape while cooking.

Put the pie onto a baking sheet. It will catch any filling that may bubble over. It also makes it easier for putting the pie into and out of the oven. (The aluminum pie tin is a little wobbly otherwise.)

Bake on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.

The pie interior will be bubbling hot when you remove it from the oven. So wait at least 15 or 20 minutes before slicing into it. The longer you wait, the firmer the filling will be when you slice into it.

Notes

*If you aren't using a high speed blender, you'll need to soak the raw cashews in additional water for several hours to soften and then drain before continuing with the recipe. Or grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they are fine like a flour. Then add them to your standard blender with the water. If you're using a high speed blender, you can skip this step.

**Some people say that warm filling going into a cold pie crust will make for a soggy bottom crust. If you're concerned about it, you can let the filling cool on the stove before ladling it into the pie crust. Or you could make the filling ahead of time, chill it in the refrigerator, and then put the crust out to thaw for a while before putting the whole thing together. Personally, I didn't have any complaints with the warm filling going into a cold crust.

7.8.1.2

269

https://cadryskitchen.com/2018/11/16/vegan-pot-pie/

Thank you to Janis for the great tip on using frozen pie crusts to make vegan pot pie!

Disclosure: Post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Source: https://cadryskitchen.com/2018/11/16/vegan-pot-pie/

[laurallama52-blog]

Chicken-style vegan pot pie (Using frozen pie crust!)

It doesn’t get cozier than vegan pot pie. It is loaded with carrots, onions, celery, peas, and chicken-style seitan. Then it’s bundled up in a creamy cashew sauce.

This holiday-worthy dinner got a whole lot easier since it’s made with store-bought frozen pie crusts! And yes, there’s a top and bottom crust for maximum yum factor. Vegan & gluten-free option.

One of my favorite things about food blogging is seeing how my recipes take on a life of their own.

Food blogging is largely a solitary pursuit. (Except for my orange roommate who regularly comes by while I’m working – eager for treats, cuddles & fetch time.)

There’s recipe testing, food photography & editing. There’s writing, pin making (for Pinterest), and social sharing.

Then my recipe goes out into the world. And the people who make it in their homes take it and make it their own. It becomes a part of their special occasions or daily routines.

One example of this is my mini vegetable pot pie recipe. I shared it back in 2016.

In that recipe, vegetables in a cashew cream sauce are ladled into mini cocottes. Then they’re covered with homemade pie dough.

What results are individual pot pies. Perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and winter dinner parties.

Use frozen store-bought pie crusts for easy vegan pot pies

A reader and fellow Iowan, Janis, has made that recipe loads of times with just one difference. She uses frozen store-bought pie crusts for a full-sized pie.

Genius!

Plus, frozen pie crusts usually come two to a pack. So you get both a top & bottom crust out of it. That makes it doubly cozy!

As I’ve mentioned before on my blog, I’m not the pie maker in our family. That falls to my husband, David, who has been making pies from scratch since childhood.

So using a pre-made dough option is right up my alley! (In fact, until this post, I don’t think I’d ever put a pie crust on top of a full-sized pie. So if I can do it, you can too!)

I’ve had Janis’ substitution on my to-do list for a long while now. As we’re speeding into the holiday season, I made it a priority this week.

I knew there would be a lot of you, like Janis, who would like to make a pot pie for your holiday gatherings. It would be a terrific main course on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

And we can all use some shortcuts every now and again – especially this time of year.

Where to find frozen vegan pie crusts

There are a surprising amount of vegan options these days when it comes to pie crusts. Check out the frozen section of your favorite co-op, natural grocery store, or the health market of your mainstream grocery store.

I picked mine up at Natural Grocers. The pie crusts I used are from Wholly Wholesome. The 9 inch crusts come two to a pack.

(By the way, they also have a gluten-free vegan pie crust. Although, I’ve never tried it. )

There are lots of options, though. Just read the ingredient labels to find a pie crust that will work for you.

You don’t have to thaw the pie crusts until you are ready to cook.

What makes using frozen pie crust especially convenient is that you don’t need to thaw it until you’re ready to start cooking!

Frozen pie crust doesn’t take long to thaw. So as soon as you’re ready to cook, pull the frozen pie crusts out of the freezer, and put them on the counter. By the time you are ready to fill them, they will be thawed.

Since I was making a new version of my vegan pot pie, I decided to make another switch this time around. Instead of chickpeas or Great Northern beans, which I used in the individual pot pies, I went with seitan instead.

Seitan gives a wonderful chew to vegan pot pie. It’s reminiscent of the chicken pot pies I grew up eating.

I used an 8-ounce package of Upton’s Naturals traditional seitan. But feel free to use 1 ½ cups of the chicken-style seitan of your choice, chopped in bite-sized pieces.

Gluten-free option

If you’d prefer to keep this vegan pot pie gluten free, just use gluten-free pie crusts. Then opt for 1 ½ cups of chickpeas or Great Northern beans instead of seitan. Your call!

With rosemary, thyme, garlic, and onions, this vegan pot pie is loaded with warming flavors. The cashew cream sauce coats all of the vegetables in a way that’s incredibly satisfying.

How to make vegan pot pie

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Then pull a double pack of frozen pie crusts out of the freezer to thaw. Put them on the counter.

Now it’s time to make cashew cream. Blend raw cashews and water in a high speed blender.

If you don’t have a high speed blender, you’ll need to help your standard blender. You can either soak the raw cashews for several hours ahead of time, then drain the cashews before continuing with the recipe.

Or grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they become like a flour. Put the ground cashews into your blender. Then continue the recipe as written.

Sauté onions, garlic, and spices in a soup pot. Then add water, vegetable bouillon, carrots, potatoes, green peas, seitan, and salt. Cover and cook for 7 minutes, until the potato has softened slightly.

Then it’s time to add the cashew cream from the blender, stir, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Carefully ladle the pot pie filling into the bottom pie crust in its tin.

Take the second pie crust, and invert it over the top of the pie. Pull off the tin from the top crust. Then carefully pull at the crust to lay lightly over the top.

If the top crust has any tears, dab your fingers into aquafaba (chickpea liquid) or water. Then use your moistened fingers to smooth out the tears.

Remove any excess crust from the top. Press the tines of a fork along the edges of the crust all the way around to secure the top and bottom crusts.

Then dab your fingers into chickpea liquid or water (or use a pastry brush if you prefer), and add a very light coating to the top of the pie.

(Aquafaba is what vegans use instead of egg wash. It helps the crust to brown.)

Cut a few slits into the top of the pie. They will be air vents, so that steam can escape while cooking.

Put the pie onto a baking sheet. It will catch any filling that may bubble over. It also makes it easier for putting the pie into and out of the oven. (The aluminum pie tin is a little wobbly otherwise.)

Bake on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.

The pie interior will be bubbling hot when you remove it from the oven. So wait at least 15 or 20 minutes before slicing into it. The longer you wait to slice into it, the firmer the filling will be.

Serve the pot pie with roasted Brussels sprouts with apples, delicata squash salad, and/or orange cranberry sauce.

Cadry Nelson

Makes 1 pot pie

Serves 5 to 8, depending on slice size

45

Chicken-style vegan pot pie

Comfort food at its best - vegan pot pie with chicken-style seitan in a creamy cashew sauce. This cozy dinner is a great main course for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or holiday get-togethers. But since it's made with frozen, store-bought pie crusts, there's no need to wait for a special occasion! Enjoy this main course anytime you need something soothing.

20 minPrep Time

50 minCook Time

1 hr, 10 Total Time

5 based on 5 review(s)

Ingredients

2 (9-inch) frozen pie crusts

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons raw cashews*

2 cups water, divided

1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion in medium pieces

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 vegetable bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon no chicken base Better Than Bouillon

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots, cut into coins

1 medium Russet potato (about 6 ounces), chopped in small to medium pieces

1/2 cup green peas (Fresh or frozen are fine)

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chopped chicken-style seitan (I used an 8 ounce package of seitan)

Aquafaba (liquid from can of chickpeas) or water, to use as vegan egg wash on top of pie crust

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take the frozen pie crusts out of the freezer, and put them on the counter to thaw.

Make the cashew cream. Put the raw cashews into a high speed blender with 1/2 cup of water. Blend until it is completely smooth, a thick cashew cream. Set aside.

Bring a soup pot to a medium heat with extra virgin olive oil. Saute onion in oil for about 5 minutes, until it has softened slightly and is fragrant. Add garlic, celery, dried rosemary, dried basil, and saute for for a minute more. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups water, vegetable bouillon cube or Better Than Bouillon, carrots, potato, green peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and seitan. Bring to a simmer. Then lower heat, cover, and cook for 7 minutes, until the potato has softened slightly.

Add cashew cream from blender and cook for 5 minutes more over a low medium heat, so that the cashew cream can reduce slightly and flavors can combine. Stir occasionally. Taste for salt. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon, if necessary. But keep in mind, the filling will continue to condense while it bakes.

Use a ladle to put the filling into one of the crusts.**

Then take the second crust and invert it over the top of the bottom crust. Remove the tin from the second crust. Gently pull the top crust, so that it lightly lays evenly over the bottom one. If the top crust has any tears, dab your fingers into aquafaba (chickpea liquid) or water. Then use your moistened fingers to smooth out the tears.

Remove any excess crust from the top crust. Press the tines of a fork along the edges of the crust all the way around to secure the top and bottom crusts. Then dab your fingers into chickpea liquid or water (or use a pastry brush if you prefer), and add a very light coating to the top of the pie. (Aquafaba is what vegans use instead of egg wash. It helps the crust to brown.)

Cut a few slits into the top of the pie. They will be air vents, so that steam can escape while cooking.

Put the pie onto a baking sheet. It will catch any filling that may bubble over. It also makes it easier for putting the pie into and out of the oven. (The aluminum pie tin is a little wobbly otherwise.)

Bake on the bottom rack for 30 minutes.

The pie interior will be bubbling hot when you remove it from the oven. So wait at least 15 or 20 minutes before slicing into it. The longer you wait, the firmer the filling will be when you slice into it.

Notes

*If you aren't using a high speed blender, you'll need to soak the raw cashews in additional water for several hours to soften and then drain before continuing with the recipe. Or grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they are fine like a flour. Then add them to your standard blender with the water. If you're using a high speed blender, you can skip this step.

**Some people say that warm filling going into a cold pie crust will make for a soggy bottom crust. If you're concerned about it, you can let the filling cool on the stove before ladling it into the pie crust. Or you could make the filling ahead of time, chill it in the refrigerator, and then put the crust out to thaw for a while before putting the whole thing together. Personally, I didn't have any complaints with the warm filling going into a cold crust.

7.8.1.2

269

https://cadryskitchen.com/2018/11/16/vegan-pot-pie/

Thank you to Janis for the great tip on using frozen pie crusts to make vegan pot pie!

Disclosure: Post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Source: https://cadryskitchen.com/2018/11/16/vegan-pot-pie/

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

Stop shaming recipe bloggers for writing a lot

Every so often, someone will act very angry online because a recipe they clicked on has "too much text." They wanted to make mushroom ravioli, but instead had to scroll through a bunch of words about what mushroom ravioli means to a blogger's family. Boring!

It's true that many (if not most) food bloggers write long narratives preceding their recipes. Sometimes, they explain how they developed the recipe. Other times, they share why they chose to post this particular food, or explain the modifications they've made to accommodate family members with dietary restrictions. They might share a story about the dish providing them comfort in a difficult time, or how cooking the dish with a loved one healed a broken relationship. Food is personal, after all; it comes with stories. 

So why do so many people rush to mock them?

Cadry Nelson, a food blogger who runs the vegan website Cadry's Kitchen, includes narratives with her recipes regularly. (She's also written an essay about recipe narratives.) This is partially because she wanted to document her transition to veganism, the context in which she developed much of her work. In doing so, she'd create a reference point for readers curious about going vegan themselves.

"I was trying a lot of produce I’d never had before, as well as re-creating old familiar flavors but without meat, dairy, and eggs," she explained in an interview. "I didn’t have many other friends who were vegan at that point."

View this post on Instagram

This summer it will have been 9 years since we loaded up all of our belongings into a U-Haul & moved across country from Los Angeles back to Iowa, where David & I were born & raised. On the way, we stopped at FUD restaurant in Kansas City. The restaurant is gone now. But they were known for their raw dishes & jackfruit recipes. I especially loved their jackfruit Reuben. I figured it was high time I made my own version. The jackfruit is pink from beets. It’s topped with homemade #vegan Thousand Island dressing, @goldminenaturalfoodco garlic kraut, and beautiful marbled rye from @newpioneercoop. Get the recipe on the blog. Link in profile. #vegansofiowa #vegansofig #veganfoodporn #reubensandwich #veganreuben #whatveganseat #vegancomfortfood #vegansandwich #foodporn #foodphotography #foodstagram

A post shared by Cadry Nelson (@cadryskitchen) on Feb 7, 2019 at 10:46am PST

Sharing this information doesn't just benefit her readers, either. It also helps her secure a place in the saturated food blog realm. "Through these posts, I’ve gotten to know bloggers’ flavor preferences too," Nelson said. By sharing stories on blogs, people get to know the types of foods [and] flavors that specific recipe creators enjoy. You figure out who is a good match for your own palate."

So why do people have such an issue with people writing about their own food? It seems to come down to convenience. Generally, perturbed readers complain that it takes too long for them to scroll down to the recipe itself.

Historian Kevin Kruse, for example, tweeted his disdain for recipe narratives last weekend: "Hey, cooking websites?" he wrote. "I don't really need a thousand words about how you discovered the recipe or the feelings it evoked for you ... I'm trying to feed my family. No need to curate the experience for me."

SEE ALSO: Why the '15-minute recipe' sets you up to fail

"GIMME THE RECIPE HON MY SCROLL FINGER HURTS," tweeted Chelsea Peretti last November.

Admittedly, it is irritating when anything is difficult to find on the internet, especially when we've come to expect an easy-as-pie user experience from every app and every website. It can feel like a slog to scroll through paragraphs of text when all you want is a list of ingredients.

But the thing to interrogate here isn't necessarily whether blocks of text are annoying — it's why people think these particular blocks of text don't deserve to exist.

Nelson thinks there's an element of sexism to the critiques she sees about recipe writing. Home cooking is still a deeply gendered pursuit, and writers whose work centers on home cooking are still perceived as less professional, less valuable, and less worthy voices.  "The feeling seems to be that they don't think these writers have something of value to offer," Nelson said.

There's been high-profile backlash to the backlash against recipe narratives. After Kruse's tweet, Smitten Kitchen creator Deb Perelman tweeted a thread on the matter, encouraging recipe writers to "write as long and as in-depth as your heart desires about recipes and anything else they drum up in your mind and ignore anyone who says you shouldn't."

1. These websites are free to read and free to not read. /3

— deb perelman (@debperelman) February 16, 2019

2. It's mostly women telling these stories. Congratulations, you've found a new, not particularly original, way to say "shut up and cook." [I just don't see don't see the same pushback when male chefs write about their wild days or basically anything. Do you?] /4

— deb perelman (@debperelman) February 16, 2019

3. Not that you asked, but I love context, both in the recipe's development and the way it knits into your life. I wish more people who cooked got to tell their stories. /5

— deb perelman (@debperelman) February 16, 2019

Like Nelson, she also called out detractors' casual sexism. "Congratulations, you've found a new, not particularly original, way to say 'shut up and cook,'" she tweeted. "I just don't see don't see the same pushback when male chefs write about their wild days or basically anything. Do you?"

"I wish more people who cooked got to tell their stories," she added.

There's also a more technical element at play where recipe narratives are concerned: search engine optimization (SEO). Recipe bloggers want to catch the attention of the illusive Google algorithm —  and, ideally, land their recipe on the coveted first page — so they must demonstrate "authority" in their field. This means more comprehensive content, which is really hard to pull off with a concise recipe alone. (Tons of people will be using the phrase "apple crumble," for example, but only you can write your own story about it.)

"When I’m writing, I try to tell a story that has a hook as well as please[s] the Google algorithm," Nelson said. "I do keyword research ... I see what kinds of questions people have around the topic, and look for ways to anticipate their problems, and answer their questions, so that they will have a successful cooking experience. Lately, I’ve been adding more step-by-step pictures of how to make dishes, as well as videos, because Google says that readers want that."

Even though she's noticed people criticizing lengthy posts, Nelson maintains that writing a lot — authoritatively, of course — is what's going to get eyes on her recipes. "People say they want shorter posts, but Google values information," she said. "It’s hard to give information without using some words along the way."

SEO and marketing experts agree that Nelson's approach is a smart one, especially in such a saturated landscape. "Because a recipe usually consists of a listing of ingredients and steps, it’s often very difficult for a search engine to discern what this article is trying to convey," Pete Herrnreiter, who is the VP of digital strategy at The Motion Agency, explained via email. "By developing a richer upfront with background on the dish ... it [helps to] define the post."

Content strategist Abby Sanders, who works for Von Mack Agency, also emphasized the advantages of differentiating one's recipe from the pack. "These days, search engines are pretty effective at determining whether a page can serve as an 'expert source' on a specific query," she said. "So any additional content that includes certain keywords, as long as it's coherent and well-written, will improve that page's ranking."

View this post on Instagram

Who'd have thought two such aggressively wholesome ingredients could taste so exceptional together? To be honest, not me. But we come back to this again and again whenever we are looking for a hearty vegetarian meal because it tastes like a luxury, not a compromise, especially heaped on grilled bread. [Spinach and Chickpeas on smittenkitchen.com or linked in profile]

A post shared by smitten kitchen (@smittenkitchen) on Feb 19, 2019 at 9:10am PST

As a caveat, Sanders mentioned, there are "plenty of other factors that play a role in rankings, such as domain authority, links to that page, and the list goes on. But from a sheer content standpoint, it does make good sense for a food blogger to write some extra, interesting copy around their subject."

So, fine. Finding a list of chili ingredients would be easier if we didn't have to scroll. But recipe bloggers are writers, and they have stories to share that are poignant, funny, and valuable — even if you (and I) don't love every single one you read. And if you really don't like the narratives? There are plenty of places for you to find story-free recipes online, though you might have to pay for a subscription to see some of them. Also, cookbooks exist.

"My food blog is my own. It’s my creative space. I spend a lot of time testing the recipes, taking photographs, making videos, and writing my stories," Nelson said. "If people aren’t interested in any aspect, so be it."

"My blog is Cadry’s Kitchen. It’s literally the place where I cook," she added. "I don’t know why I would write myself out of it."

WATCH: What happens to your body when you eat spicy food?

[cadriona]

Rating: T

Chapter: 1/5

Characters: Vash, Milly, Wolfwood, and Meryl

Additional tags: Amnesia, Vash the Stampede as Eriks (Trigun), Post-Episode: e12 High Noon at July (Trigun Stampede), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Found Family, Sad Vash the Stampede (Trigun), Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Cryptid Vash the Stampede

Relationships: Background Vashwood, Background Millymeryl

Summary:

He falls, he dreams, he wakes up. Or: The Thompsons picks up an amnesiac from the ruins of JuLai.

*yeets here and runs*

ok in my defense its anon'd because i don't want people to get an email from me that isn't beiguang or genshin just yet...?

[queenaeducan]

Var Shiral'vhen - Chapter Ten: Tides of Change

Non-binary Lavellan/Solas. Rated M.

Ian returns to Haven, but not without leaving Solas with a parting gift, and much to think on. His path and the Herald's bear north, towards a coastline embattled by storms and occupied by an unusual prospective ally.

The farther north they journey, the harder the rain falls. When they come at last to the Fereldan coastline, the jagged cliffline is obscured by curtains of grey rainfall that slicks the clothes to Solas’s back. The wet squelch of his companions’ footsteps sink into the mud, every stride takes twice the effort. They had come here on two summons: a challenge and an invitation, the Blades of Hessarian and the Bull’s Chargers. Though if the weather continues as it is, they may be washed to sea before they face either.

“How are we meant to find anything in this deluge?” Dorian cries, hair flat against his skull and dripping into his eyes.

Sera laughs from behind, the sound makes Dorian wince, remembering his crude awakening from their morning at the inn. “Welcome to Ferelden!” She braces her hand over her eyes, undaunted by the downpour, and squints through the mist. “With a name big as ‘Iron Bull,’ we might still spot him.”

“The mercenary at Haven said they’d be here on a job.” Thora’s voice comes from farther behind still, enjoying the cover Dorian might offer her from the rain. “Could be we hear them first.”

A clap of thunder roars in answer to her vain hope.

🌳 Read it here on AO3 🌱 Start from the beginning

[theharellan]

I sketched this drabble a while ago as a reference for a commission that didn’t really pan out, but I kind of like the emotion of it so I’m posting it here. Cadri Cadash is written by Joly.

An arm wraps around his waist, tugging him sharply against the Inquisitor, turning his gait lopsided. Her cheek pillows against the wolf’s pelt draped across his chest. “You know she only gives you shit because she loves you,” Thora says, words dripping with barely concealed amusement.

Cadri demonstrates no such restraint, her smile brimming with pure delight. “You make it too easy, Baldy.”

For his part, Solas feels the rough edge that lingers from the dig lessen, pricked hubris smoothed away by Thora’s assurance. Still, he has a name and reputation to uphold. “And yet I alone am the target of these jibes,” he notes, stiff as he is able.

“I know you can take it.” A loose fist knocks against his arm, and might have sent him stumbling forward were he not already braced against Thora. Despite himself, despite the teeth which dig gently into his bottom lip, a smile breaks across his face, and sandwiched between two dwarves there is no place he can look to hide it. “See? He loves me, too.”

“‘Love’ is a powerful word,” he says, yet makes no effort to deny it. His feet steady themselves beneath him again, though he keeps his stride short to match theirs. One arm reaches out, touching Thora’s far shoulder to match the one she still anchors across his waist, as warm affection flowers behind his ribcage.

[ourdawncomes]

Untranslatable Words | Not Accepting

@felandaristhorns​ asked: Wabi-Sabi (Japanese): Finding beauty in imperfections. Featuring @cadashsmash​.

Cups clink musically against the heavy wood of Thora’s desk as she lines them in a row. They sit at different sizes, some squashed and others tall, with flared lips and curved bottoms. Cadri hunches lower in her seat to line her eyes with the surface of the desk to better see them. “I thought you said this was a set.”

“Something like that,” Thora hums a noncommittal response as she sets another down, this one white with bottle blue accents and a handle that curls like a contented cat’s tail. The merchant had seemed nonplussed by her affection for them, unsure what to make by the Herald ignoring the shop’s finer goods, sculpted to within an inch of perfection. These had been shoved under a table, somewhere most eyes would overlook, too tall to see beneath the shadows cast by the candlelight, but not her.

“I think you got hustled, salroka. Besides, you can drink tea outta anything.”

She scoffs. “What, like a flagon?”

A grin steals across Cadri’s face. “You said it, not me,” she says as she plucks one cup that lies in two pieces. “You can’t even drink out of half of these.”

“Not yet, you can’t.” She gestures for the pieces, which tumble into her waiting palm. “I’m going to get Harritt to do me a favour.” Thora holds the pieces up to her face, cracked edges framing one brown eye. “You can seal up the edges with gold, it adds character, tells a story. Like... gilded history.” She falters a little as she’s explaining, wondering if the idea had less merit once it was said aloud.

Cadri doesn’t say anything for a moment, pinching a chipped piece between her fingers and rolling it thoughtfully together. “Huh,” she hums. “Guess the idea has some potential. You read about it somewhere?”

Heat warms Thora’s cheeks. She sets the fractured cup down, eyes skirting around meeting Cadri’s. “I, uh, may have read about it once,” she admits, then adds in a smaller, bashful voice, “in a poem.”

“Figures.” The smile that turns her cousin’s lips is fond, causing Thora to wonder if she needed to answer at all. “Once a nerd, always a nerd.”

[queenaeducan-writes]

Prompt List

My favourite ship is Solas x Ian, but I’m open to writing any of the following and I love writing introspective or platonic pieces. Accepting prompts for:

General (no pairings)

Thora Cadash

Solas

Bruno (Agent of Fen’Harel OC)

Vherlen (Agent of Fen’Harel OC)

Gorim Saelac

Romantic Pairings

Solas x Iander Lavellan (companion OC, created by Joly)

Blackwall x Thora Cadash

Josephine Montilyet x Thora Cadash

Lace Harding x Thora Cadash

Carver Hawke x Thora Cadash

Carver Hawke x Merrill

Merrill x Briala

Merrill x Sera

Gorim Saelac x Tamar Aeducan (Warden OC, created by Joly)

Vivienne x Bastien x Nicoline

Platonic Pairings

Solas & Thora Cadash

Solas & Felassan

Solas & Merrill

Solas & Wisdom

Solas & Bruno

Solas & Vherlen

Solas & Any canon companion honestly

Thora Cadash & Tamar Aeducan

Thora Cadash & Gorim Saelac

Thora Cadash & Oghren Kondrat

Thora Cadash & Iander Lavellan

Thora Cadash & Cadri Cadash

Merrill & Iander Lavellan

Prompts:

Please copy the whole prompt, and feel free to come up with your own!

The Language of Thorns

Circe by Madeline Miller

Dragon Age Inspired Prompts

Platonic Touch

The Fall Prompts

OC Codex Prompts I  (more than welcome to suggest canons anyway)

OC Codex Prompts II  (more than welcome to suggest canons anyway)

Memory Meme

Fictional Kiss Meme

Platonic Prompts