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penvisions · 7 months

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garnish {chapter 1}

Pairing: Chef! Joel Miller x Bartender! Reader

Summary: Summer is a time of fun and carefree days for those who are fortunate enough to not work within the food industry. You however have found yourself back in that world and so long were the days you could spend doing nothing. Along with the shift back to a world you once left behind is the figure of Joel Miller, who is as magnetizing as he is irritating that is now a part of your daily life.

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: smut piv smut, unprotected piv, dirty talk, joel miller's filthy mouth, kinda enemies to lovers?, degrading language, restaurant lingo, triggers associated with the food industry

A/N: this...this is a scary thing for me to share. this is so closely drawn from my life and the things i've experienced in my twenties (as far as the restaurant stuff goes, i was never fortunate enough to catch the eyes of someone as alluring as our dear joel). i'm fully aware that i don't need another WIP but this has been comsuming me lately and i wanted to share despite the trepidation. c'est la vie, no?

ao3 link || series masterlsit || main masterlist

“Fuck.” You moaned, the sound filling the cool air of the walk in, back arching as you tried to push back against the man who had sheathed the entirety of his hard length into you with one smooth, drawn out move so attuned to your body. His grip on your hips was bruising, the feeling of him gripping tight to your shoulder even more so, but he didn’t move.

He seemed frozen, head bowed down and forehead connected with the back of your head, hands gripping tight, chest heaving with each deep breath and brushing hot against your back. Murmured words falling from his plush lips too quiet for you to catch, but you were sure if he could safely do so, he would be praising you in that filthy way he was prone to do. His large thighs were pressed to the backs of your own and the feel of his chef pants was rough on the naked skin of your thighs where he had pushed up the skirt of the dress you had worn for your shift.

“Please, Joel, I need you to move.” You circled your hips, grinding back on the entire length of him and you could feel yourself clench. A guttural moan sounded from his lips, puffing out in a misty breath.

“What did I tell you about bein’ a good girl f’me?” The hard line of him twitched deep inside you and your knees wobbled. The hand on your waist curled around your middle to help keep you upright, lest they give out on you completely. He pulled out nearly all the way only to slam back in, it took everything in you not to scream from the pleasure as white sparked across your vision. Your teeth digging into the hands that were grasping desperately onto the edge of the metal storage shelf you were pressed up against. Trying to hide the sound in an effort to keep the secret that had become your personal life just that, something shared in moments of spiking passion and deep kisses between you and the man who enraptured you beyond anything you had experienced before.

Thoughts swirled and your mind took you back to the events that transpired to allow this type of pleasure to be something that you owned, that you took, that was given to you by the man whose hands were holding you so tightly and pounding into you so deliciously.

“I think a play on mint would be a good idea, for the paired cocktail. I could whip up a batch of simple syrup infused with it or order a case of crème de menthe. But I’ll mess around with it and get back with y’all in a few days before the order needs to be placed.” You jotted down what glasses you were thinking of, a choice between a martini glass, a coup, and a tall rocks class. You pushed your reading glasses back up your nose, the frames having slipped down the bridge as you scribbled half ideas down in your small notebook. “Chef, will the mash be sweet potato or more like the topping for the Shepard’s pie we did last fall? And the balsamic, will it be a glaze over the brussels or will they be cooked with it?”

Joel Miller’s eyes seemed to snap to you, he had offered his new rotation of dishes for the fall menu and promptly spaced out. He never seemed to pay attention to anything else in the higher up meetings for the restaurant you worked at. You had been here for a year now. Having been hired as a general bartender and then bumped up to manager around two months in. You had to do an order on the fly for the bar when it was revealed that the manager had made a faux one and pocketed the money for themselves. To say they had been fired would be an understatement. They were no longer allowed to work for any part of the company.

You don’t think you had ever met his eyes before and you were beginning to think that was a blessing in disguise. His eyes were such a warm, chocolate brown that lit up into an amber wonderland that you could find yourself getting lost in when they caught the light. It took you a moment to realize that he was answering your questions. This was the first instance of a menu change that you had the chance to ask questions. His gaze wandered over what he could see of you as you sat across the table from him, further down by the barback you had chosen to help out with keeping the tickets flowing well and running drinks when the servers were busy.

“Was thinkin’ of sweet potatoes, to compliment the lamb. It won’t be a traditional mint jelly, more of a yogurt based mint sauce topped before leaving the line.” He glanced down at the menu he had provided for the meeting. It was simple and to the point. Underneath one of the new dishes, the special due to the cost of sourcing the lamb was simple descriptors. Special: Lamb. Mash. Brussels. Mint. Balsamic.

“Sounds yummy, and the balsamic, chef?”

“Haven’t decided yet.” He grunted out, not sure what to think of you asking after the dish. Sure, he knew you needed to know the components properly for each dish of the special in order to pair it properly with a house made drink. But you were so…something he wasn’t used to seeing. You had a good balance of professional and personable, both on the clock and off. He noticed some of his cooks offering you tastes of stuff they were working on during prep hours and returned dishes that came back to the kitchen. The other servers often mentioned you helping them with rowdy or difficult tables, were more than willing to help them if they didn’t know questions asked after the drinks offered and wine selection.

More often than not, people from both the front of house and back of house would sit at the bar with you after their shifts. Idle chit chat and horror stories of the night told between laughs and knowing looks. Bonding in ways that could only happen as a result of working in such a space, of being able to handle working in such a space.

He shook his head, the thoughts of you disappearing with the movement and he shoved off from the table to slink back into the kitchen. He stopped at the threshold of the dining room, your gentle voice in his ears and he stifled a shiver at the thought of your lips close enough to whisper into them. What kind of things would you be brave enough to say in hushed tones just for him? Would you whisper filthy desires into his ears and cause heat to spark down his spine, or would you beg him for the things he wanted to say to you, the things he saw flash before his closed eyes when he would see how effortlessly you knocked out a line of tickets, or helped to expo his line during the times in which spacing out tables was only a wish.

“Gotcha. Thank you, chef.”

Despite his better judgement he turned to look back at you over his shoulder, just in time to see you smile softly at him before turning your focus back to the meeting. He almost hadn’t, unsure of where the sudden salacious nature of his thoughts had sprung up from. And his heartrate picked up as he crossed into his kitchen space.

The manager of the restaurant was pacing back and forth in front of the host stand, phone held tightly to her ear as she listened to the voice bleeding from the other line. It was summer, the season of call outs and no call no shows. As predictable as the looks of glee on servers and cooks faces alike as checks hit their accounts on a weekly basis, the tip out rate through the roof with the influx of tourists and lively people of the city. The manager prided herself in being able to provide a good base pay for everyone, ignoring the cheap cop out of matching the other establishments of the area and the country in general.

None of that $2.13/hour nonsense, she had smiled genuinely at you in your interview, the softness of her excitement allowing you to seriously consider the industry you had left a few years previously in favor of going back to school, of taking the monumental step of becoming a teachers assistant at your alma mater. But grad school was around the corner, something you needed in order to pursue your dreams.

But even that wasn’t a good enough allure to keep the younger members of society committed to their shifts, especially after a particularly busy week. The restaurant world wasn’t for everyone, and it was quick to humble people in ways that still took you off guard even after having been entrenched in it for a good chunk of your twenties.

With a long sigh, a worn-out thin smile, and the harsh placement of the phone back into the charging station atop the host stand, that’s how you found yourself in the kitchen you only drifted through previously.

“You know anythin’ about preppin’ food?” The calculating look aimed down at you as Joel stood beside you in front of a prep station was sharp, his arms crossed over his broad chest. The sleeves of his chef’s coat folded up to expose the thickness of his forearms.

“Of course, we prep the-“

“Not fruit. Food. Actual food.”

The fact that he cut you off mid reply made your jaw clench and you had to hold your tongue back from spewing a bad comment. You had never been treated like that at this job, in the entire year that you’ve been here. Everyone had always been polite and friendly and professional. Things you were in return, the kitchen even going so far as to offer you the rare dead plate or extras from staff meal you were always unable to snag any of due to your schedule. People would stay and hang out at the bar after their shifts ended, often bringing you treats on their off days to share as you frequently brought stuff for the front of house to have snacks and rounds of their favorite drinks to stay hydrated during busy hours. This often extended to the back of house as well, if you had the time and means to.

The divide seen so cleanly in other restaurants was something that you tried to eradicate here, not play into the ‘this versus them’ ideology that plagues too many establishments and allowed for more errors and unhappy customers.

That’s not to say there was the odd throwaway comment in the heat of dinner rush or particularly challenging event, but those were brushed under the table as they were harmless. But this, this animosity for someone willing to help out when it was desperately needed, was uncalled for and sparking annoyance in your chest.

You hadn’t really interacted with Joel directly. Just in passing and hardly for longer than a professional acknowledgment during staff meetings when a new dish would be rolling out and you needed to make a cocktail or wine pairing for it. To be honest, you hadn’t spoken to him out of the childish daydream of not wanting the image of the handsome man to be shattered in your mind’s eye. Guess you were right to worry about something being wrong with him to warrant him to spend what seemed like his entire life in the damn kitchen. He had a superiority complex, it seemed.

But for him to be rude and cut you off after already making it clear he didn’t want you in his kitchen?

Game, fucking, on.

“Oh, no,” You adjusted the fit of the black gloves around your right wrist before you carefully picked up the chef knife and tapped the tip of it on the cutting board. Joel’s eyes were heavy and judgmental as you did so, he probably disliked the way you had needed to get the feel of the knife before using it. But he stayed silent, the furrow of his brows and the turndown of his plush lips deepening as you quickly and efficiently broke down the chicken. Once you were done, you placed the knife along the edge of the cutting board beside the line made up of a pair of breasts, thighs, legs, wings, and the severed spine of the chicken. “I don’t think I’m any good with actual food, chef.”

The controlled expression you were holding didn’t break, even when one of Joel’s eyebrows seemed to rise without conscious thought as his sharp eyes danced from the cutting board atop the prep station to you standing at attention in front of it. The tick in his jaw was garnering your attention, an obvious show to what the man was really feeling at your little display. Despite his less than kind attitude toward you, you couldn’t help the flash of heat that flared up in your middle at the thought of sucking kisses into the cut of his jaw, right where it was showing is ire. The surrounding kitchen staff were all peering over toward your new station with wide eyes, unbelieving that you were deliberately feigning innocence in a cheeky manner toward the head chef.

He may be an asshole, he may be loud, he may be particular, and he may have high standards: but no one argued with him because of his skill set and how effortlessly he displayed it day in and day out.

“Now, I believe we prep a total of 56 for the night shift. After dissembling them, they get placed into a salt brine to allow the skin to brown and crisp easier when braised or pan roasted. With an extra 4 just in case of dishes going to the wrong table or mix ups with servers not paying attention to the available par, is that correct, chef?”

Your lips turned up in a small grin and you knocked your gaze up to catch the man’s eyes. There was a fire behind them, one you were sure he was about to unleash on you in front of the entire staff. He was known for his outbursts when really upset, whether it be from someone not listening to clear instructions or a count gone wrong and messing up the rotation of dishes that could be offered that shift. Instead, he gave you a curt nod and told you to complete the prep by time the doors were to open and walked briskly away.

You spent the rest of the evening prepping the necessary things for the dinner service. You could’ve just done what had been asked of you, but you peeked at the long list of things that needed to be done by the person who had bailed on their shift, on the job and decided that the bar would be okay on a weekday night without you.

You prepped the chickens for the evening and the chickens for tomorrow’s service so the kitchen wouldn’t be behind like it had nearly been today. You had diced in perfect cubes the pickled beets for the panzanella salad and the components for the egg salad to be combined. Portioned out the ingredients for the brine and brought them to a soft boil atop a hot plate for a new batch of pickles and prepared the cucumbers with a mandolin. Sliced and portioned out the bologna and pancetta used for sandwiches, and even sliced the other components like the provolone cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes used on them as well.

You neatly organized and legibly dated everything before breaking down the station at the end of the night. Even taking everything out of the banes and running them through dish and drying them before placing them back in their respective locations underneath the hood. Going as far as to deep clean the cooler shelves down below, wiping them down and sanitizing the entire station before putting everything back according to FIFO etiquette and wrapping it all up for the night.

The next day, your schedule was updated with two hours of prep before your typical shifts for the bar.

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aurora-inscribe · 10 months

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How to Grow Microgreens at Home

Introduction

Growing your own microgreens is a rewarding experience that can provide you with a consistent supply of fresh, flavorful, and nutrient-dense greens. Not only are microgreens easy to grow at home, but they are also a cost-effective way to ensure that you have access to healthy produce year-round.

Microgreens are the young seedlings of vegetables and herbs that are harvested when they are just a few inches tall. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can help boost your immune system, improve digestion, and reduce inflammation. Plus, they add a burst of flavor and color to salads, sandwiches, smoothies, and other dishes.

Starting your own microgreens garden is an excellent way to incorporate more fresh produce into your diet while also reducing your carbon footprint. By growing your own greens at home, you can avoid the environmental costs associated with transporting food long distances and packaging it in plastic.

In addition to being environmentally friendly and nutritious, growing microgreens is also an enjoyable hobby that can be done indoors or outdoors. Whether you have limited space or live in an apartment without access to a garden plot, you can still enjoy the benefits of gardening by starting a microgreens garden on your windowsill or balcony.

In this blog post, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to start your own microgreens garden. We will cover everything from choosing the right container and growing medium to selecting seeds and harvesting your microgreens. By following our guide, you'll be able to grow fresh greens in as little as 7-14 days! So let's get started on creating your very own homegrown microgreens garden.

Choosing the Right Container and Growing Medium

When it comes to growing microgreens, choosing the right container and growing medium is crucial for the success of your garden. The container should be at least 2 inches deep and have drainage holes to prevent water-logging. You can use a variety of containers such as plastic or wooden trays, shallow pots, or even recycled containers like egg cartons or yogurt cups.

The growing medium you choose should be lightweight, sterile, and have good water retention. This is important because microgreens have delicate roots that need oxygen to grow properly. Some good options for growing mediums include peat moss, coconut coir, or vermiculite.

Peat moss is a popular choice for many gardeners because it is readily available and affordable. It has excellent water retention properties and provides good aeration for the roots. However, peat moss is not a sustainable resource and can contribute to environmental degradation.

Coconut coir is an eco-friendly alternative to peat moss that is made from the fibers of coconut husks. It has similar properties to peat moss but is more sustainable and renewable. Coconut coir also has natural anti-fungal properties that help prevent diseases in your microgreens.

Vermiculite is another option for a growing medium that has good water retention properties. It is made from expanded mica minerals and provides good aeration for the roots. However, vermiculite can be expensive compared to other options and may not be readily available in all areas.

In addition to these growing mediums, you can also mix them together to create your own custom blend that suits your needs. For example, mixing equal parts of peat moss and vermiculite creates a well-balanced growing medium that provides both good water retention and aeration.

Selecting the Seeds

When it comes to selecting the right seeds for your microgreens garden, there are a few things to consider. First and foremost, it's important to choose seeds that are specifically labeled for microgreens. These seeds have been selected and treated with care to ensure that they will grow into healthy, flavorful greens that are perfect for eating.

Some popular options for microgreen seeds include arugula, broccoli, radish, and sunflower. Each of these varieties offers its own unique flavor profile and nutritional benefits. Arugula has a spicy taste that pairs well with salads and sandwiches, while broccoli microgreens are packed with vitamins A and C. Radish microgreens add a peppery kick to any dish, and sunflower microgreens have a nutty flavor that is perfect for snacking.

In addition to choosing the right type of seed, it's also important to consider the quantity of seeds you'll need for your container. As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to use about 1-2 tablespoons of seeds per container, depending on the size of the container. It's important not to overcrowd the seeds in your container as this can lead to poor growth and even mold.

By carefully selecting the right type and quantity of seeds for your microgreens garden, you can ensure a bountiful harvest of fresh, nutrient-dense greens that are perfect for incorporating into your favorite meals.

Sowing the Seeds and Watering Them

Once you have chosen your container and growing medium, it's time to sow the seeds. The first step is to sprinkle the seeds evenly over the growing medium. Make sure that you don't overcrowd the container as this can lead to poor germination and growth.

Next, gently press the seeds into the growing medium, but be careful not to bury them too deep. Microgreens need light to germinate, so if you cover them too much, they may not sprout.

After sowing the seeds, it's important to water them properly. You can use a spray bottle or watering can to gently water the seeds. Be careful not to over-water them as this can cause fungal growth and rotting of the seeds.

Keep an eye on the moisture level of your growing medium and make sure it stays moist but not waterlogged. Over-watering can also cause problems with mold growth and root rot.

It's important to note that different types of microgreens have different requirements when it comes to seed spacing and depth, so be sure to check the instructions for your specific variety.

By following these simple steps for sowing and watering your microgreen seeds, you'll be well on your way to a bountiful harvest of fresh greens in no time!

Covering the Container and Placing It in a Warm, Dark Area

After sowing your microgreen seeds, it's time to cover the container and place it in a warm, dark area. By doing this, you'll be creating a mini greenhouse that will help retain moisture and promote germination. There are several options for covering your container. You can use a lid if your container has one or plastic wrap if it doesn't. Ensure that whatever you use is transparent to allow light to penetrate through.

Once covered, place the container in a warm and dark location such as a closet or cabinet. The ideal temperature range for most microgreens is between 60-75°F (15-24°C), so ensure that the room you choose falls within this range. Keep an eye on the seeds daily and mist them with water as needed to keep them moist. Be careful not to overwater them as this could cause mold growth.

It's worth noting that some microgreens require different conditions during germination stages. For example, some seeds like sunflower require more light than others while others like cilantro prefer cooler temperatures around 50°F (10°C). Therefore, before starting your garden, research the specific requirements of the seeds you plan to grow.

After a few days, depending on the variety of microgreens you're growing, you should start seeing sprouts emerge from the soil. At this point, it's time to uncover your container and move it into a sunny spot where they can receive adequate sunlight for photosynthesis. It's important to note that different varieties of microgreens require varying amounts of sunlight exposure; therefore, research each type before exposing them directly under sunlight.

Harvesting Your Microgreens

Harvesting your microgreens is an exciting and rewarding experience. Most microgreens will be ready to harvest in about 7-14 days, depending on the variety you choose. You can tell when they are ready by their height, which should be around 1-2 inches tall, and the development of their first set of true leaves.

When it comes time to harvest your microgreens, use scissors or a sharp knife to cut them just above the soil line. Be sure to rinse them gently with water and pat them dry before using them in your favorite recipes.

Growing your own microgreens is an easy and fun way to get fresh and healthy greens at home. By following our step-by-step guide, you can enjoy a steady supply of nutrient-dense greens that are perfect for salads, sandwiches, smoothies, and more. Not only will you save money by growing your own produce, but you'll also have the satisfaction of knowing exactly where your food comes from. So why not start your own microgreens garden today?

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