#ready your paprika
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On the night before Dracula Daily, don’t forget to leave out paprika hendl for your dear friend Jonathan Harker 🦇
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starks daughter reader x peter parker, making out? like the avengers ask jarvis to show what’s happening in her room and they see what’s happening?
ask box | taglist | blurb masterlist | main masterlist
w/c: 719
warnings: 18+, explicit language, implied smut
a/n: i made one little change so it’s friday instead of jarvis but everything else is the same so i hope you don’t mind and that you enjoy! also don’t forget to join my new taglist y’all mwah
“y/n…”
you’re kissing down peter’s neck, lips leaving goosebumps on his skin. he’s practically writhing underneath you, and you’ve hardly even done anything.
yet.
“y/n, baby.”
you grip the collar of peter’s shirt in both hands and bring your lips to the shell of his ear.
“yes, peter?”
“c’mon, we can’t. we’re… we’re gonna be late for dinner.”
“wouldn’t you rather eat me instead?”
your teeth sink into peter’s earlobe, a hand traveling down to the bottom of his shirt. peter throws his head back and closes his eyes, trying to resist you, but he can’t. you’re his weakness.
“fuck, y/n/n. don’t do this to me.”
“what, is there something else you want me to do to you?”
you start to pull peter’s shirt over his head, but he grabs both your hands in one of his.
“we’ve gotta go join the others. you know how important team dinners are to your dad.”
“and you know how much i despise them.”
“yeah, but i don’t understand why. i think they’re a sweet idea.”
“i think they suck.”
“how come?”
“steve makes the blandest food, thor has literally zero table manners, and everyone’s always asking me questions. way too many questions.”
“you mean trying to get to know you?”
“it’s the fucking worst.”
peter chuckles and pulls you in by your waist.
“you really are a stark.”
“am i? because the leader of the pack came up with this whole team dinner thing.”
“your dad just wants everyone to spend more time together.”
“well, i just wanna spend time with you.”
you peck peter’s lips. peter smiles and secures his arms around your waist.
“at least wanda’s cooking tonight. means the food will actually have some flavor.”
“yippee.”
peter lets out a breath.
“i’d be more than happy to eat you for dessert, but dinner first, okay?”
“or i could be your appetizer.”
your lips attack peter’s before he can respond. despite himself, he gives in this time, kissing back with just as much fervor.
-
“what’s taking them so long? the chicken paprikash is almost done.”
“looks delish, wanda. i’ve never had sokovian food before.”
“oh, thank you, scott. you’ll love it.”
“sure, sure. i bet i will. i just, y’know… it won’t be spicy, will it?”
sam elbows bucky’s arm.
“dude thinks paprika is spicy.”
“and i thought i was bad.”
scott frowns.
“what? it’s a spice, isn’t it?”
tony enters the dining room with a grin, rubbing his hands together.
“hey, gang. smells good in here, little red.”
“thanks, tony. i’m just about ready to serve it. we’re waiting on the kids.”
“oh? they’re still not down yet?”
“nope,” bruce sighs. “i saw them sneaking up to y/n’s room earlier,” natasha smirks. “dang, you didn’t have to rat them out,” sam remarks.
“like you wouldn’t do the same.”
“fair.”
“stop teasing, you two,” steve chastises. “no, no. this is true. i passed little stark and the spiderling on the stairs,” thor says.
tony glares at thor.
“so you all knew they were canoodling, and no one thought to tell me?”
“uh oh, drama,” scott whispers to wanda. “canoodling?” natasha snorts.
steve shoots them both looks.
“i’m sure they’re on their way down, tony.”
“yeah? let’s find out.”
tony double taps his glasses. his artificial intelligence comes to life.
“friday, show me y/n.”
“on it, boss.”
friday taps into her system that’s installed in your room and broadcasts the feed to tony’s glasses. he immediately regrets asking her to do so when he sees what you’re up to. yours and peter’s tongues are quite literally down each other’s throats, and peter is trying to take your bra off, but struggling to unhook it.
tony rips off his glasses and tosses them onto the dining room table. he shudders, shaking his head to rid his mind of the image. natasha puts on tony’s glasses to see for herself.
“yup. they’re canoodling, alright.”
“for real? this i’ve gotta see.”
“wait your turn, wilson.”
tony snatches his glasses back from natasha.
“absolutely not. no one will be taking turns watching my daughter and parker swap spit. have some class, will you?”
“yeah, have some class!” thor chimes in through a mouthful of bread wanda had put on the table.
wanda joins everyone with a serving plate of food.
“chicken paprikash, anyone?”
tags: @mystic-writings @just-lost-inbetween-worlds @lnmp89 @jenoslov @crvshnburnn @yourlocalomlette @starlight-starks @belovasheart @liltimmyst @eviewriites @hollandsangel @parkerctrl @eichenhouseproperty @inthegetawaycarwithtaylah @varshhyy @ellebutnotwoods @magicalxdaydream @tayyx
#peter parker#peter parker smut#peter parker fluff#peter parker x reader#peter parker x you#peter parker x stark!reader#peter parker x avenger!reader#peter parker writing#peter parker imagine#tom holland#tom holland x reader#tom holland fluff#tom holland smut#tom holland x you#marvel#mcu#tom holland writing
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aries and the turtle.
Pairing: OPLA!Vinsmoke Sanji x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 1,169 words
Warnings: None
asterism (noun): a group of stars; a constellation; a cluster of stars
The first thought that comes to Sanji’s mind when he sees you curled up on the kitchen floor, rummaging through the box of herbs and spices, is that you’re the single most beautiful creature he’s ever laid eyes on.
“Darling,” he says softly, leaning against the doorframe and smiling a bit when you startle, “you could’ve woken me up if you wanted a midnight snack.”
“O-Oh! Um.” Your voice colors the gentle calm of night into something warmer – and like always, he’s drawn to it like a moth to a flame, walking over and squatting down next to you as you scramble to put back a jar of paprika. “I’m sorry, Sanji, I – er, well, um …”
“What are you looking for? I’ll help you.”
Under the yellow glow of the lantern, you seem to shrink. You duck your head and mumble into the collar of your pretty nightshirt. “That chamomile and lavender tea you made a couple nights ago …” you begin hesitantly. “I wanted to make some.” Your voice quiets further. “I can’t sleep.”
Sanji frowns, angling his head to catch a glimpse of your face. You do look a little more haggard than normal, your eyelids heavy, your shoulders burdened. His heart aches. How long had you laid in your hammock, tossing and turning, until you couldn’t stand it anymore?
“I see,” he murmurs. “Let’s make that tea right away, then, shall we?”
Sanji quickly finds the flowers and some lemon rinds he had sun-dried last week. You insist on helping at least a little bit despite his protests for you to just relax, fetching two teacups and setting some water on the stove to boil as he measures the right amount of each ingredient to put into the infuser.
Once the water is ready, steam billowing up past your heads and to the ceiling, he pours it into the teapot and covers it to steep.
(You don’t say anything while the two of you wait, and although Sanji yearns to coax a smile and a sweet conversation from you, he contents himself with the silence as well, which is just as sweet. You sneak glances at him every once in a while, though. He knows because he does the same, and the attention sends a thrill through his chest.)
Time passes. He pours the tea – first for you, then for him.
“Tell me when.” The silence breaks once more as Sanji spoons some honey into your cup.
“That’s good.”
He stirs the tea up, hands it to you. You blow across the top of it and then take a sip as he watches attentively.
“How does the madam like it?” he asks.
You exhale and meet his eyes for a split second before quickly looking away. A small smile touches your lips. “It’s perfect,” you reply from behind the cup. “Thank you, Sanji.”
Warmth stains his cheeks a gentle pink.
“The sky is clear tonight,” he ventures hopefully as he adds two teaspoons of honey for himself. He picks up his cup and gestures at the open door. “Stars and tea pair well together, if you have an appetite for it.”
You bite your bottom lip. His gaze immediately darts down to it, and he swallows, throat suddenly dry.
“Sure,” you whisper.
And so Sanji gains another precious sliver of time with you. Elbows resting on the railing, hot tea and your presence protecting him from the cold, he stands out on the deck of the Going Merry and tilts his head back to look up at the sky.
He knows how much you love the stars. They are one of the few topics you can talk about without your usual shyness, and he thinks of you every time he sees them, pinpricks of pure light shining through the darkness, guiding weary sailors home. Sometimes he thinks you must have been one yourself, carried down from the heavens. Ethereal. Out of reach.
“This time of year,” you say, and Sanji turns his attention over to the stars reflected in your eyes, “you can see my constellation.”
“Yours?” he questions.
“Yes. Those three stars over there.” Your arm stretches out to point at something on the left, your finger tracing an arc in the sky. “In my home village, parents dedicate their newborns to a constellation three days after birth. Mine dedicated me to the turtle.”
A turtle. That fits you incredibly well, he thinks to himself fondly, considering your quiet tenacity. “How come?”
“Turtles represent good luck and a long life.”
“I see. Well, do you think you’ve had good luck so far in life?”
You hum thoughtfully, looking down into your tea.
“I think so,” you say after some time, hushed. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
A chuckle escapes him. “I would argue that you’re the one who’s brought good luck to us, sweetheart.”
You bite back a smile and whisper a small ‘oh’ as he gently bumps your shoulder with his own. Even now, you’re unused to compliments, but no matter; he’ll praise you at every turn until you finally realize you deserve every word of it.
There’s a brief period of silence before he asks, “What do you think my constellation would be?”
“Your constellation?” It doesn’t take long at all before you reply, pointing upward into a spread of stars that he could never even begin to puzzle out, “The ram. Some call it Aries.”
“What does it mean?”
This question seems to fluster you. You cough and stammer for a few seconds. He sips his tea, the beverage sweet and floral on his tongue as he waits.
“Rams … are artists at heart,” you finally say, glancing over at him. Your eyes, normally wary and somber, glitter. “They’re strong and passionate, but also gentle and kind.”
Oh.
Sanji can feel a blush creeping up his neck to his cheeks. God. Surely, you’ll be the death of him, saying something like that so honestly and with eyes that look like that. He’d move heaven and earth for you if you asked.
“I’ll dedicate my life to living up to those qualities,” he breathes once he can speak again. “Just as much as you’ll live up to yours.”
You take a sharp breath.
“You already do,” he hears you whisper.
And Sanji truly, truly cannot resist anymore.
Your name leaves his lips. He reaches out, hand departing from the dying heat of the teacup and seeking out yours.
You do not pull away when his fingertips brush your cool skin over the railing; instead, you let him turn your hand over until palm touches palm, until the spaces between his fingers are filled with your own and his heart beats to the rhythm of yours.
Sanji squeezes your hand, and every cell in his body begs to falter and fall at your feet.
You rest your head on his shoulder.
The tea cools. But the stars remain as brilliant as ever, and your hand stays warm in his, and everything – everything is beautiful.
#aesthetic words prompt list#opla#one piece#sanji x reader#vinsmoke sanji x reader#vinsmoke sanji#sanji#opla sanji#one piece live action#opla fanfiction#one piece fanfiction#reader insert#trying to write from sanji's pov is like. how can i show that this man is absolutely on his knees all the time for reader#just look at him. just.look.asdhgjkl#also i just think !! looking at the stars would be a great date idea w any of the straw hats while at sea#:<
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Stray Kids Reaction || They Have A Praise Kink
SKZ x GN!Reader
⤜Copyright: © DreamEscapesWriting - January 2024
⤜MASTERLIST
a/n: I’ve tried to make these all as different as possible! I hope that this is okay for you!
CHAN:
The two of you lay in bed cuddled close together with your head resting on Chan's chest, it had been a long day today for him and you couldn't have been prouder than you were right now.
"You did great today, baby," You whispered as you traced your fingers over his chest and smiled. But Chan's heart rate began to pick up and his hands were starting to get clammy,
"You okay? Your heart is...racing," You placed your hand flat on his chest before smirking to yourself as you realised what was happening.
"Do you...like it when I praise you, Channie?" You arched an eyebrow before sitting up straight in the bed and looked at him as he blushed bright red.
"Oh baby, we're going to have a lot of fun with that." You teased before kissing him softly and making him chuckle.
MINHO:
"All I'm saying is, you might wanna re-read the recipie," Minho said as he watched over your shoulder, you were cooking the two of you dinner tonight and you'd found a recipe online you hadn't tried before.
"Can you just be a good boy and pass me the paprika?" As soon as the words left your throat the air in the kitchen turned thick and dead silent, you frowned slowly turning around to see your boyfriend frozen in place.
"Minnie?" You whispered as you watched him closely, his cheeks were flaming bright red and he appeared to be stammering over his words a little as he tried to speak back to you.
"Did you like that?" You inched closer to him as he looked at you, nodding silently as you smirked a little.
"Do you have a praise kink, baby?" As you ran your hand over his cheek he nodded once again, not able to form any kind of words just yet.
"Good boy," You whispered before he let out a small whimper, relaxing against your touch.
CHANGBIN:
It had been weeks of non-stop work for Changbin until he finally it was complete, the album was ready for everyone to hear and it was being released in less than a week,
"Hey, what are you doing here?" He chuckled nervously as you walked into his studio with a basket full of food. It was his final day of working and you were going to be damned if you didn't bring him something to eat.
"I'm bringing food for my man, you did so well baby I'm so proud of you." You smiled as you unpacked the basket of food onto the small coffee table, glancing at your boyfriend who was now blushing.
"You are?" He stuttered turning around in his chair and looking at you, you smirked a little as you walked closer to him and ran your hand through his hair.
"I'd had a sneaking suspicion that you had a praise kink," You whispered before leaning down and kissing him gently on the lips.
"Now be a good boy and come and eat with me," You told him as he rushed to get up from the chair and sit with you on the floor to eat.
HYUNJIN:
"You've been locked up in here for days," You told Hyunjin as you looked around his mini art studio, smiling as you saw the piece he was working on. It was a huge landscape piece of a farm, something he'd seen when the two of you had gone on a drive together. You walked toward your boyfriend and ran your hand over his back,
"It's looking really good though, you always do so well baby." You didn't need to see his face to know that he was blushing since his ears were now turning bright red.
"You like that?" You cooed, running your hand over his back again and letting out a soft laugh as he began to blush.
"I-I do."
"You want me to tell you how much of a good boy you are?" You added, kissing the back of your boyfriend's neck as he whimpered and nodded his head eagerly.
JISUNG:
You knew about Jisung's praise kink, in fact, everyone knew about it but you were the only one who ever acted on it with your boyfriend. Including tonight, the boys were having a game night and you were desperate for some time alone with your boyfriend,
"You're such a good boy, Jisung," You whispered in his ear, only lowly enough for him to hear you instead of the others in the room.
"W-What?"
"You did so good today and I'm so proud of you," You added, running your hand up and down his arm as he whimpered a little, glancing at you.
"Shall we go back to mine and relax a little?" You arched a brow at him and he nodded at you, slowly licking his lips.
"Y-Yes, Yes."
"Good boy," You laughed softly as he rushed to get up, ignoring the guys as they asked where the two of you were going.
FELIX:
"I did it!" Felix screamed from his seat making you jump, you glanced over at his screen to see "Victory" plastered across it and you smiled. Felix had been trying to beat the level he was on for months now and you couldn't have been happier for him,
"You did it, baby, you're incredible!" You weren't stupid you'd noticed the signs that Felix had a slight praise kink and you'd been trying out small praises for weeks now.
"I-I am?" He blushed, looking back at you his game completely forgotten in the moment as you nodded at him.
"You're the best, I'm proud of you." You told him as he moved to come and crawl onto the bed with you, snuggling into your arms as you continued to praise him.
SEUNGMIN:
You knew Seungmin was in a bad mood, Felix had text you beforehand and let you know your boyfriend wasn't in the best of moods after the performance that they'd had tonight. All because he'd messed up on one note in the song,
"Baby you did great, please don't beat yourself up," You told Seungmin as you cuddled into his chest. Seungmin was refusing to talk to anyone, not even you,
"I fucked up, I ruined the song." He mumbled harshly to himself before you cuddled closer to him, kissing his chest softly.
"You did great baby, you always do. Every performance you always outdo the last and you're the best at what you do." You told him as his heart rate began to pick up.
"Yn..."
"No, let me finish. I have never been more proud than I am right now, you messed up but you didn't stutter on that stage you powered through and did so well!" You praised making him stutter and snuggle closer to you, unable to fight you back on it.
"Your praise kink is adorable." You whispered before kissing the top of his head softly.
JEONGIN:
Jeongin had been abnormally anxious lately and it was starting to worry you, all you wanted to do was comfort him and tell him everything was going to be okay. He had a massive interview that was broadcast live and he had to speak English, something he was very anxious about but he'd done it. As soon as he made his way over to you, you threw your arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"You did great baby! I'm so proud of you!" You yelled while jumping up and down with him on the spot,
"I-I'm...I did it," He blushed hugging you back as you continued to sin his praises in his ear, and you stopped when you felt his heart race increasing.
"Oh, I can't wait to explore that more when we're home," You teased, kissing him softly before whispering how proud of him you were once again.
#skz#skz x reader#skz reaction#skz reactions#stray kids#stray kids x reader#stray kids reaction#stray kids reactions#chan x reader#minho x reader#changbin x reader#hyunjin x reader#jisung x reader#felix x reader#seungmin x reader#jeongin x reader#jeongin#yang jeongin#kim seungmin#seungmin#lee felix#felix#han jisung#jisung#hwang hyunjin#hyunjin#seo changbin#changbin#lee know#lee minho
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That paprikahendl recipe
So the first thing to be said is possibly the most important: this is a paprikahendl recipe. (And in this case, it was made with duck, because we were out of chicken... so it's probably paprikaentl, if anything.) :)
Everybody's mom or grandmother would've had her own version of this, which would naturally be the best one in the mind of the person you were talking to. The original dish, though—as @petermorwood has pointed out—would have been a peasant dish of the use-a-moderate-amount-of-flavorful-and-spicy-meat-to-season-a-lot-of-noodles-or-whatever kind. If you're a peasant, after all (and maybe even if you're not, of late...), meat is expensive, so in dishes of this kind it's used as more of a seasoning for what you have plenty of—in this case, the tiny flour-based noodles-or-dumplings called spaetzle. (In its rural beginnings, of course, the meat probably would've been a laying chicken that was too old to lay any more... or even a cockerel that had started shooting blanks, and whose morning racket was starting to get on your nerves.)
Later, though, a small tender chicken (or two) was seen as preferable. Paprikahendl became very popular in Hungary and other parts of central Europe, and in the process—over time—got taken somewhat upmarket. The recipe I used as my basis for this version is one that apparently was (and who knows, maybe still is) served at one of Vienna's famous Sacher establishments. As a result it contains elements I'm none too sure about—such as the last-minute apple—but otherwise seems to me to hold water.
The full recipe is here. Now let me tell you what I did to with it.
(inserting a cut here, so those who don't want to watch a bunch of video clips of things frying and cooking won't have to...)
Normally in the initial stage of this recipe, you'd cut up a whole small chicken (or two) into pieces, color them in your preferred frying fat (in Hungary, possibly lard, but at very least butter) and then set them aside to make the sauce. In this case, since the meat I had to work with was duck, I cooked that as directed and put it aside while we went off to do some other stuff. I also made spaetzle to go on the side, as it's the kind of thing you'd be likely to run into regionally. These we can fortunately buy ready-made, like most other kinds of pasta. Or you can make them from scratch. Since I now have a Magic Spaetzle Machine to do this, I'll show how that's done some other time. (Or you could look at this video...)
youtube
Then, to make the sauce, I pulled together:
The zest and juice of a lemon
Half an onion or more, chopped fine (I have to be careful with onions, as too much will set off my IBS)
Off to one side, I asked Peter to do the dry paprika mix for me. This was two very heaping tablespoons of paprika, and about half a teaspoon of cayenne, to mock up the heat of the hotter paprika that would have been used in small villages in the Carpathians.
Then I clarified some butter in the microwave, about three tablespoons of it (you melt it in a tall glass and set this aside until the milk solids settle out, then pour off the clarified butterfat) and dumped that in the big cookpot along with the onions.
When those had hit the cooked-until-translucent point, I cut the duck up into chunks and got them ready to go in: then added the paprika and (when that had fried a little) the lemon juice. (Paprika can taste a little raw in a sauce if you don't fry it a bit first.)
Then in went 125 ml of rose wine (I'd have used white if I'd had any, but whatever...) and about 500 ml of chicken stock, and everything got stirred very well together.
After that, the duck got chucked in and the pot was covered and left to simmer for 45 minutes or so. Normally this would be the time a raw chicken would need to cook, and naturally the duck was well cooked already: but it seemed to me that another 45 minutes getting even more tender couldn't hurt it.
So that was what happened. At the end of 45 minutes, the duck was removed and set aside while I got busy with finishing the sauce. You lower the temperature in the big pot until the pre-sauce liquid is just barely simmering. Then to thicken it, you use about a cup of the thickest sour cream you can lay your hands on, with a third of a cup of flour beaten into it very well with a fork. At which point you should be able to do this with the fork:
Now you find a big balloon whisk and start whisking this mixture into the pre-sauce, sort of a tablespoon or two at a time...making sure each dose of sour cream + flour is very well beaten in, leaving no lumps, before adding the rest. When it's all in there, you very gently raise the heat, stirring or whisking occasionally, until the sauce starts to thicken. Then add the meat back in and let it warm through in there for a little while longer: ten or fifteen minutes should do it.
Assuming that people are ready to eat, you heat the spaetzle (and toss it with some butter), plate it up, and add the paprikahendl on top. And dig in.
...Anyway, that was my take. If you go googling for "paprikahendl", you will find many, many more recipes: some far less complex than this approach, some far more so. Pick one that suits you and see what you make of it. This one worked really well, though: so you might like to take a shot at it.
If you do: enjoy!
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C/W: Misogyny, feet worship (thought I’d try something new)
I’ve mentioned it before but I’d love to be in a relationship filled with casual, subtle misogyny. “How was your day, you dumb fucktoy?” said in the gentlest of tones. And as you’d speak, I’d put down my paper and beckon you over with a finger. You’d blabber on joyfully until I stuff my cock into your mouth, shutting you up. You’d keep speaking. I don’t know if it’d be to grumble or to carry on talking about your day. Either way, I’d tell you to quieten down. That good girls don’t speak with their mouths full. You’d squat in your cute suit and feel your own throat spit trickle down to your blouse, but you’d let it happen.
I’d love to walk in on you cooking one day, and stand behind you, groping your perfect body as if you were a piece of meat. You could be cooking something whose recipe you knew back to front, and I’d still mock you for getting things wrong. “No, you idiot, you’re supposed to add chilli powder, not paprika here.” Again, you’d take it, because I’m the man here. I’m sure you’d want to protest. You’d simply lower your head and obey, like a good bitch. I might as well get you to bark for me, you stupid cunt.
And after you’ve had a busy day, I’d force you to worship me. You’d stumble into our room from the bathroom, ready for bed and… I’d tell you to stop. To crawl to my feet and massage them for me. You’d feel so tired, you could throw up but you’d still do it, like the pathetic bitch you are. Your soft, weak hands would crawl across my feet, tenderly soothing my nonexistent pain. But that wouldn’t be enough for me. “Use your tongue.” And you would, repulsed and aroused. This is your place in our relationship. Even when my cock’s not inside you, you’d still obey me.
#misogyny kink#cnc fr33use#free use kink#fr33use#degradation k1nk#humiliation kink#degrading k1nk#patriarchy kink
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Sunday lunch, or - since what with one thing and another we ate closer to dinnertime, it might be more of a Sunday dinch. :->
It was Moroccan-style braised lamb shanks, and it was really good; after 24 hours or marination and about three hours of slow cooking, the lamb was literally off-the-bone edge-of-the-fork tender.
Because the spicing was so complex (though NB like most North African dishes, not hot) we went for a simple accompaniment, plain couscous with a few strips of home-made preserved lemon to balance the deep, rich flavours.
I also included a dab of harissa with mine, and a couple of pickled chillis for zing.
Meat and recipe both came from Irish on-line source James Whelan.
I think this would work well in a slow-cooker.
BTW, on-line recipes like this can change with the seasons, so I'm adding it below the cut.
*****
For a more fragrant and pungent dish, the lamb can be covered in clingfilm and marinated in the fridge for up to 24 hours to allow the spices to penetrate the meat. The accompanying couscous can be jazzed up with pistachio nuts and dried fruits.
Moroccan Style Braised Lamb Shanks – Printer Friendly Download
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks, well trimmed
1 tablesp. paprika
1 teasp. each ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon and turmeric
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 tablesp. olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2½ cm piece peeled fresh root ginger, chopped
450ml chicken or lamb stock
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 tablesp. clear honey
Squeeze of lemon juice
Serve with a bowl of couscous
Serves: 4
To Cook
Cooking Time: 2¾ hours
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3, 160ºC (325ºF).
Heat a large frying pan.
Mix together the paprika, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and one teaspoon of pepper in a large bowl.
Add the lamb shanks and using your hands rub in the spices.
Add a little of the olive oil to the heated pan and quickly brown off two of the spiced lamb shanks.
Transfer to a casserole dish with a lid and repeat with the remaining lamb shanks.
Meanwhile, place the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor or mini-blender and pulse until finely minced.
Add another tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, then add the onion mixture and sauté for 3-4 minutes until well softened and coloured from the spices left in the bottom of the frying pan.
Pour a little of the stock into the pan, stirring to combine and then tip over the lamb shanks.
Add the remaining stock with the tomatoes and honey, stirring gently until evenly combined.
Cover with the lid and cook for 2-2½ hours until the lamb shanks are meltingly tender and the meat is ready to fall off the bone.
Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season to taste.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post by Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers. Pat is a 5th generation butcher, cook book author and the director of James Whelan Butchers with shops in Clonmel, the Avoca Handweavers Rathcoole and Kilmacanogue, Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt, Rathmines and Swords in Dublin.
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Cooking While Disabled
One of the things I miss most about being less disabled is cooking. It was one of my favorite things to do and something I've always been good at.
On good days there are things I can do that make it easier. It's not the same as before, but I hope that sharing what makes it possible for me to cook helps others who struggle with it.
Tips for cooking while disabled:
You can incorporate precooked food in your meals. For example, stir fry with precooked rice with the ingredients of your choice, or taking frozen pasta (like the ones with maybe sauce and a couple other things) or plain microwave pasta (I prefer these, but heat it first) and putting it in a pan adding other ingredients like vegetables, cheese, garlic, etc
If it comes frozen or canned that can really help. Frozen rice you can just microwave, frozen cut veggies and garlic and onions are good as well
Buy a chopper with different shaped blades, spiralizer, electric slicer/grater, food processor, or any appliance that will save you energy. Ideally machine washable. Stand mixers are also better than manual ones. Especially helpful if you have joint/wrist issues
You can always prepare ingredients ahead of time. I find that sometimes it helps to prep (chopping or mixing ingredients, etc) earlier in the day or even a day before. Then you can put it in the fridge or freezer until you're ready to cook the full meal
Look up easy recipes or recipes for elderly/seniors. With the latter you may find more nutritionally balanced food but an unbalanced easy meal is better than none
You can sit while you prepare ingredients.
You're allowed to take breaks. You can turn the stove off, maybe put a lid on it to retain the heat, sit down, maybe take something for your symptoms. Some things you may not be able to stop in the middle of like making pancakes or deep frying something, but if you're making soup or curry or chili or something, often you can turn it off for a bit and take care of yourself.
If you need help and can get it, please ask for help. I know many of us need to work on asking for help including myself. Even if it's just washing the pots and pans or chopping something. You are not a burden you hear me?
Stretch before and after cooking just as one would before a workout. It will likely lessen any joint pain or stiffness as you are still exerting yourself
Listen to your body. Just as you're allowed to take a break, you are allowed to decide you won't be able to finish what you're doing. You may put away your food before it's done (if this won't ruin the meal). You are allowed to leave a dirty pot in the sink and come back to it later (just make sure you or someone else does before it gets gross). You can wash them in the dishwasher. I know this is bad for the seasoning on pots and pans but you can reseason them to be nonstick again and use nonstick spray
You can buy seasoning mixes rather than using individual seasoning. Instead of parsley, oregano, basil, etc you can buy Italian seasoning. Instead of paprika, pepper, cumin, oregano, salt, etc, you can just get taco seasoning. This may sound obvious but it can save a lot of time and energy
An issue I have is buying perishable ingredients thinking I can use them, having a bad week or two, and the ingredients have gone bad. Try to plan out your meals before shopping and ask yourself if there's an easier alternative for any ingredients. Maybe pre chopped fresh onion instead of a whole one, sliced mushrooms instead of whole, frozen vegetable blends instead of individual, powdered ginger instead of the root, bullion instead of stock that you may not be able to use all at once. I know this is like one of the other points but these are what I find most helpful
Use supercook.com! You input the ingredients you have on hand and you'll get a list of recipes you can make with what you have. Often there's a wide range of complexity and difficulty
Make enough food to freeze or refrigerate leftovers. It helps if you can portion it into single servings in Tupperware or freezer bags. You can prepare frozen burritos for your next few lunches or dinners, separate portion sizes of spaghetti, portion salads, etc
Feel free to add any additions!
#spoonie life#chronic pain#chronic illness#disability#cfs#long covid#actually disabled#chronic fаtiguе ѕуndrоmе#fibromyalgia#spoonie#me/cfs#cfs/me#pots#postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome#cpunk#cripplepunk#cooking#spoonies#disabled life#idk if this helps even one person I'm happy tbh#especially anyone more recently disabled still learning to navigate it
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Huh. Realized I made a soup from leftovers that would make a pretty decent beginner soup.
Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Soup
The goal of this soup is to be (relatively) quick and easy to prepare and to make use out of leftover poultry. It relies pretty heavily on pre-made ingredients (though you can make those ingredients yourself if you want to)
Ingredients:
Pre-cooked turkey or chicken (one large turkey breast, two medium chicken breasts). You can use leftovers, a grocery store rotisserie chicken, or, optionally, uncooked frozen chicken breasts or thighs. The poultry should not be breaded and the skin should be removed; if you are using uncooked frozen poultry you may want to taste more carefully and make sure to season sufficiently.
64oz poultry or vegetable stock (I used the stock I made out of turkey carcasses and my stock bags of kitchen trimmings from the freezer, but store bought is fine) (if you do not want to or cannot use stock, you can also just use water but you will likely have to add more spices and I would recommend adding one extra carrot and one extra onion)
3tbsp Cooking oil (can be olive oil or canola oil or butter - use what you've got handy and what tastes good to you, you don't have to buy something special for this)
1 cup of frozen peas
2 large carrots coarsely chopped
2 large onions coarsely chopped
3 tbsp cooking starch (most people use corn starch, I use potato starch because of food allergies. Any neutrally flavored starch is fine, but do not use flour).
1/2 cup milk/half and half/cream (you can use a combination or just one of these, it depends on what's in your kitchen and what taste you prefer)
Poultry seasoning (pre-made mix; alternately you can add sage, rosemary, and marjoram to taste. I added poultry seasoning then added extra sage and rosemary)
Salt
Black pepper
Paprika
Garlic powder
3 Bay Leaves
1tsp dried Parsley
Tools:
4-6 quart stock pot with a close-fitting lid
Chef's knife (for chopping vegetables and poultry)
Cutting board
Large cooking spoon
Small bowl
Fork or small whisk
Before you cook:
Read the entire recipe and check that you have all the tools and ingredients listed in your kitchen and ready for use.
Prep your kitchen - make sure there's room in the trash can, that the sink is clear of dishes, and that there is a burner on the stove clear for your pot. Designate a space close to the stove as your working area and set your cutting board there so you can easily transfer from your cutting board to the pot.
Gather your ingredients - make sure that you've got all the tools and ingredients listed. If you want to, you can take the time to measure out everything at this stage and have it ready to go in the pot.
Prep your ingredients - wash and chop your carrots, peel and chop your onions. Remove the skin from your poultry (if frozen, set the poultry aside, you will do something slightly different) and chop into bite-sized pieces.
Cooking Instructions:
Turn the heat on your stove to medium and warm the oil up in the bottom of the pan. Once it is shimmering and flowing easily, add the chopped carrots and onions to the pan.
Add a small amount of each of your seasonings to the pot - no more than half a teaspoon of each at this stage - and stir them in with the vegetables.
Stirring continuously, heat the vegetables and spices until the onions are softened and translucent.
If you are using pre-cooked poultry, add it to the pot and stir it in with the vegetables and spices (if you are using raw frozen poultry, don't add it to the pot yet). Add in the frozen peas at this point.
Add your broth or stock to the pot and stir, using your spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Add the bay leaves to your pot. Increase the heat to high and watch the pot until it comes to a boil.
If you are using raw frozen poultry, NOW add the frozen meat (whole breasts or thighs still frozen) to the pot and bring to a boil. For raw frozen poultry ONLY keep the pot covered at a boil for thirty minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't boil over. Once the poultry has cooked for thirty minutes, use your spoon to remove the pieces from the pot and set them on your cutting board, then cut them into bite-sized pieces. Instructions are the same regardless of what meat you're using after this step.
Once the previous steps are finished, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot. Let simmer for half an hour.
Taste the soup and add spices and seasonings as needed. You will probably want to add more salt first, half a teaspoon at a time. Add in your salt then stir and simmer for five minutes before tasting again. Repeat as needed, adding spices in small amounts to adjust the flavor as you go.
Once the flavor is close to right, mix the milk and the starch in a small bowl, whisking thoroughly to ensure that there are no lumps. Gradually add the starch slurry to the soup a few tablespoons at a time. Stir between increments, checking for thickness. When the soup is at the desired thickness (should be quite thick, like what you would find inside of a pot pie) taste test the soup and adjust spices as needed.
Add parsley and do a final taste test, simmer for five minutes before serving.
If you want, you can let the soup cool and fill a pre-made pie crust with it (top and bottom crust, making sure to leave holes for venting) then bake in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
For the slurry, I like to use 2:1 liquid to starch when mixing an use half and half for the slurry but add a couple of tablespoons of heavy cream after the soup has started to thicken; this is totally optional and if you just go based on what's in the recipe you should be fine.
How to make homemade stock, if you want to:
as you cook over the course of several weeks, gather things like onion tops, the ends of tomatoes, wilty celery, and whatever other safe-to-eat but unpleasant vegetable trimmings you've got and add them to a 1-gallon freezer bag.
Keep the bag in the freezer and add stuff until the bag is full. Once it's full, or if you happen to have a chicken or turkey carcass and a mostly-full bag, add the frozen trimmings and any meat trimmings or carcasses you have to a large stock pot (at least a two gallon pot).
Add in a few cloves of garlic and a few bay leaves
Add in water until the vegetables and trimmings are completely covered.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and let simmer for a minimum of two hours.
Turn off the heat and let cool
Spoon or strain out the solids - one way to do this is to pour from the pot into a collander and into another large pot. You can also use a slotted spoon or a strainer or ladle out the liquid from the stock pot, but you want to discard the solids and keep the liquids.
Skim excess or undesired fat off of the stock and discard.
Ladle or pour the stock into containers for storage. I like to use cleaned salsa jars and leave about 20% of the space in the jar free, then freeze the stock in jars so I can use it whenever I want to.
If you aren't freezing the stock, use it within two weeks.
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2023 Christmas Special; TWST
A/N: Final piece of this year's Christmas Specials! Expect a special announcement and present to be released tomorrow!! Anyways, enjoy the rest of your day/night, readers!
Favorite Thing To Do With Their S/O
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🐺 This guy grew up with the snow around him constantly, so, I can see him liking anything to do with snow
🐺 Building snowmen, making snow angels, and warming each other up by the fire inside are all things that Jack enjoys doing with his S/O during the holiday seasons
🐺 He also enjoys messing around with his siblings by throwing snowballs at them, and when his S/O stands there with blankets and cocoa ready for when they comes inside, he adores it
🐺 The first time he had got his S/O a present, he was so nervous, but as the years go by of them beings together, he enjoys it so much!
🐺 Just seeing their face light up in a smile makes his day so much better!
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🐍 He has never really payed attention to the holidays before, due to how much work he has had to do around the seasons
🐍 But, when you came into the mix and showed him just how much fun it can be without the responsibilities for even just a second, Jamil lights up
🐍 He enjoys cooking all of the food with his S/O helping him out as his sous-chef
🐍 Jamil also enjoys it when he watches his S/O try calming Kalim down from buying a whole brand because he noticed Jamil complimenting something in relation to it
🐍 You watching the sunshine while he relaxes for a bit makes him fall in love with you even more
🐍 He also enjoys watching you open the gift he had made for you, and when he sees your eyes brighten so much, it makes all of the stress he went through for so many years worth it
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⚔️ He has always had a soft spot for the holidays, as his father always was extra happy around them
⚔️ Normally, Silver would be guarding Malleus, since there were celebratory things their homeland, the Valley of Thorns, had set for the royal man
⚔️ But, when one year it got to snowy to hold it, Malleus granted him a day off, saying how he needed to spend more time with his family, and his S/O, whom Malleus invited to stay with them for the break
⚔️ Silver loves to do many things, from resting by the fire to decorating the tree that Lilia had cut down that year
⚔️ His S/O has now got to suffer through his father's famous ham with paprika-tasting sprinkles and a bunch of other things I'd prefer not to traumatize you with
⚔️ Above everything, he enjoys watching his S/O open their gifts that he gets them, nothing makes him happier than his S/O's beautiful smile
#Twisted Wonderland#Twst#Savanaclaw#Scarabia#Diasomnia#Night Raven College#NRC#Twst x Reader#Twisted Wonderland x Reader#Savanaclaw x Reader#Scarabia x Reader#Diasomnia x Reader#Night Raven College x Reader#NRC x Reader#S/O! Reader#GN! Reader#Jack Howl#Jack Howl x Reader#Jamil Viper#Jamil Viper x Reader#Silver Vanrouge#Silver Vanrouge x Reader
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Winter Wonderland
Pairing: Daddy!Lee Bodecker x Little!Reader
Word Count: 850
A/N: In my drafts, this was originally titled "Lee's Country Christmas", but I realized the fic itself doesn't actually have much to do with Christmas but rather winter... so I wanted to save the title for another one perhaps 🤔 hehe y'all know I'm always soft for that big soft sheriff daddy hehehe 💕
Lee made sure you were bundled up tight, ever the protective caregiver. He didn’t care about most people, not long ago he didn’t even care about himself, but he’d burn the world down just to keep you warm. You were practically immobilized by the amount of shirts and coats and stockings and scarves wrapped around you as you braced to face the snow. Your knees could hardly bend as you waddled out into the winter wonderland outside your shabby little home. Lee followed, leather sheriff’s jacket zipped up to his chin, his cheeks flushed red in the cold.
Normally, Lee would have no interest in even leaving his bed on a day like this. Before you, he’d have stayed in bed all afternoon, rousing only for a cup of coffee with a little kick in it to keep him warm. But how could he ever say no to your big eyes and excited voice when you woke up to the snowfall outside? Even though he’d tried to pull the covers up over his head as you bounced on the mattress next to him, Lee found your smile even warmer than his bed, now the outdoors didn't seem so cold.
When you plopped onto your bottom down in the middle of the yard, Lee got worried. He ran over to you, flailing in the snow, but as he got closer he found what he’d thought were distressed cries were in fact giggles of joy. You were making a snow angel, or at least trying to, as your excitement got the better of you and it turned into more of a snow-mess. He still praised your hard work, to Sheriff Bodecker it was the prettiest angel he’d ever seen. You were his little angel, after all.
Lee had opted not to make a snow angel, deciding he’d rather keep his clothes dry. Not on your watch! Didn’t he know you couldn’t have a proper snow day without a snowball fight? You waited until his back was turned, a rare opportunity since gazing at his babydoll was a favorite pastime of the sheriff’s. A bright red cardinal perched on the bare branches of the big oak tree, and Lee couldn’t take his eyes away as it preened its crimson feathers. That’s when you got him.
The snowball smacked against Lee’s back and exploded into a burst of white. The sudden disruption nearly knocked him off his feet and sent flecks of ice down his collar. Scowling, he whipped around, ready to tell off whatever neighborhood menace was trying to start war, but his expression softened when he saw you giggling behind mittened hands. Shaking his head, he bent down to scoop up a ball of softly packed retaliation. Careful not to hurt you, even the slightest bit, even on accident, he chased you through the yard until he was close enough to splat the snowball right on your little woolen hat. Then, he picked you up and spun you around, his eyes not leaving yours as he set you back down in the snow. The tip of his nose was bright red.
“Angel, I’m gonna go inside and work on supper. You wanna play for a few more minutes?”
You nodded eagerly and went to busy yourself in an extra snowy patch of yard while Lee headed inside. He could still see you through the kitchen window as he turned the stove on under a saucepan. He didn’t consider himself a particularly smart man, but he knew that winter days went perfectly with hot soup. It wasn’t much, a couple cans of store-bought chicken noodle on the stove, but he added extra salt and a pinch of paprika, and when he ladeled it into two bowls, he put a sprig of rosemary on top to make it more special. He set the table, a big bowl and spoon for him and little ones for you, then opened the front door to call you back in.
Lee caught you as you barrelled through the doorway, saving the house from a barrage of wet footprints. He freed you from your coats as you pulled yourself out of your boots. Now in just your dry underclothes and stockings, your daddy picked you up and carried you over to your highchair at the dining table, strapping you in before he took his own seat. He fed you first, taking bites for himself while you drank from your bottle. After a long day of outdoor play, you were nearly falling asleep into your bowl by the time you had emptied it.
Big strong hands lifted you out of your highchair and carried you over to the couch. You struggled to keep your eyes open while Lee settled himself into the sofa, before he pulled you into his lap and wrapped a throw blanket around your shoulders. The soup had settled warmly in his tummy and you didn’t hesitate to make it your pillow. Lee’s hands traced shapes all across your back as you let yourself drift off into dreams of a winter wonderland.
#little!reader#agere fic#lee bodecker#lee bodecker x reader#lee bodecker x little!reader#cg!lee bodecker#daddy!lee bodecker#chloe's fic
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IRL
Part 2 : of festivals and food
JAVI X F!PLUS SIZE!READER
WORD COUNT: 2200ish
SUMMARY: Set before the events of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Javi and Reader are friends online, and after a year of DMing, they decide to meet. (The only change is that Javi and Gabriela are just friends)
WARNINGS: Reader has insecurities about her size and appearance, Lucas continues to be a fatphobic jerk, and that's about it in this chapter. Worries about food and eating. Javi is adorable, be warned.
Part 1
Javi watches you closely after the encounter with Lucas. He got the feeling your translation was very basic, and on the surface, it might not seem rude. When you pull on an entirely unnecessary cardigan, he knows you know it was at your expense.
“Just in case the air conditioning is - um, you know too cold, or whatever,” you mumble.
He thinks you are just beautiful and not in spite of your size. Your ample curves and softness were just… all he can think about was running his hands up and down your plush arms.
Javi opens the car door for you when you reach the carport and comes around to the driver’s side.
Dropping into his seat, he fills the void-
“So along those lines, this is a 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster, Nick-”
“Oh right Nick had one until he sold it because of his 'IRS problems',” releieved to have something else to talk about, you grab onto what feels like a lifeline, a conversation far from what you are thinking about, then your eyes widen.
“Wait-”
Javi smiles and nods animatedly, as you point just as emphatically at the car with your mouth hanging open.
“Is this his?!”
“I got it on auction! I was only too happy to help Nick with his financial difficulties.”
At the restaurant, the Materdi seats you and Javi in a ridiculously romantic alcove with an open window overlooking the beach. You carefully slide onto the semi-circle bench, and Javi slips in after you. There are faerie lights strung above you and a low candle in stained glass mosaic holder on the intimate table.
The server brings water and gives you the chef’s specials. When he returns for your order you do your best to order in Spanish.
Of course Javi knows he doesn’t know how you eat normally, but when you spoke online, you expressed a love of trying new things and experimenting with cooking, though you admitted you failed spectacularly on many occasions. But here you are in Spain for the first time and you order a salad. A side salad and some prawns.
“How would it be if I ordered for the both of us? Javi tries, “that way, you can try a just little of everything, if, you know, you are not very hungry. I would hate for you to miss out on the tapas Roberto’s is so famous for.”
He watches you nibble self-consciously at first, though Roberto’s tapas won the day. Soon, you are making yummy noises, and Javi can’t get enough of them.
“Have you tried this one?” Javi asks, getting a fork full of Patatas Bravas and guiding it toward your mouth. Your little smile just before opening your mouth gives Javi butterflies low in his stomach. Your lips close around it, followed by your eyes as you savor it. Then you give the cutest whine.
“Is that potato?”
“Mhmm,” Javi smiles, “with garlic, hot sauce, and- ”
“Smoked paprika!” You finish together.
“Oh it’s all so good, thank you Javi.”
“For what?”
“Not letting me just have a stupid salad and steamed shrimp.”
After dinner, Javi takes you for a walk along the beach. Wondering if he can take your hand again, when you try to stifle a yawn, the time difference is getting to you.
“To bed!” he declares, seizing the opportunity to take your hand under the guise of directing you toward his palatial home. “We have a big day at the festival.”
“I’m not really ready to say good night, Javi.” You give his hand a squeeze, “But you're probably right, I’d be mortified if I fell asleep during one of the movies.”
“Well, we will head back to the house slowly.”
But you find yourself in front of your bedroom door far too soon. Before you could overthink it, you give him a kiss on the cheek and a shy goodnight and disappear into your room. Javi leans on the door, his hand going slowly to his cheek. He’s brought back to reality and chuckles to himself until he realizes what or rather who pulled him out of his reverie.
“Cousin, you have a beautiful woman for an assistant, with an incredible body! How have you never-”
“Lucas, stop, will you? Gabriela and I are just friends.”
“And you prefer the heifer?”
All he wants to do is clock Lucas right across his smug and arrogant face more than he has ever wanted to before - and Lucas has a natural ability to pull this reaction from Javi- often. But that will only make things worse. He knows he needs to stand up to his cousin, for many things, but it’s frankly dangerous to do so, so he brushes past and enters his bedroom, just relieved that between the closed door and the rapid Spanish. You probably did not hear what was said.
Bzzzzt bzzzt
You look at your phone
JAVI: Good night. :)
YOU: lol Good night Javi
YOU: sweet dreams
JAVI: I have no doubt. ;)
You stare at the last text. With confused astonishment, your face heats up. But, maybe he’s joking or…
YOU: cheeky
YOU: see you in the morning
JAVI: See you.
Javi looks at his screen, not sure what to say next or if he should say anything next. After a few moments just staring at it, he puts his phone in the charging dock and his hand goes back to the place you kissed it, it was just a little kiss, but he could still feel your soft lips there. He undresses and slides between his cool, crisp sheets and clicks off the light. Laying in bed awake, he listens to the waves crashing on the beach below. Javi thinks of you listening to them, too. He’s glad he chose to put you in a guest room on the same side of the hall. His mind goes over the day, wandering to your arms again, then your hips… how he would explore you if you were to allow it. His imaginings switch over to dreams of you in his bed, tangled in his sheets, breathing heavily as he feasts on you.
You wake to the sounds of seabirds, making you smile. It makes you want to wrap yourself in the incredible sheets and snuggle down into the soft pillows, but you fully remember where you are and what today is, and you roll off the bed, with a little skip as you hop in the shower. You and Javi are spending an entire day at the film festival, you’ll get to nerd out together over favorite writers, actors, directors, and the films they’ve made before anyone else has seen them. Even though you’ve never gone to a fancy festival with film creators or anything you feel that maybe you will feel more in your element with Javi. Thinking less about what he thinks about you now that he’s seen you and just be the person he befriended because of your shared interests.
After showering and putting on the sleeveless summer dress, a light shrug of a sweater, and sandals you had picked out for the event. You put on a little lip stain, leaving your eyes make-up free (who knows how much crying you may do. It looks like there may be a tearjerker or two on the schedule). You look in the mirror a beat more, and give a sigh. Swinging your bag over your shoulder, you go to meet Javi for breakfast.
Following the delicious smell of coffee to the dining room, you find the table is ladened with a beautiful spread of fruit, toast with tomato and olive oil or jam and butter, churros, empanadas, juices, and the smell of fresh coffee, all making your stomach rumble. But it’s Javi that makes your mouth water, he is dressed simply in a white linen button-down shirt and a blue blazer, his hair a little more tamed brushed back away from his face, but still curling around his ears. How is it that the orange of yesterday's shirt looks so amazing and now the light blue too? His brows go up when he sees you, his mouth opening just a bit. Then he breaks into his wide warm smile distracting you from the desire to run your fingers through his hair, for a moment anyway.
“¡Buenos días, mi sol!” good morning, sunshine
“¡Buenos días, Javi!”
Javi brings over a carafe of coffee to the table and pulls out a chair for you. You smile and shake your head, murmuring a thank you as you sit.
“We can have omelets made or…”
“Javi, all of this looks amazing.”
You both tuck in and chat about the schedule, what you are looking forward to, and the things you don't want to miss. Finding yourselves mostly in alignment.
“Do you,” you fall quiet, biting your lip, “Do you think I’m dressed okay, I wasn't sure how dressy-”
“You look incredible!” Javi says instantly. Then he waves his hand dismissively, “You know celebrities are going to do what they do, but for the rest of us? Perfecto!”
You look down at the patterned dress and smile, as Javi adds quietly, “Plus I like sunflowers.”
After both a boat and car ride you arrive in Barcelona-Saint Jordi, you get your passes and people watch. But it seems as though Javi is elsewhere.
"Javi? Is, um,” you worry your bottom lip, “Is everything okay?”
With a sigh, Javi looks at you next to him on a small bench, then looks down.
“I am sorry for my cousin’s behavior. I am so embarrassed. He is the literal worst."
Your laugh turns to a little cough of discomfort-
“I- well, thank you Javi, I appreciate that. But I’m used to it. It, well…”
“That does not make me feel better. You should not be used to such poor treatment. I should have said something”
“Well,” you swallow, ”thank you Jav-”
“I want you to be used to hearing how beautiful you are.” Javi’s words come out in a rush, then his eyes widen slightly at his own daring. Finally, he gives you a sidelong look to assess the damage.
At this you laugh like it's joke and a little absurd, giving his arm a little hug.
“You are the sweetest.”
Javi looks at you again, wondering if you think he's just being a supportive friend. Your tone makes him think so, and it leaves him at war with himself. He's not sure how you feel. Part of him is relieved in a way, and part of him desprately wants you to know. He wants to be courageous, to take the plunge! But maybe now isn't the time. While he's thinking about courage and plunges, you start to pull at his sleeve. When he looks at you, you give a little nod with your eyes going to the right. Javi looks, and there was Randell Cobb. Javi’s eyes go comically wide, making you giggle, and he starts flipping through his program.
“I did not even know he was still acting, “Javi hisses. “He was in-”
“Raising Arizona, I know,” you say excitedly.
“Of course you do,” he squeezes your knee, which is bare since the skirt of your dress is slightly hiked from sitting. It sends a shot of warmth up your thigh. “I mean he’s done other things but that was by far the best…”
“Is he in one of the films? He must be, right?”
Javi dives back to his program, and you keep watching everyone arrive.
After the opening remarks and the first film, you head to lunch and just walk around taking everything in. Javi has an almost permanent blush from the amount of people wondering what movie he's in, if he is an actor or model.
“It is very complimentary, of course… but all I want to do is tell them, ‘no I am a screenplay writer, read my script!!! Please!’”
"Well, you look like you belong here, no doubt. Handsome, tan, beautifully tailored clothes…"
Javi tugs you into an alcove, warm hands running up and down your arms.
"You belong here. You are a wonderful writer, and fantastic film and character analyst. Your breakdowns are one point!"
"I am a chubby (at best) woman, in a fifty dollar dress and a haircut that cost about the same, and I was splurging…"
"You got this lovely dress for fifty dollars? Wow."
You purse a tight smile and then laugh.
"Yes you can get one at TJMaxx, at a strip mall near you!"
A pair of glamorous willowy actors pass your little hiding place.
"You could fit two of these actresses in one of them."
"I like the one who is filling it right now," Javi says shyly, "and how she is filling it."
His hands traverse your hips.
Javi feels the soft plush curve of them, and his sigh carries a small, pleased hmm with it.
"Is this alright?" He whispers.
Your brain's throwing up .exe errors.
Your breathless "yeah" is almost a gasp. Javi is touching you, and liking what he feels through the gauzy fabric.
"We've got two more movies and then we go back to the hotel… but um-"
You mouths crash together. You both do your level best to be quiet, as Javi crowds you into the corner of the alcove behind a palm of some kind.
Part 3
💚THANK YOU FOR READING💚REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED💚
If you care to read more Javi G or any of my stories, you can find my masterlist here, and if you would like to be tagged for any of my fics, you can find my handy dandy taglist form here.
#javi gutiérrez#javi gutiérrez x plus size f!reader#javi gutiérrez x female reader#javi g#javi g x you#tuwomt
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Chicken Paprikash
In the spirit of #draculadaily, here's a translated-by-me recipe for chicken paprikash from an old Serbian cookbook that used to belong to my great-grandmother. Other than adding a few editorial comments and reformatting it to make it easier on modern readers, I haven't changed the text much. Photo of original recipe below the translated text.
Chicken Paprikash with Nokledes
Ingredients:
For the paprikash:
1 whole chicken (recipe starts by assuming you will pluck your own!)
0.5 kg yellow onion (about one large one)
1 tablespoon butter (can substitute other cooking oil, but I recommend using a saturated fat)
1 tsp paprika*
1 red bell pepper OR 1 long, green pepper
4-5 roma tomatoes
Parsley
Black pepper
For the nokledes:
2 egg yolks
1 knob butter
"Snow of two egg whites" I think this means egg whites beaten to stiff peaks
Flour (no quantity specified, typical grandma stuff)
Pluck and clean chicken, if not done already, and cut into pieces. Peel onion and slice into thin ribs. Place in pot (I recommend a large dutch oven) one tablespoon of butter/oil and heat over medium-high heat. When butter/oil is hot, add sliced onion and salt immediately, then fry until completely soft. Add on top one tsp* paprika, bell pepper or long green pepper with the chicken meat, and fry with onion until onion is completely fried (nice and brown). Pour in enough water to cover meat. Add into the paprikash 4-5 chopped tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, a little black pepper, and salt as needed. Lower the heat and simmer the paprikash on a low flame until nearly all the water reduces, all while stirring frequently to avoid burning. When it is ready, it must have enough juice. Serve the paprikash with nokledes that are made in the following way:
Mix together all ingredients listed until well-beaten. Fill a pot with water, salt it, then bring to a boil. Wet a spoon in the boiling water and use it to take out little balls of dough and add them to the boiling water. Remove nokledes when cooked, and finish by frying in butter (you can also just use store-bought...)
Personal note: the original recipe calls for "one blade" of paprika, which my dad says is equivalent to one teaspoon. I have no idea what it means, so if anyone knows please share in the comments!
Unfortunately the bit about the nokledes got cut off, so if anyone wants the rest let me know and I'll get my dad to photograph the rest.
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MWRMI Part 3
Week 1 - The Art of All Might 🎨
~•🥦•~
Summary: Y/N works on an All Might art. Midoriya becomes an art critic.
Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of blood
First Part Master List
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Midoriya wasn’t lying when he said he won’t be home too much. It has been 4 days since the pool-accident and you haven’t seen the guy at all since. Sometimes, you wake up to some rustle in the middle of the night when he gets home, or to the annoying ringing noise of his fancy ass bracelet, but that’s it. He leaves before you wake up and comes back when you’re already asleep, and sometimes, he doesn’t come home at all.
You are a little bit concerned for the hero’s general health so you decide to start preparing some food for the poor fella; there is always a new cup noodle box in the bin in the morning even though there is freshly made rice in the rice cooker. He probably just mixes some rice into his noodles and thinks that’s “good enough”.
Well, it is NOT. Mama Y/N will make sure the boy eats his vegetables before he runs away to fight the evil.
With that said, you wake up at the humble hour of 11AM and make your way to the kitchen with your sketchbook and your pencil case; you want to get a start on your commissions while the food is cooking.
You want to make something without rice today; he’s been eating rice with cup noodles for at least 4 days in a row so you decide to make a pasta dish full of veggies and some chicken salad in case he wants to snack on something when he’s in a hurry.
You went out for grocery shopping the day before; you used your own card to buy them, thank you very much; and bought a bunch of veggies and tomato sauce. You put some water on the hob to boil, you slice up your veggies for the sauce: some eggplants, paprika, tomatoes, garlic and onion; after the veggies are in the pot with the tomato sauce, you put some chickpeas in it as well for some protein.
Yes, this will do. The amount might be a bit over the top, but Midoriya is a big guy and he probably needs to eat way more than a normal person.
Oh fuck, you hope he doesn’t have any allergies.
Gluten is definitely fine as the cup noodles he ate had gluten in them, so you should stop freaking out. This is pro hero Deku you are talking about. Allergies have nothing on him. He’s too PLUS ULTRA for that shit.
After you are done with the salad; the chicken is also getting ready on the hob; you sit down on the massive table to start to sketch out your commission. It’s All Might Texas smashing a nomu into the concrete in his young age costume.
You start sketching while the food cooks, concentrating mainly on All Might right now; the background can wait until the last minute even though you already have a rough idea for it; a city next to the sea, the sea rumbling aggressively from the tremors of All Might’s smash in the background. Ahh, epic.
The food is done way before you are, so you quickly box up the most of it and continue working on your drawing. You end up drawing until late, not even realizing how dark it is outside already. This is the thing with you; once you start, it’s really hard for you to stop until you finish the rough sketch and All Might is a complicated character anyway; it’s hard to describe why but you feel like his body is somehow more detailed than anyone else’s.
You end up falling asleep on the table around 2AM; you only wake up when you hear the main door open but you are still half asleep and so-so tired, you don’t have it in you to move. There is no reason to move, really; there is food on the table for the hero to eat, the table is big enough for him to have enough space to eat even with half of your body being splayed out on it. You might have a slight back ache already from the pose you are sleeping in, but honestly… whatever.
“Ahh, silly you.” You hear a mumble really close to you, but you decide to ignore it for the sake of your beauty sleep. You can hear Deku microwaving the food you left out for him and saying thank you while sniffling aggressively. Is he crying? Fuck, he’s so precious. He’s still just a shy boy deep inside, isn’t he? You can hear him moving your sketchbook from under you; if you wouldn’t be half asleep you definitely would NOT let him do that.
“Hm.” He mumbles and stands up from his seat then sits down again; by the sound of it he’s writing something down on a piece of paper. Probably a thank you message. After a while the clink of the fork stops and you can feel Deku’s warmth around you.
Why is he so close?!
Oh… you are being carried, bride style.
Pro hero Deku, your favorite person in the world is carrying you to your fucking bed at whatever AM and he smells fresh and nice, even though he just came home from work. He probably showered before coming back.
Okay, this is a stupid fanfiction, isn’t it? What a fucking cliché thing to do, like honestly, can’t this person come up with something more creative? No kudos for this one. No kudos.
Midoriya moves the sheets out of the way and puts you down; he makes sure you are properly tugged in like a little child. You are waiting for the kiss on your forehead but it never comes; apparently the greenette realized you are indeed not a child and it would be creepy as fuck to do something like that after knowing each other for only a few days. He sighs and leaves your room; you can hear a slight rustling and the buzzing of the microwave before you pass out completely.
~•🥦•~
The next day comes sooner than you expected it to; the sun beams into the room with full force thanks to the blinds not being closed the night prior. You take a look at your clock; it’s 8AM.
Well, at least you were able to sleep 6 hours and to be fair, you don’t do much during the day anyway, so this will do. The flat is quiet, the only sound you can hear is All Meowt doing his business in the bathroom. Not the best sound to wake up to but you’ll take it.
Speaking of All Meowt, that cat hates your guts. Every time you leave your room he scrambles into Deku’s through the little pet door; of course there is a fucking pet door on every single door. This cat is the most spoiled creature the world has ever seen.
You really hope he just needs some time to adjust to your existence in his home, otherwise it will be really hard for you to take care of his needs in the a future. You really don’t want to barge into the pro hero’s room without a permission from Midoriya, and you are also not sure if your fanatic little heart would be able to take the sight of Midoriya’s personal little room with all his beloved kick-knacks and stuff. It’s too much information. Like damn, you’ve been wondering about how his bed looks like (and feels like… Khm.) for years.
You shake your head to clear it up and make your way to the kitchen; as you move closer to your impromptu work space you find two notes and a newspaper cutout of All Might attached to your drawing.
Okay, that definitely wasn’t there when you fell asleep.
You take the All Might themed sticky tags in your hand to read them;
One says “Thank you for the food! It was awesome! You are the best! Plus Ultra!” The note ended with Pro Hero Deku’s fancy signature which you always wanted to get but never had the chance to. Midoriya probably knew that, hence why he signed it like that instead of writing his name on it. What a legend!
The other note is a bit more messy and contains feedback on your sketch.
“Too many muscles! This is golden age All Might in his Young Age costume! Not realistic! Use the attached picture for reference, it’s the best one I could find! Please take care of it and give it back when you’re done! Thank you!”
You can’t help but giggle. Deku, Number 1 hero of Japan just left All Might themed sticky notes on your silly little sketch.
“Izu-Izu, your twin is weird, but I kinda like him. Don’t be too jealous though!” You mumble to your favorite cardboard cutout who looks really happy next to Midoriya’s massive All Might one; you can see them both perfectly from the kitchen through the massive archway. They are almost holding hands.
You take the little notes into your room and put them on the side of your dresser; you really hope this isn’t a one time thing and you can fill the whole side with Midoriya’s notes and be the only person in the whole world who owns hundreds of sticky notes written by pro Hero Deku. You might even end up in the Guinness Records. That would be super cool!
… okay, let’s focus. You really need to stop fangirling over the guy you live with, it’s creepy as fudge. It may also ruin your chances to form a bond with the greenette and you might end up on the streets then. It’s time to grow up.
With that said, you make your way back to the kitchen to eat something and continue your sketch - well, thanks to Midoriya’s feedback you kinda need to start it all over again but that’s fine.
As you open the fridge door you get a little bit confused; the leftover food from yesterday is completely gone. Not like that’s a bad thing or anything, but the truth is, that food was supposed to be enough for a week. A week. How the heck is it gone already?!
Oh, there is another note on the empty shelf.
“I’m so sorry, the food was too good and I accidentally ate most of it… then I woke up thinking about it and decided to bring the rest of it to work with me…
I’m so selfish, I’m sorry! (*_ _)/\ Please order some takeaway with my card today! Also, sorry about all the notes! Midoriya”
You burst out laughing at this point, scaring poor All Meowt to death when he tries to sneak out from Midoriya’s room to nibble on his food.
Honest to God, this guy can’t be real.
Needless to say, you are NOT going to use that forbidden card you hid away in your night stand, but instead, you’ll make more home cooked food for the hero to enjoy after a hard day of work; you really love cooking, especially when your efforts are appreciated, so this whole shenanigan only makes you happy, to be honest.
You put another meal together and sit down to fix your sketch; you also have enough time to do a rough sketch of the background! And if that’s not enough of an achievement for the day, the food tastes amazing and you actually make it to bed this time, even though you kinda wanted to be taken to your bed like a motherfucking princess by the guy of your dreams (again), but you really don’t want to spoil yourself too much or use the poor, tired hero to fulfill your stupid fantasies.
As you wake up to the lovely morning sun the next day, you are already excited to get some new notes to add to your collection; and just as you expected, there is a new batch of “collectibles” attached to your drawing, but this one…
This one is fucking long.
“Texas smash makes a bigger impact! All Might wouldn’t be able to use Texas smash so close to the sea, the vibrations would cause an earthquake which would cause a tsunami. It’s really dangerous, Y/N!!! Texas smash can also change the weather! Keep that in mind!”
“… well, shit. So basically, my whole idea is trash, thank you very much, Midoriya Izuku.” You sigh into the distance, talking to no one in particular and click your mechanical pencil to the table to ground yourself.
How can you use your idea but be realistic without changing the whole thing up?
Oh, right! 💡
Instead of one picture you decide to make a comic out of this; the main picture stays the same and can be used as a poster but you’ll add a comic strip as an extra, where All Might mumbles “fuck” in an American accent while the massive waves devour the area around him.
Yeah, that will do.
This is how the first week of living with pro Hero Deku goes. You draw, he comments, you fix your shit just so he can find another flaw the next day. When you don’t get a nasty comment on the base, you move on to the colors, naively thinking that nothing can go wrong from here because you are literally staring at a picture of All Might while doing the shading, but apparently you used the wrong shade of yellow on All Might’s hair; shit you not, All Might’s hair had a light shine to it when he was Young, which means that using a darker shade of yellow with a muted, lighter one isn’t “realistic” because you need to use a light pastel yellow for highlights to get the right shade.
You MIGHT HAVE put a bit too much chilli into the chili con carne that day as a silent and respectful “fuck you.”
On the last day before his first day off, you finally finish your masterpiece; you might have been a little bit annoyed with him for all the feedback but honestly, this is your best work yet, so eventually, all the nagging has payed off.
As per usual, you leave the art out on the table, opposite of his freshly made dinner. (Which you safely hid under a massive food cover, because All Meowt is a fucking menace…) You are just about to go to the bathroom to clean yourself up before bed when the main door opens with a loud bang; and by loud bang, you mean “was that a fucking earthquake” kinda bang. You are ready to defend yourself from the intruder with the fucking mop you grabbed with your shaky little hands (it’s 3AM and you are fucking tired, okay?!), when a green fluff of hair comes into your view. Deku stands by the door for a few seconds, takes a deep breath and slides down the door to sit on the floor, leaving a lovely trail of blood on the poor thing, making the hallway look like a murder scene in the process.
“Fuck.” He screams silently to not wake you up; you didn’t think silently screaming is an actual thing but apparently it is; then takes a deep breath to calm down. This guy can’t even swear without looking cute, what the fuck.
“So, am I supposed to scream and call the hospital, or is this an every day thing? I’m not sure how to react, to be honest.” You deadpan, absolutely confused. Midoriya looks up at you then laughs, his smile reaching his eyes in the most adorable way. This guy will be the death of you, bloody or not.
“Sorry, I usually shower before I come back but I was on the field for 9 days, I just couldn’t keep it up anymore. I just wanted to to be home.” That last sentence broke your heart. This poor guy went back into his office to use the shower every single day just for you. He’s such a precious guy.
“You are allowed to come home dirty.” With a random burst of confidence, you sit down next to the injured hero. He looks at you with teary eyes but he still gives you a cheeky smile, clearly appreciating your efforts to make him feel less awkward about the situation. “Midoriya, this is your safe place. Use it. I won’t run away because of some blood.” To make your statement even more credible, you stroke his blood soaked hair gently and his eyes widen at the sudden affection, but he doesn’t move away from it. His eyes fill with more tears, slowly trailing down on his freckled face as he hides his face in your chest in embarrassment; he doesn’t say anything, he just stays there and trembles from the exhaustion and the pent up stress. You try to calm down your racing heart, slowly stroking the hero’s back too soothe him and he melts completely into you; in only a few minutes the trembling stops and his breath evens out to a normal level.
“Y/N?” He mutters into your chest and you can’t believe this whole situation right now. This is way too personal, way too intimate, way too… domestic. The worst part is that it feels so normal; it feels like he belongs here, like he was made to be cuddled by you in the middle of the hallway at 3AM. It just feels… right.
“Hm?” You answer in a whisper; you don’t want to ruin the peaceful atmosphere around you.
“Let’s buy some plants tomorrow. And a bench. And stuff… for the garden.” He mumbles, half asleep. “I want to go shopping. Yeah. I want it.” He murmurs, saying the word ‘want’ like it’s something he’s never done before in his life.
“We CAN do that. We can do anything you want. But if you don’t mind me asking; go have a shower. Please.” You giggle, your hands playing with his curls absentmindedly. He chooses this moment to look up from your chest, right into your eyes; you can’t help the blush spreading on your face from the closeness. By the look of it, Midoriya is not affected by it at all; he just smiles gratefully and goes to his room while your heart does a weird backflip in your chest.
“Can you heat up the food?” He shouts from his room, and that’s when you decide to talk back a bit just to keep the guy in check.
“I ain’t your servant, cheeky young man!” You try your best to sound offended but your laugh betrays you. Midoriya pops his head out of the door, half naked with a mischievous smile on his lips; your heart will definitely give out one day if he keeps doing shit like that.
“Please?” He looks at you with his biggest puppy eyes, his smile not fading for a single second.
Fuck, he could probably ask you to bring the sun over for him and you would happily burn to death while doing so.
“Fuck’s sake, Izu-Izu!” You whine and Midoriya bursts out laughing; it takes you a few seconds to realize what’s so funny, but when you do, your soul leaves your body for a second.
“Did you just call me by your husband’s name? I’m breaking up with you.” Midoriya does a perfect job in acting like a jealous mistress, and while you can’t help but laugh, you are dead inside.
You just called Pro Hero Deku by a pet name; a pet name that belongs to your cardboard cutout of him. And he remembers. Of course, he fucking remembers. Who would be able to forget that awkward conversation?
Ahh, you want to leave the Earth and start a new life on Mars. The language barrier might come in handy; you can’t ruin your life by blabbing bullshit if they can’t understand you, right? Even though, knowing your luck you might be able to ruin everything just with your pure existence.
You really hope the Earth swallows you by the morning. Or like… now.
~•🥦•~
You: I called Midoriya Izu-Izu.
Jirou: I’m not disappointed.
You: I hope you choke on a guitar pick.
Jirou: Rude.
… Next chapter!
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
Likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated 🥦
Taglist: @porusuniverse @stickygumchewer
#mha x reader#bnha x reader#midoriya x y/n#midoriya x reader#deku x reader#deku x you#midoriya izuku x you#midoriya izuku x reader#pro hero deku
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Dracula Daily - May 3: Chicken Paprikash!
Welcome boils and ghouls to another year of Dracula Daily. It is the 3rd of May, and as our dear friend Jonathan treks his way across Central Europe, bound for ominous castle of Count Dracula, we encounter the first real star of this most foundational gothic novel: a spicy chicken dish fixed up with paprika. That's right, everyone! It's time for Chicken Paprikash!
Earlier this week, most of you (or at least I'm assuming most of you, because holy cow did a lot of y'all pile in after I posted it) will recall my guide to gathering the ingredients for this most essential of Dracula Daily Dinners. Tonight, we will discuss it's preparation, and whether or not the deviations I have made from the previous cycles rendition will pay off or not. So, if you've got those pots and pans ready, let's go!
Lets begin with the equipment you'll need for preparing Chicken Paprikash.
All the usual suspects are here. Knives, cutting board, some whisks and woodem spoons, a couple of bowls for ingredients. But the real stars of this show are going to be a large dutch oven, and a large building pot. Examples of these can be see in the photo above.
Once you have all your equipment ready, it's time to move on to the most annoying part of every dinner. It's time for...
Part One: Mise En Place
Cooking can be hard, or cooking can be easy. It all depends on how well prepared you are. If you have everything you need ready beforehand, actually cooking the meal can be a breeze. Sadly, this process will usually take up most of the time you spend making dinner. Is it worth the peace of mind later on? Probably, but I've never passed up a chance to gripe.
So, what all must we prepare for our Chicken Paprikash. Let's make a list:
Roughly 2 Pounds of Chicken Thights (salted preferably 1-4 hours beforehand)
2 Cups of Chicken Broth (or Stock)
2 Medium Yellow Onions (Chopped or Diced, to your preference)
2 Roma Tomatoes (Diced this time, with their seeds removed)
2 Hungarian Wax Peppers (Diced as well, be sure to remove those seeds unless you want to go for a ride like dear Jonathan)
2 Cloves of Garlic (Minced) (Don't let your desire to protect yourself from the undead lead you to add more, garlic is one of those flavors that can radically alter a dish in only small quantities)
About half a stick of butter (Though for this task you could substitute with some kind of oil or lard. Lard will make this dish even more rich, but butter is the easier option.)
3/4 Cup of Full Fat Sour Cream
1/4 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream (make sure to shake your carton beforehand, this stuff gets clumpy if it's left undisturbed)
3 Tablespoons of All Purpose Flour
4 Tablespoons of Sweet Hungarian Paprika + 1 Tablespoon of Hot Hungarian Paprika (Stirred together for ease later on)
Salt + Pepper (To your liking)
1 Bag of Spaetzle
With all this completed, it's time to get started in earnest
Part Two - Get Cooking
Alright, with all our ingredients in hand, its finally time to start cooking.
The very first thing we're going to do is brown our chicken thighs. Set your dutch oven over a large burner, and get the heat up high. When ready, turn the heat down to medium or medium-high. This change is important, unless you want to smoke out your kitchen. Remember, smoky paprika is great, but nobody likes smoky dry wall.
Once you've prepared your pot, and lightly brushed your thighs with a high heat cooking oil (I prefer avocado) begin to brown them. Lay your thighs skin-side down for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Any longer than this risks burning the skin. Repeat in batches until all your chicken thighs have a nice crispy exterior.
(Sadly, this is where the demonstration photos stop. Turns out, a breezier cooking schedule doesn't leave much time for snappy pictures.)
Once you've brown your thighs, remove them and set them aside. Now, it's time for the real corner stones of this dish. Take that half a stick of butter you have sitting around, and give it a good swirl around the bottom of the Dutch oven. As the butter melts (this will be very quick, so you must act accordingly) do everything you can to scrape up the delicious fond left over from browning your chicken. This residue will add flavor to our dish.
The moment your butter has fully liquified, and coated the whole bottom of your dutch oven, add in your onions. These we will stur around and fry until they are a nice golden brown. You can use this time as well to keep scraping up that fond on the bottom of the pot. Make sure to keep the heat on medium throughout.
Once your onions are nice golden brown, add your tomatoes and hungarian wax peppers. Stir these around with the onions and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. When you begin to approach the last 45-30 seconds, add in your garlic, and cook until fragrant, but not a moment longer.
This next step is crucial. Remove your dutch oven from the heated burner, and allow to cool for roughly 3 minutes. Paprika is something of a tender spice, and it scorches very easily when heat is applied to it. Once the pot is no longer smoking hot, stir in the combined Paprika, and give it a good mix around all the ingredients in the pot. When you have finished, return the dutch oven to the heated burner.
Return your chicken thighs to the pot, and pour in the 2 cups of chicken broth. The thighs should not be entirely covered, but mostly. Bring the pot to a boil, and once boiling, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow to simmer for a little under an hour, about 40 minutes.
Now, while this is happening, we will prepare our dairy thickener. In a bowl, mix the sour cream, heavy whipping cream, and flower. I prefer to use a tiny whisk for this task, as it does a very good job of moving through every part of the mixture, and combating any clumps from forming. A normal whisk should still work.
While you wait, you're going to pour about a quart of water into that steel pot, and bring to a boil. About 28 minutes from the completion of the paprikash, stir in your spaetzle to the boiling water. Allow to sit, undisturbed for roughly half an hour.
Once the 40 minutes are up, once again remove your chicken from the pot, and remove the dutch oven from the heat. Allow to cool once more, which will prevent your dairy mixture from curdling. Once cool, mix in the cream. Return the chicken to the Dutch oven, place the cover back on, and allow to heat through. About another 5-10 minutes.
And just like that, we're done! Now, let's find out how we did, shall we?
Part Three - Paprikash
This is how mine turned out. And I'm happy to report that my experimentation payed off! The heat really comes through this time, creating that good warming feeling you should get from chicken paprikash. The paprika is warm and smoky, and the chicken is tender and delicious. I'd never had spaetzel before, but I really liked it. It's still not as spicy as our good friend Jonathan described, but I think it's time that I stop differing to the opinions of a 22 year-old English orphan when it comes to any kind of cuisine.
The August Kessler Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) proved to be an excellent pairing. The wine possesses a splendid earthiness, and it makes a beautiful partner for that smoky paprika flavor.
Well, that about does it for this year's Chicken Paprikash. Did you make Paprikash this year? How did it turn out? Anyway, I'll be making a dedicated effort to make more conversational posts with the program this year, and I cannot wait to discover what rocks we'll turn over this time around.
Join me on Sunday when we'll be diving into Tokaji, the Hungarian desert wine Dracula serves to Jonathan Harker at the end of his, if I may, strange journey.
Happy Dracula Daily, Everyone!
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Finally! I have a continuation of the Villain/Photographer prompt!
Villain and Photographer Part ii
I hope you all like it!
Photographer sat in their living room, looking out at the rain as it aggressively streaked down their window. The light sounds of vintage music from the ‘30s and ‘40s echoed from their kitchen, but it didn’t give them the comfort and focus it usually did. Not with them in the kitchen. Cooking like it was a normal Wednesday evening. Asking Photographer what they preferred, carrots or peas? Potatoes or noodles? Every now and then Photographer would ask that they go out and get something from the Thai place or sub shop, just to see their unwelcome guest’s reaction…
Photographer learned early on that such suggestions were not appreciated.
So here they were, looking out their own window, sitting on their own couch, getting ready to eat their own food…all while a prisoner in their own home.
“I added a little paprika to the stew, hope you don’t mind, I like a little kick to my food.”
Photographer worked hard not to flinch at the voice as it entered their space. They tried their best everyday not to show any semblance of emotion towards Hero, no matter how long they kept them here, no matter how much they threatened them. Photographer wondered how long they could keep doing it.
“You like a little kick to a lot of things,” Photographer replied. Like thugs, ruffians, Villain…and most recently, Photographer’s stomach.
Hero let out a long sigh, as if dealing with an impudent child.
“You know,” Hero said sweetly, “We could stop this whole dog and pony show if you would just agree to my terms…and tell me where the film is. Honestly, I can’t see why you’re being so stubborn. It’s not like anyone even supports you on this.”
Photographer didn’t look away from the window. It was true, no one supported them on this. Hero already had Reporter and Editor in their pocket…Photographer was the last piece of the puzzle to control everything in the popular news agency. Everyone in the city trusted their agency to be the one to tell the truth, that was the whole reason Photographer had started it with their friends in the first place. It seemed Photographer was the last to hold out.
Hero walked closer to them, leaning over their head and looking at both of their reflections in the window. They spoke close to Photographer's ear.
“What are you even doing this for? Pride? Stubbornness? Some silly inclination that you’ll be the triumphant whistle blower of a whole conspiracy? Please, no one really cares what the truth is anymore. They never did…”
They gripped Photographer’s shoulders painfully, “Or maybe you think you can win?” They shook Photographer, their head almost hitting the glass of the window.
“You can’t win…just give me the film and do your job as I say and your freedom will be restored to you.”
You liar, thought Photographer. If I agree, my freedom will never be restored…not truly. They chose to remain silent. Closing their eyes so as not to see their reflection so close to Hero’s in the window.
“Dammit Photographer!” Hissed Hero, their grip relentless. Photographer flinched at the tone. “You know what I’ll have to do if you don’t relent soon! You think I want that? Think about all we’ve been through! Why would you make me do that?”
Instinctively Photographer tensed up, sensing what was coming next from Hero. This had become their normal nightly routine in the last two weeks. It always ended with Photographer in pain on the floor.
Knock, knock, knock. They both swiveled their heads towards the apartment door.
Hero abruptly let go of Photographer and took a step back.
“You know the drill,” Hero said to them. “I’ll be in the kitchen finishing dinner. Get rid of whoever it is quickly. If not,” Hero gave a sinister smile, “you know what happens to them.”
Photographer only nodded. So far they had been good enough at lying to dissuade anyone from wanting to come into the apartment, but they knew if they messed up even once Hero would make good on their threat. They would probably even enjoy it.
Hero walked into the kitchen and Photographer heard the music being turned down.
With a fake steady step Photographer walked over and looked through the peephole.
Holy shit! It was Villain!
At first Villain had been worried that no one was home. Maybe Photographer moved? Went on an extended vacation and that was why they hadn’t been on the job in a while? Maybe took a job with someone else for a while just to avoid the politics of this city for a bit? But that thought soon fled their mind as they heard music from within the apartment on their approach. Old vintage…yeah, that seemed like Photographer’s style.
The music abruptly went down after they knocked. Villain waited for someone to answer.
They heard a small gasp on the other side of the door. Then the sound of a chain lock being removed.
Their heart jumped into their throat. What if Photographer told them to sod off? That they were the villain everyone saw them as? What if this was the wrong apartment?
The door flew open.
Photographer stood there. One hand on the door handle, the other clenched in a fist in front of them. They looked…god, they looked terrible.
Photographer’s eyes were sunken, dark circles outlining them and emphasizing emotion that Photographer was usually able to put away during a job. They stood slightly hunched, like their ribs were bothering them, and rather than stay in a fist, their fingers were moving and twitching like crazy.
My god, what happened to you? Villain wanted to shout. Instead they waited for Photographer to say something.
“Why are you here?” Photographer said in a calm and confident voice which did not match their appearance.
“I…” Villain took a breath. “You haven’t been underfoot taking pictures lately.”
Photographer’s hand made another movement and their fingers snapped impatiently.
“Perhaps because there’s nothing worth taking pictures of. The last time seemed information enough for the public.”
Villain felt their anger rise.
“And you just take it at face value then? I thought you were better than that.”
Photographer’s hand made flippant gesture. The other still on the door handle.
“Face value is my trade, in case you didn’t notice. Perhaps you should be talking to Reporter about this and not darkening my doorstep with your schemes.”
“As if…” Villain trailed off. Photographer was twitching their hand so badly now it was hard not to take notice.
H E L P
Oh….OH.
“Well excuse me for living,” Villain finished.
It was taking a moment. The other hand was still on the door handle so they could only do one letter at a time along with simple gestures.
“You’re excused. And while you’re at it, please inform whoever gave you my address that despite my love for putting images in the public eye, I myself enjoy privacy so if they could refrain from sending anyone else here…” Photographer kept signing as they spoke.
Trapped…Hero here…trapped…can’t leave…please
“I will. Can’t say I’m surprised…You’re all the same in the end,” Villain said it with disgust as they avidly watched Photographer’s hand.
Have film…hide film…Hero want
“Well, news is news. Whatever gets readers is all I care about,” Photographer flipped their hair out of their eyes. Villain saw a deep bruise on their neck. If they weren’t so focused on Photographer’s signing, they would have been overcome with rage.
Hero was so going to die for this.
Know truth…no trust…alone…alone…trapped…please
Villain nodded that they understood the message as they said, “Then I guess I’m done here. No more excuses now you know. I’m not going to avoid you when I let off an attack or let you take as many photos as you want…no more telling the other villains to leave off. You’re on your own now.”
If it wasn’t for the reassuring look on their face as they said it, Villain was sure these words would have broken Photographer who looked so close to collapsing under some unseen pressure.
“Fine. Goodbye.”
Photographer swung the door closed, but not before seeing Villain sign back.
You’re not alone.
#villains and heroes#writers#creative writing#writing community#writing promt#character creation#creadigol#heros and villains#original writing#dialogue prompt#villain#civilian x villain#photographer#intimidation#truth#bad hero#evil hero#protagonist x antagonist#protagonist#whump prompt#protection#protective#will continue if requested#whump community#whump#whump writing#writeblr
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