#this is one of my favorite veggie based soups!

[xythlia]

Pls may we have the soup recipe 🛐

lol yes!

ingredients

6 red bell peppers

6 tomatoes

1 white onion

5 cloves garlic

Olive oil

msg, pepper, basil, red pepper flakes, rosemary (about 1 teaspoon each, the rosemary u should be VERY light handed with use less than a teaspoon, it's a pungent herb and can easily ruin dishes if u use too much)

8 cups stock

1 and a half bags cheese tortellini

Heavy cream for drizzle

Instructions

Rough chop your veggies and spread them all out on a baking pan, drizzle with oil, sprinkle your seasonings and mix with your hands until everything is nice and coated but make sure to spread it all out in an even layer when you're finished mixing

Roast at 400 degrees until they're slightly brown, you don't need them crispy or too browned/burnt (about 10 ish minutes make sure you're checking them tho for a golden color, it's one of those when you see it you'll know things)

Take the pan out and transfer everything into a blender, blend until smooth. This is the base of your soup (it's also good to remember you can do this with a lot of meals esp if you're a picky eater/have picky eaters in ur family but want to make sure veggies are being eaten. blending them up smooth can help with trying new things a lot, it makes it much less intimidating). Scoop that shit out into a large soup pot and add in your stock, I used chicken stock for a little more flavor but veggie stock works just fine for this too. Add in a lil extra seasoning, you wanna remember to taste while you cook it's one of the most important things in cooking so if the base is a little lacking in flavor sprinkle in some extra now

Let it simmer on medium heat about 15 minutes, make sure you're watching it and stirring consistently every few minutes you don't want it burning to the bottom. After 15 minutes add your tortellini, if you're using frozen ones make sure they've been thawing on the counter for a bit otherwise adding frozen ones straight in will mean a much longer wait time to make sure they're thawing and cooking through completely (plus the excess water from the freezing can throw off the soup base). Let it continue to simmer for another 10-15 minutes

Once everything is nicely cooked through you can kill the heat and serve, the heavy cream is for an optional drizzle in the soup it's not a necessary ingredient just if you're feeling fancy with your presentation. This goes best with a crusty bread, im someone who craves texture in meals and soups can be tricky since there's very little texture variety so bread is always a good thing to have with these dishes if ur also a texture freak like me

but tada now you have a nice tortellini soup!

#𓏲 ࣪₊ 💭 \ inbox #recipes #this is one of my favorite veggie based soups!

[the-midnight-duck]

food related batfam hcs

Jason doesn't drink coffee he gets his 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep everyday, he makes sure of it

Tim only knows how to cook an egg

Cass makes the best sandwiches, they are always perfectly proportioned

Barbara memorizes how everyone likes their coffee

Damian loves mint chocolate ice cream and will not hesitate to go into a 1hr debate of how mint chocolate ice cream is the superior ice cream

Dick is the one who has been using the Wayne Enterprises credit card to buy an unreal amount of cookies

Duke loves to help Alfred and Damian decorate cakes he makes really elaborate and complex designs

Dick, Jason, Damian, Steph and Tim cannot handle sour food. Alfred, Duke and Barbara are ok with sourness, while Bruce and Cass just love it

Steph's love for Italian food is unrivaled

Damian requires a bowl of soup during every dinner

Bruce can make Shepard's pie and it is delicious

Jason doesn't like carrots

Dick owns an orchard and always goes there whenever he needs to relax whenever he comes back from the orchard, he brings back a basket full of apples

Alfred uses the apples to make an apple based dish

they actually now have at least one meal that's apple based. not because Dick is too stressed, but because they like the apple based meals so much

Damian makes healthy meals for all the pets

Tim doesn't like eating his veggies

Steph once had a nightmare about an onion and is now afraid to eat them

Cass really loves churros

Jason likes the weirdest fusion foods and food combos spaghetti ice cream? his favorite!

Bruce does not like those type of really small French dishes

Duke on the other hand, loves them. the first time Bruce brought him to a fancy French restaurant, he fell in love with them

"WOAHHH THESE ARE sO PRETTYY!! THEY LOOK SOOOO GOOD"

after that, Bruce mainly goes to fancy French restaurants for Duke

thank you guys for all the likes and reblogs for my batfam hcs :))) I really appreciate it!! :) hope yall enjoyed this

#batfam #batfamily #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #damian wayne #cassandra cain #damian al ghul #duke thomas #barbara gordon #edit: grammar #batfam hcs

[willthecuratorfood]

Tomatoes ahoy, everyone! 🍅

I have a few delicious and nutritious vegetarian recipes for y'all today featuring one of my favorite veggies: tomatoes! The first one up top there is a cauliflower gratin that gains its tomato pedigree from plenty of grape tomatoes, red onion, and shallots. Once you've roasted the cauliflower for that one, the rest comes easy! Just combine most of the rest of the ingredients and cook them down in a saucepan (one of those I found most shocking? Cinnamon! It was a great addition, however!), then combine with the cauliflower for your base. The topping is derived from an egg and goat cheese mixture that is absolutely divine, but if you're going vegan on me, I might recommend some blended corn or the like! Bake that for thirty minutes at 450, and presto!

As for the tomato soup (I've been told I make too many soups...), this is a tomato and bulgur recipe that's as easy as it is hearty! Combine chopped, canned tomatoes with onions, fresh tomatoes, plenty of basil, bulgur, and vegetable broth (instead of water, but if you're watching your sodium, switch it out for H2O!) over the stovetop for a great winter warm-up recipe. I would recommend putting more basil in while the recipe is simmering, as it imparts a string herb undercurrent I just love!

You can find all of these recipes (and so many more!! Not paid, I swear!) at New York Times Cooking as part of an all-access subscription! And support independent journalism?? Win-win!

Cauliflower gratin:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015968-roasted-cauliflower-gratin-with-tomatoes-and-goat-cheese?smid=ck-recipe-android-share

Tomato Bulgur:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014581-winter-tomato-soup-with-bulgur?smid=ck-recipe-android-share

Catch you on the flip side!

#nyt cooking #cooking #vegetarian #recipes #meal inspiration #meal inspo #tomatoes #cauliflower #soup #gratin #warm #winter

[goth-oatmilk-latte]

so one thing i didnt think about with my veggie soup and fruit combo is.....

i have basically become a junkorexic. if yall have been here long enough, you know my two favorite food groups are hot cheetos and sour gummy worms, okay. and if you didnt now you do.

anyway...THE FIBER.

i made the soup myself, it's lentils, carrots, onion, two small potatoes, hella kale, mushrooms, celery, peas, and veggie broth (seasonings too - fresh herbs from my garden: rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil, and then garlic cloves, probably 6 or 8, idk im sicilian i measure with my heart). threw that bitch in my instant pot and then portioned out a week's worth of soup. it's about 250 cal/serve and it's delicious. it could obviously be less per serve if i didnt add the lentils or potatoes but i needed to clean my pantry out a bit...also next time i think im gonna do a miso base instead.

BUT THE FIBER MAN HOLY FUCK. paired with the about half cup mix of strawberries and blueberries and the water i drink

(my cals rn are around 325ish)

MAN DAMN. MY TUMMY IS NOT GOOD RN.

[bebbie-bilinski]

Hi! Do you have any adhd/asd stiles headcanons? They're always so fun to read!

ohmygosh hello!! boy do i have plenty of headcanons pertaining to autism ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

(apologies in advance this is going to be incredibly self indulgent as a lot of these are based on ways autism shows up for me. i'll put a little "*" next to those!)

Autisic Stiles Stilinski Headcanons

it was incredibly obvious that he was on the spectrum when he was growing up - he didnt always respond to his name when called, no eye contact with anyone aside from his mom and dad, had the same outfit in multiples because thats the only thing he felt comfortable wearing, stuff like that! since then he's expanded who he allows himself to make eye contact with like anyone from the pack but its pretty sporadic eye contact and not consistent

was in special education for a portion of elementary school until it was deemed he didnt quite need that anymore *

selective mutism - as a kid he rarely spoke more than a couple sentences throughout the span of a week and because of this he was taught ASL and still uses it when he experiences speech loss (the pack has taken it upon themselves to learn at least the basics to understand stiles when he switches over to that) also sidenote to any autistic people who may be reading this i highly recommend learning whatever version you have of sign language in your country its been such a positive change in my life its so worth learning!

hes a sensory seeker and sensory avoider but his most favorite textures are: rocks, sherpa, faux fur (only the soft and very short kind, water, bamboo fabric, sorta-wet dirt, door frames, beards (if any of the guys in the pack grow out their facial hair get ready for lots of pats from stiles), and the feeling of running his hands over his freshly-buzzed hair *

stims - his stims consist of popping his lips, shaking his head side to side, sucking in air, rolling his tongue, hand flapping, knee bouncing, swaying, spinning, humming, grunting, pacing, touching the textures he likes, having a particular song on repeat, pursing his lips, and laughing! the ones pertaining to age regression are: rattles, having a pacifier in his mouth, and the sound blocks make like getting tumbled over *

safe foods - he is an incredibly picky eater but has safe foods he either has had everyday for years now or some for special occasions: oatmeal, toast, curly fries, lemonade, grilled cheese, mac n cheese (are we seeing a theme here haha), ramen, any sort of veggie-meats, soup, any sort of snack that crunches like cheese itz goldfish veggie straws etc.

his bed - he likes his bed in a very particular way i'll even throw in a pic of the bed frame he has!

he lines all the edges with stuffed animals and/or pillows and does not like having his bed made neat, he likes to keep it looking like a nest and hes very serious about that Noah knows better than to make his bed if he's ever tidying up around the house! he only sleeps with a jersey comforter and a 25lb weighted blanket and does not like laying his head on his pillow but rather hugging it so most nights he sleeps flat against the mattress *

outings - any sort of long outings is going to require a bag of sorts and stiles will often forget to bring such bag, his dad always brings it and makes sure to tell anyone he might be with (like Derek, Lydia, Scott etx) to bring The Bag ™ it consists of: noise canceling headphones, a couple of fidget toys, at least one small stuffed animal, his backup anxiety medication, sunglasses, and a change of the most sensory friendly clothes *

#teen wolf agere #pack pup #autistic stiles stilinski #age regressor stiles stilinksi

[jbarneswilson]

what are your three favorite things to cook? (don't stress.. if 3 favorites is too hard just give me three things you like to make :)

hi grace! what a fun question!

chicken thighs - it is very important that they be bone-in and skin-on so you get the delicious crispy skin! my kid loves my cilantro-lime ones. i whack the oven up to 400F/425F, put them on a baking sheet, lots of lime juice, garlic salt, black pepper, and cilantro (dry or fresh, does not matter). you can marinate them overnight if you wanna. sometimes i stab the chicken a lil so the like juice really gets in there. my kid’s a big fan of roasted broccoli/cauliflower/carrots seasoned with mccormick montreal steak seasoning to go with it or roasted green beans or roasted (or steamed!) brussels sprouts

broccoli cauliflower soup! the cauliflower makes it so deliciously creamy 😋 sometimes i’ll add some rice and/or crispy kielbasa (skinless tastes better!) to it. nobody is gonna stop you from using pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower btw. also, a good chicken or beef broth instead of water really amps up the flavor. or you can use your own homemade broth if, unlike me, you actually take those veggies out of the freezer and turn ‘em into stock. (one time i was out of cauliflower and used a package of frozen cauliflower rice and my kid thought it was the tastiest thing ever so, ya know, do what ya want 🤷����‍♀️)

lamb breast! i fuckin’ LOVE cooking this! i make my own marinade (dijon mustard is the base and that is ALL i will say!), i marinate it for AT LEAST 24 hours, then i put it in the oven. i start at 300F for about 30 minutes (i don’t time anything unless i’m baking) then turn it down to 250. low and slow is best. i usually baste it a few times an hour. for this deliciousness i usually make mashed potatoes with unsweetened coconut milk, garlic salt, black pepper, dried parsley, and vegan cheddar cheese. i also do roasted broccolini drizzled with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper and i finish it with lemon juice when it comes out of the oven

#grace asks #home cooking #cooking is jazz #and i am great at jazz

[kineats]

can I please have some easy, plant-based recipes for a witch kin? If you'd like me to be more descriptive, I can be, but I'm kind of curious to see what you can come up with! (and could you exclude crunchy things as well)? Thank you!

Here's a bunch of vegan and vegetarian witchcraft recipes!

This Blog has a lovely assortment for all the holidays

Different Blog, more holiday recipes

Quick and Easy recipes!

A Magical Kitchen guide

More recipes!

Sweet Butternut Squash Soup

I often use things like ramen, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower to make herbal blend spells with!

Mac n Cheese is also a lovely base for herb magic, and this one has hidden veggies!

As are Marinated Lentils!

Pumpkin Gnocchi is always tasty

No list is complete without Some Sweets~

Gotta Have Some Drinks (and one Alcoholic One if you're of legal age for it!)

Witchcraft and Kitchen Witchery also always remind me of rustic foods

I also always think of mushrooms, both wild and grown

I also also always think of various soups and stews when thinking about kitchen witchery!

My Taino Wife (with lots of Caribbean witchy friends) says her favorite dish (from said friends) is Jerk Tofu with Rice

I hope this helps, and if you want something more specific, feel free to request more!!!

#otherkin food #otherkin #recipes #witchkin #witch kin #witchy recipes #kitchen witch #vegetarian #vegan #veganfood #veggie recipes #kitchen witchery #kitchen witchcraft #rustic food #kin stuff #kin recipes #kineats #kin food #kin

[morethansalad]

Chive Blossom Vinegar (Vegan) + 5 Ways to Use It

Make a salad dressing out of it! Swap it into your favorite vinegar based dressing recipe or make my spring salad which already has it in the recipe!

Mix a shrub cocktail. Making cocktails with vinegar and fruit yields such an interesting cocktail and fun weekend project. I’m already dreaming about making a strawberry + pink peppercorn + chive blossom vinegar one!

Quick Pickle with it. Have a favorite quick pickle recipe? Try it with this vinegar!

Make a reduction sauce to drizzle over roasted veggies. The perfect way to fancy up simple farmer’s market veggies.

Finish your soup with a splash. The acidity of vinegar can bring out the flavors of your soup so drizzle a bit in at the very end before serving.

#vegan #condiments #diy #vinegar #chive blossoms #edible flowers #customizable

[ian-galagher]

This tag game was brought to you by the lovely lemony @depressedstressedlemonzest 🥰🧡

What are some movie /tv quotes that you quote often?

The Office, all the time... When I'm frustrated I'm Jan going JUST JUST JUST JUST!!!!! She then violently kisses Michael which I can happily say I don't do :)

What is your favorite flower?

I like the butterfly bush! For attracting butterflies 🥰

If you were in Avatar the Last Airbender what element would you want to bend? Earth, fire, water or air?

Fire!

What was your first job?

Newspaper round. I hated getting up at 4 but I saw sooo many animals around town! A buzzard once swooped down in front of my nose, chasing a jackdaw. Lots of hedgehogs out and about too. Plenty of snoring to be heard from open windows as well...

What is your favorite breakfast?

Plain yogurt with fresh fruit and honey!

What's a meal from childhood that you love?

A big bowl of steaming porridge with sugar on top and soup made from homemade broth! The best!

What's your favorite joke to tell?

Uuh ooh... I don't really have a joke ready at hand. I usually play off other people... I'm sure I'll think of LOADS later....

What's your favorite animal to see at the zoo?

SO MANY! I absolutely love polar bears, the sarus crane is stunning, and sloths! There's a couple at my local zoo who are being fed quite well and they RACE through the trees at an alarming speed really... apparently they're the best breeding sloths of any zoo 😅😂 not that lazy after all... 😏

What's your go to quick meal to cook/make at home?

Noodles with lots of veggies and nuts or a bowl of spaghetti!

What's your go to meal to cook someone to impress them?

Oeh! Coq au vin or chicken roast, which funnily enough is super easy to make but people LOVE it. It's all in the spices...

What's something you want to do better?

Talk to people, be social, which I struggle with a lot

If you're working do you like your job?

Anything keeping me away from writing is evil! But no, I love most of it 😁

Do you collect anything? What?

Souvenirs, trinkets, and I like to take home streamers after a concert 😁 I've got a great scrapbook with setlists, ticket stubs, that sort of thing

If you were trapped in a kids tv show, what show would you be okay with being trapped in?

The Powerpuff Girls! Just as a bystander though, not a superhero 😬 too scary!

An adults tv show?

Our Flag Means Death? Not sure I'd survive for long but it looks like so much fun! Being on a boat with a bunch of fellow gay people! I guess it's the most like being on Tumblr 😁

What kind of job did you want as a child?

A writer. In school I wrote endless stories about the most beautiful goose I'd seen in a field nearby. I named her Daisy. She was far prettier than the other boring white geese, with her brown stripes and busy pattern. It wasn't until years later that I read that the females are white and the males brown... I was ahead of my time writing about a trans goose.

Do you follow any sports? What team do you root for?

Nope! None! 😁

If you could be any animal what would you be and why?

Something with wings so I could fly with my head in the clouds 🥰

If you could be any mythological creature what would you be and why?

I've always like the Phoenix! Wings again, and their colors are so nice, orange-red 🥰 okay I looked up why they're always that color and they're based on the gold pheasant! Even better!

(look at the DOF in that photo... what do we think guys, F2.8?) 😉😂

What's the most obscure thing you've had to google for a fanfic you were writing/reading?

I'm still not over this: glow in the dark condoms?! This one reviewer said he had to sit with his dick in the light for so long that his erection had gone by the time it actually glowed in the dark... amazing. I guess some people wanna get dicked down by a light saber?

What milkovich do you identify with most?

Mickey. I'd love to be him and flip everyone off and not give a fuck but I could never! 😬😂

Which one are you actually like the most?

Tough one! Iggy?? I'm nothing like Mandy, Sandy, or (thank god) Terry...

What Gallagher do you identify with most?

Franny! I've never worn a dress or anything other than a pair of hiking boots (they're SO COMFORTABLE!!!! Why would anyone want to walk on anything else?!) and Ian and Mickey would be my favorite uncles too 🥰

Which one are you actually like the most?

Liam. Kinda serious and looking at everyone like they've lost their minds 😂

Tagging a whole bunch of wonderful people!!

@sickness-health-all-that-shit @sweetbee78 @tomorrowillmissyou @sleepyfacetoughguy @axhicleos @shameless-notashamed @mikhailoisbaby @darthvaders-wife @shinygalaxyperson @lalazeewrites @liamgallaghers @mishervellous @xninetiestrendx @y0itsbri @look-i-love-u @energievie @creepkinginc @vintagelacerosette @stocious @francesrose3 @gallagher-milkovich @gallavich-headcanon @darthvaders-wife @shinygalaxyperson @lalazeewrites @y0itsbri @liamgallaghers @mishervellous @gardenerian @thisdivorce

#this was so fun!! thanks for the questions lem!! #i love daisy the trans goose i hope shes doing well #tagged #tag game #shameless #long post

[tortoisebore]

what is your favorite kind of soup. the gods above called me to ask you this question yes it is relevant etc etc

THIS IS MY FAVORITE QUESTION EVER

u are going to regret asking me this ro because not ONLY do i love to cook and i make 95% of my meals from scratch at home but ALSO soup is my favorite thing to make ((i love it so much that the only things i asked for for christmas this year were one (1) dutch oven for my soups and one (1) immersion blender for my soups))

OKAY so i experiment a lot with soups and i make a bunch of different ones based off of recipes i like but my top three are as follows:

1 - chili. u can’t go wrong with chili. it’s better in the crock pot & i just let that sucker stew on low for like nine hours and then it’s chili o’clock for a week straight. i do like four different kinds of beans: pinto, black, kidney, and chili. sometimes garbanzo or great northern or even some lentils if i’m feeling it. i do ground turkey sometimes but tbh it’s just as good vegetarian. lots of diced tomatoes lots of spices. cayenne and chili powder and cumin and garlic (fresh and powder) and onion (fresh and powder) and fresh japalenos, sharp cheddar, cilantro, and green onions to top

2 - i’m an absolute WHORE for zucchini and i’ve made my own version of this zucchini & tomato soup that’s so insane i make it like once every six weeks. it’s diced zucchini and onions and diced fresh romas, super soupy so lots of veggie broth, throw in some ground spicy italian sausage and top it with fresh grated parm, parsley, and chili flakes. INSANE. crusty bread on the side if you’re feeling fancy bc it’s not the most filling on its own

3 - guess what, MORE ZUCCHINI. every late summer when corn is in season i go to the farmer’s market and get me like ten ears of fresh corn. i shuck those bitches and cut all the corn off and make this creamy zucchini and corn chowder. lots of broth lots of onions and fresh veggies and top that shit with some smoked paprika, ground cayenne and parsley. it makes like twelve servings so i freeze half of it and get back into it a few weeks later it’s SO GOOD but i takes like three hours to make so i only do it once a year fjffhfnfh

#u ask tortoise answers #tortoise’s ro tag #love me some fuckin SOUP #soup girlies get those hands in the air #i love cooking sm #this week i did this vietnamese chicken and rice noodle salad #lime and soy sauce dressing #some real good cabbage and onions and jalapeños #topped it with some chopped peanuts and cilantro #insanely tasty #good summer recipe

[naturalchaotic]

magick ramen

I’m going to share one of my favorite kitchen witch practices . It’s ramen. special ramen.

Like any spell or magickal working, start with your intention. Is this going to be a bowl of abundance ramen? Does it need to be healing, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral? Mood-boosting? Grounding? And what if you want weed infused ramen??

Gather basic ingredients. noodles. A base broth/powder/sauce if you have it, you can use regular ramen sauce packets and add your other ingredients too, the herbs and spices, veggies and mushrooms.

Intentional herbal ingredients

Healing/immune boost:: ginger, turmeric, black pepper, garlic, cayenne/hot peppers/tabasco sauce, astragalus, thyme, any medicinal mushrooms (i love maitake), cumin

Abundance: basil, rosemary, ginger, lemon thyme, lemongrass, oregano, dill, avocado (avocado ramen when it’s perfected is tooo good)

Grounding: any root vegetable such as carrots, Nutritive herbs like Dandelion leaf or root/burdock root, spinach, oregano, basil, parsley, red clover, nettles, raspberry leaf, oatstraw, sesame oil

Mood management: reishi, ashwagandha, lemongrass, lemon balm, basil/holy basil, ginseng

Weed ramen: All you need is a thc infused oil or butter or a dab of concentrate, depending on the potency a little usually goes a long way.

You can also make a non thc herbal butter and oil infusions for the fatty element of the soup. If you’re an egg ramen person don’t forget the egg!

For the salt element you can make an herbal infused salt by simply mixing some salt with an herb or herbs of choice.

Obviously you can apply these intentional ingredients to any meal, ramen is just so easy and versatile and fun to make. If you make your own magic ramen (yes i use magick and magic interchangeably) let me know how the process goes!

[bluedalahorse]

Here are some random asks for you! ❄️

What are some of your favourite foods to cook?

How about to eat but not to cook?

What are some of your favourite board game(s)?

Do you have a cherished winter and/or holiday memory that you'd like to share?

Random fact that most people don't know? Can be about you or just something you happen to know!

Happy holidays! 🎄

Favorite foods to cook: macaroni and cheese is my absolute favorite because I don’t have to check recipes to do it anymore, and I can sort of do it on autopilot. I also like lentil soup and vegan split pea soup. Tofu and rice is another good quick meal, although lately I’ve been switching to tofu and quinoa. Bok choy is delicious and fun to cook as is broccolini. Finally, I like roasting vegetables and then putting them on top of hummus or baked potatoes.

Favorite foods to eat but not to cook: eggplant dishes! I love eggplant, especially in Mediterranean recipes, but it’s kinda finicky about being cooked and I haven’t really figured out how to do it well in my kitchen. Veggie tacos (or burritos, or enchiladas) are also fun to get somewhere other than home, because there’s a lot of little pieces that make them good.

Favorite board games: I like Mysterium, where you are a psychic detective trying to solve a mystery based on the dreams a ghost sends you. As a child I liked a game called Enchanted Forest. And while it isn’t a board game, I found the card game Marrying Mister Darcy quite fun. I played as Lydia which meant I got to cause chaos.

Cherished winter and/or holiday memories: Christmas tends to be a weird time in my life when a lot of not-so-great things happen, so I don’t know how many memories I have as far as Christmas. The roommate and I do watch Muppet Christmas Carol and the Community December 10th episode, and we read aloud the Hater’s Guide to the Williams Sonoma Holiday Catalogue every year. Winter overall though, I always liked being able to come inside after playing in the snow, take a hot bath and put on pajamas, and read books or play paper dolls for hours and hours. I liked those things normally but there was something special about doing that after playing out in the cold all day.

Random fact that most people don’t know: Hm let’s see… in one part of my family line I am descended from a guy who fell off the Mayflower. I think he was a teenager at the time? They rescued him and he grew up to have like 15 children, which means actually a significant portion of the American population is related to him. That’s the only part of my family with “blue blood” ancestry though.

So those are my responses! Thank you for the ask so I could talk through these things.

@fan-of-young-royals, I’m still working on your book recommendations ask. I just wrote down too many titles and am thinking about how to organize them…

#asks

[emberapatow]

Jemma and Ember try to recreate one of Jemma's favorite dishes and chat ft. @ijemmaokafor

Jemma:

-finding Ember in the kitchen, Jemma stops by- Hey hon, I’ve got that recipe if you wanna run through what we’ve got on hand for it.

Ember:

Yes, I would love to! Come on, by now I've memorized basically everything we've got in our storage, so it should be easy to figure out if it is possible.

Jemma:

Nice thing is, it’s pretty versatile. My gramma always made it with goat meat, but chicken works, too. Or just veggies, if that’s what’s on hand. The key is the peppers, so…what kinda do we have on hand?

Ember:

We don't have the biggest variety, but there are some choices. There are bell peppers, mostly red, but there are some green too. Jalapeno though they are not as hot as I'd prefer, but I think it's best for a lot of people. And black and white peppers for seasoning, mostly whole. Is it more of a sweet or savory soup?

Jemma:

-as Ember pointed out each type of pepper in the pantry, she collected them up- Well I think we can make do. Probably best we don't use scotch bonnets anyway...soup made in bulk like this, I don't think most folks can handle the real real spice. spotting bullion cubes, she grabs a couple It's a savory soup, mostly. The real authentic stuff uses these seed pods that are kinda like black peppercorns, but they have a fruitier kind of aroma. Doesn't quite make it sweet...ours will have to be savory.

Ember:

Yeah, they probably cannot handle the heat. At this point I know how to cook without heat intentionally, but when I started learning to cook, that was kind of a struggle, everything just turned out hot. -she nodded and started picking up spices and veggies for the base and placing them on the kitchen counter- Savory it is. I'm assuming onion, garlic, salt is needed? Wish we could do the authentic version, but but black peppercorns it is. You said your grandma used to make this, right?

Jemma:

Onions and salt yes, garlic...I don't know, keep it out just in case. I don't remember gramma using it, but we'll taste along the way and see if it helps since we're ad-libbing anyway. Her family was from Lagos, West Nigerians go heavy on the spice, and this was about as versatile as keeping a bottle of tabasco on the table. You can eat it by itself, add rice or yams. The trick is how you prep the peppers.

-remembering a last minute addition- NUTMEG. Do we have any nutmeg??

Ember:

-thinks for a moment- Hold on, there should be some... -reached at the back of one of the shelves and pulled out a smaller baggie, grinning at Jemma- HA, victory! Yes, we absolutely have nutmeg. Alright, which of the peppers are we using? Cause the prep on them heavily depend on it. Have you ever been to Lagos, by the way?

Jemma:

Twice! A cousin got married and they turned it into a big family reunion. And then I went again when I studied abroad. -considering the ingredients in front of her- Let's do the red peppers and the jalapeños. I know they're supposed to be roasted before they're stewed in the soup. And to save one pepper that gets sliced as a fresh garnish. But that's about the extent of what I know.

Ember:

You studied abroad? That sounds really cool. What kind of places have you seen during it? -nodded- That was my assumption. And then cook it up with stock from the bullion, the chicken - oh, we have chicken, we can use that, I forgot to say. Do you wanna help or do you just wanna watch? I'm good with either version, I like figuring things out. -she already put her hair up into a ponytail and started to work on the prep work-

Jemma:

I needed an international law credit and I'd always wanted to see more of my grandparents' home, so I signed up for a six-week trip across West Africa. Lagos was just one of the stops, but I got to see family while I was there. As for helping out...I can chop onions?

Ember:

I know I said this before, but that's really cool. Did you have a favorite spot, or something that was outstanding you've seen that stuck with you? -she got the onions with a knife for Jemma- There you go, can you do small dices? Just make sure not to cut the tip of your finger off. I saw that once, and it's not fun.

Jemma:

The whole city was pretty dazzling. There was a conservation center with this canopy walk though…wish I had pictures to share, that place was amazing. What about you? What’s the coolest place you’ve ever been?

Ember:

Makes you think about the old days, when they printed out all the photos a couple of decades ago, right? For me it was Mexico for sure. The only time I've been outside of the country, but I'll never forget it. My abuelita grew up near San Cristobal. Walking through the streets there just felt magical.

Jemma:

 I've never been to Mexico...but some of my favorite actors and directors were from there. I always figured it must be beautiful to inspire so much art. -she stays quiet for a moment, considering the woman before her, and just how enthusiastically she's thrown herself into this community- Y'know, forgive me if this is presumptive--working in the kitchens like you do is so crucial, and you're already totally pulling your weight. But is there anything else around town you might want to do? I'm always trying to keep an eye out for folks who have a kind of...community spirit about them? That makes it sound kinda corny, but do you know what I mean?

Ember:

That's... -chuckles- That's very kind of you, I was just trying to integrate. And feel like a human being again, if I'm being honest. But actually, now that you mentioned it, I did want to talk to you about something related to this. How much do you know about people having substance issues in Redwood?

Jemma:

I know there are a few who struggled with it in the before times. I’ve not seen it be an ongoing issue here, but we’ve got access to vices, and addiction’s a lifelong thing, so I could see it cropping up. Why, are you concerned about someone?

Ember:

-shook her head- No, I am not close enough with anyone to see it as something of a problem, I was just thinking-- do you think some sort of group meeting, something where people could talk about stuff like this, know there's some kind of support system there for them could be something this place could be interested in? I'm sure there are people from even before the outbreak with problems and then this environment makes people reach for these kinds of solutions easily

Jemma:

Kinda like an AA? Maybe not so much of the religious stuff -a lot of people's faith had been flipped upside down anyway- I think that could be good. We'll reserve the main room for it. Start with one get-together to gauge interest, then maybe schedule stuff from there?

Ember:

Yeah, see if people would be interested in it. -a pause- I know I'd be interested in it.

Jemma:

-she didn't want to pry right now, but the pause told her something important about her new friend- It's a really good idea. You tell me when you're ready to do it and we'll make it happen. I don't have any official experience with AA or NA, but I've helped folks in that world before, so I'd like to help where I can.

Ember:

I have no experience with any of it myself either. It all kind of happened right after the outbreak so I've never did anything like this before, but we can figure it out. And thank you, for your help with this, it means a lot.

#ijemma #ijemma 002

[whentherewerebicycles]

made mung bean soup over brown rice and oh man I am FULL. it was very very good but I feel a little sick now—I didn’t eat THAT much but I think the beans have a shitload of fiber and that plus the brown rice might’ve been a little much. mm but I’d definitely eat it again especially on a cold rainy day—super warm & spicy & filling.

the best part is that I modified the original recipe and it turned out sooo much better. I’m at a point in my learning-to-cook journey where I can look at a recipe, imagine what it’s going to taste like, and figure out modifications either ahead of time or during the cooking process as I taste & adjust. the base recipe I used for this one was very easy but seemed super bland so I added a bunch more curry spices, doubled the garlic + ginger, chopped up celery and threw it in for a nice little crunch, squeezed in some tomato paste because a commenter suggested it, and added fresh lemon juice to taste at the end because I thought it needed a little extra zing (and I was right!!). I also feel like I’m getting much better at evaluating the doneness of various ingredients by sight/smell/taste rather than relying on timers and fixed heat settings, which is one of the things samin nosrat talks about in salt fat acid heat. I’m also getting a more intuitive sense for like… oh this ingredient’s denser so I need to add it before these other ones, or this veggie has more water so I want to add it at this point rather than this point, or spicing the onions now will draw out more flavor than waiting till that later step, or whatever, even if my sense of what to do lightly contradicts the recipe… and so far I think it’s producing better results than when I’d follow recipes religiously but produce pretty bland or uneven meals.

idk man! cooking is fun! I started this learn-to-cook project because I wanted to be able to 1) make easy healthy mostly-vegan meals and 2) teach my kids basic cooking skills from a young age, but I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be so much fun as like, an intellectual and creative challenge yknow? like obviously I am a person who loves to learn new subjects but I don’t really learn new skills all that often, and I’m surprised by how engaging it is (and how novel it feels!) to get slowly but steadily better at something where you can really see/evaluate your own progress. I guess writing is one of my favorite Hard Skills to work at but idk it’s just different! writing doesn’t give you the same type of immediate built-in feedback you can get from cooking… and also idk with writing it’ll often be weeks or months or years before you finish the thing you’re working on, whereas with cooking you’ve actually made something within an hour or two and you get to enjoy the product of your work right away or share it with others. anyway!! really enjoying this year of focused exploration & skill-building in cooking.

#I want to start thinking too about how to structure my learning a bit more #like honing in on specific discrete skills and then engaging in structured/deliberate practice to improve #and then there are also areas I’d like to expand my repertoire #like I am amassing tons of great dinner recipes #but I’d like to have a wide repertoire of simple delicious salads & healthy desserts #I’d love to be able to invite people over for dinner and serve courses! not crazy levels of complexity just like #salad or veggie appetizer & then the meal with a side or two & then a little dessert #cooking #unbelievably easy plant based meals

[huginsmemory]

favorite ramen recipe 🙏😮? wanna try smthg ober than chicken and pepper🥴

Oh I can absolutely share it! The thing is though, it's not really a single recipe I use- it really depends on what I've got in my fridge at the time, haha, which makes it really versatile as a recipe. I have a tendency to 'free-style' a bit as I cook so the recipe isn't going to be given to you in cups, my apologies, nor is it really gonna be done in a 'traditional' ramen manner, as I tend to bastardized recipes. Below I've broken it down into three different categories: there's the stock, there's the noodles and there's toppings.

Stock

Put on a pot to boil- half the size of the bowl you have is one portion, as you'll be adding noodles and toppings on top of the broth. So eye the water going in for how many portions (bowls of water) you want. Mix in any broth base- I have a preference of beef, as I feel that would be closer to what is generally used in ramen, but any will do (I generally use more than the suggested amount of broth to put in since I like things salty). Some vegetable broth however will be very heavy in flavour of celery- so I would steer clear of those, but if that's all you got then that's all you got! Into the pot it goes. I then slice ginger and garlic and throw it in as well- for six cups I maybe put in 3-4 medium garlic cloves and about 1.5x the amount for ginger. Pour in soya sauce- for about six cups I maybe put in 1/3 cup of soya sauce. Let simmer.

That's a general broth; however you can mix it up by adding miso and removing most of (or leaving in) the ginger and garlic to get a miso-ramen. Or, you can add a few star anise and a stick of cinnamon and if you have it a bit of all-spice and 1-3 cloves to get a similar flavour profile to pho.

Noodles:

Find noodles; obviously, if there's ramen or Asian style noodles then that is preferred. Vermicelli or other glass noodles are less ramen-like but also perfectly serviceable. If you're really desperate, spaghetti noodles can also work, but then that's blasphemous and why are you not having spaghetti then? have I done this before when I was young and unaware and working with limited ingredients? Yes.

Boil a separate pot from the stock, and this is where you'll boil your noodles in- if you're lazy, then you can also boil your noodles in the stock pot. However, boiling your noodles in the stock pot means your noodles if left in long with get soggy which is not as desirable. This is also why if there's leftovers (which there always is) put the noods and the broth in separate containers. But again, it REALLY depends on how much work you wanna do.

Toppings:

This is where it gets fun. You can put whatever you want on-top; obviously, there's preferred things to put on top, so I'll list a few of my favourite.

Eggs! This means a third pot on the stove, or if you strategically remove the noodles out of their pot, you can boil the egg in the noodle water. Peel, cut in half and plop on top of your noodles the two halves. Or, a less preferred method, fry an egg sunny side up instead to be added, or just crack an egg into the simmering broth.

Meat- honestly, cold cuts and bacon are the best for this (assuming your not out buying the presliced raw meat specific for having with hotpot or something). If it's cheap soft bacon, I suggest frying it in a pan breifly before putting it on top of your soup, as if you dont cook it, you tend to swallow the slippery bacon whole which is not particularly pleasant. Cold cuts such as sliced ham and baloney (yes, baloney) are really fucking good in ramen, and are cheap and easy to get. Lie/tuck the meat in once the noodles and the broth and veggies have been added to the bowl; the broth will heat up the sliced meat. Or, lazily just throw the meat into the pot. That works perfectly well as well, and if you have thick slices of something this may work better as well.

Tofu you can also add! What I like to do is pre-slice the tofu thin and let marinate in a soya sauce-brown sugar sauce. If you're feeling fancy you can add a bit of grated ginger and chopped garlic for extra flavour, then fry it up in a pan (with lots of oil, to minimize burning) to get the tofu nice and crisp, and can be laid on top of the ramen when assembling it. Or you can just cut it into chunks and throw it into the broth while it's simmering as well. All different modicums of how much work you wanna put into it!

Veggies- these you chop up and toss into pot while it's simmering. Any type of non-poisonous mushrooms, sliced, also work as well as things such as Bok Choy, carrot, onions, cabbage, eggplant, corn, lotus root, leeks, dried seaweed, so on and so forth. Search up toppings to ramen/hot pot and you'll get a long list of things you can add! I generally ogle my fridge and go, hey that would do well in it and toss it in. You can also gently heat thinly sliced eggplant until it's soft on a frying pan and let it sit in soya sauce-brown sugar mix (or even just soya sauce, or you can pour it on top while gently heating) and it adds an extra kick of flavour when you add it into your ramen.

Cheese! Grated cheese (I like cheddar for this) can be placed on top to add an extra savoury taste and pairs really well with spicy broth.

Green onions I like to chop up and add as a garnish in the end.

Assembling the ramen at the end looks like this (if you go the more extra route): add noodles to bowl, then pour over broth with veggies, and then place in any protien, fancy veggies/tofu or cheese, and then place on top chopped green onions. Add soya sauce and spicy sauces to taste! Hope this wasn't too confusing, and enjoy your ramen! ❤️

#recipe #asks! #ask #ramen #ramen recipe #part of me is worried someone is going to be horrified with my poor mans ramen #look. look. i learned to cook with whatever ingredients i had and it means you make do with what u got #i guess its more hotpot then ramen??? #anyways uh yeah #huginspeaks #its like. choose ur own adventure ramen. choose ur own ramen

[breesays]

But me, I'm still a sunbeam

THIS is a blog of a balanced person (me, right now), so let's capture this moment in my personal history.

These are the workouts I do. No talking, just simple instructions and percentage progress + music that serves the purpose. I've been trying to view workouts more as playtime and tell myself "I get to" rather than "I have to." The toys I have are bosu, bala, mini bands, kettle bells, sliders, stability ball. We're playing, that's all. Not measuring or weighing, just the tiny triumphs of "Oh, when I did this two weeks ago it was much harder."

I went to Nico Vega's comeback show at The Bellwether and got a ticket to their headlining show at The Lodge Room in December. I've used all my ticket perks for 2024 already, plus K.Flay in March. WWWY and The Postal Service next month.

We got a hummingbird feeder for our balcony, and we've started to name them. So far: Murphy (after the balm I must cover my body in to fend off the mosquitos), Quacksley, Mousey, Little Puff and Cherry. We're growing stuff out there, too - grape tomatoes, basil, nasturtiums, pretty succulents.

Read Maggie Smith's "You Could Make This Place Beautiful" and I definitely started out thinking I was going to give it 5 stars but had a lot of mixed feelings about it toward the end.

This is everything I've read so far this year - but a few on that list are DNFs (looking at YOU, Russell Brand). Speaking of that, I'm giving Clare Dederer's "Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma" another chance, but some of it is hard to stomach.

From Kate Baer's "What Kind of Woman"

I've used ALL my kitchen appliances this month: Air fryer (everything), blender (raspberry lemon smoothie), food processor (pesto, hummus), instant pot (tomato soup, tiktok pasta). This is mostly because I can fit them ALL on my counter at once. Oh, and I made a vanilla cake from scratch. Baking is not my favorite, but I like to challenge myself. And sometimes it's more about not being able to find what I want as ready-made.

Desmond's teacher told me his gross motor skills are advanced - he finishes projects early, is great at any sport he tries (even ones he invents) ... has he expressed interest in sports? Oh yes, I said, he loves all sports... he just doesn't want to play them with other kids. Maybe we'll give soccer another try. But I prefer to let him play openly - we draw, we build, we plant, we cook, we dance, we make up words (this is harder than it sounds). He asks for playdates with friends so I know he cares very much about them -- I just don't think he wants parameters placed around what he can do with said friends. He has a 2-year-old friend and he loves to just explore Griffith with him. It used to be ME, but he has since requested the presence of said friend. Said friend extracts more joy from sliding down piles of dirt than I do, anyway.

Desmond has really changed my relationship with food. He is such an adventurous eater. I have a history of disordered eating that's been mostly resolved with meds and years of therapy - but I still had rules, you know? Things I wouldn't keep in the house, ingredients I didn't trust myself with. But Des is such a role model of intuitive eating. He'll try anything, even give it a few good chews before making a decision. Jicama was a recent rejection. I'm trying all kinds of recipes, not just low calorie or veggie-based. He makes me excited to make new meals, and he loves to help, too. We have a dining table and he drinks oat milk and I drink fizzy water and it's just an entirely new experience for me. Tasting and tweaking and using our senses. There's no good and bad. He's allowed to have candy, but he isn't crazy for it. We listen to our bodies. Are we full? Do we want more because it tastes good, or because we're still hungry? Listen.

What else? Getting my last peak hike in might be a challenge, since WEATHER has arrived in SoCal. I feel like the window for hiking in good conditions was a relatively short one this year. Baldy is the closest, but might have to trek down to South OC for Sitton.

My show (Setlist Insider) x 311 is published

My Oli bug turned 6 years old

I have 33k words written.

#breesays #parenting #writing #reading