#skillet pan electric

[bestpickme]

5 Best Electric Skillet on Sale 2023

[pretty-little-fools]

[what-marsha-eats]

[najia-cooks]

[ID: Diamond-shaped cake slices arranged into a layered star shape, topped with powdered sugar, with dates and prunes placed around the edge of the plate. Two plates of Italian Christmas cookies are in the background. End ID]

Whole orange cake with sumac and pink peppercorn

This moist, flavorful cake is inspired by Sicilian torta all’arancia (orange cake) and Moroccan مَسْكُوتة‎ ("maskūta"). There is no peeling, zesting, or juicing of oranges required; oranges are added whole, and lend the citrus oils in their peels, the sweetness and flavor of their juice, and the tenderness of their pulp to the final cake.

Maskouta is a wheat-flour-based cake that often comes in orange or yoghurt varieties—this recipe combines both versions. The addition of yoghurt makes the cake incredibly tender, and adds a smooth tartness that perfectly balances the brightness, robustness, and slight bitterness of the citrus oils that infuse the cake. Cardamom and orange blossom water, both occasional additions in Moroccan orange cakes, add delicate aromatics that further round out the flavor of the cake; sumac and pink peppercorn add a sour, fizzling touch that draws the brightness of the orange to a head at the front of the palate.

Recipe under the cut!

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Ingredients:

2 whole organic oranges

1 3/4 cup (210g) flour

1 1/2 tsp sumac

3/4 tsp pink peppercorn

6 green cardamom pods

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp orange blossom water

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup non-dairy yoghurt

1/2 cup non-dairy margarine, softened

1 cup vegetarian granulated sugar

Sicilian and Moroccan orange cakes do not usually include butter; however, I find that a creaming method, which incorporates air into a solid fat such as margarine, helps replace some of the leavening power of whipped eggs.

Instructions:

1. Scrub oranges thoroughly. Submerge them in cool water (weighing them down with a plate) and soak overnight.

This step removes some of the bitterness of the orange peels. If you don't have time for soaking, or if you very much dislike any amount of bitterness in sweets, zest the oranges by taking off just the orange layer of the peel with a microplane or vegetable peeler; set zest aside. Remove as much of the white pith as you can and discard. Use the zest and the peeled orange slices in place of the whole oranges.

2. Remove oranges from water. Blend them, along with orange blossom water, until homogenous. The mixture does not need to be completely liquid.

3. Toast cardamom pods and pink peppercorns in a dry skillet on medium heat until fragrant. Grind in a spice mill, or with a mortar and pestle. Combine dry ingredients (spices, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda) in a mixing bowl.

3. Cream margarine in a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer for 30 seconds, until fluffy. Add sugar and cream for 2 minutes, until aerated.

3. Gradually add pulverized oranges and fold in. Add olive oil and yoghurt and fold to combine.

4. Slowly add dry ingredients and gently fold until combined. You should get a fairly thick batter.

5. Prepare a 9" x 13" (about 22 x 33 cm) glass cake pan with oil or margarine. Pour in batter and flatten with a rubber spatula.

6. Bake in the bottom of an oven at 350 °F (175 °C) for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick entered into the center of the cake comes out clean.

7. Once cake has cooled, cut into slices and arrange as desired. Top with powdered sugar.

[oliversrarebooks]

The Rare Bookseller Part 73: Emily's Safehouse

Previous > Masterlist > Next

tw: mind control, conditioning, memories of abuse

October 1925

Emily woke up in bed -- a real bed for human beings, not a fuzzy little pet bed on the floor -- a sensation both frightening and strangely familiar. She wasn't allowed on the bed, unless her lady --

Her lady.

Her lady was dead.

The events of the previous night came rushing back to her as she lay there in bed, staring up at the ceiling. One moment she'd been in the carriage, drunk and stupefied from her lady's aura, and in the next moment, Lady Jessica was dead and gone. She'd been pulled from the carriage and into a janky old car by a vampire hunter, leaving behind everything she'd known for a promise of freedom, or at least a promise of a hot meal and a place to stay.

Unease gnawed in her gut. Promises of help always came with strings attached. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she felt it deep inside. She'd have to pay for this charity somehow.

Emily tried to remember. Who had she been and what had she been doing before she had served a vampire? She knew somehow that she hadn't been serving a vampire for very long, so there must have been something that came before, but she couldn't remember any of it, a swirl of colors and scents and pains where the rest of her mind should be. Perhaps serving a vampire was the only thing she was truly good for, the thing she was meant to do.

She sat up in bed, trying in vain to drive the fuzziness from her mind. She didn't want it to be true, because if it were, then the hunter had just taken away the only thing that gave her life meaning.

There was a faint smell of eggs and toast in the air, and Emily's stomach growled, reminding her that there was no existential crisis that was worth missing out on food. She pulled herself out of bed, wearing the thick flannel nightgown that had been handed to her the night before, and pushed open the creaky wooden door.

The vampire hunter's home was an old farmhouse on the outskirts of the city, one with uneven floors and chipped paint and drafts in every window. It was nothing like the luxurious modern townhouse her lady had occupied, with every modern convenience including electricity. Still, Emily liked how familiar this place felt, how natural it was to keep her footsteps soft as she walked down the hall in borrowed slippers.

The kitchen was small but cheerful, done up in bright yellow and lime green. The hunter, Vivian, was tending to a skillet of eggs, while a young woman with red hair and a simple black coat sat at the kitchen table. The woman looked dazed, her eyelids at half-mast, as though she were fighting the urge to drop off to sleep.

"Good morning, Emily!" said Vivian. "Would you like some eggs? And did you sleep well?"

"I think so. And yes, I would like some eggs, please." She sat down at the table, nervously glancing at the other woman.

"Oh, this is Jenny, the thrall I took from Edgar. Jenny, this is Emily, a thrall I rescued last night."

"Pleased to meet you," said Jenny with a smile.

"You were a thrall, too?"

"Yes, for a very long time, until Vivian killed my master. She's helping me get accustomed to the human world again. I spent so long under my master's spell that it's…" She trailed off, sinking back into a daze, before collecting herself again. "It's difficult, after having spent years under a vampire's spell."

"Years…"

"Mmm…" Her eyelids were drooping again, and in a fluid motion, she fell to her knees, bowing her head to no one.

Vivian took the pan off the burner for a moment to shake her gently awake. Her eyes popped open and she sat back down on the chair, blushing. "Sorry, I still slip back under sometimes. Vivian is helping with that."

"You've been making great progress, considering how deep you were in vampire thrall," said Vivian, as she placed a plate of eggs and toast in front of Emily.

As Emily quickly ate her breakfast, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed herself, recalling how she had acted around her lady. Many nights, she'd accompany Lady Jessica to a club or social call, kneeling by her lady's chair, laying her head in her lady's lap, allowing her lady to pet her as though she were a beloved dog. Perhaps she had looked just as Jenny did, lost in a stupor as she mindlessly worshiped a vampire.

It hadn't always been this way, she was sure. How had they done this to her?

"I should be able to help you, too," said Vivian, sitting at the table. "How long were you with vampires? Do you remember?"

"I'm not sure," Emily said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I can't remember much of anything before my lady's -- the vampire's house. But she has been showing me off to everyone as her new thrall, still, so I don't think it's been that long. A couple of months, maybe."

"That's good, then, it'll be easier to recover if you weren't with her long. From what you've said, it sounds like you had your memories wiped. Did you go through the auction house?"

The mention of the auction house stirred up a particular image in her mind. She was standing on a stage under a spotlight, wearing an uncomfortable frilly dress and jeweled handcuffs, squinting to try and focus on the crowd in front of her, bidding. They were bidding on her, bidding more than she'd ever made in her life, and it was going so fast…

"Yes, I'm sure I went through the auction house."

Vivian nodded. "Do you know if you met a vampire named Lily?"

"Lily! Yes, I remember her well."

"She's the one who wiped your memories, then."

Emily didn't just remember Lily from the auction house, the vampire who put her to sleep so gently, who urged her to be quiet and docile and offer her blood. She also remembered Lily from nights at the Tiger's Eye. In fact, she had cozied up to Lily, shamelessly nuzzling her, feeling a deep need to be near her and to hear her voice, even though she was the one who had stolen Emily's life.

And all of the other little indignities bubbled up in her thoughts. Allowing the vampire to dress her up like a paper doll and walk her on a leash. Mindlessly accepting that she'd be discarded and sold again when her lady tired of her. Smiling dreamily as she offered up her neck to a bloodsucking monster. Oh, god, she'd let that vampire sink her fangs into her flesh and drink her blood so, so many times, and she'd been made to enjoy it.

"Emily, are you okay?"

She wiped at her hot tears. "I let them take my mind, didn't I?" she said, humiliated. "I let them take my blood, too. I don't even remember if I fought them, but either way, they won. They took my mind from me."

"You didn't let them do anything," said Vivian firmly. "Vampires are strong, incredibly so, and particularly some of the ones you've encountered. Their enthrallment abilities can be powerful, almost impossible to resist without magic. Even many hunters eventually fall and become a thrall themselves. It's not your fault that they did this to you."

Emily nodded, still lost in her deep rush of shame despite Vivian's words.

"But I have magic. I've been studying how to ward myself from vampires for a long time. And I know a ritual that can reverse enthrallment, if you're interested."

"Yes!" said Emily. "Yes, I want my memories back. I want to know who I was before all of this. There must be something I can go back to."

"If you're that eager, we can do the ritual right after breakfast, if you like. But I should warn you… not everyone who gets their memories back is happy about it," Vivian said. "It's just that vampires tend to prey on people who… don't have a lot of family, or people to notice if they go missing. A lot of thralls come from bad circumstances. Do you still want to try?"

She would be lying to herself if her heart didn't sink a bit, but she knew that her answer was still the same. "Yes. I think I want to know, even if it's awful. I don't want to feel like offering my blood to a vampire was the only thing I ever did in life."

"Then come with me."

Emily followed Vivian into a sort of parlor and up a spiral staircase that rattled with every step. They emerged in an attic that smelled of dust and mildew. Vivian lit a lantern, and then a number of candles on the floor, and Emily could see a chalk circle with strange symbols written in it. The floor was stained in some places with what looked like blood. She realized that she had been trusting the vampire hunter completely, even though she knew so little about her. Sure, she'd freed Emily from her fate as a thrall, but that didn't necessarily mean she was a safe person in every way.

"I'll need to spill some of my blood for this ritual. Don't worry, it won't harm you, apart from any harm you might get from the memories you've lost." The knife Vivian held had a blade as long as her hand that glinted in the candlelight. "All you need to do is kneel in the circle and close your eyes."

Emily shuddered, her vague memories of the auction house dancing through her mind. After all she'd been through, she really didn't want to be at someone else's mercy.

But she hardly had a choice. Without any memories or skills beyond being a vampire's pet, she didn't think she could survive on her own. She had no place to go, no friends or family that she remembered, and no job -- she was already at Vivian's mercy. Slowly, reluctantly, she knelt in the circle and held her eyes just barely closed.

"Perfect," said Vivian. "Now just try to relax, and whatever you feel, just go with it. Don't suppress it, or the ritual won't be as effective. You might feel awful as your mind returns, because one thing the vampires like to do is suppress your undesirable feelings so that you enjoy being their mindless slave. But you have to accept it, all right?"

"All right."

Emily knelt in the darkness, her knees growing sore, as Vivian began a low chant. With her eyes closed, she could hear Vivian walking around her, chanting, along with rustling noises. The scent of burning herbs joined the candle smoke.

"Hold still for a moment."

She could feel the pressure of Vivian's thumb on her forehead and cheeks, and it felt like she had smeared something on her. She chanted words in an unknown language into Emily's left ear, then her right.

Just as Emily was wondering when the ritual would start to have an effect, a wave of fear and shame and sadness swept her away. She thought she had been embarrassed before, but it was nothing like what she felt now, a deep horror at how she'd been captured and used, her mind stolen and bent and made to serve the monsters who had violated her. A choked sob escaped her throat, and she retched as she recalled what the feedings were like without the glowing haze of hypnosis surrounding them. The suppressed pain, the violence of the vampire's fangs, the smell of her own blood.

But she remembered. She remembered her family, the one she'd run from, thinking nothing could ever be worse. She remembered trying to scrape by with odd jobs and artwork, the dingy room she called home, the many nights she'd gone hungry. She remembered being tossed into a cell in the auction house, straining against the iron bars, not knowing what would happen to her.

"Emily." Vivian had stopped chanting. "You can open your eyes now. Are you okay?"

She didn't feel okay. She felt as though she'd experienced a lifetime's worth of trauma in the space of ten minutes. But at least she knew it was hers. At least she knew how hard she'd fought to make herself a real life, how much she struggled against the vampires before the fight had been taken out of her.

"I'll be okay," she said, mostly out of a hope that it would be true. "Thank you. Between this and saving me last night, I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"I don't expect you to pay me. I'm planning on ransacking your vampire's home tonight, and once I pawn most of it, there'll be money for both of us," she said. "But your former mistress was also known to be a real social butterfly, so if your memories are less foggy, I wouldn't mind if you paid me in information."

"What kind of information?"

"Mostly where I can find powerful vampires to kill."

"The Tiger's Eye," Emily said. "It's a club where all of the powerful vampires of the city go to drink and gossip. I think I can show you where it is."

"Oh, I appreciate that, but I already know about the Tiger's Eye. It's how I tracked your mistress. Unfortunately, even though I'm a real crackerjack of a hunter, I don't think I can take on an entire club's worth of vampires by myself. So as much as I'd like to, I can't raid their speakeasy. All I can do is track down the drunk ones once they leave."

"Oh, I see." Now that Emily could think more clearly about it, she would've dearly loved to see the entire place burned to the ground -- after every one of those poor thralls had been saved, of course. She could remember lounging on her lady's lap as Jessica drank from a woman covered in bite scars, who seemed to have barely any awareness of where she was, and bile rose in her throat again.

The Tiger's Eye -- there was something important she was supposed to remember --

"If you know of any individual vampires that would be good to track down… There's actually a few in particular --"

"Oliver!" That had been nagging at her. The thrall who had recognized her last night was Oliver, the unfortunate bookseller who had been her neighbor in the cells. He'd talk to her for hours, taking her mind off the sordid situation, and had ended up hypnotized out of his wits, eager to throw away his life for a vampire -- just as she had.

"Beg pardon? Is that the name of a vampire?"

"No, he's someone I met when I was in the auction house. He was sold to a vampire, of course, and my la-- Jessica said that he lived only a block away from us -- from her. Do you think you could rescue him, too?"

"A block away from Jessica, you say…" Vivian nodded slowly. "Yes, I think I can work with that, especially if you know anything about the vampire who bought him."

"I don't remember his name, but… he was fairly tall and thin, pale and with messy hair. And his voice… this may be a strange thing to recall, but his voice was like -- something you'd want to listen to for days, even if he only read the phone book."

"Hmm, that might be part of his enthrallment. I'll have to be careful," said Vivian. "I can't make any promises, but I think I could arrange a playdate with your friend Oliver and his master."

Previous > Masterlist > Next

Next week: Fitz is put under the Maestro's control.

@d-cs @latenightcupsofcoffee @thecyrulik @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @wanderinggoblin

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@sowhumpshaped @whumpsday @morning-star-whump @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl

@steh-lar-uh-nuhs @pirefyrelight @theauthorintraining @whump-me-all-night-long @anonfromcanada

@typewrittenfangs @tessellated-sunl1ght @cleverinsidejoke @abirbable @ichorousambrosia

@a-formless-entity @gobbo-king @writinggremlin @the-agency-archives @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi

@enigmawriteswhump @bottlecapreader @whump-on-a-string @whumpinthepot

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@whump-me-harder @whump-till-ya-jump @the-monarch-whumperfly

[xombigirl]

Black Moss Cupcake Recipe

Thanks to a review of Exquisite Exandria by CBR.com we now have the recipe for Uthodurn's infamous Black Moss Cupcakes!

INGREDIENTS:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 large egg 2/3 cup whole milk 1/3 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2-3 drops black food coloring (optional)

Chocolate Matcha Frosting 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 ounces full-fat cream cheese (room temperature) 1 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder 1 teaspoon whole milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 pinch of salt

Moss Cookie Crunchies 3/4 cup vanilla wafer cookies 1/12 teaspoon matcha powder 1/12 teaspoon light brown sugar 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Dust of Deliciousness: Ingredients redacted, food glitter recommended as replacement

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325*F/165*C. Line the cups of a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a second large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sour cream, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and black food coloring until no streaks of egg remain. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix with a rubber spatula until a smooth batter forms and no pockets of dry flour remain.

Fill each cupcake liner about two-thirds full. Bake, rotating the pan front to back halfway through baking, 16-19 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool slightly, then transfer the cupcakes onto a cool rack and let cool completely.

Chocolate Match Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, matcha powder, milk, vanilla, and salt. (Alternatively, use a large mixing bowl and electric handheld mixer.) Mix on low speed just until the ingredients are combined, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 1 1/2-2 1/2 minutes. Transfer the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a straight tip, or a zip-top bag with one corner snipped off.

Moss Cookie Crunchies

Place the vanilla wafer cookies in the bowl of a food processor and process until they are the texture of fine sand, 15-25 seconds. (Alternatively, place the cookies in a large zip-top bag and smash with a rolling pin or skillet.) Transfer the crushed cookies to a large mixing bowl and add the brown sugar and matcha powder. Add the melted butter and mix, using your hands, until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

Dust of Deliciousness

Frost the cupcakes by piping an even, generous layer of frosting on top of each. Working with one cupcake at a time, invert the cupcake and gently press the frosted top into the bowl of cookie crunchies, rotating so the moss sticks to the sides of the frosting until the top is evenly coated. Repeat this process with the remaining cupcakes. Sprinkle all with Dust of Deliciousness.

[forkfulofflavor]

Pumpkin Pie Crisp Delight This Pumpkin Pie Crisp Delight combines the warm flavors of pumpkin pie with a crunchy oat and pecan topping, creating a delightful dessert that's perfect for any occasion. Ingredients Mixture for crust and topping 2 cups quick oats ½ cup chopped pecans 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup light brown sugar, packed 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted, very cold, and cubed Pumpkin Pie Mixture 3 eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) 1 cup heavy cream 2½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ½ teaspoon kosher salt Instructions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a 12-inch oven-safe skillet with nonstick cooking spray. If you don't have an oven-safe skillet, you can use a 13×9-inch baking pan instead. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, and pumpkin spice. Add the cubed butter and mix using your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbles. Press 3½ cups of the crisp mixture evenly into the bottom of the skillet, ensuring it covers the sides as well. Set aside the remaining crisp mixture for the topping. In another large bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat together the eggs and granulated sugar until well combined. Add in the pumpkin, heavy cream, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and kosher salt, blending until smooth. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the pressed crust in the skillet. Evenly sprinkle the reserved crisp mixture on top of the pumpkin layer. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Once done, remove from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before serving.

[shingetsu-online]

pondering ship names. sighhh. and yes oc x canon is here too. dont mind me and my gay rambling.

vio x arven - bittersweetspiritshipping [food pun AND a ghost pun. also i like the word bittersweet. its niceys to me /silly]

UPDATE: mod dulce from @nymphiya recommended ghostpeppershipping for vio x arven [arven's jp name is pepper. another ghost pun] which is really neat thank youuu

jasper x bede - neuroshockshipping [type specialties. jasper uses electric and bede USED to use psychic but fairy types fuck with people's brains either way.]

drayton x crispin - scaleskilletshipping [scale as in dragon scales and a skillet is like a frying pan. it also sounds like skillset. i just thought that was neat] OR laxenergyshipping [lax as in relaxed. drayton is relaxed and crispin is energetic.]

UPDATE: my friend @aimless-aimz recommended spicytoothpasteshipping [their hair.] for crispin x drayton and it is actually perfect tysm bestie

thanks for coming to my ted talk. explodes

[stevishabitat]

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

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

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

But I literally saw red for a brief second.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[a-land-lacking-sleep]

PLA/Submas Fic: Electric Trains are the Future Chapter 19: Whimiscott-al Adventures

Previous Chapter (18) - Current

Chapter Summary: Elesa and Emmet enjoy breakfast, then the gang discovers the world's first escape room. Chapter Word Count: 5450

THIS WAS POSTED ON AO3 IN APRIL. FUCK. Consider this a warmup for Chapter 20 in a bit.

Elesa has hated waking up in the morning since she was a kid, and even since getting ‘grown up jobs’, she still loathes waking up before 11. It isn’t helped by the fact that all three of her partners are early risers for work, leading various branches of transportation, though Ingo does like to stay in bed late himself when he’s able. So even as the sun peeks into the small house as the morning progresses, Elesa resists the signs of what she should be doing and stays on her little futon.

When she awakes again, she can hear Emmet moving through the living area of the little house, muttering to himself. “I am Emmet. Ingo has spicy food. When did he start liking spicy food?” Elesa curls tighter on the futon, yawning silently and buries her face into the pillow. Though…

“Is that sausage?” She quietly asks without getting up from the futon or even turning to face her husband. The scent of spicy sausage was wafting over to her, and Elesa could swear she could hear the sizzling of the grease.

Emmet chuckles, the sound soft and light along with the sizzling and popping of the probably-sausage. “Only people who are out of bed get eggs and bacon, Ellie.” Ohhhh no, it’s the Emboar bacon that Ingo had gotten from Ginter; Elesa needed some of this. With a groan, she uncurls and stretches her body out, legs and arms splaying out as her back and elbows pop.

With the pops, her body goes limp and she falls onto her back fully. “That felt too good. I don’t think I can move, Emmy.” Despite her own comment, she grunts and sits up, reaching over for her top and throwing it on before getting onto her feet and joining Emmet. “Are you using the Torchic eggs or the Starly eggs?”

“I am Emmet,” he muses softly as he looks over to the trash can in the corner of the kitchen. “I believe the Torchic eggs. They are the same size, yup.” Elesa takes the seat next to him, and he leans over into her, and she leans her head against his. “What are you going to do?”

Elesa lets out another small yawn, getting a light grumble from Emmet, before answering. “Going to check on Ingo’s Pokemon, then check in with Cynthia. She seems to want to head out of the Village for a day or two.”

“And you’ll guide her,” Emmet says with a nod, not arguing the fact. He brings his hand up and pokes the bacon with a fork, causing the grease to pop as the piece of meat is moved across the metal pan.

“Might as well,” Elesa says, struggling to hold in another yawn. “Zisu and I haven’t gotten much time outside of Jubilife for a bit, and I haven’t gotten to see Cynthia in a few years, since she last stayed in Caitlin’s villa at Undella. Hopefully she can fill me in on what’s been happening back home.”

“I am Emmet. I could,” Emmet says with a slight pout as he leans away to flip the bacon slices and eggs one at a time. “I am literally at home. Cynthia lives in Sinnoh.”

“True, true,” Elesa says with a laugh, leaning forward to kiss Emmet on the cheek. “I was meaning more on the League side of things, and more, like, non-Nimbasa things.” Emmet’s smile turns into pursed lips for a split second before it goes back to a smile as he tries to hold in his own laugh. 

“I’m gonna go get changed, ok?” Elesa gets up and goes back to the sleeping area and grabs a change of clothes; her lighter Security Uniform with the fluffier collar, and the softer pants with the cinched foot holes at the bottom. By the time she has gotten into her outfit and appropriately fluffed her hair into a more feathery style, Emmet has already taken the skillet off of the open fire and plated them both breakfast.

“Think you can handle the heat, Emmy?” Elesa says teasingly as she takes the offered plate and fork and sits down at the table. 

“No,” Emmet says in a resigned tone before biting into the egg. The effect is immediate; Emmet retches as the innate spice of the Torchic egg hits his throat, tears forming in his eyes as he gasps for breath. Neither of the twins had much tolerance for spice, which Ingo had apparently begun to change while here in Hisui, and Fire-type Pokemon always produced hot food by sheer fact of being of that element.

Emmet quickly puts the plate down to get water as Elesa breathes heavily from the heat of the bacon, the grease intensifying the heat as she swallows. “You didn’t add anything did you? It’s really hot!” With a nervous laugh, she finishes her bacon quickly, savoring the heat as she fans herself off.

“I am Emmet!” Emmet cries between gulps of water. “I tried using the Cheri oil he had!” 

“Cheris are spicy, Emmy!” Elesa says with a laugh as her husband returns to try and finish his plate. Sweat pouring down his face, he stares down at the half eaten egg and shovels it into his mouth and swallows as fast as he can, getting the super spicy egg down his esophagus at a pace that he futilely hopes will reduce the pain. As the blush of heat deepens on Emmet’s face, Elesa opens Ingo’s ice box and pulls out a small container of Moomoo Milk, which Emmet takes and downs in one go.

“AAaaaaaa…” Emmet doubles over the table, breathing in deep before forcing himself up. “I am Emmet! I am a Subway Boss! I like combinations of two Pokemon!” He brings his hand up and points at the plate, shaking his finger disapprovingly. “This combination fails! Faaaar too much spice.”

Elesa nearly chokes on the egg in her mouth as she brings a hand up to hold in her laugh. “Emmy, you’re why it’s so spicy!” She reaches over for the container the milk was in and gives it a shake before setting it down. “You put in the oil to use as grease!”

“I thought it was Leppa!” Emmet huffs, pushing himself up onto his feet. “It isn’t my fault that Ingo’s handwriting has deteriorated since he arrived here.”

“Leppa and Cherri look nothing alike in Kantonian or Galarian,” Elesa says with her tongue sticking out, before popping the last bite of egg into her mouth. 

“Do not logic me,” Emmet says with a shake of his head as he goes to grab his coat from the hook by the door. “I’m going to spend some time with Ingo. Will you give Ingo’s Pokemon my love?” As Elesa nods and picks up the plates from the table, Emmet nods and waves good-bye before slipping out the door, a pained gasp as he breathes in the cold air being his farewell as he hurries down the street.

Elesa quickly wipes the plates down of their oil and puts them aside to wash later before she steps out of the house herself, striding across Canala Ave and through the housing to reach the pastures. Stepping through the gate, she lets out a quick two-tone whistle before pulling her belt of Pokeballs off and tossing them outward, her entire team scattering out. “We have 20 minutes, go have fun!”

As Elesa walks into the pastures, Ingo’s Gliscor Mistralton comes soaring up to Skitters, the two of them twirling in the air around each other as they toss playful jabs at each other in a mock dogfight. To her right, Slim Shady and Caitlin, Ingo’s Alakazam, split away from the group, gesturing to each silently as they communicate. And while Debby canters off into the field to stretch her legs, Smirks and Specs meet up with Striation the Tangrowth to bask in the sun.

Elesa’s own target makes its way to her, though; Stark the Magnezone. With a hum of electricity, it hovers over to Elesa and lowers itself to just a few inches above the ground and looks up at her with all three little pitiful eyes. “Oh, you poor thing, are you needing a buff?” The magnets on the Pokemon’s sides spin and spark softly, the eyes unmoving from Elesa.

With a smile, Elesa kneels down and pulls out a soft cloth, and lifts Stark up about a foot to get a look underneath it. “Oh, you have so many scuffs, you poor baby,” she croons softly as she takes the cloth and rubs the collected dirt and dust off of the steel, then works on buffing out the scuff marks from Stark’s last battle. As it comes clear, Elesa stands up and begins to work on the top of the Magnezone, a small buildup of static electricity coursing up her arm and causing her hair to float slightly. There isn’t as much dust or dirt on top of the set of magnets, and not nearly as many marks from attacks, so Elesa has a much easier time cleaning the Pokemon into an almost shiny finish.

Stepping back, Elesa smiles as Stark buzzes loudly and lets out sparks from its magnets before turning around and bumping its front into her. Upon contact, her sleeves stick themselves to her arms and her hair puffs out, but all Elesa can do is laugh as she bends down and hugs the Pokemon.

—

“Why are the Paras so mean?” Elio gripes as they follow the main group through the Crimson Mirelands, their head hung low to hopefully avoid being the target of yet another Stun Spore from an angry bug.

“I think the mushrooms get better nutrients around here, so they are probably just more protective of the area,” Cynthia says from the front. In fact, she’s already run across the bridge that Zisu and Elesa are currently crossing and is impatiently staring into the distance where the stonework of the Solaceon Ruins barely peeked out. “Everything around here is so full of life! Solaceon isn’t nearly this wooded in our time!”

“You said it’s the closest to what we have back in Jubilife, though, right?” Zisu says as she ducks under a particularly low branch to catch up to Cynthia. “How different is the rest of Hisui by then?”

“Pokemon are a lot nicer from what I’ve seen,” Elio says roughly as they catch up to the adults on the slope up to the ruins. “Though that’s a general rule, it seems. Most Pokemon are either curious or avoidant.”

“And the cities are a lot bigger,” Elesa chimes in as Cynthia starts running ahead again, notebook materializing in her hand as she begins noting down the appearance of the entrance to the ruins. “I’m sure some of the cities in Johto or Kanto are pretty big right now, but they’re gonna get much bigger.”

Zisu raises an eyebrow as the trio casually catch up with Cynthia. “Goldenrod was already pretty packed when we left. You’re telling me it gets even denser?” Shaking her head, she chuckles in disbelief. “Then again, we’re hoping for Jubilife to flourish like that, so it isn’t hard to believe that other cities will continue to grow as well.”

Before either of her conversation partners could speak, Cynthia reappears among the group, gripping her notebook tight. “This entrance is new.” Zisu and Elesa simply blink in confusion while Elio opens their mouth, only for Cynthia to cut them off. “I mean, this entrance doesn’t exist-”

“It’s right there,” Elio quickly interjects, pointing to the large opening.

“I know that!” Cynthia says, reaching out with the notebook and bopping the young Champion on the head with it. “I mean it doesn’t exist in our time.”

A sense of understanding comes over the group, with Zisu nodding and speaking first. “You mentioned a lot of the ruins in the region don’t survive to your era, right? Something about seismic activity?”

Cynthia nods rapidly, gesturing with her pen to point to Zisu. “Yes! A lot of temples and homes do not make it for even another 100 years. There were a lot of earthquakes and landslides in the early 1900s, and so what little existed of the Celestica essentially vanished.” She turns away from the group, and points her pen directly to the entrance. “The only exceptions are Solaceon, Celestic Town, and the Spear Pillar up on Mt. Coronet.”

At this point, Cynthia was buzzing with excitement so heavily that she might be able to pass herself off as a Bug-type. “I can’t contain it! I need to go in!” Putting her notebook away, Cynthia starts speedwalking up the slope towards the entrance at such a speed that her dress drags through the air behind her. 

The trio watch her pass by Georgi without even stopping to say anything. After a moment of silence, Elio speaks up. “I think I see an entrance up top there. It’s small, but I think I can climb in.”

“Absolutely not,” Zisu says, brow furrowing. “Absol-utely,” Elesa says, nodding.

Even as Zisu was turning to scold her own Security Corp member, Elio was already rushing to the cliff face and scaling up the stone towards the small entrance they had seen that the women had missed. As they scramble into the hole, Zisu sighs heavily and gives Elesa a defeated look. “If I didn’t know they were so capable, I would be reprimanding you, Elesa.”

“But they’re just as capable as the Survey kids,” Elesa says with a smile as she begins to follow Cynthia toward the ruin’s entrance. “Elio’s a Champion, they’ve got the ability to keep themself going.” 

The pair pass Georgi and give him a wave as they enter and join Cynthia, who was in the middle of snapping a picture of the plaque in the back on her Poketch. 

SUBETE NO                                    (ALL LIVES INOCHI HA                                      TOUCH OTHERBETSU NO                                       LIVES TO CREATE INOCHI TO DEAI                             SOMETHING NEW NANIKA WO UMIDASU                   AND ALIVE)

“I can’t believe that it was ever in this condition!” Cynthia exclaims as she squats down on a fallen rock in the corner to transcribe a sketch of the plaque into her notebook. “They had to reconstruct it back in the 1980s when it finally got too damaged during a flood, so the inscription there now was recreated with notes from the locals.”

“You make it sound like we’re going to have a cataclysm,” Zisu says with a strained smile, looking around the trio at the walls of the ruin. “Earthquakes that shift geography, floods that destroy ruins, the ecosystem changing to the point where entire Pokemon lines just vanish…”

“It’s not too bad,” Cynthia says with a wave of her pen. “They happen over the course of decades, and it’s never one after the other. And the ecosystem changes are based on what’s been happening recently for you, so you still have a chance to affect it.” Satisfied with the sketch of the plaque, Cynthia quickly stands and walks across the room to one of the corners in the back. “Can either of you see the ceiling well?”

With a sigh, Elesa steps after her, pulling her half-dead Xtransciever out of her pocket to get the light on and shine it upwards. “Wow, that ceiling is in good shape,” Elesa says after a moment of silence. Indeed it is, with it being three layers deep of stonework, laid out in an alternating pattern. If the room was more populated with furniture or decorations, it would help to give the room a sense of space. Instead, with it so empty, it just heightened the foreboding feeling it always brought.

“Exactly! The ceiling of this chamber has none of these details, it’s almost all eroded and shapeless!” Cynthia brings her Poketch up again to take a picture of the ceiling. “It’s nothing extraordinary, but this wasn’t documented before! Can you angle the light over there?” Cynthia gently positions Elesa’s arm, her hand gently resting on the model’s wrist as she guides the angle before snapping another picture.

“To be fair, I don’t think any of us really looked at the ceiling,” Zisu says with a bit of a laugh as she joins the other two and looks up at the illuminated ceiling. “There aren’t really any Pokemon here, so we never had to check for Zubat roosts, and Calaba was the only one who ever really came in here.”

The group quietly lets Cynthia continue to take pictures as some shuffling gets louder above them. Finally, after a few minutes, Zisu looks up at the ceiling. “What is that sou-”

It all happens at once.

Zisu sees the crack split across one of the lower tresses of the ceiling, and the spider web splintering of smaller cracks from it. “Move!” She quickly reacts and puts her arms around Cynthia’s and Elesa’s hips and pulls them into the center of the room towards the entrance.

A yelp is heard from above as the ceiling falls out and the wall begins to collapse from the earthquake. As the hole opens in the ceiling, Elio turns and scrambles to hold onto any of the stones around them for dear life, their Lopunny bursting from his Pokeball to grasp their hand between his paws. “Oscar!” Standing strong through the shaking of the earth, he pulls on Elio and pulls them back up onto solid ground.

Outside, Georgi can be heard shouting in shock as he backs away from the cliff and narrowly avoids being crushed by falling rocks, knocked loose by the sudden earthquake that shook the area. “Boss!” Despite every want to jump in to save those inside, he stays in place and watches Zisu, Cynthia, and Elesa disappear behind stone.

“Zisu, you're pinning my arm,” Elesa squeaks from the floor where Zisu had shoved her and Cynthia down during the collapse. “Can you lift up a bit?”

Zisu grunts as she pushes up off of the pair, a few smaller rocks tumbling off of her. As she looks around the chamber, the first thing she notes is that the collapse originated in the back right corner, leaving a massive hole in the ceiling that they had been inspecting. The second was that the entrance had fully collapsed. Thankfully the collapse hadn’t gone further into the center of the room, allowing them some safety. 

As Elesa and Cynthia get up, Zisu rushes over to the entryway. On the other side of the rocks, she can hear scraping. “Georgi! Can you hear me?”

There is silence for a moment before a voice calls back. “Miss Zisu! Yes, I’m fine! Are you safe? What about Mrs. Elesa and Miss Cynthia?”

Zisu ignores Elesa’s aghast indignation at being called ‘Mrs.’ and just responds. “They’re fine! We got to the center before we could get hurt!” She looks back into the room and grits her teeth. “Don’t worry about the entry! Go check on the Diamond Clan, let them know what happened!”

Zisu doesn’t wait for a response before going into the chamber once more. Cynthia is grumbling as she wraps a bandage around her hand, the off-white linen staining red from the gash she had gotten from the surprise fall. Elesa, meanwhile, was standing on the rubble in the corner and looking up into the dark. “How are you two holding up?”

Cynthia ties the bandage off and sighs. “This is the only injury I had worth addressing. Wrist and knee are sore from impact, but they’ll sort themselves out. I’m young.”

Elesa rolls her eyes at the remark and starts to answer as Zisu looks her way. “Hip and elbow are rough, but nothing is dislocated or broken. Worried more about Elio,” she says, squinting her eyes to hopefully see better into the darkness. “You good up there, Stufful?”

“Yeah, I’m fine Momo,” Elio calls back, briefly appearing in the darkness with the flash of a PokeBall. “Can you back up?” Elesa carefully walks down the rubble and rejoins her fellow adults, and Elio fully fades into darkness once more. 

“Shinu,” Elio says, seeming to direct their Lycanroc. “Stone Edge, uh… 4? Yeah, 4 times.” A huff of acknowledgement is heard, then a short bark that is followed by a slab of rock, angled slightly downward, ejecting itself from the wall under the hole. “Good job, girl! Stagger them, please.” Three more barks and three more slabs, there now were 4 hip-high slabs of rock that angled up into the hole above. “There! Now I can join you three!”

“Actually, we’re coming to you!” Zisu says, quickly approaching the ledge and pulling herself up while ignoring the ache in her shoulder. “The entrance is blocked, we’ll go through the hole you entered from.” Turning around, she holds a hand down for Cynthia and helps her scramble up the stone in her heels.

“I’m not sure that’s gonna work,” Elio says as Elesa scrambles up the stairs ahead of Zisu and Cynthia. “I don’t see a light that way anymore.”

“Well, then we need to make some light,” Elesa says as she lets Skitters out of her Pokeball. “Skitters, girlie, can you give us some light?” With a happy chitter, the squirrel leaps into the air and bursts with light to illuminate the cave around them.

Elesa and Elio both gasp as they see the Unown swirling around them, each blinking rapidly from the sudden light and shaking in surprise. A few come together to say “AKARUI” and “BRIGHT” before dispersing and repeating the action. Finally, though, the Pokemon all disperse to the edge of the walls and plaster themselves to the stone, slowly fading into the markings on the walls as Cynthia and Zisu get to the top of the makeshift stairs.

“Unown!” Cynthia shrieks in excitement as she hurries up to the wall to watch the last few fade away. She looks over the etched lettering, a few shimmering as the Unown housed within become restless, and sighs. “It’s telling us how to get down. ‘Lower Left’, see?”

Indeed, the lettering was clear in Galarian and Kantonian, pointing the group toward the hole in the ground that Elio had just given them a way through. Said teenager groans and slumps as they step toward the etchings. “The other paths are dark, I can’t see if they go up or down. Momo,” they say as they look over to Skitters, though obviously talking to Elesa. “You think I can have Skits light the way?”

“Sure,” Elesa says with a nod, before swinging her arm out towards the opening on the left. As Skitters scampers along the floor to launch itself into the air, a low rumbling is heard. Suddenly, the etchings on the wall by Cynthia glow and Unown begin to flow from the walls, and more begin to come pouring in from the various openings into the room, including the newly opened path from the former main chamber of the ruins. Zisu instinctively pulls each of the others back behind her and puts herself between them and the main cluster of Unown in front of them all, a hand on her Lopunny’s Pokeball.

However, none of the Unown seemed intent on approaching, with a group coalescing into a message in front of the etchings.

KONICHIWAHELLOALOLA

The group of humans stand silent for a moment, the only sound in the chamber being the movement and chirping of the Unown as they watch the group. After a tense moment, Elio raises a hand past Zisu and waves, and the entire swarm of Unown pulse and begin chirping rapidly, communicating in their unknown language amongst each other. Eventually, though, the group in front disassemble and swirl in a hypnotic circle before reforming.

USHINATTA?LOST?NALO?

“Yes!” Zisu immediately says, nodding her head emphatically to drive the point home to the swarm of Pokemon. In turn, the swarm pulses again and almost trills as the group message in front of them rearranges itself to repeat the message on the wall, with the greater swarm beginning to block off every exit except the one Elio had provided.

“No,” Elesa says, stepping up past Zisu. “There was a rock slide. That way is blocked off, we’re trapped if we stay there.” The swarm stops, countless singular eyes staring at the group of humans in dead confusion, the happy trilling and chirping replaced initially by silence, then static interspersed with harsh beeping.

TOJIKOMERARETA?TRAPPED?PA A?

“We’re trying to find the way that Stufful here,” Elesa says, grabbing Elio by the shoulders and pulling them in front of her, “got in. They saw a hole in the wall and climbed in that way.”

The swarm pulses and churns before bobbing up and down, multiple Unown blinking their eye in apparent glee at understanding Elesa. The swarm shifts, and the lower left opening that Elio utilized disappears behind a barrier of letters, and another opens. A group on N-Unown wiggle in front of it before disappearing into the dark.

MIGIUETOP RIGHTLUNA  AKAU

Without any input, Skitters bolts for the opening and disappears into it, leaving only a diminishing light as it scampers along the path. As the swarm around the group calms down and begins returning to their resting spots, Zisu and Elesa both start following the Emolga down the stairs, with Elio and Cynthia right behind them. “This is definitely not the way I came in,” Elio says sheepishly as the group pursues the light-bearing Pokemon. “Maybe there’s another way in?”

“There is another entrance a few floors up,” Cynthia says as they enter the next floor, Skitters sitting with a confused look on her face as another group of Unown give their three-tongued directions to the Emolga. “They’re probably leading us to it.” As if to confirm, the E-Unown in MIGIUE wiggles and goes up the staircase across from them, with Skitters quickly following.

“True, I guess,” Elio says, pouting slightly as the quartet now climb up stairs to the next destination. Turning around and walking up their stairs backwards to look behind them, Elio switches gears. “Hey, Zisu! Do you know anything about this part of the ruins?”

“Turn around before you trip!” Zisu scolds sharply, getting an immediate reaction from the teenager before she responds more calmly. “Not really, no. I don’t think there is another entrance to the ruins. If there is, Calaba might be the only one to know of it.”

“Oh Reshiram, we’re going to have to apologize to Calaba,” Elesa says as the group crests into a new floor. “She spends so much time down in that room. I’m surprised we didn’t run into her today.” The Unown gathered at the end of the hall chirp slightly before a few of the I-Unown fly off of the HIDARISHITA into the entrance to the groups right, while Skitters just sits on the floor, staring at Elesa.

“Poor thing looks so tired,” Zisu says with a laugh, moving forward to scoop the Emolga up. “Don’t worry, I’ll carry you.” Skitters lets out a squeaky cheer as she reduces the intensity of the light so that she isn’t blinding the group by proximity. 

While the next flight of stairs is fairly quiet, other than Zisu’s occasional coos at the Emolga in her arms, once they got to the next floor, Elio chimes up again. “How many more floors do we have? My calves are burning…”

“Not just yours, kid,” Cynthia says through heavy breaths. Looking up, she reads the Unown gathering at the landing of the staircase.

LOWER RIGHTMIGI GEAKAU HAAHAA

As soon as the Unown recognize that Cynthia saw them, the collective chirps and the two R-Unown shoot down the room towards the stairs on the group’s left. “I want to say 2 more floors,” Cynthia says with a nod. “These main rooms only contain a single letter of,” she takes a deep breath to keep going, “Unown in our time. This floor was I-Unown.” As if to confirm, the remaining Unown quickly disperse, leaving just the three I-Unown to remain watching the group.

“Is that why some of them keep splitting off?” Elesa says, going up to look at the remaining Unown. “They’re going back to their proper floor?”

“Probably,” Cynthia says with a nod, using this chance conversation to properly catch her breath. “From the entrance down to the floor above the main chamber, it spells out ‘Friend’.”

“Explains why the little guys are so friendly,” Zisu muses as she watches the three Unown bounce around them. “They must want to set a good example.”

Cynthia purses her lips for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I think Unown are just naturally like this. When they aren’t gathered into giant swarms, or acting as a Legendary’s will, they just like to chat.” The three Unown stop and stare at Cynthia, as if scandalized by what she just said. “I’m sure if enough of them stuck around, you could teach them how to tell jokes.”

In indignation, one of the Unown loudly chirps several times, then fades into the wall, while the other two just bob in place before following suit. After a moment, Zisu clears her throat. “Should we continue?”

“Oh, yes!” Cynthia says quickly as she turns to face the other side of the room and power walks to the stairs, the others quickly following her. The next floor is much like the others, the Unown in their three tiered message dispersing as the group arrives, and the F-Unown is quickly followed into an empty and dark chamber at the top of the stairs.

The silence hangs for a moment, before Elio turns to face Cynthia. “The entrance still doesn’t exist.”

Cynthia’s sigh sounds more like a groan as she walks past the teenager. “You’re right this time, but not for much longer.” Stepping past the lone staircase leading downward, she taps a knuckle against the wall in front of her. “Doesn’t feel like it’s a solid wall.”

Zisu hands Skitters over to Elesa and steps forward with a grin on her face. “So, time to bust a hole down?” Already, Zisu is pulling out a Pokeball from her belt, the ball rattling as she casually tosses it up and down.

“That’s the plan,” Cynthia says cooly as she pulls out her own Pokeball. Without any delay, the two women release their Pokemon, with Cynthia’s Garchomp rushing towards the wall while Zisu’s Steelix curls around the room and jabs its tail at the same point. The two Pokemon’s combined strength shatters the wall, spraying stone across the ground and down the cliff towards the river.

Once space is made, Elio squeezes their way past the two Pokemon and falls onto the grass in front of the new cave entrance. “Natural light…!” They let out an exaggerated sob as the adults make their way out, Steelix returning to its ball while Garchomp steps out of the cave. Pausing briefly, the Garchomp leans down and snatches up a rock into her mouth, crunching down on it.

Immediately Cynthia is at Garchomp's side, prying at her mouth. “Nandina, no!” She continues to try to pry the jaws apart as her Garchomp gently sways to dislodge her without harming her trainer. “Bad girl!”

Elesa and Zisu watch the display as they sit down next to the cliff face they just emerged from. “The thing is nearly the size of an Alpha,” Zisu says under her breath.

“Makes me wonder if it is,” Elesa says, running her hands through her dusty hair. “Wouldn’t surprise me if Cynthia of all people managed to find herself an Alpha Gible.” The pair watch as Cynthia climbs up onto Nandina’s back, with the Garchomp taking the brief moment where her trainer’s hands weren’t in her mouth to grab another chunk of rock in her mouth, to Cynthia’s dismay.

Shaking her head, Zisu stands up and pats herself down. “Alright, crew! I think we’re due to tell the Diamond Clan what happened, and then head back to Jubilife. We’ve done enough accidental adventuring for one day.”

While Elesa sighs in relief and Elio puts their fists up in celebration, Cynthia shrieks as she turns to face Zisu, still clinging to a grumbling Nandina’s mouth. “No, we can’t! We have so many more ruins!” She grumbles as she tugs one my time, and falls backwards down Nandina, being caught by the Pokemon’s tail before hitting the ground. 

Cynthia sighs heavily as Nandina crunches down on the stone without complaint, and looks upside down toward a giggling Elesa and smirking Zisu. “Alright, fine. We can go back.”

[ji-poetry]

The First Pancake

I set the skillet on the

electric burner

It tilts sideways, nearly

Falling off

Our stove is rather old,

Or so I'm told.

I light- or rather turn on

The burner,

Memories of gas flames

Still flicker in my head.

I try and wait for the heat to

Catch up,

But in my mind's scrambling,

I lose the time.

I take the scoop from the batter,

(Meant for ice cream)

And pour the first disc

Onto the pan.

It doesn't give the whisper sizzle

That it's younger brethren will,

I've started far too early.

I wait as the pan catches up with

The cake upon it.

The powder within will not activate

As well as is intended.

When the heat finally meets the air

For the first time,

The cake is already halfways done.

I flip the poor thing to it's

Soft underbelly

And realize the true gravity

Of my mistake.

The flat plain of the pan-side

Is pale as a quartz stone,

And the edges have curled up,

Asking why I couldn't have waited

Another few seconds.

After harvesting my first crop

And placing it on a nearby plate,

I ready for the true fruits

Of my labor.

Of this experience will I learn?

Nay, of course not.

When next I treat the house to the

Sweet scent of baking

I will turn on the heat,

Place the batter up on the

Near-cold pan,

And wait as before for my consumptive

Pancake to slowly render

To a pale tortilla of oat and flax.

[bestpickme]

✅ 5 Best Electric Wok on Sale 2023💥

[pretty-little-fools]

[what-marsha-eats]

Remember these? Do you still have one? Is it gathering dust or do you still use it?

[foodandfolklore]

Kitchen Basics and Essentials

Earlier I made a quick list of Kitchen Witch Essentials, and planned to expand on it later. However, my list was made with the assumption that you have the basics to cook with. So, I figured I'd go over them to ensure we're all on the same page moving forward.

I am not a professionally trained chef. I'm just a Canadian home cook who's had an interest in cooking since young. Not everything I think is important, other home cooks will think is important. But I think we can agree on about 90% of what I list.

Utensils

Knives. Any list about Kitchen essentials, the Chef's knife will be right at the top. But you'll actually need 2, maybe 3 knives. The chef's knife, as mentioned, or just a main working knife. It's knife used for cutting up everything from meat to veggies to garnish. If you prefer to use a Chinese Cleaver, go for it. Your second knife you should have is a paring knife. Basically a small knife. It's good for more delicate work like eyeing potatoes, cutting up berries, stuff like that. Now most people will tell you, that's all the knives you really need, but I recommend one more. Particularly if you are going to get into bread making. A serrated knife like a bread knife. It is so hard to cut bread with a flat edge, because you end up squishing it. The serrated knife will cut crusty bread without issue.

Pots and Pans. I think it's fair to assume you have at least two pots and a pan or skillet. You can boil pasta and cook sauce at the same time with the option to fry an egg if you wanted to.

Cutting Board. Protect your surfaces and your knives and use your cutting board! I see you quickly chopping up veggies on a plate. Having multiple cutting boards can be quite useful for when you are preparing something like meat. I like to use a plastic cutting board to do most of my meat cutting on so it can be easily put in my dishwasher when done.

Vegetable Peeler. There's a lot of different kinds of peelers. Some are fancy, some can turn vegetables into noodles, some are electric; I'm just talking the basic hand held vegetable peeler. It does a lot without taking up much space.

Measuring Cups and Spoons. Super important to have if you're following directions from another recipe. As you get more experience, you'll find yourself measuring every ingredient less and less. But if you're baking, or trying something new, measure.

Mixing Bowl. Your cereal bowls are only going to get you so far. A mixing bowl can hold Salads, marinating meat, pancake batter- just not at the same time. If you enjoy baking, you will want more than one.

Baking Trays. Ideally two of these. Most known for cookies, but used for roasting all kinds of things in the oven. It's also good to put one in under the rack of something that drips while cooking. Lasagna is bad for this. Catching the falling food on a baking tray makes clean up way easier.

Appliances

Stove. Doesn't matter if it's gas, electric, induction; how many heating elements you have; I'm assuming you have a stove.

Oven. Since most stoves are built into an oven, I am going to assume you also have an oven. I know not every place is allowed to have one, but chances are if you're interested in Kitchen witchcraft, you have access to these things.

Microwave. These days, they are everywhere. Some apartments will be built with a kitchenet which has no stove, but definitely a microwave. These are super helpful, melting butter, defrosting ingredients, while being very safe.

Fridge/Freezer. The modern standard of food preservation. Every home that consumes perishables has at lest one; and it's not uncommon for a large family to have more than one fridge or freezer.

Also

Salt. If you're cooking, you're gunna need salt. Especially if you're going down the route of Kitchen Witchcraft. Not a lot; I got excited one time and bought like 5 different kinds of salt. I'll probably be dead before I use it all. You don't need a bunch or even fancy salts. Just get a box of salt; Kosher, Sea, Pink, whatever. Even the finely ground iodize salt will work.

Oven Mitts. Pulling stuff out of the oven is hot! Protect yourself from burns.

[nbula-rising]

Cheddar Cheesecake with Apple Butter Caramel

Total: 11 hr (includes chilling time) Active: 45 min Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

Crust:

8 ounces butter crackers, such as Ritz (about 70 crackers or 2 sleeves)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 cup)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

4 large eggs, at room temperature

Apple Butter Caramel:

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup store-bought apple butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

Directions

    Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Wrap the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan with 3 pieces of heavy-duty foil.

    For the crust: Add the crackers, sugar and cheddar cheese to a food processor and process until fine crumbs form, about 1 minute. Pour in the melted butter and pulse until well incorporated and the mixture holds together when pinched between your fingers, 10 to 12 pulses. Press the crumb mixture into the prepared springform pan, taking care to get the crust evenly to the edges. Bake until golden brown and set, 10 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes then place in a large roasting pan.

    For the cheesecake: Beat the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until well combined, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat until just combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, until just combined. (Take care not to overmix or the cheesecake will puff up and crack.) Pour the batter evenly over the crust, smoothing the top. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about halfway up the sides of the foil-wrapped springform pan. Bake until the outside of the cake is set but the center is still slightly loose, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

    Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

    Run a knife around the edge of the pan once more and unlock to unmold the cheesecake. Remove from the springform base and transfer to a serving platter or cake stand and smooth the edges with a knife.

    For the apple butter caramel: About 2 hours before serving the cheesecake, whisk the heavy cream, apple butter, corn syrup, butter, vanilla extract and salt in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until very smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

    Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly in a medium skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the sugar melts and is smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and slowly drizzle in the warm cream mixture, whisking constantly. Return the skillet to medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer; cook, whisking frequently, until smooth and a deep amber color, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a heat proof container and refrigerate, uncovered, until cool, about 1 hour.

    Pour the caramel sauce into the center of the cake and use an offset spatula to spread it out, letting some of the sauce drip over the sides. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.