#consistent flavor profiles that are easy to spice and will taste very similar every time? so I have little room to error

[girlscience]

maybe I should list some things that don't (or at least haven't yet made me nauseous) so I can have a go to list? let's see how many I can think of

Edit: couldn't think of many sooo I ended up adding some ideas and thoughts too. It really sucks how little food I could think of that I definitely knew I always like and am pretty much always okay making. I thought I would have more than 3 items on that list before I started listing things I've only made once or less :/ there has to be more that I've made and eaten and consistently enjoyed in the past 3 years, right???? 😓

-peanut butter banana smoothies (must contain lots of ice, can sometimes contain strawberries, must never contain yogurt, spinach, or other berries. definitely no protein powder, blegh. mixed berry smoothies are okay on occasion but do some times make me ick)

-banana pancake (as long as I have old frozen bananas and eggs, this is fast and easy. I can just make one big one and it doesn't take any prep or much clean up. can add vanilla and cinnamon)

-homemade spaghetti (just regular noodles and sauce, definitely include ground beef, can sometimes include veggies like carrot, pepper, or broccoli. do not use chunky sauce or italian sausage)

-viking bacon with toast (soooo good 🤤 onions, apples, bacon, and toast. I should get a smaller thing of bacon and maybe pre-prepped onions and I think I would make this all the time. I should write down the recipe from the youtube video so I can access it easier)

-redwall soup (if I got pre-prepped veggies it would probably go a lot quicker and I don't see myself getting sick of that soup ever. definitely include italian sausage. do have to find a better way to freeze the leftovers though)

-taco salad (this is a tentative one, haven't made taco salad myself since living on my own, but if I included ground beef with taco seasoning, black beans, salsa without chunks, sour cream, and a small amount of shredded cheese, I think it would be okay? maybe some guacamole or onions too. chips would probably be a hit or miss addition)

-chili (haven't made it before on my own either, but I don't think I've ever disliked a chili (mmm except maybe one with chocolate in it, wasn't a huge fan of that one). has to have a lot of meat and can have tomato chunks, but not the super big stewed tomatoes)

-trifle (not a health food by any means, but mixed berries, whipped cream, and angel food cake??? cannot go wrong. delicious all the time)

Some things I've never made but might look up how to make are italian beef (it can be on its own or in a sandwich, but I don't know if I can make it without a slow cooker), cream cheese rangoons (it can't be very many ingredients, but frying it might make a mess I would never want to deal with again), and chai (it's not a food, but I could drink good chai every single day and never get tired of it).

Well, that's at least a bit more of a positive place to end on for now... There are things I can make and do enjoy eating. I just have to maybe put more work into figuring out what they are than I have been up to this point. And maybe put in more work than some other people to find things I enjoy making and that don't make me feel sick. Maybe if I am consistently making things I actually want to eat all the time and I can figure out ways to not hate the entire process I will enjoy cooking a little more. Positive thoughts, positive thoughts lol.

[scholar-thief]

[ RP LOG ]

Momori and“Third-eye Fugetsu” talk while sharing cups of...bone juice.

Momori glimpses the figure of someone standing in the shadows, a place that didn’t often have visitors. Upon taking a closer look, she recognizes Fugetsu. What good timing! She had just the ‘gift’ for him.

Momori cautiously approaches the man, wary of interrupting...whatever he’s doing here, exactly. She taps him on the backside of his leg. “Hey, been looking for you.”

Fugetsu 's head slowly listed over his shoulder. His hands were laced together beneath the ends of his sleeves. "You have been looking for me? You must be mistaken. Few people are looking for /this one/."

Momori stares up at Fugetsu and smirks. “Not mistaken, I can recognize that mask anywhere. Anyway, take this.” She hands the other man a handful of bone chips and a container of liquid. “I remember a certain old coot telling me about the origins of milk.”

Fugetsu turns one of the bone chips over in his hand, giving it a once-over. "I take it you took it upon yourself, then, to deal with your quarry's remains? It's respectable. What did you do with the rest of the bones?"

Momori cracks a knuckle, then spreads her hands over the air. (???) A mysterious hand gesture, and one that she thinks is enough to answer Fugetsu’s question. She then gives him a stern look. “Milk time.”

Fugetsu swished the container of milk around, bringing it up to his face. "I wonder, then, what sort of milk you've gotten...? It smells quite nice..."

Fugetsu: Such trouble, to go through for all this. But you did it regardless.

Momori: “That’s some ‘milk’ I made based off of what you had told me prior. Bone dust and water. Haven’t tasted it yet. Figured we’d both give it a sip.” Her gaze darts from the container, then back at Fugetsu, then back to the container...This repeats three times, before she finally rests her stare on the bone chips. “And in case I somehow...made it wrong, you could make a fresh batch.”

Fugetsu raises the container of milk, looking down to Momori. "You desire us to drink at the same time, then?"

Momori pulls out two ceramic cups. “Yes.”

Momori: "That's what milk time means."

Fugetsu let out a chuckle, kneeling, then crossing his legs. He placed his hands atop his knees, bowing his head to Momori. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let us imbibe!"

Momori searches for any sign of Fugetsu ‘breaking’ his act. So far, the man seemed dead serious. Perhaps he really was just a senile old man? Either way, she wasn’t going to be the one to falter first. Momori kneels down as well and places the two cups in the space between them, and fills each to the brim with the...the ‘milk.’ Which slorps out with unappetizing bursts.

Fugetsu reached down to pick up the cup, swirling around its horrid, chunky contents right beneath his nose, or at least where his nose would be located beneath the mask. "Mm... Have you had the chance to sample it yourself, yet?"

Momori shakes her head. “No. I’ve...held back. So that we could try it together.” She similarly picks up her cup and cradles it with both her hands, as if it were a nice warm cup of tea. Unfortunately, it is not. It is a /disaster/ of a beverage, grossly separated into water and white paste. She lifts it up, challenging Fugetsu to do the same. “Bottoms up.”

Fugetsu nods. "And thank you very much!" He raises the cup to Momori, then tilts his head back, bringing the cup up to his face, and... it's not clear what happens. But a few seconds later, the cup is empty, and he sets it upside-down on the grass.

Fugetsu exhales, then slowly nods again. "...A very unique consistency, and rustic flavor profile!"

Momori narrows her eyes as she tries to comprehend how Fugetsu downed the liquid. His mask is not covered in milk, nor is the grass. Simply, it appears to be gone. Consumed. She gives him a dirty look while she brings her own cup up to drink. The liquid barely wets her lips, before she sets the cup back down.

Momori: “It’s awful.”

Fugetsu: I think it's unique. Perhaps if you used a mortal and pestle to grind the bone extremely fine, it would go down far better.

Momori: “Unique is a gentle way of saying something is absolutely unacceptable. And, ugh.” Her nose crinkles up. “That’d just make it even pastier. Though it’s possible it would slide down the gullet easier. It would do no favors for its flavor.”

(Momori) no flavor favors for the bone juice (Fugetsu) the bone juice is eternal

Fugetsu: Maybe spices of some kind? Maybe pepper flakes of some kind. Brown sugar...

Fugetsu: Sweet syrup.

Fugetsu: Ferment it, perhaps!

Momori empties the remnants of her share on the grass, leaving behind a distinct pile of white goo. She then picks up Fugetsu’s cup and almost glares at the empty bottom of the container. Did he really drink it? Gods.

Momori: “I don’t think any amount of spice could hide this drink’s texture. And I say that, as someone who was raised on eating spiced bugs since childhood.”

Fugetsu: You never know until you try.

Fugetsu: Many culinary breakthroughs have come from similar places.

Momori just sighs.

Momori: “I...ugh. I’ve got the worst aftertaste in my mouth. Enough to make my bones hurt.”

Momori: “You’re a very odd fellow. So open to trying new things. Most do the opposite as they age.”

Fugetsu: Hmph. Well, most old people are just... old. There is a clear difference between those whose minds close as they grow older, and those whose minds open up.

Fugetsu: I am not called a 'sage', for nothing.

Momori: “So says the old person in front of me.” Momori can only assume his age, based off of Fugetsu’s voice and posture. “Ser Mask, who are you a sage for?”

Fugetsu: I come from an order of sages. Masked sages, that is.

Fugetsu: We are rather scattered about. it is a loose affiliation.

Momori - Her ear twitches at the mention of an order of sages. Aha, so he wasn’t just some senile local who liked to mess with others! She leans in, eyes ablaze with a burning interest.

Momori: “Does the order have a mission? Do you have a mission? How long has this order existed?” She pauses, collecting her thoughts. "As a historian, I have interest in such things."

Fugetsu: Hmph. There is not much to say about the others. They approached me long after I had established my swordsmanship school.

Momori: “Why’d you join them, if you already were running a school?” It takes every ounce of Momori’s strength to keep back the flood of questions that bounce around in her brain.

Fugetsu shook his head. "They said their order had been around since time eternal or immemorial, they were trying to stop a... Mrm, I can't rightly remember. You know how these sorts of things are, they'll say anything you to get you to join, it's like one of those... Mrm.”

Fugetsu: It's not terribly interesting. What sorts of ingredients do you think could be added to your bone concoction?

Momori - Fugetsu appears to be carefully selecting his next words, and deflecting a real answer by changing the subject. Bone juice be damned, there was something interesting to pick at here. “Hm, seems highly secretive and powerful. Otherwise you wouldn’t bother keeping secrets for them. Understandable, Ser Mask. Makes documenting a lot harder, though.”

Momori sighs at the mention of the bone concoction. “I don’t know. It’s so far gone, I doubt anything could make that thing edible in the slightest.”

Fugetsu: Chasing secrets is an easy way to find yourself in a whole lot of trouble that could be avoided. After all, what is risk without reward? And there is little of interest there.

Fugetsu: You should know, the lot of us are the victims of that impulse.

Fugetsu: Here we are, chasing the fragments of old Allag.

Momori throws caution to the wind. “Oh, and did you wear a mask prior to joining the order? Did they give you one to wear?”

Fugetsu: I've worn this mask for many years.

Momori then addresses the later statements. “Such secrets are worth pursuing, no matter the cost. We are no strangers to danger, and should give it our all. To fail would be folly.”

Fugetsu: An idealistic take on it, to be sure.

Fugetsu: You believe we are pursuing such things for the sake of research?

Momori: “Pragmatic. We choose to put ourselves in danger, so allowing anxiety in would be opening ourselves up to attack.” She states this as though it were fact. “No, we all have our reasons for tagging along with the expedition. Some nobler than others, unfortunately.”

Fugetsu: Some of us.

Fugetsu: Certainly not I.

Momori gives Fugetsu a measured stare. “Don’t put yourself down. Mysterious masked sage, practically exuding wisdom about the secrets of milk and life. You probably have the best reason of us all.”

Fugetsu: I almost certainly do not.

Momori: “Do too.”

Fugetsu: You are so convinced of this?

Momori: “I will never know for sure until I hear your reason. Until then, I assume only the best for you.”

Fugetsu: I enjoy joining doomed voyages such as this.

Momori: “Not your first?” She tilts her head slightly.

Fugetsu: Not at all. I have been around for a little while, after all.

Momori: “A true vote of confidence.”

Fugetsu: But of course.

Momori: “I prefer the non-doomed variety. Less messy.”

Momori: “Just like how I prefer normal milk. Perhaps it’s my youth speaking.”

Fugetsu: The 'messy' part is what makes it so much fun, though, yes?

Momori: “No thank you. I’ll take a job, perfectly and cleanly executed, over a mess any day.” Her hand glances over a dagger for a moment, then returns to her lap.. “But with an operation as big as this, mistakes are bound to happen. Too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak.”

Fugetsu: Money interests me little, at this point.

Momori: “I would gladly take any donations, then.” A sickly sweet smile spreads across her face.

Fugetsu: Hmph. Perhaps I will think about it.

Momori chuckles at Fugetsu’s reaction. “In just three easy payments, you can help fund a Lalafell’s mission to save the world! No refunds.”

Fugetsu: World's already been saved though, yes? What, are you planning to launch a new front against the Empire?

Momori: “World is far from being saved. Poor roam the streets, primals knock at our very door. The Empire is still a thing and so are the Rovers.” She counts each point on her fingers. “Lot to be done.”

Fugetsu: And you have solutions?

Momori - A miniscule, but very much there, smirk tugs at the corner of her mouth. “Not yet. Perhaps the secrets of the past can aid us in solving these problems. It’s no wonder that both the expedition and the Rovers are seeking out the heart,” she says rather smugly.

Fugetsu: They are far more self-interested than you may think.

Momori: “You mean the expedition, or the Rovers?”

Fugetsu: Both.

Momori nods. “Wise answer. Thankfully, I’m here, and I’ll take what I can get. Can’t force a horsebird to drink, yada yada.”

Fugetsu: You are that starved for work?

Momori: “An expedition on a journey to recover a powerful, allagan artifact makes rare and valuable work. There are some bonuses along the way too, that far make up for the lack of pay.”

Fugetsu: I'm sure they have no shortage of warm bodies willing to put themselves betwen the Rovers and the shiny object that we so desperately covet.

Momori: “Oh, it’ll be a hard won fight for sure. Good thing the expedition has us then. Or not, given that you like doomed voyages.”

Fugetsu: That is operating under the assumption you win.

Fugetsu: And if I have learned one thing, it is that your opponent is never more vulnerable than the minute they start to believe that their victory is assured.

Momori just accepts the first part of Fugetsu’s remark, and waves off the second. “Learned that long ago.” But...did she really? Eh.

Fugetsu: If you say so.

Fugetsu: But you certainly sound confident.

Momori: “I’m confident for good reason. And skill.”

Momori gets up and stretches her limbs with a mighty yawn. “Well, it’s been enlightening, Ser Mask. I look forward to chatting again, hopefully over something more enjoyable than bone juice.”

Fugetsu: Perhaps.

You bid farewell to Fugetsu.

Fugetsu bids farewell to you.