#like garlic and leeks and chives

[javaberrychip1998]

* thinks about the agriculture and cuisine of fantasy races *

[junonreactor]

english is my first language in almost every way that matters but i specifically have a lot of trouble with food words. you would not believe how long it took me to figure out the correct english term for the thing that grows in my backyard

[fuckingrecipes]

how does one go about choosing what kind of onion they want to use? i'm at that stage of cooking where i feel comfortable freehanding stuff but i don't have a decision process for white/yellow/red onion beyond what's already in my fridge, lol.

Yellow Onion: Good all-around, general use onion. Good for Caramelizing, and just about any onion need.

Sweet Onions (Vidalia): A particularly mild version of a yellow onion, grown around Vidalia, Georgia. Crunchy and sweet! Walla Walla is another brand of sweet onion, grown in Washington, USA. Can be eaten like an apple tbh. REALLY GOOD for people who are sensitive to the strong flavor of onion.

White Onion: A little sweeter and milder than the yellow onion, but not as sweet as a sweet onion. Good for dicing and serving raw if you don't have red onion. Yellow and White onions are pretty much interchangeable.

Red Onion: Great Raw! Have a bit of spice to them, and make a very interesting savory flavor when cooked. (Red onion skins can be made into a dye!)

Green Onions/Scallions: Immature onions with white bottoms and green tops. Usually diced/sliced and used raw as a garnish or a mild raw onion flavor. Can be used to replace raw onion in bulk for a milder alternative.

Chives: Tinier, punchier alternative to green onions/scallions. While in the same Allium family as the rest of these, they never get bigger than their little grassy figure. Teeeeny tiny! Great for adorable garnishes and just a hint of onion in a salad. Not good for cooking with, they get bitter fast.

Shallots: Garlicky! Kinda a halfway point between 'onion' and 'garlic'. They stay small when fully matured, and have quite a bite when used raw. Cooked, they become mellow and have a less-intense garlic-onion flavor. Often used in sauces where you want a little onion and garlic flavor, but subtly. They're REALLY good roasted.

Leek: Basically like a giant green onion, except they're always like that. Can be used in place of Onion in nearly any recipe that doesn't require caramelization. Fun slice shape! Gentle onion flavor without a lot of bite. Best when cooked, not raw imo.

Kurrat (Egyptian Leek): Like a stronger, punchier version of the leek. Excellent roasted, sauteed, used in soups - very strong flavor and KEEPS its flavor, so its usually used in smaller quantities than other alliums.

[presidentkamala]

Financially devastated at the farmers market again lads

7 dollar eggs BUT THEY ARE SO good and i get a dozen for abt 2 weeks' worth of eating so its really 3.50/week if u think abt it like that makes it any better lmao

Got the cutest tiniest little brie wheel (and a chive&garlic cheese spread) from a very nice cow and goat dairy :) for. 15 dollars LOL (but its like i am happy to pay a premium for happy well taken care of cows and goats!!!! Actually!!!!)

Trying out some Evercrisp apples which are supposed to be a mix of fuji and honeycrisp apples hohohoho (they narrowly beat out the Ludacrisp apples i was going to try solely bc of the name lmao) and ofc had to get some cider too

And then this is where we get to the inexplicable TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS FOR 4 TYPES OF MICROGREENS except i was trying like 17 samples and they were all amazing the leek, wasabi, & sunflower stood out but i also got some pea shoots and now im on the hook for what looks like a small forest of expensive grass. And the vendor kept them in the coconut husk or whatever their bedding in as well so they should also stay good for a couple of weeks?? Is there an upper limit to how many you're allowed to eat in a day??? Siri can i die of microgreen poisoning

Unrelated to the farmers market but i had a great time using up a lot of fridge/pantry items making some banana chocolate muffins and then a quick brunch this morning - the last of the bananas, eggs, cottage cheese, maple syrup, AND oat flour got used up zero waste queen etc etc

Going to my parent's house later today but for now im just puttering around and cleaning etc.

[whentherewerebicycles]

hello dear Jes, I am all out of good meal ideas!! I’m always in awe of your drive to cook and the great-looking meals you create. Any good recs for yummy and relatively easy / quick recipes? thank u 🙏

hello!! yes here are some very easy, low effort low prep recipes i love. the bolded ones are the ones i find myself making most often when i am like wow i do NOT want to cook but if i must do so, i wish to make the easiest thing ever.

shakshuka (all recipes are basically the same! i make it with canned tomatoes to cut down on prep, add a sliced jalapeno to make it spicier, and top it with feta and cilantro. if you are not crazy about eggs my sister often makes it with chickpeas and no eggs!)

thai peanut noodles (you can make as-is but i often add roasted broccoli and air fryer tofu if i have time!)

ricotta pasta with roasted broccoli and chickpeas (i roast the broccoli rather than broiling it as i am afraid of broiling lol but it's very easy and delish)

creamy corn pasta (my beloved)

spaghetti with onion-"bacon", corn, and basil

roasted sweet potato tacos (roast sweet potatoes, warm black beans on the stove with spices, and make easy quick-pickled onions if i have time - then you can add avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and any other toppings you like!)

potato egg and cheese breakfast tacos (i roast or air-fry small-cubed potatoes, scramble eggs, melt cheese into the eggs, and top with the salsa of your choice!)

migas breakfast tacos

tortellini with pesto and roasted veggies

caprese toasts (toast bread of your choice, then add pesto, sliced mozzarella, sliced cherry tomatoes, basil if you have it, and balsamic glaze... my all-time fave easy/no-cook meal)

pesto pasta with frozen peas (another super easy one i make when i want to barely cook at all - you boil the frozen peas in the pasta pot for the last three minutes of the pasta's cook time. then add pesto, grated parmesan, a squeeze of lemon, and halved cherry tomatoes if you have them)

easy asparagus soup (thinly slice a leek and cut 1-2 bunches of asparagus into half inch pieces. melt 3 TBS of butter in your pot, then saute the leek plus 5-6 cloves of garlic for 8 min. add asparagus pieces and 4-6 cups of veggie stock, bring to a boil, salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 min. transfer it all to a blender and blend, then add 1/4th cup grated parmesan and the juice of half a lemon. serve with crusty croutons and sliced chives)

roasted sweet potato & figs dish (you can also make with dried dates if you can't find figs!)

easy chana masala

nectarine, arugula, and feta salad (best in the summer when it's nectarine season but delish all year round... you can also use peaches. i usually serve it on a bed of quinoa so it's more filling/more of a main dish. the basil dressing is to die for i could eat it with a spoon)

avocado & egg sandwich (you can make this on a bagel, english muffin, or bread... just toast your bread, mash avocado onto the bread & sprinkle with red pepper flakes, and then scramble or fry eggs to your liking and put on top)

[thejoyofseax]

An Early Irish Feast for Drachenwald's Spring Crown, AS LVIII

Spring Crown this year was hosted by Dun in Mara in the territory of Glen Rathlin. As with almost all SCA projects, this feast didn't quite hit all the things I intended. In particular, I'd been thinking of having documentation available alongside it, and of a few more dishes that didn't make it in the end. A fermented porridge was high on that list. Next time!

Before I start talking about food, though, let me thank my kitchen crew: THL Órlaith Caomhánach, Lady Gabrielle of Dun in Mara, Noble Mallymkun Rauði, Lady Erin Volya and Cassian of Allyshia. There were a few other folk in and out of the kitchen too (THL Yda Van Boulogne did excellent work on the various flavoured butters), but these five did the bulk of the work. Lady Erin also provided lunch; cooking at Crown for 80 people as her first event cookery is notable.

The main idea here was to lean heavily on seafood, which isn't often done in SCA feasts in my experience, and represents the food of Ireland well. I also wanted to include pork as a main meat, emphasise oats and barley, and use plain vegetables presented well. There were to be condiments on the table, hence Yda's butters: plain, honey, mackerel and garlic-and-chive, as well as green sauce (largely Órlaith's work, with Cass finishing it out). Condiments and the number of them available were an important aspect of Irish medieval hospitality.

I also wanted to nod to the usual progress of early Irish feasts, which started with formal services and frequently ended up so raucous and drunken that the nobility woke up the following morning on the hall floor along with everyone else. So we served to the tables to begin, and then had a less and less orderly buffet.

The first "course" was a set of pottages. The main one was pork, cabbage, onion, carrots, turnips, and barley, which had been slowly cooked down over a number of hours. There was also a version with lamb, for those who couldn't eat pork, and this doubled as the gluten-free version, having no barley. And there was a vegetarian one, including barley, but substituting mushrooms for the meat. These were served with flatbreads, risen yeast dough having been a tough proposition in the Irish climate (and still is, really; that's why the most Irish of breads is soda bread).

As that was consumed, we stocked the buffet with: sides of salmon (steamed then baked), mussels (boiled), monkfish and mackerel (also steamed and baked), chicken pieces (baked), hard-boiled eggs, turnips with butter, carrots with honey, samphire (new to many, most enthused about it), caramelised onions, creamed leeks, buttered cabbage with and without bacon bits, and a broth-based porridge, accompanied by a variety of flatbreads and oat pancakes. And as that all cleared, we put out fruit, some cheese, some oaten biscuits, and a "cheesecake", of sorts.

Everything was plausibly pre-Norman Irish, with the exception of the oaten biscuits and the cheesecake base, which were egregiously modern - although I could argue for something very like them. Simple cooking techniques mean that those are broadly plausible as well - steaming may seem incongruous, but I'll have more to say on that again.

It all seemed to go down well. A number of people said they weren't sure about fish, and then followed with "… but that was great!", and the green sauce, the samphire and the cheesecake were particular hits. The technique of doing a wide variety of simple things usually does well, I find; even the pickiest of eaters can usually have a few things, and the adventurous can pile their plates with a wide variety.

And I had energy enough left to wander around the party hall later offering plates of fruit, cheese and biscuits, which is one of my favourite things to do.

[marc--chilton]

does catnip affect catboy house like edibles would?

also, is house immune to edibles because he has catnip or is that Not How That Works.

also also, is house unable to eat things that make cats sick. can he not have chocolate or onions or garlic or chives or leeks? does he have to not take non-steroidal anti-inflammatories like advil and aleve because cats don't metabolise those right the way dogs and humans do? is he able to have lilies in his house, or is the urge to eat them and get poisoned too strong?

catnip is incredibly temporary for one, not quite like edibles but close enough. it sort of puts him in a happy zen, brings out kitty instincts he usually has a good hold on. a cup of tea only gives him about an hour of feelgoods if he doesn't top up.

he can metabolize everything people can. the cat stuff doesn't replace everything, it's more of an addition onto a normal system. he is allergic to lilies though, breaks him out in hives

catfolk do, however, need to have separate vaccines from humans not only due to differing physiology, but because there are strains of disease that only affect them like FIV and feline leukemia, ear disease, and even the uncommon case of fleas -- catfolk don't have enough fur/hair (a line along their spine from tail to head is the only real fur they possess aside from ears/tail) to really attract fleas but it does happen sometimes and it's unpleasant and embarrassing enough that no one risks it

[nikofortuna]

JTTW Chapter 24 Thoughts

Chapter 24 for the @journeythroughjourneytothewest Reading Group!

Ah, the beginning of the Arc the movie Monkey King Reborn is based on! It will be very delightful to spot the similarities for myself!

But first we have to finish the previous trial. I really don’t like how the emphasise is kind of put on women as being tempters. Especially when the exemplary lady is explicitly stated to be sixteen, that is a child!

Still not a fan how they put so much ridicule on Zhu Bajie as well when they equally pressured him into the whole situation.

Hm Sun Wukong schooling his Shifu. We love the communal grandpa dispersing his knowledge.

And here are the two sillies! I’ll take it in immortal years they’re closer to being old tweens or young teens. That’s the feeling I get from them at least.

Ah, teaching the kids that uhm, actually just make friends with people if they’re nice, religion should not be of any importance there. There are some really good lessons to be taken away from this novel.

One could say they are… Home Alone.

I wonder if the sight of the Daoist Abbey makes Sun Wukong melancholic with thoughts of his first Shifu.

Clear Breeze, I most certainly prefer the J. F. Jenner and movie’s translation and technically also the German translation of Pure Wind, and Bright Moon are notably nicer in the novel than the adaptation. They only get rude when they actually have been wronged. Just looking at their movie counterparts, these aren’t the same kids.

Plants you say? Now don’t mind if I look them up! Spoilers this turned out a bit of a difficult ordeal so take all of this with a grain of salt.

For accuracy, spinach yes and celery yes.

Mare’s tail… maybe? My search came up with Beta vulgaris aka Chard/Swiss Chard instead, though both plants fall under the term vulgaris in their scientific name and are plausible options as they are both native to Western Asia. Since it is a vegetable garden for people however I might be inclined to personally go with Chard, in part also because I have eaten that vegetable before and it is not only quite tasty but also nutritional.

Funfact in German Chard is called Mangold, definitely sounds like a plant an immortal would eat. But again that’s just personal bias, in reality it could still be either.

Back to the list, I have no clue where beet comes from in this line, but ginger yes.

Seaweed no. It seems to actually be moss of some kind and I looked up as to possibly why it’s in this garden. Indeed certain types of moss are used for medicinal or culinary purposes in some cultures. But don’t go out and just eat moss you find in your garden! A lot of mosses are toxic and no good for eating, so be careful!

Bamboo shoot yes and melon yes. Squash, more like gourd, but technically yes. Watercress no, my research came up with wild rice instead, but watercress is still native to Asia as well.

Now for this next line I would like to remark that there is some potential difference in the Chinese Original. Chive technically yes the Google Translate said just onion though, garlic yes, coriander yes, leek and scallion technically yes though if the characters for those two are put together the translator says they translate to chives instead.

The second paragraph I will not touch as that one is more complex.

The local Tudi really tends to be the living loremaster, in a way that makes a lot of sense in world too, something I can always appreciate.

Heh, Sun Wukong doing a little trickshot with the mallet. Not that it worked, but he tried.

Sha Wujing being the good little brother getting roped into shenanigans by his older brothers. The feeling of found family is strong with this one.

At the end I would like to shill the movie a bit as I really like that one and it does make for quite a good companion piece for this Arc. It also has one of the best Sha Wujing designs in my opinion.

[craftpunktabby]

So this is my Welcome Home OC Nurse Tilly Luna Chiroptera (I just really wanted to give her a name with the initials TLC and could not come up with a last name. So just used the scientific name for bat) the fruit bat. She is Nurse for all, so she's also a vet (and possibly a mechanic if sentient cars are a thing). She's most comfortable in her clinic and is a lot more confident and peppy while working than she is out of work. She's still cheerful outside, but she's not quite sure what to do with herself in social situations at times.

I really like the world of the neighborhood and the art for it :) All this was made for fun and based on what's currently out.

Welcome Home belongs to @partycoffin

The art in the 3rd image was done by @zip-toonz.

Tilly doesn't believe in Vampires, but most of the town thinks she doesn't realize she is one. In their defense Tilly has a lot of vampire traits. Such as her allergy to garlic (but she's also allergic to shallots, chives, and leeks), her sensitivity to light, her ability to turn into a smaller bat form that she can fly around in (also helpful when she needs to work on smaller creatures) she eats by sucking the juice out of fruit through her fangs. Also for fun, her cheeks change color based on the color of the fruit she last ate :). She doesn't fly often, mostly because she's so lite in that firm that it is very easy for her to get swept away by the wind. She has had to get help getting down from trees she got stuck in by other residents.

She's an incomplete puppet that didn't make it into the show after the pilot and her existence is in this gray area. As long as everyone remembers her existence and she doesn't realize she isn't supposed to be there she'll continue to exist. Along with her existence hinging on other's remembering her, her eyes change depending on who is looking at them. Her puppet doesn't have eyes whether because they ran out of time, couldn't decide on how they should look, or didn't bother since her bangs would be covering them anyways, she doesn't have any. But it's acknowledged in the show that she has big eyes that give powerful puppy dog eyes that are hard to resist (which she primarily uses to get patients to take their medicine if they're being difficult). So everyone's minds fill in the blank space with whatever eyes they think she would have because they can't process their absence. In reality it's just a black void underneath her bangs. Even Tilly doesn't realize she's missing eyes and can see normally. The realization that she might not supposed to be there comes with her realizing that she can't remember what color her eyes are. Her general reaction to this is trying her best to not start crying. Not just so she can stay calm since panicking won't do her any good, but she's more scared of where her tears will go if she doesn't have any tear ducts for them to get out of.

[omnibenevolent-couch-blog]

Yi Ti Cuisine:

Breakfast consists of a soup or stock, seasoned with scallions or chives, sweet basil, salt and pepper, and then vegetables like chopped carrots are added alongside egg noodles. Some choose to eat a fried egg on top of their soup, but this is usually done in the northern provinces. Drink in the summer is traditionally a heavy red tea flavored with citrus or saffron if you can get it.

Lunches differ depending on the region, in the south, a common dish is that of rice seasoned lightly with pepper and crushed dried seaweed, side of fried fish topped with chopped chives and salt and pepper, served with a dipping sauce of sesame oil. While in the north, a wheat berry and oats porridge is topped with breadcrumbs and a side of auroch meat strips grilled with salt and pepper is seen as a filling lunch.

Enjoyed for either lunch or dinner, shredded goat or lamb meat is seasoned lightly with salt and pepper and then filled into a thin grain-dough wrap, alongside finely chopped cabbage, scallion, carrots, and ginger. A sauce made of sesame oil and a dash of rice vinegar alongside small bits of crushed garlic is available to dip the roll into. Alternatively, this dish can be enjoyed in a soup, often in a chicken stock that in preparation has garlic and ginger in it, but when reaching boiling point the larger pieces are taken out. Otherwise seasoned with chopped chives and coriander, and added for texture is a small bundle of egg noodles.

For dinner, an easy to make meal is a whole chicken or pheasant gutted but not deboned, and then stuffed only halfway with a mix of scallions, leeks, ginger, salt and pepper. The chicken is marinated in a pot of its own juices and a splash of boiled water with added seasonings like soy sauce, a dash of cane sugar and rice wine. The chicken is then cooked in a covered pot over a flame. The finished product is served with boiled cabbage and carrot covered in finely chopped bits of garlic and salt to taste.

A species of small kraken makes its home in the Jade Sea. Reaching a size no longer than that of a man’s forearm and hand, the body of the kraken is only truly about a quarter of that size, with its tentacles making up the length of it. The color is a sickly pale gray-pink with yellow-green eyes, but when cooked the meat turns a clean white color. Common dinner cuisine in the south, especially in port cities, dictate that the eye and beak portion of the body be cut from it and the tentacles. The mantle of the kraken is gutted and then stuffed with crabmeat and diced shrimp. That filling is then seasoned with pepper, ginger, a pinch of cinnamon, occasionally garlic if desired, and then the open end is stuck shut with a small pick. The mantle is deep fried in an egg yolk and breadcrumb batter, alongside the tentacles seasoned only just with salt and pepper, and then plated on a dish covered with light cloth to soak up the residue oil. A dipping sauce of either rice vinegar or soy sauce with sesame seeds added in is offered, and sprinkled sparsely over the meat is shredded basil.

Tulao—a sweet, soft cheese able to be spread with a knife across pastry. Take a spoon and scoop the cheese out onto a small plate. Place beside it four pitted and divided cherries, preferably tart to bittersweet ones found in the southeastern provinces of Yi Ti, and slices of a ripe peach to surround the cheese. Drizzle over it rosehip syrup or cane syrup at choice.

During winter periods, especially in the northern provinces of Yi Ti, it is common to see people enjoying Yanmo, which is a delicious dessert made of goat milk heated and mixed with honey and waxberry syrup, for rosehip syrup is too sparse and difficult to find without scam. This is mixed until dissolved and then left to cool completely, and then poured over a heaping of shaved ice and eaten with a small spoon.

Often drunk in winter, the popular choice of drink is either fermented cows milk spiced with cinnamon and occasionally honey, or that of Pinjui. It is a mixed drink, part cider and rice wine; only made during the cold season in Yi Ti. Dried, good shaped apples still surviving after the first frost are picked from the tree and processed, then put underground for 3 months to ferment halfway. The Pinjui produced is then added to steamed rice alongside a spiced yeast-water mixture, and left to further ferment for another 4-5 months. The resulting Pinjui has a savory-sweet flavor that warms the body, with hints of caramel and a faint aftertaste of sour apple.

For the eccentric in the winter that want to fight the biting cold of the world with a chilled drink of their own, ice cider is preferable. Fresh and sweet, it offers less of the spreading warmth that Pinjui does and more of a blood pumping sensation not unlike that of chewing mint and then eating snow would.

Golden wine from Yi Ti is medium-bodied and made from the versatile Subi grape selection. Many golden wines can taste similar due to the usage of these grapes, but differ vastly in aftertaste and small flavor notes; all depending on where they are grown and processed. In the northeastern provinces it has a subtle bite of sourness. In the south to some south-western regions, the wine doesn’t hold quite the tart kick of its neighbor in the eastern provinces, it still has enough to be a refreshing summer wine served coast side. Rarely found now in the further west of Yi Ti, the few golden winemakers differ from their competitors in the other provinces with their golden wines being full-bodied, and producing a heavier coloring than the others, often becoming closer to amber than gold due to production varying wildly with how few golden winemakers are left, and how closely they hold their secrets. These golden wines often hold strong hints of safflower, and would be termed in Westeros more likely as strongwine[1] than golden wine, given their flavoring and coloration compared to that of the other wines made using Subi grapes. The largest producer of wines in Yi Ti is the Luma Province.

Strongwine = fortified wine (wine mixed with spirits like brandy)

-

to hold the tide while I wade through molasses;

sauce

[theygender]

Hey heads up to anyone with dogs or cats: garlic and onions are toxic to them. And you may already know that, but you may not know how toxic they are bc I didn't until just now. "Toxic" can mean a lot of things ranging from "it'll give them an upset stomach" to "it will literally kill them" and unfortunately it turns out that garlic, onions, and other plants in the Allium family are on the latter end of that spectrum. More specifically, if an animal ingests thiosulphate (the toxic chemical in Allium plants) in high enough amounts, it will make their red blood cells explode, resulting in a condition called hemolytic anemia that can lead to organ failure and death. Garlic is 5 times as toxic as onions, and cats are more susceptible to it than dogs. As little as one clove of garlic (approx. 1/8 teaspoon / half a gram of garlic powder) can be enough to kill a cat, and the symptoms may not appear until several days later after the garlic has already wreaked havoc on their bloodstream. PLEASE be careful with onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, etc if you have pets. I really feel like this information should be more widely known

[chrispineofficial]

dear chris pine, of all the colors of onion, which is your personal favorite/the one you couldn't live without?

okay so no offense, love and light, and hear me out this is a terrible question to ask anyone who knows anything about onions!!!! the beauty of onions is that they are all uniquely suited for different purposes and i love them all in so many different ways. red onions (which are clearly purple but nobody mentions it) are best raw or in cold salads like tuna or chicken, or various slaws. white onions are great cooked hot and fast, like in kabobs or fajitas, or chopped up into salsa. yellow onions are best for stewing and slow cooking. and sweet onions are good for frying up like a bloomin onion or onion rings or with hash browned potatoes. also shallots, leeks, scallions (green onions)/chives are all actually onions and belong under the same umbrella and garlic is the outlier which is a GREAT flavor component but compared to the variety of the kingdom of onion? garlic you are dust

[puppyexpressions]

Christmas Hazards for Your Dog

We've put together our top tips to make sure you’re in the know about how to keep your four-legged friend safe this Christmas season, so your dog can enjoy the festivities too!

Which parts of a Christmas dinner can I give to my dog?

Providing your dog is healthy and is not allergic to the following foods, it’s safe to feed your dog a little bit of these foods at Christmas:

turkey meat (no skin or bones)

salmon (fillets or cooked in spring water are preferable to smoked salmon)

lamb meat (no bones)

green beans

Brussels sprouts

parsnips

carrot

peas

swede

mash potato (best without added butter)

new potatoes

sweet potatoes

Note: New foods should always be introduced slowly, as too much can cause an upset tummy. Foods high in fat or salt should also be avoided.

Toxic Christmas food for dogs

Christmas is the time for eating, drinking and being merry, but lots of our favourite festive foods are toxic to our dogs and should be kept well out of paws reach:

chocolate – chocolate is toxic to dogs and even small amounts can cause serious illness. Find out what to do if you think your dog has eaten chocolate.

Christmas pudding and mince pies – grapes and dried vine fruits, including currants, sultanas and raisins, can cause severe kidney failure if eaten

onions (and garlic, leeks, shallots and chives) – these all belong to the allium species of plant and are poisonous to dogs whether cooked or uncooked. Avoid feeding foods that include these ingredients, such as gravy.

alcohol – alcohol has a similar effect in dogs as it does in their owners. Make sure your dog can't help themselves to any unattended alcohol left lying around.

macadamia nuts – macadamia nuts can cause lethargy (tiredness), weakness in the back legs, increased body temperature, tremors and stiffness

leftovers – don’t be tempted to give your dog leftover Christmas food – they can include hidden ingredients toxic to dogs and mold in leftovers can make them ill

sweets – many of the sweets we eat over Christmas, such as candy canes, contain a sugar-free sweetener called xylitol, which is poisonous to dogs

Important: If you think your dog has eaten something they shouldn’t, contact your vet for advice.

Are real Christmas trees poisonous to dogs?

The most common types of Christmas trees including pine, fir and spruce are not highly toxic to dogs, but oils they produce and the pine needles that drop from the tree can pose a risk. Not only can the sharp pine needles get stuck in your dog’s paws, they can also cause a mild stomach upset or blockage if eaten.

If you have a dog but would like a real Christmas tree, you can opt for a non-drop variety – just remember to never leave your dog unsupervised around the tree.

Dog proof your Christmas tree

Christmas trees can have hidden dangers for your four-legged friend – here’s our top tips to keep your dog safe around the tree.

Keep decorations out of paws reach

Decorations such as baubles and tinsel can cause a dangerous stomach blockage if swallowed. Hang Christmas tree decorations up high to prevent mischievous paws (or tails) from knocking them off, and remember to never hang chocolate decorations as chocolate is poisonous to dogs.

Don’t leave presents under the tree

Christmas presents lying under the tree can be too tempting for our four-legged friends – especially if the gift is edible! It’s best to keep wrapped gifts out of paws reach, as wrapping paper can cause a blockage in your dog’s tummy if too much is eaten.

Keep fairy light cables tidy

The wires on fairy lights can be tempting for your dog to chew. Keep any cables out of your dog’s reach and remember to switch them off at the mains when they’re not in use.

Always supervise your dog

Whether you have a real or an artificial tree, it’s always best to supervise your dog around the Christmas tree, so you can spot mischief before they get themselves into trouble. It may be a good idea to keep your dog out of the room completely while you’re out.

Christmas poisonous plants

Christmas plants make the season all the more festive, but these traditional Christmas plants are toxic to dogs:

poinsettia

holly

mistletoe

ivy

potpourri

Stress in dogs at Christmas

The festive fun can get a little overwhelming for our four-legged friends – here are our tips for a stress-free Christmas with your dog.

Get to know the signs of stress

You can help your dog to deal with stress by understanding the signs – this will allow you to be aware of when the festivities are getting a little too exciting. 

Don’t dress them up

Dressing up might seem fun for you, but remember that your dog will find it stressful. If you want to get your dog involved with the festivities, you could try making them a homemade Christmas present of their own instead.

Provide them with a safe place

Christmas brings with it lots of guests, but too many can be stressful for your dog. It’s best to prepare for visitors before they arrive, by providing a safe space for your dog to retreat. This could be a quiet room or a den – just make sure it’s somewhere where your dog can’t be disturbed, and remember to provide them with their food, water and any familiar toys, so they have everything they need in their safe space. This also applies if other pets are visiting your home.

If you are expecting visiting children during the Christmas period and your dog isn’t used to their company, take a look at our advice on keeping your dog and visiting children safe.

Stick to a Christmas routine

Routine can often get lost in the chaos of Christmas, but sticking to the routine that your dog is used to, can help minimize stress. Try to make sure your dog eats at the same time, still goes on the same amount of walks and has plenty of time to rest – Christmas can be tiring for our four-legged friends!

[cannot-be-cyn]

Murim Dumplings

There is no recipe of Murim Dumplings w/ Chicken Broth in ORV Novel. However, this recipe is inspired and made by combining Chinese and Korean dumplings recipe and hoping for the best it would turn out well.

(dumpling filling)

- ground pork [fat to meat: 2:8]

- ground chicken

- finely chopped shrimp

- cooked korean glass noodles

- firm tofu

- grated ginger

- grated garlic

- finely chopped napa cabbage

- minced shiitake mushroom

- chopped onion chives

- black pepper

- soy sauce

- fish sauce

- sesame oil

- egg

(dumpling wrapper)

- flour

- salt

- hot water

[*note: 15 inches wide (like baozi wide) yet thin (like xiao long bao); with flour to water ratio of 70:30.]

(chicken broth)

- vegetable oil

- chicken wings

- chicken feet

- korean radish

- napa cabbage

- carrots

- white onion

- onion leeks

- chinese celery

- ginger

- garlic

- splash of soy sauce

- splash of fish sauce

- salt & pepper (to taste)

xxx

1.) In a heated big pot, pour a teaspoon of oil and lightly fry the wings and feet until a little light brown. Add 1000ml of water and put all the ingredients. Let it simmer. When the scum surfaces, remove it before letting it boil. Use pressure cooker to save time.

2.) While the chicken broth is boiling, prepare the ingredients for the filling.

3.) Put everything in a big bowl and gently mix together. Set it aside in a cool and dry place with a clear wrap.

4.) When the broth is ready, drain the clear broth in another pot with a strainer. Do not throw the ingredients and make other dish with it. Set the broth aside.

5.) Mix the flour and salt together before adding the hot water, one tablespoon at a time. Knead well until its soft and smooth for 15-20 minutes. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.

6.) Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking on the surface. Roll the dough in long cylinder about 10 inches in diameter and thin like a xiao long bao's.

7.) Fill the wrappers with generous fillings and shape them up with baozi-like folding by rotating the hand to make pleats with a thumb pushing the filling in the "bag" and pinching the top to seal it. Lightly wet it on the sides to seal it well.

8.) Brush steamer with oil before placing the dumplings and cook by steaming for 12-15 minutes.

9.) When the dumplings are cooked, serve it with the chicken broth. Enjoy!

[weilongfu]

Happy Thanksgiving to my followers. Here's what my spread was like this year.

Menu from my part was:

Braised spicy beef, miso soy and garlic pork, turkey and vegetarian croquettes, vegetarian version of the pie from Kiki's delivery service, sauteed bamboo shoots, leeks, mushrooms, and pressed tofu stir fry, butternut squash soup, roasted garlic, chive and gruyere rolls, polenta, salad with mung bean starch jelly, and flourless chocolate cake.

[angelkin-food-cake]

Vegan Pot Pie with Spring Veggies

1 lb. yukon gold or red potatoes, cut in bite sized chunks

2 cups carrots, cut in half moons

3 Tbsp. vegan butter or olive oil, divided

1 onion or leek, chopped small

3 cloves garlic, chopped small

1 fennel bulb, chopped

1 cup asparagus, cut in ½″ pieces

¼ cup flour

1 tsp. bouillon, vegetable or “chicken-like”

½ cup saved water (from the potato/carrot blanching)

2 cups cashew or almond milk (rich is best)

2 tsp. whole grain mustard (or dijon)

½ tsp. sea salt

½ tsp. black pepper

1 cup peas

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon thyme (or regular), chopped small

1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon (or rosemary), roughly chopped

2 Tbsp. fresh chives, minced

1 pkg vegan puff pastry dough

Thaw puff pastry dough overnight in the fridge. Preheat oven to 425 F.

Blanch potatoes and carrots by covering with lightly salted water, and simmering for about 10 minutes or until just fork-tender. Save ½  cup of the water as you drain potatoes and carrots. Dissolve bouillon in the ½ cup of saved potato carrot water. Set aside.

Sauté leeks, garlic, and fennel in 1 tablespoon vegan butter or olive oil until just translucent.  Add asparagus and sauté a few minutes more.

Add blanched veggies to the sauté and mix. Push to the sides and melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the center of the pan, add flour whisking into the butter. It’ll be lumpy but that will all smooth out.

Add the bouillon (mixed with the reserved potato/carrot water) and the nut milk, stirring all the while, switching from the whisk to stirring with a spoon. Add mustard, salt and pepper. Let the sauce come to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat.

Add in peas, lemon juice, lemon thyme, tarragon and chives. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Let the filling cool while you prepare the puff pastry top crust.

If needed, roll your puff pastry out to ⅛″ thick. Cut into the shape of your pan and lay over the cooled filling. The pastry will shrink a bit as it bakes, so roll a couple inches bigger for full coverage. Score the pastry with a sharp knife, cutting halfway into the dough, and leaving a vent whole in the center. Do any design you like!  This lightens crust, allowing it to lift more and bake evenly. ��Brush with olive oil, or if not vegan, use an egg wash.

Place in the middle of the oven, turn down to 400F and bake for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350F, and bake 10-15 more minutes, crust should be puffy and golden.