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najia-cooks · 1 year

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[ID: A bowl full of rice and a reddish, saucy stew with carrots, potatoes, and shredded chicken. End ID]

Vegan pollo guisado (Puerto Rican chicken stew)

Pollo guisado, a popular dish in Central and South America and the Caribbean, combines marinated and braised chicken with potatoes, carrots, and green olives in a tomato-based broth. This Puerto Rican version uses a recaito of onion, garlic, aji dulce peppers, and culantro to add savor and depth to the dish, while sazón lends spice and color.

Recipe under the cut!

Patreon | Tip jar

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

About 150g sườn non chay, or 300g ready-made vegetarian chicken substitute

Water plus 2 tsp vegetarian chicken stock from concentrate (if using sườn non chay or other dried meat substitute)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (if not using sườn non chay)

1 Tbsp sazón

1 tsp garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

Sườn non chay ('vegetarian ribs') is a Vietnamese soy- and wheat-based meat replacement. It may be found in bags online or at your local Asian grocery–the bags will be labelled “sườn non chay” as well as “vegan meat slice,” “textured soy bean protein,” “vegetarian food,” or “vegan food.” I like it for its versatility and stringy texture, but you can use any vegetarian chicken substitute you have on hand, or even omit the chicken and increase the amount of carrot and potato.

For the recaito:

1/2 large white onion, chopped

1/2 head garlic, peeled and chopped

2.5 oz / 70g (5 medium) aji dulce peppers, chopped

1 oz / 28g (a few slices) mixed bell peppers, chopped

About 18 (1.5oz / 43g) culantro leaves, ends removed and chopped

1 small bunch cilantro, leaves removed

This basic mixture of peppers, aromatics, and herbs is a common base for many Latin American dishes, though its exact composition varies according to region and personal preference. Some would call such a mixture a "sofrito"—others will insist that it is a "recaito" until the tomato is added, at which point it becomes "sofrito."

Culantro is an herb related to cilantro but somewhat sharper in taste. It can be found at a Latin American grocery, or an Asian grocery that sells Vietnamese produce (where it will be called "sawtooth herb" or "ngo gai"). You may substitute more cilantro if necessary.

For the dish:

Extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp sazón, divided

1 tsp garlic power

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup recaito

4-5 tomatoes, diced (or 1 8oz-can tomato sauce)

1/4 cup Spanish olives

1/2 pound (2 medium) potatoes, peeled and diced into large chunks

2 medium carrots, cubed

2-3 cups vegetable stock, or vegetarian chicken broth from concentrate

2 sprigs fresh oregano, or 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions:

For the recaito:

1. Mash all ingredients in a mortar and pestle until a rough paste forms.

You may also use a food processor: process the onions for a few pulses, then add garlic and peppers and pulse again. Finally, process the culantro and cilantro leaves, in batches if necessary, until sofrito is the consistency of apple sauce.

For the chicken:

1. If using sườn non chay: whisk vegetarian chicken stock concentrate and spices (sazón, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and oregano) into enough hot water to cover the sườn non chay in a cassrole dish or other wide, flat vessel. Soak sườn non chay for 10 minutes, until tender, then tear into small strips. In a large pot, simmer sườn non chay in their soaking liquid until the liquid has completely evaporated.

2. If using another chicken substitute: mix all marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken substitute and mix to coat. Refrigerate and marinate for half an hour while you prepare the other ingredients, or overnight. For the recaito:

1. Mash all ingredients in a mortar and pestle until a rough paste forms.

1. Heat 1/2 cm olive oil in a large pot on medium. Fry chicken, turning as necessary, until golden brown on all sides. Set aside.

2. Mix sazón, garlic powder, and black pepper with just enough water to form a thick paste. In the same pot you used to fry the chicken, fry the bay leaf and most of the spice mixture until water has evaporated.

3. Add the recaito and sauté for three minutes, until fragrant. Add tomatoes and allow to cook until mostly dry.

4. Add olives, potatoes, and carrots and stir to combine. Allow to fry for another couple minutes.

5. Add vegetable or chicken stock and remaining spice mixture. Raise heat to bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender. Add chicken and heat through.

Serve hot, over rice.

#recipes #Puerto Rican #vegan recipes #vegetarian recipes #carrots #potatoes #olives #chicken #culantro #stew #cooking #gluten free #depending on the chicken sub you use

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milla984 · 9 months

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Today I found amazing portobello mushrooms at my local grocery store so I decided to cook some sauce: it's very easy to make and it's suitable for vegetarians, vegans and for those who simply want to try something different and meatless!

- ingredients, recipe and images of food below the cut -

Portobello mushrooms and walnuts sauce

- three big portobello mushrooms (approx. 300g) - half an onion (quantities may vary, depending on your taste) - walnuts, soaked in hot water for 30mins (for this recipe I used about five) - plain tomato sauce (approx 3 cups) - a pinch of sugar - salt and pepper - spices and herbs (I like cloves, nutmeg and thyme) - extra virgin olive oil - half a glass of water - white wine (optional)

You will need: - a food processor/blender - a large pot

Start by slicing the onion and roughly dicing the mushrooms. I prefer a thin cut for the onions but that's totally optional, since they will be put in a food processor together with the mushrooms.

Cover the base of a large pot with extra virgin olive oil and put it over medium heat, then add the onions when the oil starts heating up but it's not too hot; when the onions become translucent add the mushrooms, half a glass of water (or a splash of white wine if you feel fancy) salt & pepper and let them cook over medium heat until they shrink to approx half their size.

While the mushrooms are cooking, put the walnuts in a food processor and set them aside. I always make sure they're finely chopped 'cause that's how I like it but if you don't mind a bit of crunch you can make bigger pieces, it's all a matter of personal taste.

When the mushrooms and onions are ready put them in the food processor. The original idea behind this recipe was to make a vegetarian/vegan ragù sauce using mushrooms and walnuts to recreate the small pieces of minced meat but you should find out which size works best for you!

Once the mixture is ready put it back in the pot, add the walnuts and the tomato sauce, stir everything together and cook over low heat for about 25-30 mins. I like to add my herbs and spices halfway through but they can be added only at the end, with a pinch of sugar to contrast the acidity of the tomato sauce.

My own two cents: there really isn't a right or wrong quantity of tomato sauce you can use but if the final result turns out too runny it won't stick to your pasta the way it should.

Also, imho the best choice for this sauce would be a rough type of fresh pasta (such as pappardelle or tagliatelle) in order to create the perfect 'grip'.

This recipe is also perfect for lasagna!!

Buon appetito!!!

#tw food #tw food images #recipes #vegetarian recipes #vegan recipes #meatless recipes #vegetarian pasta sauce #vegan pasta sauce #meatless pasta sauce #mushrooms recipes #not really italian recipes - this one isn't traditional #milla cooks #not my recipe #all credits belong to cucina botanica #even tho i changed the preparation a bit #if you try this feel free to let me know what you think of it

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baconandpie1 · 1 year

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To Taste Or Not To Taste, This Becomes The Question

One of my ficlets from #AO3

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Supernatural (TV 2005)

Relationship:

Castiel & Dean Winchester

Characters:

Castiel (Supernatural)

Dean Winchester

The prompt: Dean has been determined. "There is something... something out there that doesn't just taste like molecules." He convinces Cas to try every food he can think of. He's finally found it. A food Cas can taste. A food Cas now loves.

But things are never easy for Dean and Castiel. Or are they?

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

Dean has been cooking for Cas every day trying to find something that he will finally taste and like.

He tried everything, from his famous, mouth-watering burgers, to all the pies he can imagine, steaks, and pasta, and Dean does make a mean lasagna.

And nothing.

Cas feels bad that Dean puts in all this effort, and he can still not taste anything but the molecules. He continues to try, it’s the least he can do when Dean just keeps on cooking for him.

Weeks later Dean makes lasagna again, just because he likes it, knowing full well that Cas already tried it.

Cas doesn't even think of that when he takes his first bite, so used to just taste everything that Dean puts in front of him.

He freezes, fork still in the air as a myriad of tastes explode in his mouth. Taste, texture, it's all there - the slight tanginess of the tomato sauce, the salt, the gooiness of cheese, the meat, it all bursts in his mouth in a cacophony of tastes and aromas that soon becomes a sublime symphony, the harmony between all the ingredients pure perfection.

He moans.

Dean's head snaps up, curious and then shocked at Cas's expression

"Cas? You ok, man?"

It is long moments until the angel can answer.

"Dean... this... I ... I can taste everything!"

He takes another bite and then another, pure, unadulterated pleasure on his face as he eats with his eyes closed.

Dean watches him, thoroughly confused.

They both know Cas has tried Dean's lasagna before.

Dean takes a bite of his own, trying to feel anything different, but his lasagna always tastes the same, he uses the same recipe, the same ingredients.

When Cas is done he shakes himself, literally and metaphorically, staring at Dean with wonder in his eyes.

"That was... I ..." The angel frowns slightly, "I do not even have words to describe what I felt. The Mayans had a word that comes close to it, but there is no translation for it in English. "

A moment later he smiles gummily at Dean.

"You would say - AWESOME!"

Dean is still trying to understand what's different about the lasagna he made today.

"Cas, it's the same lasagna I made a few weeks ago. You didn't taste anything then."

He gets up and gets the peanut butter jar with a teaspoon.

"Here, taste this."

A few moments later the angel grimaces.

"Molecules, Dean."

"Then what is it? I don't get it?! I didn't change anything…"

Dean 's frustration is showing through as he goes to the fridge and removes one of Sam's yoghurts.

"How about this one?"

"Dean..."

"Try it Cas, please."

Castiel does. If just to appease Dean. He is not surprised when all he can taste is molecules.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean growls, sucking on his finger that he cut earlier while chopping the onions for the lasagna sauce.

The angel's eyes zero in on his finger.

Castiel pales, his eyes switching between Dean's finger and his eyes.

"What?" Dean grumbles.

"Dean? Did any of your blood get into the food?"

Dean frowns, "I dunno, maybe, what does it matter?"

When the angel doesn't answer, he looks at his own finger and at Cas, opens his mouth to ask again, closes it as the realization hits.

"My blood."

Castiel nods, suddenly pulling away, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I am sorry, Dean."

The hunter looks at him, incredulous.

"This is awesome, Cas! You will be able to taste everything I make! "

Castiel rises, his face a blank.

"No, Dean. The experiment is over. I will never eat anything you make again. Thank you for trying."

Dean watches, shocked into silence, the angel leaving the kitchen, and he cringes when Castiel seems to shrink in on himself with each step he takes.

He doesn't get it why Cas doesn't want to taste anymore, not after he saw how much he enjoyed the lasagna. Who cares if he needs to bleed a little to make it possible? He's bled for much less important things, for strangers. A few drops of blood would be a small price to pay to see that expression on his angel's face again.

Castiel is a stubborn son of a bitch, everybody knows that, but what the angel doesn’t know yet is that he has found his match in Dean.

Dean smiles as he mutters to himself, "You will taste again, Cas. You will."

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

The link to the ficlet on AO3:

#ao3 #destiel #ao3 fic #supernatural destiel #supernatural #spn fanfic #spn #fluff #prompt fic #Castiel cannot taste

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meetyourdreamland · 1 year

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TEXT 3 - Procedure Text

Source: https://www.seriouseats.com/nasi-goreng-recipe

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) by Pat Tanumihardja

Nasi goreng, Indonesia's version of fried rice, gets a sweet-savory profile from kecap manis and a big hit of umami from shrimp paste.

Why this recipe works:

1. Using either freshly cooked or day-old rice results in fried rice that separates nicely into individual grains, without clumping up.

2. Indonesian shrimp paste adds a potent dose of umami.

3. The sweetness of kecap manis balances out the dish's many salty and savory elements.

Nasi goreng is essentially Indonesia's take on fried rice. In addition to kecap manis, the country's ubiquitous sweet soy sauce, terasi (Indonesian shrimp paste) is what sets nasi goreng apart from other fried-rice variations you'll see in other countries.

Terasi is an umami bomb that pervades both your kitchen and your senses. If you can't find it easily, feel free to substitute another Southeast Asian shrimp paste, or omit it—you’ll be making what my mom calls nasi goreng cina, or Chinese fried rice, which is the version she made for us when I was growing up.

Ingredients

For the Spice Paste:

2 small shallots (2 ounces; 55g), roughly chopped

3 medium cloves garlic

1 large fresh green chile, such as Fresno or Holland, stemmed and seeded, or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek, such as Huy Fong (see note)

1/2 teaspoon terasi (Indonesian shrimp paste), optional (see note)

For the Nasi Goreng:

4 cups cold cooked jasmine rice (21 ounces; 600g) or other medium- to long-grain rice (see note)

2 tablespoons (30ml) neutral oil, such as canola or sunflower oil

2 tablespoons (30ml) kecap manis (see note), plus more for drizzling

2 teaspoons (10ml) soy sauce

Kosher salt

Ground white pepper

To Serve:

2 large fried eggs, cooked sunny-side up or over easy

Sliced cucumbers (optional)

Sliced tomatoes (optional)

Fried shallots (optional)

Directions

1. For the Spice Paste: Add half the shallots to a mortar and grind with pestle until a coarse purée forms. Add remaining shallots, followed by garlic, chile, and terasi (if using), grinding with pestle until each ingredient is mostly incorporated before adding the next. The final paste should resemble thick oatmeal in texture. Alternatively, combine all spice paste ingredients in a small food processor and process until they form a paste.

2. For the Nasi Goreng: If using day-old rice, transfer rice to a bowl and break rice up with your hands into individual grains.

3. Heat oil in a large wok or skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add spice paste and cook, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of wok or pan to prevent paste from burning, until a pungent smell permeates your kitchen and paste turns a few shades darker, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium at any time if paste appears to be browning too quickly.

4. Add rice to wok and stir to coat with spice paste. Add kecap manis and soy sauce. Stir and cook until rice is evenly colored and hot throughout. Season with salt and white pepper.

5. Divide rice between two plates and top each plate of rice with a fried egg. Garnish with cucumber and tomato slices and shower with fried shallots, if you like. Serve immediately with kecap manis alongside for drizzling.

Special Equipment

Mortar and pestle, large wok or skillet

Notes

Terasi is an Indonesian shrimp paste that can be found in well-stocked Asian markets or online. We recommend purchasing handy single-serving packets. If you can't find terasi, you may substitute belacan (Malaysian or Singaporean shrimp paste) or Thai shrimp paste, or simply omit it altogether.

Sambal oelek is an Indonesian chile paste, traditionally made with nothing more than hot red chiles and salt. You can find it at Asian markets or in the "international" aisle of some supermarkets.

Kecap manis is Indonesian sweet soy sauce, typically made by combining soy sauce with palm sugar. We recommend Cap Bango kecap manis, but you may also find ABC and Conimex brands available online or in Asian markets. For more information, read our kecap manis explainer.

For best results, use rice that has been refrigerated for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. If using freshly cooked rice, spread rice on a tray and allow to cool for 5 minutes before using.

Indonesia translation:

Nasi Goreng (Nasi Goreng Indonesia) oleh Pat Tanumihardja

Nasi goreng, versi Indonesia dari nasi goreng, memiliki rasa manis dan gurih dari kecap manis dan rasa umami yang kuat dari terasi.

Mengapa resep ini berhasil:

1. Menggunakan nasi yang baru dimasak atau nasi yang sudah dingin akan membuat nasi goreng terpisah dengan sempurna dan tidak lengket.

2. Terasi Indonesia menambahkan dosis umami yang kuat.

3. Manisnya kecap manis seimbang dengan rasa asin dan gurih dari bahan lainnya.

Kata Nasi goreng pada dasarnya adalah versi Indonesia dari nasi goreng. Selain kecap manis, saus kedelai manis yang umum di negara ini, terasi (pasta udang Indonesia) adalah yang membuat nasi goreng berbeda dengan variasi nasi goreng yang Anda lihat di negara lain.

Terasi adalah bom umami yang menyebar di dapur dan indra Anda. Jika Anda tidak dapat menemukannya dengan mudah, bebas untuk menggantinya dengan pasta udang Asia Tenggara lainnya atau tidak digunakan sama sekali - Anda akan membuat apa yang ibu saya sebut nasi goreng cina, atau nasi goreng Tionghoa, yang merupakan versi yang dibuatnya untuk kami ketika saya masih kecil.

Bahan-bahan:

Untuk Bumbu Halus:

2 bawang merah kecil (55g), cincang kasar

3 siung bawang putih ukuran sedang

1 cabai hijau segar besar, seperti Fresno atau Holland, buang biji dan batang, atau 1 sendok teh sambal oelek, seperti Huy Fong (lihat catatan)

1/2 sendok teh terasi (pasta udang Indonesia), opsional (lihat catatan)

Untuk Nasi Goreng:

4 cangkir nasi putih dingin (600g) atau jenis nasi medium- hingga nasi lama (lihat catatan)

2 sendok makan (30ml) minyak netral, seperti minyak kanola atau bunga matahari

2 sendok makan (30ml) kecap manis (lihat catatan), tambahkan sedikit lagi untuk dioleskan di atas nasi

2 sendok teh (10ml) kecap asin

Garam kosher

Merica putih bubuk

Untuk Disajikan:

2 telur goreng, masak telur mata sapi atau telur dadar

Irisan mentimun (opsional)

Irisan tomat (opsional)

Bawang merah goreng (opsional)

Petunjuk:

1. Untuk Bumbu Halus: Tambahkan setengah bagian bawang merah ke cobek dan giling dengan ulekan hingga membentuk pasta kasar. Tambahkan bawang merah yang tersisa, diikuti dengan bawang putih, cabai hijau segar dan terasi (jika digunakan), giling dengan ulekan hingga setiap bahan tercampur rata sebelum menambahkan bahan berikutnya. Akhirnya, bumbu halus harus menyerupai oatmeal tebal dari segi tekstur. Sebagai alternatif, gabungkan semua bahan bumbu halus dalam food processor kecil dan proses hingga membentuk pasta.

2. Untuk Nasi Goreng: Jika menggunakan nasi yang sudah dingin, tuang nasi ke dalam mangkuk dan remukkan nasi dengan tangan hingga terpisah menjadi butiran-butiran yang lebih kecil.

3. Panaskan minyak dalam wajan besar atau penggorengan di atas api besar hingga berkilau. Tambahkan bumbu halus dan masak sambil terus diaduk hingga dasar wajan atau panci untuk mencegah bumbu halus terbakar, hingga bau yang kuat menyebar di dapur Anda dan bumbu halus berubah beberapa tingkat menjadi lebih gelap, selama 2 hingga 3 menit. Kurangi panas ke sedang pada saat bumbu halus tampak terlalu cepat menjadi kecoklatan.

4. Tambahkan nasi ke dalam wajan dan aduk hingga nasi terbalut bumbu halus. Tambahkan kecap manis dan kecap asin. Aduk dan masak hingga nasi berwarna merata dan panas. Bumbui dengan garam dan merica putih.

5. Bagi nasi goreng di antara dua piring dan letakkan telur goreng di atas setiap piring nasi. Hias dengan irisan mentimun dan tomat serta taburi dengan bawang goreng, jika suka. Sajikan segera dengan kecap manis di samping untuk dituangkan.

Perlengkapan Khusus

Cobek dan ulekan, wajan besar atau penggorengan

Catatan

Terasi adalah pasta udang khas Indonesia yang dapat ditemukan di pasar Asia yang lengkap atau online. Kami merekomendasikan membeli kemasan single-serving yang praktis. Jika Anda tidak dapat menemukan terasi, Anda dapat menggantinya dengan belacan (pasta udang Malaysia atau Singapura) atau pasta udang Thailand, atau cukup tidak menggunakan terasi sama sekali.

Sambal oelek adalah pasta cabai Indonesia yang dibuat secara tradisional dengan hanya menggunakan cabai merah pedas dan garam. Anda dapat menemukannya di pasar Asia atau di bagian "internasional" beberapa supermarket.

Kecap manis adalah saus kedelai manis khas Indonesia, biasanya dibuat dengan menggabungkan kecap asin dengan gula kelapa. Kami merekomendasikan merek Cap Bango kecap manis, tetapi Anda juga dapat menemukan merek ABC dan Conimex yang tersedia secara online atau di pasar Asia. Untuk informasi lebih lanjut, baca penjelasan kecap manis kami.

Untuk hasil terbaik, gunakan nasi yang telah direfrigerasi selama minimal 12 jam dan maksimal 3 hari. Jika menggunakan nasi yang baru dimasak, sebarkan nasi di atas nampan dan biarkan dingin selama 5 menit sebelum digunakan.

#translation #english #indonesia #recipenasigoreng

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t4tdexter · 9 months

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people have often told me “jack you ain’t shit” “bitch you are jack shit” “girl you’re nothing” well these arrows slung at me fall off my back like water droplets on a well oiled duck because today I’m wearing shining armor. today my accomplishments speak for themselves. today I don’t need to question why I deserve to exist. today I expressed myself, I was creative, I used ingenuity. I experience all five senses in my kitchen and ended up with a final product that was not only titillating to taste, but satiating and filling.

I guess you’re wondering what I’ve cooked. well, sit your ass back in the center of that seat cause I’m gonna tell you!

when you’re in the throes of depression, any glimmering beacon you have to hold onto tight like it’s your anchor in a tumultuous sea, like the north star and your compass is broken, you hold on tight to the little glimmers of purpose and hope and accept that these are just foot holds on a much easier climb.

this week my glimmering sudden reason to live was a container of tricolor cherry tomatoes in the grocery store. They bring me back to glistening, soursweet summer memories in the Appalachian mountains, eating fruit and veggies straight off the vine with that all natural dirt taste that waxy preservative films could never hope to replicate. I’ve never been able to eat this kind of tomatoes on a regular basis on the count of my little brother was allergic to them three color tomatoes, but the rarity of such a treat has made it stand out in my mind as a cherished memory. a distilled amber of longing that pulls in the even now a world away.

so I let it pull me, and I let it pull my hand from the produce shelf into my grocery cart and all of a sudden I found myself 1 pound of tomatoes richer. I knew instantly exactly what I would do with them: about a quarter of them I would eat just plain until I got a tummy ache, and the rest I would labor over to make the most delicious simple down to earth tomato sauce. I picked up some preliminary ingredients, namely some choice feta, and set to planning the meal which now I have brought to fruition.

the preparation stage of this recipe is really quite simple. You’ve got a wash the tomatoes in cool water and rinse them off making sure that none of them are moldy or mushy. don’t put them in the refrigerator or in a cupboard, instead leave them out on the counter, preferably with sunlight so they don’t go mealy. If you’re using fresh basil and oregano, give them a cool rinse and sit out to dry. I chose to cut the tomatoes in half to speed along the cooking process and reduce explosions in my face as the tomatoes came to temperature. if using fresh herbs, coarsely chop.

preparation done now comes to the pan I chose: a 3 inch deep, copper bottom, stainless steel frying pan for its large service area, superior temperature retention and tall sides. That way I could have the majority of the tomatoes in direct contact with the heat and it would minimize off splashing and dirty countertops and singed fingers.

what you want to do is get just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and get it on medium low heat just until a drop of water sizzles. then add your halved tomatoes and swirl around the pan until they become acquainted with the oil, add a generous cranking of salt and pepper and a little squeeze of lemon juice, some zest too if you have it, but don’t overdo it. once the tomatos set to bubbling just a little add the oregano and basil, fresh or dried. I always harbor fondness for purple basil as it’s what I grew in my garden and so the taste of it fresh or home preserved is like walking into the memory of a cool shower after a hot day of working in the garden. also I believe that it would complement beautifully the unexpected color palette of this dish. Of course, as I have done, it’s likely you will use green basil, but I cannot recommend enough the merits of its purple counterpart. Keep cooking the tomatoes on medium low for about half an hour, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to make sure that all tomatoes receive heat evenly.

once all tomatoes are wilted and it’s been on the heat for about 30 minutes it’s time to cook the pasta. I used about half a box of rotini for one store-bought package worth of tomatoes, and it rounded out just about even. Salt water generously and boil, stirring occasionally as per the instructions specific to your pasta shape. my rotini took four minutes. when the pasta is done pour about a half cup of the pasta water into the tomato sauce. This will help emulsify the oils and water-based components into one homogenous mixture, increasing the palatability, and also helping the sauce stick more hardily to the pasta itself.

add the feta and don’t worry that it won’t melt into the sauce. The goal is to have evenly dispersed, medium size crumbles of cheese to create an almost chocolate chip in a pancake, treasure hunting dining experience. add in the cooked pasta & stir to incorporate. let stand for a minute or two before serving. garnish if desired with a few fresh leaves of that delightful purple basil and enjoy .

#recipe #long post #tomato #pasta #feta

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thedisneychef · 11 months

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Tostadas De Tinga – San Angel Inn

Every once in awhile, I get a recipe directly from Disney that I get really pumped to try. Even though I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a year, this was one of those recipes I wanted to try so badly. Not exactly sure why I waited so long… But whatever. Later is better then never, right? Of course, at every available turn, I did my best to try to mess this recipe up as thoroughly as possible. A little about this recipe… It comes from San Angel Inn, one of my favorite (if not very favorite) restaurants. Being a fan of almost nothing in this dish (my hatred of refried beans is well documented and I regularly go through “I hate chicken” phases), I tried it under duress, expecting to want to spit it into my napkin. I was very happy to discovered that I love, love, loved it and regretted that there were only 3 on the dish, and that I had to share. When I got home from Disney, I searched online and found nothing by way of a recipe, nor was it in any of my books. So I reached out to my Disney source and, 3 months later, I had the recipe, directly from the chef himself. For reasons I can’t quite explain, I’ve been obsessed with making this recipe recently, and I finally gave it a whirl. And then I managed to make a ton of stupid little mistakes. First I bought black beans instead of refried black beans… They were next to each other on the shelf, I grabbed the wrong one. Sigh. Then I had a tough time with the chicken… I didn’t let it cook long enough, so instead of fork-tender, it was kind of rubbery. Double sigh. I accidentally added too much water to the sauce and had a bear of a time seasoning the chicken because I didn’t let it cook in the marinade long enough. Then, the biggest error, I bought verde sauce, which was mind-blowingly spicy, instead of using guacamole. Honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking there. In the end, despite my numerous mistakes, it actually came out really well and tasted almost the same as what they serve at San Angel. Even the chicken was good after I let it cook for longer. Probably won’t make the verde sauce mistake again, though. Yikes. ~~~~ °o° ~~~~ Tostadas de Tinga As is served at San Angel Inn, Mexico Pavilion, EPCOT Marinated Chicken 8 oz chicken breast 1/2 oz diced onions 4 garlic cloves, chopped 16 oz water 3 oz chipotle paste 3 oz tomato puree Salt and pepper to taste Tostadas 8 oz cooked chicken (see above) 4 small corn tostadas (or corn tortillas, cut with a round cutter to slightly larger then chip size) 4 oz refried black beans, warmed 2 oz queso fresco or shredded Monterey Jack cheese 1 oz guacamole 2 oz sour cream In a large pot with water, boil chicken. Once cooked, cool down the chicken and shred. Set aside. Saute onions in a saucepan until they are caramelized. Add garlic. Add water, chipotle paste, tomato puree, and chicken. Cook over medium for 30-40 minutes and salt to taste. In a sautee pan with a thin layer or oil, fry corn tortillas until crunchy (step not needed if using small tostadas… They should be crunchy already). Allow to drain on paper towels. To assemble, spread layer of warmed refried black beans on tostada. Add shredded, cooked, marinated chicken. Top with drizzle of guacamole, sour cream, and top with cheese. Serve immediately. Read the full article

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wholesomebellies · 1 year

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Tomato and Basil Sugo

Sugo: The traditional Italian pasta sauce for any occasion

This recipe is so simple that you’ll want to make it again and again. And as the preparation time is short, whipping up a big batch at once makes sense — you can then freeze some for later.

The sauce is delicious on pasta, zucchini noodles, and homemade cannelloni. It makes a wonderful base for pizza too!

When I was young my mum made ‘Sugo’ on repeat. It was the first recipe I learned to cook. And there was always a container or two in the freezer for those nights when mum and dad were working. My siblings and I would boil up some pasta, take the sauce from the freezer, and dinner was done!

Working with a few basic ingredients, all you need to make this pasta sauce is a bottle of good quality to passata, one onion, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, and salt. I can’t stress enough how important the quality of ingredients is for this dish. As it’s just a few ingredients, make sure the passata is a good quality Italian one with no added salt or herbs. I love to use the brand Mutti. Use extra virgin, full bodied olive oil (no light oils), and be generous with your fresh basil.

The trick to building incredible flavour, is to slowly cook the onion, caramelizing it in the olive oil until it’s golden brown. Don’t add your passata until your onion has caramelized. This dish, whilst simple, requires patience.

The best onion to use is brown – ideally not red onion, a bottle of good quality tomato passata. Avoid a brand that has added salt and herbs. Two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – a bold, good quality olive oil is essential, ten or twelve fresh basil leaves. Using fresh instead of dried basil builds much better flavour. And finally a teaspoon salt – Himalayan or a pinch of pure sea salt works wonders.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Serves: 1 bottle of passata

Ingredients

1 brown onion – best onion to use is brown – ideally not red onion

1 bottle good quality tomato passata – my favourite brand is Mutti. Avoid a brand that has added salt and herbs.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – a bold, good quality olive oil is essential here

10 – 12 fresh basil leaves – fresh not dried basil builds much better flavour

1 teaspoon salt – Himalayan or a pure sea salt works wonders

Method

Chop onion into large chunks.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan and then fry off the onion, stirring constantly, until the onion is lovely and brown all over and has caramelised.

Once cooked, turn down heat, pour in entire bottle of passata, add basil leave and salt and stir.

Cook sauce for about 30 minutes on medium heat so it simmers slowly.

Once cooled down blend till super smooth.

Enjoy over your favourite pasta sauce as a sauce for your lasagne or cannelloni

Equipment you Need

Chopping Board

Sharp knife

Saucepan

There are two ways to make this sauce. Traditionally, my mum taught me to caramelize the onion whole, cook the tomato sugo with the onion whole and then remove it once the sauce is cooked. I always thought this was the traditional way to make it, but recently found out that it was actually because my dad didn’t like eating onion – he only liked the flavour of it. If this sounds like you, thenfollow this method.

Otherwise follow my method below where we blend the sauce with the onion, creating a creamier sauce and enjoying the entire onion.

The first is to chop the onion into large chunks. Then heat olive oil in a saucepan, fry off the onion, occasionally stirring, until the onion is lovely and brown all over and has caramelized. Add the basil leaves and cook about 30 seconds. Then turn down the heat, pour in the entire bottle of passata, add salt and stir. Cook the sauce for about 30 minutes on medium heat so it simmers slowly. Once cooled, down blend until super smooth. Enjoy over your favourite pasta sauce, as a sauce for your lasagne or cannelloni

Variations to this classic pasta sauce

If you’re looking to up the vegetable content in this sauce check out our variation to this sauce. I sneak in carrots and zucchini and then blend them all together. Makes a great sauce for the kids with those added vegetables. Check out the recipe HERE

Using the same quality olive oil and passata add garlic to this sauce for a rich flavour.

You can also spice it up with a bit of heat by adding freshly chopped Birdseye chili. This small red pepper is a staple in many cuisines, and it brings a unique flavor to any dish.

For a light tomato sauce, use crushed tomatoes instead of passata. This will give your sauce a lighter texture and less bold tomato flavor.

If you’re looking for an even lighter version, we recommend using fresh Roma tomatoes. To make this variation, blend about a kilo of tomatoes Follow the same recipe above using your fresh tomato blend instead of passata.

You can also fry up some mushrooms with garlic and add to the tomato sauce. Make some plant-based meatballs with legumes, sauté them, and add them to the sauce once cooked.

And for the non-vegetarians, you can add any meat-based meatballs to this sauce.

The best part about making your own pasta sauce is that you have complete control over the ingredients. Many pasta sauces from the supermarket have added sugar (totally unnecessary) and other preservatives. This is completely whole and you can control the amount of olive oil and salt you use to adjust it to your dietary requirements. The sauce on its own lacks protein, so if you are looking for a complete protein meal then pair this sauce with a protein-based pasta. There are so many legume-based pastas at the supermarkets.

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tastysubstitutions · 2 years

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The 5 Best Substitutes For Onions And How To Use Them!

Onions are the unsung heroes of the kitchen. They're versatile, they can be used in so many different recipes, and they make everything taste better. Even if you don't love onions on their own (like me), they're an essential ingredient in any cook's arsenal. However, sometimes you might find yourself without one of those all-important bulbs that make your cooking possible—either because you forgot to buy them or because your store ran out of stock! Know more food substitutes from this site.

Luckily for us all, there are plenty of other ways we can use these ingredients while our onion situation is being resolved:

Leeks

Leeks, like onions, are part of the allium family and have a milder flavor than their stinky cousin. They can be used in place of onions in soups and stews or chopped and added to salads for extra flavor. If you've ever seen leeks before (they look kind of like green onions), then you know that they don't resemble onions at all! Leeks are slightly longer than regular onions and grow from a squat bulb underneath the ground.

You can also use leeks raw—but they're best when cooked first (if you'll be using them as an ingredient). When cooking with leeks, it might help to remove the tops first because they sometimes have dirt on them since they grow underground.

Celery

Celery is a good substitute for onions because it has a milder flavor and doesn't overpower your food. Celery is also rich in vitamin C, which helps keep the immune system healthy, and B6—a vitamin that helps create red blood cells.

To use celery like an onion:

Chop the stalks into pieces and saute them on medium heat until soft, about five minutes.

You can serve them as a side dish to accompany any meal or add them to soups and stews for some added flavor.

Use them raw in salads or sandwiches with other vegetables like tomatoes or cucumber slices!

Fennel

Fennel is another great option for onion substitutes. It has a sweet, licorice flavor, and can be used in place of onions in many recipes.

You can use fennel raw or cooked. Raw fennel is great for salads and garnishes because it adds crunch to your meal without overpowering the other flavors. Cooked fennel works well on pizzas or in soups, sauces, stews, and more!

Shallots

Shallots are a type of onion that has a milder flavor than regular onions. They are often used in French cooking, although they're also used in other cuisines such as Indian and Chinese. Shallots can be found fresh or dried (that's what you see at the grocery store).

If you can't find shallots, try substituting scallions or leeks for them.

Asafoetida powder

Asafoetida is a spice made from the resin of the giant fennel plant, which grows in Asia and Europe. It's often used as a substitute for onions, as it has a similar flavor and aroma but without the tear-inducing effect. Asafoetida powder can be purchased at Indian grocery stores or online at Amazon; however, because it's so strong—it has an unpleasant smell that's been compared to sulfur—it's best to use sparingly until you're familiar with its intensity. You may want to start by adding just a pinch of asafoetida powder when cooking onions and then increasing it over time if needed.

Asafoetida is typically mixed into dishes during the final stages of cooking so that its strong flavor permeates throughout rather than being prominent on its own. It's particularly good with lentils and legumes like split peas or black beans (dals), which take longer to cook than other types of recipes do but also benefit from having spices mixed into them while they simmer away on your stovetop or stovetop."

Conclusion

So, now that we know what the best substitutes for onions are and how to use them, what should you do with this information? First, start stocking up on some of these ingredients so that when you need a substitute for onion in your recipe, it’s already waiting in your fridge or pantry. Second, try out a few new recipes that call for one of these substitutes—I promise they won’t disappoint!

#onions #Best Substitutesonions #Best Substitutes #ood substitutes

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shedobewritingalittle · 3 years

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Golden

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: The Reader and Bucky go through different stages of the Reader’s pregnancy.

Rating: T

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, giving birth

Two Months

Y/N had been mulling over how she was going to tell him since she found out a week ago. She had thought her anxiousness and worries would have faded away after she saw those two little lines on the test. No, they had only increased ten-fold, only worsening when she went to her doctor and got an official test. Her stomach tossing and turning when the doctor told her that she's been pregnant for eight weeks. Y/N was now stuck with the most important and difficult part of this whole thing-telling Bucky Barnes that she was pregnant with his baby.

How does one tell an over one hundred year old super soldier that they're going to be a father? Getting a tiny Brooklyn Dodgers onesie made? Too cliché. Make some awful pun themed dinner that might include "buns in the oven"? Might go over his head. Hand him the sonogram that she had gotten after the pregnancy test just to be sure? He's from the forties, what the fuck is he going to know about a sonogram?

Y/N was terrified over he was going to react. Bucky was barely getting used to the world, barely getting used to having control of his own mind. And while he had been doing a lot better and he makes sure to take care of himself, Y/N didn't know how he would handle the stress of a baby. Did he even want to be a dad? Y/N didn't even know if she wanted to be a mom, but she know that somehow it felt right. They've never even talked about having children and now-well they were sort of past the point of thinking about having kids.

The whole situation made her want to vomit, and she was pretty sure it wasn't just from the morning sickness.

Y/N eventually landed on telling him over dinner. Nothing too fancy, just the usual place they always go to so that Bucky wouldn't think anything was up. All day long as she sat through meeting after meeting, her date got closer and closer, and that dread that had settled in the pit of her stomach grew with every second. Y/N felt like she was going to vomit by the time she met up with her boyfriend back at their apartment. Luckily, Bucky talks the entire car ride to the restaurant, complaining about something Sam did that day. She uses her training for good, covering up her nervousness with a neutral face.

They made their regular small talk as they sit in the back of the restaurant at their usual table. Y/N orders her usual lemonade while Bucky orders a Coke. They share a basket of bread and Y/N hopes that the carbs soak up the acid that keeps threatening to rise up her throat. Each time she wants to bring up her news, their waitress would come up with refills, an E.T.A on their food, or just to ask how they were doing. And each time, Y/N would glare daggers at her back once she was turned around to walk away.

Then their respective plates of pasta were placed in front of them. Bolognese for Bucky, arrabbiata for Y/N. While usually she immediately dives into her plate, the way her stomach is twisting and turning, she's unable to eat. Y/N pushes her pasta around with her fork as she works up the courage to talk to him. She just didn't know how to say it. All she knew is that she had to say it. Y/N puts down her fork, moving to wipe her now sweaty hands on the cloth napkin on her lap as she looks up at him. Bucky was raising a pasta laden fork up to his mouth as she opened hers.

"I'm pregnant." She finally blurts out. Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper, barely audible over the noise of the other guests at the restaurant. She was afraid that he couldn't hear her, afraid that she was going to have to say it again. But by the way Bucky's eyes widen, she knew that he had heard her loud and clear. He lowers his fork, mouth opening and shutting.

"I-What? You're-What?" The super soldier asks, looking from her face to her stomach and back to her face. Y/N felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach, the blood draining from her face.

"I-I'm pregnant. I found out last week." Y/N manages to get out, still looking down at her plate. Her eyes started to sting and she tried to blink her eyes rapidly in order to keep her tears at bay. Bucky's silence is deafening and Y/N wishes she could run out of the restaurant, but it's like she's glued to the chair. She wants him to say something-anything, but he is silent. Y/N is about to say something when he holds his hands up, almost in defense.

"Wait. I-I don't want you to be upset. I'm not mad-I just don't know how to put my feelings into words. I'm happy. I'm really happy. I just-You know I'm not good with words." Bucky finally speaks, stumbling over his words. Her eyes widen and she quickly looks up at him.

"I-Really?" Y/N asks, the knot her stomach slowly unraveling. Bucky nods, a small smile appearing on his face. This time the tears that are filling her eyes from happiness.

"I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about babies or raising a child, but I'm sure I can figure it out." Bucky jokes, his metal hand fiddling with his utensils on the table. Y/N feels a million times better, a huge weight being lifted off of her shoulders. He looks up at her again, "I'm happy, Y/N. I am."

"Me too. Me too."

Four Months

As Y/N walked into her apartment, the only thing on her mind was kicking her shoes off, taking off her bra that was digging into her sides, and taking a much deserved nap. Her meeting had ended early and with Rhodey not needing help with anything, she had decided to return to her apartment. Yet, with not even a foot inside of the apartment, she was immediately greeted with an argument.

"No, what I am saying is you're painting wrong." Bucky snaps, which makes Y/N's eyebrow raise. Her boyfriend wasn't in sight, but he certainly was in the apartment somewhere. She sets her things down, walking over to where the arguing is coming from.

"How the hell can I be painting wrong? I'm putting paint on the wall. The wall is getting painted." Sam fires back and Y/N has to force herself to not laugh, covering her mouth. She stands in the doorway of the guest room, taking in the sight in front of her. The floor and furniture was covered in plastic tarp, blue painting tape lining the white molding and outlets. Painting supplies littered the room and standing in the middle of all of it were two idiots, both of them holding paint rollers covered in a light sage green paint.

"I'm sorry-what's going on here?" Y/N questions, motioning to the two of them and the mess in the room. Their heads snapped towards her, nervous smiles spreading across their faces. They looked like two kids that have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Hey doll-uh fuck-surprise." Bucky announces a little defeatedly while Sam gives a one handed jazz hand. Y/N laughs, carefully stepping into the room as the 106 year old man tries to explain, "I-We were going to surprise you by painting the room. Why are you home so early?"

"My meetings ended early and I am extremely surprised. Thank you and thank you too, Sammy." Y/N says sweetly, smiling at the two of them. Bucky lets out a sigh of relief and Sam chuckles. While the men may not see eye to eye all of the time, Sam has been a great help to both of them. The man had some knowledge about babies and children, being the proud uncle to two little boys, and he had been trying his best to put some of Bucky's worries at ease.

"I'm just trying to be a really great uncle." Sam teases, which makes the super soldier roll his eyes. Bucky didn't have any living siblings and Y/N's teammates were the closest thing she had to family so it was going to be Uncle Sam, Uncle Rhodey, Auntie Pepper, Auntie Wanda, and so on and so forth. Their little patchwork support system that they were incredibly grateful for.

"Do you two need any help? I can't because I am pretty sure I'm not supposed to be inhaling paint fumes. But I can give Peter a call, I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Y/N offers, grinning from ear to ear. She knows that both men weren't exactly best friends with Peter Parker, both of them having gotten their asses handed to them by a teenager. Y/N didn't have any issues with the kid, hell she talked to him on a weekly basis. He reported to her every Friday, filling Y/N on his week. While it had first started as him telling her what Spider-Man did, it soon turned into a three hour long meeting that included take out while he filled her in the weekly drama and tales of him and his two friends. And every Friday when she would return to the apartment, Sam and Bucky would greet her by calling her traitor.

"Jesus-No, we are okay doll. I think we can manage, right Sam?" Bucky asks, looking at the other man. Sam just nods, holding his paint covered roller a little higher.

"Yeah yeah I think we will be okay. This room will be done in no time."

Seven Months

Y/N watched from her seat at the kitchen island as Bucky moved around the kitchen, attempting to make dinner.

Y/N had been put on bed rest due to the fact that the Super Serum that had affected Bucky's DNA was causing the baby to grow at an accelerated rate. Seeing that this is going to be the first baby born with the serum (that they know of), the doctor wanted Y/N to be cautious.

Bucky, had taken the doctor's words incredibly seriously, going so far as to not even let make any food, like he is doing now.

"Bucky, baby, I can help you, y'know." Y/N tells him as Bucky attempted to follow a fairly simple recipe for marinara sauce. It was already going south pretty fast. He hadn't bought the right type of tomatoes and hadn't chopped nearly enough garlic. She kept herself from micromanaging the whole thing, but it was getting harder and harder to do so.

"Doll, I used to make dinner for me and my sister. I think I can handle this." He replies, setting the knife he was using to chop up the yellow onion aside. He scoops up the onion in his hands, moving to toss it into the big pan on the stove. The onions sizzle as soon as it hits the olive oil covered surface of the pan.

When Y/N had told Bucky she was craving pasta, she had kind of meant that they would just pick something up. Bucky had decided that he would make the meal himself and Y/N, once she saw how excited he was, didn't have the heart to tell him that she had wanted take-out.

It was actually sort of sweet, seeing him trying to hard to make this meal for her. All he wanted to do is take care of her, take care of their baby. She loved cooking for him for the same reason. It was a way to show her love, to show how much she cared about him and he just wanted to do the same.

"Alright, Barnes. I believe in you." Y/N responds, smiling at him. She just watched as he cooked (and occasionally danced to the jazz music that was playing on the record player). It didn't matter if the meal sucked, Bucky was just trying his best to take care of his girlfriend and their child.

But for the record, the meal did suck.

Eight Months

It was a sight, seeing them together.

Bucky held their daughter close to his chest, bouncing her carefully as the light started to filter through the blinds of her hospital room. A smile was stretched across his tired face as he moved from side to side, cooing to her softly. His hair was a mess, his clothes incredibly wrinkled. The morning light surrounded the two like a halo and if Y/N could, she'd take a picture of them. A picture of her family.

Their daughter had been born a month early, which wasn't too surprising considering with how fast she had been growing. Although it was a shock when Y/N's water broke the night before while they were sleeping. Then Y/N had spent most of yesterday in labor, finally giving birth to their sweet baby girl-Rebecca Natalia Barnes, named after Bucky's little sister and Y/N's best friend-in the evening. Bucky had started crying when Y/N had told him that she had wanted to name their daughter after his sister, not thinking that Y/N would have wanted to pay tribute to his long dead sister.

"Look Rebecca, mommy's awake." Bucky says softly, looking over to where Y/N was laying in her bed. The Super Soldier grinned at her, still rocking their child. Y/N smiled at the two of them, shifting on the bed so she can sit up a bit more as her boyfriend walked over. She looks up at the two, her heart swelling with the way Bucky looks holding their daughter.

"Hi baby." Y/N says hoarsely, the bundle of pink shifting and squirming in Bucky's arms. She holds her arms out, silently asking if she can hold Rebecca. Bucky carefully places the newborn into her arms before he pulls the plastic chair closer to the bed, not wanting to be too far from either of them.

"I can't believe she's actually here." Y/N announces softly, taking in every detail of her daughter's face in the early morning light. She had Bucky's blue-gray eyes and his nose, but her hair. It felt weird to see her, felt weird to be holding her. Y/N felt like she was dreaming, but the pain she had gone through the night before-the pain she was still feeling now-had made it real.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Bucky asks, looking at mother and child interacting. Y/N nods, tears filling her eyes as she looks down at her daughter. She presses her lips against Rebecca's forehead, taking in that baby smell that every parenting book seemed to mention. Bucky is still smiling, looking at the two, "My two beautiful girls."

Hours from now, the hospital room would be filled with friends what were more likely family, wanting to share this incredibly special moment with the Y/L/N-Barnes family. Rebecca would be introduced with her aunts and uncles, each one of them getting a chance to hold and introduce themselves to the newborn.

But for now, for now, the three of them were alone. The three of them sat together in this room, all getting used to each other. Nothing else existed outside of this room, nothing else mattered outside of this room. All that mattered was that they were together.

#bucky barnes/reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson #tfatws

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edwardiansuggestions · 3 years

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a recipe for the bohemian guest,

who will have travelled in a literal or literate sense, to italy will be the sort of one to say “oh, the only proper coffee is found in this rare little place by the south bank of the arno, where i...”, or else “ah, but the way we heat our rooms is really quite absurd, when the ancient romans would...”, and so on, those preceding remarks useful only in their proffer of a cue for us to start thinking about what should be served to them. the following is what they will like, for it is simple; the italians would call it cucina povera - the poor kitchen.

take good small tomatoes, on the vine if possible, and place them in a terracotta dish. the terracotta is not necessary, but it is said to provide some flavour, and gives a good even heat, and its name is latin, which will please your travelled and educated guest. douse the tomatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper; it is not necessary to remove them from the vine at this point. a good amount of garlic ought to be added, and generally more than is felt necessary, as well as much more oil and salt than is normally added. rosemary, and perhaps thyme, and other hardy perrennial herbs are added in sprigs. cook in a hot oven until they are very fragrant.

in the meantime, cook over the stove some garlic in olive oil, splash with white wine, and add a chévre until melted. boil spaghetti, and add some of the water to the cheese sauce, as well as some finely chopped herbs as before. when the spaghetti is finished, mix it into the cheese sauce, pepper, and add the tomatoes, which should at this point be removed from the vine. the excessive oil, salt, and garlic is not added to the final dish, but used to give the tomatoes a light and rich flavour. some of the tomatoes will burst and mix with the sauce; this is intentional and provides a good flavour.

mix the tomatoes, cheese sauce, and spaghetti together with one beaten egg and a healthy amount of finely grated hard cheese, like parmesan, off the heat. the egg, it is known, is a feature of cucina povera, for it is the use of those spare ingredients that lie about the kitchen that makes this meal so economical, and so excellent a choice for the gentleman just back from italy. serve with the white wine used in the sauce, which ought to be italian, and in low bowls.

#edwardian #edwardian suggestions #edwardiansuggestions #recipes #recipe

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vannahfanfics · 3 years

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The Sacred Art of Hamburger-Making

Category: General Fluff

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Momo Yaoyorozu, Denki Kaminari, & Hanta Sero

Hey, hey, everybody! This is the second story I wrote for @cuizineco’s Heroes in the Baking zine, which is free to download!

Momo hummed under her breath as she filed her nails, sitting between Hanta and Denki on the common room sofa. The air was filled with clacking and clicking as the two boys feverishly jabbed the buttons and spun the joysticks on their controllers; both of their eyes were fixed on the martial arts video game they were embroiled in. Momo enjoyed the rare instances where they came down to the common room to play; she found something about their competitive energy so invigorating, especially after a hard day’s training.

Just as she had finished buffing her shiny, neatly-trimmed nails, a deep voice boomed from the television to announce with dramatic fervor, “Fatality!” while thick red blood splattered the word across the screen. Hanta jumped up from the couch with a triumphant crow, nearly flinging the controller as he flung his hands into the air, while the defeated Denki melted into the couch cushions with a groan.

“Don’t worry, Denki. You’ll beat him next time,” Momo encouraged with a sweet smile.

“No, he won’t, because he’s a loserrrrr!” Hanta teased while making an L-shape on his forehead with his fingers. Denki stuck out his tongue angrily to his friend before humming thoughtfully.

“Man, we’ve been playing for hours. I’m starving… You know what I could go for right now? A big, greasy, cheesy, American-style hamburger,” he sighed dreamily, salivating at the words alone. Momo perked up, her interest piqued.

“Oh, I’ve never had a hamburger before.”

If they were on a comedy show, one would have heard a record scratch. Denki’s head whipped around to stare at her with owlish eyes for a second before he chuckled magnanimously and slipped his arm around her slim shoulders, his expression melting into one a mixture of pity and mischievousness.

“Momo. Dear. Honey. You’ve never had a hamburger?” the blond asked in a polite but disbelieving voice. Unsure what all the fuss was about, Momo slowly shook her head.

“Now that’s what I call a got-damn tragedy,” Hanta observed before shoving a handful of potato chips into his mouth. As he munched on the barbecue-flavored crisps, crumbs and powder raining from his lips down onto his tee-shirt, he looked at Denki pointedly. “We have to amend that, don’t we, Denks?”

“We most certainly do,” the blond nodded sagely, pinching his chin and closing his eyes like the picture of a pensive philosopher. “We cannot allow Momo here, our dear friend, our beloved classmate and light of our bleak lives, to remain in such a sorry state. So… To the kitchen!” he announced and jumped up, pointing a finger into the air. “By our hand, we will allow Momo to suffer no longer!”

Are hamburgers really that good? Momo wondered as she followed the two boys to the adjoining kitchen. They probably weren’t, but watching the two tear through the cabinets and refrigerator to gather all the necessary tools and ingredients was so energizing that Momo found herself growing excited. She’d never seen Denki so animated about cooking before; he was all smiles as he pranced around wearing a “Kiss the Cook” apron of All Might in a chef’s hat, so she couldn’t refuse him even if she wanted to.

“All right, Chef Denki,” Momo chuckled as she tied an apple-patterned apron around her waist, “I’m under your tutelage tonight.”

“It’s the only thing he’ll ever tutor you in,” Hanta joked, earning a sharp jab in the ribs from his cohort.

“Anyway,” Denki said and cleared his throat, “pay close attention, Momo. I am going to teach you the sacred art of making hamburgers. First, we have to make the patties.” He took a few packs of ground meat and sliced open the plastic, dumping the stringy pink-red meat into a large aluminum bowl.

“Everyone says they’re down with hamburgers tonight,” Hanta reported, sitting on the counter typing away at his phone.

“Let’s see— with twenty people plus Mr. Aizawa, with an average of two burgers a person, that would be… forty patties,” he rattled off, using his fingers to count as he multiplied in his head. “We should be able to manage that between the three of us. Hanta, would you go ahead and plug in the mini-grill so it’ll be heated up?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Denki returned his attention to the patiently-waiting Momo.

“Now then. First, you want to make sure your patties are the right consistency, so you mix it with bread crumbs.” Momo watched with raised eyebrows as he took a box of them and dumped some into the bowl. “You want your patties to stick together, obviously, so you add eggs—” he continued as he cracked some open, spilling the golden yolks into the bowl— “and then milk to soften up the meat a little. Finally— and this is the most important part, Momo— you season it to perfection!”

Momo watched in wonder as he added several spices and a dark brown sauce to the mix, saturating the meat in flavor, without even taking measurements. As he was telling her how to mix it up, scrunching the meat and other ingredients together with his hands, she smiled endearingly.

“Wow, you’ve cooked this a lot, huh?”

“Yup! Me and my folks took an overseas trip once to America when I was young, and we loved the hamburgers so much that we got a recipe from one of the locals! It became a staple in my household! Fast food burgers are nice n’ all, but nothing really compares to a good ol’ beefy homemade burger!” Denki grinned widely.

“I think that’s great! Would you like me to get started on another bowl of ground beef, then?”

“Yes, please!”

Under Denki’s careful guidance, Momo added the ingredients one at a time to the bowl. When it came time to combine them, she squealed at the odd sensation of the sticky, gooey meat, fluid sauce and egg, and gritty powder squishing between her fingers. Denki laughed heartily at the disgusted faces she made while mixing up the ground beef, squeaking and shuddering all the while, until it was uniform. In the background, Hanta had been doing other small tasks like chopping lettuce and onions, slicing tomatoes and cheese, and setting out condiments. He finally joined them at the counter, wiping tomato juice off his hands with a dishtowel.

“It’s a messy job,” Denki said as he grabbed a fistful of the meat, “but we’re not done yet! Now it’s time to make the patties.”

“Ooh! My favorite part!” Hanta grinned, grabbing hamburger meat from Momo’s bowl with both hands. “Ya just roll it into a ball, then flatten it into a nice, round patty,” he said while demonstrating the motions. He then walked over to the simmering grill to plop it on the ridged surface. “Then ya grill it until it’s just right, and boom! Nice, tasty, juicy hamburger.”

“Hanta, have you been to America, too?” Momo inquired as she slowly replicated the motion, still cringing at the sliminess of the raw meat.

“Nah. I spent a lot of summer break at Denki’s house, though, and his old man taught me how to make ‘em!” Hanta said as he slapped another patty onto the small grill and closed the lid, filling the air with sizzling and popping. While he waited for the meat to brown, he leaned against the counter and flashed Momo a wink. “I felt kinda honored being included in the Kaminari family tradition of summer cook-outs!”

“You’re my best friend! Of course you would be!” Denki grinned, sauntering over to bump elbows with Hanta. “And, since Momo is our best girl,” he continued while turning around to wink saucily at Momo, “it’s natural that she be included, too!”

“Ah! Stop it; you’re going to make me blush!” Momo cried and, in her momentary embarrassment, slapped her palms to her cheeks. All the blood drained from her face as she realized she was smooshing raw meat and seasoning on her face. She screamed shrilly and ripped her hands away from her face, horrified by the bits of pulverized meat falling from her cheeks. As she raced to the sink, Hanta and Denki fell to the floor howling with laughter. “Stop it! It’s not funny!” she cried as she scraped at her face with a soapy sponge, tossing a glare over her shoulder.

“Actually, it really is, Yaomomo,” Denki snorted as he climbed back up to resume making hamburger patties. Momo just sniffed dourly, thoroughly embarrassed. Then, an evil idea hatched in her mind; stealthily, she filled her cupped hands with ice-cold water and crept up behind Denki. Just as he took notice of her presence, she dumped it down the neck of his shirt. He yelped and his back arched backward as the cold liquid hit his skin.

“Aye, aye, what the hell was that for?!”

“Serves you right!” Hanta laughed, pointing at him and completely unaware that he was the next in Momo’s cross-hairs. “Wha—?” he blinked owlishly as Momo flung a glob of the raw meat at him; it collided with his cheek with a wet slap, slowly sliding down before landing on his tennis shoe. “I guess I deserved that.”

“Hey, you morons! Don’t tell me you’re messing around in the kitchen!” boomed a grouchy voice. Momo turned to see Katsuki stomping in, his hands buried in his cargo pants pockets and his lips stretched in a scowl. His vermillion eyes slowly slid down to the chunk of meat dripping on Hanta’s shoe. “What the hell?! You can’t just waste food like that! Who taught you losers to cook?!”

“Oi! This is my show! Go yell at someone else, Baku-bro!” Denki whined and poked at Katsuki with his foot as he continued to quickly pile up patties on aluminum foil next to Hanta, who returned from cleaning off his face to take the broiled hamburgers off the grill and put them on some buns. Katsuki slapped Denki’s foot away but obediently shambled out of the kitchen to join the rest of their peers, who had been attracted by the savory aroma now clouding the air.

“All right, the guest of honor gets to try first,” Hanta grinned as he presented Momo with a fully dressed hamburger complete with a side of potato chips. As she took the paper plate, she was amazed at the weight of the thing, nearly spilling it all as she hastily recovered from the plate dipping. She set it safely on the counter before looking at it, wondering how the heck to eat it.

“I… With my hands…?”

“Hell yeah, girl! Get in there!” Denki encouraged with an airy laugh. Momo blushed before timidly grabbing the hamburger, grimacing at the juice that leaked onto her fingers when she lightly squeezed it. She craned her neck over the plate as she leaned in for a bite, trying not to drip it all over her clothes. First came the soft bread, then crunchy lettuce and tomato, then melty cheese, and then finally the savory meat. Momo hummed as the robust flavor exploded on her tongue, complemented by all the toppings.

“Well? Amazing or what?” Denki grinned as he sidled up to her, wiggling his golden eyebrows expectantly. Too busy savoring the symphony of flavors on her tongue, Momo only nodded with her eyes fluttering shut. “Woohoo! Atta girl! Look at our Momo, getting messy with a big ol’ hamburger!” Denki laughed as he did a celebratory jig.

“Ehhh? Did I hear Momo eating hamburgers?” Mina said as she poked her head in. Momo was mid-bite, her mouth stretching wide to accommodate the thick patty, and she froze to blink owlishly at the pink girl. “Ahhhh! Look how far you’ve come! Finally embracing the ways of us commoners, eh?”

Instead of replying, Momo just crunched down on the burger, smiling dreamily as the deliciousness once again graced her senses.

She had the answer to her question. Hamburgers were really that good! While the others began to file into the kitchen to claim their meals from Denki and Hanta, Momo savored hers bite by bite until she was finished. When she sheepishly presented her plate to Denki for seconds, he laughed and began fixing it for her. The others had vacated the premises, leaving only the two of them.

“Thanks for sharing this with me, Denki. I had a lot of fun, and it was really good!” she said as he plopped a piece of pale green lettuce atop her patty.

“To be honest, I was a little scared you wouldn’t enjoy it,” he admitted shyly, giving her a side glance as she gasped in shock. “I know you come from a really wealthy family, Momo, and generally… Rich folks don’t think highly of us little guys, you know?”

“I know.” Though Momo’s family was kind and tolerant, that still didn’t mean that she hadn’t seen the uglier side of the bourgeoisie. With a soft smile, she wrung her arms around Denki’s waist and laid her head on his shoulder to squeeze him in a tight hug. “But I consider myself lucky! You guys teach me all kinds of neat and wonderful things, and I get to share things about my life with you all, too. I would never, ever judge you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Denki hummed and gently bonked his head with hers. “Here you go, Momo. I hope you enjoy your seconds.”

“Thanks,” she said as she took the plate. She then grinned roguishly. “To be honest, I might be up for thirds.”

Like the hearty scent of homemade hamburgers wafting around the small kitchen, her and Denki’s laughter filled the air.

Nope. In Momo’s book, nothing really did compare to one of Denki’s hamburgers, and it soon became one of her favorite things to cook with her friends, even out of all the things she learned from them.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

#my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha #denki kaminari #kaminari denki #hanta sero #sero hanta #momo yaoyorozu #yaoyorozu momo

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7team7 · 4 years

Text

Apron

In which cherry blossoms are familiar and Uchiha history can be found woven into all the fabrics of their household.

A/N: Hi everyone :) sorry for my own lack of posts, but I’m so excited to finally share this! My dear friend and the talented artist ALISS @alisstairs and I have been working on this project for a long time and we’re posting this part as a Valentine’s Day treat!! Our twitters are plumbIossoms and a_lisstairs. Please enjoy and look out for the rest of the project when it’s ready to be posted! Please do not repost any of this anywhere.

Sakura walked through the front door and was immediately greeted by a delicious scent and soft sounds coming from the kitchen — which meant her husband was cooking. The fact that Sasuke was both home early from a mission and cooking dinner was enough to put her in a good mood, so when she saw him standing over the stove, she couldn’t help but break into a big smile.

“Why’d you get an apron?” Sakura asked when she came up right behind him to peek at what he had set to boil. Sasuke jerked his chin towards his lone arm, “It can get a little messy with just this. I actually bought this for you while I was getting groceries, but I needed it myself for today.”

When Sakura walked in, Sasuke’s back was to her, so she only noticed the strings knotted around his waist that showed he was wearing an apron. Only when he turned around to kiss her in greeting did she realize the apron was pale pink in color and covered in a cherry blossom print. How cute.

“And when were you planning on telling me about this gift?” she asked with the same big smile she wore when she walked in.

“Never. It’s fine if you don’t use it and we just eat out all the time.” Sasuke honestly enjoyed his wife’s cooking, but it was always fun to tease her when everyone else claimed she was the worst. Sai’s pale skin turned a shade of sickly green anytime someone mentioned Sakura’s soldier pills.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Fine, he could just make his own bento next time!

“Sarada is still with my parents?” she queried instead. “Yes, I figured your mom would refuse to give her up if I attempted picking her up early. We can get her tomorrow morning?” “That sounds good. I only dropped her off this afternoon, so she’ll be fine for a little longer, but I’ll definitely be glad to have her back here. Sasuke-kun, aren’t you tired from your mission? Why didn’t you want to just get take-out or something?” Sasuke’s face fell almost imperceptibly, “You weren’t home when I got back. I wasn’t injured so I couldn’t bother you at the hospital. The house was too quiet without Sarada and I didn’t really have anything else to do.” He said it plainly, but the explanation made Sakura’s heart hurt a little. Coming home to an empty house was a certain kind of lonely feeling. The only downside of Sasuke returning early was that she hadn’t been there to greet him right away.

“Okay,” she smiled gently up at him, hoping to draw him away from any dark thoughts, “I’m glad you’re making something, I’m starving.” Sasuke nodded, but when his eyes narrowed soon after, Sakura already knew what he was thinking. “Yes, I ate lunch at the hospital. I brought the last of some leftovers.” He nodded again, satisfied.

Sakura moved away from his side to give him some space and started setting the table. “You know, this feels a little like before we had Sarada. Just me and you.”

“Except we’re not roasting fish over a fire in the middle of nowhere,” Sasuke deadpanned.

“Hey! You can’t deny that we had some good meals on the road. Well, I think cooking them was usually more fun than eating them because we never knew how they would turn out,” Sakura reminisced. And she was constantly impressed by Sasuke’s mastery of fire style; every single time he produced the perfect flame for their food. On her birthday, he even humored her and produced a baby flame for a candle they picked up in a random village.

They were able to find some familiar foods during their travels, but there were plenty of new flavors too. Naturally, some were hits, some were misses. The open air markets from the various nations always had something new to offer.

But having access to a kitchen inside a home was definitely a perk of returning to the village. For Sasuke, Konoha was a place where his home happened to be, and for Sakura, Konoha was always going to be home. Even if they couldn’t control the chaos outside the village walls, they at least had a warm kitchen to always return to.

A few days later, Sasuke returned home from the market with another apron, this one specifically for him: it was larger and free of (a specific pink) decoration. He hadn’t noticed how messy they could get while cooking and feeding Sarada until he did laundry recently. He always managed to get sauce splattered on his pants while cooking. Sarada was normally a good eater, but smashed peas often ended up on his shirt after dinner. Even on the darker fabrics he preferred, some stains just wouldn’t come out.

“Oh, but it’s so plain. At least let me sew the clan symbol on it?” Sakura rubbed the thick material of the apron between her fingers. It was so much longer than hers, Sasuke is so tall! Should she make a pocket? How big should the fan be? Should she sew his name on it too?

“Sakura the food is burning!” Sasuke was taking off his shoes and playing with Sarada by the door while Sakura examined the apron, so neither of them noticed the rising smoke until it was too late. Sakura rushed back to the stove to turn down the heat, but the damage had been done. Their meal was torched. Toasted. Singed. Seared. Charred. Fire style jutsu-ed. “That’s what I get for trying to speed up the process by using high heat,” Sakura sighed. Work had been long and taxing, she really didn’t want to spend more time chopping vegetables, but dinner wasn’t going to cook itself.

But thankfully, Sasuke was there to save the day (as he so often did). She felt his large, warm hand come to rest on the small of her back and at first she thought he was just trying to comfort her. But then his fingers fiddled around behind her and undid her apron’s knot. “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have distracted you,” he said mirthfully. “I’ll fix it or just make something else. Go sit.”

Sakura meekly shuffled away, grabbing Sarada to play on the couch. She wondered how she got so lucky.

After stealing several peeks at Sasuke’s broad back in the kitchen, Sakura carried Sarada over to him. “She wants to know if she can help,” Sakura held Sarada up and covered her own face. Sarada squirmed and babbled in her hands, making Sasuke smile. She would be talking, as in actually able to articulate her own sentences, soon enough.

“She can be our official taste tester.” He wasn’t going to let Sakura worry about dinner, but he also could never deny her attempts at having a little fun. He took a small spoonful of broth and blew on it until it had cooled considerably. He brought the spoon to Sarada’s mouth and guided it in.

She spit half of it up onto her white bib, but giggled loudly afterwards. “I think that means she likes it?”

“Mom, can I borrow your apron? I wanted to make ChoCho something for her birthday, it’s tomorrow,” Sarada called out from the kitchen where she was poking around and gathering ingredients for a cake. She had only ever made one with the help of her mother, but it couldn’t be that hard, right?

Sakura came in from the living room, “Oh, sure! It might be a little big on you though. We should just get you your own, even your dad has one.”

The thought of her father wearing an apron covered in tomatoes made Sarada freeze. Papa? Has his own apron?

“Well, he used to use mine, but then we weren’t able to cook at the same time. His would definitely be too big for you.” Sakura opened up a cabinet and pulled out her well-loved cherry blossom apron, plus a larger, blue apron with the Uchiha symbol in the center. It would definitely be too big on Sarada.

But Sarada always missed her father, so she asked shyly, “Can I wear dad’s? I’ll probably get really messy, so I need it to cover all of my clothes.” Sakura smiled at her and helped her put it on. Even though she tied the strings extra tight, Sarada was still swimming in the blue fabric. It didn’t feel wrong, though.

As she went along with baking the cake, she always made sure to avoid wiping her hands on the clan symbol. After learning about her family’s history, she had a certain reverence for the Uchiha. The fan represented her ancestors, her family past and present, and as silly as it was, she didn’t want to dirty it. When she pulled the finished cake out of the oven, she noticed the intense heat didn’t bother her as much now that she had become more proficient in fire style.

After frosting the cake with a simple birthday message, Sarada finally cleaned up, satisfied with her work. She was reluctant to take the apron off and part with another piece of her father. She wondered what kind of food he made when he wore this apron. Were there any Uchiha family recipes he could share? Maybe next time he was home, Sarada could make him something too

A/N: Like I said, this is just one part to a larger project, we will post the full thing soon enough but we’ve been working hard on it for a while. And again do not repost! Show Aliss some love on her accounts pwease she is the best <3 and happy Valentine’s Day!!

#sasusaku #sss fam #uchiha fam #Uchiha Sakura #Sasuke Uchiha #sarada uchiha #my writing #fan art #alisstairs #valentines day

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egoldeatz · 3 years

Text

A Sunday Afternoon in Jersey, a classic tomato sauce.

I think everyone in the New Jersey / New York area has their own spin on a tomato sauce recipe, but that's what makes Sunday night dinner so special. Cooking with love and our own family / personal ways of preparing this dish makes it taste THAT much better.

With simple & good quality ingredients, you can make any dish elegant.

-->We start with about 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed with the back of a knife, I did not mince) put the garlic cloves in a pan coated with olive oil in a frying pan. Enough oil to form a slight pool in the pan, but not saturated. Cook garlic for close to two minutes, or until fragrant, slightly browned.

--> This is the key to it all. The quality of the tomatoes you use in your sauce transforms the whole dish. My trick is to use canned cherry tomatoes when I am able to find them, which unfortunately are not easy to locate. So today I chose strained tomatoes I found at the grocery store. The brand is called Mutti out of Parma Italy. I like these because they are sweet in flavor and the seeds are strained out already, which takes out a lot of the bitterness. So finally, we add the tomatoes into our garlic oil.

--> On a low flame, keep stirring the sauce. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, add in chopped fresh basil. Turn off heat. Add in the pasta of your choosing directly to the pan and coat the pasta in the sauce. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

I was so happy with the way this dish came out. The sauce was super smooth and went down a little TOO easy. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon meal with some wine and or an arugula salad.

I am listening to the Sopranos theme song, "Woke up this Morning" by Alabama 3 while I cook. Having a trademark sauce makes me almost feel like Carmela Soprano on a Sunday in New Jersey. Almost makes me want to rewatch the show for a 3rd time around...

Salud and enjoy!!

With love - Stay hungry,

Emily

#tomato sauce #pasta #italian cooking #food blog #sopranos

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cookingmywaythroughcarryon · 4 years

Text

Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s Pie comes at an iconic moment in Carry On, when Simon and Baz are back at Pitch Manor, after the torrent of emotions and their first kiss in the forest. This is in Chapter 62, which is one of my very favorite chapters.

“I sit down next to him, and he takes the casserole dish from me and casts a quick ‘You’re getting warmer!’--then opens the lid. It’s shepherd’s pie.”

I’ve never actually made Shepherds Pie before. So this is a combination of a few recipes I found online. It was a HUGE hit with the family. How could it not be?

Ingredients:

2 lbs of ground lamb

lamb dripping

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and diced

4 celery sticks, diced

2 sprigs each of rosemary and thyme, just the leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato paste

half cup of stock (lamb, beef or veggie is fine)

For topping:

1 to 1.5 lb of potatoes, peeled and diced into chunks (about one inch squares)

half stick of butter

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Materials:

frying pan, large

2 large pots

casserole dish (I used an 9x13 pyrex)

large mixing bowl

smaller bowls to hold veggies and lamb as they are prepped

potato masher

Method:

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and brown the meat. I had to pour out some of the dripping so I could actually brown the meat (I saved it for later in the recipe)

Browned lamb:

Mix the chopped onion, celery, carrots. and herbs together.

Cook in a pan over medium heat until tender but not too soft.

Sprinkle flour over mixture and then add the stock and drippings, Worcestershire sauce and tomato puree

Scrape the pan to dislodge veggies that get stuck and mix it all well

Place cooked veggies and browned lamb into a large pot. Turn heat to low and simmer lamb mixture while you make the potatoes, stirring frequently to keep it from catching and burning or getting too much stuck at the bottom of the pan.

fill another large pot with water and boil the diced potatoes. It took about 20 minutes for the potatoes to be soft enough to easily poke with a fork.

Turn off the burner.

Drain the potatoes and let sit in hot pan to steam for a few minutes. MAKE SURE THE BURNER IS OFF OR YOU WILL HAVE BURNED POTATOES

Mash potatoes with butter and milk until well mixed and then season with a bit of salt and pepper and the nutmeg.

Mid mash:

Well mashed:

Grease your 9x13 baking dish. Pour lamb mixture in and distribute evenly in the pan. Preheat oven to 350F.

Add mashed potato mixture over the top:

Smooth the potatoes over the lamb mixture and then make shallow grooves across the entire surface with a fork.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Mine was cooked but the potato topping wasn't nicely browned so I turned on the broiler for about 4 minutes until it looked how I wanted it to look (see photos)

Shepherd’s Pie final:

Recipe without the photos:

Ingredients:

2 lbs of ground lamb

lamb dripping (from cooked lamb in this case)

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and diced

4 celery sticks, diced

2 sprigs each of rosemary and thyme, just the leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato paste

half cup of stock (lamb, beef or veggie is fine)

For topping:

1 to 1.5 lb of potatoes, peeled and diced into chunks (about one inch squares)

half stick of butter

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Materials:

frying pan, large

2 large pots

casserole dish (I used an 9x13 pyrex)

large mixing bowl

smaller bowls to hold veggies and lamb as they are prepped

potato masher

Method:

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and brown the meat. I had to pour out some of the dripping so I could actually brown the meat (I saved it for later in the recipe)

Mix the chopped onion, celery, carrots. and herbs together.

Cook in a pan over medium heat until tender but not too soft.

Sprinkle flour over mixture and then add the stock and drippings, Worcestershire sauce and tomato puree

Scrape the pan to dislodge veggies that get stuck and mix it all well

Place cooked veggies and lamb into a large pot.

Turn heat to low and simmer lamb mixture while you make the potatoes, stirring frequently to keep it from catching and burning or getting too much stuck at the bottom of the pan.

fill another large pot with water and boil the diced potatoes. It took about 20 minutes for the potatoes to be soft enough to easily poke with a fork.

Turn off the burner.

Drain the potatoes and let sit in hot pan to steam for a few minutes. MAKE SURE THE BURNER IS OFF OR YOU WILL HAVE BURNED POTATOES

Mash potatoes with butter and milk until well mixed and then season with a bit of salt and pepper and the nutmeg.

Grease your 9x13 baking dish. Pour lamb mixture in and distribute evenly in the pan.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Smooth the potatoes over the lamb mixture and then make shallow grooves across the entire surface with a fork.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Mine was cooked but the potato topping wasn't nicely browned so I turned on the broiler for about 4 minutes until it looked how I wanted it to look (see photos)

this meal was a resounding success with the family and it has been added to the preferred recipes list. They all loved it and we had leftovers for a day or two after. The potatoes get a bit firmer on the second day but it still tastes good.

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general-mahamatra · 4 years

Note

Spalbert being domestic? Love your writing!

Spalbert, eh? fuck yeah dude

i’ll admit... i went a bit overboard and its more like “cooking with albert with some added heated making out” but what can i say? i couldnt stop myself

Pairing: Spalbert

Genre: Slice of Life

TW: Suggestive/Mildly Graphic NSFW

Wordcount: 3862

Note: I went overboard please send help. Also, sorry I can’t shorten it! Tumblr hates to work with me when I make these posts and edit them

Cooking dinner was not a common occurrence in the small Conlon-DaSilva apartment. It was rarer than the sight of them doing anything romantic in general.

But their one year anniversary was coming up and Albert wanted to do something special.

He stood in the doorway of the tiny kitchen, hands clasped together just under his chin. He had no idea what he was doing. Despite his years of friendship with Racer, all of the knowledge Albert had gained fell through. The guy barely retained information; he was lucky if he could remember what happened the day before. Hell, he didn’t even know what he had for breakfast that morning.

...did he eat breakfast?

Albert wasn’t too sure about that. His mind drew a blank the harder he thought, only resulting in a minor headache to begin his descent into misery. This wasn’t going to go well, was it?

His eyes slipped shut as he took a deep breath. Slowly, he exhaled, allowing the air to seep out at its own pace.

He can do this. He has the ingredients. He just needs to be careful with instructions and find the recipe Race had given him months ago. It shouldn’t be too hard.

Opening his eyes, Albert let his hands fall to his sides.

Spot’s not gonna be home for another hour at least. That left plenty of time for Albert to figure out how he was going to do this. After all, last he checked pasta doesn’t take that long to make. Not even the recipe he swore Race sent him.

Stepping into the kitchen, the ginger was slow. Taking his time to cross the wooden floor. He winced at the cold that rushed against his bare feet. How the hell could wood be so much colder than carpet?

Wait, that’s a stupid question. One of the stupidest Albert ever wondered.

Of course the wood is gonna be colder, it’s not made to be warm.

He padded across the kitchen, eventually making his way to the barely-cleared counter. Neither of them were ones to cook. While there were plenty of different things in the fridge and their cabinets, the most they did at home was make sandwiches. Hell, Albert’s rarely seen Spot eat anything but a sandwich of some sort at home.

Albeit, they would go out a lot. It was the perks of Spot being a personal trainer and Albert working as an electrician… in training. They made enough to support themselves and go out and spend some money for fun. Not a lot, of course. Spot was much more minimalist than Albert, leading to them barely having a stocked fridge.

Albert didn’t mind that. Although he grew up with a decent amount of food in the house, it was nice not to worry about stuff constantly going bad. Christ, they had an entire empty shelf in the door just because they barely had anything.

Except it made it hard for Albert to hide the stuff he bought.

Thankfully, Spot never commented on it.

Not that Albert cared too much. He would’ve brushed it off as wanting to try something new sometime and that’s that. Not like they started dating a year ago and he wanted to make something nice for the guy. Just a simple experiment.

He leaned against the counter with a small huff. If he was going to get anything done, he would have to find the recipe. And by God would that take a long time.

Pulling his phone out of the pocket of his sweatpants, Albert went ahead and pulled up his text messages with Race. It was nice how they never actually texted “normally”. Majority of their conversations were on Snapchat. That meant whenever they sent each other important things, it wouldn’t be lost to chat history.

Of course, that didn’t mean they never sent each other things via text. Even now, it was clear the link Race had sent was drowned out by way too many messages.

It took ages for Albert to scroll through everything. How much time had actually passed was beyond him. It was likely it was maybe a minute or two but to him it felt like way more. It was stupid, so stupid. Why didn’t he just click the link to save it like a normal person?

Because he’s an idiot, that’s why.

Finally. Finally, he found it.

He clicked on the link, selecting the option to force it to pull up in Safari.

He’s not gonna lose it and be forced to scroll again. He refused.

By the time he had the link fully pulled up, Albert turned around, setting the phone on the counter. His eyes scanned over the words, a small frown setting into his features. This was far too much work just to make a simple thing of noodles.

Work that would be worth it in the end.

But dear God, there was so much stupid writing in the beginning. There were some helpful tips, yeah, but why did there have to be so much extra stuff? He’ll never understand the world of cooking.

With the page pulled up, Albert moved to the fridge and cabinet respectful, grabbing what he needed to make it. Noodles, vegetables, tomato paste… far too much shit.

Why did he follow through on actually making the sauce from scratch?

This was going to be a shit show.

A shit show that better be worth it in the end.

Albert tapped the screen when he realized it went dark so he could continue reading. Approximately 45 minute cook time, 6 servings. Yeah, that should be fine. They both ate a decent amount and it could be used for leftovers.

Though…

His eyes trailed over to where he had some ground beef thawing from earlier.

He wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to add any meat to it. As much as he knew Spot liked red meats, Albert himself was pescatarian. Which meant he only ate fish. Sometimes he would cave and begrudgingly eat hotdogs or cheeseburgers, but that was only if they were stuck at some sort of arena event.

But he didn’t wanna take that away from Spot. After all, he was prepping the entire meal for him. It shouldn’t matter what Albert liked. He could deal with some beef in the pasta for the sake of his boyfriend.

So, Albert continued on as normal.

He scrolled past the ingredients, already knowing he had everything. The sooner he started the sauce, the better off he would be.

What sucked was the fact he would have to begin immediately with the meat.

Pulling out a decent-sized pot, Albert set it on the stove. It felt a bit weird having to cook meat in it, but he was just following the recipe. It was just going to be awkward for a while.

Taking the bottle of olive oil, he measured out the allotted amount and dumped it into the pot. Then, with a swift motion, he turned the burner on to the designated heat.

When he went to grab the thawed meat, he paused.

This was the moment where it was all or nothing. As soon as he started cooking the meat, he would have to deal with it for the rest of the meal.

He grabbed a steak knife out of the holder before picking up the package. With a simple swipe, the plastic was sliced open. Setting the blade down, Albert pulled the packaging open.

There was no turning back now.

He carefully dumped the ground beef into the pot before setting the empty plastic to the side. Grabbing a wooden spoon, he looked back at his phone. Upon reading ahead, he was so glad he precut everything. He would’ve dropped dead right then and there if he had to chop anything now.

As the eight minutes passed by, Albert continued to follow the instructions. Soon enough, he was adding the onions before letting it simmer.

Idly, he stirred the pot from time to time. His eyes were mostly glued on his phone, scrolling through TikTok like his life depended on it. It was a nice way to pass the time.

By the time Albert was on the final step with the sauce, he had calmed down a bit. Not that he was too antsy, he was just… nervous. He wanted this to be perfect. The two weren’t able to go out anywhere fancy since apparently a lot of people have anniversaries in June. Either that or people were a bit too eager to go out to eat during the sixth month of the year.

After adding in the tomato paste and garlic and a select few other ingredients, he made care to stir it for almost exactly a minute. It wasn’t too hard given the next video he watched was just barely 50 seconds, so there was a plus there.

Jumping back to the recipe, Albert scanned over the next step before setting the phone down, screen up. He needed to add water, some crushed tomatoes, salt, and a “generous pinch” of pepper. Then all he had to do was stir it and let it simmer on low for 25 minutes. Not too bad.

With a quick glance ahead, Albert took note he had to start cooking the pasta itself 10 minutes in. Alright.

He followed the instructions, scraping the meat and veggies off the bottom of the pan before officially letting it simmer. With a quick set of the timer, Albert turned his attention back to his phone.

Opening YouTube, it didn’t take long for him to find a 7 minute video.

He stood there, hunched over the counter with his elbows propped up on the stone. Occasionally, he would move back to the stove to stir the sauce. Of course, he didn’t pay too much attention.

When the video finished, Albert jumped into action with the pasta. There was 17 minutes left on the timer, meaning he had a couple minutes to spare. Maybe then he could figure out how much salt he’s supposed to put in the damn water.

In the end it wasn’t too hard to gauge. He just dumped a decent amount into the half-full pot and set it on the burner diagonal from the sauce. Turning the handle away from the main walkway, Albert turned the dial to let it boil and stepped back. It wasn’t going too bad.

Turning back to the sauce, he picked up the wooden spoon and stood there for a moment. The website had mentioned that he should taste it from time to time, make sure it was properly seasoned.

But the stuff was hot, he didn’t wanna burn his tongue.

He pursed his lips, staring at the red sauce as it continued to simmer on the hot burner. A small taste wouldn’t hurt. After all, he can just blow on it and be on with his life. He just didn’t want to have to suffer through dinner with a burnt tongue, unable to taste what he made.

Albert dipped the spoon into the pot, scooping a small amount of the pasta sauce.

With one simple taste, he was surprised to find it didn’t taste half bad. He did pretty good for his first try.

Now that he was content, Albert went back to watching YouTube.

It wasn’t long before the water was boiling and he had to grab the noodles.

With the box in his hands, Albert read over the directions on the side to get a good grasp of how long to cook the pasta. The label stated 10 minutes, which meant he would have to start testing it at about 8 minutes. That wouldn’t be too hard.

He opened the box and dumped the noodles out. It felt oddly surreal seeing the long noodles stick straight out of the pan. As much as he had seen spaghetti cooked in videos and on TV, he had never actually witnessed the process.

It was at that moment anxiety decided to hit him like a truck. Full on, straight into his chest. It was almost like a physical force had knocked him into an altered form of reality. Suddenly he was hyperaware; his clothing rubbed wrong against his skin, he heard every noise in the apartment along with the sizzling of the sauce and faint blabbering of the video. Everything was shoved full force into his senses.

Albert stood there, box in hand as he tried to process it all.

His heart pounded against his ribs, ramming against it as if it were trying to break free. At the same time, a shiver coursed through his body, adding to the bizarre sense of consciousness.

His racing heart was what made his thoughts move a mile a minute.

What if Spot doesn’t like it? What if he came home with some fast food takeout like a normal day and it was all in vain? Does Spot even like pasta?

Fuck, is Spot allergic to pasta?

God. Shit. Fuck. He forgot to check what Spot was allergic to. What if he grabbed something and used it and Spot broke out into hives? God, that would be the worst anniversary ever.

A small whimper made itself heard and Albert was thankful he was alone. It was a pathetic sound, one of worry and panic that he never allowed the public to hear.

He finally set the box down, his vision blurred and unfocused as he stared at the cooking food. It’s going to be fine, it’s all going to be fine. Spot’s his boyfriend, he would know if the guy was allergic to something.

But… What if Spot lied? Or… What if he doesn’t like the meal?

He didn’t put it beyond Spot -- or anyone for that matter -- to pretend to like the food and just order something later in the night. Anyone with a sense of decency would wait until Albert had long since fallen asleep.

Albert closed his eyes, taking a shaky deep breath through his nose.

Everything’s gonna be alright.

Nothing will go wrong.

Albert peeked one of his eyes open to glance down at the cabinet next to him. Quickly, as if he were worried about embarrassing himself, he knocked on the wood.

By the time he managed to get himself to settle down, the noodles were nearly done. It was a bit odd knowing he had spaced off for almost 10 minutes, but it happened nonetheless. He just hoped the stuff didn’t need to be stirred too much.

Following the rest of the cooking instructions, he ended off with strained pasta being tossed into the pot of sauce. With a quick stir, Albert stepped back and sighed. It was basically done. He did it.

A small smile tugged at his lips only to be whisked away.

There’s still so many possibilities of him fucking this over.

He could spill the sauce, overcook it as he waited for Spot, forget to dress up nice… but he had plenty of time. There was at least 15 minutes before his boyfriend was home.

Albert rested his arms on the counter, allowing his head to lul forward as he shut his eyes. It was almost 7 P.M., it was barely evening. At this point on a normal day he would’ve been wide awake playing video games or watching videos. Hell, maybe he’d even be harassing Spot, who knows.

But this isn’t a normal day, it’s their fucking anniversary. And now he’s exhausted for no fucking reason.

How much worse could it possibly get?

He pressed one of his hands to his face, letting out an exasperated sigh. He stayed like that for a while, ignoring the blaring time on the stove. He knew better than to assume he’d be in a position like that for much longer than a minute.

The light click of the front door closing went unnoticed by Albert. Despite how aware he had been earlier, suddenly he was ignorant. Everything that went on around him was ignored, purposely or not. His fatigue was enough to keep him bent over the counter, his eyes shut and head resting in his hand for support.

He didn’t notice the rustling just outside the kitchen or the heavy footsteps that followed. Hell, he barely even realized there was a presence nearby before a strong pair of hands settled on his hips.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise?”

Albert practically jumped out of his skin. He tried to spin around but only ended up knocking his hand against the knife holder. He hissed out a few colorful words and in the end, didn’t turn.

His boyfriend’s arms slid around his waist, allowing the familiar feeling of the shorter man being pressed against him be made known.

“Didn’t think I’d ever see you in the kitchen,” Spot teased, resting his chin on Albert’s shoulder.

The simple, solid touch instantly made Albert relax. Tension he didn’t even realize he still had faded away and left him loose against his boyfriend. It was nice.

“Well, jokes on you, here I am,” Albert said back, smiling slightly. He tilted his head a bit as he tried to look at the brunette.

A small hum came from the shorter man, the vibrations sending a shiver down Albert’s spine. “And what brings you here?”

That was when the panic returned.

Every inch of Albert tensed up, his attention darting over to the spaghetti. Fuck, he didn’t even prepare it. It’s still in the pot and he hasn’t even gotten dressed.

As if he noticed the tension, Spot gently caressed his thumb along Albert’s side. “Hey, it’s fine. You good?”

Albert tore his gaze away from the food and forced a small smile. “Yeah, I am.” Once again, he managed to relax. The feeling of Spot trying to offer physical comfort being enough to loosen him up. Though, it didn’t necessarily take off the edge.

What did was the sly movement of hands reaching up his shirt, running along his skin until they were on his lower back. The feeling of calloused fingers barely grazing his body made his breath hitch. He bit his lower lip, forcing himself to focus on that instead.

It wasn’t a surprise that Spot knew just what to do to get Albert’s mind off of things. The way the brunette moved along his body was distracting enough. It was even more to have the man reach up higher, almost as if he were exploring.

Except, is it even exploring if it’s already known?

“If you say so,” Spot said with yet another hum before leaning in.

A soft kiss pressed against Albert’s neck, causing his eyes to flutter shut. It was a pleasant feeling, one that spread warmth throughout his body. The warmth gradually grew fiery as the kissing continued. They were rougher than the initial one, eliciting a slight reaction from the ginger.

He tilted his head, hoping to allow the man more access. Despite it being from behind, Albert was mildly surprised the reach the brunette had.

It was always difficult for him to think about how exactly any of this was possible.

The rough hands that still held his body slid down to his hips and held tight. For a short moment, Spot pulled away just enough to spin the taller boy around. The movement was enough for Albert to glance down, offering a smile.

Said smile was immediately cut off by lips crashing into his. Once again, Spot was pressed up against him, pinning him against the counter.

Instead of returning to his upper body, Spot slipped his fingers just below the waistband. His thumbs pressed low, just enough to get Albert to try and squirm. It wasn’t unwelcome. In fact, it was far from it. It just happened to be foreign yet again.

It was hard to focus on the chapped lips that moved so perfectly against his own, not with the small pokes and prods from Spot. There was so much going on at once that Albert didn’t know what to pay attention to or when.

Spot’s kisses trailed away from Albert’s mouth, pressing against his jaw as he slowly made his way to the ginger’s neck. Each one made him shiver, sending a shock down to the rest of his body.

Without the constant action, Albert was free to let his lips part as he basked in the moment. It all felt so wonderful, so… nice. He didn’t want it to end and he wanted more.

It was the first nip along his throat that extracted a quiet squeak from the taller man. The rush that ran through him at that very second nearly made Albert go limp. He hadn’t realized how deprived he’d been until then. And by God, was it amazing.

Spot’s hands dipped further, causing Albert to let out one of the most pathetic noises he’d ever made.

It was almost hilarious considering just how tough he likes to make himself seem. All stoic and angry and yet Spot always managed to do the perfect thing.

He could practically feel the smirk against his neck, making his cheeks heat up way more than necessary. Of course Spot would be cocky about it.

Any thought Albert had was cut off by the abrupt feeling of being groped. He hadn’t even realized the shorter man had moved one of his hands. With his focus on the bites, any other action had gone unnoticed.

A stifled moan slipped out of his mouth.

God, this was far better than the spaghetti.

The pleasurable heat that emanated from his groin was enough to let Albert forget about the food. If he could just get Spot to do more-

Wait.

The spaghetti.

Albert’s eyes shot open and he scrambled to push Spot away. The brunette backed off as some as Albert began to push, knowing better than to try and continue. He frowned at the ginger, his brows furrowed with confusion and worry.

“You alright?”

Albert nodded, shifting a bit as he tried to regain any composure he had prior. “Yeah, don’t worry.” He spun around, stumbling a bit as he scrambled to turn the burner off. He didn’t need the pasta overcooking.

Sheepishly, he turned back to Spot. “I just… I didn’t want to keep it on too long.” Spot tilted his head at the comment. “I wanted to cook something for tonight and I didn’t want it to be overdone.” Albert bit the inside of his cheek for a moment before continuing. “I’ve never done this before. Cooking, that is, obviously.”

Realization washed over Spot’s features as the shorter man smiled up at him. That smile shifted into a grin within seconds when his eyes fell onto the pot. “Then let’s eat. We can continue later.”

Albert would’ve been perfectly fine if Spot didn’t wink right after that.

The sheer action nearly kicked his knees out from under him.

“Yeah,” Albert managed to say, swallowing as he tried to form words. “Later. Definitely. Yes.”

Spot smirked at the reaction, a bit too pleased with it in Albert’s eyes.

Maybe it would be a great anniversary after all.

#Newsies #spot conlon #albert dasilva #spot conlon x albert dasilva #spalbert #newsies fic #slice of life #request #heelys gang #prince's writing

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