#wish I had some celery salt

[swan2swan]

Incredibly frustrated by these Angus beef hot dogs from Aldi, because they're SO GOOD but I have eaten a full meal with just one.

But now I only have one bite left.

I could make a second one, but that would be too much food. I have ice cream.

[purplesaline]

Family tradition

Around 40 years ago my mom got a recipe for wild rice casserole from an Indigenous woman. I wish I knew more about her but that was all mom ever told us.

It became a holiday staple in our house, mainly because wild rice is too expensive to buy often so having it at the holidays made it a nice treat to look forward too.

Ingredients

1lb Wild rice/manoomin (we've only had access to cultivated wild rice but one day I'll get the good stuff!)

1lb bacon

1 bunch celery

2 large onions (or more or less, this is all measured with your heart anyway)

Lots of mushrooms

Plenty of butter for sauteing

Now, lots of people don't like wild rice because it's these hard little razor grains, especially when it's part of a blend. If you're one of those people I beg you to try this anyway because you've never had it made the right way you poor, cheated things.

This is the most important part of the whole dish

Soak your rice for 8 hours before cooking!!!

This helps open up the grains to make them more tender. You're going to notice after this step the rice is already going to smell wonderfully nutty.

After that, rinse the rice in a sieve and the we're going to boil it using the pasta method (put a bunch of water in a pot, add some salt for seasoning, bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to a low boil, add rice, cook for 30-45 minutes until tender)

While all that is going on you're going to chop each of the other ingredients and sautée them in butter (except the bacon, don't add butter to that). I prefer to sautée each separately.

Once each ingredient is cooked add it to a large bowl, including any butter left in the pan after each, and any bacon fat in the pan after the bacon finishes. This is not a heart healthy recipe.

Season with some garlic powder, pepper, and seasoning salt to taste.

This stuff refrigerates very well and can be popped into the microwave the next day if you happen to have any left. We eat it by the bowlful.

If you try it out let me know what you think!

[copperbadge]

[ID: A photograph of a building in Chicago through my window; in one corner my spider plant is photobombing the image. Through the window, snow can be seen falling against the urban backdrop.]

It's snowing in Chicago for New Year's! Everyone who bought a cute cocktail dress to wear out to the parties tonight, I'm so sorry. Maybe invest in some kind of dramatic greatcoat that will keep your butts warm.

Me, I've put the stracotto di manzo on to slow cook (fourth dish I'm cooking, third course in the Festa Alla Cinque Cibi) and I'm about to sit on the sofa and not do much for a bit.

The stracotto di manzo recipe, like the burik recipe, comes from Portico, a Jewish-Italian cookbook (there's an online version here) and I did make a few alterations; I hope people know that whenever I talk about changing a recipe it's because I'm changing it to suit my tastes or laziness, and that's not a critique of the recipe. In this case, I halved the recipe since I'm only one man and four pounds of pot roast is too much. I also replaced the sauteed onions-celery-garlic mixture with my Special Sauce, but mainly because I had the Special Sauce handy and it's the same flavor profile more or less. No celery note, but I'm indifferent to celery.

[ID: three images; left, a photo into the instant pot, showing a golden-brown mess on the bottom; center, a bottle of Bay Bridge Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon; right, the "special sauce" after the wine has been added, which is now a surprisingly appetizing-looking green liquid flecked with gold.]

The "special sauce" is a mixture of caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and my homemade pesto (roasted cashews, fresh basil, salt, roasted garlic, olive oil). I browned the beef chunks in olive oil and removed them, added the special sauce just long enough to get it good and hot, then added the wine and deglazed the pan. They say you should only ever cook with wine you'd drink, but I don't like wine at all, so like a good San Francisco boy I bought some California Cab in the $5-$10 range and hoped for the best. When it arrived it turned out it had been on markdown, so that is right there some of your finest $2.50 wine. I'll use the rest in a ragu sauce or to thin paint or something. How long does jet fuel keep in the fridge?

[ID: A shot into the instant-pot of large chunks of beef bubbling away in a red sauce, bits of gold "special sauce" still visible here and there. None of you can smell the garlic and basil I'm smelling right now but I wish you could.]

Anyway I didn't get a photo of the beef browning, but once the special sauce and red wine were on the boil, I added a massive can of tomato puree and the browned beef, brought it up to bubbling, then switched over to slow-cook. I've got it on the lowest possible setting but that might be slightly too low, so I'll check the temp in two hours and re-evaluate. It's just feeding me and I have no set time to eat, so if it takes all day it takes all day.

All that's left now is the second fry on the Carciofi Alla Giudia, which will be the last thing I do because you serve that warm and there's no real way to re-heat it after the second fry.

Breakfast was a slice of homemade pizza and like four amaretti cookies, because I am only ever classy by appointment.

[fluffswashere]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⭑ ‧₊˚ ⋅ જ⁀➴๋࣭ ⭑๋࣭ ⭑

Shota Aizawa | Eraserhead ᯓᡣ𐭩

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ Hello?

Shota × fem!Reader (You!)

Genre: Fluff, Romance, Lighthearted, Gentle

↪Warnings: Mild swearing

Summary: The normally distant and known to be grumpy, tall older male softens up towards a pretty cute individual. Finding himself to be rather drawn to you.

✏A/N: Long fanfic in coming, get comfortable and as always enjoy!! <3 Further descriptive writing involved.If you're reading this while going to bed,I wish you goodnight.Have nice dreams yeah?^o^

ִֶָ࣪☾•I think I can love you.ᡣ𐭩

Pt.1 When Flowers Meets The Rain

Raindrops poured down the pavement, creating little freckles along the rough textured concrete. Dark clouds continued to gather, drenching the city and creating a earthy mist aroma in the air. Watering the thirsty grazing grass and trees below, rustling with the cooling winds that'd occasionally blow.

It was the perfect weather to just stay inside and lay in that cozy, plush, and oh so warm to snuggle into that is the best to take multiple naps in during work hours.

His yellow sleeping bag.

Presently the weekend, with luck on Shota's side for once it was specifically an off day. That meaning the drained man could lounge all he wants without a peep from his problem children who'd go off on each other with bickering or getting along. God those two always gave him the worst headaches. Aside on making remarkable progress compared to the first year he had them throw a ball.

They're so getting punished when he gets back to teaching.

Pondering mindlessly in his thoughts, soon to be interrupted by a low rumble below his chest that demanded substance. Oh that's right, he hasn't eaten quite yet. Having a bad habit on skipping meals and living on nothing but celery or salted crackers as a snack. Standing upon both two feet off his office chair, merely fumbling in each step due to lack in a proper sleep schedule and diet.

Exiting the UA building, making way towards the route he frequently takes through the sidewalks. Ordering himself the usual once making his destination. Feeling each drop fall and patter around him, dampening his already unkempt hair. Not paying mind to where he's going on the way back, that followed with a collide to another but smaller form.

Shota instinctively paused in his tracks, looking around before his bored tired black eyes drifted downward. That's when his dark line a sight met with yours. It felt as if time had stopped.

His hands remained stuffed into his pockets, lacking the facial expression. Even so the one thing that came to mind was that you smelt nice, like a freshly batch bouquet or what it feels like to awaken on a peaceful calming morning.

"Ahh sorry- I'm so sorry!!" You uttered an apology, bowing lowly to the ground. Feeling more than embarrassed to have stumbled into the taller, quite handsome– Wait what were you thinking?!! You just met the man, you've never seen him before. He looked so worn out, unknown on the media. Coming across the underground hero, Eraserhead.

All hell broke loose the mere second he had opened his mouth.

"It's fine.." The dryly spoke, a hand behind his nape as if timid. His voice alone sent a light shiver to travel through your spine. You could have sworn you saw a sparkling mirth and gleaming interest in his eyes just now. "And you are..?" Shota's words trailed off, raising an eyebrow. Expecting you to answer his question.

It wasn't like the normally aloof man to wanna get to know a person the moment he meets them, especially when it comes to that lovey dovey shit. Even so, he couldn't help but feel..

Drawn to you. �� ֶָ֢.

"I'm l/n.." You introduced, a gentle bright smile making it's way across your facial features. Feeling his heart swell with warmth that Shota has never dealt until recently, but he shoved those thoughts aside. He had better things to do then fawn over some adorable face.

"Ah- Here," You manage to say, stopping yourself from staring for a extended period. "You're all soaked." You offered sweetly, tilting your umbrella towards the male. Which was found to be difficult when he was taller in height, the corner of his lips nearly twitched watching you struggle. "You need help?" Shota mused, his eyes never leaving yours.

"Uhh...." Your eyebrows knitted together, rising onto your tip toes in order to properly hover the umbrella above his head. Eyes shone with a sudden determination, only to fail. "Okay yes..." You sulk, making sure to drag your syllables in coax exaggeration. Earning you a throaty chuckle the minute you accepted defeat.

"Soo... what do I suppose I call you?" You asked curiously, finding yourself to be walking alongside him while he held the umbrella.

"Aizawa," He began with a breath, "Call me Aizawa."

Long forgetting just why he's outside away from his desk. Finding for the first time something far more interesting than paperwork or going to get a quick strong black coffee.

It wasn't till a few months later in the evening when he came to a realization. Shota found himself smiling without reason, fuck.. He was so screwed. And it was all your fault.

♥︎

fin.

Chérie ‹𝟹

[wonderlandleighleigh]

So a few weekends ago, I was watching the Hungry channel on Youtube. They do 48+ hours every weekend of cooking shows, non-stop.

And one of them was - I think - Lidia, who primarily cooks Italian food - making a whole roasted chicken covered in olive oil and cooked with veggies and white wine in the bottom of the roasting pan.

I couldn't really remember exactly what she did; how the recipe went, but I remembered the basics:

Chicken

Olive Oil

Lemon

Wine

And I kind of threw together my own version. So these are chicken pieces (whole roasters were sold out, it's the holidays), salt brined for 7 hours, and then covered in good quality olive oil and lemon zest, roasted over celery and onion, and a savignion blanc, all draped in sage, rosemary and thyme, and the lemons I got the zest from, as well as some pepper and a tiny extra sprinkle of salt.

Roasted in a 350f degree oven for 40 minutes. I wish the skin had cripsed, but it was still amazing. The pan sauce has been saved for later use on veggies (I have some white sweet potatoes that will likely by the victim).

Merry Christmas, don't be afraid to play with your food!

[following-the-drum]

Just made the most bomb ass lentil soup because it is rainy and wimdy af boi!!!! So perfect weather for a hearty soup!!!

Beaky’s Lentil Bacon Soup

Serves idk people I guess

1 onion of choice (I like red) chop it

5-6 garlic cloves you’ve chosen with your soul roughly chopped with love

3 roasted in the flames of hell red bell peppers cut them to pieces

A can of dragon fire roasted diced tomatoes

3 carrots cut into half moons

1 zucchini for the bit, diced into quarter moons (you can add more if you like I wish I had but I only had one!)

1/2 pound of green beans nipped and chopped

4-5 stalks of celery scrubbed of sins and sliced

1 can of black lentils because that is what I had or 1 cup of dry if you have that

3 cups of dry green lentils because this is a lentil soup you want all the lentils!

(If you have red lentils add those in too! Canned or dry idk)

4 measures of chicken broth I used the low sodium because that was what was available.

And a package of bacon that you have roasted in the oven till crisp but not over crisp!

Use some of the bacon grease from baking the bacon in the bottom of the pot to cook the garlic and onion.

Once translucent add in the rest of the veggies give a stir, a small lecture on the virtues of being sautéed. Then add your lentils canned or otherwise, and chopped bacon give another stir and add your liquids plus five and one half measures of water (I use cups).

Add in a few bay leaves you forgot to mention in the ingredients above. Along with salt (I used seasoned salt), pepper, white pepper, cumin, and chili powder! I added these and measured with my heart, and tongue to taste. Get to a rolling boil and drop to a simmer for hours stirring it with a rousing tale and a spoon till the vegetables and lentils are cooked to your liking doneness. Adjust seasonings as you need and then serve with bread or crackers or whatever you like!

You can omit the bacon and use olive oil instead same with the chicken broth for veggie broth/stock for a vegan/kosher/halal option!

[infamousbrad]

Been meaning to do a review of my new favorite product, and it was definitely something I experimented with to solve this exact problem:

My life is just demonstrably better (flavor, texture, perceived health) if my food has more varied ingredients in it. But ...

Fresh vegetables don't keep, so I end up throwing away a fortune in spoiled food, take more energy to prepare and clean up after than I have most days. And ...

Canned vegetables have had all the texture and flavor boiled out of them and typically replaced with salt and sugar, so that's basically all they taste of. And ...

Frozen vegetables store well, retain their taste and texture, are affordable, and require basically no food prep or cleanup time, just throw a handful into the mix with whatever I'm cooking or reheating, but my apartment came with a tiny refrigerator/freezer, so I'm back to near-constant grocery shopping trips.

Finally, a friend who heard me complaining about this asked if I'd considered storing dehydrated vegetables? The option hadn't even occurred to me, because no grocery store within 200 miles of here stocks them. (I checked.) A few google searches turned up my new favorite thing:

Mother Earth Products!

(Not an affiliate link. I genuinely want you to believe me when I say that this review is not compensated in any way.)

If you are even slightly tempted to see if this will make it easier for you to get more food in your food, I recommend starting with the easiest one to use (no soaking time needed, just shake a half a handful of it into anything and simmer for 10 minutes): their six-vegetable soup mix. (Carrots, celery, onion, bell pepper, peas, parsley.) Throw it into pasta sauce, throw it into broth, throw it into ramen, throw it (and an egg and some bread crumbs) into a meatloaf, throw it into any canned soup that you wish tasted better -- I have fed this stuff to my pickiest friends and everybody goes nuts for it. And once you factor in how much one of those bags or canisters expands to with water, it's surprisingly affordable.

If it works for you at all, try some of the other vegetables and mixes. I love soaking some potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and sausage-flavored TVP into a pickle jar in the fridge over night, draining it and throwing it into some off-brand Egg Beaters in the morning and scrambling it up. Add some TVP and some onions to their refried beans, then stir in some cheese and a splash of hot sauce, and it's a delicious bean dip that's filling enough to make a meal. I've worked up a 13-vegetable soup, inspired by Panera's (back when it was still good) and the fourth experiment drew raves from guests.

(I was less impressed with the freeze-dried fruits, but ymmv.)

You can eat vegetables without wasting food, without them tasting like ass, without spending a fortune, and without spending an hour prepping them and then cleaning up afterwards. Seriously, try this stuff!

i mean this in the gentlest way possible: you need to eat vegetables. you need to become comfortable with doing so. i do not care if you are a picky eater because of autism (hi, i used to be this person!), you need to find at least some vegetables you can eat. find a different way to prepare them. chances are you would like a vegetable you hate if you prepared it in a stew or roasted it with seasoning or included it as an ingredient in a recipe. just. please start eating better. potatoes and corn are not sufficient vegetables for a healthy diet.

[catfishkitchen]

I've been cooking a lot over the last few months, and really enjoying both the process and the results, so I want to start keeping a record of it. I'll try to post recipes and photos of the results, but I don't want to stress over it too much, so it'll be pretty casual.

Here are some of the things I've done recently:

Pretzels - Came out more bready and less chewy than I'd hoped. Fine as bread, maybe next time I'll use only bread flour and no regular.

Pesto - All kinds, including traditional basil (garden fresh) and pine nuts, as well as carrot greens and kale, sometimes with almonds or cashews, but my absolute favorite was parsley and walnuts.

Chicken Fricassee - At the request of my parents. We loved it so much the first time that I made it again immediately afterwards; mom still loved it, I enjoyed it but didn't need more and after a few bites dad decided he'd need to not eat it for a while. It's very rich.

Okonomiyaki - with regular flour and instant yakisoba; had the okonomiyaki sauce but only regular mayo. Absolutely delicious.

Cinnamon apples - leftover red apples, melted butter, cinnamon and sugar in pan. Kinda boring, would've been a good way to save the apples if it'd been more interesting. Would've benefited from being a pastry or something.

Roasted tomato sauce - Just tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper; I peel the tomatoes after roasting, and puree the skins separately. I like it just like this but can be combined with Italian seasoning. Caramelized onions optional.

Fried rice - whatever ingredients available, but usually lots of caramelized onions

Spinach/Pesto puffs - Store bought puff pastry, garden fresh greens, ricotta cheese. Very delicious.

"Lumpy Catsup" - sweet tomato dish with celery and a lot of sugar. I only enjoy it in moderation, but a good use of garden tomatoes.

Pickles - Dill with a ton of spices (I'll try to recreate the recipe later), turned out really good, as well as a sweet version with minimal extra flavors. Both good, wish I'd done more, but there're still some cucumbers left. I also want to pickle other vegetables.

Mustard and walnut glazed salmon - Dijon mustard was too sour, would try grainy mustard next time. Brown sugar added to taste. Walnut flavor was good. Broiled for the last five minutes, top was almost blackened but not quite burned.

Cincinnati Chili over spaghetti - family recipe, may add later

Meatloaf - Also family recipe, personal favorite.

Caponata - Used homegrown eggplant. Honestly, the dish was good, but I'd want to use the eggplant in something else that features its flavor more.

Pie crust - seemed too wet and the butter seemed to chunky, but it baked well. Used on peach pie. Not baked at high enough temperature for long enough, but didn't fall apart.

[suckitsurveys]

What are your plans for the day ahead? Work. Then I need to stop at the store and get a couple things. What was the last thing you cleaned? Part of the apartment. We've been rearranging everything.  

When do you go to your soonest appointment? Lol.

What did you last order online? Stuff for the apartment.

Can you see any bottles from where you’re sitting? Yes, a hand sanitizer bottle and some cleaner.

What time do you usually try to wind down in the evening? It depends. I guess I usually wind down after dinner.

What’s something you have been putting off? Health shit.

What restaurants do you frequently eat at? Sushi places lol.

Do you like banana pudding with a lot of bananas or more vanilla wafers? Either.

How many books would you guess you’ve read in the last 5 years? Close to 0 haha. 

What was the last message you sent? Uhhhh it was to my friend Lolly. We were talking about Bowie's birthday. 

Have you ate anything green today? What’s your favorite way to add greens to your diet? I haven't eaten anything yet.

When did you last light a candle or incense? Last night. 

Is it currently warm where you are? No, it’s 31F. 

Have you ever fallen out of bed? Yeah.

What do you like on your hot dogs or burgers? On hot dogs I like them "Chicago" style with mustard, onion, relish, tomato, pickle, and celery salt, or just the first three. On burgers, it depends. I'll usually opt for a "gourmet" type burger over a traditional one, so my topping choices vary. More often than not, mushrooms, grilled onions, and swiss cheese is my go-to.

Are you currently listening to anything? Nope.

What did you last put in storage? I mean, I don't have a dedicated "storage" unit, but I put some things in our hall closet recently lol.

What’s your favorite thing to do outside? Swim. I also like just being outside in general. 

Are there any celebrities that you are a big fan of? Oh yes, several.

Do you ever watch award shows? Rarely.

Do you usually run out of shampoo or conditioner first? Shampoo. Do you have any LED lights in your home? Yeah.

What is your biggest challenge? My relationship with my brother in law. 

What was the last sweet thing you’ve eaten? A caramel. 

Do you prefer buying new clothes or thrift shopping for clothes? New clothes. I'm fat so there aren't many options for me in thrift stores. 

What is something you need right now? Sleep, always.

What’s something you like that is blue? My nails right now lol.

Have you treated yourself today? I mean, I had a couple caramels lol. 

Have you ever traveled alone? Yes, but to meet up with friends in their city.

What color is your most worn jacket/hoodie? Black. 

Who is someone you would like to get to know more? I don't know. I wish I knew my neighbors a little better.

What toy do you miss the most from your childhood? So many things.

Have you ever lost something valuable to you? Yeah.

What or who has impacted your life the most? My nieces.

Would you say you are toxic in any way? I'm sure I might have a trait or two but I don't think I am toxic overall. 

What’s one of your favorite memories from the past year? Seeing Billie Eilish AND John Mulaney with Ellen!

How often do you use a straw? At least once a day.

What’s your current favorite song? It changes like everyday. 

What are some books you’d recommend to someone? Don't ask me bro. 

[phoenixyfriend]

Been thinking about the paprika situation...

And I've decided that Anakin and Obi-Wan, at least at first, operate in separate spheres of this Venn Diagram I've got going on in my head about spices.

Obi-Wan is a "spices as in spicy, make my mouth hurt, please" person, partly because he built up a tolerance trying to keep up with Satine.

Anakin is a "spices as in fifteen kinds of dried herbs in one dish" person, because that's what Shmi used (going by the hanging plants in their house), and I feel like Tatooine didn't really have hot peppers

The first few years together are just them taking turns cooking the mildest versions of the foods they like to accustom each other to Intense Spices of the other variety.

Obi-Wan is a soap cilantro person and it takes bb Anakin a month to be convinced this isn't a flavor that Obi-Wan can learn to love Obi-Wan eats Mandalorian ghost peppers straight.

Anakin makes a stew and is like "salt and pepper and chives and celery and onion and garlic powder and cumin and turmeric and rosemary and basil and thyme and soy sauce and butter and cardamom and nutmeg and--"

Anakin's had like. Coarse ground black pepper. Table pepper.

From @atagotiak on discord:

If Anakin doesn’t have great spice tolerance, as a teen he definitely causes himself a bunch of unnecessary suffering at least once because he wants to show he can be strong and handle it. Even though Obi-Wan probably wouldn’t like, make fun of him for wanting stuff that’s a little bit milder. I feel like Anakin would like hot stuff, just maybe not super hot stuff Tbh, while super hot stuff can be fun, it does end up being flatter sometimes. All the other flavours are just masked by hot and pain

He likes flavor! Spicy is a flavor! But numb is not.

Anakin spends a lot of time experimenting with substitutes for the herbs he's used to. There's an ongoing antagonistic situation with a local grocery clerk that has to argue with this random 12yo about parsley and nutmeg and seaweed every single week.

The grocer likes Obi-Wan because he just comes in, finds the pepper aisle, and goes ham.

Anakin finds an herb with the same name but it tastes so much different and he’s convinced the clerk is lying or stupid but really it’s just the cultivar

Anakin making heart eyes at saffron, because he's never been able to afford that before, and he wishes he could send some to his mom.

Just think about Anakin making biscuits and throwing himself into a tizzy over cardamom vs cinnamon for the flavor.

[circlique]

Alright, another little bit of new content from me today!

Previously I made a post reviewing a recipe out of the official Avatar cookbook. My goal is the make one recipe from each nation for my DND group when we meet for the final session of our (Avatar based) campaign.

This time we go to the Earth Kingdom to try cabbage soup!

Off the bat, I have to admit that I made what some may consider a significant deviation from this recipe. One of the members of our group is a vegetarian, so I did not follow the stock recipe listed here. Instead, I used a store bought vegetable stock (made from onion, celery, and carrot) and added salt, pepper, and the tablespoon of vinegar. I followed everything else pretty closely, but yeah this ended up being vegetarian/vegan!

Here’s all the ingredients (minus the pickled chiles, which I skipped). I ordered the doubanjiang online because my nearest Asian grocery store is two hours away. It’s quite salty on its own! Also, pictured is only half a cabbage, which I think was plenty.

Adding all the small ingredients plus doubanjiang.

When the stock is added, it takes on this lovely orangish color.

Adding everything else.

Final result!

After a taste test, I actually ended up adding another tablespoon of doubanjiang and an extra tablespoon of vinegar (because it wasn’t quite as sour as I expected). That seemed to do the trick.

Overall, it was pretty good and surprisingly filling. I kind of wish I had boiled the cabbage a little longer, or maybe used napa cabbage instead, because it was a bit crunchy. The flavor is really good though. This was my first time working with fresh ginger and I think that really added a lot. Also, I think this recipe could also be adapted into an interesting kimchi stew recipe (still cabbage!).

So anyway, next time you find yourself with at least half a cabbage you need to get rid of, this might be a good option.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 150

I think for the time being, I am going to quit calling myself ‘late’ posting as long as I get the chapter up on the right day of the week *facepalm*.  Bc I am barely keeping ahead, much less remembering to queue things up.

I am so, so sorry about that....

Fair warning before anyone @s me: The French is a joke, so if I got it super wrong I am equally sorry to the degree of which it’s wrong.

Unless it’s obscene. Then I want to know so that I can laugh with you, and I am LEAVING IT.

As always, shouts out to @baelpenrose, @the-raven-fae, and @charlylimph-blog!

Heaving an enormous Dutch oven onto a burner, I turned on the heat low and started chopping vegetables. After the first celery stalk, I glanced up at Derek, who sat across from Maverick in our living room.  The quarters were shaped differently, which had distressed Derek initially, but the addition of his favorite blankets to the sofa had helped.  Currently, he was completely distracted from even Mac: staring off into space, his fingers flying and flicking with a feverish, almost convulsive movement.

Maverick glanced up at me with a smile before following my gaze. “Yep, the cyber siege continues.  He’s doing well, from what Zach told me.”

“I thought he was only supposed to attack human-managed systems,” I grumbled, thinking back to the cold shower I had been subjected to that morning. Turning back to the vegetables, I made short work of the celery before taking my frustration out on the carrots. Scooping the diced vegetables into a bowl, I started measuring out paprika, sugar, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano into another bowl.  “Where’s Sam, by the way?”

“On the way,” Maverick promised. “With Terran-style tomatoes, he swears.  And Derek is only attacking systems we manage.  When BioLab 2 was set up, we had to take over water management, to protect the lab from any sort of contamination.”

The knife in my hand, brandished at three cloves of garlic, clattered to the work surface. “Seriously?” I glared at the tap, suddenly suspicious.

“Probably get water from the console,” he winced, nodding briskly at Derek, who nodded in confirmation without stopping his tapping and flicking gestures.

Groaning, I shook my head and crushed the garlic, removed the skin, and started mincing. All that was left was to wait on the tomatoes from Sam.  The garlic was potent enough, and I wanted to avoid cutting any onion until absolutely necessary since Derek was clearly parked for the duration.

I was saved about fifteen minutes later when Conor and Sam stopped at the door.  Sam waved cheerfully and held up the requested vegetables while Conor removed his boots. A quick shuffle later for Sam to remove his own shoes, and both came to the food prep area - too small to be considered a proper kitchen - to greet me. 

First, Conor gave me a big, smelly hug and a kiss on my hair. “Did you already slice the bread?”

“Ew, you gorilla!” I laughed. “And I haven’t sliced any bread yet, I wasn’t sure how long I had and I didn’t want it to get too stale.”

“They’re toasties, love.” He shook his head with a grin before swatting me on the butt. “No one cares if the bread was a bit stale before you started.”

Over his shoulder, Derek’s head bobbed side to side. “I think someone disagrees.” I looked meaningfully past him.  To Conor’s credit, he looked sheepish.

Sam squeezed around and handed me the tomatoes and gave me a hug. “Thank you for making soup.”

“I know it’s our favorite,” I winked before shooing him out of the area. “Not enough room for more than one in the kitchen. Y’all go unwind out there, and make sure you warn Derek that I’m about to start cutting onions.”

As he held up his hands and jokingly scurried away, I turned to the stove and started cursing myself. I’d forgotten to start boiling water. Snagging a small saucepan, I got a carafe of water from the console and started rectifying that, tossing in a generous pinch of salt.  Gently, I cut an X into the bottom of each tomato and set them aside before peeling and dicing the onion.  Immediately, the onion, carrots, and celery went into a food processor.  “Derek, I’m about to be loud,” I called softly before counting to ten to give him time to cover his ears or step into the corridor.  A quick blitz later, the vegetables were perfectly between a mince and a puree.

A quick swizzle of oil went into the already-hot dutch oven before adding the mirepoix and giving it a quick stir. As if on cue, Tyche and Antoine breezed through the door, noses twitching.

“I smell food,” she announced, stalking into the kitchen.  One look at the ingredients was all it took. “Ooooo you’re making the tomato soup.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “I am, and you know I don’t have room in here for spectators, unfortunately.” Arching an eyebrow, I pointed the spoon in my hand at the table.

She wasn’t having it. “One of these days, you’re going to show me how to make that. May as well be today.”

“Nice try, but I need some secrets. Besides, the longer I argue with you, the more likely the vegetables are going to scorch. Scoot!”

She scrunched her face at me but acquiesced. As I scooped the garlic into the pot, I heard her change topics. “How much longer is the stress test? My music keeps getting mixed up with Antoine’s. I don’t mind it, but…”

Antoine smiled softly and shook his head. “But it is quite a shock to expect classical music and instead her rock starts playing.”

Personally, I liked both, but still shuddered at what he was talking about. Carefully lowering three of the tomatoes into the now-boiling water, I glanced at the sauteing vegetables and gave them a quick stir to check. “We have about six more days before the repairs start, maybe four more after that?”

Conor sighed. “I wish we could ask if anything important was being hacked, not just annoying environmental controls.”

“Plants aren’t dead yet,” Sam pointed out, tipping his bottle of water toward Conor in a practiced gesture.  Everyone laughed when, rather than being reassured, Conor leapt to his feet to check on his ‘babies’ in the room.

Cursing, I dipped the tomatoes out of the boiling water and dropped them immediately into an ice bath.  A couple pokes with my trusty spoon showed they weren’t overcooked, thankfully. “None of my information for work has been acting up,” I admitted as I started peeling them. “But Pranav advised that more critical data would either go completely missing or not show any signs of infiltration.  We won’t know until after the test is over.”

“Lovely,” Tyche drawled as she watched Conor fretting over the plants. “So it’s all or nothing.”

I shrugged and dumped the tomato paste - admittedly, from the console - into the pan of other vegetables.  When I stirred, I was satisfied that the carrots, onion, and celery had cooked down to where they were soft. “In a weird way, it makes sense. They’re testing for catastrophic data breaches, which would pull everything down, or for data theft, which you wouldn’t want to leave traces of.”

The corner of Antoine’s mouth quirked up as I dropped three more tomatoes into the pan of boiling water. “No hidden boba tea this time, that is reassuring.”

Hands still moving without hesitation, Derek whipped his head toward Antoine, paused, and turned back to where he had been staring. Derek’s version of a glare.

“That was Charly,” I responded in unexpected unison with Maverick and Conor.  I smirked while dumping the already-peeled tomatoes into the processor with another pinch of salt. “Seriously, Derek had nothing to do with that other than divine retribution.” I paused for a moment. “Although I do have to admit that the cold showers do seem to track with what Charly reported.”

That only got a shrug from Derek, which was as good as an admission.

The conversation shifted again - something Conor and Sam were working on in the aeroponics labs that I had already heard multiple details on, plus repetition.  Tuning it out, I pulled out the last three tomatoes, dropped them in the ice bath, and took a platter with a loaf of bread, sliced cheese, and butter out to the table. “Mav, can you start setting up the sandwiches?”

He went to stand, but Tyche shooed him back down. “I got it. She may not let me help make the soup on this one, but I can prep a grilled cheese with the best.” Staring me in the eye, she started cutting slices from the loaf defiantly.

I just laughed it off. This was the only tomato soup either of us liked, and she had been chasing me for the recipe for ages.  It had become a running joke at this point, so without hesitation, I moved back to the food prep area, peeled the remaining tomatoes, and gave another warning that I was going to be loud.  Some more blitzing later, the now-pureed tomatoes went into the pan of veggies along with the spices I had already measured out, the juice from one lemon, and enough water to fill the pan three-quarters full.  Leaving that to boil, I moved the boiling water off the stove and swapped it for a grill-pan.

“Sophie!” Conor cried from the armchair where he perched. “You’ve seen the plants we’re growing in the lab! Tell them we’ve managed a crop of roots!”

I winced. “Jury’s out… I’m not sure how aeroponic potatoes are going to turn out, but I can confirm they are in the process of finding out?”

Tyche’s knife fell to the table, and she moved her mouth silently in a very accurate imitation of a fish before managing to sputter. “Air-grown… potatoes?”

The confusion on Antoine’s face was painful to look at. He started to speak before stopping himself and instead pulling up his datapad, jotting a message, and flicking it out to the room.

When I read the message, the confusion was so clear that I hurt my sinuses snorting. Des pomme de terre en l’air? Pommes aeriennes? Talk about being lost in translation…. “Conor, Sam… I think Antoine has the perfect name for those if they work out. Just sayin’”

Tyche snorted and shook her head before handing me the platter, with a stack of perfectly buttered bread, two slices of cheese between every other slice of bread.  The soup had just come to a simmer, so I was stirring intently and just nodded for her to start grilling sandwiches.  Several appreciative sniffs and twenty minutes later, six bowls of soup and six matching sandwiches - three cut vertically and three cut diagonally, because it mattered and was not a battle I was willing to fight - hit the table.  Tyche politely placed the salt cellar and a pepper grinder on the table, although the glare she dished out to the collected group promised strong retaliation to anyone who touched them.

I held up half of my grilled cheese in a mock-toast. “To soup night!”

“To air potato soup, soon!” Maverick offered up with a grin, only for everyone to echo his sentiment with the exception of Derek - who just held up half of his sandwich with one hand and tapped away with the other, not even relenting to eat.

Frankly, as long as he spared a hand to eat, I couldn’t bring myself to care.  He took these tests very seriously, and generally only stopped when he was completely asleep.

Everyone dug in, but it was only after my first spoonful that I spoke up. “Considering how long it took to make sure the tomatoes wouldn’t be poisonous, I’m not sure the potatoes will be ready before we get to Von.”

Conor and Sam nodded, as did Tyche and Antoine, but Maverick stopped with his bowl halfway to his mouth.  Setting it down gently, he angled his head. “What do you mean, poisonous?”

“They’re nightshades,” Conor told him, as calmly as if he was telling us that water was wet. “Tomatoes are the only edible berries of that family, and potatoes are the only edible tubers, so we have to be extra careful.”

Maverick’s eyes grew wide and turned toward his soup. Tyche just reached out and patted his hand. “You’ve eaten this soup for years, and you love tomatoes. They’re safe, I swear.  And Sam won’t let Sophia near the new ones until he’s completely sure they’ll be okay to eat.”

Sam nodded, shoving a soup-covered wedge into his mouth. “We’re growing them in simulated Von-light, hoping that keeps the roots from creating chlorophyll.  If we’re wrong, there’s a forty-three-point-six percent chance they won’t grow at all, ten-point-five percent chance they will give you a stomach ache, eighteen-point-four percent they won’t taste good, and twenty-seven-point-five percent they will taste good and be safe to eat at the same time.”

“Meaning they won’t kill you, you might get a tummy ache, but most likely for this generation, they just won’t grow,” Conor translated.

“Hang on,” I held up my spoon. “What kind of stomachache are we talking here?”

The mad botanists looked at each other and made a few thoughtful faces. Finally, Conor nodded and Sam spoke. “Unripe apples,” he stated flatly. “But just unripe apples.”

“Oh, that’s not too bad,” I shrugged and crunched into my sandwich.

Derek finished his half-sandwich and blindly reached for another. He had it halfway to his mouth before he looked at it and dropped it back to the plate in alarm. You would have thought it tried to bite him rather than vice versa.

Antoine shook his head and reached past the vertically cut sandwich Derek had dropped and delicately handed him a diagonally cut one. “Here you go, friend.”

Glaring at the sandwich like it may betray him, he bit it viciously before going back to the screen he could only see in his mind, seemingly satisfied that the sandwich would not change into the offending shape.

I told you, it matters.

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[lucysweatslove]

09.02.2022 //

This morning started out slow for me. I didn’t have to work, but I still woke up at normal work time despite only getting 6:40 of actual sleep. I waffled on what to eat for breakfast because I had kind of planned to make scrambled eggs but really didn’t feel like eggs. I finally decided on what I call French proast, which is essentially French toast but soaked in protein powder and milk instead of eggs. Currently I’m using Fruity Cereal Mill Ghost protein and it makes the best most fruity French proast. I’ve been aiming to have more fat in my diet for general hormonal health, so breakfast’s fat contribution came in the form of chopped walnuts. I also decided on 3 instead of 2 pieces because…? Idk, I was feeling really lethargic and fatigued and figured I needed the carbs.

After breakfast, I was still feeling sluggish, and Oreo was at daycare, so I just went to lay in bed myself. I’m not advocating for everybody to be lazy and sedentary all of the time, but I’m also never going to advocate for the full “rise and grind” hustle culture. My body said it needed rest. I listened.

Husband came in around noon maybe and informed me he invited a couple of his friends to this Halloween event at the museum. I became royally annoyed. Part of this is because we had already invited two friends and regardless of if they come or not, I don’t want even the potential for a group larger than 4. I get overwhelmed in those situations. Another part is that I don’t actually enjoy those two friends that much. Husband has never asked me what I think of them, but I tend to avoid doing too much with them because I end up more drained and just emotionally feeling like shit around them. A third part to my annoyance is that this wasn’t discussed with me. I originally suggested we go to the event just us two. When we invited the first couple, that was fine- I enjoy spending time with them and can handle 4. But honestly, I still wasn’t THRILLED. This time, it felt like Husband was just completely ignoring what I wanted. That’s a topic for another day. I did tell him that I was not happy with this decision and wish he would’ve talked to me first, but he didn’t want to engage in that conversation and just left.

Anyway I decided I was really not handling that well and probably needed to sleep more, so I took a nap. After my nap, Husband was gone to meet with a notary and pick up Oreo. He picked up subs from Jersey Mikes on the way home too which was delicious. I always forget to ask for no oregano though. I don’t dislike oregano but I don’t like it on a turkey and provolone sub.

I was still feeling pretty sleepy and meh and figured since a) sleep helped but didn’t solve it entirely, b) food was delicious but didn’t really resolve the “meh” feeling, and c) I was definitely drinking enough fluids, the other physical thing to try was exercise. So I got my workout clothes on, turned on What We Do in the Shadows, and did ~30 min of spinning (I think 7.2 miles) through one episode and then my lower body (with some core work) workout through one more episode. I finally finished season 3, and I did actually feel a little better afterwards!

After my workout I wasn’t super hungry since I had a large lunch, but it was a little bit late and I knew I would be hungry later on. I made a nice mixed greens salad with cucumber and celery. I knew I wanted to put my baked tofu on it, so I was debating about dressings as I don’t like oily salads but the dressings we have currently don’t really “go” well with my tofu marinade. So I decided on just vinegar but I did add an avocado for the fats.

Honestly I’m back to feeling pretty meh right now. I could take another bath, but I don’t want to use my bath bombs up too quickly. Maybe bath salts? Or maybe just binge watch season 4 because Colin Robinson.

[pniik]

aranya [ /ycungodshq ]

                ⸺ all hallows eve or what the modern world and the mundanes call ‘halloween’ was a day she looked forward to. the one day nazli could roam with her fangs exposed and not alarm the mundanes. it was interesting to watch the day evolve into what it is now from what she’d formerly known all hallows eve as. well, it certainly was more festive with the modern take on it and though she’d never wear a costume ( none of shadow world needed to either ) , she did enjoy some of the aspects that accompanied the day. tonight the city had hosted an event and the vampire thought it couldn’t hurt to check it out for a bit. her mother, astra, entirely in her original form, was also here so naz decided to tag along. at some point she’d lost the warlock in the crowd and so she wandered over to the bar, surveying the mundanes as decided what she wished to do first. it was then the familiar scent of an angel filled her nostrils and the raven-haired woman turned at the voice, “an angel bartender, well, that is a first.” she remarked with an arched brow, “did you volunteer to work here?” nazli can’t help but inquire, “i would if i was able to get get drunk.” the right corner of her mouth tilted into a small smile, revealing just a hint of her fang. 

what she was came through crystal clear, even before she flashed a bit of fang. who she was and had arrived with, however, did not, as watchful eyes had slackened over the last hour or so, when crowd watching had become shot-taking. drinking really wasn’t something they did regularly ─── at all, in fact. sugar-coated anythings were their usual mo. ❛❛ in my own way... ♪ ❜❜ they chirp in turn, smiling, side-eyeing the actual bartenders further down the bar. any tips made acting the part in the meantime were going into the tip jars, respectfully, anyway... but volunteering and not goofing around was a nice way to put it. ❛❛ well, maybe i can get you something... more your taste ? like, uh... ❜❜ eyes bounce to the shelves below and playfully dance across each bottle; they then turn their back to her to scan the bottles on the shelves behind them. there had to be something for her kind. they’d already glossed over bottles glamoured for both the fae and merfolk, and it just seemed unreasonable that there wouldn’t be at least one for vampfolk as well. a worn cupboard catches their eye, however, and they lean down to open it, only to happen upon a red-stained bottle housing what appears to be something fluid and thick. yahtzee ! a quick once-over tells them it’s... animal blood ? pig. goat ? no, pig. they won’t risk it, though, and pop the cork to give it a whiff just to be sure, scrunching their nose as senses are hit. yessirooni, 100% grade a pig’s blood, alright, with a splash of warlock magic to keep it cool. they turn around and pour her a glass, then top it off with a stalk of celery and sprinkles of salt and pepper before sliding it over and leaning against the counter. ❛❛ unless it’s my blood you’re after, i think this is the best i can offer. ❜❜ they gesture to the drink, giving the side of the glass a tap, tap, tap !

[like-i-need-a-hole-in-my-head]

Chicken and barley soup

It was very rainy and windy today, and the first time in months that it felt chilly. The Mr was out tonight so I made this for the kiddos. They loved it.

~recipe under the cut~

Ingredients

8 cups water

2 pounds chicken thighs (better flavour than breasts)

1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery (use the leaves)

1 onion, chopped

3/4 cup pearl barley

3 bay leaves

1 cube chicken bouillon / paste

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

A tablespoon of lemon juice

Note: this recipe is VERY flexible. It’s good for cleaning out your produce drawer. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly because I only had one carrot and that’s because I asked a neighbour for it. I had a bag of frozen vegetables so I used peas and carrots from that too. I also wanted to use up some extra leeks, so I only used half an onion instead of a whole onion. I used “better than bouillon” chicken (about 2 teaspoons) and later added some knorr chicken paste. You could also add a teaspoon of poultry seasoning or use chicken stock instead of water. I just used a pinch of salt. If you don't have sage, you could also use dill or thyme (but I wouldn't use them together).

Directions

Combine water, chicken thighs, and bay leaves in a large stock pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, simmer 30 minutes.

Remove chicken to a cutting board to cool. Remove and discard bones, skin, and fat from chicken. Tear or cut remaining meat into bite-sized pieces.

Low fat version: cool broth until the fat congeals on the surface, and remote it. This takes a lot of time and I started late so we had the full fat version.

Put the chicken back in the broth and add carrots, celery, onion, pearl barley, chicken bouillon, sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the barley is cooked and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes.

Stir lemon juice into the soup just before serving.

I just wish we had a baguette.

[simonalkenmayer]

What’s your favorite dry rub?

I smoked some ribs yesterday and threw together a combination of peppercorns, red pepper, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cardamom, and old bay. Wish I’d had smoked paprika!

Interestingly, a friend brought a homemade bbq sauce that was made with, among other things, fish sauce and a teaspoon of rose water.

I use different rubs for different meats. For what you have made, I’d do two kinds of paprika, Korean red pepper, brown sugar, garlic, onion powder, mustard powder, chili flake, salt and peppercorns, powdered ginger, fennel and celery seed, possibly also mushroom powder.