#I think I’m going to heat up some chili and then finish the pod

[whentherewerebicycles]

ok reworked a big chunk of my cover letter and then ran out of steam (I have slept… so badly all week) but I’m feeling positive about it. I really don’t want to spend a ton of time obsessing over it so I’m going to try to finish it tomorrow after my morning meetings. I have an annoying work meeting first thing (about the situation I rage-cried about earlier today) but then I get to follow it up with a meeting with my all-time fave student. those calls always leave me feeling sooo happy and energized so I should be in a great headspace for finishing the letter. I ideally want to submit tomorrow but if I feel the materials aren’t quite there for whatever reason I’ll allow myself the weekend to tinker. I am qualified for this job! and pretty sure I would greatly enjoy literally every aspect of it!! cross your fingers for me!!!

[coffeestainsandcashmere]

Everything you write is amazing Cashmere! so can I prompt Draco Theo and Hermione and movie night? Maybe a Sci fi or an animated movie? Because I would love to read your take in Draco and Theo involved in muggle activities

Movie night is here!! Thank you so much for this prompt. I hope you enjoy it!

___

“Godric,” she exhaled, lying with her head on Theo’s stomach on the lawns outside the castle, staring up at the sky above. “I can’t believe all our exams are over. It feels like a movie…”

“A what?” Theo murmured, his hand pausing as it raked gently through the wild curls that spilled over his torso and onto the grass on the other side.  

“A movie,” she said and then went still. “Please don’t tell me you’re too ‘pureblood’ to know what a movie is… please…” she groaned.

“I’m too ‘pureblood’ to know what a movie is,” he deadpanned. “Draco?”

She shot a look over at Draco, who was sheltering under a nearby tree like a vampire with his back against the trunk, trying not to burn to a cinder while Theo and she lounged about like kneazles in the heat. Despite the shade, he was only mostly succeeding; a definite flush brightened his cheeks. With one knee bent and the other leg straight out, he looked like a reclining Norse god, and she nearly forgot to be amazed about the fact that neither boy had ever even heard of a movie, before Draco shrugged. “No idea.”

“Didn’t you take even one module of Muggle Studies?” she asked, sitting upright, fairly certain that the terms of Draco’s probation had included mandatory Muggle Studies classes. Her hair stuck out behind her in a mess of tangled curls, only adding to her look of dishevelled disbelief.  

Theo chuckled. “Sure we did.”

She pursed her lips and folded her arms. “And you spent the entire time sitting at the back, feeling each other up under the desk, not listening to a word, correct?”

Draco at least had the grace to look abashed. “Enlighten us then, Granger. What, pray, is a ‘movie’.”

“Movie, from ‘moving pictures’,” she said, trying not to sound like a miffed professor and failing. “It’s a story told on a screen, like a play I suppose. It’s a bit like a wizarding photograph, but it’s much longer, has sound and music, and isn’t looped.”

“Oh,” Theo said, not quite understanding, clearly.  

“Muggles make them for entertainment mostly,” she said. “They have all sorts of amazing computer graphics and effects, and even some that feature magic.”

Draco scowled. “But… the Official Magical Secrets Act…”

Hermione barked a laugh and he blushed and looked away. “It’s not real magic,” she said. “It’s based on muggle folklore usually, or it’s just someone making it up for the purposes of the story. We’ll have to watch one some time.” Then she grimaced. “The only person I know who has a TV and a DVD player is Harry at Grimmauld Place. I’d have to ask him if we could borrow it. I think he had electricity installed.”

Theo looked at Draco. “I only got half of that last bit…” he said, and Draco twitched his eyebrows in agreement.  

A month later, Theo and Draco flooed into Grimmauld place and stared around. Draco had a particular look of foreboding in the set of his eyebrows and the jut of his jaw - so much so that when Hermione rushed into the room at the sound of their arrival, she ground to a halt.  

“Draco? What’s wrong? It’s just a movie. And if you’re worried about making a fool of yourself, just imagine how many questions I had when I first learned about the wizarding world…” The lightness in her voice died as she watched him swallow thickly.  

“It’s not that,” he said immediately. He was still clutching Theo’s hand so hard their knuckles had gone white. When he saw the way one eyebrow rose in confusion, he growled, “It’s been a long time since I was here, that’s all.”

“Oh,” she breathed and then repeated the sound as understanding dropped through her like a stone. “Oh. I didn’t know you’d ever been here…”

“It’s a Black Family house, Hermione,” he said gently. “And even if Potter’s godfather was only my first cousin once removed, we did visit Aunt —” as always, he choked on Bellatrix’ name. “Aunt Bellatrix here once or twice when I was very young.”

“Draco, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think…” she began, but Draco cut her off by stepping close and putting his hands on her hips. He kissed her and she smiled. “Is it ok?”

“Yes, Hermione,” he said softly. “With you, anything’s ok.”

“Flirt,” she quipped, shifting back and glancing at the other boy. “Hey Theo.”

He smiled. “Hello love,” he grinned over Draco’s shoulder, joining them and kissing her in greeting. “All set?”

“Mmm,” she nodded. “Come on. We’ve got the full muggle experience tonight… Takeaway from down the road, muggle drinks…”

Draco and Theo shot each other matching, comedic looks of feigned wariness, and she smacked them both on the chest.  

“Stop that,” she groused and they both laughed.  

“Lead the way.”

“It’s literally just come out in the muggle world, but Harry got a copy from somewhere… Don’t ask. It was probably through a contact in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office or something.”  

As the opening text of The Phantom Menace rolled past and the space ship chugged into view, Hermione’s gaze flitted to the boys’ faces. As an entire planet filled the screen, with space ships dotted before it, their eyes went wide and Draco actually sat up a bit.

“You’re telling me muggles made all this up,” he breathed. “Without magic…?”

“Shh,” she giggled. “Yes. Just watch it.”  

Before the alien chancellor had finished his first lines, Theo interrupted, nearly choking on the Thai food she’d ordered in for them; something spicy for Theo and something blander for Draco who couldn’t handle even the faintest hint of chili. Theo lowered his fork and blurted, “What the fuck is that? Do muggles have monsters like that? Is it from a zoo or something?”

“No, silly,” she snickered, clapping her hand over her mouth to stem the rising tide of laughter. “It’s a costume with animatronics.”

“Anima-what?”  

“Animatronics. Robotics… it’s a whole field of study that includes puppetry, anatomy and mechatronics.”

He fell silent, obviously filing the questions away for afterwards, but under a minute later, Draco had another question. “The ones in the brown robes… are they… wizards?”

She shrugged. “After a fashion, I suppose. They’re called Jedi. Perhaps this wasn’t the best film to start you off on… Maybe I should have started with the original ones… I get the feeling that Draco would like Han Solo… Theo’s more of an Obi Wan I think…”

They had no response to that, but the boys sat there enraptured as the film got going. Yes, they asked questions, but more often than not, they just stared, slack jawed, as the movie unfurled.  

Draco gripped Theo’s hand and commented that pod racing looked like a savage form of quidditch, and she had to agree with him. Hermione rested her head on Theo’s shoulder from the other side of the sofa and sighed as the film played out. She’d already cried at Qui Gon’s inevitable end, scoffed at the plot holes, and speculated excitedly about the next one with Harry, so she just sat back and enjoyed their enjoyment. It suddenly felt strange to see two men her own age who had never heard of Star Wars. She felt like a muggle for a heartbeat and her chest clenched oddly.  

Draco looked sharply at her, his eyes leaving the screen. “You alright?”

She smiled. “The force is strong with you…” she grinned.  

A tiny frown flickered on his face, but he looked away and she nuzzled against Theo’s side, letting her hand wander idly down over his thigh.  

In the flickering light of the television, there were no separate worlds then. Muggle, wizarding, it made no difference. Wherever she was, she was at the heart of things. 

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If you enjoyed, please reblog and share! I’m new to the fandom on here and appreciate all the help I can get!

___

writing masterlist | Ao3

[maryamlikesyoutu]

Here, make some PHỞ GÀ and feel better.

PHỞ GÀ Recipe by your friend Maryam Tu

What you’ll need for your stock

-Whole Chicken, free-range. The best kind of chicken is a what we call a “walking chicken” it’s obviously free-range hence the name, but it’s a little leaner than the sort of chicken you’d get in a western supermarket. I’s not injected with water or sodium. Try one of the Asian supermarkets, if you can, ask them to cut the feet off for you. Otherwise, you just cut them off at the joint yourself when you get home. If you can’t get your hands on a “walking chicken” any whole chicken will do the trick.

-Two large onions, preferably yellow

-Large nub of ginger, about 4”

-3-5 star anise 

-1 large stick of Saigon cinnamon (if you only have domestic cinnamon sticks, that’s fine but the taste will be slightly different.)

-Black Cardamom pod

-Coriander Seeds, about 1 teaspoon

-Daikon Radish, halved and peeled

-Fish Sauce (Red Boat is my favorite) you’ll need about 1 tablespoon for stock, but if I’m keeping it real, you’ll add more because you’ll make this soup to taste. Honestly, anytime I write that you put more than one tablespoon of anything into anything, esp. fish sauce, people bust aneurysms. 

-Rock Sugar (if you can’t find rock sugar, white or brown is fine) about a tablespoon. More to taste.

-Salt

-Banh Pho (fresh or dry FLAT white rice noodles) If you get them dry, please soak them in cold water for at least 4 hours before you cook them according to package. If you get them fresh, soak them in cold water as you’re setting out to make your soup.

-a tea ball or a spice ball to keep your toasted aromatics in. 

*PLEASE NOTE 

If you decide to skip my seasoning spices and use a pre-packaged spice mix for Pho, it’s all good. Do what’s right for you, if you can though, try this technique as it’s going to make a big taste difference*

What you’ll need for garnish

-Green Onions (the technique I use is to slice them at the green leafy bit off and then slice that into thin strips, I soak those in cold water until they curl up. I then take the whites of the scallion and chop thin rounds)

-Bean Sprouts (I like mine blanched for about 1 minute in boiling water and then strained)

-Dry-fried shallots (don’t make these, or you could… but you could buy them and save yourself the time and grease)

-1 red onion or 2-3 shallots sliced thinly (use a mandolin) 

-Culantro (no, not a typo) it’s also referred to as ngò gai or sawtooth cilantro (looks like a sawtooth dandelion green) You don’t need this, but you’ll be glad you got some 

-Cilantro

-Coriander Leaves

-Chili peppers (Chef’s preference; Bird’s eye, Serrano, Jalapeño, Fresno) whatever just slice thin and diagonal.

LIMES

Hoisin Sauce

Sriracha 

On to the method…

Toast your cinnamon, black cardamom, star anise, and your coriander seeds in a pan. Swirl them around for an even toast, you want them to start releases their aromatics without burning. This will take about 2 minutes on high heat. Set aside.

Take your onions and ginger (peels on) and roast them over an open flame. I use our bbq in the yard to do this, but if you have an electric range, you can make a foil “plate” and set it directly over your coils and char them that way or under your broiler. Yes, CHAR. You want them to blacken and to start releasing some sugars and juices. Once Charred, remove them to a butcher block and remove the skins on the onion and peel the charred skin off the ginger. Give them a little rinse and return to a bowl, set aside.

Peel your daikon, halve it and quarter if it’s a longer piece.

You’re going to need a large stock pot. Not a 4 quart or 6 quart cast iron, a large stockpot. Bring 6 liters of water to boil.

Take your chicken and give it a good scrub with some corse salt, inside and outside. I don’t use the innards of the bird for my soup, but I do leave the neck for more flavor in my stock. Feel free to omit. Once your bird is scrubbed, rinse thoroughly and trim excess fat around the cavity. I cut into the breast plate of the bird to partially split the breast plate, but not all the way. This allows for neater removal of the carcass when it’s poached through.

Now that your water is boiling, lower your chicken into the stock pot, keep it on boil for 5 minutes. Add your charred onion/ginger. Add your daikon. Add your spice ball or seasoning packet and lower your heat to simmer. 

Start skimming. You want a clean broth. Skim the scuzzy foam from the top with a fine mesh skimmer ( also sold at your friendly Asian grocery store) and skim the schmaltz off the top. Here’s a little pro-tip, if you can get the schmaltzy goodness aka dat yummy af chicken fat into a bowl on it’s own; take some scallion bulbs with about an inch of the green leafy part and let them live in that bowl of fat. It’ll infuse and elevate that rendered fat to a finishing condiment for your beautiful bowl of pho later. Anyway, SKIM. Make it clean, almost like a consommé. 

Your soup is going to simmer for at least an hour before you pull out your chicken and your veggies. Take this time to cut up your garnishes between SKIMMING YOUR SOUP. I made a few notes on how I like to garnish above.

Remove your veggies and discard. Remove your tea or herb ball. Take your chicken out and let it rest in a bowl, covered with saran or plate, for 30 minutes at least. Once cooled, either shred or chop meat and set aside.

While you’re resting your chicken. Season the soup. Add your fish sauce, rock sugar, and salt. TASTE YOUR SOUP. Honestly, I’m giving you a very rough measurement guideline in this recipe. You need to taste your food while you’re cooking it, otherwise it might not be that good y’all. Here’s the other part of this sentiment, ADJUST TO TASTE. You know what this means, do not play. 

When your chicken’s cut or shredded, when your stock is ready and adjusted to your taste (sorry, I’m petty) when your herbs are all cleaned, chopped, plated and ready to go; Make your noodles. Noodles should be the last thing that you make, because if you’ve been soaking them like I noted at the beginning of all this, it’ll only take you 2-3 minutes to boil them. 

GET YOUR BOWLS OUT.  Start with noodles in your bowl first, layer chicken, then broth, then add green onion, leafy veggies/ bean sprout, and sliced red onion or shallot. Add your dry fried shallots, and sliced chili pepper. 

Additional dressings are lime juice, quick pickled red onion, hoisin, and sambal or sriracha, and the scallion-infused schmaltz for all you overachievers.

Enjoy and just think, you can unlock another bonus level and hmu for the ginger fish sauce recipe that a lot of Viet folx use to dip their chicken in when eating this pho.

I’m fairly certain I left something out, or you’re going to have some questions. Just let me know. xo

[eathealthylivefree]

Turkey Taco Bean Enchiladas Recipe

Turkey Taco Bean Enchiladas are easy to make, kid-friendly, and freezer-friendly for busy weeknights. My youngest son loves Mexican food. In fact, I think he could survive on tacos, nachos, burrito bowls and enchiladas all week long. I’m going to Costa Rica with my oldest son this week, and it will be the first time I’ve left my youngest son home for more than a few days. Of course, his biggest concern is what he’ll be eating for breakfast and dinner while I’m gone. Sponsored by Peapod.

Unlike my older three boys, I’ve never left my youngest son alone with a babysitter. His older brothers were our built-in babysitters when they were at home, and after leaving the corporate world, I stopped traveling. So, this experience will hopefully make him more independent, and give him a taste of what’s to come in college. Freedom – yes! Fending for himself at mealtime – yikes! I actually think my absence will be a good thing for my son. He might even appreciate me more ;).

I came up with these Frozen Ground Turkey Enchiladas for Peapod as a meal that can frozen ahead of time and then baked later. It’s the perfect make ahead dinner idea for my son while I’m gone. This recipe takes very little time to assemble because I cheated and used  store-bought enchilada and taco sauce in this recipe. Although I do make most meals from scratch, there are some store-bought sauces that are huge time-savers and very high quality. Chef Rick Bayless’ Frontera line of Mexican sauces are delicious. I’ve tried several and they are full-flavored and made with quality ingredients including real Mexican chilies.

These Turkey Taco Bean Enchiladas are filled with vegetarian refried beans, turkey taco meat and salsa.

They are very easy to assemble and the best part is that these enchiladas can be frozen until ready to serve. Of course, you can also bake them the same day.

My only suggestion is to hold off on adding the cheese on top if you’re going to freeze the enchiladas. I found the cheese didn’t melt as smoothly after it was frozen.

Cover with plastic wrap and then foil before freezing.

Finish off these Turkey Taco Bean Enchiladas with some fresh toppings sprinkled on top. Chopped avocados, fresh tomatoes, scallions and jalapeño peppers make these enchiladas extra festive. All you need is a simple green salad to make this dinner complete.

Turkey Taco Bean Enchiladas

These enchiladas can be made ahead and frozen, or baked the same day.

Enchiladas

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground turkey

1 pack low sodium taco seasoning

6 whole grain tortillas (burrito size)

1 1/2 cups vegetarian refried beans

3/4 cup organic salsa

1 8 ounce pack Frontera Taco Skillet Sauce

1 8 ounce pack Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce

6 ounces organic sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

Toppings

1 avocado (chopped)

2 scallions (chopped)

1 jalapeño peppers (sliced)

1 medium tomato (chopped)

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add ground turkey and brown. Add taco seasoning and cook until liquid is evaporated. Set aside.

Place a tortilla on a cutting board or other flat surface. Spread 1/4 cup refried beans on tortilla. Top with 1/2 cup turkey taco meat and 2 tablespoons salsa. Roll tortilla up. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. Place in an ovenproof baking dish. Pour Frontera Taco Skillet Sauce and Red Chile Enchilada Sauce on top of enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese unless you’re planning on freezing the enchiladas.

To Freeze for Later

Place enchiladas in a baking dish that is suitable to go directly from the freezer to the oven (I used an Emile Henry ceramic pan). Cover tightly with plastic wrap, then with aluminum foil.

Freeze until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic wrap cover, sprinkle with cheese, and recover baking pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes, scallions, jalapeño peppers and tomatoes.

To Serve Same Day

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake enchiladas for 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes, scallions, jalapeño peppers and tomatoes.

This can serve 6-8 people. To serve 8, cut into squares lasagna style.

If you enjoy this Turkey Taco Bean Enchiladas make-ahead freezer meal, you might also like these From The Pod recipes: Frozen Bean Burrito Casserole Sweet Potato & Sausage Frozen Breakfast Burritos Freezer Salisbury Steak

The post Turkey Taco Bean Enchiladas Recipe appeared first on Jeanette's Healthy Living.

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