#i don't actually know a lot of. egg options i only really eat scrambled on occasion | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

0perfectimperfections0 · 1 year

Text

Silence: Part 4

I got new glasses and the slight change in environment has motivated me to write some more because I totally don't have college assignments to do

<><><><><>

It was silent throughout breakfast. The small noises only came from metal hitting the ceramic plate as Lou poked and prodded at his food. "Eat. You didn't eat anything yesterday."

Lou was halfway into opening his mouth to argue before remembering the food offering Nolan had made a habit of bringing to the shed. It had been left untouched. Darn. A scoop of scrambled eggs filled the place of useless words. Nolan nodded in satisfaction and went to clean his plate off.

"Why are we going to LuckyBat's?" Lou asked again. This made the third time he had asked. Nolan made him drop it after the second.

"To talk."

"About what?"

"You'll find out when we get there." Oh, sure, yes, because that made Lou feel all the better about it. Curiosity quenched.

"But why can't I know now? It's about me, I'm assuming." Lou turned halfway in his chair to look at Nolan.

"Because I said so." Nolan closed his eyes as he said that, head tilting toward the blond authoritatively.

Lou's bottom lip poked out. "I'm not a child, so stop treating me like one."

"How would you know if I was treating you like a child?"

As simple as the question might have seemed, it held a heavy load of implications to it. Lou...didn't actually know. He'd never met or seen a child. He'd only read about them. And it was really about how they played or treated their dolls. "Well stop treating me like I'm your doll. I'm not." There. That he understood.

"Then how do you plan on getting taken care of?" Nolan leaned against the counter, hands behind him on the edge of it. "And don't say 'I can take care of myself' because we both know you can't. You proved that to me every day in that shed when I dropped off food for you."

Lou narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to LuckyBat's."

"Good to know. But it wasn't an option."

"I'll be fine on my own here. You can go talk." Lou raised his nose in the air.

Nolan walked over, one hand on the back of Lou's chair and the other on the dining table. He didn't look impressed nor swayed by the idea. "I said I'd help you and that's what I'm doing. We're going to be doing some emotional unpacking when we get to Lucky's."

"I'm not doing therapy!" Lou was appalled at the idea.

A hand shut his jaw. "Inside voice. And yes, you are. You need it. It's one thing to bottle up feelings and hurt yourself. It's another to get to the point where you do it in your sleep. I'm not cleaning stuffing every morning."

"Please don't make me go." This was desperation talking. Anger didn't phase Nolan in the slightest. The only thing that stirred him was raw, quivering submission and pleading. "I don't want to be around them. The Uglies. Any of them. It's humiliating enough that they put me in this position. I don't want them...I don't...th-the satisfaction of seeing how they defeated me--"

"There. That's what I want to hear." Lou parted his mouth in confusion, brow raising. "I want you to stop telling me the 'what' and start telling me 'why'. I want to know why you didn't want to open the door for me this morning. I want to know why you're angry. I want to know why you don't want to do therapy." Nolan softened his gaze, head tilting to give a soft smile. "It's not that difficult to read your expressions, Lou. Or your body language. I know when something is wrong, I just need you to tell me why."

Lou put his hands on the table, thumbs fiddling with each other. He gave a shy glance up at the brunette. "So...if I do that I don't have to go to therapy?"

Nolan snorted. "Oh, no, you still have to go." Lou's shoulders slumped and he opened his mouth to plead again. Nolan cut him off with a finger to the air. "But it will go a lot smoother if you just learn to keep explaining yourself instead of leaving us with unanswered questions. The more we know, the more we can help you."

Stupid logic and stupid brunettes with their stupid logic. Nolan took Lou's silence and attention back on the food as submission. He ruffled Lou's hair as he walked by, miffing the blond.

<><><><>

"W-Why don't you be my therapist?" Lou gave a nervous smile. He stepped in front of Nolan from where they were about five steps from Lucky's door. "You're smart. A-And I don't hate you like I hate the Uglies. It could work!"

"Nice to know you don't hate me, but we're still going. Lucky is a lot smarter than I am. He's wise--"

"You're wise!"

"Lou," Nolan chuckled in an exasperated way. The blond clung to his arm, desperately trying to tug him back. "This isn't supposed to be a punishment." He tugged Lou forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, forcing Lou to walk with him. "It won't be bad, trust me. We'll stay for, like, thirty minutes and then we can leave."

Lou let out something of a mix of a whimper and a hum. Nolan knocked on the door three times and Lucky called out from inside saying he'd be there in a moment. "Just relax. We're not getting into anything serious yet, anyway. We'll probably just start at the beginning."

"Beginning of what?" Lou really didn't want to be here.

"Your life. Something happy before we get into the nitty-gritty of it. Like when you were first made."

Lou looked even more worried. His creation wasn't exactly a happy moment. How could they start with that? What about something else? Like...like when Ox first showed up. Or when they would run around the Institute playing the game Ox had called tag.

The door was opened by a smiling LuckyBat. He ushered them to come inside, offering tea. "It's great to see you here, Lou," Lucky spoke softly. Nolan had texted him in advance to be gentle. Make Lou feel welcome. Lucky was all about being gentle.

Still, Lou frowned down at the bat and hid himself partially behind Nolan. Lucky sent a small smile to the brunette and went to go make the tea. "You two can go ahead and have a seat! I'll be back in a moment!"

"Thanks, Lucky!" Nolan called back. He reached behind him to usher Lou toward the sofas, but his hand met air. Lou had eased the door open a few inches before it was shut and crushed his hopes with it. "Sit down," Nolan took Lou by the shoulder to nudge him away from the door. When they were finally seated, Nolan kept himself turned to Lou, legs crossed and one arm propped up on the head of the sofa. "Why don't you wanna do this?"

It was that stupid why question again. Lou gave a determined look. "Because I don't need it. I'm fine. Honest."

"Alright. Now answer my question again while telling the truth."

Stupid brunette seeing right through him. Lou lowered his voice, head tilting down as if that would help. "I don't want to talk about this stuff."

"We'll just start with the happy stuff, Lou. Nothing too heavy."

Lou made a quiet, frustrated noise. His hands clasped in his lap and he looked close to tears again. "I don't...know if I can do that."

"Why not?" Nolan played with a few damp strands of Lou's hair. The blond would be loathed to admit that it was soothing. Stupid brunette. Stupid comfort and care and warmth.

"Because...I don't remember anything happy. Not really." Lou looked down at his lap. "There's Ox when he first came to the Institute. But those memories hurt now, too. Or the time when the first batch of dolls came...but then they left so fast to the Big World and...a-and I hardly got to enjoy their company. All of my happy memories got ruined somehow."

Nolan watched those blue eyes water and his lip quiver. "How'd you sleep last night?" He asked instead.

The question obviously caught Lou off guard. He sniffed and looked over at Nolan. "Huh?"

"How'd you sleep last night?" Nolan continued playing with Lou's hair.

Lou scrunched his brows for a second and used a sleeve to wipe his eyes. "Good, I guess...except for ruining all your work." He gestured to his arms. "I...I had a nightmare, so maybe that's why I did it."

"Talk about the nightmare, then," Nolan suggested.

Lou let out a frustrated puff of air. He reached up again to wipe at his eyes and left his arm there for a moment. "I don't want to tell him about it. He'll tell Moxy o-or Ox or one of those other Uglies and then they'll tell the other dolls a-and then everyone will know I'm pathetic a-and they already humiliate me--"

His chin was grabbed and he looked into heterochromatic eyes. Nolan smiled softly. "He won't do that. This is a private conversation, okay? And you're not pathetic. You're not broken or weak or whatever else you've been calling yourself." He remembered those muttered words from this morning when he listened in through the door. "And you're not stupid. You just need help and guidance. That's why we're here. Because it sounds to me like you've been handling everything on your own and it's time we change that."

"Why can't it just be you that helps me?" Lou whispered pleadingly. "Not anyone else. Just you. I don't trust anyone else."

"And why do you trust me? What makes me different?"

"Because you never left." Now, Lou's voice began to shake and some tears trailed down his cheeks. "You always came back every day and I didn't even have to do anything. And you're still here."

Nolan sighed, looking into Lou's eyes. "Then just talk to me. How about that? I know I say it and when Lucky gets in here you'll still be nervous, but just pretend. We'll pretend together. Because Lucky still knows things that I don't. He'll know some techniques or something to keep you from hurting yourself. All I can do is be here for you."

"That's all I want, Nolan. I just want someone to stay. That's it." Lou sounded and looked desperate again.

Nolan had to look away from those eyes. it was like hurting a puppy. Heartwrenching. He let out a sigh and reached down to hold Lou's hand while staring at the wall. "Okay. We'll try a different approach. I don't want you to be uncomfortable, but you still need help. So, we're gonna meet halfway on this, okay?" Lou nodded quickly, hoping against hope that the result would be back in the comfort of Nolan's home.

LuckyBat wobbled into the living room with a tray of tea and set it on the coffee table. Nolan set one in front of Lou. "Hey, so...," Nolan let out a breath, "we're gonna try something different."

"Oh?" Lucky looked at Lou who had his head turned away. It was obvious he had been crying.

"Would you be okay with kind of hanging out in a different room and listening in while Lou talks to me? You can text me any questions you want me to ask him. He just...," Nolan squeezed Lou's hand, "This is new."

Lucky nodded in understanding, giving both boys a smile. "Of course! I understand. I'll be in the room right over there." He gestured a wing to one not far from the living room. "And you just start whenever you're ready," he spoke to Lou.

The door was left open. Lucky was not in sight. Nolan wrapped his other arm around Lou's torso. "Alright. Let's talk about that nightmare."

#fanfiction #uglydolls #lou #writing #nolan #luckybat #silence series #part 4

18 notes · View notes

gardencityvegans · 6 years

Text

Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble

https://www.thefullhelping.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Tofu-Scallion-Scramble-4.jpg

As I mentioned in Sunday’s post, baked oatmeal was my breakfast mainstay for the first four weeks of my current rotation. I have a few weekdays with long commutes, which means that a pre-cooked, ready-to-eat breakfast was a lifesaver. Plus, it was often freezing in NYC, and something warm and sweet hit the spot.

I foresee plenty of baked oatmeals (or baked oatmeal cups) in my future before the winter is over, but I’m officially getting tired of the repetition. And I’m missing savory breakfast, which is, as most of you know, one of my favorite things.

A new tofu scramble to the rescue. It’s not actually new, because I was making it a lot this past fall. But it’s been a hot minute since I whipped up a new batch. There are countless tofu scramble recipes that I love and rely upon, but this one has moved pretty quickly to the top of the list. It’s super fast, super easy, and, because it features black beans and kale as well as tofu, it’s especially high in protein (around 20 grams per serving).

A protein-rich breakfast, as I’m continually telling (or hearing my preceptors tell) patients these days, can help to keep one fuller longer. Not something I have to give too much thought to when I’m working from home and can easily reach for a snack whenever I get nibbly. But it’s a serious consideration for me this year, with a schedule that includes long commutes, packed mornings of patient appointments, and not always being able to eat when I planned on eating.

The other special feature of the scramble, aside from the beans, are the scallions. They replace onions, which I usually add to my scrambles, and they’re perfect for my busy weekends of batch cooking because they cook through faster than onions do.

You’ll see that I also add a bit of tahini to the scramble; it sounds a little odd, but it’s a trick I learned from this scramble recipe years ago. It makes the scramble ever-so-slightly creamy (imagine soft scrambled eggs, vs. drier ones). And the healthful fat makes the scramble extra satiating, too. Here’s the recipe.

Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble

Author: Gena Hamshaw

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons neutral flavored vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or

refined avocado)*

1 small bunch (about 6-8) scallions/green onions, tops and white parts, chopped

1 15-ounce block extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon tahini (or cashew butter)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons warm water

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon fine salt (more as needed)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1½ cups cooked black beans

2 cups raw kale (or another leafy green of choice), chopped

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large, roomy skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is shimmering. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the white parts of the scallions are tender.

Whisk together the tahini, water, lemon juice, turmeric, and salt. Crumble the tofu into the skillet, breaking it into bite-sized pieces or smaller (this can be up to you: some folks like a chunkier scramble, others don't—I'm in the latter camp!). Add the tahini mixture to the skillet, followed by the nutritional yeast, and mix well to incorporate. The tofu will turn a nice, golden color.

Fold the black beans and kale into the scramble. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes, or until the kale is tender. Season the scramble to taste with extra salt and freshly ground pepper as needed. Enjoy!

Notes

*You can substitute a few tablespoons of water or broth for a no oil version.

3.5.3251

This scramble is pretty simple, in so far as seasoning goes, but feel free to add garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, or other spices to your liking. The black beans can be exchanged for chickpeas, pinto beans, kidney beans, or another legume, and if you’re running short on leafy greens, another chopped green vegetable will work well. I often use whatever frozen, chopped vegetables I’ve got at home in a breakfast like this.

Sure, baked oatmeal is a fabulous make-ahead breakfast, but so is this: I usually make it on Sunday and enjoy it for the first three weekdays of a new work week. To serve, you can pair it with whole grain toast, an English muffin, corn tortillas, a whole grain, sweet potatoes or regular potatoes—plenty of serving options. If you’ve got some extra veggies to add, even better.

Wishing you a new week full of nourished mornings. I’ve got two weeks left at my current rotation; change is really the only constant this year! Thank goodness for grounding breakfasts.

[Read More ...] https://www.thefullhelping.com/tofu-scallion-black-bean-scramble/

#infrared #health

0 notes

oovitus · 6 years

Text

Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble

Author: Gena Hamshaw

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons neutral flavored vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or

refined avocado)*

1 small bunch (about 6-8) scallions/green onions, tops and white parts, chopped

1 15-ounce block extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon tahini (or cashew butter)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons warm water

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon fine salt (more as needed)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1½ cups cooked black beans

2 cups raw kale (or another leafy green of choice), chopped

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large, roomy skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is shimmering. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the white parts of the scallions are tender.

3.5.3251

Wishing you a new week full of nourished mornings. I’ve got two weeks left at my current rotation; change is really the only constant this year! Thank goodness for grounding breakfasts.

The post Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble appeared first on The Full Helping.

Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble published first on

0 notes

oovitus · 6 years

Text

Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble

Author: Gena Hamshaw

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons neutral flavored vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or

refined avocado)*

1 small bunch (about 6-8) scallions/green onions, tops and white parts, chopped

1 15-ounce block extra firm tofu

1 tablespoon tahini (or cashew butter)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons warm water

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon fine salt (more as needed)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1½ cups cooked black beans

2 cups raw kale (or another leafy green of choice), chopped

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large, roomy skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is shimmering. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the white parts of the scallions are tender.

3.5.3251

Wishing you a new week full of nourished mornings. I’ve got two weeks left at my current rotation; change is really the only constant this year! Thank goodness for grounding breakfasts.

The post Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble appeared first on The Full Helping.

Tofu Scallion Black Bean Scramble published first on https://storeseapharmacy.tumblr.com

0 notes