#stir fry chicken ball

[buffetlicious]

Mum’s takeaway bowl of Bee Hoon Soup (米粉汤) has thick rice vermicelli with plenty of ingredients like meat ball, pork slices, pig’s liver, mushrooms and lettuce.

In contrast, my Economy Rice (菜饭) only had two dishes of bitter gourd & egg stir-fry plus a whole chicken leg with caramelized onions reduction. Three dishes, if you also count the white rice.

[daisynik7]

Nanami relishes the days leading up to vacation almost as much as the vacation itself. 

The two of you are going on a little weekend getaway at an all-inclusive resort, nothing extravagant, but as always, still special. You’ve both had a rough few weeks at work, so to say you’re excited is an understatement. 

Your husband is definitely the type to prepare for the trip days in advanced. He’s already made it known to everyone in the office that he’ll be offline and not at all available to contact as soon as it’s Friday. He’s got his automatic replies already set and scheduled, his calendar marked, the signature in his email updated with his time off, even a big note in all caps on his cubicle whiteboard saying OUT OF OFFICE FRIDAY. He takes care of his meetings early in the week, finishes his tasks by Wednesday, and on Thursday, he’s already checked out. As soon as it’s 5:00 PM, he’s out of his seat, rushing towards the subway.

At home, the packing starts Monday. Little by little, he folds his laundry, neatly tucking it inside his luggage. Fresh pairs of underwear, plenty in case of emergencies. Outfits for each day, casual for poolside, semi-formal for dinners and dancing. Nanami enjoys packing because it means the trip is getting closer and closer. Plus, he adores seeing the clothes you plan to wear for him this weekend, especially that sexy black dress and the skimpy little swimsuit you want to lounge in by the pool. 

When he’s home on Thursday, vacation mode turned all the way on, he’s giddy and silly with glee. “Hello, my love,” he says, sliding his hands around your waist, greeting you with a loud smooch on the cheek as you prepare dinner. He smiles against your skin, snuggling you into a warm embrace.

You giggle, giving him a kiss on the lips. He slips his tongue inside you, swirling it with yours, fingers toying with the elastic of your sweatpants. “Honey,” you whine into his mouth, turning the burner off the stove, chicken stir fry left to sizzle in the hot pan, soon to be abandoned and forgotten. 

“Can you give me a little preview for this weekend? Please sweetheart?” he purrs, grinding himself against you, his cock hard between your ass cheeks. His breath is hot on your ear, thumbs hooked on your waistband, shimmying them down little by little until it falls on its own, pooled at your ankles. You slip your feet out of them, only in your panties now from below the waist, succumbing to desire. 

He takes you on the couch, making you model the black dress he absolutely loves so so much. He bunches the hem into his fists, hoisting it up to your breasts, watching you ride his cock exactly the way you will in the hotel room this weekend, moaning his name loud enough for the neighbors to hear just how fucking good you are for him. “That’s it. That’s my pretty girl. Always riding this cock like a fucking slut.” His thumb is pressed firmly to your clit, massaging slow circles around it, sending waves of pleasure throughout your body, quickly approaching your orgasm. When you come for him, he smirks all cocky like, knowing it’s all for him. 

He lays down on the couch, beckoning you to straddle his face, tongue ready to lick all your juices off. It’s loud as he slurps on your swollen bud, so wet with your slick and his spit smeared over it. His hips buck into the air, cock bobbing against his abdomen with each thrust, a string of precum webbed at the tip. You readjust yourself so that you’re in the proper position to 69, rocking yourself against his open mouth while you lean over him, swallowing his dick into yours. His cockhead bottoms out into the back of your throat, and you gulp him down, caressing his balls in your hand while you stroke him with your lips, coating him in your saliva. He waits until you come once more before he does, guzzling his hot load until no more shoots out. 

It doesn’t end here, though. He won’t be able to sleep tonight until he knows exactly what you look like in that slutty swimsuit of yours. So, he fucks you in the bedroom this time, gripping the bikini to the side, watching with a satisfied smirk as he disappears inside you with each pump of his cock. He’ll feel much better with you wearing this knowing he’s the only one who gets to fuck you in it. 

~~~

Sunday morning, Nanami wakes up, absolutely dreading check-out after such an amazing stay. He turns to face you, cupping your cheek lovingly, trying to think of any way to prolong this trip. So, he does something a little naughty. He sneaks off to the hotel lobby, books the hotel for just one more night, and sets a reminder for himself to call in sick for tomorrow. He’s not quite ready to turn vacation mode off.  

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Azul Ashengrotto - Apprentice Chef Voice Lines

Summon Line: I'll be learning to cook under the tutelage of a professional chef.... What a fantastic class this will be. I'll have to make the most of this opportunity.

Groooovy!!: To my taste, the dish seemed merely adequate... However, it seems I was still able to receive a fairly high evaluation.

Home: Proper health and safety is essential.

Home Idle 1: If the risotto used for the rice croquette is too hard, the texture will be wrong, and if it is too soft, it cannot be sculpted into balls. This is difficult to get just right...

Home Idle 2: According to Silver-san, taking in nutrition is also a form of his training. But he can't fool me with his flattery...

Home Idle 3: I've tried various recipe substitutions before, such as frying chicken without deep-frying, or using soy beans instead of meat... However both the flavor and texture would always fall short of what I was hoping.

Home Idle - Login: Even those in management should try to gain experience out on the floor sometimes. That way the employees can't possibly have anything to complain about, wouldn't you say?

Home Idle - Groovy: Fantastic, with this, I should receive top marks... Fufufu... You see!? Even I can create delicious meals if I put my mind to it!

Home Tap 1: I've been able to gain an understanding of ingredients and various meals thanks my interactions with the chefs who work at my mother's restaurant. I am using that knowledge as my foundation as I strive to learn even more.

Home Tap 2: For some time, I would eat mostly only health food, as it was an easy way to count calories... It was to the point that I began to utterly dislike it.

Home Tap 3: I must keep a careful watch on the oil's temperature. If it becomes too hot, it's possible that the croquettes will burst open mid-fry.

Home Tap 4: The Mostro Lounge offers a special rotating menu. Especially since costs can be reduced by purchasing seasonal ingredients.

Home Tap 5: Gurk...! I only paused stirring for the slightest moment and the rice started sticking to the frying pan... I need to quickly recover from this mistake.

Home Tap - Groovy: Did you enjoy that? How wonderful. Now then, what should I receive in return for this dish...? Fufu, I kid.

Requested by Anonymous.

[toldentops]

do you want to learn how to make Winter Solstice Soup. Of course you do. Here

Ingredients

- [ ] 16 oz bag glutinous rice flour

- [ ] Around 2 pork belly

- [ ] 6 or more sticks lap cheung thinly sliced

- [ ] Small napa chopped

- [ ] 2 cartons Chicken broth

- [ ] 1 large kohlrabi or daikon

- [ ] Mushrooms (shiitake(???) or king oyster)

- [ ] 1 pack Beef balls sliced in half and scored

- [ ] Optional: chopped cilantro and green onions for garnish

1. Blanch pork belly in cold water and ginger and shaoxing wine u ntil boiling. Drain, rinse, cut into pieces. Coat with salt, steam around 10 mins

2. Make tong yun. Around 8 oz hot water, stir. Mix, add cold water until smooth, knead, roll in to balls, cover.

3. Lapcheung stir fry with a little oil. Add chicken broth, vegetables, beef ball, etc except pork belly and tang yun

4. Add tang yun once boiled. Add pork at the end. Serve

Some recipes online have you make the chicken broth from scratch. Store bought is fine. This is the way my mom does it and you can add whatever you want. It’s good shit

[lawrenceofbessarabia]

Chicken Paprikash

In the spirit of #draculadaily, here's a translated-by-me recipe for chicken paprikash from an old Serbian cookbook that used to belong to my great-grandmother. Other than adding a few editorial comments and reformatting it to make it easier on modern readers, I haven't changed the text much. Photo of original recipe below the translated text.

Chicken Paprikash with Nokledes

Ingredients:

For the paprikash:

1 whole chicken (recipe starts by assuming you will pluck your own!)

0.5 kg yellow onion (about one large one)

1 tablespoon butter (can substitute other cooking oil, but I recommend using a saturated fat)

1 tsp paprika*

1 red bell pepper OR 1 long, green pepper

4-5 roma tomatoes

Parsley

Black pepper

For the nokledes:

2 egg yolks

1 knob butter

"Snow of two egg whites" I think this means egg whites beaten to stiff peaks

Flour (no quantity specified, typical grandma stuff)

Pluck and clean chicken, if not done already, and cut into pieces. Peel onion and slice into thin ribs. Place in pot (I recommend a large dutch oven) one tablespoon of butter/oil and heat over medium-high heat. When butter/oil is hot, add sliced onion and salt immediately, then fry until completely soft. Add on top one tsp* paprika, bell pepper or long green pepper with the chicken meat, and fry with onion until onion is completely fried (nice and brown). Pour in enough water to cover meat. Add into the paprikash 4-5 chopped tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, a little black pepper, and salt as needed. Lower the heat and simmer the paprikash on a low flame until nearly all the water reduces, all while stirring frequently to avoid burning. When it is ready, it must have enough juice. Serve the paprikash with nokledes that are made in the following way:

Mix together all ingredients listed until well-beaten. Fill a pot with water, salt it, then bring to a boil. Wet a spoon in the boiling water and use it to take out little balls of dough and add them to the boiling water. Remove nokledes when cooked, and finish by frying in butter (you can also just use store-bought...)

Personal note: the original recipe calls for "one blade" of paprika, which my dad says is equivalent to one teaspoon. I have no idea what it means, so if anyone knows please share in the comments!

Unfortunately the bit about the nokledes got cut off, so if anyone wants the rest let me know and I'll get my dad to photograph the rest.

[flurry-of-stars]

𝒞𝒶𝓇𝒶 𝑀𝒾𝒶

Pairing: Dad Sigma x (Fem)Reader Genre: Fluff, OC kids, No Abilities AU (Sigma is still the general manager of the Sky Casino however) Summary: After a difficult day, your husband goes above and beyond just to see you smile again. Word count: 5.8k (A/N: I was inspired by a TikTok I saw hsdfsdfiajs. It was cute and I instantly thought of Sigma doing this for his wife and kids.) *＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿❀○❀✿＊*

A gentle sigh escapes the young father’s lips as he finally leaves the nursery of his eight-month-old son, leaving the door slightly ajar just in case he wakes up and starts fussing again. Fixing his thick braid, he moves towards the kitchen to finish preparing his daughter’s lunch for school and dinner for himself and his dear wife.

Sigma moves with a silent air of elegance and the memorization of routine. He grabs Lucia’s beloved duck-themed lunchbox as he moves into the kitchen, stirring the creamy sauce for the dinner he was preparing for your return before moving towards the wooden cutting board.

Right as he starts preparing Lucia’s lunch, he hears the familiar jingle of the bell on your keys, noting with familiarity the way you twist the key the wrong way first before finally turning it the right way. The door clicks open, slowly creaking open as you step inside. All at once, Sigma stops what he’s doing to look at you.

You look exhausted. Your hair, which he had lovingly tied back for you this morning into a French braid, was loose and hanging over your shoulders messily. You drag your handbag in, as if it weighed as much as a bowling ball, finally giving up on it as it drops to the floor. Your make-up looks like it's been running…

“Darling? Are you okay?” Sigma calls out softly, placing star-cut strawberries into your daughter’s lunch box. He wipes his hands on his apron, turning to give you his full attention. His grey eyes fill with sympathy as he steps over to you, arms outstretched. You groan loudly, practically collapsing into his arms. He holds you, heading resting over his heart as he runs a hand soothingly through your hair. “Love?” He asks once more, more softly this time.

You grumble and groan into his chest, a wisp of a sob on your lips as you mumble, “Today was like a nightmare. Everything I did was wrong and I just–” You start getting worked up again, sounding both irritated and like you’re about to cry. You can feel the mix of emotions bubbling up inside you, then escape as a shaky groan. Hand gently caressing your back, Sigma gives you a worried frown and nods.

“Go and get settled on the sofa. I’ll bring you your dinner and you can tell me all about it.” Slowly, he lets you go as if he’s terrified to even just let you go two steps away from him while you’re like this. You pull away, a bit begrudgingly as well, as you move towards the little lounge room. You notice the toddler toys scattered all over the floor and smile fondly. Despite how bad of a day you’d had, you kneel, picking up Gabriel’s favourite plush toy. A white teddy bear you and Sigma had bought for him with his name engraved on the chest.

You sit on the sofa, rubbing the plush toy’s soft fur as you listen to Sigma working away in the kitchen. You look over, watching as your dear husband and father to your two children, works diligently. He goes from checking the taste of the sauce in the frying pan one more time, while cutting up Lucia’s sandwich, to putting her lunchbox in the fridge for tomorrow and pouring you a glass of your favourite wine.

In just a matter of minutes, Sigma was returning to your side, placing your dinner plate in front of you- which seemed to be chicken and gnocchi in a deliciously creamy sauce- and your glass of wine as you placed the stuffed toy on the coffee table. Rather than retrieving his plate, he came to sit beside you, hands going to your shoulders to massage them gently, to undo the day's stress that was knotted away in your shoulders. “There you are, my darling. Be careful, it’s still hot.”

Smiling softly at your husband, you lean closer to him, kissing his cheek softly as you murmur, “You’re too good to me…” With that, you begin eating the meal Sigma made for you both. It’s delicious, of course. ‘When isn’t it?’ you think to yourself as you savour another bite. Then, at last, Sigma gently breaks the silence.

“So…what happened at work today, dear?” That was all you needed to hear. With a heavy sigh, you began lamenting your exhausting, horrible day to your husband. From grabbing a coffee that wasn’t the one you ordered in a rush, to said person who ordered it screaming at you, despite your apologies. From your computer freezing and losing important documents your boss needed for an upcoming court case, to dealing with that one man who wanted one of the lawyers in the organisation where you worked to represent him while treating you like less than dirt in the process.

But the final straw for you was the email you had received regarding your dinner reservation on Saturday night. It was a new, romantic restaurant you had been dreaming of going to with Sigma for the past few months. “But they called to say the restaurant is undergoing urgent repairs and won’t be open for the next few weeks.” It was such a silly thing to get upset over, but after the day you’d had, it had reduced you to tears.

Pulling you closer to his chest, Sigma runs a hand through her hair soothingly, giving your back a sympathetic caress, “You were really looking forward to it, huh?” You nod shakily, a sob almost threatening to leave your lips again. He feels his heart aching as he gazes down at you, beginning to tear up again. He hated seeing you upset like this.

“It’s silly…” You begin before you pause, catching a heavy breath in your throat. You sigh heavily, raising a hand to wipe your tears away before you can begin sobbing again. “But I was looking forward to all of it. The experience, the food, having a reason to dress up.” You shake your head. “They said they’ll move our reservation back but we won’t be able to get in for another month or so.”

You lay your head against Sigma’s chest, mumbling into his apron, “You must think I’m childish to get upset over something so silly.”

Giving you a small amused smile, Sigma pulls you closer, nuzzling the top of your head affectionately as he softly whispers, “Not at all, my darling. I know how much this meant to you after all. It’s saddening that we’ll have to wait even longer to experience it, but at least they didn’t cancel our reservation altogether.”

He can tell by your grumble that perhaps that hadn’t been the right thing to say. You knew he was just trying to be positive and show you the bright side but you didn’t want to see the bright side right now. It was great that you still had a reservation, but as you should after how much you paid to reserve a table there.

Before the discussion can continue, a soft cry comes from the nursery. You sigh as you push yourself up, rising to your feet, “I’ll go check on Gabe. I could do with some toddler cuddles after today.” With a small smile, you excuse yourself from the living room, heading down the hallway and leaving Sigma alone. He frowns deeply, contemplating what he could do to cheer you up. His thumb rubs his wedding band in an almost familiar, repetitive action as he thinks.

His gaze wanders to your half-eaten dinner. He rises to his feet, picking up the plate as he prepares to put it in the oven to keep it warm when it hits him. He stares down at the plate of food, his body tingling as the idea rushes through his veins. Yes…yes, this could work! Hurrying into the kitchen, he places both yours and his plate into the oven before he hurries towards his laptop. He could make this work.

♡ “--And then I wanna go and get one of those sprinkle doughnuts from that fancy place and then–!” Lucia chatters happily as Sigma ties her hair back into a ponytail with an adorable rainbow ribbon as she bounces in place. The seven-year-old was always so full of energy, but today especially so. She was going out for a mommy-daughter day with you. You hadn’t gone out together for such a day since you fell pregnant with Gabriel.

But there was another reason for this. As Sigma finishes tying Lucia’s hair back, he speaks up in a warm, fatherly voice. He keeps his voice hushed, as you are in the next room over, dressing Gabriel, “You certainly have a lot of plans for today, little Lucia. But don’t forget. You need to make sure mommy finds a really pretty dress to come home in, okay? Can you promise me that?”

“Yes, papa!” Lucia happily replies, with a wide, bright smile on her face as she turns to face her father. Sigma gives her an affectionate smile as he begins fixing the ruffles of her dress slightly. “But do you promise I can get the sprinkle doughnut and the mermaid doll and–”

“My, my, it sounds like you have our entire day planned, don’t you Lucia?” Sigma looks up as you step into the room. Even in just a simple floral dress, you looked as radiant to him as the day he first laid eyes on you. You smile sweetly as you walk over to Sigma, passing Gabriel to him, who you’ve dressed in his favourite fox overalls. He squeals with excitement as Lucia hurries over to you excitedly.

As she begins chattering away about her plans, Sigma holds his son close, his mind wandering to his plans. His gaze trails to the cute unicorn alarm clock on Lucia’s bedside table. 10 am. That gave him at least seven hours to prepare everything. He could manage that.

He walks you and Lucia to the front door of the apartment, Gabriel on his hip and your handbag in his other hand. He passes it over to you as he speaks in a warm, though slightly playful voice, “Now I’m not going to give you a spending limit with my card, but at least try and keep it under the down payment for a new home.”

You giggle, nudging your husband softly. His smile sweetens as he leans down, kissing you softly on the lips. You return the kiss, mumbling, “We’ll be back before sunset. I love you.”

“Love you too, my darling,” Sigma softly replies, looking over as Lucia excitedly rushes towards the elevator. He chuckles as he sees her pressing the buttons over and over again, “You might want to catch up before Lucia goes shopping without you.”

You turn, sighing with amusement as you follow after your daughter. After saying farewell, Sigma closes and locks the door. With a determined look, he hurries over to his laptop, picking it up with his free hand and bringing it into the kitchen. He places Gabriel down in his high chair, a smile on his face as he opens his laptop, pulling up the documents he needs.

“Do you know what we’re doing today, Gabe?” He asks the toddler. He makes a few sounds as he slams his hands on his tray. Sigma reaches out to the toys he’d already prepared in a basket on the countertop, passing them over to his son as he speaks, “Mommy was upset because our reservation was pushed back.”

He clicks away on his laptop for a few seconds before a few videos, recipe cards and instructions show up on his screen. He had everything organised, bookmarked and ready to go. He keeps speaking as Gabriel throws a few plastic blocks onto the floor, “So I decided to look up the meals your mommy was excited to try the most and recreate them at home.” He walks over to Gabriel, picking up the blocks off the floor and returning them to his tray. He affectionately rubs his cheek, making him squeal.

“We’re going to spoil your mommy. She deserves it after all her hard work, don’t you think?”

“Maa!” Gabriel excitedly replies, bouncing in his high chair. Sigma chuckles, patting his son’s head. Yes, this was going to be perfect. He had a lot he wanted to get done before you got home but seven hours was plenty of time! He was going to start with the dessert first. A hazelnut tiramisu. It would need to sit and chill for eight hours after all, and besides, baking was like second nature to Sigma! It would be the easiest part of the entire menu.

Or so he had thought. He hadn’t factored in looking after a toddler while trying to multitask baking. As he was in the middle of creating the caramel for the tiramisu, Gabriel seemed to grow bored of sitting in his high chair. He starts sobbing, throwing all of his toys off of the tray, kicking his little feet. With his fatherly instincts kicking in, Sigma leaves the caramel for just a moment. “Shh, shh Gabe, come here…”

He picks his son up, cradling him close to his chest and patting him on the back. He’s just about to reach over and grab his pacifier from the countertop when the smell of burning hits his nose. Grey eyes widening, he turns to see black smoke already rising from the saucepan. He had only left it for two seconds!

He rushes over, grabbing it off the stovetop, a small, panicked sound escaping him. He was usually more careful than this! With Gabriel still on his hip, he rushes the saucepan over to the sink, filling it with water with a heavy sigh. Well, that was okay. He would just have to start over from scratch. It would only take him six minutes to make the caramel.

“Baba!” Gabriel babbles, patting his tiny belly. Well…perhaps he could get started on it after feeding Gabriel an early lunch.

･ﾟ✧

Now with Gabriel on his hip, Sigma begins preparing the seasonings for the slow-cooked chicken dish he’d heard you talking about. It was the one meal he knew you were looking forward to. ‘They say the chicken falls apart in your mouth!’ You’d gushed so many times with a hunger in your eyes. He had to make sure this dish was perfect.

As he scatters one herb inside the pot, he double-checks his recipe as Gabriel gnaws on his plastic spoon. He makes a loud sound as he cries out, holding it out as if asking for more. With a smile, Sigma takes it, scoops up another spoonful of Greek yoghurt and feeds it to his son. He giggles, taking the spoon back and licking it hungrily, while Sigma adds the broth to the slow cooker. Now all he needed was a dash of pepper.

At the moment that Sigma turns to grab the ground black pepper, Gabriel lets out a squeal as he throws his plastic spoon, the bright blue projectile aiming right for the slow cooker. With a gasp, Sigma reaches out, grabbing the spoon…or so he thinks. With the pepper in hand, he smacks the spoon, sending it in another direction, away from the slow cooker.

What remains of the Greek yoghurt still on the spoon splatters across the countertop and splats on the floor while Gabriel giggles, a large dust cloud of pepper gusting up in their faces. Gabriel is the first to start sneezing up a storm, before moments later, Sigma joins him in the sneeze fest. He could feel the pepper tickling his nose and the back of his throat as he sneezes multiple times in a row, holding Gabriel as he moves away from the kitchen.

It’s a good thing he does too. After one particularly bad sneeze, Gabriel decides to pay his father back for knocking his well-aimed plastic projectile away from the slow cooker. Greek yoghurt and this morning’s breakfast end up all over Sigma’s apron and shirt, a loud sigh escaping him before he sneezes again, “Alright you…it's time for a bath…”

･ﾟ✧ With Gabriel bathed, fed and now taking a nap in the lounge room, Sigma finally gets the chance to busy himself in the kitchen. The chicken is in the slow cooker, an aromatic smell filling the apartment as he puts the finishing touches on the tiramisu at last, storing it carefully in the fridge. He looks at the time. 1 pm. He’s making good time. He still has plenty of time to prepare the homemade bread buns and prepare the dining room for your and Lucia’s return.

He breathes a sigh of relief as he leans against the kitchen counter, a warm cup of tea resting between his palms. He smiles softly to himself. He was already beginning to imagine your reaction when you walked into the apartment. The surprise in your eyes. The joy. The way you would finally smile that large, beautiful smile of yours. The one he hadn’t seen properly since your terrible day earlier in the week.

At the end of the day, Sigma didn’t mind if he had to cook one meal, ten or a hundred. He would go to hell and back for you, just to see you and his children smiling. After all, you were the one to finally grant him the one thing he dreamed of most. A home. A place he could call his own. Beyond that, you’d even given him a family. Ever since the day you accepted him as a boyfriend and eventually accepted his hand in marriage, Sigma had felt like his life had become a beautiful dream he never wanted to wake up from.

You had been like a tiny flame in the darkness when you appeared in the casino that night. Life was looking more and more like a living hell to Sigma at the time, his dreams seeming to be growing further away from his touch. He had grown to find his dream foolish, unobtainable. But there you were, dancing by his fingertips, as if encouraging him to hope a little harder, your light illuminating not just his whole world, but deep into his hopeless, sorrowful soul.

You were his light, his love. His everything. He owed you so much. The least he could do was spoil you like you, his darling, truly deserved. He just hoped it would be enough. He looks over at the slow cooker, at the oven heating up in preparation for the buns he had yet to make. He frowns worriedly. Could his cooking truly compare to restaurant-quality food?

His thoughts are disrupted by the buzzing of his phone. He reaches out, grabbing it to check who it is, though he already knows it’s you. He smiles sweetly as he sees your message.

Cara Mia [1:05pm]: Sigma, why is Lucia insisting I buy this two thousand dollar dress? She wants me to wear it home too. Cara Mia [1:06pm]: She says ‘daddy said to.’ Sigma….what’s going on? Sigma winces; well, at least it didn’t seem like Lucia had told you the reason behind buying the dress. He felt bad about lying to you but it was all for a good reason. Besides, he wasn’t technically lying, he supposed. His fingers type quickly as he replies; Me [1:08pm]: Ah, sorry my love. I didn’t get the chance to mention it.

Me [1:09pm]: I have some VIPs coming for a surprise visit for dinner tonight, so I need you to look your best.

Me [1:10pm]: I’m so sorry for the short notice, but I promise to make it up to you. I love you.

Cara Mia [1:13pm]: So suddenly? You’re usually so much more prepared for the VIPs.

Cara Mia: [1:14pm]: Well…alright. But I’m not spending two grand on a dress. And you’ll owe me.

Cara Mia [1:15pm]: You know how ; ) Love you too <3

Sigma feels a shiver run through him as he reads that, his cheeks suddenly heating a little. He still hadn’t adapted to your forwardness when flirting even after marrying and having two children with you. Though he was certain he wouldn’t owe you after you saw his surprise.

But he was more than happy to spoil you in more than one way tonight.

♡ It was almost showtime. With Gabriel back in his high chair, babbling and cooing loudly, Sigma prepares the dining room to look like a five-star restaurant. Using what he has on hand, he’s placed a beautiful white tablecloth over the dining table that is usually reserved for birthdays and holidays. However, he wasn’t sure where you had stored the table runners, so he was resourceful by using a black cheesecloth he had found in the kitchen. He truly hoped you didn’t notice what it actually was.

Setting up the placemats, cups and plates, he begins lighting the candles, much to Gabriel’s delight. He squeals, becoming more excited as he reaches towards the flames that are, thankfully, far from his grasp. He smiles at his son, chuckling as he sees how adorable he looks in the little tuxedo he managed to get on him. He would have to take a photo later of you, Gabriel and Lucia together.

Sigma had also dressed up as well in a white shirt, black slacks and vest, with a small cute bow tie around his neck. His hair was tied back to prevent it from getting anywhere near the food when the time came to serve it. He looks up from the table to check the time; 5 pm. You and Lucia would be here any minute.

Rushing to put on some soft, classical music on a low volume, Sigma dimmed the lights. He had everything prepared and ready to go as he waits patiently to hear those sounds he’d memorised so well. First, before anything else, he hears the excited giggles of his daughter. The warm voice of his love as well, though muffled. The soft click of high heels on the tiled floor outside the apartment.

Then he hears the familiar jingle, the small golden bell on your keys jingling loudly as you insert it into the lock. Twisting once in the wrong direction, he hears Lucia playfully reminding her mother “Not that way! The other way, mama!” Then, the satisfying click! As you unlock the apartment door. All at once, Sigma stops as his breath hitches in his throat.

To say you looked beautiful was an understatement. To Sigma, you had always looked heavenly enough to make angels blush. But right now, you stood before him in a pastel purple sweetheart dress with the same accessories you had worn out this morning alongside your dear daughter, who was wearing a puffy, baby blue princess-style dress with shimmering silver stars adorning the fabric. You’d even gotten her a plastic tiara, it seemed.  Your white high heels click on the wooden flooring as you and Lucia enter.

Sigma shakes his head, ignoring the heat rising in his cheeks as he approaches you and Lucia, bowing politely. You’re taken off guard for a moment as you give your husband a curious smile. He usually went the extra mile for VIPs, but he'd never done this before, “Sigma? What is all this?”

Standing up straight, Sigma puts on an all too familiar warm smile. The smile that drew you to him when you first encountered him at the Sky Casino all those years ago, “Good evening, my dear guests. It’s a pleasure to have you dining here with us tonight. Will a table for three be alright?”

You look at your husband in confusion for a few seconds before you suddenly break out with an amused grin. You cover your mouth, taking a step back and shaking your head, “Sigma…you didn't–”

With a sweet smile, Sigma ushers you and Lucia towards the table where Gabriel is still happily sitting in his high chair, babbling away. Your eyes fall on him, a soft laugh escaping you as you see the tuxedo he’s dressed in. Instantly, he coos happily, holding his hands out to you, “Mama!”

Picking Gabriel up out of his high chair and sitting him on your lap as Lucia comes to sit beside you, Sigma approaches, handing both you and Lucia a menu he made by hand, passing a baby-proof menu to Gabriel. You giggle as you open Gabriel’s menu for him, the excited toddler smacking the photo of what looks like pumpkin purée. Sigma steps over, nodding in approval.

“Ah, I see. The young master would like slow roast pumpkin purée for his main?” He smiles at both you and his son, your sweet giggles of amusement filling his heart with warmth. Gabriel squeals and slaps the photo again before you put the menu aside with a nod. You open your own and almost instantly, your heart feels like it’s about to burst with affection.

“Sigma..” You sound so utterly touched and for a moment, Sigma thinks you might tear up. You look up at him as you huddle Gabriel close, your lip quivering. His smile grows sweeter, a faint pink colour rising on his cheeks. But he decides to keep his act up for the moment.

“Would you like to order, my darling?”

“I want the chicken!” Lucia suddenly perks up excitedly as she tugs on her father’s sleeve. As he turns to her, she grins warmly, “Can I have an apple juice too?”

He repeats her words for her, trying to encourage her to use her manners, “Can I have an apple juice…?” Lucia nods warmly, smiling happily. With a sigh, he pats her head, “Please.”

“So can I?” She asks again, making Sigma huff softly. He can hear you giggling in amusement as he turns to you, putting his hands together.

“Alright, so the young master will be having our slow-roasted pumpkin purée, and the young lady will be having the balsamic cranberry roast chicken with a glass of apple juice. Can I get you the same, my darling? Although perhaps you’d prefer a glass of wine? We have a fine bottle of chateau angelus if you would fancy a glass?”

Your eyes widen. It was moments like these that you were reminded just who you had married. Normally you would turn down such a luxury outside of special occasions but just this once, you nod as you had your menu back to your husband, “Yes. That would be wonderful.”

With a nod, Sigma exits the dining room, heading into the kitchen to plate up the meals. In just a matter of minutes, he returns with the pumpkin purée. You stifle a giggle, noticing that it’s the same pumpkin purée you had made the night before for Gabriel’s dinner tonight. Placing the plastic bowl in front of you, Sigma nods, “Here is the slow-roasted pumpkin purée for the young master. It’s one of our best-selling meals.”

“Talk about fast service,” you joke, noticing the steaming, hot dinner rolls Sigma places on the table as well. You breathe in their smell, being able to tell from smell alone that they were made from scratch. You pick up the spoon and begin feeding Gabriel while Sigma returns to plating the main course.

“Mommy, can I have one of the buns?” Lucia asks, sitting on her knees in her chair. She tries to reach across to grab one as you gently touch her hand.

“Not yet, sweetie. They’re still too hot. Please sit down properly, dear.” You resume feeding Gabriel. Although, judging from the puréed pumpkin dribbling down his chin, his meal wouldn’t last much longer. You gently rub his back, “Come on Gabe, you love pumpkin.”

Whining softly, Gabriel tries to shove the little plastic spoon out of your hand, swatting at it with his hands. You sigh, putting the spoon back into the bowl as Sigma returns, serving Lucia her plate first, then yours. You can’t help but hum in delight at the alluring smell of the home-cooked meal being served to you. Looking down, it looks so close to the photos you’d seen online.

“Here we are, two servings of balsamic cranberry roast chicken, with the chicken pre-cut for the young lady.” As he says this, he places Lucia’s apple juice down near the top of her plate. With a grin, Lucia squirms in her chair.

“Papa, can I have one of the buns?” She asks, earning a sigh from you. Sigma nods, reaching over and picking up one of the buns while sliding the plate over so it’s placed more between you and your daughter. He cuts it open with the knife next to your plate, buttering it before giving it to Lucia.

“Be careful, it’s hot.” He warns her gently before he stands up, touching your shoulder as he adds, “I’ll be right back with your wine, my darling.”

You smile sweetly as you look down at your plate, a sharp gasp escaping you as you see Gabriel already shoving his tiny hands into the mashed potato on your plate, “Gabriel!” You pull him back as he whines, threatening to cry. Grabbing a napkin, you begin to wipe one of his hands as he sticks the other in his mouth, enjoying the taste of the mashed potatoes. You sigh a little, rubbing his back softly, “Why don’t we share, Gabe? Here, look.”

You move to pick up the spoon in his pumpkin purée, preparing to wipe it down before feeding your son. But the moment he sees the spoon, he whines, as if expecting you to start feeding him the purée again. He waves his clean hand, smacking it down on the table, snagging the lip of the bowl. You cry out as thick, pumpkin purée splatters all over your dress, staining the gorgeous fabric a vibrant orange.

At the same moment, Lucia pushes her plate away, completely untouched after finishing her apple juice along with the entire plate of bread rolls, a huge smile on her face, “I’m finished with dinner, Mommy!”

It’s safe to say that your husband wasn’t expecting this much chaos to unfold within the thirty seconds it took him to return with your wine.

♡ You sigh heavily, dropping down onto the couch wearing just a fluffy white robe as you begin drying your hair with a towel. You already left your new dress to soak in the laundry while Sigma put the kids to bed. You breathe in deeply, noticing the smell of cranberry in the air and smile softly. You think he must have put my serving in the oven to keep it warm. Sigma was always so thoughtful and caring. Not just with you but with everyone. But tonight, he truly went above and beyond for you.

You stand up, moving silently towards the hallway. You quietly sneak towards Lucia’s room, the door slightly ajar, soft, yellowish-orange light seeping out into the hallway from her bedside lamp. You can hear her beloved music box playing a soft melody, while Sigma reads to her.

“--And at that point, my big old dream, which was once in a drawer, shook and climbed, took to the sky and soared…and soared…and soared…” He softly reads the last line, noticing that Lucia is already starting to drift off to sleep in her bed. He smiles affectionately, leaning in to kiss her forehead. He turns off the bedside lamp as he murmurs, “Good night, my little Princess. Pleasant dreams.”

With a tender touch, he runs a hand over her head. Then he gets up, looking up at you as he heads for the doorway, the affection in his smile bursting with warmth as he approaches you. You step back as he steps out, closing the door with a gentle click. He speaks in a hushed voice to not disturb the children, “Both Gabe and Lucia are asleep. I’m going to reach out to an old patron of the casino in the morning who’ll know how to get that stain out of your dress.”

His arm wraps around your waist as he pulls you in. Your arms instinctively find their way around his shoulders, pulling him closer as his face presses against the soft, fluffy fabric of your robe, “I’m sorry, my darling. It seems my surprise didn’t go quite as I had planned it to.”

Your hands move from his shoulders to tenderly cup his cheeks, turning his face towards you. You smile lovingly at your husband, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. A small, faintly surprised look crosses his features before he melts into your soft kiss, his hands gently caressing your waist for a heartbeat before you pull back.

“Oh love. Just because it didn’t go to plan doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me,” you whisper, caressing his cheeks with your thumbs, feeling as they faintly start to heat up. “I can’t believe you went through all the trouble of looking these recipes up, just for me.”

Sigma’s hands lift, tenderly taking hold of your hands. He intertwines his hands with yours, his thumb caressing the back of your hand, his grey eyes, full of devotion and love gazing deeply into your own. His voice is full of unshakable devotion as he whispers, “My darling, I would move heaven and earth just to see you smile for a moment. Researching and recreating these recipes is the least I could do for you.”

He pulls you in once more, hand rising to caress the back of your head, his fingers running through your hair. He kisses the top of your head, murmuring, “Your happiness and well-being along with our children’s is the most important thing in the world to me. I love you, Cara Mia.”

“I love you too…” You whisper back as you feel him pressing another kiss to the top of your head, the heat in your cheeks growing. As you gaze affectionately up at your husband, he gazes down at you. His heart swells as he sees it. The way your lips quirk up slowly. The radiant glimmer in your eyes. The way his heart fills with warmth that slowly seeps into his entire body. Yes...that's the smile he wanted to see. The one that was on your beautiful face the first day you'd met each other. You go quiet for a moment, your fingers gently tapping the back of one of his hands as you ask in a playful voice, “Soo…I don’t suppose you also made their famous tiramisu as well…~?”

Sigma blinks a few times, then with a chuckle, he smirks at you. Sliding his hand around your waist, he begins to guide you back towards the kitchen, “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. And don’t think I’ve forgotten what I still owe you. Tonight is your night, my darling. And I plan to spoil you in more ways than one." *＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿❀○❀✿＊**＊✿❀○❀✿＊*

[hempseeeeds]

Oat&Linseed Bread Mix

This is a dry Mix to create very dense Bread that somewhat resembles German style whole-grain rye-and-wheat-and-seeds breads in flavour and Texture.

It goes well as a Sandwich base for sliced Cheese such as young Gouda, or with Hummus, and can be reheated and Made nicely crispy in a bread slice Toaster, Up to a week after First baking it. It's also very filling, and while it's Not inherently gluten-free by Default, it can easily be Made gluten-free without changing any of the properties, by using certified-gluten-free Oats instead of "regular", unclean Oats, and being careful about the content of Spice Mixes.

The dry mixture keeps for months and is a good idea to have around for when you're going to bake Something unrelated, and want to get the most use out of having the oven on. Most people who have an electric oven in their kitchen/as Part of their electric stove, are aware that it's somewhat wasteful/inefficient to Run it Just for one meal, but Life is such that sometimes you DO want to bake a cake, or a pie, or a meat-roast, or oven-baked vegetables, or prepare convenience food such as frozen Pizza or IKEA balls, and it makes very little difference in Energy consumption if you Put in some oat buns at the Same time.

Get yourself one of those 10 Liter buckets that are made of thin-ish, cheap-ish food-safe plastic (Polypropylene) and come with a Lid of the same material that makes a watertight but not very pressure-stable Seal, and is stackable with other buckets of the Same size due to a lip/rim on the Lid. You can get them for free If you know who to ask, because they're the typical packaging that restaurant-quantities of Ketchup and Mayonnaise and Yoghurt and Cream and Applesauce and some types of Frying Fat come in, so most Small Restaurants both use them for internal storage of EVERYTHING, and discard several per week. (If you are neither a regular at a Restaurant, nor Friends or Family with a Restaurant worker, and/or If you are too shy to ask, you May be able to buy a suitable bucket that is filled with Popcorn, or one that is empty and meant to be filled with Dog chow or parrot seed or Chicken Feed Pellets, at a Feed Store where you can buy that Stuff by weight and bring your own Container.)

Then get your ingredients. You'll need 500g of thick-rolled Oats, 500g of Instant/thin-rolled Oats, 400g of coarsely-ground Linseed/flaxseed, 100g of Chia seeds, two teaspoonfuls of mild-curry-spice-mix, and three teaspoonfuls of sea salt. Throw all of these ingredients into your bucket, Close the Lid Well, and Mix thoroughly by shaking or turning the bucket over many times. Or alternatively, Mix thoroughly by stirring with a large spoon before closing the lid.

Variations include using all instant Oats instead of half-and-half, replacing Up to half of the Thick-rolled Oats with thick-rolled flakes of other grains such as wheat/spelt, replacing the Curry with another Spice mix (like a spicier Curry, or Tandoori, or paprika-and-chili, or Mediterranean Herbs, or Pumpkin-Spice), using really fancy pink Salt, or half a teaspoon of Potassium Chloride in addition to the three spoons of Salt, or adding some oily seeds, like de-hulled hempseeds or sunflower seeds, or pumpkinseeds, or chopped hazelnuts, or sesame, or a Combination of several different seeds/nuts, Up to total 200g (per 1kg of oat).

When you are ready to make oat buns alongside the other Thing you are going to bake, boil some water. Measure two Cups (500mL) of the dry mixture into a bowl, and add one Cup (250mL) of hot (boiling/almost-boiling) water. Mix thoroughly with a fork immediately after adding the water, then add a 2-3 tablespoons of Apple cider vinegar, and Mix thoroughly again. Then you can leave the mixture alone for a few minutes and do whatever needs to be done for the other Thing you're Baking, but it's important to Mix before it becomes hard to mix from the water being absorbed unevenly. Within 10 minutes or so, all the water will be absorbed into a VERY thick/Stiff dough, that is easiest to knead and shape If you get your Hand wet with water before touching it. The best shape for baking this bread is a round flat shape Like a thick Cookie roughly the size of an adult human's palm. Two Cups of dry mixture is enough for making about six of these buns, so you should divide the contents of the Bowl into six parts. If you Happen to have Silicone moulds for large Muffins or small pies, you can Just Put each Portion into one of those moulds and Press it flat (to a finger's width) with wet hands. If you don't have moulds available, shape the dough by Hand into flat palm-sized circles, and lay them on whatever nonstick surface (foil, ceramic, metal…)to bake on. Let the requirements of the other Thing you are baking, decide your Temperature for you. If the Heat is 180°C (356°F), then it's going to Take about 15 minutes to Bake the oat buns, and the hotter the Temperature, the shorter the time. They don't rise AT ALL, nor should they shrink unless they've been baking too Long. If you want to eat them right from the oven, you can Break them into pieces and Dip in Something. If you want to use them for Sandwiches, days later, you should use a serrated knife to cut the top and bottom halves apart.

[knifeforkspoonhand]

Top left: A whole side of boneless salmon that was discounted from £24.88 to £6.06 and I'm still living off that high. I brushed on top a mix of oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, tomato powder, garlic powder and oregano. It was delicious and smelled fantastic.

Top right: The same chocolate cake as the last post except with a chocolate ganache topping as per the instructions of the recipe. It tastes much better but that's because you have ganache left over to eat. The cake is so simple and hits the spot.

Middle left: Stuffed paratha, made from about four and a half cups of plain flour, nearly two tablespoons of sunflower oil, some salt and keep adding water until it forms a dough. Leave to rest for half an hour. The stuffing I made from grating cauliflower and frying it in oil with: one bay leaf; three cardamoms; salt, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder and ground black pepper. You portion your dough into small round balls, flatten them out with a rolling pin, putting some of the stuffing on top of one rolled dough before putting more dough on top. Continue rolling it out with the rolling pin. Cook in a non-stick pan on low heat with a lid, flipping every minute until it's cooked and takes on a little char. This is a long paragraph.

Middle right: I followed a chilli chicken recipe but with mushrooms since I didn't have chicken breast. It was really tasty with the mushrooms absorbing all the flavours in the pan. However, the chicken was notably absent from my version. I think it definitely needs something firm or with a meaty texture for it to be more rounded out. I ate it with some garlic and parsley flatbread.

Bottom: Chicken madras. In a pan with neutral oil, fry three medium blended onions with eight cloves, six cardamoms and a stick of cinnamon. You can add your garlic and ginger paste after or before the onion, I haven't noticed a change either way. Keep stirring for about few minutes, adding cumin, coriander powder, salt and chilli powder. Stir until all the colours have combined. Then, add your diced chicken breast, making sure to cover all the pieces in the paste. Add your blended tomatoes (I use store-bought passata), add sugar if they're particularly acidic and it tastes unpleasant otherwise. Cook on medium-low heat for half an hour, adding water if it reduced by too much. It gets asked for a lot.

[transactinides]

i'm super bad at cooking and never know where to start because every recipe out there asks for ingredients i simply don't have at home so do you perhaps know what basic ones would be good to stock up on? like eggs and stuff...especially when it comes to spices i have no idea what is okay to use

Haii o/ very honored that you sent me an ask, and ofc I’ll do my best to help! This reply got a bit out of hand so. Long text under the cut. Behold. Feel free to reach out in asks or dms or whatever with any future questions (@ everyone tbh).

Food is, of course, very subjective, so my idea of a perfect list of foods to keep a stock of will not be universal, but I hope this will, at least, give you some ideas if anything. 

First of all, I usually mentally break down my typical weekday recipe into vaguely carbs source - protein source - veggies, buy a couple of options for each category and just switch them around for variety. My standard set is

rice / pasta (usually spaghetti re:shapes) / glass noodles

eggs / chicken / tofu / bacon

random pack of frozen vegetables, bell peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens. garlic and onions too

I have an option of making egg fried rice with chopped up bacon and added frozen vegetables one day, then blending the leftover vegetables with bell peppers and tomatoes to use as pasta sauce with chicken and spaghetti the next day, then branching out and making eggplant tofu stir fry with glass noodles, then using whatever eggplant tofu stir fry i had left as rice balls filling and making myself a quick vegetable salad on the side… And all those things are easy to make and don’t need much fussing around. 

Other options to consider would be potatoes (you can roast them with whatever, boil, fry, etc), buckwheat (my wife doesn’t like it otherwise I’d use it more often), kidney beans and chickpeas for your carbs*; fish and meat for your proteins (those are. a bit too expensive for me usually); carrots, cabbage, leeks etc. 

The list looks long, but, again, you just need to pick out a couple of things from each group and throw shit in a pan so to speak. And a lot of them are easily soup-able (boiling water chicken potatoes carrots rice? boom soup. etc), which is another easy base recipe to exploit.

Now to the matter of spices. Salt and pepper are obvious enough, but a good thing to look for are, especially if you are just getting into cooking, spice blends. Something something French Herbs™ something something Taco Seasoning™ something something Seven Spice™ something something Garam Masala™. There’s a lot of different ones, but they are, essentially, a formed flavor profile in themselves, so you don’t need to worry about mixing spices and herbs that might not go well together, and by paying attention to contents you can learn for yourself what individual seasonings are commonly used together.

Also, everyone, hold your judgement real quick and trust me with this, but ooh I always save leftover flavor packets from instant ramen and reuse them in other dishes. Egg fried rice just doesn’t taste right without suspicious red powder courtesy of shin ramen… It’s probably MSG my beloved or something…

While I’m at it, bouillon cubes are handy to have, you can use them for soups, crumble them up in other recipes. Adding one to the water you’re cooking rice in is a great hack at making it more flavourful.

In general, while I do actually have way too much spices (and keep buying more… very excited about my newly acquired dried tarragon…), the ones I’d advise to have for an average person would be:

Salt (ideally both coarse grain and fine grain, but fine grain only serves you just right)

black pepper (both in a mill/grinder and peppercorns), red pepper flakes

paprika, garlic powder, ginger powder

bay leaves, dried oregano, basil, thyme, dill, cinnamon, coriander, cardamon, cumin, turmeric, sumak....

I really got a bit carried away by the end, but. You don't actually need to buy all of them and at the same time, just start with whatever couple of things you'd need for whatever you are cooking and let your collection build up over time, since spices aren't something you need to buy often anyway 👍

Other things I think it’s nice to have in stock in your kitchen would be flour and baking powder, vinegar (distilled vinegar, rice vinegar… I like to have balsamic vinegar too but it’s so expensive it’s ridiculous ngl), soy sauce, cooking oil of your choice (I use sunflower oil, olive oil and sesame oil), panko or breadcrumbs, starch (i have potato starch, cornstarch and tapioka starch, I would suggest just getting cornstarch at first).

* going to clarify here that while beans are often brought up as a source of protein, most are rich in complex carbs, excluding edamame and green beans for example. And since I mostly often cook beans with meat, they check out my daily carbs in my head.

[annachum]

What some of the Avengers may make for dinner for the rest of Avengers in tow ( an example ) :

. Tony : Definitely Pasta Al Ragu ( of any pasta that goes well with the Ragu which turns out to be a Carbonelli household recipe ), Antipasto Salad, and also Baked Apples and Pears stuffed with Nuts and raisins

. Pepper : Tomato Soup, Roast Beef with Mashed Potatoes, Gravy and Root Vegetables, and also Gooseberry crumble

. Steve : Apple Pie, Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter and Mashed Potatoes, and Creamy Mushroom Soup

. Thor : Smorgasbord, Stuffed Roast Whole Tuna, and also Pumpkin Hand Pies, and Mead

. Natasha : Solyanka ( a Russian spicy fish soup ), Black Rye Bread with Goat Cream Cheese, and Bite Sized Syrniki ( a type of Russian cheesecake )

. Sam Wilson : Jambalaya, Crawfish Hand Pie, and Beignets with Fruit Jam

. Bucky : Sarmale ( Romanian Cabbage Rolls ), Bean and Oxtail stew in Bread Bowl, and Miniciunele

. Bruce : Chicken Pot Pie, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Chocolate Ice Cream

. Wanda : Romani Chicken Stew, Challah Bread, and Sticky Rice Pudding

. Vision : Scottish Beef Stew, Roasted Baby Carrots, and English Summer Pudding

. Rhodey : Grits and Shrimp, Tomato and Salmon Soup, and Peach Cobbler

. Clint : Gratin Dauphinoise, Roast Lamb Chops with Mint Sauce, and Pear Crumble

. Laura Vlahos - Barton : Stuffed Grape Leaves, Greek Lamb Stew with Feta and Mint, and Cheese and Fruit platter with Honey

Bonus : Some of the New Avengers ( both possible and confirmed )

. Shang Chi : Hong Shao Rou, Cabbage and Chilli Stir Fry, Rice, and also Green Bean Soup ( a type of Chinese dessert )

. Yelena : Pierogi, Ukrainian Beef and Potato Stew, and Khrustyky ( a type of Ukrainian fried cookies )

. Kate Bishop : Steak Frites, Ratatouille, and Blueberry Cobbler

. Marc Spector : Estofado ( a Guatemalan Pork stew ), Arepas and also Fruit Platter

. Layla : Koshari, Egyptian Stuffed Vegetables, and Zalaiba ( Egyptian Honey balls )

. Shuri : Wakandan Jollof Rice, River Tribe Fried Plaintains, and Chocolate Ice Cream

. Leiko Wu : Manchurian Pickled Cabbage and Pork Belly Stew, Steamed Vegetable Dumplings and Red Dates stuffed with Nuts

. Dr Strange : Nepali Vegetable Stew ( he was in Nepal for a whole year, come on now ), Nepali Lamb Pulao, and also Sheep's Milk Ice Cream

. Hercules : Roast Leg of Lamb, Greek Mezze platter ( with olives, pickles and cheese ), Greek Lemon Rice, and Baklava

[kcrossvine-art]

Well howwwwdyyyyyy! Sometimes dino nugs can be vegable, okay?  Today from the Redwall Cookbook- we will be making a dish that lives up to its name (no, not the squirrel part) -Savory Squirrel Bakes. 

(search for the original recipe at the bottom if you’d like to skitter along with this)-

MY NAMES CROSS NOW LETS COOK LIKE ANIMALS

SO, “what goes in to a Savory Squirrel Bake?” YOU MIGHT ASK

1 pound potatoes

grated hard cheese

unsalted butter

chopped chives or scallions

Salt and pepper

all-purpose flour

1 egg, beaten

breadcrumbs

AND, “what does Savory Squirrel Bake taste like?” YOU MIGHT ASK

Kinda like a veggie chicken nugget!

Its essentially mashed potatoes with a crust container

Fried scrambled potato hahaha

You could customize it by adding further ingredients or just doing the potatoes and the breadcrumbs/egg, honestly

Pairs well with a tangy dipping sauce!!!

Would pair well with baked apples and a fruity club soda

A very filling reprieve from a cold winters night

. where scallions or chives called for, used both scallions and chives . doubled the scallions and chives . cook time suggested 20 minutes, went closer to 35 for a good crust to develop

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From time decided on the dish, to having it in my belly, id estimate it took a good hour and a half-ish? Granted we were also sidetracked talking with eachother, so it could go quicker with practice and such. 

In the future i'd experiment with adding panko flakes in place of the bread crumbs, and  smoked paprika, garlic powder, and pepper during the mashing process. Perhaps a sprinkling of cheese right before it goes in the oven too? It couldve stood to have more butter, just to make it smoother, but thats more personal preference.

I give this recipe a solid 8/10 (with 1 being food that makes one physically sick and 10 being food that gives one a lust for life again.)

🐁 ORIGINAL RESIPPY TEXT BELOW 🐁

Ingredients:

1 pound potatoes, boiled and mashed

2 cups (4 ounces) grated hard cheese, such as Cheddar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon chopped chives or scallions

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, as needed

1 egg, beaten

1 cup breadcrumbs

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375° F. In a bowl, beat the potatoes with the cheese, butter, chives, salt and pepper until smooth. If the dough is too loose to handle, stir in enough flour, up to 2 tablespoons, to make a firm dough.

Turn the dough onto a floured board and form it into a 2-inch-thick log. Cut the dough into 1-inch slices and shape the slices into balls.

Set up a bowl with the egg in it and a bowl with the breadcrumbs. Coat each ball of dough in egg, then breadcrumbs, then place it on a baking sheet. Bake until browned, about 20 minutes (alternately, fry the cakes over medium heat in about 14 inch of vegetable oil until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes).

[buffetlicious]

I have shown you the Reunion Dinner (团圆饭) we had two weeks earlier due to my brother having to go oversea for his company’s training trip. Behold, here is another of our reunion dinner, albeit the home-cooked version. You saw the char siu, roasted chicken and roasted pork mum bought for the prayer earlier in the day so naturally those appeared on the dinner table. As one of my brother and his family plus my sister’s friend will be coming over, mum added extra dishes to the menu. It is not as luscious as the feast we had at the restaurant but nonetheless, it is still a scrumptious and delectable meal.

A simple Cabbage Stir-Fry with premium ingredients of canned baby abalones and scallops. Sis-in-law was commenting on the cabbage being sweet tasting. Ended up this dish emptied of the food saved for a few pieces of the abalones.

Sis was saying mum sliced the Char Siu too thickly but I on the other hand found them just nice as it offered a better texture. Sweet, charred with a smoky taste and just fatty enough to make it a wonderful eat. The Roasted Chicken (deep-fried actually) was well seasoned and succulent to go with the steamed white rice.

These extra-large Steamed Tiger Prawns were bought in Batam and delivered to our house. As the prawns were fresh, mum just steamed it without any condiment. After deshelling, we added some minced ginger sauce before sending it straight into the mouth.

Another seafood that brother order for us from Batam is this large Red Snapper which is done in a spicy style. Mum only made used of the tail portion as the fish is too big to cook properly in the wok she is using. Fresh and sweet tasting with a little spiciness made this a good dish.

Mum also prepared one of her specialties, Braised Five-Spice Pork Belly with shiitake mushrooms and hardboiled eggs. For the soup, it is Pork Ribs Soup with fried pig tendons, fish balls, corn, lettuces and dried scallops to sweeten it.

The side dishes are Pickled Daikon and spicy Nyonya Achar which is a South Asian pickled food made from a variety of vegetables and fruits preserved in brine, vinegar, edible oils and various South Asian spices.

Even though I took a little of everything, I still ended up with a Full Plate. As I slowly tucked into my meal, are you also enjoying your reunion dinner?

[hopkei]

Fantastics 100 Questions & Answers! Pt.1

Source: Monthly Exile August 2020 (Part two)

🚨Warning: may contain inaccuracies!🚨 Feel free to share elsewhere but please credit me🌻

~~

Questions 1-10

1. What meal are you best at cooking? Sekai: Cup Ramen Taiki: Stir-fried bean sprouts Sawa: Carbonara Leiya: Motsunabe Hori: Chinese soup Keito: Curry Yusei: Garlic butter chicken stir-fry Sota: Meat and vegetable stir-fry! It’s totally unmatched!

2. What is a song excluding your own that you want to perform? Sekai: Sandaime JSB - S.A.K.U.R.A. Taiki: Finger Five: 学園天国 Sawa: Exile - Ti Amo Leiya: I want to sing GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE / 「One in Million -奇跡の夜に」 Hori: GENERATIONS vs BALLISTIK BOYZ - 「BREAK DOWN YA WALLS」 Keito: Sandaime JSB 冬空, Generations - Brand new story Yusei: EXILE / 「優しい光」 Sota: GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE / 「I Remember」

3. What was the most embarrassing moment in your life? Sekai: Every audition I’ve ever done  Taiki: At my photobook shoot when I went to the Hawaii for the first time in my life and I lost my money Sawa: I thought I was talking to my friend really excitedly but it was actually someone I didn’t know….. Leiya: The time I was rushing down the stairs to the underground by Shibuya Scramble Crossing on a rainy day and I slipped and fell all the way down the stairs on my butt Hori: The time I dreamed that I was walking down the street naked Keito: The time I got a hole in my pants during an EXPG STUDIO-era performance Yusei: The day I went walking in Shibuya and I wore my t-shirt backwards and totally different socks! (laughs) Sota: In elementary school, I went to onsen with my dad. I had gone to get in first, but accidentally got into the water intended for Kakeyu. A lot of older people were laughing at me, but I didn’t realize until my dad came that I was in the Kakeyu. (tn: a Kakeyu is a pre-rinse you do before getting into an onsen, it is typically done with a bucket, and this water is in a separate tub than the actual onsen)

4. Who is the person that makes you think “If I hadn’t met them, I wouldn’t have the life I do now?” Sekai: Everyone I’ve ever met Taiki: Hiro-san Sawa: Dance Teacher Leiya: Fukuoka dance teammates Hori: Hiro-san, Nakao Shota Keito: Ito-sensei from when I was in (Exile) Kids Class! Yusei: My friend that played the guitar in middle school Sota: My piano teacher. It was my start in music!

5. If you could switch lives with any LDH member who do you want to switch with? Sekai: Atsushi-san Taiki: Yoshino Hokuto. His private life is a mystery Sawa: Kobayashi Naoki-san Leiya: Iwata-san Hori: I want to switch with Shokichi-san and play instruments or write songs Keito: Iwata-san Yusei: Reo-san Sota: ELLY-san! I don't know how he lives at all so I’m really curious

6. Are you starting anything new with your free time at home? (tn: this interview was during the 2020 quarantine) Sekai: Making songs with MPC and finger drumming, I started drinking hot water Taiki: Harmonica Sawa: Animal crossing. (laughs) Leiya: Drawing on my clothes with POSCA markers to remake them Hori: Electric guitar Keito: Cooking, basketball Yusei: Cooking! Sota: Cooking and writing lyrics and composition!

7. What is something about yourself that makes you think, “In this, I can’t lose to anyone!”? Sekai: Persistence when I get into something I like Taiki: Maybe getting all of my senpais and kouhais together to have dinner every night lol Sawa: The beauty of my dance Leiya: My burning heart (passion) Hori: Stretching the skin on my neck Keito: Funny faces and positivity Yusei: Tenacity/determination Sota: Talking when I get up in the morning. I’m strong in the morning!

8. What song do you think of when you hear the word “summer”? Sekai: Wada Koji -  「Butter-Fly」, Yamashita Tatsuro / 「Atom no Ko」 Taiki: Orange Range-san! Any of their songs! I really like them! Sawa: Yuzu - 夏色 (Natsuiro) Leiya: Ketsumeishi - 夏の思い出 (Natsu no Omoide) Hori: DOBERMAN INFINITY / 「SUPER BALL」 Keito: 掌の砂 (Tenohiranosune) / Exile-san Yusei: Def Tech / 「My Way」 Sota: Hirai Dai - Slow&Easy

9. If you were to get a pet what animal would you choose? Sekai: A dog and a cat Taiki: A pug or an Arowana (tn: an arowana is a fish) Sawa: French Bulldog Leiya: Bichon Frise Hori: Dog Keito: Pomeranian Yusei: Husky Sota: If it’s at my parents house, a dog! (because I’ve had experience with big things at my parents house). If it’s at my own house, then I want to get a fish!

10. Favorite color? Sekai: White, black, red, gold, silver, green Taiki: Red Sawa: BLACK Leiya: Red Hori: Black Keito: Checker pattern Yusei: Black Sota: Blue tones!

[nateconnolly]

What's your favorite breakfast food?

Oh my God, you chose the meal that I'm most insane about. Lunch and dinner are honestly just whatever I have lying around. But breakfast? Breakfast is a fucking blood sport. I will literally spend an hour on meal prep for a good breakfast.

Tonight, I put quinoa in my rice cooker and I had chicken on the steam tray over it. They're in the fridge now. Tomorrow, I'll cut up the chicken and fry it in my wok. I'm going to unfreeze corn in the microwave, dump it in the quinoa, and then stir in olive oil, black pepper, red pepper, salt, and harissa. Then I'll toss it with spinach and arugula, and put the chicken on top. I like to cut up my cream cheese with a knife and just dump it in as cubes, but if you're being really fancy, you should probably use feta or balls of mozzarella

A fun breakfast salad for a boy with a busy day ahead. It'll be heavy enough that I can push off lunch until the afternoon and get plenty of chores done first :)

[lothcatskilledthesith]

Mandalorian Stew

I have no idea what Pog Soup is. I scoured the EU books, the New Canon books, I even turned to the internet. No idea. But Bo Katan added powder to hot water, so as an educated guess, I’d say it’s something like Miso soup.

That said, I thought I’d share my recipe for Tiingilar or Spicy Mandalorian Stew. The original recipe is from the official Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Cook Book.  But mine is better.

You’ll need:

1 yellow onion

Ginger and Garlic (No, I won’t tell you how much, you feel that in your heart)

2 Chicken Breasts, chopped into bites.

1 red apple

Some red potatoes roughly chopped

Some carrots, roughly chopped

1 can of pumpkin puree

3 TBS Tomato paste

Chicken broth

2 TBS Soy sauce

Turmeric, Chili Powder and Paprika to taste.  (I like mine extra spicy)

Start by frying the onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat in the oil of your choice. I like 10w30. (That’s a joke, don’t actually cook with engine oil. Try Olive or Canola Oil.)

Cook until the onion starts to go clear. Your house will smell amazing.

Add the chicken and stir. Cook until the chicken is browned on all sides.  Add the pumpkin and tomato paste and stir.  Add the broth until it reaches a constancy you like.  

Now add everything else.

Simmer, covered for 30-some minutes until the carrots and potatoes are soft.

If I want it hotter, I add a few dashes of Frank’s Red Hot, which has a nice matching flavor

I served this with Rey’s Portion Bread, which is straight out of the cook book, no changes.  I cooked mine in a too big ramekin, so it turned out ugly, usually they’re nice and round.

4 TBS flour

1 TBS instant oats

1 tea Sugar

¼ tea baking powder

½ tea seaweed flakes

Pinch of salt and pepper

Mix that together in a small bowl, then add 2 TBS water and mix until it forms a small ball.

Place in an oiled ramekin, mug, or other small microwave safe receptacle.  

Microwave for 45 seconds and marvel as your portion bread puffs up just like in the movie.

Allow it to cool slightly before eating. Or don’t, go ahead and burn your mouth. I’m not your mom.

[jacksulkes]

August 3 - Fo Guang Shan Monastery

Today we spent entirely at Fo Guang Shan Monastery. We took the bus there in the morning. We started at the Buddhist monastery itself. We were given a tour by a monk dressed in a yellow robe with a shaved head. He also had an American woman from Michigan learning from him and living at the monastery for a month. It was massive and beautiful. The landscaping was so nice. We got to see inside a building with three big Buddha statues and hundreds of smaller Buddha statues all around the walls. We then got to each lunch in the monastery with all of the monks, but we had to learn the traditional way of doing it. It was completely silent, there was no meat, and we had to move our dishes in the correct ways. We followed along with their chants before and after eating. After lunch, we went over to the Buddha Museum. This museum had a massive Buddha statue on top of it. It is one of the largest Buddha statues in the world. Inside, there were so many exhibits, rooms, and worship centers. Saw some cool artifacts and learned a lot. We also got to write Chinese calligraphy on a paper to take home, with the instruction of a Buddhist monk. Later on, we went to dinner at a nearby restaurant and ordered over 10 dishes for the table with a lazy Susan to share. We got pork fried rice, beef and veggie stir fry, fried shrimp balls, spicy chicken, stir fried squid, pig intestines, clams, tofu, and much more. I loved the squid, but after trying pig intestines once, I can safely say I will decline any opportunity to have more. After dinner, we went clubbing, and it was Latin-themed night with all of the music I've heard in Miami.

Academic Reflection:

At the monastery, we learned that there is a past, present, and future Buddha. The original Buddha, Siddartha Gautama, was from India. He first showed the path to becoming Buddha, but we learned that if you follow his eightfold path and three rules, you can also become Buddha. The three rules are to do good deeds, speak good words, and think good thoughts. We learned that they eat in silence in order to focus on their meal with no distractions. They are supposed to focus on how appreciative they are for the food and to ponder whether they have done enough good to deserve this meal. The only time they aren’t silent is before and after they eat, they do chants.

At the museum, when we wrote the Chinese calligraphy, the monk also taught us a greeting where you touch the tip of your middle finger to your thumb. This can be hello, goodbye, how are you, and other things. It is an important part of the Buddhist culture. I learned a lot perusing the museum. It had exhibits on Buddhism as a whole, Taiwan’s history (natural, prehistoric, and historic), and on Hsing Yun, who is the monk that started this monastery. It is the biggest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan.