#i was a little worried because i add at least double the spice the recipe says and then some and i don't do accurate measurements just vibes

[ashleighneville]

I did most of the work on the bara brith and apparently it went down very well at my mum's work particularly with her Welsh colleagues so I'm taking that as a very large compliment

[leashybebes]

bucktommy sickfic(let)

Tommy squints at his phone, rereading the message carefully, checking closely for tone and spelling. The last thing he wants is to worry Evan. Satisfied, he hits send, and flops down into his bed, immediately regretting the even slightly vigorous motion when it sets off a round of coughing that makes his head throb.

****

It's been a full-on shift. Not bad, but busy, so Buck only sees Tommy's text when he's in the parking lot, ready to leave and head over for date night. It takes him a minute to parse it, because Tommy is normally a very clear texter with impeccable grammar (old man, Buck thinks fondly).

Hi baaby i sosorry can't tonight I ill just a cOld not to baD. Little demon baby snézed in my FACE. Wont die!! Make you up s00n. Like you!

Buck can't help laughing, and then immediately feels bad about it. His first text is to Eddie to ask for Abuela's home cold remedy - a vile tasting but highly effective concoction that still haunts Buck. Then to Hen to double check he's not missing anything obvious from his pharmacy shopping list.

When he pulls into the parking lot outside CVS he dialls Mrs Lee.

"Hey Mrs Lee, it's Evan Buckley - no, no, everything's fine! I was wondering if you could help me out. You know that spicy soup you make, god, please forgive my pronunciation, is it dakgaejang? Could I get the recipe? Yeah, uh-huh, my boyfriend's not well and I can't think of a better cure. Oh, you're an angel, yep, let me grab a pen."

Ten minutes later, he has a recipe, and instructions on the best places to pick up the ingredients. It'll add a bit of time to his journey, but it'll be worth it if he can come up with anything close to the soup she makes. Tommy likes spice anyway, and Buck's always relied on spicy instant noodles to blow the lid off a cold.

When he makes it to Tommy's via Mrs Lee's favorite store on the outskirts of Koreatown, the sound of snoring from the master bedroom is practically shaking the walls, reminding Buck of a plane roaring by only feet above his head. Regardless he bypasses the door, opting to take the pillows and blankets from the guest room instead, setting them up on the couch before he heads into the kitchen to get started on the broth.

****

When Tommy wakes up an indeterminate amount of time later, he feels, if anything, slightly worse. His head is pounding, his ears are ringing, every inch of him aches, and his mouth and throat are the kind of dry and prickly he only usually associates with wildfire season. He's also...maybe experiencing multi-sensory hallucinations because he'd swear he can hear - very faintly through the horrible underwater feeling in his ears - music, and even more faintly smell something like food.

If it really is the world's most considerate burglar, Tommy knows he's in no fit state to fight them off, but he should at least try, right? He fights his way out of the cocoon that his sheets have become, and gets to his feet, only wobbling a little. Before he's even reached his bedroom door, he hears a familiar cacophony of footsteps on the stairs, and when he opens the door it's to see Evan on the other side.

"You're...here?"

"I sure am."

"Did you not get my message?"

"Oh, I did," Evan says, with an inexplicable smirk. "How are you feeling, babe?"

Tommy groans. "I'll never take clear sinuses for granted again."

"Aw, sweetheart. C'mere."

Tommy shakes his head, turning his face away as Evan approaches. "Plague."

Evan's insistent, pulling Tommy into a careful hug that honestly feels amazing. "What's a little plague between boyfriends?"

Tommy lets his head rest on Evan's broad shoulder for the few seconds of relief he gets before his blocked nose makes the position untenable.

"Can't breathe," he gasps out, and Evan rubs his back. It would be soothing, except, "skin hurts," he says, and Evan backs off.

"Okay, hon. C'mere, do you want to come downstairs? I made you a plague nest."

Tommy blinks stupidly, lets himself be steered down the stairs, Evan's hands hovering to steady him the whole way. He's guided towards the couch, which is replete with pillows and blankets. The coffee table has been dragged closer and is home to a box of those tissues infused with balm that are meant to prevent that horrible rubbed-raw feeling, cough sweets in what looks like every available flavour, one medicated and one menthol nose spray, three bars of his favourite chocolate, a carton of orange juice, and a bottle of water with a straw.

"Evan," he manages, and his voice wobbles alarmingly.

Evan's fingers stroke through his disgusting, sweaty hair without even a flinch. What a perfect man. "Don't cry, honey, it'll make your head worse."

Tommy nods and lets himself lean into Evan's touch.

****

Buck gets Tommy settled on the couch, covers him with blankets and squats down next to him.

"Have you eaten anything today?"

Tommy shakes his head, looking revolted by the very idea.

"I know. But it'll make you feel better. It needs another twenty minutes or so, so try to take a nap, okay? I'll be right back. You want the TV on?"

"Nuh," Tommy manages, his eyes already closing.

Buck pushes himself back to his feet and heads into the kitchen. The soup smells pretty damn good, and has that vibrant orange-red colour that promises a punch of heat. Abuela's cold remedy is adding a weird dimension to the smells, so he keeps the door closed in case it bothers Tommy. He also turns the radio off, and finishes up in silence, responding to a few check in texts from the 118 and sending Mrs Lee a photograph of his efforts for her approval.

He gets a cup of the cold remedy, a small bowl of soup, a spoon and a fork, and a range of medications onto a tray and makes his way back out. Tommy is snoring again and Buck nudges stuff around on the coffee table to make room for the tray before waking him with a gentle touch to his cheek.

"Hey, beautiful. Can you sit up for me? I want you to take some pills and eat some soup."

Tommy looks pitiful, his hair sticking up in all directions, his pretty eyes red-rimmed and puffy, his skin clammy.

"'kay," he mutters, and lets Buck brace him as they get him upright in the corner of the couch. Buck rearranges the cushions and pillows around him, tucks a blanket in around his shoulders.

"Okay. First up," he says, handing Tommy the cup of Abuela's home remedy. "This is via Eddie's abuela. There's a lot of ginger and also a little tequila and it's hot, so it'll taste, uh - interesting. But I promise it'll help."

Tommy knocks it back without even a wince and Buck squeezes his shoulder.

"Good job."

He hands Tommy the pills - decongestant, painkiller, anti-inflammatory - and Tommy takes them dutifully.

"Whatsit?" he asks, nodding towards the bowl of soup.

"Dakgaejang. Spicy chicken noodle soup. I got the recipe from Mrs Lee."

"Evan."

"Yeah?"

"You're too good to me." He sounds desolate and Buck feels, not for the first time, like he wants to go back in time and fight Tommy's dad, his CO, every terrible boyfriend he's ever had.

"No such thing, honey. Let me know if you want any help with the soup."

Buck sits next to Tommy on the couch and presses a kiss to his sweaty temple, not letting Tommy duck it.

"Evan. Stop it. I'm so gross."

"Nah," Buck promises. "You're the handsomest plague victim I've ever seen."

[lam-ila]

Understand || Steve Rogers

i used the prompt “you've been in a fight, your lover has already gone to bed, without resolving it, but you still whisper 'i love you’ before crawling into bed, because it's something you always do before going to sleep, and this fight doesn't change anything bonus: your lover isn't actually asleep, and pulls you into their arms” from this prompt list. changed it a little but that’s okay

Summary: You and Steve got in a fight while making dinner

Word count: 996

Warnings: Steve’s kind of an ass

please let me know if you find more that i should add

Marvel Masterlist

a/n: this is gender neutral. hope you enjoy this! feedback is appreciated

thank you @2manytabsopen for talking with me about this fic. kesh is amazing and this fic would not exist if it wasn’t for her

LIKES ARE GREAT, REBLOGS ARE BETTER ♡

Dating an Avenger was difficult, but dating an Avenger who’s name was Steven Grant Rogers was way more difficult than dating any other Avenger. You loved Steve for many reasons, he was headstrong, determined, and he stood up for the things he believed to be true- even if standing up for it was illegal.

Since the beginning of your relationship with Steve, you both agreed that you would be open about whatever was on your minds, but after the fight with Ultron, Steve began to shut you out. You gave Steve some space for a few days after he came back from Sokovia since he normally was more distant after a big fight, but he continued to be distant. He was barely home, only staying to quietly eat and sleep. You did whatever you could do to make him relax, mostly by cooking whatever he was in the mood for. 

You kept this up for about a year, cooking, cleaning, and hardly talking to your boyfriend. After Rumlow blew himself up and Wanda deflected the blow into a nearby building, everything started to spiral out of control. The UN was preparing to pass the Sokovia Accords- which Steve was not wanting to sign-, the Avengers split up, Peggy passed away, all while Steve was trying to bring his best friend back from being brainwashed. 

Steve was surprisingly home and spending time with you, cleaning up and washing the dishes while you cooked dinner. You were making grilled salmon, something you had made plenty of times before. There were no words being spoken between you two, the only exception being “excuse me” and “here you go”. Usually, cooking with Steve was fun and relaxing, but you had a million thoughts going through your head at once. You were worried about Steve, and your relationship with him. You didn’t want to admit it, but your relationship was deteriorating right before your eyes. 

“You’re doing that wrong,” Steve said, snapping you out of your thoughts. You looked over at him, giving him a questioning look. “You need to add at least double the amount of pepper.” Glancing down to the bowl that held your spice mix, you re-assessed how much pepper you put in.

“No, I put in the right amount,” you corrected. “Don’t worry, I’ve made this dish thousands of times, I know how many spices to put in.”

“But that’s not the right-” Steve scoffed, cutting himself off. “Fine, I guess we’ll have bland salmon.”

“I put in one and a half teaspoons and that’s what the recipe says. If you want, you can check the recipe,” you reasoned. You studied his face worriedly as he angrily glared at the spice mix. “Steve, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he harshly answered. “Why would something be wrong?” You hesitantly walked over to him, placing your hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at you.

“You’ve just been,” you paused, carefully thinking of the proper word to use, “distant.”

“Distant?” He pulled out of your comforting touch. “Of course I’ve been distant. My life is literally shattering before me.”

“Steve-”

“People are expecting me to do what’s right, but I don’t think signing the Accords is ‘what’s right’. I’m expected to be this perfect man, this perfect hero, but I’m not. I’m held up to unrealistic expectations and it’s taking a toll on me.”

“How can you say that?” you retorted, disbelief completely present in your voice.

“What?”

“How can you say that,” you repeated, “while you expect me to be the perfect partner.”

“What do you mean?”

“You expect me to cook, and clean, and comfort you, and say the right things at the right time,” you listed. “I know it’s cliché, but I need you to realize that no one is perfect. You don’t need to hold yourself and those around you to such high expectations.”

“But I need to be perfect. So does Tony, and Nat, and Sam, and everyone else. We’ve had to be perfect since the day we became the heros.”

“No,” you sighed. “You don’t have to be perfect.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand,” you pleaded.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Steve persisted.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not an Avenger or an ex-S.H.E.I.L.D. agent, you’re just some random civilian in the city!” Steve shouted, making you flinch. Not once had he yelled at you in the past. You saw no regret in his eyes, not even the realization of ‘oh my goodness, I just yelled at my partner for the first time’.

You hurried over to your shared room, too hurt to continue the argument or dinner at that point. You quickly shut and locked the door behind you, making sure Steve couldn’t follow you in. As Steve made his way to the door, you collapsed onto your bed, face planting into a pillow and beginning to cry.

Steve raised his fist, about to knock on the door, until he heard your sobs. He hurt you and that hurt him more than any injury he ever got from a mission.

He gave you the space you deserved and you unlocked the door after an hour and nine minutes of being in your room. About ten minutes later, he entered the room and noticed your seemingly asleep body.

Steve quietly got ready for bed, still not forgiving himself for what he did. He sat on the edge of his side of the bed, rubbing his hands over his face before lifting the covers and lying on his side. He faced you, but you faced away from him with your eyes open, pondering what he’d do next. He gently rested his arm on your body, taking a deep shaky breath before saying the three words he never went to sleep without saying to you.

“I love you.” He paused. “Please don’t forget that.”

You turned around, snuggled into his chest, and wrapped your arm around him. Steve tightened the embrace, kissing you gently on your lips.

——————————

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[foodbytesback]

A Millenial's Guide to Dinner Parties

Ok, sorry.  I didn’t have time to write anything real  for this week, because I was too busy planning a dinner party.  But uhhh that counts as a food-related topic, so I’m just gonna write about that. 

You may be asking “just how much “planning” do you need?” The answer? Much.  

I feel like I never understood how “we’ve been planning this dinner for months!” made any sense as a sitcom throwaway line, until I tried to plan a dinner between myself and 3 other adults- 1 who just started a second job, 1 who just started grad school, and 1 who lives out of town.  But people who love to say “fail to plan, plan to fail” rarely seem to specify what kind of planning that entails, so let me break down my approach (or, in some cases, things I learned in light of my approach) so that you too can funnel your anxiety into worrying about all the right things.

Consider your living space

Since I knew 2 of those 3 really like Indian food, I decided I’d base the menu around that.  Incidentally, this ended up having one major benefit that I would recommend keeping in mind: if you, like me, don’t have a proper dining room table, don’t serve anything that would require a fork and knife.  If you’re gonna be eating on the couch (Or, if you have a studio that doesn’t have room for a couch, bed? Floor? Getting imaginative about how to host people in a studio is its own challenge), you should consider serving something that can easily be eaten one-handed while balancing the plate in your lap.  Besides curries, I would also recommend tacos (or any kind of finger-food), stir-frys or any sort of braise/stew, although a soup that’s too thin is just asking to be spilled.

Cook as much as you can ahead of time

The day of the event, you’re really gonna want to make sure all your mise en place is… uh, en place.  It’s a given that dishes that are a multi-day process (like the bread dough for the naan) are going to be done well beforehand, but you really will be better off taking care of as much of the things that could be dismissed as doable the day of as you can the night before (or the day before that, depending on your schedule, if your produce is fresh it will survive a couple of days chopped).  For me, this meant dividing up the bread dough into smaller, individual portions, pre-cutting anything that needed to be cut (which luckily ended up being just onions, garlic, one serrano pepper, paneer, and chicken), marinating the chicken, and making the sauce for the chicken tikka masala.

You may have noticed that one of those containers used to be soup.  Or that the pepper’s in a ziplock bag.  Yes. Listen: I don’t work for Food Network, I don’t have hundreds of those little bowls lying around.  I didn’t even have lids for most of those deli containers.  I can only steal so much from work before it becomes noticeable.  If you’re only making one thing, feel free to combine ingredients that get added in at the same time in the recipe together in one container.  I ended up keeping most of mine separated out like this because I needed garlic for pretty much everything, so it made sense to just have one big thing of garlic, etc.  Honestly, you should just have one big thing of garlic on hand at all times, dinner party or not. 

Even with all that prep, it still took me close to 2 hours to cook the chicken, add it to the sauce that I had dumped into a crock pot for reheating, put the rice on, make the 2 paneer dishes (for clarity: saag paneer and a weird dish one of my friends mentioned liking that doesn't’ seem to have any actual basis in Indian cuisine that’s just paneer sauteed with onions and cumin seeds) and bake off several naan.  Which leads me to my next point...

Provide entertainment that doesn’t involve you

Yes, the whole point is that you want to spend time with your friends. But, unless you’re making something like dumplings, where you can easily enlist your friends to help you, you’re gonna be alone in the kitchen while your friends hang out without you.  In this case, they played WarioWare on my Switch and played/made fun of this weird foodie trivia game that I had never even bothered to unwrap from its protective plastic that focussed way too much on Julia Child-era cooking shows, wine varietals, and antiquated edicate, all while I listened from the kitchen.  Because my apartment is pretty small, “from the kitchen” means about 5 feet away, so it’s not like I was really feeling that left out.  I was able to break away from cooking every-other question or so to shoot someone a judgemental glare any time they couldn’t get an answer that I assumed was somewhat-common knowledge right. I should also mention that if you know it’s gonna take a while to cook everything, put out some sort of snack, too.  I hadn’t thought about this, and ended up throwing a box of pumpkin spice Twinkies at them.  

I guess this can be avoided by just having them come when the food is ready. I guess. 

Clean as you go

This is pretty much true for any time you cook something, but seriously, the dishes really start to pile up when you’re cooking larger quantities.  This goes double for things like tasting spoons, which I’m normally fine with reusing when I’m cooking for myself, but I will NOT subject my guests to double-dipping.   And take my word for it, you’re gonna want to go into the actual serving of dinner with an empty sink, because after everyone’s left you’ll turn around and be caught completely off-guard by how many dishes have to be done.  

Have fun and be yourself

No, really.  If your friends are anything like my friends, they’ll just be happy to see that one friend from out of town again or at the very least get a free meal.   Like, despite (or because of?) my obsessive planning, when the time came to actually start cooking I felt no pressure to have to go at my usual breakneck line cook pace, because my friends were there to have a fun little evening, and that’s exactly what I gave them.

[captainseaweedbrains]

Happy Birthday, Peeta

I rewrote a fluff prompt I got ages ago and thought I’d post it again. Enjoy!

Post-Mockingjay, during the time where they grew back together.

Can also be found on Ao3

His birthday was coming up and Katniss wanted to do something special for Peeta, something homemade.

"He does so much for me," she told Haymitch while they nibbled on the rye bread Peeta had left them for lunch. "I want to return the favor. He deserves it." And Peeta did deserve it. After these rough few months of trying to repair themselves and figure out what they were, she wanted something normal, something happy. Or as happy as they could possibly reach.

"I'm just not very good at gift giving," she confessed, picking at the bread. 

Haymitch ripped another piece off the loaf and shoved it into his mouth. "I don't know what it is with you two and owing each other, but he's not expecting a parade, sweetheart." Katniss squirmed in her seat at the thought of being paraded in front of a crowd again. "Just do something any normal girlfriend would do."

"We're not dating," she quickly insisted. "We're just...us." 

"Fine. Whatever. Make the boy dinner and, I don't know, get him paper or something to draw on. He should be happy with that." 

The idea did sound good, and Peeta always made dinner. A birthday dinner would give him a night off, let him relax. Yes, a surprise dinner would definitely be a good gift for him. She'd make his favorite meal, maybe steal a bottle of Haymitch's finest to lighten the mood. It was perfect. 

The only problem was she didn't know his favorite meal. At least something she could make. Katniss tried to think back to every meal they'd ever had together, but her own mind had been so transfixed on her plate she'd never noticed what Peeta ate. 

She would just have to find out before his birthday. 

Peeta was pouring vegetable soup into her bowl for dinner when she decided to ask. "You make soup a lot," Katniss observed, waiting for him to sit before lightly blowing on her meal.

"Can't go wrong with it," he smiled.

As expected, the soup tasted wonderful, with hints of spices Peeta kept to himself, saying it was a family secret. She tapped the spoon on the side of her bowl and sighed, wondering how to go about asking him without making it too obvious what she planned to do.

"Is something the matter?" His eyebrows were scrunched together in concern, his hand gripping hard on his spoon. Katniss patted his hand and told him she was fine. 

"I'm just thinking about the soup," is all she said, taking another timid sip.

"Oh."

The dining room grew quiet, the only sounds were the scrapes of their spoons against bowls and Buttercup begging for scraps at Peeta's feet. It was typically how dinner went for them, but Katniss didn't want to chicken out about this. She wanted to make sure what she was making Peeta would be something he'd like.

"You know, when I..." A lump formed in her throat at the thought of her family. She cleared her throat and started again. "When I was little, my father used to make this dandelion salad and my mother had this special dressing she'd pour on top. It was really simple, nothing like...like the Capitol food, but I'd always get excited whenever I'd see him walking back with a bag full of dandelions. It was my favorite meal."

It was too much, too obvious, and she shoved a spoonful of soup in her mouth to avoid blurting out anything that would trigger any emotional episode. Peeta wasn't stupid, and he always figured out whatever she was planning because he was perceptive and good at reading people, and Katniss was lucky if she could spit out a sentence every once in awhile. 

He didn't seem to notice, empathetically smiling at her, like he always did whenever something from their past was mentioned. He understood how much it hurt to talk about the dead and the hopeless, and she was so thankful for that. Another reminder why Peeta deserved a special birthday dinner. 

"I could call your mom for the dressing recipe. We could make it together." 

"Yes," Katniss said slowly, "we could make it together. So now you know what mine was. Um, so what was your favorite meal?" 

His eyes gleamed over in thought as he leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. It wasn't often they talked about trivial things like favorite childhood foods, but it wasn't on the list of triggers Dr. Aurelius had given and that was all Katniss was concerned with as she watched his face carefully. Just because it wasn't on the list didn't mean Peeta would react lightly to topics of his family. His episodes were sparse, but it was always best to be safe.

"It sounds silly," Peeta chuckled, pulling her out of her worry, "but I loved when my dad would make fresh bread for dinner." It wasn't the answer she expected from the baker's son and her face must have shown her surprise. "I've told you we always got stuck with the stale bread—the bread no one wanted," he explained, "but on special occasions, Dad would make a fresh loaf of bread for us. Sometimes add in raisins, if we were really lucky. It was really rare, but I remember jumping up and down whenever I'd smell bread baking in our apartment's kitchen." He sheepishly smiled and looked down at his bowl of soup. "It's stupid, I know, Katniss, but it is what it is." 

"I don't think it's stupid," she comforted, taking his hand in hers. "I...I think it's sweet, Peeta. I'm glad those memories aren’t—aren't gone." His hand squeezed hers back in response and they resumed eating in silence.

Baking bread was a lot harder than Peeta made it out to be. 

It was ridiculous, really. She'd made bread plenty of times with the tesserae grains her family received. But everything seemed simple back then—her mother and sister, their tiny, dilapidated house in the Seam. Even the bread was simple, but nothing made sense any more. Not even the stupid, complicated bread recipe.

She followed every step closely. Double-checking just to be safe.

She put in every ingredient with care, like she’s seen Peeta do a thousand times and more.

But when it came time to pound out the dough, the whole project went awry. Images of Snow and Coin and Plutarch consumed her thoughts as she pounded the soft, malleable dough. Their faces smirking, toying with her, wanting. Her hands grew rougher with the dough, feeling used and spit out. They used her. Used them. Discarding them like unwanted waste when their purpose was done. And Prim. Prim. Prim. Prim. Sweet, little Prim. 

Her vision went black. Her chest heavy, lungs filling with smoke from the bombs. The bombs that killed little Prim.

Prim Prim Prim Prim

A sharp pain in her hand snapped her back to the kitchen. She was home, safe. Not the Capitol or the arena. Home. The pale dough was smeared red with her blood, her knuckles bruised and battered.

My name is Katniss Everdeen, she began her list, taking deep breaths in, eyes closed. I am at my house. I am safe. I am making bread. Today is Peeta’s birthday. I am making Peeta's favorite bread. I want to make him happy. Today is a Peeta’s birthday.

Her heartbeat slows. She cleans her hands, wrapping them in gauze, before pulling out the ingredients to start once more.

She double-checked the steps closely, pouring the ingredients into the bowl with care, just like Peeta.

Bread should not be this complicated.

The bread was almost finished baking when the grandfather clock tolled the hour, telling her Peeta would be home any minute. Katniss sat on the floor, face pressed against the oven window, still covered in flour, and watched the loaf continue to bake. Her face was tear stained and puffy, her knuckles still ached after all these hours, but part of her felt proud for sticking it out and finishing the bread for Peeta, instead of running to her bed or closet. It was definitely an improvement from months ago. 

The front door opened, startling her from her bread watch, and Katniss scrambled to her feet and patted some of the flour off her pants.  

"Happy birthday!" she cheered when Peeta stepped into the kitchen. 

His face broke out into a smile and laughed, looking around the flour covered kitchen. "I see you've been busy." He ran a finger across the countertop and rubbed the flour between his finger and thumb. “Flour? Do I smell bread?” 

"I made dinner. Your favorite meal." 

She couldn't help but laugh along when he asked in surprise, "You did?" 

"For your birthday,” she explained, taking his coat and tossing it aside. She pulled out a chair for him and told him to sit as she went and got him a drink. “You always do the cooking, but not on your birthday. We’re making birthdays special now. And I wanted to make your favorite meal because I thought it’d—you know, make you happy.”

His hand found hers, his thumb lightly tracing her bandage. Her breath stilled, unsure if he’d ask about it and ruin the happiness she felt stirring in her chest, seeing him happy, like her Peeta. But his smile grew, his blue blue eyes warming, causing her smile to grow until they both looked like deranged fools. The aroma of baked bread filled the small kitchen, making their stomachs growl.

“It’s perfect, Katniss. Really.” She shrugged like it meant nothing, but her stomach fluttered more when his hand didn’t let go of hers, and she told him the bread should be ready any minute.

The bread wasn’t burnt, like a certain loaf all those years ago, and it wasn’t perfect, like the loaves he made, but Peeta proclaimed it was the best bread he’d ever had.

“I just wanted to make you happy,” Katniss shyly told him again, blushing at his compliment. “After all you’ve done for me, it’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you for making this a memorable birthday, Katniss.” The earnestness in his voice proved he meant every word and it was then that she felt that familiar stirring, deep inside her. It felt warm and full and without even thinking about if this would set them back, she kissed him. Soft on the lips.

“Happy birthday, Peeta,” she whispered and laughed when he quickly pulled her closer for another.

[seagreen-meets-grey]

When Lightning Strikes Ch. 8

When your life is nothing but a cloudless sky, lightning can come and strike you so unexpectedly, you won’t even know what hit you.

Or: When Hiccup and Astrid meet, it is as if lightning strikes.

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18] [Chapter 19] [Chapter 20]

Crossposted on ao3 and ff.net

_______________

Her parents weren’t home when Astrid arrived. Letting herself in through the backdoor, she scanned the place, grabbed a handful of chocolate chips from the living room table and trudged up the stairs to her old bedroom that now served as a guest room.

The sheets were clean and not a single wrinkle dared to disturb the still sea of cream-colored linen. She felt like she just walked into one of the catalogues her mother had stacked in the giant, neat bookshelf downstairs. The only thing missing was the overly enthusiastic model having the time of her life feeling the fabric, and the book and glass of water decorating the nightstand to give a domestic impression. Looking around, Astrid found only the fine layer of dust on all surfaces betraying the perfect picture.

She dropped her duffle bag onto the tidy floor and let herself flop onto the mattress. Taking a deep breath, she could smell the detergent; the same one her mother had been using for as long as she remembered. Suddenly, she felt fifteen again, but in a room where no sports clothes and equipment littered the floor, the desk wasn’t covered in books and school supplies, and the walls weren’t decorated with pictures of friends and family and her rigorous, color-coded life plan.

Most of the photos now hung in her own living room, in-between several new ones, her wedding picture framed in the middle. The giant poster of her life plan was collecting dust amidst old furniture and boxes stuffed with her old toys in the basement two stories below. It wasn’t like that thing had worked out, anyway. Be the manager of an elite swim team at thirty? She still had a few years to go, but considering how she’d been training the same team of kids for a while now, that goal didn’t seem very realistic.

Not that that wasn’t the only part of the plan, which she’d designed way back in middle school, that hadn’t gone as she’d once been sure it would. The plan had considered boyfriends during her years of building her career, but no marriage and kids until she had the position she wanted. When Eret had proposed to her years before she’d even come close to that goal, and she’d said yes, she’d practically blown the whole plan to bits. And with everything else unexpected that had happened to her around the same time, she’d realized she couldn’t meticulously plan her whole life.

She pushed memories of that brief period away by jumping up and connecting her phone to her old stereo. To loud music, she danced through her room with a rag and a bottle of cleanser, singing and polishing every surface and every corner to the beat.

When she was done, she moved the party downstairs and set the table for dinner. In the past year and a half of being a wife, she’d jokingly donned an apron once a week and put her hair in an old-fashioned bun, waving a spatula around and putting on the act of a housewife from the fifties, much to her husband’s amusement. But both of them knew she only did this so she could practice her cooking skills, because she was too proud to admit that she didn’t have any.

Which was why there were pots of gratinated cauliflower, potatoes, and corned beef on the table when first her mother’s, then her father’s car appeared in the driveway. The meat had ended up too dry, but that’s why she’d prepared enough sauce in wise foresight. All in all, she was very proud of her achievement.

Her parents did a double-take when they came in and followed the clang of dishes into the kitchen where their daughter was washing pots and pans, surrounded by an utter chaos of cooking ingredients and supplies.

“Surprise,” Astrid grinned at their baffled reactions.

“I knew that was your car outside. What are you doing here?” her father asked. “Not that we’re not happy to see you, but you haven’t been to Berk in months.”

Her mother hung her jacket in the hallway and put her keys in the key holder under the cupboard with the spices, taking in the sight before her. “Did you cook?!”

“You don’t have to act so incredulous.” Upon both her parents’ raised eyebrows, she rolled her eyes. “Yes, I made dinner and it’s not poisoned. Now would you please eat it before it gets cold?”

Drying her hands on her apron, she took it off and joined her curious parents at the table, ignoring their slightly doubtful expressions when they eyed the food.

She took a bite of potato and reached the same conclusion as her mother. “Way too much salt,” Wilma commented, scrunching her nose. “But the sauce is delicious.”

Although she didn’t like to hear it sometimes, Astrid had always appreciated her mom’s honest criticism. It’s how she knew what she could do and what needed to be better. There was no talking around bullshit in the Hofferson house.

Which was why she held her chin up high and sat upright, conveying the notion of confidence and an abundance of shameful failure that she had to hide, while they all bravely put more sauce on their food. She celebrated her small victory when every pot was clean and every stomach full.

“Are you staying the night?” her father asked, scraping the last bit of under-salted cauliflower from his plate.

“Actually, I’m gonna stay a bit longer.” She immediately felt two pairs of eyes set on her face as she started collecting plates and cutlery. Unperturbed, she looked up and shrugged. “Eret’s on a convention for two weeks and I didn’t want to sit alone at home all day. And since you keep asking me to visit more, I thought I’d swing by for a while.”

“Since when are you sitting at home all day?” her father asked. “Don’t they have any dogs to train at the moment?”

The long answer would have been that ever since the Breakneck Adventure Park over in Bog had opened and the Raven Point Zoo had had a series of vandalism cases, the popularity and financial situation of RPZ had forced every department to cut salaries, even over in the attached dog obedience school Astrid worked at. Either a whole lot of people needed to get a dog that they needed help with training really soon, or their PR team had to come up with a better solution.

She settled for the short answer. “Not really.”

Her father looked like he wanted to discuss her occupational situation further, but she really didn’t want to get into it at the moment. She missed the dogs. Talking about her issues wasn’t what she came here for; it was rather the opposite. She wanted to distract herself, push away everything she seemed to be failing at.

“Do we have cake?” She opened the fridge and a few cupboards, coming up empty.

Her mother shook her head. “There’s ice cream in the freezer.”

Astrid made a half-hearted attempt at checking, but she didn’t really want ice cream. Ice cream was for summer days and break-ups, and neither the former nor the latter applied to her right now. If she wanted to overstuff herself and quiet the craving she’d had since last night, she needed cake. And if there was none in the house, she would find a way to get her hands on it somehow. With a determined nod, she set her agenda for the next day.

She slept until noon, went shopping for ingredients, and looked up the easiest cake recipe she could find; one even she couldn’t mess up. It ended up a little too crispy anyway.

Trying not to think of what Eret might be doing or not doing at any given moment, she flipped through every magazine her mother had during the next three days, even the catalogues. Still asleep when her parents went to work, they usually found her lounging on the couch when they came back, or dozing in the hammock in the garden.

Her mother asked her about Eret at least twice a day and Astrid quickly grew tired of telling her that he was doing fine. She knew what her mom wanted to hear from her, but she wasn’t going to open up that can while she was browsing through the latest IKEA catalogue for the fifth time as if it was the most fulfilling activity in the world.

On her fifth day back at her parents’ house, she went into battle with the kitchen again and baked three cakes – the first one ended up too dry, the second was perfect except that she forgot to add sugar, and the chocolate cream she added to the third was way too sweet. She ate the whole thing that night and regretted it in the morning when she woke up feeling sick and frustrated.

Pushing away any stupid upcoming worries related to sickness in the morning, she finally decided to leave the house. If everything she’d left at her own house was catching up to her at her island of refuge, she wanted to do nothing else than run. Channel everything into her muscles, kick at the ground with every step, show the world that this was something she could do perfectly.

She got up and opened the window, then got dressed while the fresh air cleared her head and chased away the queasiness. After she splashed cold water in her face, she already felt much better.

When she came downstairs, her parents were sitting at the breakfast table reading the newspaper, the radio playing the usual morning program in the background. Surprised that she was up so early on a Saturday compared to the past days, they eyed her running gear while she poured herself a glass of orange juice.

“Aren’t you going to sit with us?” her mother asked.

Astrid shook her head and chugged down the juice. “I’ve been neglecting my training. I have to catch up.” She knew that her mother wouldn’t object to that. And it wasn’t as if she was lying; she did need to train more, especially now that the swimming hall was closed for renovations and her assistant had taken over training the kids at the place that belonged to that damned theme park in Bog. Heaven forbid she betrayed her principles and supported that place in any way, shape or form. But if she sat down now, she might have to listen to her mother asking her about her home life once again.

“But tonight we’re going out for dinner, okay?” her father shouted after her when she’d already grabbed a banana and was halfway out the front door.

“Sure!” she yelled back and then she was gone.

She ate her banana and stretched on the lawn before she put the peel in the trash and fell into a brisk pace, heading down the street. Running felt invigorating, like throwing off a heavy coat and allowing her cells to be injected with life again.

A soft morning breeze caressed her skin and the beams of the May sun on her back promised another warm day, even though the browning leaves in the front gardens she passed were screaming for it to rain.

The whole city was in bloom. Streets were glowing in white, pink and lavender, rich greens adorned the trees, petals and pollen were flying through the air, and Astrid was glad she didn’t have any allergies. A particularly beautiful patch of blue, orange and yellow flowers made her slow down for a moment, listening to the bumblebees buzzing around the vibrant colors. Breathing in the pleasant fragrance, she continued down a narrow path towards the park.

She hadn’t bothered to bring her phone and headphones, taking in the performances of various arias pleasantly filling her ears from every direction. A family of ducks crossed her path at the entrance of the park, heading for the lake that stretched through the whole park like a still river. The water was glistening in the sun, its smooth surface disrupted by water birds going about their morning activities and various insects dancing at the top. Plenty of people were already out and about, runners like her, people with their dogs, a few families. A young couple with a child in a stroller caught her eye and she ran faster.

Concentrating solely on the road and the rhythm of her feet and breath, she shut out everything else, as if she were wearing blinders. She counted to ten, sprinted, slowed down, started anew, until her lungs began to burn and her feet were stomping harder on the gravel.

Life was good. Despite her payment cuts, her mostly self-imposed lack of exercise, and what happened last weekend at home, she was okay. A failure wasn’t a failure if she could overcome it. It was just a minor hiccup on the road… Ha.

One and a half years later and even the word made her stomach drop. She was back in Berk, not just in the outskirts to get to Raven Point for work, to the swimming hall for training, or to her parents’ house for one afternoon. If she didn’t want to return to a quiet house where she would anxiously wait for her husband’s return, she would have to get over her paranoia that she could run into the one person in all of Berk she didn’t want to see. Or rather couldn’t allow herself to see.

One and a half years and he was still on her mind. Not every day, sometimes not even for weeks, but he was like that annoying mosquito in her bedroom that, no matter how often she killed it, always respawned the next night. Perhaps if she kept comparing him to obnoxious, bloodsucking insects, her feelings about him would finally change.

She should have brought music. Then she could have just turned up the volume of the most energetic songs she had on her phone and drowned out every thought. Although the rush of running had shaken the layer of lazy languor from her limbs, she’d opened the corner of her mind that she’d successfully blocked with ignorance up until now.

She started counting her steps, just to have something to focus on in order to keep her mind from spiraling.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…

She was at forty-nine when she evaded an old couple on their bicycles, and an ice cream cart on the other side of the lawn caught her eye.

It wasn’t so much the cart that made her heart stop out of the blue, without any preamble. It was the tall figure waiting in line, it was the auburn hair burning on his head like fire in the sun, it was the magnetism that instantly made her recognize him by pulling at her soul like the moon pulled at the ocean.

She tripped and caught herself on the next best thing, which happened to be a young man with dark hair and a dog leash hanging around his neck like the world’s longest, ugliest open tie.

“Whoa, there!” The guy put a hand on her arm, a flirty grin on his face. “No need to fall for me, although I understand why you might.”

Momentarily confused, she blinked at him flexing his bicep and unabashedly checking her out. “What?”

He winked. “You should come to the gym with me some time to work out, you look like you work out.”

“What?” she repeated, her brain only slowly catching up to the situation. Her head turned by itself, seeking out the ice cream cart, but there was only a kid delicately balancing two huge cones with ice cream running down his fingers. She blinked. Had she only imagined – no. There he was, a few paces to the left, coming towards her. Coming towards her.

She completely froze, her line of sight pinned to his face, ears deaf to the lame pickup lines still coming out of the guy’s mouth like a waterfall. Then he looked her way, and the moment blue eyes locked onto green, she was transported back to Dagur’s party where she’d felt like a bolt of lightning had shot straight through her.

He stopped short and stared with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape, face white as linen. Time slowed down, an eternity of mere seconds passed, the universe narrowing down to its only two inhabitants.

“Hey, are you alright?”

The guy’s voice yanked her back to planet Earth and she realized she was still holding onto his shoulder, spacing out in the middle of the path like an idiot. Her heart started to beat again at full capacity and she remembered how to fill her lungs with oxygen.

“I… sorry,” she stammered and bolted, lightning fueling her, and she sprinted and sprinted, away from the green emeralds boring into her back. Out of sight, out of mind, until she had used up all of her adrenaline and her legs gave out underneath her.

_______________

Hiccup’s understanding of space and time momentarily vanished. Gravity was an illusion. Down was up and up was down. Were dragons real? Words had no meaning. Tuna was a lie. A frying pan was a kind of bird. Colors tasted like witchcraft. The eyes of Astrid Hofferson were even more captivating than he remembered.

He was certain only that last one was true. It was a mystery to him how his heart was still beating. He didn’t register the ice cream escaping his grasp and painting a trail down his jeans onto his shoes. He was too occupied staring after the blonde ponytail swinging on her back, shorter than he remembered, as her frame became smaller and smaller until she rounded a corner and was but a fading melody riding the waves of the aftershocks she caused to his heart and soul.

“Dude, people are staring!”

Hiccup blinked a few times before shaking the haze off his brain and following the source of the complaint to the man in front of him.

“Did you shit your pants or something? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Checking just to be sure, he shook his head. No, he did not shit his pants. He wasn’t so sure about seeing a ghost, though. With an awkward cough, he returned to reality and frowned at the sticky stains on his clothes. Typical.

“Who– who were you just talking to?” he carefully asked his old friend, hoping desperately he hadn’t imagined her.

Snotlout’s face changed from embarrassed to overconfident in the blink of an eye. “That hot chick over there?” With his thumb, he pointed over his shoulder in the direction she had just disappeared to. “Yeah, she totally digs me. Wouldn’t admit it, but she did.”

“Did she tell you her name?”

“Psh, Hiccup, my man. Names are for second dates only.”

Hiccup raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Let me guess, she didn’t even talk to you and only accidentally bumped into you?”

Snotlout opened his mouth, closed it, then turned and whistled for his dog.

“Thought so,” he mumbled and followed Snotlout to where the man’s dog was pulling so hard on its leash it wasn’t exactly clear who was the master of whom. Before they made their way back to Snot’s apartment, Hiccup looked back once more, as if the remaining ghost of her presence would show itself and talk to him. But she was long gone.

On their way back into the city, Hiccup barely said a thing, still miles away. But it wasn’t like he was needed to fill the air with conversation since Snotlout was talking nonstop. Hiccup managed a comment here and there, but if he’d been asked what they’d been talking about when they reached the apartment, he would have been unable to answer.

The inside of the apartment was, to his nonexistent surprise, a mess. Dog toys and barbells were lying everywhere, one side of the rundown couch was full of dog hair, and it smelled of bacon and sweat. But what struck Hiccup the most was the nearly bald fir tree in the corner. Dry needles covered the ground and mismatched baubles and an assortment of cheap wooden decorations were desperately clinging to the twigs like a last lifeline.

“Really? Still?” he asked while Snotlout put dog food in a bowl. “I thought you wanted to throw that thing away weeks ago.”

Snotlout shrugged. “Eh. Didn’t seem worth the effort. It’s almost Christmas soon again, anyway.”

“It’s May, Snot.”

“So? As soon as I buy a new one, I just have to put the balls from one tree to the other. No need to cram everything back on the shelf.” He opened a can of coke and flopped onto the clean end of the couch.

With a defeated sigh, Hiccup decided to free the tree from its misery and started with taking off the wooden stars. In the background, Snotlout was scrolling through his phone and slurping his coke.

“Snot.”

“What?”

“At least bring me the boxes these go in.”

He heard a series of groans and shuffling, a few choice swear words, then an armful of cartons were unceremoniously dropped next to him and the slurping started anew. Sometimes, Hiccup wondered why they were friends. But some bonds just seemed to miraculously never break.

His mind wandered to the park again, to the blonde ponytail highlighted by the sun, to the two blue orbs circling his thoughts ever since. He was electrified in such a familiar way, his heart speeding up again at the mere memory of her frozen face as she stared back at him.

“I think it was Astrid,” he blurted out, for fear he would burst if he didn’t voice it.

The slurping stopped. “Who?”

“The girl from earlier. The one you probably drove off with your obnoxious flirting.”

Snotlout was quiet for a moment. “Am I really that awful?”

Hiccup had to smile despite himself. That was why he was still friends with Snotlout Jorgenson. Because as irritable and annoying and full of himself he was most of the time, underneath all that there was a boy who actually cared. Cared what women thought of him, what his father thought of him, even what Hiccup thought of him. It was rare that he showed his vulnerable side and Hiccup always made sure not to tease him about his honesty, aware of the trust his friend put in him.

“Depends on what you said this time. Maybe stop diving in full force every time a woman so much as glances at you. Usually, they don’t like that.”

The slurping continued, followed by a loud belch. “I can’t believe I’m taking advice from you. You’re not exactly the king of the ladies. And if that in the park was Astrid, then I can’t even begin to tell you how far out of her league you are.”

Hiccup didn’t need to be told that. He’d always known that she was unattainable for him, just not for the reason Snotlout thought. There’d been a connection between them, and if he’d considered it only a hopeful fragment of his imagination at first, he’d definitely felt it the last time he’d seen her.

“Jingle bells, Hiccup smells, Astrid ran away. She will never love you back and Snotlout is the king!”

“That’s not what happened.” Hiccup regretted telling him about her. In his defense, though, that had been after Snot had put extra rum in his tea during the Christmas party thrown by the neighborhood they’d grown up in together. And if the woman from the park had indeed been her, then he refused to believe that she’d run away. General running, that’s what she’d been doing. The athletic kind.

“Jingle bells, Astrid smells, Hiccup ran away. He is such an idiot and Snotlout is the king!”

“She doesn’t smell,” Hiccup mumbled, overwhelmed by the sudden memory of her flowery scent when he’d stood so close to her under the canopy. When he’d come to her wedding in an attempt to make peace with the fact that they could never be together. Because he’d been too late; because it wouldn’t have mattered. She loved another man that she would spend the rest of her life with, and coming to her wedding day of all times to tell her he wanted to be that man would not have been fair. She’d made her decision and he couldn’t just tell her what to do.

Maybe he really was an idiot.

A part of him wanted to drill Snotlout for details, ask what exactly she’d said, if she’d said anything at all. Ask if she still had a nose speckled with tiny freckles and ask if her eyes still resembled a clear blue summer sky.

But he didn’t. He’d sworn to get over her, and so far, that had worked… Or maybe not, he’d just chosen to ignore it and to tell himself he wasn’t still thinking about her.

“What about Angela?” it came from the couch, accompanied by the metallic crinkling sound of an empty can. “She seemed to like you. Or Crankyhead McPurplepants.”

“You mean Kristy?”

“If she’s the cranky one with the purple pants, then yeah.”

Hiccup shrugged. “None of them worked out.” A few months ago, he’d downloaded a dating app and dived into the world of online dating, only to delete his profile and create a new one every other week in a vicious cycle of loneliness and breakups when none of them could smother the fire for long that she’d started within him. He was completely and utterly hung up on a girl he barely knew and yet felt deep in his heart every time a storm was raging through the sky and bolts of lightning illuminated the night.

And if he spent the majority of the next day on a bench in the park where he’d seen her yesterday, then that was just a coincidence. Because even the prospect of being friends with her seemed impossible, and who was to say he hadn’t merely imagined her? Maybe he’d seen someone who looked a lot like her, maybe even a cousin or some kind of doppelganger designed to torment him.

But she didn’t show up again. His stomach was growling and he felt restless, his right leg jiggling up and down like a bouncy ball on a sugar rush. Who was he kidding, anyway? He was just being pathetic. Giving up with a heavy heart, he left the park and went to the only place in Berk that sold his favorite cheap sandwiches on a Sunday evening.

Entering the main kiosk at Berk Central Station, he headed straight for the fridge, deciding between turkey and tuna, and ending up grabbing both sandwiches. It was only when he turned around that he caught sight of the small corner with the drugstore products.

Her hair was hanging over her shoulder in a slightly messy braid that she kept absentmindedly fiddling with. The jeans she was wearing had a large coffee stain at the side. The letters on her hoodie read Berk Vikings Swim Team and a year in Roman numerals. She was frowning at something on the shelf in front of her.

He blinked once, twice, to make sure it was really her, here, in this very kiosk, at this very moment in time.

Before he could overthink it, he walked up to her and, only hesitating for a few seconds, reached out his hand to touch her shoulder ever so slightly. She winced the same moment he pulled back his hand from the shock that had just rushed through his fingertips at the contact.

She turned around in question and time froze once more.

He swallowed hard. “Hey.”

[idratherbebaking]

I've decided that my goal is to bake (at least) one thing every week this year. (because baking makes me feel good and I don't always remember to do things that make me feel good which really does not help when you've got The Depression) I will call this year #20-oven on (a la MBMBaM).

First up: a king cake for Epiphany (baked on Jan. 6, and I do love that working from home meant I could bake bread on a weeknight!)

the recipe: New Orleans King Cake from American Cake by Anne Byrn

the bake: To start with, I had rapid rise yeast instead of active dry. Instead of following the recipe (dissolve yeast in warm water, mix in other liquids, then add flour) I went for the Paul Hollywood method: flour in bowl, salt and yeast on opposite sides, add liquid and mix by hand.

Kneaded by hand for a while (recipe says 5 minutes, I didn't keep track but I think it was probably closer to 10). Probably could have done with more kneading, it was still a little lumpy and not very elastic... Left it to rise under a damp towel.

Took a little more than an hour to about double in size. Probably would have risen faster in the bedroom, which is the warmest room in the house, but I worried I'd forget about it back there! Had to rig an extension to my mat for rolling it out to 26"x9". Added melted butter, then brown sugar and cinnamon.

It'd be nice to figure out a way to more evenly distribute the filling... Maybe mixing the butter and brown sugar and spreading it on would work? I'll think on it.

So, next step is to roll up from the long side, form it into a ring, and let it rise again on a parchment-covered baking sheet. I skipped over the bit about brushing the edge with water to seal the seam, and when sealing the ends together. This will be important later.

(pre- and post-second rise)

Baked for about 30 minutes at 350. Remember that note about how I didn't bother sealing the roll with water? There was quite a bit of leakage. Ha, whoops!! (I'm not complaining about having chunks of melted butter+brown sugar to munch on, or the sort of caramelized underside it gave to the roll, though.)

the verdict: Pretty good!! Not overly sweet, but doesn't need any icing. There's a little nutmeg in the dough that gives it a nice depth. I would definitely make this again, maybe with some additional spices in the filling, or some lemon zest or something... It'll be completely gone within about 48 hours of being finished and there are only 2.3 people in this house to eat it.

#20-oven on is off to a great start.

[wanderbitesbybobbie]

RECIPE: EASY 4-INGREDIENTS NO-YEAST PIZZA CRUST

The art of kneading (masa in Filipino) dough has been an essential part of my life as a pastry chef. In my previous job in “Oliveto”, an Italian Fine Dining Restaurant in Sydney, I make at least 20 kgs of Ciabatta Dough everyday and every Friday, I make about 70 to 100 pieces of Herbed Focaccia Bread. This has been my ritual every 10:00 AM before lunch service. Kneading has been my best friend more than piping or decorating dainty Italian Pastries. When I relocated by the beach, I found a new job at a pastry shop at Bondi (where I lived in Sydney). They served almost everything, from a variation of muffins and cakes to bagels and sandwiches. I thought I graduated from the kneading part, but guess what? I’m back to kneading… and the funny part? I start my kneading job at 4:00 in the morning before the shop opens at 6:00 AM. It just moved to an earlier schedule! This time, it’s not Ciabatta and Focaccia anymore. I make Brioche Breads, Sourdough, Baguettes, Hand-Crafted Donuts, Cinnamon Sticky Buns and Nutella Rolls. I also make Croissants, Danish, and some other pastries made of laminated dough, which also requires a more complicated kneading technique. But why am I blabbering about kneading anyway?

This is a quick and easy pizza recipe, but though it only has 4 simple ingredients, it still requires you to knead the dough. It’s not just a simple mix-all-ingredients kind of thing. Flour and water when mixed together creates gluten. The kneading process will add the strength and volume to your dough to form just the right amount of gluten to make your pizza crust. Don’t worry, I will assist you step-by-step and just like my previous Cabbage Rolls recipe, I have provided photos to make it easier for all of us. Let’s start unleashing the baker in you! So… Let’s go!

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Serves: Double Recipe makes 3, 8 inches thin crust pizzas. Single Recipe makes 2, 6 inches thin crust pizzas

Baking Time: BLIND BAKE AT 15-20 mins; FINAL BAKE AT 20-30 mins

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH (Double Recipe: Makes 3, 8″ inches thin crust pizza)

4 cups All-Purpose Flour * (prepare additional 1 cup for dusting)

2 cups warm water*

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. salt

FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH (Single Recipe: Makes 2, 6″ inches thin crust pizza)

2 cups All-Purpose Flour* (prepare additional 1 cup for dusting)

1 cup warm water*

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. salt

* Chef’s Notes: Your pizza crust texture will depend on the kind of flour you will use. I have specified here All-Purpose Flour because it is the easiest to find in Supermarkets. But, if you want your crust to be more glutenous (springy), you can use Bread Flour or a mix of Bread Flour and All-Purpose Flour in a 1:1 ratio. Bread Flour has more protein content, thus producing more gluten when you knead your dough. Also, make sure you are using WARM WATER. Not boiling, and not too hot, just warm. We need warm water because this recipe does not have any leavening agent like yeast or baking soda or baking powder. The warm water will act as the “natural glue” when we combine all ingredients together. Remember, we are using vegetable oil. We don’t want the oil to solidify while we are mixing everything together, thus the warm water. 

PROCEDURE:

FIRST OF, PRE-HEAT YOUR OVEN AT 200*C or 180*C (if you’re using a convection oven)

1. In a mixing bowl, put together all the pizza dough ingredients. Mix them together with a spatula or spoon until there are no flour lumps. The mixture will be sticky at first, but don’t panic. Just keep on mixing. If you have a stand mixer, mix everything using the hook attachment.

Chef’s Notes: If the mixture is still sticky after everything is incorporated together, add a bit of flour little by little about a tablespoon at a time. This dough recipe will tell you straight-forward what it needs. If it’s too sticky, it needs a bit more flour, if it’s too dry it needs a bit more water. Work (knead) the dough until you reach a consistency that doesn’t stick to your fingers or to the bowl anymore. But also making sure that it is still soft to touch. Do not attempt to knead the dough more if you feel like it’s a bit dry already. This might result into an “overworked” pizza dough, making your pizza crust really hard when it’s baked.

2. If you have reached the soft dough stage, weigh your final product. If you are using the double recipe, the final product will weigh more or less 1098 g. Divide the dough by three and knead it into round balls, 366 g each ball to make 8″ pizza crust. The weight may vary depending on how much flour or water you have added into the mixture. After this stage, rest the pizza dough for about 10 to 15 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

  3. While your dough is resting, prepare your toppings.

  4. After the dough has rested, dust a flat surface with flour to make sure the dough does not stick on the surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough  into 8″ flat round (or 6″ if you’re using Single Recipe), about 1/2 inch in thickness. The thickness will depend on your preference, but for this particular recipe, it is meant to be thin-crust as it will not rise up with the absence of yeast or any leavening agent.

  5. Dust an aluminum pan with flour and carefully transfer your pizza dough into the dusted pan. With a dough docker, or a fork, or toothpick, dock the pizza dough. Docking is the process of poking small holes into a dough. This prevents the dough from puffing up by parts during blind baking. This is a very essential process if you are working with a dough that was kneaded with yeast, but it’s best to apply this practice even without the yeast.

Chef’s Notes: BLIND BAKING is the process of pre-baking the dough without the filling or toppings. This is usually done when your filling or toppings take a shorter time to bake than your crust. You blind bake your crust to make sure it is fully baked before you put the toppings on. Moreover, this gives the extra strength/stability for the crust to be able to hold all your toppings and sauces without the crust getting soggy. Blind baking doesn’t only apply to pizza dough. It is an important step when making pies with pre-cooked fillings like Apple Pie or a quiche.

!!! Blind bake your pizza dough in the oven for about 15 mins. at 200*C or 20 mins. at 180*C. After blind baking, take out your pizza crust to be topped with pizza sauce and your toppings.

6. You can use any Pizza Sauce of your choice. You can make your own pizza sauce from Tomato Sauce, herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and salt and pepper, or with whatever herbs or spices you would like to add. Or you can use a pre-made one like what I have used. 115 g of pizza sauce can exactly cover an 8″ round pizza crust.

  This Pizza Seasoning always comes in handy. *winks*

  7. Place the pizza sauce in the middle of the crust. Start from the center and spread cleanly up to the sides.

  8. You can do this with a small palette knife/off-set spatula or with the back of a spoon.

  9. After adding on your toppings, bake your pizza for about 20 minutes at 200*C or 30 minutes at 180*C.

  I MADE 3 FLAVORS FOR MY PIZZA.

YOU CAN FOLLOW MY FLAVORS OR YOU CAN GET MORE CREATIVE AND CREATE YOUR OWN. YOU CAN EVEN MAKE A DESSERT PIZZA LIKE BANANA NUTELLA OR CHOCOLATE MALLOWS PIZZA OR APPLE CINNAMON PIZZA. THE CHOICES ARE ENDLESS! HAVE FUN ON THIS PART!

Bacon Deluxe

4 strips of bacon (sliced into medium dice)

2 slices of ham (sliced into medium dice)

onions (sliced in round)

capsicum (aka bell pepper)

sliced button mushrooms

pineapple tidbits (sorry pineapple haters. pineapple wins. haha)

sliced black pitted olives

cheese (mozzarella/or any quick-melt cheese)

Japanese Tuna Garlic and Corn

Canned Tuna Flakes (hot and spicy)

Corn Kernels

Garlic (minced)

cheese (mozzarella/or any quick-melt cheese)

Japanese Mayonnaise (I put this after baking.)

All-Veggie (Vegan-Friendly)

Sliced Button Mushrooms

Corn Kernels

Garlic (minced)

Onions (sliced in thin rounds)

Pineapple Tidbits

Capsicum (sliced thinly, please don’t copy my laziness in slicing. Haha)

Tomatoes (sliced in wedges)

sliced Black Pitted Olives

    DO YOU HAVE EASY PIZZA RECIPES OR TECHNIQUES YOU WOULD LOVE TO SHARE?

DID YOU TRY THIS RECIPE? OR PLANNING TO TRY IT?

HOW DID IT GO? DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

LET ME KNOW! I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

            RECIPE: EASY 4-INGREDIENTS NO-YEAST PIZZA CRUST was originally published on WanderBitesByBobbie

[arplis]

Arplis - News: My 22 Goals for 2019

Goal #1 — Spend More Time Doing What I Love Little Miss Lucy Goose met her new vet this week and absolutely loves her. The fact that they give Lucy little treats while she’s getting her mani/pedi has something to do with it. Also, she is having a blast running around the yard now that it’s all fenced in. And just in time too! Three days after we finished, the ground froze. Goal #2 — Garden, Garden, Garden The day before the ground froze we planted a row of arborvitae trees along one side of the fence and moved 6 peony bushes to the side of the house. I would have liked to have gotten more done before the weather turned, but I am so very much ready for winter and all the calmness it brings to life here in New England. Having 4 true seasons, rocks. And I am looking forward to a restful winter. Goal #3 — Plant an Orchard {Calling it Quits on this one.} We are almost there!!! The first harvest could be anyway now. I’m just waiting for the color to deepen a bit. Goal #4 — Gussy Up the Potting Shed Done! I gussied up the potting shed at our old house, but I would like to add some sort of “potting station” to the backyard here somewhere, but I’m not sure where I would put it yet. Goal #5 — Grow Enough Extra Vegetables, Eggs and Flowers to Earn $1500 at my little roadside vegetable stand. It was totally my intention to grow a ton of fruits and vegetables to sell at the farm-stand when I made my list of goals for 2019 last winter, but then we moved. So, that whole goal was sort of a bust. Goal #6 — Finish Every Single Unfinished Rug Hooking Project in My Pattern Bin + 10 Things from back Issues of Magazines/Books I’ve Been Meaning to Make.  This week I didn’t hook a single rug, but I did hand dye and put together about 100 bundles of wool for my Etsy shop. I still have a few more colors to do, but after that, my Etsy shop should be stocked well into next year and I’ll be able to start hooking in earnest again. 73 rugs in my pattern bin {now down to 27} 183 hooked flowers {finished 150, now down to 33} 10 “things” from back issues of magazines {finished 0} Goal #7 — Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns {with at least half of them being large ones} DONE! So far this year I’ve added 12 new rug hooking patterns and 13 beginner rug hooking kits to my Etsy shop. New rug hooking patterns I’ve created and added to My Etsy Shop this year: Tullia and Thomas Turkey Double Nantucket Whale Runner Miss Henny and Penny Miss Penny Simple Kitty Primitive Flowers 2 Fat Cats Annabell’s Big Day Old Fashioned Double Tulip Fat Brown Hen Busy Little Bee Queen Bee Rug Hooking Kits Busy Little Bee {in 2 different colors} Folk Art Heart Small Nantucket Whale Primitive Crow Miss Robin {in 2 different colors} Simple Kitty Primitive Flowers Sunflowers A Basket of Spring Posies Fat Brown Hen Chicky’s Garden Goal #8 — Split and Stack 2 Cords of Wood for Next Winter  All that firewood! We sold it. 😉 Goal #9 — Do Something with the 5,002 Photos on My Phone Down to 2867. Goal #10 –-Lose the Muffin Top Done! I’m declaring Muffy gone. Thanks to the stress of moving and just getting outside and walking around more and working in the yard, Muffy has melted away. Goal #11 — Run, Walk or Crawl a 5k, 10k, Half Marathon and Marathon You are not going to believe this. The Girl had to work on Saturday, and so I asked my husband if he would do the 5K with me and he said YES. I couldn’t believe it. Luckily I had chosen a 5k with a run or walk option and so with it being a whopping 28 degrees outside, we weren’t the only ones there in jeans. 😉 The proceeds of the race went to Honor Flight Maine {a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s Veterans for all their service and sacrifices. Honor Flight Maine transport America’s heroes to Washington, D.C. to tour, experience and reflect at their memorials.} Now all that’s left is the Pastry and Tea Half Marathon before I can check this goal off my list. Goal #12 — Read or Listen to 26 New Books {21 down, 5 to go} Still listening to Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan. Books I’ve Read or Listened to So Far This Year: Marilla of Green Gables #1 Still my favorite The Great Alone #2 The Aviator’s Wife #3 Before We Were Yours #4 Secrets of a Charmed Life #5 Where’d You Go, Bernadette #6 Carnegie’s Maid #7 The Gown #8 Unbroken #9 Drama#10 The Alice Network #11 The Shape of Mercy #12 Will’s Red Coat #13 Big Little Lies #14 Mr. Churchill’s Secretary Born to Run I Feel Bad About My Neck Bunny Mellon  {Doesn’t count because it was my second time} On Writing {Doesn’t count because it was my third time} Walden Finder’s Keepers Delicious! Following Atticus Goal #13 — Try 52 New Recipes. 33 down, 19 recipes to go. Last week I shared a recipe for Turkey Salad. It’s the perfect recipe for using up those last pieces of turkey from Thanksgiving dinner. Goal #14 — Clean Up 52 Old Recipes on the Blog 9 down, 44 to go. I should get moving… because at this rate, I’ll be in the kitchen cooking the entire month of December. The poor bakeries. They’re going to suffer because I won’t be able to leave the house. Goal #15 — Fill 100 Canning Jars 48 down, 52 to go. No canning this past week and because I want to finish getting all that wool dyed, I won’t be canning anything this week either. Oddly enough though, I’m totally not even worried about reaching this goal. Peeps need their holiday jam, I’ll get it done. 🙂 So far this year I’ve I canned: 7 jars Peach Jam 7 jars of Strawberry Jam 15 jars of Carrot Cake Jam 15 jars of Spiced Pear Jam  4 jars of Almond Pears. Goal #16 — Finish Furnishing Our House I found a cadet blue vase at the thrift store this week {I found a pretty good one in town I like to pop in and check out every week} and brought it home. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with it yet, but I like it and didn’t want someone else to snatch it up. We also hung a reproduction vintage map of Maine that was printed with the E.B. White quote “I would rather feel bad in Maine than feel good anywhere else” in a handmade barnwood frame on the wall in the family room. I am going for a coastal look in there and things are starting to come together. I still need to make the roman shades and find {create?} a few more things for the walls, but I’m on track to get the room completed by the end of the month. Goal #17 – 52 Dates with the HH {38 down, 14 to go} We went on a lunch date to The Cheese Iron and walked a 5k together. 🙂 Goal #18 — Take One Adult Education Class Done {I’ve taken 3!} Block Printing Class with my neighbor. Spoon Carving Class with Heather. Mini pottery lesson {I loved it! and now I want to sign up for a full class} Goal #19 — Secret Holiday Project{s} One of my secret holiday projects this year was block print towels and another was to make a few seed packet wreaths. I do have a couple more projects that would  be perfect for gift giving up my sleeve, and plan to share those on the blog soon. Goal #20 — Create 12 Wowie Zowie Party Platters 6 down, 6 to go. I need to get my game on. Seriously, I am running out of time. Goal #21 — Visit 12 General Stores 9 down 3 to go. The HH and I have plans to check out another one this week. 🙂 🙂 🙂 H.B. Provisions in Kennebunk, Maine Chase’s Daily {I think it should count} Squam Lake Marketplace Harrisville General Store Dodge’s Store in New Boston, New Hampshire Zeb’s General Store in North Conway, New Hampshire Dan and Whit’s in Norwich, Vermont Hussey’s General Store in Windsor, Maine Goal #22 — Compete with Carole….. Get on My Front Door Game On Much to the horror of my husband, I stood out on the front porch this morning in my pj’s wrapped in a blanket and puffy coat to take this photo. 🙂 🙂 🙂  The corn, along with the big pumpkins on the porch will stay until the day after Thanksgiving. Absolutely NO Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. Leg lamp included. Front Door Bling I’ve Made So Far This Year to Compete with Carole: Late January : Valentine Heart Late February : Shamrock Late March : Giant Carrot May: White wave petunia hanging basket June/July: Tin Star and Flag Bunting August : Sunflower September: Indian corn and pumpkins October: Pumpkins and spinner do hickeys November: Indian corn and big pumpkins ************** How about YOU? What are your goals for 2019? If you told us about them HERE, check in! We want to know how you are doing. Because seriously, it’s so much easier to get those goals checked off your list when you have people rooting for you! 🙂 Have a great day everyone, Mavis You can read more about my 22 goals for 2019 HERE. Have a Great Day! The post – Week 45 of 52 appeared first on One Hundred Dollars a Month. This content was original published at One Hundred Dollars a Month and is copyrighted material. If you are reading this on another website it is being published without consent.          Comments I read The Aviator ‘s Wife on your recommendation and almost ... by Janice It been a week or 'Sprucing up' the house at our place this ... by HollyG I finished sewing all the panels (6 panels with 11 pieces each) ... by Mel Related Stories – Week 44 of 52 – Week 43 of 52 – Week 42 of 52 #12GoalsForTheNewYear

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/my-22-goals-for-2021

[shirtrose7-blog]

Fat-Burning Pumpkin Pie (The Wild Diet, Low-Carb, Low-Sugar, Paleo-Friendly)

Fat-Burning Pumpkin Pie (The Wild Diet, Low-Carb, Low-Sugar, Paleo Friendly)

Total time

1 hour 25 mins

Author: Abel James

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup almond flour

½ cup coconut flour

¼ cup flaxseed meal

1 teaspoon sea salt

6 tablespoons organic unrefined coconut oil, melted

1 cup full-fat unsweetened canned coconut milk

2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

2 tablespoon coconut palm sugar

Filling

1 (15-ounce) can 100% pumpkin puree (or 1 ¾ cups fresh pumpkin puree)

6 Medjool dates, pits removed

⅛ teaspoon organic stevia leaf extract

2 cups evaporated goat’s milk (or full-fat unsweetened canned coconut milk - just the thick cream on top - you'll need to use 2 cans)

4 tablespoons organic unrefined coconut oil (or grass-fed butter)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 egg (chicken or duck)

2 egg yolks (chicken or duck)

Instructions

Crust

Preheat the oven to 425°F, and grease a pie pan with coconut oil (be sure to grease the rim, too).

In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, almond flour, flaxseed meal, and salt.

Add the melted coconut oil, coconut milk, and maple syrup. Mix until well combined.

Press the dough into the greased pie pan, and freeze the pie shell while you make the filling.

Filling

In a blender, blend the pumpkin puree, dates, stevia, evaporated goat milk, coconut oil, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt until the dates are broken up and well-incorporated.

Add the egg and egg yolks and blend until combined. Taste (if you're ok with a bit of raw egg), and add a bit more coconut palm sugar, ginger, nutmeg, or salt, to taste.

Pour the filling into the pie shell, and line the rim of the pie pan with foil to cover the crust edges (so they don't burn). Bake for 15 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350℉. Bake until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool 2 hours. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Superfood Crust: Add 1 tablespoon royal jelly powder, ½ teaspoon reishi mushroom powder, and ½ teaspoon ashwagandha into the dry crust ingredients.

How to make this Paleo-Friendly: You can switch out the dairy on this recipe by using the thick cream that separates when refrigerating a can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk in place of evaporated goat’s milk.

Nut-Free Crust: To make our Buckwheat Molasses Crust, swap out the almond flour and coconut flour for 1½ cups buckwheat flour (not the same as wheat flour) and add a 1 tablespoon molasses to the crust ingredients.

3.2.2925

At the holiday dessert table, the best defense is a good offense.

You can’t make it through the holidays without an old-fashioned Pumpkin Pie.

But this time of year, Frankensweets are everywhere. Most desserts are packed of refined sugars and oils, artificial flavors, gluten, and worse – all of which contribute to a whole host of health problems and weight gain.

Sure, you could just follow the advice in checkout-aisle magazines that scream, “Give up everything delicious this time of year so you don’t get fat!”

But you know what happens when you rely on willpower, don’t you? At some point, we find ourselves scarfing up every dessert in sight.

Eating delicious food is human nature. Deprivation doesn’t work.

So, instead of fighting it, run with it. You can enjoy a big slice of pie on Thanksgiving with our super-easy, no-fail, gluten-free, fat-burning Pumpkin Pie recipe that will have everyone coming back for seconds…

In fact, we had a Tribe member say she ate our pumpkin pie for three days straight and was totally not sorry. Why? Because our pumpkin pie has real food in it (and very little added sugar).

This is one Pumpkin Pie you can feel good about devouring. #glutenfree Click To Tweet

Every time we visit our family for the holidays, we end up making at least three of these pumpkin pies. And they disappear quickly.

No regrets.

This pumpkin pie is one of our staples this time of year. If you’re looking for a Wild, paleo-friendly dessert, this pie still fits into your fat-burning plan.

At the holiday dessert table, the best defense is a good offense—so arm yourself with fat-burning pie!

Here’s a challenge: Make this pie for your Thanksgiving dinner and see if anybody even realizes it’s a “healthy pie.” I bet they tell you it’s the best Pumpkin Pie they’ve ever tasted!

You can just smile and enjoy a big ol’ slice while everyone wonders how you look so great eating like this!

If you’re planning several gatherings, or you have a big family, just go ahead and double or triple the recipe. Don’t worry, it will be eaten.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anyone else getting hungry? I think it’s pie time. #Thanksgiving. Click To Tweet

How To Make This Pumpkin Pie A Superfood Powerhouse

Part of The Wild Diet is keeping sugar as low as possible, so we use dates to sweeten this pie instead of added processed sugars. We also love to add superfoods to our smoothies and treats to bump up the nutrient-density. Why add superfoods? Because these ingredients can make your “treat” a health powerhouse, full of: antioxidants, immune-boosters, anti-inflammatories, and even anti-aging benefits to turn back the clock.

Here’s how to make the Superfood Crust: Add 1 tablespoon royal jelly powder, ½ teaspoon reishi mushroom powder, and ½ teaspoon ashwagandha into the dry crust ingredients (in step 2 of the Crust Instructions). That’s it! No other adjustments are needed.

Make your dessert a superfood powerhouse. Click To Tweet

How to make this Paleo-Friendly: You can switch out the dairy on this recipe by using the thick cream that separates when refrigerating a can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk in place of evaporated goat’s milk.

Want to make this pie extra rich and decadent? Go ahead and switch duck eggs for the chicken eggs. There’s no turning back

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Before You Plan Your Holiday Menu…

We’ve got something that might make your life easier.

If you’re looking for even more Paleo, Wild, deliciously good fat-burning recipes for the holidays, come check out our Fat-Burning Chef eCookbook and get our Holiday Cookbook absolutely free when you order today!

If you’ve already purchased The Fat-Burning Chef, simply log into the download portal and download the Holiday Feasts eCookbook for free!

In the holiday cookbook, you’ll find two complete meals and decadent desserts including:

Maple Brined Roasted Turkey

Goji Cranberry Sauce

Better than Mashed Potatoes

Apple Sage Stuffing

Beef Tenderloin with Bordelaise Sauce

Green Bean Casserole

Decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake

Mint Hot Chocolate

Chai Spice Eggnog

Fruit Cake Bites

Pumpkin Cheesecake

and more!

PLUS you can get into the best shape of your life all year long with the Fat-Burning Chef cookbook full of delicious meals specially designed to help you melt off fat, even during the holiday season!

You won’t need a New Year’s Resolution—just click here to order the Fat-Burning Chef and get your free Holiday Cookbook free!

What’s your favorite holiday pie? Comment below to let us know!

Source: http://fatburningman.com/the-perfect-fat-burning-pumpkin-pie-the-wild-diet-low-carb-paleo-friendly/

[easyfoodnetwork]

Butter Chicken

If you’ve never had Butter Chicken, you’re in for a treat! This classic Indian dish takes chicken thighs and simmers them in a creamy tomato sauce packed with spices until the chicken is irresistibly tender. Serve over steamed jasmine rice and serve with warm naan bread!

If you love butter chicken, don’t miss out on our Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, this Coconut Curry Soup, or these Thai Chicken Skewers.

Classic Butter Chicken

If you’re a fan of Indian food, then chances are you’ve had classic Butter Chicken before. And if you have, chances are even higher that you have become a cult follower much like myself. If you’re not familiar, Butter Chicken is a classic Indian dish consisting of chicken thighs simmered in a creamy tomato sauce until the chicken is super tender and infused with the most delicious, creamy spice-infused tomato sauce.

If you’re a novice to the Indian food game, the spice the spice list we use may be unfamiliar to you, but don’t worry, because these days, you can find all of them at pretty much any grocery store. Garam masala is the dominant spice used in butter chicken (we will talk about the other spices below), and it has the most wonderful curry-like taste to it. It’s packed with spices, but it’s not “hot” spicy, in it you’ll find notes of coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, and pepper. It’s quite heavenly.

Spices in Butter Chicken:

Garam masala. We talked about garam masala up above, but the full list of ingredients includes cinnamon, mace, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and cardamon pods. So if you don’t have any of the spices below, you can always double up on the garam masala instead.

Cumin. Ground cumin adds a nice smoky note to the butter chicken.

Fenugreek. While this ingredient is definitely optional if you can’t find it, it does add a lovely savory element to the butter chicken.

Coriander. Ground coriander is actually the seed version of cilantro, so it has a similar flavor profile to it. I find that ground coriander is a little more smoky in flavor and love the way it compliments ground cumin.

Tumeric. If you’ve never used turmeric before, now is a great time to start. This vibrant orange spice give dishes a lovely yellow hue and has a nice warm ginger-like flavor to it.

Brown sugar. To balance out all those spices, you need a little bit of sweetness and brown sugar is my sugar of choice.

Ingredients in Butter Chicken:

Chicken. Classic butter chicken is made with chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are a lot more flavorful than chicken breasts and they can hold up to a long-simmered sauce. Unlike chicken breasts, chicken thighs become super tender and shred really well when they’ve cooked for a semi-long period of time.

Yogurt. Whole-milk yogurt is a classic ingredient in a lot of Indian dishes. Here, we use it to marinate the chicken, since it helps to tenderize it in the process.

Garlic, onion, and ginger. I mean, is any dish complete without a little garlic and onion?

Crushed tomatoes. You could also use whole tomatoes and crush them yourself, but buying them pureed already is such a time-saver.

Lemon juice. I love the acidic bright flavor lemons adds to butter chicken, it’s a must!

Heavy cream. A classic component of butter chicken is the cream sauce, and to achieve that, we use a good amount of heavy cream. It’s what makes butter chicken so luxurious.

Let’s make Butter Chicken!

Marinate the chicken. Marinating is a really important part of making butter chicken.Here’s what we do: Add chicken to a large plastic baggie. Add in yogurt, garam masala, cumin, tumeric, garlic cloves, ginger, and salt. Zip the bag shut and massage marinade into the chicken. Marinate for at least three hours, but no longer than 12. I find that you don’t need to marinate the chicken much longer than a few hours, but of course, if you’re prepping ahead of time, you can do it further in advance.

Cook the chicken. Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet to a medium-high heat. Add a little bit of olive oil and then sear the chicken. Sear for 3-4 minutes until brown and crusty, flip over and do the same on the other side.

Make the sauce. Once the chicken is brown, remove from the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add more olive oil, onions and garlic. Sauté until slightly softened. Stir in tomato sauce, remaining garam masala, remaining cumin, remaining salt, and tumeric, fungeek, coriander, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back to the pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.

Finish it off! Stir in the cream. Simmer another 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice with naan.

Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success

Make sure to get all the excess marinade off before searing the chicken otherwise, the bottom can burn.

If you don’t want to use heavy cream, you can swap out coconut milk or even light coconut milk.

If you’re really not into chicken thighs, you can use chicken breasts, but make sure you don’t overcook them.

Any kind of whole-milk plain yogurt will work, it doesn’t matter if it’s regular or Greek.

To add some sweetness and texture, I love to add in a handful of raisins and cashews. So yummy.

When searing the chicken, don’t try to flip it until it easily releases from the pan.

What to Serve with Butter Chicken:

The classic partners to butter chicken are steamed Jasmine rice and warm naan.

If you want a more substantial side, you could whip up a batch of these super crispy egg rolls.

Cilantro Lime Rice would be a nice update to plain steamed rice and would soak up all that delicious sauce wonderfully.

Can I make Butter Chicken in Advance?

Yes!!! In fact, this is just as good if not better the next day. Just make from start to finish, cool completely and store the chicken and sauce in one container and the rice in another container. Re-heat over a low heat until the chicken is up to temperature.

More Delicious Chicken Recipes to Try:

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken

Awesome Chicken Katsu 

Best Bourbon Chicken

Creamy Chicken Marsala

Honey Butter Baked Chicken

Print

Butter Chicken

If you've never had Butter Chicken, you're in for a treat! This classic Indian dish takes chicken thighs and simmers them in a creamy tomato sauce packed with spices until the chicken is irresistibly tender. Serve over steamed jasmine rice and serve with warm naan bread! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword butter chicken, indian chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 55 minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 565kcal

Author Nicole Leggio

Cost $25

Equipment

Cast iron skillet

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (greek is fine)

1 tbsp garam masala, divided

1 tsp cumin, divided

6 large garlic cloves, grated and divided

1 tbsp minced ginger, divided

2 tsp kosher salt, divided

2 tbsp olive oil

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1/2 lemon juiced

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1/2 tsp feungeek

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Add chicken to a large plastic baggie. Add in yogurt, 2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, tumeric, 3 garlic cloves, 2 tsp grated ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt. Zip the bag shut and massage marinade into the chicken. Marinate for at least three hours, but no longer than 12.

Once the chicken marinates. Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet to a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, sear the chicken. (Make sure there isn't a lot of excess marinade on the chicken.) Sear for 3-4 minutes until brown and crusty, flip over and do the same on the other side. The chicken should release easily from the pan when it's ready to turn. If needed, sear chicken in batches, you don't want to overcrowd the pan.

Once the chicken is brown, remove from the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add remaining olive oil, onions and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened. Stir in tomato sauce, remaining garam masala, remaining cumin, remaining salt, and tumeric, fungeek, coriander, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back to the pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. *If you want a cream sauce, add the sauce to a blender before adding the chicken back in, blend until smooth, return to the pan and then simmer the chicken.

Stir in the cream. Simmer another 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice with naan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 247mg | Sodium: 1614mg | Potassium: 1090mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1372IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 4mg

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/3kVbF1F https://ift.tt/348ARf5

If you’ve never had Butter Chicken, you’re in for a treat! This classic Indian dish takes chicken thighs and simmers them in a creamy tomato sauce packed with spices until the chicken is irresistibly tender. Serve over steamed jasmine rice and serve with warm naan bread!

If you love butter chicken, don’t miss out on our Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala, this Coconut Curry Soup, or these Thai Chicken Skewers.

Classic Butter Chicken

If you’re a fan of Indian food, then chances are you’ve had classic Butter Chicken before. And if you have, chances are even higher that you have become a cult follower much like myself. If you’re not familiar, Butter Chicken is a classic Indian dish consisting of chicken thighs simmered in a creamy tomato sauce until the chicken is super tender and infused with the most delicious, creamy spice-infused tomato sauce.

If you’re a novice to the Indian food game, the spice the spice list we use may be unfamiliar to you, but don’t worry, because these days, you can find all of them at pretty much any grocery store. Garam masala is the dominant spice used in butter chicken (we will talk about the other spices below), and it has the most wonderful curry-like taste to it. It’s packed with spices, but it’s not “hot” spicy, in it you’ll find notes of coriander, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, and pepper. It’s quite heavenly.

Spices in Butter Chicken:

Garam masala. We talked about garam masala up above, but the full list of ingredients includes cinnamon, mace, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and cardamon pods. So if you don’t have any of the spices below, you can always double up on the garam masala instead.

Cumin. Ground cumin adds a nice smoky note to the butter chicken.

Fenugreek. While this ingredient is definitely optional if you can’t find it, it does add a lovely savory element to the butter chicken.

Coriander. Ground coriander is actually the seed version of cilantro, so it has a similar flavor profile to it. I find that ground coriander is a little more smoky in flavor and love the way it compliments ground cumin.

Tumeric. If you’ve never used turmeric before, now is a great time to start. This vibrant orange spice give dishes a lovely yellow hue and has a nice warm ginger-like flavor to it.

Brown sugar. To balance out all those spices, you need a little bit of sweetness and brown sugar is my sugar of choice.

Ingredients in Butter Chicken:

Chicken. Classic butter chicken is made with chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are a lot more flavorful than chicken breasts and they can hold up to a long-simmered sauce. Unlike chicken breasts, chicken thighs become super tender and shred really well when they’ve cooked for a semi-long period of time.

Yogurt. Whole-milk yogurt is a classic ingredient in a lot of Indian dishes. Here, we use it to marinate the chicken, since it helps to tenderize it in the process.

Garlic, onion, and ginger. I mean, is any dish complete without a little garlic and onion?

Crushed tomatoes. You could also use whole tomatoes and crush them yourself, but buying them pureed already is such a time-saver.

Lemon juice. I love the acidic bright flavor lemons adds to butter chicken, it’s a must!

Heavy cream. A classic component of butter chicken is the cream sauce, and to achieve that, we use a good amount of heavy cream. It’s what makes butter chicken so luxurious.

Let’s make Butter Chicken!

Marinate the chicken. Marinating is a really important part of making butter chicken.Here’s what we do: Add chicken to a large plastic baggie. Add in yogurt, garam masala, cumin, tumeric, garlic cloves, ginger, and salt. Zip the bag shut and massage marinade into the chicken. Marinate for at least three hours, but no longer than 12. I find that you don’t need to marinate the chicken much longer than a few hours, but of course, if you’re prepping ahead of time, you can do it further in advance.

Cook the chicken. Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet to a medium-high heat. Add a little bit of olive oil and then sear the chicken. Sear for 3-4 minutes until brown and crusty, flip over and do the same on the other side.

Make the sauce. Once the chicken is brown, remove from the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add more olive oil, onions and garlic. Sauté until slightly softened. Stir in tomato sauce, remaining garam masala, remaining cumin, remaining salt, and tumeric, fungeek, coriander, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back to the pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.

Finish it off! Stir in the cream. Simmer another 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice with naan.

Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success

Make sure to get all the excess marinade off before searing the chicken otherwise, the bottom can burn.

If you don’t want to use heavy cream, you can swap out coconut milk or even light coconut milk.

If you’re really not into chicken thighs, you can use chicken breasts, but make sure you don’t overcook them.

Any kind of whole-milk plain yogurt will work, it doesn’t matter if it’s regular or Greek.

To add some sweetness and texture, I love to add in a handful of raisins and cashews. So yummy.

When searing the chicken, don’t try to flip it until it easily releases from the pan.

What to Serve with Butter Chicken:

The classic partners to butter chicken are steamed Jasmine rice and warm naan.

If you want a more substantial side, you could whip up a batch of these super crispy egg rolls.

Cilantro Lime Rice would be a nice update to plain steamed rice and would soak up all that delicious sauce wonderfully.

Can I make Butter Chicken in Advance?

Yes!!! In fact, this is just as good if not better the next day. Just make from start to finish, cool completely and store the chicken and sauce in one container and the rice in another container. Re-heat over a low heat until the chicken is up to temperature.

More Delicious Chicken Recipes to Try:

Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken

Awesome Chicken Katsu 

Best Bourbon Chicken

Creamy Chicken Marsala

Honey Butter Baked Chicken

Print

Butter Chicken

If you've never had Butter Chicken, you're in for a treat! This classic Indian dish takes chicken thighs and simmers them in a creamy tomato sauce packed with spices until the chicken is irresistibly tender. Serve over steamed jasmine rice and serve with warm naan bread! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword butter chicken, indian chicken

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 55 minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 565kcal

Author Nicole Leggio

Cost $25

Equipment

Cast iron skillet

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (greek is fine)

1 tbsp garam masala, divided

1 tsp cumin, divided

6 large garlic cloves, grated and divided

1 tbsp minced ginger, divided

2 tsp kosher salt, divided

2 tbsp olive oil

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1/2 lemon juiced

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1/2 tsp feungeek

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Add chicken to a large plastic baggie. Add in yogurt, 2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp cumin, tumeric, 3 garlic cloves, 2 tsp grated ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt. Zip the bag shut and massage marinade into the chicken. Marinate for at least three hours, but no longer than 12.

Once the chicken marinates. Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet to a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, sear the chicken. (Make sure there isn't a lot of excess marinade on the chicken.) Sear for 3-4 minutes until brown and crusty, flip over and do the same on the other side. The chicken should release easily from the pan when it's ready to turn. If needed, sear chicken in batches, you don't want to overcrowd the pan.

Once the chicken is brown, remove from the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add remaining olive oil, onions and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened. Stir in tomato sauce, remaining garam masala, remaining cumin, remaining salt, and tumeric, fungeek, coriander, lemon juice, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back to the pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. *If you want a cream sauce, add the sauce to a blender before adding the chicken back in, blend until smooth, return to the pan and then simmer the chicken.

Stir in the cream. Simmer another 2-3 minutes. Serve over rice with naan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 247mg | Sodium: 1614mg | Potassium: 1090mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1372IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 4mg

from The Recipe Critic https://ift.tt/3kVbF1F via Blogger https://ift.tt/3kSbcgS

[elainescookingforthesoul]

TRANSCRIPT for Episode 1.12 “Dre’s Popcorn” (PART 2/2)

ACT II

ELAINE: What's that one?

[DOG BARK SFX]

ELAINE: No, let's go back to the gong for the welcome back.

[GONG SFX]

ELAINE: Hello and welcome back to Elaine's Cooking Podcast for the Soul.

[AIRHORN SFX]

ELAINE: Okay, okay. We're here with Dré Asimov, which I have been reassured is definitely not their real name.

DRÉ: Nope!

ELAINE: And we're just about to knock out three easy takes on popcorn. For all three recipes, we are using canola oil and white kernel popcorn, which we mentioned earlier. But I'm sure you're wondering how different these popcorns could possibly be? Well, for a savory staple we'll use salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. For a spicy sensation, we'll use just sriracha sauce and salt. And with the magic of white sugar and salt, we have kettle corn. Let's get started. Dré, would you please pour just two tablespoons of canola oil into this one-quart saucepan?

DRÉ: Sure thing.

ELAINE: You wanna use just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. If you have a larger pan, you might need a little more oil. For us, that's perfect. Let's get this hot plate running.

[GAS/LIGHTER WHOOSH]

ELAINE: Wonderful. Now that the oil is warming up, we'll throw in a third of a cup of popcorn!

[POPCORN POURS]

DRÉ: Is that enough?

ELAINE: It sure is! Again, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. If the kernels are piled up on top of each other, they're not all getting the oil and heat that they need to fully unfold. That looks great. Nice job, Dré!

DRÉ: Thanks.

ELAINE: And now, we put the lid on snugly and wait.

[KERNELS SIZZLE, POP]

DRÉ: So, how long does this usually--

[POPCORN POPS AGGRESSIVELY]

ELAINE: Almost done! Once we can count to two without any kernels popping, it's done!

[SINGLE POP]

ELAINE: Now we quickly remove it from the flame, and empty it into this big bowl here!

[POPPED POPCORN POURS]

DRÉ: It smells so good. 

ELAINE: It does indeed. It reminds me of so many late nights as a child, after being tucked in for the night, hearing the tinny plosives of kernels ricocheting as my mother treated herself to some stovetop popcorn and late-night reruns of Star Trek. Like mice hot on the scent of cheese, me and my siblings would poke our hopeful noses out, and either be rushed back into bed, or welcome under the arms or upon the lap of my mother--depending on the quality of the Star Trek episode, I suppose. Maybe that is why this fibrous snack stayed with me throughout my life. What fond memories do you have tied to this food, Dré?

DRÉ: Just eating it, mostly.

ELAINE: Right. Anyway, let's get started on the first set-up.

DRÉ: Elaine?

ELAINE: Yes, Dré?

DRÉ: I hate to interrupt, or tell you how to run your podcast, but...your episodes generally last about fifteen to twenty minutes, and if you make separate popcorn batches for each of these recipes, you'll definitely go beyond that, so...I was gonna say maybe we split this plain fresh-popped popcorn into two bowls to knock out recipes one and two? Then get started on the third and final batch?

ELAINE: Wow. You are both efficient and wise, and I value your input. Let's do exactly that. Is that about evenly divided, you think?

[POPCORN SHAKES INTO BOWLS]

DRÉ: Yes. But can I say one more thing?

ELAINE: By all means!

DRÉ: I'm having a really good time here.

ELAINE: Oh, you are so sweet. I have really enjoyed having you here too, Dré. Now in your bowl, you're just going to drizzle the tiniest bit of canola oil all over the top there.

DRÉ: Like that?

ELAINE:A little more...perfect. Now the rest is really simple. I always do a lot of salt, a lot of fresh cracked pepper, and, as you might expect, a lot of nutritional yeast.

[SPICES POUR]

DRÉ: And for your bowl?

ELAINE: For mine, it's even easier. Just a generous squirt of this sriracha sauce and some salt!

[SRIRACHA SQUIRTS]

[SALT POURS]

DRÉ: Should we dig in?

ELAINE: 

Let's do it!

[CRUNCHING]

DRÉ: Mmmm...this is so good! May I?

ELAINE: Only if I can try yours.

[CRUNCHING]

DRÉ: Wowee! You seasoned this perfectly, Elaine.

ELAINE: The secret is to add extra salt, extra pepper, and extra nutritional yeast.

DRÉ: So wise.

ELAINE: Well, what do you say we top off this magical evening with a dessert popcorn?

DRÉ: I've got nowhere else to go!

ELAINE: I guess that's...something. As long as you're squatting here, do help yourself to the, um...well, whatever we have here that you may want. I know we have a surplus of floss and those cone-shaped water cups. The nuclear apocalypse has not done anything to inspire use of either, so...have at it!

DRÉ: Thanks Elaine. Full disclosure, I have been using your toilet paper.

ELAINE: I knew we were going through an inconceivable amount! I definitely owe Sam an apology, but boy am I glad to not be entirely wrong.

DRÉ: Sorry. I do a lot of dusting at night to kinda make up for it!

ELAINE: I've noticed that, too, although I wasn't sure if that was related to the nuclear event or not. You've more than earned the right to use our toilet paper. Thank you for keeping on top of the dusting. Speaking of dusting...Let's get a dusting of salt and sugar onto our final batch, our simple kettle corn recipe!

DRÉ: Nice segue, Elaine! Such a pro.

ELAINE: Thanks.

DRÉ: Same start as the first batch?

ELAINE: Nearly, but not quite. We add two tablespoons of canola oil, and then we add in a tablespoon of white sugar straight into the saucepan with it! We add a half cup of popcorn immediately after...

[SUGAR AND POPCORN KERNELS POUR]

DRÉ: Oh, so as the popcorn unfolds, it's getting coated immediately in sugar.

[POPCORN POPS AGGRESSIVELY]

ELAINE: Exactly. Now, we do have to keep a closer eye on this one towards the end. I take this off the heat a little early, because that sugar will burn and it is not the easiest thing to scrub down. 

[SLOWING OF POPS]

DRÉ: I got this one...Gotcha!

[POPCORN POURS INTO BOWL]

ELAINE: Alright, so now that we've got this batch in the big pumpkin-shaped bucket we normally put out for Halloween, we just add salt! 

[SALT POURS]

ELAINE: And that's kettle corn, folks!

[CRUNCHING]

DRÉ: Mmm. I love sweet and salty things.

ELAINE: Me too. It's a wonderful way to kind of shake up the popcorn routine. I must say, having you here proved to be a pretty wonderful way to shake up my own routine as well, Dré. Thanks for being here.

DRÉ: It was absolutely my pleasure. I can't believe I got to be a part of this deluxe episode. My parent's are gonna flip.

ELAINE: Oh my, are they fans?

DRÉ: No, they're just real supportive and good at tone-matching. 

ELAINE: Well maybe you could share this episode with them.

DRÉ: Maybe I will, Elaine. Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you. I should really do a quick perimeter check for the pervs and lock the place up.

ELAINE: Oh, don't worry about that, I do that every evening before I leave.

DRÉ: Yeah, but I make a sweep about an hour before you do to scare off the bigger creeps and critters. Just as a kind of thanks-for-not-kicking-me-out-when-you-inevitably-find-out-I've-been-living-here-for-two-years kinda deal. You know?

ELAINE: Two years? But the nuclear events all happened just a few months ago--

DRÉ:I really gotta go now, bye Elaine! Here's some moody outro music! Bye!

[MOODY OUTRO MUSIC BEGINS]

ELAINE: Oh, watch out--

DRÉ: Oof. Damn half wall. See you around!

ELAINE: Yes, I suppose you will...

ELAINE: Folks, life is full of mysteries. All too often those mysteries include such things as when our chicken livestock will stop producing only double-yolked blood-filled eggs. Or if we'll ever see another season of The Bachelorette. Or who exactly is watching us go about our daily business and nightly routines....yes, there is so much to ponder and so much yet unknown. I wouldn't think it wise to presume every mystery is beautiful, or that every secret is worth knowing. But I still hold by the belief that some are. Even in the face of senseless power-grabs and the semi-sentient propaganda robots we call Ad Ministers, we are discovering ourselves along the way. Thank you for joining me this week. Nobody knows what the future holds, but I hope you'd at least like to tune in next week for another delicious recipe, as yet unknown. This has been Elaine's Cooking Podcast for the Soul I'm Elaine Martínez, not crying, hugging you goodnight.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

END OF ACT II.

[birdshirt1-blog]

Food Cart-Style Chicken Salad with White Sauce

8 Freestyle Points 345 Calories

Halal Food Cart inspired chicken served over a big salad of lettuce and tomatoes drizzled with a yummy white sauce.

We’re obsessed with street-cart Halal chicken, but since all the good chicken trucks are in the city which is over an hour commute from me, I had to figure out a way to make this to make it part of our dinner rotation!

When I worked full-time in New York City, I often hit up the halal chicken trucks for lunch, the smell of the sizzling chicken always lured me in! I usually swapped out the rice for salad and loaded on the white sauce and hot sauce. My husband is also obsessed, and has been asking me to recreate the chicken and white sauce for years.

After many attempts at trying to get the white sauce right, I finally created a version that we all loved, which also happens to be good for you and your gut! I partnered with Stonyfield, my favorite yogurt brand to create this sauce with their new Stonyfield Whole Milk Yogurt with Probiotics, which is so creamy and delicious and so perfect in this sauce. Now there are 1 billion more reasons to love Stonyfield Yogurt even more! And trust me, you might want to double the sauce recipe, it’s that good! Is it exactly like the ones you get from the street carts? No, but who cares, we all love it!

Variations

If you wish to serve this over rice instead, you certainly can. I would cook up some brown basmati rice in chicken broth to serve on the side. For the hot sauce drizzled on top, I used some prepared harissa and it was perfect.

What is Halal Sauce Made Of?

To figure out the infamous white sauce recipe, my husband actually took a packet of white sauce the last time he ordered out, which listed most of the ingredients on the back. It was easy to figure out mayonnaise was a key ingredient, but the buttermilk powder and spices was pretty vague. A quick search on the internet turned up many recipes I tried, but most had too much mayonnaise and didn’t taste right. After several attempts, we all loved this final version made with plain whole milk yogurt (not Greek or low-fat) a touch of mayonnaise, a little lemon juice, vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. And since I’m always looking for ways to incorporate more probiotics in my day, this recipe is a winner!

Tips and Variations

Can you use 0% yogurt? Sure, but it won’t taste as good.

Can you use chicken breast for halal chicken? Street carts always use chicken thighs, which my family loves because they are moist and juicy. If you prefer breasts, you’ll want to cut down on the cook time so it doesn’t dry out.

How long will the white sauce last in the refrigerator? 4 to 5 days should be fine.

How can you make this for meal prep? Keep the salad and chicken separate so you can heat up the chicken separately if you want to eat it hot. Pack the dressing and hot sauce in small containers.

Food Cart-Style Chicken Salad with White Sauce

Halal Food Cart inspired chicken served over a big salad of lettuce and tomatoes drizzled with a yummy white sauce.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

24 ounces (about 4 large) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon oregano

3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

White Yogurt Sauce (makes 1 1/4 cups):

For the Salad:

6 cups chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce

2 medium tomatoes, quartered

1/2 small red onion, sliced

prepared mild harissa, optional for drizzling

Directions:

Season the chicken with lemon juice, garlic, cumin, oil, salt and spices. Set aside at least 15 minutes, or as long as overnight.

Combine the ingredients for the white yogurt sauce and refrigerate.

When ready to cook, heat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add the chicken and leave until the bottom is completely browned, about 5 minutes before flipping.

Cook on the other side for another 4 to 5 minutes, until browned.

Reduce the heat to low and let the chicken continue cooking, about 10 minutes, until just about cooked through in the thickest parts (no worries if it’s not completely cooked).

Set aside on a cutting board and chop the chicken into thin strips and add back to the pan to brown and finish cooking, 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat.

Assemble the salad by dividing the lettuce, tomato and red onion.

Top with chicken and drizzle with yogurt sauce (this is your dressing) and harissa, if desired.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 4 servings, Serving Size: 1 salad

Amount Per Serving:

Freestyle Points: 8

Points +: 9

Calories: 345 calories

Total Fat: 16g

Saturated Fat: 4g

Cholesterol: 13mg

Sodium: 666mg

Carbohydrates: 13g

Fiber: 2.5g

Sugar: 7g

Protein: 37.5g

All images and text ©Gina Homolka for Skinnytaste

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Stonyfield. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Skinnytaste possible. All thoughts are my own. Photo credit: Jess Larson.

posted February 8, 2019 by Gina

Source: https://www.skinnytaste.com/food-cart-style-chicken-salad-with-white-sauce/

[howellrichard]

Mini Vegan Caprese Sliders with Melty Mozz Sauce

Hiya Gorgeous!

Summer is right around the corner, I swear! It’s still chilly and kinda gloomy in my neck of the woods, but I can feel the sunshiny days and warmer temps headed our way.

Before we drool over this brand new Caprese Sliders recipe (which I’m gaga for, by the way!), I want to give you a gentle reminder about presence.

After I wrote the first line of this post about summer coming, a lightbulb went off. There I was wishing for the future rather than enjoying what’s right here, right now. Don’t get me wrong—I’m an advocate of daydreaming, wishing, hoping, praying and goal-setting of all kinds. That kind of thinking can be exciting and uplifting in so many ways. But when it takes us out of the present moment too often, we can miss some pretty amazing stuff…

Like how pretty our precious planet is, no matter the weather. And how lucky we are to have the people and fur friends who adore us. And don’t forget about our incredible bodies and what they do every single day to allow our souls to experience this life. It’s the little things, too—the first sip of our morning tea, the way our favorite socks feel on our feet and our capacity to make someone else feel better with just a few kind words.

So why did I keep that first line if it goes against the point I’m trying to make here? Well, I’m a gal full of contradictions, what can I say? Just kidding! In truth, I kept it because I think it’s an important reminder that when it comes to mindfulness and presence, no one is perfect. The best thing we can do is to simply notice when we’re future-tripping or hanging out in the past. Judging ourselves for getting out of alignment is counter-productive, so please don’t do it to your sweet self! Just notice.

Wherever you are in the world (shout out to all of our wonderful friends in the southern hemisphere!), I hope you’ll remember that summer is a state of mind. Notice your thoughts. Choose them wisely. Honor today. And remember that you’re enough now—not tomorrow, not “when”—now.

Speaking of enjoying what’s right here in front of us, let’s talk about this juicy, fresh, flavorful, FUN sliders recipe. When the Test Kitchen Tuesday crew told me what they were cooking up, I couldn’t wait to try it. And of course, the end result totally blew me away!

These Caprese Sliders with Melty Mozz Sauce are so creative and full of flavor. They also feature some of my favorite plant-based ingredients, such as lentils, cashews, miso and tomatoes (no worries if you’re soy, nightshade or nut-free—we’ve got subs for you in the notes!). You can serve them as a snack or with a side to make it a full meal. I think some grilled asparagus or corn on the cob would be the perfect compliment!

Have a gathering coming up? Double (or triple!) this sliders recipe and share with your favorite peeps. They’re pretty quick and simple to put together, so you can impress your friends without tons of prep work or hours spent in the kitchen. Easy and out-of-this-world delish… sounds like a good deal to me!

Alright, ready to cook up this amazing sliders recipe? Bon appetit!

Mini Vegan Caprese Sliders with Melty Mozz Sauce

Serves 4 (4 sliders per serving) | Prep time: 30 min | Cook time: 35 min

Red Lentil Patty Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided ½ red onion, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup (14 g) julienned sun-dried tomatoes ½ cup (96 g) red lentils, thoroughly rinsed 1 cup (240 ml) low-sodium vegetable stock 1 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar ½ cup (40 g) rolled oats ¼ tsp smoked paprika (optional) ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp salt, or to taste ¼ cup (6 g) fresh basil, chopped

Melty Mozz Sauce Ingredients: ½ cup (60 g) raw cashews ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp (90 ml) water 1 ½ tsp lemon juice 1 ½ tsp white miso paste 1 ½ tsp nutritional yeast

For Assembly: 12-16 Campari tomatoes, halved and seeded Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Instructions: 1. In a medium saucepan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and sauté the onion, carrot and garlic over medium heat. Cook for 8-10 min, until the vegetables are aromatic, softened and golden all over.

2. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, lentils, broth and vinegar. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Gently simmer until the lentils are fully cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed (12-18 min). Let cool for at least 15 min.

3. Meanwhile, place the oats in a food processor or high-speed blender and pulse until finely ground. Add paprika, cumin, ½ tsp salt and fresh basil. Pulse to incorporate. Adjust seasoning to taste with more salt if desired.

4. Combine the oat and spice mixture with the lentil and sun-dried tomato mixture from step 2. If desired, use a food processor or high-speed blender to combine, but the mixture should be fairly coarse, not a smooth purée. Transfer to an airtight container and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour (or 20 min in the freezer) before proceeding.

5. Prepare the melty mozz sauce in the meantime. Place all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender or food processor, and thoroughly purée for 4-5 min, until completely smooth.

6. When ready to cook, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat with the remaining tablespoon of oil. With damp hands, shape heaping tablespoons of the patty mixture into balls about the width of your Campari tomatoes, and flatten slightly. Cook for 1-2 min on each side, until browned.

7. To assemble, place one patty on the cut side of one Campari tomato, stem end-down so they don’t roll away. Top with a heaping teaspoon or so of the melty mozz sauce, and finish with other half of the tomato and a leaf of fresh basil. Use toothpicks to secure if needed. Serve immediately.

Notes: Storage tip: Finished patties can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Melty mozz sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Simplify this recipe: Use small squares of prepared plant-based cheese (such as Field Roast Chao or Follow Your Heart) instead of the melty mozz sauce.

Reheating tip: Reheat patties in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes on each side, until re-crisped and warm all the way through.

Make it soy-free: Use chickpea miso paste instead of white miso paste.

Make it nut-free: Replace cashews with raw sunflower seeds.

Nightshade-free: Omit sun-dried tomatoes and serve patties on ¼-in rounds of seedless cucumbers instead of tomatoes.

Nut soak note: If you have a high-speed blender, you can skip soaking your nuts or seeds. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you can either soak your nuts or seeds in water for 4 hours, or you can do a “quick soak” by covering them with water in a pot and bringing it to a boil. Once the water boils, remove them from the heat and let them sit for an hour.

These Caprese Sliders with Melty Mozz Sauce from @kris_carr’s #TestKitchenTuesday make the perfect summertime meal!

Are you in the club?

What club, you ask?! The Crazy Sexy Recipe Club, of course! I’ve gotta be honest—if you haven’t joined this awesome group yet, you’re missing out. This week, club members got a gorgeous new Caprese Sliders recipe card, plus a bunch of insider tips and info. If you love cookbooks and playing in the kitchen, you’ve gotta get in on this!

Join the Crazy Sexy Recipe Club to get your free Recipe Club Starter Pack (includes 9 gorgeous recipes cards!) today:

Your turn: Share your yummy Caprese Sliders with me!

Whether you’re cookin’ up a storm or sitting down for a cozy meal with your crew, I wanna see! Snap a pic of your sliders and share it on Instagram or Facebook with #TestKitchenTuesday. Don’t forget to tag me at @crazysexykris—I’ll share my faves with our spectacular community!

And finally, a very special thanks to the incredible Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog and the rest of the Test Kitchen Tuesday crew for helping to create this spectacular dish!

Peace & succulent sliders,

The post Mini Vegan Caprese Sliders with Melty Mozz Sauce appeared first on KrisCarr.com.

[screenbrick4-blog]

Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers with Cauliflower

These Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers with cauliflower have all the flavors of your favorite sandwich in a healthy, low carb, easy meal!

PIN Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers with Cauliflower

Are you guys getting sick of cauliflower rice yet?

I can just see you now, sitting on your rocking chairs (necessary) on your sundecks, peeping your little eyeballs at your tablet and going “MORE cauliflower rice? I thought Taylor moved onto pumpkin spice-ing ALL the things, and we took a break from cauliflower”

Sorry friends. IT’S BACK.

But, really, did it EVER leave?

At least I didn’t put it into cookies and try to ninja veggies into your face holes like those paleo breakfast avocado cookies with kale.

Today we’re celebrating cauliflower in its albino-vegetal-low-carby-glory. Hiding it under a bush? OH NO.

If you grew up in Sunday school, you know what I am talking about.

Except not really because, although it isn’t a bush, we’re covering it in ooey-gooey melty cheese, tender strips of sauteed beef and golden-brown sticky-sweet carmelizey onions. <– Resist the urge to be lazy and skip this. SO WURTH THE TIME.

I probably don’t even need to tell your American souls what I am trying to replicate with these healthy stuffed peppers.  But, just in case you don’t recognize things when they’re not stuffed between two pieces of bread, we’re eating cheese steaks yo.

EXCEPT, we’re adding a little DOUBLE dose of veggie action because they are Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed PEPPERS with CAULIFLOWER RICE.

You’re not mad about cauliflower rice anymore. I feel it.

Because we’re friends and I know that this is a safe place (lies. Nothing on the internet is safe) come in real close so I can whisper something into your ear.  <— Not creepily though, don’t worry.

I have never had a cheese steak.

Like, I have never put 2 pieces of perfectly-crusty-carbs on a plate, slapped them silly with steak and peppers, and then melted ALL the cheese that I could possibly fit into my face on top.

N-E-V-E-R-E-V-E-R.

But, it gets worse.  When a lovely reader e-mailed me asking if I could try to make the flavors of a cheese steak into a healthy recipe as one of my “reader redos” (remember the Paleo Lemon Bars and easy vegan gluten free strawberry rhubarb crisp?) I had to GOOGLE IT before I could even respond to her.

I can see your eyes BUGGING out of your noggin’s from here.

Sad excuse for a human RIGHT HERE. #ThisIs27.

Which also means that I had to do some very important and totally-necessary taste testing to make these philly cheese steak peppers. Quality control is a thing, friends.

Which led me to the realization that Canada, although I adore thee and your maple-syrup loving nation-ness (what?) you REALLY need to get with the program.

Like. YUM.   Is there a more perfect combination of meat and cheese and bread? I have decided no.

Except maybe that pumpkin and spice like we just talked about because I’m still over here eating slices of low carb keto pumpkin cheesecake for dessert, after my Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers. But, that’s beside the point.

How to Make Stuffed Bell Peppers

Cut the peppers in half and scrape out the seeds and membranes. Place in a large pot and cover with water.

Bring the water to a boil and cook until the peppers just begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes.

While waiting, make your caramelized onions and Saute your beef and cauliflower rice

Drain the peppers and pat them dry. Then, fill the peppers with the mixture and then place them into a large baking pan. Cover them with cheese and bake them at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

Broil for 2-4 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

Voila! Philly Cheesesteak stuffed bell peppers

You know what Mr. FFF decided?

He actually totally doesn’t hate his cheese steak in the form of low carb stuffed bell peppers. LIKE minus ze bread.

I think he’s been taste-bud snatched.

Is it wrong that I’m sort of okay with that?

Other Recipes You Might Like:

No Bean Whole30 Keto Chili In The Instant Pot

Moroccan Instant Pot Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup

Healthy Low Carb Chicken Enchilada Recipe

Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers with cauliflower

These Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers with cauliflower have all the flavors of your favorite sandwich in a healthy, low carb, easy meal!

Ingredients

For the onions:

1 Tbsp Olive oil

2 Large onions sliced about 1/2 thick

Salt

For the peppers:

6 Small Green bell peppers, halved and seeds/membranes removed

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Lb Beef top sirloin steak, sliced very thinly against the grain* (and large chunks of fat removed)

2 cups Cauliflower, cut into small florets

Salt

12 Oz Provolone cheese, sliced

Instructions

In a large pan, heat the 1 Tbsp of olive oil on medium heat until shiny. Add in the sliced onions. and a pinch of salt and stir until they are coated in the oil. Cook, stirring every so often, until the onions are caramelized and golden brown, 30-45 minutes. If you have a very hot stove, you may need to turn the heat to medium low, as you don't want them to burn. Don't stir too often, as you want the bottom to caramelize properly.

While the onions cook, place the prepared peppers in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, until they just begin to soften. Drain and place on a layer of paper towel, gently patting any of the water off.  Arrange the peppers in a 9x13 inch pan and turn your oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil in a large pan on medium heat. Cook the sliced steak until golden brown, draining out the excess fat. Transfer to a plate.

While the beef cooks, place the cauliflower into a large food processor and process until "rice like." Place it right into the pan that the beef was in and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Once cooked, add the beef and caramelized onions into the pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Stir until well mixed.

Stuff the peppers with the mixture and top each pepper with a slice of cheese (1 oz cheese per pepper half).  Bake until the cheese is melted and the peppers are tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Turn the oven to high broil and cook an additional 2-4 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

Recipe Notes

*Slicing the beef very thin is key. It really helps to do it when it is still partially frozen.

FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:

Nutrition Facts

Low Carb Keto Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers with cauliflower

Amount Per Serving

Calories 379 Calories from Fat 206

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 22.9g 35%

Saturated Fat 11.8g 59%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 7.4g

Cholesterol 70.5mg 24%

Sodium 551mg 23%

Potassium 366mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates 11g 4%

Dietary Fiber 2.3g 9%

Sugars 4.8g

Protein 32.7g 65%

Vitamin A 15.4%

Vitamin C 140.7%

Calcium 44.9%

Iron 5.2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: FREESTYLE POINTS: 11 POINTS+: 10. OLD POINTS: 9

(per 1/6 of the recipe)

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Source: https://www.foodfaithfitness.com/cauliflower-rice-philly-cheese-steak/

[kristinsimmons]

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Would you believe me if I told you that, before today’s post, I had two other recipes written, photographed, and ready to share…only to scrap them at the last minute?! I think I was cursed these past couple weeks because I just couldn’t develop a recipe that I could 100% get behind. I have to say it nearly killed me to finish all the work on those new posts only for them to be put on the shelf, never to see the light of day. I hope you know that I only share recipes I’m crazy about (and that my testers are also crazy for) because I want to be absolutely sure you can trust and love them too!

So, with my tail tucked between my legs, I moved on from those two recipes…and I’m glad I did! I’m in love with this Zucchini Bread Oatmeal. Some of you may recognize the original recipe from way back in 2011 (how was that 7 years ago!?). Although this oatmeal fell off my radar for a while, it’s made a serious comeback in our morning rotation. This breakfast is a delicious, creative way to fulfill your weekly zucchini quota all summer long! I know it’s a bit early for summer squash season, but I’ve personally been on a huge zucchini kick this month. The recipe will be a good one to tuck away for later in the summer when you have zucchini overload—but I don’t think you’ll be able to wait that long.

I decided to revamp my old recipe and give the post a facelift complete with some snazzy new photos for you. This bowl is one of my favourite ways to sneak veggies into my oatmeal…if you’re crazy like me, you may even find yourself doubling the amount of zucchini for extra morning veggie goodness (just be sure to reduce the liquid accordingly). Sometimes I’ll even use instant oats (gasp! lol) and those work great as well. Leftovers can be enjoyed straight from the fridge, which will be a nice option on those steamy summer mornings too.

Before I get to the recipe, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to complete the Oh She Glows Reader Survey! We went through every single response with a fine-tooth comb. One of our big takeaways is that you want even MORE RECIPES!!! *Wipes bead of sweat from forehead*, lol. So in the future you’ll be seeing a bit of a shift in blog content—Ask Angela and Things I’m Loving Lately posts will be less frequent so that I can focus more time on recipe creation. I’m going to try my best to zero in on the content that really matters to you. Oh, and not to worry if you haven’t had a chance to fill out the survey yet…it’ll be live for the next little while for you to chime in!

We also sent out a brand new issue of In The Glow a couple weeks ago (complete with a fun new look too). I had a lot of positive feedback about the “Hello from Angela” message in this issue, so I just wanted to thank those of you who sent me DMs about it. I was also asked by a few readers who didn’t get a chance to sign up in time whether issue 21 would be available online. I’m happy to say that it’s available here! We send out a new In The Glow every 4 to 6 weeks, and if you’d like to receive future issues, you can sign up here.

Last but not least, I have to share this with you here because it kind of blew my mind and made my entire week! Does anyone recognize a certain app icon below?

The Oh She Glows Recipe App icon was featured in Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent presentation at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. You guys, I almost died when Eric plopped this paper in front of me at my desk. His uncle texted him saying we might want to pick up a copy of that day’s Globe and Mail newspaper. (Thanks Uncle Steve for your newspaper sleuthing!) It’s so wild and wouldn’t be possible without your incredible support!

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

Zucchini bread in oatmeal form...who knew?! This tasty dish comes together in less than 15 minutes—perfect for when you’re craving the warm spiciness of zucchini bread but don’t have time to make a whole loaf. Luxurious canned coconut milk lends this oatmeal a satisfying, decadent creaminess, while the grated zucchini adds a dose of Vitamin C, B Vitamins, and Potassium. Chia seeds help thicken the oatmeal and provide a nice boost of healthy fats! I don’t recommend skipping the suggested toppings below—they give this bowl a nutty, sweet chewiness and that signature zucchini bread flavour. And you may be happy to know that this oatmeal is super versatile (often I don’t even measure when I make it at home!)—you can use rolled or instant oats, grated or finely grated zucchini, and play around with the zucchini-to-oat ratio however you’d like. I encourage you to find your perfect bowl! This recipe is inspired by my 2011 version.

Yield 2 generous bowls

Prep time 5 Minutes

Cook time 8 Minutes

Total time 13 Minutes

Ingredients:

For the oatmeal:

1 (14-ounce/400 mL) can light coconut milk

2/3 cup (66 g) gluten-free rolled oats*

1 cup (125 g) packed finely grated zucchini (1 medium)**

2 tablespoons (20 g) chia seeds

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or a dash of ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tablespoons (22.5 mL) pure maple syrup or 1 large ripe banana, mashed

Small pinch fine sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping suggestions:

Chopped pecans

Raisins or chopped pitted dates

Pat of coconut oil or vegan butter

Pure maple syrup or coconut sugar

Cinnamon

Shaved dark chocolate

Directions:

Add all of the oatmeal ingredients except for the vanilla to a medium pot and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Cook uncovered for 7 to 9 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Adjust spices and sweetener to taste, if desired.

Divide the oatmeal into bowls and top with your desired toppings. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. To reheat, add the leftovers to a small pot along with a splash of coconut milk. Stir and heat over medium until heated through. Alternatively, you can enjoy leftovers cold too!

Tips:

* You can use instant oats instead of rolled oats, if you prefer. Instant oats have a much less chewy texture and tend to disappear into the mixture, but they work well for babies and toddlers who aren’t able to chew the larger oats.

** If you use the finest grate hole on the box grater, the zucchini will virtually disappear into the oatmeal, whereas a standard-size grate hole will yield visible strands of zucchini throughout (and amp up the bowl’s chewy texture). You can play around with these two options to see which way you prefer the oatmeal. Once you get used to it, feel free to add even more zucchini to future pots!

Make it nut-free: Omit the pecan topping.

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