#i have: half a pound of ground beef.

[meatsound]

hate when meal planning doesnt go to plan and youre left with a bunch of random ass ingredience

[vinceaddams]

a fun thing you can do when you're a grownup is buy a bunch of ingredients and make 6 litres of spaghetti sauce in a big pot and divide it up into a bunch of containers and put it in the freezer!

[transgender-catboy]

it's getting to that time of the month where I'm low on food and it SUCKS

[copperbadge]

[ID: A photograph of my kitchen counter, showing a 1.5 pound box of mushrooms and a 4.5 pound box of tomato paste, each topped with a 2.5 pound bag of shredded mozzarella. It's a lot of food.]

I'm fortunate to live within walking distance of multiple grocery stores, but, well, I don't drive. So, every three months I put in a delivery order to stock up on goods I use a lot of.

Behold: Three months of pizzas, in an 11 pound heap. Minus a few things, mainly the crust ingredients, which I already had.

The mushrooms will be sauteed and then frozen in small containers, with the leftover oil and liquid going into a vegetable broth to add to the tomato paste, which will also be simmered with seasoning and tomato pesto before going into half pints for freezing. The cheese is broken into half-pound packages and frozen as well. To make two pizzas, you grab one package of each, mushrooms-sauce-cheese, and thaw while your pizza crust ferments overnight.

I don't eat all the pizzas I make; I sometimes gift them to friends (hence no meat) or bring them to parties. Some of this will go to other things too, like quesadillas. It just amused me to present it as a pile of pizzas. I'll cook the mushrooms tonight; I still have sauce in the freezer so I won't make more until I'm close to out.

(I also bought six pounds of ground beef, a rotisserie chicken, and a 36-count of babybel cheese. My ancestors are so proud of the luxury on which I dine!)

[faytelumos]

Rescue

I have absolutely no idea why I hadn't planned on posting this.

---

Hero closed the fridge door again, empty-handed. Their options were meager and time-consuming, and they didn't have the energy tonight.

They limped to the cupboard and opened it, their eyes falling to the crackers. They pulled out the box, and it felt like they were on their last sleeve. They… could probably hold off. It was late enough by now they could just go to bed. They could save the crackers for breakfast. If they combined it with a coffee, they could probably make it through to the afternoon.

They set the crackers back in the cabinet and closed the door. They flicked off the lights as they hobbled past, keeping a hand along the wall for stability and guidance. Their stomach growled despondently, and they limped into their room. Falling into bed was a relief, and they were exhausted enough to fall asleep within half an hour.

Their front door opened.

Hero flinched awake, heart pounding, ears straining. Was it a dream? Were they imagining—

Someone was moving in their living room. In their kitchen.

Hero slowly got out of bed, trembling, breathing hard. They strained, avoiding putting their weight on their bad leg, and did their best to sneak to the door. They turned the handle carefully as the intruder opened their fridge. Ha, were they only here to steal groceries? Then they came to the wrong apartment.

The light was on in the kitchen. Hero braced a hand on the door, moving slowly, deliberately. Closer, quietly, so they could see the open fridge door—

Villain turned away from the fridge, grabbed a jug of milk off of the floor, and turned to put it in the fridge.

Hero stared as Villain packed eggs and ground beef and a head of lettuce and a bunch of carrots into the fridge. They looked to the front door, which was again closed, to the doorframe that looked perfectly intact. They looked to the grocery bags, to the meat and vegetables on the counter, next to the stove.

"Are you going to keep hiding like a shadow?" Villain asked, closing the fridge and putting away pasta and rice and condiments. Hero hesitated before limping into the light.

"What are you doing here?" Hero said lowly. They tried their best to stand upright, to be threatening. If the organization knew they'd let Villain into their home, there'd be hell to pay.

Villain paused, then looked over their shoulder at Hero.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" They shook their head, turning back to the cupboards. "Get off that ankle." Hero bristled.

"Get out of my house," they threatened. Villain wiggled their fingers and ooed mockingly.

"Oh, my, I'd better not cross the starving, injured, sleep-deprived Hero." They packed away a loaf of bread. "I'd be in for a real thrashing."

"I mean it!"

Villain closed the cabinet door sharply, looking directly at Hero. Hero flinched at the sharp sound and movement.

"Sit. Down."

"Make me," Hero whispered. They knew they weren't good for a fight right now, but if they didn't try—

Villain marched straight for them. Hero took up a modified stance, keeping their weight off of their bad leg, and when Villain got to them they struck. Villain deflected the blow with ease and then grabbed Hero sharply by the ear.

"Ow! Ow!"

"Shut up."

Villain pushed them back into a chair, then went for the stove. They turned on the heat and drizzled some oil Hero didn't own into a pan. Hero watched, a little mesmerized, as Villain started cutting up an onion. They did something weird, not cutting it all the way through on one side, and they didn't so much as sniffle as they chopped it up into little pieces. Then they dumped it into the pan, and Hero listened to it sizzle as Villain got started on a tomato.

"What are you doing?" Hero asked again. Villain barely spared a look over their shoulder.

"I'm making you something to eat." Hero blinked, breathing deeper around the tension in their chest.

"W-why?" Villain dumped the diced tomato into the pan next, then grabbed some spices Hero had never seen before.

"Because you can't heal a sprained ankle on crackers and soda."

Hero looked down at the tabletop. Why was Villain doing this? Was this a ploy? It had to be a trick; they wanted something. If Hero ate this, they'd owe Villain.

"Whatever it is you want me to do, I won't," they rasped.

"You mean eat a proper fucking meal?" Villain said smartly without turning. They stirred the veggies Oh, jeez, it already smelled great.

"This is a trick," Hero whispered.

"The only trick is getting the horse to drink water," Villain replied. Hero's stomach growled loudly at that moment. There was barely anything in the pan and it already smelled amazing.

"I, you can't fool me," Hero tried weakly. "I'm, you can't just buy me with food." Villain laughed, throwing their head back slightly as they did.

"Oh, baby," Villain chuckled, looking to Hero in the weak light, "even if you were right, you'd be wrong." They just kept chuckling, and Hero watched as they opened up a package of ground beef.

Hero watched, once again hypnotized by the sight of Villain's cooking. They added in the meat and continued to stir intermittently, adding more spices and smelling the pan along the way. The kitchen was soon full of the warm, mouth-watering scent of it, and Hero's stomach growled desperately.

There was a catch. There had to be a catch. Six hours ago, Villain was dancing around Hero like they were a mere pest. The fight had been over almost before it started, and Villain had walked all over them. And now they were here, in the middle of the night, chopping cilantro on their counter.

But, God, it smelled so good. And Hero was so hungry. When was the last time they'd had a proper meal? With more than two food groups?

"What do you want?" Hero rasped. "For the food?"

"I want you to stop asking me stupid questions." Hero shut their mouth, watching the quick way Villain roughly cut the greens. They were more precise with the lettuce next, and then they stirred the pan again before producing taco shells and warming them in the steam from the meat. A moment later, they opened a bag of shredded cheese.

Hero sat silently as Villain flicked off the heat and scooped the meat into the shells. They sprinkled on some cheese and cilantro and a more generous amount of lettuce, producing four tacos in quick succession. They set them down, dug a plate out from a cupboard, and then Hero was looking at four hot, loaded tacos right in front of them.

They didn't spare another thought to the cost, lifting up the first carefully. They took a bite, mindful of the loose way it was all packed.

It was amazing. Warm and just barely spicy and crisp and soft and crunchy and —

Hero took another bite, and another. They were halfway into the second when Villain sat down before them.

"At least someone appreciates my cooking," Villain grumbled. Hero slowed down, the reality coming back to them now. They swallowed what they had and put the taco back down, and Villain's sharp eyes snapped to their face. "If you ask me one more time what I want from you, I'm going to strangle you," they growled.

Hero snapped their mouth shut again.

"I don't want anything from you," Villain growled. "You need someone to take care of you. Because the people who employ you clearly don't." Hero frowned.

"They're good to me."

"Then why did they let you fight me on a sprained ankle?" Hero opened their mouth to mention the shortage of heroes lately. "Why do they continue to postpone your weigh-ins?" Hero faltered. How did Villain even know about that? "Why do they pay you in peanuts?" Hero gritted their teeth. "Why don't they send someone to check on you? To make sure you're okay? Why don't they have you in therapy?"

Hero looked down, their vision. They didn't know how to ask for a raise. And they'd called to see a therapist so many times. But nobody cared. Nobody ever took the time to care.

Hero sniffled, reaching up and covering their face. Villain shifted, and then Hero was being pulled into a tight hug.

"You're worth more than this," Villain hissed, their arms wrapped around Hero's head. "You don't deserve this. I can see it wearing you down."

Hero gritted their teeth, fighting the tears, but their throat was beyond sore now, and they sniffed and shook in Villain's tight hold.

"All I want," Villain rumbled, "is for you to get what you deserve. Because it's not those shit stains at the organization."

Hero whimpered softly, losing the fight with their tears. Villain let go and knelt down, and they wiped away Hero's tears with both hands as Hero sat and shook and sniffled pathetically. Villain looked over their face, hands on their cheeks, and Hero closed their eyes as Villain leaned in, kissing their forehead firmly.

"I meant it when I said I'm not fighting you anymore," Villain said against their skin. "I can't keep facing someone who doesn't deserve my wrath." They kissed Hero again, firmer this time, and Hero put their hands over Villain's. Villain pulled back, wiping at another tear. "Now eat your damned food," they whispered.

Hero nodded, sniffing, and slowly turned to their plate again. They continued to eat through the threat of tears, sniffing and struggling to swallow past the lump in their throat.

It was the best food they'd ever had.

[fox-bright]

Oops, Poultry Version

So I Got Paid on an invoice I've been nagging about for the last three months or so, and while it has to last me a while, and cover many needs, it is a long tradition of mine that the first proper shop after Getting Paid is the purchase of meat. I've spent too much of my life starving to break that habit now, regardless of the fact that these days things are more comfortable; I feel the precarious nature of life at every turn, and so it gives me comfort to get high-value food. Having Enough has been such a relative rarity in my life that it gives me a deep contentment to know that not only is my belly full tonight, but it will be tomorrow, too.

Also, it's just fun to be able to see a food and buy it.

So the Magical Flying Husband and I hied ourselves to the Chef Store where we can buy things in bulk, and I tooled around in the big refrigerated meat room, looking for the elusive and subtle 50% Off stickers. There were discounts on various large pieces of beef, but I made thirty quarts of beef stew last month that now sit, gleaming, on the canning shelf in my basement; I didn't need any large pieces of beef. I made ground beef chili last month, too, and pork butt chili so tender that it made me gasp when I bit into it, but what I didn't make was chicken anything.

Bird flu being what it is, chicken prices are only going up. And I haven't canned chicken stock since late 2022; typically I do a big run of stock in the autumn every two years. I'm getting low. So, I looked for chicken.

I wanted cheap thighs; there weren't any on sale.

Cheap breasts would have done; there weren't any on sale that looked good.

But then I saw that little one-by-one-and-a-half inch sticker on a waxed box of whole chickens. I haven't broken down a raw whole chicken before, but that would do nicely; breasts, thighs, drumsticks for soup, wings to fry for the MFH, and wingtips, bones, skins and tag-ends for stock. Perfect. I slid the box off the shelf (heavy!) and onto a lower stack of boxes so that I could see into it, and lifted the lid. It looked like it held seven or eight chickens. Probably eight? They were piled over each other a bit awkwardly. Eight chickens for a bit under forty dollars. These days, I'm not going to find better prices. I had the MFH heft it into the wide shopping cart and moved on. Two ten pound tubes'o'burger, to be split into one pound portions and frozen in vacuum bags. Soy milk for the MFH's breakfast, and a luxury for me in the form of large, firm green grapes. Five pounds of mushrooms, cheap, to put into chicken cream soup. One bag of frozen jiaozi. And then out into the bright Autumn, feeling quite good about my purchases. I half-daydreamed about chicken soup all the way home.

We got home and I hauled the heavy box of chickens upstairs to my little kitchen where I do all my canning. The refrigerator is also quite small; the box was two inches too big in any dimension to let the door close. But the chickens were, I remembered, sealed in a plastic bag inside the box, to prevent them drying out or leaking. I could put down a baking tray and pop the bag onto that. I could slide the chickens around and close the door.

Removing the bag, I realized I'd made an error in my calculations. It was so cold in that big freezer room. I have always been very sensitive to the cold (thanks, starvation and hypothyroidism), but it's gotten a lot worse since the brain injury. I hadn't lingered. I'd pulled the lid off the box, looked in and said "Seven or eight chickens! And they all look good! Let's get this." and moved on.

I did not notice that the chickens were stacked in the box. Two deep.

I had a lot of plans for seven or eight chickens. But I don't have seven or eight chickens. I have fourteen or sixteen.

I have never broken down a whole raw chicken.

Wish me luck...

[sportsbianism]

yesterday i went to the grocery store and got supplies for a bunch of my high fiber beef quesadillas and tbh they're the best i ever made. i decided to mix four pounds of ground beef with two pounds of ground turkey to help save some money. blended that up with an abundance of spices in a big pot with a hand mixer. i think that this somehow tenderized everything or something, cause the texture was superior. then i browned the meat at high heat in a huge skillet but did not cook it fully through. put it back in my huge pot on low heat with two big bricks of golden curry chopped up, a little bit of extra salt and seasoning, and some water. kept the lid on and stirred occasionally. this turned out fucking divine u guys. and there's a lot of fat in golden curry bricks but i used 97% lean beef and 99% lean turkey so the macros are good.

for the tortillas as always i used the carb conscious tortillas from aldi, bc they have a ton of fiber and are super cheap compared to name brands.

cheese, in the past ive used fat free cheese from walmart, but to save money and treat myself, this time i just used reduced fat cheddar and mexican blend from aldi.

fat is really good for you, but im trying to cut a little bit again so im watching my macros a bit more and not spending them during lunch. i eat normal delicious dinner with my gf every night.

one tortilla folded in half, 30 grams of cheese, 90+ grams of meat is what i usually do for these. usually i bake them in the oven to get the cheese melted, but my gf's oven is messed up rn so i just heated them up on the stove real quick. i store them in the freezer in the same bags the tortillas come in. i didn't carefully track the macros this time, but my guess based on similar recipes in the past is something like 400 cal, 30 grams of protein, 15 grams of fiber.

[macgyvermedical]

Food Options for People with Histamine and Salicylate Itolerances

Hi All,

My wife just found out that she has both histamine intolerance and salicylate intolerance. Within days of starting to take antihistamines and eating only very low histamine/salicylate foods, nearly every health problem she's had for the last 15 years (including vision problems, plantar fasciitis, severe GERD, severe brain fog (to the point where we thought she had early onset Alzheimer's), chronic fatigue, and joint pain) literally went away or got markedly better overnight.

The only thing is: If you're really strict on the low histamine and low salicylate diets, it really limits what you can eat. If you're gluten or lactose intolerant as well, that makes things even more difficult.

So I decided to put together some recipes that contain the lowest possible histamine and salicylate burdens. The "safest" list contains only the following: Bamboo shoots, cabbage, celery, iceberg lettuce, peeled white potato, millet, oats, rice, maple syrup, white sugar, distilled white vinegar, saffron, sea salt, canola oil, safflower oil, egg yolk, meat, fish, poultry- very fresh only, true fish only.

Marinade: Mince a stalk of celery, then combine that with a third of a cup white vinegar, a half teaspoon salt, and 2 tbsp maple syrup. Soak your meat or poultry in it before cooking to give it some flavor.

Salad (or anything) Dressing: Whisk together 2 raw egg yolks, 2 tbsp white vinegar, and 2 tbsp canola oil. Salt to taste.

Slaw: Shred a quarter of a cabbage, 3 stalks celery, and 1 can bamboo shoots. Toss in a dressing made from a third of a cup of white vinegar, a tbsp white sugar, and a third of a cup of canola or safflower oil.

Potato and Rice fritters: Cook a cup of white rice until it's soft. Peel and chop a medium potato into 1-in cubes, boil potato until soft, drain and mash. Mix rice and potato, add 2 egg yolks and salt to taste, form into patties, and fry in canola oil.

Potato and Celery Soup: Mince 5 stalks of celery and fry in a tbsp or two of canola oil. Add 4 cups chicken stock (make ahead by boiling a chicken carcass in water with a tbsp vinegar for 3 hours) and 2 large potatoes (peeled and cubed). Boil until the potatoes are soft. Mash the potatoes in the stock, add salt to taste, and serve.

Congee with Pickle: Soak bamboo shoots overnight (or a few hours) in a mixture of 1/3 cup vinegar, a teaspoon salt, and a tbsp sugar. Make a rice or millet soup by cooking grains in about double the water specified on the package. Mash the grain and flavor this soup with salt or sugar to taste. Fry a couple of egg yolks or some fish and place on top. Eat with your bamboo shoot pickle.

Millet Crispies: Pop millet by placing a small amount in a dry frying pan.

Oatmeal: Make oatmeal according to package instructions with salt to taste. Top with fried egg yolks, maple syrup, millet crispies, fried minced celery, slaw, or whatever meat options you have available.

Celery Boats: Shred a cup or so of cooked chicken and toss with salad dressing listed above. Fill stalks of celery with the mixture.

Beef and Cabbage Soup: Fry 3 stalks of minced celery in canola oil at the bottom of a pot. Cut up a half head of cabbage into ribbons and fry with the celery. Remove the celery and cabbage. Put a pound of beef stew meat cut into 1-in chunks (or ground meat of choice) in the pot and brown. Add the celery and cabbage back in, add 6 cups water or stock, and boil with salt to taste until at least the meat is cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Lettuce wraps: Brown a pound of ground chicken in a pan with 3 stalks minced celery, half a cup of chopped bamboo shoots, a tbsp of vinegar and salt to taste. When cooked through, carefully remove leaves of iceberg lettuce from a head. Fill with meat mixture and enjoy. Serve with rice.

Rice Pudding: Whisk together 4 egg yolks, a quarter cup maple syrup, 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour, a pinch of salt, and a scant cup of water. Add this to a pot with 1.5 cups COOKED rice. Stir on medium heat until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid but is still somewhat pour-able. Pour into a small casserole type dish and chill in the fridge to set.

Contains wheat, fresh dairy, onion, parsley:

Beef Stew: Cook 4 stalks minced celery and 1 minced medium onion in butter or ghee until soft. Add 1 lb beef stew meat cut into 1-in chunks and brown. Add 6 cups stock or water and salt and parsley to taste. Whisk together 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour and add to mixture. Peel and cut 2 medium white potatoes and add to mixture. Bring to a low boil and simmer until meat and potato chunks are cooked through- about 20 minutes.

Flat breads: Combine 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup butter, oil, or ghee with 2 cups flour (adjust amounts as needed to create a workable dough). Roll into flat rounds and cook on a dry skillet.

Mashed Potatoes with Onion: Peel and cut 4 large white potatoes into 1-in cubes. Place in a pot with water to cover. Boil for 20-30 minutes. While boiling, mince 1 large white onion and cook in butter, oil, or ghee until caramelized. Drain and mash potatoes. Add onion to potatoes along with a tbsp dried parsley and salt to taste and cream or milk to taste. Stir everything together.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds, Chicken Nuggets, Battered French Fries, or Onion rings: Combine 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1tsp baking soda, and salt to taste. Bring 2-3 inches of canola oil or lard to frying temp. Dump 1lb of cheese curds, 1-in flattened chunks of chicken, sliced white potato, or sliced onion in batter, and spoon them into the frying oil. Fry until crispy and remove onto a plate lined with paper towels. See "Salad Dressing" in previous comment for something to dip in.

Maple Milk: Put a few tbsp maple syrup into a glass of warm or cold milk for a treat.

Cheesy Dessert Tacos: Make flatbreads listed above. Mix together 2 tbsp maple syrup with a half cup plain farmer's cheese or goat cheese. Spread on flat breads and fold like a taco.

Cheesy Dinner Tacos: Combine 2 tsp onion powder and 2 tsp dried parsley with a half cup plain farmer's or goat cheese. Spread on flatbreads. Add shredded cooked chicken and shredded cabbage. Fold like a taco.

Mapley "Crime" Brulee: Whisk together 6 egg yolks, 4 tbsp maple syrup, and 2.5 cups heavy whipping cream in a pot over low heat, whisking continuously until thick. Pour into ramekins, sprinkle with white sugar, bake until set, then broil until the tops are crispy.

[black-aurora-nora]

Beloved - You’re Never Leaving Us (Pt. 2) Fantasy AU! Yandere!BakuShima x Turning!Reader

It was becoming increasingly obvious to Katsuki and Eijirou that you were changing in ways that they hadn’t planned for.

The windows in your room were to stay boarded up and blinded to keep the sun from burning you and to keep you from escaping. 

The two men knew they’d have to put you in a windowless room since you seemed to be gaining a newfound strength as your transformation came to a close.  Those boards would be useless in the next two weeks.

And they really, really couldn’t have you escaping.

Even though you were changing, their love for you was still as strong as ever.

It was too bad you didn’t feel the same anymore.

“Here, (Y/N).” You looked away from the random spot on the bricked wall of your prison and glanced at the wooden spoon coming up to your lips, “It’s beef stew, one of your favorites.”  Eijirou reminded sweetly, staring at you with dreamy eyes.

You blinked owlishly at the wooden spoon, eyes tracing ever so slowly to his hand.

You narrowed in on a prominent vein, licking your lips as saliva began to coat your mouth.

You wondered if his blood tasted good.  A voice in the back of your head eagerly told you yes, of course his blood taste good!  

A voice further back in your head cried out for you to not do it, but it was merely a whisper that you chose to ignore.

Take a bite.

You gulped, opening your mouth as Eijirou obliviously raised the spoon to your mouth with a happy smile. Were you actually going to eat for once?  He really hoped you would, you hadn’t eaten in a few days and he was starting to get worried.

Take a bite.

Enjoy your fill. 

You leaned forward to the spoon, the scent of the beef stew wafting to your nose.

God, it reeked.  It really fucking reeked.

The hand holding the spoon, however...

That smell was divine.

In all the weeks that you’d been stuck in your prison with only your hopelessness to keep you company, you finally felt something.

You felt ravenous.

You’d never smelled something as good as whatever Eijirou smelled like right now.  No words could explain how good he smelled.  You felt drunk just from the scent.

How would you feel from the taste?

Deciding to argue with yourself no longer, you launched forward with a newfound strength that surprised both you and Eijirou as he let out a startled yelp and fell to the ground on his back.  His eyes were wide with oblivious confusion.

That changed when you took a vicious bite into his hand, blood dripping into your mouth poorly from the sorry location that you’d chosen, but you didn’t appear to care.  Your mind had gone completely blank once you got a taste of that first drop.

Eijirou was fighting you now, struggling to hold you down and get his hand away from your teeth as you growled, clearly frustrated from the lack of blood.

“KATSUKI! Shit!” The half-dragon cursed when he felt you clamp down harder.  He could get you off with ease but that would mean hurting you and he couldn’t do that.  Not even when you were trying to drink his blood.

The young king came pounding into the room, cursing aloud at the scene he’d came to and quickly bringing you to a chokehold.

Now you couldn’t free yourself, hurt yourself or bite anyone else.

You continued to struggle however, growling and salivating with animalistic fury. 

Katsuki glanced up at Eijirou, “Your hand alright?”

Eijirou waved his good hand, “Yeah, it fine, nothing a healing potion can’t fix.”

Katsuki shook his head, “No... it’s not fine. I should’ve paid closer attention to her symptoms and realized that she wouldn’t want human food anymore.” He gripped you tighter as you kicked out, “She didn’t eat for 5 days, fucks sake!”

They stayed silent for a moment, thinking as you continued to struggle in Katsuki’s grip.

“She’s definitely stronger than before.” Katsuki thought aloud, “Strong enough to break the windows and escape, for sure.” He added.

Kirishima hummed at that before sighing deeply, “I’ll go grab a prisoner from the nearby prison. No one will bat an eye if one of them goes missing.” And with that, he left the room.

You lurched again and Katsuki readjusted his hold on you. You seemed to be calming down and he took the moment to breathe in your scent and take in your warmth. 

He hadn’t held you in so long.

“Your fever’s went down, too. No wonder you’re so energetic today.” He chuckled, “Though, I’m surprised you’re this strong when you haven’t eaten for almost a week.”

You blinked the blood-craze away, eyes growing blank, “I wish you guys had let me crawl off that damned cliff.”

“Don’t say that kind of stuff, dumbass.”

“Please, Katsuki... let me go before Eijirou comes back. There won’t even be a big mess for you guys to clea-”

“I already told you it’s not happening, (Y/N). Drop it.”

“… That’s fine. I’ll get out of here one day. You guys can’t watch me forever.”

There was no response. Katsuki only held you tighter.

After about an hour, Eijirou returned, wiping his hands off, “Alright, her new room is ready and so is her late dinner.”

You were carried down a series of stairs and introduced to your new cage.

It was a big square room with a king sized bed decorated with various fur blankets, a small, caged fire place, and various items like books to keep you occupied.

But that wasn’t what you were really paying attention too.

In a far corner of the room, shivering and whimpering, was a chained man. He had rope in his mouth, keeping him from being able to say anything. Though, it was obvious he didn’t want to be in the room.

You didn’t care about that though. There was a small cut on the man’s arm, the smallest bit of precious blood leaking out onto his bruised skin.

How could blood smell so good?

When you were human, blood smelled metallic and it stung your nostrils.

Now that you were turning… there was something indescribably addicting about the smell of blood.

Katsuki let you go and everything went black after that.

You awoke feeling painfully rejuvenated and alone in your new cell.

How could you just kill that man?

How could your two dearest friends allow you to kill him?

Sure, he was a prisoner but he was paying the price the right way by spending his days in a cell.

How were you possibly going to continue living like this?

Tears trailed down your face and you sobbed into your bed.

Death would’ve been so much better than this.

Two pairs of arms wrapped around you from both sides.

“You okay?” Katsuki asked, red eyes softly taking in your features.

You pushed them both away, climbing off the bed, “I don't want to talk." I want to die.

You couldn't see them, but Katsuki and Eijirou looked at each other. Something they'd grown to do ever since you'd first been brought home.

"We know it's hard (Y/N), but we can still go out on adventures. We'll just have to go at night!" He explained simply, "And there's no need to worry about food either. The prison will always be filled with people."

Katsuki made a sound of agreement, "It's not like your killing innocent villagers. Those bastards in the prison deserve it."

You hugged yourself tight, staring into the fireplace with angry longing.

Oh how you wished to be reduced to ash and bone.

Taglist: @maggiecc

[stevishabitat]

Was on Pinterest (I know, I do sometimes cheat on Tumblr with the Pretty Plagiarism Hellsite, I'm not proud of it)

Anyway, I saw this and just about threw my phone...

(I didn't throw my phone because I have to use it to sign into the work VPN so I can keep my job)

But I literally saw red for a brief second.

My fridge, freezer, and pantry currently consist of about 20 eggs, half a loaf of bread (gift from my mother), several servings of cooked black beans, some cooked white rice, a bag of frozen peas, about five frozen chicken nuggets, a pound of dry white rice, a small jar of dried lentils, a small jar of split peas, a slightly larger jar of pinto beans, two packets of minute rice, two packets of ramen (another gift from my mother at kiddo's request), several cans of spaghettios, several cans of tomato paste, two tins of tuna, a few packets of instant oatmeal, a tin of hopefully not stale steel cut oats, and some bisquick for pancakes & waffles.

I do have a little less than a pound of flour, and things like sugar, baking soda, baking powder, some spices, some condiment packets, vinegar, and some boullion. Oh, and some coconut oil that's been in the freezer for awhile, meant for making hand cream, but isn't rancid so it's getting used for coating the electric skillet and waffle maker once we'd run out of olive oil and butter.

This is what we'll be cooking with until the next pay day/grocery day in two weeks.

So, I'm not quite at the level of food insecure, but I'm pretty damn broke.

And the pictures on that pin are just nothing like what we're able to eat. Ever. For at least the last 10 years. I don't even remember the last time I was able to buy meat on a regular basis.

Canned chili with meat instead of beans and chicken nuggets are like Special Occasion foods for kiddo and I rarely have any (because I can easily sub beans, kiddo has sensory issues with most beans).

I might get myself a single chicken pot pie from time to time, especially in the winter. But I can't afford to buy like cuts of chicken to make my own. It's too much money to spend at once on just one thing. My $35 grocery shops twice a month have to cover a LOT.

Plus when we moved in (2021), the stove/oven was broken, so we had a scrapper haul it away for the recycling value. So we've been using a toaster oven and small electric skillet since then.

I had a little remorse at my knee-jerk reaction to the cover photo, so I clicked into the blog to see what the actual list was like. Title of the blog is Boss Single Mama, so maybe she knows what she's talking about. Maybe she's been there for real.

Nope. Chicken, beef, ham, almost every dish has meat. Cheeses and other dairy, a variety of vegetables, all things that we get very sparingly and use in small amounts on many meals, not as a main ingredient.

And even thinking back to my childhood it wasn't much different. We shopped at Aldi before it was cool and their selection was far more limited. Most of our meals were rice or pasta based, with meat only appearing as ground beef, tuna, and sometimes bologna.

Hot dogs were a special treat and even those weren't used on a bun. They were cut up in a pasta salad or casserole. Sometimes if we had a few leftover we would eat them the next day fried in a pan and wrapped in bread or a tortilla and that was a good day! We bought the cheap cheese in blocks and had to grate it because Aldi didn't even carry shredded cheese back then.

This is the kind of thing that makes me feel like when most people talk about being broke, or living frugally, or thrifty, or struggle meals, or whatever the trendy phrase is... They're talking about something vastly different than my daily life.

And it just makes me feel crappier about how I'm raising my kiddo, and it seems like there's so few resources to help people who are actually struggling. Whose lives don't look like a Boss Single Mama blog.

Anyway, if you ever feel the same way, you aren't alone. I raise my bowl of bean & tomato sauce rice to you! We are survivors, in spite of it all.

[avengersnewb]

Not Part of the Plan (9k, M)

Omega Tony was not planning to go against the plan: to mate with Tiberius Stone, take care of his alpha's needs, to remember at all times that he was just an omega. Tony was not planning to fall in love and yet, somehow, Steve Rogers happened to him. Omega Tony, Alpha Steve, Pre-serum Steve, Falling In Love, Fluff, Light Angst, Protective Steve Rogers, Getting Married, Dogs Obadiah is a terrible, terrible person, Alternate Universe - Medieval

The villagers were fishing down the river.

That was odd, Tony thought. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen anyone fish in Starkdale, as the carp were too hard to catch and too small for the trouble. Father had plans to purchase salmon and trout fingerlings to cultivate in the river before the god-forsaken voyage, which of course Obadiah had no intention to execute.

Tony stopped his horse a few feet behind the alphas, distracted for a breath by a hunter hound running around them.

“The Irish peasants,” Obadiah said, in that contemptuous manner Tony had learnt to loath over the years. “Why am I not surprised? You lot are, of course, too dim to understand that you need permission before exploiting my property.”

Tony shook his head, letting out a breath. He knew the Irish villagers. Most had moved to the village after the Great Famine, except for Mister Barnes, who showed up out of nowhere, stole Peggy’s heart and stayed. They were of course not dim, and the fish—the manor never cared about the fish as far as Tony could remember.

“My lord,” Peggy said from inside the water, her form half in Tony’s view. “The crop was too thin this year. The sheds are left empty after the aid.”

Obadiah considered Peggy for a breath, the surroundings terribly quiet, save for the running water. Even the hound had stopped barking at the riders. “Who’s to blame for the crop? Who is responsible for the crop? I’m dealing with enough trouble with how little your aids are, scramming to beef it up to save you slugs from the Royal wrath.”

“We did all we could, my Lord, everything we knew to stop the pest, we tried.” Mister Barnes said, voice even. “The villagers are hungry, my Lord, the younglings falling ill from weakness.”

“It’s the fish season, my Lord,” Peggy said, taking a step closer to Mister Barnes, the water splashing around her ankles. “Please allow us to take what we have caught—”

“Fall silent, you impeccable whore,” Obadiah bellowed. The dog ran away, out of sight into the woods. “You do as the manor tells you to do. Leave whatever you have caught, and get lost before my eyes.”

Peggy took another step, flushed against Mister Barnes’ side, her face flushed, lips thin. Tony led the horse a little closer on instinct, heart pounding, biting the inside of his cheek to keep silent.

“This is not just, Lord Stane,” came a voice, a silhouette entering Tony’s view. “The manor cannot tell us to die, sir, we—” the alpha said, swallowing, breathing in. “—we need to eat, our young ones, our elderly, we—we deserve a fair ration.”

Tony’s heart quickened. He had never met this alpha, he was certain. He was smaller than alphas usually were, but with that deep, commanding voice, those piercing blue eyes, and how he was standing his ground with Obadiah—Who was this guy?

“Justice?” Obadiah said with a snort. “You think you’re a free man here, talking back, babbling about what I can do? What was your name?”

Mister Barnes looked back to the alpha. “My Lord, please forgive us, Mister Rogers is still getting used to how we do things around here.”

“We’ll leave, now,” Peggy said, reaching to grasp at Mister Rogers’ mostly wet tunic. “Steve? Come along, please, we shall—”

Mister Rogers considered Obadiah with gritted teeth, fire burning deep in his eyes, swaying slowly as Peggy tugged at him, before he finally resigned and followed Mister Barnes to help him gather their gear.

“It’s your lucky day, you little rodent,” Obadiah called after them, as they exited the water and loaded their wagon. “I wouldn’t be so generous with you if—come closer Anthony—if we were not in the company of a noble omega.” Tony clicked his tongue and squeezed his feet on the horse’s calves. “Here, Anthony, my dear,” Obadiah continued, tone too warm for the occasion. “I want you to accompany Mister Stone down here on his next visit. He is planning to reroute the water to the east, to build a new water mill.”

He continued on, explaining Mister Stone’s glorious plans. Tony listened, nodding with a tight smile, glancing at the villagers at the end of the road, heads bowed, buckets of fish left by the edge of the water. Tears welled up behind his eyelids when Obadiah ordered the guard to throw the fish back into the water. The cart was nowhere to be seen down the road; at least they wouldn’t see all the dead fish floating on the surface.

Tony did.

It was all that was on his mind, riding back to the mansion; all he could think about with a turning stomach as he played with his food at the dinner table. He tossed and turned in his bed, thinking of the hungry villagers, and had troubled dreams when he finally fell asleep, drowning in a dark river filled with dead fish.

Read full on AO3

My collaboration with amazing @mairithetree for @cap-ironman RBB 2023 was posted a bit ago but I was so exhausted (and had two other deadlines after that back to back :)) ) that I totally forgot to post about it on tumblr! Hope you guys give it a go and let us know what you think!

[timetraveltasting]

MINUTAL MATIANUM (ROMAN PORK WITH APPLES, 1st c.)

It's a been a tougher week than usual - my husband broke his leg and had surgery, and I'm dealing with some dental pain - but amongst it all, I thought it would be a good idea to treat ourselves with a Tasting History dish that is especially hearty and comforting: Minutal Matianum (Roman Pork with Apples). From the quintessential Roman source by Apicius from the 1st c., De Re Coquinaria, this meat dish is made using ingredients that would have been available to Roman soldiers in Britain, near forts in the area of Hadrian's Wall. This hearty dish was probably closer to what the officers of the Roman army would have eaten rather than the foot soldiers, however. I decided to make this dish because my husband and I have enjoyed most of the Roman recipes I've made so far, and Max exclaimed this was the best Roman dish even he had made so far. We hope this dish provides us with the fortitude of a Roman soldier on the frontiers! See Max’s video on how to make the dish here or see the ingredients and process at the end of this post, sourced from his website.

My experience making it:

As usual for me with Roman recipes, I struggled to compile all of the specific listed ingredients, but I did my best! I sourced a pork shoulder from our local butcher, and for the ground meat, I used a mix of 60% beef and 40% pork (a very common mixture here in Germany). For the pork roast rub, I used oil, a bit of salt, lots of pepper, and a tablespoon and a half of linden tree blossom honey. For the meatballs, I didn't use any egg to bind them, as I didn't have any on hand. Instead of garum, I used an Asian fish sauce (which Max suggests as a substitute). For the apples, I used some sweet Pink Lady apples (which I definitely snacked on while I was cooking). Instead of the long pepper Max used, I used the tablespoon of peppercorns. I decided to omit the asafoetida completely, as I couldn't find it at 4 different supermarkets, including the bio-supermarket and the Turkish supermarket. I've recently learned that I should look instead at an Indian supermarket, so now I'm on the hunt for one! I reduced grape juice myself to make defrutum, as Saba seems a little expensive. Instead of starch/cornflour, I used regular white flour, since I think they would function fairly similarly.

First, I set out making the rub for the pork roast. Nice and simple with olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey, I loved that I could customize this part to my tastes (give me that sharp pepper taste!). Next, because I didn't have a roasting rack, I made one myself out of tin foil by taking a large sheet, rolling it into a snake shape, and curving it into a zig-zag pattern on top of a layer of tinfoil at the bottom of my pan. It fit the pork perfectly, and then I added the rub and tossed it in the oven. My pork shoulder was just over 2 pounds, so I roasted it for just over 2 hours. While it was cooking, I rolled my meatballs (sans egg), ground my spices for the sauce in the mortar and pestle (which took awhile), and chopped and portioned the ingredients for the next steps. When the pork was almost done cooking, I began cooking the meatballs in olive oil, also adding in the leeks. I added in the chicken stock and garum, stirring to get any bits from the bottom to release their flavour.

While this cooked on the stovetop, the pork roast was ready to take out of the oven. It looked wonderful and smelled delicious! I let it sit for a little bit, then chopped it into cubes and added them to the pot with the meatballs. I added in the cilantro, then a little bit more chicken stock so the pork and meatballs were 3/4 submerged and sizzling nicely in the juices. I simmered it for 15 minutes, then added the apple chunks. I simmered it further, but for less than the 20 minutes in the recipe (more like 15). I portioned the meat and apples into our serving bowls to cool a little while I prepared the quick sauce, being sure to leave some of the juices in order to provide the base to the sauce. I added the juices, defrutum, white wine vinegar, garum, and honey to a pot, added the crushed spices/herbs, and brought it to a light boil, stirring often. I made a roux with some flour by mixing a bit of water into it, then added it to my sauce to thicken it. By the looks of it, I think I ended up thickening it a decent amount more than Max did, but I like a thicker sauce, so I wasn't too upset about that. I took it off the heat once it was combined and thickened, and drizzled it over the pork, meatballs, and apples. It looked absolutely scrumptious - the sauce added a nice silky shine to the meat, the leeks added a pretty green, the peppercorns some texture, and the apples a beautiful yellow and red pop of colour. I served the Minutal Matianum with a side Greek Salad to balance the heaviness of the meat.

My experience tasting it:

I made sure my first bite was with pork, apple, and some sauce - it was very tasty! The pork was tender enough, but I might have overcooked it just a little. Luckily, the tougher, hearty texture was balanced by the crisp and light flavour of the apple and the acidity, sweetness, spice-infused, and herbed flavour of the silky gravy-like sauce. Like Max mentioned, the sauce first tastes a bit sour due to the vinegar, but it melts into a sweetness from the defrutum and honey. It is still a very 'Roman' flavour of sauce - I could taste hints of the previous Roman sauces I have made in other dishes in this one, but this one was more like a gravy, and maybe more in line with the modern palate. In terms of herbs and spices, I found that peppercorn and cilantro were the most forward in the sauce - the mint and cumin were just barely there. I decided to make my next bite a meatball with some sauce, apple and leek: an absolute winning combo! I don't always have time to make a pork roast, so I can't see myself making Minutal Matianum often in its complete form, but I will most certainly make the sauce with apples and meatballs again in the future. Like Max, my husband and I both agreed this is our favourite of the Roman dishes I've made so far. This is a great meal for late fall/early winter, and I will probably make it again as the weather gets colder this fall. If you end up making this dish, if you liked it, or if you changed anything from the original recipe, do let me know!

Links to harder-to-find ingredients:

Long Pepper

Flor de Garum

Colatura di Alici (Garum substitute)

Saba (Defrutum)

Asafoetida

Minutal Matianum (Roman Pork with Apples) original recipe (1st c.)

Sourced from De Re Coquinaria by Apicius, 1st century.

Put oil, garum, stock, chopped leek and cilantro and small ground meatballs in a pot. Chop previously cooked shoulder of pork with skin into cubes. Cook all together. Half-way through cooking add cored and diced Matian apples. While it cooks, grind pepper, cumin, cilantro and coriander seed, mint, and silphium root, pour in vinegar, honey, garum, defrutum, and some of the cooking liquid. Adjust the flavors with vinegar. Bring to a boil. Add broken tracta to thicken. Sprinkle pepper and serve. 

Modern Recipe

Based on De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (1st c.) and Max Miller’s version in his Tasting History video.

Ingredients:

Roasted Pork

Pork shoulder

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Honey

Pork and Apples

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 lb (340g) ground pork or beef, shaped into 1” balls

1 cup chopped leek

1 cup (235ml) chicken stock, plus extra as needed

2 teaspoons garum*

Small handful chopped cilantro

1 lb (450g) roasted pork, cut into cubes

1 lb (450g) sweet apples, cored and cut into about 1” pieces

Sauce

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp coriander seeds

2 tsp chopped mint

4 long peppers or 1 tbsp of peppercorns

1/2 tsp asafoetida

1/4 cup (60ml) white wine vinegar

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp garum*

1/4 cup (60ml) defrutum**

1/4 cup (60ml) cooking liquid from the pork and apples

2 tsp starch or cornflour

*Garum was a fermented fish sauce that was used in a lot of ancient Roman cooking. You can buy a modern equivalent or use an Asian fish sauce.

**Defrutum was a 1/3 reduction of grape must. Today, Saba is pretty much the same thing. It can be expensive, so you can reduce some grape juice instead.

Method:

For the roasted pork: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a baking sheet with foil, then place a roasting rack on top of it.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, and honey. There should be enough to coat the pork roast. Adjust the amounts to your liking.

Brush the olive oil mixture onto the pork, then roast for 15 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 275°F (135°C) and cook for about an hour per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 165°F (74°C).

For the pork and apples: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the meatballs and leeks and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they start to brown.

Deglaze the pot with the chicken stock and garum. Toss in the cilantro and roasted pork. Add enough additional chicken stock so that it covers the bottom of the pot.

Simmer for 15 minutes, adding more stock if necessary.

Add the apples, then cook for another 20 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked.

For the sauce: Grind the spices and herbs with a mortar and pestle, then put them in a saucepan with the liquid ingredients. Stir together and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Mix the starch with a little water, then add it to the sauce. Simmer for a couple of minutes until it thickens.

To serve: Dish the pork and apples into a bowl, drizzle with the sauce, and serve it forth.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Celebrating July 4th in Strange Times, Pt 2

Of a Too-hot Kitchen, the Sauce, the Meatballs, and the Tater Sallid.

I got goin' as soon as I felt caffeinated, glad I did, as far as time required to get things done. Had to tell my self not to lose focus or get distracted a few times, and things are done, except the oven-roasting of the chicken thighs slathered with The Sauce, which can happen about 5pm. By 1pm kitchen was too hot, so cooling breaks of running back to my room for five-ten mins and back out ensued.

First things first today: Start The Sauce & The Tater Sallid.

for The Sauce:

1 lg yellow onion, finely sliced, and then minced...very finely chopped!

Start clarifying that in about 2 tblspns butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in a teaspoon of salt and about the same in coarse-ground pepper.

6 -8 large cloves of garlic, finely minced, thrown into the pot with the butter and onion mix. Stir and don't let burn. You want extremely clarified onion/garlic bits, speckled with black pepper.

Once you get there, dump in 16 oz tomato sauce, stir and mix thoroughly.

Now pour in 1/2 cup Grandma's Molasses, stir in.

Add in 1 cup Heinz ketchup, and 1/4 cup white vinegar, stir vigorously.

Stir in 1 heaping teaspoon of coarse-stone-ground mustard.

Now pour in 1 cup strong black coffee. Stir it in until you've got a mixture that's pulling together.

Now keep on the back burner to "cook down" until it is a thick, viscous and clingy goo. Perfect for stickin' to da chicken.

Now throw on the potatoes to boil: 4 or 5 lbs of either red potatoes or goldens. You want a waxier tater for this, rather than a gritty one like a russet. Yeah...boil them quickly, salted water to cover by at least a couple inches. Twenty -thirty minutes tops. Until the skins are cracking. Drain and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

While that's happening, hard-boil 4-5 eggs, depending on what size they are. These were tiny mediums, so I'm using 5. Bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Voila. Peel.

Meanwhile, chop one big-ass RED onion, and 3 or 4 garlic dill pickles.

Once the taters have cooled some, hold them with a hot-pad in your palm, and roughly chop them. You want them still MOSTLY hot, but cool enough you don't hurt yourself. It's that mid-point that will give you the texture/feel you want.

Now, pour and sprinkle 2 handfulls of the dill pickle juice over the taters. Add the red onion, pickles and a jar of diced pimientos, plus some of the juice as well. Put the eggs in and the use a knife to rough-chop them as they sit atop the rest of the ingredients.

Now, add 1 1/4-1 1/2 cup HELLMAN'S or BEST FOODS MAYO. Period.

Now stir. Keep stirring, as you are folding all the ingredients together.

That's about the halfway point. Keep goin'...what you're lookin' for is this:

Now, Cover tightly and fridge for the rest of the day, until dinnertime.

Now make The Meatballs (which are tasty dipped in The Sauce!):

Do as you did for The Sauce, the clarified onion/garlic mix. Set aside to cool

In a big bowl, pour the following:

2 cups Progresso Italian Breadcrumbs

1 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

Stir to mix.

Take a 2-cup Pyrex measure, and pour in 1 cup cold water.

Crack in 4 eggs...use a fork and break the eggs up, and distribute through the water. Pour into the bowl and stir into the dry ingredients. Add the onions and garlic (now cooled down.)

Crumble in a pound of ground beef and a pound of hot Italian Sausage. Now comes the fun part. Be four again and squish and squish until it all comes together as a solidly distributed mix.

Form into balls and bake at 350 for about a half hour and you get this:

Did I mention they're killer dipped in The Sauce?

lulz. OK. SO: Meatballs? Check! Sauce? Check! Tater Sallid? Check! It's about ten til four. I'm gonna shoot for a seven-seven-thirty eat time, so I'll start roasting the chicken about 5pm.

Which means I got an hour to CHILL in THE AC.

Will follow up with Pt 3 later.

Y'all chill.

[daitoshi]

hi, i saw you reply to a dungeon meshi post (it was really interesting to read) and was curious. You mentioned a steer that would feed your family for more than a year. Is that from selling the meat or just careful food planning?

Not even 'careful' food planning - a single steer is an ENORMOUS animal.

Your average Holstein steer can grow into a 1,400+ lb animal. (About 18 months if it's fed primarily on grain and hay, about 26 months if grass-only...somewhere in the middle if you feed a combo seasonally, which most small farms do)

So, starting with a 1,400 lb Holstein steer... After removing the weight of hide, blood, unwanted bones and organs, then processing it down to steaks, roasts, and ground beef - you're still left with 500+ POUNDS of meat, and 200+ pounds of fat trim and bone for soups (Marrow is amazing) and cooking with. (beef tallow my beloved~) The fat trim can also be ground up with the less-desirable meat cuts to make sausage and ground beef.

If my spouse and I each ate half a pound of beef, every single day of the year, we'd still have well over a hundred pounds of meat left over. That is so much food!

We also eat chicken, and eggs as protein. (a lot of eggs tbh) Sometimes our meals don't have any meat at all.

We could gorge ourselves on steaks, and it would still be difficult for the two of us to eat an entire steer within a single year. It would be a chore.

A single steer will feed a family of 2 for over a year, easily.

[copperbadge]

This morning I realized I needed to run a number of errands within a few days’ time -- I had to go to the dispensary to stock up on edibles, procure a steamer basket, and get beef and chicken. I also wanted to procure some specific items that I could only get at a real grocery store, as opposed to a Target grocery section. 

So at 8:30, after making pizza dough and putting it in the fridge, I headed north to the dispensary, stopped at Target for the steamer basket and some staples, then went to the supermarket and picked up, no lie, fifteen pounds of meat -- three each of chicken breast, chicken thigh, top round, sirloin tip, and ground beef. I also got kale, which has been in short supply lately. I feel very good about getting home by 10:30, all things considered. I got lucky with train timing.  

The kale has been tossed with oil and garlic-onion seasoning and is in the dehydrator now for kale chips. The top round (trimmed and sliced) is brining ahead of going into the dehydrator for jerky once the kale is done. The sirloin tip has been trimmed, seasoned, and put into the slow cooker with some beef broth to make italian beef. I’ve cooked up about half the ground beef with tomato sauce and seasonings, and frozen the other half, along with all the chicken thighs and most of the breast, reserving two breasts for making a pulled-chicken filling for tamales. 

Tomorrow I’m making mushroom pizza, bagels, a loaf of bread, and the tamale filling, and Saturday I’ll make the tamales. You’d think I was throwing a party for New Year’s, but really I just have fun new appliances to play with and improved executive function.

[foodandfolklore]

Magical Recipes; how to approach an established recipe as a Kitchen Witch

Art by forestfolke on Deviant Art I think one of the most confusing things for new, or even experienced, kitchen witches is how to expand their recipe catalogue for their practice. A lot of new kitchen witches think you need to follow a recipe that has been written special for Witchy Cooking. That the regular recipes they find or use just won't have any magical purpose. But that's just not the case.

You don't need to buy special cook books with recipes exclusively for Kitchen Witches. You can take any recipe that already exists and apply it to your wants or needs. To help explain this process, I'm going to take a recipe I found online then reverse engineer it into a Kitchen Witch Recipe.

The Recipe

My Partner often donates blood, so eating foods that keep his Iron up is important to us. But I also want this dish to be emotionally satisfying Vs just eating a Steak, which neither of us find particularly appealing. I thought I'd try a Cottage Pie (also called Shepperd's Pie) because I want to find a new recipe that will help use up ingredients. Don't get me wrong, soups are awesome; but I tend to go a little light on the meat/alternatives. I tend to keep a good supply of ground meat in the freezer, so know I'll have most of the key stuff.

So I'm starting with this recipe since I don't have my own Cottage Pie recipe. Here are the Ingredients: Filling

1 lb lean ground beef

1 lb ground sausage (I use Jimmy Dean pork sausage)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 small yellow onion , chopped

2 ribs celery , chopped

1-2 carrots , chopped (about 1 cup)

3  cloves garlic , minced

1/4  cup  all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth

2  tablespoons  tomato paste

1  cube beef bouillon

2  tablespoons  Worcestershire sauce

1  teaspoon  fresh thyme , chopped (or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme)

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary , chopped (or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary)

2  bay leaves

½ cup frozen corn

½ cup frozen peas

Topping

2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes , Yukon gold or russet potatoes

¼ cup  sour cream

½ cup milk

4  tablespoons butter

salt and pepper , to taste

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese , for topping

So let's start with the topping since it has less ingredients to worry about. For those unfamiliar with cottage pie, the base of the pie is mostly meat and Veggies, and then it's topped with some mashed potatoes before baking. It's common to just use leftover mashed potatoes. So, I'll just use my mashed potato and cauli recipe. In short, it's half potato and half cauliflower with roast garlic and seasonings. Both Potatoes and Cauliflower have protective properties. Since this is the protective top layer of the Pie, I thought the symbolism carried itself further. The Cauliflower will also work well together with the Garlic to Banish any negativity from the pie, as well as from those who consume it.

Now let's break down the filling. Starting with the largest Ingredients. Ground Beef and Ground Sausage. Ground meats in general are fantastic for grounding energy. I'll probably sub the ground beef for whatever ground meat I have on hand, so the grounding aspect is what I'll focus on for now. Potatoes are also good for grounding. This is over all is going to be a very down to earth, hearty meal. Next, the vegetables. Onion, Celery, Carrots, Peas, and Corn. Corn is not something I use on the regular, but it's has a good use in Kitchen Magic as a power multiplier. Similar to Rice. Carrots have heath and energy properties, something I want in a dish for improving Iron Levels. Though I never particularly enjoyed peas, I'll use them for their health and abundance benefit. Green Peas are also high in Iron. Celery is great ingredient to add to a dish to add lasting happiness and satisfaction. Which I defiantly want so when the dish is consumed, you don't feel disappointed. Onion will add onto the Protection and Health. But Onion also has good cleansing properties, so I have the habit of adding it to my pan first to cleanse my cooking station. I'll probably cook some or all of the onion with the meat. Now the Seasonings. Not everything used in your cooking needs to have a magical purpose. It can just be there to enhance the taste of your food. I use Worcestershire sauce often in my cooking with no thought to it's magical abilities. I use it all the time when I want to add some extra umami or savory flavour. But there are some things we can add to help enhance the magic. Thyme, Rosemary, and Bay. All three of these herbs are good for health and healing. I can feed this to my SO before a donation to make sure his Iron is up. Then I can feed it to them after when their body is recuperating. Though I may forgo the Bay leaf. I tend to worry I'll leave it in my food when it's not supposed to be eaten XD But that said, I think I'll add a few of my own. Marjoram seems like it will go well in this, which will add to the Happiness and Comfort of my meal. I wanna add some Basil and Cayenne to this. The Basil I'm hoping will help stop long term fatigue, so my SO's mind is not affected by the donation. Cayenne for a blast of extra energy. I'll also add some extra Garlic and Parsley. I'll also make a few other personal tweaks like swapping the Flour for Cornstarch. I prefer using corn starch in my sauces, and I already have corn as an ingredient anyway, so it should mesh together better on their property levels. Cooking/Assembling Now that I have the magical properties of all my ingredients established, I simply need to assemble them according to the recipe directions. The only difference is, when I add something to the dish, I know what I'm adding not only on a Mundane level, but also the magic properties of the food. I'm adding ground meat to ground my dish and the people consuming it. I add Celery to help the food be emotionally satisfying. I'll add peas to enhance health and healing. Ect.

Also note, you don't need to do as big of a dissection every time you want to cook a recipe as a Kitchen Witch. If you come across an ingredient or two you are familiar with the magic properties for (Or the ingredient just has a spiritual meaning to you personally) You can add it to your meal with that meaning in mind. Like adding a little honey to your tea to sweeten and brighten your day. Also note, most ingredients have multiple magical uses. Just as they have multiple culinary uses. You can add honey to tea for happiness, or may may choose to add it help heal and get over a cold you have. Or you can add it for both reasons! Or neither reason; maybe you just want some honey. You are the Castor, the Decider, the Kitchen Witch!

Eat well and be well 💜💜💜