#like i will forget to cook a tomato but i will dice one up and eat it on top of a little slice of bread with a little salt and olive oil

[thepoisonroom]

it's crazy how good it is to buy foods you know you like that are easy to eat without substantial prep rather than berating yourself for letting the things you think you should cook and eat rot in the fridge

[starb0n3]

TEEN IN A TIM BURTON MOVIE DIET 🦴🌫️

(inspired by @honeysugarfree)

.˚⊹.🎃₊˚𖦹⋆

You wake up with one thing on your mind: going out for a walk in the woods. But you can’t. You’re a teenager who has school, and your parents would kill you if you skipped school.

It’s too early to eat anything. Pass the time playing with your cat or simply reading by the window as the sun rises.

School is so boring when all you’re craving is a nice cup of warm soup or hot chocolate prepared by your mum. Whatever, you’ll suffer in silence and snack on whatever fruits you threw into your bag this morning.✧˖°.☾

For lunch, you’ll have leftovers from yesterday. roasted/baked/boiled veggies accompanied by rice or wheat. you don’t eat it all; it’s cold, and not that nice at all… Maybe your parents packed you a sandwich instead? make sure you don’t eat the crusts, though. they’re the worst part.

If you’re lucky, you might’ve even added one of your bakes as dessert (low cal pastry/cookie), or a small yoghurt. if you didn’t, don’t fret. your parent didn’t forget to include a fruit or veggie for health.

(¬ ´ཀ` )¬

Back home at last — not before you went on a small walk, though. your parents were worried about where you’d gone off too again, and you’re greeted by a warm broth/soup, or some more baked veggies.

you don’t finish your plate unless your walk was very tiring. you’re too eager to finish that book you started!

Once in a while, you might be allowed a piece of cake or some hot chocolate. not everyday, though. that would be bad for your teeth!

End the day with a cup of tea, reading under a warm blanket with a piece of your favourite chocolate or sweet. 🍂☕️🐈‍⬛

MEAL IDEAS I LOVE:

Chickpeas in tomato sauce with rice

Whole bread sandwich without the crust: tomato, cheese and cucumber (ham if you want, i’m vegetarian c:)

Ratatouille or Shakshuka with wheat/bulgur

Apple sauce cookies (i can share a good recipe if you want)

Pasta/zucchini gratin

Lasagna (spinach or veggies with tomato sauce - or mince, once again, i’m vegetarian)

potatoes (sweet is even better) with broccoli

Mushrooms with bread

Tomato salad (vinegar, herbs, olive oil)

Lentil/corn cakes with cream cheese

Pumpkin pie

Vegetable broth (or chicken) with vegetable dices

Potato soup

Tomato orzo soup

Mashed potatoes with lentils

Lentil soup

Beetroot (it’s so good even on it own)

REMEMBER!

You always prefer ‘halloween’ themed pastries — involving apples, pumpkin, carrots…

Eating isn’t a bother, you’re just a slow eater. don’t hesitate to share your love for sweets, while keeping consummation low.

You get tired of veggies so much! never finish a meal you don’t like.

Your favourite candy is liquorice, and most halloween themed ones like acorn or hard candy

Keep the chocolate low. it’s too heavy and nauseating!

If you must, have a piece of nutella/peanut butter and jelly toast, oats, or milk with fruits in the morning. i promise it’s much better than those ‘healthy’ alternatives (makes you satisfies and low calorie if you only have one)

No crisps — they’re too oily and dirty your books. Pop corn is so much better (and lower in cols) — caramel or pumpkin spice is a staple!

Cinnamon on apples… the best treat!

If you ever eat out with family, eat only a third of the meal and get the rest to pack. it’s so good you want to make it last!!

Bake and cook as much as you can! This will make your parents understand what you like, and not push to make you eat those gross overly fat foods.

Try to stay under 1,000 kcals, but don’t count calories obsessively. keep portions small and always leave a third of your plate.

Have fun!

(i’ll make a moodboard with meals etc, i hope you enjoy!)

[fuckingrecipes]

My biggest hangup with cooking vegetables with my dinners is that it’s impossible to purchase one portion of most veggies. Like, eating by myself, I’ll never need an *entire* sliced onion, or whatever number of veggies get bundled into one purchase, like a bag of green beans. How can I work around this so I’m not wasting money by using half a product and then letting the rest go bad?

2 things.

First: Do you have access to refrigeration?

If you have a fridge, you can put the green beans in the fridge to prolong their life.

If you have a fridge, you can cook enough food for 3-4 meals and then before sitting down to eat your portion of dinner, put the extra meals in an airtight-sealed storage container in the fridge so you can eat it for lunch tomorrow & dinner the next day.

Most cooked food is good for like, 4-5 days in the fridge. Having leftovers available means I don't have to cook tomorrow, I can just scoop some into a bowl, put the rest back, and reheat what's in my bowl using a microwave or stovetop pan.

If you don't have access to refrigeration, come back and we'll talk about options.

--

Second: "I’ll never need an entire sliced onion"

..... wwwwwwhaet? Hi, my name's bewilderment, nice to meet you. What on earth are you talking about?

Eating an entire onion is fine. You're allowed. Onions are tasty. You can also eat raw onion on salads, tacos, & various other shit.

I've never encountered a casual dinner recipe that could be ruined by cooking a whole onion instead of half of one.

You're allowed to eat a meal that's just a huge pile of cooked onions & green beans with spices on it. It's great. There are no food cops that will materialize at your door to stop you.

You're also allowed to eat just an entire can of green beans as a meal, or just a whole bag of carrots.

You're also allowed to cook your whole sliced onion, and use some of the cooked slices in tonight's meal, and store half of the cooked onion in the fridge to drop into a noodle dish tomorrow night.

You can also cut the onion in half, use half of it tonight, and half of it tomorrow. Leftover raw ingredients are also an option.

--

I guess I'm a little confused why you're holding on to produce and not eating it - or you're buying so much produce that you can't eat it all in 1 week.

Fresh produce should get priority when choosing what to eat. If there's fresh veggies & fruit available, every meal should include some.

Stir Frying uses a lot of fresh veggies all at once, so is a good option if you need to quickly use it up.

There's loads and loads and loads of vegetable-heavy recipes available online. Write down what ingredients you have a lot of and look for recipes that include them.

Making SOUP can also use basically ALL your remaining veggies, if they're reaching the end of their lifespan. Soup broth can be frozen for months.

You can also chop a bunch of veggies into itty bitty bits, dump the whole pile into pan with some oil, fry until they start to change color & soften, then dump in a can of diced tomatoes & a shitload of herbs and spices to make Sauce to use.

For the rest of the week, all you need to do is cook some noodles, meat, or hell - bigger chunks of vegetables!

--

If you have a hard time remembering when a vegetable might go bad, or keep forgetting you have a vegetable so it sits in the fridge till it rots - stick a whiteboard to your fridge, with a dry-erase marker.

Write the NAME of the veggies and the DATE you put them in, and the DATE you need to eat it before.

When figuring out what to cook check that list and pick 1-2 of the oldest veggies so you can use them up before they go bad.

--

If the problem is forgetting your veggies exist when they're out of sight in the bottom drawers of the fridge, then don't put them in there!

For a long time, I put most of my veggies in the little shelves on the fridge door, and put all my sauces in the bottom drawers, so I could immediately see all my produce every time I opened the fridge.

--

My advice boils down to:

Eat larger amounts of vegetables.

Eat vegetables with more meals.

Seek out recipes that use them, if you don't know what to do with what you've got.

Use refrigeration to prolong the life of both raw ingredients and leftovers.

Make and Eat Leftovers.

Keep track of your produce better so you know what's more likely to spoil soon & can eat it before the bacteria do.

[knittingandscience]

Feed the bereaved. They're not dead yet.

This was not an unspoken rule in my community growing up; it was in fact spoken loudly and frequently.

Any time someone shared the news of a death in the family or even just a hospital visit, "don't forget to eat" would be found in the response.

At funerals, someone in the mourning family would always mention the casseroles, the chicken, the pastries waiting in their fridge. There would often be so much they'd ask funeralgoers to take some home for themselves.

This, of course, does not apply the same when family is far away, or when only one household is grieving. There is no overflowing fridge, no countertop full of grocery bags.

When it's my household in that situation, I make Grief Pasta Salad.

Large stock pot (10Qt or more)

Colander

Medium mixing bowl

Liquid measuring cup that will hold 2 cups

Pasta scoop

Fork

2 pounds rotini

3/4 cup finely diced ham (optional)

5 small tomatoes, diced

1 and a half large cucumbers, diced

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup either red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried onion

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons molasses

Pinch of salt

Black pepper to taste

Put the water on for pasta. Start preparing your tomato, cucumber, ham (if desired) and put them all in the mixing bowl. You might be able to get all that done before the water boils.

Cook the rotini to desired tenderness and drain.

If your chopping is done, mix the remaining ingredients together in your liquid measuring cup. You can adjust the seasonings as needed* and whisk them together with the fork if you don't want to have to wash a whisk later.

*Author's note: the paprika is non-negotiable.

Put all your solid ingredients into whichever receptacle has the most room. Most likely your stock pot. Pour your whisked vinaigrette over top and mix it through.

This is enough to feed two people for about a day or two. It tastes fine cold.

Eat. You're not dead yet.

[lotstradamus]

do you have some favourite go-to recipes? i would love any of your recommendations!! xx

we eat the same few things on rotation in our house, as I do all the cooking, and I like a) one-pot meals, and b) pasta, preferably. most of these are fairly low effort but you get a lot of bang for your buck flavour-wise, and they're endlessly customisable!

also, listen, I don't do measurements. follow your heart and taste as you go.

the tiktok viral baked feta pasta from like 4 years ago ingredients: plum or cherry tomatoes, a block of feta (or boursin if you're feeling flush), garlic, pasta optional extras: spinach, cannellini beans, chili crisp recipe: whack your tomatoes, sliced garlic, and olive oil in a big dish. nestle your feta in there. I like to add a tin of drained cannellini beans at this point to bulk it out/cut down on the pasta/make the texture confusing, but you don't have to. stick it in the oven at like 180-200C for half an hour ish. after half an hour boil your pasta. retrieve your oven dish, stir everything up to desired consistency (I'm a chunk girl). you can add spinach while you do this for extra greenery, or a massive spoonful of chili crisp for heat and crunch, but it's good on its own. add the pasta and some pasta water if you need. voila. you simply cannot go wrong.

gochujang and hummus pasta ingredients: gochujang (this keeps forever in the fridge so it's a good kitchen investment), a tub of hummus, garlic, white onion, parm optional extras: parsley recipe: chop onion and garlic, sling them in a pan with butter and a splash of EVOO. when the onion is sufficiently sweaty and nice, add a dollop of gochujang (the bigger the dollop the spicier the end result) and stir it all in, followed by the whole tub of hummus. boil the pasta. add the cooked pasta to the pan, along with some pasta water, a shit load of grated parm, and garnish with parsley. my friend sent me a vegan version of this recipe about a year ago and I've made the non-vegan version roughly once a week since. it is so fucking delicious. butter bean thing ingredients: butter beans, garlic, red onion, tomato paste, cream/double cream/greek yog, lemon, sourdough/nice crusty bread optional extras: parsley recipe: throw chopped garlic and onion in a pan with butter and EVOO and really let them sweat it out. add tinned butter beans WITH THE JUICE. yes, I know. add in a few good squirty piles of tomato paste and stir, then let it all heat through. at this point start toasting your crusty bread of choice because I ALWAYS forget until the end and then I'm rushed. I recommend splurging for the good bread, slathered with melty butter. add whatever creamy thing you have to hand (the og recipe I saw said double cream, but I usually have greek yoghurt in and that does the job) to the beans, along with some lemon juice, garnish with parsley if you like and serve. use the bread as a giant spoon. you are welcome.

sausage soup/stew? casserole?? ingredients: celery, white onion, carrot, sausage/s, cherry tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, chicken broth, parm optional extras: creamy thing of your choice, spinach, orzo recipe: dice the celery, carrot and onion (mirepoix!), and throw it in a big big big pot with some EVOO. now: I get a pack of nice sausages and either mash or chop them depending on how much energy I have, but if you live somewhere with a butcher or whatever you can save your mashing arm and just get ground sausage. throw in the ground, mashed, or chopped sausage and cook for a bit. follow with a tin of chopped tomatoes and chicken broth. I usually put in about a litre. chop the cherry toms and toss them in. follow with a load of grated parm. if you have any parm rinds, throw em in and leave it to bubble away. this doesn't sound like much but it is so good. the longer you leave it the more flavourful it will be! towards the end I like to add in whatever creamy thing is in the fridge (double cream, greek yog, milk), along with lots of chopped spinach and a cup of orzo to really bulk it up. we can happily live on this for DAYS, especially if we have leftover fancy crusty bread from the gochujang pasta. oh and remember to take out the parm rind.

thai chicken curryish ingredients: chicken (thigh/breast), garlic, ginger, yellow peppers, spring onion, cashew nuts, rice, coconut milk, chicken broth optional extras: sriracha, coriander recipe: I love this one cos it is SO quick and SOOOO easy. cut chicken into chunks and brown it in the pot. whip it back out and throw in the chopped garlic and ginger (I have a tube of ginger paste in the fridge cos WHO has the time?) with a big glug of EVOO, then a cup of rice. jasmine works, but I've also used risotto rice. toss in the chopped peppers, spring onion and cashew nuts (if I have the energy I'll chop the nuts, but you can put em in as-is), then add coconut milk (a tin's amount, be that an actual tin or some of the melted stuff that costs 1/4 of the price - thanks Asian supermarket!) and chicken broth. put the browned chicken back in, give it all a stir, cover it, and stick it in the oven for like 25ish mins. here’s the NYT recipe if you need liquid measurements/an actionable recipe that isn’t me riffing. (as always, 12ft.io/ in front of the address to bypass the paywall.) serve it with sriracha squirted all over it (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and coriander if you like it.

delicious little rice waffle ingredients: leftover jasmine rice, chili crisp, an egg, kewpie mayonnaise, sesame oil, spring onion, A WAFFLE MAKER optional extras: furikake recipe: full disclosure, you need a little waffle maker for this. mix the rice with chili crisp, a little sesame oil, and egg yolk. dollop it into the waffle maker and cook. garnish with kewpie mayo, sliced spring onion and some furikake if you have it, or just toasted sesame seeds if you have those, or neither! delicious little spicy umami snack, my beloved.

tuna melt of dreams ingredients: you know what's in a tuna melt recipe: swap the butter on the outside of the bread for kewpie mayonnaise and thank me later.

ADDENDUM: this goes without saying for me but sadly I know it does not for everybody: SEASON YOUR FOOD WITH SALT. IT WON'T MAKE YOUR FOOD SALTY IT WILL MAKE IT DELICIOUS. COOK YOUR PASTA IN SALT. WHEN IN DOUBT, ADD SOME SALT. THANK YOU.

[anopenbookunderlockandkey]

The 118 Sauce Chat

Eddie: I definitely make spaghetti sauce extremely wrong but I’m not going to stop

Chim: please elaborate on the wrong way to make spaghetti sauce; it sounds highly entertaining?

Eddie: 1 chop onion and put in a pot

Eddie: Add 1 or 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Whatever makes the ratio of onion look right.

Eddie: Add a ridiculous amount of frozen peas. Peas should make up a notable portion of this sauce.

Eddie: Add frozen corn also if you wanna be real fancy. If I have bacon I’ll ad that too. But I very rarely have bacon.

Eddie: Cook on HIGH

Eddie: While sauce is cooking, grab the nearest bottle of mixed spices that isn't obviously for desserts. Add some. How much? I dunno, enough that you feel like you've added seasoning so it's technically cooking. (For me this is most often a mix called Moroccan, but it could be anything. Buck reorganised my kitchen recently so tonight it was something called Pizza Topping.)

Eddie: If you happen to have green herbs lying around, add those too. Whatever you have on hand that's green

Eddie: Let the sauce boil on HIGH until all the water is gone. Stir occasionally so the saucepan will be easier to clean later. Serve on cooked spaghetti noodles with no cheese

Eddie: Today I added a new step called "while the sauce is cooking, duck out for 15 seconds to text the group chat about spaghetti sauce, then get distracted and forget you are cooking." This adds a novel Extremely Burnt edge to the flavour profile.

Chim: I am not Italian, or of Italian descent by *any* stretch of the imagination.

I am also not one of those "cooking purists", who believes that everything must be done in a specific/ traditional way (unless you are making a cooking video with the title "how to make x" in which case if you don't specify mid video that your way is not traditional god help you).

I am a firm believer in "If it tastes good, then it is correct for you".

Chim: Except in this case

Bobby: This hurts every cooking bone in my body. The latent ancestors in my soul. The judgmental elf in my brain just bit a cyanide capsule

Hen: Why? The spices.

Using a different spice mix every time, based on what is ready at hand just ... hurts

Eddie: *sends SPICE IS SPICE meme*

Ravi: absolutely deranged, Eddie. Food crimes.

Bobby: Hey Eddie, looks like you forgot to mention the part where you obviously sweated the onions, because nobody would make spaghetti sauce that had straight up raw onions boiled in tomato juices.

Bobby: RIGHT????

Bobby: Please Eddie

Eddie: I don’t know what sweating the onions means

Hen: It means. It means you cook em a little in a pan with a bit of oil first

Eddie: A pan? How many dishes do you want me to have to wash here?

Hen: I mean you can also do it in the same pot you're making the spaghetti sauce in! The important thing is the onions get a little cooked before the wet stuff goes in, so they're not so wet and limp and boiled....

Eddie: Honestly this depends entirely on whether I remember to chop an onion first or I find the can opener for the tomatoes first. The ingredients go in in whatever order they go in.

Ravi: Eddie, who hurt you???

Eddie: A pack of wild chefs herded my mother off a cliff

Chim: Theres probably a hit out on you for this

Eddie: What kind of stupid idiot would waste money assassinating someone who's so clearly going to accidentally poison themself for free at some point

Bobby: hi Eddie, big fan of your firefighting, this is the sauce equivalent of the running up a metal ladder in a lightning storm to try to pull up a 6’0” tall man instead of lowering him to the ground

-Athena

Eddie: Athena, that is the meanest review my cooking has ever received

Chim: congratulations you found the worst way to do it! this feels like a spaghetti recipe made by AI before it got really sophisticated

-Maddie

Eddie: this group chat’s hate mail game is insane

Ravi: at this point please just eat every ingredient raw… please

Eddie: Do I look like Tony Abbott to you

Buck: As a former Committer of Food Crimes, I have decided to make this sauce this weekend after I have a chance to go to the store. I will report back.

Eddie: Excellent, I look forward to vindication.

Hen: No one's going to vindicate your boiled onion in cinnamonny tomato juice on noodles, Eddie

Eddie: Not cinnamon. Cinnamon is a dessert spice. You use the nearest non-dessert spice.

Ravi: cinnamon is absolutely not a dessert spice

Eddie: Yes it is! It's for muffins and pancakes and fruit pies!

Chim: Cinnamon powder is absolutely a dessert “spice” and Eddie if your cooking is this bad I can’t imagine your baked abominations

Eddie: I put lemon juice in everything I bake that isn't bread

Written for the only two gremlins (endearment) who find this as entertaining as I do @professionalprocrastinator22 and @gravelyhalversobbing

Inspired by:

[princelylove]

Narancia’s proficiency with his pocket knife is nothing to scoff at. His approach is juvenile, but his technique is flawless. He cuts his own hair with it- perfect, neat layers that he’ll forget to brush later on. He has two, one designated for food and one for “everything else.” Not out of concern for germs, but out of disgust at biting into a snack he was excited for and tasting his own hair and some guy’s blood. Bleugh.

He fidgets with it like it’s a toy. It might make you nervous when he takes it out for seemingly no reason, but it’s nothing to him. Narancia’s knives are just a part of him- they kept him safe before he developed Aerosmith. Some people have comfort blankets, some people have stuffed animals, Narancia has his knives. 

When he first took you, Narancia was kind enough to lay down some ground rules. 

Don’t touch his knives. 

If you don’t cook dinner then you don’t eat. (He’ll do groceries.)

You’re dating now, so call him your boyfriend and lovey names.

He had more, but he blanked when he got to actually tell you. Narancia was going to write them down, but he thought it was embarrassing for his darling to see his handwriting. He thought about asking Pannacotta or Bruno, but figured it was for the best that they didn’t do it- they wouldn’t be cool with him keeping a whole person somewhere. By ‘somewhere,’ he means Bruno’s childhood home he temporarily stepped away from in favor of living closer to work. 

Narancia sits at the table while you cook. He’s burning a hole in the back of your head, but every time you turn around to ask him to cut something for you, his eyes dart down to the pretty, pink apron he got for you. He can barely contain how pleased he is to see you like this.

He takes the tomato out of your hand and dices it without a word. The cutting board has made the kitchen table its home, mainly thanks to your suggestion of not putting food directly on the same spot where he puts his legs up.

As he slides it into the pan, he looks at you like you forgot something.

“Seriously?” He scoffs, “You don’t get it?”

Narancia puts the cutting board down, and flicks his knife towards your throat.

“Kiss me. I want a kiss.”

[loverboy-cc]

@avocado-writing’s tav + Charlie enjoying some birthday soup bc it’s their birthday today and mine is in 5 days so!! Soup!! (My actual birthday soup recipe is under the cut)

Birthday soup

Don’t forget to get silly w it. That’s like, required. It’s your BIRTHDAY (or someone else’s birthday) you deserve to get silly.

I stole this from my mom btw, also make sure you know the difference between a herb and a spice.

Oh yeah also it includes soup dumplings.

Kitchen items:

Big pot w a lid

Cutting board

Knife

Ingredients:

2 tbls Butter

1pkg Stew beef (or chicken hearts, that’s the original ingredient I just don’t like em)

2 medium onions, one diced, one quartered (keep separate)

1 whole head of garlic, minced (jarlic works very well here)

3 cups of stock (beef if you use beef, veggie if you use chicken, do not use chicken stock it fucks up the taste)

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium potatos, chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

1/4 head of cabbage, chopped (optional, I just like cabbage an unreasonable amount)

1 whole package of frozen spinach, defrosted (do this in a bowl this shit is WET also keep the water)

Can of green beans (you could probably use fresh, I don’t like fresh tho so, idk)

Can of diced tomatoes

Rosemary

Thyme

Fennel

Mustard seed

Celery seed

Sprinkle of Cloves (ground)

Sprinkle of Nutmeg

5% Vinegar or lemon juice (or your favourite other edible acid, tomato juice would in theory work, lime juice is mid.)

Salt + pepper

1 tbls Paprika

Steps:

Butter in that pot, medium

Spices, add em, leave ‘em until they smell good, it won’t be long.

Beef and a splash of your acid in that pot, cook until 1/4 done

Carrot and celery in that pot, get em hot but don’t cook em too long.

Diced onion, spinach, and paprika + salt n pepper to taste in that pot, med-low

Stir, cover, leave it alone for 5ish minutes

Uncover, add garlic to that pot, cook until it smells like garlic

Stock + the canned bean and frozen spinach water, add it.

Canned tomato, add it.

Potato, add it.

Cabbage, add it.

All them herbs, add em to taste (I use roughly a tablespoon each of em dried, but I like my shit strong.)

Bring it to boil on high

Let that bitch simmer, you may need to periodically add water if he’s goin too hard. (START MAKING THOSE SOUP DUMPLINGS RN IF YOURE DOING THAT)

When the potato is 1/2 done that quartered onion (and the dumplings)

Finish the potato.

Bam. Soup. I like it more cold, but it is intended to be eaten hot.

Soup dumplings

I stole this from my roommate and add em to most soups tbh

Kitchen items:

Bowl,

Wood spoon,

Your Hands,

You could probably do this in a stand mixer but I don’t have one of those so, you’re on your own man.

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour

Water, hot as you can handle touching, volume required varies,

Salt

Pepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Whatever fresh herbs you like (dried don’t work here unless they’re ground absolutely tiny)

1 tbls of your favourite liquid fat (I use olive oil, canola and sunflower also work for sure)

Steps:

Flour, into the bowl

Seasonings, into the bowl

Mix well.

Add the fat

Slowly add water, mixing often until you get a slightly sticky ball.

Knead for a bit, I don’t really know how to describe the texture bc I’ve been making bread since I was a kid (and this is just a yeastless bread dough) but its finished when it stops really sticking to your hands (it’ll be tacky, not sticky)

Divide into 1 inch balls

Drop into the soup roughly 30 minutes before it’s finished.

Serve in the soup

Congrats, soup balls.

[leam1983]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but...

Your first steak should be palm-sized - about as thick as your palm's pad, as well. Some people swear by cooking with a pan greased in butter, but I personally like to reserve this for my T-bones. Smaller steaks get a dab of olive oil swirled around so the pan is properly coated, on low heat to avoid burning it - and I raise the heat only once I'm ready to put the steak in. For added flavor, toss in some diced shallots and baby tomatoes.

Once you're ready to sear your steak, stay close by. You're going for a thin cut if you've follow this, so you could easily overdo it. Use a decent steak knife to make small scores on occasion, to check for the inner flesh's consistency. When the color matches your preferred grade, take it off the stove. If you're forced to work on your steak first and have other elements to work on, set your oven on Warm and put your pan in there, keeping it covered by a big-enough saucepan lid. Don't do this if your pan's handle is rubberized, obviously, and don't forget to cover your hands. Especially don't do this if your pan is bare metal all over.

For uncomplicated side-dishes that won't break the bank, never underestimate potatoes and cheese. If I'm cooking for myself, I peel three small potatoes, wash then pat them dry, then I cut them roughly and run them through my mixer for two or three quick pulses. I'm trying to keep big chunks for now, obviously. Then, in a bowl, I add one egg and about one-sixth of a cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Taking out my mixer, I incorporate the potatoes and add about two tablespoons of milk. A few generous pads of unsalted butter get tossed in, and I adjust the milk levels as needed, depending on how consistent I want my potatoes to be. For a silkier finish, add more milk. For meme-worthy pillowy mounds, don't add too much. Keep some salt and some grated cheese on the dining room's table, for last-minute personal adjustments.

For greens, my starter side dish is usually Brussels sprouts, arranged in a way that kills the core's acidity, which is what most people hate about them. Coat another pan with oil, add in a few teaspoons' worth of coarse salt, and toss your sprouts in after cutting them in halves. Get the flat sides well and truly scored, while tossing them around so the round side gets some color, too. You'll end up with sprouts that almost have a nutty aftertaste, with the core's bitterness being a really subtle suggestion in the back. For an alternative, peel some asparagus and subject them to the same treatment.

For desert (or lunch), snag yourself some medjool dates, preferably unseeded ones, a bit of flour and a box of All-Bran. Make a mixture of about 2/3 All-Bran and one-third flour, add some water and knead, then add in some diced-up date bits. Divide the ball up for a greased muffin tray and set your muffins to rise and cook. You'll realize that cooked dates tend to caramelize, which is fucking divine in the context of a muffin. You can remove the flour if you're especially health-conscious; you'll simply end up with brittle muffins that won't really rise much at all.

Other easy ways to flip the bird to the takeout industry include pasta laden with a veggie-rich sauce, basic whitefish like sole, homemade chicken strips, five-minute enchiladas and most desserts, which really are always at their best when you cook them yourself.

There is one catch, however. You can cook like a god using stuff bought off of Dollar Tree, but you will eventually need a decent knife block. Do not skimp on this, as this needs to be a lifetime investment. Do not buy into influencers selling you "Authentically japanese" knives. Eventually, the same goes for your pots and pans. We're talking about things that touch and alter objects you'll put in your body, here - the expense is more than warranted.

Another tip: keep "almost prepared" bases for your starter dishes around, frozen up if need be. It'll help you resist the call of the DoorDash menu, with a little prior planning.

[dino-boyo-agere]

Ratatouille soup :00 that sounds so good!! I've always wanted to try ratatouille but put it off bc I don't like the texture of most cooked veggies

Could we get a recipe mayhaps? 👀👀

Oh definitely!!

I don't really have measurements, but I'll try my best! I always cook a little more, and freeze the rest. I have about four days of food with these ingredients.. I also eat fairly small portions though, so keep that in mind!

Without further ado, let's get to making the ratatouille!

For the ratatouille you need:

1 aubergine

1 courgette

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 to two red onions

1 can of peeled and diced tomatos

1 teaspoon of sugar

Salt, pepper to your liking

Herbs & spices of your choice (I use salt, pepper, rosemary, parsley and tumeric.)

Half a tube of tomato paste

And technically garlic, but I hate that stuff so I leave it out lol (about one to two cloves should be enough, the garlic should be minced)

Maybe rice, pasta or potatoes to eat it with. (I'll follow up on that later in this post)

for the ratatouille you gotta:

Clean and dice the aubergine

Put the aubergine dices in a bowl with salt and shake it up - cover up the bowl and put it aside.

Next clean and cut the courgette and onions. (& the garlic if you choose to add it). - Put all those in one bowl.

Now clean and dice the bell peppers and place those in a separate bowl.

Take the aubergine out and tap it dry with a paper towel & clean out the bowl - put it back in the bowl clean bowl for now.

Heat oil in a pan (any oil works but olive oil tastes best)

First add the courgette, onion (& garlic) in the pan and cook them until the onions are slightly see through.

When that's done add the bell peppers.

After those are integrated through stirring, add the aubergine.

Let the veggies cook for 5 minutes - keep stirring.

After 5 minutes add the tomatoes, tomato paste, the sugar and whatever seasoning and herbs you want. (I add salt, pepper, rosemary, parsley and tumeric.)

Cook the ratatouille for about 20 minutes on middle heat - don't forget to stirr it every once in a while.

Ratatouille pairs great with:

Rice, pasta or potatoes (I prefer rice).

Simply cook one of these in the 20 minutes the ratatouille needs to fully cook. - Keep it in separate containers, otherwise the add INS suck up all the moisture.

Also, Pasta & Rice Arend good to freeze & it doesn't work with the soup!

If you don't like the texture of cooked veggies, blending them into a soup could be the perfect solution. A friend of mine also has a sensory problem with those textures and she loves this soup. I have the same issue with mushrooms, so I also only eat them in cream soup form.

Sensory issues are way more common than most people think, it's nothing to be ashamed of! <3

So, without further ado, let's get to making the soup!

For the soup you need:

The Ratatouille (without rice, pasta or potatoes)

1 bunch of Parsley

1 Parsley root

1,5 Leeks

1 cup of Cooking cream (250 ml)

I also like to add 2 - 3 carrots, it's not a must though. - That just makes it taste a little different than ratatouille, and I prefer to not have the same tasting food two days in a row! (If you just want to make ratatouille soup right from the start, there's no need to add them at all)

What you gotta do:

Clean and cut/ dice the parsley, parsley root, leeks (& carrots)

While you do that, bring about two and a half cups ow tater to the boiling point.

Add vegetable broth, pepper and the veggies.

Cook until the carrots and parsley root are soft enough to easily poke them with a fork/ toothpick.

Take it off heat and add the ratatouille. [If you youse previously frozen ratatouille leftovers, keep it on heat until it fully unfreezes and heats up too.]

Leave it to cool off a bit before pouring it into a blender to blend it up. - otherwise the blender might leak/ the lid may pop off. [If you use a stick blender, you don't need to let it cool first & can just blend it in the pod you're cooking in.]

After it's pureed to your liking, pour it back into the pot and add the cooking cream (or vegan substitute) and cook under constant stirring, until it begins so simmer.

And now to the toping & side:

I highly recommend to top it with shredded chicken / shredded chicken substitute. - just fry it in a frying pan until it's golden brown. - Make sure to use the same oil you did for the onions & courgette in the ratatouille!

And flatbread with sesame seeds & poppy seeds is amazing to dip it in the soup. - simply heat it in the oven until it's nice and crunchy outside and fluffy inside (ca. 10 - 15 min at 150°C - that's 302°F)

And that's that!

I hope the receipt is easy to follow, if you have any questions just ask in the comments or DMs!

I'd love to see your results if you choose to cook it too! <3

Have fun and good luck cooking!!

[mildmayfoxe]

post the beans!!!!

ok slow beans! it's not a real recipe so much as just a set of loose ingredients and a dream. but here's what you need:

canned bean of choice. anything you'd put in a chili. usually i do black beans but this time i did pinto bc that's what i had

onion

pepper of some variety. i like poblanos but bells work just fine

tomato of choice. usually i do real tomato but this time i did tomato paste bc i didn't have any tomatoes. you can also use canned tomatoes (crushed, diced, whatev) but you probably don't want a full can

spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder, chipotle powder, chili flake, garlic, oregano, basil, etc. again: anything you'd put in chili) (use fresh garlic if u feel like it bc it will be better that way but i'm lazy & badia garlic parsley is my best friend) (salt & pep also obvi)

nutritional yeast & soy sauce!

citrus juice of choice. lime is ideal but lemon is also good

water/stock

it's been a while since i made this properly but i seem to remember that generally i do a half onion/half pep per can of beans but i think it's a full plum tomato? half a tomato? i don't know do whatever you want. i've also used cherry tomatoes for this. but this time around i did a full onion and full pepper and just one can of beans and as noted above tomato paste. i also added corn to my batch today

OK so dice up your veg. throw the onion in a pot with some oil or butter and let it get a little translucent & then put in your pepper (and fresh garlic) and let that cook a little. then if you want you can add your dry spices now so they can toast a little on the aromatics before you add wet stuff. now you put in your beans and tomato and some water! probably about a half cup to a cup of water. see how you feel. OH PUT IN CHICKEN STOCK HERE INSTEAD OF WATER! i forgot to do that this time!!!! i can't believe it! anyway you want it to be a little soupy bc it's gonna cook down. now you can add soy sauce and nutritional yeast. this is for UMAMI! it will help you make "meaty" beans. this is one of the best cooking tips i've ever learned, i put soy sauce in almost every bean thing i make. it's awesome. don't salt this until after you taste it with the soy sauce in. and don't forget the lime juice. taste it again to see if you need to add anything else. now you're just gonna let this simmer for a while, the longer the better. it's gonna cook down so if you need to add more liquid you can! usually i let this go at least half an hour. if you don't have a long time to let it cook probably go for tomato paste bc it incorporates quick- ideally your fresh tomatoes will break down nice over the long simmer. (this is why i call them "slow beans.") after you're tired of letting it sit around/when most of the liquid is gone (you still want SOME) go at it with a potato masher or the back of a spoon and get it mostly squished up until its kind of paste-y. these can be kind of wet or kind of dry, both are good. ok! it's done! you can use this in tacos, quesadillas, nachos, rice bowl, mix it in queso for dip, whatever. ENJOY YOUR BEANS!

[jegaphone]

This post kind of went off the rails as I was writing it but I'm still having a nice time getting my thoughts down on paper so to speak, so here it is anyway! Read on for instant pot thoughts and chicken suggestions.

@thievinghippo also requested new chicken recipes, and I happen to be making one of my favorites tonight - Punjabi chicken curry! The specific recipe requires a set of spices that may be less likely to be in your kitchen if you don't cook Southeast Asian cuisine on the reg, and I don't want to reproduce a recipe in full that isn't already available online, but I highly recommend Anupy Singla's cookbook Instant Pot Indian. Everything I've made from it has been an absolute banger, and once you have the basic set of ingredients on hand the recipes come together quickly and easily. A lot of pureeing instead of chopping, and dumping stuff into the pot to simply set and forget rather than having to mind the stovetop. There are also many options for adjusting the spice levels to your tastes!

I've made some terrible instant pot meals - rubbery, watery, tough. I know a lot of folks who have given up on it as an appliance. I think the most important thing I've learned is to use recipes (at least as a jumping off point) that were truly designed and tested for that cooking method. Until very recently I hadn't really seen the point in buying cookbooks when so many recipes are available online, but man, the difference in quality is often SUBSTANTIAL. I do have some trusted online sources for recipes (I want to make a post listing them soon), but just Googling or using something like All Recipes is a minefield these days. I'm trying to make too many points at once here, but what I really want to get at for the moment is that the instant pot is Good Actually if you use it right.

In particular, chicken in the instant pot turns into easily-shreddable, juicy, flavorful deliciousness. Just throw in whole thighs or breasts (boneless or not) along with the other ingredients for chili, curry, stew, etc. It can also become pulled chicken sandwiches, or get added to a salad to make it a heartier meal. There are so many possible variations, but as a very general baseline...

2 pounds of meat

1 cup of liquid (broth, aquafaba from cans of beans, tomato sauce, or even just water - in my experience erring on the side of a little more liquid is better, since you can always drain some off, but you don't want anything to scorch if it's too dry)

1 tablespoon of Kosher salt

Set the timer to 10 minutes on high

For the curry I'm making tonight, I marinated the chicken in spiced yogurt, and then added diced canned tomatoes, pureed onion, garlic, and ginger, frozen peas, and a bunch more spices. About five tablespoons of spices in total for this dish, but that varies a lot by cuisine and what the spices in question are! I'm being purposefully vague because one of the skills I've most valued learning for day-to-day cooking is to freestyle with what I have on hand, rather than having to meticulously plan ahead for stocking specific ingredients. This does require having a stocked pantry of basics... another post for the future!

[wiredaughter]

♡.♡.♡

@tropetember #3: sickfic!

the sicilian ☆ aspanu/turi ☆ preslash ☆ third person pov ☆ ao3 ☆ fluffffff ☆ 1481 words

In nights like these, Turi sets their sleeping bags away from his men. It's a small detail, but one that always makes Aspanu's heart miss a beat whenever his condition flares up. The cold sweat in his palms, the blood that threatens to saturate his handkerchief, the fatigue; all these he'll brave in the knowledge that, come night, Turi will lead him away from the camp into a cave, a tunnel, a clearing to tend to him like a veritable nurse. In nights like these, Aspanu lets him.

Tonight, hidden in a small open cavern still within earshot of the camp, Aspanu's breath was slow and heavy as he laid in the sleeping bags while Turi busied himself with dinner. Aspanu had turned his nose up at the stew that was served for lunch, and his friend had known better than to push. Now, after taking the pills Turi coaxed into him with sips of wine, he knew he wouldn't be that lucky. He let out a sigh, wishing he would forget dinner and lay next to him already, then cursed himself as the taller man interrupted his humming and stepped closer.

'Do you think you're getting worse? We should take you to the doctor.'

'I'm alright.' His voice was hoarse but steady, 'The night air will do me good.'

Turi changed the cold cloth in his friend's forehead and let his hand cup his chin. The sharp features, always in motion, were now lax and pale. In the low light, it seemed to him his mouth looked red like drying blood in contrast. Turi ran his knuckles along his lower lip, making him open his eyes, halflidded and shimmering with his fever. It was his stare, the blush on his cheekbones, the heat of his breath against his skin; it was too much for Turi, and he found himself giving a small smile before going back to the campfire feeling like he'd caught some of his cousin's fever from that touch.

He distracted himself by carefully watching the bread he was toasting, as he knew Aspanu liked, before letting a slice of cheese melt on top of it. When be took it off the fire he topped it with a diced tomato before bringing the plate inside to find Aspanu sitting up, toying with some weed he pulled off the cave floor. His fever seemed to have gone down, and Turi hoped he'd eat on his own, but he didn't as much as look at the plate as it was set between them. Turi started peeling an orange thinking he eventually would, but Aspanu's attention was taken by him which, by reasons he couldn't parse, only made him focus harder on his orange.

When he gave up and met his friend's eyes, they were glossed over with his illness. With concern, he offered him a section of the fruit.

'Eating would do you good.'

Aspanu stared a moment longer, then took it and ate it whole, his hand lingering in front of his moviestar moustache, eyes closing in exhaustion or delight.

'The bread is also good. Is not too hot, is it?

The smaller man gave the food a look between fondness and weariness, then made a undecided noise. Turi frowned, picking a piece and deciding it had cooled enough before passing it to Aspanu, who accepted it after a pause and bit half off at once. He made a sound of appreciation, not waiting to swallow entirely before raisinga eyebrow at his companion.

'Soon you'll cook as good as La Venera, if you keep going to see her.'

'Are you complaining or giving me your blessing?'

'Why would I complain? Be nice to have someone around who can actually prepare a rabbit.'

He smiled down and another bite, this one way smaller, before putting the bread down and laying back with a feeling of unease he couldn't place. This was quickly dispelled as Turi made his way to sit next to him. He'd missed his closeness and, when his friend sat him half up so he leaned on his stronger frame and raised the bread to his lips in an offer, or maybe command, he accepted. It was really good, but too big a mouthful to chew with ease or maybe he was right and not hungry at all, but maybe it was l'ansia coiling in his stomach. No, not fear, but something else and just as powerful. He startled when Turi spoke, and washed it down with some water.

'I don't know. Truth is I haven't been down in a while.' He spoke pensively, maybe as a distraction as he tried to feed Aspanu a new slice, but he jerked his head to the side. 'Sometimes she just makes me sad. Candelaria was a good man, all in all.'

Aspanu stared into the fire outside and said nothing to that but, when Turi offered him more of the orange he huffed out a protest.

'I'm fine now, I've eaten.'

He made a listless attempt to get off his friend, jerking away but falling back into his chest without him needing to hold him there. Something in Turi's chest tightened at fhe contradictions his most beloved friend seemed to be made of. He'd, however, anticipated this resistance, and now dug into his pocket for the Torinese chocolate bar he knew Aspanu wouldn't resist. When he broke off a piece and pressed it to his lips, still bemused by this new nutrition arrangement of theirs, Aspanu took it immediately as predicted.

'You actually bit me!' He pulled his hand away, wiping it in Aspanu's shirt who only hummed in amusement. 'Now have some more bread, yes?'

Aspanu obliged, cajoled by his unspoken bargain. Slowly, comforted by the gentleness of the strong hands coaxing him and the steadinessof the body holding him up, he finished the orange and all but one pieces of bread, insisting on Turi eating some, no matter how much he insisted he'd already eaten wjth his men.

When Turi laid him down on their combined sleepingbags, he was relieved to see some of the colour had returned to his face. Dark, delicate with consumption, his mind was taken to the arab dancers he'd seen at the carnival once. This, and all thoughts, left him as Aspanu started coughing again, the small truce his lungs had given them over. He gave the larger man a look between jaded and resigned, but let him wipe the blood away.

'Open your shirt.'

Aspanu quirked lip at that, but figured he had no real reason to deny him that. His eyes were calculating as he undid the buttons, but Turi only looked worried back at him. When he'd finished, he kneeled around his hips.

'This will be cold.'

'What...' Aspanu's loss for words was momentarily. 'What will be cold?' His only response was the ball of his friend's hand pushing down on his chest. His wet hand. 'Turi...'

'Giuseppinna told me her husband heard about it in Corleone. I'm going to help your lungs.' He stopped to take in Aspanu's flushed expression, checked his temperature. 'It's supposed to be done with vinegar, I can go to the camp to see if there's any...'

'No.' His protest was joined by his hand resting over Turi's, still on his chest. 'No, I think the smell will make me nauseous.'

Turi thought about it for a moment, then sighed out a laugh. 'Right. Don't get nauseous.'

He put the rest of the chocolate in his hand and resumed his task with light, circular movements on his friend's skin. It was dark against his and hot as he expected, softer than he knew to expect. Aspau ate slowly, he wasn't nauseous but there was this tension setting in his stomach that felt inadequate in this moment. Maybe Turi's touch was too light.

'You can press harder.' At the quizzical look that answered him, he only raised the sweet to his friend. 'I think you should press harder'.

Turi took a bite, then pressed down with one hand on top of the other, small firm circles down the centre of the thin chest. Aspanu gasped when he made it to his solar plexus.

'I don't think...'

'Right, ribs.'

Looking as affected as he'd felt at the pressure, he moved back to his chest. Resting his hands under his clavicle on both sides now, putting some of his weight into the upward motions. If this was meant to help him breath, Aspanu mused, medicine was a joke altogether. Not that he would complain, this lightness in his breath was enjoyable. As were the large lands working on him, refreshing against his heated body. He was somewhere between alert and languid and, when Turi sat him up and instructed to cough, he found himself hoping he'd get whatever result he was expecting so he'd do this again sometime.

[foodandfolklore]

Quinoa; It's Beautiful Story and Tragic History

Quinoa is one of those foods that has made it's way into modern food trends. It seems to have exploded out of nowhere. It fits many diets as it's low carbs, vegan, gluten free, and a complete protein. Is this superfood newly engineered by scientists? Nope. It's actually one of the oldest staple foods of the Americas. So why isn't Quinoa as common as Potatoes and Tomatoes?

If you've never had Quinoa, it's a seed that is eaten like a grain. It's small and round, coming in a variety of colours. Tan, Red, and Black are most common. It can be ground into a flour, but it's most commonly eaten by boiling like rice. It tastes like a slightly nutty rice and I quite enjoy it. That's assuming you get the coating off.

Since I live in Canada, most Quinoa that's bought comes prewashed. This is because Quinoa has a protective coating over it to help keep pests away. This invisible coating is very bitter and soapy, thus it needs to be washed off. But this coating is one of the things that makes Quinoa so resilient. It can grow basically anywhere. Flat lands, highlands, mountains, dry lands; it's absolutely astounding how a crop this nutrient dense can grow so easily.

And the Indigenous populations of the central Americas knew this. Quinoa was the backbone of their diet. It allowed their people to thrive, their children to grow up strong, new mothers to lactate and provide milk for their young; It was a gift from the Gods. They worshiped Quinoa and regularly laid out offerings to the beings who gave it to them.

So when European colonizers first came to the Americas, they saw how important Quinoa was to the Inca locals. And they didn't like that. Some of them didn't like the religious aspect, and thought it inappropriate they were worshiping false Gods. Others saw how healthy and strong the food made them and felt threatened. So the colonizers set out to destroy Quinoa and the culture around it. They tore up fields, destroyed offerings, and placed a Ban on Quinoa eating and worshiping. It's pretty pathetic how threatened someone can feel from food, but sadly it worked. And it wasn't just Quinoa, they abolished cultures, other foods they didn't like; we are missing so much and it physically hurts me to think about.

But, we have Quinoa today. This is because Quinoa can grow anywhere so some natives took some seeds and climbed high up into the mountains. They cultivated the quinoa there and it was eaten mainly by locals. Until the 1970s when some American students of a Bolivian Mystic and Philosopher brought the grains back to the US after eating the food on the regular. A while after, it took off in popularity.

Kitchen Uses

As mentioned, Quinoa is a good substitution for rice. I actually just cook mine in a rice cooker. You always want to cook Quinoa at a 1 to 2 parts ratio. 1 part dry Quinoa to 2 parts Water (Or other liquid). You can eat it hot or let it cool and use it as a base for a salad. Try mixing it with some diced cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, mint, parsley, feta cheese, and a little olive oil and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste, easy fresh salad.

I love using Quinoa in cooking and Kitchen Magic. It has the Nick name Mother Grain and it's just so nourishing. Quinoa is great at Absorbing Negativity and Promoting Health. Since it can grow in almost any kind of environment, this promotes Adaptability, Overcoming Obstacles, and Growth. It's also known for it Abundance, Spirituality, and Fertility properties. But don't forget, it's also a seed, so New Ideas and New Beginnings. You take advantage of colour magic and black Quinoa, so not only will it Absorb the Negativity, but Also Ward and Banish.

Mythology

Finding an actual story about Quinoa has been tricky. I have found many shortened summaries of mythology and stories, but not a beat for beat retelling. Which I feel is important. But I found a video of an Andean man telling the story of how we first got Quinoa. I encourage you to watch the Video, but I'm also going to write the story down in case the Video is taken down one day. I've added in some of my own words based on the visuals used.

Tradition has it that the Aymara people used to talk to the stars. Since that time, it has been told that nearby Titicaca Lake and it's fields started producing their first crops. However, in the night, someone would come to the fields and rip up the potato plants growing there.

There was a young man who guarded the fields by the Lake. One night he wanted to surprise the potato thief. So he brought a loud hand bell with him, and stayed up through the night watching the potato fields.

It was here that several young women showed up in the fields. The young man heard someone digging up potatoes so he went to investigate. The young man stayed hidden and pushed back the tall crops to see three young women gathering potatoes.

The young man stood high and rang the warning bell. Startled, the women fled; however, one of them tripped and fell, and he captured her. It was a cold night, so the young man offered some clothes off his back to keep her warm while they waited. She smiled at him for his kind gesture.

The bell had awoken the villagers and they were on their way to get the potato thief. They sounded angry and ready to take out their rage on the potato thief. The young man grew concerned for the women, but she simply handed him back his garment.

And so it was that the young woman turned herself into a bird and flew away to where her companions, the other stars, lived. The young man was flabbergasted and couldn't explain to the other people what had happened.

The next day, he went in search of the Condor [A type of Vulture] so that it could carry him to the stars that had taken flight off the Earth. He had to climb high, high up a cliffside mountain to get to the Condor. But once there the Condor stretched his wings and became large enough to ride.

The Condor bore him to where the young star was. High up to a beautiful land covered in golden crops called Quinoa. The young man reunited with the woman star and they enjoyed each other's company, running through the fields of Quinoa.

She lived with the young man and fed him Quinoa. Yet there came a day when the young man wanted to return to the Earth to see his Parents. So he got on the Condor to fly back home. Before leaving, the star gave him Quinoa to take back to his people. Then the Condor flew off.

As the young man came back to earth on the Condor, he scattered the Quinoa as he went. The seeds planted themselves into the soil and grew into new Quinoa plants on Earth.

From then on, Quinoa has been grown in order to feed the Andean people. Yet it was unheard of by the rest of humanity. Quinoa is life. Quinoa is hope. Quinoa is the past. Quinoa is the present. And Quinoa is the future of mankind.

[johncopywriting]

My Favorite Recipes: BEEF STEW ITALIENNE

Growing up, my family wasn't particularly adventurous when it came to food. We stuck to simple, tried-and-true dishes like meatloaf and spaghetti. But when I moved out on my own and started experimenting in the kitchen, I discovered a whole world of new flavors and cuisines.

One dish that quickly became a favorite of mine was beef stew Italienne. I loved the rich, savory flavor of the beef combined with the bright, fresh flavors of the vegetables and herbs. And let's not forget about the cannellini beans - they add a delicious creaminess to the stew that takes it to the next level.

Over the years, I've tweaked the recipe here and there, adding my own personal touches and experimenting with different ingredients. But at its core, beef stew Italienne is still one of my go-to comfort foods.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup red wine

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Now, onto the recipe:

First, season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the beef in batches and cook until browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes per batch.

Remove the beef from the pot and set aside.

In the same pot, add the onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, and red bell pepper and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.

Return the beef to the pot and add the diced tomatoes, beef broth, red wine, oregano, thyme, and bay leaf. Stir to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.

After an hour, add the cannellini beans to the pot and stir to combine. Continue to simmer, covered, for another 30-45 minutes, until the beef is tender and the vegetables are cooked through.

Remove the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley.

It's a dish that's perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon, when I have plenty of time to let it simmer and fill my home with its delicious aroma. And even though it takes a bit of time and effort to make, it's always worth it in the end.

So, the next time you're in the mood for something cozy and comforting, give this recipe a try. I promise you won't be disappointed.

[medicus-felini]

🍡 :)!

Oh, this will be a long one since it is kind of a recipe from my dad (I love him sm) and it reminds me of lovely times! ^^

It's spaghetti bolognese. I will write the recipe under "Keep Reading" so I don't cluster the dash.

Incredients for circa 4 servings: • 1 big ol onion • 1 glove of garlic • 2-3 carrots • 500 g/ 1 lb mincemeat • sugar • 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste • 1 dried bayleaf • circa 5 stems dried thyme • 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder (not the spicy one) • some pepper • 1 can of peeled tomatoes (circa 850 g/ 2 lb) • 100 ml red wine • 200-300g/ 0,66 lb beef brooth • 150 ml tomato juice • salt • oil for roasting

Dice the onion, the garlic and the carrots and put these bad boys in the pan with some oil. Let them roast for 10 min on middle heat. Don't forget to flip them every once in a while. After the 10 min., you take the veggies out of the pan and put them aside for later.

2. Put a little extra oil in the now veggie free pan and roast the mincebeef on high heat until it is brownish (takes about 15 min). Squeeze it regularly so it doesn't clump together. After the meat is all nice and brown, take a hearty dash of sugar as well as the tomato paste and mix it all up together in the pan. Let it roast for another 3 min.

3. Take the veggies from earlier and put them to the meat in the pan. Add the dried thyme and bayleaf. Spice it up with pepper and paprika powder!

4. Add the peeled tomatoes and the wine. Now we wait until the liquid is evaporated. After that, add the brooth. Cook the sauce at low heat about 2 hours (If you are impatient, you can finish earlier. The longer the better tho!)

5. If the sauce is too, well, dry: Put some tomato juice in there until it's to your likings. Season the sauce with salt, pepper and sugar until you like it! Don't forget to put out the bayleaf and the thyme ♥

I assume you know how to boil pasta so I will spare you that tutorial xd But yeah, this is my favorite recipe. It's really good and worth the effort! I did not check for spelling mistakes, I hope everything is nice and clear. If you actually cook it, I would love to know if it turned out well :'3