#cooked goose menu

[bowieandqueen11]

Preening Peacocks / Sanji Imagine

Request: could you write a sanji x reader fic of zeff sitting the two of them down and basically saying that if they don't stop making heart eyes at each other he's going to have to separate them because it's getting in the way of work. cue them both promising to act more professional only to end up making out after the kitchen is closed. reader tries to protest because they should be going to bed but ends up giving in when sanji kisses her along the neck.

Ooooh this is both sweet and spicy, the perfect combination! ;)

Warning: slightly NSFW so 18+ please, a little strong language!

(I do not own One Piece or its characters, all rights go to creators. Gif credit goes to @leonerdnimoy.)

☆.。.:・°☆.。.:・°

How Zeff hadn't lost his mind over the last ten years, he would never know.

He knew, of course. That you had a shared history - a shared past, a shared ordeal that he couldn't even begin to understand. Neither of you chose to talk about it much, the shared glances you shot each other as you shrugged off your past and chose, fought, clawed for tooth and nail, to create a new life for yourself out here in the Sambas Region was something he respected. Admired, even. The two of you shared a past, true, but starting over was a commonality the former Cook Pirate could stoutly understand.

He knows that he should go easier on the pair of you, too. He knew what he had signed up for, when he met you both storming onto the Orbit all those years ago; when he had saved your shivering, despondent lives up on that desolate crag. The two of you had always been close: inseparable, even, from huddling together day in and day out on that rock, to sharing a room and cooking side by side on the Baratie. He knew the two of you, in some ways, better than he knew himself: recognised the signs of yearning, of perpetual adoration from day one. And yet he still found himself two teaspoon clatters away from yanking the hair off of his face when yet another customer comes strutting up to him, demanding compensation for an abysmal lack of service.

'Get your arses in here- now!'

It took you a few seconds to register the voice thundering out from the impact door, too busy trying to fan your face with one of the carded menus you were trying to stack away; Sanji, on the other hand, heard Zeff just fine. He was too preoccupied, absentmindedly placing a few empty champagne flutes onto his tray, while stealing glances in your direction. If his eyelids fluttered any harder, the candlesticks on table twelve would go out in a blazing blast.

Zeff jabbed his thumb in Sanji's direction and then back towards the inside of the kitchen, anger creasing the already wrinkled lines of his forehead like mettled waves in a storm. Realising he couldn't ignore the old sod's words any longer, Sanji sauntered up behind you and pressed his chest against your back. 'I think he's talking to us, sweetheart', he breathed against the shell of your ear, sending goose bumps shooting down your neck as his slender fingers reached round to fall delicately over your own. With a nudge of his nose against the back of your head, he intertwined your fingers and led you towards the back of the room. His free arm settled comfortably around your waist, his eyes staying so squarely on your gaze that he almost tripped over the poor old couple from table two, who were staggering up to collect their coats.

Zeff's groan could be heard out on the ships docked in the Baratie's port, even through the slatted fingers that were covering his drooping face.

As soon as the two of you had plonked down on a couple of seats near the kitchen's 'office' table, Zeff pounced on the two of you like a ravished vulture.

'Look', he stamped over, one hand on the side of his hip and the other still holding the spoon he had been whisking up a fresh batch of meringue with. 'I don't care what the two of you get up to during your free time. In fact, if it's anything worse than what you've already been spotted doing on the floor, I don't want to know.' Sanji guffawed, settling his thighs down further into his seat.

'But the two of you are starting to cause trouble for the business', Zeff continued with a earnest glare in Sanji's direction, his words aimed directly at the sous chef. 'For my business.'

'Our business', Sanji retorted, chewing the inside of his cheek and pointing with a circling finger between the three of you.

'In my restaurant.' Zeff leant forward, his nostrils flaring in a manner that you know meant trouble, but to your surprise Sanji dropped the issue; he grinded his teeth, but chose instead to grip onto your hand underneath the table and hold it against his knee. He knew what he owed Zeff. If not for saving his own life, than, more importantly, for saving yours.

'Even our patrons are starting to relay back to me that you, little donkey-', he jabbed the whipped edge of his wooden spoon straight towards your chest, 'and you, little eggplant-', the spoon gets whisked with a firm buttered splat against Sanji's cheek, 'are flaunting around each other, front of house no less, like two preening peacocks!'

Sanji tilted his head in your direction, doing his best to not further anger the already irate chef by pretending he is not very subtly dropping his eyeline down past the bridge of your nose and landing on your cupid's bow.

The side of your irises met his, and he goes breathless.

To no one's surprise, the flirtation doesn't go over Zeff's head, no matter how hard he's rubbing it. With his pointer and middle finger rubbing his temples and half-covering the rimosed dark-circles under his eyes, Sanji took the opportunity to lean over the arm of your chair and leave a sweet kiss against your cheek with puckered lips. You could feel his smile as he pulled away, and in retaliation you pulled your intertwined fingers up to your lips and peppered a few kisses against his knuckles, clasping it against your chin in a tight lock.

He takes it as a challenge: who can shower the other in more affection, and the soft brushes of his nose against the tip of your own is only interrupted by the slam of Zeff's spoon planking down on the table.

'I've had to deal with this for near twenty years now, and I swear-'

'We're not even twenty, Zeff', you chimed in, attention still fully centred on the dazed look clouding Sanji's lovestruck face as he hovered in front of you, nearly out of his chair by the point and falling onto your lap.

'Yeah, stop being dramatic old man.'

Sanji's words are chiding, but the way he watched you - god, the way he always watches you, the way he spends his whole life helplessly contemplating you is so soft. So serene. So overwhelming. Even though his eyes have lidded, falling down to peer almost lasciviously at the seam of your mouth, his distracted eyes are still so filled with wonder. Whether he had been five years old, locked up inside his father's dank, damp old dungeon, wasting away in the corner as the whole of his kingdom celebrated his death. When you had come, slamming the lock open with a stone you had spent a full half an hour tugging out of the circular cobbled wall, he had clambered into your lap and shoved his face straight into your neck. He had refused to move, only interrupting his desperate sniffles by alternating clenching his tiny fists into your shirt, and tilting his head to the side so he could look up at the side of your face with a childlike bewilderment. That first streak of light brightening in his enamoured eyes.

Whether he had been nine years old, laying his head on your lap and waiting anxiously for the sun to bleach his bones up on that rock, he had still looked at you wonder. Had looked up at you as if you reflected all the pockets of starlight in the universe and stored them in his eyes, and he had been ready there and then to decay, as long as he could be weaved within your atoms for all eternity.

Whether he had been nineteen, sitting next to you at the Baratie's kitchen table with all the cosmos now in his eyes, and so, so deliriously in love with you.

'I mean it,' Zeff huffed, head seesawing between the two of you (which wasn't too far, since your faces were resting roughly one inch apart.). 'One more googly eyes look at each other, and you're both scrubbing barnacles off the dock for the next month.'

'That's alright with me old man, as long as we can share a plank seat.' Sanji winked teasingly in your direction, and you're not sure whose face turns more rubescent: your flushing cheeks, or Zeff's ruddy ears as steam starts pouring out of them in rolls.

'Table seven's still waiting for their appetisers. Go. Now. While the two of you are still teetering on my more charitable side.'

~

The rest of the service goes past in a flash. The sound of your chopping from the far corner of the kitchen is met only with the sound of Sanji's intent whisking from the other, and the occasional 'oi, stop that', from Zeff when he comes marching through and spots you and Sanji eyeing each other up over your respective bowls.

Sanji had to stop looking over at you. If you met his earnest side-eye one more time before you got off for the night, trying to look away from how furiously Zeff's moustache was swinging with each steaming word he muttered out during the rest of the service, you were going to collapse onto the kitchen floor in a fit of giggles.

Evidently, Sanji seemed to be having a similar thought, albeit with one exception: he was making it his life's mission to try and get you to break. That mischievous spirit - that light heartedness and ability to face trouble head on and grin in it's face was exactly the thing that had saved him all those years ago in the Germa Kingdom, back when he was a child. It was one of the things, still, from a list that could reach the bottom of the ocean floor and continue down to the core of the world, that he found endearing about you.

He wanted to hear the sound of your laughter for the rest of his life, for it was the most blissful sound in the world to his eager heart.

He made it his mission to try and distract you: with a flick of his tongue wetting his bottom lip, pretending it was a subconscious action, he let his biceps strain through his dress shirt with the force of his chopping. By the sound of his breathy moans every time he lifted up his sautéing pan to his nose to smell the fresh sprigs of rosemary intermingle with the diced potatoes, you could tell he was toying for your attention.

With the last few orders starting to roll in from the dispersing crowd of diners, Sanji braved out across the kitchen to 'accidentally' bump into you at the sinks. As his hip snapped against yours, he leaned his elbow up on the counter and turned his body fully towards you, until the the front of his apron was shoved up against your belly button and he could go no further. Leaning over you, he pressed the jut of his chin into the top of your head and looked towards the door to make sure the coast was clear.

'You know, sweetheart, if he heard the name you were calling me up in our room last night I swear we could make his stupid moustache fly clean off.'

The corners of your eyes were still tearing up by the time you made it back to your chopping station; the other chefs side-eyed you with merry-meant distaste each time your knife slipped over the outer peel of your garlic as your stomach doubled over in laughter.

You might have made it - you really might have, if you hadn't been able to hear the sweet little huffs emitting from Sanji's side of the kitchen at the same time. Sanji bit his bottom lip and ducked his head back down towards his trout, focusing on his skilful descaling to try and hide his laughter.

The next time he waltzes by with a white chocolate panna cotta, he grazes his hip and elbow in a way that was both a little too tantalisingly close to your side, and creates the perfect opportunity for you to latch onto his elbow and pull him down behind the counter.

'Why are we crouching sweetheart?' He was desperately trying to stifle his smile by catching his teeth against the side of his bottom lip, but he couldn't help the way the corners twitched up at the sight of how flustered you were.

'Because if Zeff catches us again, he'll feed us to the fishes Sanji!'

'Well, it's a good thing that was my last dessert for the night, isn't it my cherie? Because I'm also on clean up duty, and I've just signed you up for it as well.'

Before you could stop him, Sanji has jumped up and is already waltzing back out into the middle of the kitchen.

'Oi, Patty! What do you think you're doing! Y/n and I are on clean up duty tonight, you know - on account of-'

'The two of you being insufferable. Yeah, what's new.' The poor cook just shakes his head and turns his attention back to scouring the grease out of his saucepan.

'Come on', Sanji holds out his arms wide', 'don't you want to help true love's wings blossom? Or at least get some well deserved sleep - tell me the truth, when was the last time you worked less than double shifts. Zeff's wringing you out to dry, and you know it.'

'I don't think so, kid.' Patty's shoulders droop, but he thumps the last few suds out of his pan and hangs it back up on its hook. 'Chef's already warned us about you two, and he's not adding my head to the pile.'

'I don't get it', pipes up the latest addition to the Baratie chef team - a straggler pirate, who had tried his luck sneaking out the door without paying his bill, and had soon found his face sliding across the tile when Zeff's wooden leg had knocked him flying. He shakes out his hands and dries them off with a tea towel, before snorting and rubbing his nose with the linen. 'Why doesn't the guy just split these idiots up?'

'Because the last time he tried it, troublemaker here spilled a fresh pot of béarnaise sauce all over his apron and half of the floor.' Patty's tone is austere, but even as he wipes off the last bits of water from the steel edges of his counter's sink, he can't help but let a fond smile escape across his face. 'Before Zeff could even finish kicking him out, he was already through the door. Poor Chef nearly threw a fit when he went out twenty minutes later to find him, and he was sitting coddling on Y/n's lap behind the bar.'

'Yeah yeah yeah', Sanji laughs, sauntering over to the light switches behind the apron rack and knocking them off with an ostentatious throw of his arm. 'Goodnight, everyone!'

Patty sighs, but obliges. 'If Chef catches you, you're on your own', the man threatens with raised eyebrows as he walks out of the door Sanji props open with the toe of his shoe, but your boyfriend just shrugs light-heartedly.

'Subtle, by the way.'

Sanji pats the man's shoulder and grins. 'I can't help it if three's a crowd now, can I?'

As soon as the door sweeps to a close, your boyfriend's almost flown across the room to spin you around in his arms, your toes barely gracing the floor as he flings you about.

'Finally! Alone at last my love! Do you understand-', he interrupts himself with a kissing peck against your lips, 'how hard-, and another, 'it is to not kiss you every second of service?? I swear, it's torture!' From anyone else the sentiment may have sounded churlishly facetious, but from Sanji the words were so sincere that it almost made your heart melt into a pool of butter by his feet.

'Sanji, we really should get to bed. If Zeff catches us, we're going to be sent out on restroom attendant duty again', you groan, doing your best but hardly succeeding in trying to unlatch Sanji's ravishing hands from off your sides. Instead, his arms wrap tightly around your spine and his palms flatten against your back as he holds you against his thuddering heart.

'My precious life, from what I can remember, you got us back onto the main floor pretty quickly.' His lips land heavily on the top of your head, and you can't help the coarse shockwave of pleasure that floods through your body at the feel. Languidly, he allows his lips to slip down your forehead, softly tilting your head back so he can sweetly lick a wet trail down the side of your cheek.

'That's because Zeff got tired of arguing with me', you huff out, but you don't complain when you feel Sanji's hands roam down to cup the joints between your upper thighs and buttocks. With a hoarse pant against the side of your chin, his fingers dig into the meat and pull your legs up to his waist. You oblige, and allow him to pick you up and delicately place you back down on the sink counter.

'See, no problem!', his lips twitch as he walks between your opening legs, settling himself firmly against your groin as you wrap your ankles in a cross behind his legs. You nip playfully at his earlobe, and he swears he's about to pass out.

With short, panted breaths, he manages to finish his thought. 'Besides, that's why he calls you little donkey, isn't it? Because you always kick back.' His lips ghost a chuckle over the pulse point throbbing on your neck, and you have to do your best to clench your thighs together to stop yourself from whimpering.

'Is this alright, sweetheart?', he asks breathlessly, swiping the flat tip of his tongue out against a sensitive spot, one he knows lies right above your collar bone.

'God- yes', you reply, gripping some curls by the nape of his neck and tugging. 'I've been waiting to do this all bloody day.' He whines, his lips reverberating the sound so its muffled against the side of your neck.

That won't do. That won't do at all. You want to hear all the pretty sounds Sanji can make. Want to make him feel as loved: as wanted, as revered as he's made you feel your whole life.

In reprisal, you snake your hand down, making sure to capture his whimpers with your open, awaiting mouth as your fingers scratch over the taut muscles of his abdomen. When you finally reach down to cup the growing pressure straining against his trousers, he bucks forward against you and nearly knocks your teeth out.

His whimpers are drowned out by muttered, fervent, worried apologies, but you only giggle and silence him with a supplicating kiss.

'But we really should stop and go to bed, Sanj. We make enough trouble around here as it is.' You say the words, but you don't really mean them. Not when you can feel the tip of his finger run slowly... slowly... god! So agonisingly slowly up your inner thigh as he folds the bend of your ear over with a crushing kiss, his lips falling open clumsily as his inner mouth drags plumply across your temple, before running down to suck at your neck.

'Stop? I can barely stop thinking about you, every waking and sleeping second of my day. But if you want to stop, I will my sweet. I'd do anything in the world for you.'

You cup his face with your hands, and with a smile bring him down so you can rest the side of your cheek against his own burning one. He can feel his chest flittering at the feel of your stretching smile burning against his skin: at the feel of your legs tightening their vice around his thighs until he had stumbled forward, body fully resting atop your own now.

'Don't you dare stop now', you giggle. 'I kind of want to see Zeff's mustache fly off, now that I think about it.'

The sound of your and Sanji's roaring laughter is interrupted by the crash of the swing door against the wall, and the looming shadow of the Head Chef trembling up the rocking ceiling.

'Right, forget scraping barnacles. The two of you are going to be swimming with them in a minute!'

[love-fictional-ppl]

I have a request for One Piece Men (Monster Trio + Ace, Sabo, Law, and Kid) having a S/O who is a tiny little lady who has a high metabolism and thusly has an appetite that could rival Luffy’s.

I imagine them sitting in a restaurant eating dinner, and their S/O is eating a steak half the size of the table and comes with a side of prawns and a baked potato, and some uppity “Almond Mom” sitting at the table next to them says out loud that “Women shouldn’t eat such large portions, because it’s unladylike and makes men feel uncomfortable.” And Reader replies to this with “Oh, I’m very sorry if I made YOU uncomfortable ma’am. You see, I have a high metabolism, and I need the energy for later cause I plan on banging my boyfriend here like a screen door in a hurricane later.”

YESSS I personally can relate to this other than being a tiny little lady😭🤞 I decided to make this 2 parts so in the second part will be sabo law and kid. I hope you like this and ty for the request🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Petite!Fem!Reader w/ a high metabolism

Summary: look at the request silly goose🤭

Pairings: Monkey D. Luffy x fem!reader, Roronoa Zoro x fem!reader, Vinsmoke Sanji x fem!reader, Portgas D. Ace x fem!reader,

Warnings: language, mentions of sex, drinking, kinda crack

Monkey D. Luffy:

Honestly seeing you scarf down almost everything Sanji cooked turned him on is what peeked his interest

Food will be one of your few common interests, but food has definitely started arguments

One time you took a potato off his plate without asking… he yelled, borderline barking, at you

Next week the roles were reversed…

If he knows you haven’t eaten in awhile he’ll run to you wherever you are on the ship, handing you a piece of meat

But now to the good stuff😎

After stopping on an island and wandering in the local town for a hour or so you and Luffy decide to stop somewhere to eat.

Upon arrival, you and Luffy sit at a table together and order almost everything in the restaurant’s supply. The face on many of the customers and even workers were shocked to see how much you two ordered. Neither you nor Luffy had a care in the world while you devoured your food.

While taking a moment to wipe your mouth, you hear a woman say, “Girls like her are the reason we use our manners. it’s unlady like and makes men uncomfortable-“

“My boyfriend doesn’t seem uncomfortable. Matter of fact, the only one here who looks uncomfortable is you. See, right now I’m storing as much energy as possible because me and my boyfriend are going to be fucking like rabbits. Teach your daughter to be cunt if you want but don’t bring me into it.”

After hearing you respond the woman sat there shocked for a good minute then, she snatched up her daughter’s arm and dragged her out the restaurant, fuming.

Luffy simply chuckled, “That was hot. Can we go back now?”

Roronoa Zoro:

At first he thought you were just a female Luffy

Honestly he probably only got to know you because he saw you kick a grown man off his feet (Zoro thought it was hot)

After getting to know you and understand why you eat so much, he would start giving you food

Once you two become a couple tho he especiallyyyyy makes sure you eat

Now for the story

After a long day of Zoro getting you both lost, he decided that he needed a drink. Upon that revelation you found a nearby cavern.

Zoro ordered himself a couple rounds of drink while ordering you almost everything on the menu. Zoro every now and then snatched a couple fries but mostly left the food to you.

While you’re both enjoying your company, you hear a shrill voice say, “women like her are the reason we use our table manners, girls aren’t supposed to eat like that, it makes men uncomfortable-“

“I’m not uncomfortable,” Zoro quickly responds.

“The only uncomfortable one is you, miss. Now if you don’t mind me I need as much energy for tonight as I can get, because my very much so not uncomfortable boyfriend is going to rock my world.”

The woman simply kept her mouth shut and went back to eating.

Zoro laughs heartily, “that lady has never seen Luffy eat, that’s actually disturbing compared to you eating. Let’s pay and go home though, so I can ‘rock your world’”

Vinsmoke Sanji:

When he first met you he used his cooking skills to try to win your heart

It worked

He honestly loves to cook for you tho

Brings you with him to shop for food so that you can pick what you want him to cook

Which tbh is how yall would get into the situation

“Woahhhh!” You say mesmerized by all the different products. “Look, Sanji, that would be super yummy.”

Sanji who will do whatever you ask, picks up the item you were looking at. Arms full of food, you’re talking about everything you want Sanji to cook for dinner.

All of a sudden you hear a woman say, “hear what she’s saying? No girl is supposed to eat that much food. It’s unhealthy and men find it disturbing.” The little girl she’s talking to simply nods.

Aggravated by the woman’s words, you respond, “It actually is healthy thank you. Girls can eat however much they want. Men don’t find eating disturbing and I can tell you that, because my boyfriend right here plans to cook this food for me and our crew.”

“Damn straight,” Sanji back you up proudly.

Having nothing more to say, you both walk away from the woman and head toward the docks for the ship.

Portgas D. Ace:

The first thing he said to you was “got quite the appetite, huh?” With a smirk on his face ofc

Like 30 seconds later he accidentally fell asleep

Overall just likes to tease you about your appetite (in a nice way tho🫶)

Has compared the way you eat to Luffy

One time asked if you can unhinge your jaw to eat

Similar to Zoro tho he probably was just going to get a drink with you when some cunt said something

Honestly in your opinion you ordered less food than usual, more than most people would order, but less than you would get.

You and Ace are talking about your latest adventure over some food and drinks, when you hear, “You see how much she’s eating? It’s unnatural and makes men feel uncomfortable.”

“Who’s uncomfortable you?” Ace asks. The woman looks up just to see Ace fell asleep right after speaking.

You decided it was your turn to say something, “it’s not unnatural, I have a high metabolism and I need my energy at that because tonight I plan on taking him for a ride.”

You turn back to your food and continue eating, after a minute or so, Ace woke up. He had asked what happened and you filled him in on what you said.

He laughed, “that’s my girl.”

Part 2

[qedart]

So I came up with a new AU idea at work today (always the last convenient place to get struck by inspiration - but there you go): Restaurant AU. 

Mav and Ice are chefs, Goose (who lives) and Slider are waiters. 

Mav likes to experiment and come up with new dishes on the fly. Doesn’t like sticking to a set menu, leans into the whole ‘I’m serving an experience, not a recipe’ style of cooking. 

Ice sticks strictly to the recipes. His idea of mastery is nailing a dish, no flaws, no mistakes - just perfection. 

Naturally their philosophies crash. 

Ice feels that Mav will run customers out the door if they consistently order a dish and get some different spin on it (or, something barely resembling it) each time. On the other hand. Mav feels that Ice’s way will see them stagnating and getting frozen in time. 

“Do you want to turn into the place pensioners go because ‘it’s the same dinner I ordered 10, 20, 30 years ago!’. 

Unfortunately neither of them can bring themselves to just straight up quit because even if they clash constantly, no other chef has pushed either of them harder to improve than they have each other. (And also, the thought of not getting to compete/see/spend time with each other just doesn’t feel right in the slightest). 

I can’t decide whether they’re both running a kitchen of a struggling restaurant, trying to push it to greater heights - or they’ve both been recruited to Viper’s high-end restaurant and have just found themselves thrown together. 

Either way, the whole idea has been bouncing about my head all day and I wanted to get it out haha

[crazyk-imagine]

Hi I’m back again, I have a request for our dear Wolfman, again. Would you please write a 50 first dates ?

Thank you again for everything!

💛💛

Thinking of You

Pairing: (Henry Roth) Leonard "Wolfman" Wolfe (Henry "Wolfman" Ruth) x (Lucy Whitmore) Fem!Reader

Characters: Fem!Reader, Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe (Henry "Wolfman" Ruth), Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Carol Bradshaw, Bradley Bradshaw, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Ron “Slider” Kerner, Rick “Hollywood” Neven, Marcus “Sundown” Williams, Sam “Merlin” Wells, Charles “Chipper” Piper, Mike “Viper” Metcalf, Bill “Cougar” Cortell, Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood, Penny Benjamin

Warnings: Fluff, angst, this is cute, Leonard is adorable, reader watches out for herself, everyone is protective of the reader and it's adorable, no fisherman here, only ranchers and cowboys, small town vibes, Iceman and Viper are the best, Pete can't cook for the life of his business, few funny moments, few serious moments here and there

Word Count: 5,307

A/N: I am so so sorry for taking forever with this one. I did not forget it, I promise. It was a whole thing with trying to find inspiration and rewatching the movie for research. But it... is... done!!!

Viper still refers to Bradley as a baby because he is (in his eyes)

Charlie is the horny German lady which I find hilarious

Yes, I used the TGM Squad as the kids for everyone who had children in the movie

The guys all have a work past with Viper

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He takes a seat at the counter, minding his own business as he reads a menu.

You smile as you walk inside, you always love coming here and not just because you get to see Penny and Pete, your favorite couple at the restaurant but because you get to make your waffle buildings.

‘Maybe today I’ll build a hut. Oh, and for the steam we can use coffee.’

Penny notices there’s a little pep in your step while she hands you a menu. “How are you doing, Butterfly?”

You giggle, “I’m doing just fine.”

She smiles and tells you your table is free.

He sees you enter the restaurant, sitting down in one of the empty booths in the middle of the row.

Penny turns around filling another customer’s coffee, she notices the looks he’s sending your way and needs to stop it before things can progress, you don’t need any more heartache (even if you don’t remember it today).

It would also save him from meeting your dad, who’s in charge of the port, Viper aka Mike or your cousin, Iceman aka Tom.

“I wouldn’t,” she tells him.

He furrows his brows and turns towards the waitress. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“You’ll only find yourself heartbroken if you try to pursue her.”

“What makes you say that?”

She purses her lips; she doesn’t find it necessary to tell him of your accident. But then she realizes he’s new and must be one of the few new cowboys that came into town.

“You’re gone for more than half of the year doing what you do. You’ve never met her but if you did and it was time to leave both of you would be crushed. Imagine how much that for a second.”

“Maybe she’d come with me.”

“She-” She sighs at the wound of glass breaking. “Excuse me while I go kick my husband out of the kitchen.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Pen.”

“Out of the kitchen, Maverick," a new voice says.

He doesn't know it, but it was the actual cook, Marcus.

He sighs, pushing the doors open, taking a seat beside the man. “Sounds like you did good there.”

The dejected man chuckles, “yeah.”

“Hey. You happen to know that girl sitting in the booth, would you?”

Pete glances over his slumped shoulder. “What’s it to you?”

“Woah. Woah. Why is everyone so aggressive? I was just asking a question.”

“A question that shouldn’t be asked.”

“Okay. Message received.”

“You seem like the type who won’t take no for an answer?”

Leonard chuckles, “am I really that transparent?” He chuckles to himself as he takes a sip of his coffee until he turns back to look at Pete and realizes how serious this whole thing is. “Oh, shit. Sorry, I just thought-”

“She wouldn’t go for a guy like you,” a voice says sitting on the other side of the rancher.

The two men angle their bodies to hear the man better.

Pete gives him a sarcastic smile. “Yeah, thanks for that, Cougar. We don’t need to give it any more ideas.”

“First off, it has a name and oh, she’s trying to make a door.”

The two look back and focus on you trying to get the finishing touches to your waffle house done.

He debates on walking over to you after hearing everyone’s warnings.

Clearly no one here wants to see anything bad happen to you if they’re this willing to stop him before he could try anything.

He pushes himself out of the chair, grabs a toothpick before heading over to you.

“Hey,” he starts off not to startle you entirely before sticking the toothpick in place, opening and closing the door to show you how well it works. “I thought this might help you a little more.”

You glance up at him, giving him a smile. “Well, then I guess the only thing I can say is thank you. To be honest, it probably would have taken me five minutes to figure it out, so again, I thank you for saving me from any potential embarrassment.”

Leonard lifts his hat, “I always do what I can to help a beautiful lady such as yourself.”

“Ah, I bet you say that to everyone you see then.”

He chuckles. This certainly isn’t what he was expecting when he walked over, it's different, nice even. “May I,” he gestures to the empty side of the booth.

“Please, I’d like to look a little less pathetic in front of, well everyone here.”

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

“You flatter girls to get them in your bed and expect that very thing to happen, don’t you?”

“Uh- well,” he stutters.

You shrug, “doesn’t matter now. I’m just happy to have some company even if it’s just for a minute or two.”

“Well, then I’m happy to be of service.”

You dazzle him with another smile.

This is different from the other times he's gone out with girls.

You lift your watch to check the time. “Oh, looks like it's time for me to go. Sorry,” you sheepishly shrug as you reach for your bag.

“Uh- oh, okay. Yeah, I guess it’s time I went back to work.”

You get up and barely walk past him when you stop. “Is that you?”

“Is what me?”

“The farm smell?”

His mouth opens into an “o” making it obvious he now knows what you’re talking about. “Oh, yeah. Perks of being a rancher. Sorry about the smell. I didn’t realize it was so bad.”

You shake your head. “No, it’s- it’s not that. It’s just- it's more of a comfort thing. It reminds me of my family because my dad and my cousin are in the ranching business, and this is- the smell of, well the farm, is basically what I grew up with.”

He nods, “okay, good to know I don’t smell too much like shit.”

You chuckle, shaking your head. “Happy to help but I seriously have to go now.”

“Okay.”

You head over to Penny and pay her before saying bye to everyone.

Leonard shakes his head once he sees your car leave. “She sure is something else.” He then heads over to his car, sneakily watching you leave.

-

He spends the night talking to Rick, watching his kids. “So, you gonna ask her out?”

“Me?” Leonard shakes his head, pulling Rick’s youngest, Javy, away from the fence before his beloved (crazy) goat comes over and towards the edge to scare the kids.

The rancher isn't going to have his headbutting, crossed eyed goat injure another one of his friends' kids (even if it's on them because they didn't listen). “I- no.”

“You like her?”

The kids’ “ooh” at their dad’s comment.

“What? No. She’s just- she’s... busy?”

“Excuses.” He pushes himself off the fence, “come on kids. Your uncle needs alone time to process the fact that he’s a wimp.”

The kids mumble wimp under their breaths as they walk by.

He’s left alone with his thoughts.

-

“Did she get offered any drugs today?” Mike asks his nephew.

Tom shakes his head, “no and you know she wouldn’t take anything anyway.”

“She wouldn’t know.”

The blond glances over at the older man.

“Don’t give me that look boy.”

Neither of them says anything else as they go their separate ways before going out to the garage so they can repaint the wall.

Nick and Carole walk to the open space, "hey guys."

"Do you know what got her in such a happy mood today?" Mike asks.

The couple glance at one another.

"When we went to get food, Penny said that one of the new ranchers came in and talked to her, but I don't know what happened," Carole tells him.

"A new rancher?"

She nods. "Yeah, he's the only one here who wears his hat twenty-four seven."

"And you don't know anything about this?" Tom asks Nick.

The mustached man narrows his eyes at him, "if we knew anything else we would have told you."

"I'm just checking, mother Goose. No need to get your p-"

Mike smacks his nephew on the back of his head. "Stop it. Nick take another roll and again, thank you for the food, Carole. If you could just-"

"Set it on the counter for later, I'd be happy to."

"How's life been with the baby?"

"It's been great. I know it makes her sad that we can't bring him around here. All they've wanted since they were kids was for their kids to be friends and hangout all the time."

Mike sighs, "yeah."

Carole sneaks up the stairs to check on you. She barely opens the door and sees you standing there, a smile breaks across her face. She's happy to know that you're safe and sound for another day.

-

The next day is a weird one... for Leonard.

He had no idea what was going to happen when he made his way to the restaurant, and he most certainly wasn’t expecting you to not remember him (and mean it).

Sure, he’s had a few girls say they don’t remember him but after some persuading and mentions of certain clues, they break, this time with you though, not so much.

A few minutes passed after you ran out until someone explained to him why he shouldn’t continue doing what he’s doing.

“Everyone knows but,” Penny sighs. “She was in an accident that killed her mom and left her with what the doctors believe to be permanent brain damage.”

That is the last thing Leonard was expecting to learn about you. “All those light threats make sense now.”

“Now that you know, are you going to keep trying to date her?” Penny asks him. "Because if you’re not and you break her heart, you can just leave now. We won’t tolerate that kind of behavior.”

He nods and finishes his coffee, coming up with a few ideas.

-

Rick lounges on his couch, as usual, and watches as his friend jots down a few things. “You must really like this girl if you’re so willing to do just about anything for her.”

Leonard shrugs, “I don’t think that’s it.”

“Well, you’re doing something really nice for her, someone you’ve met a few times. As for me, your best friend barely gets a birthday card.”

“You’ve been giving yourself your own gift every year.”

“Oh, yeah and what’s that?”

“Your kids.”

“Damn, you’re good.”

-

He sits at the counter in front of the kitchen, waiting for you to come in so he can ask to eat with you.

You enter, at the same time as always, greeting Penny and Pete before sitting down to look at the menu.

He stands up and walks over to you, “hey, is this seat taken?”

You look up from the menu, “yeah, that’s my boyfriend's seat.”

“Oh, it is?”

You nod, “and he won’t be happy to know that some random guy sat there while talking to his girlfriend.”

“What if we say we’re just friends?”

“Are we though? I mean, I don’t even know your name.”

“Leonard.”

“I wasn’t asking. Look, I gotta go.”

Everyone hears the commotion outside and runs out to see what’s happening, Penny and Leonard being the fastest to get outside when they hear your voice.

“It’s not- it’s October thirteenth.”

Nick slams his car door closed before rushing over, wrapping his arms around you, wanting to give you some kind of protection.

Leonard takes a step forward, ready to tell the cop everything when Penny gets to him first.

Pete grabs the cowboy, “you and Goose are gonna take her home. She needs to be with her family right now. She needs comfort.”

He nods, taking his words into consideration.

The boys get you into the car, but the ride home is a blur, you don’t even know if you’ve responded to Leonard.

-

Your father and cousin are outside before you know it.

"What happened?" Mike asks, taking in your state of distress.

Nick looks up at the older man with sad eyes. "She found out again."

He closes his eyes, rubbing his chin.

Tom comes to your other side, the two men helping you inside.

The mustached man stops the rancher before he could step any further onto his front porch. "I'm gonna have to stop you right there."

Leonard furrows his brows. "What do you mean?"

"You being here isn't good for her."

"What does that mean?"

"This is something we've done before. You have never been involved."

"How would you know?"

"You don't know her, and you don't need to concern yourself with her. I'm asking you once and only once. It's time for you to go."

The man turns around, not even waiting to see if he's going to walk away.

Nick peaks through the window, whispering, "what are you doing?"

Leonard rushes closer. "He kicked me out."

"He doesn't want her to be more heartbroken than she is. Are you here for her or for you?"

"What- why are you asking?"

"If you're here because you want to date her, I'll let you in. If not, you can turn your sorry ass around."

He didn't even have to hesitate. "Open the door."

The blond smiles and lifts the windowpane higher. "You said you'd open the door."

"I'd like to not have my ass kicked too bad, thank you."

He rolls his eyes and crawls through, listening to your cries as you listen to what you went through again.

"Can we- I want to talk to the doctor." You quietly hiccup, "I'm sure I've already talked to him but let me go again. Please?" You ask your father.

He nods and you all are off to the facility you were in for some time after your accident.

-

"It's the same thing I've told you before," Dr. Simpson finishes.

You nod, "I'm sure you have, and I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me again."

Leonard and Nick were stuck talking to one of the patients, (ten second) Sam.

"Hi, I'm Sam."

They nod and introduce themselves to him and continue to do so until Tom grabs them by their collars, hauling them out of the building.

"You two idiots wanted to stay. Stop getting distracted."

-

Once you got home, you decided to go to your room and write in your journal, needing to process everything.

"Would it- could I go talk to her?"

Mike silently nods.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

Nick averts his gaze your dad's stern look.

-

He knocks on the door, waiting for you to answer as he removes his hat.

The door swings open.

You stare at him through your lashes. "What do you want?"

"To talk. Check on you."

"I'm fine. Go home. I'd say I'll talk to you tomorrow, but I'll forget you by midnight." You walk back into your room, leaving the door open.

He takes that as an invitation and enters. "I- uh-"

"I don't want you to feel like you have to stay after everything you’ve learned. I would understand if you didn't want to talk anymore."

"No!" He nearly screams before realizing his mistake and sits down. "I mean, I don't mind it. This- your twenty-four-hour memory is no problem. I- I actually think you're worth getting to know, every day."

You don't give him a verbal response as you nod, unsure of how to respond.

As you two bask in the silence, the other's downstairs are preparing for the next day.

-

“You coming to the garage or are you going to call Carole?” Tom asks him after his uncle walks out of the room.

“What do you think?”

Your cousin rolls his eyes, “still as lazy as the day I met you.”

“Hey, I am offended.”

“Good.”

Nick shakes his head, mumbling a variety of comebacks that he would never say out loud because he values his life.

-

Leonard reaches around, rubbing your shoulder, not realizing the time or what’s about to happen.

You wake, opening your eyes and start screaming, alerting everyone in the house.

Tom and Mike make it to your room in no time.

The older man hauls the rancher out of your room and out of the house. “I thought I told you to stay away.”

“You might have.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

“Sir, I really care about your daughter and honestly, the thought of showing her how much I care about her everyday sounds-”

“Like you’ve got some kind of ulterior motive.”

“That hurts. No, I mean, telling her every day that I care for her and making her fall for me again and again. I can’t explain it but, I know I’m the right guy for her. Everyone here cares for her and I’d like to count myself lucky enough to be a part of that community. I know you think I’m messing with her but that’s not true and even if you push me away, I will still be here and continue to stand by her.”

Mike has a lot to think about now.

He nods, “don’t come around today. She needs time to heal and take it all in, you hear me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’m sure I'll hear from you later. Now go.”

Leonard smiles as he leaves. He spends the day making a gift, as a precaution he doesn’t come by for a couple of days.

Leonard has a lot of things to think about.

If he stays and builds a relationship with you, he’s going to be putting his dreams on the back burner; something he’s had his mind set on for a long, long time now.

Can he, do it?

Is it worth it?

As much as it hurts him to think about, he needs to. But then he thinks of you again and it is.

He makes a mental note to email his response.

-

He knocks on the door and Tom answers it. “You’re back? I thought you decided to leave.”

The rancher shakes his head, “nope. Can’t get rid of me that easily. I- uh- I actually made something and I want to play it for her. I don’t know if it’ll help but, you never know.”

He steps aside, giving Leonard enough room to walk by.

“Thanks.”

You and your father enter the living room, seeing him placing the tape in the VHS player.

The tape plays before either of you could ask what's going on.

Your name flashes across the screen, drawing your attention along with mentions of the accident and Bradley, Carole and Nick's son who's four now.

You touch the scar hidden by your hair.

Tom stands back, waiting for what you decide to do.

Mike rubs his hand across his face. "Did you do this?"

He nods. "I did."

You take a deep breath and grab his arm, bringing him with you.

-

"Where are we going?"

You don't answer him.

"Should I be worried?"

You stop in front of your car. "Do you ever shut up?"

"I could."

"Do it now."

"Stop being mean to me or I swear I'm gonna fall in love with you."

You roll your eyes. "I need to talk to you, and I don't want to do it with my guard dogs nearby."

"Oh, sure."

He opens the door for you, earning a furrowed brow look from you.

You don't say anything as you drive to the one place no one knows about.

"Are we-"

"The accident site, yeah. I didn’t know that at the time but now that I do, it doesn't change the special value it holds."

"That's good." He turns to you, seeing the way you're staring at him. "What?"

"We need to end this."

"End what?"

"You know what."

"Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Leonard-"

He cuts you off before you can continue. "You remember my name?"

"If you'd let me get a word in, you'd know that the only reason I know of you is because I have a journal. I've been keeping notes of everything, I just- I never realized it."

"And that means we need to not see each other anymore?"

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"You."

"I'm not following."

"You," you close your eyes, huffing through your nose. "You're so sweet and have been since we first met but you're going to get hurt."

"What makes you think that?"

"You've stayed longer than any guy ever has but to do this every day is just- I know it's a lot."

"It's nothing."

"See, that!" You point at him. "That right there is exactly why I'm ending this. You've got such a pure heart and I can't be the reason it breaks when you realize it's not worth it to stay."

"Who's to say that I'll stop feeling what I do?"

You avoid eye contact as your tears blur your vision. "You will, just like I know how my father and Tom are tired of it. They'll never admit it, but everyone has their breaking point and I think us meeting and seeing each other has pushed theirs. I'm really sorry, I like you. I do but I'm doing this to protect us."

You offer him a weak smile as the tears spill from your eyes and down your cheeks.

Before you leave to go back inside, you hand him your journal.

He pulls you back and kisses you.

Your first kiss with one another and it's amazing but can't last forever.

You pull away, walking inside with heavy steps; barely able to keep yourself together.

Tom nor Mike stops you, but they do make sure to call Nick and Carole, knowing you'll need a good day tomorrow even if you don't remember it.

-

Leonard doesn't come into the diner for a few days.

Carole sits with you at your job while Rick, Nick, and Pete drive Mike and Tom to see him off.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," Rick tells him.

"That's nice but how do you know these guys?" Leonard points between the guys in the group.

"We used to work together before I decided to settle down," his friend explains.

"Is that what you've been telling people?" Pete asks, staring at the man with a confused expression.

Rick glances at the man, "what are you talking about? Of course, that's what I've been telling people. It's the truth."

Pete shrugs, "I just thought-"

"Thought what?"

Nick smacks the two across the back of their heads. "Alright you idiots, there's a time and a place to talk about this. Now is not it."

The two grumbled, rubbing the now sore spot.

"We came here to talk to Wolfman before he left."

"You told them?"

"We all worked for him," Rick points to Mike. "Of course, I'm going to tell them."

"Anyway," the oldest chimes in. "We're here to send you off but not before giving you this." He hands him a CD.

"Really?" The rancher asks, not understanding the sentimental thought behind it just yet.

Mike nods, "I think you'll like it. Check side B, song four. Everything will make sense after that." The older man walks away, letting the others take their time in following.

Nick pats Leonard on the back, saluting him before wishing him luck. "I wish you luck, my friend."

"I'm pretty sure you just jinxed me."

"That's for the theater and you're going to need it one way or another."

The rancher frowns.

Pete chuckles, "you really leaving?"

The blond shrugs. "What else can I do? She told me she doesn't want me, and I can't force myself into her life, you know. Whether she remembers me or not. I'm going to respect her decision."

"That's really nice of you, not everyone would do that."

"I keep telling you I'm not like everyone."

"And I understand why. You're going to do great, kid."

The man in the cowboy hat purses his lips as his brows knit together in confusion. "If I'm not mistaken, we're the same age."

"Potato, potahtoe."

"Not the same."

Pete smirks and slaps his arm before jogging to Mike's car.

"You really want to leave?" Rick asks, standing beside him, resting his arms on the fence. "Because I'm not buying this whole "I can do this" thing. I mean, from what I've heard it sounds like you love her but who am I to assume."

Leonard shakes his head, "you heard wrong."

"That's a load of bull and you know it."

"You'll never know."

"The kids are going to miss you."

"They'll find something else to occupy them."

“You know they won’t.”

“Whatever you say, man.”

Rick’s hand hovers over his friend’s shoulder, he doesn’t pat him like everyone else had (knowing he’ll be back in no time). “You’re an idiot.”

Leonard lets out a dry, “thanks.”

Tom gives him a knowing look, “you know I’m right.”

“If you’re just going to be a jerk, leave with the others. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“You said you were going to stay by her side no matter what. What happened to that guy?”

“She made the decision. She doesn’t want me around; thinks she’s going to save me from heartache or something.”

“You’re an idiot.” Tom walks away, leaving him with his thoughts.

Leonard shakes his head, not understanding half of what just happened; all he knows is that he’s offended. He hops in his truck, his heart heavy and mind full of useless thoughts; he places the CD in the car player.

Half forgetting he’s had the damn thing this whole time and never once thought to use it. He skips to the song Mike told him to play.

He’s barely on the road for ten minutes and gets out of his thoughts, his fingers stop tapping along to the beat on the steering wheel when he slams on the brakes. “Holy shit! Holy- no way. No way!”

His smile is as wide as can be. “I knew the old man liked me.”

He turns the car around and heads towards the office you visited when you were told about the accident again.

-

He runs through the door, trying to sneak in by the security guards before anyone can kick him out.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” He turns to face them, removing his hat.

He shrugs, not saying a word.

Maybe playing dumb would be easier?

The taller of the two stares at him with raised brows as his partner takes in Leonard’s appearance. “Go on in.”

Ron turns to Charles, “what’s wrong with you? What if he was a murderer or some psycho?”

“Did he look like a psycho to you?”

“No but-”

“But nothing. I got good vibes from him.”

“What did you smoke for breakfast?”

“I’m not answering that,” Charles says, checking the computer for today’s schedule.

“If someone gets murdered, I’m not protecting you.”

“Dick move.”

“Cya, man.”

“What?”

Ron pats his shoulder, “cover your ass. I’d remember that if I were you.”

-

Leonard runs into the room, eyes scanning all around and over anyone in the room, only to not find you, for the moment.

He wanders further into the room, tempted to ask around when he sees ten second Sam and decides not to, there’s too much time that could be wasted and he can’t waste a second right now.

You turn the corner, not noticing him as you help someone outline the outline of their sketch.

A voice calls out to you, and you turn, finding him.

“Hi? Do you- nevermind, stupid question. Could I- uh- could I talk to you for a minute?” He asks.

You know everyone here will be fine for a few minutes. You hesitate to answer him. “I- we can- just- just follow me.”

-

You two stand in your special art room. “Have we met before?”

His chin juts out. “What?” His eyes wander around the room, finally understanding.

“As you can see, I’ve seen you before. I mean, I know I’ve talked to you, but I don’t remember it. You- you haunt my dreams. I’ve seen us in my favorite restaurant, as if we were on a date and- and I don’t know if it was real or not.” He can see how it’s wracking your brain to try and remember something that won’t be there.

He nods, “we have. We’ve met a few times.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?”

He holds a journal in front of you, “if you really want to find out, read this. It’ll tell you everything.”

You stare at the cover, wondering if you should read it or not.

You hold it close to your chest and stretch your hand out for him. “Hi.”

He raises his brow but shakes your hand. “Hi?”

“We’re starting over.”

“Oh, that makes more sense.”

The door opens, “Hi, “I’m Sam.”

You purse your lips, trying to hold in your laughter.

“And our special moment has a little twist.”

“Leave Sam out?”

He nods, “we’re leaving him out.”

You nod and slowly remove your hand from his. “Hi, I’m Sam.”

“I swear to-”

-

You push open the door and cover your eyes when the sun hits you. Leonard turns around and smiles at the sight of you looking as beautiful as always. “Hey, you’re up.”

You nod, your eyes landing on your precious baby boy, Jake, pretending to be like his dad with ranching.

“How are you feeling this morning?”

Your daughter, Natasha, runs over to you with her arms open for a hug.

Everyone always says that a mother and her child share a special bond, in this case it’s true because you open your arms and scoop her up, holding her close to you, even if it is a little strange just finding out she’s your daughter after watching the video Leonard made for you.

“I’m okay, a little weird this morning.”

“I don’t blame you.”

You tilt your head up at him, staring at him like you’re trying to memorize his face. “I think Tom’s doing things he shouldn’t.”

He turns around, finding your cousin doing the exact opposite of what he told him to and hands Jake to your father so he can help your cousin from messing up his ranch (any more than he already has). “Son of a-”

“Language!” You and Mike shout.

“I wasn’t going to actually say it,” Leonard tells you two.

You and your dad share a look. “He’s your husband, you take care of it.” And he walks away.

“So rude,” you mumble to yourself.

“Hey guys!” Nick and Carole wave as Bradley runs towards Natasha (who hasn’t left your side until this moment).

You smile and wave back, hugging Carole tightly.

“Let's go inside and see what you have in your kitchen for breakfast.”

You lean in closer to her, whispering, “does he ever eat? I swear he is always raiding my pantry.”

“Fast metabolism.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“Can I tell you something?” She asks.

You nod.

“Neither do I.”

-

You, Carole, and Nick grimace at the sight of Leonard's friend and his coworker-

"Can they eat each other's faces somewhere else?" Nick mumbles. "I'm trying to eat here."

You and her share a look.

"You're still eating," his wife points out.

He shrugs. "I can't pass up when Sundown cooks. That'd be like disrespecting Penny."

Leonard walks through the door and grimaces. "You two need to stop trying to eat each other and enjoy breakfast. This is not what I imagined when I suggested you two go out."

Charlotte and Rick part from one another, offering weak apologies.

You and Carole can't help but laugh.

The rancher turns around at the sound of your laughter and knows that he wouldn’t trade this for the world.

[mask131]

So Thanksgiving just passed apparently? I didn't notice because I live in France, and you know, it is not celebrated anywhere in Europe...

In fact, Thanksgiving is usually presented as the only holiday celebrated in the USA that is "purely" American, unlike Halloween (which comes from the All Hallows Eve of the British Isles) or Christmas (Santa Claus is just the grandson of European Father Christmas or Saint Nicolas). And yes, Thanksgiving is an essential American holiday, which only works for the USA and is recognized by everybody as such...

... And yet it also has European roots! Ha! Wasn't expecting that, huh? Mind you Thanksgiving is a very BIG reinvention compared to its original European counterpart, but it is still a direct descendant of... Martinmas. Saint Martin's Day. La saint Martin if you're French. 11th of November.

It was a BIG big rural holiday back then. The official end of the harvest season, the beginning of winter. The big date on which all rural hirings, negociations and deals were made - new workers hired, old workers let go of. The original opening of the Advent (the awaiting time and preparation time for Christmas - and thus Martinmas was technically the opening of the "Christmas season"), before the Advent was reduced to just December.

Sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Old Halloween" because, on the continent, it was upon THIS date that children went down the streets carrying vegetable lanterns, asking for treats and candies (which, funnily enough, was sometimes said to be the poop of saint Martin's donkey turned into sweets for the kids). It could also be called an "old Christmas" as it used to be THE big rival to saint Nicolas's Day for the "gift-giving night during which a riding bearded saint gives food and presents to children" (saint Nicolas' Day won).

And more importantly, it was on Saint Martin's Day that a huge "thanks meal" was organized, a communal feast to thank the workers for their hard work, to thank the earth for its bounty, to thank God for the product of the earth, sometimes to honor the spirits of the deceased, a feast centered around the "bird of Saint Martin", THE traditional meat of Martinmas... a goose.

Sounds familiar? A clue: the Pilgrim Fathers had to do with what they had when they decided to cook. Hence a change to the menu.

[contentment-of-cats]

Dear Saturday,

It's good to see you again. I don't know how many of you I have left, but remission's holding steady. I'll have my results in two weeks, and if I'm still negative it will be 11 months. I've been a little busier than usual. My day job and the paid gig, plus that kidney stone took a whack at me.

On the Money

The paid gig is panning out, and I just handed in the last one for the year. They're happy with my work, but OMFG I am never writing porn in fandom again.

In talking with a friend, I compared it to my summer job in my hometown ice cream shop. It sounds like a dream job until you actually do it. I didn't touch ice cream again until my mid-twenties. Besides, this is writing to spec, I get very little say in the content and have to stick to the outline. Think of it as working in an ice cream shop and never getting to eat a flavor you like, but are instead served nothing but banana splits made with rum raisin, bubblegum, and tutti frutti ice cream, topped with crushed maraschino cherries. The company's given up on AI completely so far as written content, it's just unworkable with results either laughable, incomprehensible, or appalling.

Do they even make rum raisin ice cream any longer?

In any case, between last year and this year, my medical expenses out of pocket are $35,000. That's with donations. I've been lucky that my boss supported me by paying my rent for six months and I had a load of unused PTO. I need to stuff that back into savings stat, and my PPO premiums are going up by $100 this year. I need five more novels to get even, then three more to cover my premiums for the year. I also want to cover my out-of-pocket, up to $9k from $7k. My paycheck needs to cover basics, and I do not want to tap savings more than strictly necessary.

In the Kitchen

It's Thanksgiving this coming Thursday, and it's one I did not expect to see. I didn't do holidays last year. I laid in bed with my incisions and ileostomy bag, and I slept. Today was cooking day, and I've had a busy morning 5-cheese tortellini with peas and mushrooms. Roasted Italian sausages. Also made egg-roll-inna-bowl. My Thanksgiving menu is duck leg and thigh confit, with a Caesar salad, wild rice and mushroom soup, potatoes roasted in duck fat, and pumpkin mousse.

If you like duck and have a sous vide, making duck or goose confit is easy. Put the leg-and-thigh in a sous vide or ziplock bag with salt, pepper, garlic powder, PSR&T and sous vide for at least 12 hours. Duck and goose have enough fat that you don't need to add much additional fat, and that yummy fat is great for roasting the potatoes. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat. Take it out and run under the broiler to crisp it up.

Horizontally

The housework and cooking done, it's cool, grey, and raining. I've made the couch into a nest, partly claimed by the kitties. It's time to read and drink peppermint hot chocolate. I've been reading Susan Gulbar's 'Memoir of a Debulked Woman' and have Patrick Keefe's 'Empire of Pain' queued. Aside from Thrawn and Star Wars in general, my tastes run to nonfiction, I have a lot of Thrantovember catching up to so, but... bed so soft, kitties so enticing, and books awaiting me.

[anon-karasu]

Short-Sighted

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary: When Lucifer forgets his glasses, Mammon helps him out in a moment of need.

Category: Gen

Rating: General Audiences

Language: English

Characters: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor

Relationships: Lucifer & Mammon

Additional Tags: Helpful Mammon, short sightedness, I just wanted to write something cute, Lucifer needs glasses, no beta, Akudonald’s, demon brothers, Forgotten glasses

Short-Sighted

Lucifer adjusted his grip on the carrier bag in his hands as he finished checking the contents inside before he glanced back at the six demons, who were following him down the cobbled Devildom street, and heaved a weary sigh.

“I think that’s everything in terms of grocery shopping,” Lucifer announced, “so unless there’s anywhere else that anyone—?”

“Lucifer, we’ve been out for hours,” Levi groaned loudly as he dragged his feet behind the rest of his brothers, “can we go home now? Before Mammon and Asmo make us go back to Majolish again or to some other normie place.”

“No one said that ya had to come along too,” Mammon pointed out.

“Besides, Satan made us go to the library so it’s only fair,” Asmo chimed in.

“Don’t drag me into your argument,” Satan muttered irritably from behind a book as he walked.

“Will you put that away, you’re going to trip over if you don’t look at where you’re going.” Lucifer shot at Satan in a reproachful tone.

“Tch.” Satan tutted before he muttered something under his breath as he closed the book and glared back at Lucifer. “Happy now?” He asked, sarcastically rolling his eyes.

“Hey, we should stop for a bite to eat.” Belphie piped up, slowing his pace and eyeing an Akudonald’s as they passed by, but quickly rejoining his brothers after.

“I’m cooking dinner when we get home,” Lucifer said, “you can wait until then.”

“I don’t think Beel’s gonna last that long,” Belphie frowned as he stopped to point towards his twin who was visibly torn between keeping up with his brothers and retracing his steps back to Akudonald’s, “I could use a break myself,” Belphie added as he tried to stifle a yawn.

“We’re a fair way from home anyway, so it won’t hurt to get something to eat now,” Mammon shrugged.

“And this is Beel we’re talking about, I don’t know about you guys but I’d rather avoid one of his hungry rampages,” Levi pointed out.

“Very well,” Lucifer relented with another sigh.

Lucifer followed behind his brothers as they filed into the Akudonald’s and quickly separated off into pairs to choose from the menus displayed on the screens above the counters.

“I think I’ll get three gigadeath burgers, a devil zebra steak stack, five sides of deep fried scorpions, and two double poison cheeseburgers,” Beel murmured more to himself as his eyes quickly scanned over the menus.

“That sounds great, Beel.” Belphie yawned. “Hey, can you just grab some devil nuggets for me? I’m just going to rest my eyes a little in that booth over there by the window, okay?” Belphie pointed vaguely before he shuffled away to find a seat while rubbing tiredly at his eyes.

Lucifer frowned as his eyes slowly trailed over the bright menu screens.

“I’m having the flame grilled barbeque black tapir wrap,” Mammon said.

“Then I’ll have the belladonna and hemlock salad,” Asmo said with a thoughtful hum.

“A salad?” Levi gave a snort of laughter and shook his head. “Really, Asmo?”

“Hm? What’s wrong with that?”

“Who goes to a fast food restaurant like AkuDonald’s and orders a salad?”

“But everything else on the menu is so heavy,” Asmo groaned as he turned to the menus once more, “maybe I’ll just get a bloodberry muffin instead?”

“What about you, Satan?” Levi turned to the fourth-born instead.

“Shadow goose burger with fries and a hell soda,” Satan decided with a curt nod.

“Woah, he chose something so fast.”

“That’s what he always orders,” Asmo rolled his eyes.

Lucifer watched as Levi, Satan and Asmo moved to the counter to place their orders before he tried once again to read the menus.

Lucifer narrowed his eyes to squint in hopes that in doing so the words might become clear enough for him to decipher,when he was finally left with no other choice Lucifer reached into his jacket pocket.

Ah.

He tapped over his other pockets as realisation dawned upon him.

I must’ve left my glasses at the House of Lamentation.

He saw something move out of the corner of his eye that pulled him out of his own musings only to find that Mammon had moved closer to his side to read the menus again.

Mammon let out a low, indecisive hum.

“Man, there’s so much to choose from…” Mammon said loudly, “... I have no idea what I fancy.”

“Hm?” Lucifer gave Mammon a perplexed stare. “I thought that you had already picked the flame grilled—”

“I dunno, I’m kinda feeling the spicy devil chicken burger now… or maybe… the spicy poison newt belly wrap?” Mammon mused aloud again before he turned his gaze from the menus towards Lucifer instead. “Hey, Lucifer, you like spicy food right?”

Lucifer stared at Mammon in confusion for a moment or two before he caught a knowing look in the avatar of greed’s eyes.

“That’s true,” Lucifer felt a small smile tug at his lips as he played along, “but I was thinking of getting something a little simpler today.”

“I get what ya mean,” Mammon nodded as he moved away from the spicy food menu to read from another screen, “spicy food can lead to heartburn, so do you think I should go for a wrap or a burger?”

“Definitely a burger,” Lucifer replied with a chuckle as he followed Mammon’s lead, “oh and Mammon?”

“Yeah?”

“I feel like treating you, so I’ll be paying today.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mammon placed the food ladened tray down on the table before he and Lucifer slid into the booth opposite Satan and Asmo.

“What took you both so long?” Satan asked, peering over the top of his book curiously as he watched Mammon divide the food on the tray between himself and Lucifer.

“I couldn’t decide what to get,” Mammon said with a small shrug.

“But isn’t that the flame grilled barbeque black tapir wrap?” Satan frowned as he nodded towards Mammon’s meal.

“Honestly,” Asmo shook his head at Mammon, “you spent that long deciding on what to order and ended up picking your first choice anyway?”

“Heh, I guess, I did.” Mammon chuckled to himself.

[cookedgoosecatering]

Your family is gathering for a special event—a milestone birthday, a long-awaited reunion, or perhaps a holiday celebration.

The excitement is palpable as everyone arrives, but so is the stress of planning the perfect meal. You want to ensure that every guest enjoys delicious food without spending hours in the kitchen.

This is where local food caterers come into play, offering not only convenience but also a delightful culinary experience that can elevate any family gathering. By hiring local caterers, you can focus on what truly matters: creating lasting memories with your loved ones.

Let’s explore the benefits of hiring a local food caterer for your next family event.

1. Freshness and Quality

One of the standout benefits of hiring food caterers is their commitment to using fresh, seasonal ingredients. Many local caterers source their produce from nearby farms, ensuring that the food served at your event is not only delicious but also high in quality. For example, consider a dish like grilled chicken with lemon herb marinade—made with fresh herbs and locally sourced chicken. This emphasis on freshness enhances flavor and supports local agriculture.

Moreover, using seasonal ingredients means that the menu can change throughout the year, allowing you to experience a variety of flavors and dishes that reflect the best of what each season has to offer. Whether it’s vibrant summer salads or a hearty roast, local caterers can provide meals that resonate with the time of year.

2. Personalized Service

When you hire food caterers, you can expect personalized service tailored to your family’s unique preferences and dietary needs. Many caterers offer customizable menus, allowing you to choose from various options such as hot and cold buffets, plated dinners, or even themed cuisine. This flexibility ensures that every guest at your event will have something they enjoy, making for a more inclusive atmosphere.

Local caterers often take the time to understand your vision for the event. They may even offer tastings before the event so you can select dishes that best suit your taste and style. This level of attention ensures that your event feels special and uniquely yours.

For More Information visit https://www.cookedgoosecatering.com/blog/why-hire-local-food-caterers-for-your-family-events/

[firstmedicaldiagnosticspvtltd]

WILD HERB RECIPES

Wild herb recipes taking into consideration food allergies

Liven up your food with wild herbs! Wild herbs add variety to your menu and are a good source of many important minerals and trace elements. Also, wild herbs have very few allergenic properties, making them a good source of enrichment for mindful eating habits, especially if you have a delayed food allergy, commonly called food intolerances.

Breakfast:

Wild herb quark

100 g wild herb mixture (mixture of eight different salad herbs), such as ground elder, wild mallow, chickweed, shepherd’s purse, dead-nettle, dandelion, campion, wild arugula—varies depending on season

250 g quark (can be substituted by goat or sheep cream cheese)

100 ml mineral water

Salt

freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Peel and slice onions and shallots. Wash the herbs and shake dry.

Mix quark with mineral water until smooth, and season with salt and pepper. Fold in the herb mixture. Cover the quark and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Wild herb scrambled eggs

Makes four servings:

250 g bacon, diced

1 large onion

50 g ground elder

6 chicken eggs (can be substituted for goose or quail eggs)

Salt, pepper, paprika

3 Tbsp mineral water

Preparation:

Finely chop onions. Sort ground elder and cut into small pieces. Render the bacon in the pan and sauté chopped onion until golden brown. Add ground elder and allow to soften at low heat, stirring repeatedly. Beat the eggs in a bowl, add mineral water, and whisk gently with a fork. Add the egg mixture to the pan and prepare like scrambled eggs. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper.

Main Dish:

Pear and carrot soup with common sorrel and wood sorrel

Makes four servings:

250 g pealed and finely chopped carrots

1 large pear

30 g butter (alternatively, clarified butter)

1 Tbsp honey

2 finely diced shallots

0.8 l strong vegetable stock without yeast

60 g common sorrel

10 g wood sorrel

4 Tbsp crème fraîche (alternatively, natural soy yogurt)

Salt, freshly ground white pepper

Preparation:

Melt the butter, add the finely chopped shallots, carrots, and sugar and sauté until glazed. Add stock and spices, and allow carrots to simmer until soft, approximately 20 minutes. Peal and core pear. Cut common sorrel into very fine strips. Add pear and crème fraîche to the carrots and purée in a blender. Season soup again afterwards. Place common sorrel on preheated deep plates, fill with hot soup, and garnish with wood sorrel. Instead of sorrel, cilantro also makes a nice compliment to this soup, but you will need about 50 g of cilantro and a few ground coriander seeds.

Risotto with common sorrel and wood sorrel

Makes four servings:

180 g rice

50 g finely diced vegetables: carrots, celery, and leek

1 finely diced onion

100 ml fresh cream (alternatively, sweetened soy milk)

30 g common sorrel leaves

20 g wood sorrel (hare’s foot)

Salt, freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

Cook the rice with chopped vegetables in a pressure cooker with a pinch of salt for about 10–15 minutes, allow to stand for another 5 minutes, and drain. Sauté the diced onions in butter (or clarified butter), add rice, and fill up with cream. Heat and stir occasionally. At the end, add fine strips of cut common sorrel and season generously again. Serve on deep plates and garnish with wood sorrel. (A fish fillet with crispy skin is very delicious when paired with this dish!)

Asparagus and tomatoes in gelée with chickweed pesto

Makes four servings:

400 g white and green asparagus, cooked

2 beefsteak tomatoes

0.2 l strong asparagus stock

4 gelatin sheets

Salt, freshly ground pepper

50 g chickweed

1 Tbsp roasted pine nuts

2 Tbsp hazelnut oil

Preparation:

Peel and dice beefsteak tomatoes. Bring the asparagus stock to boil, reduce a little, and strain through a cloth. Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water for a few minutes, squeeze out, and add to the hot stock. (You should have about 0.15 l of stock remaining after the reduction step.) Season again to taste. Brush a small loaf pan with a small amount of oil and line with plastic wrap. Cut the asparagus in half lengthwise and layer with tomatoes in the pan. Fill pan with warm broth and allow to thicken overnight. For the pesto, cut chickweed into small pieces and crush in mortar with a pinch of salt. Add pine nuts and also crush (thin with asparagus stock as needed). Fold in the nut oil, and season to taste again. Remove the cold terrine from the pan, slice with a very sharp knife, and serve with fresh chickweed, asparagus spears, and pesto.

Grilled chicken breast with wild garlic marinade

Makes four servings:

400 g chicken breast fillets

40 g wild garlic spread

Salt, pepper

Preparation:

Cut chicken breast fillets into slices and cover generously with wild garlic spread. Add salt and pepper as needed. Marinate in fridge for at least one hour. The marinated chicken fillets will release their best aroma on the grill, but they can also be fried in a pan with some rapeseed (canola) oil. Pair this dish with potato salad, rice, or noodles.

[cosybookclub]

Gourmet De-Lite Mysteries

Preparing calorie-conscious meals for the dieters of Woodstone, Connecticut, Gigi Fitzgerald knows a cheater when she sees one. And when murder is on the menu, she's ready to get the skinny on whodunit...

Business is looking up for Gigi's Gourmet De-Lite, thanks to her newest client, restaurant reviewer Martha Bernhardt. Martha has the clout to put Gigi's personal meal plans on everyone's lips. But instead of dropping a few pounds, Martha drops dead from a severe peanut allergy... right after eating one of Gigi's signature dishes.

When the distractingly debonair Detective Mertz identifies traces of peanut oil in Martha's last meal, Gigi suddenly finds her diet catering business on the chopping block. Now she'll have to track down who tampered with her recipe before her own goose is cooked.

[rabbitcruiser]

International Happy Goose Day

Savoring that succulent bird, with its rich, tender meat and a crispy skin, is like having a delightful culinary adventure!

Become a happy goose and celebrate this delightful event that offers the opportunity to enjoy celebrating this unique and delectable bird. It’s time to get involved with International Happy Goose Day!

History of International Happy Goose Day

The background of International Happy Goose Day can be traced back many centuries but its origins start in the 5th century with the name Michaelmas. This day likely began in Rome when a basilica church was built and dedicated in honor of St. Michael, the Archangel. The official day was on September 30, but the celebrations began on the evening prior, which was September 29. Some church traditions also celebrate other archangels on this day, including Gabriel and Raphael.

During the Middle Ages, Michaelmas was celebrated in England as a way to mark the time of harvest as well as the time when accounts were tallied and collections were made for the year. Eventually, this turned into a time when landlords would be collecting rent from their tenants and, when they did so, the tenants began providing them with a goose so that they would secure their lease for the following year. Many historians believe this is how Michaelmas began to be called International Happy Goose Day.

But, an additional legend that associates the goose with the day is centered around the story of an Irish king who choked on a goose bone that he had eaten in a feast, and was then brought back to life by St. Patrick. In celebration, the king is said to have ordered the sacrifice of a goose on every Michaelmas in honor of the saint.

Eventually, International Happy Goose Day made its way to the New World, through Europeans who immigrated and celebrated it, particularly in the state of Pennsylvania as well as various other places. But, no matter where it came from or how far it has come, this time has turned into a delightful tradition for people to cook and eat a goose in celebration of International Happy Goose Day!

International Happy Goose Day Timeline

5th century

Michaelmas gets its start

This predecessor to Happy Goose Day, Michaelmas is first celebrated when a basilica near Rome is dedicated in honor of St. Michael the Archangel.

1284

Nottingham Goose Fair is celebrated

The first official fair is held in Nottingham after King Edward I grants a royal charter to the city, but it will take two more centuries before it is called “Goose Fair Day”.

15th century

Eating goose on this day becomes a tradition

The tradition of eating goose at this time may be because rents are due, so tenants present landlords with a goose – hoping to have their lease renewed for another year.

1700s

Happy Goose Day arrives in Pennsylvania

When settlers arrive in Pennsylvania from Europe, they bring Happy Goose Day with them to the New World.

How to Celebrate International Happy Goose Day

Those folks who are looking for some special ideas to celebrate International Happy Goose Day with friends and family might want to consider some of these activities and plans to ring in the occasion:

Enjoy Eating Goose

Because the tradition of Happy Goose Day maintains that those who eat goose on this day will benefit financially all throughout the year, this is a popular activity in celebration of the day! Specifically in some certain areas where the tradition of the day runs strong, such as some counties in eastern or middle Pennsylvania, local restaurants will be sure to serve goose on the menu on this day!

Learn More About Geese 

An excellent activity in observance of International Happy Goose Day might be to learn a bit more about this interesting creature and then share some of those findings with friends or family members. Get started with some of these unique facts: 

Geese are highly social birds that spend most of their time in groups, called gaggles or flocks. 

For the most part, geese are herbivores, which means they only feed on plant material such as grass, stems, leaves, bulbs and more. 

Geese are monogamous creatures who typically only have one mate during their lifetime, including courtship displays, sharing nests and both parents taking turns with the eggs or young baby goslings. 

Geese have incredible navigational skills. During their seasonal migrations, geese use various cues, such as the position of the sun or landmarks to make their way to their destination.

Try Cooking a Goose at Home

While in the past, goose has been a staple for many households, especially on holidays such as Christmas, this is less common today. However, perhaps International Happy Goose Day would be the perfect time for those who have a culinary bent to try out cooking a goose!

To get started, rub the goose with oil all over. Then, set it on a rack in a large roasting pan, and cover with foil. At around 400 F, it should take about 1½ hours to roast a goose until the flesh is slightly pink. A wide range of spices can be used to flavor the goose, including rosemary, star anise, black pepper, lemon and more. It might be fun to get a cookbook or do an internet search for recipes to get more information about how to cook and prepare a goose.

Learn Nutritional Facts About Goose Meat

Wondering if goose is a healthy food to eat on this day or others? In honor of International Happy Goose Day, consider some of these nutritional facts about this fowl: 

Goose meat is an excellent source of Vitamin B-6 which helps the body process energy from foods. 

Goose meat also has a great deal of iron – more than beef, chicken or pork. 

Other nutrients that can be found in goose meat include magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium. 

Visit a Goose Fair

Though their correlation with International Happy Goose Day may not be exact, the fun of celebrating at a Goose Fair might be a perfect plan to make for the occasion. Check out one of these fun events celebrated in honor of this venerable bird:

Nottingham Goose Fair. Dating back to the 13th century, the association of this fair with geese came a bit later, in the 16th century, where records show that the fair was associated with Goose Fair Day. In modern times, this fair often starts on the last day of September and runs through the first week of October.

Goosey Fair in Tavistock, Devon. This well-known fair in the West Country was originally celebrated on International Happy Goose Day but was moved to the second Wednesday of October in 1752 when the Gregorian calendar was adopted.

Colyford Goose Fayre in East Devon. This traditional fair has villagers and others who make the most out of it by dressing in medieval costumes, with the added twist of live geese on the premises.

International Happy Goose Day FAQs

How to tell if a goose is happy?

Signs of trust and affection from a happy goose include loud honking, shoe chewing and affectionate gazes.

What do geese eat?

Geese eat roots, stems, seeds, shoots and leaves of grass, as well as grains, bulbs and berries.

What is Michaelmas?

Also called International Happy Goose Day, this day has traditions that celebrate the Archangel Michael as well as the election of the magistrates in England.

Do geese have teeth?

While geese do not have teeth, they can certainly “bite” with the sharp tomia on their bills and tongues.

Source

[tempchefs]

Find the best Chef Cork?

Chef Cork is known for its vibrant culinary scene, offering a variety of dining options to satisfy diverse tastes and preferences. Here is a comprehensive answer to your question about chefs in Cork:

Chef Takashi Miyazaki: Chef Takashi Miyazaki is a renowned chef with a culinary career that began in a 5-star hotel in Fukuoka, Japan. He specializes in fusion teppanyaki cooking and has extensively trained in different regional cuisines across Japan. In 2015, he opened a Japanese takeaway in Cork City, which became well-known for his signature dashi and Japanese cuisine made with the best of Irish seasonal ingredients. Chef Miyazaki's expertise and passion for experimenting with flavors have earned him a reputation in Cork's culinary scene.

Top Restaurants in Cork City: Cork City is home to several exceptional restaurants that cater to various tastes and budgets. Here are some of the best restaurants in Cork City:

The SpitJack Cork: This award-winning restaurant focuses on the rotisserie concept and serves the finest local meats and produce sourced from the popular English Market. Their dishes, such as the traditional Italian rotisserie porchetta and Ballycotton salmon, are highly recommended.

Jacobs on the Mall: Located in the heart of Cork City, Jacobs on the Mall offers modern European cuisine in a romantic setting. With a Certificate of Excellence and numerous awards, this restaurant is known for its contemporary style and delicious dishes like seared scallops and roast pork belly.

Strasbourg Goose: This restaurant, owned by a husband and wife team, offers a French-inspired dining experience. Their oven-roasted lamb shank and duck breasts served with gratin potatoes are particularly popular. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list to complement the flavors of the dishes.

Elbow Lane Brew and Smoke House: Known for beautifully prepared meat, this restaurant features an open-plan kitchen and a wood-fired grill. Their menu includes dishes like pork neck, monkfish with lamb bacon, and slow-smoked pork ribs. The unique smokehouse sauce adds an extra layer of flavor to their dishes.

Private Chef Services in Cork: For a more personalized dining experience, hiring a private chef in Cork is a great option. Take a Chef is a platform that connects customers with experienced private chefs in Cork. These chefs offer customized menus based on the guests' preferences and dietary requirements. The private chef service includes everything from menu planning and ingredient sourcing to meal preparation, table service, and kitchen cleanup. Prices vary depending on the number of people and specific requirements, with an average cost ranging from 53 EUR to 102 EUR per person.

By hiring a private chef, you can enjoy a tailored dining experience in the comfort of your own home or chosen venue. The chefs on the platform are experienced professionals who can create exquisite menus and cater to various culinary preferences. The service is ideal for intimate gatherings, special occasions, or those who seek a unique and personalized dining experience in Cork.

These are some of the notable chefs and dining options in Cork. The culinary scene in Cork continues to evolve, offering residents and visitors a delightful range of flavors and experiences to indulge in. For more details visit us @ Temp Chefs Ireland

[valgasnewsthings]

Diet nr 15.

 Recommending dishes, meal.

Of eggs, and on any culinary kind cooking, butter oil, vegetable adding for ready dishes, frying for meat, fish . Snacks of jellied fish, tongue, veal, chicken, as baked in oven, rolls meat, fish, cold kins, salads of raw and boiled vegetables, meat with, without salted cucumbers, sauerkraut, cheese, boiled sausage for high sorts, soaking herring,  black caviar, non-fat ham.

Prohibited.

Fat meat, hard fats as sheep, pork, lard, meat of goose, duck, strong broth, brains, strong coffee, alcohol, vegetables with hard fibres.

Sharlotka of soya, meat, yeasts.

220 gr ready dish a 120 gr ready meat, 50 gr soya, 20 gr butter oil, cheese, onion, yeasts, 15 gr white rusks, 10 gr fromage, 3 gr for dill, 1/4 egg. Select soya, wash, wet in cold water for 3 hours, cook. Add 5 gr oil, 15 gr shredding cheese, eggs, fromage, good mix. Meat to mince meat, add in chopping onion, fry, add yeasts pieces. Mix good, and fry 15 min. In pan spreading with oil and sprinkle with chopped rusks add layers a soya, force meat, surface a smooth, sprinkle shredding cheese, sprinkle with vegetable oil, and fromage.

Proteins 47.4 gr, fats 39.8 gr, carbohydrates 57.8 gr, energy value 768 .9 kcal, use for diets nr 11,15

Diet nr 15. Your daily menu.

First breakfast. Curd baked pudding, milk oats porridge, cheese, coffee with milk.

2nd breakfast carrot shredding with fromage, tea, biscuit dry.

Lunch. Farrago with vegetable oil, fish soup , roll meat steam, purée potato with stewed cabbage, dried fruits compote.

Afternoon snack. Rusks with sugar, hibiscus drink. 

Dinner. Fried fish, vegetable ragout, apple pie, tea.

For night is kefir glass.

For all day. Rye bread 200 gr, millet bread 200 gr, butter oil 40 gr, sugar 80 gr, fruits, berries fresh 350 gr.

from Valga s health news,gardening,and cooking ,and beauty . https://ift.tt/U45dM7E via https://ift.tt/J3ed9C6

[michimonie]

Peg Leg Pete's Seared Swordfish with mint Bread-Crumb Sauce

(Disney Recipes: From Animation to Inspiration)

Left Page

"In the 1934 short movie Shanghaied, skipper Peg Leg Pete and his look-alike crew of pirates captured and bound Minnie and Mickey in ropes. Mickey escaped and saved Minnie by dueling Peg Leg Pete with a stuffed swordfish. Mickey repeatedly landed his sword in Peg Leg Pete's posterior, a tactic that led him to victory and saved the day. Vanquished Pete was punished severely and made an example of to one and all. To console this eternal loser, and to provide a not-so-subtle allusion to his downfall, we've come up with a swordfish recipe that's out of this world, transforming the means that procured his humiliation into a delicious dish that will have everybody licking their chops. One taste of this and Pete himself might turn into a "good guy."

"Hullo, sweetie. How about a kiss for poppa?"

Right Page

HOW TO MAKE IT

4 Servings 1 Hour Preparation Time

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons - fresh bread crumbs, white part only 1 bunch - mint leaves, finely chopped 2 shallots, finely chopped 1/2 cup - rice-wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon - salt 1/8 teaspoon - pepper 1 ounce - olive oil 1 pound - swordfish steaks (4 ounces each)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Toast bread crumbs until dry but not browned, then let cool. Add mint leaves and shallots to bread crumbs; then add vinegar, salt, and pepper, and mix. Mixture should have the texture of wet sand. Set aside at room temperature while cooking fish, for no more than 30 minutes.

Heat a nonstick sauté pan until very hot (it should be big enough to hold all 4 pieces of fish comfortably). Swirl oil to coat.

Place swordfish steaks in pan when oil begins to smoke. Sear for 3 to 4 minutes, watching color change on sides. When color has changed halfway up, flip and cook the second side a bit less than the first. Place steaks on plate and garnish with a portion of sauce.

NOTES

Other solid white-flesh fish may be used, such as halibut, sturgeon, or even squid steaks.

MENU IDEAS

"Gus the Goose's Spaghetti with Peas" would be a simple appetizer for this dish. Follow up with a portion of "Mowgli's Mixed Vegetable Salad" and a plate of "Santa's Cookies" for dessert.

WHAT CHILDREN CAN DO

Kids can pluck mint leaves from stems.

Disney Recipe Poll Round 8

Previous Poll

Recipe List

[thehappyhomecook]

Christmas is only three months away! I’ve already starting panning my Christmas menu. This was last years feast. I may go for goose again this year and possibly a rib of beef? #christmas #menu #turkey #goose #beef #food #foodie #foodblog #foodblogger #foodwriter #chef #cook #cooking #homecook #homecooking #homemade #christmasdinner #christmasfood #wintermenu (at Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn06EUshmj_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1suu8anpt9lg2

[oldbookist]

canon era dining

for @midasinc, who asked about food!

It's definitely not a dumb question! Sometimes the small details are the hardest to write and research, but they really add a lot of depth to your setting.

One of my primary motivations for learning French was because I HATE reading British sources on France from this period, which seemingly cannot go more than a few paragraphs without expounding on the superiority of British culture and civilization, and of course, complaining about the French. For example: French people are too happy. French women are too confident and converse with men too easily. French meat is too seasoned.

However, British travel guides are actually great resources for things like this, because they're actually meant to educate readers who aren't already familiar with 19th century Paris. So you can get lots of information about lodgings, culture, entertainment, and yes, food.

So what kinds of foods are we looking at? These are just a few examples of what you might find on Parisian menus in the 1820s-30s:

Meat and poultry: beef, mutton, ham, chicken, goose, duck, turkey, veal, partridge, quail, pigeon

Seafood: salmon, carp, turbot, mackerel, sole, oysters by the dozen

Vegetables: beans, potatoes, spinach, lettuce, asparagus, artichoke, celery, sorrel, cabbage

Fruits: lemon, pear, apple, apricot, cherry, plum, orange, grape, peach, strawberry, raspberry

Sauce: above British writer also complains that the French put sorrel sauce on everything.

And of course, bread, cheese, and wine. For actual meals, please refer to the menus.

One thing that struck me about the high-end fine dining establishments is the sheer size of the menus, which could have upwards of 100-250 dishes! I was originally going to post an actual menu, but that would make this post way too long, so you can just find them in my linked sources. For dinner at one of these restaurants, you might order a bottle or half-bottle of good quality wine, bread, a potage (thick soup), meat and fish, a vegetable entremet, dessert, and a small glass of liqueur. An English writer estimates the average cost of this meal at a fashionable restaurant to be about 9 francs, though one may be able to get a similar meal at other restaurants for 5-7 francs.

These prices, however, should not be considered the average cost of a meal in general, as it is noted that cheaper restaurants serve "four dishes, half-a-bottle of wine, a dessert, and as much bread as the guest chooses to eat, for 30 sous" (less than 2 francs.*) Meals could be bought at nearly any price point, from under 1 franc to over 10. At the low end of this range (though they varied widely), you could find traiteurs, eating houses where you could eat in or order food to be delivered to your house or apartment at a fixed time and price. You could also order cooked meats from a rotisseur, or apparently buy the meat yourself and send it to the rotisseur to have it seasoned and cooked.

An English writer notes of the people who live in Parisian apartments, “Many people living in this way keep no servant at all to themselves; they depend on the porter for taking any message which may come for them when they are not at home; they have their dinner sent by a traiteur at a fixed price by the day, and hire a woman by the week to come and make the beds and sweep the room.” This does sound very much like how Marius lives in the Gorbeau house, and Les Amis probably live similarly. Sometimes traiteurs would be attached to a certain lodging house or hotel, but even without it was sometimes possible to get your meals from wherever you lodged, cooked by the proprietress or her cook, as at the Thénardier inn.

It would of course be remiss to ignore the two locations most prominent in Les Mis—the Café Musain and the Corinthe cabaret. The word "cabaret" had not yet come into its modern usage and is typically translated into English as a public house, or pub. Cafés served coffee, liqueur, breakfast and lunch, with "sandwiches, chops, sausages, eggs, pates, with Burgundy, or some other excellent wine." It is noted that cafés do not usually serve dinner or supper.

Could they cook for themselves? Putting aside the question of should they cook, the answer is...it depends? A writer from the 1860s claims that nearly every apartment had a kitchen, albeit a very small one, basically a tiny room or alcove with a fourneau. But even if you don't have a kitchen, if you have a fire, you can theoretically cook. (And even if you don't, I guess—Marius doesn't have a fire but cooks his own meat, so presumably he uses Mme. Burgon's kitchen?)

Sorry for the long post, but we are talking about food…in France.

* 1 franc = 20 sous, 1 sou = 5 centimes

The New Picture of Paris, from the Latest Observations (includes menu for Grignion's)

Peter Hervé, 1829

A Narrative of Three Years' Residence in France, Principally in the Southern Departments, from the Year 1802 to 1805

Anne Plumptre, 1810

Bentley's Miscellany, Volume 54

1863

Tait's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 1

1834

The Student's Guide to the Hospitals and Medical Instituions of Paris

John Wiblin (M.R.C.S.), 1839

A Rough Sketch of Modern Paris

John Gustavus Lemaistre, 1803

A New Picture of Paris, Or, The Stranger's Guide to the French Metropolis (includes menu for Very's)

Edward Planta, 1831

Galignani's Picture of Paris, Being a Complete Guide to All the Public Buildings (includes menu for Brizzi's and Les Trois Frères Provençaux)

1818

Edited 1/27/22: a correction, added another source