#how to cook couscous

[28dayslater]

I’m legit addicted to this couscous and feta salad they’ve got in sainsburys like whenever I get a pot I keep finding myself stood in front of the fridge with a spoon at all hours of the day and night sneaking a few mouthfuls

#need to look into how to recreate it at home so i can make vats of it #sadly i’ve never cooked couscous or made any kind of salad before so it’s a bit out of my comfort zone

[the-navistar-carol]

Make food daily? NO.

Make food that purposefully makes a lot for ULTIMATE LEFTOVERS?

ABSOLUTELY

#so if you can’t tell i made stew again #tagine! #and couscous! #too many mushrooms #and i added blueberries instead of a reasonable substitute for figd #did not know how to cook eggplant before this #added cinnamon bc the recipe told me to #turned out FANTASTIC

[chanshoesunite]

Imagine Chan going crazy at the thought of you wearing sexy underwear for NYE

Content info: Chan loves your red underwear and he's not letting you leave the house before he's shown you exactly how much

Word count: 1785

Warnings: unsafe sex (peeps, please use a condom), dirty talk, use of the words "slut" and "whore", slightly possessive Chan (but then he's a marshmallow again)

"Do we have everything for the party?" You mutter to yourself while going through your bags. You are invited to a New Year's Eve party at Minho's, Jisung's and Hyunjin's place, and because it's a potluck and at least half of your friendship group can't cook for shit, quite a lot of the food preparation has fallen to you.

Chan is leaning against the kitchen counter, helpfully reading your To Do list to you to support you. "Okay, it says 'couscous salad'..."

"Got it." You glance into one of the bags and see that you've packed the bowl already.

Chan shakes his head. "Good luck with making them eat a salad."

You shrug. "I swear to God, Felix needs his vitamins. He still claims yogurt is a fruit."

You boyfriend chuckles and presses a kiss to your temple. "I love how much you're looking out for the boys. Okay... Chocolate mousse?"

"Got it."

"Garlic bread?"

"Yup."

"Pizza toast mixture?"

"Packed."

Chan nods, content. "That's all the food items on the list. There are some other things on here... You want me to read them, too?"

You hum, giving him the go-ahead as you, for good measure, put a bag of crisps into your backpack.

Chan adorable scrunches up his nose. "It says 'do a face mask'?"

"Done, it was a really good one."

"That's why your skin smells like roses." Chan presses another peck to your cheek. "'Organise new bullet journal'?"

You turn around to watch him read. "All done."

Your boyfriend nods to himself but then freezes. "It says... 'Put on special red underwear'?" He quickly looks up, his eyes wide. "Why are you wearing that special set?" He almost sounds whiney. "I thought that was for special occasions!"

You shrug, trying to hide your grin. "It is a special occasion! My Italian grandmother always tells us to wear red underwear on New Year's Eve. Apparently, it's a good luck charm for the next year, especially where love is concerned." You grab the bags, content that you've got everything you need, and make to leave the kitchen.

Chan's hand is suddenly on your wrist, stopping you. "And did you?"

You turn around, glancing first at his hand and then at his face. His expression has turned from good-humoured to... Intense. "Did I what?"

His eyes are already on your breasts where he assumes you're wearing your special underwear under your little black dress. "Did you put it on? The red set?" He pulls you closer, and you find yourself chest to chest with him.

You smirk. "Well, wouldn't you like to know, Channie. Come, we need to go, we're already a bit late."

But Chan doesn't let go. "Let me see, please," he says, his voice quiet, but the energy in the room shifts. Of course you could say no. But this Chan, the one who would literally miss a party just to look at you, is one of your favourite Chans.

You shrug, playing it cool. "Take a look if you want to know so badly."

You didn't expect him to immediately go for it, but he pulls down the neckline of your dress - swiftly, but not in any way that would hurt you (or your dress). And there it is - your beautiful, deep red bra, adorned with lace and tiny beads.

Chan stares for a few seconds, then he growls, "And the matching panties?"

You just nod.

There is something feral on Chan's face as he scoops you up onto the counter and crashes his lips against yours. You drop the bags in the process, hoping nothing breaks for only a second before all thoughts are purged from your mind as Chan's tongue invades your mouth and you moan into him.

He kisses down your throat, bites your clavicle and pushes down your dress even further so he can properly see your bra. He doesn't make to take it off, though, merely slides down the straps so he can half pull your breasts from their confinement. Immediately, Chan moves to suck one of your nipples while his other hand finds its way between your legs. The cloth covering your pussy is already damp, and Chan groans at the feeling. Eagerly, he pushes the tiny piece of fabric to the side and slides two fingers into you. The intrusion is a bit much, but it feels so good, having him want you so badly, knowing he can't resist you, knowing that only the mental image of you wearing something sexy will awaken the wolf in him.

"Fuck," he rasps against your tits. "I need to be inside you now, baby girl."

You whimper at his words and pull him in for another heated kiss, which he gladly gives you. Your hands, so far merely gripping the counter for balance, join his as he blindly tries to open his trousers. This breathless fumbling, clumsy and hurried, is weirdly erotic. It's been ages since you've fucked in the kitchen, and the thrill of it makes you even wetter.

Finally, his trousers are undone, hanging somewhere around his knees, and Chan grips your hips to pull you to the edge of the counter. He raises your skirt so he can see your tiny red panties as he slides his painfully hard cock into you. You groan deeply at the stretch - Chan is always big, but today, he feels huge.

His forehead falls to your throat, and both of you merely breathe heavily for a few seconds. "I don't think I can be gentle and slow," he groans apologetically, and you smile - you have gathered as much from the current setting. "Can I take you hard and fast, baby girl? I promise I'll make you come after - or at the party, if you want, I know you're a little slut who likes being fingered in semi-public settings."

You bite your lip at the suggestion, trying to deny yourself the moan that wants to escape you at the thought of Chan having his fingers inside you in the guest bathroom, pushing you against the sink as he whispers in your ear what a dirty little whore you are. Chan, despite his current state of hyper-arousal, chuckles at your non-answer which is absolutely an answer as he looks up at you. "I knew it."

You roll your eyes. "Just fuck me."

His eyes darken. "Gladly," he says, and the first thrust is enough to rob you of your breath. You cross your ankles behind him, keeping him close, and claw at his shirt-covered shoulders for purchase. God you wish he was shirtless, you love his muscular shoulders. "I'll fuck you so hard you'll only roll your eyes in pleasure, baby girl." His thrusts are hard, calculated, he is trying to still have a grip on himself.

"Wearing underwear like that to a party and not telling me," he growls. "What were you thinking, baby girl? Did you want to tell me there? Have me bend you over in the bathroom so everyone would know who's fucking you good? You little slut. This is my pussy, and I want to know what's covering it. Do. You. Understand?" Each word is accentuated with a particularly hard thrust, and you can hear the oil bottles rattling on the counter behind you. You whimper and nod.

Chan stops his movements. "I said," he purrs dangerously, "Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes," you volunteer hurriedly, "please, Chan, go on, fuck me, I need you to come inside me."

That undoes his calm, and you know it from the way he briefly closes his eyes, whispers, "fuck," and then continues to absolutely rail your pussy, his thrusts hard, fast, but lacking finesse, deliciously sloppy and filled with sheer want.

"Whose pussy is that, YN?" he growls, biting your neck and making you whimper. "Tell me."

"I-It's yours, Channie," you gasp, holding on to his shoulders as he just continuesly pushes into you. "Of course it's yours."

He grasps your chin. "And you better not forget that later at the party. I'll tell you when I want it, and then I'll have it."

You shudder under his intense gaze. "Yes, yes, you can have me, I'm yours," you whine, and his eyes soften. "I love you," he whispers, kissing you briefly, before capturing one of your nipples between his lips again and redoubling his efforts, pouding into you so hard that you can hear the glasses clinking in the cupboards above. You can feel him approaching orgasm, and you whisper dirty nothings to him, about how you'll always be his, how he's so good for you, such a good boy, fucking you so well, better than anyone ever could, and then he's coming with a loud groan, biting down on your neck, eyes shut tightly as he continues to slowly spend himself inside you and then stills.

You are both quiet for a few moments, him catching his breath against you, you sliding a hand in his hair, stroking him tenderly.

"I'll kill you if you get come on these panties," you finally say, and Chan laughs, his high laugh that's not sexy in any way but so entirely Chan you can't help but laugh along. He grabs a piece of kitchen towel before sliding out of you, cleaning you up expertly and then tucking himself back into his trousers.

Chan leans in and kisses your nose. "I love you," he says, before kissing you properly, slowly, lazily. His forehead pressed against yours, he straightens your dress again and finally helps you off the counter.

Glancing at the kitchen clock, you sigh. "I love you too. And we're so super late. And if that sting in my neck is anything to go by, there are at least two lovebites blooming there." You catch your reflection in the glass cabinet and see your fears confirmed. "You are utterly ridiculous, my love," you conclude, sighing again.

Your boyfriend slides his arms around your waist, cheek pressed against yours as he also inspects his work. "I take no responsibility. You demand to be fucked when you're wearing that. I can't promise I'll make it through the night without having to get you alone somewhere."

You shake your head. "I'll go get changed. You are a menace."

Once again, Chan catches your wrist. "Don't you dare," he growls, part of his arousal back in his eyes. "This will make the party all the more interesting."

"Chan, they'll never invite us again if you're gonna be horny all night," you protest.

He grins and shakes his head as his hand slides under your dress, cupping your scantily clad bum. "They have to. You made all the food."

#author hare #tortoise: ooooooffff that was GOOD - apart from the smutty goodness i had to laugh at the dig at felix lol #bang chan smut #bang chan hard hours #bang chan smut on new years eve #bang chan x yn #bang chan x reader #skz smut #skz imagine #bang chan imagine

[mermaidlighthouse]

So the rabbit is Stede…not just the (amazing) art meme but like legitimately a metaphor for the relationship between Ed and Stede. 

Ok, this is not that deep but I have brain rot and I am subjecting all of you to it…

Yes, the show has gone out of its way to address where Ed’s head is at…we have Roach saying his brain is couscous, we have Stede saying he’s unmoored, we have Buttons saying he can’t tell what’s real and whats the basket anymore, we have Buttons saying pay him no heed, he’s still half dead and OF COURSE we have the proceeding emotional arc of Ed working/actively NOT working through his trauma. 

With all that in mind, I’m still saying this scene provides a showcase of how Ed perceives vulnerability

So, immediately upon seeing the rabbit, a cuddly, soft, prey creature, Ed calls it a wolf. Yes, this Is hilarious and a cute Ed moment and can be swept aside because of the aforementioned place where Ed is at BUT it also represents all the things that Ed feels threatened by ie being soft. He equates the softness with something traditionally predatory because that’s how he’s perceived the world ie being soft/being vulnerable are things that are not ok and therefore are threatening. (See all the very thorough takes on toxic masculinity)

HOWEVER, he also immediately gets down on the rabbit’s level literally lying down in front of it, and begins opening up to the rabbit. Ed is getting emotional/vulnerable and getting emotionally attached VERY quickly (paralleling the immediate connection he has with Stede). He explains his tattoos and in so doing reveals that the trappings of his Blackbeard persona are ways in which to hide from things he’s scared of (paralleling the scene where he “confesses” that he killed his father, that he is the Kraken). He tells the rabbit that it’s safe with him and that they have a unique and special connection (paralleling the cliff scene). And immediately the rabbit is killed right in front of him leaving him alone in this vulnerability (paralleling the dock scene).

The rabbit and how he reacts to the rabbit is a microcosm of his entire relationship thus far with Stede but also shows how Ed is still able and willing to make those connections and that having been burned in the past doesn’t prevent him from being able to open back up.

It’s also interesting to note that the rabbit is killed by an element from his past, from the pirate world, one that goes out of their way to say they don’t necessarily like the changes he has made (the length of his beard). 

This does all fall apart a bit when you take into consideration that they cook and eat the rabbit but I stand by my insane take on this…..however, I am fully able to take it further to say that this is the show indicating how the pirate world can and will eat Stede whole….but then I’d also have to go down the road of how Stede cannibalizes himself in order to fit into the pirate world and this is already way too much…

#I have too much time on my hands obviously #stede bunnet #stede bonnet #the gentleman pirate #edward teach #ed teach #blackbeard #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #ed x stede #our flag means death #ofmd season 2 #ofmd #ofmd s2

[frozenfries]

|ω・`)ﾉ Greetings

I shall now submit my request and so here it is

Since s/o is a chirpy, friendly and warm person. What if all of the sudden, they feel blue and under the weather. Literally just shut down all together, then spend most days in now messy room. They didn't come out to eat or training, barely get some rest, the room is locked shut. Just have no motivation nor the energy to do anything. So when one of the agents tried to check on them, they were hiding under the table, just crying.

As for character hmmmmmmmm cypher, chamber and omen pls.

My apologies if this is alot and sort of heavy. Because it's something that i really relate to

But anyways, thank you so much for letting me submit the request

|･`) Goodbye ~

Salutations (•◡•) / This is a heart wrenching request and I’ve been looking forward to writing this one for awhile now. You have nothing to apologize for, and I’m more than honoured to undertake an idea that speaks to you. I hope you like it! Sending this along with a hug~

Feel Again (Cypher, Chamber and Omen)

Prompt: Cypher, Chamber and Omen support you during a bout of bad days.

Word Count: 1,969

Cypher:

• Cypher’s well acquainted with misery. Sometimes he wonders if people would like what they saw underneath his mask - the years of pain and silent suffering etched deep in his features.

• It goes against what he’s known for, but he does try his very best not to invade your privacy. Yet the itch to check the emergency spy camera he installed in your room grows each day he doesn’t hear or see you.

• He knows how much you enjoy his cooking, so every day he leaves some food outside your room: bread with homemade jam and tea for breakfast, herbed couscous for lunch and chicken tagine for dinner.

• When he would bring you the next meal, he’d feel a tiny puncture in his soul when he saw that the previous plate remained untouched.

• He’d knock gently at your door and lean his head against it as he spoke to you about his day and reminded you that he was thinking of you.

• “Please... just give me a hint that you are listening.”

• He sleeps outside your door every night you lock yourself away, just to be close to you.

• A man only has so much patience, and his concerns for your health and well-being were becoming increasingly hard to push aside.

• Activating the spycam in a moment of weakness, his heart goes out to you when he finally lays eyes on you.

You didn’t know when you’d fallen asleep again, what hour it was or even the day of the week. But for the first time in what felt like forever, the growl of your stomach woke you up. A clink akin to marbles rolling about sounded and you rubbed your eyes blearily. Realizing you weren’t alone, you jolted upwards with a start, yelping as you banged your head sharply on the underside of the table.

A wince, followed by a familiar voice. “Ooh be careful now. I can’t have you losing your memory of me when we’ve just been reunited.” Glowing blue goggles peered down at you.

Cypher?

“What are you doing here? Are you alone? Please don’t tell the others, I don’t want them to know,” you mumbled, panic rising in your chest as you pushed yourself more carefully into a seated position. How he even got in here was beyond you - and you didn’t bother asking that one, because you knew what his response would be: I have my ways.

He chuckled. “Only I could see you hide. Don't worry.” He gestured to his chess board, where he sat cross-legged on the floor across from you playing against his most formidable opponent: himself. He plucked a bowl from a tray beside him along with a spoon, and slid it toward you.

“Harira,” he said by way of explanation. “A classic comfort soup from home, made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, fresh herbs, dried spices, and meat.” You stirred it slowly, steam still billowing out the top. You couldn’t remember the last time you had food. “Eat,” he coaxed gently. “You must certainly be hungry.” You obliged, surprising yourself with how fast you finished. Nodding in satisfaction, the information broker replaced the now empty bowl with a plate of chicken kebabs and rice.

Abandoning his chess game, he scooted closer to you as you ate, handing you a cup of rather expensive Moroccan mint tea to close out your meal. It irked him to see the other agents fighting over something that wasn’t even theirs to begin with, but as soon as he’d mentioned bringing some for you, they immediately backed off.

“See what you’ve been missing?” He asked as you leaned into him and took a sip, his heart feeling lighter than it had in days. “If you are going to stay in here, at least let me stay with you.” He spoke with what you swore was an underlying desperation to his words, a quiet longing to be with you, though he tried not to show it. You nodded, relenting and causing him to smile under his mask.

“No one should have to spend their bad days alone.”

Chamber:

• The agent considered to be among the most disingenuous knows what it’s like to experience melancholy.

• Your unconditional kindness toward him went a long way in the Protocol. It was something he didn’t come across often and something he experienced even less.

• In your time spent together, you often hung out in each other’s rooms when you both wanted some peace and quiet to get your minds off work.

• Reading, listening to music, drawing, doing crossword puzzles to name a few: whatever it was, you both enjoyed being in the same space, even if you were doing different things.

• Because of this, one of his Rendezvous anchors had a permanent place in your room. He’d pop in whenever he had a random thought, to walk you to breakfast in the mornings or simply to wish you a good night before you tucked in - though not without asking first. He is a gentleman, after all.

• As someone who enjoys conversation, he likes hearing your perspective on things, but it’s also with you where he learns the value of comfortable silence.

• Although this silence from you as of late is different. It makes him uneasy, especially when none of the other agents have heard from you.

• Chamber’s a man who knows that good things come to those who wait. But after a few days with no response, his tolerance is thinner than a piece of thread. What if something happened to you?

• He tries to convince himself that chivalry is (temporarily) dead and teleports into your room to check on you.

The sound of shuffling feet roused you from your dreamless slumber. At ground level, you saw a familiar pair of sleek black and white shoes turning this way and that, moving freely about your space as if they knew it by heart. Blinking, you poked your head out from under the table.

“Chamber? What are you-“ You paused as you took in the state of your room, eyes widening. It was completely spotless: all previous clutter was removed, items put away in cubby spaces, clean clothes folded neatly in your drawer space, your bed freshly made. There were no lights on except for a brilliant string of twinkle bulbs strung around the perimeter of your room.

The man stood in the middle of the place, cleaning the last of it with a mop. His eyes lit up as he took you in. “You’re awake. And you have wonderful timing!” He exclaimed. “Forgive me for the unsolicited cleaning, I suppose old martial habits have not yet left me.” Chuckling, he dusted off his hands before making his way over, surprising you by settling down next to you on the floor. He lay flat on his back, an arm propped up under his head as a makeshift support.

“At least let me get you a pillow-” You started to get up, but he immediately held out his arm to stop you.

“You think I cannot handle the ground?” He raised a brow, sounding amused, but you’d seen him regularly bring a seat cushion for himself when travelling on the VTOL for missions.

“Your clothes will get dirty,” you tried appealing to his vanity.

“I just cleaned. Besides, I can have another set in my armoire by tomorrow morning.” He waved away your concerns as your eye twitched.

Damn rich people.

You backed down, confused. Why was he here?

“I would ask what has you feeling down but that is so personal, non? There is also the chance that you may not have an answer to that question.” You averted your gaze as the marksman watched you carefully, having hit the nail right on the head.

“I have been where you are,” he admitted. Shifting onto his side, he reached out and interlaced his fingers with yours. You played with them as he continued. “When I served in the military, there were days when I would not feel like myself and not know why. That being said,” he squeezed your hand gently, “I never want you to experience that alone.”

He winked, his next sentence making you smile a little.

“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me until you feel better.”

Omen:

• No one understands the blues quite like Omen.

• Joining the Protocol and having support from Sabine were the only things that kept him going at one point after his human life was ripped from him.

• That is, until you came along. For the first time since his accident, you made him feel like he was actually living, as opposed to merely existing.

• With your contagious smile and happy-go-lucky attitude every time you two interacted, waking up and making something of his life didn’t seem like an obligation. Rather, it became something he willingly wanted to do.

• Omen’s usually very aware about giving you your personal space and respecting your boundaries, because he appreciates when others do the same for him.

• However, this comes with certain exceptions.

• When you’re unresponsive to visits to your room, he slips little notes under the locked door to let you know he’s there for you.

• Though when he finds out that you haven’t eaten or drank anything for days, it kills him a little to do so but he teleports into your room because it’s absolutely imperative that he knows you’re safe.

• If you give him flack for overstepping, he’ll apologize but he won’t regret his actions because they meant knowing you’re okay.

Click. Click. Click.

You groaned, rolling over with great effort at the source of the light noise. You’d cried yourself to sleep at some point and your eyes felt like two pieces of sandpaper.

For the first time in a while, your body didn’t feel cold all over like it usually did when you slept. That’s when you noticed a sizeable, purple-grey wool blanket draped over your form. It was so cozy that you instinctively snuggled deeper into it, before you heard a gravelly hum.

“You like it.”

“Omen…” Allowing your eyes to slowly travel upward, you were met with the outline of the wraith sitting adjacent to you on the floor, leaning back against a leg of the table. His legs were stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle.

He paused, examining you for a moment, before his hands continued deftly knitting stitch after stitch. “You’re sad,” he remarked, though not unkindly.

You opened your mouth to reply and that’s when you noticed a slew of little knitted goodies surrounding you, seemingly having accumulated as you slept. Killjoy’s frog. Raze’s Boom Bot. A bowl of Yoru’s Zarusoba noodles. Viper’s snake. Skye’s Tasmanian tiger… Currently, he was working on a miniature version of Fade’s nightmare orb.

“They miss you,” the shadow spoke in reference to the other agents and seemed to read your mind as he saw you staring at them in disbelief. “As do I,” he mumbled a little quieter.

You sighed deeply, zoning out for a moment as his rhythm had you transfixed. There was something so relaxing about watching him knit. Keeping the blanket around you, you carefully rested your head in his lap. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He reached out a hand, his long fingers gently grazing your hair in soothing motions before coming up to cup your cheek. His touch was cool and airy, making you feel light in the moment. You closed your eyes, the feelings of loneliness tapering off, sentiments of safety taking its place.

“I’m here… for as long as it takes.”

#valorant #valorant x reader #cypher x reader #valorant cypher #cypher valorant #chamber x reader #valorant chamber #chamber valorant #omen x reader #valorant omen #omen valorant #valorant headcanons #valorant fanfiction

[nerdieforpedro]

Day Thirteen- Smell

Word Count: 444

Warnings: Domestic fluff & Steven being a sweet man

Notes: One of the Moon Boys has popped up. 🤭 I pictured him doing something relaxing like this for someone he loves. I know @megamindsecretlair and @soft-girl-musings would like it

Main Masterlist / March Spring Prompts 2024 / Writing Challenges

Steven had been biding his time. Keeping his Donna off his back at the museum for at least the last few months. It was now Spring so there were going to be new shipments of items to sell and he'd be able to stock up on what he needed.

Grant is an honest man, so he’s no one to steal. Instead, he buys one set twice a week for a month straight so he had eight of them. The text he sends you isn’t clear on exactly what he wants to do when he comes over to see you in the evening. Mainly that he wanted to take care of you because you’d been complaining that your muscles were sore most of the time. He cooked dinner, the curry of the chicken paired perfectly with the Parmesan couscous and red wine he’d picked out. Steven enjoyed cooking for you, saying that it was because he felt lucky to have you.

Often, you reminded him it wasn’t luck, you’d bought him tea at the small drink cart outside of the museum where he’d poked fun at your coffee order. He jokingly said that if he could pick a tea you’d drink instead of coffee, then you might go on a date with him. He picked hibiscus tea for you and it did taste good but couldn’t quite replace your coffee. You haven’t told him after six months of dating that he was wrong. You do drink the tea more often now that he makes it for you.

He even asked that you wear the turquoise dress that he’d bought you because he called you his source of joy. Sometimes you think Steve is exaggerating about how much he grown to care you down to making sure he had shirts that were large enough for you to wear but had his scent in it for when he’d need to do overnight inventory and he wouldn’t be able to stop by.

He watched as you walked into the bathroom and you dropped the dress to the floor at his encouragement. Steven had run you a bath and added frankincense to the water, having you soak your tired muscles. He starts explaining that the scent was used for embalming but it was also for healing and anti-inflammatory properties. While Steven lifted your legs and arms to massage you in the water he continued to explain, you dosed off to the comforting timbre of his voice. The citrus notes of the oil with the faint scent of of mint from his own tea he’d had after dinner lull you further into relaxation, the scents of his love for you.

#fanfiction #oscar isaac #oscar issac characters #moon knight #steven grant #Steven grant x plus size female reader #steven grant x reader #a nerdie fic #march spring prompts 2024 #thirteen #smell

[darklylucid]

How To Tell A Cold To Go Fuck Itself

I've been dealing with the lingering effects of a cold for a week now, so I decided to make a pot of what I call my 'Cold Killer Asian Chicken Noodle Soup', something I've been making for years, to get it to fuck off, and it worked!

It's got so much heat from all the garlic, ginger and chilies in it that with the first spoonful, it'll clear your sinuses for at least an hour afterwards...I recommend that you have tissues on hand...

Last night, I roasted a whole chicken in the oven with a generous amount of chicken stock in the bottom of the pan. When it was fully cooked, the shredded meat went into one bowl and the stock and the carcass went into a small pot to become the base for the soup.

Look at it...underneath all that solidified chicken fat is pure jellified flavour! It wiggled on the spoon!

This afternoon, the contents of that pot got dumped into a large soup pot along with hot water, chicken bouillon, soy sauce, sesame oil, whole black peppercorns, a splash of rice vinegar and all of this...

Yes, all of it. That's 300g of peeled and sliced fresh ginger root, two whole bulbs of peeled and halved garlic, two bunches of trimmed and split green onions and three split and seeded red Thai chilies.

Here it is in the pot and all ready to go...

And here it is after I simmered it for two hours to make a very flavourful infused stock...it's all about the flavour extraction people...

I then strained the infused broth into a separate pot (to remove the carcass and unneeded/unwanted 'icky bits'), picked out and added back in all the softened garlic bits and all of this...

...sliced cremini mushrooms, shredded baby bok choy, bean sprouts, sliced white onion, the roasted and shredded chicken meat, more chicken bouillon to taste, pureed ginger for a flavor boost and pearl couscous this time in lieu of rice noodles.

I then simmered it until the couscous was cooked, and this is what it looked like in the bowl...

I was right...one spoonful in and my sinuses were clear (and running...)

Mmmmmmmmm...soup...

#Home cooking #Soup #There's enough ginger garlic and chili flavour in one bowl to wake the dead 😆 💀 #My cold has officially 'fucked off' 😂

[shirecorn]

Just need you to know I think about your sims ant hill a lot. Like almost daily. It vexes me but like in a good way?

What compelled you?

What was it that snapped in you that made you do that? Why??

Making the sims live like ants is just how I play games. I have never possessed the faculties to "snap" as you say, like dry spaghetti. Consider me instead a box of couscous: Pre-shattered and only takes 5 minutes to cook

The Ant Farm is actually rather tame compared to my usual fare.

Let's see....

Turning every single sim in the world into a werewolf and killing the ones I can't turn:

The grim reaper on his way to collect sims from my pool like so many dead bugs

Replacing every sim in the world with the grim reaper:

Seeing how many chickens I can put on a lot before it crashes:

Luring the repo man onto my lot so I can give him rabies by stacking hundreds of violins into a single square:

Then continuing to drag every NPC I could into my basement and kill them via rabies:

Which in turn inspired the Gummybear Convention:

Killing a family in specific ways that influence their mood, setting every outfit a bear suit, and constructing an airborne prison packed with as much emotion-inducing decor as I could fit to keep them in a perpetual state of agony or bliss

painting cats to look like other animals:

Figuring out that the resize key's upper limit does not apply to cheated objects and gradually engulfing the sun:

my woeful attempts at modding:

Facilitating various mishaps

And eventually, of course, circling back around to populating the bug gijinka society. Here we have corporate girlboss and her devoted husband:

Mrs. and Mr. Mantis

That's enough sims for now. Time for a tired shirecorn to curl up in the dirt and pass out.

Only a small portion of this is on my gallery page (shirecorn) and most of it is various wild animals inhabiting the bodies of household pets.

But if you'd like me to perhaps record myself playing, help me buy a microphone and I'll show you endless wonders. Or horrors. Depending on which side of the screen you're on.

#the sims #sims #the sims 4 #sims glitches #cursed sims #what do you even tag this stuff as #sims torture #shire games #ask #shire screams #sims pets

[laithraihan]

What's your favorite meal 🤔 or the coolest cat you have ever seen 🤔 out of random and probably batshit curiosity

Favorite meal... I cannot pick one there are too many good dishes, but I'd say whenever I eat out I usually pick shawarma or salmon poké. As for the dishes I eat at home I might be basic but I love couscous a lot especially with lamb, I also love bourek, mhadjeb and msemen, chorba frik, basically anything algerian as long as it's not baghrir or anything with lentils in it (I Reaaaally hate lentils) I do wish we had North African restaurants in my area, we have plenty of Levantine food places here (and Im not complaining about this at all I always go there and feel like life is worth living) but I want more people to discover how good Algerian food is. Ive seen a lot of foreigners consider couscous some sort of cold salad and it makes me so angry!!!! We eat it hot with sauce, potatoes, cooked vegetables, meat, green peas, we can also put plain yogurt or milk in it, people just dont get it... speaking of salads I really love fattoush and tabbouleh, I think Levantine salads are crazy in general I never get tired of them. Oh I also love dates a lot but only the Deglet Nour variant, I think Algerian dates are top tier the other ones never taste as good. Damn Im reading all that right now and it's a Lot for a simple question Im sorry lmfao but I hope it's a good answer for you. As for the coolest cat Id say my own cats at home are the coolest Ive seen, I love them. One of them is obsessed with me and thinks my bed is hers so Im never able to sleep well at night but shes awesome.

#asks

[webslingingslasher]

Have a pasta related anecdote you might find amusing. My S.O. and I were flat broke when we were first together. We worked long hours and would come home to our tiny apartment with an even tinier kitchen with little counter space and appliances I swear were as old as our elderly landlord.

But it was home to us and being that we were broke, we cooked together every evening; relating how our day went, things we saw, etc. One cold night we were making a soup and being that we would get home late, I had, per usual, chopped up the vegetables ahead of time and shredded some leftover cooked chicken. We were at the stage where the broth is boiling, the main ingredients were in the pot, now for the pasta!

Are you familiar with Acini di pepe? It's a tiny pasta, similar in size to couscous, that is often used in soups. I grabbed the little bitty plactic bag and went to rip off the top. You know how sometimes they seem to use superglue on those tops and most people use scissors to open them? Yeah, that wasn't me. I just grabbed that bag and pulled. Way too hard it turns out.

The pasta went everywhere in that tiny kitchen. Everywhere but the soup it turns out. All over the floor, every crack and crevice, under the fridge and stove. After my inevitable, "Oh shit!" my S.O. and I were looking at each other, eyes wide, and he could see that my lip was quivering. What I could see was that his eyes (which happen to be brown, not unlike a certain person you often write about) had a little twinkle in them.

He said with a rather poor attempt at a straight face, "I have a(seen)i di pepe and you know what? It's everywhere!" He grabbed the broom from the corner and handed me a dustpan and we proceeded to giggle our way to cleaning up the pasta. Fortunately, we had some other shape in the cupboard; we ate a lot of pasta because it's a meal stretcher, so supper wasn't ruined and if after supper I discovered a few stray pieces of acini di pepe had managed to fall inside my shirt, well I had someone who was---wait, that's a different story and maybe one I won't tell, ha!

To this day, in the pasta aisle at the store, all he has to do is point to the acini di pepe and wiggle his eyebrows and we both burst out laughing.

Good times. Good times.

this is….. everything to me.

you realize you have a peter parker, right?

[mollybecameanengineer]

The Joy of Cooking

MSR | Season 10 | 949 Words | tagging: @today-in-fic

Scully had first noticed it a month after they started working together again. 

Rather than a hastily put together sandwich, leftover Chinese, or something greasy he’d just picked up, Mulder had real food nestled in a glass storage container for lunch. It looked like chicken with mushrooms, green beans, and a yellow purée. She wondered where he’d gotten it. 

Over the following weeks, similar dishes appeared. Steak with veggies and chimichurri. A white fish over rice with Chinese broccoli. Chicken and delicata squash over greens. 

The man she’d spent most of her adult life with wasn’t a great cook, though he had managed to put dinner on the table for most of the years she’d lived with him. But it was never this imaginative. Or healthy. Or varied. They’d eaten a rotation of the same dozen or so dishes for years. 

If she didn’t know better, Scully would have thought Mulder had someone at home making him dinner every night. At least, she was pretty sure she didn’t know better. 

“Mulder,” she began, on a day when she was feeling brave. “Have you, you know, dated at all since we…” she waved her hands around rather than finish the thought.

Mulder laughed out loud. “I haven’t been on a date since the early ‘90s. Or maybe late ‘80s. Unless we went on dates. Did we go on dates?”

She shrugged. “That night in Hollywood was pretty date-like.”

He smiled at the memory. She had to admit it was a pretty good one. Other than having to sit through that movie. “Ah, yes. Well then, last date was around the turn of the millennium. How about you?”

She kicked herself. Of course he’d return the question. She’d tried hard, when they’d first broken up, to get over him. She’d made an online dating profile and went on around a half a dozen first dates. They all sucked. After having a disappointing one night stand with a man she'd picked up in a bar, she’d come to the conclusion that she was still in love with Mulder and no amount of fucking strangers was going to change that. She deleted her profile and started seeing a therapist. “A few dates. Nothing serious.”

“Ah.” Mulder pushed his chicken, mashed potatoes (or maybe mashed cauliflower!?), and Brussels sprouts around the container. “It’s a shame I didn’t take you on more dates. Do you want to come over for dinner? You know, as a makeup for the hundreds of dates I didn't take you on?”

She froze. They’d been working together, successfully, for several months now. Growing close as friends again. But she’d been careful to draw a line in the sand with respect to their previous romantic entanglement. 

He must have sensed her discomfort. “Just as friends, Scully. Don’t overthink it. I have a salmon thing at home I think you’d like.”

Well, if it would get to the bottom of this food mystery. She agreed. 

When she arrived at their (his!) house, it was already filled with the smells of dinner. “Perfect timing!” Mulder said from the kitchen. “It will be ready in about 10 minutes.”

“Can I help?” she asked, setting down her bag and hanging her coat. 

“Nope. It’s pretty easy. But you can break open the wine.” He nodded toward the already set table, where a wine bottle was sitting.

She went into the kitchen to get the corkscrew. “What are we having?”

“Uhhh,” he said, leaning to read something on a piece of paper while also tending to a pan. “Salmon with sun dried tomato sauce over couscous.”

“Couscous! Mulder!”

He looked at her. “What? You like couscous.”

“I know I like couscous. What I don’t know is where you learned to make any of this!”

“Oh.” He chuckled as he handed her the paper. “I didn’t. I signed up for one of those meal delivery services. My, uh,” he cleared his throat and returned his attention to the stove, “my psychiatrist thought that a more balanced diet might help with, you know.” He stirred the couscous more vigorously than necessary. “And as you know, I have a limited repartee, so she suggested this as an easy alternative.”

Scully ran her eyes over the paper he’d handed her. It had clear instructions and little pictures showing how everything was supposed to look. Including the plating. 

“Do you think it’s helped?” Once the words were out of her mouth, she realized they were too intrusive for their current relationship. “Sorry, you don’t—”

He cut her off. “No, I want to share with you.” A timer went off and he started plating the couscous and salmon, just as shown in the little picture. “I mean, the meds really helped, once we got them right. And talking about… everything.” He carried their plates over to the table while she opened the wine and poured. They sat, again in the places they’d always been.  

He continued, once they were settled, “But getting back to exercising and this whole new diet thing have been good, too. If nothing else, my pants fit better and my cholesterol is down.”

“I’m glad.” She took a bite of the dinner, and was surprised by how good it was. While she’d known these services existed, she’d not understood why anyone would pay for them. But it did seem perfect for Mulder. “This is really good,” she said, taking another bite. 

“I’ll let the good people at Eaters know.”

She smiled and raised her wine glass to her lips, but paused before taking a drink. “A toast.” She raised her glass. He put down his fork and did the same. “To health.”

He clinked her glass. “To life.”

#x files fanfic #the x files

[symphorine]

sometimes to pass the time i daydream about opening my own little chill restaurant and what id serve there and how itd work. bc i would want to be the cook but like, id need to make it fit my energy reserves and stuff. id serve mostly different things in rotation (maybe over a week or two) depending on supplies and mood with a few constant staples. id have a couple ppl to do service, and id have to learn good alcohol pairings, and and and

its not realistic id need to have so much money before i could do this but its nice to think about

anyway some dishes: blanquette with baked rosemary diced potatoes, lemon baked fish with those potatoes also and a side of fresh tomato salad or creamy spinach, japanese curry with rice (u could add meat if u want; id make the roux myself to make sure its gluten free), mac n cheese (actually fucking cheesy, and i could basically just assemble it on demand, but i usually add in bacon spinach and mushrooms) (also easy to make gf), pasta with spinach pesto, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes (tomatoes optional), roasted garlic and potato soup (my sibling found the recipe, its soooo tasty and the texture is wonderful), my moms bacon wrapped and goat cheese stuffed filet mignon (SO good) w potatoes and garlic-fried broccoli, chicken apple curry on rice (could make lactose free), pasta with a simple mushroom sauce (mushrooms, dijon mustard, white wine, cream - can add extra veggies or meat, and can use lactose free cream), roasted lamb with couscous and veggies cooked with mediterranean spices, salad with cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, crispy bacon or parma ham, crumbly fresh goats cheese, served in the cantaloupe (and fine lettuce i guess - roquette would work well i think), quiche lorraine, fried salmon fillet with baked herby carrots, potatoes and parsnips

desserts could have cheesecake, fresh doughnuts, miso brownies (kep found the recipe, it is. so good), toffee cake (made recently for a party, it was fun to make!), fruit salad (depending in the season), lava cake (actually benefit from being made in advance and sitting in the fridge!) with ice cream and/or raspberry coulis, tarte tatin (upside down apple pie with caramelized top)

mainly i just daydream about getting to cook nice food at my own pace and sharing it with people and adapting it when i can so ppl with diet restrictions can enjoy it too

#personal #im not a chef idk anything about restaurant management im disabled and i am not a customer person #so this will likely remain a daydream forever #but it's nice to think about

[sethshead]

So. Israeli couscous is not couscous. It is a thing unto itself. Proper Maghrebi couscous is made up of fine grains of semolina. Israeli couscous, also known as pearl couscous, is a toasted pasta cooked in the fashion of couscous, invented in Israel in the '50s during a shortage of rice. There is also Palestinian maftoul, which is likewise not couscous, but uses bulgur, and Levantine Arab moghrabieh (ironically meaning Maghrebi) which, though made of semolina, is the largest couscous of all.

Anyway, if they were making pearl couscous of toasted pasta, that is by definition Israeli couscous and nothing else. It would be cultural appropriation to refer to it simply as "couscous", as it is not the Maghrebi variety. Calling it "pearl couscous" can also cause confusion with moghrabieh, which is sometimes called the same. If Yale wanted to avoid the word "Israeli" out of petty bigotry, their only other option would be the Hebrew term for it, ptitim. I'm sure that would have gone over well with the BDSniks. Alternatively Yale could remove the dish from the menu, which would make everyone else mad at the BDSniks, and which I would find highly amusing.

Anyway, there's no point in trying to pretend that Israel doesn't exist, or that refusing to say its name is some sort of victory over Zionism. This is the foolishness to which anti-Zionists resort, and it is long past time that we point out how utterly silly, unserious, and counterproductive they are.

[gothhabiba]

hello najia, we've always made loubia beans like a dal at home in india, so tomorrow i'm going to try it your (the original?) way! i have two questions though:

i got harissa paste from the store instead of powder. how can i substitute that in? should i add it earlier on when blooming the spices or later on with the tomato?

if one were not vegan so open to adding meat, what stocks would you recommend? what meat stocks are typically used in moroccan loubia? what do stocks do to the flavour apart from making it thicker and richer? (i've never used stocks in cooking and I'm very interested in trying it with dal for example!)

"Loubia" is just sort of the word for "beans" (or certain kinds of beans) so I'm sure it's used by people from different countries in different ways--in Morocco it's used to refer specifically to the stew made by cooking white beans with tomato, onion, olive oil, spices &c. The same cooking method used on a different base product gives you "l'des" (similarly just the word for "lentils," but we mostly use it to refer to lentils cooked in this particular way). Some people throw everything into the pot at the same time, while others fry off the onion, garlic, and tomato first and then add the beans and water (which I go into more in my l'des recipe).

I mentioned harissa powder as a potential alternative to red chili powder, which some people include in loubia & some people don't. Harissa paste isn't a typical inclusion in these stews--we use it as a condiment with a finished meal (couscous, kebabs, &c.). If you're going to use chili powder, keep in mind that here this refers to just dried, powdered red chili peppers, not "chili powder" the spice blend used to flavor "chili" the dish. You could also use a slit fresh red or green chili, cayenne powder, a dried red chili broken into several pieces, or just omit it.

Both loubia and l'des are very frequently vegetarian. Some people add cured dried meat (al qadid), ground beef (kefta), or cubed beef (al Hem). If you're adding beef, it should be fried at the beginning before adding beans and water.

These bean / pulse stews typically use water. The 'stock' you would get if you included meat would just result from the meat simmering in the water along with the other ingredients (which is what my suggestion for vegetable stock or faux beef stock concentrate is seeking to mimic).

Here's a video recipe for loubia including meat. Some words:

maqadir: ingredients

al-Hem: meat / beef

bSla: onion (she says "jouj bSla," "two onions". later she says "bSla Hmra," red onion, and "bSla bayda," white onion)

matesha: tomato (later she specifies that she has pureed four tomatoes)

kaas dyal zit: tea glass of [olive] oil

chwiya dyal mlHa: a little salt

zafran khirqum: fake saffron used for colouring purposes

touma: garlic

qzbara wa madnous, mqtte': minced cilantro/coriander and parsley

flflat Harin: spicy peppers

skinjbir: ginger (jouj ma'lqa sghar--two small spoonfulls)

bzar: black pepper (two spoons)

khirqum / khirqum bldi: turmeric (two spoons)

kilo dyal loubia: 1 kilogram of white beans

#hurricanewindattack #faq

[the1975attheirverybest]

Hey babe! Not 1975 related but I'm just curious.

What's your favourite dish from childhood? Or just from middle Eastern cuisine in general? I'm currently trying to branch out from the ones I know (mostly Persian, Uzbek and afghani food) and I was wondering if there was anything specific to your culture or family that you liked? I've been trying to get in Palestinian and Jordanian food more recently as well.

Oh man how long do you have? We could discuss this forever hahaha.

Okay so, my favorite childhood dish is probably freekeh. (It also comes in a soup type thing and while the soup is good, it’s not AS good as the main dish.) it’s relatively easy to make for a skilled cook like yourself I think.

It’s a specific kind of green wheat cooked and then you serve it with a roasted chicken (or lamb or beef if that’s what you prefer). So think like quinoa, couscous, etc. sort of a grain bowl situation. Here’s the trick! Do NOT skip out on the garnish. The garnish is what brings it together. A bit of parsley goes on top. Toasted pine nuts (my grandma would also toast almonds and cashews sometimes). It’s usually served with a cucumber yogurt dip. Similar to a tzatziki vibe. Absolutely life changing.

The most important Jordanian dish and actually the most important part of being Jordanian is Mansaf. This one is a bit tougher only cuz I don’t know if you can buy blocks of fermented yogurt in England lmao. They look like rocks and you usually gotta soak them in water overnight then blend them up into a sauce. I’ve never been able to buy them here in the US, but ethnic markets usually have them in sauce format, jarred or in packaging of some sort. It��s called “Jameed” and it’s what you pour over a dish of roasted lamb and white rice. Again with the garnish. Same as with freekeh parsley and toasted pine nuts. The way that the jameed tenderizes everything and then the crunch of the nuts….ohhh man 💗 this one is quite culturally significant. It’s what we serve at weddings, family gatherings, important events, or like when in-laws come to visit or whatever. Literal feuds in between villages have been started over whose Mansaf is better and who has the better fermented jameed. A couple once divorced over it I shit you not. I mean they had bigger issues in addition to the mansaf but yeah lmao

I hope that was helpful though I feel like I just overwhelmed you.

[liminalmemories21]

Hi Lim! Here is my very very late nice ask for you:

Since I know you love soup and it has been cold af up here, what is your favourite soup and how do you typically like eating it (like with bread or crackers or rice or whatnot)? If you also have a recipe please send 👀

I hope you have a lovely day 💜

Do I have soup recipes? Listen, if I didn't think my partner would stage a revolt we would eat soup about three times a week.

So, what I eat with soups depends a little on how much protein is in the soup - for example, a vegetable soup I'll serve with bread and a cheese plate (or some variation on grilled cheese - cheesy naan, quesadillas, etc). But, a hearty soup with meat (or beans) in it doesn't need the additional protein, so that's just served with bread. Always with bread (and salted butter) to dip in the soup, and mop the bowl at the end.

For most pureed vegetable soups I don't really have a recipe. It's a general ratio of 2lb of whatever vegetable (cauliflower, sweet potato, zucchini, pumpkin, carrot) + 1 onion sauteed in olive oil or butter + 4-5 cloves garlic + 4-6 cups liquid (water/broth/whatever). Simmer 20-30 minutes and then puree. And then you customize.

Zucchini + basil + lemon (add the lemon and basil after everything has cooked and you're at the pureeing stage)

Cauliflower + parmesan (stir in the parmesan after you've pureed - about 1/3 cup)

Carrot/Sweet Potato with ginger - saute the ginger with the onion and garlic - add in some coconut milk as your liquid

Red Pepper/Tomato - roast 3-4 red peppers and remove the skin, add in 1-2 cans diced tomatoes + some liquid (start with maybe 2 cups and add as needed). Some red pepper flakes are nice with this too.

Heartier soups that I love

Smitten Kitchen's Beef & Barley - this freezes so well, make a huge batch and then freeze it in portions and you have a really easy meal in reserve. I always add mushrooms to mine, because I love mushrooms, but I know mushrooms can be divisive.

Curried Chicken & Rice - sub some of the liquid for coconut milk (I always have the kind that's a dairy milk substitute in the cartons in my fridge, so that's what I use). Do not skimp on the herbs at the end, they make it come alive.

Creamy Chicken & Couscous

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Colcannon Soup (I usually serve with with brown bread and cheddar)

Spaghetti-Os - you can make as much of the base soup as you like and freeze it in portions, and also make as many of the meatballs as you like and freeze them separately and then just defrost the soup and drop the frozen meatballs into it when it comes up to a boil - you'll need to cook them a little longer from frozen - the meatballs are also good in other things)

Turkey Meatball/Italian Wedding Soup - I would recommend homemade chicken stock for this if you have it, because that's the base flavor note here, so it's worth using the good stuff

#contains me #asked and answered #soup #recipes