#winter foods bell peppers

[vegan-nom-noms]

Vegan Cauliflower Chickpea Shawarma Bowls

[hunger-not-by-number]

pesto pasta with broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, onions, mushrooms, butternut squash, & spinach

[the-re-farmer]

Our 2024 garden: herbs and peppers

Today, I did some seed organizing. After marking out the weeks backwards from our June 2nd last frost date on our calendar, I then went through my bin of seeds and organized them by when they need to be started indoors. Then I picked out the ones I could get started now. We won’t be starting everything that we have seeds for. Starting from the 3-4 weeks list: I still haven’t decided if we’re…

[dsharma-world]

Healthy dinner: Spinach, sweet potato, lentil dhal

A perfect dinner platter

Spinach is a source of inorganic nitrate, which studies suggest may lower your chance of getting heart complaint. Exploration shows it can lower your blood pressure and make your highways less stiff, among other benefits. You also get potassium from spinach, which helps keep your heart working right. The sweet potatoes are a good daily source of carbs and fiber. Lentils are rich in fibre,…

[hedgehog-moss]

what do you usually make for dinner? i’m looking for new things to try and the food you show in your photos always looks so tasty

Hi :) I have very seasonal menus, here are some of my go-to summer dishes:

Rice salad with lentils, maize, tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, rocket. My salad dressing is olive oil + sunflower oil + cider vinegar + Dijon mustard + whatever herbs I have at hand (usually thyme, basil, sage, rosemary)

I also make a salad-salad with the same dressing but with just lettuce and some rocket + walnuts + goat cheese + my homemade spicy plum-raisin chutney, or a fig chutney. Classic but delicious.

My laziest salads are potato-herring-red onions salad, or just grated carrots & black radish (and dressing obvs)

I love cold tomato soup in summer—I don't think I'm allowed to call it gazpacho because I don't like cucumber and have banished it from this recipe. It's just normal tomato soup with some olive oil, onion, garlic, Espelette pepper, and herbs, and I keep it in the fridge. I'm proud to say all the ingredients save the olive oil are from my greenhouse! Cold beetroot soup is also great, I often have cold soup with croûtons + a hard-boiled egg for supper (and then cheese + bread, and often dark chocolate + bread for dessert if I haven't made any dessert. Plus a fruit)

The chocolate tart I described here is to be eaten cold so it's a nice summer dessert (and breakfast). I keep carrot cake in the fridge too and since my recipe makes for a very moist cake it's very refreshing (I am positive I shared this recipe on here before but tumblr's blog search is useless :( It's my abuela's pastel de zanahoria esponjoso made with biscuit crumbs instead of flour, it's somewhere on this blog I swear, I remember illustrating it with a little carrot drawing 😭)

Another refreshing summer dessert is compote (or do you call it fruit purée?) Right now my favourite flavour is apple-plum (mostly because that's what I currently have and your own fruits always taste better<3) I just put a few (three?) apples to cook in a pan with a bit of water, a couple of tablespoons of sugar, a dash of lemon and a bunch of red plums, let it cook then blend it and put it in the fridge. Three weeks from now I will be drowning in blackberries and apple-blackberry will be my favourite flavour.

Quiche!! Endless possibilities with quiche. I like to make a quiche-ratatouille combo—I start with sautéing whatever vegetables I have (often courgettes, tomatoes, a couple of potatoes, maybe an aubergine & bell pepper, + Espelette pepper, onions, basil) in a pan with some olive oil; while it's cooking I prepare the body of the quiche in a bowl (20cL of milk, 2 or 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 eggs, some herbs and a tiny bit of olive oil for luck). I make a pie crust with flour, water, salt, oregano and olive oil (sorry I'm from the Mediterranean, I put herbs and olive oil everywhere). I spread the ratatouille on the pie crust then add the milk/egg mixture on top of it, then add little bits of cheese on top (gruyère or bleu or St Nectaire personally). I eat it with a side of rocket, it's perfect. And very colourful:

When I'm too lazy to do the ratatouille (and quiche) steps I just make a tomato tart—the same pie crust as above, then I spread Dijon mustard over it then cover it with sliced tomatoes, and add some (obligatory) herbs and olive oil. It's less effort and also looks very summery:

Some favourite autumn-spring dishes: vegetable lasagna, chilaquiles, hachis parmentier with mashed pumpkin, fish brandade, potato-courgette gratin (with blue cheese)... Then winter is for comfort foods like camembert fondue, risotto, calzones, pumpkin-chestnut soup, and crêpes—the savoury kind with sarrasin flour, what we call galettes. I grew up eating a ton of fish and seafood but I've curbed this habit due to environmental worries—hence why I'd like to raise edible fish in my greenhouse tanks! I get to eat a lot of eggs thanks to my hens, but I don't eat meat very often—hardly ever in summer except if I'm invited for dinner at someone's house. Sometimes I buy a homemade duck terrine from my neighbour and have a tartine for apéritif. My cold-season dishes call for ham in galettes and chicken in chilaquiles / risotto / quesadillas, and I make my hachis parmentier with duck. But yeah soup / salad / 'ratatouille quiche' and pasta with veggie sauce are my staples.

This list lacks pasta, I eat a lot of pasta. But mostly in autumn and spring; I just prepare my sauce in summer and store it for later. I also prepare & freeze a lot of soup and vegetable mash in summer with my greenhouse harvests. I often eat green beans as a side with my crêpes or other winter dishes because they grow so fast and incessantly in summer, my freezer ends up stuffed with bags of green beans. My usual pasta sauce is pretty much the same ratatouille combo as above (minus the potatoes so it's less thick), sauté'ed in a pan with olive oil, I also add an egg, parmesan (sometimes extra blue cheese or emmental) and liquid cream, then blend everything. I have a lot of courgettes and tomatoes right now, industrial quantities of basil and rocket, and beautiful Ecuador purple chili, so I've been making lots of jars of this sauce and also my new basil-rocket-cashew pesto! October-me will be thankful.

[magickkate]

Let's embrace the magic of seasonal eating! Here's a guide to what local foods are in season each month:

January: Root vegetables like carrots and potatoes, winter greens, citrus fruits

February: Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, leeks, winter squash

March: Asparagus, spinach, radishes, strawberries

April: Peas, lettuce, rhubarb, artichokes

May: Strawberries, cherries, peas, broccoli

June: Blueberries, zucchini, tomatoes, green beans

July: Peaches, corn, cucumbers, bell peppers

August: Watermelon, eggplant, summer squash, basil

September: Apples, pears, grapes, pumpkins

October: Cranberries, sweet potatoes, kale, squash

November: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, parsnips

December: Citrus fruits, pomegranates, winter squash, beets

You can always use the local almanac to know what is in season in your area in order to use the best seasonal and local ingredients! Let nature guide your culinary adventures and savor the flavors of each season! 🌞🌿

[mariacallous]

Looking for a Shabbat dinner centerpiece or a hearty midweek meal? Picture cubes of eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes and potatoes cooked together to create that special harmony only veggies that grew together in the sun achieve. You’re thinking of ratatouille, right? But what I have in mind is a heartier dish from Romania and Bulgaria called ghiveci or guvech.

Romanian ghiveci and Bulgarian guvech are indeed very similar to the famous ratatouille, but being peasant’s food, they’re more rustic and substantial. The veggies for guvech are cut into large, uneven chunks, and can be cooked all together at once, while for ratatouille, each component is fried separately before they are combined. This makes guvech preparation much easier, and allows for creative improvisations; you can easily add any vegetables in season. Besides the mandatory eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and potatoes, green beans or okra are common. Guvech is seasoned very simply with salt, black pepper and occasionally paprika, to let the produce shine. The Bulgarian version is cooked with fatty meat, while most Romanian versions are vegan.

“In Bulgaria, guvech used to be cooked in a clay pot called gyuveche,” Etti Ben Yosef, a Bulgarian Jew who lives in Israel, told me. “The stew was cooked in the oven for many hours at low temperature.” 

But these days, when Ben Yosef makes guvech for Shabbat dinner, she uses a pressure cooker to precook the beef short ribs before adding them to the vegetables. Then, she cooks the entire stew on the stove for a long time, putting it in the oven for the final hour to give it a nice crust. She feels lucky to share the recipe with her adult children. “I keep the tradition so the kids will remember,” she said.

Guvech’s origins can be traced to the Ottoman Empire that ruled the Balkan region for hundreds of years. The original Turkish dish, called güveç, is cooked in a wide, clay dish by the same name. It’s very similar to the Bulgarian guvech and includes chicken, lamb or beef. There are many other variations of the dish throughout the Balkans. Bosnian Đuveč or djuvec is the name of a clay pot as well as a veggie casserole that’s cooked with rice; Greek giouvetsi is also cooked with rice. In Romania, the eggplant-tomato version is considered summer ghiveci, while winter ghiveci is prepared with carrots, cabbage, cauliflower and mushrooms. 

Bulgarian Sephardi Jews and Romanian Ashkenazi Jews brought guvech to Israel (where it’s pronounced “ghe-vech”) and made the dish widely popular. No wonder, given that eggplant and tomatoes are so beloved in Israel and are of such high quality. Early Israeli versions can be found in Molly Bar David’s “Folkloric Cookbook” from 1964. The first version includes 14 different vegetables (including celery root and cauliflower) and meat. The second version is for Romanian ghiveci that’s baked with a whole fish on top.

The vegetarian Romanian version is probably most common in Israel nowadays. And although it is  traditionally served over rice, I like to serve it on another Romanian staple, mamaliga. It’s the definition of comfort food. 

This recipe is the Bulgarian version of guvech that includes meat. You can make the recipe vegetarian by simply omitting the meat. The rest of the ingredients and instructions stay the same.

Notes:

It is recommended, and easy, to add any seasonal vegetables to the basic guvech. Consider adding: 1 lb butternut squash or sweet potato, cut into ½-inch dice; ½ lb whole okra, stems removed; or ½ lb green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces.

You can cook the meat, if using, up to two days in advance. Store the cooked meat in the fridge with the cooking liquid. Before using, remove from the fridge and discard the fat on the top of the pot (the fat will be solid and white in color). 

Guvech keeps in the fridge for up to four days.

[the-solarpunk-activist]

Here's how my grandma and I try to live a low waste lifestyle in the city

First thing is we reuse everything. We have a portion of our shelves dedicated to holding plastic food containers we have washed and are waiting to be used to hold leftovers, dried foods, as seed starting pots, etc. We also save any and all jars to hold dried herbs and food products.

Actually reuse is a big thing for us. We shop at places that use paper bags, which I then cut up to use as scrap paper for grocery lists, etc and then compost after that. We also have a small container with rubber bands from products, bread ties, etc.

If you can afford the start up costs and have the space, preserving your own food is excellent. We have a really small garden that produces a lot of food every year. My favorites are dehydrating (using a dehydrator that is at least 30 years old from back when my grandpa was into making jerky), freezing, and canning.

Also, use every bit of food. Right now in the freezer I have bags of apple cores and peeling, pear cores and peeling, and peach peels along with bags of bones and veggie scraps for broths. The fruit scraps will go towards making big batches of jelly when canning season is over. I'll probably use the pulp leftover to dehydrate and powder to add to baked goods following a success with crabapple jelly pulp. I've also made spaghetti sauce out of tomato peels. Anything rotting or absolutely unusable gets tossed in the compost.

Reusables!! Obviously in today's world you can't avoid plastic but you can reduce how much you use. We use reusable produce bags that I made out of scrap Tulle, reusable grocery bags, water bottles, ziploc bags, etc.

If you have a yard or space, composting is a big one! My grandma says she never realized how much food we tossed until we started one. You don't even have to spend money on it! I know people who use totes they drilled holes into, just toss it In a hole in their garden, etc. The one I use is an old hose winder (one of those cube ones( that broke and my work was going to toss. All I did was cut out the hose winding part and paint it pretty and it's held up for 2 years and counting so far.

Hang dry clothes. In summertime we almost exclusively dry our clothes on a line or on a clothes drying rack I found at a yard sale.

Keep your heat or ac a few degrees higher or lower depending on the season. This helps save energy being used to heat or cool your house.

Wash clothes in cool or cold water. I've been doing this for years and haven't noticed a difference.

Repair. You don't have to be a sewing genius to quickly repair a small tear, especially if it's just for household wear. A great winter time hobby to pick up when gardening season is over.

Trade! This can be as simple as hosting a clothing swap all the way up until trading items u grew/made for items they did! I barter with my coworkers all the time, just talk to them! I never would have known my coworker kept bees if she didn't really like my jellies and proposed a trade. I also trade any of my soft produce I don't have time to do anything with to my coworker with rabbits in exchange for poop for the garden.

Try to be in season from local sources such as garden stands, or just a local grocery store. One of our local farms grew bell peppers and was selling then 2 for a dollar! So we stocked up and dehydratedand froze lots of peppers for winter stews

Blended pumpkin guts makes an excellent pumpkin puree, even if you're just adding little bits of it to your dog's food :)

You can freeze a lot of stuff! Leftover spaghetti sauce, pumpkin puree, etc can all be frozen in a muffin pan and then put in bags for future use!

Forage! I personally mostly forage for greens and a few mushrooms I am confident in my ability in but that still bulks up your food supply as well as medicine supply! I made a salve using bartered beeswax and spring purple dead nettle and summer plantain (and some tea tree EO) for cuts and scrapes and it works miracles! My coworkers love it as well as friends and family

We really try to live by the waste not, want not and use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without phrases. Just figure out what works best for the life you live! Be creative!

[ghostoffuturespast]

OC Associations

Tagged by @elmknight Thank you! <3

Here's Grandpa...

Animal: Cooper’s Hawk

Colors: Purple and Yellow

Month: November

Song: Throw Me Down The Stairs - Sleigh Bells

Number: 4

Day or Night: Night

Plant: Wolf’s Bane

Smells: Black pepper, ozone, sweat

Gemstone: Citrine

Season: Winter

Places: Lele Park, Red Peaks Trailer Park, abandoned buildings

Food: Jajjangmyeon, pancakes, pozole, Triple Cheese Moonchies 

Astrological Sign: Libra

Element: Earth (metal? - dunno lol)

Drink: Tiancha Pomegranate

Tagging with no pressure: @shimmer-like-agirl @luvwich @vox-monstera @morganlefaye79 @medtech-mara @streetkid-named-desire @merge-conflict @corpocyborg @tarmac-rat

[paldean-sandwich-rater]

A sandwich.

It contains ice cream, whipped cream, sponge cake, meat balls, broccoli, pineapple, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, rice, noodles, mac and cheese, bacon, beef jerky, dried fish, seaweed, one of every Pokemon berry, jam, olive oil, lotus, dragon fruit, ravioli, ramen, tempura, teriyaki chicken, macaroons, escargots, mint, pepper, salt, sugar, croquettes, pickles, apples, avocados, sausages, bell peppers, grapes, pizza, a donut, cheese, more cheese, even more cheese, mushrooms, mustard, olives, a fried egg, a scrambled egg, blueberries, a poached egg, chawanmushi, a red bean bun, mochi, bbq sauce, chicken nuggets, french fries, takoyaki, pancakes, mackerel, salmon, coffee beans, spinach, a tiny bit of corn cream soup, ramensanga, fettucine alfredo, a plain bagel, pretzels, chocolate chip cookies, sweet potato, yam, potato, scallions, scallops, squid, crab stick, fish balls, fish cakes, oyster sauce, silken tofu, barley, cereal, paprika, oysters, red snapper, sea bass, plums, bean sprouts, garlic, string cheese, camembert, swiss cheese, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, yogurt, brinjal, a macdonald’s happy meal (without the toy and the packaging of course), truffles, caviar, tapioca balls, fried chicken, century eggs, cake sprinkles, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, milk tea (just a tinge), coffee (also a tinge), pudding, pumpkin, honey, mutton, mashed potatoes, bananas, icelandic fermented shark that they bury in the ground for months, raisins, dried mangoes, a drop of water, jelly, nata de coco, prunes, roasted pork, rosemary, bee pollen, peas, deer meat, rabbit meat, fish maw, ham, turkey, m&ms, chub, fufu, watermelon, winter melon, rock melon, coffee jelly, cacao, carrots, blueberries, black tea, dumplings, carrot cake, beetroot, purple cabbage, corn, celery, edamame, red beans, black beans, green beans, kidney beans, cashews, peanuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, walnuts, chickpeas, almonds, daikon, MSG, tamales, anchovies, tabbouleh, lions mane mushroom, chicken of the woods, kelp, octopus, durian, kimchi, crème fraîche, popcorn, cotton candy, everything bagel seasoning, capers, pears, marinara sauce, bittercress, butter cream, every single iteration of galarian curry, sushi, sashimi, kale and a very very specific ramen bowl (without the actual bowl) from a very particular shop located in Iwatodai.

And the top and bottom buns are somehow made from 50 different kinds of bread in a checker box pattern.

It comes with a picture.

Ingredients: I am not typing all of that out again. What the fuck.

Smell: You’ve taken an entire food court’s worth of food and made it into a sandwich. This isn’t even possible. Why am I considering this. 3/5

Taste: How do you eat this. 2/5

Texture: You get like 5 different foods every bite. This is not balanced. There is no harmony. This sandwich is the embodiment of disorder and chaos. 1/5

Presentation: The fact that this even looks sandwich adjacent is a fucking miracle. You don’t get full points though. Because I don’t like you. 3/5

Would Chunk Eat It?: He would eat maybe 1/50th of it. So no. 1/5

Final Score: 2/5

Critic’s Notes: Why would you waste this much food. Just host a party. Donate it. Something fucking anything I am begging at this point.

[kxttsstuff]

Naming Conventions

🌷;; Borrower names are often borrowed from nouns or adjectives, or borrowed from animals/human names.

🍀;; The following shows the most common borrower names. Some names have strong female or male associations, but most of them are unisex. Most borrowers' names are strictly dictionary, literal nouns and rarely have deeper forms.

❄️;; After seasons: Spring, Winter, Summer or Autumn/Fall. Often because they were born in that season or because it holds a special meaning for the parents. Example: The parents met in Summer, the kid was born in Winter, or they found a home in Spring.

🌺;; After flowers: Rose, Lily, Ivy, Violet, Magnolia, Lilac, Rosemary, Bluebell, Wisteria, Tulip, Margaret, Buttercup, Peony, Orchid, Camellia, Lavender, Petal.

🌳;; After herbs, trees and other plants: Basil, Dandelion, Laurel, Cedar, Leaf, Willow, Aspen, Clover, Cypress, Ginger, Olive, Mint, Herb, Sage, Moss, Pine, Oak, Branch.

🌎;; After noble occupations that their family used to have or that they find brave and charming: Archer, Hunter, Ranger, Author, Gather, Dancer, Rider, Fisher, Rogue, Striker, Chaser, Poet, Explorer

🍎;; From fruits, spices or food: Apple, Honey, Apricot, Cherry, Cinnamon, Plum, Peach, Tangerine, Lemon, Almond, Sesame, Rue, Strawberry, Saffron, Pepper, Maple, Berry, Clove, Tea, Thyme, Fennel, Coriander

🛠️;; From household items or tools: Penny, Denim, Clay, Quill, Blade, Treasure, Dagger, Cotton, Jewel, Velvet, Calico, Anchor, Feather, Dice, Coal, Shell, Guitar, Bell

🐿️;; From animals or bugs: Robin, Raven, Hummingbird, Byrd, Fox, Bee, Fawn, Lark, Cricket, Newt, Crow, Teal, Buck, Sparrow, Doe, Dove, Crane, Swan, Canary, Wren.

🌙;; From natural phenomena: Rain, Storm, Sky, Snow, Cloud, Sun, Moon, Star

⭐;; From human names/pet names: for example, being named after a cool name your parent saw in a magazine, or once when they saw what the human called the housecat.

Changing your name in borrower culture:

• Contrary to popular belief, often borrower names given by parents don't actually have a deep value, like with humans. They're often more than welcomed to change it however they wish, this is known as "to borrow a name".

• Some borrowers will change their name just because they found a nicer one, or they want to transition to one that fits more their current identity or their age. Some nicknames may transform into a borrowers' name, this is surprisingly common. This tradition is popular, especially reaching adulthood or even late teens, and some communities heavily encourage the borrowing of a name to signal a borrower is ready to get involved within the community. A borrower may have borrowed lots of names through their lives.

• Some people give their kids ‘baby names’. This is the case of names like ‘Peanut’, 'Raindrop', "Button" or ‘Seed’ and they are expected to be changed later on when the borrower finds their own identity. The new name shall be called the "Chosen name/true name", and it is considered demeaning/patronizing/sometimes mocking to insist on using the baby name of someone to address them (if you happen to know it); this happens a lot with parents and their young. Baby names lose their value the second they change it, so it's not really necessary to let others know what it was unless you want to explain the term to a human and get teased for one month.

🪲;; Some spelling has changed over time, transforming “Bird” into “Byrd”, for example. There is also a tendency of choosing shorter names, making "Leaf" or "Petal" one of the most common ones.

🪲;; Giving nicknames based on their skills, personality or appearance is very common. This tradition has developed from survival purposes but now it is considered cultural, a form of showing love and is especially seen from older borrowers to the young.

🪲;; Borrowers don't have middle names.

About last names: This depends on the family, some of them consider them superficial and have no last names. Some borrowers do HAVE last names, especially the ones living in communities. As with names, last names don't usually hold a deeper value and have very literal meanings. Most of them reflect the particular part of the landhouse their hideout is close by, whether it's the Clock, the Cabinet, the Shower, etc. Their last names may or may not be subject to change in case they move out, some could be slightly attached to them so they choose to keep it.

Generally speaking, when a borrower "marries" another and they move out, they'll get a new last name based on the location they're building their hideout on, which their children will inherit until they move out. This would make most Borrower's last names transitory.

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A large, shallow bowl filled with soup with orange broth, noodles, mushrooms, and bell peppers, garnished with green onion and cilantro. A plate of dumplings and a bowl of sauce are visible in the background. End ID.]

Thukpa /  थुक्पा (Nepali noodle soup)

Thukpa is a Himalayan noodle soup that originated in Tibet before becoming popular in Nepal, Butan, and northeast India, where many different varieties of it are eaten in the home and as a street food. This Nepali-style version is flavored with green chilis, cumin, coriander, and ginger, and brightened with the addition of fresh herbs and lime juice. This is a warming, filling, one-pot meal, perfect for winter!

Recipe under the cut.

Patreon | Tip jar

Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

1/2 each green, yellow, and red bell pepper, sliced

1 green hot chili pepper, slit

4 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces

2-inch chunk ginger, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

1 Tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground

1 large or 2 small roma tomatoes, diced (150g)

250g dried thukpa noodles or Chinese wheat noodles

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1 cup quartered button mushrooms

1 large carrot, julienned

8 cups (2L) water

1 Tbsp vegetarian chicken stock from concentrate, or 2 vegetarian chicken-flavored stock cubes (optional)

Juice of 1 lemon or lime

Bunch of garlic greens, or fresh cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp soy sauce (optional)

Salt to taste (about 2 tsp, less if you used a stock cube containing salt)

1/2 tsp chaat masala or garam masala (optional)

Mustard oil is typically used for this soup, but you can also use any neutral oil.

Nepali thukpa noodles may be found at an Asian grocery store or purchased online. They may be labeled "Thukpa noodles" or "Himalayan noodles." Any thin wheat noodle may be used as a substitute.

Thukpa also commonly includes chicken. I have omitted it and focused on the veggies in this recipe (a lot of Nepali thukpa recipes are vegetarian!), but if you have a chicken substitute onhand you can cook it in the oil at the beginning of step 2, then remove it from the pot; return it to the soup when ready to serve.

Chickpeas, split bengal gram, or other beans are sometimes added to vegetarian versions of Nepali thukpa for protein. Add in cooked beans or grams at step 7.

Chicken stock is not usually used in this soup. I like to use a vegetarian chicken stock cube in my version to simulate the effect of boiling chicken in the soup water along with the vegetables; I think it adds a nice savor.

Instructions:

1. Boil noodles according to package directions, until they are al dente (use salted water if the noodles themselves do not contain salt). Drain noodles and rinse with cold water to halt cooking.

2. In a large pot, heat oil on medium until shimmering. Add onion and saute, agitating occasionally, 3-5 minutes until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, and green chili and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant and no longer raw-smelling.

3. Meanwhile, add half of ground coriander and cumin to a small bowl and add just enough water to form a thick paste. When garlic and ginger are fragrant, add the spice paste to the pot and cook, stirring often, until the water has evaporated to bloom the spices.

4. Add tomatoes and cook, covered, for 2 minutes until soft. Mash with the flat of a ladle.

5. Add mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and bell peppers. Cook, uncovered, on medium low for 3 minutes, then cover and cook for another 3 minutes.

6. Add the rest of the ground coriander and cumin and stir to combine.

7. Add water (and chicken stock concentrate or cubes, if using) and bring to a boil. Cook for a few minutes until vegetables are tender and cooked through.

8. Add chaat masala or garam masala and simmer another minute.

9. Reduce heat to low. Add green onion, garlic greens, lime juice, and soy sauce and simmer for another minute.

10. Add cooked noodles (and chicken, if using) and heat until warmed through. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve hot.

[kangamommynow]

Whew

We had a busy day, despite waking up late.

Breakfast and morning chores like walking the dog. Cleaning up the garden beds and getting them ready for winter. Power washing the deck. Harvesting vegetables. Washing and storing vegetables. Making red pepper tomato coconut milk soup. Roasting a chicken with potatoes and carrots. Roasting the rest of the potatoes and carrots. Picking up cat food, dog food, cat litter. Picking up groceries. Learning and playing a fairly long new game. Washing a ton of laundry, including the comforter. Making a cake. Eating dinner. Eating cake. Running the dishwasher twice, washing the dishes once, putting the dishes away multiple times. Evening chores like cleaning cat boxes again, feeding all the animals, walking the dog.

Also, Pikku got a Fall collar (orange with a bell) and Conrad got a bow tie.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Behold, the Pepper!

Many things in the world are either much older or much younger than most people imagine. The idea of a 360-degree circle? Dates back to the Babylonians, about 2400 BC. The humble market strawberry? Still less than three centuries old, a result of crossbreeding between a European berry and a species from the Pacific Coast. Sweet bell peppers? Still haven’t hit their first century. Records conflict, but they date back to the 1930s at the earliest, and didn’t make it to American markets until the 1960s.

I’m trying to picture many of my favorite meals (jambalaya, spaghetti, pizza) without bell peppers. Ouch.

And a justified ouch, because peppers are amazing.

In most temperate climates they’re grown as annuals. This works, but they’re actually frost-tender short-lived perennials. If you can keep a plant from freezing during the winter, odds are it’ll bud out in spring again and give you a second crop. Though, noted, this is more reliable with hotter peppers. I’ve gotten an habanero through the better part of three years, bearing more fruits than I could use. Bell peppers, a bit less than two.

They’re not fussy about pollinators, either. You can do it with your fingers. You can let the bees handle it. Or, if you’ve got them on an enclosed porch because you’re trying to keep them from freezing, the ants will do it for you. If by some chance you don’t currently have ants, put in a pot of impatiens! Ants love the nectar in their spurs, and will appear out of thin air. Of course odds are they’ll also bring aphids to all your other plants, so consider what you can live with.

(Okay, I may still be cranky about the aphids.)

But peppers themselves are wonderful, adding taste, texture, and nutrition to dishes. I love the fruity element habanero adds to a tomato dish; you just have to add it in very tiny amounts....

One of these days I want to make habanero powder. I bet the mac ‘n cheese would be awesome.

It’d probably also make killer foot powder. Capsaicin is not just tasty heat, it’s medicinal. Antifungal, antibiotic, and a good pepper-up of the immune system in general. It doesn’t actually set your mucus membranes on fire, BTW. What it does is set off a reaction so your nerves think normal body temperature has suddenly become being slow-roasted by a flamethrower. Kind of the opposite of mint tricking your body into feeling cool. You can either wait for the capsaicin to degrade or apply quantities of lipids to pry it off your poor nerves. This is why milk and buttered bread work, while water is not an optimal solution. (So to speak.)

Still, if you’re going to use peppers in a fantastic world, check your time period. They’re native to the Americas, meaning if you’re doing a historical fantasy they won’t be anywhere else until the early 1500s. Though they started moving fast after that! Korea definitely had them after 1592, by way of Japan, who likely got them from China, who got them from the Spanish and Portuguese... you get the picture.

And now you know why MDZS fans who love history crack up at Wei Wuxian’s favorite foods including hot chilis. Yes, it’s a fantasy China, but that’s no more historical than the potatoes... oh dear....

[random-twst-and-oc-stuff]

Spooky Bugs

(A Picrew was used.)

PERSONAL INFO

Full name: Spooky Bugs/Bailey Selene

Age: ???

Birthday: June 8 (Gemini)

Nicknames: Ghostfish(Floyd), Monarque des Insectes(Rook)

Gender: Agender

Pronouns: They/them

Species: Ghost

Height: 168 cm

Likes: Pulling pranks, making and solving puzzles, board games, scaring others (Jamil's their favorite victim)

Dislikes: People who cheat on games, being bored, arrogant people

Pet peeves: Misplaced items

Favorite food: They can't eat since they're a ghost, but they favored bell peppers when they were alive.

Least favorite food: Again, they're dead so they can't eat, but they didn't like bitter almond macarons very much

Homeland: Close to Briar Valley

Twisted from: Oogie Boogie - The Nightmare Before Christmas

ACADEMIC INFO

One of the Ramshackle ghosts. Doesn't go to class unless they're bored. Is actually the founder of the Board Game Club.

SUMMARY/BACKSTORY

Bailey was born in a suburban house on the outskirts of a small town somewhere near Briar Valley. Their parents were good a hardworking people, teaching their child all kinds of lessons. And just let their kid run around the yard. What Bailey did was basically play with the bugs or quietly observe the little critters.

Something Bailey wanted more than anything was a baby sibling. A few years later, their baby sister Calliope was born and they were over the moon when they got the chance to hold her, promising they'll be the best big sibling ever. And they tried their best to be, helping with whatever she needed when their parents couldn't. The years passed like that, full of good and bad moments.

But one day that all changes when Calliope suddenly disappeared. The two siblings were alone in the woods. Bailey looked away to just get some berries and when they turned around, she was gone. They called out to her while roaming the forest, but the only reply they got was the chirping of the birds somewhere in the trees. So, they ran to their home to tell their parents. The family looked for her everywhere the child could and couldn't be, even asked around in the small town nearby, but no one knew where she was. But Bailey wasn't one to give up easy. However, it soon came clear Calliope really disappeared which took a toll on their mental and emotional state. They were the older sibling, they were supposed to protect their baby sister and they failed her just like that.

Some time passed and Bailey got an admission letter to Night Raven College, the mage school they wanted to go to. But Bailey didn't feel as excited as they should have. It was good news, yes, but their mental health was at the lowest ever since their sister disappeared. It didn't help that everything in the house reminded them of her. Maybe a change of scenery would help, is what their parents thought, but Bailey knew it wouldn't. They just couldn't get her out of their head no matter what they did.

It hurt too much at this point, but they had to live on, for her sake at least.

Soon enough, the carriage came and they were taken to the prestigious academy. Bailey was assigned to Ramshackle dorm along with some other students. It was a neat dorm. However, it didn't have the best reputation, it seems, as Bailey and their dorm mates were picked on, either because of that or something else. That obviously didn't make it better for Bailey's mental health. It wasn't the whole school against them, thankfully, but that didn't make it a good thing. But the support they got made it somewhat bearable. Still, winter break couldn't come fast enough. They wanted to go home, even if for a short while.

Bailey was now home during winter break and was just standing in the woods late at night, lost deep in thought. But the feeling of something biting them pulled them out of their thoughts. Turns out a venomous spider has bitten them and they could feel their life slowly get drained. So, they decided to lay down. The last thing they could see and hear was the silhouette of a little girl and a familiar voice call out their name before it all faded to black.

You thought that was the end of Bailey? You're mistaken. Because their connection to bugs made them stay on the mortal realm. They were a ghost now. And the child they saw right before their soul left their body? That was their little sister who disappeared long ago and didn't seem to change in age. But appearance and mannerisms? That changed a lot. She even changed her name to Amara. But it was still their little sister and they were happy to have her back. Seeing as life at home wasn't the best and the two decided to go to NRC where the ghost could get their revenge by scaring their bullies a little, thus earning the name Spooky Bugs.