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rillils · 1 year

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notes: I’ve been going through a bit of a rough time lately, writer’s block being just one of the issues, so I thought I’d put everything on hold for a little while, grab a prompt from a prompt generator and see what happened. Today’s prompt was: cooking for one another or cooking together. Here goes nothing :3 wordcount: 1137 additional tags: modern setting – no powers AU, pre-serum Steve, fluff fluff fluff, domesticity, they haven’t tied the knot yet but they’ve been practically married since they were 15 pass it on. You can also find this ficlet on AO3!

🍂🍁🍂

November has the crisp sound of crushed leaves, and the color of Bucky’s cheeks stung pink by the wind.

His smile is a soft thing when he reaches his arm out to wrap around Steve’s shoulders, herding him close into his side. “Wanna head back?”

Steve shrugs, “Yeah, if you want,” but his head has already found its natural place in the Steve-shaped slot under Bucky’s chin, where the wool lining of Bucky’s coat collar will tickle his cheek all the way home.

“I’m not cold, though,” Steve wishes to inform him, while Bucky guides them down the street at an easy promenade pace.

“’Course not,” Bucky agrees, punctuating the sentiment with a kiss to the top of Steve’s ruffled head. “Should have worn a hat there, Stevie. Wanna borrow mine? You know I don’t mind.”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

“’Kay.” A beat of silence. Two. Three. “Hey, you’ve got your gloves on, right?”

“Sure,” Steve replies, slipping his very much bare hand into the warmth of Bucky’s coat pocket.

“Uh-huh,” Bucky hums against Steve’s temple, absolutely and irrevocably one-hundred-percent fooled. “You know you’ll end up getting frostbite again, don’t ya.”

His voice brushes warmly against Steve’s cold skin, and Steve soaks it up like it’s the last summer sun, ducking his head low so Bucky won’t see him grin. “Yes, Ma.”

If Bucky then chooses crime and deliberately tickles him just under his ribs, over the spot he’s known since 2nd grade will make Steve produce the most embarrassingly high-pitched squeals, then Steve may have, perhaps, had it coming just a little bit.

He catches their reflection in the shop windows as they pass by; there’s Bucky’s grinning profile right there, his bangs mussed by the cold breeze, stirring fuzzily under his beanie; Steve’s own laughing face, the red tip of his nose, and their legs stepping together in perfect sync, one-two, one-two, fluid and easy, like they have a million times before. It fills him with a soft kind of awe, the way they move as one. If life was a poem, Steve is sure their bodies would rhyme.

Bucky’s hand curls snugly around his shoulder, bringing them just that little bit closer. “Let’s make something nice and warm for dinner.”

“Can it have potatoes?”

He doesn’t need to see Bucky’s smile; he can hear it in his voice, soft and amused, half-hidden in the fluff of Steve’s hair.

“Deal.”

Steve leans back against the kitchen island, cuddling a steaming cup of tea to his chest, watching the room – watching Bucky – come to life one ingredient at a time.

Bucky throws him a knowing glance, knife in his right hand, the sleeves of his sweater already pulled back to the elbows. “Are you gonna help at all?”

Steve smiles behind the rim of his cup. “Nope.”

“Called it.”

Dinner is a soft, long-rehearsed symphony, and Steve stands close by and listens gratefully, warmth curling like tender fingers in his chest.

The gentle rhythm of Bucky’s knife on the cutting board, chopping carrots into wedges and dicing potatoes into neat little cubes. The silken glide through pork, cut into bite-sized pieces. The languorous sizzle of onion tossed for a sweet little waltz in a drizzle of oil and a scoop of butter, and the splash of wine from the first and only bottle they’ve bought since moving in, and forgot in the back of a cabinet for months. The lazy simmer of the stew muttering quietly on the stove, like the old ladies in the front rows at Mass, with too many tales to tell and not enough time in between Hail Mary’s to spill them all.

Steve gathers every drop of it, of home wrapping her familiar embrace around him, and leans into the sound with his eyes closed, savoring it, Mm.

“You getting sleepy?”

Bucky’s looking at him curiously; Steve allows himself the pleasure of looking back, taking the time to drink him in. The steam from the pot has caused Bucky’s short hair to curl against his brow, and his eyes are smiling even when his mouth is not, and the hoop of Steve’s apron, the one that says Stick a fork in me, I’m done, sits a little too high around his neck. He’s never looked as beautiful, as heartbreakingly sweet as this. The very same thought crosses Steve’s mind spontaneously at least once every day, and every day it feels just as true as the one before.

“No,” he says, closing his eyes again, “I just like watching you.”

He can hear Bucky’s amused snort loud and clear over the bubble-de-bubble of their stew. “Anybody ever tell you you’re a weirdo, honey?”

Steve hums, contentment spreading from the center of his belly to the length of his limbs, reaching down to his fingers and toes.

“All the time, Buck.”

Their ankles twine like young roots under the table.

“Here, tell me how it is.”

Bucky feeds him the first spoonful from his own plate, and Steve indulges him, diligently opening up for the spoon.

Flavor unfolds like a many-layered story on his tongue: the sweet tang of rosemary, a whisper of black pepper, the tender bite of pork and the enticing juice of carrot – each voice speaks to him, describing a richness that cannot come from herbs and spices alone.

It’s the measure of everyday devotion; the care that was poured in every gesture, the peeling and the cutting, the stirring and the dishing. The simple pleasure of making something from scratch and saying, without words, For you.

Steve feels the grin bubble up from the well of his chest. The potato’s so soft, it melts like spun sugar on his tongue.

“Well?”

Bucky’s watching him closely; a small, near-shy smile curling his lips.

There’s something in his eyes, in the way they soften like this, in the gleam always kindled within, that Steve has failed to put a name to since he first saw it there.

Perhaps – he thinks, not for the first time – perhaps it needs no name, only a heart to feel it. And he does feel it, every time Bucky looks at him like this. Deep, deep-set here in his heart, in his stomach; in the golden crucible where tenderness is made.

“Come on, don’t leave me hanging,” Bucky prods. “Does it taste okay?”

It tastes like so many murmurs of ‘I love you’, is what Steve truly wants to say; but that’s a little secret he’ll keep to himself for now.

He snuggles his sock-clad feet between Bucky’s calves, like he often does on cold nights, when Bucky pulls him back against his chest, and their legs lock together like puzzle pieces under the duvet.

“It’s perfect,” Steve says.

Bucky’s eyes crinkle softly with his smile. Like poetry, Steve tells himself, as he lifts his own spoon.

#stucky #stevebucky #rillers scribbles #i cannot be held responsible for gibberish i write when i'm sad and stressed out so sgdjfhskdjfg #i feel extremely self-conscious about this one #but i'm also realizing it's my first fic of 2023!!#considering my history it could also be my last fic of 2023 lol but i hope that won't be the case #i love these boys so much ;___;#one day i'll learn how to post things decently #for now it's time to crawl back to my studying spot ;___;#putting this in the queue so i'll stop thinking about it #queue

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bomberqueen17 · 9 months

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instant pot rice pilaf sorta?

So this is one of my comfort-food recipes which I'm not sure I've related here before, but by request I'm writing it down properly with quantities and such.

This is, for me, an Instant Pot recipe, but you can adapt it for stovetop pretty easily. If you do it on the stovetop you can make it more risotto-like by stirring it a lot and such. Consult a decent risotto recipe and adapt.

You can use any kind of root vegetable, pretty much any kind of meat you like, and either white or brown rice for this. Use whatever stock you have. The leafy greens are optional.

Dice an onion. Melt fat (oil, butter, lard, bacon grease, like 2-3 Tbsp) in your Instant Pot on the "saute" setting (I do mine on Normal, but there's a lot of variation in individual pots how intense that is. You want it to lightly sizzle but not burn) and dump your onion in until it's as done as you like. (I want it to be clear, maybe just browning a little at the edges here and there, but you can go browner if you want.) 1a) IF YOU WANT TO USE MEAT you can do that. If I'm using lamb shanks, I will brown them first before adding the onion. If I'm using ground meat I will cook it after I've started softening the onion. You could throw in cooked leftover meat too, or if it's in your stock that's fine. Really this dish does fine without, but it's also a great way to stretch a small amount of meat to be a whole meal for several people. A lamb shank, a pork chop, a ham hock, some short ribs, a chicken leg-- some skimpy cut with a bone is ideal for this, but you can also use bulk sausage or ground meat or chicken breast or whatever you want, just adjust cooking times.

Dice carrots or beets while this is happening (or both). I'm a bit inspired by Central Asian plov, which is traditionally made with finely-julienned yellow carrots and like a whole lot of them, but I love beets in this. Set your diced root vegetables aside for right now. I'm going to say you want like, a cup or so of diced vegetable.

Put in your rice, stirring it around until it's all coated in the melted fat. I'm going to say to use 2c of rice. Let it cook for a couple of minutes.

Optional: throw in about 1/4 cup of white wine to kind of deglaze the pan, scrub up your rice in case it stuck at all (you need it not to stick or your pot will give a "burn" notice and not finish). Do this quickly, don't let it sit too long.

Throw in your root vegetables.

Add stock. I use Trash Stock, which I make in the pressure cooker out of all my leftover bones and vegetable scraps. You could use salted water, you could use canned broth, you could use whatever you like to cook rice in or whatever you make soup with. Follow the guidelines from your Instant Pot-- both white and brown rice are recommended as 1:1-- but I would be generous with the liquid, this always turns out a little dry for me because I think the root vegetables absorb water. I made this just now with 2c brown rice and a scant 3c stock and it was not watery at all. If you're using stock that is not adequately salted you'll want to throw some additional salt in. I also season with thyme, as that's the primary herb in plov, but you can really put in whatever herbs you like with whatever root vegetable you picked. I once made an incredibly intensely rosemaryed risotto that was actually pretty incredible. Use what you have.

Cook according to your Instant Pot's guidelines for the type of rice you're using, but on the longer side. I used brown rice, which IP said was "20-22 minutes" so I did it at 22 minutes on high pressure. White rice is only like, I forget, 3-5 minutes? Do it for the longer end, because you want those beets/carrots done through. (If you're using meat, then cook it however long the meat needs, if it's longer than what the rice needs. If I'm doing lamb shanks or something bone-in, then I use water instead of broth because the bones will make it be broth, I am more generous with the water, and I let it cook 25 minutes at least regardless of the rice. Shanks are fantastic because they're so tough otherwise, but have so much collagen they give a really velvety finish.)

When the pressure cook cycle is over, release pressure on the pot, and then dice up some leafy green-- spinach is great, mustard greens are great, I used some of the greens from my beets because I had them-- and I only used a scant cup, maybe even less, but if you have good spinach this is a great way to cram a ton of it into something-- and throw your leafy green in, stir it well, and then stick the lid back on. (if you've got shanks or some other bone-on meat, you'll need to take those out, pull all the meat off, throw it back in, discard your bones or better still put them in your freezer bag for later trash stock-- stir the meat back in along with your leafy greens, and put it on keep warm if it's had too long to cool off.)

Cut a few chunks of a lovely soft cheese, I recommend chevre. Once the leafy greens have wilted (really stirring them in should be plenty, or a minute or two with the lid on and the residual heat from the Pot), then dish your plov into bowls and top with crumbles of cheese. (For a more risotto-like variant, stir in a pat of butter at the end and top with Parmesan or similar. It's gonna depend on your flavor profile.)

sorry if this is real wordy, I really have tried to make it be Concrete Amounts but it's more a technique than a recipe, I always cook in story-frameworks like this because I just can't follow directions anymore, LOL.

#cooking #recipe post #comfort foods

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persephinae · 7 months

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ok, so i was in the mood for lamb stew, however I did not have any lamb medallions, just ground lamb meat. so i googled recipes for lamb meatball stew and found this

however i made mine slightly different as i had to use what I had in my pantry

my recipe:

preheat oven to 325

in a large dutch oven, pour in idk about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (don't be stingy) on medium heat

then throw in about half an onion roughly chopped and sauté until softened (I use spanish onions)

while sautéing, season generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, cumin, oregano (it smells so goooooood)

once softened, add a small can of sliced carrots and one small can of mushrooms (add additional seasoning as needed) - i use canned carrots because i hate frozen carrots (they have just an ughhhh texture for me) and I didn't have any fresh carrots

sauté and marry it all together for a few minutes

I also added half can of diced italian seasoned tomatoes (garlic, oregano, basil) - because i had to use up my left overs, but you do you

sauté it a bit more and then add about 1/3 cup of good red wine

let that simmer for a bit to cook off the alcohol

then add about 6-8 cups of beef broth (enough broth to cook meatballs in)

re-season to taste (i added a bit more salt, garlic, & thyme, then added a sprig of fresh oregano from my plant)

add 2 bay leaves

then about 1/3 cup or so of frozen spinach

while that's cooking you make your lamb meatballs

defrosted 1 lb of ground lamb, put in bowl with about 1/4 cup of italian style bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, cumin, shawarma seasoning, oregano

the recipe called for uncooked rice, but I used one of those single serving ready to go rice portions and added about half that container to the meat mixture

i threw the rest of the rice into the soup to cook

While mixing your meat: add 1 egg then mix all your ingredients together by hand and start forming meatballs to drop in your simmering hot soup

once done, put the lid on your dutch oven and throw that bad boy into the oven for about 25 minutes for the meatballs to cook

serve with fresh crusty bread

the soup smells and tastes amazing, absolutely best broth

the only thing i might change going forward is I might bake my meatballs a bit beforehand for a nice crust, then throw them in (i'm italian/sicilian american and grew up baking my meatballs)

this all makes a big pot of soup that could feed 4-6 people, or if it's just your little old self, you can freeze some portions for some other cold day

edit: for anyone who's interested and are able to afford it, I HIGHLY suggest getting some shawarma seasoning in your pantry for cooking lamb or chicken

#recipes #lamb meatball soup #posting it for whoever's interested #the broth is literally just so good #i could glug it #like so good

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shipwreck-letters · 2 years

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Cooking with Casimir 🍰🥘

A really fun prompt, it includes two of my favorite topics; Food, and history. And Casimir <3 Please enjoy!

Reblogs/Comments appreciated! 💌

-Casimir, as we all know, did not grow up in the kitchen. Maybe raiding the kitchen and sneaking things out when no one was looking, but definitely not the arduous process of preparing the food.

-But after 250 years of eating whatever the House gave him, he's eager to be able to try something better. Maybe he will get tiny flowers with dinner, after all.

-He doesn't remember everything he ate back then, but considering his social stance, it was definitely luxurious by my standards. Plates stacked up, and from a child/teenager’s point of view, it was expansive. It was also France in King Louis XIV’s time, so- It was kind of expansive.

-That's kind of what he misses most when cooking, is the food of his time. So, what do you do? You roll up your sleeves and put your apron on, and drag Casimir with you into the kitchen!

-The House has thankfully given you everything you'll need this time, but there's no solid recipe. That's the fun part; Casimir goes a little pale when the House decides he's gonna remember how a pheasant and the pile of uncooked vegetables should look.

-If you're not good at cooking, good luck. The both of you will be peeling vegetables the best you can, and scrolling through your phone to look at recipes on how to cook this damn bird without setting a fire.

-Casimir does well as he does in any other task. He follows your lead, focusing very hard on getting it right, and not getting messy.

-He jumps when a carrot flies at him, and your giggles make him blush madly. He splashes a little water back at you, and gives a little grin as he feigns innocence.

-"Dear, do be careful with the water. The House would hate it if it spilled. Trust me."

-If you're good at cooking, thank god! Casimir still helps in any way he can, but he watches very closely, listening to every piece of advice he can get.

-He injures himself a few times with the knife, it's slippery- And trying so hard to remember his past, impress you, and focus on the dish, leads him to chopping the onion too hard.

-You kiss his cheek anyway, taking the vegetables away to the pot.

-It's like when Tiana is teaching Navine how to dice the mushrooms. Casimir is half chopping, and half talking about how much he can remember. It's quite a lot, but he's reluctant to think about too much. He laments about the taste, obviously, but also the feeling of being with loved ones, and familiar people again.

-But bit by bit, the aromas of the food start to build up, making him feel nostalgia he hasn't felt in a long time. He also has you; You’re doing something with him, and having genuine fun. You’re smiling, and he can’t help but do the same.

-When you take the pan out, charred or golden brown, he smiles, chuckling.

-"Look at that..."

-"Does it look the same?"

-He kisses your cheek this time, helping you set up the table. "Even better, I would say."

-His favorite food is fougasse, a cute, fancy bread cut into the shape of wheat. Like this! 🌿🌾 This would be easier to make, and a really tasty meal. He shares every piece with you, and always gives you the first and last. Always.

-He also likes wine, which makes sense! Wine would (probably, I don't drink wine. I drink rum) pair well with most dishes you'll make, and he'll always ask you before pouring a glass for you.

-Eventually, he'd start cooking his own meals! Starting with Rainier, to avoid embarrassment if he messes it up. These two dorks in the kitchen trying to knead bread, as finicky as it can be, hoping it'll be pretty (tasty) enough to present to you after your work.

-He tries very hard to get it right, and you can see the satisfaction radiating from him when you sit down to eat. He likes the praise, the affirmations, too.

-And now, more incredibly niche interests of mine; Dishes that I think Casimir would enjoy making and tasting! This is by Max Miller, a really entertaining creator that makes historic dishes with interesting backstories and origins!

-Semlor

-Roasted Rouen Duck and Many Many Other Foods!

-Soul Cakes

These are just some French and other European dishes I found interesting and historically fun, but if you’re from a different culture and nationality, Casimir would be so interested in cooking with you!

~End~

#fictif games #fictif monster manor #monster manor #casimir de gevaudan #nix hydra #imagines #headcanon #fanfiction #abzu's writing #fun fact; i was going to call these headcanons 'cooking companions'#i immediatey realized the error of my ways #there's nothing nefarious happening here we're just cooking and being goofy i promise

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coyotesqrl · 1 year

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Oh. My.

Soup. First off, anyone who knows me knows that soup sits in the top echelon of food stuffs along with pizza, bread, peanut butter, and Rainier cherries. Secondly, I can sorta cook.

Wanted broccoli cheese soup. No recipe (other than I did look at one quickly to get an idea how much cheese most people put).

When I got to that point, I realized I could have skipped the cheese, but I'd already grated it.

Two small bunches of broccoli including leaves, stems sliced into ¼ inch coins. Florets are saved to be roasted for topping the soup

Some of the stems and leaves from one bunch of broccoli rabe. (I'll be eating the florets and tender tops of the stalks at another meal)

One quart of nothing-fancy, store-bought chicken stock

The above, into a covered Dutch oven or braising dish, braised over medium high heat for about 45 minutes. The stock reduces a lot, but covered it should still be enough to finish beating the crap out of the tough stems. Into a blender and puree very, very smooth (if this were for a fine dining establishment, I'd press it through a conical strainer; it is not). Add about 4 tbsps heavy cream and spin to incorporate.

Leave that in the blender and in the same pot

A few tbsps of olive oil

Two leeks, diced

One small carrot diced

Pinch of salt

Sweat, then in a little pool of olive oil in a clear spot in the pan (I needed to add 1 tbsp more at this point) bloom...

A pinch of chili flakes

1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper

1-2 tsps freshly grated nutmeg

After blooming, stir into the veg, then add 2-4 crushed/minced cloves of garlic, stirring until fragrant.

Time to add these beauties to the blender...

Puree a little more, then back to the pot.

I found the mix to be a bit thick at this point, so added maybe a half cup of water into the almost-empty blender, spun out quickly, and added to the pot. If you're going to add cheese (seriously...it's not necessary but mine was already grated), go for a little thinner than the final texture you want here.

Add the cheese if you're adding, and simmer gently to incorporate.*

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Sing paeans to our ancestors who learned to manipulate wild brassica.

* I also tossed a ½ tsp or so of sodium citrate with the cheese before adding, to aid in emulsification. Not necessary, but I have it on hand.

#cooking

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dino-boyo-agere · 7 months

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

Could we get a recipe mayhaps? 👀👀

Oh definitely!!

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

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

For the ratatouille you need:

1 aubergine

1 courgette

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 to two red onions

1 can of peeled and diced tomatos

1 teaspoon of sugar

Salt, pepper to your liking

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

Half a tube of tomato paste

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

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

for the ratatouille you gotta:

Clean and dice the aubergine

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

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

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

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

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

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

When that's done add the bell peppers.

After those are integrated through stirring, add the aubergine.

Let the veggies cook for 5 minutes - keep stirring.

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

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

Ratatouille pairs great with:

Rice, pasta or potatoes (I prefer rice).

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

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

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

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

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

For the soup you need:

The Ratatouille (without rice, pasta or potatoes)

1 bunch of Parsley

1 Parsley root

1,5 Leeks

1 cup of Cooking cream (250 ml)

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

What you gotta do:

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

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

Add vegetable broth, pepper and the veggies.

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

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

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

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

And now to the toping & side:

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

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

And that's that!

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

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

Have fun and good luck cooking!!

#nates foods #nates recipes #recipe #i love soup #soup season #ratatouille #ratatouille soup #sfw interaction only #sfw #sfw agere #age regression #agere

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spooniechef · 1 year

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Split Pea and Ham Soup (1 spoon)

As a little added extra on top of my March sneak preview, I decided to try out my multicooker on soup. Soup is a great one for batch cooking, so lots of leftovers for bad spoon days. Also, beyond chopping things, all that’s really required is letting it cook by whatever method. Pea soup is one of those ones that is always recommended because lots of protein, high nutritional value, and very filling for a pretty good price. So here’s a recipe I got from Bowl of Delicious for Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham, with a few notes on the process and how to make it easier to do.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Three tablespoons oil or butter (it’s just for sauteeing; oil should work fine but butter will taste better)

One onion, diced

Two sticks of celery, diced

Two carrots, diced

1lb (450g or so) dried split peas

6oz (170g or so) thick-sliced deli ham, diced (the recipe recommends a ham bone but that’s trickier to get hold of than some deli ham)

Six cups chicken stock

Two bay leaves (plus other herbs if desired; see notes below)

Salt, pepper, etc to taste

When I did this one, I threw in a tablespoon or so of mixed herbs at the same time as the bay leaves, and added some garlic puree to the butter when sauteeing. Your mileage may vary, but I think it added a lot to the dish.

Here’s what you do:

Sautee your onion, celery, and carrots for about five minutes, until softened. If using an multicooker, use the Sautee or Browning function; if doing it on the stove, just do it in the pot you’re going to make the soup in.

Add split peas, ham, stock, and bay leaves, and any other herbs. If using a multicooker, set up the pressure cooker for manual, high pressure, 15 minutes. If, like mine, your pressure cooker doesn’t have those settings, use the standard ones the multicooker gives you. If you’re doing it on the stove, bring ingredients to a boil and simmer for an hour or so.

If using a multicooker, let the pressure release manually for 15 minutes or so, then quick release the pressure valve. If you’re doing it on the stove, obviously skip this step.

Stir; taste. Add salt, pepper, and/or anything else you think it needs.

It really is this easy, especially with a mandoline to dice all the vegetables. Just a bit of a sautee, throw everything in a pot or cooker, and wait. However, here are a few notes about things I noticed on first attempt.

My peas turned out a little tougher than I might have expected. This might be because I was using yellow split peas, which have a slightly different cooking time, but it might also mean that I trusted the recipe more than the “Soup / Stew” setting on my multicooker. Next time, I’ll try green split peas (if I can find them) and either way, just use the regular “Soup / Stew” setting on my multicooker, which is set for 30 minutes. I think a little mushier is probably better than chewy for the dried split peas.

I think it would have been a little bit bland if I hadn’t put some garlic puree into the butter for sauteeing, and if I hadn’t thrown in about a tablespoon of mixed herbs before cooking. That’s a matter of personal taste, though, so play around with it until you find the balance that you like. Adding herbs and spices after the fact is possible, but it won’t blend quite so nicely with the rest of the soup.

This makes a lot of soup. I mean a lot of soup. Make sure you have plenty of microwave-safe containers to hand, and a reasonable amount of space in the fridge or freezer. Apparently this will keep for about a week in the fridge or up to six months in the freezer, so there’s not too much worry about leftovers going off.

Seriously, even with the slightly chewier peas than I maybe wanted, I’m glad I tried this one. This soup keeps well, is filling and tasty, and doesn’t require a whole lot of effort. Even on the stove, most of what it takes is time; with a pressure cooker, not even that’s a problem.

So there you have it. Nice, simple comfort food. Enjoy!

#The Spoonie Chef #Recipes #meals #soup

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no-lessthan3 · 12 days

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roasted/ baked/ grilled veg has no reason to be as good as it is tbh

I made some for my family yesterday and had to literally ask my aunt for more veggies from her fridge cuz I just made it to clear mine and had no idea everyone would love it so much lmao

Anyways have the recipe

Ingredients-

2 medium sized potatoes

2 medium sized onions

2 small carrots

1 small capsicum or Bell pepper

3 pieces of garlic

1 tbs of of oil (any cooking oil works, we used sunflower cuz that's what we usually use)

Mince/ crush the garlic

Roughly dice all your veggies

Heat up a pan, put the oil in it, add garlic into the oil until is finishes sizzling and put all your veggies in and slightly saute them for a bit (you don't even need to turn the onions translucent, just stir it around a bit lol, this is just so the oven doesn't have to do all the work cooking the potatoes and carrots mainly)

Take it off the heat

Now the sauce is what makes all the difference so listen carefully

In a bowl, mix

½ tbs Schezwan chutney (you can also use chilly oil or gochujang or any thing available of a similar texture and taste)

¼ tbs hot sauce

2 tbs soy sauce

⅔ tbs tomato ketchup (don't let my bestfriend know I told you this)

¼ tbs ginger garlic paste

1½ tbs mustard oil (it makes a difference trust me)

⅓ of a packet of Maggi masala-e-magic (if you're making this sauce for your instant noodles use the tastemaker pack as a replacement or use any other versatile as FUCK spice that you can add to literally anything)

And

2 tsp of oregano (my brother hoards pizzeria oregano packets so just use two of them if you have them lol)

Mix the sauce and toss in your veggies

Spread it on a baking dish or plate and Chuck it in the over at 200°C on the grill setting for 20 minutes, toss them around atleast once, and try the potatoes and carrots specifically before taking it out fully just to check if they are fully cooked or not

If not put them back in for 5-10 minutes more and you're done!

Btw the sauce can literally be used with anything

Put it on noodles, rice, sandwiches whatever tf you want

It's my own recipe :]

#Cooking #Baked veggies #:]#Lowkey proud of this lmao #Tell me if you make it I wanna see how you think it was like #This was mainly supposed to be for the sauce idk why I put in an entire recipe for baked veggies in this LMAO

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millycooks · 6 months

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Quiches

Tonight I made mini quiches, crustless mini quiches specifically, for dinner. I forgot to take pictures but they turned out really nice. This made the perfect amount for three people for dinner.

Ingredients

6 extra large eggs (it's the size I buy)

1 carrot (medium size)

1 zucchini (medium size)

Pinch salt

200g approx bacon, diced (don't trim the fat)

2 tablespoons crushed garlic

Approx 1/2 cup grated cheddar (I use Tasty)

Method

Preheat oven to 190 Celsius.

Put bacon in pan on low heat, you want the fat to render out, when it is rendered add the garlic and cook til preferred amount of browning/crispy. I don't crisp mine up for quiches but I like a little bit of colour. Let it cool a little.

Whilst the bacon is cooking, in a large mixing bowl grate the carrot and zucchini (I prefer the large grating size for this, not the fine grater). Add the pinch of salt and mix. Let sit whilst bacon cooks.

Add bacon and garlic (with the rendered fat) , eggs, and cheese to the vegetables. Beat with spoon until well combined.

Spoon into muffin tray, this made 12 regular muffins exactly, if tray is not non stick or silicone lightly grease before filling. Extra cheese can be added on top if you wish.

Bake for approx 20 minutes, check with fork that egg is cooked. Take out and serve hot, it can also be eaten cold.

Notes

Other vegetables that can be used are: grated pumpkin, diced tomatoes (deseeded), diced capsicum, corn kernals, sauteed diced onion, or sauteed diced mushrooms. For this amount of eggs you use about 2-3 cups of vegetables. Be aware that higher moisture content will affect the texture of the quiches.

I leave in the rendered bacon fat for flavour but you can just not put it in. The moisture from the vegetables means you don't need milk, so if you omit the cheese they are dairy free.

Unlike other crustless quiches I don't use flour, I don't see the point, the egg sets fine and while it might not brown the whole way around I usually end up with a golden top and bottom. Fiddling with a crust and getting it to cook properly is just annoying.

These refrigerate, freeze, and reheat well. I've used mini muffin trays before, frozen them in batches of 2-4 a bag, perfect size for breakfast or morning tea for one. They defrost very quickly and can be eaten cold or reheated. If you make them smaller or larger just adjust the cooking time.

#food #cooking #quiche #egg pie #crustless quiche #recipe

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cooking-and-studying · 11 months

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Vegetable soup

Ingredients:

Vegetable broth

Carrots

Potatoes

Garlic

Onion

Ham

* = optional, but almost everything here is.

Steps:

Chop up some garlic, onion, and carrots. Put in a pot with some cooking oil as if in a pan. Let cook until you want to go to the next step.

Dice up the potato and ham. Pour some water directly into the pot, add broth, potatoes, and ham. Season to liking.

Let cook until the hardest vegetable is soft. I cooked mine until the potatoes were to my liking. Enjoy!

This is probably my favourite. Super comforting, hearty (depending on what you add), and a great way to use up whatever vegetable scraps you have left. Also super customizable.

Time: about 45 minutes.

Affordability: 9.5/10

Taste: 8/10

#alexishungry #longer #pork #soup

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freyja-athena · 1 year

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Hey.

Y'all want a Macaroni salad recipe that'll blow your cock right off your body?

SAUCE

- Mayo

- Pickle juice

- Sweet pickle relish

- Dijon and yellow mustard

- Salt and pepper

NOODLES + ADD-ONS

- Macaroni elbow noodles

- Carrots (Shredded)

- Tomatoes (Diced)

- Pickles (Quartered, diced)

- Bell Peppers (Red, green, etc. Also diced)

- Celery (If you hate yourself and whoever you're serving this to. Seriously, if you put celery in macaroni salad i will bust down your goddamned door.)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Step one: The noodles. Boil water and pour in about as much as you want. Boil for 10 mins. Keep in mind this lasts surprisingly long if you put it in Tupperware, so make a fuck ton.

Step 1.A: seasoning the noodles. It adds flavor. You like flavor right? Don't fucking lie to me, you know you do. Add salt, as much as your heart desires. Do not forget to also add your choice of cooking oil. It'll keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot and annoying the fuck out of you.

Step TWO: While those noodles boil, you're free to bust out the knife and cutting board and your choice of veggies. Prepare just a bit more than you think you'll need. Or even more than that. Nobody is there to judge you for adding extra Pickles, they're literally the best part.

Step THREE: Strain the noodles. Run cold water over all the noodles so that they're all nice and cold for the sauce.

STEP FOUR: the sauce. Biggest ingredient here is mayo. You'll ALWAYS need more than you think. Always add just a bit more than you might expect. Then the relish. ONLY A FUCKING TEASPOON! That relish will make your sauce taste wayyy too sweet if you add even just a little too much. Okay, then a little squirt of Dijon mustard. Same deal as the relish, too much will overpower everything. Done? Alright. Now add the yellow mustard, and a splash of the pickle juice from your jar of Pickles. Sauce DONE.

STEP FIVE: COMBINE. Pour the noodles into your preferred medium, (mine is a large Tupperware container) then shortly after add the sauce. Mix the sauce in, then add the veggies and mix them in too.

Step SIX: place in fridge for however long you can resist its tempting sirens call. The longer it rests the more the flavors will sort of soak into eachother and make a much better tasting end product.

Step VII: Pull out of fridge and devour as if you were Saturn and the bowl of Macaroni was your offspring. It should have a bit of bite to it, with all the acidic flavors added by the yellow mustard and pickle juice. This isn't your grandma's Macaroni salad, because I am not your grandma. I'm 20 years old, that would be kinda weird.

Anyways, yeah. Enjoy!

#personal #5 am thoughts #just a little recipe ive been using lately #seriously its really good. i very much reccomend making it yourself #im gonna go to bed now #gnight!

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natromanxoff · 3 years

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12 - Nicknames...

Hello Playmates. Firstly a slap on the wrist for me. In the last thingy that I wrote I said that we were at Madison Square Gardens when John Bonham died. Well, according to someone in the good ol' U.S. of A. we were in Boston that night, so I was a day out. Also this very kind person, who "didn't want to burst my bubble," informed me that David Lee Roth said the same thing every night. I'm sure he did, I just said that I liked his onstage patter. There has to be some sort of joke about bursting bubbles and pricks, anybody know any?

Did we all get our Spring magazines? Credit to young Jacky and Val, they still do a great mag. In it were the answers to the last competition, and I have to be honest, I didn't have a clue about most of the questions. But here is a little bit of trivia. Q.8 (who, according to Roger, first suggested Another One Bites The Dust be released as a single) The actual very first people to suggest AOBTD be released as a single was The Royal Road Crew. We were lurking around at Musicland Studios while the fab ones were mixing, and I think it was Jobby who said it would be a huge hit. When we told the band they just glared at us and told us to mix some more cocktails. I suppose Mr Jackson saying it sounds more impressive than "Our pissed road crew said ..."

Q.10 (where did the "young man" who was stung on the knee by a wasp come from?) I had completely forgotten about "Two Sharp Pencils." The verses in that song, The young man from Dundee and The lady from Bude, were two stupid rhymes that I used to recite, and RT liked them and made a song out of it. I really hate to take to much credit (lying bastard) but 'Two Sharp Pencils' is also one of mine. It's very hard to explain, but the pencils are placed in a good looking girls ears, and whilst holding the pencils you can pull her head to .......... Enough said. Don't go all sexist on me, it was only a joke.

Q.20 (it was a question about who's nickname was who's) Nicknames. I did not know that Deaky's nickname of Birdman was common knowledge. Here's a little competition from your's truly. Does anyone out there know how he got it and when he got it, and anything else that goes with the story?????? Still on the subject of nicknames, some of you smarter people might have guessed that most of us had them, and that Crystal isn't my real name. It's actually Susan. When I started to travel with the band the first person to inherit my drum keys was a young guy, compared to the rest of us, who had worked with bands like the Thompson Twins. He wore stupid clothes like bondage pants, so Trip gave him the name - Mr. Modern, and it stuck. Whilst on tour in Japan, Mr M met a charming lady who we named Madam Butterfly, and this charming lady gave him his very first dose of the clap. By the end of the day Modern was getting very pissed off with us all, because every time he saw anyone, we would all clap him. I wrote on the gong flight case "Mr Modern has the Crap," and the last time I saw the case it was still on it. The last drum monkey we had, on his first day of rehearsals plugged a 110v keyboard into the 240v power supply and blew it up. British people here might remember a TV program called Auf Wiedesein(!), Pet. Ratty remembered the name of the arsonist in it, and so we had - Moxie. In-between these two wonderful people we did have someone else. We had a European tour coming up and Modern had moved on, so I interviewed a few people at Pembridge Road. I told one guy he had the job and asked him if he had anymore questions, and his first was "Who does Freddies gear?" He only knew me as Crystal, so I replied that Ratty did it. "Who looks after Brian?" Jobby. "Sound?" Trip. "Lights?" Idiot Boy. By this time he's looking a bit bewildered, and I said, "Obviously these are all nicknames and here's a little tip, you're gonna get one, and if you don't like it don't say anything otherwise it'll stick." Sound advice. A few weeks later we all turn up in good old Munich to start rehearsals. I'm in Rogers suite and said, "I suppose you should meet your new roadie at sometime." So I get on the phone and call his room, and when he answers the phone I said, "Hello Shag Nasty," and the dickhead said "I DON'T LIKE THAT." Welcome Shag.

We had to start how we meant to carry on, so we all headed to the Sugar Shack that evening. This could have been Spike's first day as well. Us old timers know how to pace ourselves, but dear old Shag has to drink himself into oblivion in the first hour, and proceed to pass out. A red rag to a bull. We pile him up with glasses, bottles, ashtrays and anything else we can find, and after a few hours Brian decides to head off, and being a nice guy said he would get Shag back to the hotel. We get him down to the limo and throw him in the back while Brian gets in the front, and on the way to the hotel he decides to decorate the limo with, amongst other things, diced carrots. So far this is not good job security. During sound checks Roger would spend forever tuning his kit, and during the show, with the heat of the lights and his pounding, would continue tuning during the show. On one occasion, sound check over and kit perfect, we head off until showtime. During the first number of the set RT is looking a bit put out, and after the first song starts frantically re-tuning the drums. This continues for quite a few songs until he starts to look relaxed. After the show Shag is summoned to the dressing room, and RT said, "Er Shag, after the soundcheck did you re-tune my kit? And the reply was, "Oh no Rog, I wouldn't do that, I just tightened up the loose ones." Back in Berlin and it's five minutes before show time, and Gerry comes up to me and says, "Look's like you've got your old job back for tonight." Why? I look round and Shag is being carted off on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask, drip and everything. What else can this clown get up to? For the last two million years Queen have finished the show with Rock You, then Champions, when the lights would come down, FM running around like a madman, RT standing up and hitting all his cymbals and playing just the bass drum with his right foot, BM playing the never ending power chord whilst keeping an eye on the drummer and JD wondering where we're going clubbing. As the lighting rig came to a standstill, Rog would sit down, and cue the rest of the band for the finish with two smacks on the snare drum and then an almighty crash of the cymbals, and it's over for another night. Play the tape. Shag had done this a couple of dozen times already, so you would think he knew. Wrong. On one night, Rogers doing his standing up bit and our beloved Shag thinks, "The stool is in the way." so he removes the offending stool. When Roger goes to sit down, there's nothing to sit on and he goes arse over tit off the back of the riser, and he's lying there winded. I tell Shag Nasty to hide for a while and try and get the drummer to his feet, and needless to say he's very pissed off. The lights have stopped and Brian has played the longest chord in the history of the universe. Roger finally gets back behind the kit, does the two hits and cymbal crash to finally finish the show, and then completely trashes his kit. I'm glad I didn't have to rebuild it. Needless to say, Shag did not last to long. Until next time.

Crystal

#queen #queen band #roger taylor #brian may #john deacon #crystal taylor #crystal's tales

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savebatsfromscratch · 2 years

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RusAmeChu Week 2022 Day One.

Prompt: Party/Dance

Words: 2,532

America throws a party in his house. His two boyfriends show up.

This was gonna be for the ‘World Meeting’ prompt, because I like reading those better than party fics, but then it sort of morphed. *shrugs*

It’s kind of set in my house??? I didn’t have any other ideas, okay? I was really tired lol.

Also it focuses a bit more on RoChu than anything else, but it’s meant to be RusAmeChu. .-,

The ending is a little bit wack, just ignore it.

Fic under the cut or at this link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/36925651

America pushed past China, “I’ll get it!” he cried, reaching for the handle, “It’s mine!” China shook his head but stepped back anyway, awaiting the creak of the door as the rusty hinges squeaked open. Not a moment later, the shocking shriek met his ears and he peered out the door, suddenly curious. Three sets of eyes connected, and a moment of realization passed between them.

“Russia!” America cheered, throwing his hands up above his head as his boyfriend shouldered his way into his house, “You made it!”

“Why wouldn’t I have made it-,” Russia broke off, suddenly crushed as China unexpectedly tackled him.

“I dunno bro, but it wouldn’t be the first time, would it.,” America scolded, pulling his two boyfriends apart and directing them away from the door. “Come on dudes, let's get out of the way of the door,” he mumbled, “I’ve got other guests coming you know.”

Once they were sufficiently far away, China turned to face America, “Who’d you invite?” he asked curiously, peering over America’s shoulder to look if there was anyone else entering the room.

“Oh just the normal guys,” America answered, waving the question aside like his answer had been the most specific thing he could have said, “But I’m more interested in who’s here already.”

“Me or him?” Russia asked, laughing from under his scarf and gesturing to China, “Or maybe you meant yourself?”

China stifled a laugh and lightheartedly punched Russia’s arm, “Oh stop it, you know he didn’t mean himself.”

“Maybe I did,” America joked, “I am the coolest one in this room, maybe I’m the hottest one too!”

“Not true!” China sputtered, “That’s definitely me!”

America and Russia burst out laughing, and it didn’t take long for China to join them. In fact, their little giggle fit only ended when the door hinges creaked open again. (Quieting as all three nations hurriedly turned to see who was joining the party.)

“Yo! Japan dude!” Called America, waving his hands and rushing over to properly invite his friend, “You need anything? Juice? Chips? A place to put your bags?” Relieved, Japan nodded and followed America, still chattering, to the snacks table.

Russia smiled slightly, America looked like he was having fun, and honestly, that was enough to let him brush aside how much less planned out his welcome was. (The man could have at least asked him if he’d had a good flight, I mean really.) But as he watched the two friends chat, he knew it didn’t matter, Alfred was having a good time! And heck if he wasn’t going to follow his example.

China followed Russia as he made his way over to the snack table. Snickering to himself as he was reminded of how much the amount of junk food outweighed the singular vegetable platter. (It wasn’t a bad vegetable platter, but nothing to boast about when compared to the absolute mountain of chips that stood next to it.)

“Hey America!” he teased, picking up a Cheese Puff and flinging it at his boyfriend, “Do you want me to teach you how to cook some real party food?”

America looked over, an obviously fake look of annoyance on his face, “Not now dude, can’t you see I’m busy talking to Japan over here?”

“He sees that,” Russia interjected, not looking up from filling his place with diced carrots, “He’s just so enamored by your cooking abilities that he can’t but give a few tips,”

China snorted slightly and began to inspect a cracker, “Pretty sure this is processed but thanks for trying to explain my opinions.” Russia nodded into his scarf, but even with his face half buried in light pink fabric, China could tell he was smiling. (Knowing that sort of thing just came naturally when you’d been together for as long as they had.)

China finally decided that the cracker was safe to eat and bit into it. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Japan stifling a laugh and patting America on the shoulder. “It’s okay Alfred,” he was saying, “I like your food selection,”

America batted his friend’s hand away and shook his head, clearly not upset despite his slightly annoyed expression. “You’re just saying that because the cake isn't out here yet,” he decided, looking more and more cheered up by every word, “I frosted it myself!”

Japan grimaced, obviously aware that that meant the cake was almost certainly an unhealthy looking shade of green or pink. (China and Russia quickly followed his example when the realization hit them.), Looking around himself and seeing their faces, America broke into a barking laugh, “Don’t worry!” he reassured them, wiping an eye with one hand and pointing around at them with the other, “It’s just a little bit of frosting, nothing to worry about!”

“Oh whew,” Russia mumbled sarcastically, “For a moment there I was worried you had covered the thing in dead bugs,”

While China pretended to throw up, America just fell back into a couch, laughing harder. (Poor Japan didn’t seem to process the joke for a moment, but eventually smiled slightly as it dawned on him.) “You know I would never do that!” America finally choked out, “Not unless it was our anniversary or something…”

China leaned over to Russia, whispering behind a hand as he joked, “Reminded me when that is so I can avoid it,”

Russia nodded solemnly, “14th of October,” he whispered back, “And I’ll only remind you if you remind me first,”

China shook his head and rolled his eyes, “Russia that doesn’t make sense,” his voice now at full volume, “How would that do any good if I had to remind you first?”

Russia shrugged, but before he (or anyone else for that matter) could open their mouth to speak there was a knock at the door. Instantly America shot off the couch, vaulting over an end of the snack table as he rushed to invite another friend in. “I’m getting it!” he yelled, “All of you stay right there, I’ve got this!”

Russia looked to the sky and China pinched the bridge of his nose. “Really,” Japan murmured, “It’s like he thinks it’s some kind of contest.”

“Oh you don’t even know the half of it,” China said, turning to face his friend, “You didn’t see how aggressively he ran to get the door for you or Russia.”

Japan raised his eyebrows. “How aggressive would you say it was?” Russia asked, sounding mildly curious, “For me I mean,” he corrected, “I saw him inviting Japan.”

China shrugged, “Pretty aggressive I’d say,” and then, suddenly serious he added, “He pushed me out of the way Ivan,” -he mimed hitting something, “Phhss, right like that,”

“Wow, that’s very violent,” Russia said, following China’s own mimed seriousness with a nod and a blink, “So very unlike him.”

China nodded back seriously, but a stifled cough of laughter broke though as Russia copied his little smack movement and subsequent sound effect, “Shut up,” China mumbled, watching out of the corner of his eye as Italy and Germany finally made it through the door, “It was the only thing I could think of doing,”

“Thank you for thinking of it then,” Russia smiled, casually picking up an entire bell pepper and biting into it, “It was funny.”

Abandoning the snacks table, Japan rushed over to the newcomers, excitedly hugging Italy (and then Germany) as America explained where the snacks and everything were. After a moment of watching the three former allies greet each other, Russia opened his mouth to speak, “When do you think they’ll figure it out?” he whispered, “They’ve obviously got a thing for each other.”

China shrugged and climbed into a chair, “I dunno, but hopefully it’s soon. They’re driving me mad with anticipation.”

“It was the same for us you know,” Russia nodded, leaning on the chair back and sighing, “That feels like such a long time ago…”

“It was a long time ago,” China laughed, “We’ve been a thing for a real while now.”

“I guess you’re right.” Slowly, the two drifted into silence. A direct contrast to the growing noise of the party as another group of nations made it past America’s little ‘greeting’ speech. It was nice, being close enough to each other that they could talk face to face. (Which was a luxury that neither of them had ever been able to take for granted. Being nations and everything, they usually had to stay in their own countries, far away from any other immortal friends or lovers.)

-That was the reason that China was so grateful to America for throwing this party. That loneliness was thrown off his shoulders with an excuse to leave and see the people he cared about the most. He knew that Russia felt the same way (they had talked about it over video call more than once), and he also knew that America had set up this whole party basically just to see them smile.

He’d never said it, not out loud anyway, but America was notoriously bad at keeping secrets, so China knew anyway. He was glad that he knew. (It almost entirely excused the junk food, which Finland was busy digging into. China had to appreciate the hustle.)

Russia hummed a note and leaned over the chair back a bit more, resting his forehead on the top of China’s head and bringing the other man out of his thoughts. “Would you like me to get you a drink?” He asked, “You seem pretty comfortable there.”

China smiled up at him, pushing his head back in order to not clonk their noses together, “That would be really nice, can you see if he has any good tea?”

“I’ll try,” laughed Russia, pulling away from the chair and nearly crashing into Hungry as she and her girlfriend strode by, “But I dunno if he’s gonna have any real tea,”

“He might!” China called, no longer visible behind the chair back as Russia glanced back at him, “He’s perfect in every other way, this can’t be his only fault!”

Russia shook his head, smiling as the atmosphere of the party drifted in through his ears. Oh how happy he was to be here, finally surrounded by the warmth of other people and the chatter of their voices, and finally being able to fetch one of his boyfriends a drink. (It was a weird thing to want to do, but for him, it felt like it proved that he was really in love, and it felt like it proved that he was really ready to spend life with the two men he called his.)

Suddenly, he spotted a shock of bright blond in the crowd. He knew that a disproportionate amount of male nations had blond hair, but this wasn’t any dumb blond, it was his dumb blond.

“America!” He called, swerving around a gaggle of nordics and a small crowd of female nations, “America do you have any tea?”

“Sure I do dude!” Came the excited response, “Are you the one asking?”

“No I’m not,” Russia answered, shaking his head and shuffling a bit closer to the other nation, “China wants some tea,” he leaned in closer and glanced behind himself, “The good kind,” he whispered, “Do you have any good tea?”

America blinked, and for a moment Russia was scared that his dreams of bringing China a drink wouldn’t be fulfilled, but just as suddenly as he always spoke, Alfred laughed. “Of course I do! I got it just for him, come this way!”

Russia smiled and felt another wave of gratitude for his man, “Thank you Alfred, I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” he said truthfully, scrambling after America as he led him past the kitchen and into the basement. ‘And I appreciate it too.’

“I’m sure he will,” America agreed, rifling through a few boxes as he seared for the good tea, “But maybe you could make it for him,” he murmured embrasedly, picking out the right box and handing it to Russia, “I, er, I don’t know how to,”

To America’s surprise, Russia’s smile only grew. “Of course!” He nodded, “That’s alright, you all are known for your love of coffee, not tea.”

But before America could properly ask him what the hell he meant by ‘you all’, he was already thanking him and halfway up the stairs. “You’re welcome!” Alfred called after him, heart soaring as he climbed after Russia. He watched as he busily made his way over to the correct cabinets for the teapot and measuring spoons (and ignored how mildly questionable the fact that he knew he way around was. America had reorganized the entire kitchen since either boyfriend had been here last).

It felt good to be appreciated, but it felt even better to help someone achieve something.

- - - - -

China didn’t know when he had gotten pulled into dancing, but he knew that he was having fun. He spun across the carpeted floor, ignoring the way that it burned his toes as he swept dramatically into Americaś arms. (Off to the side, he could hear Russia cheering and clapping as the two danced. It was like they were the only couple to ‘grace’ the hastily cleared living room dance area.)

America grinned and leaned in to kiss him. China however, was not having any of that, and ducked to the side lightheartedly, totally ready to surprise hug as it became his ‘turn’ to give a move. Alfred hugged back, and China couldn’t help but look out to the small crowd in search of his other boyfriend. So it was no surprise that when the song shifted key (whatever track was playing then) China gestured for Russia to come join them.

“It’ll be fun!” He called, unlatching himself from America and making cute little ‘come here’ gestures with his hand. “Come on! Let’s all dance!”

At first Russia shook his head, but slowly he hesitated. They did look like they were having a lot of fun (plus, of course they looked great while doing it). Who was he to pass up an opportunity? So, as the song blurred over the CD player, Russia let himself be pushed into the carpeted area to join his boyfriends.

“This is a good party.” He commented, casually doing a pirouette (even as it 1, didn’t fit the song, and 2, hurt his toes a lot), “Nice music choice too,”

“I wonder who put it on,” America joked, pausing for a moment to let himself rest, “I bet the party thrower would really appreciate a thank you right about now,”

China laughed, spinning his own little circle before jumping up to put his arms around both his boyfriends, “Will this one suffice?” He leaned in closer.

Before America could say or process anything, China had already kissed him. “Now,” he chirped, smiling brightly, “Let’s all hold hands and act like nothing happened,”

“Oh yes,” America agreed, nodding as the song finally began to draw to a close, “That will definitely make that less oddly timed,”

Russia giggled and China rolled his eyes, “Come on, just do it,” he whispered.

“Of course!”

#RusAmeChu Week 2022 #prompt: party/dance #my writing #Hetalia #RusAmeChu #hws #hws russia #hws america #hws china #hws japan #writing #my art #hws fanfic #actual post

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