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itsshewritesaboutit · 9 months

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Must-Try Food in Ugbo Food Hub

If you are a nocturnal person like me who enjoys night walks with friends while eating and snacks on the side, this article was written just for you! Join me and let's dive into this well-known food place in Tondo, Manila dubbed as the Streetfood Capital of the Philippines- Ugbo!

The long and narrow stretch in Velasquez, Tondo, Manila, now fondly called Ugbo Street Food, has grown famous for its numerous kiosks that serve inexpensive snacks and desserts until the wee hours of the night.

In Hiligaynon, "Ugbo" means pastime and serves as a street name in a part of Tondo, Manila. It transformed into a famous street food market. Ugbo is a neighborhood bustling with stalls and restaurants open from 5pm until past midnight. It became popular due to its wide variety of food. I wonder how locals manage to sleep amid the constant activity; it's a lively street, filled with lights and bustling conversations. Nonetheless, Ugbo stands as a source of pride for Tondo, providing income for locals. Visitors, including foreigners and food enthusiasts, flock to this area. It's truly a blessing to appreciate.

If you’re looking for an affordable place to enjoy delicious snacks and hang out with friends, check out this thriving community in Manila.

From Korean to Japanese to Filipino food, Ugbo Street has a great variety of food choices whose process mostly starts at less than 100 pesos: corn dog and rice cake such as spicy tteokbokki; crispy tempura and kani salad; sizzling sisig, bulalo, fresh lumpia, homemade lumpia, and fried rice; grilled squids and scallops; and skewered pork, beef, and tuna belly.

Other stalls offer ice cream rolls, fresh fruit drinks and shakes, fluffy pancakes and crepes, pizza, and pasta, as well as the famous "magic ice cream"-pop rice balls floating on smoky liquid nitrogen.

FOOD FINDS AT UGBO TONDO, MANILA

SIZZLING SISIG RICE

The sizzling sisig rice is an experience that engages all the senses in a harmonious celebration. Visually, it's a spectacle—a hot plate sizzling with anticipation, emitting aromatic steam that curls upwards, inviting you closer. The scent, a tantalizing blend of savory meats, zesty calamansi, and aromatic garlic, tickles the nostrils, promising a flavor fiesta. As the dish arrives, the crackling sound ignites excitement, while the sight of golden-brown sisig atop a bed of fluffy rice is a feast for the eyes. The first taste is a revelation—the crispy yet tender sisig, with its umami-rich flavor, dances on the palate, complemented by the fragrant rice that soaks up the savory juices. Each bite is a symphony of textures and tastes, delivering a crescendo of flavors that leaves a lasting impression, an invitation to savor the essence of Filipino cuisine in every sensation.

SPICY FISH CAKE

I saw this street food in every Kdramas and I’m very excited to try it. First bite and I fell in love! This is the kind of street food that I would buy after my study classes. Imagine picking up one of these fish cakes, and feeling the crunch as your fingers sink into its golden crust—the sight alone is mouthwatering. The aroma, a tantalizing mix of the sea and aromatic spices teases your senses, drawing you closer. As you take that first bite, the crispy outer layer gives way to a tender, flavorful interior. The taste is a symphony—subtle fish flavors enhanced by a medley of herbs and spices, creating a comforting yet exciting experience. But the most commendable is the sauce!

The fish cake sauce, oh, it's like a secret companion to the star of the show! Visually, it's a rich, velvety liquid, often with specks of vibrant herbs or chili flakes, inviting you to dive in. As the aroma wafts up, there's a tangy and slightly sweet scent that tickles your nose, hinting at the tantalizing flavors to come. Upon dipping a piece of fish cake, the sauce clings, promising a burst of flavor. The taste is a rollercoaster—a perfect balance of tanginess, a hint of sweetness, and perhaps a touch of spiciness, complementing the fish cakes beautifully.

For its price of 35 pesos each, I would say that this is very affordable.

CORN DOG

The best corn dog I've ever tried! This is my favorite corn dog, As a cheese lover, this snack was really for me. It has a legit stretch of mozzarella cheese that I've been craving, and I also love the combination of sweetness and sourness that ketchup and mayonnaise brings. For 70 pesos I think it’s reasonable enough. One stick can make your tummy full, especially if you’re a light eater.

TAKOYAKI

Picture the lively street scene, the sizzle and savory aroma that surrounds a takoyaki stand—the anticipation builds. These little balls of delight, when held, are warm and slightly crispy to the touch. Their appearance, golden-brown and topped with savory sauce and bonito flakes, invites a smile before even taking a bite. As you bring one close, the savory scent of the octopus, mingled with the umami-rich sauce and the tangy notes of pickled ginger, entices your senses. Upon tasting, the initial crunch reveals a molten interior—soft, creamy, and bursting with the flavors of the sea. The harmony of textures and tastes, from the crispy exterior to the tender octopus inside, combined with the medley of savory, sweet, and tangy flavors, is akin to experiencing a joyous celebration in a single bite, leaving a lingering warmth that feels like a happy hug from an old friend.

SWEET CORN

Imagine cradling a cup of freshly boiled sweet corn, the warmth seeping through the container, comforting your hands. Its appearance, a medley of bright yellow kernels, is sprinkled with a touch of salt and a hint of melted butter—a visual promise of simplicity and satisfaction. As you lift it closer, the steam carries the familiar sweet aroma of corn, triggering memories of summer picnics and outdoor gatherings. With the first spoonful, the tender kernels burst with sweetness, each bite delivering a juicy and comforting sensation. The texture is soft, almost creamy, and the combination of sweetness with a subtle salty note dances on your palate, creating a harmonious balance that feels like a warm embrace on a chilly day

ALING CONSUELO'S FAMOUS HALO HALO

If this is your first time visiting the Philippines you should try this famous dessert called Halo-halo!

Halo-halo means mixing a variety of ingredients into one bowl or cup. This dessert is exactly just that. At the bottom of a large cup, you can see sweetened beans, langka (jackfruit), sweetened banana slices and nata de coco put together. Then crushed ice with evaporated milk and on top, you can see an ube ice cream, homemade ube, and a leche flan (also a famous dessert in the Philippines). This cup of Halo-halo is worth 70 pesos.

In Ugbo there’s a family rivalry between the two halo-halo stalls that have the same brand name, Aling Consuelo Original Halo-halo. I asked one of the staff how it started and she said that the two owners are siblings. Before they were partners and ran the Aling Consuelo Halo-halo and soon became very famous in Ugbo, but one day they decided to separate and build their own Halo-halo store. I don’t know if this is their strategy to gain more attention from the customers, but I would say that it’s effective because I got curious as well.

Overall I will give this stall 2 stars. I’ve been a huge fan of Halo-halo ever since I was a kid but this one was very bland. The ingredients are neither tasty nor sweet. The servings are very little to think that this is their Special Halo-halo. I expected to have a cup full of ingredients and have that sweet and milky taste but what I’ve got is very bland and almost tasteless. The price of 70 pesos is way too expensive and not worth the price.

FINAL THOUGHTS... I stepped into Ugbo, Tondo, Manila, greeted by the bustling streets filled with vibrant colors and lively chatter. The air was thick with the aroma of sizzling street food and the faint sounds of music playing from nearby stores. As I navigated through the narrow alleys, I was warmly welcomed by the locals, their smiles reflecting genuine hospitality. I found myself drawn to the bustling market, where vendors proudly displayed their fresh produce and wares. Engaging in conversations with the vendors, I learned about their stories, their struggles, and their resilient spirit, which resonated throughout the community. Sampling some local delicacies, I experienced a burst of flavors—a delightful fusion of sweet, savory, and spicy tastes that mirrored the diversity of the neighborhood. The genuine warmth and sense of community in Ugbo, Tondo, left an indelible mark on me, showcasing the strength and vibrancy of Filipino culture amidst life's challenges.

#peta1 #hccs #ugbo #streetfood #goesto

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warblest · 1 year

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❛ can we do this again? but maybe this time as an actual date. ❜ (50s au!)

BETTY COOPER | FAKE DATING SENTENCE STARTERS | ACCEPTING

❝ — um. ❞ he replies, more breath than sound, faltering for one inelegant moment.

they had gone to a movie, some creature-feature horror film that kurt had dutifully endured, their fingers brushing over buttered kernels of puffy corn popped in a paper bucket, sitting side by side in velvet seats. then they went to pop's diner, splitting a strawberry milkshake in a single booth, sitting across from each other in vinyl scarlet seats, sipping from two straws. they had each ordered supper ( kurt paid, as expected of him by the terrifying alice cooper, who had told him with an unkind smile that the gentleman always pays for the lady ), but now he sits with their orders laid out between them: golden salted french fries with dark underbellies still sizzling from the fryer oil, cheeseburgers with pages of ruffled butter lettuce and round slices of bright tomato and entirely too much meat for kurt to eat delicately — and he stares at the girl whose knee has been brushing accidentally, incidentally, surely, against his for the better part of an hour.

trying to be kind about it. trying not to reject her in a way that would end in tears, for either of them. but betty is his friend, his dear friend, his new northside neighbor, ever since he had transferred to riverdale high school. he hadn't considered this evening to be a date; at least, not one that would have ended with a kiss. but betty seems to want that. to take their sugar-sticky charade and turn it into something more. and kurt has to carefully choose his answer: it is still an hour before betty's curfew, and there are other customers around, the diner reasonably full.

he had thought that there was an agreement. that betty understood his situation — he just hadn't felt the need to speak to her about it. to tell her of all of his aching yearnings for the well-muscled youths and bronzed basketball players of their school.

kurt lifts his sticky mouth from his crumpled straw, his lips milkshake-stained and medicine-pink. ❝ we can do this again. ❞ he agrees, slowly. ❝ but, betty...what are you expecting at the end of it? ❞ alice had mentioned, something about pinning her daughter. his marble-blue gaze is trained on the girl, pretty in her baby-pink dress with her hair tied in a curling ponytail. ❝ i like to take things slowly. ❞ or not at all. but of course, he can't say that.

#╳┆let us be seventeen. ❜ (verse)#╳┆CREAM PONIES AND APPLE STRUDELS. ❜ (ASK)#pinkxperfectionisms

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zaviyar · 3 years

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Vegan “Honey” Mustard Tofu Tenders:

💚 Please Follow Our Page to have such a mouth-watering 🍅 Recipes on Daily Basis

What you need:

15 oz block of pressed tofu,

1/2 cup Dijon mustard,

1/2 cup agave,

1/4 cup yellow mustard,

1/4 cup vegan mayo,

1 1/2 tsp salt,

2 cups panko,

2 tbl neutral oil,

1/3 cup cornstarch

What you do:

1️⃣ Cut pressed tofu into 3 slabs through its depth, then cut each slab into 3 equal size tenders, lightly score slices with a knife on both sides,sprinkle with salt. Set Aside

2️⃣In a bowl mix mustard, agave, mayo, & salt/pepper

3️⃣Use 1/2 of mustard sauce to marinate tofu slices. I used a brush to make sure all edges and sides were covered. Marinate for at least 30 min.Place in fridge

4️⃣ In saute pan, over medium heat, heat oil till warmed ( toss panko crumb in to see if it sizzles) add panko. Stir continuously for 5 min till panko changes to a golden brown color. Turn off heat, leave in pan, let cool

5️⃣ Set up 4 stations to bread tenders: 1 plate with corn starch, a bowl with remaining mustard sauce, panko in pan, and lastly a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper with a wire rack on top (optional but recommended)

6️⃣ Take one tofu tender, dredge in corn starch (shake off excess) dip into mustard sauce, then press tender into panko crumbs covering all edges, place on rack/parchment paper. Repeat

7️⃣ Bake 400 F for 30-35 min flipping half way through cook time. Enjoy!! I served mine with the remaining mustard sauce for dipping & added some cayenne pepper for some heat and chopped green onion to give a pretty color pop 💚

By @thevegansara

🥑🍅 Get Our new 100+ Delicious Vegan Recipes For Weight Loss, Clearer/Smoother Skin, and A Healthier Lifestyle.

#vegan #veganism #veganrecipes #veganskincare #vegan food #vegano #cooking #foodblogger #vegetarian #weightloss #wfpb #meatfree #mouth watering #sustinable

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smoothcurvesinteractive · 4 years

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What Makes Dad's Tacos Special

What REALLY makes Dad’s tacos special

The Meat

The Tortillas

The whole Taco Bar Spread

What really makes my tacos special is the care I put into the meat and the tortillas. I’ve been making tacos since I was a teenager, and they were one of the first dinners I could cook for myself. The technique I use for cooking the meat, and the tortillas has been developed and tweaked and improved for around 40 years.

The meat should be fine crumbles. Ground turkey and Chicken tend to turn into really fine, almost sand like texture. 85 and 90% lean hamburger also tends to crumble really fine.

This technique can also make cheap (70% fat content) hamburger much healthier.

Raw corn tortillas are just gross, microwaved with a little water, they are a bit better. My technique for preparing tortillas looks involved but takes mere seconds per tortilla, and if you cook 2 or 3 tortillas at a time you can have a batch of a dozen cooked in under 10 min.

This technique also applies to wheat flour tortillas. For flour, us a LOT less water, half as much water per side as described below, and a bunch more butter. Wheat flour tortillas bubble up really nice and fun in a pan.

The Meat

Prep

Ground hamburger, Pork Turkey or Chicken

2 Packets of taco seasoning (1 packet per ½ lb of meat)

Paprika (ideally roasted turkish)

Onion powder

Garlic powder

1 teaspoon chopped garlic per lb meat

The biggest frying pan we got (often called a sauce pan)

Optional

roasted crushed pepper flakes

Finely chopped onion

Chopped baby onion stems

Finely chopped tomato

Refried beans (no more than ¼ cup per lb of meat)

Meat cooking Technique

In a big frying pan,

turned on high,

dump 1 to 2 lbs of the meat, smash it down with a fork until it covers the whole pan evenly.

Let that sizzle for a bit, like 4 min, until the meat on the button just starts to brown

With a spatula stir up the meant and turn as much of the meat over, to try to brown the other side

Repeat this 4 times, until a goo portion of the meat has started to brown

Now stir in ¾ pint or 2.5 cups of water for every lb of meat (this will seem like a LOT of water… don’t worry)

Keep stirring until you have a meat soup.

Once the meat soup has started to boil, add in the taco seasonings, and paprika (no more than a teaspoon of paprika per lb of meat

If you are in a hurry, you can drain off most of the water BEFORE adding the spices, do not drain off all the water or the spices won’t mix, and you’ll burn the meat.

Stir in the spices

Let boil down for 15 to 20 min, or until the meat is no longer floating in the water, and a lot of the fat has separated and starting to make a film on top.

DO NOT reduce the water all the way…

Turn off the burner

Prepare a plastic container, or a bowl, you are going to pour and spoon off the fat and the rest of the water. I usually press a bit ladle spoon down into the meat and gather up all the water and fat and ladle it into the the plastic container… This step is important we will use this stuff to make the tortillas delicious.

Once all the water and as much fat as you can has been drained out of the pan, put the pan back on the burner (that is off but still hot) stir the meat for a bit. Leave the meat in the pan on the burner to cool and slow cook as the burner continues to cool down.

The Basic idea is to first brown the meat a bit, add a bunch of water, bring to boil stir in spices and then boil down most of that water, in doing so separating most of the fat from the meat and turning the meat into a finely ground crumbles. This also infuses all the meat with the spice mix.

The Tortillas

Corn tortillas

2 plates

Softened butter, or Butter like substance

Bowl of water

The water and fat separated from the meat (it should be good and dark orange/brown)

Pre-Prepare the tortillas

Ladle one teaspoon of the taco meat water onto each side of every tortilla, spread a bit of butter onto each side of each tortilla let the tortilla rest for a bit so the water soaked in, fry them up until they bubble and turn a nice yummy color. Fresh tortillas from the store are crumbly, and have a white and raw texture, this techniques partially breaks down the corn flower and re-constitutes the tortilla through frying in the pan. This technique dramatically improves the taste of the tortilla and the taco. Also this technique improves the strength of the tortillas, they won’t crumble and break like warmed up raw tortillas, and are stronger and much more flavorful than steamed tortillas.

This technique is based on the technique my mom used to make tortillas. She was taught by her mexican friends to always fry corn tortillas in butter, LOTS of butter.

Dads Specific Procedure

Equipment Prep

Pan and spatula are selected and placed on a burner on the stove

A prep plate is placed on the counter beside the stove top right next to the burner you’ll be cooking the tortillas on

Butter and butter knife are placed next to the prep plate

Plastic container with the taco water is placed next to the prep plate

Teaspoon is placed on the prep plate

Tortillas are pulled out, package opened and placed next to the prep plate

A receiving plate is placed on the counter opposite side of the stove

Prepping the tortillas

Take a tortilla from the bag,

place it on a plate,

Ladle the taco meat water onto the tortilla

Spread a bit of butter onto the tortilla

Flip the tortilla over

Ladle another teaspoon of water

Spread another bit of butter

The next tortilla goes on top of the previous tortilla

Prepping the pan

Ideally you have a cast iron, or thick bottomed stainless steel frying pan

Ideally you have a thin bladed stainless steel spatula with a lot of springy flex and a good handle .

Turn a burner on high

Get that pan and burner hot,

If you drop butter in the pan and the butter starts to burn, the pan is too hot. Water dripped onto the pan should instantly turn to steam

Frying the Tortillas

Get a frying pan really hot, ¼ of full burner power, water should sizzle and pop as soon as it touches the pan.

DO NOT put tortillas into a cool pan, they will stick, and not turn out well

With a tortilla in one hand and a teaspoon of water in the other

drop a teaspoon of water, and or a bit of butter into the pan

Immediately plop a tortilla on that sizzling hopping water/butter

With a spatula press the tortilla down, it should sizzle energetically

With the spatulat pressing down swish the tortilla around the pan in circles 3 or 5 times

Lift up the spatula.. Let the tortilla sizzle on the pan on it’s own for a few seconds

As soon as the tortilla starts to bubble flip it over.

WARNING. If this technique is working the very rim of the tortilla will start to stick to the pan. THIS IS A GOOD THING, it means the tortilla was fully soaked, and is cooking properly. BUT if you just try to shove the spatula under the tortilla like a pancake, the tortilla will rip.

work your spatula around the whole edge of the tortilla to scrape the whole rim off the pan.

This whole process takes 3 to 5 seconds per side, Each tortilla maybe takes 20 seconds.

The tortilla is done when it has a golden brown crust on each side and starts to stiffen up

Slide that tortilla off the pan onto a separate dry “receiving” plate

I will try to do 2 tortillas at a time, sometimes 3 in a big pan, I have done 6 or 8 at a time on a big griddle we use for pancakes or french toast,

As you progress onto your 3rd or 4th tortilla, the pan may cool down, OR start to over heat, if you are doing a big batch of tortillas you will likely have to adjust the temperature several times (this is for a classic electric stove, gas burners are no problem, higher end electric stoves don’t have as much a problem

Why this works and tastes so good The perfect tortilla is a golden brown on each side with bubbles that have made dark brown spots. The tortilla has a paper thin layer of dense brown cooked corn on each side of the tortilla, and the tortilla has a soft, completely cooked center.

This is achieved because my technique is both steaming the tortilla and frying it. Basically the whole tortilla gets steamed, and the thinnest outer part gets fried.

The water dissolves the corn flower, while infusing spices and fat from the meat into the corn meal. The hot pan turns the water to steam. and re-constitutes the corn meal into real yummy corn bread that holds together and has a much better texture than raw, or plane steamed/microwaved tortillas. The butter fry’s the outside of the tortilla giving it a slightly crispy exterior and a bunch of flavor that is separate and different than the flavor of the inside of the thin tortilla.

The tortilla will LOOK COOKED, with no hints of the powdery colored look of a raw tortilla.

Storage and reheating Leftover tortillas need to be stored in the fridge. These tortillas, because they have been cooked, will keep for a really long time and retain their flavor (weeks if kept in a ziploc baggie, or covered with plastic wrap.

RE-Heating. These tortillas taste just fine if nuked for 20 seconds in a sealed container with a slightly damp paper towel. Ideally a plate with a bit of plastic wrap over the top of it.

The Whole Taco Bar Spread

The third thing about Dads tacos is everybody gets to make their own the way they like them, with as little or as much of a plethora of ingredients.

Mains:

Dad’s Special Taco Meat

Dad’s Specially prepared corn tortillas

Flour Tortillas (12”)

Crunchy hard taco shells from a store

grated Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese

Finely Chopped onions

Finely Chopped fresh tomatoes

Finely chopped lettuce

Chili (ideally freshly made, but usually we do canned)

Re-Fried Beans

The Ideal taco bar also includes

Chopped Olives

Sour Cream

Uncle Ben’s Long Grain wild rice

Black beans (cooked)

Pinto beans (cooked)

Chopped baby onions

Salsa (ideally roasted chipotle or adobo)

Corn chips

grated Medium Cheddar cheese

grated jack cheese

grated colby cheese

Velveeta based cheese sauce (made with some taco seasoning)

Chili flakes/roasted thai chilis

Non vinegar based hot sauce (like the kind they make in mexican restaurants)

The ideal taco assembly in order

This ordering is not random or by fiat, but developed scientifically through over 40 years of experimentation trial and error. The order of ingredients DOES change the flavor and mouth feel of a taco. Also this order provides some structure and hope that the whole assemblage holds together as you fold, hold it and move it to your mouth.

Big Plate, ya need a big plate

1 to 6 tortillas laid out on the plate (if you do 6 you get the nickname el-gordo)

Spoon in refried beans down the center of each tortilla, spread it thin like peanut butter

Spoon in the meat on top of that

Chili

black beans

pinto beans

Salsa

All the cheese

Onions

Tomato

Baby onions

Olives

Cheese sauce

Sour cream

Sour Cream Technique

Sour cream should be closest to the lips, and the next thing after the tortillia that hits the taste buds. Sour cream is thick and sticky.Usually it can’t be labeled or spread on the loose fillings of a taco without messing it all up. Dad has discovered technique for getting sour cream on a loaded taco is to not try to blob it on top of all the loose stuff, but use a butter knife and spread it on the exposed lips of the tortilla, Sour cream is sticky, and spreads real well, you also don’t need a lot of it, spreading it on the lips of the tortilla will help hold the taco together as you take your first byte and spread out insurees every byte gets a bit of sour cream)

Dad’s Tacos DO NOT INCLUDE

Cilantro

Bell peppers of ANY kind

#dad #taco #taco talks #taco hemingway #philosophy #legacy #recipes #texmex #love #love through food #gratitude #inheritance #tacotuesday

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internutter · 5 years

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A tired, grumpy, young Ango, all too tired but also wound up, doing that thing kids do, going in circles, when they're tired. Up to Papa Taako to coerce him to sleep. If you dont mind that is. Thank you

Taako watched their adopted son going around in circles. Anxious or excited or just plain not wanting to go to sleep because the previous order of things was disrupted. It was easier to watch than trying to chase the kid down for sure. It had already been a long-ass day and he was personally too worn out to do extra pre-bedtime calisthenics.

Ango was obviously tired and just as obviously too stubborn to admit it. Going around the place in circles because keeping his body moving kept his brain awake or some shit like that. Taako, now a grown-ass adult, was more than a hundred years from that behaviour or those levels of energy.

How had his poor mother survived himself and Lup racing up and down the stairs on the twilit summer nights of Tre-Llew Ddion? No wonder she handed them off to Uncle Ench at summer’s end. They must have plain worn her the fuck out.

No, that was unfair. His whole family had secret weapons. Loggy foods. Pre-bedtime treats that were guaranteed to nail a kid down, stomach-first.

Taako smiled, leaving Angus to his orbits, and got out the kid-stopper ingredients. Sweet-pop fritters. Whipped cream, natch. The family recipe for hot chocolate... Flour, milk, cream (doy), honey -Ango was old enough for honey, but still too young for processed sugar- maple syrup, cocoa, maple sap, drinking chocolate, maple crystals, malt... herbs and spices...

Taako set up his prep station so he could keep an eye on Ango. All these recipes were the sort that could be put down in a second or less if an orbiting kid managed to trip and fall or otherwise hurt themself during their extended shenanigans. He seemed fine going around and around, but Taako wasn’t about to take any chances.

The thick, rich fritter batter was loaded with the nicer spices. Nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and just the right zing of ginger, then peppered through with small cubes of green apple, sweet corn kernels, and a generous handful of raisins. A dash of just the right amount of maple syrup and they were ready to become fat golden blobs in the deep fryer.

Taako started the milk warming up. More cardamom and nutmeg, less ginger and cinnamon. Cocoa, of course. Malt was the new secret ingredient. The old one, Taako recalled, was a carefully-measured spoonful of medicinal rum. Not allowed in this day and age, no matter how medicinal it claimed to be. He sweetened the whole thing with honey and added a dollop of cream for richness before he began whipping the rest up for garnish, sweetened with the slightest dash of maple sap.

Once the fritters were fried on both sides, Taako let them drain and dry a little on Fantasy Paper Towels before dusting them over with a sparkling of maple crystals. This was magic enough to lure his boy to the kitchen counter, where wide, dark eyes watched the ordinary magic of meal prep in progress.

Long years in Sizzle it Up! gave Taako the knowledge of just the right amount of horseshit to add into the presentation. So when he plated up, he not only added some whipped cream flowers to Angus’ two middle-sized fritter blobs, but also some sparks from his Prestidigitation.

The hot chocolate was strained into Angus’ favourite mug, loaded with pink marshmallows and topped with more of the cream. It also got a light dusting of drinking chocolate.

It was better than a Sleep spell, and far more enjoyable to boot. Ango was nodding before he got halfway through his second fritter. Those freshly-sticky fingers of his were the perfect segue into tooth-brushing and bath time.

A warm bath, with the white noise provided by the bubbles, had Ango floppy and complacent before the last button was done up on his fluffy, flannel PJ’s. Taako purred as he carried their boy to the big family cuddle cote.

“...w’nna wait f’r daddy,” Ango complained muzzily.

“I know, pun’kin,” Taako cooed. “Daddy’s havin’ a big adventure and we can’t be awake the whole time. ‘S bad for your health.” An idea came to him like a brilliant new recipe. “How about I teach you a way to get the same rest faster so you can be awake for longer? Would you like that?”

“Mm-hmm...”

Ango would probably fall asleep on the first attempt... and maybe up to the tenth, but it was worth a shot. Little half-Elves didn’t Trance as easily as the full-blooded ones. It all depended on how dominant his Elven side was, actually.

Taako helped him sit properly and taught the correct breathing rhythm. He got it straight out of the tin, brilliant lad. Next, guiding him into the meditative state of mindfulness and memory. This was where, according to the clever souls who wrote all those books, a half-Elf was most likely to slip into sleep.

Ango defied expectations and lifted off of the cushions of the cote for a solid minute. Of fucking course Taako took a Fantasy Polaroid of the event. Then, he fell into slumber and Taako guided him down into a comfortable sleeping position, tucked in with a warm, fluffy blanket and weighed down by one of the cats.

Gods-damned adorable.

Taako scooted a little away so he could Trance peacefully. When he came up -and floated down- Krav was just entering the cote, crawling inside with exaggerated care. They smiled at each other in recognition of the Parental fear of waking the baby.

“Hey, Dove,” Krav whispered. “Sorry I missed bedtime.”

“I got him rested anyway,” Taako whispered in turn. “I’d better be big spoon so our baby can see you when he wakes up.”

They enjoyed a good, long kiss before Krav settled down. As he got comfortable, he murmured, “What is in those fritters? I thought I was bone tired before, but... you could knock me out with a feather.”

Taako snorted at the pun. “Ancient Elven secret,” he said, playing with Krav’s hair. “Get some rest. I’ll watch over us.”

Krav didn’t need much more convincing. Those fritters packed a punch.

#Dear Nonny #nonny request #taz #taz: balance #young angus verse #Anonymous

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your-dietician · 3 years

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Entertainment heat wave is coming this summer: What to watch for | Entertainment

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/entertainment/entertainment-heat-wave-is-coming-this-summer-what-to-watch-for-entertainment/

Entertainment heat wave is coming this summer: What to watch for | Entertainment

Remember 2019, when hot girl summer became a motto for living with confidence?

Well, with life getting closer to normal and vaccines nudging the pandemic into — fingers crossed — the rear-view mirror, 2021’s entertainment calendar for the next few months has a similar mood.

Call it a hot everything summer.

Blockbuster movies are returning to theaters. Live concerts are set to resume. Television and streaming shows are back to being a nice part of the mix, not a sole entertainment lifeline. And with travel heating up again, beach books can actually be read on a faraway beach.

To navigate this soaring heat index for fun, here is a list of recommendations that are sunny, breezy, steaming and sizzling. You get the idea.

Hot Jeff Daniels summer

Michigan’s resident acting great always keeps it real — remember his plaid dad shirt at February’s virtual Golden Globes? His latest project evokes his home state’s ethos of blue-collar endurance. “American Rust,” a nine-episode series premiering Sept. 12 on Showtime, stars Daniels as the police chief of a Rust-Belt Pennsylvania town who is feeling “ticked off and kind of jumpy” when a murder investigation tests his loyalties. If the preview looks a bit like HBO’s gritty “Mare of Easttown,” that’s a very good thing.

Hot goofy summer

In real life, metro Detroit native Tim Robinson could be a calm, collected guy. But as a sketch comedian, he’s made an art form out of wildly overreacting to life’s little embarrassments. “I Think You Should Leave,” his mini-masterpiece Netflix show, is back July 6 with a second season. Besides brilliantly making himself the butt of the jokes, Robinson always remembers his hometown friends. Let’s hope for repeat appearances by his pals like “Detroiters” co-star Sam Richardson and Troy’s own Oscar nominee, Steven Yeun.

Hot retro Motor City summer

The Detroit of the mid-1950s comes alive in director Steven Soderbergh’s “No Sudden Move,” available July 1 on HBO Max. The crime drama starring Don Cheadle, David Harbour, Benicio del Toro, Jon Hamm and more is about some low-level criminals given a simple assignment that draws them into a mystery that stretches to the heights of the automotive industry’s power structure. The film was shot last year in Detroit under strict COVID-19 safety measures, because Soderbergh, who filmed 1998’s “Out of Sight” here, would accept no other city as a substitute.

Hot road trip summer

Six years ago, a young waitress from Detroit created a viral Twitter thread about a bizarre journey she took to Florida with a new friend to do some freelance stripping. It was as compelling as a novel and as vivid as a movie. Cut to June 30 when “Zola” hits theaters starring Taylour Page and Riley Keough. It’s a comedy and a thriller that defies expectations and makes J-Lo’s “Hustlers” seem mild. Director Janicza Bravo and screenplay co-writer Jeremy O. Harris have created a raunchy adventure that still respects A’Ziah (Zola) King as a strong woman and original writing voice.

Hot action dad summer

Yes, Matt Damon is now old enough to play a Liam Neeson-esque outraged father out for justice. In “Stillwater,” Damon is a worker for an Oklahoma oil rig who must travel to France to try and clear his daughter (Abigail Breslin) of murder charges. Think “Taken,” if it were a serious drama directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy of “Spotlight” fame. It comes out July 30, just in time to make Damon’s fans from his “Good Will Hunting” days feel ancient.

Hot reboot summer

It has been almost a decade since “Gossip Girl” ended its run, which is way too long to be without fashion tips from impossibly beautiful rich kids. The newly reimagined “Gossip Girl” on HBO Max arrives July 8 with some notable improvements, like the inclusiveness of its cast of newcomers. But it’s bringing back the original narrator, Kristen Bell (who grew up in Huntington Woods), as the voice of the title character with the hidden identity.

Hot sweating summer

Sweating is a bodily function, but what exactly is it all about? “The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration,” out July 13, will explore the biology, history and marketing behind the moisture that makes us glow (to use a polite term). It covers everything from the role of stress in sweat to deodorant research that involves people who can sniff out, literally, the effectiveness of a product. Since the New York Times recommended the book as one of its 24 summer reads, you know that author Sarah Everts did sweat the details.

Hot Olympic star summer

The 2021 Tokyo Games, which run July 23-Aug. 8, will feature the world’s best gymnast, Simone Biles. She still enjoys competing, but quarantining gave her some time to improve her work-life balance, as she told Glamour for its June cover story (which comes with a dazzling photo spread of Biles). “Before I would only focus on the gym. But me being happy outside the gym is just as important as me being happy and doing well in the gym. Now it’s like everything’s coming together.” For the 24-year-old GOAT, the sky — or, maybe, gravity — is the limit.

Hot variety show summer

“What percentage of white women do you hate? And there is a right answer.” That was among the questions posed by internet sensation Ziwe to her first guest, Fran Lebowitz, on the current Showtime series that carries her name. Combining interviews, sketches and music, “Ziwe” deploys comedy to illuminate America’s awkwardness on issues of race and politics. The results are hilarious, so find out about Ziwe now before her next project arrives, a scam-themed comedy for Amazon called “The Nigerian Princess.”

Hot ice road summer

Take the driving skills of the reality series “Ice Road Truckers” and add one stoic dose of Liam Neeson and you’ve got “The Ice Road,” which premiered Friday on Hulu. The adventure flick involves a collapse in a diamond mine, the miners trapped inside and the man (Neeson) who’s willing to steer his ginormous rig over frozen water to attempt a rescue mission. Crank up the AC temporarily!

Hot kindness summer

There is a better way to be a human being, and he shares a name with an Apple TV+ series. “Ted Lasso,” the fish-out-of-water sitcom about an American football coach (Jason Sudeikis) who’s drafted to lead a British soccer team returns for a second season on July 23 —the date that Lasso fans will resume their efforts to be more empathetic and encouraging, just like Ted. Only there’s a new sports psychologist for AFC Richmond who seems impervious to Ted’s charms and home-baked biscuits. She doesn’t like Ted? We’re gobsmacked!

Hot podcast summer

When Michael Che guested on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” recently, his segment was interrupted repeatedly by Dave Chappelle, who kept plugging his “The Midnight Miracle” podcast available on Luminary. What Chappelle was selling is worth the listening. “The Midnight Miracle” brings him together with his co-hosts, Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey, and his famous friends from the comedy world and beyond for funny and though-provoking conversations interspersed with music. If you were a fly on the wall of Chappelle’s home, this is what you might hear.

Hot series finale summer

The last 10 episodes of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” start airing Aug. 12 on NBC, a too-short goodbye to one of the most underrated comedies in TV history. You can give all the glory to “The Office,” but the detectives of the Nine-Nine could go toe to toe with Dunder-Mifflin’s Scranton branch in terms of quirkiness, humanity and office romances and bromances. It’s hard to pick a favorite dynamic among the characters, but the irritated father-incorrigible son vibes between Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) and Det. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) are sublime.

Hot musical comedy summer

Keegan-Michael Key and “Saturday Night Live’s” Cecily Strong lead a star-studded cast in “Schmigadoon!,” an AppleTV+ series premiering July 16 that magically transports a backpacking couple to a land of 1940s musicals. Until Broadway reopens in September, this parody love letter to the power of musical theater should do nicely. And the premiere episode’s song “Corn Pudding”? Catchy!

Hot nostalgia tour

Hall & Oates are criss-crossing the nation with enough 1980s hits —”Maneater,” “Kiss on My List,” “I Can’t Go for That,” “You Make My Dreams Come True,” etc. — to make you want to trade your mom jeans for spandex leggings. As if they weren’t enough top-40 goodness, their opening acts are Squeeze, still pouring a cup of “Black Coffee in Bed” all these years later, and K.T. Tunstall, whose “Suddenly I See” is immortalized as the anthem of “The Devil Wears Prada.”

Hot all-female, all-Muslim punk band summer

A British import now airing on the NBC streaming spinoff Peacock, “We Are Lady Parts” would be notable alone for defying stereotypes about Muslim women. But this sitcom about an all-female, all-Muslim aspiring rock band is a gem of both representation and laughs, thanks to characters like Amina, a shy doctoral candidate in microbiology whose complaints about a guy she calls “Bashir with the good beard” inspires a song.

Hot documentary summer

While Woodstock has become synonymous with epic music gatherings, the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969 is finally about to get the pop-culture recognition it deserves. “Summer of Soul: (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” directed by the Roots drummer Questlove, will hit theaters and Hulu on July 2. It chronicles a mostly forgotten event that drew superstars like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, the Fifth Dimension, Sly & the Family Stone and B.B. King. Using his vast knowledge of music, archival footage and interviews with performers and those who attended, Questlove has created a history lesson that’s also the best concert you’ve never seen before.

Hot Marvel summer

Once you’re all caught up with the summer streaming sensation “Loki” on Disney+, please turn your attention to two new films. “Black Widow,” the long-awaited star turn for Scarlett Johansson’s former KGB assassin Natasha Romanoff, makes its debut July 9. It’s followed by “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” set for Sept. 3 and starring Simu Liu (“Kim’s Convenience”) as the martial arts master of the title. All brought to you by the corporate global entertainment domination machine that is Marvel.

Hot biopic summer

“Respect,” starring Jennifer Hudson, arrives Aug. 13 at theaters, nearly three years to the day the world lost the Queen of Soul. Although Cynthia Erivo gave a fine performance earlier this year as Franklin in “Genius: Aretha” on the National Geographic network, the odds are good that Hudson, chosen by Franklin herself for the part, will be the definitive screen Aretha.

Hot fiction summer

Terry McMillan calls “The Other Black Girl” essential reading. Entertainment Weekly describes it as “‘The Devil Wears Prada’ meets ‘Get Out,’ with a little bit of ‘Black Mirror’ thrown in.” This debut novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris mixes office politics with suspense in its story of Nella Rogers, an editorial assistant who’s the only Black staffer at a noted publishing company. When Hazel, a new Black employee, is hired, things seem to be improving. But then Nella starts receiving ominous unsigned notes. Sounds like yet another reason to keep working from home.

Hot slow dance summer

After nearly four months on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, “Leave the Door Open” remains the song most likely to provoke a quiet storm on the dance floor. The hit single from Silk Sonic (aka Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) may sound like a cover of a long-lost ‘70s classic R&B tune, but it’s a contemporary song that can make you forget the humidity long enough for “kissing, cuddling, rose petals in the bathtub, girl, lets jump in.”

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jmarjanah838 · 3 years

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Veal and root vegetables pasties. If you're stuck for ideas on how to use up your Sunday roast leftovers, these beef and root vegetable pasties will surely hit the spot. Add the gravy granules and mix well. Delicious vegetarian pasties that are packed full of strong flavours.

Flaky, buttery chicken & root vegetable pasties (hand pies) to keep you warm and satisfied! Chicken cubes and root vegetables wrapped in a flaky dough. These hearty pasties are sure to keep you warm and full this winter!

Hey everyone, it is Louise, welcome to my recipe site. Today, we're going to make a special dish, veal and root vegetables pasties. One of my favorites food recipes. This time, I will make it a little bit tasty. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

Veal and root vegetables pasties is one of the most popular of current trending foods in the world. It's easy, it's fast, it tastes delicious. It's enjoyed by millions every day. They are nice and they look wonderful. Veal and root vegetables pasties is something which I've loved my whole life.

If you're stuck for ideas on how to use up your Sunday roast leftovers, these beef and root vegetable pasties will surely hit the spot. Add the gravy granules and mix well. Delicious vegetarian pasties that are packed full of strong flavours.

To begin with this particular recipe, we have to first prepare a few components. You can cook veal and root vegetables pasties using 15 ingredients and 6 steps. Here is how you can achieve that.

The ingredients needed to make Veal and root vegetables pasties:

{Prepare of For the pastry case.

{Take 170 g of plain flour.

{Prepare 85 g of lard.

{Make ready 3 tbsp of cold water - is possible that you won't need all.

{Get pinch of salt.

{Make ready 1 of egg or milk for the wash.

{Prepare of For the filling.

{Get 450 g of mixed root vegetables - mine was celeriac, swede and carrots.

{Take 300 g of veal chopped in small cubes.

{Take 2 tbsp of olive oil.

{Make ready 400 ml of beef or vegetable stock.

{Take 1 of crushed garlic clove - unpeeled.

{Prepare of Freshly chopped herbs - I used rosemary and thyme.

{Take of Salt and Pepper.

{Take of Plain flour to dust the beef.

Curried vegetable pasties - vegan pasties filled with curried vegetables and chickpeas, perfect for picnicking! The recipe makes six large pasties which are the perfect size for lunch, and each one contains one of your five-a-day! In order to keep these curried vegetable pasties vegan, I made my. When the root vegetables are on sale at your market, you've got to fill up a few bags, 'cause you're going to need them to make this recipe for Roasted Root Make healthy vegetables taste delicious with recipes from this FREE eCookbook.

Steps to make Veal and root vegetables pasties:

Make the pastry. Add flour and salt to a bowl, mix well and start by adding the butter a little at the time and rub to a sand consistency. Add your water little at the time until combined in a dough. Rest in the fridge for about an hour..

Chop your vegetables and meat in small pieces. Dust your veal in flour and set aside. In a saucepan, add your olive oil and the crushed garlic and when sizzling, add you meat and brown. Remove and place on a plate..

Deglaze the pot with a little of beef stock, remove the garlic and add your vegetables and chopped fresh herbs. Once these have been roasting for about 10 minutes, add your meat again and cover with the stock. Let stew for a good hour until all is soft but still holding the shape..

Roll your pastry and cut circles. I used a side plate of 19cm. I was able to make 2 with the first roll and then one more with a second roll. Fill the cases with 3 tbsp of your stew that in the meantime reduced. Add a little butter and seal the pastry helping yourself with a little egg was around the rims. You will have leftover beef for another recipe that will follow or double the pastry ingredients to make more..

Once the pastry cases are sealed, crimp or shape as you prefer and wash in egg wash and little milk. Pop in the fridge for about 20 minutes and in the meantime preheat your over at 200 C..

Bake until nice and golden, this will take between 15 to 20 minutes. If you didn’t want to stew your vegetables and meat beforehand, you could add to your pastry cases from raw and bake for 50 minutes..

You'll never wonder what to make for your next meal again! #pasties #cornishpasties #beefandvegetablespasties #MrsGsKitchenRelated Topicspasties recipe,pasties recipe jamie oliver,pasties dough recipe,pasties try. quick vegetable pasty most popular recipes, pasta, corn chowder, irish cream, main dish, turkey soup, cut-out cookies, lobster, quick bread, chocolate, cheese, cold cheese dips Whip up these vegetarian Cornish pasties next time you need. Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. Although botany distinguishes true roots (such as taproots and tuberous roots) from non-roots (such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers, although some contain both hypocotyl and taproot tissue). Nestle the veal in the vegetables, fat side up. Spoon a little of the reserved fat over the meat and serve with the vegetables, passing the sauce at the table.

So that is going to wrap this up with this exceptional food veal and root vegetables pasties recipe. Thank you very much for reading. I am confident that you can make this at home. There is gonna be more interesting food at home recipes coming up. Remember to save this page in your browser, and share it to your loved ones, colleague and friends. Thanks again for reading. Go on get cooking!

#recipesfood

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madeleineaktypi · 4 years

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a persistent calix II

I wish the Internet were a girafe

its

long

neck

unwinding

eating leaves

billions of pages

porn

corn

pop

corn

of course

and

dreams

many

wet

sparkling

dazzling

sizzling

puzzling

cuddling

coming

fucking

mesmerizing

golden

folded

sparrow

narrow

far away

bow

and

a bowl

cream

#surrounded poetry #poetry

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jflashandclash · 7 years

Text

Attrition of Peace

Thirty-Four: Ajax

Still Not the Creepiest Way I’ve Been Hit On

Getting hit by a car wasn’t originally on Pax’s bucket list, but he decided to add it and a happy checkmark on his mental record.[1]

He had run away from the fight, leaving the steam, flames, and storm behind. Percy and Leo were too enraptured to notice him. Well, Percy probably noticed, but whole flaming taco torpedoes deal was a bit distracting for him.

Flaming Taco Torpedoes: a great name for a band, and a great name for both the best food experience and worst bathroom experience of your life.

That’s when the Paxmobile sidelined him, taking him off his feet and onto the pavement. Breaks squeaked. A familiar voice shouted, “Cho!” from an open window. [2]

Pax wanted to wallow in misery and whine, “Ow!” loud enough for Croesus’s son to hear, but got a half a second of wallowing before almost getting stomped.[3] Pax rolled to the side to avoid a golden hoof. He found himself between the Paxmobile’s front and a distressed automaton donkey’s rear. One definitely ready to kick.

“Holy Titans—Ajax! Help!” a voice called beside him. Jack was trying—unsuccessfully—to scoot away from the hooves using his jaw.

For an instance, Pax didn’t feel like he could move again. Weirdly, hit by a vehicle wasn’t in his repertoire of things he was mentally prepared to handle. He snatched Jack’s head by his hair and rolled them away from Luke the Donkey’s shuffling feet, hearing a pancake-smashing pang from where his head had been.

Pax stayed crouched on the ground panting as Jack blathered, “—barely hit us. How am I supposed to write a sonnet about that?”

The driver’s side door slammed shut and Axel took two long strides to them.

“Ajax—that—that is you,” he said.

Axel knelt beside Pax and cautiously ruffled his hair, which showed a strange amount of resistance. Pax didn’t understand Axel’s confusion until the caramel locks fell all over his arms and shoulders.

He was still Calypso.

Pax opened his mouth to speak but felt like his words were made of too many marshmallows—normally an awesome problem if he wasn’t struggling to express himself. Finally, he managed, “I think I look like a pretty princess.”

“Yea,” Jack complained, “And like someone I used to bang. It’s weird and uncomfortable for everyone.”

Pax tried to laugh that off. He knew he should change back, but the thought of it made him tremble. How easy would it be someone else forever? To walk away and create a new identity, complete with a cool back story and costume change.

A chilly breeze wafted the scent of flames to him. Trees had collapsed. Windows on nearby houses had shattered. Panels had ripped off. Shingles were aflame. Pax hoped their cab driver had gotten out of here okay and wasn’t a sizzling pile of demigod collateral.

“I wish I could make rainbows appear,” Pax said. He stared through Axel’s firm expression. He thought about the tears that spilled down Leo’s cheeks, the ones that evaporated immediately into the night air, about how Leo had screamed in pain. “Or be really awesome at weaving. Or make people want to party. I—I h—hate being… I hate being able—”

Axel pulled Pax into his shoulder with one arm.

Pax choked on a sob and clutched at his brother. As he wailed, he felt the hair along his shoulders recede, becoming lighter until his normal jagged length returned. The cute work jacket morphed into a sweater and bronze breastplate. He was him again. Just a stupid, horrible godly thing that… that was meant to…

To hurt those I love the most.

No wonder Axel was going to play pin-the-dagger-in-the-demigod with Pax’s hand.

“Aw, my boys just need to hug it out. Axel, Ajax, pull me up against your shoulders to simulate cuddling,” their decapitated friend requested.

“Nope, we’re good,” Axel answered.

Pax had to agree. As desperate as he was, he just found his line on where he’d go for affection: corpses or undead things.

Axel withdrew, making Pax want to cry more. He ruffled Pax’s hair again, puffed up his cheeks, and popped them.

“Why did you hit me with your car? Was it because of the Reyna-condom thing?” Pax asked. As far as he was concerned right now, there were plenty of other reasons to hit him with a car, but he figured that’s the most likely one for Axel. After all, Axel was too awesome a driver to do so on accident without some major distractions.

Pax glanced over Axel’s shoulder towards the van, noticing how a stalk of corn had sprouted through the open driver door.

“Euna—” Axel started uncertainly, apparently willing to overlook the Reyna-condom thing in Pax’s current pathetic state.

“—turned into corn,” Pax finished for him.

“Something is wrong with her,” he said.

“I’d be upset too if I were turned into corn. That would be like reverse engineering for our people.”

Axel scolded. Before Pax could dodge, Axel snagged his ear and twisted it.

“Aye! Okay! No mercy for the sacrilegious!” Pax whined. His voice almost sounded normal again, only cracking once with physical pain instead of emotional.

“We need to get out of here to meet up with Calex and Merry—before others come for us,” Axel said, ��It shouldn’t take too long to get to camp since we can use… donkey travel.” Axel looked annoyed at having to say it.

Although Pax knew Axel was trying to distract him, he wondered how often Axel said stuff like that to distract himself.

Not that someone like Axel would ever need to pretend everything was okay since he could warp reality with his sheer awesomeness… but in a universe where Axel was less perfect, Pax wondered how often Axel kept a poker face when he felt like the world was crumbling.

Axel shifted like he was going to throw Pax over his shoulder. From the way Axel’s arms shuddered, Pax had a strange feeling Axel would struggle to lift a kitten right now due to battle exhaustion.

“Don’t try to pick us up. You’ll kill all three—“ Pax paused to stare at Jack. “Two of us? Jack, are you dead? Should I consider you dead again?”[4]

“I don’t know,” Jack admitted, then proceeded to use that grating gurgle of a voice to sing the lyrics to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. If Jack had shoulders, Pax knew he’d have shrugged.

The Pax brothers helped each other stand up. Pax felt sore from the car hit, but not Hercules-punched-me-sore. It was more like a little car love tap. Something Pax felt like Hephaestus would do to Aphrodite if he could.

Axel hesitated, then picked up Jack by his dirt-smeared red hair.

They needed to build Jack a carry case. Or at least a towel. Pax could imagine it now. “Nice pet carrier. Is that a cat inside?”

At least they’d have the best Halloween prop ever.

They shuffled towards the back of the van, listening to Jack as he supplied some entrance music.

Before Axel opened the doors, Pax could hear Euna’s icily tight voice, “—to wear off by now. It won’t stop though. It’s so loud—it’s too loud—”

When Pax saw the inside, he gasped.

The far corner of the interior, behind Axel’s driver seat, looked beautiful, or as beautiful as a beat up utility van’s interior could look. The carpeting near Euna’s feet was covered in mosses, ferns, and flowers. Vines had wrapped wildly about her legs, torso, and Backbiter’s scabbard, like nymphs had given her a makeover. Pax couldn’t tell that Euna was sitting on a bench until she slammed her fist into the frame with a solid crunch. Some of her moss indented to show where she’d damaged metal structure under the cushions and plants.

Her legs were pulled up against her chest. Her other hand covered her ear. There were pieces of bent precious metal littering the moss in a circle around her. Her black hair trembled with each of her twitches.

Kally was in midstep towards her, one hand clutched tight to her chest, like Euna had tried to bite it when Kally reached out.

The look on Alabaster’s face said he’d slap Kally if she tried to pet another rabid demigod. Well, he would, if his hands weren’t decorated in the world’s most expensive blocks.

Relief washed over his and Kally’s faces when they saw Pax, making Pax feel the tiniest bit fuzzy and less dead on the inside.

“Ajax, rouge satchel. Vial seven,” Alabaster instructed before the fuzziness could fully settle.

Pax’s muscle memory kicked in before his brain did. As he hopped into the van, he could envision the Witch Boy’s ingredient cabinets at Camp Othrys. All the powders, preserved skins, miscellaneous liquids, and bones had been color and shape coordinated since his little half-Mayan lab assistant could barely write his own name let alone read Latin nomenclature. Back when Pax had a place in life, had a full family, and all he had to worry about was how he and Matthias were going to prank Prometheus when the Titan kept predicting every whoopee cushion and paint bucket that they set up.

When Pax regained focus of the present, he had his hand in one of the satchels around Alabaster’s neck, and was withdrawing a rounded vial with two dots and a bar along the side.

A vial of pills.

Pax stepped towards the trembling daughter of Demeter. “Euna, these will make you feel better.” He paused. “Or kill you.” Pax glanced back at Alabaster. “These are going to make her feel better, right?”

“Ajax,” Alabaster growled.

“Right, question after potential crisis.”

A vine snaked from Euna’s leg to snatch the vial away from Pax. Apparently, she was on the act now, think later train with whatever was “too loud.”

The vine squeezed the vial until it shattered into her palm. She caught some of the raining pills.

“Only take two,” Alabaster snapped.

Pax hoped she’d heard before she tossed her head back. No water necessary.

The pills worked fast.

Euna went rigid for a moment. Then her eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed back into the plant-filled bench, her black hair spilling across her face. Her skin seemed to glow dimly in the van’s yellow light.

Kally hesitantly took a step closer to Euna, putting a hand up to Euna’s forehead.

At Kally’s worried glance, Alabaster said, “They’re a derivative of the formula I use for Ajax’s sleep darts. I’ve been using them for my studies on the effect of lucid dreaming on prophetic dreams, so I can immediately plunge into uninterrupted REM sleep for an hour. Think demigod-powered Nyquil.”

“So, this is the best time to draw on her face?” Pax asked, knowing this was an opportunity he should not take lightly.

“Ajax,” Axel snapped from outside. With a much more inclusive and less chastising tone, he added, “We need to leave. Everyone settle in.”

Pax wanted to ask about the urgency, but he could hear what Axel meant. The steam, flames, and hurricane had stopped behind Alabaster’s house. Everything had gone quiet.

“Vroom vroom,” Jack agreed. Although he couldn’t turn to see, his eyes darted in the direction. “I call shotgun.”

As Axel slammed the back door shut, Kally stared after them. She took a seat on the tiny part of the bench still poking out of Euna’s plants. Her movements were slow, like she’d tried to carrying a grizzly bear before realizing grizzly bears weren’t for bench pressing.

“Why is he still with us?” she asked softly. She bent down to pull something out of her messenger bag. From the slow movement, Pax guessed she’d gotten the coolest injury someone could get from a battle: a pulled back muscle.

When Kally withdrew a medical kit that Will must have given her, her eyes watered. “I saw what he did to Annabeth and Piper when I dragged Frank and Jason over—“

The driver’s door shut. From over the seats, Pax watched Axel set Jack’s head in the passenger seat, then paused to debate on a seatbelt.

“Please, it was only mono for Annabeth,” Jack said from the other side of the seat. “It looked like you’ve been healing people though. So you are one of my siblings—”

“Jack,” Axel growled, deciding against the seatbelt.

Although Axel feigned mild irritation, Pax knew how scary Jack’s awareness was. It made Pax want to hug Kally and make her a safety bubble of teddy bears and a soundproof safe room.[5] That was probably the only thing the Fates had left to dangle in Pax’s face. Please don’t hurt my not-girlfriend, Pax thought. She was the only one remotely adjusted in the group and they needed someone who was properly freaked out by a talking head.

“I can behave myself. She’s a friend or a lover or something, right?” Jack asked.

“Flash,” Alabaster said softly, “If you do anything to her, I’ll bring your punishment from Tartarus here.”

Jack made a choking sound.

As though Alabaster hadn’t threatened him with whatever his eternal nightmare was, he continued, “Kally, you said Euna had droplets that invoke godly powers?” Alabaster went from looking like he wanted to strangle Jack to his I’m-fascinated-at-the-expense-of-my-life face. Pax loved that face. It meant he could get away with stupid stuff. “I’m impressed how her mind and body can handle that. I wonder if she’s acclimating.”

“Acclimating?” Kally echoed, eyes widening with alarm. She withdrew ambrosia squares from her messenger bag and some unicorn draught from New Rome, handing a cube to Pax and painfully leaning forward to give one to Axel. She pointedly ignored Jack, who was now humming Hysteria.

“She said it wore off faster last time,” Alabaster said with a shrug. His hands and feet were still encased in metal. His shoulders were slumped with exhaustion and—although Alabaster tried to hide it—confusion. Pax knew Alabaster well enough to see that he hadn’t had enough time to process everything, from the Pax brothers being alive, to why Jack wasn’t dying, to going towards Camp Half-Blood… which Alabaster probably didn’t realize yet.

Pax was very willing to not point out their destination. As the van began to accelerate, Pax flopped down onto the bench beside Alabaster, aware Alabaster would be too tired to move away when Pax nudged him with his knee.

Pax set Nietz’s cage on the ground and opened it, hoping the weasel would frolic out. Instead, Baller scrambled over, evoking a soft call of delight from Pax.

The weasel hopped around Pax’s feet once, then dove after Nietz, nipping and biting at his unconscious brother’s ear to no avail.

“Nietzsche…” Alabaster frowned in concern.

When it became clear that Nietz was nonreactive, Baller bit him and dragged him across the van floor towards Pax and Axel’s trunk by the front seat. Beside it, Pax could see Axel’s surplus army jacket was on the floor, with Hunnie curled in the center. Baller deposited Nietz next to the other unconscious sibling.

“I don’t have enough energy to help them…” Alabaster muttered.

Kally’s teary eyes were scanning all of them, either taking inventory of who was the most injured, or trying to figure out which of the Triple A Chimera was the hottest. Clearly Axel.

“You’re doing that thing,” she said, examining him, “You… Pax?”

Pax jumped. The end of that first sentence was, “where you stare really seriously.” He couldn’t have people taking him seriously. He’d start crying. His cheeks would puff up and he wouldn’t look nearly as adorable.

“So, you evaporated Hazel. That was cool,” he said to Alabaster, keeping his voice even. Ways to distract both of them!

“I banished new shadows from appearing on or near my property. She needed to either fight us without feet, or she had to completely shadow travel away,” he explained robotically, “I almost performed a similar spell to keep Lamia’s essence from reforming, so I already had the mechanics of the incantation worked out.”

Kally paused when she went to hand Alabaster an ambrosia square and realized he didn’t have mobile fingers to take it from her. Alabaster glanced over at the movement and saw the problem. Kally blushed; Alabaster looked puzzled.

Pax thought about the two of them sitting at a café in some fancy European town, sipping tea while Alabaster circled mistakes in a scientific journal and Kally hashed out the details of a chapter.

Pax reached out for Kally’s wrist and pulled her carefully into his lap.

Old people¸ he thought while trying to work around her injured back.

“Pax—” Kally protested. Her blush intensified when she was unable to catch her balance.

“What are you doing?” Alabaster asked, annoyed at the invasion of personal space on the bench.

Once Pax had Kally comfortably against him, he nuzzled into Alabaster’s shoulder. “It’s called sharing,” he said. All he’d wanted all night was a hug from someone that didn’t try to kill him in dream land. This would suffice. “Didn’t either of you go to kindergarten? Besides, at this rate, you’ll both scream in horror the first time you accidentally hold hands. And it will be an accident. It’ll be worse than that time I told Morpheus to give Axel a sex dream with Reyna.”

They were entering a highway. Axel missed a gear shift, the van jerked, and Pax could smell burnt clutch from the back. “You asked him to do that?!” he demanded.

“Yep,” Pax said, trying to sound proud instead of numb. “For your birthday.”

“Wow—Axel,” Jack piped up, “Alabaster’s dream was right? Ramirez? And you never told me? Have you two—”

“No,” Axel snapped, scowling at Pax in the rearview mirror. Pax forced as much of an impish smile as he could manage. “We’re not talking about this, and you’re never to talk about Reyna like that, and it doesn’t matter anyway because it’s over.”

Jack laughed. “All that time of you rejecting girls, boys, monsters, and gods I sent your way? Na-uh. Our chaste warrior falls to the sweet blessing of Eros’ kiss, and you think I’m going to but bite mine tongue at such a celebration?”

“Jack, I’ll throw your head out the window.”

“No, you won’t. You missed me too much.”

“I’ll find Matthias’ playlist and play dubstep the entire way back to camp.”

“You wouldn’t dare, foul demon.”

While the two in the front argued, Alabaster had leaned down and bit the ambrosia square out of Kally’s fingers. If Pax had to guess, purely to spite him.[6]

In an attempt not to evolve the art of embarrassment into a new, more powerful emotion, Kally went to work cutting Alabaster’s sleeve off so she could attend to his wound. Although Pax’s presence made the process slower, they worked around him without complaint. Whether from exhaustion or kindness, Pax was happy for the proximity.

Pax waited patiently to see which of them would break first.

It was Alabaster. Pax could see him become conscious of how close he was sitting to Kally and Pax before he asked, “Wait—mono? You had the opportunity to kill Annabeth, and you gave her the kissing disease?” He looked at the seemingly empty passenger seat for distraction.

Instead of singing to heal where Hazel had slashed Alabaster’s arm, Kally very pointed started to stitch him up. Not gently either.

Yea, their whole group needed some real talk time about the whole killing Percy and Annabeth thing.

“I’m not gonna kill Luke’s creepy crush,” Jack chastised, “Besides, it’s like a two for one deal. A few months from now, Percy will be obnoxiously exhausted and sick. And—if recent Tartarus fanfiction is correct—so will Jason.”

“Oh, Percy and Jason are not a thing.” Pax felt bad ruining Jack’s plan, but he figured Jack ought to know now. “I once smacked Percy’s ass when I’d morphed into Jason and you could tell he wasn’t into it.”

“Ajax—why—” Alabaster started to ask. He shook his head in disgust. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It did make sense at the time,” Kally meekly assured, finishing up the stitch. She put some gauze and medical tape over the wound. “I’ll sing over what’s left once I’ve attended to everyone else and rested a little from healing…”

She trailed off. Pax knew she was going to say Frank and Jason. The thought of her trying to ignore Frank’s nudity should have brought cupcakes and happiness to Pax’s heart.

Kally glanced down at Pax, frowning.

Pax forced himself to give that devilish smile and wink. “I can take off my clothes if you need to do a full body exam.”

Kally blushed, probably thinking about the time he streaked through New York, then shook her head. “Will everyone be okay?” she asked, standing up from Pax’s lap.

Reluctantly, he let her get to her feet. Kally stretched, wincing.

The pain Pax and Leo shared kept threatening to resurface. That kid of Hephaestus deserved a medal, not a child of Strife rooting around in his head. “Does ‘okay’ include future therapy, hours of hug sessions, and a lifetime of regression on self confidence? Because if it does, then maybe. With 65% in the positive direction,” Pax said, puffing up his cheeks and popping them.

Quieter, she asked, “Are you okay?”

He knew she wasn’t asking if he was injured.

If they were alone, Pax would have burst into tears right there, curled up in her lap—an impressive feat considering their current placement—and begged her to hold him. He was pretty sure he’d never screwed up more than he had tonight.

But he didn’t want Alabaster to claim he was faking it, and he didn’t want to explain to Jack why he’d rather curl up with Kally—a hot chick that wasn’t a decapitated corpse—and he didn’t deserve to have Kally touch him.

Alabaster saved him from turning into a puffer fish of sobs. “Why did you leave the protective barrier around the house?” Alabaster asked. The tone wasn’t angry. More the I’m not mad, I just want to know how you did it, that he used when Matthias and Pax broke into the laboratory for prank supplies. “Does it have to do with that mark on your neck?”

Mark? Pax followed Alabaster’s glance and touched the bruise on his neck. Whatever it was hadn’t healed yet, even with his extra godly blood.

Icy fingers slipped over his.

Pax almost screamed, thinking the abominable snowman had somehow snuck up on a moving vehicle and bust through the wall in the stealthiest explosion possible.

Then he felt the warmth of a blanket settle over his legs, one composed of newspaper articles about world catastrophes. The article on his left knee showed a picture of a dead baby panda at some zoo.

Pax felt like someone had scooped out his heart and crushed it. Well, the tiny reserve of his heart that hadn’t been crushed by the rest of the night. He opened and closed his mouth.

Alabaster yelped in alarm when something slipped between him and Pax.

“Have you heard about how Zeus hung Hera over the pit of Khaos, when he learned of her attempted treachery? Even the gods fear the abyss of nothingness and nonexistence,” a familiar voice cooed like a lullaby.

Pax choked on his own breath—a stupid feat, but impressive within the world of stupidity.

A girl leaned forward off their bench, one hand stretched back along Pax’s shoulder and one to Alabaster’s, so she wouldn’t fall forward, though it looked more like she was suspended by two chains. Those black locks—streaked with white, red, and purple—were shorter and jagged again, twisting back in chaotic spirals. She wore a leather jacket. A crowbar and a sledge hammer appeared at her feet.

Atë ignored both of them, her face angled at the slumbering form of Euna.

Euna mumbled in her sleep. The vines wrapped around her legs unraveled and lifted, hovering like charmed snakes between the daughter of Demeter and the Goddess of Mischief and Ruin.

“Atë,” Kally hissed. She snatched one of Axel’s throwing sticks off the wall and aimed it at the goddess. “What do you want?”

“Wow—Kally, put the stick down,” Pax said, his voice coming out a whisper. “Axel will hurt you way more than Atë ever could if you break that thing.”

Atë shrugged listlessly and tugged Pax’s hand so she could sit upright. Alabaster flinched and scowled as she did the same to him. Smoke still curled off her from her little appearing trick. “Euna asked a question while she was sleeping. It would have been rude not to answer.”

“I can’t see!” Jack complained, “Is the intruder hot?”

“It’s Atë,” Axel growled, glaring at her in the rearview mirror.

“That didn’t answer the question,” Jack grumbled.

Atë released Pax’s hand and shoulder, sliding her fingers down his bronze breastplate and under the blanket. She dug her nails into his knee. “Don’t go to Camp Half-Blood,” she said, “Lapis sent me. She said you and Axel shouldn’t go back. A chicken lizard told her—”

“Kukulkan,” Axel snapped.[7]

Pax wasn’t sure what to expect from Atë. Maybe a, “Sorry for using you to kill Will, cause massive chaos, and trap Nico. Here’s a Reese’s Stick.” That would have been nice. He hadn’t expected her to act as a convoy for his siblings.

“So, Lapis gave you a stickynote, a high five, and you poofed? No strings or massive chains attached?” Pax asked. “Just out of the goodness of your… whatever organs you have?”

Atë turned to Pax and stared at him with those blank, red eyes. If she hadn’t… acted how she had earlier, he might have thought he’d stunned her into silence. “She traded the favor for information,” she said.

Pax was scared of what kind of information Lapis would have that Atë might want, other than Axel’s workout schedule. She could get a lot of money for that from the nymphs at Camp Half-Blood.

“Let me take a guess: your mom doesn’t want any of us to go back to Camp Half-Blood?” Kally asked. She took a step back towards Euna, and Pax saw her glance at Backbiter’s scabbard. She was probably debating if she could get it to use Atë’s choker as a cut here line.

“No.” Atë tilted her head to one side and Pax could feel some of her hair tickle his ear. Part of him really wanted to shove her off the bench. Part of him wanted to cry and whine a, I thought you liked me! and knew pushing a goddess was a bad idea.

Pax went to shove her off the bench.

Atë caught his hand. Without revealing any strain, she continued, “Python would be disappointed if you weren’t there, Kally. Euna needs to come to camp. If rumor is correct, she’ll find the answers to some of her questions at Hera’s temple. Jack can come. You can roll his head into Cabin Seven and see who sings the last note. But… Alabaster…”

She turned towards him. “Are you excited to sit outside the camp that has banned you for having thoughts and for wanting to teach others how to have thoughts?”

Although Pax couldn’t see Alabaster with Atë between them, he could envision his friend tensing. Atë leaned forward to tap her nails in a walking motion along Alabaster’s restrains. As the goddess’s fingers left the metal, the material tarnished, cracked, and fell away.

She continued, “You and the rest of Chimera could go on a play date while you’re waiting. I’m sure there are some nymphs you can hunt down to gather ingredients.”

“The Association Against Sorceral Subjugation banned nymph poaching in the 1980’s,” Alabaster said evenly. Pax could see Alabaster flex his freed fingers.

“As they should have,” Axel said sternly from the front.

Pax would rather fall on another nail than hear that argument again.

“Now, Atë, I want you out of my car,” Axel growled.

She kicked her feet out, letting her ankles crack against the base of the bench on the backswing. “You are almost at camp. I should leave. After all, children of Strife always hurt those we love the most, especially the more we’re around them.” She frowned and stared at the floor.

Pax wanted to ask her if she wanted some polish and a rag to rub it in more. He already knew how much he’d hurt his friends.

Instead, she leaned over and kissed Pax where she’d bit him previously. When Pax gasped, he found himself inhaling her smoke as she poofed away.

In her place, there was a small box wrapped in her newspaper blanket. It rattled with something inside.

They sat in stunned silence for a moment, the van’s interior feeling too exposed. Pax wished he had a magical poof ability to avoid unwanted, inevitable questions. Kinda like those trap doors evil villains always kept in offices.

“Um, Pax, isn’t she your sister?” Kally asked. She set Axel’s throwing stick back on the wall. Her tone was too careful.

“She’s only my half-sister,” Pax mumbled, pulling at the sides of the newspaper blanket. Maybe he could hide under it.

“We’re only half-siblings,” Axel said, giving him a concerned glance in the thin slit of the mirror.

Pax sighed. “I want to wink at you so desperately as a joke, but it just feels too weird.”

“Ajax, I consider myself a very patient and understanding man when you consider our upbringing,” Axel said, “But, if you ever wink at me in that context, I will beat the incest out of you.”

“You didn’t—” Alabaster started.

“Nope. I said nope,” Pax said quickly, opening the box to keep from looking at everyone. “I was a good little boy and told her she had no manners since she hadn’t brought me—”

Inside, there were pastry sweets. Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them: they were from his Chiich’s pastry shop. He’d recognize the smell anywhere. Beside them were a bundle of black orchids, the flower his father used to keep all over the club as a reminder of their home country. Lastly, there was a tiny ball of poof staring up at him with panicked, beady eyes. The furry black thing dashed out of the box, fumbling onto the floor.

Baller’s head popped up from his nest. He dashed after the new intruder.

They bolted around the van.

“What is that?!” Kally demanded, scrambling back onto the bench beside Euna.

“It’s a chinchilla,” Pax explained numbly, “She even gave me a live one.”

Alabaster pulled his knees up to sit pretzel style on the bench beside him. Cautiously, he withdrew a note from inside. “That’s a low bar, Ajax,” he pointed out before opening the card.

A voice recording played of Atë saying, “Lo siento muchísimo.”[8]

Pax flinched at the apology. He reached over and opened and shut the front a few times, making it go, “Lo s-L-L-Lo sient—”

Alabaster batted him away. He made a face and went to shut the card.

“What does it say?” Pax asked.

Alabaster frowned, glanced at Axel’s seat, then back at the card. He bit his lip. “I wanted to stitch the recorder inside the chinchilla, like one of those Build-A-Bear toys, but Lapis said you would like this more.” He swallowed. “Now you can open this each time I hurt you. And… and it has a heart with her name beside it.”

Pax tried to respond. He wanted to get excited about naming the chinchilla something awesome or about having a tasty piece of home to eat and visualize the way his Chiich would scold them for swiping sweets from her stand.

But he felt too nauseous to eat.

All he could do was pull his legs up against his chest. He thought about how easily Atë restrained his hand when he tried to push her off the bench. He clutched at the sweater under his armor, the one depicting weasels eating humans.

Maybe Atë was once like him. But everything kept going wrong, over and over, and she stopped feeling like she was made out of cuteness and fluff and forgot how to give others her cuteness and fluff.

Maybe he deserved to be with someone like her.

Warmth encased his side.

Pax wanted to squeal until he smelled the smallest hint of eucalyptus and mint—Kally’s shampoo. She squeezed onto the bench beside him and wrapped her arms around him. Although she was trying to be sneaky, Pax felt her other hand slip along his back to tug on what was left of Alabaster’s sleeve.

Pax could feel her tears when she nuzzled into him.

Alabaster’s fist crushed around the card. Pax wanted to yip in protest—that had been a gift. But the crumbled paper was already on the ground, giving another obstacle for the weasel and chinchilla to dart around.

Pax really hoped Baller was trying to say, hi and not nice night for a snack.

Alabaster shoved the box down afterwards, shaking up the flower and pastry arrangement. “Hades damn it all,” he grumbled. When he leaned forward, putting an arm around Pax and Kally and his chin on Pax’s head, Pax could feel how he fumed and trembled with anger.

“You know you can’t kill the chinchilla, right?” Pax squeaked. “It’s not Harvey’s fault that Atë chose it for a gift.”

“We can get one of the satyrs to give it a nature’s blessing to assure it returns home safely,” Kally suggested.

“Most animals raised in captivity will die in the wild,” Alabaster pointed out.

“I’m sure some younger cabin members will take care of… Harvey,” Kally said.

Listening to them talk around him eased some of the tension in Pax’s stomach. He didn’t realize how tightly he’d clenched into a ball, but tried to become less ball-like by snuggling more into them. After a moment, he managed a smile and said, “You know, Atë gave me the sweater I’m wearing too. Are you going to undress me with the power of teamwork?”

The van decelerated to a stop. At first, Pax thought Axel was parking to hop in the back and yank his ear off.

Instead, Axel opened his door and paused. Pax could hear him sniff the chilly early morning air as it drifted into the car. Then he popped his cheeks.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

Alabaster and Kally sat up. Even Euna stirred.

Axel inhaled deeply and sighed. When he glanced over the seat rest, Pax could see how exhausted he looked. “It’s Reyna. She’s here. And so are the Romans.”

Thanks for reading guys! At least you now know Pax survived >>’’ We’ll get to Percy and Leo’s side a little later.

Also! Excitement on this front! For those of you who aren’t on a website that says how many chapters there are: I’m writing the last one this weekend! :D There will be 43 in Attrition of Peace, though I’m hoping to keep the word count below Blood of a Mayan. (It’s already too long T.T) Once that’s done and I finish some school application stuff (*cries* real life), I’m going to hash out some of my writing requests (don’t think I forgot you Calex-meets-his-awesome-step-mother-request :D)! Thanks for sticking with me so far guys!

Footnotes:

[1] The original start for this chapter was in Axel’s point of view with, When they slid into the Paxmobile, Axel still wasn’t sure they’d made the right choice.

When a talking head and demigod slammed into the hood of the car, he knew, regardless of the rightness of the choice, at least it didn’t result in Pax’s death.

[2] I am so tired of doing exposition and character building scenes in the Paxmobile. That’s why it disappeared for a full book. I’m straight up going to blow the damn thing up soon. Say goodbye to your home weasels! MUAHAHHA!

[3] His most famous son is deaf.

[4] A question I often get from friends and family when I get into writing moods.

[5] “Preferably covered in pictures of scantily clad Alabaster and Pax boys. You know. In case she gets bored.”

[6] Jokes on Alabaster. You know Pax has no problems with polygamy.

[7] This is hinted at in the second book. Lapis is the only Pax other than Ajax that can call upon the Vision Serpent. More on this—in proper mythological context—in the Pax family’s standalone story.

[8] I’m so sorry.

#The Attrition of Peace #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #Heroes of Olympus #fanfiction #PJO #HOO #Pax #Axel #Jack #Alabaster #Euna #Kally #creeeeepy flirting #One day I'll write characters with functional relationships....#It will trigger the end of days....

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estacalavera · 5 years

Text

All I Know Is I Don’t Know Nothing And That’s Fine — Chris Ying

Juan the cab driver ordered tacos, but my friend Danny the chef had been talking up the soup. For the first time on the trip, I was considering breaking my personal rule to always listen to the fat cab driver when it comes to matters of late-night eating.

Juan had not yet steered us astray. Earlier he’d dropped us at Los 4 Ases, the roadside cantina responsible for our current state of inebriation. We’d sat at the bar next to a vitrolero filled with pickled pig’s feet, and hurled ourselves headfirst down a steep hillside slicked with liquor. We bounced along to a cowboy lounge singer’s up-tempo stylings, and ordered “pollo KFC” from the menu, just to see what it was like. (It was like the Colonel’s, only a little worse.) Our disappointment was tempered by the knowledge that food is gratis at cantinas in Mexico City. The alcohol costs money, but while you’re drinking, you can order whatever you want from a list of salty booze-sponges. The fare had been first rate at the cantina we’d visited the previous day, the more famous Cantina La Mascota near the Zócalo, where we’d had simple fried quesadillas filled with crushed potato, picked the meat and fatty bits from the bones of a dark, slightly acidic ternera en adobo while wincing through shots of silver tequila.

Now Juan had brought us here, to La Polar, based on nothing more than a slurred request from Danny to take us to “the birria place you took me before. It’ssssooo good.” We sat down, Juan, Danny, and I, and fixed our eyes on the kitchen. I was sauced and starving, but still had a full, bulbous glass of mescal in front of me along with a side plate of sour orange sliced dipped in chili powder. I sipped at the smoky molten agave to pass the time, or perhaps to reach some threshold of drunkenness that would allow me to pass through time and skip to the point when my bowl of birria would finally, finally make it to the table.

The wait turned out to be a small price to pay, as La Polar far exceeded Danny’s earlier inebriated endorsement. The birria arrived cloudy with chili and herbs, but san crystal clear in flavor. I pressed down with the back of my spoon against a bumper crop of tender goat, hunting after the main attraction: the broth. If you could juice a roasted goat, then concentrate and clarify the results, you’d have something akin to the consomé at La Polar. A squeeze of fresh lime and a healthy scattering of rinsed white onion brightened things up, and a stack of thick, soft corn tortillas sat near at hand for meat-scooping. But the broth was our purpose and our savior.

There’s a window outside the restaurant where one can prop oneself against a metal counter and scarf the same birria tacos they serve inside, technically qualifying as street food— my ostensible purpose for being in Mexico City. Danny was doing research for a restaurant he was planning to open. He’d called me while I was in the middle of another trip to tell me that I’d be an idiot not to join. I agreed to meet him, but had no time to repack, let alone do anything resembling proper research. From what I’d been told, you can’t throw a stone in the DF without hitting the greatest pambazo or tacos de mixiotes or quesadilla you’d ever had. Like other poorly prepared travelers before me, I was going off something I’d heard, hoping to bump into something extraordinary.

It looks easy on TV, doesn’t it? Land in a foreign country, ask your cab driver to head for the nearest market, and arrive to teeming crowds of diners and smiling vendors playing you with samples of grilled meat and exotic pastries. But the reality of trying to find an amazing street-level eating experience is rarely so straightforward. If you’re not armed to the teeth with research on what moment to be where and what to order, you can find yourself, as I have, wandering the same three blocks as dusk creeps, looking for the entrance to a place that is closed on weekdays or has been shuttered for half a decade. And when you are prepared, the problem then becomes finding a rice-noodle cart that can meet the impossible expectations you’ve built up. Even in cities like Rio or Hong Kong, where you can almost feel the heart of the city beating under your feet, it can still seem like the cool party is always around the next corner. Like a swimmer being pulled by the current, you see that the shore is maddeningly near but just out of reach.

In these times, it’s tempting to let the sea take you, to drown yourself in the luxury and safety of the hotel and minibar. But there is a better middle ground, and to get there, you must first do away with the notion that you are going to live like a local. Short of moving somewhere, there’s no way to see everything you want to see, or to understand everything there is to understand. You can travel well without focusing on how well traveled you want your friends back home to think you are.

Danny had been to Mexico City recently, and for about half the time we were together we were covering ground he’d tread no more than a month earlier. This relieved the distinct sense that I was flying blind as well as some of the pressure of discovery. And while I can’t take credit for any great culinary unearthings in Mexico City, I can offer you this: when you’re trying to find the good stuff, it helps to ask someone who already found it. More important, that someone should be someone you trust. Restaurant recommendations are a chorus that does not lack for voices. The problem is, who knows what you have in common with any given reviewer or body of reviewers?

The only filter to sift through the glut of information available to the traveler is trust. Danny and I find the same things delicious, so I seldom put up any resistance when he leads the way. Plus, he has a way of walking with the purpose that leaves you little time to question whether he knows where he’s headed. For large periods of the trip, my view was of his back as he wended his way through markets and alleyways, headed for a place he’d been to last time. Sometimes we’d end up lost at the other end; other times I’d look up to see we were exactly where he’d described we would be. Seldom did I know where I was.

But as hound-like as Danny’s nose for tastiness is, there really is no substitute for being fluent in the local language. The entire time we were in Mexico, we could not stop saying cuenta when we meant to say carta, and asking for the bill when you want the menu is not generally a direct path to unlocking the house secrets. Still, I found the DF to be an altogether English/high-school-level-Spanish friendly city.

And so we muddled through the days with our pidgin Spanish, aided by a list of tips from James Casey, whose magazine, Swallow, devoted a whole issue to Mexico City. On our first morning in country, we headed to eh Mercado de la Merced, a densely-packed market that dips in-and outdoors and houses hundreds of stalls hawking comically large piles of chilies and cactus paddles, golden-hued chickens, tremendous sides of beef and pork, tacos of all sorts, blood sausages sizzling on griddles, towers of cheese, corn grilled almost black, fresh masa, and tortillas. On our way into the twisting, rambling market, I took a photo of the street corner where we entered so when we got lost I could point to it like a speechless chimp, which we did and I did.

We meandered with vague purpose. Or rather, with the specific purpose of finding carnitas, but with no specific carnitas in mind. We landed on a stand called Ricas Carnitas. The sign featured an unlicensed rendering of a famous cartoon pig, popping out of a cauldron with arms wide open. Two aproned men ran the operation from behind a vinyl-lined t =able, and a group of satisfied-looking customers spilled over the sides of tiny colorful plastic stools in front. I’ll make no claims about this stand serving the best carnitas in Mexico City. But if you’re cruising through a busy market, and you spot a crowd of finger-licking patrons hovering around a rack of deeply browned pork dripping fat and juice back into its cooking liquid, you can safely bet they’re not going to be the worst carnitas in Mexico City. Such a rack rests prominently in front of Ricas Carnitas, easily within view and scent of passing foot traffic. I couldn’t help but imagine the liquid in the simmering cauldron beneath it as something akin to the sinister dip from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In goes the pig, and out comes a deconstructed pile of bronzed snout, ribs, shoulders, intestines, his hat, and his overcoat.

When it’s taco time, the meat takes a quick plunge into the dip, then gets cleavered out of recognizability, jumbling together fatting and gelatinous with chewy and tender. Everything goes onto two tortillas heated on a smoking plancha, then is covered with a flourish of onions, cilantro, and a user-administered dose of simple salsa consisting only of raw tomatillo and chili. Beside the large stone malcjete that holds the salsa, a dense bouquet of papalo sprigs sits in a cup doubling as a vase. A leaf or two of papalo— an herbaceous plant related to cilantro, with leaves bearing a s light resemblance to nasturtium leaves— serves as a post-taco digestif.

We ascertained the purpose of this little outlying shrub through a combination of gestured questions directed at the vendor, and watching the diners around us finish their tacos and then pop the leaves into their mouths. I find it useful to keep my eyes trained on what people are eating around me.

Think of it as the Finger-Bowl Method: if someone puts something in front of you and you’re not sure what to do with it, look up before you go drining your hand-washing liquid.

We employed this practice again later at a chain joint called El Farolito. All around the market we’d seen tortillas sitting out on curbs and on milk crates, wrinkling and puckering slightly as they dried out in the open. Rather afraid to eat of the literal streets, I didn’t make any movements to investigate. But then, while seated at the wraparound counter at El Farolito (one can also pull up in a car outside and place an order in situ: street food), we spotted a stack of the same dried tortillas. Toasted on the grill, then topped or served plain with salsa or brothy beans, these tostaditas were a world apart from their fried cousins. Crunchier than crisp, and less oil-logged, their relative lightness gave us the moral high ground we needed to overdo it on the rest of our order: alambres (a scramble of bacon, steak, cheese, onions, and chilies), tacos al pastor, cebollas (spring onions blackened and topped with Worcestershire sauce and lime), and a foralada. The farolada is a house specialty that Danny discovered on a prior visit, again by watching others. A piece of pan arabe (pita bread)is split open and stuffed with stringy Manchego cheese and steak, then pressed on the grill into a crisp wafer. By my count, the cross-pollination of Lebanese influence with Mexican cooking has yielded at least two wonders: al pastor and now this. Free restaurant idea: Taqueria al Beirut.

The no-duh assumption at the heart of the Finger-Bowl Method is that if it looks good, try it. Easier than looking for a particular stand you saw on TV or in a guidebook, it to keep your head on a swivel and nose on alert. As fast as information moves, street food still moves faster. A change of ownership, an off day, an ambitious owner trying to cash in on a TV appearance— any number of factors can ruin what was a sure thing a week ago. Making laps around another market, Mercado San Juan no 78, I waffled on trying a few more exotic dishes I recognized as quintessential market offerings that a responsible correspondent would do well to acquaint himself with. The smell of cleaning agents turns me off, and we had arrived at the market in the late afternoon after the lunch rush, as the merchants turned their attention to washing the floors and counters.

But near the entrance, open to the sidewalk and free from Mr. Clean’s special odor, was a rotisserie-chicken stand. Plump birds were crammed ass to shoulder on spits, dripping juices from the upper levels down onto the lower decks as they spun. Between the skewers of whole chickens were even more crowded spits of chicken wings, pressed together in an overlapping line like cruise-ship passengers vying to get on the last lifeboat. Everything was roasted to the same dark-orange hue, with spots of charred black. And while a whole chicken was unmanageable for street-side consumption, I could not pass on wings. The chicken man peeled a few from the spit for us, dropped them into a plastic bag, and added a few shakes from a bottle of Valentina hot sauce.

Perched on a cement divider across the street, we divvied up our loot. I pulled a wing from the reddened bag, and considered it quizzically, not sure that I had ever seen a wing trimmed to look this way. We pulled skin and meat from bone with our front teeth and realized immediately that what we had were not chicken wings but chicken necks— a most delightful betrayal! Even in our increasingly offal-and-off-cut friendly world, the neck remains largely confined to the stockpot. But it has everything the gluttonous carnivore desires. It is, after all, mostly skin and fat— in this case rendered delicate and sticky with a few crackling burnt ends. The meat takes work to get at, probably too much for your average American looking to keep both eyes on the game while snacking, but for those willing to toil a bit, the chicken neck is the superior cut.

Mexico City is a sprawling behemoth. When standing in the middle of it, you experience both the sense of being enveloped in a metropolis like Manhattan and being overwhelmed by the endless outward reach of Los Angeles. Often, finding good street food comes down to dumb luck. Our hotel was in the Condesa, a relatively chichi neighborhood, away from the markets and heavily trafficked late-night streets. But just a short two blocks from our front door, we came across a couple of women in blue aprons who had set up a comal next to a stone planter on the sidewalk. There, they pressed blue corn masa intro delicious huaraches and quesadillas filled with huitlacoche, stewed squash blossoms, and just a few crumbles of melty cheese. Various plastic containers of salsa and toppings crowded a folding table covered in a floral-print tablecloth. Napkins hung in a bag stapled to a nearby tree. There were no other vendors around.

#lucky peach #chris ying

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letsanjaliposts · 5 years

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10 Delicious Curry Recipe For Lunch

Pick Your Favourite Curry Recipe From These 10 Curry Recipes To Spice Up Your Lunch

Eating boring old dal chawal every day for lunch with the same rotation of three different vegetables is not exactly the definition of an amazingly delicious meal. Even though it is easier to make but as Bunny said in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, “life mein thoda bahut keema pav, tangdi kabab, hakka noodle bhi hona chahiye nah?”. While he was referring to marriage, we are actually referring to your lunch. You need some variety to spice up your life and what is better than taking a trip around Asia with these tasty and healthy curry recipes. Pick out your favourite curry recipe amongst these and enjoy a delicious meal! For each variety of curry, we have offered a vegetarian and non-vegetarian option so you can make whatever suits your tummy. Apart from curry recipes list in this blog we also have a separate

Asian food recipes

page where you can find more such amazing recipes like

noodles recipe

corn cheese balls recipe

etc. Read on to find out how you can spice up your boring and ordinary lunch hour with delectable curry recipe. 1. Paneer Masala In Tomato Curry:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4-6 people

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Orient Asian Red Chilli Paste

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

½ tsp coriander powder

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp gram flour

2 tsp curd

1 tsp garam masala

1 cup tomato puree

500 g paneer

4 chopped tomatoes

3 chopped onions

Salt to taste

Method:

The first step to cook this Paneer Masala in tomato curry recipe is to mix the curds, ginger-garlic paste, Orient Asian Red Chilli Paste, gram flour, tomato puree and salt in a bowl and blend well.

Include the paneer blocks, mix well and put aside for 10-15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a skillet, include the curry leaves and mustard seeds.

At the point when the seeds pop, include the onions and saute till they turn translucent.

Include the tomatoes, blend well and cook till the sauce turns out to be thick.

Include the paneer alongside the curd mixture and blend well.

Include the turmeric powder, garam masala and salt, blend well and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve hot sprinkled with coriander.

Your delicious Paneer Masala in Tomato curry is ready.

2. Spicy Chicken Curry Recipe:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves: 3 people

Ingredients:

3 tbsp Orient Asian Red Chilly Paste

1 tablespoon oil

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves

1 onion, finely sliced

6 curry leaves

500 g chicken, cut into small pieces

1 cup (200 ml) water

Salt to taste

Method:

The first step to cook this Spicy chicken curry recipe is to wash and clean the pieces of chicken. Totally drain out the water. In a wide bowl, marinate the chicken pieces with turmeric powder and salt. Cover and put aside for 30 minutes.

In a wide skillet, heat oil on medium flame. Include finely cut onion and fry on a medium to low flame for 5 – 8 minutes until golden coloured and crisp.

Include curry leaves and fry well.

Include the Orient Asian Red Chilli Paste and mix well on low flame for 5 minutes or until the curry proceeds to thicken.

Include marinated chicken pieces, 1 cup water (200 ml), and alter salt to taste (or ¼ – ½ teaspoon). Blend all the ingredients well. Cover tightly and cook on a medium to low flame for 25 – 35 minutes or until done/chicken pieces soften/red coloured curry thickens.

Sprinkle torn coriander leaves and present with rice/pulao/Rotis/rumali roti.

3. Veg Thai Green Curry Recipe:

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Gluten-free

Vegan

Ingredients:

4tbsp Orient Asian Thai green curry paste

2tbsp vegetable oil

3 shallots, finely diced

1 roughly chopped small bunch of coriander

1 red chilli, remove the seeds and finely dice

1 large red pepper, deseeded and cut into thick slices

5 dried kaffir lime leaves

350g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1.5 cm cubes

400g can full-fat coconut milk

150g snow peas

100g baby corn- halved lengthways

Cooked rice and lime wedges, to serve

Method:

The first step to cook this Veg Thai Green curry recipe is to heat the oil in a huge flameproof casserole vessel with a tight-fitting top. Include the shallots with a liberal pinch of salt and fry for 7-10 minutes over medium flame until its softened and starting to caramelize.

Add the Orient Asian Thai green curry paste and chilli to the dish and fry for 2 mins. Put in the squash and pepper, then continue to stir in the coconut milk alongside 200ml of water. Include the lime leaves, cover and cook for 15-20 mins or until the squash is tender.

Mix the mangetout and baby corn through the curry, then re-cover, cooking over medium-low flame for an additional 5 minutes or until the vegetable is cooked. Season and mix through half of the coriander. Take out the lime leaves and dispose of them. Spoon the curry into deep bowls, dissipate the rest of the coriander and present with rice and lime wedges for squeezing over the curry. Thus, your delicious meal is prepared.

4.Thai Green Chicken Curry Recipe:

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Freezable

Ingredients:

3tbsp OrientAsian Thai Green Curry Paste

1 tbsp palm sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

800g of canned coconut milk

800 g skinless chicken thigh, each thigh cut into three pieces

25g galangal/ginger, sliced

6 lime leaves stalks removed, shredded

3 lemongrass stalks, finely diced

Handful pea aubergines or ½ aubergine diced

Small bunch of Thai basil

Method:

The first step to cook this Thai Chicken curry recipe is to sweep the thick, greasy part of the coconut milk into a warm wok. Cook it gradually, mixing constantly, until it begins to bubble and sizzle and just starts to split.

Include the Orient Asian Thai green curry paste and cook for 3-4 minutes until the paste begins to give off the genuine smell of South-east Asia.

Include the chicken and mix well, covering it all in the paste. Include the remainder of the coconut milk, lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, palm sugar and half of the fish sauce. Let the sauce bubble for around 10 minutes, until the oil in the coconut milk begins to come through to the surface and the chicken is cooked.

Include the pea aubergines and the remainder of the fish sauce and cook for 5 mins more. Add sprigs of the Thai basil and present with some jasmine rice.

5.Indonesian Vegetable Curry :

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients

2 tbsp Orient Asian Indonesian Curry Paste

3 tbsp Soy sauce

300g basmati rice

50g Cashew Nuts

2 units star anise

2 units of ginger

2 units vegetable stockpot

2 units of onions

2 units of red peppers

1 unit of lime

800 ml of coconut milk

2 packs of green beans

2 bunches of coriander

Method:

To make this Indonesian Vegetable Curry recipe, Heat up the water (amount indicated in the fixing list) in an enormous pot over a high flame. Include the basmati rice, half of the vegetable stock pot and the star anise. Mix to dissolve the stockpot and cover with a lid, bring down the flame to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the flame and put in a safe spot for another 10 minutes. The rice will complete the process of cooking in its own steam.

In the interim, split, strip and thinly cut the onion into half-moons. Strip and grate the ginger. Divide, then remove the centre from the red pepper and slash into 2cm pieces. Remove the top and base from the courgette. Cut down the middle lengthways then cut into 1cm wide half-moons. Trim the tops from the green beans and cleave down the middle. Chop the coriander (with the stalks ).

Put a drizzle of oil in a griddle on medium flame. Include the onion and cook, mixing, until soft for 5 minutes. Include the ginger and Orient Asian Indonesian curry paste alongside a spot of sugar (on the off chance that you have some) cook, still mixing, for one more minute. Include the remainder of the veggies, alongside the coconut milk and remaining stockpot. Mix to dissolve the stockpot, then stew until thickened for 10 mins.

While the curry cooks, put another skillet on high flame and include the cashew nut pieces (no oil). Toast until golden for 2-3 minutes. Shake the skillet regularly. Pro Tip: Watch your nuts like an eagle as they burn easily! Remove from the dish and put it aside.

At the point when the curry is cooked, mix through the soy sauce and include a sprinkle of lime juice. Taste and include more lime juice whenever wanted. Fluff the rice up with a fork and discard the star anise.

Serve the rice in bowls with liberal bits of Indonesian curry on top. Wrap up by sprinkling over the chopped coriander and toasted cashew nuts. Enjoy!

6.Indonesian Chicken Curry Recipe:

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of Orient Asian Indonesian Curry Paste

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt or to taste

1 lemongrass, only the white part

1 boneless skinless chicken breast, diced into bite-sized

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup water

2″ cinnamon stick

pinch of black pepper

Optional: chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Method:

The first step to cook this Indonesian chicken curry recipe is to heat up 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil on a skillet over medium-high flame. Include Orient Asian Indonesian Curry Paste, lemongrass, and cinnamon stick into the container.

Saute it until it gets fragrant. Include chicken into the container. Sauté the chicken so it is covered with the curry paste.

Cook the chicken until it is completely cooked. Include coconut milk and water into the dish. Cook it until the curry starts to boil. Include salt and pepper. Taste it and include more flavouring if necessary. Cook until the curry is somewhat thickened. Remove from the flame.

Move to a serving plate and sprinkle with crisp cilantro or parsley if you wish to do so. Serve it with warm rice.

7.Malaysian Vegetable Curry :

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingredients:

3tbsp Orient Asian Malaysian Curry Paste

200 ml of coconut milk

1 Potato, boiled and diced

1 Carrot, sliced

5 Baby corn, diced

1 Brinjal, diced

5 Curry leaves

2 Stalks Spring Onion (Bulb & Greens), finely chopped with the leaves

Sunflower Oil, as needed

Method:

The first step to cook this Malaysian Vegetable curry recipe is to boil the vegetables for the Curry.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a wok or a stir-fry wok; include the eggplants, sprinkle some salt and sauté on low to medium flame until soft and cooked. When cooked, move to a bowl and put it aside.

Next in a similar wok, heat a teaspoon of oil and saute the carrots and baby corn till it’s lightly cooked. This will take around 3 to 4 minutes. When done, keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan. Include the cut spring onions and stir fry until sweet-smelling or light brown.

Add the Orient Asian Malaysian Curry Paste to the onions and mix until you can smell the flavours for about a minute. Next, include the vegetables and potatoes and mix for about a moment.

At last mix in the coconut milk, curry leaves and 1/2 a cup of water. Let the curry boil for around 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from the flame and serve the Malaysian Vegetable Curry alongside hot steamed rice.

8. Malaysian-Style Chicken Curry Recipe:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6 people

Ingredients:

6 tbsp Orient Asian Malaysian Curry Paste

2 tbsp groundnut oil

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 kg of chicken thighs

2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 cinnamon stick

3 star anise

400ml coconut milk

100ml chicken stock

400g green beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

A handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Method:

To make this Malaysian chicken curry recipe, cut the chicken into small pieces. Heat the groundnut oil in an enormous cast-iron pan or heavy-bottomed container. Tip in the Orient Asian Curry Paste and mix over medium flame for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Include the onions and cook, mixing as often as possible, for 5 minutes until they are starting to soften.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add to the skillet and mix to cover them in the curry paste. Include the lime leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, coconut milk, stock, sugar, soy and fish sauces and let it boil. Diminish the warmth to a simmer and cook delicately for 30 to 40 minutes until the chicken is softened.

Skim off any abundance of oil on the surface of the curry. Taste and change the flavouring. Tip in the beans put the cover on and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until the beans are tender. Garnish with the coriander leaves and present with the coconut rice.

9. Vegetable Sri Lankan Curry Recipe:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Orient Asian Sri Lankan Curry Paste

3 tbsp Oil for frying

1 tsp of turmeric powder

400g of coconut milk

200g of butternut squash

100g of runner beans

200 ml of vegetable stock

2 onions, halved and sliced

3 green chillies, sliced

1 cauliflower, broken into small florets

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

Method:

To make this Veg Sri Lankan Curry Recipe, Heat 3 tbsp of oil in an enormous container. Include the onions and cook until delicate and golden, around 10 minutes. Include the garlic and chilli and stew for 3 minutes, at that point mix in 2 tbsp of the Orient Asian Sri Lankan Curry Paste and turmeric and continue mixing until you begin to smell the flavours.

Include the coconut milk and stock and bring to a stew. Drop in the squash, cook for 4-5 minutes, at that point include the cauliflower and cook for 3-4 minutes. Include the beans and cook until simply soft.

To serve, heat another 2 tbsp of oil in a dish and fry the curry leaves and mustard seeds until they frazzle and start to pop. Pour over the curry and present with steamed rice.

10. Sri Lankan-style Chicken Curry Recipe:

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking times: 25 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

4 tbsp of Orient Asian Sri Lankan Curry Paste

1 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil

250 ml Coconut milk

300 grams Chicken, cut into small pieces

2 Onions, thinly sliced

2 dry red chillies

2 sprig chillies curry leaves

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt to taste

Method:

The first step to cook this Sri Lankan style chicken curry recipe is to thoroughly rinse the chicken pieces and put it aside.

In a pressure cooker, heat oil on medium flame. Include ginger, garlic, onions, red chillies and curry leaves.

Stir for 4-6 minutes, until it transforms into a profound dark brown colour.

To this include, the Orient Asian Sri Lankan curry paste, blend well.

Include the chicken and 2 cups of water. Cover with the lid and pressure cook the curry for 2 whistles.

Remove from the flame, permitting the pressure to release normally.

When the pressure is discharged, open the top, blend in the coconut milk into the curry and stew on low fire for 5 minutes. When done, remove from the flame and move the curry to a serving bowl and serve hot.

This concludes the list of delicious curry recipes that are easy to make. You can buy our curry pastes from our

OrientAsian Amazon Shop

, Scootsy, Foodhall as well as

BigBasket

.Pick out your favorite curry recipe and cook it today for your lunch! As you can see they require very little time and effort and the pay off is great. So what are you waiting for? Go try out all of these recipes and get some spice in your life. Do let us know in the comments below about your feedback and your favourite curry recipe and curry paste amongst these. Apart from these range of curry pastes we also have

Momo chutney

and

Mexican Sauce

to treat your taste buds with amazing flavours. Happy Cooking!

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