#and sprinkle them with toasted white sesame seeds before eating

[teddytoroa]

peak of season zucchini halved lengthways, scored crisscross on the cut side and fried both sides in a shallow pool of fresh green olive oil with the lid on for most of the cooking time, patted on a paper towel so they're not greasy, sprinkled with flaky sea salt, chopped into mouthfuls and eaten on a bowl of rice in the garden on a breezy summer afternoon. zucchini my sexy beautiful summertime girlfriend.

#this is lying i didnt have rice but itd be very good on rice if you have any. #the trick is that you want zucchini that is fresh and in season. you dont need to add much to it other than the olive oil and salt #it doesnt crisp but it gets nicely al dente in the pan and the cut side caramelises. #you could add a little soy sauce and mirin towards the end of cooking let it thicken into a sort of glaze #and sprinkle them with toasted white sesame seeds before eating #but personally when the veggies are at their peak im perfectly happy leaving them mostly plain so i can taste them themselves #anyway. zucchini my sexy wonderful girlfriend

[cherrynojutsu]

Title: Like Gold

Summary: Sasuke grapples with love and intimacy regarding his developing relationship with Sakura after returning to the village from his journey of redemption. Kind of a character study on Sasuke handling an intimate relationship after dealing with PTSD and survivor’s guilt in solitude for so long. Blank period, canon-compliant, Sasuke-centric, lots of fluff and pining, slowly becomes a smut fest with feelings.

Disclaimer: I did not write Naruto. This is a fan-made piece solely created for entertainment purposes.

Rating: M (eventual nsfw-ness)

AO3 Link - FF.net Link - includes beginning/ending author's notes

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Chapter 6/?: Roots

It's pouring rain by the time Sasuke awakens, a tempestuous sort of hush awash a village swathed in grey. He's gotten a very good night's sleep, only waking once around five to groggily hearken as the pitter patter of droplets began against the asphalt and metal of the roof. He'd watched the beads of liquid slowly connect to others, forming small rivulets pulled downwards by gravity on the glass of his bedroom window, before he made the decision to try to fall back asleep. To his bewilderment, it had actually worked; a rare occurrence, as it usually doesn't. No dreams, no nightmares, just blissful emptiness, like he was allowed for once to drink in the moisture of rest like a tonic, exuding into his being much like the precipitation trickling into the soil outside.

It's nine thirty when he rolls out of bed, reluctant to leave the warm requiescence of his comforter, but also wanting to give himself plenty of time to get ready. He'd like to shower before he heads over to Sakura’s, and he also wants to eat something light for breakfast first. He decides on ochazuke, because it’s relatively easy to prepare and he thinks he would like more tea; two birds with one stone. There are sesame seeds in his cupboard that he could sprinkle over the dish, at the end. He sets a portion of brown rice to boil before brewing a cup of the caffeinated green sencha to eventually seep over it.

It smells really good as it permeates into the hot water, earthiness propelling upwards and sinking into his nostrils. He'll have to thank her again today, now that he knows what her gift actually contained.

While he lets things stew, Sasuke considers the kitchen table, where he left the remainder of the gifts yesterday. Now is as good a time as any to find a place for each of them, he supposes. He makes quick work of washing the paring board before setting it aside to dry. The cough drops find a home in his bathroom's mostly empty storage behind the mirror; he takes the two lozenges left from the hospital and puts them there, too, to use before he opens any of the new packages.

He decides that the photo should go on the bedside table, next to the clock. He can always move it, if he changes his mind. It catches his eye for longer than is strictly necessary.

Eventually he returns to the kitchen, removing the strainer from the tea and stirring the pot of rice twice as he waits for it to finish cooking. The barrage has lessened since daybreak, not overly loud, but enough to create an ambient sort of background noise that is a nice change of pace; less of a storm and more of a quenched thirst for the earth, emptying from rooftops down the gutters and into the ground. Sakura’s building is older, too; it probably will sound much the same at her apartment.

He savors the ochazuke once it’s finished, a simple but enjoyable way to start the day, caffeine threading its way into his system gradually. Washing the dishes is his next task, followed by an extremely lengthy shower, temperature near thermogenic. The bruises from his two spars with Naruto are still sore, but not terrible; the heat feels good on the marred skin. Water drifts across more bruising that has bled into existence overnight on his shins, before it sinks between his toes and vanishes down the drain. He’s not sure why he watches it; it just seems compelling today for some reason, everything pulling downward.

When he’s dry, he throws on a comfortable pair of black pants and a matching long-sleeved shirt. He doesn’t want to read more of his book since he has a little less than half left of the one on kenjutsu, so he decides to complete some meal prep instead, testing out the paring board by chopping and slicing various produce; mushrooms, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, green onions, and burdock roots are slowly removed from his fridge, cleaved into neat pieces, and then returned to their respective assortment of bags and containers. The small bits of metal attached to the board allow for cutting goods with ease, a bit ingenious. It works extremely well, much more efficient than the hassle of summoning a clone to simply stand there holding each item still. It’s not that he doesn’t have the chakra to spare, but it feels more dignified this way.

After enough time has passed, Sasuke pulls on a pair of grey socks, sandals, and his cloak before he leaves, library book concealed and protected by the black garment.

It’s marginally chilly outside, but not terribly cold like it would have been earlier in the morning. Petrichor overwhelms him, an aroma he is well acquainted with. He is reminded of the scent of the foliage the handful of times he passed through the Land of Rain, and also of drizzly days spent as a child here in Konoha. Every bit of vegetation he glimpses on the way to Sakura’s apartment complex is drinking up the liquid greedily, drop after drop of nourishment with which they will sustain themselves and use to grow.

The puddles are starting to join in their crevices, small streams of gentle cascades forming. It captures his attention like the shower drain did earlier, and it feels nostalgic for some reason, like there is some forgotten secret that the land beneath is whispering through the medium of interconnected pools, rippling outward until they touch more solid soil.

His hair is a bit damp when he arrives at her building just prior to eleven. Illumination flows from beneath doorways of variegated colors; everyone else is inside today, too. The tonality is similar to the harmony overheard at his own apartment, as he expected; he finds it comforting.

He knows he’s a little early, so Sasuke takes his time going up the stairs. Once he reaches the sage green of her threshold, he raps twice and waits, studying Sakura’s plants in their terracotta pots. There are a few amongst them that he doesn’t recognize, which is curious, given that he’s wandered so many places and has grown familiar with a vast diversity of flora. There is lucky bamboo pushed towards the back of the array, in the area that gets the least amount of light. A spider plant is to its left, and a golden pothos, along with a snake plant, are sandwiched to its right, towards the corner. A lilac moth orchid blooms near her door, a paler variety than he has seen anywhere else. Coral kalanchoe spill out the side of a taller planter, next to pink and pistachio mums, faded yellow butterfly ranunculus, and a small vessel filled with white daffodils, sunny insides flourishing outwards. There are succulents, too, tricolor lavender scallops sprinkled throughout several of the ceramic containers, along with a strain he doesn’t recognize.

Yarrow and jewelweed emerge from smaller pots on the edge of the spread, which makes him wonder if the few plants he’s unfamiliar with are being grown for useful purposes rather than decorative. Perhaps she keeps them for her work crafting antidotes; he knows that the roots of plants can often carry medicinal benefits. One of them is quite odd looking, now that he is peering down at it closely; dark plum-colored stems spread upwards with circular leaf-like shapes at the crown, trains of spiky white flowers budding from them. Another one he can’t identify has a tiny whitish yellow flower, dwarfed by the huge wrinkled leaves that surround it.

They appear as if they have been tended already, the loam damp as it is outside with no opportunity for warmth to dry them as of yet, though this verdure is more tame, less wild. She must water them in the morning. All of them are so different, yet they are all alike, too, stringy germinations and rhizomes expanding to suffuse through their similar planters.

Her door clicks open, and he shifts. Sakura smiles up at him, sunshine on a rainy day accented by a dimple, wearing an extremely comfortable-looking outfit: an oversized cream crewneck that slips off one of her shoulders a little, and a juniper pair of jogging pants that he thinks would be too long for her if not for the gathering at the ankles.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she greets, eyes he loves radiant on his. "It's almost ready; come in."

He responds, “Morning,” and follows her inside, placing his library book on the console table momentarily, where her lamp is already switched on. As he shrugs off his cloak and toes off his sandals, she drifts back to the kitchen, something likely needing her attention there. He notices as she goes that there is an extremely fuzzy pair of beige socks on her feet.

As he hangs his cloak, he realizes that her apartment smells like roasted tomatoes and toasting bread, overpowering any vague notes of her tea cabinet in a way that makes his mouth water.

Sasuke reaches for his book from the console table and goes further into her living space, where the rest of her lamps are also turned on already; no hard lighting. He assumes they'll read on her couch, so he sets the text on the end table, closest to the side where he’d sat the previous night. There are two blankets thrown over the sofa now that weren't there yesterday, one appearing plush that is a color somewhere between mauve and lavender, and the other one a knit heather grey. It’s probable that they came from her bedroom; perhaps the walls are some variant of violet, a color he would not have expected.

As he turns, intending to join Sakura in the kitchen, his eye catches on a familiar photo, and he stops. Perched on one of the few empty areas of one of her bookshelves is their original Team Seven portrait, in a pale wood frame, near white. It's different in finish from the other frames adorning her walls near the kitchen, much lighter in color.

He is struck by it for multiple reasons; it wasn’t there yesterday, meaning it probably has also come from her bedroom, and it is very close in finish to the wood of the uchiwa fan he gave her as a birthday gift. He hasn’t seen it; Sasuke knows most women keep ornamental fans like that in storage for safekeeping. He vaguely recalls his own mother used to keep hers, though less ornate and made of paper rather than silk, in boxes, stored securely for future use at festivals and such in her closet. She’d shown them to him, once, and he’d seen her carrying them on special occasions, from time to time.

Sasuke studies the picture and the wood grain for a long moment, gaze softening. He wonders if she moved it out here to make him feel more at home.

He breaks his contemplation by making his way to her kitchen finally, where Sakura is flipping a grilled cheese sandwich over in a pan, one of two. A slow cooker lies atop the counter, lid condensed with moisture, with plates, bowls, and spoons laid out next to it.

It smells really good.

Green eyes fall on him, bright and filled with exuberance. "These are on their last minute, I think, so if you wanted to, you could dish up the soup while I finish them. There’s a ladle in there.” She gestures towards the drawer beneath the counter where the slow cooker rests. “It's tomato miso; I hope you like it. It should be done by now.”

His stomach suddenly feels tied in knots in the best sort of way. A gilding of warmth spreads throughout his entire being, veins and arteries and capillaries slowly immersed in something numinous.

“...I’m sure I’ll like it,” he murmurs, reveling in the blush that inks its way onto her cheeks, all the way back on her cheekbones to surround the freckle he’d touched yesterday. She looks away shyly, grinning like he has given her some grand compliment. The corners of his own mouth twist upwards.

Sasuke pulls the ladle from the aforementioned drawer, where it sits amongst other utensils, setting it in one of the bowls already placed on the counter. When he removes the lid, his olfactory senses instantly flood with a wave of savory miso; by the aroma, she must have used red, middle range, a perfect foil for the acidity of tomatoes. When he grabs the ladle again, he stirs it a few times; quartered shiitake mushrooms, kombu, scallions, and tomato chunks - he thinks they are of the plum variety - circle the pot, filling it near to the brim just below the surface. Sakura has made a considerable amount of it, much more than is needed for a single meal for two.

He shifts the plates closer to the slow cooker, bowls set atop them, before ladling soup in, careful not to spill and making sure to get an even mixture of produce with which to fill the broth in each. He rinses the ladle clean, and she mentions that there are small plates in the cupboard to his upper left, to rest the ladle on; he grabs one as she moves to open a different cupboard behind him.

Sasuke returns the lid to its place to trap in the slow cooker’s heat, rotating the dial from hot, past low and into the warming setting. When he turns back to Sakura, she’s shutting the stove off and moving the pan to a cool burner. Both of the sandwiches are resting on a cutting board, sliced diagonally.

The sandwiches smell really good, too. She veers the halves onto the empty space of the plates using the knife, before leaving it, along with the paring board, in the sink.

They each grab a plate and spoon before heading to her dining table, in front of the northern window. The dangling market lamp is already turned on, and fat droplets are slipping down the glass.

It’s a calming lunch they share, a steady lulling of inclement background noise alternating between bites of sandwich and spoonfuls of soup as they watch the street below. The avocado is good in grilled cheese; it’s something he would have never thought to add. Sakura dips hers into her soup, so he tries it, too, and finds he likes it even better that way. The soup on its own is something else, though; filling and savory, near perfectly spiced. She’s a good cook.

“It’s good. Thank you,” he compliments halfway through as she chews and swallows a bite.

She beams at him. “You’re welcome.” She studies him before adding, “There’s enough for leftovers, if you’d like any more.”

He nods and takes another mouthful, looking out the glass thoughtfully. The residential buildings across the way are also lit up, soft light blurred through the fractals of raindrops.

“Do you think Naruto’s doing his homework on a day like today?” Sakura asks eventually.

“Tch.” He turns his gaze to her. “I doubt he’s even awake yet.”

Her grin is mischievous. “You’re probably right. It's his weekend. No Hinata around to wake him up? Definitely still asleep.” She sighs exaggeratedly. “Kakashi-sensei will be so disappointed. Though it’s better than copying someone else’s, I guess.”

“...Did he used to copy yours?” He’s more amused by that prospect than he should be, though he’s pretty sure he knows the answer.

Sakura furrows fine pink brows as if she knows that he knows the answer, too, but she’s still smiling. “He used to ask if he could. I was too good of a student to let him.”

“...Figures.” A ghost of a smile overtakes him, a cleansing sort of sentimental fondness for bygone days during which their third squad member was at his most annoying.

“I think Shikamaru used to let him. It was too much effort to say no that many times.”

Sasuke exhales through his nose, a rendition of a laugh as she takes another bite of her sandwich, dipping it first in the soup and looking amused. Nara would.

He also takes another bite, and mulls over his next words.

Swallowing beforehand, he inquires, “...What’s in Suna?”

Sakura blinks in surprise, analytical eyes quickly working out that he’s referring to her comment yesterday at Ichiraku’s. She turns to the window, smirking and chewing her food as if considering something of great importance. The dimple sinks in and out as her mouth moves; he averts his eyes back to his plate before he gets caught staring.

When she swallows, she’s quiet for a long moment, then says ambiguously, “I’m not sure I should say anything. Insider knowledge.”

Interesting. Sasuke is sure she has the same friendly camaraderie with Nara that she has with everyone else, but he assumes the insider knowledge must have actually come from Ino; she is the type to know everyone’s business, given how much she apparently shares her own with Sakura, and she is Shikamaru’s teammate, though they're both Jonin now.

“...No hints?” He presses, pinning her with a stare. Now he’s more curious; it must be something good, if it’s a secret of this magnitude.

She bites her lip, still grinning, then bites into her sandwich, watching precipitation race down the glass.

“One,” she finally acquiesces, as if it’s a monumental conspiracy. He raises an eyebrow in anticipation.

“It’s in Suna sometimes. Other times, not.”

He narrows his eyes and suppresses an urge to twitch, because that could really be anything, given their line of work, but based on her bemused expression, he’s not going to get more than that. He settles for studying her until she looks elsewhere, a shy giggle escaping her throat as if this is very funny.

“Sorry. Not mine to tell.” She raises another spoonful of soup to her lips.

“...But Kakashi knows?”

She swallows. “Oh, yes. He might have known before anyone else caught on.”

“Naruto?”

Sakura appears to be deliberating. “...Mmm, he’s more observant than when we were kids, so he might. I kind of doubt it though. They’re pretty good friends now, but…”

Sasuke hadn’t known that. He waits for her to finish her thought, staring at her pointedly. Her gaze flicks back up to his after a second.

She shrugs, then. “He’s a good strategist. I kind of think he’ll hold a higher-up position, once Naruto becomes Hokage, if Kakashi-sensei doesn’t promote him before that. He’d be an asset as an adviser.”

Shikamaru became the chief coordinator of the Shinobi Union, after the war. That type of advancement would make a lot of sense. He would be well-suited to assist the Hokage even now, moreso in a few years. It speaks to Naruto’s increase in awareness, Sasuke thinks, that he would be planning ahead to compensate for areas he is less strong in by appointing sensible counsel. A clan head is an astute choice, especially one who has put in efforts to make peace.

It’s odd, to think of the roles everyone in their generation has come or will come to fill, the more he considers it. Distinctively different plants with roots distending into analogous vessels, like the terracotta ones on Sakura’s doorstep.

“Nara’s a good choice for that,” Sasuke finally says, realizing he should respond.

Sakura inclines her head before lifting her bowl to her mouth to drink the last of her broth. She’s finished her sandwich now. He’s about finished with his, too.

This is nice, he thinks as she smiles at him before glancing outside again. “It’s really coming down now, huh?”

It’s the type of question that doesn’t really need an answer, but he nods anyway, because it is. Meager ponds are collecting in the street, rills tracing pathways over the awnings of the building across the thoroughfare. Pitter patters on the roof have grown in intensity to rival those of the early morning. It reminds him almost of the summer monsoons Konoha tends to get, though this clearly isn't one, still being in the throes of spring. Moisture is good for roots, he supposes.

He sips the last of the broth from his bowl, and she looks back to him. “Would you like another bowl? Or maybe some tea? I can brew some while I do the dishes.”

Sasuke considers the offer. It was a pretty filling meal, the soup piquant and packed with produce as it was. “...Tea would be good. I can help.”

Sakura seems like she’s going to protest, so he adds, “Thank you for the sencha… and the rest. I didn’t have loose leaf yet; I like it.”

She flushes, smiling at him softly. “You’re welcome.”

A silence filled by drizzle passes in which they regard each other, and then she’s standing to collect her plates, so he follows her example and grabs his own before trailing behind her to the kitchen.

It’s early enough still that they can have caffeinated tea, so she cycles through the loose leaf options she has as the sink fills with suds; matcha, chai, ginger peach, white monkey, and rose bouquet white. “The white monkey isn’t as sweet as it usually is; I think I got a unique batch. It’s more woody and peppery than anything; I’ve been mixing it with matcha.” There are the pre-packaged versions, too, but she doesn’t read them off, since they have more specifically sweet flavors, like caramel vanilla, banana dessert, and strawberry shortcake.

He picks white monkey at her recommendation of it not being too cloying, and she grabs one of the banana dessert pre-packaged tea bags for herself. Sakura makes short work of setting the water in the kettle to boil before procuring two teacups and siphoning some of the white monkey blend into a small strainer she pulls from another drawer.

Once she’s done that, she unplugs the slow cooker and reaches for something from a lower cupboard - two hand towels - to put on the counter; he assumes one is to utilize as a dish mat and the other is to actually dry with.

“If you really want to, you can dry… But you’re a guest, so you don’t have to,” she murmurs, expression affectionate in a way that makes his neck warm.

So Sasuke helps. She washes and rinses - her dish soap is lemon-scented - and strategically sets each piece atop the first towel he’s laid out. He dries one side of the plates and bowls, then flips them over one-handed to dry the other, stacking them on the clean expanse of counter to his right. It doesn’t take very long with them working together. When she goes to empty the sink, she gives it a scrub and a rinse with the soapy sponge she’s been using, efficient as always, before rinsing any remnant suds from her own hands.

“I can show you where everything goes,” Sakura says, so Sasuke helps her put things away, too, mentally cataloging what’s in each cupboard for future reference. Her storage system is well thought out, organized in a way that makes the most sense for the layout of the space.

When she reaches upwards to put the cutting board back in its place, the sleeve of her top slips further to one side, gravity pulling the fabric downwards on her slender frame and exposing some of the skin of her upper back. There is a dusting of tiny freckles just above the interior portion of her left shoulder blade that he hadn’t known was there. The way they are scattered reminds him of serpens caput, missing only one of the constellation’s general equivalent of stars. He forces his stare away, ears reddening, when she turns to remove the pot from the slow cooker.

“Thank you for helping.” Sakura adds coconut creamer and sugar to her own cup of tea, stirring. “Would you like lemon with this one?”

Sasuke thinks, still a little distracted by dainty freckles, before shaking his head. If it’s woody and peppery, he’ll probably like it fine on its own. She pushes his teacup towards him on the counter with a look that tells him to test it, so he does, and finds he was right; it’s herbaceous, with a scant amount of woodiness and pepper lurking underneath. Maybe the tiniest hint of sweetness, but barely.

“It’s good,” he tells her quietly, before taking another sip.

Apparently the grey blanket is reserved for him; she takes the lavender once they head to the living room, curling up on one end of the couch with it, tea and her book on the table. Based on her bookmark, she’s about halfway through hers. Sasuke does the same on the other end, mirroring her pose, back propped towards the side of the couch with feet extending to the middle rather than going off the front. He keeps his knees slightly bent so he doesn’t invade her space too much, though he doesn’t think she would mind.

He steals one last glance at her before opening his own book to get lost in the different ways to wield a blade. The rain on Sakura’s roof is ataractic, accented by the pleasant smell of tea, the sensation of a full belly, and a warm blanket that smells like her, though it’s more raspberry this time than any lingering antiseptic.

It’s nearly three by the time he finishes his book, mind swimming with descriptions of sword forms. Sasuke peeks at her and sees she’s almost done, too, so he rereads the more engrossing passages, the ones that were particularly well fleshed-out. He’s so relaxed that he thinks he could fall asleep despite the caffeine, if he closed his eyes for more than a few minutes; focusing on rereading should help him stay awake.

Sakura closes her book after a bit; he looks upward at the sound, meeting green.

“How was your book?” She asks, lips twisting upwards; she must have noticed he finished his, despite still reading her own.

"...Good."

“Learn anything?”

“...A bit.”

Her smile widens as if she is amused; maybe he should elaborate, but he’s not sure if practical applications of swordsmanship are something she’s interested in.

Evidently they are, because she questions, “Care to share?”

Sasuke begins explaining the concept of iaido, derived from iaijutsu, the samurai skill of drawing one’s sword and cutting in the same movement, rather than cutting from an assumed stance after already drawing the weapon. It’s a simple idea, one he’s experimented with in the past, but there had been illustrations on a few of the pages showing different forms, and two of them he has never attempted. The pictures helped; he thinks to himself when he visits the library again, he’ll seek out one containing more visual aides.

He expounds upon the chapter on dual swordsmanship, too, primarily utilizing one sword to attack and another to defend; the defensive stances detailed are some he would like to try, specifically tailored as they are to be used with one arm. Some of them he’s already used intuitively, but one of the forms captured his attention, involving a slight variant sweeping of the blade to repel an attacker that would situate them at a more advantageous angle. It could be useful, if he ever needs to draw an enemy into a trap.

“Interesting,” Sakura remarks, and it seems genuine. Maybe it is interesting, in the case of someone who has, at least to his knowledge, never used a sword. He would like to ask her about medical ninjutsu sometime. “So it was a good read?”

He inclines his head to indicate yes. “...And yours?”

Sakura grimaces. “It… wasn’t terrible, I suppose. I didn’t really like the author’s writing style. Ino and I differ in that regard. She reads things more for the story itself than the way it’s told, so sometimes this happens.”

Sasuke raises an eyebrow so she’ll clarify. She shifts slightly, bringing a finger to her chin in thought. “It was too… straightforward. Limited and repetitive vocabulary, not a lot of dialogue structural variation, though it’s well-researched; I’ll give it that. It takes place during the second Shinobi War. A civilian woman’s husband going off to battle, they have to evacuate the area, the costs of conflict, that sort of thing. The ending was sad…” Her voice trails off, punctuated by the plunk of deluge, then she adds, “I guess it makes sense that the protagonist would think in limited language given the rudimentary basic education structure of everything back then, but it’s not very… poetic. It was like the author felt nothing as they wrote it, a kind of detachment from the whole thing.”

He suppresses an urge to smirk, reminiscing on her letters and extensive vocabulary. “...You like poetry.” It’s just an observation, but it’s something he hadn’t known about her, prior to now. Very Sakura.

Color floods across her cheekbones, and she looks at him with an expression that is very tender, as if there’s something else she would like to say. He could stare for hours, entranced by her as he is. “...I do.”

Sasuke wonders, then, if any of the books on her bookshelves are poetry books. He hasn’t read the titles carefully. It occurs to him that she might have more books in her bedroom, now that he’s thinking about it. When he was younger, he used to keep many of his own in his room, too, sorted by genre.

“Did you finish your other book already?” Sakura asks him, then, expression inquisitive.

He nods, eyeing her as he contemplates what he would like to say. He decides not to phrase it as a question this time; he wants her to offer, so he knows he's not requesting too much. Give her an out. She trains with Ino in the morning on Mondays and has lunch with her after, but she hasn’t said anything about her plans for the afternoon.

There’s still something in him that’s nervous, tightening as he speaks, careful to specify time. “...I was thinking of going tomorrow afternoon to get some new ones.”

Her smile unfurls slowly; Sakura really can read him well. “...I was, too.”

His chest rushes with warmth, anxiety released in a single relieved breath; it's not too much, then. The corner of his mouth quirks up, and that seems to encourage her, because she adds, “Ino and I are usually done with lunch by around one. It’s supposed to be nice out, I think. We could…” Her voice trails off, as if she’s considering. “...We could meet at the library around one thirty, and then maybe… take books to a quieter area to read, after. If you want. I... think I know a spot that should be fairly dry by then.”

“...I can meet you here,” Sasuke offers in a low voice, a confession he's more comfortable with now. The way she glows in response as she agrees is captivating.

Sakura invites him to play go with her, after. He agrees, because he wants to, and also because he doesn’t want to leave just yet. They set up the board on her dining table, a gridded battlefield of sorts beneath the market light.

She absolutely demolishes him in the first round, carefully surveying the board before each play of her white stones with careful calculation and syllogism. It’s to be expected, because she has always been smarter than him, but also because he hasn’t played in years and is woefully out of practice, ill-prepared to deal with this sort of onslaught. The second round is closer, but he still loses. It’s a challenge, as he knew it would be; Sasuke finds her moves to be quite roundabout, more about the long haul tactics of trapping than any short and quick route to victory. There are times where he realizes he unknowingly played right into a ruse more than five turns previous.

It’s four thirty by the end of the second match. Sakura’s attention flashes to the clock once as she puts away the board; he helps, sorting his own black pieces into their respective container. He will have to head out soon, though he’s not looking forward to it. He is quite comfortable here, with her.

“It’s still coming down out there,” she muses as she rises to store the box, peering through the glass before turning to make her way to the bookshelf she’d retrieved the set from earlier.

“...It is.” He gazes out the window, distracted by the puddles and their ripples below them in the street. It feels almost as if something is tugging on him to focus on them, suggesting something orphic, beyond simple rainwater.

The soft clicking of teacups and small plates being collected from her coffee table resounds behind him, so he turns to her, thinking he could offer to help wash them.

“I made enough soup for leftovers, so if you want to take some home, you can.” Sakura says, before the words make it out of his mouth. Outwardly he remains blank-faced, but something in him sighs. He’s not really sure what he's going to do with the rest of the day. Sparring with Naruto would be unwise on a day like today; he’d probably catch a cold. He could go by a store and buy a book to read, he supposes.

Being back in Konoha is odd like that. He used to just… walk, if he didn’t have anything to do on his journey, or read her letters, but now that he has had the opportunity to spend time with her, he selfishly just wants more of it. Time spent alone seems dimmer in comparison.

He would like to take some soup back to his apartment, though. It was kind of her to offer; he should probably say something.

She looks contemplative when he looks to her, though, carefully clutching porcelain, and thank you lingers in his throat, unspoken.

“Or… If you would like to stay for dinner, and do something after... you could.”

The faintest of stings begins behind his retinas, something long in the tooth stirring, aged roots buried so deeply he had perhaps forgotten they ever existed in the first place. He thinks it is the feeling of being wanted, of having a place in someone’s home.

He hopes she’s offering because she genuinely wants him to stay. She has a mountain of responsibilities, he knows, although it is her day off.

“...You’re sure?”

Pink brows furrow as if she’s confused how he could ask such a thing; she shuffles her weight slightly from one foot to the other. “Of course.”

An interlude passes in which the torrent measures time, the beat of a ballad that is very old. Her next words are hushed, pianissimo lyrics that he’s sure she has no idea just how much he has yearned for; she’s biting her lip and peeking at him from beneath pink lashes as she says them.

“I missed you, when you were gone. You… can fill as much of my free time as you’d like.”

The daunting prospect of a lonely evening evaporates completely. His tongue feels tied up in his mouth, but he nods, hoping she can read in his eyes his gratitude; he’s fairly certain that if he spoke, it would come out hoarse, not at all suitable as a response to the song she has just offered to him.

Sasuke thinks that she can see it just fine, because she gives him a breathtaking smile that could sustain him for a long time, a drop of honey added to an overflowing teacup in which he sips the surplus, with a tinge of an aftertaste that isn’t too sweet for his liking.

The dishes are tackled together. After they finish, she reheats tomato miso soup and cooks two more sandwiches for supper. Another meal is shared at her dining table, overcast skies overlapping into evening, the lights from the windows of Konoha glowing more and more as time passes. It’s just as good the second time, flavorful and filling.

They watch a geology-focused documentary on her television about lava, earthquakes, and landslides. Sakura questions him afterwards about the little time he was in the Land of Volcanoes, south of the Land of Mountains. He hadn’t stuck around for any extended time due to the extreme heat, but what time he did spend there is seared into his memory due to the intensity of it. He had come rather close to one of the region’s volcanoes, within sight of a smoking center mere miles away with lava tendrils trickling outwards, in the process of cooling but still alarmingly hot.

It makes him feel more appreciative for the rain here today, recalling it. Here in Konoha, he could touch the streamlets if he wanted to; he doesn’t need to keep a distance.

They follow up the documentary with a movie after; this time he tells Sakura to pick one. It’s unique, including some fantasy elements, about a struggle between the gods of a forest and the humans living on its edge that consume its resources. The protagonist is cursed by an animal attack, and seeks out a cure from one of the deities. While traveling, he sees other areas in which humans are ravaging the earth and warring with the gods of nature, a thought-provoking contrast considering they’ve just viewed a program detailing the inner mechanisms and wrath of volcanic eruptions, much like gods of nature in their own rights. The conclusion is open-ended; though the hero tries to broker a peace between humanity and the spirits, there is no feeling of resolution or success, no guarantee that one side will mediate with the other. It isn’t quite what he expected it to be, but he notes that the characters were quite realistic, allowing for the viewer to identify with them and better experience what they must be feeling secondhand; it was not told in a detached sort of way as she’d said the book from earlier had been.

Sakura makes earl grey tea, after, and they visit for the better part of another hour, quiet voices awash in auriferous lighting, relaxed by bergamot malt and lemon slices. She inquires about his travels, which places overall were his favorite in the four other great nations. The way she looks at him as he answers makes his heart thump, as if she is hanging on his every word.

It’s near eleven at night by the time he rises for the entryway. The kiss they share before he leaves feels like the drizzle of the rainwater outside, mellow collections grown slowly but surely deeper from time spent together, inexplicably telluric like submerging into soil.

He steps in a few unavoidable collected pools of moisture on his way back to his own apartment, drenching his socks. It makes him feel strangely nostalgic again for some reason, a reminder of a place’s capacity for change, to absorb something and thrive again.

Sasuke has seen many parts of the world now, absorbed as much as he can through his brother’s eyes, and has just relived his favorites by describing them to Sakura. She didn’t ask him about his favorite place in the Land of Fire, though.

It may easily become Sakura’s apartment.

XXX

When he sinks into slumber, he is pulled further downwards into a memory from a very long time ago, something quondam that has since dissolved.

The recollection is hazy in the ways that dreams are, slightly murky as if he is viewing it through a puddle tinged with the loam of Konoha, but perhaps there is something about Sharingan vision even unactivated that embeds the visual acuity into one’s optic nerves, to live there in perpetuity for eventual retrospect. It is one of his earliest memories, he thinks; he would have been maybe four, meaning Itachi had to have been nine or ten, though there is no one he can ask to confirm.

There had been a summer monsoon, perhaps the first one he was old enough to remember, water temperate enough to exult in without catching cold. Their mother warned them not to be outside too long in the storm, and occupied the covered porch, observing them to make sure they heeded her will. There had been no precipitation for a while prior - he thinks there may have been a drought - so the moisture was welcome. Plashets collected in their sprawling yard, causing Mikoto Uchiha’s prized white lilies to appear as if they were emerging from small lakes. She had expressed concern that they may drown upon Sasuke’s examination of them, framing the boundary of their home, but he, in that naive viridity that small children have before the world beats it out of them, thought they were strong enough to persevere.

“I’m sure you’re right, Sasuke,” his brother had said supportively, before showing him a path that allowed a step in every puddle on their family’s grounds. They had raced to the far end of their property and back; he had clumsily fallen at the end of the first pass, getting soaked, as if he wasn’t already from the warm rain coating both of them from the ashen sky above. Mud stuck between his toes, squelching and cushioning his fall while simultaneously making him filthy. It had sloughed off so easily back then in the deluge, corroding all at once and bleeding into the mess of their yard to immediate murky liquidity.

Itachi helped him up by his left hand, getting covered in his muck before the water rinsed their digits clean, and then he was being challenged to a second sprint. Sasuke emerged victorious this time, though now, looking back with eyes that are not his own, he realizes his brother obviously let him win, trained Shinobi that he was by that point. Coming to terms with that is horrifying, because he can see now that his brother was still just a child, wisdom beyond his years be damned. Sasuke is sure Itachi would have to have killed people on missions by then, completely at odds with the soft-spoken and gentle countenance he portrayed at home.

Eventually there was enough drizzle that miniature rivers of connected pools formed, capillaries of nourishment interlacing everything. Sasuke had been fascinated by the changing landscape, until Itachi had ambled up to the porch to speak with their mother. Disappointment swept into him like a tide; he had thought that his brother didn’t want to play with him anymore. But then their mother had risen and gone indoors, and Itachi motioned for him to join him at the edge, beneath the awning.

She came back carrying a small pile of paper, which confused him. He’d watched, enthralled, as Itachi folded one of the pieces into something reminiscent of a boat, simple yet perfect.

“If you put them by the gutter, the force will push them sailing across the yard,” his brother had said; he remembers the inflection so clearly, strange because it is from a time when Itachi was young enough to have the voice of a child, so unlike the rich timbre he’d held later in life.

He had trailed after his brother to the gutter, and sure enough, the paper boat was propelled by the rain streaming down from the roof; it took off as soon as Itachi let go. Sasuke had stomped after it with approximately zero grace, mud coating him up to his ankles, until it reached the boundary fence, saturated through and less buoyant due to the barrage of droplets dampening it from above.

The absolute joy he felt, when he had sprinted back to tug on his brother’s sleeve to ask if he would show him how to make one, and he’d agreed. They’d returned to the pile of paper guarded from the elements by their mother, and Itachi showed him each step, creating another one alongside him as an example. His small hands were not very coordinated back then; his boat hadn’t turned out as nice, all wrinkled sloppiness instead of crisp, clean folds.

“You just need more practice,” Itachi had murmured. “My first one was messy, too. I’ll help you.”

Larger hands had closed around his, creating skillful creases and shaping with dexterity. The second boat turned out much better. Sasuke had given his first one to his mother, then, so she could race, too. Remembering the smile, the genuine look of motherly gratitude she’d given him, bruises something in his soul, precipitation on frail roots entombed deep; it reminds him of the struggle of swallowing a gulp of water after traipsing through the desert, dry mouth making it almost painful, a gargantuan effort that takes everything in him not to look away.

She’d followed them from the porch over to the corner eaves, staying under the cover to avoid getting drenched, and the three of them had released their creations. Sasuke thinks they had to have given him a small headstart, surrendering theirs just after his, so his boat would make it to the other end of the yard first. He’d run after it, Itachi meandering along behind him at a slower pace, while their mother stayed beneath the awning.

His brother had smiled at him as he jumped puddle to puddle in glee. They’d grabbed the now-soaked paper boats at the conclusion of their path, and brought them up to the porch to set in a pile. Then they constructed and raced more, a veritable treasure of a late morning. For his last of the day, Sasuke had tried folding one on his own again, and it turned out better than his first attempt. Though a little lopsided, it hadn’t capsized, sailing strong in the current unaided just like Itachi’s.

Their mother had made them shower and then drawn them a hot bath after, to ensure they were clean and warmed. She had parted his toes to get the mud stuck there out, soil spiraling and dissolving down the drain as he watched. He’d splashed Itachi in the bath after, and folded one more boat with a piece of paper his mother brought him, so he could see how much time it took for it to sink without getting flooded from above, an experiment in buoyancy.

She made miso soup with rice for a late lunch, with something from their aunt and uncle’s shop as a treat after, some variety of warmed pastry. Itachi had let him try his in addition to his own; Sasuke’s had been strawberry, but Itachi’s tasted of peach, gooey sweetness to top off a perfect day that wasn’t even over yet. Their mother must have made herself some tea, too; he remembers the aroma of jasmine filling the space, warmed by lamplight cast on dark wood. When she’d told Sasuke it was time for a nap, he’d become extremely sullen, because he didn’t want to sleep; he’d wanted to spend more time with his brother. It wasn’t often he was home for a full day, prodigy that he was by then and always on missions.

Itachi had surprised him. “I’ll take a nap, too. It's important to rest sometimes. You can join me, Sasuke.” His refusal morphed instantaneously to greedy acceptance. Sasuke crawled into bed with his brother in his room, huddled in the comforter for warmth as the deluge continued for hours, the dousing on their roof and peaceful breathing composing a conciliating symphony with which to lull him to sleep. Eventually he'd succumbed, tuckered out and content, though he'd tried to stay awake as long as he could so he didn't miss out on time with Itachi.

Ten year olds don't usually take naps. His brother may have feigned sleep just to get him to do as their mother wanted. That realization is trenchant, too, sharp like a blade, because it’s a cycle that would repeat itself until Itachi’s end, Sasuke never understanding until the moment had passed, always a step behind and looking backward instead of forward.

When he’d awakened later in the evening, he’d smelled food cooking, miyabi soup and some kind of grilled fish. Itachi hadn’t been beside him anymore, but after blinking groggily, his brother had appeared like an apparition in the door frame.

“Dinner’s almost ready, Sasuke.”

Drizzle is still pummeling his apartment building when he rouses in a dark bedroom, alone. No one appears in the door frame this time as he blinks unsteadily, throat choked before the silent tears come, because this memory aches, haunting his heart like some kind of drowned spectre, dripping muddy stains onto clean floors. Sasuke moves to wipe them away with his left hand, the one Itachi used to help him up from the mire, until he remembers that he doesn’t have a left hand anymore. Making a paper boat now would take twice as long.

Everything in him hurts, marcid marrow writhing in his bones as if they are dead roots that have gotten a drink after a decade spent in drought, someone trying to nurse something deceased or rotting back to life. He goes to the memorial stone under the tenebrose cover of two in the morning, but it doesn’t feel like his brother is there. All he has of him are the eyes drowning in his sockets and excruciating retrospection, intermixing with the rain soaking him outwardly.

I miss you, he thinks as he tries not to asphyxiate on the memory, hoping that his mother at least hears his thoughts here, echoed in the ponds collecting around the stone that bears her name. He has to leave eventually, because he starts picturing white lilies emerging from miniature lakes, full of life and swaying with wind and torrent, instead of cold and motionless grey granite, and he thinks he is going to start sobbing.

Sasuke returns to his apartment after the better part of an hour and stares out his living room window, nursing a miniscule cup of sencha tea, weak so as not to unsettle him too much. The weather lets up eventually, turning from a drench to a drip between the fine branches of the cherry blossom tree across the street. The puddles slowly begin to sink in, though there are remnants of dirt collected in the grooves of the pathways due to the overflow. The tree is starting to lose its petals; they float atop the collected areas of water, a hint of hope buoyant atop sorrow like a paper boat.

He isn't at all hungry, but Sakura said he should try to gain weight, so he forces down a very early breakfast of plain rice, tasteless, before he goes to rifle through the box in the closet. He averts his eyes as he lifts the lid, fumbling to turn the photo upside down without looking at it and moving it to the bottom of the container before sifting through Sakura’s letters.

He picks a favorite of his, one she wrote to him while he was passing through the Land of Savanna, the first autumn season of his journey.

Sasuke-kun,

I was so happy to see your hawk on the horizon today. I gave him some water since he had a long journey.

The way you described the grasslands changing color in Savanna was lovely. The trees are changing here, too, shedding all of their leaves and making the roads a sea of color. Naruto slipped on a scarlet one the other day coming out of Ichiraku’s. He almost dragged Hinata with him, but thankfully no one was hurt. That's providence, I suppose, though it's not a red thread.

Soon it will be the season for chestnut-flavored everything. Stout squirrels come next, and Tsukimi will be happening, too. I've only ever seen it here in Konoha and once in Sand, while we were on a mission. You'll have to tell me if the moon looks any different where you are. Don't forget to make a wish.

The air is turning crisp here, like the leaves, so I imagine it will be there, too. Please stay warm.

I miss you.

-Sakura

Sasuke comes to the realization then that he’s sitting in damp clothes, and that he is kind of cold; he hadn't thought to grab his cloak earlier, too overcome with mourning. He carefully puts the letter back, and makes the decision to take a hot shower. The heat makes him feel incrementally better, thawing him from the inside out. It also makes him realize his mouth feels dry; he’s probably dehydrated, and needs to drink more than a weakly brewed half glass of tea. He prepares another cup, stronger this time.

A mission summons arrives around nine. He uses the mirror of his bathroom to make sure he doesn't look too disheveled - the shower helped, he thinks, though he’s slightly pallid - before heading to the Hokage’s office.

He's the first one of those requested to arrive, though not by much. Naruto is sitting in his designated chair with the scroll again, looking for all intents and purposes like he just woke up.

"Teme?! Eh, really?!" The dobe turns in his chair to glare metaphorical daggers at Kakashi, who pointedly ignores him. "You're seriously not sending me with?! Bogus."

Kakashi simply inclines his head towards him, not even sparing Naruto a glance. "Sasuke. Good morning. Ready for a mission?"

He nods mutely, wondering what it could be. Naruto whines some more, but Sasuke tunes him out. There's nothing like his teammate’s complaining that grinds on him in the morning, though he’ll inwardly admit it is helping to coax him back into some sense of normalcy.

His replacement walks through the Hokage’s door next, impassive as always. He inclines his head politely at Sasuke, so he returns the gesture. Naruto heaves a sigh. "Oh, come on!"

Sai doesn't miss a beat, turning to Kakashi, absolutely devoid of any kind of emotion as he delivers Sasuke’s favorite invective. "Is Dickless not coming?"

Sasuke barely manages to suppress a snort as Naruto guffaws, launching an entire container of pens at Sai. "STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Not all of Sai's nicknames are poorly chosen. He loathes the one he has for Sakura, but Sasuke doesn't think he'll ever get tired of hearing Naruto’s. It improves his mood measurably.

Shikamaru Nara saunters through the doors last, looking extremely apathetic already. Shrewd eyes flick to Sasuke’s momentarily, too quickly for him to read anything from them, then to Sai’s, then to the pens Naruto is picking off the floor, before settling on Kakashi.

Interesting. So it’s the escort mission, after all.

Naruto is outright mad now, glowering but past the point of saying anything as he returns to his seat in silence. It seems he at least knows when to give up, these days.

"Now that I have you all here, I'm afraid I must break the news that this won't be a terribly exciting mission. Simple escort to Sand for our diplomat tomorrow. It may be a bit… overkill, but there will only be three of you on the return trip, and my newest batch of missions didn't have anything terribly exciting in it. It's better to complete something useful with enough time to get back in case we need you for bigger tickets next week; it can't be helped." Kakashi shrugs, before adding, "Sending Sai should shorten the trip and make it less taxing, at least, flying birds and all. Shikamaru will lead, like usual."

Kakashi goes on to disclose that they'll be leaving at dawn tomorrow. Apparently it's only a four day round trip with his replacement's jutsu involved; this means they’ll leave on Tuesday morning and be back on Friday evening, should nothing go awry. It’s not likely that it will; Suna and Konoha are strong allies at this point.

“Any questions?” Kakashi asks at the end of the briefing. Neither Shikamaru nor Sai say anything; he doesn’t, either. An escort is simple enough, especially one of a fellow Shinobi.

His old sensei smiles in a way Sasuke feels is directed mostly at Shikamaru. “Alright, then. Dismissed.”

Nara strolls lackadaisically out of the office as Sai follows. Sasuke gets the inkling that this will be a rather silent journey, between the three of them. He’s a bit thankful he hasn’t been assigned a mission with more talkative comrades, at least not for his first one back.

“Teme!” Naruto pipes up as he turns to leave as well, so Sasuke lingers. “Wanna spar this evening?”

His brows knit together while Kakashi looks between them, as if amused. Sakura has not invited him over for the evening, but he thinks of soft words yesterday anyway.

I missed you, when you were gone. You… can fill as much of my free time as you’d like.

“The day before a mission? You’re stupid. Pass.” Sasuke says, both because he’s hoping to spend the twilight hours with her, too, but also because he knows it will annoy the hell out of Naruto. They really shouldn't go all out the night before one of them leaves for a mission anyways; if one of them breaks something, Sakura will be stuck fixing it, and it’s supposed to be her day off.

Naruto looks miffed, a lone blond brow twitching, so he adds, “...Saturday, early morning. If you’re even awake. Dobe. ”

Before he turns away from Naruto’s spluttering, he catches an all too knowing gleam in Kakashi’s visible eye. Sasuke is suddenly sure that their old sensei is well-acquainted with Sakura’s work schedule. He can feel the hole being burned into the back of his head by blue eyes and a single dark one as he leaves the Hokage’s office, the dobe still struggling to come up with a response to his quick refusal.

He feels marginally better as he walks leisurely back to his apartment, noting along the way that more of the puddles are already beginning to dry up.

Sasuke fixes something more substantial for lunch, since he knows Sakura will eat with Ino; a chicken curry, fragrant with garlic and ginger and carrots, poured atop rice. He doesn’t have any potatoes, so he substitutes with other produce, a unique mix for curry; bell peppers, green onions, and burdock roots. It’s not bad, but maybe he’ll pick up some potatoes when he gets back from Sand.

He is looking forward to going on a mission again, he realizes as he eats. It’s probably going to be a rather routine one - it’s not likely that they’ll face any enemies in friendly territory - but it will be good to be amongst allies again, contributing to fulfilling a purpose, however slight. Sasuke thinks maybe he should make more of an effort to interact with Sai. It appears as though he and Sakura are close, if he’s been to her apartment; Ino was there, too, he supposes, but still.

Sasuke spends the remainder of his time doing the dishes and making sure everything in his fridge is wrapped well, to ensure it doesn’t spoil in the time that he’s gone.

XXX

Sakura’s hair is damp, pink more saturated than it normally is, when he meets her on her doorstep; she must have showered. The scent of mixed berries is renewed, and suddenly he is certain that it has to be some kind of soap, perhaps a body wash. She has her single fiction book in hand.

“Hi,” she says, grinning up at him with a disarming beauty that makes his heart skip. Her hair clings to her neck when she locks her door behind her; Sasuke focuses on a ranunculus bloom instead, noticing that there are two small cuttings of the flowers missing, taken from its rear portion, until she turns back around.

“...Hi.”

“How was your morning?” She questions kindly as they make their way down the stairs and out the glass door, spring sunshine filtering in.

He blinks once as he considers how to answer. “...Fine. I had a mission briefing.”

Sakura’s lips quirk upwards. “Anything exciting?”

He exhales through his nose, a shadow of a laugh. “No. Just an escort.”

Jade eyes twinkle. “Ah, I’m guessing… Sai and Shikamaru.”

“...Kakashi might listen to your squad suggestions more than Naruto’s.”

She chuckles a little. “No, it’s just that he usually sends them for that. You must have replaced Naruto; he’s the third squad cell member, most of the time. Sai’s jutsu makes it a quicker journey, especially with Temari’s fan techniques; she can create updrafts.”

Sasuke thinks he vaguely remembers a blonde woman who is Gaara’s sister; that must be the diplomat. The sibling of the Kazekage would be well-suited for such a job.

“...Maybe I’ll find out what’s in Sand.”

She smiles while biting her lip. She’s very pretty.

“Maybe,” she finally offers cryptically.

They weave through the road on their way to the library, taking care to avoid the water still lingering; it has sunken into the earth for the most part by now.

Sasuke checks out three books this time. One is another on historical samurai, this one with more illustrations as he’d wanted. The second is a historical account of the establishment of Nunogakure, in the Land of Silk. He had passed through the country twice, and had always been interested in learning more about its history, given the establishment of its hidden village by kunoichi and their record of hostility with the ruling daimyos. The third is a fiction book about an old man at sea, suggested to him by Ichika as she scans Sakura’s books, then his.

“It’s kind of proverbial, and not terribly lengthy. You seem like the type who would like it,” the librarian offers, so he adds it to his pile. It’s not quite an old lady giving him vaguely prophesying teacups, but it sounds interesting enough. He appreciates her kindness; not everyone in Konoha gives him this particular brand of easy acceptance after the debacle that was his past. Sasuke thinks perhaps showing up with Sakura helps. Ichika looks at his empty sleeve for a long moment this time; she must not have noticed the last time he was here, the unfilled end of it hidden by the counter.

Sakura says there’s a spot towards the slope of Hokage Rock that drains off the cliff, a hill that should be dry enough to sit on, so they meander upwards. It’s on the western side, just at the juncture where the grass begins to give way to harsher stone. A wild cherry blossom tree that he spotted from a half mile away is clinging to the precipice, a bit off the beaten path. It must have sturdy roots, he thinks, reaching deep into the dirt and bedrock to give it the strength to soar upwards even here on uneven ground.

As they near it, he observes that it’s losing its petals, too, late in blooming like the one across the street from his apartment; small green buds are starting to take the flowers’ place.

They read for a bit under its branches, sprawled out on the hillside. She was right; the ground is dry here, already soaked into the soil or run off the slope. It’s not too warm or cool out, an enjoyable spring day where everything is freshly watered. The book Ichika recommended is pretty good, full of oceanic metaphors, some of which he finds unnervingly relevant. Sakura might like it; it’s written somewhat artfully. He gets about a third of the way through its pages as the sun begins to hang lower in the sky.

It’s around four when he allows his focus to wander away from his book to her. He's been leaning up against the tree, in the only spot someone could; the rest of the area by the trunk is too asperous to sit comfortably, roots twisting ruggedly, but strong. Much stronger than white lilies, hardy enough to weather even the harshest storms. Sakura is on her back a few feet away, book open above her and pink hair settled in a halo on the grass. She looks extremely comfortable, as if lying like this in the small amount of shade offered is something she does all the time. Maybe this is a place she visits often.

Her book is titled Hazel Wood; he can tell by the cover it must be fiction, but he's not sure what exactly it's about. He's thinking maybe he’ll ask her later. He's also thinking maybe he should ask if she wants to do something after this; he would like to, if she's free.

She shifts slightly, and he slides his eyes to the skyline so he doesn't get caught staring, very suddenly becoming conscious of the fact that he’s been admiring her for the better part of a few minutes. When he looks back over warily, she is picking up a stray petal and situating it between the pages, sticking out like a bookmark to mark her place. Then she regards him, smiling like she's amused.

He arches a brow, unsure what could be funny, but she's setting her closed book neatly aside and pushing afoot to close the distance between them. He tilts his head up towards her as she walks to the tree trunk, and then she's reaching out. Two fingertips skim his scalp, and then she's handing him a cherry blossom petal that evidently had been caught there.

"A bookmark, if you want one," she offers, her expression saying she is incredibly entertained.

He blinks once before taking it, lone hand brushing hers for a millisecond. He's distracted by how soft her fingertips feel again.

"...Thank you." He puts the petal in his book to mark his spot as she straightens.

Now would be an opportune time to query her evening plans, but she beats him to it. "Would you want to stop by the market quick with me and then come over for dinner?" Comely green melts into charcoal when he looks up. "I was thinking of making teriyaki atsuage and cucumber salad, but I'm out of cucumber."

His agreement is immediate, insides twisting pleasantly.

As they head down the hill together to beat the evening rush, books in hand, a single crow passes overhead, swooping low towards the center of the village extending before them.

That’s providence, he thinks, though it’s not a red thread. He stares at it like he’s seen a ghost until it disappears.

He helps her cook this time. Sakura handles the cutting and chopping while Sasuke seasons and turns the tofu as it fries in one of her pans, mixing together mirin and soy sauce to create the teriyaki dressing while she slices cucumbers and tosses them with other ingredients; she loads the salad with peanuts, sauces, garlic, and red chile flakes.

It’s another gratifying evening together. They play three rounds of chess this time, and it’s just as challenging as go; she cycles through positions intuitively, sometimes with seemingly little thought involved. Sasuke thinks she might be analyzing her next moves in her head during his turns, having a few planned out and simply narrowing it down based on whether he moves a rook or a pawn. He comes close to winning the final match, at least. With more practice, he might win once in a while.

Sakura offers to make tea again, after. He accompanies her to the kitchen, and when she opens the cupboard, his throat closes, because two new jars of loose leaf sencha from the tea shop have mysteriously appeared, one for the caffeinated shelf and one for the decaffeinated shelf.

Sakura’s expression is tentative. “I thought maybe sencha this evening. I… picked some up on my way back from lunch, earlier today.”

He nods weakly, tongue-tied and endlessly grateful.

She makes some for the both of them, finishing off her own with sugar and honey. Sasuke watches her swirl the spoon in the now fading luster of her kitchen, thinking the way she takes her tea is like her very being, so sweet.

Verdant eyes peek up at him when she walks him to her entryway, hours later. He sincerely hopes that she’s enjoying spending time with him as much as he is with her.

Then, Sakura’s voice lilts up to him, a quiet murmur, "Will you… come see me, when you get back?"

He blinks, sugar and honey pouring into him now, because it’s almost an answer to the question in his head that he hadn’t vocalized. Then his brow furrows, because maybe he’s failed at conveying that he'll spend literally any amount of time with her that she allows him. Sasuke knows his communication skills aren’t the best, and he has never been in any sort of romantic relationship, so everything is new territory, stunted by his lack of practice.

Her gaze flits away from him. "Just… so I know you're okay."

Oh. She means coming to see her right after debriefing, so she'll know he's returned safe. Something pleasant pools in his belly, sinking to the extremities in a way that feels nurturing. He realizes he is taking too much time to respond; she looks nervous.

"I will."

Jade centers back on him, reassured now, and he's not sure how he's going to go four days without it, this limitless green that soothes him to no end.

"Oh. Good. Thank you." Her expression changes to one that is considerably more relaxed, a tender look directed upwards that he has never seen her wear for anyone else.

Sasuke presses his lips to hers for a long time before he departs, a soft goodbye he’s hoping will convey all the words that are caught in his throat, gratitude and affection that have been stewing there since they were thirteen.

He thinks he feels love press back from hers, a delicate flickering that makes him ache, and perhaps providence. Sugar and honey, too. Sweetness doesn’t hurt him like the recall of pastries does, when it’s experienced secondhand like this.

XXX

The mission goes smoothly. Sai's jutsu does speed things up considerably, and the Sand delegate, Temari, uses her giant fan to give them a boost in places that are lacking in higher gales. He rides with Sai on the way there, while Shikamaru and Temari drift on the other; Sasuke thinks the separation must be so she can use the jutsu, strategically getting behind his replacement's bird to give him a boost before Sai can control it and have theirs catch the subsequent updraft, too.

Sasuke and Shikamaru fulfill lookout roles, him scanning ahead and Shikamaru scanning behind. It is refreshing to see the land from above, giving way from forests to grasslands to the beginnings of desert edges. He finds himself thinking about what his hawk saw, all of the times he brought correspondence to and from Sakura. It’s not as hot this way, traveling through the air with breeze ripping around them, though they make an effort to stay hydrated, still.

Sai is quiet, but Sasuke is, too, so he can't knock him for it. He wonders, scanning the horizon for the upteenth time, if Sai knows what's in Sand that interests their squad leader. He would have to, dating Ino, but he doesn't feel comfortable asking him something like that.

They spend most of the first day in relative silence, only spying a single squad of comrade ninja from Suna traveling hundreds of feet below them, just leaving the desert. Towards the end of it, as they finally cross into the first area that is truly all sand as far as the eye can see, Sai surprises him by speaking.

"Beautiful says Ugly is stupid happy that you've returned. I am certain that Dickless is, too."

The effect the words have on him is a little jarring and complex. There is the immediate familiar disdain for Sai’s inaccurate nickname for Sakura, intermixed with immature amusement at Naruto's epithet. A feeling of brotherhood follows, and his heart blooming with something tender, vines twisting or perhaps not-so-dead roots getting another drink. Stupid happy doesn’t sound like a phrase common to Sai’s vernacular, leading him to believe it was Ino’s exact wording, likely after spending the morning with Sakura yesterday.

He thinks it over as they soar over the last bit of terrain for the day, sorting through the different emotions. His answer isn't hesitant; it just takes preparation for him to muster the gall to vocalize it to someone he's not terribly close to.

"...I am, too." It’s an understatement.

XXX

They arrive back in Konoha on Friday evening, as scheduled. No issues, just more lookout duty and enjoyable wind offering relief from the heat. Peacetime is nice; anyone they saw to or from Sand was an ally, no foes. They only utilize one of Sai’s creations on the return trip, Shikamaru still observing the rear but this time atop the same bird as them. It’s a slightly longer trip, without the diplomat to speed things up, but they still make good time.

It's a bit after six when they leave Kakashi’s office, mission report paperwork folded neatly into his satchel. Naruto wasn't there; Sasuke assumes he's either been sent on a mission or has gone home for the day already. He supposes he’ll find out tomorrow, if a banging erupts on his apartment door after sunrise. It must have stormed again recently; the soil is damp, and everything is faintly greener than it was before.

He finds he missed it, the smell just after it rains that was decidedly not present in Suna, even if it does bring hard memories.

“Good work,” Shikamaru says simply to both of them as they step outside, ready to go their respective ways. It’s not necessary for him to say it, but Sasuke appreciates the acknowledgement. He’s aware it is probably not easy to trust him, after everything. Not everyone has the same confidence in him as Team Seven does.

Sai nods towards Shikamaru, then turns to him.

"Tell Ugly I say hi." His tone sounds almost kind as he turns to part ways from them in the street. Shikamaru glances at Sasuke for an instant, expression not containing an ounce of surprise, but he doesn't say anything as he turns to head the other way.

Tentatively, Sasuke starts out in the direction of Sakura’s apartment. She should be home right now, if she didn’t stay late at the hospital. He wonders as he gets closer if maybe he should wait a bit; she might be in the middle of cooking, or eating dinner.

He wants to see her, though. He's missed her greatly, and she did say to come by; he tries very hard to swallow his doubts.

Soon he's knocking on a sage green door that is beginning to look familiar. The plants are still damp indoors, too; maybe it rained as recently as this morning. It has to have been overcast for a good portion of the day, for the sunlight through the diamond window to not have dried the moisture from her watering them just yet.

Sakura opens the door wearing a smile; it grows wider upon seeing it's him, like she can’t help it.

His heart skips a beat when she says his name. "Sasuke-kun."

"Sakura."

She steps aside while holding the door open, a silent invitation for him to come in, so he does. He stands in her entryway uncertainly for a second, until she offers, "I'm making tenmusu; there's enough for two. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Everything in him relaxes, any and all ambiguity dried by her kindness in an instant. "...I would. Thank you."

Little flecks of gold shimmer in the lamplight, facets atop something burgeoning with warmth. There is love there, in her eyes and upturned lips. He wonders if she can see it in his, if she has any idea of the true gravity of his feelings for her, all of the things that flare to life in his belly at the mere thought of time spent here.

It’s a break in routine, but there is something he would really like to do, something he has been working up the courage for over the past few days, so he takes the risk, pulse quickening; he hasn't kissed her anything but farewell yet, really, aside from their first, which was somewhere in the middle.

It is better than he imagined, vespertine devotion saying hello rather than goodbye. He skims the freckle on her cheek again as his lips brush hers, hand tender against her skin and silky pink locks. When she leans into his touch, he finds himself wishing there was a way for his soul to graze hers, to tell her the utterly selfish thing he wished for after her letter so many moons ago. Sakura’s soul would be warm to the touch, he thinks, like freshly-brewed tea or the flux of a summer monsoon, but much more illimitable, and endlessly ardent.

Her hands on his shoulders are becoming a familiar weight, grounding him like the roots of her namesake.

When they part, she blinks up at him once, and then suddenly her arms are wrapping around his center instead of his shoulders, pulling him close. His heart swells, and he hooks his lone arm around her waist.

She smells like home, he realizes. "...Tadaima," he murmurs against her hair.

"Okaeri," she responds, soft and sweet against his chest.

#naruto #sasusaku #ssfanfiction #cherry writes #like gold #fanfiction #2nd longest chapter to date idk how it got this long it just kinda happened lmao #also the paper boats scene was like one of the first four passages i wrote that ultimately became this fic #anyways that's providence

[healthmedia]

The truth is that yes, you can change your body in 9  Weeks

Naturally, you are unlikely to wake up on day 31 with the bulging biceps of a body builder, nor morph from couch surfer to swimsuit model either.

But after decades working with bodies of all shapes and sizes, what we definitely can advise is that with 30 days of rigorous, dedicated exercise, you will see and feel huge change – physically and mentally – that is highly likely to create a new, lifetime habit.

And if you want to live better for longer, then this is vital. Plus, we’ve seen it time and time again – once you start the challenge, you’ll wonder what you were worried about in the first place.

Here, two of our most experienced trainers, Xtend Barre® and Pilates instructor, Anna Serafinas Luk and yoga supremo, Victor Chau, explain how to stick with a 30-day exercise plan, so you can feel the change once and for all:

Every time you put a morsel of food into your mouth, you're making a decision - about your mind and your body. They are affected by everything you eat, in a way that modern science is making clearer through new research.

What you eat is responsible for making you tired and exhausted, or keeping you energetic, vibrant and ready for action. It's the choice of food you eat that helps keep you calm and clear, and makes you glow with good health, or relish a healthy weight, or stay fit and trim.

How can I transform my body with professional tip's

Increase your protein intake. Many fitness experts tend always to have a protein shake after their workout.

Buy The Fundamentals

Let's face it: The world isn't a fit place. If you're relying on circumstance, gyms, and restaurants to keep you on-track, you're going to face an uphill battle. So before you begin, fortify your home base with the essential food and workout arsenal.

Having good choices always at-hand in your refrigerator and cupboards will make your life much easier. The specifics will definitely vary depending on the diet play you follow, but these are all solid options to have in your pantry in a pinch.

Pantry Items

Brown Rice

Nutritionally, brown rice is recommended for a healthy diet because it contains extra nutrients. Brown rice tends to be a bit more caloric, but it also contains extra protein and fiber that offer these health benefits: Lowers cholesterol. Controls blood sugar levels.06

Quinoa

Rich in fiber, minerals, antioxidants and all nine essential amino acids, quinoa is one of the healthiest and most nutritious foods on the planet. It may improve your blood sugar and cholesterol levels and even aid weight loss

Oats

The oat, sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name. While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and oat milk, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed. Oats are associated with lower blood cholesterol when consumed regularly.

But that doesn't mean oatmeal cannot do any harm to you. If you do not take a few things into consideration, even oatmeal can lead to weight gain. It can instantly turn from a slimming breakfast to a blood sugar-spiking food that can be harmful to your waistline.

Sweet Potatoes

Vitamin A. A single sweet potato can contain 769 percent of the amount of Vitamin A you need to consume daily. Vitamin A is great for your vision, bones and skin, and helps strengthen your immune system.

Highly Nutritious. Sweet potatoes are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. ...

Promote Gut Health. The fiber and antioxidants in sweet potatoes are advantageous to gut health. ...

May Have Cancer-Fighting Properties. ...

Support Healthy Vision. ...

May Enhance Brain Function. ...

May Support Your Immune System.

Whole Grain Cereals

What are wholegrain cereals? Wholegrain cereals include wheat, rice, corn, oats, rye, barley and millet. Wholegrain cereals contain the three layers of the grain. Wholemeal foods are made from wholegrains which have been crushed to a finer texture.

Nuts

You could possibly gain weight.

Eat more than the recommended handful, and you might actually start to gain weight. That's because nuts are calorie-dense, Jones says, meaning they contain more energy per ounce than many other foods (you can thank all the healthy fats for that!

Which nuts are real nuts?

Hazelnuts, acorns and chestnuts are true nuts

Natural Nut Butter

The largest study of its kind, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, finds that people who eat a handful of nuts every day live longer than those who do not eat them at all

Ounce for ounce, macadamia nuts (10 to 12 nuts; 2 grams protein, 21 grams fat) and pecans (18 to 20 halves; 3 grams protein, 20 grams fat) have the most calories - 200 each - along with the lowest amounts of protein and the highest amounts of fats

Sesame Seed

Sprinkle seeds over your favorite veggie and bean side dishes. Sesame seeds add a subtle, satisfying, and healthy crunch to steamed broccoli, sauteed green beans, and a range of other side dishes. Simply sprinkle on raw or toasted sesame seeds right before serving—that way, the seeds will retain their crunch.

Here are health benefits of sesame seeds.

Good Source of Fiber. ...

May Lower Cholesterol and Triglycerides. ...

Nutritious Source of Plant Protein. ...

May Help Lower Blood Pressure. ...

May Support Healthy Bones. ...

May Reduce Inflammation. ...

Good Source of B Vitamins. ...

May Aid Blood Cell Formation.

Olive oil

Olive oil protects against inflammation, a key driver of heart disease (17, 18). Reduces oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol. The oil protects LDL particles from oxidative damage, a key factor in the development of heart disease ( 19 ). Improves blood vessel health

Olive Oil Is Not Associated With Weight Gain and Obesity

Eating excessive amounts of fat causes weight gain. However, numerous studies have linked the Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, with favorable effects on body weight ( 29 , 30 , 31 ).

Olive oil is a healthy fat that contains anti-inflammatory compounds. Drinking it regularly may benefit your heart, bone, and digestive health and help stabilize your blood sugar levels

Canned tuna

The bottom line. Canned tuna is a nutritious and inexpensive source of protein. Because cans of tuna last for several years, they are excellent for stocking your pantry with easy lunches and snacks. Opt for varieties that are sustainable and low in mercury.

You should never boil or sear canned tuna as this could easily overdo your meat. The most important thing to remember is that canned fish is almost always cooked already, so you're only reheating it. ... So, keep an eye on your canned tuna while it's being heated.

Salmon

Why is salmon so healthy?

The vitamin B12 in salmon keeps blood and nerve cells humming and helps you make DNA. But for your health, the true beauty of salmon is its wealth of omega-3 fatty acids. Most omega-3s are "essential" fatty acids. Your body can't make them, but they play critical roles in your body.

The American Heart Association maintains that eating two servings a week of oily fish (like salmon) can help healthy adults ward off sudden cardiac death, thanks to the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids.

Spices

India contributes 75% of spice production throughout the world, and world spice market is continuously growing. Food ingredients such as salt, mustard, or pickle that is used to add only taste to the food.

...

Fridge Items

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

Most fresh fruits and vegetables are picked before they are ripe. ... However, the USDA states that some produce, such as apples and pears, can be stored for up to 12 months under controlled conditions before being sold.

Fresh Fruits

Greek Yogurt

Egg whites

Low-Fat Milk

Turkey

Low-Sodium Soy Sauce

Salsa

Mustard

Chicken or beef broth

Bottled Water

Freezer Items

Frozen Chicken Breasts

Chicken breasts, larger pieces of frozen chicken and whole frozen birds can be cooked in the oven, although it will take around 50% longer than the normal cooking time for thawed chicken. ... Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Set the oven to 150°C as this will gently thaw and cook the chicken.Frozen chicken is a healthy source of protein. If you're looking for a substitute for red meat, consider healthy frozen chicken. ... Frozen chicken vs. fresh chicken is often cheaper and has the added benefit of having longer storage times than fresh chicken does.

Frozen Lean Beef

Frozen Turkey

Frozen Fish

Frozen Vegetables

Frozen Berries

The truth is that yes, you can change your body in 9  Weeks

#health #fitness #health tips #beautiful body #body goals

[crazy4tank]

33 Genius Edible Holiday Gifts (with Semi-Handy Wrapping Tips)

New Post has been published on https://foodloverrecipes.com/blog/33-genius-edible-holiday-gifts-with-semi-handy-wrapping-tips/

33 Genius Edible Holiday Gifts (with Semi-Handy Wrapping Tips)

Every week in Genius Recipes—often with your help!—Food52 Creative Director and lifelong Genius-hunter Kristen Miglore is unearthing recipes that will change the way you cook.

Things the best edible holiday gifts will always do: warm hearts, fill bellies, fuel holiday travel, get shared, spark conversation, inspire your loved ones to start making their own granola (or hot sauce or challah or macaroons), and disappear, leaving only happy memories.

Here are 28 Genius Recipes for edible holiday gifts—along with mostly handy gifting ideas and intel—that have been passed from cook to cook for years and, in some cases, decades. Yes, three of them are chocolate cakes, but each one is perfect for a different sort of gifting experience. I've provided color commentary.

Shop the Story

No headnote on the recipe, but I put the first few paragraphs from the genius post below:

If you want to be a very popular guest—or host, or coworker or friend, make this shortbread. Though it’s as simple to mix together as any cookie, there’s a world of tender, crisp, and crumbly textures inside, and a haunting flavor that doesn’t quite know if it’s sweet or savory.

And, in my experience, it doesn’t matter—you don’t need to justify it as one thing or another. Every time I set it out, I explain nothing—at first. Hungry lurkers inevitably swarm and empty the plate, without stopping to wonder what genre of snack they're eating.

The recipe comes from the brilliant mind of Charlotte Druckman, co-founder of our Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks and author of a growing number of books herself, most lately Stir, Sizzle, Bake: Recipes for Your Cast Iron Skillet.

This is one of the more rewarding ways to spend 10 minutes. As you stir sesame seeds in a sticky syrup, suddenly the water disappears and a dry crystalline layer of sugar pops to the surface. At Estela, chef Ignacio Mattos’s curve-shattering restaurant in New York City, they roll scoops of caramelized white chocolate in the candied seeds, but the seeds are also just as good sprinkled over ice cream or paletas, or topping a brownie or a slice of cheesecake—anywhere you want a little crunchy sesame-flavored twinkle.

No headnote on the recipe, but I put the first few paragraphs from the genius post below:

In 2012, I made the claim that if you can stir, you can make granola. And while that is still true—and a number one selling point of homemade granola, in addition to taste, customizability, and economics—five years later, I’ve learned you don’t even have to stir.

Because, while most granola recipes call for shuffling the oats around every 10 minutes or so in the oven, with this genius technique there's no need—and in fact you should not, as I learned from Alanna Taylor-Tobin, pastry chef-turned-blogger-turned IACP award-winning cookbook author.

By baking granola pressed between two baking sheets and never stirring, you allow the sticky, slow-toasting oats to fuse into one big crispy, browned sheet—like a very thin, very good granola bar that you can break up into whatever size clumps you desire. Thanks to the extra insulation and diffused heat from the top sheet tray, the relatively low oven temperature (325° F), and Taylor-Tobin's instruction to pack it a little thicker around the edges, the granola bakes evenly and doesn’t burn.

No headnote on the recipe, but I put the first few paragraphs from the genius post below: 

Of course make-ahead breakfast casseroles are genius. They let you knock out all the thinking and doing the day before, when you have time and space to putter. And they feed a hungry crowd much more smoothly than flipping fried eggs or rolling omelettes for eight (don’t do it).

The trouble is: In their ingenious practicality, these casseroles can often feel utilitarian at best. They’re a breakfast you can cut into neat rectangles, with none of the dramatic pouf of a Dutch baby or tactile glee of a pull-apart monkey bread.

This particular casserole, however, is spilling over with glee. It comes from celebrity comfort food lover/known prankster Chrissy Teigen's cookbook Cravings, and she injects some very welcome doses of fun. The most important of these is the topping, which is salted, buttered, toasted Frosted Flakes. You will want to palm this up like trail mix. No surprise Teigen writes, “I am so proud of this dish I could cry.”

“What’s important is the temperature of the butter,” Raij says. “It should be plastic and cold.” Raij was initially inspired by a snack at Roscioli delicatessen in Rome that combined salty Spanish anchovies with curls of cold vanilla butter. “I was so enchanted with it, I came home and put it on everything now,” Raij said. Her take on Roscioli’s dish, a deliberately plain cracker with a thin tube of vanilla butter and a very good-quality Spanish anchovy, has been on the menu at her NYC restaurant El Quinto Pino ever since, and she riffs on it often for parties, big and small. Adapted from Alex Raij and El Quinto Pino restaurant. 

No headnote on the recipe, but I put the first few paragraphs from the genius post below: 

This spicy little number might look like regular old cayenne. But make no mistake: It's the most powerful new player you can add to your salt-and-pepper rotation—for your eggs or anything else at risk of being humdrum. Humdrum stops here!

Unlike cayenne—a fairly straightforward, wall-of-heat experience—this mysterious red powder is tangy and salty and smoky, too, as well-rounded as singular-seeming spices come.

That’s because it’s distilled straight from Sriracha, the beloved squeezy bottle of hot sauce with the rooster on it (although how good would it be made with the homemade stuff or this fancy Gochujang Sriracha)?

Spice companies actually bottle and sell sriracha powder, but it’s astonishingly easy to make it yourself—especially because I’m pretty sure you have a bottle of rooster sauce in your fridge door right now.

This process is almost embarrassingly simple—put cheese in a food processor with wine, a garlic clove, and black pepper; blend. But you do need to cue up your common sense. If there are any rinds that look waxen or suspect (or taste too funky for you), scrape them off. And while a whole wheel of molten Camembert could whip right in, no problem, any harder, aged cheeses like Parmesan should be chopped or grated first. You’ll know. 

This is the single most genius thing you can do to a tomato. They’re best and most outrageous when made with ripe Romas or other meaty types, but as Wizenberg points out, slow-roasting will bring out the tomato in even the pale and off-season, if you feel the need. Make a lot. They keep for a week in the fridge, and are just fine in the freezer. 

This charming loaf may look like a pound cake, and act like a pound cake—and travel well and make sweet gifts like a pound cake. But it's quite a different little number, and thanks to a slew of hidden perks—it's better. 

This recipe began with Nik Sharma's affection for Nutella—the wonders of which he discovered after moving from Bombay to Cincinnati for grad school—and it ends with a streamlined one-bowl, crisp-chewy cookie that happens to be gluten-free. It tastes both everything and nothing like your perfect chocolate chip.

This is the only path to homemade dulce de leche that lets you easily get in to taste and peek and tweak, without also requiring regular or constant stirring—the best of all worlds, the happiest medium for control freaks and tinkerers who nonetheless don't want to be tied for hours to a pot. 

This light, moist, lemony cake is genius for so many reasons: It’s powerfully puckery. It’s got both more fresh lemon juice and zest than you’d expect or normally see in a recipe, and the flavor holds up under heat. It’s given even more flavor because it’s soaked—really soaked—with a lemon and sugar syrup that seeps into the cake slowly and provides moistness, a little more keepability, and a lot more lemon intensity. 

This chocolate chip cookie variant should get its own special bookmark in your brain right now, for the next time you need a last-minute party snack or cookie swap entry or a gift for pretty much anyone (including yourself). Conveniently, the brittle packs up well in a big jar for holidays, birthdays, and sugar-fueled road trips and plane rides. It's also quite friendly to swap-ins for the nuts and chocolate—coconut? chile? pretzels?—if you need a place to set yourself free. 

This is a flawless, crisp-chewy, endlessly malleable olive oil cake blueprint you will want to pocket, even without the crazy-sounding addition of olives. But you should really suspend disbelief and give them a try. For more on why, see the original article here. Variations: 1) Omit the olives, increase the salt to a slightly heaped 1/4 teaspoon, fold 1/2 cup cacao nibs into the batter, and press 1/2-2/3 cup salted, roasted Marcona almonds into the top before baking. 2) Omit the olives, replace the 1/4 cup almond meal with toasted pistachio meal (or ground, toasted unsalted pistachios), add 2 tablespoons shiro miso to the wet ingredients, and press 3/4 cup salted, roasted pistachios into the top before baking.

If you can make scones (or muffins or banana bread), you can make these sparkly, gloriously poufed cinnamon rolls—no waiting for yeast to do its thing. It’s all because the tiny Violet Bakery didn’t have the space to proof yeasted doughs, so founder Claire Ptak had to get crafty with a quick bread-style technique inspired by cookbooks from the 1950s. Don’t expect these buns to precisely recreate the yeasty flavors and pull-apart texture of a slower-risen roll—but they achieve something magical in their own right. And they do a remarkable job of hitting all the other notes of a classic cinnamon roll: the poofy, soft innards and cascading, buttery crust, the sparkle-dusted first bite giving way to sticky-sweet goo.

  This recipe, adapted very slightly from Early Bird Foods' best-selling Farmhand's Choice Granola, is like muesli after a vampy makeover. Olive oil, maple, brown sugar and coarse salt form a rich, shaggy crust on wholesome innards like oats, pecans, and coconut shards. 

Make an XXL batch, package it in cute jars for all your coworkers or cousins, and include the recipe—there will be rabid freak fans converts.

A crisp almond cookie for all your holiday gifting, swapping, and impressing needs, from Sweet Miniatures by Flo Braker (Chronicle Books, 2000).

  This recipe is the aggressive, no-more-excuses shove that you need to start baking your own bread. It will only take you 4 hours of intermittent attention, and won't require a starter nor any equipment you don't already own -- and it will rival your favorite bakery's. 

No professional equipment required to be total inspiration to those around you—extra thoughtful points for wrapping in a reusable Bee's Wrap (a.k.a. bread fresher-keeper).

   Meet your new go-to birthday cake, bake sale cake, dinner party cake, late night snack cake—for when the fridge is at its barest and you need chocolate cake now. (It's also vegan and parve and dirt cheap, but you wouldn't know unless we told you.) This isn't the richest, most chocolatey cake—if you like, you can amp up the chocolate by swapping in coffee for the water, or adding more cocoa. But you don't need to. It's a different animal: light, delicately strung together with cocoa, and not terribly sweet.

A genius technique for guarding against dry biscuits. Food scientist and baking expert Shirley Corriher says the dough "should be a wet mess" -- a moist dough steams up into fluffy biscuits in a hot oven, and a low-protein self-rising flour like White Lily will make them extra tender, if you can get it. Note: Corriher, ever the scientist and tinkerer, published one version of this recipe in CookWise in 1997, and a fairly different one in BakeWise in 2008. We tried and loved both, the newer one edged out. Note: If you can't find self-rising flour, substitute 2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder, and increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.

Give with a side jar of jam (or honey!), or wrap in a suggestive tea towel.

   On creating this cake, Nigella Lawson explains, "I remember very strongly wanting to create what we call a loaf cake—and what is generally called a pound cake Stateside—that had a richness and squidginess of texture that this form of cake normally doesn't major in." And she did. 

Step aside, red velvet. It just so happens that the deep pink earthiness of a beet is surprisingly well suited for bittersweet chocolate. Crushed beets are also an inexpensive way to make a cake achingly moist, nearly molten. And you don't need all that red food coloring after all. 

These are the blondies you'll become known for. A few notes: The key to their flavor is the heavy dose of vanilla -- don't skimp, and don't use artificial extract. Err on the side of under-baking. These are delicious cold from the freezer or fridge (and easiest to slice that way). 

p.s. Can you imagine unwrapping these lidded, nesting mixing bowls to find blondies hidden in the innermost bowl?

   In this variation on a technique from the 1300s, mulled wine gets the sangria treatment -- and stops simmering the booze away. In addition to sipping the sweet, spiced red wine, Anne Willan suggests, "Ypocras, diluted with an equal amount of water, is perfect for poaching whole pears or peaches, and a teaspoon of Ypocras in a glass of sparkling white wine makes an unusual Kir."

Consider this the holiday season's lovable anytime cake -- breakfast, snack, and show-stopping dessert all in one. Serve it with coffee for breakfast, with whipped cream for dessert. Gift it; freeze it; portion it out for a bake sale. Feel free to swap in booze-soaked raisins or darker sugars, whole wheat or olive oil -- this cake is virtually indestructible.

The dough is one simple shortbread that you use for both the crust and the topping (which will make you wonder why you'd ever make them separately). You can make the entire thing in about an hour, including clean-up, and yet somehow it comes out looking like a Byzantine mosaic. Even though it's perfect for holidays, you should entrench this in your repertory year-round. As long as you have butter, sugar, and flour, you can use whatever jams and nuts are in your pantry.

Yes, that lovely peekaboo pie pan is in our Shop and will be loved long after the tart is gone.

   No cinnamon, no cloves -- this sauce is straight up apple, mainlined to your belly. 

It comes from Judy Rodgers' must-own Zuni Cafe Cookbook and -- as with everything she serves at the San Francisco institution -- she keeps it smart and simple, balancing the apples only as needed with small amounts of salt, sugar and apple cider vinegar. She throws in an optional bonus dessert recipe too -- a charlotte, which is basically apple pie, without having to make the pie. It's light, as apple desserts go, and it would make a great cooking project for kids.  

Of  all the cookies you will bake and eat during the holidays (and beyond), this is the one people will remember. They're fine and sandy like a sablé, but with a friendly, soft chew, a bit like American chocolate chip. They're made up of well-salted, well-buttered cocoa dough, with generous pockets and wisps of chocolate feeding through. "I've seen World Peace Cookies made with peanut-butter chips, with cinnamon, with icing, and with gluten-free flours. I've seen them huge and small," Greenspan said. "I don't think you can do much to make them better and happily, there's little you can do to ruin them. Except overbake them." If in doubt, pull them out early -- they'll firm up as they cool. 

We've misunderstood mustard greens this whole time. (We were thinking greens, when we should have been thinking mustard.) Instead of setting them loose in a salad bowl and willing everything else to keep up, try capturing and channeling their heat, and bottling it -- as mustard green harissa. Use it anywhere your food needs livening up. Terry recommends incorporating a few tablespoons when cooking couscous and grains, and using it as a flavor base for soups, stews, and marinades. We also liked it in dressings for roasted vegetables.

There's one surprisingly simple thing you can do tonight (or tomorrow, or Saturday afternoon) that, all winter long, will give you the soup-making power of homemade vegetable broth in—snap!—the time it takes to make hot water. Use it for simmering any bean or grain, as the base for your soups, stews, braises, sauces, and risottos. Or, if you’re feeling under the weather, it will make a soothing broth with hot water, all on its own.

A wholesome, 4-ingredient DIY grenadine for better drinks at home -- plus a gutsy technique for juicing a pomegranate without seeding first. (Wear an apron -- or wear black -- to be safe from stains, but this juicing technique is surprisingly contained.) Stir it into sparkling water (along with a splash of lemon and lime juice for a DIY Shirley Temple), pour it over ice cream and yogurt and cake, explore your bar. This recipe halves well. 

Pack up the grenadine (or the vegetable bouillon or green harissa above) in reusable mason jars. They will not be returned.

   This recipe is one part of a master brownie recipe Medrich designed to use whatever chocolate you have in the house -- but the best version happens to be the one that only requires cocoa powder. By taking out the chocolate, with its inevitable fat and almost-inevitable sugar, Medrich was able to control and fine-tune the proportions of both. When she added back in the fat (via butter), the middles stayed softer. When she added back in granulated sugar, the crusts were shinier and more candy-like. Any cocoa will work, but natural (not Dutch process) will taste more richly of chocolate. 

How to make even better cornbread? Treat it more like a biscuit (or scone, or pie crust). The same cold pockets of butter that make a scone crunch outside and billow through the middle do good things for cornbread too. You can bake them into miniature loaves or free-form like scones, with a shorter baking time.

Alice Medrich, chocolatier and author of scads of baking cookbooks, is famously a little wild with her desserts. She developed this recipe not with the standard bag of sweetened, angel flake coconut in mind, but those wide, sloping unsweetened shavings, often called coconut chips and sold at health food stores nowadays. Naturally, Medrich offers two even more exotic upgrades: 1) Instead of painting a little chocolate shoe on the bottom of each macaroon, why not jam a piece of chocolate in each still-hot cookie and watch it melt? 2) For that matter, why not lace it with lime zest and shower it with cinnamon? Who are we to say that's not a macaroon? 

Oh, you like these studly gluten-free macaroons? How about Alice Medrich's genius book on baking with alternative grains to go with them?

   The whole-grain, gluten-free, no-knead, no-mess, life-changing loaf of bread. Psyllium seed husks are available at naturalfood stores or online. Other than the husks, which you can use in powder or intact form but are otherwise non-negotiable, this bread is adaptable to your mood and your pantry. Swap in like for like (nuts for nuts, grains for grains, and so forth), and your life can change a little bit differently every time.

Turn any winter squash into this holiday season's go-to gift, breakfast, and dessert -- an entertaining triple threat. Virant adds it to ice cream and pumpkin bars, or you can stir it into plain yogurt and oatmeal, smear it on toast and cake. As you might expect, this packs well and makes a handsome gift at any scale you want to make it. It also freezes well, and keeps in the fridge for a few weeks. Because it's low in acidity, it's not safe for water-bath canning.

Here's a fun party trick: Put out a platter of jewel-shaped pieces of this fudge, and make people standing nearby guess what's in it. In this recipe, tofu is used as a substitute for the cooked-down milk in traditional kaju barfi, which shaves off cook time and makes an easier-to-work-with confection that doesn't need to be kneaded or rolled out.

A last-minute 2-ingredient DIY host gift (or party trick for your own New Year's celebration) -- either way, you'll start 2015 making an impression. You can use any sugar -- this recipe calls for superfine, which you can make yourself by blasting it for few pulses in your food processor. But you can also use fancier sugars if that's more your style. Later in the year, you can pull the same trick out again and again. Make honey sugar cubes to set out at a fancy tea, or grind lavender (or chamomile or orange peel) with sugar, then add water. Mix in cinnamon or maple or bourbon for a brunch with big pots of coffee. Make vanilla or almond cubes with the kids for hot cocoas. Cut them in triangles or diamonds or Xs or Ys to reveal that the baby is a boy or girl, or buy elaborate candy molds to make them shaped like flowers or hearts or dinosaurs. Pack them in a mason jar or mug or pour-over situation for more cohesive gifting.

The only gift that can make a bottle of Champagne look even more thoughtful (stowing them in cork canisters doesn't hurt, either).

   A bran muffin that's somehow both more wholesome and more delicious than the rest. 

How to turn 2 ingredients into perfect biscuits, in less time than it takes to drink your coffee. Extra genius points: The formula is so simple, you'll probably never need to look it up again.  Serve them with butter and jam. Or honey. Or dress them like a Mainer, as Hamel recommends: Split them and dribble with cream before topping with berries and whipped cream (Are you counting? That's 3 creams!). Or embed a sugar cube doused in orange juice in each biscuit before baking, a Southern trick for a sweet, melty core that Hamel also likes. Or add herbs or bacon or cheese.

This isn't just genius for a vegan chocolate chip cookie or in spite of it. This cookie, which comes from Ovenly founders Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin, can rest entirely on its own merits: its soft-bellied, chewy, caramelly-crisp-edged, rippled and ringed and puddled with melty chocolate, haunting, well-salted, incidentally vegan merits. 

A DIY hot sauce you can make from the bottles and cans in your pantry all year round, with just one step. It also makes a great last minute edible gift, and will keep for up to 6 months in the fridge. 

These cookies are pesky to make (separate baking of the "caps" and "stems," painstaking gluing with icing, individual sprinkling with poppy seeds) but the finished product is beyond gift-worthy and downright adorable. Warming cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves with sweet citrus peel and honey will delight recipients every bit as much as their cute appearance. 

This whimsical combination of cinnamon quick bread and scones requires some time-intensive layering, but the effect when it's sliced into is well-worth the extra effort. Toss in any flavoring that strikes your fancy: espresso, orange zest, chocolate chips. It's delicious as-is or with that special something that gives it that inimitable holiday cheer.

These sweet fruity truffles pack up perfectly for an edible gift, and the outer layer of crushed pistachio helps keep the chocolates intact (as well as adding crunch, flavor, and that one-of-a-kind green hue). Making and sending travel-friendly chocolate truffles is a holiday tradition just waiting to happen. 

Gluten-free folks can have a tough time around the holidays. Most cookies, cakes, and other cheerful confections have their roots in wheat, and those who can't tolerate it can't join in any of those reindeer games. Thankfully, these melt-in-your-mouth butter biscuits call for rice flour, which contributes a lovely golden-brown finish that can be hard to achieve with gluten-free flour blends. 

The dough for these crisp, gooey oat strusel bars definitely pulls its weight: it's the base for the bar itself as well as the tender streusel on top. Use any fruit you like, but darker fruits like blackberries and plums provide an eye-catching contrast. 

This all might sound like a lot to keep track of, but I am a person who has a special impatience, and even I found this to require very little of me—no more than a half hour of paying attention overall. Plus, all the timing prescriptions are flexible: "Sometimes I'm giving my kids a bath and I'll do one fold in 45 minutes, the next one in 20 minutes," Fechtor told me. She's even skipped the overnight rise in the fridge, adding a couple extra folds to compensate, then chilling only enough to make the dough easier to work with. 

"I've played really fast and loose and it's always come out great." I too have forgotten to set my timer more than once and the bread has apparently not been the wiser. (Pro tip: Set all your folding reminders at once—as alarms on your phone, so you never forget to keep resetting the timer.) 

Lately, Fechtor has taken to rolling out the chilled dough, speckling it with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins, then curling it up into a cinnamon swirl loaf (or braiding it into an even sweeter challah). "When the dough is so easy to work with, it just unlocks things," Fechtor told me. You could even apply this folding technique to your family's own challah recipe, or other breads, even Liège waffles and buttermilk biscuits (she has). "The moral of this story is to fold everything and everything will be awesome."

Got a genius recipe to share—from a classic cookbook, an online source, or anywhere, really? Perhaps something perfect for beginners? Please send it my way (and tell me what's so smart about it) at [email protected].

#Christmas #Genius Recipes #Gifts #Hanukkah #Holiday #What to Cook

[overcanary]

Attractive Plate Makes Tastier Dinner. Know Why

Looks in the same class as it tastes? Why an alluring plate makes for a more delicious supper

Mindful introduction prompts an increasingly agreeable feast. So would it be advisable for us to figure out how to put forth comparable attempts at home – especially when taking care of little kids?

Natural home-made sandwiches.

A determination of alluringly introduced natural home-made sandwiches.

Another investigation drove by Professor Charles Spence, the Oxford University gastrophysicist causing a ripple effect in the nourishment business, has demonstrated certain that creation something look great makes it successfully taste better as well. What's intriguing, is that where past examinations have concentrated on advanced dishes – sautéed chicken bosom with a fines herbes sauce, darker rice pilaf and sautéed green beans with toasted almonds – and Michelin-style plating – organizing a 17-segment serving of mixed greens to resemble a Kandinsky reflection – here the plates being referred to included a basic nursery plate of mixed greens (leaves and cucumber with other unknown fixings), and steak and chips.

A plate of sirloin steak cut to show the pink tissue.

A plate of sirloin steak slice to show the internal shade of the meat. Photo: Daniel Bendjy/Getty Images

Spence's group found that even with such fundamental dishes, mindful introduction implied coffee shops found the nourishment progressively flavourful: cutting the filet on a level plane, in this way demonstrating the inward shade of the meat, or serving the cucumber daintily cut on the other plate of mixed greens fixings, made the two dishes significantly increasingly mouth-watering – and have all the earmarks of being progressively costly. On account of the plate of mixed greens, coffee shops were happy to burn through multiple times more for that enhancing array, £3.85, rather than £1.35 for the ill-equipped adaptation. While it appears to be thoroughly clear that in case you're going to purchase a serving of mixed greens, you'd preferably it really be readied, it is important that that arrangement is esteemed twice as high as the crude fixings. With regards to nourishment, it appears we are eager to pay a considerable amount for mindful work. As Amy Fleming composes, about the Kandinsky serving of mixed greens, others' exertion tastes acceptable. Then again, a lot of object is offputting: as Jay Rayner noted a month ago, high end food is on the fade. When eating out, generally, we need great nourishment, however little faff.

A serving of mixed greens with cuts of cucumber

A serving of mixed greens with cucumber meagerly cut on different fixings.

Be that as it may, what of the nourishment we set ourselves up? Does likewise level of exertion go into what we put on our own plates? Fleming, toward the finish of her piece, makes plans to ensure it does, particularly when quickly dishing up supper for her children: "Nourishment plonked on to the plate pell mell makes them profoundly suspicious," she expresses, "though a satisfying example or a cunning course of action gets things off on a fine balance."

Asking companions shows it can go the other way however. One, Jessica Stanley, an essayist and mother of two, is suspicious of anything excessively smooth or excessively particular in a café: "No smears of puree or painstakingly calculated square shapes of fish. I'm aware of an excessive number of fixings on one plate, an additional sauce or jam or residue or palatable blossom that says the culinary expert isn't sure about his dish." So, she says, she'd never do that in her own nourishment. "In the event that I realize that the fixings are acceptable I wouldn't fret how a dish is served at home: if the sheep's natural and time has been taken, splat a major serving of shepherd's pie on the focal point of my plate." The one concession she'll make to nourishment styling, she says, is to wipe the edge of the plate clean of smears and sprinkles.

With regards to her baby, how nourishment is introduced is guided by this one inquiry: "How might I get her to eat a reasonable eating routine with no injury?" Stanley's procedure is straightforward: an assortment of hues and surfaces, a decision of spoon and bowl so the kid has something to do with the issue, and new things served alongside old faves. Or on the other hand in reality not served up by any stretch of the imagination. "The most straightforward approach to get her to eat something can't serve it by any means," she says, "simply nibble on it myself so she takes it from me." And in conclusion, "in case we're eating as a family I compliment her by serving her the very same supper on similar plates that the grown-ups use. I can promptly observe her sit up straighter and gobble in an increasingly grown up way."

This is a genuinely exact portrayal of how I approach taking care of a baby as well. A determination of loads of small amounts, the more variegated, the better. What's more, I certainly appreciate making everything look satisfying. It's the small things on different things that work especially well: escapades or different pickles, cleaved herbs or nuts, dark sesame seeds on white rice, a disintegrating of feta on red, red tomatoes. However, assortment, difference and scrupulousness are core values in all the nourishment I make and serve. It's instinctual: I need the nourishment I provide for somebody – to anybody – to look wonderful.

veggie lover plate of mixed greens with spelt wheat, sesame, tofu, red chime pepper, snow peas and carrots

Assortment, differentiation and tender loving care … a veggie lover serving of mixed greens with spelt wheat, sesame, tofu, red chime pepper, snow peas and carrots.

I ask my mom and my auntie Mary about their methodology, and it's the equivalent. For Mary, it's self-evident: you need to eat something that is new, cooked perfectly, organized with reason. "It doesn't need to be substantial, simply energizing," she keeps up, "with various tastes and surfaces in every significant piece. There's nothing more regrettable than a dim, bubbled supper." But it's the fixings above all else that issue: if it's crisp, it'll be excellent. Likewise, introduction begins with arrangement: it's beginnings with how you strip your Brussels sprouts and cut a cross in the base before you cook them (or don't).

For another companion, Su Card, mother and grandma, introduction and nature of fixings need to go inseparably – nor are adequate all alone. What's more, she's not effectively tricked: "I don't know that looking great makes it taste better. It unquestionably raises desires and fervor, to check whether it tastes tantamount to it looks, and when it doesn't it's a failure. I additionally think I originate from a financial foundation that doesn't overdo it out on eating out that much, and I very disdain paying for investigates taste. I wouldn't fret paying for something that has been acceptable worth and scrumptious yet not for something that looks better than it tasted … I'd preferably somebody cooked with affection and care even with modest fixings than costly ones tossed on a plate – to me, that is only a remark on what they can manage."

So making a plate look flawless is significant – not beautiful or extravagant. Card says she'll certainly consider how she cleaves a carrot or cuts a courgette, never plumping for the swamp standard circles of yesteryear. What's more, not being an extraordinary dough puncher, she'll do cakes with large chunks of apple, "natural product that can bear to be dry around the edges, nothing that necessities to rise equitably or be finely frosted, no meringues that need to look like mists on a plate."

Photography in cookbooks, and via web-based networking media, Instagram specifically, positively fills in as a wellspring of motivation, in any event, for the individuals who simply cook for themselves or their families. Stanley says she as of late began serving "bowls of disaggregated bits of plate of mixed greens or vegetable or a protein over a grain. That is Instagram's flaw." The entire #avotoast blast has as a lot to do with how great crushed or cut avocado on toasted sourdough looks as it does with the natural product's alleged superfood medical advantages, particularly when topped with a sprinkling of stew chips or a delicate bubbled egg. In any case, making nourishment look great just so you can post a photograph of it online is, for me, a surefire approach to remove the delight from cooking: it turns into work to be done, no longer a minute to appreciate.

Maybe the way in to a gorgeous plate lies in the affection at its center. Evenness Breakfast, the Instagram account that most precisely exemplifies the specialty of designed plating, began in 2013, when, as the site hesitantly states, "when Mark moved in with Michael" and the last begun making breakfast for the previous, spreading out the two dinners in immaculate balance. My mom summarized it flawlessly when discussing my granny: "We grew up poor, similarly as she had done. In any case, Granny had a method for causing us to feel like every one of us got something exceptional. She never just tossed things on a plate. It generally looked light and new, never stodgy or substantial." Whether it's a Michelin-featured culinary expert or my grandma, when the cook gets ready and dishes up something made with care and consideration, the outcomes are bound to be scrumptious.

#food

[wakeuphealthy]

11 Women Who Hate To Cook Share Their Go-To Weeknight Meals

To discover the hack-packed, low-lift recipes that keep the cooking-averse satisfied, we asked millennial women who hate to cook to share their go-to weeknight meals. Ahead, you'll find our favorite responses. These meals could inspire even those who enjoy cooking because, let's face it, we all have nights when we don't have the energy to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Spinach, sausage, mushroom, white bean sauté

Occupation: Writer  Age: 41  City: Portland

Why do you like this meal? It's easy to prep, has a quick cook time, and contains solid protein and veg.

What is the recipe for this meal? 1 pound bulk chicken sausage 1 can cannelini beans 1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped 1 cup mushrooms, diced 1/2 cup onion, diced 2+ cloves of garlic, diced Crumble and brown chicken sausage in pan, along with onions and garlic. Add spinach and mushrooms and cook until al dente. Add beans and spices to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes before serving.

Where did this recipe come from? It's a quick recipe my ex (a chef) threw together.

Pimped-out Top Ramen

Occupation: Social media specialist in digital marketing Age: 29     City: Los Angeles, CA

Why do you like this meal? It's always good and you add whatever you have in your fridge.

What is the recipe for this meal? Top Ramen Packet (shrimp, chicken, or really any flavor), a teaspoon of butter, cheese (sliced preferably), salt, pepper, green onion, Sriracha, spam (if you have it), seaweed flakes or seaweed, and an egg.

Where did this recipe come from? My grandma would always add an egg to my top ramen when I was a kid, and all the other additions have been from whatever I had in the kitchen. Butter was a tip from Kylie Jenner. Cheese is my newest addition and it's sooooo good. It makes it creamy.

Rice, tofu, and veggies

Occupation: Graduate student    Age: 22      City: Bethlehem, PA

Why do you like this meal? It's easy, quick, vegan, and healthy.

What is the recipe for this meal? Frozen steam bags of any vegetables (I usually use peas, corn, carrots, green beans, and mix them together in a bigger bowl) Frozen steam bag of brown rice (take as much as needed of rice and veggies for one meal and save the rest in the fridge) Firm tofu, sliced into small squares, seasoned with black pepper and nutritional yeast Mix a serving of rice, tofu, and veggies together in a bowl Flax and sesame seeds sprinkled on top

Where did this recipe come from? It's my own creation.

"Poor Man's Dirty Rice"

Occupation: Librarian    Age: 23     City: Boise, ID

Why do you like this meal? It's super quick, simple, and really flexible.

What is the recipe for this meal? Cauliflower rice, ground meat, and salsa. I usually use two bags of rice and cook those in a pan. In a separate pan, I will cook some ground meat — usually turkey or beef, but it can be anything. Then, when both are cooked, I mix them in a pan and add a few tablespoons of salsa, a little salt and pepper, and maybe some garlic powder.

Where did this recipe come from? It's a family recipe.

Scrambled eggs and veggies with cheese

Occupation: Journalist    Age: 22      City: Davenport, IA

Why do you like this meal? It's super cheap and reasonably healthy, especially since I go so heavy on the veggies. I'm trying to limit my meat intake and most of my attempts to meal prep vegetables have ranged from mediocre to sad, so I also appreciate that it's fast enough to make fresh each time.

What is the recipe for this meal? Two eggs, whatever chopped vegetables you wants (I like kale and tomatoes, a Brussels sprouts slaw I buy pre-cut, or even butternut squash), fresh (or not) herbs, and cheese. If the vegetables are hard, cook those first, otherwise scramble the eggs and add the vegetables at the same time. Add the herbs or any other greens and cheese toward the end. Lately, I've been using smoked cheddar with parsley or Brie and rosemary. I usually try to have an equal amount of vegetables and eggs, but the texture is definitely better with more egg than roughage. I'll add toast or an extra egg if I'm especially hungry.

Where did this recipe come from? It's really just scrambled eggs.

Cilantro-lime rice with chicken apple sausage

Occupation: Graduate student     Age: 23     City: Orange County, CA

Why do you like this meal? Super easy and lasts for about three days.

What is the recipe for this meal? Cook cilantro lime rice packet from target, cook chicken apple sausage, then mix together!

Where did this recipe come from? I came up with it through sheer desperation of something easy and lots of time roaming around Target.

Soy chorizo burrito

Occupation: Graphic designer    Age: 22    City: Washington, D.C.

Why do you like this meal? It's packed full of protein, is quick to make, can be eaten warm or cool, is easy to store for later or meal prep, and contains simple ingredients.

What is the recipe for this meal? Half a link of soy chorizo (from Trader Joe's), 1 egg, 1 flour tortilla, 1 cup of mashed avocado, olive oil, hot sauce for taste (I prefer the Mexican Valentina brand).

Where did this recipe come from? My boyfriend is Costa Rican, and he makes burritos that are to die for. Since I don't eat a lot of meat, this is an adaptation from what he makes.

Spaghetti with a green salad

Occupation: Temporary receptionist   Age: 25  City: Vancouver, British Columbia

Why do you like this meal? It is relatively easy to make and there is enough pasta for at least two other meals.

What is the recipe for this meal? Boil water; start cooking extra lean ground beef until completely brown; add dry pasta to boiling water and cook for 8 minutes, occasionally stirring; add tomato sauce to the cooked ground beef. When the pasta is al dente, you can drain the water and put the pasta in a strainer. Prepare a green salad to go with the spaghetti dinner.

Where did this recipe come from? It is a family recipe but I am sure there are many online recipes for spaghetti.

Rice and chicken with sauce

Occupation: Teacher   Age: 28    City: Dallas, TX

Why do you like this meal? It's incredibly easy to make, balanced, and fast. Almost every part can be store bought, so the only thing left to do is heat it up.

What is the recipe for this meal? There are several options for the rice. I'm Korean, so I like a sticky rice. There are companies who sell a microwaveable bowl of rice - that's the easiest way. You can also, of course, just make rice (easy, but time-consuming). Two cups of water per one cup of rice.

The chicken can either be mixed in with the rice or eaten separately. Take some diced chicken (whenever I buy chicken I dice it and separate it into different Ziploc bags, so they're easy to freeze and thaw as needed) and put them in a pan. Optional: before putting them in a frying pan, cover with flour. This will make them crispy. I put flour in a bowl and toss the chicken around in it. I'm sure you could add egg and whatnot, but this is the easiest way. Once that's done, I heat up some oil in a frying pan and then add in the chicken (if there's flour I try to use a little more oil so it can "fry").

Once the chicken is fully cooked, I add in store-bought General Tso sauce mixed with water, about a 1:1 ratio. Target carries several kinds of General Tso sauce, as does any other grocery store I've looked into. The Panda Express brand is one of my favorites. Once the sauce and water are in there, I swirl everything around to mix and let the sauce simmer. I wait until most of the water has evaporated and the sauce is thick. At this point, you can add in the rice. Add a little more sauce as desired and serve!

Where did this recipe come from? It mostly came from a love of Chinese takeout, rice, and easy dinners.

Mashed cauliflower and tofurkey Italian sausage

Occupation: International PR     Age: 26     City: Brooklyn, NY

Why do you like this meal? It's super easy, quick, and relatively healthy.

What is the recipe for this meal? Mashed Cauliflower: 2 Tablespoons of butter 1 bag of frozen riced cauliflower or medium head of cauliflower 1 cup water 2-3 cloves of garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt Pepper to taste Directions: Add butter and finely chopped garlic gloves in a 4 quart pot over medium-high heat and add cauliflower once the butter is almost melted. Sauté cauliflower for 3-5 minutes until it becomes a little lighter in color. Add in the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and cook about 10 minutes. Reserve 1/8 of a cup of the cooking liquid and drain the remainder. Purée the cauliflower with food processor or hand blender.

Veggie Italian Tofurkey Sausage: Heat one link with olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Where did this recipe come from? I adapted the mashed cauliflower from a couple of recipes.

Instant noodles with all the (some) trimmings

Occupation: Journalist    Age: 30    City: London, England

Why do you like this meal? It's balanced, tastes great, and ridiculously easy.

What is the recipe for this meal? Chop up some vegetables like peppers, broccoli, pak choi, Chinese leaf. Boil water on the stove, add vegetables and a protein like eggs, prawns, or chicken. Once the vegetables and protein are almost cooked, add a packet of quality, authentic instant noodles like Mama, Indomie or NongShim to the pot, with all their accompanying seasonings. Once everything has been cooked to your desired texture (I would recommend al dente noodles over soggy noodles), you're done. You can vary the proportions of noodles, vegetables, and protein according to your dietary needs.

Where did this recipe come from? I learned it from family

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/11-women-hate-cook-share-200500925.html

#recipes #easy meals #cooking #dinner #dinners #meal prep #easy recipes #family meals #health #healthy #nutrition #fitness #school #food #food prep #quick recipes #quick cooking

[whatshouldieatforbreakfasttoday]

Buckwheat green eggs

When one person at home gets sick, the rest is usually doing everything not to follow. We made some extra healthy breakfast and a lot of soups. Soup is not a typical breakfast dish, so I’ll share some morning treats with you.

I found a similar recipe in one of my Donna Hay old magazines. I changed a bit here and there and this is what I ended up with. Tomasz said like 10 times how delicious it is and I guess he knows what he’s talking about, so you should try it as well.

It may be good to cook the buckwheat and roast everything the evening before, which will make the morning preparation super short. You just cook the eggs for about 6 minutes and roll them in the buckwheat.

Stay healthy folks!

You will need:

1/2 liter of water

3 green tea backs

3/4 cup buckwheat plus 1/4 cup

1 avocado

2 tbsp toasted almonds

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

4 boiled eggs

3 handfuls of green salad mix

You will need for the dressing:

1 cup mint leaves

1 cup coriander

1/4 cup lemon olive oil

1 & 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper for taste

Heat your oven to 200*C (400*F).

Boil the water in a small pot, add the tea bags and let it boil for a few minutes. Remove the tea bags and add 3/4 cup buckwheat. Let it cook over a medium heat for about 8 minutes, it should be tender.

Meantime roast almonds and sesame seeds.

Drain the buckwheat and place it in a bowl together with sliced avocado and chopped almonds.

Now it’s time to roast the 1/4 cup of buckwheat. Place it on a baking tray and roast for about 8 minutes. When it’s roasted and it cooled down a bit, take 2 tbsp on a side and blend the rest. Not too much, you don’t want it to be a powder (if you make it to the powder it’s ok as well). Mix the powder with the sesame seeds and place on a flat plate.

Soft boil 4 eggs (it will take about 6 minutes of boiling), peel them and roll each one in the sesame mix.

Now place all the ingredients for the dressing in a blender and blend it.

Divide the cooked buckwheat between two plates, add good two tablespoons of the dressing to each and mix a bit. Add greens, two eggs, sprinkle with the rest of the roasted buckwheat and add some more dressing.

It is as delicious as it looks and I am sure you’ll make it more often.

Enjoy, Marta

#recipe #breakfast recipe #breakfast #what for breakfast #delicious breakfast recipe #meatless #eggs #Buckwheat green eggs #buckwheat #new breakfast recipe #healthy breakfast #healthy breakfast recipe #sesame seeds #salad fingers #light #savoury #veggies #in a bowl

[putschki1969]

Keiko’s Beauty Routine Vol. 3 Meal Edition 🍋🐷

This corner introduces Keiko’s beauty and health routine. This time’s beauty tip has a different approach, instead of tackling issues from the outside (via exercising) we’ll try an inside approach...! So please be sure to try out Keiko’s go-to-meals!! All of this was prepared by Keiko herself.

「Becoming beautiful from within!」

Mikadoshima Lemons I always try my best to eat seasonal foods, right now Kubi Mikadoshima Lemons are in season. You can eat everything of these organic lemons  - even their peel - and they contain a lot of vitamin C and antioxidants. I am using them to make lemon jelly and lemon cake.

Here’s a bunch of seasonal Kubi Mikadoshima Lemons which I have ordered. Here’s the lemon jelly I’ve made with the Kubi Mikadoshima Lemons. It’s really good for the body! Lemon cake made à la Keiko! I looks so yummy!

Simmered dishes and miso soup I am the type of person that feels cold all year round so I always make soups to warm my body. Pork miso soup or Ozoni for New Year’s Day, always packed with lots of seasonal vegetables.

Freshwater clam miso soup. Here are some simmered vegetables which I always prepare in advance: konjac, daikon, carrots. I sprinkle my pre-made simmered vegetables with a bit of toasted sesame seeds ^^ This dashi is a must-have for Keiko’s Japanese meals (Fuku no Dashi).

Meat dish “Meat” is a power meal! I can’t live without meat dishes, they are indispensable! For the most part, I am eating lots of pork dishes. For this issue I have decided to prepare “pork fried with ginger” which is something I make very often. Pork contains an abundance of vitamin B1 so it breaks down carbohydrates and provides recovery from fatigue. Whenever I feel like my body is exhausted I eat a lot of pork. I really love it so much that whenever I go out to have grilled meat I always order “Samgyeopsal” ^^

Pork fried with ginger.

Project Valentine It’s Valentine’s Day season. I made a chocolate cake with the power ingredient, “silky fowl eggs”.

A completely organic gâteau au chocolat. Wakana and Hikaru received Keiko’s self-made gâteau au chocolat as present ♪    

Keiko’s recommended recipe # 1

Pork spare ribs & potato stew! It will make your mouth water!

＊Ingredients＊ Pork spare ribs with the bone attached...400 g Potatoes...1 whole potato Bonito...10 ~ 15 g Radish sprouts...as much as you like Seasame oil...a proper quantity ＊Ingredients for the spare rib broth＊ Vinegar...150 ml Water 200 ~ 250 ml (I am using 250 ml because I prefer to simmer it longer so that the broth has a milder taste but I think for men 200 ml is more suitable) Sugar...1 tbsp (I don’t use white sugar, instead I am adding a tablespoon of coconut sugar to make it more healthy; and I am adding honey for sweetness) Soy sauce...1 tbsp Honey...20 g

1. Put the sesame oil into a deep frying pan, add the spare ribs and fry them until they are well done and browned. 2. Take out the spare ribs from the pan. 3. Fry the potato pieces in the oil that was left behind by the spare ribs (just like in the image). Once the outside is crispy take them out, wrap them in aluminum foil and steam them. [POINT: Use the remaining heat of the stove to steam the foiled potatos in a covered pan, this way they become soft and flaky. My recommendation is to use unpeeled potatoes.] 4. Put the spare ribs into the pan again and add the ingredients for the broth (vinegar→water→sugar→soy sauce→ and honey on top). Simmer for 15 minutes. Once most of the water has seaped into the spare ribs I’ll add the potatoes to the pan again. 5. Fry the bonito flakes in a separate pan. [POINT: Although it is a little extra work you should really make the effort to fry the flakes because it brings out a special flavour!] 6. Once the bonitos are crispy add them to your frying pan so there’s some crunch among your spare ribs and potatoes. 7. Add radish sprouts to your liking and it’s DONE! Growing children, men who need to regain their strength after a tiresome day at work, cute women who occasionally crave some meat with bones, this is a power-meal which I can recommend to all kinds of people (^^) Here I am introducing an unusual dish, a meat & potato stew using pork ribs ^^ When you combine the flakes with the spare ribs and potatoes in the pan it creates a wonderful fragrance that will make your mouth water. It’s new potato season right now so I decided to try this recipe.

Keiko’s recommended recipe # 2

Perfect for storage! Lemons preserved in honey!

＊Ingredients＊ Organic lemons...4 pieces (I am always ordering Kubi Mikadoshima Lemons. Since you want to benefit from all the nutrients that are contained in lemon peel I recommend you use organic lemons.) Honey...match the amount according to the jar you are planning to use

1. Wash out a jar/bottle with boiling water. After letting it dry naturally I will make everything while the jar is still warm. 2. Put slices of lemon and honey into the jar you have previously washed out with boiling water. Alternate between the slices and honey. Finish by adding so much honey that the lemon slices are completely covered. [POINT: Cut your lemons in slices → cover a slice with honey → slice → honey; Alernate between these two and layer them carefully, the lemons will get soaked in honey and will become super tasty!! if you have cleaned out your jar properly with boiling water you can store the honey lemons in your fridge for over half a year, it’s very convenient!]

Raw honey contains long-term beneftis... ☆ Antioxidants ☆Enzymes However these nutrients are destroyed by heat so let’s all try to take in as much raw honey as possible! Apparently it has a positive effect on your sleep so before you head to bed you should drink a glass of hot water with a slice of honey lemon. (^^) Of course it’s also really good for your throat because honey is an antibacterial agent. We all know that lemons contain a lot of vitamin C but in addition to that they also contain antioxidants that help to detoxify the liver, when you combine lemons with honey all the benefits can take full effect. Honey lemons are typically eaten during sports but you can also use them for various other things, you can add them to all kinds of dishes, to drinks or to snacks. Be sure to get Kubi Mikadoshima Lemons and become healthy ^^

Menu: Kubi Mikadoshima Lemons ☆ Lemon Jelly ☆ Lemon Cake ☆ Honey Lemon

Simmered vegetables & miso soup ☆ Freshwater Clam Miso Soup.  ☆ Pre-made simmered vegetables: Konjac, Daikon, Carrots

Meat dish ☆ Pork Fried with Ginger ☆ Potato & Meat Stew with Pork Spare Ribs

Project Valentine ☆ Whole Organic Gâteau au Chocolat

#kalafina #translations #my translations #keiko #harmony #harmony magazine #so hungry #definitely gonna try all of this #so much weird vocabulary #so many weird kanji

[weknowrice]

How to Make Spam Musubi

You have probably come across the term “Spam musubi” somewhere in your life. Whether it’s in a tv show, an e-mail ad, or in a restaurant menu, Spam musubi can be an intriguing word to hear or read. If you’re curious about musubi and you love Spam (or you love food in general), then this Spam musubi recipe might be just for you!

This Spam recipe is a simple, no-fuss guilty pleasure comfort food made using cupboard staples; rice and Spam. Making musubi Spam requires very little effort and can be perfected only after a few tries. It’s easy to eat too, with one slice of Spam easily fitting in your hand.

Ready to make this easy recipe that is a popular snack in Hawaii and Japan? Read below to learn how to make Spam musubi.

What is Spam Musubi?

Just in case you’ve never heard of “Spam Musubi,” here’s a quick rundown.

Spam is canned ham, while Musubi is Japanese for rice balls. Musubi is a rice ball recipe that’s quite popular in Hawaii while Spam is a canned ham brand made of pork and has a pork and ham flavor. This classic American brand debuted in Minneapolis in 1937 and rose in popularity during WWII as a convenient protein source. Frequently used as a sandwich filling, Spam is also in Asian recipes.

In the Spam musubi recipe, the Spam is grilled until crispy, then these slices of spam are caramelized with soy sauce and sugar, topped with sushi rice, and wrapped in a nori sheet. Spam musubi can be made ahead of time and is great for lunches, party appetizers, or gatherings. This recipe is also a great convenient snack for any occasion.

The Spam musubi recipe appears to be the most popular of all the meals associated with Hawaii with Lomi lomi fish and kalua pig coming close behind. This recipe has been called Spam sushi and Spam sandwiches on occasion, but if we’re being technical here, its proper name is Spam musubi.

You can buy Spam musubi at every convenience store on the famed Hawaii islands. Spam musubi is offered in school cafeterias, during bake sales, and even made during picnics and sleepovers. Musubi Spam is placed high among the locals’ list of favorite snacks.

You might associate Spam with high-sodium military meals, and several years before, they were considered as such. In China, Spam is a common ingredient in some comfort food recipes. Stir-fried Spam with peppers, Spam omelet, Spam grilled skewers, Spam fried rice, or Spam sandwich are just some examples.

Spam is also a popular ingredient in Chinese Hot Pot and Sichuan Mala Pot, where you select a spicy sauce and various things to cook in it before everything is served in a large pot.

History of Spam Musubi

The roots of this Spam recipe may be traced back to World War II in Hawaii. Hawaii was a United States territory at the time (which is a lengthy tale in and of itself). The American military had a significant military presence in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked by a surprise aerial Japanese strike.

More troops, units, and supplies were dispatched to Hawaii as the US entered the war with Japan. The iconic can of Spam was one of those essential staples. Cans of Spam have a listed expiry date of three years, although they may be eaten for years beyond that if they are not opened, which made this an ideal resource during that time.

Spam was made available to civilians after the military stockade of Spam grew overstocked during and after the war. After a while, locals started loving Spam. Hawaii has a substantial ethnic Japanese population, so it wasn’t a surprise when spam was incorporated into an existing Japanese recipe called onigiri, thanks to the inventive culinary talents of the locals.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, Onigiri is rice that is compressed and wrapped in nori, a black seaweed paper. Usually, some furikake spice is added as well. Salmon, pickled plums, tuna, and other items are topped or put into the rice to add taste.

The Spam musubi recipe rose in popularity and became a favorite dish among locals as a result of its deliciousness and the fact that the majority of the people were already used to eating rice.

How to Make Spam Musubi: Recipe

Making spam musubi right before a busy day? Prepare all of your ingredients ahead of time so that the Spam is at its hottest and crispiest when you’re making the Spam recipe . However, if you’re planning to eat this portable treat cold, then forgo this step and continue on with the recipe below.

Yield: 10 pcs Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Cook Time (rice): 4 hrs 30 mins Total: 5 hrs 25 mins

Ingredients:

1 pc. 12 oz container Spam

2 cups uncooked short-grain white rice or sushi rice (see recipe below)

5 sheets sushi nori (dry seaweed)

2 cups water

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup oyster sauce

½ cup white sugar or brown sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or sesame oil

Sesame seeds (optional)

Materials You’ll Need:

Stove

Large skillet

Musubi press/ musubi maker or plastic wrap

Can opener

Procedure:

Uncooked rice should be soaked for 4 hours before draining, rinsing, and cooking. Set cooked rice aside.

Cut both the top and bottom parts of the Spam container using a can opener or a knife. If using a knife, make sure to take extra care not to cut yourself.

Stir together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar in a separate bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Set the oyster sauce-soy sauce mixture aside.

Slice the Spam lengthwise into 10 slices, or to your chosen thickness, and marinate for 5 minutes in the soy sauce and oyster sauce mixture.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pan-fry Spam for 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned on both sides. Cut nori sheets in half and lay them flat on a work area.

In the center of the nori strip, place a rice press, a musubi mold, or a musubi maker. Scoop the rice with a rice paddle and press the rice securely within the musubi mold or musubi maker.

If you’re not using a mold, gauge how much rice you need, and scoop it in the plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic wrap around the rice and place it on your hand. Gently press down on the plastic wrap and shape the rice with both hands.

Remove the press or musubi maker and top with one slice of Spam. Wrap nori around rice and Spam slices and use a tiny bit of water or a few grains of rice to seal the edges. Rice may also be shaped by hand into the shape of a 1-inch thick spam slice.

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the Spam musubi if preferred. Musubi can be served either warm or cold. Eat as it is or eat with other dishes.

Sushi Rice Recipe

Ingredients:

Japanese style short-grain rice, white (e.g. Nishiki, Kokuho Rose)

Rice vinegar

Granulated sugar

Sea salt (fine)

Kombu (optional)

Procedure:

Rinse the rice well. Place the rice in a fine-mesh strainer or rice washer and rinse it thoroughly with cold water until the water runs clear and the rice is no longer muddy. Drain any excess water.

Prepare the rice. Cook the rice in a rice cooker until it is soft, along with a sheet of kombu if desired.

To make the sushi vinegar, combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. This may be done in the microwave or a small pot over the stove.

Season the rice with salt and pepper. Immediately transfer the rice to a large mixing bowl and evenly sprinkle with the vinegar mixture.

Fold the sushi rice gently with the spatula or rice paddle, slicing it at a 45-degree angle while raising and folding the rice on top of itself rather than stirring and squishing it, until the vinegar is well mixed in and some of the early steam has gone.

Cool for 10 minutes. Cover the mixing bowl with a moist cloth. Make sure it touches the rice’s surface as this will keep the steamed rice from drying out. Allow the rice to cool on the counter (or in the fridge) until it is about room temperature.

Serve. Use the rice right away in spam musubi, or store it in an airtight jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Cooking Notes

If the hot rice is too hot to hold or shape, cool it for 15-20 minutes in a small bowl.

Sushi rice with additional rice vinegar and sugar is not used in the original Hawaiian Spam musubi, however, it could be a great alternative to plain white rice. The Spam’s greasiness is cut, the saltiness is mellowed, and the sweetness is properly balanced by the acidic undertone.

Browning the Spam gently and completely is highly essential. It leaves a little saturated fat and produces a crispy crust. The Spam can then be rapidly broiled with sugar and soy sauce combined with water. You’ll end up with a gorgeous dark brown caramelized surface that’s still chewy and sticky.

Using brown sugar will add a bit more color to the Spam and can be slightly less sweet. Use brown sugar with soy sauce and oyster sauce if you prefer a more caramelized look. However, if you like it lightly browned, use white sugar.

You can eat Spam musubi with loco moco (a Hawaiian cuisine), Japanese-style egg omelet, cheese, unagi, scrambled eggs, bacon, or even beef stew.

For more flavor, toast the sesame seeds before sprinkling on top of the entire musubi Spam.

Using a musubi press simplifies the assembling procedure in this recipe. However, if you don’t have a musubi press, you can use your hands.

Not a fan of oyster sauce? Use teriyaki sauce instead.

Cut nori according to how you want it to wrap around the musubi Spam. You can either fully wrap nori the musubi Spam or only have the middle portion covered for a more aesthetically pleasing look.

It’s crucial to use the right amount of pressure when pressing the musubi Spam rice by hand so that it’s squeezed together but not excessively crushed. When you bite into the Spam musubi, it may break apart if it wasn’t pressed hard enough. Alternatively, the rice texture will become excessively compact if you push too hard. It takes a little practice, but after a few Spam musubis, you’ll eventually get the perfect Spam musubi texture.

Now that you’ve learned how to make Spam musubi, you can make this easy recipe on the weekends or even during the mornings before a busy day. You can even impress your friends by making this spam recipe for your next potluck.

The ingredients can be found at your local grocery stores and the musubi mold for the assembly is purely optional. With how convenient it is to make, Spam musubi can easily be a favorite dish!

Want more rice recipe updates? Read through our blog.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is Spam musubi sauce made of: sugar or soy sauce?

The sauce used in a cooked Spam recipe is usually either sugar and soy sauce with generous use of oyster sauce or simple soy sauce and sugar. It depends on your preference which sauce you’d like to use with your Spam musubi

How do you make Spam musubi not fall apart?

The right pressure is the key to a perfectly firm spam musubi. It takes a bit of practice to get it right, so don’t worry if the first few tries don’t look quite right.

One of the simplest ways to get perfectly shaped spam musubi in this recipe is to use a musubi press. To use the musubi press, simply place the rice inside, gently press down and carefully remove the press.

If you wish to cut your Spam musubi, it will help to use a sushi cutter to ensure precise and perfect slicing.

Can I cook Spam musubi in a rice cooker?

Cooking the rice for this spam recipe in a rice cooker is the fastest way to get the grains cooked. Not only is it quick, it also leaves with great quality rice.

Is it okay to use fried rice in Spam musubi?

While you’re free to experiment with the Spam recipe, it is not recommended to use friend rice as cooked Spam already has saturated fat. Adding oily fried rice will make the recipe too rich in fat to eat. Not to mention that it may clash with the taste of the musubi Spam slices.

Are there any variations of Spam musubi?

If you feel like this tasty Spam musubi could use a little more creativity, you can try the simple variations below:

Spam Musubi with Spam, Egg, and Cheese

Make Spam musubi with catsup, cooked eggs, sliced cheese, Spam, and additional rice. Fully wrap the nori around the sushi and slice in half.

Fried Musubi Spam

Prepare Spam musubi as usual, but divide the rice between each spam musubi to sandwich the spam. Combine sriracha with mayo to make spicy mayo. Prepare three dredging bowls: one for flour, one for egg, and one for breadcrumbs (panko). 

The Spam musubi should be properly dipped in flour, then egg, and finally panko, before frying. Fry until golden on all sides. Drain excess oil, cut the Spam musubi in half, and serve with spicy mayo and scallions on the side.

Kimchi Musubi

Stir fry the following in a large skillet: Chopped kimchi, kimchi juice, gochujang, cooked rice, sesame oil, scallions, and sesame seeds. Follow the regular Spam musubi directions above, except when assembling the Spam musubi, add cucumber between the rice and Spam.

source https://www.weknowrice.com/blog/how-to-make-spam-musubi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-make-spam-musubi

[livingcorner]

10 Terrific Ways to Use All Your Summer Tomatoes

When I was a kid, I would not eat tomatoes. I swore I hated them. Sure I would eat ketchup and tomato sauce, but not actual tomatoes. When I became vegan, everything changed. Suddenly, I learned to love lots of foods I wouldn’t eat before, and tomatoes were one of them. Currently, I eat tomatoes every single day in one form or another. They are one of the foods I cannot run out of or I feel lost and deprived. Summer is a great time for tomatoes. This is when they are at their best – deep red, juicy and intense in flavor. There are Beefsteaks, Roma Plums, Vine-Ripened, Grape, Cherry, Heirloom, and so many other types of tomatoes. Each has their own flavor and personality and each can be used in multiple ways.

You're reading: 10 Terrific Ways to Use All Your Summer Tomatoes

If you grow tomatoes, you will probably be swamped with them by the end of summer. Maybe you are the lucky recipient of someone who has too many to use or maybe you are indulging in the bounty of the farmers market. However you come by your tomatoes, now is the perfect time to try new and exciting things with them. Of course, you know you can use fresh tomatoes to make tomato sauce or salsa, and you know they taste great in salads and sandwiches. Well, here are 10 different ways to use all those beautiful summer tomatoes.

1. Make Homemade Bruschetta

Heirloom Tomato and White Bean Bruschetta

Tomatoes can have no better friends than fruity olive oil, savory garlic, and crispy bread. Bruschetta is a favorite appetizer or hors d’ouvres. I make a Garlic Tomato Bruschetta that is so good, that and a glass of white wine is all I need for dinner. Here’s how I make it: Preheat the broiler. Place thin slices of Italian, Ciabatta or French bread onto a baking sheet.

Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over them and broil for just 3-4 minutes until they are crispy and golden brown. Remove the bread from the oven and set them aside. In a skillet, heat a spoon of extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add 4 minced garlic cloves and a pinch of red pepper flakes and cook for a minute until the garlic starts to soften. Add 1 pint of halved grape tomatoes and toss in the seasoned oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the tomatoes soften. Season with salt and pepper and spoon the tomatoes onto the toasted bread. Garnish with fresh parsley or basil and vegan grated parmesan. Make a lot. This is addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Read more: 10 Vegetables to Plant in the Fall and Winter That Will Withstand the Cold

2. Make Soup – Raw or Cooked

Gazpacho is a Spanish soup that is served cold. It’s also easy to make – just blend ripe tomatoes with any other produce you desire onions, cucumber, bell peppers and even watermelon. Chill it and enjoy it. It couldn’t be easier. This Raw Tomato Red Pepper Soup combines meaty tomatoes, sweet bell pepper and spicy chipotle for a refreshing and beautiful soup. If you prefer your tomato soup hot, try this traditional Quick and Rich Tomato Soup or this creamy Tomato Coconut Soup.

3. Make Stuffed Tomatoes

Usually, when we make stuffed dishes, we put tomatoes into the vegetable we are stuffing but how about stuffing the tomatoes themselves? All you have to do is hollow out the tomatoes and replace the pulp with your favorite fillings. Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and red pepper flakes, and then stuff them with your favorite spread or vegan cheese. Broil them until the cheese melts and the tomatoes soften about 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh herbs and impress your guests with this beautiful appetizer.

Larger tomatoes can be stuffed to make a healthy and delicious entrée or side dish. I hollow out large beefsteak tomatoes and stuff them with a mixture of sauteed mushrooms, spinach, quinoa and the pulp from the tomatoes. Place them in a baking dish, sprinkle a few bread crumbs atop each one and bake for 30 minutes. For a lighter dish, stuff the tomatoes with your favorite summer salads like this Chickpea Waldorf Salad or this Tempeh “Tuna” Salad. It’s refreshing and you get to eat the plate!

4. Make Your Own Dried Tomatoes

I love sun-dried tomatoes. They add a tangy flavor to dishes and make a great snack too. You can buy sun-dried tomatoes in the store but why not make your own? Whether you use a dehydrator, your oven or the sun, it’s easy to dry foods yourself. To make your own oven-dried tomatoes, halve ripe tomatoes lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and toss the tomatoes in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set your oven on its lowest temperature (150 degrees) and let the tomatoes cook for eight hours or until they have shrunken. Then use your self-dried tomatoes to make Raw Lasagna with Cilantro Pesto, Sundried Tomatoes and Marinated Veggies, Quinoa with Secret Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomatoes and this beautiful Sun-dried Tomato Tart with Zucchini Hummus.

5. Make Fried Green Tomatoes

Red tomatoes shouldn’t have all the fun; green ones deserve love too. Unripe green tomatoes are the star of the southern dish, Fried Green Tomatoes. Because they are unripe, green tomatoes are firmer with less moisture which means they hold up to frying better. You could fry red tomatoes but if they are juicy, it could get messy. Simply slice the tomatoes, bread them and fry them. Try these Fried Green Beer Tomatoes which are coated with cornmeal and dark beer or my Cajun-flavored Fried Green Tomatoes with Red Pepper Aioli.

6. Make Roasted Tomatoes

Tomatoes are sweet but when you roast them, they get this intense, rich flavor that is savory and succulent. Roasted tomatoes are delicious on their own as a side dish or used in other recipes. Just place halved tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper and drizzle them with olive oil, salt and your favorite herbs and spices. You can roast them fast in a 425-degree oven for 20 minutes or slowly in a 250-degree oven for a couple of hours until they are collapsed and softened. Then enjoy them in dishes like this bowl of Miso Roasted Tomatoes with Spiralized Carrot Noodles and these Grilled Avocados with Roasted Tomatoes.

7. Make Pickled Tomatoes

Pickled and fermented foods are delicious with their unique tang and saltiness. We eat pickled cabbage as sauerkraut, pickled onions, carrots and other veggies as kimchi and pickled cucumbers as…well, pickles. So why not pickle tomatoes? It’s easy, they can last a long time, and you can eat them on sandwiches or in salads or on their own. To make pickled tomatoes: cook your favorite spices such as garlic, red pepper flakes, ginger, cumin or mustard seeds in some olive oil for just a minute or two to deepen their flavors. Add one cup of your favorite vinegar and ¼ cup sugar to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. This is the brine. Add some salt and let the mixture cool. Take a sterilized jar and fill it with peeled, ripe tomatoes cut into wedges or whatever shape you desire. Pour the brine over the tomatoes. Be sure to leave about ½ inch of room at the top. Cover and refrigerate for several hours. The longer you let the tomatoes pickle in the brine, the better they will be.

8. Make Homemade Chile Sauce

Chile sauce is amazing. It’s rich, sweet, spicy and tangy all at the same time. It’s used in lots of recipes, especially Asian ones. You can buy bottles of chile sauce but some have ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup and others can be expensive. When I ran out of chile sauce in the middle of making a recipe, I couldn’t substitute anything else so I learned to make my own. It was much simpler than I thought it would be and now I always make it myself.

Let me share my recipe with you: Combine 2 cups of fresh, pureed tomatoes (plums have the best flavor), ¼ cup tomato paste, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 chopped jalapeno peppers, 1 tsp. each garlic powder and chile powder, ½ tsp. each dry mustard powder and onion powder, a pinch of allspice, and 2 Tbs. vegan Worcestershire sauce in a food processor. If you don’t have vegan Worcestershire sauce, you can use 1 Tbs. each tamari and balsamic vinegar. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes if you want extra heat. Process until smooth and taste for any seasoning adjustments. Keep in a jar in the fridge and use it in recipes such as Braised Seitan Short Ribs in Spicy Chile Sauce, Mississippi Comeback Sauce and Sesame Tofu.

Read more: Create a Beautiful Garden Bed with These Edging Ideas

9. Make Tomato Desserts

Yes, desserts. We use spinach, avocado, and zucchini in desserts so why not tomatoes? After all, tomatoes are a fruit and with more recipes mixing sweet and savory tastes, tomatoes are a perfect ingredient for desserts. The next time you go to make your own ice cream or sorbet, consider giving tomatoes a try by either adding one or two to the recipe or going totally tomato-flavored. Add some little tomato wedges to fruit cocktail or these Raw Fruit Tartlets.  Their gentle flavor mingles well with strawberries, watermelon, pineapple, mango, pears, melon and berries. Garnish your tomato dessert with fresh mint or basil leaves.

10. Freeze Your Tomatoes

Even though you can buy tomatoes year round, they are only in season for a short time. Or perhaps, you grew so many tomatoes, you can’t possibly use them all, no matter how many tomato ideas and recipes I give you. Well, the good news is that you can freeze tomatoes so you can enjoy them all year long. Tomatoes can be frozen with their skins or peeled, raw or cooked, whole, chopped, sliced or pureed. If you make tomato soup or sauce, you can also freeze the prepared foods.

To freeze tomatoes, select ones that are ripe and firm. Wash them gently and blot them dry. Prepare the tomatoes by cutting them into the desired shape and place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet that will fit in your freezer. After they are frozen, transfer the tomatoes to freezer bags or sealed storage containers. When you need them, just thaw them out and use them in any cooked recipe (thawed tomatoes will be too mushy to eat like you would a fresh tomato). Frozen tomatoes can last up to 8 months so you can be enjoying summer tomatoes in the middle of a winter snowstorm.

There is no food more versatile than the tomato. Sweet or savory, raw or cooked, alone or as part of a recipe, tomatoes are nature’s candy. I hope you have fun trying these ways of using your summer tomato bounty and if you have any bushels leftover, send them my way.

We also highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App , which is available for iPhone , and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook . The app has more than 15,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to new recipes every day. Check it out!

For more Vegan Food, Health, Recipe, Animal, and Life content published daily, don’t forget to subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter !

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Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/10-terrific-ways-to-use-all-your-summer-tomatoes/

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[olgagarmash]

20 Crisp and Cool Cucumber Recipes for Summer

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Fresh cucumber salad is a hallmark of summer picnics and backyard barbecues for many of us. Just-picked, thinly sliced cukes marinated with onions in a vinegar dressing sounds as delicious as it is nutritious! With warm weather and sunshine season upon us, cucumber recipes are a low-cal, refreshing and surprisingly healthy way to get in your daily veggie servings.

Powerhouses of Nutrients, Electrolytes, and Hydration

Did you know that cucumbers are about 96 percent H2O? Of course, with all that water they’re definitely hydrating! Keeping up your fluid intake is essential for health and weight loss, particularly during the heat of the summer. Water also keeps your joints lubricated and gives you energy.1

However, cucumbers are more than just crunchy water. With cukes, you also get nutrients like magnesium, potassium and vitamins C and K. If you don’t peel and seed them, you also get fiber and beta-carotene. According to one study, cucumber seeds are loaded with calcium.2

Bonus: Cukes contain two plant chemicals, lignans and cucurbitacins, that may guard against certain cancers.2

Surprising Fun Fact: Cucumbers, like tomatoes, are actually a fruit!

Easy Cucumber Recipes For Fresh Summer Meals

Time to add some more cucumber recipes to your repertoire, particularly if you have a surplus from your backyard garden! Here are 20 easy cucumber recipes you’re going to enjoy guilt-free all summer long.

Whole wheat orzo—a rice-shaped pasta—makes the perfect base for healthy pasta salad recipes when paired with fresh summer veggies like cucumber. In this version, we add cucumbers, tomatoes and onions for a totally refreshing summer salad that will make you pass up mayonnaise-y potato salad every time. It’s dressed with a piquant lemon dressing made of lemon juice, zest, olive oil and black pepper.  The longest step of this recipe is waiting for the orzo to cook. One serving is 276 calories and counts as one Smart Carb, half of a PowerFuel, one Extra and one Vegetable serving. Click here for the full recipe! >

Cucumbers shine in the creamy avocado salsa that tops this light, flaky fish dinner. Tilapia is coated in a dry-rub seasoning made from paprika, cayenne, thyme, oregano, garlic, onion powder and black pepper. Sautéed in light butter, it’s capped with the refreshing salsa that combines chopped cucumber, red onions, avocado and lime juice. The recipe makes four servings at 210 calories each. One serving counts as one PowerFuel and two Extras. Click here for the full recipe! >

Cucumber takes the place of bread so you can have two whole deli sandwiches for lunch! Spread with a wedge of cheese and topped with deli meat, it’s a low-carb and low-calorie lunch that you’ll want to make every day. One serving is only 108 calories and counts as one PowerFuel, one Extra and one Vegetable. You can also feel free to get creative with this one and make different types of cucumber sandwich recipes with different toppings. Click here for the full recipe! >

Restaurant and store-bought sushi can hide loads of calories. Making your own keeps it light and healthy. This creative take on sushi turns it into a tower with all of your favorite ingredients. Tower construction is easy: Start with a sweet and savory mango-cuke mixture, followed by chopped sushi-grade tuna, avocado and spicy brown rice. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before flipping it over and serving with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds. This dish for sophisticated palates can be served over veggie noodles, a salad or eaten as is for only 295 calories. On Nutrisystem it counts as one SmartCarb, one PowerFuel and two Extras. Click here for the full recipe! >

Did we have you at “3-Ingredient?” This may be one of the easiest cucumber snack recipes for weight loss! Partially peel a cucumber, slice it into sticks and dust each one with chili lime seasoning and Pink Himalayan salt. Eat. It’s that simple and delish! One serving is only 40 calories and counts as one unlimited Vegetable on Nutrisystem. Click here for the full recipe! >

Invest in a low-cost spiralizer—you won’t be sorry! It makes veggie pasta swaps that are great if you’re trying to cut carbs or calories. Try making cucumber noodle recipes made with English cucumbers (no seeds). We did and combined them with red bell peppers and red onions for this easy salad. Top these veggies with a homemade dressing made from sesame oil, rice vinegar, reduced sodium soy sauce, red chili flakes and a couple of drops of stevia. A sprinkle of sesame seeds adorns this 49-calorie side dish that counts as one Vegetable and one Extra on Nutrisystem. Click here for the full recipe! >

This cool-as-a-cucumber salad makes four servings. However, at 34 calories per serving, you could eat all four without sabotaging your weight loss! Plus, it’s so easy to make: toss together this mélange of sliced cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and mint. Topped with a tasty homemade lemon dressing, one serving counts as one Vegetable on the Nutrisystem plan. It’s one of the best cucumber salad recipes! Click here for the full recipe! >

If you’ve never had it, farro is a nutty, chewy form of wheat that’s super versatile. Combined with deshelled cooked edamame, coleslaw mix, shredded purple cabbage, chopped green onion and cucumbers, it’s the perfect summer side dish. Dress it up with a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil and garlic powder, then sprinkle with some cashews and black sesame seeds. It counts as one SmartCarb, one PowerFuel, one Vegetable and one Extra. Click here for the full recipe! >

If you like tabbouleh—the Middle Eastern grain salad with cukes, lemon, parsley and mint—you’ll love this take that substitutes quinoa for the classic bulgur. Salad ingredients include diced cucumber, chilled cooked quinoa, red onion, mint and roughly chopped fresh parsley. It’s dressed lightly with a mixture of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice and black pepper. One serving is 262 calories and counts as one SmartCarb, one and a half Vegetables and two and a half Extras on Nutrisystem. Click here for the full recipe! >

This lunch recipe turns deli meat and other savory ingredients into simple skewers which are way more fun to eat than a plain old sandwich.  You can choose your favorite low-salt deli meats (chicken, turkey, ham or roast beef) and alter a few ingredients—add pickles if you don’t like black olives, for example—to suit your taste. The recipe starts with four slices of deli meat, which you thread on a skewer with cheese cubes, thick slices of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black olives, cucumber slices and pieces of whole wheat pita bread. Your lunch (two skewers!) clocks in at only 253 calories and counts as one SmartCarb, two PowerFuels and one Extra. Click here for the full recipe! >

This new take on the old picnic standard will become one of your go-tos. It’s so easy to make! A chopped seedless cucumber marinates for four hours in a dressing of white vinegar, fresh parsley, chopped fresh fill, minced garlic and salt. You’ll taste that zesty dressing in every bite. Minimal calories for one tasty Vegetable serving. Click here for the full recipe! >

If this reminds you of Greek tzatziki sauce, that’s because it has the same ingredients: plain Greek yogurt, chopped cucumber, dill, garlic and lemon juice. It makes a wonderful low-cal (73.5 calories per serving) dip for crackers or crudité, a spread for sandwiches or even a topping that turns a plain broiled chicken breast into something more delicious. One serving counts as half of a PowerFuel. Click here for the full recipe! >

Start your morning off right with this tasty sandwich chockfull of veggies. It’s made with a Nutrisystem Honey Wheat Bagel topped with fat-free cream cheese, sliced cucumbers and raw bell peppers. It has the right amount of chew, creaminess and crunch to satisfy every savory breakfast lover. One is only 184 calories and counts as one Nutrisystem Breakfast, half of a Vegetable serving and one Extra. Click here for the full recipe! >

Giving nachos the Greek treatment is perfection! You’ll make some pita chips from three pieces of whole wheat pita bread, which you’ll top with shredded cooked chicken and feta cheese. Just bake it to melt the cheese a little. Finally, top these tasty nachos with cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber, chopped red onion, fresh parsley, tzatziki dip and sliced black olives. The recipe makes six servings, each clocking in at 175 calories. It counts as one SmartCarb, on PowerFuel and one Extra. Click here for the full recipe! >

Use the seafood of your choice in this recipe (which calls for imitation crabmeat) but stick with the many crunchy veggies: This healthy dinner bowl contains Persian cucumbers, avocados, carrots, edamame and scallion over riced cauliflower. Dressed in a combo of light mayonnaise and sriracha, plus a sprinkling of sesame seeds, this is one satisfying meal which clocks in at 317 calories and counts as two PowerFuels, two Extras and two Vegetables. Click here for the full recipe! >

World’s easiest brunch—for you and a friend or partner—or just an extra special breakfast, this take on avocado toast starts with two slices of whole wheat bread. Of course, you add a schmear of creamy avocado, but then you top with thin slices of cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped Kalamata olives, reduced fat feta cheese, dried oregano and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes if you want a little more bite to your breakfast. One slice is 205 calories and counts as one SmartCarb one PowerFuel and two Extras. Click here for the full recipe! >

Sesame Avocado Toast! >

Cucumber serves as the vessel for a delicious crab salad made from crab (of course!) mixed with lemon juice, light mayonnaise, minced cilantro and diced red onion. Place mixture into the scooped out center of one-inch cucumber slices. It contains 150 calories per serving, plus 17 grams of satisfying protein. This tasty lunch, dinner or party appetizer counts as one PowerFuel, two Vegetables and one Extra. Click here for the full recipe! >

Check out these other delicious cucumber cup recipe ideas:

This warm weather appetizer is cute, colorful and creative. Easy Melon Prosciutto Skewers are simple to make and feature a unique sweet and salty flavor combo. Fresh melon cubes and slices of prosciutto are stacked onto toothpicks with cucumber slices, fresh basil and mozzarella balls for an easy no-bake appetizer. Click here for the full recipe! >

Cucumbers are a staple for summer salad recipes, including this diet-friendly Panzanella Salad that packs in the nutrition and flavor. In addition to crunchy cukes, it also has artichoke hearts and shredded rotisserie chicken for plenty of fiber and protein. The homemade vinaigrette will definitely become a go-to staple for all of your side salads. Click here for the full recipe! >

Summer meal prep is made easy and delicious with this perfect, refreshing and healthy lunch idea. Featuring crisp veggies like cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and onions, plus Greek salad staples like olives, chickpeas and feta cheese, this Mason Jar Greek Salad is made for grabbing and going on the way out the door. Click here for the full recipe! >

Sources:

https://snap-ed.michiganfitness.org/wp-content/uploads/cucumbers-family-newsletter-2016.pdf

https://www.livescience.com/51000-cucumber-nutrition.html

source https://wealthch.com/20-crisp-and-cool-cucumber-recipes-for-summer/

[the-expert-zone]

Psyllium Husk In Keto Complete Guide: Benefits and Side Effects

Psyllium husk is a popular healthy source of soluble fiber with a wide range of uses. You may hear before about the psyllium husk. It will help people who have constipation.

But do you know how to use the psyllium husk in your daily routine? Here you will learn all about this magical treat. Do you know the benefits of psyllium husk? Is it a suitable fiber option for keto dieters? To understand these things look below and keep reading.

What Is Psyllium Husk?

Psyllium husk is a famous source of soluble fiber that comes from a plant called Plantago Ovata plant. This plant is native to the Western and Southern Asia. The technical definition of psyllium husk is the outer covers of seeds. These outer covers are also known as seed husk. Plantago ovata is occasionally a member of the genus Plantago.

The surroundings of the psyllium husk seeds are a rich source of healthy fiber. When you mix this kind of fiber in the water, it absorbs in the water and forms like a gel. Plant seeds of psyllium husk, sometimes also called ispaghula. It’s also used as a medicine to get relief from constipation and mild diarrhoea.

Many psyllium husk properties are responsible for the effectiveness of digestive issues as the keto diet doesn’t allow the keto dieters to eat carbs. But this husk virtually has zero carbs as all it has fiber content. The whole psyllium husk is grounded in powdered form to use for cooking quickly.

Two tbsp of whole psyllium husk is equal to the one tbsp of grounded psyllium husk. Psyllium husk has used as an ingredient in some gluten-free, low-carb, and in keto recipes. It has used in keto recipes because it has the thickening quality. One tbsp of powdered psyllium husk contains 25 calories or 5 grams of fiber.

Health Benefits of Psyllium Husk

One of the widespread health benefits of psyllium husk is the rich fiber content. However, the psyllium husk is the active ingredient in the branded stool softener Fybogel and Metamucil. Except for these benefits, there are a lot more health benefits of psyllium husk. To get the benefits of psyllium husk, take the doses between 5 and 20 grams in a day. This has been noted during several studies.

Researches show that psyllium husk will help to control the blood sugar levels. This is because the gel of psyllium husk prevents the rapid absorption of glucose. A massive study found that psyllium husk can significantly lower fast blood sugar in prediabetes and diabetes.

Therefore, this benefit is probably only for those who eat massive amounts of carbs, so it is not suitable for keto dieters. Moreover, the gel is attached to the bile acid and will help to lower the LDL cholesterol level. Also, it is known to increase the excellent LDL cholesterol level.

Primarily psyllium husk is used in bowel function and also used to treat constipation for many years. Husk can absorb the water and hold it, then soaks up it in the gut. In this way, the stool gets softer, and you can comfortably pass it through your throat. Here are some prominent health benefits of Psyllium Husk:

Improve digestion health

Increase satiety and promote weight loss

Regulating blood sugar levels

Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

A wide range of fiber in the psyllium husk can help to solve digestive issues. Fiber is associated with several health benefits like relief from constipation and manage your healthy body weight. Psyllium is also a prebiotic bacteria that can feed healthy bacterial colonies in the digestive system. Psyllium can help absorb the liquid in your body, provide a feeling of fullness, and promote weight loss.

Watch Your Weight

Psyllium husk is not only good for all these benefits but also good to manage weight loss. There is a typical way to take the psyllium husk is to stir one or two tbsp of husk powder in the eight ounces serving water or in juice.

It is better to drink it in straight away before it forms in the gel. Then you may need to put some more water in it to take it. In the form of a gel, it can promote the feeling of fullness. Also, you can take this in gel form before eating your meal to prevent overeating.

Side Effects of Psyllium Husk

The good thing about psyllium husk is that digestive issues are uncommon, and it is not fermented. Therefore, it’s better not to take the psyllium husk more than the 15 grams in one day. If you take a little more amount than 15 grams so it will cause gas, bloating, and discomfort.

Always make sure that you are consuming enough amount of fluids when taking psyllium as it may lead you to constipation. It can also cause of blockage but in rare cases. It is also essential to take the psyllium husk with enough amount of liquid, or otherwise, the gel will become a choking hazard.

Therefore, if you gradually introduce the psyllium husk in your diet with lots of fluids, then you are unlikely to get the experience of any side effects.

Benefits of Psyllium Husk for Keto Dieters

Aside from other benefits of psyllium husk, it is also an extremely useful ingredient in the keto recipes and of cooking and baking. It is difficult for some keto dieters to give up on the high carb foods at the start. If you like to eat bagels, pizza, and bread, then psyllium can be used in many adapted recipes.

The psyllium husk has especially used in the yeast recipes such as keto bread recipe. It can also help to get the desired air consistency in the recipe. Also, using psyllium husk in the recipes can give more elasticity to dough. However, it is easy to shape, roll, and handle.

Where to Buy?

You can buy whole psyllium husk or powdered psyllium husk from large grocery stores, especially in the baking section. Or you can buy it from the well-stocked health food stores as psyllium husk powder is a laxative, so you can also buy it from pharmacies. Also, buy its whole and powder form from online stores like Amazon.com.

Keto Baking Recipe with Psyllium Husk

There are huge recipes available that incorporate psyllium to create delicious results. With all these tasty recipes, you will crave for anything you love to eat.

Keto Bread Recipe

If you add psyllium husk in your bread mixture then it is easy to handle the dough. The bread feels soft and airy in the middle with the golden delicious crispy crust. Bread is the best thing to serve straight from the oven. To get excellent results you can toast and freeze in the freezer.

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups almond flour

5 tbsp of psyllium husk powder

2 teaspoon baking powder

One teaspoon of sea salt

Boiling water one cup

Cider vinegar 1 teaspoon

3 egg white

2 tbsp of sesame seeds

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 F/ 180 F/ Gas 4.

Put all dry ingredients in a large bowl then mix white egg and vinegar in the bowl with other ingredients.

Then add boiling water and beat the dough with the mixer for one minute. Mix well until you get the workable form of dough.

Use some olive oil to avoid sticking while you shape the dough in 6 rolls.

Put the rolls on baking sheets and lightly grease the paper with olive oil to avoid sticking.

Then sprinkle sesame seeds and put in the lower rack of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Check the rolls if they are dined by tapping the bottom of the rolls. So, now you can serve them warm and cold with some butter.

You can click the LINK to start creating your 8-week plan. Simply follow the plan to achieve a successful keto diet.

⠀ LINK : CLICK HERE LINK :CLICK HERE

from Your Keto Plan https://ift.tt/3q4O5Sn

#keto diet food cook cooking

[allwayshungry]

Cabbage Slaw with Miso-Carrot Dressing

Salt the cabbage before you dress it. I read about this technique in The Slanted Door cookbook earlier this year, and I’ve found employing it makes all the difference in the cabbage slaws and salads I’ve been making. Salting the cabbage draws out some of its moisture, which allows it to better soak up the dressing. It also softens the shreds, which makes it easier to eat.

If you have a food processor, pull it (and all of its attachments) out: When making the dressing, if you use the shredder attachment before using the default blade, the carrots will purée more easily. After you make the dressing, too, you can wipe it out, switch to the slicer attachment, and run the broccoli or cauliflower florets down the shoot.

Crunch: In addition to flavor, nuts and seeds add such nice texture to vegetable slaws. I’ve used toasted pumpkin seeds and almonds here, but any number of nuts (cashews, walnuts, peanuts) and seeds (sunflower, sesame) could work. For additional crunch, you could add un-boiled ramen noodles. To do so, open a package or two, discard the seasoning pack, break the noodles into small pieces, and spread them on a sheet pan. Toast at 425ºF for 5 to 7 minutes until golden. Add to salad, and toss to combine. (Note: Ramen noodles lose their crunch after several hours and turn completely soft after a night in the fridge.)

Makes 2 quarts

1small head napa (or other) cabbage

1tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

2medium unpeeled carrots, ends trimmed (about 8 oz. once trimmed)

1/4cup white miso paste

2cloves garlic, optional, see notes above

1/3cup freshly squeezed lime juice (or vinegar, see notes above)

1tablespoon sesame oil

1/2cup grapeseed, olive, or neutral oil

1small head broccoli or cauliflower, cut into florets

1/2cup sliced almonds

1/2cup pumpkin seeds

6scallions, thinly sliced

Cut the cabbage into quarters through the core. Thinly slice it, discarding the core. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Using your hands, massage the salt into the cabbage. Let sit for 15 minutes. Fill a bowl with cold water and jostle the cabbage with your hands. Drain into a large colander. Don't worry about drying the cabbage.

Meanwhile, make the dressing: If you're using a food processor, run the carrots down the chute with the shredder attachment in place. Then switch to the default blade, and add the miso, garlic, if using, lime juice, sesame oil, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. With the motor running, pour oil slowly down the chute (I pour it into the cavity of the food pusher, which has a little pinhole, which allows for slow, steady streaming), then add 1/4 cup of water in the same manner. Taste the dressing. Add the additional 1/4 cup of water to thin to the right consistency—dressing will be thin— and to correct it if it tastes too tart. Add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt if necessary. (Note: miso pastes vary in sweetness—the one I'm using is very sweet—so you'll have to adjust the dressing to taste.)

Wipe out the food processor. Switch to the slicer attachment. Run the broccoli or cauliflower florets down the chute. Transfer to a large bowl. (It's now safe to throw your food processor in the dishwasher!)

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds until golden. Transfer to a plate to cool. Wipe out the skillet, and add the pumpkin seeds. Toast until golden, then transfer to a plate to cool.

Transfer cabbage to the bowl with the broccoli or cauliflower. Add the toasted almonds and pumpkin seeds. Add the scallions. Pour dressing over top — you won't need all of it. Toss. Taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary.

#Cabbage Slaw with Miso-Carrot Dressing #alexandra stafford #food52 #food 52 #coleslaw #asian coleslaw #miso #miso cabbage slaw

[spicysoupparadise-blog]

recipe // house meal fried rice

“If you’re looking for a meal that’s got everything – and is also cheap and easy – look no further than right here. House Meal Fried Rice is the answer to your lazy-night-dinner-prayers.”

I found this article a while ago about why everyone should have a “house meal” – something that you always have the ingredients for and everyone likes so that, if you’re ever at a loss for dinner – at least you got that.

We joked that if we ever had a house meal that it would be rice because we go through a whole bunch of rice. Foots and I eat a lot of very lazy Japanese food – ochazuke, gyoza, temaki – and so having a cup or two of cooked white rice on hand is a must for us.

Well, the other day we were cooking – and we found it. Our house meal is this fried rice. It is super easy, super simple, and can be made with things you have on hand.

We were looking at high protein meals (#proteinLife) and we found a version of fried rice that has veggies and flavor and chickpeas. What else could you want? So we made it ourselves – but added some additional ingredients and some flair.

Now, we did this in the mindset that we wanted to make things out of things we would have in our house even if we hadn’t gone shopping in a while. So most of the stuff is canned or “kitchen staples” (I always have carrots and onions in the house.)

So here it is! Gubs’ House Meal Fried Rice!

Recipe // Gubs’ House Meal Fried Rice

Makes: 6 servings Time: 20-30 min Prep Time, 15 min Cook Time Survives: 3 days in fridge

// Ingredients

– 1 can of pineapple – the chunks version // This recipe is actually much better with fresh pineapple, so if you have it, great. If you can’t find it, canned will do. – 3 carrots – 5 cloves garlic – 2 teaspoons ginger – 3 tablespoons soy sauce (It’s gotta be Kikkoman) – 1 can baby corn (15 oz) – 1 can water chestnuts (8 oz) – 1 can garbanzo beans (15 oz) – 2.5 cups of short grain rice, preferably a day old

// Prep

– If you don’t already have the rice cooked, go ahead and start that now. We have a rice cooker so just set and forget. – Take the pineapple and strain it through a mesh. You’re also going to want to take the back of a metal spoon – or something you have good control over – and press out the remaining liquid. Don’t MAUL the pineapple or press it through the mesh – just get enough of the water out. – Chop the carrots into small chunks – about nickel sized – Mince the garlic – Grate the ginger – Rinse and drain the baby corn, the water chestnuts, and the chickpeas. Keep them all separate from one another.

// Cook

– Take a wok over medium / medium high heat and add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan – Make sure your pineapple is dry and then add it once the oil is hot. // The pineapple should sizzle, but not SPLATTER. If you’re getting splash back, crank that oil down a notch. – Cook the pineapple until it gets slightly toasted on the sides. It should be golden brown – not black. If its black, it’s burnt. Throw that baby out. – Once you’ve got a good color on your pineapple, take that out of the pan and set it aside. It can get cool – don’t worry. – Now put in a little more oil – again enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Get it hot again. – Add in your carrots and baby corn. Cook – while stirring slightly – until the carrots start to get tender.  About 3 minutes. – Add in garlic and ginger and roll the veggies in them. // We like our food with a lot of spices, so we added a few teaspoons of spicy red pepper flakes and “everyday Asian seasoning” (which is garlic, ginger, sesame, and a few other things.) Feel free at this point to add whatever you think might taste good. – Cook one minute to get those spices activated – Stir in the water chestnuts and wait until they start to lose their color – about 2 minutes – Stir in the garbanzo beans and toast 2 minutes – Stir in the pineapple from before and let it come to temperature – Stir in as much rice as your wok/pan will hold and integrate well. – Start touching the rice. When the rice has gotten hot – the same temperature as the rest of your veggies, sprinkle 3 and a half tablespoons of soy sauce. Integrate well. – This is the point where you can season it to your taste. Needs more spicy? Needs more salt? Go ahead and figure out what you like and make it taste like that.

Eating Now // Serve immediately topped with white sesame seeds and shredded green onions. Eat with chopsticks or fork.

Eating Later // Heat up 1 tbsp veggie oil in wok. Wait until hot. Reheat only the amount of rice you’re going to eat. Continuously stir until rice is hot to the touch. Add in half a tablespoon for every serving of rice being reheating (.5 tbsp for 1 person, 1 tbsp for 2, etc). Serve immediately.

Have a recipe you think could beat it? Drop me a message! I’ll try it out!

#dinner #chinese food #vegetarian #vegan #protein #food #foodporn #foodblogger #food blog #asian food

[nancypullen]

Whatcha’ Doing?

We’re not doing a darn thing.  The mister is still working from home and spends most of his days upstairs solving problems.  I’d like to putter in the gardens and enjoy the sunshine but there hasn’t been any!  I’m so sick of the drizzle. We’re not even getting entertaining thunderstorms, it’s just constant damp, cool drizzle.  Everything is soggy and squishy.  The weeds are loving it.  I think a thousand tiny weeds have popped their heads up in my raised beds.  I guess I could put on some water wings and go pull ‘em. 

One thing we are doing is eating. A LOT.  We keep saying that we need to tighten the reins on our quarantine menus, but so far we haven’t.  I suppose it’s all up to me.  I order the groceries, I pick up the groceries, I cook the groceries...so yeah, it’s me.  The problem is that I don’t always get what I order.  If I place an order and the list includes ground turkey, they may substitute ground beef.  I’m not a big fan of red meat and we’ve eaten more since February than we did in all of 2019.  Ugh.   Definitely not good for the mister’s cholesterol.  I keep telling myself that this is all temporary and that we’re lucky to be able to get groceries.  I get that, I really do.  I’ve been filling our menus with big salads for dinner every other night trying to offset some of the not-so-great items.  We grilled salmon last week and it tasted like the good ol’ days.  Still, I’m determined to make the best of what we’ve got right now and the recipe I’m about to share does just that.  It’s YUMMY.  It’s a great use of ground beef and even has fresh veggies piled on top.  That’s got to make it semi-healthy, right?  The prep time is the bulk of the work and even that is quick. Here’s the Olivia Court version of Beef Bulgogi:  BEEF BULGOGI BOWLS Ingredients 1 lb ground beef scallions (2, more if you want) cucumber (we’ll talk about how much) carrots, shredded (1 big one, two if you love carrots) 6 tsps white wine vinegar, divided 1 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp sesame seeds, divided 1/2 cup Bulgogi sauce (Korean BBQ sauce) 4 Tbsp sour cream Sriracha sauce to taste Jasmine rice - how much do you want? 2 servings? 4? Directions Alrighty, if you’re making your rice in a pot with boiling water, go ahead and start that first - you know what to do. Rice, water, and salt. Boil, cover, cook, remove from heat and keep covered until serving. Easy. Directions are on the bag.

If you want to save time and you’re not cooking for a crowd, don’t be afraid to use these handy pouches.  I’ve used both.

If you use a pouch you can wait until the last couple of minutes and just pop it in the microwave. They’re great. Onward.  Grab a cuke and peel it.  If you have little pickling cucumbers, use a couple.  If you have a looong English cucumber, use half.  If you have an average garden cucumber, congratulations.  Peel that sucker, then take your peeler and run it down the sides, making ribbons, rotating as you go.  Once you get to the seedy core, toss it.

Put the cucumber ribbons in a bowl and toss them with 3 teaspoons of white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and a pinch of salt.  Set that aside. You can stir it occasionally, but it’s fine.

Chop up the two scallions and divide the greens and whites.  The whites will go in a skillet with your beef, the greens will be sprinkled on the finished dish.

In a small bowl mix the sour cream and however much Sriracha you like. It’s entirely up to you.  Want just a hint of heat or a punch of it? You decide. I like just a hint. That pale peach color tells me it’s just right.  Stir in a little salt, then add water a teaspoon at a time until you have a nice drizzling consistency.  Set that aside. It’ll grace the finished dish later. 

Let’s talk carrots.  You can grab a big carrot and grate it, you can break out the food processor and have to clean that out later, or you can pick up a bag of already shredded carrots for about $1.15.  These are also great for tossing into salads, so they’ll get used up in no time.

Use as much as you’d like, it’s also getting piled on top of the beef. .

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add your shredded carrots, some salt and pepper, and cook until just tender.  We’re talking a minute or two.

Once those are cooked, remove them from the skillet and, you guessed it, set aside. Depending on the ground beef that you’re using, you may or may not want to add a bit more oil to your skillet.  I added just a little because our beef was very lean.  Interesting that it’s labeled gluten-free, is beef normally full of gluten?

Toss the onion whites into your skillet and cook until fragrant, maybe a minute.  Then add the beef with a pinch of salt and pepper - cook for 5 or 6 minutes, breaking up the meat, until browned.   Add half the sesame seeds and the remaining 3 tsps of white wine vinegar.

Honestly, I think it could use a touch more vinegar - add another teaspoon or two if you’re feeling wild.  Stir that up for about 30 seconds and then add the 1/2 cup of Bulgogi sauce, more if you like things really saucy. I don’t. This stuff isn’t hard to find.  It’s with all of the other Asian foods in your supermarket, and you can even get it delivered by Amazon for about $3.50.

Bring that to a simmer and then immediately take it off the heat and season with salt and pepper.  Time to assemble everything! Scoop some rice into a bowl, top it with the beef mixture, then carrots, then pickled cucumbers.  Drizzle the sour cream/Sriracha mixture and sprinkle everything with green onions and remaining sesame seeds.  Dinner’s ready!  

This is so quick and easy, and it packs BIG flavor.  Mickey loves it and even though it’s red meat, I ain’t mad at it. The original recipe suggests finishing the rice (before serving) with a Tbsp of butter and salt and pepper. You can do that because it’s delicious, or you can skip it because it’s healthier.  Your call.  You can use a little bit of the sour cream sauce or a lot.  Whatever your conscience allows.  By the way, I didn’t even bother to use toasted sesame seeds.  This is what I had, so in it went. Works just fine.

As I’ve mentioned, this comes together quickly,  If you prep all of the veggies and the sour cream sauce while the rice cooks, dinner is on the table in about half an hour.  Give it a whirl, give your taste buds a treat!  It’s a nice break from the same old stuff.  Let me know what you’re cooking, throw some new recipes my way!  What’s your favorite lockdown dish so far?  I think mine is brownies.  Oink. Stay safe and well, boys and girls.  This is all temporary and the better we care for each other now, the sooner it will be over.  Wear a mask, wash your hands, be kind. XOXO - Nancy

[easyfoodnetwork]

A Starter Guide to Buying, Eating, and Cooking With Tinned Fish

A shelf of tinned fish at a shop in Lisbon. | Meghan McCarron

Tinned, canned, jarred, preserved: these sea creatures are a pantry must-have

In spite of what you may have learned from your parents or grandparents, canned seafood is a lot more than just a practical and economical way to shop for a big family. And in spite of what you may have heard from restaurant critics like the New York Times’s Pete Wells, it’s not just an inferior, more convenient version of the fresh stuff. It may have taken my generation a few trips to Lisbon and Barcelona and Tokyo to realize it, but canned fish (or “conservas,” or “tinned fish,” depending on who you ask) is a whole category of its own, full of carefully crafted specialties with the potential to reinvigorate your home cooking — and snacking.

The canned fish aisle at the grocery store can be a bit overwhelming (and let’s face it, all aspects of the grocery store are a bit overwhelming right now), but armed with a bit of fishy know-how, you’ll walk out of there in no time with the makings of toasty sandwiches, nourishing rice bowls, and unbelievably easy tapas spreads.

Tuna

The little disc-shaped tins of water-packed tuna might bring back some pretty visceral elementary school lunchroom memories, but it’s time to give it another shot. Mix it with mayo, lots of salt and pepper, finely chopped celery and scallion, and a smattering of fresh herbs (whatever you have on your windowsill or on the verge of wilting in the crisper), for a salad that you can eat tucked into toasted baguettes or turned into a quick tuna melt under the broiler.

If you’re not mixing it with a fatty dressing (like mayo), buy the stuff that comes packed in olive oil. This can be added to a salad straight out of the can (or sometimes jar). The most classic way to use oil-packed tuna is in a French-inspired salad Nicoise, but you can create a pretty beautiful composed salad from whatever you have around, even if that just means a handful of tiny steamed potatoes, a couple 8-minute eggs cut into quarters, a drizzle of sherry vinaigrette, and a handful of parsley.

What to look for:

For those conscientious tuna sandwiches, look for a sustainable brand like Wild Planet at your grocery store.

For an olive oil-packed option, both Ortiz and Tonnino deliver a lot of flavor, with a silky richness from the high-quality olive oil.

Sardines

Sardines are great straight from the can, and they only get better with age, so consider building a little bit of a collection. You can turn almost any can of sardines, whether it’s packed in tomato sauce, with pickled peppers, or with bits of lemon peel, into a perfect backyard (or living room) picnic with a few slices of buttered bread or a stack of saltines. If you’re feeling really fancy, add a few lemon wedges, a bit of quick-pickled fennel, or a little bowl of onion jam to this snack spread.

If you want to feel more like you’re eating an actual meal, consider tossing some more neutral oil-packed sardines with soy sauce, and eating them on top of a bowl of fluffy, steamed white rice, with a sprinkle of scallions and black sesame seeds. You can even bust out some seaweed snacks, and make the rice and fish mixture into some little nori wraps. Sardines packed with tomato sauce or spicy peppers are great thrown in a hot pan with some garlic and shallots, with eggs cooked into the mixture shakshuka-style and a handful of parsley sprinkled over the top. And if you’re still feeling on the fence about these tiny fish (or if you’re trying to convince someone in your household to give them a shot), a classic pasta con le sarde rounds out the fish’s flavor with plenty of sweetness from onion, fennel, and wine-plumped raisins.

What to look for:

To snack on, Matiz has great Portuguese sardines that come beautifully intact in the can, tails and all.

If you want to try your hand at aging sardines, try a French brand like Rodel or Connetable, and stick with the sardines that are packed in olive oil.

For an option that won’t cost a fortune and that’s easier to grab at your local grocery store, try Roland sardines for cooking or incorporating into pastas.

Shellfish

In Spain, it’s not uncommon to snack on some mussels or clams straight from the can with a little pile of potato chips alongside a glass of beer or wine. Angelica Intriago, a co-owner of Despaña in Manhattan and Queens, says that as Despaña has pivoted to home delivery, they’ve been selling a lot of ready-to-eat mussels en escabeche (pickled mussels), in addition to all of the usual sardines and tuna. Intriago tells me that for shellfish that’s canned in brine, like cockles or razor clams, she likes to drain the liquid from the can (sometimes preserving to add to fish stocks), and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil before serving. If your grocery store offerings lean a little more American, and you find yourself with a classic old can of chopped clams in clam juice, try mixing them in with the garlic butter for a batch of garlic bread.

What to look for:

Despaña sells specialty Spanish conservas like cockles and razor clams online.

Patagonia Smoked Mussels in Olive Oil are great with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of parsley.

For cooking, look for Bar Harbor chopped clams.

Anchovies

Unlike sardines and tuna, anchovies should be treated more as a seasoning element than as the protein of a meal. While there are plenty of specialty anchovies out there (like Spanish boquerones) that are designed for snacking, as Intriago explains, “An anchovy that is in a grocery and is shelf-stable is going to have a high content of salt. It’s the only way it can be preserved.” Keep the canned variety around for mashing into vinaigrettes for at-home Caesar salads, sauteeing into garlicky oil to begin tomato sauces, or for punching up the umami in a meaty braise.

What to look for:

For cooking, you can’t go wrong with a can of Cento or Roland.

While they’re not technically canned, Ortiz anchovies are great, and you can scoop them out of the jar one by one as you use them (with the added bonus of the tiny keepsake anchovy fork).

Anna Hezel is senior editor at TASTE and the author of Lasagna. She has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bon Appetit, and more, and you can find her on Twitter at @hezelanna.

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/3ceXboV https://ift.tt/2SCtyWu

A shelf of tinned fish at a shop in Lisbon. | Meghan McCarron

Tinned, canned, jarred, preserved: these sea creatures are a pantry must-have

In spite of what you may have learned from your parents or grandparents, canned seafood is a lot more than just a practical and economical way to shop for a big family. And in spite of what you may have heard from restaurant critics like the New York Times’s Pete Wells, it’s not just an inferior, more convenient version of the fresh stuff. It may have taken my generation a few trips to Lisbon and Barcelona and Tokyo to realize it, but canned fish (or “conservas,” or “tinned fish,” depending on who you ask) is a whole category of its own, full of carefully crafted specialties with the potential to reinvigorate your home cooking — and snacking.

The canned fish aisle at the grocery store can be a bit overwhelming (and let’s face it, all aspects of the grocery store are a bit overwhelming right now), but armed with a bit of fishy know-how, you’ll walk out of there in no time with the makings of toasty sandwiches, nourishing rice bowls, and unbelievably easy tapas spreads.

Tuna

The little disc-shaped tins of water-packed tuna might bring back some pretty visceral elementary school lunchroom memories, but it’s time to give it another shot. Mix it with mayo, lots of salt and pepper, finely chopped celery and scallion, and a smattering of fresh herbs (whatever you have on your windowsill or on the verge of wilting in the crisper), for a salad that you can eat tucked into toasted baguettes or turned into a quick tuna melt under the broiler.

If you’re not mixing it with a fatty dressing (like mayo), buy the stuff that comes packed in olive oil. This can be added to a salad straight out of the can (or sometimes jar). The most classic way to use oil-packed tuna is in a French-inspired salad Nicoise, but you can create a pretty beautiful composed salad from whatever you have around, even if that just means a handful of tiny steamed potatoes, a couple 8-minute eggs cut into quarters, a drizzle of sherry vinaigrette, and a handful of parsley.

What to look for:

For those conscientious tuna sandwiches, look for a sustainable brand like Wild Planet at your grocery store.

For an olive oil-packed option, both Ortiz and Tonnino deliver a lot of flavor, with a silky richness from the high-quality olive oil.

Sardines

Sardines are great straight from the can, and they only get better with age, so consider building a little bit of a collection. You can turn almost any can of sardines, whether it’s packed in tomato sauce, with pickled peppers, or with bits of lemon peel, into a perfect backyard (or living room) picnic with a few slices of buttered bread or a stack of saltines. If you’re feeling really fancy, add a few lemon wedges, a bit of quick-pickled fennel, or a little bowl of onion jam to this snack spread.

If you want to feel more like you’re eating an actual meal, consider tossing some more neutral oil-packed sardines with soy sauce, and eating them on top of a bowl of fluffy, steamed white rice, with a sprinkle of scallions and black sesame seeds. You can even bust out some seaweed snacks, and make the rice and fish mixture into some little nori wraps. Sardines packed with tomato sauce or spicy peppers are great thrown in a hot pan with some garlic and shallots, with eggs cooked into the mixture shakshuka-style and a handful of parsley sprinkled over the top. And if you’re still feeling on the fence about these tiny fish (or if you’re trying to convince someone in your household to give them a shot), a classic pasta con le sarde rounds out the fish’s flavor with plenty of sweetness from onion, fennel, and wine-plumped raisins.

What to look for:

To snack on, Matiz has great Portuguese sardines that come beautifully intact in the can, tails and all.

If you want to try your hand at aging sardines, try a French brand like Rodel or Connetable, and stick with the sardines that are packed in olive oil.

For an option that won’t cost a fortune and that’s easier to grab at your local grocery store, try Roland sardines for cooking or incorporating into pastas.

Shellfish

In Spain, it’s not uncommon to snack on some mussels or clams straight from the can with a little pile of potato chips alongside a glass of beer or wine. Angelica Intriago, a co-owner of Despaña in Manhattan and Queens, says that as Despaña has pivoted to home delivery, they’ve been selling a lot of ready-to-eat mussels en escabeche (pickled mussels), in addition to all of the usual sardines and tuna. Intriago tells me that for shellfish that’s canned in brine, like cockles or razor clams, she likes to drain the liquid from the can (sometimes preserving to add to fish stocks), and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil before serving. If your grocery store offerings lean a little more American, and you find yourself with a classic old can of chopped clams in clam juice, try mixing them in with the garlic butter for a batch of garlic bread.

What to look for:

Despaña sells specialty Spanish conservas like cockles and razor clams online.

Patagonia Smoked Mussels in Olive Oil are great with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of parsley.

For cooking, look for Bar Harbor chopped clams.

Anchovies

Unlike sardines and tuna, anchovies should be treated more as a seasoning element than as the protein of a meal. While there are plenty of specialty anchovies out there (like Spanish boquerones) that are designed for snacking, as Intriago explains, “An anchovy that is in a grocery and is shelf-stable is going to have a high content of salt. It’s the only way it can be preserved.” Keep the canned variety around for mashing into vinaigrettes for at-home Caesar salads, sauteeing into garlicky oil to begin tomato sauces, or for punching up the umami in a meaty braise.

What to look for:

For cooking, you can’t go wrong with a can of Cento or Roland.

While they’re not technically canned, Ortiz anchovies are great, and you can scoop them out of the jar one by one as you use them (with the added bonus of the tiny keepsake anchovy fork).

Anna Hezel is senior editor at TASTE and the author of Lasagna. She has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bon Appetit, and more, and you can find her on Twitter at @hezelanna.

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

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