#i made pasta and cooked garlic bread and even made a lil salad

[mooshkat]

i made a full meal tonight for the first time in like. over a month so that's pretty nice

[marvels-writings]

Back & Forth (3)

Maria Hill Masterlist

Series Masterlist

| Part 1 | Part 2 | 

A/N: I add a lil angst to this ;)

“This is where Tony suggested us to go to?” You asked, raising an eyebrow at the restaurant in front of you.

You had expected some fancy restaurant with overdressed waiters. But instead, you got a hole in the wall, an Italian shop where the waiter looked like he helped cook. The entire restaurant was wooden with some wine red furniture.

Maria shrugged, slightly disappointing at Tony’s choice as she got out of your car.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Maria advised, walking inside.

“Touche but still,” You shrugged, locking your car and following her inside.

“Welcome, welcome, would you like a table?” The waiter asked, approaching you and Maria.

The waiter was tall, tanned with short, black hair. He had a strong Italian accent. He wore a black t-shirt with the restaurant’s logo on it, a dark grey apron, and black jeans. You raised an eyebrow at the outfit, opening your mouth to say something sarcastic when Maria spoke before you.

“A table for two please,” Maria asked, smiling at the waiter.

“Of course, follow me please,” He smiled at both of you, oblivious to your attitude towards him.

Maria elbowed you in the ribs to follow him, you rolled your eyes and followed him. The waiter led you over to a booth near the back of the restaurant. The couches were a dark, wine red, the table was a smooth maple wood. The entire restaurant looked recently cleaned.

“I’ll be your waiter, Leo, can I get you started with some drinks?” He asked as you and Maria slid into the booth on opposite ends.

“I’d just like some water.” Maria smiled, Leo copied down the order and turned to you.

You looked at the shelves behind the bar, they seemed to be recently stocked on alcoholic beverages.

“I’d like a Mojito” You smiled.

Leo winced slightly, you saw he was unsure about the drink. But he still smiled and copied down your order, giving you a few minutes to decide what to order. After bringing you the menus, he disappeared into the kitchen.

“Drinking on a weekday?” Maria asked, raising an eyebrow. You shrugged in response, opening the menu.

“Doesn’t hurt to drink every once in a while.” You stated, looking through the menu for something you liked.

Glancing up, you saw a light frown on Maria’s face, you smirked.

“Unless you have a problem with it, s/o.” You tilted your head to the side, crossing your legs so the calf of your leg brushed against hers.

The brunette’s face tinted a light pink, she opened her mouth to speak.

“I-”

“Have you decided what you want to eat?” Leo asked, coming over to your table and startling both of you.

You gave him an easy smile and closed your menu, taking your foot away from Maria’s.

“Yes, I would like a pesto pasta with the special garlic bread.” You ordered, he smiled back at you and noted it down before taking your menu.

“I would like a special salad with Italian dressing,” Maria ordered, voice unsteady.

“Good choice, any starters?” He asked, you shrugged and turned to face Maria.

“We have a couple’s special garlic bread,” Leo suggested. You bit your lip to prevent laughing at Maria’s face.

“Oh, no-” Maria began, you kicked her shin under the table.

“We would definitely like that, right babe?” You asked, reaching across the table to take her hand in yours.

Maria had to resist the urge to pull away from you and walk away. Biting the inside of her cheek, she intertwined her fingers with yours.

“Right,” The brunette said, you grinned and looked up at the waiter.

“Lovely, I’ll bring it out right away.” Leo made a small bow and left.

“Couple’s garlic bread?” Maria raised an eyebrow.

“What?” You shrugged.

“Garlic bread never hurt anyone? Except vampires.”

“But we’re not a couple,” Maria whispered, glancing around to make sure Leo wasn’t around to hear that.

“Really?” You smirked and raised an eyebrow, “Then why are you still holding my hand?”

You lifted your still joined hands, showing the brunette your fingers linked with hers. Blushing, Maria pulled her hand away from yours. Laughing, you leaned back in your seat as Leo came over with your drinks.

“Here is your mojito and your water and the couple’s garlic bread.” The waiter smiled, putting the drinks, and the garlic bread on the table.

You had to admit, the garlic bread looked delicious. It had herbs sprinkled on both the pieces in a heart with a garlic arrow through it. Maria raised an eyebrow, intending to ask Leo to take it back when you kicked her under the table again. The brunette glared at you while sipping her water.

“Thank you,” You thanked Leo, who made another small bow before leaving.

You sipped your mojito, eyebrows coming up at the taste. He had blended the perfect amount of vodka in the drink. The mint leaves seemed to be fresh.

“Damn this mojito is better than I thought it would be.” You admired, whistling appreciatively at the taste.

“You shouldn’t be drinking while working.” Maria chided, you rolled your eyes.

“I’m not working, I’m just having a nice lunch with my s/o.” You grinned, brushing your toe against her leg again.

Maria bit her lip, trying to hide the blush creeping on her cheeks. Hiding her face through the garlic bread. After a bit of arguing, you admitted the food and the drinks were better than you had expected. You made jokes every once in a while about the place and how stocked it seemed.

You assumed Tony had left them an enormous tip which allowed them to stock up on everything. Tony had better taste in restaurants than you would admit.

Compared to the starting of your meal, it went better than you had expected. You tried to be serious to try to get along better with Maria but found it hard to. However, the brunette found herself becoming more relaxed with you as the meal went on.

By the time both of you were finished with your meal, you were laughing and joking about everything and nothing.

When Leo came over with the check, Maria pulled out her wallet to pay but you refused to let her. Instead, you handed him your credit card. After he had finished the transaction, he expected a small tip of a few quarters.

 But you left two hundred dollar bills instead.

With wide eyes, he tried to refuse the enormous tip you had left. You ignored his pleas to give the money back and instead handed him more cash. Maria was surprised you were giving him this much money after you had almost refused to enter the restaurant.

Finally, Leo was forced to accept the tip. Thanking both of you, you entered your car with a pleased smile on your face. Maria opened the door, sliding into the seat.

“Told you not to judge a book by its cover,” Maria commented, a smirk on her face.

“So you’re allowed to judge people before getting to know them and I’m not?” You raised an eyebrow.

“Gotta say, that’s a little unfair s/o.” You chuckled, starting up your car and pulling out of the restaurant with one last wave to Leo.

Maria’s eyes widened at your statement, she rushed to defend herself.

“I didn’t judge anyone before knowing them,” The brunette defended herself.

But even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. She had judged you before getting to know you, your attitude and the rumors around the compound made you seem like an egotistical maniac. But you weren’t, she had been wrong.

“Really? So all the rumors about me you just brushed off?” You asked incredulously.

“Steve and Natasha said you were different from the rumors,” Maria muttered, trying to help her case. So far, she wasn’t helping anything. You saw right through the lie.

“Oh, I doubt that they know some of the rumors are true.” You laughed, pressing harder on the accelerator.

“Some of them?” Maria asked, surprised.

“If it sounds like something I would do, then yes.” You chuckled, reaching out to switch on the radio when Maria spoke again.

“So the one about saving Steve’s life isn’t true,” Maria said, trying to make it seem like a joke.

But you took it as an offense, you didn’t think Maria thought that ill of you. You knew the rumors floating around the compound didn’t help you get along with people. But once you talked to them, they knew the rumors were gone. For Maria to still believe in them after getting to know you hurt you.

“Thanks, but it is true.” You stated in a harsh tone.

Maria’s eyes widened when she heard how harsh your tone was. She hadn’t meant to offend you, opening her mouth to correct her statement, but you cut her off.

“I’m not who everyone thinks I am.” You muttered, speeding up and ignoring her.

The brunette wasn’t sure what to say. It was clear she had hurt you, however minimal it was. You tried to make it seem like you didn’t care by shrugging and switching on the radio. But Maria had spent too long reading other people. She could see the hurt in your motions.

Sighing, she decided to stay quiet. Unsure if she should apologize, she leaned back in the seat and looked out the window.

Reaching the compound in silence, you got out with a sigh. You realized you might have overreacted to a simple statement, but you weren’t about to apologize. Maria bit the inside of her lip while you led her inside, trying to come up with an apology.

But before she could apologize to you, you were called by one of the medical students in the facility to help a recruit. Sighing, you turned to face her.

“Well, see you later then,” You smiled, turning around to leave while the student chatted away about the injuries the recruit had sustained.

“Wait!” Maria said.

You turned around with a raised eyebrow. One hand motioned for the student to be quiet for a second.

“We need to,” Maria began, thinking of an excuse to spend time with you so she could apologize. Asking you to dinner seemed like overstepping. So she settled for something which seemed normal, taking into consideration she was your supervising officer.

“Train tomorrow.”

“Be there at 9 tomorrow then s/o.” You smiled, a genuine smile as you winked at her before leaving her in the lobby, a small smile on her face, and a light pink tint on her cheeks.

| Part 4 | 

Buy me a coffee?

A/N: Tell me what you think!

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[4birds-of-a-feather]

Chapter 26 - Man, it doesn’t show signs of stoppin’ [part 8]

Birds Of a Feather

(In the previous chapters: Sara can’t hold her liquor and is unexpectedly rather friendly with Stone, who is a bit weirded out by her behavior – especially when she mentions how great Jeff’s ass is; the Twister match finally ends with McCready as the unexpected winner, something that the bass player doesn’t tolerate at all: the two guys proceed to fight but a comment by Sara leads Jeff to put an end to it)

Seattle, 24th December 1984

“Papà, see how good I’ve been? I’ve kept my distance from the kitchen so I wouldn’t be in the way-woah, you basically cooked for an entire battalion!” Sara exclaimed, entering the kitchen and finding it literally overflowing with delicacies of every kind. “Nah, just a couple of things here and there… would you please be so kind as to wear something a little more festive than those pajamas? You know I’m a bit nitpicking ‘bout these things…” “Suuuuure, want me to wear some make-up too?” “That wouldn’t be unwise… and a pair of shoes too, don’t think I didn’t see your faithful Donald Duck slippers!” the man exclaimed, running to take the umpteenth dish out of the oven “Phew, saved by the bell!” <The fuck is goin’ on here?> she thought, but did as her father had suggested all the same. The girl came downstairs after twenty minutes, wearing a Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer green sweater, a pair of Converse of the same color and a little bit of eye shadow. When he saw his daughter’s fashion choices, Aldo barely stifled a couple of chuckles, and was saved by the doorbell ringing. “You waitin’ for somebody?” Sara asked him, going toward the front door. “Not that I’m aware of…” Aldo kept on adding the finishing touches to the appetizers in order to keep himself busy and not laugh in his daughter’s face, while she shrugged and proceeded to open the door. “Hi! Hope I’m not late but it was a bit difficult carrying this while riding the bik-” an all wrapped up warm Jeff had greeted her with a huge beam, and she had instinctively slammed the door in his face. She had literally slammed the door in his face. <DIO, FULMINAMI! SONO UNA TESTA DI CAZZO> she internally screamed, then took a deep breath and re-opened the door. “852 Northeast 68th Street… I knew I had the right address…” Jeff spoke up again, and Sara felt extremely mortified. “I’m so, so sorry! I was so shocked to see you standing there that I basically forgot how to properly behave!” she gesticulated wildly, not being able to look him in the eye. “It’s my fault, I broke you” he retorted with a chuckle full of mirth that allowed her to let out a deep breath and finally make eye contact with him – the crinkle lines around his eyes were the clear sign that he was glad to be there and hadn’t taken any offence in her previous behavior. The girl finally digested what he had said and flushed: “But don’t stand there – please, come in!” Jeff followed her inside and hung his coat and scarf, then stopped to look better at her. “Nice sweater” he grinned, and she suddenly remembered what she was wearing – maybe being electrocuted wasn’t enough, maybe a hole deeper than the Mariana Trench she could crawl into and where she could finally die would have worked better. “I-I didn’t know-” she started, but the words died in her throat when the guy dangerously brought his face closer to hers. “... And I like these earrings” he said, studying one of the red dangle earrings she was wearing and then letting his hand linger in her curls. “Jeffrey! Do come in, I’m finishing to prepare the appetizers!” Aldo’s voice came from inside the kitchen, making his daughter move aside from Jeff as if she had just burnt herself. “Good evening, mr. Fancini!” the bass player had retrieved the package he had brought and smiled at the older man “I parked my bike on the porch, hope it’s not a problem” “Not at all, son! How did you manage to ride your bike and bring this along at the same time?” “Errr – good stamina, I guess?” Jeff had scratched his nape, a lil’ bit embarrassed, then handed him the packet “Just a little present to thank you for the invitation” “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Aldo tore off the wrapping paper and found a bottle of Pinot blanc. “I didn’t know what was in the menu, so I thought that bringin’ some bubbles would do the trick” “Excellent choice! Lemme put it in the refrigerator – Saruccia, would you please let this young man sit down in the living room? I still have to check the tortellini, the abbacchio and-God, I haven’t stuffed the pandoro yet!” the man almost screamed, running again into the kitchen. The two of them ended sitting in front of each other – just the coffee table between them – and, just as Sara was intent on sinking into the armchair and plotting some serious revenge on her father, the guy spoke up. “That’s some massive tree you have out there… what is it?” “Oh, the wisteria… yeah, it’s huge – best part of the whole house, but that’s just my two cents” “Can’t judge, you should give me a tour before I’m allowed to do that” he raised his hands and winked at her, making her blush for the umpteenth time. “Soooo… guess you’re not goin’ home for this Christmas, huh?” Sara changed topic and immediately wished she had bitten her tongue instead “Shit, I swear I-I’m not tryin’ to send you away – it’s just that-” “No worries” he flashed her a little smile “Anyway nope, and when your father found out about it he’s been so kind to invite me for dinner – said I shouldn’t spend Christmas Eve all alone and all that jazz” <… and he casually forgot to mention this brilliant plan to his only daughter… man, am I going to strangle the old man at the end of the evening…> “Yeah, he’s right! Nobody should be alone on Christmas Eve” “Exactly, and that’s why I took the liberty of inviting this young gentleman to join us this evening…” Aldo made again his appearance, carrying a couple of trays full of salmon canapés and every kind of vegetables in oil and putting them in the middle of the table that was standing near the right corner of the room “Dinner’s served, rebels without a cause!” “Jesus, look at all these delicacies…” Jeff sat down, eyeing all the small bowls that Aldo and Sara were arranging on the table. “Do you like vegetables in oil, Jeff? Because in this house we have an entire army of them!” Aldo enthusiastically began to point at all the different bowls “Those are the artichokes, the ones that Sara is putting down right now are the eggplants, and these are the mushrooms… there’s also peppers, zucchini and olives – here, try one of them!” The young man began to taste them and quickly reached the Nirvana, a content expression already painted on his face. “You better not stuff yourself on these things, mr. Ament – my dad has at least another dozen of dishes to parade…” the girl gave him an enigmatic smile but, at the same time, handed him the tray of salmon-and-butter canapés. “I won’t, even if it’s all delicious… you did a great job, mr. Fancini” Jeff nodded, biting a canapé and trying to restrain himself to take another one. “It doesn’t take a lot of ability to put some salmon and curls of butter on slices of bread… and the vegetables in oil are all prepared by my sisters, they send me a huge box full of them every year – they know that on Christmas Eve we like to drown ourselves in these delicacies…” “We sure do, but not only on Christmas Eve…” Sara added in a seraphic way, picking an olive and trying to spit out its pit without looking like a truck driver – hell, after all she still had her crush sitting right in front of her… “That reminds me I have to turn off the oven, the abbacchio must be ready by now” Aldo stood up and went again into the kitchen, coming back after a few minutes with a pot full of tortellini in broth. “Something to warm up your bellies” he gave Jeff a smile and proceeded to put a big portion of tortellini in his dish “If you want seconds or thirds don’t feel shy, understood?” “I won’t, it’s a promise” the young man imitated the scouts’ gesture, then studied the content of his plate “What’s their filling?” “Prosciutto, I guess – that’s enough, papà, thank you… hope you haven’t already put the parmigiano in there” Sara sighed, moving the tortellini with her spoon. “You surely don’t have faith in your old man, huh missy?” her father gave her a flick on the cheek “I didn’t forget – let’s see if our guest would like to have some of it” “Oh, I always put it on my pasta, so I guess it’s a must-do this evening too” “Well, son, you’re lucky I’m not keen on taking offence for this kind of things but, in my shoes, other people would surely do: that unknown substance you keep on calling ‘parmesan’ is not remotely similar to what I’m about to offer you…” “Here we go again with the preacher act...” the girl sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose “Can we please skip it and go immediately to the most important part – that is eating?” “I get it, I get it, no more bitching” her father raised his hands “But seriously, Jeff: if you’re used to putting alien cheese on pasta, you should totally try the real parmigiano – you won’t regret it” The bass player followed his advice and soon it was already abbacchio’s time – Jeff didn’t know what to expect with that strange name, so finding out that it was lamb chops browned in oil and garlic, spiced with sage and rosemary and served with roast potatoes immensely delighted him – and then also came the stuffed peppers, the fruit salad, the trail mix and the pandoro filled with mascarpone, all served with generous glasses of Sangiovese. “Thank God you didn’t forget I hate mascarpone to death…” “As if I could, with such a petulant daughter…” Aldo pinched his daughter’s cheek “Jeff, want some limoncello to digest this frugal meal? I’d recommend it, and then we can end with a bang – your bottle, how about that?” “Frugal meal?! I’m not going to eat until New Year’s Day, Jesus…” the guy exclaimed, patting his stomach “Anyway, digesting right now sounds like a good plan” “Here, have a sip” the host handed him a shot of yellow liquor – the strong smell of lemons could have resurrected Lazarus without needing any miracle. “Let’s just hope we won’t find him and his bike at the bottom of Green Lake…” Sara snorted, taking in the way Jeff’s cheeks were all rosey – he was all smiles and laughter, apparently genuinely enjoying their company. “Naaah, no problem! I didn’t drink that much” “Yeah, I doubt he’ll ever reach my uncles’ level of intoxication…” “Papà! No need to pester him with our family’s tales of insanity… you want him to run for the hills?” “Insanity… You’re always exaggerating, it’s just some funny anecdote to pass the time” “How much are you willing to bet that, knowing how far our family reunions can go, tomorrow he’ll pretend he doesn’t know us?” “C’mon, I’m dying to know what happened!” “Suit yourself, but don’t say I didn’t warn ya” the girl crossed her arms, already cursing her father’s brilliant idea to tell her crush some freakin’ story about her relatives and their tantrums. “Weeell, first of all: you need to know that I come from a large family – I have four sisters and two brothers – and during the festivities our table was always huge… uncles, aunts, grandfather and grandmother, cousins… everybody was there; festivities are great because you can spend ‘em with your family, your relatives that perhaps are living in other towns, but they can also be a pain in the ass – the organization, the stress, the confusion of having almost thirty people free to roam all over your house… you know how it is” “No, he doesn’t – remember, not all families are insane like ours” “Signorina, lasciami finire!” Aldo scolded his daughter, then resumed his tale “As I was saying, when members of the family are scattered in a few towns, it’s only normal to update each other on what has happened to us during the past year… my uncles Bartolomeo, Ambrogio and Gioacchino used to do the same: they were farmers, so they usually churned out random numbers, for example how much wheat they had produced and things like that… one particular Christmas Eve they took a drop too much and fought about who had produced more wine and oil during the year: they insulted each other, a couple of noses were punched in the process and, in the midst of all that confusion, the roasted cappone – the capon, d’ya know it? The castrated rooster, c’mon! – literally flew on my sister Elvira’s head… she was 15 years old and immediately started to cry because her face was entirely covered with gravy and her new dress had been ruined, while my mother, not caring about the fact that those three troublemakers were still her husband’s brothers, almost killed them with her faithful rolling pin” “… Jesus, what a rollercoaster” Jeff finally spoke up, then burst out laughing “I’d surely pay to attend one of these dinners of yours” “Consider yourself officially invited! We’ll probably spend next Christmas in Florence, so that could be the perfect occasion for you to have a proper Italian holid-” the older man had taken off at top speed, but when his daughter had looked daggers at him, he had coughed a bit embarrassed “Err, I’m going to grab the wine!” and, thus said, he quickly went out the room. “Your grandma seems quite the strong-willed woman – I wonder who has inherited her same temper…” “Hey! It’s not our fault if we have to deal with such a handful on a daily basis” the girl threw a fistful of walnut shells in Jeff’s direction, who resumed to chuckle “Anyway yeah, she’s a true force of nature… I mean, you have to be, if you want to raise seven children without going out of your head” “That sounds like some superhero’s doing, and who could play that part if not moms?” “Yeah, who could do that better than them?” Sara had scrunched up her nose, her mind inevitably running to the woman that, almost seventeen years before, had given birth to her. Luckily for her, the topic was dropped because Aldo had just re-entered the room with the bottle in a hand and a cutting board full of nougat pieces clutched in the other. “I had almost forgotten about the nougat!” he exclaimed, putting the cutting board on the table and then proceeding to uncork the Pinot. Sara partook in their toast with her glass full of Coke – she surely preferred gulping down some nougat instead of drinking wine, whose taste had never pleased her – and, even if it wasn’t midnight yet, they all wished each other a happy Christmas.

************************************************************************************************

The merry people had then installed themselves in the other part of the room, when suddenly Aldo excused himself because he needed to go to the bathroom, only to come back with a basket in his hands. Sara immediately stood up from the rocking chair where she had been sitting, unable to open her mouth. “Saruccia, I’ve been checkin’ on him the whole evening – now it’s your turn” he smiled at her, finally revealing the presence of a scrawny tabby kitten in the basket; needless to say, the girl ran to pick the little animal up and pulled it into a hug. “The cat shelter told me he was the smallest of his litter, they almost feared he wouldn’t be able to-hey! What have I always told you about the rules of this house? No tears are allowed, c’mon!” the man had patted her on the back, but his daughter wasn’t able to stop the sobbing “I think that quite some time has passed ever since Poe’s passing and we needed a new cat roaming this house, don’t ya think?” Sara nodded and, still sniffing, thanked her father and pulled him into a tight hug – obviously paying attention not to suffocate the new-entry of the family. “Isn’t he the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?!” she then approached Jeff, who agreed with her and gently petted the kitten. “Now you just need a name” “The young man’s right, how do you want to call him?” “Hmm” the girl pondered, looking around, when suddenly her gaze fell on a precise point and she lit up “How about Monty?” “… Like Clift! Nice choice, kiddo” Aldo looked at the A Place In The Sun poster that was hanging near the fireplace and smiled satisfied. “And Monty Python too” “That’s true, I hadn’t thought about it! That’s it, we have a name” Sara nodded all jubilant, then addressed the little cat, focused on the caresses Jeff was still giving him “You have a name, Monty! D’ya like it?” The animal looked attentively at her, then started to purr – the bass player clearly saw how she had literally melted for that little gesture and smiled to himself. While she was busy cooing at Monty, Jeff got lost into observing her: the little red spheres of her earrings slowly swaying among her curls, the adorable way she scrunched up her nose while the kitten was trying to catch it with one of its paws, the long eyelashes and the small dent in the middle of her lower lip… he still couldn’t believe how much a person’s presence could change somebody’s life – and yet, there she was: almost seven months had passed ever since their first meeting and he often found himself wondering how the hell his life was before that notorious 31st May. … better stop asking himself that and start embracing that fresh breath of air that was all curls and toothy grins, like the one she was giving him in that exact moment.

************************************************************************************************  

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for the night? We have a guest room, you know” Aldo said, walking Jeff to the entrance of the house just a couple of minutes after midnight. “Nah, mr. Fancini, I’m good – it’s just that I start my shift in seven hours and I really should go… but thanks anyway” “Oh, you didn’t tell me you had to work…” “I had already scheduled it when I was thinking I would have spent this evening doing nothing… Boy, I’m glad I was so wrong” the guy chuckled, finishing to fix his scarf and heading for the front door. Sara’s eyes widened in horror. <THE FUCKIN’ MISTLETOE!> The girl and her dad in fact had an inner joke: being two golden singles, they always found it funny to hang some mistletoe on the doorjamb of the front door – betting on who among the two of them would have enough luck to finally “break the curse”. Right now, it wasn’t funny at all.  “Then I feel obliged to renew my invitation for next year too! You still have to try the panettone, the cappon-” Aldo had resumed his work of persuasion, when his daughter gave him a nudge in the chest, redness all over her cheeks – both for the fear of Jeff finally noticing the mistletoe and the discomfort caused by her father’s umpteenth attempt to drag the guy into their family in a not-so-subtle way. He had stopped talking and looked at her for some explanation but, luckily for them, Jeff hadn’t noticed their strange behavior because he had crouched down to pet Monty. Sara had indicated the mistletoe with a nod and Aldo finally understood – or so she thought. “Err-Saruccia, why don’t you walk Jeff to the gate? I’d better get started with the dishes” “God, I’m such a boor! Lemme help ya, mr. Fancini, it’s the least I can do to thank-” “NONSENSE!” Aldo almost shouted, already sensing his daughter’s killer instincts rise “Nonsense, son: you’re the guest and you don’t have to lift a single finger… but I appreciate it all the same” “That’s fine with me, but it would have only been right: after all, I ate like a bear” “That has only made me happy: my daughter eats like a little bird, sometimes I feel the need to feed someone with a huge appetite... Well, take good care of ya, Jeffrey – it’s been a pleasure, you’re a good kid” the older man patted him on the shoulder and, after grabbing Monty, went to the kitchen. Jeff had looked at the entrance of the kitchen with a little smile on his lips, then resumed to speak. “Wanna go outside?”

************************************************************************************************

The sky was clear and the air promised snow, the perfect ending – beginning? – for that evening; Jeff was pulling his bike down the path while Sara was walking by his side, almost disappearing inside the giant scarf she was wearing. “Sooo, I guess it’s time to give you this” he said all of a sudden, leaning his bicycle against the oak from where an old swing was hanging and taking a small package out of one of the pockets of his coat “A silly little thing I made for ya” “A present… for me?” the girl had gasped, taking it from his hands a bit hesitantly “But I didn’t buy you anything, I didn’t know you-” “Believe me, couldn’t find a better gift than your company” he smiled softly, than gave her a little nudge “C’mon, open it!” Sara turned the packet over in her hands, admiring the blue and silvery wrapping paper he had used, then finally tore it off: she looked in amazement at a sketch in pen of herself, framed by the words ‘always touched by your presence’, that was looking right back at her. “It’s-err, it’s a mixtape – I did the art too, probably too sloppily but I had like zero photos of ya and I had to draw by heart…” the guy had explained like a river in flood, feeling more and more stupid as he went on with his stammering “Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yes; I know I pestered you with my Clash tapes for months, so this is some way to make up for it… I chose some songs that reminded me of you, and-OOMPH” he stopped talking because she had literally thrown her arms round his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you-thank you-thank you! This is like the greatest present ever! Well, maybe after Monty… oh, what am I talkin’ about?? You’re the best, thank you!” the girl had squealed while he, after the initial shock, had hugged her back. “You’re welcome, but it’s nothing special…” “Shut up! It is, nobody has ever done something like this for me before, okay? So I’m gonna hang tight on this” she had finally loosened the hug, but his hands still lingered on her back “Can’t wait to see what’s in store for me…” she had started to fumble with the case. “No, please!” the guy had proceeded to stop her “Please… after I’m gone?” “You want me to read it after you’ve left? How come?” “Nothing, it’s just… I want to hear your thoughts about the tape, but not right now; I want you to listen to it in a proper way, gather your opinions and then tell me all about it – right now it would feel too rushed, you understand?” “… Deal; it’s only fair, after you’ve given me such a fine present” “If it takes so little to make you happy, that means I’ll have to give you presents more often” the bass player thought out loud, redness instantly boiling all over his ears. “I-I don’t think that you’d need to spoil me to-to keep me around” Sara had stammered, blushing to the roots of her hair – she immediately gained the brightest grin ever from him. “Yeah… I’m the luckiest guy ever” he gave her a flick on the nose and then retrieved his bike “Now I seriously have to go get some sleep or in a few hours I’m going to fuck up every single order” She quickly nodded and they resumed their brief walk, both of them not daring to speak up for fear of ruining the atmosphere. “Well, thanks again for the gift and your patience – having to deal with both me and my dad can be an exhausting thing” “Are you kiddin’ me? You’re two of the most hilarious people I know, it was a real pleasure hangin’ with ya! I was supposed to get plastered in bed, not stuff myself with delicious things and awesome comp-” The guy’s words had died in his throat because Sara had suddenly stood on the tip of her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Jeffrey. Be safe on your way back home” “Th-thanks, you-you too – shit! – err-I-I meant ‘merry Christmas’ to you too, not the other thing – you’re already home, you don’t need-” “Seems that now it’s my turn to break ya, huh?” the girl sneered, and all he could do was awkwardly patting her head, saying goodbye, finally hopping on his bike and disappearing out of her sight. She giggled to herself, then fished the tape out of her pocket and, while walking back to the house, started skimming through the tracklist. “Let’s see what we’ve got here: New Dawn Fades by Joy Division… (I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear by Blondie – oh, it’s where the mixtape title comes from! – Love Song by AC/DC… LOVE SONG???” She almost stumbled on the steps of the porch but quickly recovered at the last second. <Think, think! AC/DC don’t do ballads, so a song called ‘Love Song’ has surely nothing to do with romantic things… yeah, that’s it> “… New Rose by The Damned – I like this one, he remembered! Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)??? I Wanna Be Your Dog???? The World’s a Mess; It’s in My Kiss??????” her voice had become higher and higher, almost sounding like a squeak. <… that doesn’t sound like a random friendly mixtape, right?!?!> “The World’s a Mess; It’s in My Kiss…” she muttered to herself with a big grin spread all over her face, then went inside the house clutching the tape tightly to her chest, where she could clearly feel a deep happiness bubbling like crazy.

************************************************************************************************  

“Soooo… how did it go??” “He gave me this mixtape he’s made just for me! Look at it, isn’t it awesome??” “Yeah, it is… now, how about tellin’ your old man how it really went?” “… what do you mean?” “The whole mistletoe accident, c’mon! Who took the first step?!” “Woah, slow down! Nothing happened” “What do you mean ‘nothing happened’?? You two didn’t kiss under the mistletoe?!” “What made you think we would have done it? Sometimes I really can’t understand you…” “But you pointed out the damned mistletoe to me like you’d been possessed! That’s why I let you escort him to the gate…” “Jesus, papà! I indicated it because I didn’t want Jeff noticing it and I needed your help!” “… you’re seriously tellin’ me you didn’t ask me to let you have some private time with him?” “… you’re impossible” “Good God, you’re the one who’s impossible! Find me another dad who’s totally ok with letting his daughter smooch somebody under the mistletoe, I dare you!” “Holy Vittorio De Sica, cut it out!” “I was so invested in this I even said ‘castrated rooster’ instead of ‘castrated cock’…” “FOR FUCK’S SAKE, DAD! SHUT UUUUP!” “Kids these days… I’ll never understand ‘em…”

[thetriplejproject]

Nice for wh(ole whe)at?

No thoughts, just chefs....

nah im kidding. I have so many thoughts all the time! What you see before you is easily the ugliest food of all time, but I tried my absolute best (when i could remember to snap pics in the first place) . 

I made (bottom to top) blueberry pie w store bought crust that turned out to be much more of a blueberry soup. A sushi roll that I was literally too scared to cut because it was so beautiful on its own. A 3/4 eaten egg salad sandwich with lemon and capers. A fried chicken sandwich with chickfila’s brine and sauce. Barely counting as cooking, trader joes orange chicken and fried rice. fried onion rings. and homemade tomato sauce pasta with garlic truffle bread. 

It’s hard for me to look at all of these and think that these were not all simultaneously a week and 5 years ago. This month, I lived like a 23 year old. I did dumb things, slacked off at work, drank during the week, half assed cooked, and bought takeout. But this month I also finally went to the doctor, scheduled a dentist appt, kissed a lil, drank wine, finished 2 books, got brunch, set up an amazing hearing, went to a museum, spent a weekend at the beach, and GRADUATED. 

This time is so valuable to me. I appreciate the people in my life more than ever and spending meaningful and peaceful time is more critical than ever.

My first post I talk about the connection between myself, julie, and julia and the government crisis that lead them to the point of turning to food. Well, as of 2/23 Russia has invaded Ukraine and is gearing up for others. The tensions of American politics when I began writing were focused on the end of Trump and COVID peak. And here we are, 6 months later and the tensions have only heightened. 

I have no more exams to study for, papers to write, assignments to complete or classes to attend. Life is happening, and is hard. I knew that graduating and finishing school was not the end of struggling. I have really hard days and weeks even now(though significantly less comparable to if I had had class on top of this). 

There is a rediscovery of what I can see life looking like. Its frightening and exciting...and usually cooked w a white wine. 

-J

[prsfood]

PARIS HABITS

carry around bottled of diluted juice, choose a strongly flavored one OR water with 0% syrup off brand U (about 6 for a lot of syrup).

unsuspicious:

Broth-based soups (chicken/veggie/beef broth, not cream) and plain popcorn come to mind...shrimp is also very low cal and high protein.

What really confuses my family is when i take out my ice cream sandwich. Little do they know, its a klondike 100 calorie light bar, but it looks like a regular ice cream bar so it doesn't raise suspicion.

cooked veggies with shrimp

Thing I always do is an eggwhite omelette with celery and tuna. My fam says its gross cuz of the two mixed but you only need like 3 eggwhites, maybe a half can of tuna and a bit of chopped up celery. Makes a lot for low cal!

I always go for like 5 saltine crackers and a laughing cow cheese wedge

I got kelp noodles recently - the entire bag is 18 calories. They're clear and can be served cold or hot. Mostly good for Asian foods and salads.

I make egg and cheese wraps for dinner..the whole thing comes to around 200 cals as a meal...1 tortilla, 1 small egg and like, a slice of low fat cheese...it also makes me feel full which is good, esp. when paired with coffee

shrimp. Went out to all you can eat crabs with my friends tonight (ugh, shoot me). While they were pigging out on 5000+ cals of crabs, I was just peelin' my shrimp super slow and eating about 100 cals of shrimp, which took forever and made me look sups normal. Even the cocktail sauce doesn't have that many cals and it is delish

at school for lunch I have a half of a pb sandwich. it's 40 cal bread with pb2 (around 30 cal because I don't use the whole 2 tbsp) so that equals 70 cal. I have it with some fruit (50 cal) and cucumber or celery (0 cal)

My caramel frozen yogurt bars are only 100 calories and are a great dessert, especially around people.

My suggestions are:

Try having silken tofu instead of hard tofu because people don't tend to differentiate between different varieties of the same foods even though they can have substantially different caloires. I don't know where you live but here in Australia the Macro silken tofu is only 50 calories for 100g while hard tofu is over 100 calories or more for the same amount.

Home made ice blocks/popsicles with diet drinks and fruit (I mentioned this recently on a different forum, I'm not steal, promise!!!)

Instead of steaming veggies roast them - ie 'carrot fries', because they have that association with fries even though they are low cal

It's already been said by rice cakes (You can find 10cm diameter ones for 23 calories) and you can top them up with salads and hummus etc.

Low calorie smoothies ie. Made with just frozen fruit, ice and water

1 cup silk unsweetened almond milk with sweetener and fiber one 80 cal cereal. 110 cal.

two slices 45 or 40 cal bread with Turkey breast, tomato, kraft fat free mayo. 150-160 cal.

two slices 45 or 40 cal bread with two tbsp pb2 & 1 tbsp smuckers sugar free jelly. 135-145 cal.

Pickles are a great go-to zero calorie food when I crave something salty. That or 100 calorie microwave popcorn. If you make it in an air popper, though, and only spray a little I Can't Believe It's Not Butter on it then its even less (depending on serving size of course). You can add a little salt too, or No-Salt (Potassium Chloride) if you're watching sodium its a great alternative.

Also love the zero sugar/zero calorie energy drinks from Monster or Rockstar. Gets me through the day if my energy wanes. The V8 flavored green tea energy drinks are good too and 50 calories if you only need a little boost.

Jennie-O makes a ground turkey that is like 97% fat free. Less calories and fat than ground beef but still high in protein.

Turkey bacon is like 25 calories per slice that you can pair with egg whites (also about 25 calories per serving).

Hebrew National makes a hot dog that is like 98% fat free and only 45 calories each (versus like 200 for regular hot dogs dripping in saturated fat.. blegh).

And finally, one of my favorite desserts when I need something sweet is fresh strawberries sprinkled with Truvia (zero calorie sweetener) and it is delish!

i go to subway and get a 6 inch veggie delight with all veggies, no cheese and yellow mustard

it's 230 calories but it's really filling and normal looking lol

Bare naked noodles? 16 cals a pack but I can get 2/3 sevings from it with raw shaved courgettes <3 and a stock cube about 30 cals altogether!

shredded crab sticks kani kama like pasta its like: 40 cals crab+20cals lettuce= 60 cals of a full plate

I love low cal bread (35 cal per slice!) with apple butter on top. (30 cal for 2 TBSP). I usually like to eat all of my food in one meal so I like to side it with either no fat plain Greek yogurt (tastes like heaven if you add sweetener and cinnamon) or plain oatmeal with, again, sweetener and cinnamon.

salads, for obvious reasons! lots of veggies

wraps. get a good brand of low cal tortillas, and maybe a spread you like (salsa has always been my favorite)

rice (mix it with lots of veggies for a stir fry)

Salad wraps. What's great about tortillas and pitas, is no one can really see what you've stuffed in there. So use it like a hidey-hole and just fill with vegetables.

I do meat and veggie dishes that are mostly veggies. Like string bean chicken and beef with broccoli. It sounds like a "real" meal but I mostly only serve myself the vegetable part!

Make a huge Asian like bean sprout "stir fry" (I just cook it with water) and season it up as you want, you can add a few shrimp and they're only 7 cals each

Sauerkraut! You can eat a ton and it's super low cal

A big salad with a fewwww grilled chicken strips

If you don't fear carbs, there's a few breads that are 45 cals a slice, you could make a veggie sandwich with a couple of slices and it'd only be a lil over 100 cals

Tuna salad. More veggies than tuna, skip the mayo. Even saltines are not terribly high cal.

Believe it or not, a baked potato.  This is one of my fav dinners: a large baked potato with salsa and guacamole and a big salad.  Most people (no doubt your mum as well) know to look past salad because it has next to no calories, even by the bucketful.

But potatoes are considered indulgent foods.  Turns out tho, it is all the crap people put on them (sour cream, bacon bits, CHILI for gods sake!) or cook them in (think french fries or crisps) that is bad.  You can top a potato with salsa (lots) and guac (a little but positioned to look as big as possible) and, when paired with a salad, looks like a giant plate of food.  If you start to feel like you are over-ful (a real possibility with this meal) you can skip eating the potato skin, which most people leave off anyways so it won't look suspicious.

Aubergine or courgette boats! Stuff with mushrooms/spinach/chickpeas/Quorn mince or whatever, top with some bread crumbs and/or cheese.

This is the best thing for anyone!

400g cauliflower with some water in a blender - blend till Mashed potato consistency, it makes soooo much! About half a large plate piled! And only 100 calories, then you can add whatever you like since you have so many cals left over. And simply adding rosemary and pepper is delicious!

If you want it to look more like a dinner meal add something like

Chicken thigh - 200

Salmon - 255

Hoki Fish - 175

Stuffed mushrooms

4 medium size or 2 HUGE portobello mushrooms (would be in the 250-300g region, so 30-40 cals)

Bake in the oven for 15 mins.

Top with 1/2 can of lentils (113) mixed with 3 laughing cow triangles (105 or 75 if using the light version) (you could also use another soft cheese). Add in herbs and spices (garlic is great with this) and bake for another 10-15 mins. You could even add a bit of proper grated cheddar or mozzarella as well to make it seem even more high calorie. Wouldn't be more than 300 even with the addition of full-fat cheese.

Grated cauliflower looks like rice with a lot less cals.

Soups with a ton of broth.

[inktae]

Can you maybe share some of your favourite recipes? :) I'm so stressed out with uni and have no time to exercise anymore and I'm not really eating healthily and slowly I'm starting to notice that in my weight but primarily I want to start to eat healthy. :)

ohhh well, I kind of have a diet that’s 80% good carbs, so I eat a lot of legumes (lentils and beans everyday lol), nuts (if the need to snack or to eat something unhealthy hits me, I immediately push that down with a few almonds and pistachios) and whole wheat pasta (it’s important that it’s whole wheat - refined or regular pasta will definitely make you put on some kilos if you eat it constantly). I also eat lots of fruits! I have around 3-5 different fruits a day (no more than that, because they do have a lot of sugar). they satiate you and keep you off junk food as well. if you have a sweet tooth, I recommend just snacking on fruits instead of unhealthy sweets :D

the recipes I go for the most are:

oatmeal, mainly for breakfast (I make it with almond milk, one banana, chia seeds, cinnamon, coconut flakes, and sometimes I add a few strawberries if I feel like making it even sweeter lol). oatmeal is great because it keeps you full for hours, and if you add chia seeds (which have lots of nutrients and are satiating as well) then you will be pretty full for a long time, and won’t feel the need to snack. then again, like I said before you can just snack on nuts, fruits or even dark chocolate! I eat a lil piece of 85% chocolate every single day (it’s strong af but I got used to it after a while and now I find it sweet) and it calms down my urges for junk haha :)

teriyaki fried tofu with veggies, usually broccoli and carrots. if you don’t like tofu you can jut replace it with anything else that has lots of proteins (like chicken if you eat meat). this is super easy because you only have to saute everything together with the teriyaki sauce (you can also make it with soy sauce if you can’t find it) and that’s it hehe.

lentil stew, but I don’t really have a recipe for this.. I mostly buy it already prepared or my mom makes it ahaha

if you crave hamburgers, I recommend making it yourself! what I do is cut up some carrots in thin slices, saute them with some barbecue sauce, and then just add it to the hamburger bread with some spinach or lettuce and caramelized onion. I swear it will taste like a bbq pulled pork burger and it’s waaay healthier. if you want to accompany it with something, try not to add fries but some veggies instead (since you don’t have much time, you can just buy a bag of mixed veggies!)

and my absolute favorite: zoodles (zucchini noodles) with homemade pesto sauce. if you can’t find any zoodles in the market you can make them yourself by cutting up the zucchini in thin slices. I make the sauce with one avocado, lemon juice, garlic and basil (all to taste btw, I never measure it lol). just cook the zoodles with a bit of olive oil or water and then add the sauce! :)

I don’t really have salad recipes because that’s what I eat the least ahaha. but I swear these are all super easy, believe me when I say so bc I’m an amateur in the kitchen myself. but really.. as long as you cut out the junk and replace it with healthy junk (pistachiosss), you’ll be on the right path already. and idk if this will help you, but what made my life turn around is to drink only water. I used to stuff my body with energy drinks, coffee, soda and juices (juices are the worst of all tbh, I avoid them like the plague) and probably half of my calorie intake was sugary drinks. it’s okay if you want to have a coffee once in a while, or drink tea regularly, but for me, drinking just water has been just magical. I think that’s the main reason I lost weight ^^

[hempowerment]

SUDANESE SHAHAN FUL (FAVA BEANS), AVOCADO TOAST, 'MOONBLUSH' TOMATOES, SUDANESE CINNAMON TEA

I must confess I’ve never had Sudanese food before. Apparently there’s one restaurant in London, Khartoum. It’s in Kensal Green, ie. far away from my hood.

Like, I almost never go to Kensal Green. I hear Paradise By Way of Kensal Green is good, but I feel no pressing desire to trek out to West London. And I’m not even sure Khartoum-the-restaurant still exists.

So I set out to cook some Sudanese food blind, so to speak. The recipes I found online were a bit heavy on the peanut-based stews and lamb - it’s just that I’m not a huge fan of lamb, and I already have a favourite peanut sauce, sambal pecel. When I discovered that ful (fava beans) is pretty much a national dish of Sudan, I knew this was the Sudanese dish for me.

I absolutely love ful. I know I’ve done a post on the Singapore/Malaysian version before, but that veers from the forms popular in the Middle East and Africa, the ful motherland, and a more historical version warrants cooking.

The fava bean, that humble and overlooked pulse, is a significant food in human history. Fava beans were quite possibly the first farmed crop, conferred with magical properties and offered to the gods. Bean specimens have been found as early as the 10th millennium b.p. (and it’s seasonally appropriate: in Italy fava beans were traditionally placed on altars to mark St Joseph’s Day, March 19). In its full (sorry) expression of mashed beans, it’s an ancient dish reportedly dating from Pharoanic Egypt and is mentioned in the Talmud (quote: The fava bean porridge of the donation and the garlic and oil of daily life - Mishna Tvul Yom 2, 3).

Ful: endorsed by the Biblical and Egyptian gods.

While browsing the internet for Sudanese recipes, I came across this method of frying garlic in oil then adding it to the cooked dish, called gadha in Sudan and quite like tempering spices in Indian cooking. I took that, and the religious text above (which I’ve probably taken completely out of context), to make something quite like a fava bean porridge, with garlic fried separately in oil mixed through at the end. This garlic-oil-frying does necessitate the use of a separate pan, but I promise you it truly makes the beans fragrant with garlic and isn’t pointless chef faff.

Sudanese ful is traditionally eaten with Pita bread and onions and tomatoes. At the moment I still have part of a storebought prepackaged loaf (Weight Watchers malted Danish), so I dispensed with the pita, and ran with the whole breakfast beans theme. I toasted some bread and mashed some avocado with salt, lime juice and Aleppo chilli for avo toast and, although it may seem discordant with the rest of the meal, made some moonblush tomatoes (as Nigella Lawson calls them).

Though you can quite easily buy ‘sunblushed’ tomatoes in a tub, they’re straightforward to make and an excellent way to use up any cherry tomatoes you might have in the fridge. I used za’atar instead of dried thyme which kind of fits the whole theme, and they’re rather lovely this way. You can of c ourse use any kind of herb/spice combination.

They keep in a container in the fridge for a couple of days. You can have them with pasta and salads, but I quite like them as a little snack, just as they are. There’s olive oil so it isn’t fat free, but that’s entirely justified as lycopenes are better absorbed when doused in oil and blasted with heat, just as these little tomatoes are.

The final (but obligatory) part of a breakfast-type meal, even at dinnertime, is a cup of tea or coffee. The Middle-East/Africa region does particularly good flavoured coffees and teas, and Sudan has a very lovely cinnamon tea. Unlike su jeong gwa, the Korean cinnamon punch, this actually involves black tea (and thus, caffeine) but is equally sweet and cinnamony.

As always, my #NoMuslimBan post ends with links to food-related or women’s lifestyle blogs and instagram. My intention is to counter the popular image in the West of a horde of great unwashed coming out of the desert of the Muslimban nations, or of suffering children in rubble. These are the images I see reinforced every time I glance at a newspaper rack in a supermarket, and of course we need to understand that there is war and suffering (which is precisely why there are refugees) - but I feel images of nonwhite people from certain parts of the world as regular and equal human beings and not as alternately aggressors or victims, as normal people doing normal things like eating, cooking and taking selfies, is sadly lacking.

Sudanese food blogs: Sudanese Kitchen, who might have a cookbook out at some point. Taste of South Sudan

Also: Wholeheartedly Sudaniya Memoirs of a Sudanese breath (poetry)

And: Food52’s article: Why are there so few Sudanese cookbooks?

sudanese shahan ful/foul/fuul (fava beans)

ingredients

serves 3 (or very hungry 2)

2 400g tins of peeled fava beans (eg. this)

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp ground chilli

1 chopped onion

1 chopped tomato

4 cloves garlic (minced)

1/4 cup (olive) oil

1 lime

method

Open the tins and dump contents into a pot. Simmer on low heat.

Stir occasionally, squishing the beans as you go.

When it looks heated through, add the cumin, ground chilli, chopped onion and tomato.

Put a separate small pan or pot on. The garlic and olive oil goes in, and cooks on low. Move the garlic bits around occasionally so they don't burn.

When the garlic turns golden brown (it shouldn't take too long), turn the heat off both the garlic and beans, and pour the garlic and all its oil into your bean pot.

Squeeze the lime over everything and mix.

sudanese cinnamon tea

ingredients

2 mugs water

2 teabags

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tsp sugar

method

Dump all ingredients into a little pot.

Bring to the boil, stir so the sugar dissolves, then simmer for a few minutes until the tea reaches your desired strength.

Strain into cups. This makes 2 regular size mugs or 4 lil Bodum Le Pot Captain Picard cups.