#frying pan and mr mustard

[clatterbane]

Getting tonight's delight underway, which is another thing that I was prompted to make with Mr. C gone. I haven't actually had any baked beans in years, living where they're not a thing-- with someone who is not a fan of either beans or that type of sweet-tart-savory flavor profile.

Using this as a starting reference for proportions. Though, I am making a smaller batch and using some of those leftover hillbilly-style pinto beans out of the freezer along with one can of the Heinz-style not-quite-pork and beans. (Saving some for another dish.) My mom liked to mix up the beans a lot, and it's a good use for leftovers.

I also like to add some lightly sautéed fairly chunky onions and peppers. So, I'm getting ready to fry up the onion and mix of green and red sweet pepper in a skillet that I incidentally used to cook a couple of test pieces of the expired pack of bacon that was sitting in the fridge a little while ago. (It smelled and tasted fine, so no need to scrounge in the freezer after other bacon. It was also pretty salty for commercial bacon, so that probably helped.) The rest is waiting in the fridge to go on top of the beans. Bacon does come in small like 150g/5 oz. packs here, so it's just about the right amount for this size dish.

(Exactly which size pan? Idk. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I pulled out a couple, and will mix up the food then evaluate which looks like a better fit. It'll only be like two cans of beans worth, though.)

Also using the also Heinz-style chili sauce in place of ketchup, because that's what I've been doing across the board. It's tangier with a little more complex flavor, and also there was a bottle already open in the fridge.

That mustard was originally in a tube.

But, it fell in the floor and got a hole in the tube. So, I squeezed it out into that jar, and am trying to use it up first. Not nearly as convenient to put on a hot dog, but fine to spoon into bean gloop.

This may or may not get any additional sugary stuff added. I don't like baked beans super sweet myself, and the sauces may already have plenty. Have to taste and see.

[the-shared-brain-in-retrograde]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

(Or What If... Tony Stark was a Con Artist?)

A joint review...

We met last night for a preliminary discussion and things took quite the turn. Namely the Shared Brain is very much split on this film, and maybe not in the way you would think. We also had a heated argument about Tennis (which @cassandrafey cares a great deal about, and @becksxoxo does not, even though she is the only professional player of the two) and then we got into Cass' inner horse girl (inspired by the My Friend Flicka mention, a horse phenomenon that Becks as a normal person had no reference to whatsoever and has had to google and is chuckling scornfully as Cass tries to defend herself and her interests), which is a place we wouldn't recommend, and Colin Farrell was involved, we shan't repeat it for your sanity and for our own.

But on to the film...

The big surprise of the evening was how much @becksxoxo loves this film, and how indifferent @cassandrafey was to it. It's as though we have watched two very different movies, which I don't think has happened since The First Avenger.

@becksxoxo: Another film Cass is very wrong about...

@cassandrafey: I could say some things here since I have control of the proofread and edit, but I won’t cos I think someone can dish it but not take it…

So as in Captain America: The First Avenger we shall start the review with all the bits we did enjoy together.

Firstly, that little girl's acting at the start was very good. We were both very worried this film was going to take a dark turn very early on, and other than a threatened smack round the face for lil Harmony, it did not. That screaming was brilliant. Good work child. We also have both agreed we do not wish to attend a fair in Indiana in the past, due to both the worry of clowns and the hideous colour scheme.

The narrating and the narrator of the film were also a brilliant touch. Becks really enjoyed the chaotic ramblings of Harry as he flitted back and forth from the various backstories to the current plot, the re-winds, the artistic pauses. It felt very comforting for some reason. It was also one of the many clever ways that they intertwined the pulp crime style of the books that inspired the plot into the plot itself. Also it's nice just listening to RDJ's voice sometimes isn't it, in a none bossing people around sort of way (the way @becksxoxo enjoys him most - a little bit submissive 😉 - she will discuss this again a bit later, you'll be glad to know.)

The flashbacks were a fun way to get to know our protagonists, although is it lazy storytelling? Who knows? Not us. We do not think that Harry makes a very good burglar in practise. He clearly is very good at the thieving things, but he seems very conflicted about the whole thing. Who's looking in the discount bin when you're robbing a place? Someone who doesn't feel comfortable with that he's doing. And he was so devastated when his partner got shot, that breakdown in the audition was so very sad. The neighbourhood watch is quite extreme in New York... We really think that the criminal lifestyle just isn't for him, but then that wouldn't have made a very good film would it. Also, pull your hat down Harry, you look like a gnome.

Harmony's backstory is even sadder still, such a dark and distressing early life that she escapes from using fiction and a single way ticket out of the shit hole town she grew up in. The darkness in Harmony's life winds its way through the whole plot and its truly terrible, but never fully gets addressed, at times even joked about, that only broken girls make it to Hollywood. It’s hard to know if not addressing it is a choice made by the characters as a way of coping, or if it’s just a bad writing choice that stops the characters and story from becoming whole. It's something we're split on ourselves.

We think we'd like to go to a Hollywood party, but we're not sure we'd be invited. @cassandrafey would definitely like to hangout with Harmony, hidden away reading pulp books. I guess that leaves @becksxoxo looking a bit lost, getting drunk, and making up shit stories to strangers with Harry. What a night.

Cass would also like it to be known we are treated to her favourite line in the film here (and as it turns out her favourite part of the film as a whole):

B-Movie Actress: So what do you do?

Harry Lockhart: I'm retired, I invented dice as a kid.

Harry does try to be a good person. He does try to stop that pervert harassing Harmony, and he does try to fight him, but he doesn't really achieve any of these things fully. Becks got in a little Cap reference during the fight in her notes that pleased Cass no end, you'll all be happy to know. "You just had to get him in somewhere, didn't you?" she hissed. It's not Becks' fault that RDJ just gets beat on a lot...

It's also at the party we're introduced to Perry, who Cass was suspicious of the whole damn film, but Becks loves with her whole heart. Perry the PI - Becks suggested we should be private detectives, but Cass quickly shut it down. So that's another stream of income lost to us.

We will address here that the homophobia and 'gay jokes' in this film were not it. We know it was the past, but it has not aged well and did leave you feeling very awkward. It wasn't fun, and it really took you out of the film each time with quite a start. Honestly, we hate it.

Now on to boobs. @cassandrafey says she would let RDJ touch her tits if it was to remove a spider, @becksxoxo countered that she wouldn't mind if the spider wasn't involved either. Giggling ensued. The spider situation was horrible, and the thought of a massive spider climbing around on you is the worst and its was a big fat no from both of us. There was a lot of breasts just out and about in this film, and for the most part I think it was just to show that Harry was a good person for trying to not look at them, although he did usually get a peek in.

He also pissed on a dead woman, so we don't know why Becks loved him so much, but she did. He is definitely a man, written by a man, trying to show women that not all men are bad people. Becks is now have a slow worry about internalised misogyny... She's trying to defend herself now, but words are hard, and sometimes you're allowed to love the problematic fictional people, right Cassandra? (Cass here, as the authority on living problematic fictional people, can confirm that it’s a perfectly normal thing to succumb to). She does think she loves Perry more though.

Perry. Perry, Perry, Perry. We agree that Perry is very competent, and in control, but that has incited very different feelings from both of us. Abject delight and love from @becksxoxo and utter distrust and grave suspicion from @cassandrafey. Cass has also just said that she missed something at the start of this film that may have made her misjudge Perry, but instead of finding out more about this she went in feet first, 'doesn't that man have a large head, isn't he suspicious', and then just ran with it for the rest of the film. Becks on the other hand just loved him. She loved how good he was at his job, how he bossed Harry around and showed him how much of an idiot he was.

Perry: Look up idiot in the dictionary and you know what you'll find?

Harry Lockhart: A... picture of my face?

Perry: No! The definition of the word idiot which you fucking are!

In fact, he was just generally very quotable, and if Cass brings up his giant head again, Becks will use her giant head to put a stop to it.

Cass should be more grateful, because it is also Perry that brings up Colin Farrell in the first place. The Colin Farrell reference also brought up two very different reactions from the Shared Brain. One of us was confused that RDJ and ol' Colin were contemporaries, and the other half was ready to put on half a pantomime horse costume and some lingerie and get to it, if you know what I mean (none of us know what she means, we really went down a tangent that even for us may have been a step too far...)

@cassandrafey: He's just right handsome, I'm just very fond of him.

@becksxoxo: Are you? You should mention it more. Ooooooooh the moral high ground, I haven't been up here in a long time...

@cassandrafey: Am I morally wrong for saying he's handsome?

@becksxoxo: I mean I was really referring to the horse and knickers situation, but...

@cassandrafey: Oh, I forgot about that.

@becksxoxo: [wheezes]

@cassandrafey: Take advantage of this, because it’s not something I say often, but I think we should stop. We've talked about Colin Farrell too much for a film he doesn't appear in.

So back to the actors at hand. Becks has never experienced Val Kilmer before, but she's enjoyed it. (Cass pointed out he was once Batman, but Becks says she doesn’t know who that is…) He was very funny, and he really dominated Harry at times, and that was nice to see...

We should probably mention the crimes and that, which to be honest we sort of got confused by. We think Becks kept up more than Cass, but we were definitely lost at times, and so were the characters. It did get a bit messy, and we did take umbrage with Harry asking us if we had guessed the twist, when we felt it was unguessable.

I guess SPOILER ALERT:

Is it a known fact that people in mental hospitals don't wear underwear? Perhaps we're perverts but we think there might be other instances where people don't wear underwear to go about their business. It seems a part of the plot that came as a surprise quite late on in the film for us. Although I guess it was another point to show Harry wasn't a pervert for being so bothered to check the state of undress of these ladies.

Two more quick points we really enjoyed:

Frying Pan and Mr Mustard. One of our friends once told us she likes to listen to us talk, but she doesn't understand a damn thing we are on about. So we really got Frying Pan and Mr Mustard on a very deep and meaningful level. We have no real idea of their point in the film, or really what they were on about either, but we enjoyed it and we felt represented.

The electrocution of the Harry's balls. It was at this point in the film that Cass was checking her watch to see how long there was left, but Becks was *cackling* with laughter, and desire to also electrocute a man's balls. We did both enjoy Perry's tiny penis gun, although Cass' train of thought had really left the film by this point as she began thinking of tiny bullets and their effectiveness.

We were both very worried that we were in for a sad ending. All of them just lying there, covered in blood, but even as Harry joked they really did turn it around. When Perry wheeled himself in Becks made such a noise. And then the outro to boot, a thousand chef's kisses. Cass really got in her head that they were married, and Becks just wanted more, and would quite happily watch her two new favourites solving crimes and having the good bants.

Cass gave this film 2 stars. The same rating she gave the Eternals. Take that as you will. Less even than The First Avenger. IRL we're starting to have an argument about Steve Rogers. But we shall stop. Becks on other hand has given it 4 stars, and was even contemplating 4.5 but calmed herself down.

We're both a bit startled by our own reactions to this film. Who knew Robert Downey Jr could be so polarising?

[emospritelet]

Yes, yes, I know it’s been ages *shrug emoji*

Last time, Lacey and Weaver told some truths and declared their love. It’s now them against the world. Or, more accurately, Lacey’s family.

(cover by @timelordthirteen​)

[AO3]

x

Lacey drew back reluctantly, leaving the comforting circle of Weaver’s arms, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

“How did you get here?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion.

“Took the plane out before you landed,” he said. “Followed you from the airport. Fa planted a tracker on you.”

“Fa - oh, she was the one who bumped into me?” Lacey guessed. “She’s good, I didn’t recognise her. You told her about me?”

“I told her you were in trouble. She and Dunbroch wanted to help.”

She nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude.

“Where are they now?”

“They followed the guy that dropped you here. I should really call, see how they are.”

“Felix won’t go far,” she said. “He’ll stay in town, I reckon. Probably get here early in the morning to drag me with him.”

“Then we’ll have to be ready, won’t we?”

He was watching her, a soft look in his eyes, and she wanted to cry and be held by him again. He was too good. She didn’t deserve him, and she was putting him in danger just by letting him love her. It hurt to think about, and so she turned her attention to the safe behind them.

“Do you have the right code?” she asked, her voice wobbling a little, and he nodded, reaching in his pocket for his phone.

“Took a picture of it before I changed it,” he said. “Figured it might come in useful.”

She gave him a flat look, hands on hips.

“You’re a sneaky bastard, anyone ever tell you that?” she said, and he showed his teeth.

“Takes one to know one, hmm?”

“Yeah, okay, I deserved that.” She stepped aside to give him access. “You want to do the honours?”

Weaver nodded, phone in hand, and bent to tap out a code on the keyboard, the flashing cursor bringing up a line of asterisks. This time there was a dull click, and when Lacey turned the dial, there was a tiny squeak from the mechanism as the door opened. She pulled it wide, peering inside, and Weaver held up his phone screen to give her a little more light. Inside she could see a thick folder, wedged in and curved to fit the small space. She reached for it, tugging it out. Another hard drive came with it, almost hitting the floor before Weaver caught it, and Lacey looked at the heavy holder in her hands. It was a cardboard concertina file, the kind that held legal documents, tied at the top with a piece of woven cotton. Lacey carried it to the desk and tugged at the bow, opening it up.

“What do we have?” asked Weaver, and she shrugged, pulling out a sheaf of papers and flicking through them.

“Not sure. Grandma said it was evidence that my mother gathered against my father. Looks like accounts, property deeds… wait, here’s a letterhead. Isaac Heller. That was the lawyer that was murdered, right?”

“So these files are his?” 

Weaver was looking over her shoulder, and she could smell his scent, warm and comforting. It made her want to kiss him, so she concentrated on his hands, turning the pages in front of her.

“Must have been what they were looking for,” he said, almost to himself, and she turned her head to face him.

“Who?”

“Whoever murdered him,” he said simply. “When I was first on the case, we went over to his place. It had been taken apart, even the couch cushions slashed open. Whatever this is, someone didn’t want us to have it.”

“Grandma said he wanted to carry on his wife’s legacy,” said Lacey, and Weaver nodded slowly.

“His wife was working with reformed criminals, getting information about your family,” he said. “She had this idealistic notion that the authorities would help her. Just got her killed.” He glanced at her. “Your grandmother spoke of this?”

“Not exactly,” admitted Lacey. “She wrote me a letter. Left it in the safe deposit box with the hard drive I gave to Felix. She said - she said she knew what was happening to her, and - and she wanted to find me while she could still speak. She agreed to try to help Heller finish his wife’s work, if he could find me. Guess he almost did.” 

“Guess so.” Weaver flicked through the pages, and stepped back. “Well. We can look through this later, as soon as we decide how we’re gonna proceed. Shall we eat? Mrs Potts should have made those sandwiches by now.”

“You met Mrs Potts?”

“She threatened to shoot me,” he said dryly, and Lacey giggled.

“Her bark’s worse than her bite.”

“Given that the gun she threatened to shoot me with turned out to be a frying pan, I believe you,” he remarked, and reached for her hand, holding it between his own and patting it gently. “Come on. Let’s go down to the kitchen. Put that back until we decide what to do.”

Lacey nodded, pulling away and shoving the folder back into the safe before sliding the hard drive in on top and shutting the door. Now that their confrontation was over, she felt drained and weary, her legs threatening to collapse underneath her and pitch her onto the rug. She was relieved when Weaver put an arm around her, guiding her back towards the door and down the stairs, and was happy to lean on him a little as they went.

Mrs Potts wasn’t in the kitchens, but she had set out a large plate of sandwiches: ham and mustard, pastrami with lettuce and tomato, and sliced egg salad with homemade mayonnaise. There were pieces of rich fruit cake, dark and moist, and small apple and cinnamon tarts. A bottle of red wine was open, two glasses by the side, and Weaver felt his mouth water. It had been a long day, and he had eaten little. Lacey reached for one of the sandwiches, slipping into a chair, and Weaver poured them each a glass of wine, taking the chair next to her and pulling the plate of sandwiches closer. He shifted in his seat a little, reaching into his back pocket for his notebook and pencil and setting it on the table in front of him before cramming one of the sandwiches into his mouth. Lacey raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged, brandishing the pencil as he chewed and swallowed.

“Thought I might as well start planning,” he said, and took another sandwich.

He wrote down the positives in their situation, what they had to their advantage, which was precious little beyond the information in the safe and the element of surprise. On the opposite page he wrote down what they were facing. This was a far longer list, and made him shake his head. He turned the page, making a list of what he knew about the Schwartz family from his own investigations, to make sure there was nothing he was missing. Lacey sat in silence for the most part, eating her way through some of the sandwiches, and occasionally coaxing him to eat some. The apple tarts were excellent. He had three of those.

After a while he ran out of information, and sat back with a sigh, taking a slurp of wine. Lacey reached for another of the sandwiches and took a bite, and Weaver pondered their options, tapping his pencil against the notebook. He dug in his pocket for his phone, flicking the screen to call Detective Fa. After a moment she answered with her usual terse greeting. There was music playing in the background, a rock ballad of some sort, and Weaver frowned.

“What’s your status?” he asked, and she sighed.

“We followed the guy to a dive bar where he’s been drinking beer and playing pool with a bunch of local no-hopers,” she said. “I had to restrain Merida from getting up to play him herself.”

“Good,” said Weaver. “She’d kick his arse, and we don’t need that kind of attention.”

“Looks like he’s settled in for the night,” she said. “There’s a bed and breakfast up the road: I heard him tell one of the idiots he’s playing that he has a room there. Merida went to book us in.”

“Okay. Make sure you keep an eye on him.”

“Thanks, I’d never have thought of that,” she said sarcastically. “How are things with you? Did you find Lacey?”

“I did.” He ran a hand through his hair. “She’s fine. I’ll fill you in later. We’ve got some planning to do, so I’ll call again.”

“If there’s any movement from this end, I’ll call.”

“Good. Thanks, Fa.”

“Anytime, asshole.”

Weaver grinned, hanging up, and put down the phone. 

“They’re keeping an eye on what’s-his-name,” he said. “He won’t make a move without them seeing.”

“Good,” she said. “He’ll be back tomorrow morning to take me back to Vegas, though, so we need to come up with a plan.”

“If you have any brilliant ideas, now’s the time to tell me.”

Lacey shook her head, looking rueful.

“Fresh out,” she said gloomily. “If I was feeling self-serving, I’d say offer them Heller’s info in exchange for leaving us the hell alone, but they can’t be trusted. None of them.”

She took a bite of her sandwich, and Weaver nodded, picking up his pencil again.

“Besides,” she added, her words muffled by sandwich. “I kinda want to finish what Grandma started, you know?”

“I understand,” he said. “The more I think about it, the more it looks like an us or them situation. Let’s make sure it’s fucking us that comes out of this alive, right?”

“Means we have to kill ‘em,” she said, looking dejected.

“Does that bother you?”

“Only that it’s bloody impossible.”

“No one’s impossible to kill,” said Weaver grimly.

Lacey wrinkled her nose, as if to say she disagreed with him, but she said nothing, taking another bite of her sandwich. Weaver tapped his pencil against the pad, thinking.

“What can you tell me about the kind of set-up they have down there?” he asked, and Lacey shrugged, chewing and swallowing.

“Big complex out in the desert,” she said. “About five miles out of Vegas. Sometimes my father or Fiona will visit the casinos. but most of the time they’re at the house. And there’s no schedule for when they do their visits, either.”

“So no way to intercept them at the casinos, then,” he said. “What about the house? What sort of defences do they have?”

She shook her head.

“You won’t be able to get in,” she said. “The complex may look like a mansion, but it’s stuffed full of armed guards and the rest of the scum that work for them. Took me long enough to work out how to leave, never mind getting back in there.”

“I’m resourceful,” he said, and she put a hand over his, giving him a firm look.

“I know that, Rafe, but you’re also mortal,” she said. “No need to go out in a blaze of glory. No point.”

“True,” he agreed. “No such thing as a glorious death, in my opinion. Usually it’s just a fucking waste, and that’s not what I want for us. I want us to come out of this whole and healthy with a new life ahead of us. Me, you, and Tilly.”

“Good,” she said, sitting back. “Because I’d get Mrs Potts to sit on you until you agreed not to go, anyway.”

“Right.” He chuckled and reached for a piece of cake, breaking a chunk off and stuffing it in his mouth as he scribbled some notes. “So a head-on attack’s out of the question. What about the guy who drove you here? Felix?”

Lacey shrugged.

“Loyal, far as I can tell,” she said. “My father always punished disloyalty in pretty lethal ways. And he paid well. Kind of dissuaded anyone from turning on him.”

“So I can’t break in there, and we can’t get someone on the inside to get me in,” he mused, running a hand over his mouth.

“Except me,” she said, and Weaver shook his head firmly.

“There’s no way I’m sending you into something where I can’t go in and drag you out,” he said. “From what you say, the police can’t be relied on, and I agree. A lot of my investigations involving the Vegas connection were met with stonewalling. Any suggestion to them that your father and his crew should be taken out would probably be referred to him.”

“Sounds about right,” she said gloomily, and took a drink of wine. Weaver sighed, sweeping a hand through his hair.

“In which case, I have another proposal,” he said.

“Which is?”

“We stay here,” he said, jabbing a finger on the table top. “Make our stand. Make them come to us.”

Lacey looked thoughtful.

“You mean I tell Felix to fuck off back to Vegas without me?” she said. “You’re thinking they’ll turn up to drag me back, hmm? Could work. We’ll need to keep you, Merida and Mulan out of it, though.”

Weaver shook his head.

“I’m not leaving you to face Felix alone…”

“I’ve been dealing with assholes like that my whole life,” she insisted. “I can tell him to go screw himself without any input from you guys, trust me.”

“And if he decides to shoot first and explain it to his boss later?” he demanded, and Lacey shook her head.

“My father wants to see me, according to Fiona,” she said. “No way Felix is gonna sign his own death warrant by getting in the way of that. I’m telling you, this could work. But I’m gonna need your gun.”

Weaver drummed his fingers on the table, eyeing her, and Lacey raised her chin with that stubborn look she got.

“Okay, fine,” he said wearily. “But you face him somewhere I can watch both of you and not be seen, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, nodding. “I can do that.”

“Which brings us to the matter of your father and stepmother,” he said. “Ideally we want them both to come here. And the - the Blue Fairy too, if possible.”

Lacey pursed her lips.

“You really did your homework, didn’t you?”

Weaver inclined his head.

“It’s my job.”

“It’s kind of sexy. Anyone ever tell you that?”

“Not in living memory, no,” he said, grinning.  “What do you think? You think they’ll come to us?”

“My father and Fiona, probably,” she said. “Not sure about Azurine - that’s the Blue Fairy, in case you didn’t have her name. And definitely not if they think it’s a setup. If they get the slightest whiff of someone else being here, they’re gonna flood this place with armed men and it’ll end up a bloodbath. Which means I need to convince Felix it’s just me being a stubborn brat, so he leaves for Vegas without me.”

“You think he will?”

Lacey pulled a face.

“Depends how strict my father was with his orders,” she said. “There again, he has the hard drive, so maybe that’s all they want. He may go and - and they might not come.”

“Maybe not,” he agreed. “In which case we have to come up with a better plan.”

“It’s not a great plan, is it?” she said heavily. “Piss off a minion and wait for your murderous mob boss father to turn up?”

“You got any better ideas?” he asked, and she snorted.

“God, no! Considering what we have to work with, it’s as good as it gets. Just don’t fuck it up by bursting into the room if Felix gets handsy, okay?”

“I’m a patient man,” he said evenly, and she smiled.

“Guess you proved that, huh?” she said, and grasped his hand again. “I don’t deserve you, Detective Weaver.”

“Bollocks,” he said dismissively, and leaned in to kiss her. “We decided a long time ago that we were gonna make a life together. That hasn’t changed for me just because of some difficult relatives.”

“Difficult?” Lacey looked amused. “Understatement of the century.”

She kissed him again, and pressed her forehead to his affectionately. Weaver sighed, reaching up to stroke her hair.

“Are you finished with the food?” he asked, and she nodded.

“Yeah, I’m done.”

Weaver kissed her forehead, nuzzling her nose with his as he breathed in the scent of her.

“Come on, then,” he said quietly. “Let’s go to bed.”

Lacey let him pull her to her feet, and they each took a glass of wine, heading up the stairs into the main part of the house. She led the way, one hand on the gleaming banister, walking along thickly-carpeted corridors to the bedroom with the sage green walls and the large bed where she had slept for the months she had spent apart from him, back when Tilly had been growing inside her, back when she thought she would never see him again. Four years on, and she wanted him even more than she had that first night, their relationship changed from hesitant first-time lovers into something intense, something real.

She closed the door behind them, setting her glass of wine down on the nightstand as she turned on one of the lamps. Weaver turned off the main light, the lamp sending a warm, muted glow around the room, making the shadows of his eyes and cheekbones deeper and darker. She sat on the edge of the bed, tugging off her boots, and he took a sip of his wine as he watched her run fingers through her curls. He was very still, and for a terrible, frightened moment she thought perhaps he wouldn’t want her. Her teeth caught at her lower lip nervously.

“Is - is this okay?” she faltered. “I - I never asked if you wanted to share a bed with me.”

His face softened, and he stepped forward, putting his glass next to hers and cupping her cheek with a warm hand as he sank down onto his heels, gazing up at her.

“I have missed you so, so much,” he whispered. “I love you, Lacey. I love you and I want you.”

His other hand reached up, framing her face, and she could smell the scent of him on his fingers, musk and spice, a hint of leather from his jacket and the faintest whiff of cologne. She turned her head a little to kiss his palm, nuzzling him with her nose, and he shifted onto his knees, pressing his forehead to hers as his fingers pushed into her hair. She could feel her breath quicken as his mouth brushed against hers, and he kissed her gently, lips pulling and stroking. Her hands slid over his shoulders, fingers brushing up over the nape of his neck and into his hair as the kiss deepened.

Weaver drew back, sitting on his heels again as he shrugged out of his jacket. Lacey was watching him with those beautiful eyes of hers, wide and shining, her lips full and dark. He could feel his heart thumping, his mind humming with a jumbled mess of emotions: pure love for his wife tinged with fear over the dangers they faced, and determination that they would get through it together. Lacey reached for him, fingers shaking a little as they plucked at the buttons of his shirt, and he sat still, letting her unfasten them and push the shirt from his shoulders before shrugging it off. He shifted closer, pushing in between her legs, hands sliding up her thighs as he knelt up to press his mouth to hers.

She tasted sweet, of wine and cinnamon sugar, and she let out a tiny moan as his tongue slipped into her mouth and stroked gently. He broke the kiss, pulling back a little, and his hands pushed her dress up her thighs. Lacey shifted, letting him slip it over her hips and around her waist before lifting her arms so that he could tug the dress over her head. She reached behind to unhook her bra, tossing it to the side, and he let out a heavy sigh of contentment, eyes running over her pale curves, reaching up to cup her breasts with gentle hands. Lacey was tugging at her lower lip with her teeth, as though she was trying to stop it from trembling, and so he kissed her again, trying to send her reassurance, wanting to comfort her. 

Her fingers were touching his chest, gently stroking over his skin and raising goosebumps on his flesh as her thumbs circled his nipples. It felt good to be touched by her again, to know that she loved him, that they were united, that she would let him fight for her. Lacey’s kiss grew hungry, her hands sliding up over his shoulders and tugging him closer, and he let his own hands follow the curve of her waist, fingers hooking beneath the waistband of her tights and tugging them down with her underwear. He had to move back to push them down her thighs and tug them off at her feet, but then he leaned in to kiss her again, mouth trailing along her jaw and down her throat. 

Lacey moaned, lowering herself back onto the bed as his hands parted her knees, feeling him press his body against hers, the buckle of his belt hard and cold against the hot skin of her belly. She wrapped her legs around his back, wanting to keep him there, to feel the comforting heat and weight of him against her. She had missed him so much, and the fact that he loved her still, after all her lies and her attempts to push him away, made her want to cry. It felt good to be held, to be wanted, to know that there was no more need for secrets and defensiveness. It felt good to be honest with the man she loved.

She ran her hands through his hair, loving the softness of it, the way it slid through her fingers, the scent of him drifting into her nose as his tongue probed her mouth. His kisses were hard and urgent, almost desperate, and she was reminded of the night that Tilly had been made, the night when they had needed one another with a passion that had surprised them both. She needed him again, and she reached between them, fumbling at his belt. Weaver drew back, getting to his feet to unbuckle the belt and take off his jeans and boots, and she wriggled on the bed, pulling back the blankets and slipping inside. 

The sheets were crisp and cool and scented with the lavender fabric softener she remembered so well. She closed her eyes, focusing on the thud of her pulse and the cool cotton sheets, smiling a little as she felt the bed dip with the weight of his body. Weaver slipped in beside her, a warm hand sliding up to cup her breast as he covered her body with his, firm chest pressing down on her. His lips trailed along her jaw to find her mouth, and she moaned as he kissed her, his hand sliding back down, over the flat of her belly and between her legs. Lacey gasped into his mouth as he touched her, fingers sliding through delicate flesh, spreading the slippery wetness he released. Her hands gripped his shoulders, nails digging in a little as his fingers pushed inside her, and Weaver groaned into her mouth, pulling his lips from hers to kiss down her throat.

She could feel him against her thigh, the hard, hot length of him, and she gasped, letting her head roll back as his fingers pushed in and out of her, his thumb brushing over her clit and sending jolts of pleasure through her. He kept his thrusts slow and steady, working her up to what she knew would be a blissful climax, but she wanted him inside her. She wanted to feel him deep within her, to take him with her when she came.

Her hands pushed at him, making him raise his head, and he stilled for a moment, confusion wrinkling his brow before she slipped a hand down between their bodies to grasp his cock and squeeze. He let out a low growl, kissing her neck again, his teeth gently nipping before his tongue swept over her pulse point, and Lacey sighed in pleasure, running her hands up his sides and around his back. Drawing out his fingers, he took himself in hand, shifting a little before guiding himself into her, and she moaned as she felt him slide deep, pushing into her, a deep groan rumbling up through his chest. 

Weaver felt Lacey lift her knees, inner thighs sliding up his sides so that he could push deeper. He sank into her hot flesh with a groaning gasp of pleasure, and cupped her face with shaking hands, fingers pushing into her dark curls as he pressed his brow to hers.

“God, I’ve missed you, sweetheart!” he breathed, nuzzling her nose with his. “I’ve missed you so much! I love you, Lacey. Always, always.”

Her lower lip trembled, and she nodded, tears welling up in her eyes as her fingers stroked through his hair, sending shivers through him. Two tears tracked down her cheeks, and he kissed them away, his mouth finding hers, tongue stroking against her own as he began to move with slow, rhythmic circles of his hips. Lacey arched her back a little, pushing her breasts against his chest as she moaned into his mouth. Being inside her felt incredible, the sensations enhanced by their honesty, by her declaration. He could feel love for her rising within him, a swelling tide brimming over and waiting to wash over them. 

She wrapped her legs around his back, tugging him close against her, and Weaver pulled his mouth from hers, saliva making their lips slippery, his breath coming in pants. His cock was thick and rigid, sliding in and out of her, and there was heat and wetness where their bodies joined, the pull of her flesh against his a delicious sensation. She arched upwards with a moan as he ground against her, head rolling back a little as she tilted her hips upwards, and he quickened his pace, his thrusts growing harder, deeper.

Lacey could feel him nearing his peak, his cock a thick rod of hard flesh inside her, the scent of his musk and sweat in her nose and the taste of him in her mouth. It was almost too much, the rising bliss and the feel of him pressing down on her. The thick silver links of the chain he wore around his neck hung down, cold against her skin where it touched her, and he kissed her again, messy and desperate, his stubble scraping against her chin and his fingers still sticky with her fluids as they pushed into her hair. 

She could feel heat rising, her climax approaching, and she broke the kiss with a gasp, cheeks flushing as her body stiffened. A wave of pleasure broke over her, and she came with a cry, clutching at him, bucking her hips against him. Weaver followed her with a low, guttural groan, his cock pulsing deep inside her as her flesh tugged at his, and she peppered his neck with kisses, tongue sweeping over his damp skin and licking up the taste of salt and musk and the faint, clean smell of his cologne

Weaver pushed up on his elbows, letting his head drop as he tried to catch his breath, the cool air in the room starting to lick along the damp skin of his naked back. Lacey was murmuring contentedly, hands stroking through his hair, and he felt a surge of love for her as the bliss of his orgasm faded. He raised his head, blinking sleepily, and she was watching him through heavy-lidded eyes, a tiny smile curving her perfect mouth. He found himself smiling back, and her lower lip wobbled again as she reached up to cup his cheek, thumb rasping against his stubble as she stroked.

“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you so much, believe me.”

Weaver kissed her palm, his nose nuzzling the tips of her fingers before he turned back to press his forehead against hers and feel her warm breath against his lips.

“Yes,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “And I love you, too.”

[askwhatsforlunch]

Mrs Truebody’s Devilled Kidneys

“With entirely undisguised greed, she grabbed the largest available plate and piled it with eggs, bacon, kedgeree, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and something she couldn’t quite identify but which might have been Swedish hash. It had corned beef in it, anyway. She carried the plate back to a table and demolished it so quickly that her silverware made a small tattoo all of its own. Then she went back for kippers, devilled kidneys, bubble-and-squeak and cold ham. This took her slightly longer, as the kidneys had been devilled with the kind of English Mustard which comes in a powder and can only be eaten unaffected by old Indian hands who took their vindaloo at volcanic heat. Phryne fanned herself, dabbed her eyes and drank some water.”

I like variety in my breakfasts, which is one of the reason I love hotel brekkies -because the opulence of the spread comes largely into consideration when I pick an abode abroad!- and I would really love have a table full of at least half of what Mrs Truebody cooks for the morning meals in Murder in the Dark. But I would need a crowd to eat it! So while gatherings are to be limited, I content myself with making Mrs Truebody’s Devilled Eggs for Jules and I; a tasty dish -full of iron- quite perfect to eat whilst watching rugby!

Ingredients (serves 2):

300 grams/10.5 ounces very fresh lamb kidneys

2 tablespoons plain flour

3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon Coleman’s English Mustard Powder

3/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

1 fluffy sprig flat-leaf parsley

Rinse lamb kidneys under cold water, and pat them dry with paper towels. With a sharp knife, halve kidneys (lengthwise, to keep their shape.) Cut off the tough white core. 

In a shallow plate, combine flour, black pepper, and salt. Stir well, to mix. Dust lamb kidneys in the seasoned flour.

In a frying pan over a medium flame, melt butter. Add English Mustard Powder and Cayenne pepper, and fry, 1 minute. When butter is foaming, shake excess flour off the kidneys, and add to the pan. Cook, about 2 and a half minutes on each side. Deglaze quickly with Worcestershire Sauce.

Finely chop flat-leaf parsley.

Serve Mrs Truebody’s Devilled Kidneys onto buttered toasted bread, sprinkled with parsley; enjoy immediately.

[marvelmadam08]

The Princess & The Nomad (7)

With your hypnosis gone and your identity fully known, you and Steve reunite and pick you right where your left off. But with The Avengers disbanded and a new danger looming in the future, what’ll keep everything from falling apart?

Summary: You find out that Tony’s been lying to you since you’ve returned. And find a possible lead to Steve’s location.

Warnings: Mild violence, betrayal

A/N: After seeing Endgame this whole story is gonna take a sudden turn of events. Who’s seen Endgame? There will be spoilers in further chapters.

"You lied to me!" You threw a fifty pound dumbbell at Tony, he caught it before it could hit him in the head. He was armed in the suit before you even left the venue "You said you didn't know where he was!"

"I don't know where he is!"

"You have his number." You jumped over the stack of weights to tackled him down to the floor, but he backs out of the way in time to miss your fist. The floor, however, has a newly formed crack in it now "Don't lie to me Stark, where is he?"

"That number is for emergencies only."

"Then you better call it back, because you're gonna need some serious help once I'm done with you." Blue smoke rises from your hands and you start to bring the other iron suits to life.

One by one they closed in around Tony. He blasted through one of the suits whole holding off another.

"Where is he?"

"I told you already. He only gave me that number for emergencies, I don't know where he is. He never told me, I just know that he doesn't stay in the same place for too long."

"But you can find him, track him down using that phone."

"I can't track him the tech is too ancient." One of the suits grabbed Tony from behind, and slammed him to the floor. It pulled back, opening it’s hand, powering up a blast from its palm “(Y/N)!”

You pushed your arms apart, shutting the suits down and the power in the house. The both of you stood in the dark for a moment, Tony working to catch his breath. When the lights came back on your cheeks were wet, and Tony pulled away from the suit that collapsed on top of him.

“I’m sorry- I went too far.” You sniffled and drop to the floor in full on sobs

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lie to you. I just- wanted to keep you safe. But we aren’t gonna get anywhere by fighting, I’ve lost enough family already.”

"Understood." You nod "We're not losing anymore family."

That night you and Tony stayed on opposite sides of the house, and continued to keep to yourself majority of the following day. You staying in your room, while he worked in the garage and if you were to cross paths you shares a simple 'hey, how's it going' to which the other person replied 'fine'. If you didn't know any better you'd think you and Tony were married.

Around six, while you were watching the news once more, Tony came up from the garage, a less hostile demeanor between the two of you.

"Got a second?" It was rhetorical "I gotta head back to New York soon."

"Okay, I'll be ready when we go. Not like I have anything to pack." You tell him

"No, Ross is sniffing around the compound for you now. And since you're against The Accords, and technically an illegal alien." Tony sighed "You gotta stay here while I'm gone."

"By myself?"

"I would check in on you. And I'd come back within the next month or so." He tells you "But if you got thrown in prison-"

"I'd break out, go to Norway and hide out with Odin until it's safe."

"Can't do that kid. He wasn't playing around when he said it was especially made for you. Remember back when Banner ran all your samples, there was still a few vials of your blood left behind." He paused "They built a cell, designed to inhibit your powers. And if you managed to get out of that, there are several things keyed in to your DNA that could possibly kill you before you gain your strength back."

"And who says working for the government isn't fun." you roll your eyes

"(Y/N), this is the safest place for you right now."

"Tony, there's never a safe place for me. Not New York, not Asgard. Like you said, I'm a beacon for bad." You look down at your hands "No one even wants me around, that's probably why Thor stopped visiting me. Maybe it's best if no one never saw me again."

"Hey, look at me. (Y/N), look at me." He turned your chin up "The bad things don't stop just because you're not around, if anything they just get worse when you ignore 'em. I can't convince you to stay, at least not for me. But do it for Steve. Stay in a safe spot for him, and I'll figure out a way to get you two back to each other."

You threw your arms around Tony's shoulders for a hug. "Thank you."

"We're family, but if your dad shows up first I'm sending you with him." He pats you on the back

"Fair enough." You laughed softly "And I promise I won't have any wild Asgardian parties while you're gone."

"Exactly, wait until I get back." He stood giving you a light smile "Watch the time will fly by."

***

"Are we recording FRIDAY?"

"Yes Princess (Y/N)."

"Just (Y/N) is fine." You look directly into the camera in the upper corner of the kitchen "Okay, day twelve in my lonely mansion series I pose the question: can I teach an iron suit how to cook? I guess it'd be easier if I myself knew how, but trial and error right?" You clapped and bounce over to the kitchen counter next to an iron suit that you performed a bit of magic on. Another stood by with a fire extinguisher.

The days weren't flying by as fast as Tony promised but you found small ways to entertain yourself without checking the news every ten minutes. Or meditating to check in on Heimdall.

"Okay we'll start simple, spaghetti and meatballs. We have ground beef, breadcrumbs, I read somewhere that breadcrumbs makes it taste better. And seasonings, I didn't know which ones to use so we're gonna do a bit of all of them."

"I could pull up a full recipe for the dish." FRIDAY suggested strongly

"Nope trial and error, FRIDAY. If I don't fail how will I know when I've succeeded?" You start throwing random seasonings in with the ground beef and breadcrumbs. Pepper, dried mustard, cinnamon, salt, ginger and chili powder just to name a few then push the bowl to the iron suit "Now mix."

It followed your orders, while you filled a pot with water for noodles. Out of habit you gave the TV a quick glance, a blurred photo of a woman with Wanda's features was on the screen.

"FRIDAY unmute the TV."

'...witch, a Sokovian refugee known to be in alliance with Steve Rogers, formerly known as Captain America, was allegedly spotted just outside of Denmark. Maximoff, along with Rogers, has been in hiding since the mass prison break. Possessing powers of hypnosis, and mind control, Maximoff is considered to be a weapon of mass destruction. If encountered, we warn that you call the authorities immediately-'

"Princess, I have an incoming call from Mr. Stark." FRIDAY announces

"Okay."

Tony's face pops up on the screen, muting the news again.

"Why is my iron suit wearing an apron?" He asked, watching the iron suit slide several meatballs into a frying pan

"He's cooking." You move over to the screen on the fridge "Have you seen the news? They're calling Wanda dangerous, a weapon."

"I did, that's why I called. Had to make sure you weren't escaping to Denmark. The media likes to twist things, matter of fact I wouldn't be surprised if it was a set up to get Rogers to go after her."

"If it is-"

"Then you need to stay hidden. I know you can handle yourself, but if it's a setup then you're the jackpot. Word will get to Rogers and then things will get really ugly."

You hopped onto the counter, somewhat oblivious to the meatballs still in the pan behind you. "I just feel like I should do something other than learn how to cook with the iron suits."

"And you will when the time comes. Until then- watch the meatballs!"

You turned in time for the second iron suit to spray the extinguisher onto the stove, putting out the smoking meatballs.

"Trial and error, just like I said."

"I swear you're gonna give me a heart attack, stay safe and don't burn down the house."

When the call ends, the TV pops back up. A girl with braids and a wide smile is on, her accent is heavy but she spoke clearly.

‘Wakanda's technology is far more ahead than anything Americans have experienced. That's why my people hid it from the world. My brother, King T'Challa, learned that by standing by and doing nothing we become apart of the problem. That is the purpose for our new outreach program.’ She told the interviewer

‘I must say Princess Shuri, there are some extremely outrageous devices you have here.’

The camera pans across the tech lab, showing off pieces of nanotech, virtual built cars surrounding seats made of glittering dirt and hoverboards that actually hover. You were fully intrigued by all of it.

‘Now correct me if I'm wrong, but you build your equipment from vibranium, the strongest metal on earth.’

‘Yes, all of our technical resources come from vibranium, however we are still debating the safest way to introduce it to the rest of the world.’ Shuri explained

‘And how do you feel knowing that former war hero turned rogue soldier, Steve Rogers, once used a shield made of vibranium?’ The interviewer practically shoved the microphone back towards Shuri

‘That is not relevant to the progress we've made in the program. Captain Rogers stood for something he believed in, and I believe he does what he feels is right.’ Shuri slightly narrowed her eyes at the reporter ‘If you'll excuse me, I have to return to my lab.’

She turned before the reporter could continue with her questions. You grinned at Shuri's attitude towards the reporter. It was one of the first time you heard someone other than Tony say something positive about Steve since your return.

"FRIDAY, pull up the address to the Wakanda outreach program."

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[allotment86]

Felicity Cloake’s recipe for toad in the hole

Sausages in batter with onion gravy: the definitive take on a homely classic

Toad in the hole is a dish that tastes as homely and savoury now as it did when Mrs Beeton gave her recipe for it over 150 years ago. Though it’s rarely made with leftover meat these days, it’s still a relatively thrifty pleasure, and one that’s easily made veggie-friendly with vegetable oil, meat-free sausages and vegetable stock. Buttered peas, however, are non-negotiable.

Prep 20-30 min Cook 35 min Serves 2–4, based on greed

3 tbsp beef dripping or good lard 6 sausages 2 eggs 100g plain flour, sifted, plus 1 tbsp extra for the gravy 85ml whole milk 285ml ale 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard 1 tbsp neutral oil 2 onions Salt 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 dash balsamic vinegar (optional) 500ml chicken stock

1 Brown the sausages

Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Melt half the dripping in a frying pan over a medium heat, then brown the sausages on all sides: this might seem a faff, but, trust me, it’s worth it to avoid flabby, pink bangers. You can use a vegetable oil, if you prefer, but dripping will give the batter a better flavour.

2 Start the batter

Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat vigorously with a whisk or electric beater, until thick and voluminous. Beat in a little of the flour and milk alternately, until you have a smooth batter, taking care not to over-mix it once the flour is in there, otherwise it will develop the gluten and make the toad tough.

3 Flavour the batter

Measure out 85ml ale. Stir a little of this into a tablespoon of mustard until thoroughly mixed, then stir the mustard mix and the rest of the 85ml portion of ale into the flour and eggs. Leave to sit for at least 15 minutes; if you like, you can make the batter in advance – it will be fine in the fridge for a few

4 Heat the tin and start on the gravy

Spoon the remaining fat into a roasting tin (mine’s about 26cm x 21cm) and put it in the oven to heat up – a hot tin makes for a more impressive rise and a crisper finish. In the meantime, start the gravy by thinly slicing the onions. Once the sausages are browned, scoop them out of the pan and set aside, tipping any fat from the pan into the roasting tin.

5 Brown the onions

Put the frying pan back on a medium-low heat – there’s no need to wash it, because any sausagey residue will just add to the gravy’s flavour – and add the oil. Stir in the onions and a pinch of salt, and leave to cook gently while you assemble the toad, stirring occasionally to ensure the onions cook evenly and don’t burn.

6 Add the batter to the hot tin

Take the hot roasting tin out of the oven and put it on a medium hob, if possible (it’s no disaster if an induction hob makes this a problem, but, again, the hotter the tin, the better the results). Pour in the batter, which should sizzle satisfyingly as it hits the tin.

7 Assemble the dish, and bake

Arrange the sausages in the batter, and return the tin to the oven. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the batter is risen and deep golden brown around the edges. Meanwhile, once the onions are soft and well caramelised, add the sugar and vinegar to the pan and cook, stirring, until thick and sticky. Stir in the flour, and cook for a couple more minutes, stirring so it doesn’t catch

8 Flavour the gravy

Gradually mix the remaining 200ml ale into the onion pan, stirring to dissolve the flour in the liquid, then bring to a brisk simmer. Leave it to bubble away for about five minutes, then stir in the remaining tablespoon of mustard and the stock, and bring back to a boil.

9 Finishing touches

Turn down the heat and simmer the gravy for about 10 minutes, until reduced and thickened to your liking. Season to taste, stirring in more mustard if you think it needs it, then serve alongside the toad in the hole with a big bowl of buttered peas.

source

[dabiapologist]

Which League of Villains members do you think would know how to cook?

overall, i think everyone in the VA knows how to cook, but not very well lol they all know at least one or two things, but if i were to rank them from top chef to complete disaster, it’d go:

1. kurogiri: world class chef; loves cooking, has 20 cookbooks and clips recipes out of magazines; his food is so good it will bring you to tears and it’s wasted on a bunch of heathens; voted most likely to be the next gordon ramsay 

2. Mr. Compress: not quite on kurogiri’s level, but he makes some Excellent fucking dishes when the time for him to cook is up; his specialty is tempura dishes

3. Toga: knows how to make exactly two things which are stir fried noodles and rice; mainly subsists off of candy and sweets; no one lets her cook anyway because they dont trust her not to put blood or poison in the food

4. Spinner is unexpectedly discerning when eating other people’s food; does not understand how ingredients work; only eats take out and junk food; pizza is 99% of his diet, like some kind of off-brand ninja turtle

5. Twice:technically knows how to cook; but is so indecisive no ones lets him in the kitchen anymore because they’ll be waiting all day and night for a meal; but he can make stuff occasionally, usually happy with scraps and leftovers 

6. Shigaraki: hates cooking; doesnt care to learn; will literally forget to eat unless food is forcibly shoveled into his face hole; thinks anything with some seasonings is Fancy Eating, probably subsists off of 99 cent instant ramen with funyuns crinkled on top;eats ketchup and mustard packets like gogurts 

7. Dabi: a walking garbage disposal;the chaotic evil of cooking; has literally never used a pan in his entire life; treats every stove top like it’s a hibachi table and is also banned from the kitchen; shoves his whole unwashed hand into a cake like a fucking feral child; will 100% eat raw chicken if you hand it to him; takes ‘leg so hot you can fry an egg’ literally 

[amirrorneverlies]

𝒞𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝑅𝑒𝒹 𝐻𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑒𝒹 - 𝒮𝑜𝓁𝑜 𝒷𝓎 𝐵𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒶

“𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴? 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

A lazy evening was on the cards for the Swan household tonight, I’d spent all my time after school cleaning out the shed in the back of the yard, in the hopes that if I were doing something 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙧𝙨, #Charlie wouldn’t ask too many questions about why I did not have plans for Friday night.

“Dad, the pizza is ordered, and the movie is lined up.” I called up the stairs listening to him moving around his room changing. Tonight, was the first night off #Charlie had since Thanksgiving. Even if I would have preferred him to get into his cruiser, and head down to La Push to watch a game with #Harry, I had to be honest that his suggestion of Pizza and a movie night had appealed to me.

‘Coming Bells, did you make the popcorn?’ he called down. And I remembered that I’d forgotten. I didn’t know what it was about freshly made popcorn that made Charlie so happy, but it was easy enough to make him smile.

“I forgot, but I will do it now.” Smacking my forehead with the flat palm of my hand. “Where is my head at?” It was a rhetorical question; however, my mind chose to line up three different answers for me to pick one from. “All three apply.” I muttered, taking out the pan, the popping corn kernels, some butter, and salt.

Setting the pan on the hot stove, I got to work. It had to be said, one thing that made things easy to live with Charlie, were how closely matched our tastes were when it came to chilled nights in.

· Pizza was always thin and with Pepperoni.

· Popcorn was Salty with a small drop of butter, enough to coat it but not so much that the popcorn at the bottom was soaked.

· Sodas had to be diet.

· And candy had to be chewy.

The only place we seemed to differ was dinner:

· Charlie liked Steak and fries, and I liked a good salad.

· Charlie liked fish fry battered and deep fried, and I liked a nice cut of salmon.

· Charlie liked his burger rare with cheese and grilled onions with Ketchup. And I liked mine well done with fresh onions, lettuce, and no tomatoes. Not forgetting a squeeze of mustard.

When push came to shove, we always had a way to make sure we both got what we liked. Since stepping out of my 𝙕𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙚 life, the one thing I’d taken back control over was the grocery shopping and the cooking. I liked having dinners at home in the evening, and only going to the diner for a treat every now and then. And of course, #Sue had been kind enough to share a few of her recipes with me so that Charlie and I weren’t eating the same three meals all week long.

As the popcorn started to slow with the popping in the covered pan, I added a little more butter and set it to the side to rest. “Char... Dad, come on let’s go!” I called out again looking around for the large popcorn bowl. I was sure that #Billy, #Harry and #Charlie had been using it last for their snacking while watching a game on Thanksgiving weekend.

“Dad…” I called but there was a knock on the door. “Pizza is here!” running to answer the door I tripped over my own feet. Saving myself by reaching my hands out into the wall I stopped myself from landing flat on my face again. “One of these days!” I stilled seeing that it wasn’t actually the pizza delivery. Opening the door, my brows pulled together as I took in the person stood before me.

“Jessica? What are you doing here?” I asked her confused seeing her stood at my doorstep with a tray of pie and cookies.

‘Hey Bella.’ She chimed her voice ringing in my ears. That fake smile she gave me on most days visible as she tried to look genuine.

“Hey.” Tilting my head, a little, still unsure what was going on here.

‘I was just passing and thought I’d knock to see if you were in at all.’ She laughed, moving the tray to one hand and flicking her brown hair back out of her face.

“You were passing by my house, which is across town from your place, with a tray of cookies and pie, and thought to knock on my door?” I clarified, still confused.

‘Okay fine. My mom asked me to come over and bring these for you. She was out for lunch with Mrs Cheney and Mrs Weber...’ And just like that it all fell into place. ‘They were talking about our shopping trip to Port. You know how the moms get. They are making a big deal out of nothing Right? But here I am because they think I was out of order. And now my mom thinks you didn’t come to the Halloween dance because of me…’

Before I could stop her from saying anything more, before I could close the door on her face or even tell her to lower her voice. I felt #Charlie’s hand on my shoulder. ‘Hello there Jessica. Tell me more about why you think my daughter didn’t make it to the Halloween Dance?’

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me up, what was I thinking? I’d let my guard down believing I’d gotten away with it, but here I stood now caught red handed.

‘Oh, Hi Chief Swan. Well, nothing really. Okay. Well… Bella and I had a small disagreement when we were shopping, and really it was her fault for not knowing that I was joking…’ #Charlie lifted a finger to stop #Jessica from saying anything more.

‘Jessica, thank your mother for sending you. And thank her for the sweet treats, but let me help you out here a little? Apologies are great, but they don’t really change anything. You know what does? Action.’ He closed the door after sending her on her way. And the two of us stood in the hallway. ‘Do you want to tell me what really happened with Jessica and on Halloween now?’

It was time to come clean.

[styleatacertainage]

SPRING GREENs

after some serious flirting with spring, i think it’s only fair to break up with old man winter. right?! and nothing says spring quite like a vibrant shade of green. what with a dreary rainy day at hand it seemed appropriate to jumpstart my tablescape with these adorable green gingham napkins and hemstitch placemats. what a breath of fresh air! did you notice these cute ceramic napkin rings? they’re etched with nosh, graze, nibble, and pick. and i couldn’t resist adding a bunny in for good measure. in for a penny in for a pound, my mother always said.

with a table, this pretty there better be something yummy dished up. what’s on the menu? spinach and mushroom lasagna, and a scrumptious caesar salad. recipes down below.

placemat | napkins | napkin rings | bunny | eggs | salt and pepper | pitcher

tee shirt | similar pants | espadrilles

the prepster in me couldn’t resist adding a monogram to these espadrilles. didn’t i tell you i was breaking up with winter? spring clothes are too irresistible at the moment.

this toucan is the best can opener ever! mr. style purchased this for mother’s day several years ago as i have a severe case of arthritis with my hands and find it hard to grip or grasp certain items. this little device works beautifully, and the top pops off with ease.

anyone hungry yet? there are a couple of hungry faces staring at me right about now. bon appétit!

MUSHROOM SPINACH LASAGNAServes 8Vegetarian lasagna with spinach, shiitake and cremini mushrooms, ricotta, mozzarella, and pecorino cheeses.Write a review

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PrintPrep Time20 minCook Time1 hrSAUCE

1 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped

1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped

Salt

1 generous cup of chopped onions

1/4 cup olive oil plus more for keeping the noodles from sticking to each other

4 cloves garlic, chopped (about 4 teaspoons)

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

2 cups tomato sauce

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (I recommend Muir Glen brand with added basil)

1 cup water

1 Tbsp dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp sugar

LASAGNA

2 10-ounce boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed in clean towel of excess moisture

1 lb lasagna noodles (16 to 20 noodles)

1 15-or-16-ounce container of ricotta cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 pound pecorino cheese (or Parmesan), grated (about 1 cup)

1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 cups)

INSTRUCTIONS

Sauté the mushrooms: Place mushrooms in a large (6 to 8 quart), sauté pan on high or medium high heat. Stir them with a wooden spoon or shake the pan from time to time. You may hear them squeak.

Sprinkle salt over the mushrooms. The mushrooms will sizzle and then start to release water. (Note: you are not adding fat at this point to the pan; this method of cooking mushrooms in their own moisture is called "dry sautéing").

Once the mushrooms start to release water into the pan, stir in the chopped onions. Cook until the mushrooms no longer release moisture and the mushroom water has boiled away, about 5 minutes.

Build the sauce with the mushrooms, tomatoes, and rest of the sauce ingredients: Add the olive oil to the mushrooms and stir to coat. Sauté the mushrooms and onions for about a minute. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Stir in the tomato paste, cook for a minute longer. Reserve 1 cup of the tomato sauce (it will go in the bottom of the casserole dish). Add the large can of crushed tomatoes. Add one cup of water.

Stir in the thyme, sugar, and red pepper flakes. If you are using dried basil instead of fresh, add it now.

Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Boil and drain the lasagna noodles: Once sauce is simmering, salt the boiling pasta water, and add the dry lasagna noodles to the boiling water. (The water should be at a vigorous, rolling boil.) Stir gently, making sure that the noodles are not sticking to each other. Cook uncovered on a high boil.

When the noodles are ready (al dente, cooked through but still firm to the bite), drain the noodles in a colander, and rinse them to cool them with cold water. As you rinse them, gently separate them with your fingers so they don't stick to each other.

Assemble the lasagna: Turn off the heat on the stovetop for the sauce. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Spread one cup of reserved tomato sauce over the bottom of a large (preferably 10x15-inch) casserole dish. (If your casserole dish is smaller, you may need to add another layer as you go through this step.)

Place a layer of lasagna noodles down over the tomato sauce, slightly overlapping. (For our 10x15-inch dish, we ultimately fit 3 layers of noodles, each layer with 6 noodles. Then we had 2 extra noodles on which to nosh.)

Sprinkle half of the ricotta cheese over the noodles.

Sprinkle half of the defrosted, drained spinach over the ricotta.

Sprinkle half of the Mozzarella cheese over the spinach, and just a quarter of the pecorino cheese.

Then spoon 1/3 of your mushroom sauce over the Mozzarella.

Sprinkle half of the fresh basil over the sauce if using.

Repeat layers: Repeat the layering process. Place a second layer of noodles over the sauce. Spread the remaining ricotta, spinach, and Mozzarella over the noodles. Sprinkle another quarter of the pecorino along with the Mozzarella. Top with another third of the mushroom sauce and the remaining fresh basil.

Layer your final layer of lasagna noodles over the sauce. Spread the remaining sauce over the lasagna noodles, and sprinkle with the remaining pecorino or parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake: Pull out a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover the casserole dish. Spread a little olive oil over the inside of the piece of foil (the side that will have contact with the lasagna). Place the foil over the casserole dish and crimp the edges.

Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 25 minutes.

Take the lasagna out of the oven when done and let it rest 10 minutes before cutting to serve. Once made, the lasagna will last a week in the fridge.

NOTES

For this recipe I used Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna Noodles - what a time saver!

CAESAR SALADThe best caesar salad ever!Write a review

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PrintINGREDIENTS

8 cloves garlic

1-1/2 C. olive oil

7 slices white French bread

2 heads romaine lettuce (buy 4 heads to make sure there is enough of the good stuff)

1 large lemon

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

6 inches anchovy paste

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. dijon Mustard

1 Tbs. Mayonnaise

8 shakes red pepper

8 shakes tabasco Sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 C. grated Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preparation Step (8 to 24 hours before you make your salad. If longer, must be refrigerated)

Peel and mash the garlic cloves, and place in the Olive Oil. Mix throughout the day.

• Preparation Step (8 or more hours before you make your salad)

Cut 7 slices (more if you have a small loaf) of good white french bread into 1/2 inch cubes and spread out in shallow pan. Turn occasionally throughout day. The bread cubes should get dry and somewhat hard. You can boost the process by putting the shallow pan with bread cubes in the oven on warm, with the oven door propped ajar.

• Preparation Step (anytime)

4 Heads Romaine Lettuce

(Remove any brown or damaged leaves, then rinse in cold water. Dry thoroughly & cut into 3/4 to 1 inch wide strips. Wrap in clean towel & store in refrigerator, or cooler - wrap in two towels and place ice in plastic bags on top)

• Preparation Step (anytime)

- On a small plate mix the Worcestershire & Anchovy Paste and work together with fork until homogeneous liquid.

- Add mustard & mayonnaise, working-in one-by-one.

- In cup squeeze lemon juice. Add sugar, red pepper, tabasco, then add the mixture that was prepared above. Mix well and refrigerate.

• Preparation Step (1 to 2 hours or more hours before you make your salad)

Strain 3/4 C. Olive Oil into frying pan & heat to Medium High heat. After oil is very hot add cubed dried bread, turning over repeatedly with spatula until brown. Drain onto several layers of paper towels & pat dry, then set aside for salad.

• To Make Salad

- Place lettuce in large bowl

- Pour over lemon mixture & mix well

- add salt & freshly ground pepper

- strain remaining oil mixture (3/4 C.), pour over lettuce, & mix well.

- Add 3/8 to 1/2 C. Grated Parmesan & mix well. (use 1/2 cup lightly pressed down shredded Parmesan

- Add Croutons & mix well.

- Serve

Note: Have salt, ground pepper, and extra grated parmesan on the table when you serve.

By Peter Best

[securepain9-blog]

Green Genie: 4 Delicious Ways to Eat & Cook Green Tomatoes!

With summer coming to a close you may have more green tomatoes than you know what to do with as green tomatoes pop up in garden beds and at markets! Of course there's the classic fried green tomato but there's so much more to do with them.

From an amazing green tomato ketchup, green tomato & feta salad, a BLHT (BLT with Halloumi!) using green tomatoes and a creamy green tomato soup you may find yourself seeking out green tomatoes!

Green tomatoes have a lovely crisp texture although they aren't sweet like ripe, red tomatoes. I found that pairing them with sweet flavours goes well but they're surprisingly versatile.

I made these recipes on a weekend when I was home alone and had a bucket of these green tomatoes to play with. We bought them from a greengrocer and I got a bit too excited when I saw them. And I am such a nerd that the idea of spending a whole day playing with green tomatoes was what I considered fun.

Green tomato and feta salad

Mr NQN was doing a windsurfing camp that weekend. He asked me if I wanted to come but the invitation came with some hesitation. Neither of us want to see me camping quite honestly. I don't want to do it, nor does Mr NQN want to have to deal with me when I complain that my creature comforts are missing. It's better that I am comfortable and away from tents.

Green tomato ketchup

He went off to do his windsurfing, proudly getting blisters on his hands like trophies. As for me, I had m ideal weekend alone. I made some recipes with green tomatoes, ate dumplings and salad and drank kombucha and by 8pm I was settled into bed and I finished my book ("Bad Blood" by John Carreyrou about the Theranos scandal, you've got to read it, it's outrageous and compelling).

B.L.H.G.T. (Bacon, lettuce, halloumi & green tomato)

The next morning I woke early. "I survived without being murdered!" I messaged him which was quite honestly my main concern. I asked him if I would have enjoyed the camping and his answer came swiftly and with certainty. "Absolutely not, you would have hated it," he said. I agreed, I'd much rather be experimenting green tomatoes...

So tell me Dear Reader, what is your idea of a great weekend alone? Have you ever tried green tomatoes? Which recipe appealed to you the most of the four? And have you read Bad Blood?

Roasted green tomato and pea soup

Green Tomato & Feta Salad

All Original Recipes by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 0 minutes

Serves 1 or 2 as a side dish

2 large green tomatoes

75g/2.7ozs. feta cheese, cubed

Small handful of rocket

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar (or a similar sweet fruit vinegar)

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon mustard

Step 1 - Cut the tomatoes into thin slices and then fan out in a bowl alternating with feta and rocket. In a small bowl or a jug whisk the oil, vinegar, honey and mustard together until emulsified. Pour over the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Green Tomato Ketchup

Double, triple or quadruple or more this recipe because it is delicious and once you've got one lot cooking you may as well start bottling this stuff it's that good.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours

1 tablespoon oil

2 onions, peeled and diced

8 green tomatoes, chopped into small pieces

200ml/7flozs. white vinegar

180g/6ozs. white sugar

1 teaspoon celery seeds (or to taste)

1 teaspoon ground cloves (or to taste)

Salt to taste

Step 1 - Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the onions on medium heat until soft. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, celery seeds and cloves and bring to a boil.

Step 2 - Simmer on low heat with the lid on for 1.5 hours. Once the tomatoes are soft, remove the lid, turn the heat to medium and allow the liquid to reduce and then use a stick blender to blend to a smooth consistency. Taste for salt - I just added a little to bring out the flavour.

Green Tomato BLT

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves 2

3 tablespoons butter

4 slices brioche bread (I used my home made tangzhong brioche)

4 rashers streaky bacon

4 slices halloumi cheese

4 slices green tomato

small handful rocket

2 tablespoons pesto

Aioli to taste

Step 1 - Butter the outside of the brioche and set aside. Fry the bacon until crispy and remove from the pan. Add the halloumi and green tomatoes and fry until done. Scrape the base of the frypan and then take the brioche slices butter side down and fry until golden.

Step 2 - Take one piece of bread and add some rocket. Layer green tomato slices, halloumi and bacon adding pesto and aioli to taste. Place other slice of brioche on top and serve.

Roasted Cream of Green Tomato & Pea Soup

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 2

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, quartered

4 cloves garlic, peeled

4 green tomatoes, cut into segments

1.5 cups chicken stock

1.5 cup frozen green peas

1/4 cup cream

75g/2.7ozs. feta, crumbled

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with parchment. Place the onion, garlic and green tomatoes on the tray and drizzle with oil. Roast for 30 minutes.

Step 2 - Place the chicken stock and peas onto boil and add the roasted vegetables. Simmer for 10 minutes and then blitz using an immersion or stick blender. Add cream and feta and season to taste.

Source: https://www.notquitenigella.com/2019/04/10/green-tomato-recipes/

[thirtysomethingadventures]

Breakfast Sammies

Of all the skills I’m proud of learning over the last ten years, making bomb ass breakfast sandwiches is near the top. And now I’m reconsidering using “bomb ass” to describe food. Regardless. When I talk about living in Vermont these days, I am usually telling people about how every town has a little general store–sometimes quaint and historic, sometimes just attached to the gas station–and every little general store has a grill, and from those grills come the most consistently perfect breakfast sandwiches known to man. When I was working wilderness therapy and administrative staff came into the field during a particularly challenging week, they often surreptitiously pulled foil-wrapped breakfast sandwiches out of packs for the guides. In the winter, those delightful packages rode in jacket pockets so they weren’t frozen on delivery. We’d take turns excusing ourselves “to take a pee” and gobble up that goodness. I was raised on cereal and milk (under an inch of sugar), PopTarts, Carnation Instant Breakfast, and on Saturdays charred bacon and runny scrambled eggs. I never much liked breakfast. I think it was during that time in Vermont that I came to truly love breakfast sandwiches, and in fact breakfast as a meal.

Today I don���t have to be at work until noon, and I wondered what I’d have for breakfast. There’s an open box of cereal, but we ran out of milk a couple days ago. Even the nut milk is gone. I started rummaging. Lots of gourmet bagels, selected from the day-old basket at Berkeley Bowl. Eggs. Bacon in the freezer went into the microwave on defrost. Thankful for a gas range, I turned on a burner and perched a red pepper on top. Put a bagel in the toaster, turned over the pepper, peeled off a couple just-thawed slices of bacon and arranged them in a frying pan. Found mayo and cheddar cheese–sadly, not Mr. Cabot’s finest. Thought wistfully of English muffins, Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon, Cabot cheddar, and turned the pepper again. Checked the bacon. Turned the pepper, spread mayo and spicy brown mustard on the bagel. Flipped the bacon. Put the pepper on a plate, covered with a bowl, let it sweat. Arranged bacon on bagel, poured most of the grease into a jar for later, plopped an egg in the pan and back on the burner it went. Peeled the pepper, cut into thick juicy tongues, layers on top of bacon. Turned the egg and laid cheese slices on top. Sliced a yellow tomato from the bowl on the counter. Put tomato on egg and egg on bagel, then brought the two halves together for an egg-cheddar-roaster red pepper-bacon-tomato breakfast sandwich on an everything bagel. Not too bad.

Took my sandwich and cup of tea (overbrewed in all the excitement) to the table by the front window and fantasized about opening a breakfast sandwich shop. There are plenty of places to get breakfast sandwiches in San Francisco but they are all overpriced and lack heart. Or maybe they lack a grill; everything’s done in the microwave. Maybe one day. Maybe in another life. Maybe on a ghost ship that just set off  into foggy waters. For now I’m happy with the sandwich I just gobbled.

Edit: Carlo just said, "Maybe we'll have a breakfast sandwich place. We can't see the future. It's all obscured by Karl the Fog."

[clatterbane]

Not the most attractive meal ever, but tasty! The coriander/cilantro in the fridge turned out to be past its prime, or that would have added a nice dash of color besides flavor. Still not bad without, just very brownish ;)

With Mr. C off on what’s supposed to be a day trip to Eastercon, I took the opportunity to cook some liver. Another thing nobody else here but the cats wants to eat. (Lamb’s liver in this case, which is what you seem to find most often here–and all they had up the street. Never had it back home, but we were unusual locally in eating lamb at all.)

I only very occasionally get a taste for liver, but guess I was craving those minerals! *snerk* Originally I had just intended to give it a quick pan fry with some onions, but I’ve also had a taste for pretty much anything with South Indian flavors lately. And I got some more nice fresh curry leaves yesterday.

So, I tried this Chicken Liver Pepper Fry, which seemed like it should work fine with the lamb’s liver cut into bite-size pieces. And it did.

I used some cumin seed along with the black mustard, added a chopped smallish tomato to saute for a couple of minutes before the meat went in, and left out the bit of garam masala because the blend we have wouldn’t necessarily enhance this dish. I also soaked the liver in some kefir I needed to use up instead of milk. (More used to soaking some meats in buttermilk anyway, and the homebrew kefir is a good buttermilk substitute.) Plus I decided to leave it just a tad saucy, instead of cooking it down dry.

Good results, to the point that I’ll have to try that again. Not planning to try to feed spicy liver to someone I know doesn’t like it, but those seasonings really complimented the flavor and the finished dish doesn’t actually taste strongly of liver to me. Might be a decent option for someone who is not wild about the gamy notes it can have.

Besides some Basmati, that’s some impulse buy “Indian style” spiced roasted cauliflower on the side. Another Iceland special, but a pretty good flavor with some extra salt and a splash of lemon juice added at the end.

Kind of glad I didn’t just opt for a sandwich, which is pretty much the default plan when I’m on my own.

[hyderabadiruchuluvideos]

Vamu Rasam Recipe | Ajwain Rasam Recipe in Telugu | Healthy Vamu Rasam Preparation at Home

New Post has been published on https://hyderabadiruchulu.com/vamu-rasam/

Vamu Rasam Recipe | Ajwain Rasam Recipe in Telugu | Healthy Vamu Rasam Preparation at Home

  Print

Vamu Rasam Recipe

Healthy and Tasty Vamu Rasam Recipe in Telugu. Easy Ajowan Rasam Preparation at Home.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword Vamu Rasam Recipe in Telugu

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 tsp Ajowan

1 Onion

2 Green Chillies

Coriander Leaves

Curry Leaves

15 to 20 gms Tamarind

1 tsp Jaggery or Sugar

Salt

Tempering Seeds

Recipe Notes

Vamu Rasam Preparation

Healthy Vamu Rasam Preparation in Telugu. Tasty and Simple Homemade Ajwain Rasam Recipe. Ajwain Rasam is good dish for digestion.

How to Make Healthy and Tasty Ajowan Rasam

Preparation of Vamu Rasam in Telugu

Let's see how to make ajowan rasam today

Mrs. Padma from Kannapuram has sent us this recipe

Add 1/2 litre water to a bowl

Add tamarind juice to it along with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, green chillies and onions

Coriander leaves and curry leaves also could be added now and boiled, but I'll be adding it later

Mix and boil for 8-10 minutes

Add 1 teaspoon jaggery or sugar and mix

Then add coriander leaves and curry leaves

Add 1 teaspoon ajowan and simmer for 1-2 minutes

Lets prepare tempering now

Ajowan Rasam Tempering Preparation at Home

Heat 1-2 teaspoons oil in pan

Add 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, dried chillies and fry

Cut off the stove and add prepared rasam to this tempering

Ajowan rasam is ready to serve!

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Hyderabadi Ruchulu for more latest and interesting cooking videos in Telugu

[longislandweekly-blog]

Photo by Jenavieve via Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA-2.0

Bananas are OK.

They possess neither the flashiness of a strawberry or the grandeur of a watermelon. They aren’t refreshing like a nice, crisp apple or easy to mindlessly eat like a few hundred grapes. Instead, bananas humbly step in when you don’t have time to eat an actual breakfast and are enlisted in a pinch when you are trying your damnedest to stay awake at work in the mid-afternoon.

In the abstract, they are perfect for slip-and-fall slapstick comedy and perhaps the best fruit to use as a pretend telephone.

But where’s the wow factor? Answer: there is none. Not when they are meagerly sliced into cereal and certainly not when they are eaten on their own. But, as has been proven time and again, when given the opportunity, bananas can shine and when utilized the right way, can be quite, ahem, appealing. What follows is a collection of preparations that takes bananas and thrusts them into recipes where they have no right appearing. Taken from various Internet sources, these dishes will either gross you out or make you go ape with hunger.

*Author’s Note: This list is specifically about bananas, not plantains. Sure, plantains might be related to bananas, but such facts have no relevancy here.

Banana Split

Bananas are filled with nutrients that promote health and overall well-being. What better way to exploit that than by splitting one down the middle, and filling the void with three scoops of full-fat ice cream before covering it in every topping imaginable, from chocolate sauce to whipped cream to whatever those wet nuts are.

Invented in 1904 at a pharmacy—back when pharmacies were cool—the original recipe for a banana split is as follows: One banana (split), with a scoop of chocolate ice cream covered in chocolate sauce, a scoop of strawberry ice cream draped in strawberry syrup and a scoop of vanilla ice cream ruined with pineapple. Then, whipped cream is shot from end to end before it’s topped with a maraschino cherry.

Though not as popular at places like Carvel or Baskin Robbins where they opt to serve ice cream with such ingredients swirled into the recipe, you can still get a classic banana split at any diner, at any time of day or night to fill the void in the middle of your soul.

Grilled Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwich

Elvis Presley is a little-known entertainer that made a minor impact on the music industry a long, long time ago. But what he was really famous for, and what he’s mainly remembered for today, is his massive, lard-drenched appetite. A southern boy who proclaimed an undying love for his mama’s (or maid’s) cooking, Presley filled his hunk a’hunkin’ belly with every fatty favorite you can imagine. Chief among his food addictions was the grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.

To make this gooey delicacy, the King (his maid) would melt an entire stick of butter in a frying pan, while mashing ripe bananas to spread on one side of white bread and globs of peanut butter on the other. He (his maid) would then grill the sticky monstrosity until brown on both sides. The combination of the sweet banana and the salty/sweet peanut butter turns into a decadent love ballad in the mouth, with the buttery bread adding just enough fat to give you the heart palpitations you need to write a couple of catchy tunes.

Ham & Bananas Hollandaise

Never have bananas been so helpless as in this 1970s monstrosity. Originally published in McCall’s Great American Recipe Card Collection from 1973, this oddity finally marries bananas to ham, with a slathering of lemon juice, mustard and hollandaise sauce for a piping-hot, potassium-rich nightmare straight out of the oven. Ham and Bananas Hollandaise is a dish perfectly attached to the era in which it was invented, as America was staring down its bicentennial and was feeling insecure thanks to the Vietnam War quagmire and ever-present gas shortages.

This dish and others during that same time like Crown Roast of Frankfurters, Hot Tuna and Egg Buns and Spaghetti-O Jello, was the culinary equivalent to mid-life crisis—super embarrassing for everyone except the poor soul locked in the deeply emotional turmoil of advancing age. Now, Ham and Bananas Hollandaise only resides in old, sticky recipe books and in the haunted memories of your grandparents as a misguided attempt to impress dinner party guests.

Banana Pudding

In a revelation that should surprise precisely no one, banana pudding traces its lineage to the Civil War-era southern portion of these United States. Even when eaten today, there is something about the combination of bananas, vanilla wafers and cream that makes one feel as though they are about to pen an old-timey letter to their “Dearest Martha” about the ravages of war. There are also no less than two national banana pudding festivals in the country held annually.

There’s the two-day National Banana Pudding Festival held every October in Tennessee, and the Georgia State Banana Pudding Festival held at the end of every April. Smart move putting the two festivals at opposite ends of the calendar—we wouldn’t want to start yet another Civil War. Shockingly, one of the very first published banana pudding recipes doesn’t include any vanilla wafers. It comes from The Kentucky Receipt Book, by Mary Harris Frazer, in 1903. Way to drop the ball on the wafers, Mrs. Frazer.

Banana Daiquiri

The daiquiri itself was the product of Cuban ingenuity sometime in the late 19th century. This cooling, regal, rum-filled way to get a buzz is a dose of instant relaxation, brain freeze and all. The banana daiquiri takes that same island-life concept and blends it with what is perhaps the least-expected fruit.

A pure product of the tropics, legend has it that a salty English sea captain drunkenly demanded his bartender at a seaside saloon somewhere in the Caribbean add chopped up bits of banana skin to his shots of rum, believing that the skin possessed psychotropic qualities. The bartender refused, instead offering a chilly cocktail with the edible part of the banana blended into rum. That might be true, or it might be a fantasy that I invented during a week in the Dominican Republic when I drank so many banana daiquiris that the locals dubbed me “Señor Banana.”

Read the digital edition of Long Island Weekly!

Long Island Weekly's Steve Mosco, aka Senor Banana, goes bananas for bananas this week. Find out what you can do with the odd fruit besides use it as pretend telephone. Bananas are OK. They possess neither the flashiness of a strawberry or the grandeur of a watermelon.

[lowcarbnutrients]

“Super Bowl” Diet Cheat Sheet

" #Super Bowl" #Diet Cheat Sheet

Need some motivation to eat a little bit much better on Super Dish Sunday? Bear in mind these matchings: - 3 tortilla chips topped with seven-layer dip = 15.5 minutes climbing up the stadium stairs - A bowl of chili = running 100 football fields - 2 items of fried hen = doing 'the wave' 3,220 times - Two handfuls of potato chips = running 45 football fields

Here are a couple of pointers to keep you focused on selecting the much healthier treats throughout the Big Game foodfest:

Real Meals Don' t simply treat till you're ill. Try real meals-- and also I'm not discussing deep-fried hen and wings. Given That the Super Dish is played during dinnertime, eat a healthy dinner. Go to the supermarket as well as grab a baked poultry. Or how about sliced white-meat turkey with low-fat cheese and mustard on One Hundred Percent whole-grain bread? If you need to get pizza, at the very least have it as a meal, and try cheeseless slim crust with lots of veggies-- broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and even artichoke hearts-- on the top. Prevent personal pan as well as stuffed-crust pizza: The thick, oily crust equates to added fat as well as #calories.

Frozen Meals Don' t feel like preparing a real dish? Attempt giving your guests their own portion-controlled servings of Lean Cuisine, Amy's Cooking area, Healthy Choice, Kashi or Smart Ones by Weight Watchers-- they're done in the frozen- #food section, and there are some great choices.

Soup Dr. Barbara Rolls of Penn State College has finished a large amount of research demonstrating how low-calorie soups can aid you repel appetite as well as provide nutritious, delicious meals. There are numerous great-tasting low-calorie soups made by Campbell's, Healthy and balanced Option, Amy's Kitchen area as well as Progresso-- simply keep an eye out for the salt, and also keep the calories under 100 per cup.

Cereal and Popcorn There are a lot of grains that are One Hundred Percent entire grain without sugarcoated, and also several with less than 120 calories each cup. Place out bowls of Kashi or Cheerios. You can additionally make your personal snacks in a hot-air popper. Or if, like me, you do not like air-popped corn as well as don't mind the hassle (or the periodic burnt kernel), pop yours on the cooktop top the old-fashioned means. I'm still a massive follower of pan-cooked popcorn. Place the kernels in a deep pot, coat them with Pam or cooking spray, cover and pop. Open up the cover slightly from time to time to release the heavy steam. Simply beware not to shed on your own. And drink the pot throughout the process-- the trembling spreads the warmth and also permits the unpopped corn to pop. Then leading with a margarine spray, salt and pepper.

Dips and Crackers There are many sort of salsa, and a lot of are very low in calories-- concerning 15 for 2 tbsps. Or attempt bruschetta covering, which is mainly tomatoes as well as olive oil, and also offer it with whole-wheat biscuits rather than Italian bread. Guacamole is one more excellent choice. Made with avocados, it's loaded with anti-oxidants, vitamins B6, C and also E, along with folate and potassium and is a terrific source of monounsaturated fat. Hummus, a popular Middle Eastern spread out made from chickpeas, tahini (ground sesame seeds), roasted garlic and olive oil, has 25-35 calories each tablespoon (1/2 ounce) however has a remarkable quantity of fiber and also protein.

Hummus:

Healthy Recipe by: Charles Platkin, PhD., owner of DietDetective.com.

Yield: 10 ounces

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained 4 cloves garlic, sliced 1 tablespoon tahini Juice of 1 large lemon 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt 1 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine all components in a food mill till smooth.

Nutritional info: (1 tablespoon) 34.2 calories, 1.3 g fat, 4.5 g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.5 g protein.

Guacamole:

Healthy Recipe by: Charles Platkin, PhD., founder of DietDetective.com.

Yield: 11 ounces

2 ripe avocados 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ tablespoon salt 1 plum tomato, diced ½ tablespoon minced shallots 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro Juice of 1 lime

Mash the avocados, add staying components as well as blend with a fork.

Nutritional details: (1 tablespoon) 24 calories, 2g fat, 1.5 g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 0.3 g protein.

The greatest trouble with all these dips is the firm they keep-- namely crackers and chips. Your best choice is to select One Hundred Percent whole-grain crackers with really few components and no additional sugar. We such as Dr. Krackers (www.drkracker.com/) and Mr. Krispers (mrkrispers.elsstore.com), yet there are other 100 percent whole-grain crackers. You could additionally make your own pita chips: Cut whole-grain pita bread into quarters, separate the tops from the bases and salute. If you really desire potato or pita chips from the store, select Stacy's or one more baked chip, yet bear in mind that every chip you eat has 12 to 14 calories-- as well as they include up.

Wings You can easily make the wings on your own. Eliminate the skin (it conserves great deals of calories), soak them in warm sauce or roll them in egg whites, dip them in bread crumbs and also cook them in the oven. Skip heaven cheese clothing, which has about 305 calories in 4 tbsps. Dip them in hot sauce instead.

Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings

Healthy Recipe by: Lisa Lillien, owner of Hungry Lady (www.Hungry-Girl.com) and also author of the upcoming publication Starving Lady: Dishes as well as Survival Techniques for Guilt-Free Consuming in the Genuine World (St. Martin's Griffin, April 29, 2008)

Yield: 2 servings

1 ounce (about 14) Pringles Light Fat Free Potato Crisps, Barbecue (or one more fat-free barbecue-flavored potato chip) 1/ 4 mug Fiber One bran grain (original), ground to a bread-crumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor Dash onion powder Dash garlic powder Dash cayenne pepper Dash black pepper Dash salt 8 ounces skinless and boneless chicken breast, reduced into 10 nugget-shaped pieces 3 tablespoons Frank's RedHot Original Chili pepper Sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crush potato crisps completely and mix them with cereal crumbs in a tiny recipe. Add a dash of each of the spices as well as mix well. In a different bowl, toss hen items with hot sauce. Spray a baking frying pan with nonstick spray. Get rid of excess sauce from hen pieces, layer with crumb combination, as well as place in the cooking pan. Bake in preheated stove for 10 minutes. Transform as well as cook 10 more mins, or till crunchy and prepared through.

Nutritional details: (each serving) 175 calories, 1.5 g fat, 1,153 mg sodium *, 14g carbs, 4g fiber, 27g protein.

* Keep in mind: Although dietary information shows the total of RedHot asked for in the ingredients list, you will certainly not use the whole quantity to coat the hen. So the real salt matter will likely be much lower.

If you like your Super Bowl snacks actually warm, you can also try these jalapeno poppers:

HG's Jalapeno Swappers

Healthy Dish by: Lisa Lillien, creator of Hungry Lady (www.Hungry-Girl.com) and also author of the upcoming publication Starving Woman: Recipes as well as Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Consuming in the Real Life (St. Martin's Lion, April 29, 2008)

Yield: 2 servings

5 whole, fresh jalapenos 1/4 cup fat-free cream cheese 1/ 4 mug shredded fat-free cheddar cheese Optional: salt, pepper and/or garlic powder 1/ 2 mug Fiber One cereal, ground to a bread-crumb-like uniformity in a blender or food processor or food processor 1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve the jalapenos lengthwise, and remove the seeds, stems and also membrane layers. (Be extremely mindful when handling jalapenos, laundry hands regularly and also well, as well as prevent touching your face and also eyes.) Wash halves and dry them quite possibly, set aside. In a bowl, integrate cream cheese and also cheddar cheese. If preferred, period with salt, pepper and/or garlic powder. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a bread-crumb-like consistency. If you like, period crumbs with salt, pepper and/or garlic powder. Place Fiber One crumbs in one tiny dish as well as Egg Beaters in another. Stuff each pepper half with cheese mix, then dip both sides in Egg Beaters and layer with crumbs. Place peppers on a baking frying pan sprayed with nonstick spray, as well as bake in preheated stove for 25 minutes (for extremely spicy poppers) to Thirty Minutes (medium-hot poppers).

Nutritional details: (per offering) 124 calories, 1g fat, 500mg sodium, 23g carbohydrates, 8g fiber, 13g protein.

Olives and Hard-Boiled Eggs They excel munch foods. Peeling the hard-boiled eggs keeps you occupied, and one egg has just 75 calories together with 6 grams of healthy protein. As much as the olives go, four jumbo olives have regarding 30 calories, as well as they're an excellent source of monounsaturated (' great') fats as well as vitamin E.

Nuts I recognize individuals frown after nuts due to the fact that they are high in calories, but if you have the ability to restrict on your own to a few, they are really rewarding and very healthy from a cardiovascular perspective.

Some have high quantities of monounsaturated fat, beneficial for regulating blood lipids and securing versus cardio damage. And also, they load loads of power and healthy protein. Put them out in half-ounce sections, not huge bowls. Look into almonds, pistachios, pecans, cashews as well as walnuts, to name simply a few. Yet see out, since they're still filled with calories. Below's the expense if you binge: almonds, 3 ounces (72 nuts), 480 calories, 45g fat, 18g carbohydrates, 18g protein, cashews, 3 ounces (60 nuts), 510 calories, 42g fat, 24g carbs, 15g protein, walnuts, 3 ounces (42 halves), 540 calories, 51g fat, 15g, carbs, 12g protein, pistachios, shelled, 3 ounces (141 nuts), 510 calories, 45g fat, 6g carbs, 12g healthy protein, pecans, 3 ounces (60 fifty percents), 570 calories, 60g fat, 15g carbohydrates, 9g protein.

Beer Planning on having a few bottles? Your best choice is to opt for yummy Beck's Light at just 64 calories per 12-ounce container-- that's an actual deal. If you're not a Beck's Light follower, attempt tasting a few really light beers prior to the video game to see which ones you prefer. Low-Calorie Hummus

Healthy Dish by: Charles Stuart Platkin, M.P.H., founder of DietDetective.com and author of The #Diet Investigator's Calorie Bargain Holy bible (Simon and Schuster/Fireside, 2007).

Yield: 10 Ounces

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained 4 cloves garlic, sliced 1 tablespoon tahini Juice of 1 large lemon 1/4 tsp sea salt or kosher salt 1 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine all active ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Nutritional details: (1 tbsp) 34.2 calories, 1.3 g fat, 4.5 g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.5 g protein.

Guacamole

Healthy Recipe by: Charles Stuart Platkin, M.P.H., creator of DietDetective.com and also writer of The Diet Investigative's Calorie Bargain Bible (Simon and Schuster/Fireside, 2007).

Yield: 11 ounces

2 ripe avocados 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ tablespoon salt 1 plum tomato, diced ½ tablespoon minced shallots 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro Juice of 1 lime

Mash the avocados, add staying ingredients and mix with a fork.

Nutritional details: (1 tablespoon) 24 calories, 2g fat, 1.5 g carbs, 1g fiber, 0.3 g protein.

Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings

Healthy Dish by: Lisa Lillien, founder of Starving Woman (www.Hungry-Girl.com) and writer of the forthcoming publication Hungry Woman: Recipes and Survival Approaches for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World (St. Martin's Lion, April 29, 2008)

1 ounce (regarding 14) Pringles Light Fat Free Potato Crisps, Bbq (or another fat-free barbecue-flavored potato chip) 1/ 4 mug Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a bread-crumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor Dash onion powder Dash garlic powder Dash cayenne pepper Dash black pepper Dash salt 8 ounces skinless as well as boneless chicken breast, reduced right into 10 nugget-shaped pieces 3 tablespoons Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crush potato crisps completely as well as, in a small dish, combine with grain crumbs. Add a dash of each of the seasonings as well as mix well. In a separate dish, throw poultry items with warm sauce. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Shake off excess sauce from hen items, coat with crumb mixture, and area in the cooking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 mins. Transform and also bake10 even more mins, or until crispy and also cooked through.

Nutritional details: (each offering) 175 calories, 1.5 g fat, 1,153 mg * sodium, 14g carbs, 4g fiber, 27g protein.

* Keep in mind: Although nutritional info mirrors the complete amount of RedHot asked for in the active ingredients checklist, you will certainly not use the entire total up to layer the hen. The actual salt count will likely be much lower.

If you like your Super Bowl Snacks actually hot, you might additionally attempt these jalapeno poppers:

HG's Jalapeno Swappers

Healthy Recipe by: Lisa Lillien, owner of Hungry Woman (www.Hungry-Girl.com) and author of the honest publication Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Methods for Guilt-Free Consuming in the Actual Globe (St. Martin's Griffin, April 29, 2008)

Yield: 2 servings

5 whole, fresh jalapenos 1/4 cup fat-free cream cheese 1/ 4 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese Optional: salt, pepper and/or garlic powder 1/ 2 mug Fiber One cereal, ground to a bread-crumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor or food processor 1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Halve the jalapenos lengthwise, and remove the seeds, stems and membranes. (Be VERY mindful when managing jalapenos, wash hands frequently as well as well, as well as prevent touching your face and also eyes.) Laundry halves as well as completely dry them quite possibly, set aside. In a bowl, integrate cream cheese and cheddar cheese. If wanted, season with salt, pepper and/or garlic powder. Making use of a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a bread-crumb-like uniformity. If you like, period crumbs with salt, pepper and/or garlic powder. Place Fiber One crumbs in one small recipe and Egg Beaters in another. Stuff each pepper fifty percent with cheese blend, then dip both sides in Egg Beaters as well as coat with crumbs. Place peppers on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray, and also cook in preheated stove for 25 mins (for very spicy poppers) to 30 mins (medium-hot poppers).

Nutritional info: (each serving) 124 calories, 1g fat, 500mg sodium, 23g carbs, 8g fiber, 13g protein.