Can your characters cook?

[MK_Wizard]

I LOVE cooking and baking too. In fact, I have a completed comic and one I plan to do in the future that are cooking themed.

[Glofernwolfe]

Interesting. I've never had any of my character cook - only eat lol.

Zov'ha knows the basics of cooking but she avoids it. She loves baking. There's going to be a chapter in the comic about her favourite baker and friend.

Aekis he doesn't eat so he doesn't cook. Well, he eats only extremely spicy ramen.

Marana, like Zov'ha, knows how to cook but she'd avoid it. Her labs in Aeroz had automated food processors. And at home she made packaged stuff that could be easily reheated (unhealthy af I know but she doesn't need to care about being unhleathy... I mean she has a mechanical body so...)

Subeya I haven't thought about it. She's been so busy staying out of prison I don't think she had time to learn to cook.

Sinovan He's the best cook amongst them all. Can make anything and everything. And he's a healer so he can concoct some crude shit to cure people.

Read The Adventures of Zovhara Ashfrost | Tapas Web Community

Read Asenya: Illustrated Shorts | Tapas Web Community

[wolfgeminie]

@Leyelle I agree with you where this character lives it's like a murder to mixed salt and sugar and the same time
in what is basically a savory dish

[HostileFren]

I can't believe you have a character named Hallie. That's the name of one of my central characters in "Hushabye Prince"

I know! I noticed the name while I was reading the minis. I really like the name and surprisingly I haven't changed any names since the first chapters I wrote in 2021
I do a bit of cooking, but honestly I am not much of a baker. I'm not the best at sticking to recipes and a wrong measurement when baking can ruin the whole thing.

[ThunderChicken]

Carmen (me) from Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days makes an internationally acclaimed spaghetti sauce (and by "Internationally acclaimed" I mean "the two Russians, the Cuban, the Italian, and the Swede that had it loved it"). I go all-out for my spaghetti sauce. I also bake an incredible lasagna, my calzones are to die for, and my rigatoni casserole will ruin you on all other rigatonis. And I'm not even Italian. I also barbeque a mean steak (I make my own marinades and sauces) and my gourmet hamburgers are the cat's ass. Oh, and my shish-kebabs are unmatched (again, I make my own marinades and sauces).

Some pics:
All of these ingredients (yes, the hot dogs too), are going into spaghetti sauce. I have the uncanny ability to know what things will taste good in what dish. Finely diced hot dogs impart a mild smokey flavour to the sauce. So does the pepperoni.

My OCD when dicing the peppers. I wish they had blue and violet peppers...

It all goes into this enormous pot. 36 litres. And I use every bit of it!

My lasagna. There are seven different cheeses in there (White cheddar, yellow cheddar, mozzarella, monterey jack, parmesan, provolone, and, of course, ricotta). The cheese alone costs me over $150, so I rarely make it.

Shish kebabbery is afoot!

Calzones (or Panzerottis, whichever you prefer):

...and the obligatory lobster shot because I'm Nova Scotian:

[Leyelle]

XD. once you learn the basics you can start switching things up little by little to suit your fancy because you know what'll mess up the science and what won't. when I first started making fermented foods, I was so panicked about getting it right for fear of making something toxic, but i've done it for so many years now it's just like any other part of cooking. when I was little we had a Mrs. Fields cookie cookbook that I used to follow all the recipes from, but now I can make my own cake and cookie recipes with no problem.

[Leyelle]

I have the uncanny ability to know what things will taste good in what dish.

This is cool XD, but I don't think it's uncanny for most people who cook a lot lol.

[HostileFren]

when I first started making fermented foods

What fermented foods do you typically make? I was thinking of attempting homemade pickles this year, but I honestly don't know where to start.
I think my dislike for baking partially stems from the fact that I don't eat sweets often. I like the occasional treat but I typically go for something fast like fruit and yogurt instead. Plus, it just makes the house hotter in the summertime. It is nice in the winter though.

It all goes into this enormous pot. 36 litres. And I use every bit of it!

How many people are you feeding? Honestly though, your food looks amazing!

[Leyelle]

What fermented foods do you typically make? I was thinking of attempting homemade pickles this year, but I honestly don't know where to start.

I make my own kind of fermented cabbage (not technically sauerkraut or kimchi) and I also make carrot pickles. I've made milk Kefir before too (that's crazy easy though.) I've tried making cucumber pickles but it's so hard to keep them from getting mushy. Beet pickles I'm good at though.

I would tolerate the heat any day lol, and I love sweets, but I don't eat them often because my health is very sensitive.

[HostileFren]

I really like cabbage so fermented cabbage sounds great! What do you normally eat it with? Also carrot pickles sound so good.

Beet pickles I'm good at though.

I like most veggies but I'm not a big fan of beets. I'll eat them but only with something else, like on a salad.

I've tried making cucumber pickles but it's so hard to keep them from getting mushy.

I did some refrigerator pickles last year with extra cucumbers from the garden and I had the same problem. I need to figure out how to keep them crunchy because I don't like soggy pickles. They need at least a little crunch, lol

[Leyelle]

Yeah, I can't stand soggy pickles either. And one of my brothers absolutely HATES beets XD. I love fermented beets, but I don't like them any other way. Carrot pickles are great, but you have to cut them into sticks, not shred them, because then they kind of compost and it's awful.

We usually eat our fermented cabbage with just about everything (savory) we'll have it with beans and rice, with meat. I've put it in sauces. I think I've even put it on sandwiches and wraps before. Sometimes we just eat it straight. When it's done right it's that good!

Putting black tea in your pickles will keep them crisp, but then they can taste a little like black tea, and that's not my cup of...well tea

[HostileFren]

not my cup of...well tea

Not mine either. I love black tea to drink but definitely not tea flavored pickles I'm sure there's got to be a better way to make sure they're crunchy. My plants are still small so I've got a few months before I have to cross that bridge

We usually eat our fermented cabbage with just about everything (savory)

Honestly all of this sounds really good. I like saurkraut on sadwiches and will eat it plain if it's good, so this definitely checks out

[Leyelle]

it's so cool that you have a garden, i'd like to grow things myself when I have my own space. simple vegetables and some flowers mostly.

[LavenderLeavened]

Oh absolutely
I've been tinkering with the idea of making a cook book to go along with my story

there's actually quite a bit of cooking in here and only more down the line. this is what happens when a culinary arts student gets their own comic

https://tapas.io/series/The-Good-Neighbors-/info

[Leyelle]

XD, actually I was considering making one of my character's recipes an actual recipe. Melissa Xochitl likes making a kind of praline and pretzel chocolate fudge.

[HostileFren]

Unfortunately my luck with flowers is abysmal, but I have helped with our family garden since I was a kid and the past few years have been taking care of it on my own. This year, I've actually decided to grow several things that I haven't grown before

You can still grow some things indoor and/or with limited space. There are often containter varieties of some plants and plenty of herbs thrive in windowsills.

[Leyelle]

Aye, I'll probably get some house/window plants even if I don't have a yard the next place I live. I''ll be moving in about a month tho, and I can't take plants overseas

[HostileFren]

Houseplants are amazing! I actually brought in some of my herbs throughout the winter and I loved having them indoors. Plus they are easy to keep alive as long as they get water and sunglight.

I''ll be moving in about a month tho, and I can't take plants overseas

Congrats on the move! Are you leaving the Dominican Republic?

[Leyelle]

Are you leaving the Dominican Republic?

That's the goal. But it's going to be tricky to work out honestly. I'm a little bit scared tbh XD, but hopefully we'll figure it out.

[2DLenzy]

As far as I know, only Luke knows how to cook, like really cook. Owe it to too much time spent at home. Too bad I can't draw food that well. Maybe I can take pics of my owned cooked dishes as a ref.

I love to cook too personally, but the kitchen's such a mess! And it's a Southern kitchen, so, there's flour and oil on everything XD A real PITA to clean.