Hi, I just moved from hello fresh to green chef and the app doesn’t have step by step instructions. This was something that was available in Hellofresh. The step by step instructions just say download the recipe card. Does green chef not have step by step instructions in the app?

I’ve been cooking up some dishes inspired by Breath of the Wild and I’ve decided to write up my experiences in hopes someone out there will be interested.
This whole thing started when my son was watching me play BotW, he saw Link making simmered fruit, and since he likes cooking with me, he asked to make it in real life. What I ended up creating was closer to the hot buttered apple in terms of authenticity to the source material, but either way, it’s delicious.
For this, I simmered 5 apples in a saucepan in butter. Since Ordon goats aren’t local I used cow butter and found it a reliable substitution. In the past I’ve made this dish by microwaving everything in a bowl, but doing it all in a wok seemed more authentic to the BotW experience and it worked well in practice. Once the apples started to get tender I added in brown sugar (I prefer it to cane sugar in this recipe), along with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Beyond that, I like to add raisins. They soak up the juices and get plump and delicious. You could also use chopped nuts or dates. Serve warm alongside a cold glass of milk and you have a real treat on your hands.
This is a dish I’ve made before in the microwave, but never on the stove, and I’m quite pleased with how it turned out. If you’re interested in trying this but need a recipe with more detailed instructions, let me know and I can write something up.
Edit: Recipe Instructions (I have not tested to get these numbers exact)
Ingredients: (multiply as needed for more food)
1 apple
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. raisins
cinnamon to taste
Dice apple and simmer in butter on low heat for 10ish minutes ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1M1ndF7W5A ), stirring occasionally, until apples are tender. Alternatively, microwave in bowl for 2 minutes. Add sugar, vanilla, raisins, and cinnamon, and cook for 2 more minutes or microwave for 1. You may add dates or chopped nuts instead if you wish. The raisins should be plump and the sugar and butter should be well mixed. Serve and enjoy.

Heeeeey ! I’m back with a review and managed to tackle it entirely before the HSR update (yes I play the game). Also sorry for the weird/lack of formatting, we don't have internet anymore for a (long ?) while and my data are too poor for my laptop to use properly, but I did my best on phone. Without further ado, let’s start !
Card review : Luke - Spice and Synergy
As always, the notation is subjective, especially the art one.
Art : 4.5/5
Story plot : 9/10
Story writing : 5/5
Total : 18.5/20
Review summary :
After finishing a co-op game together, Luke and Rosa decide to register in a cooking vlog competition related to the game in order to win limited edition merch. In a warm, cozy and harmonious atmosphere, they tackle this challenge which will bring unforgettable memories.
Review act per act :
Act 1
Luke is tossing ingredients in a frying pan from far away and as the oil is splattering, Rosa hurriedly gives him the lid as a protection. Luke comments that cooking felt more like a physical skill test than any combat. Rosa confirms, remembering how she mentioned trying to challenge themselves to cook. A few hours ago. As the credit of the game finished rolling, Luke and Rosa finally got the perfect ending in a game called Monster Kitchen. Rosa complains on how hard the last stage was, Luke agreeing and saying the game should have been called Torture Kitchen instead. Rosa recalls how they had to avoid traps, collect ingredients in a maze to be able to cook a dish called Surf and Turf to convince the devil in the castle. She says that the guides were correct when they said getting the perfect end was a matter of luck before collapsing into bed like Luke, who immediately hugs her. He says that it's not totally luck since it's because of their marvelous cooperation. He takes his phone and asks her what she wants to eat as a celebration. Rosa tells him she is going to check reviews and recommendations. As she is taking her phone, she is distracted by a Big Data Lab notification, sharing with her an article Sherluke_Polmes, an account Luke created to play Monster Kitchen, was just reading. She clicks on the article and sees it's a Monster Kitchen Culinary Competition, which consists of bringing the food from the game to reality by recording and uploading vlogs. The prize includes limited-edition merch, absolutely unique in the world. Rosa looks at Luke and she sees that he is reading the same page but he looks conflicted. She guesses he really wants the merch but considering both of their skills with cooking it might be difficult. But still, Rosa thinks that since they only have to recreate the dishes on a visual level, they still have a chance. Feeling confident, she asks Luke if he wants to join. He asks the question back and Rosa guesses that he is worried about her pushing herself to do something she doesn't want, since Monster Kitchen is a coop-game, so must the competition be, meaning they would have to enter together. She tells him that she wants to and seeing how confident she looks, he agreed too. But they underestimated their task severely. Back in the present moment, they keep on coughing as Luke turns the fume extractor on. Inside the pan is burnt rice and sauce, stuck to the bottom. Luke complains, saying he was following exactly what the cooking guide which came with the guide said. As he is doing so, smoke starts to rise again from the pan, so Rosa pulls him away, asking if he is fine. Luke says he is but on another side looks disappointed. Rosa wonders if the substitute they used wasn't good enough. Since the ingredients in the game have particular lore and background, they obviously can't find them in real life, so they used substitutes with similar looking stuff, but it failed. Rosa complains how hard it is and Luke mentions they have to buy new ingredients. Luke rubs his eyes and then explains to a worried Rosa that smoke must have got into it and he is going to wash them. Rosa checks his eye and it is red and teary. She takes a wet wipe and softly cleans the corner of his eye. Luke then blinks several times and explains that he might still have onion's juice on his hands so it might explain... He is suddenly interrupted by a loud noise. On the other side of the kitchen, white smoke is coming out from the pot they forgot where they were making soup. Luke instinctively takes Rosa in his arms to protect her from the erupting water. Panicked, she asks him if he was okay, fearing that some boiling water burned him.
Sher(lock)luke_P(earce)(H)olmes, what a genius username I love this so much hahaha ! I wonder how it is in other languages… Also Luke Rosa living the most awesome cozy dream of being a gamer couple, I live for it, like, isn't it literally the dream to just spend time with your partner (or one of your friends) playing co-op-games together and frequently ? Wow, I would love to have this omg
Act 2
Rosa asks Luke if he is okay, which he confirms but knowing him. Keeping her in his arms, he turns off the stove. Rosa asks him to see his back and before he can stop her, she tugs on his shirt and pulls his collar. She sees how red the back of his neck is red. Rosa asks him if he needs to go to the hospital but he refuses saying it's not worth. Luke reassures her again as she was expressing her worry, adding that he needs to change now since he is dirty. Rosa tells him she is going to fetch the first aid kit in case and he agrees. He wants to touch her cheek as an habit but since he is covered in oil and stains, he stops and simply says that he will be back. Rosa is searching for the first aid kit and when she takes it out, a medal falls at the same time. It seems pretty worn out and has the words "Gold Medal in Microbiology Fun Lab Competition" written in front and "National Central University" in the back. Luke comes out of the shower at this moment so Rosa tells him she found the medal while searching for the first aid kit. He asks her if she is curious about it and she tells him that she is but that he is the most important right now. Rosa wraps her arms around his waist and look at his back but Luke tells her there's no need to check as he already did and he is just a bit red. He takes her hands to stop her and she insists. Giving up, he turns his back to her so that she can check. Indeed, there are only small red parts on his back which isn't serious. He tells her that it doesn't need the hospital and she agrees. Luke comments on how he must work on gaining her confidence next time before commenting that it was a good trade. She doesn't understand so he gets closer to her and says that they have to get the ultimate victory before getting a champion medal in Monster Kitchen but he got a champion medal now without even winning anything. She laughs, then tell him to settle down so that she can check for sure if he is fine. He tenses up as she continues to examine him. At some point she asks him to turn, which he reluctantly does and she discovers a crimson swathe which he was hiding. Luke struggles to explain himself and Rosa grabs him before he manages to escape. Commenting on how he needs to improve his reliability, she tells him to let her treat him. She tells him to lay on his stomach on the bed while she applies ointment and he obeys without saying anything. Looking more closely, even the splotches on his back seem very red. As Rosa starts applying it, she asks if it hurts and Luke says that it doesn't and she can even press harder if needed. He burries his head into his arms while she continues asking how he feels. Luke asks to stop since he hasn't cleaned up the kitchen yet but Rosa, starting to feel hot and ticklish, insists on treating him first. Luke relents and rests on his elbow. Rosa guesses he also feels awkward in the situation so she changes the topic to the medal she found earlier by asking him how he got it. He explains that it was worth an experiment where they used microbes as ink to draw shapes on a petri dish. Rosa asks him about it by repeating what he said but she is distracted by her feelings as she is treating him. Luke explains to her how it works and she comments that it sounds hard. He denies and as he continues to explain, he lets out a grunt, which worries Rosa, who asks him if she hurts him. He denies, telling that he is just not used to being touched there and she can continue. Luke turns to her and smiles to reassure her and as she is about to resume, a phone call interrupts the moment. Luke picks up his phone and freezes as he was about to stand up as his habit. Rosa tells him she is going to continue putting ointment while he is talking to the phone. On the other side of the line is an event organizer for the Monster Kitchen vlog contest, who is calling to check the participants' information. To not disturb him, Rosa tries to be more careful and delicate but it backfires, making Luke grunt once again. He however manages to continue his phone call. Once it's over, suddenly, he jumps out of bed and their positions are quickly reversed. He complains to her that she probably did it on purpose. Rosa denies, but he says doesn't trust her. He nuzzles her nose with his, starts caressing her face, and says how he almost made weird noises on the phone so she must pay for mental damage she caused to his psyche. Rosa asks him how she's going to pay that, and he tells her to figure it out. She hugs him and nuzzles her nose like he did earlier. She asks him if it's enough and Luke says no, so she adds that she is going to help him clean the house and think of a way to solve their kitchen problem too. Luke sighs loudly before kissing her. He then says that now it's a worthy compensation. She hugs him, touched by his gesture.
They are so funny and cute and Rosa knows how little care Luke has for himself so the fact she knew he got burnt more than he let on was satisfying kinda.
Act 3
They tidy up everything, then take off the curtains, bedding, Luke's clothes and wash them. Once done, they each carry a basket of laundry downstairs. In the courtyard, a lot of other residents’ beddings are already hung outside. Luke picks an empty corner to set the clothesline then, as he waves at Rosa, he calls her "dear" and asks her to hand her the "item". She realizes he just said a line from Monster Kitchen so she answers back with a line from the game while handing him bedsheets. He recites another line as an answer and she feels a bit flustered. Rosa tells him to stop and work or they won't be able to dry this today but Luke jokingly answers that he calculated that they should still be able to dry even if they layer them. Rosa asks him if he can calculate things like that and asks if he has a laundry guide. He starts hanging the sheets she hands him and confirms what she just said, adding that the guides are his exclusive tricks so he will only tell about them with certain conditions. He says she should get full score achievement in the "Monster Kitchen Castle Combat" like they did in the game and he will think about how to do that in real life. What he mentioned is a challenge triggered each time the player doesn't complete the cleaning task as the requirements, where the protagonists need to build a maze castle with bedsheets before beginning a chase. When one side wins more than 100 times, they get the extra achievement. Rosa says they don't have a castle IRL, then covers Luke with a bedsheet, saying that the combat part is still doable. Luke, surprised, lifts the sheets and says no ambushes allowed. Rosa gets back saying that it's fair in love and war and he always ambushes her in game. He counters saying he lets her know every time in advance. He lifts the bedsheet even more, telling that it won't be easy the next round. Rosa asks who said there was a next round and why don't they wrap it with only one round since it happens like that in Monster Kitchen Castle Combat. She announces she is going to make her victory speech and Luke argues that he just let her win but he agrees to listen to her. She starts by calling him Monster warrior and asking for his laundry secret. While laughing, he agrees to tell her : his secret is the thermodynamic equation. By applying them to the sunlight intensity, the temperature and humidity, you can get results. Rosa asked how he even thought about doing that and he tells her it's because of the medal she found earlier. Luke explains that since microbes needs specific conditions to grow, he did plenty of preparation before the competition. He suddenly think about how they should approach their recreation the Surf and Turf dish using the same way. Rosa asks if he suggests using science to do it and he confirms, saying they should disassemble the task into a scientific experiment. Seemingly excited, Luke explains that he was thinking about it since she found the medal and now that they talked about thermodynamics he got a clearer idea. She reaches out to him, saying she is "ready to complete the greatest challenge of her life with him" and asks about him, with a line from the game, said right before the final battle. He answers with a line from the game too and after putting the bedsheet over their head as a veil, he gently kisses her, saying he "needs to borrow some courage from her before the challenge". She softly answers that she will need to borrow some too.
Okaaaaay so I never understood his living place like this ?? Wdym other residents ?? I thought he owned a 3 floor kind of residence/house with his antique shop, detective agency and private apartment on each of those floors so he had no close enough neighbors to share stuff with them… Or is that like a housing residence with a common courtyard in the back but everyone has his own house ? On another side they are so cuteeeeeee Luke's smile is a 10/10 there, he looks so soft and pure awnnn
Act 4
At 4PM, they pick up the dried curtains and sheets before going to buy some other ingredients. The rules indicate that they have two days after registering to submit their video so the deadline is the next day, in the evening. They don't have the time to replace the broken pressure cooker where the soup was nor the also broken electrical stove on which it was cooking, so they head to Rosa's house instead to cook. After dinner, they check the ingredients they bought and Luke estimates that with the amount they got they have at least five attempts to make the dish. Luke writes in his notebook their ingredients and the issues they have encountered previously as well as solutions to those. Rosa comments on how she really feels like it's an experiment and Luke tells her he has to be meticulous with it especially since it'll help later. He writes the lines describing the dish from the game and pauses, asking out loud what they are going to do for the sauce recipe. Rosa comments that doing the same as in game will be hard so maybe they should stick to their previous method of using substitutes. Luke says that's a good idea but it would require a number of experiments. She tells him they can take the time to do so. She takes his hand, exactly like the protagonists from Monster Kitchen do every time, and quotes a line, telling him their fight is about to begin. He answers with a line from the game too, looking at her tenderly. After a while, they have a table full of saucer with different sauces, their failed experiments. Rosa asks Luke which version they are working on and he answers the version 34, which is too sour. Luke, along with the observations they previously made, lists the ingredients and quantities they have to use. He scratches off a line he wrote, then starts to mix some condiments precisely. Rosa tries it and comments that version 35 is not sour anymore and feels refreshing and sweet instead. Luke comments that the color isn't red as in game though and their sauce is brown. Luke and Rosa wonder about ingredients red enough to stay the same color after being boiled and which doesn't affect the taste. Rosa suddenly has an idea and takes out some small vegetables from her fridge, which Luke recognizes as being carrots they bought just to get a discount. Rosa corrects him saying it's beetroots and that they can be used as natural dye. Luke, excited, tells her they should use it. So a while after, with 2 more pages of the notebook written on and their table filled with reddish sauces, they finally managed to replicate a sauce of the same color and texture as in the game. Luke falls on the sofa, commenting on how hard it is. While the color looks good now, the taste is still a problem. In the game description, the sauce first has a sour and spicy taste, then becomes sweet and refreshing but theirs lack this sweetness. Rosa complains that they have tried so many times that her tongue feels numb and suggests combining all their datas now and see where they can improve. Luke tells her he will do it so she can rest first. Then, taking his notebook, he tells her that despite the experiment being a hassle it's way better than doing research on his own in the lab. Rosa realizes that Luke seems really marked by his microbe drawing competition. He says that he almost forgot it but the medal made him remember. He suddenly says it was lonely. She went closer to him to listen more. Luke explains that since it was an individual competition, he had to do everything alone and he didn't even sleep properly to be able to watch the results from his cultivation. Luke says that at the time, he was thinking how it would be nice if Rosa was next to him because he wouldn't have made that many mistakes with her there. He says that he feels his dream came true and Rosa asks him why he makes it sound like she is someone special. Luke says she is since she is his goddess of victory. She burries her face in his chest, feeling overwhelmed with feelings. Luke tells her to rest since he is almost finished to what she argues that she is not tired he is just comfortable to lean on. Luke insists on her sleeping and brushes her brow and she slowly falls asleep.
I’m seriously wondering how bad they can be at cooking when they managed to break the appliances by forgetting it on the stove, which also has broken, and the way they prepare themselves to try to do the whole recipe 5 times… But wow I admire their dedication to make such a detailed experiment to recreate that dish… Honestly, I love to see someone so serious and dedicated to their hobbies haha
Act 5
Rosa wakes up in a bright room, not remembering how she fell asleep. She looks at the sofa and sees Luke sound asleep, collar and corner of his mouth stained with red coloring and she wonders if he continued to experiment with the sauce when she fell asleep. A bit amused, she decides to wipe him. Rosa is a bit surprised to see that he didn't wake up as she started to clean him but still continues and brushes at some point against his lips, which makes his eyelids flutter. Her odd feeling is confirmed then and she guesses that he is pretending to be asleep, which makes her have an idea. Rosa loudly complains on how hard it is to wipe the collar as she rubs the wipe forcefully against him. Luke stops pretending and while pouting catches her hand and sits up. She laughs telling him he was awake after all but he corrects her and says he woke up when she leaned on him. Rosa compliments him and tell him to control his eyelids next time. Luke says she has to provide a better reward for him to do that. He hugs her and make her lie down with him. A bit embarrassed, she reminds him they have to work on something serious now. Smiling, Luke snuggle against her, telling her they need to wash up first. After doing so and eating breakfast, Luke shows Rosa the result of the experiment he got by improving their findings : the version 42. He asks her to taste it and she confirms that it's exactly how she imagined what it tasted like : a hint of unami flavor and a sour-spicy mixture. Luke informs her he noted the amount of ingredients down to every grams and how to make it. He filled already half of his notebook and put stickers on each pages to sort the infos. Rosa asks him if he turned his notebook into an encyclopedia and he confirms, saying he just wanted to be as meticulous as possible. She mentions that they should film it when doing their video. Luke eyes light up before realizing that despite all the preparations, his cooking skills can't guarantee success. Rosa suggests breaking down the task again and if she makes a mistake, he can cover for her. He agrees and she tells him they should make one last check. Luke adjusts the lights and filming equipment while Rosa takes out the ingredients from the fridge. They start the recording and get to work. Luke gives out instructions to her while reading the notebook and Rosa follows, but despite this, since she isn't used to tossing the pan, a lot of rice falls outside the pot. Luke reassures her despite being nervous too. He continues to instruct her but she realizes at some point they didn't dice some of their ingredients. Luke tells her he did and shows her different containers lined up next to her. Rosa asks him when he did that to which he answers during the preparations. She tells him how she is glad he is here because she wouldn't have time to do the prep and Luke tells her that him doing the preparation and her taking the lead is teamwork and he won't let it fail. She says how she wants to win too, finally understanding why she was so eager to join the competition. In the end, they manage to finish their paella without a hitch. Rosa asks how they are going to edit their vlog now and Luke says they first need a title. She asks if he has an idea but his first two ones are rejected. After a moment of thinking, he decides on "The Warriors' Honor Challenge" and she agrees, saying it sounds like it comes from the game. Luke takes the camera still recording and moves it from the food to Rosa, saying that the warriors who worked diligently should now harvest the fruits of their victory.
They are cute and fluffy aaaa but really once again their dedication should earn them a prize even if they don’t win 1st
Act 6
On another weekend, a few weeks later, at Luke's home. Rosa is on the sofa, scrolling on the comments from the cooking challenge event. Their entry was selected as outstanding entry and despite not ranking high overall, the official account gave them the award of most outstanding innovation. Rosa laughs so Luke puts his controller away and asks her what she saw. She shows him the comments that made her laugh but he doesn't respond so Rosa doesn't know if he is stunned with joy or shocked to be called professional chefs by the netizens. Pretending to hold a mic, she asks him if Mr "Professional Chef" has something to say. Luke answers that the filming of this vlog was a pain so it's great it didn't disappoint them. Rosa asks him how he feels about receiving an award and he says he feels like he isn't confident enough but receiving the title makes him a bit excited. Looking and sounding joyful, he says that seeing her being so happy and smiley makes him glad. Rosa says that it's normal to be happy since their hard work paid off and they fulfilled a small wish. Before he can ask about it, a delivery man rings and screams for Luke, so he rushes to the door, exclaiming that it must be the prize they won. Rosa feels glad to have involved him in the competition seeing his reaction. Once unwrapped from the cardboard the gift package stills takes up the whole table. She pushes the box towards him, asking him to open it for them but Luke tells her to do so since she wanted it. Rosa pauses and tells him she wanted to participate to help him get the limited edition merch which makes him puzzled. Luke says that the Big Data Lab told him that she spent a lot of time looking at the event page so he thought she was interested. Rosa also tells him how the Big Data Lab told her he was the one looking at this, but thinking back, she was the one initiating the conversation about it and his expression made her think he wanted to join. Luke realizes that it was a misunderstanding and Rosa comments that she doesn't know if she should thank the algorithm for being smart or, Luke finishes her sentence, be happy they are so in sync they always end up on the same page. They decide to unwrap it together... Only to reveal another box. Looking closely at it, she realizes that there is a maze on it with two small balls inside. Luke explains that it's a labyrinth lock and pulls out a card from the cardboard wrapping which asks them if they are ready to face the special challenge even in reality. Luke summarizes that the instructions explain that if the two balls fall in the designated spot at the same time, the box will open. They comment on how it's like the challenge they faced with their vlog. They laugh at each other and get ready to tackle the labyrinth, Luke placing himself behind Rosa and putting his hands on hers. Carefully, they sync up and tackle the puzzle together. As Rosa was celebrating their victory a bit early, one of the balls almost ended up in a dead end. Luke reassures her, telling her to be calm. They carry on, focused and steady, in harmony. Then the balls reach their destination at the same time, the box opens and reveals a paper lantern in the shape of their playable characters in game hand in hand, which recreate the scenery of the players returning home after finishing the final boss. Rosa comments on how detailed it is but Luke says it's not good enough, which surprises her. She looks at him and sees that he is way closer to her now. He tells her to remember the perfect ending before planting a kiss on her neck and saying "We rely on each other and help one another. That's how we can reach our destination", which are the final lines in the game. Luke tells her how that is now a more faithful recreation of the scene. Both their tender feelings in harmony, he carefully reminds her how they are always in sync.
Oh wow, what a nice wrap up, I love how they in fact took the challenge to make the other happy and because they thought the other wanted to when in fact they both didn’t even consider their own feelings into the matter, that’s kinda endearing. A huge thanks to the lowkey too sentient Big Data Lab without which we couldn’t have gotten this card !
Personal opinion :
What I liked :
Okay, idk if it's because I literally JUST finished a game and felt lonely not being able to share the whole experience of playing it with someone, but the first act being just them having finished a game together was so sweet and filled some kind of void I felt IMMEDIATELY, and the rest of the card covered the rest with ointment and patched a little heart shaped band aid on all haha. I think that’s what made me like the game so much, the themes and their cute exchanges as they were saying the game’s lines and remembering when they played it, it just felt so nice, so my liking of this card is really biased.
Also, I loved the reminder that Luke is so smart and well versed in scientific topics, it was nice seeing him casually mention and remember his experiment and some notions he knows of.
What I disliked :
Not a strong dislike, but I would have loved to see a small part of their playthrough to immerse even more in the story but oh well
Would I recommend getting this story ?
If you like a fluffy, cozy card with hints of gaming elements inside, sure ! This card was very warm and enjoyable to read, especially the casual, comfortable atmosphere between Luke and Rosa. As a “Sweet Chapter SSR”, it’s not groundbreaking in terms of lore, but it feels very nice still !!

"How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease" by Michael Greger, MD, and Gene Stone, offers a compelling and evidence-based investigation of the relationship between nutrition and health. Dr. Greger, a physician and internationally recognized authority on nutrition, gives a thorough guide to the foods and lifestyle behaviors that help prevent and even reverse chronic diseases.
The book is split into two main sections: Part One focuses on specific chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's, while Part Two includes practical information on implementing a plant-based diet and other healthy behaviors into one's life.
Dr. Greger draws upon thousands of scientific research and clinical trials to back his recommendations, emphasizing the necessity of a whole-food, plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. He analyzes the health benefits of various foods and nutrients, as well as the adverse impacts of processed foods, animal products, and other bad dietary choices.
One of the key themes of "How Not to Die" is the belief that many chronic diseases are avoidable and even reversible via food and lifestyle modifications. Dr. Greger provides readers with actionable information for shifting to a plant-based diet, including meal planning guidelines, recipes, and shopping lists.
Throughout the book, Dr. Greger tackles common misconceptions about nutrition and offers practical techniques for overcoming hurdles to adopting a healthy lifestyle. He also underlines the importance of other lifestyle aspects, such as regular exercise, stress management, and appropriate sleep, in boosting overall health and well-being.
Overall, "How Not to Die" is a thorough and empowering resource for anyone wishing to improve their health and lower their risk of chronic disease. Dr. Greger's evidence-based approach, along with his engaging writing style and practical recommendations, makes this book accessible and instructive for readers at all levels of acquaintance with nutrition and health. Whether you're wanting to avoid disease, manage a chronic condition, or just maximize your health, this book offers essential ideas and assistance for making beneficial changes in your food and lifestyle.
Free Audiobook with a free trial of Audible

Messing around after using xcp-ng for a few years and seeing what proxmox has to offer. I'm trying to virtualize pfSense within proxmox.
In terms of hardware I have a 1Tb pair of Nvme drives with proxmox installed on zfs with the nvme Drives Mirrored.
I created the pfSense VM with the parameters shown below. Most of the setup was taken directly from the Netgate installation instructions: https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/recipes/virtualize-proxmox-ve.html. I tried installing pfSense with UEFI and created a EFI disk and a 100Gb zvol (although I've seen some tutorial suggest a SCSI type device).
https://preview.redd.it/f7yiywrfp2zc1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0de037ec8ad83622eb4ef7509f82f5f1f477329
So a couple of things when using UEFI (as explained in documentation), I had to disable secure boot and I did have to add a serial device). After doing these things the installation process started.
So here is where my question comes in.
I'm using Proxmox on zfs, so I wanted avoid zfs amplification but not installing pfsense with zfs on top of zfs. I've seen a lot of posts on reddit and within netgate forums state a "double" zfs is probably whats not recommended. Based on this information I chose UFS.
When proceeding with UFS I get to the partitioning and it wants to create three partitions using GUID on the 100gb zvol:
https://preview.redd.it/27pgc89rq2zc1.jpg?width=2689&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a74f89a4ad7a3f5042e97d759161f328a7211f9a
So kind of not understanding how virtualization works -- I created a VM with UEFI boot with and EFI partition and main partition. I then attempted to install the VM and it wants to create another EFI partition within the main partition?? I'm totally confused. I thought the installer would see the EFI partition created during VM creation and just try to use that EFI partition? Where am I thinking wrong here??

There are so many delicious foods to eat on Thanksgiving, and it can be hard to narrow it down to just one or two favorites!
If you’re a Thanksgiving newbie, check out this list of Thanksgiving foods that start with L and introduce your taste buds to all of the scrumptiousness that awaits you!
Whether you plan on eating them in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner or as part of your own personal feast, try these tasty treats on your holiday table!
If you’re wondering what to serve at your Thanksgiving feast this year, consider the following list of Thanksgiving foods that start with L.
Listed below, these healthy dishes are delicious and nutritious ways to give thanks this holiday season.

1. Lobster

The holiday season means that it is time to celebrate, relax, and enjoy the company of family and friends. What better way to celebrate than with a scrumptious feast?
If you are searching for a mouth-watering dish to serve for your feast this year, look no further than lobster!
Lobster is a traditional dish served on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, its popularity has also made it an appetizer that can be served any day of the year.
Lobsters are available fresh or canned at most grocery stores or seafood markets. There are so many different ways to prepare lobster that it is hard not to find one that would suit your needs perfectly!

2. Linguine

Linguine is a type of pasta that is shaped like long, flat noodles. It can be served with various sauces or toppings, and it's a popular dish for the holiday season.
Served with butter, garlic, and olive oil, this dish is similar to clam sauce but has a more subtle flavor. Linguine can be served on its own as an appetizer or as part of a larger meal.
Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain and set aside in a serving bowl, reserving a cup of the cooking water in a small bowl.
Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until foaming subsides; add garlic and cook, occasionally stirring, until fragrant but not browned (about 30 seconds), about 2 minutes.

3. Lima beans

Some people may not know that lima beans are traditional Thanksgiving foods that start with L. It's true! Lima beans (aka butter beans) are easy to make and taste delicious, especially when paired with ham. They're also high in protein, making a great side dish for vegetarians.

4. Lionfish

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and if you're looking for some new, exciting Thanksgiving foods that start with L to put on the table.
There are lots of options. One example would be lionfish. This delicious fish can be prepared in various ways and makes for a tasty alternative to turkey or ham.
It's easy to find at most grocery stores, so all you need to do is pick up your ingredients, get cooking and enjoy!

5. Lychees

Let's talk about lychees. This delicious fruit is often a staple in Asian dishes, but it has also become more popular in Western cooking.
It looks like a little yellow grape with a tough outer shell that needs to be peeled away before you can eat the flesh inside. A great way to start your day!

6. Lamb

A rich and savory dish that pairs well with all of your favorite fall vegetables. Lamb is one of the most popular thanksgiving foods that start with L, but it's common to serve lamb.
Lamb is healthier than ham because it contains less fat and cholesterol than other meats. Plus, it also tastes delicious with cranberries and mashed potatoes!

7. Lasagna

This dish is perfect for feeding a crowd and can be made in advance to save you time on the day of the feast for Thanksgiving foods that start with L.

8. Latkes

Crispy and delicious, these potato pancakes are a delightful side dish to any meal. The latke is a dish that is traditionally served during Hanukkah but can be served at any time of year.
Latkes are typically made from grated potatoes mixed with eggs, salt and onions. The mixture is then pan-fried in oil. A typical garnish for a latke might include sour cream or applesauce.

9. Lemonade

It's not a holiday without the traditional pumpkin pie, but some other Thanksgiving foods start with L to consider.
Which is Lemonade, Refreshing and comforting. However, Lemonade is a staple for many people during the warmer months.
Nevertheless, it's also an excellent drink to enjoy on cold winter days. Whether you enjoy lemonade with a little bit of vodka in it or prefer iced tea with a generous helping of freshly squeezed juice, this beverage can be enjoyed all year long.
Besides being delicious, lemonade offers some health benefits, such as aiding digestion and providing Vitamin C.
This tangy beverage should be at the top of your list when you're looking for something new to try this Thanksgiving holiday!

10. Loin

The loin is a meat cut that comes from a pig's back and lower part. It's usually roasted, grilled, or smoked. In French, it's called filet, which means a thin strip.
The loin lies between the backbone and ribs, as well as in front of the sirloin and behind the tenderloin. Another term for a loin is pork chop.
Pork chops are often eaten fried or grilled with bacon. They can be served with applesauce or caramelized applesauce.
When buying pork chops, it's important to look at them closely to ensure they're not too dried out or stringy.

11. Lynchburg Lemonade

• Ingredients include
• Sweet Tea
• Triple Sec
• Fresh Lemon Juice (tablespoons) Instructions: Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Serve cold over ice cubes and garnish with a lemon slice!

12. Leek

A leek is a type of onion with a milder flavor than other onions. Leeks are used in soups and stews and as an ingredient in making curry sauce, and they will surely serve you perfectly for your Thanksgiving foods that start with L. They also work well with potatoes, spinach, and cream.
Slice off the root end of the leek, cutting up to one inch away from where it starts to flare out into green leaves.
Rinse thoroughly under cold water or soak in boiling water for a few minutes until it is softened but not colored. Trim off any tough parts from the green leaves near the white part, then slice them thinly crosswise.

13. Lahana Sarmasi

Start by chopping onion and green pepper into small pieces. Please place them in a medium-sized pot with vegetable oil, then add tomato paste and salt to taste.
Add water to cover the vegetables, bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
After cooking time is up, remove the pot from the stovetop and stir in sugar (to taste) before leaving it to cool for 30 minutes.
When cooled down, mix in raisins, almonds, and pine nuts before adding rice; ensure the rice is well mixed before returning it to the pot.

14. Lovage

Lovage is an herb that tastes like celery, with a flavor similar to parsley but more intense and more like celery. It's often used in French cooking.
The leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as a side dish (often boiled, braised, or sautéed). The seeds can be roasted, ground into a powder, and mixed with water to make a refreshing drink of Thanksgiving foods that start with L.

15. Liqueur

The liqueur is often used to signify a special drink enjoyed on holidays and other occasions that you want to fill your tables with Thanksgiving foods that start with L.
However, Liqueurs are typically sweet and are often made from fruits, nuts, herbs, or spices. One of the most popular liqueurs is Amaretto, made from apricot kernels.

16. Latte

I love a good latte! I like to start my day with one in the morning or have one with an afternoon snack and then end it with a cup of hot cocoa after dinner. Lattes can be enjoyed any time of day.
I love that lattes are easy to make at home. All you need is some whole milk, a teaspoon of espresso, a tablespoon of hot water, and some sweetener if you want it.
Nevertheless, You can make them as strong or as weak as you want by adjusting how much water you add too.
I also like that latte's come in different flavors and combinations, so there is always something new to try when you want your occasion to be special with Thanksgiving foods that start with L.

17. Lakoocha

Lakoocha is a traditional Russian dessert made of dough, oil, and honey;

18. Limeade

The tangy limeade is a refreshing drink for hot summer days. All you need to do is squeeze some fresh lime juice into a glass of water and add sugar if desired.
Also, a few ice cubes will help keep it cold while you sip on this delicious drink. If you want to make iced limeade, place all ingredients in a pitcher and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over ice and enjoy!

19. Lavash

Lavash is thin, unleavened loaves of bread that are usually baked in a large clay oven called a tandoor. They can be used as Thanksgiving foods that start with L for serving guests.
The word lavash is derived from an Armenian word that means bread. Like many other cultures, Armenians wrap their traditional dishes in lavash before serving them to guests.
Their cuisine often includes dishes like kebabs or kabobs wrapped up in lavash before being eaten.

20. Lumpia

The Filipino dish, Lumpia, is one of the Thanksgiving foods that start with L, an egg roll with a savory filling wrapped in a thin wrapper and deep fried to create a crispy exterior.
Lumpia is usually served as an appetizer or as part of the main meal. The word lumpia means spring roll in Tagalog, reflecting that this dish has been around since ancient times in Southeast Asia.
L lumpia is typically made with ground pork, carrots, onion, garlic, and chili peppers in Filipino cuisine.
The mixture is then rolled up into flour wrappers that have been cut into strips before being dipped into hot oil to fry them until golden brown. This cooking method makes for a crispy outside with a moist inside and flavorful filling.

21. Lollipop

The lollipop is one of the most iconic sweet treats in America. In fact, more than 100 billion lollipops are made each year in the United States.
However, did you know that this confection has been around since at least as early as 1796? Believe it or not, Thomas Adams is credited with being the first person to put a stick into a ball of candy!
In addition to being a popular treat for people of all ages and backgrounds, lollipops also make great props for wedding photos and party favors for birthday celebrations. Plus, they're perfect for stocking stuffers too!

22. Lingcod

The lingcod is a type of fish that lives in cold water. It has a light, delicate, and meaty texture. There are many different ways to prepare this as one of the Thanksgiving foods that start with L, and it can be used in soups or stews as well as baked on its own.
The skin should be removed before cooking because it can become tough after cooking. The lingcod can also be grilled or pan-fried with butter and herbs, which will help keep the meat from drying out.
The best way to cook this fish is by baking it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes per inch of thickness (when measured at the thickest part). This ensures that the flesh is moist and tender without being dry or overcooked.

23. Littleneck

A littleneck is a type of clam found in the Atlantic Ocean and used as one of the common and popular thanksgiving foods that start with L. The name comes from its small size, which is about half that of a cherrystone clam.
This small bivalve mollusk has a hard and shiny exterior shell. Littleneck is often eaten steamed or raw as sushi, but they can also be used to make clam chowder or pasta dishes.

24. Limburger

This cheese is perfect for those who love a strong flavor. It's tangy, salty, and slightly pungent. This cheese has been aged for at least six months to help develop its complex flavor profile.

25. Lard

Lard is an animal fat that can be rendered to make cooking oil and soap. Lard has a higher melting point than butter, so it’s also often used in frying food.
Lard is also often used in desserts, such as pies and biscuits because it makes them flaky and crispy. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, lard can be replaced with vegetable shortening.
But it’s important to read the labels of any replacement product before using it because some contain hydrogenated oils, which are high in saturated fats and low in trans-fats.
For healthier alternatives to lard, try coconut oil or margarine made from plant-based fats such as soybean or sunflower oil instead!

26. Loaf

Many different types of Thanksgiving foods start with L, including quick-bread loaves, yeast-bread loaves, and sweet-bread loaves.
It's possible to find traditional versions or versions with nuts or raisins for some added texture or sweetness.
Bread can also be shaped into a round shape instead of a loaf. This is called a bâtard or boule. The word loaf comes from the Old English word hlāf, meaning bread.

27. Liverwurst

This German specialty is made with a mixture of pork and beef liver, bacon, and spices. It's typically served as part of a charcuterie platter or on rye bread.
Liverwurst is best when it's cooked to an internal temperature of 170 degrees Fahrenheit. This will give it that nice brown color and a slightly crispy crust.
The taste of liverwurst depends largely on how much bacon is included in the recipe, which determines its saltiness.
A good rule of thumb is that if you want to make something sweet for your Thanksgiving foods that start with L, liverwurst is a go, and you must use less bacon than you would for something savory (or add sweetener ingredients).

28. Land Cress

A delicate green herb with a peppery flavor, land cress is not to be confused with watercress which belongs to another genus entirely.
The plants of land cress are delicate, so it is best when eaten raw in salads or sandwiches.
Another way to enjoy it is by mixing it into fish sauces and using it as a garnish on soups. It does not keep very long, so you should use this herb immediately.

29. Loquat

The loquat, or Japanese plum, is a small fruit with a sweet and sour flavor. It is usually available in late winter and early spring. The loquat has green, leathery skin and yellow flesh.
You can eat them raw or cooked; they are often used to make jellies, jams, chutneys, and pies. Loquats contain high amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants.

30. Lemongrass

I can't think of anything better to eat on a cold, wintery day than a big bowl of thanksgiving foods that start with L.
The zesty, citrus flavor is perfect for warming up your insides while also providing a nice little vitamin boost. It's such an easy recipe too!
However, you need some chicken broth, fresh lemongrass, peeled ginger root, lots of fresh cilantro, and some salt (and pepper if you want) to taste.
Just add everything to a pot and let it simmer on low heat until all the flavors are well combined. I like to make this with lots of toppings like fried shallots, chopped peanuts, or even basil leaves that I can stir before serving.

31. Limoncello

The word limoncello literally means lemon honey in Italian. This sweet, citrus-flavored liqueur is perfect for any occasion, but especially on Christmas and New Year's Eve!
Limoncello is made by infusing lemon peels in alcohol, adding sugar to sweeten it, and then letting it rest for months.
It's usually served chilled or over ice with a splash of water or club soda. To make limoncello even more festive, add some fresh cranberries to make a cranberry limoncello!

32. Lettuce

Do you need a quick way to make your Thanksgiving dinner better? Try adding some Thanksgiving foods that start with L to it!
Lettuce has many health benefits, so it's a good idea to include this leafy green as part of your traditional menu. Here are some of the best Thanksgiving foods that start with L.
When it comes to lettuce, there are many different varieties to choose from. Green and red leaf lettuce both have a slightly bitter taste with a more bitter flavor when they're older.
Romaine is crunchier and has a more peppery taste which goes well with heavy salad dressings. An iceberg is milder than other lettuce and is a great choice for those who don't like the stronger flavors of other types of lettuce.

33. Lobscouse

This traditional Newfoundland dish is made with salt beef, potatoes and onions. Cooked in a pot or kettle, it's simmered together until tender and then thickened with flour.
The word lobscouse comes from the French lobster as this dish will be perfect for selecting from Thanksgiving foods that start with L.
It was originally made with lobster meat before salt beef became popular due to its affordability.
Lobscouse also has many variations depending on where you are in Newfoundland: it may be cooked in a large pot or kettle over an open fire and boiled for at least 4-6 hours; it might be served without vegetables (because they were scarce); and it might include carrots, turnip or parsnips.

34. Loganberry

The Loganberry is a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. It was developed in 1907 by John Watson, who was a plant breeder from New Jersey.
The Loganberry typically has three to four times more sugar than other berries, with an intense taste that ranges from tart to tangy.
In addition to being delicious, the Loganberry is easy to grow and can be easily stored for long periods of time because of its high sugar content.

35. Lekvar

The word Lekvar is a common name for a fruit preserve made from whole quinces peeled and cooked with sugar.
The finished product has a consistency similar to that of jelly and can be used as a dessert topping or spread on cakes.
It also makes an excellent sauce when mixed with chicken, game meat, or pork. The name Lekvar comes from the Hungarian word lekvár, meaning fruit preserve.

36. Lox

You can't go wrong with lox when it comes to Thanksgiving foods that start with L. This cured salmon is delicious and packed with nutrients that will keep you energized all morning long.
Plus, it's super easy to make! How To Make Lox. Rinse a 1-pound salmon filet under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel on both sides.
Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper and place in a large bowl or dish. Combine one cup of sugar, one cup of kosher salt, three tablespoons dried dill weed, two tablespoons crushed black peppercorns, and four whole bay leaves in a small bowl and mix well to combine.

37. Lutefisk

This traditional Scandinavian dish is a gelatinous mass made from dried cod soaked in lye. It has a long history and was popular as a meat substitute during fasting.
Lutefisk is served traditionally with boiled potatoes, melted butter, and ground black pepper.
The taste and texture can be acquired for some people, but there's no denying that it's as appropriate to serve on Thanksgiving as Thanksgiving foods that start with L!
This traditional Scandinavian dish is a gelatinous mass made from dried cod soaked in lye. It has a long history and was popular as a meat substitute during fasting.
Lutefisk is served traditionally with boiled potatoes, melted butter, and ground black pepper.

38. Linguica

This dish is an American-Portuguese sausage made from pork, garlic, and red wine. The Linguica is a popular choice for those who like spicy foods because it has a hot kick to it. It’s commonly served with rice and beans or on its own as a breakfast meat.
Plus, this food is also great for outdoor barbecues because of its long shelf life and low price point. Try Linguica in your next meal today!

39. London Broil

Are you in charge of planning Thanksgiving foods that start with L? If so, congratulations! It's a big responsibility.
You may not know it but in addition to choosing food that everyone likes and making sure there are enough plates, silverware, and napkins on hand, you also need to consider the order of service.
For example: should the London broil be sliced ahead of time, or will people want to carve it themselves?
Will guests serve themselves from an entrée table, or will they be seated at their places with all their dishes set out for them?
And what about drinks? Which beverages will people prefer while they're waiting for dinner—water or wine? As you can see, there are a lot of decisions to make. But don't worry. London broil will always serve your guest right.

40. Liquor

This is obvious and will be needed for some of your guests. There are many different kinds of alcohol to choose from. If you know who will be coming, pick a type of alcohol that suits their tastes, whether that's wine, champagne, or something else entirely.
The liquor store is also where you can find all sorts of mixing ingredients, such as mixers like sodas or juices to go with it.!

41. Lahmacun

It's typically served with yogurt on the side for dipping or as a sauce for dipping. The dough is also sometimes sprinkled with sesame seeds before baking it.
The origins of Lahmacun are not entirely clear, but some believe it originated in Central Asia. While others say, it was popularized by Ottoman soldiers who brought this dish back to Turkey from their travels to Eastern Europe centuries ago.
No matter what its origins may be, one thing remains true - lahmacun is delicious among Thanksgiving foods that start with L!

42. Limpa

It's officially falling. This means that it's time to break out the pumpkin spice, but also time to enjoy the last of summer produce.
One of my favorite things about autumn is that we can finally start making some of our favorite Scandinavian dishes, like Limpa bread.
Limpa is a white bread containing wheat flour, rye flour, and malt syrup. It has a light texture and a lot of flavor from the combination of grains in it.
It was first created in Sweden for Easter Sunday because it's a special type of bread that uses all three main ingredients in communion wafers: wheat flour, water, and wine; rye flour; and malt syrup or molasses.

43. Lalanga

The lalanga, also known as pomegranate, is a tasty fruit with a sweet and tangy taste. It's also one of the first fruits to ripen in late summer.
The name for this fruit comes from the Persian word for apple, and it was brought to India by traders, where locals called it lalang.
There are many different varieties of Thanksgiving foods that start with L, and lalanga is one of them, and lalanga are of different types too, but they all look similar with thin-skinned red or dark-purple fruit.
Lalangas are often eaten fresh or dried, but they can be made into jams and other desserts. Lalangas are high in vitamin C, making them an excellent food for the cold season.

44. Liederkranz

I love Liederkranz. It's a mixture of cheeses, apples, and nuts that is baked in a ring-shaped dish. It's traditionally served at Christmas but tastes great any time of year.
My mom makes it for me every holiday because she knows I love it so much. Nothing is better than biting into one of those thick slices with whipped cream on top.

45. Lupin Beans

This ancient legume, lupin beans, is relatively unknown in the United States. They are gaining popularity with chefs and heirloom food enthusiasts alike due to their meaty texture, earthy flavor, and ease of use.
Lupins can be used in many dishes, including soups, salads, or even rice replacement. Rinse and soak overnight in water to which you have added 2 Tbsp of salt.
Drain and rinse again before cooking for about 30 minutes until tender but not mushy. Flavor with butter, soy sauce, or garlic if desired (optional).

46. Lavender

The first letter of lavender is L for Lavender. Lavender is a perennial plant and can be found in many colors, including purple, white, blue, and pink. The leaves are used for cooking, but the flowers are also edible.
This herb has a gentle flavor that goes well with other herbs like thyme or rosemary. Adding it at the end of the cooking process is best because heat will cook away some of its flavors.
When making mint tea or iced tea, you can use lavender buds as a substitute for peppermint leaves.

47. Lady Apple

Mix one cup of apple cider with three tablespoons of brown sugar in a bowl. Peel and chop two apples.
Add the apples to the mixture and stir. Place in a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil, occasionally stirring until it starts to thicken.
Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and let simmer for 15 minutes or until it becomes syrupy. Serve warm or cold with vanilla ice cream as a topping if desired.

48. Lentils

Lentils are an inexpensive and healthy source of protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins. Lentils are also a good source of fiber which can help lower cholesterol levels.
They are perfect Thanksgiving foods that start with L for people with diabetes because they have a low glycemic index and do not cause rapid spikes in blood sugar.
Lentils come in both green and brown varieties and can be served on their own as a side dish or mixed with other ingredients to make soup, casseroles, or chili.

49. Lemons

The quintessential lemon is a yellow citrus fruit that looks like a large, roundish lime. Lemons are high in vitamin C and low in calories; they contain both citric and ascorbic acid.
The juice of lemons can be used as a flavoring or as an ingredient in many Thanksgiving foods that start with L, including desserts like lemon meringue pie.

50. Limes

Lime is a citrus fruit that is round in shape and lime green in color, though they come in various shades of green, from yellow-green to dark green, depending on the ripeness of the fruit.
They are typically sour and juicy, with some varieties being sweeter than others. Limes are a great way to add some tangy flavor to your dishes.
Whether you want to use them for margaritas or want to squeeze a little juice on top of your dish, limes will give you that tangy flavor.
Juicing limes can be messy, which is more challenging than juicing oranges because they are much smaller.
Be careful when juicing limes because you can easily get seeds in your drink, and nobody wants that. If you don't care about the seeds, squeezing limes might be easier for you than any other citrus fruit.

51. Liver

This nutrient-packed and low-calorie food should be noticed. It is rich in Vitamin A, Iron, and Selenium. The liver is also a good source of Zinc, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Copper, and Potassium.
The consumption of liver can help build muscle mass due to its high protein content, which is perfect for Thanksgiving foods that start with L.

52. Lemon Basil

This recipe is a twist on traditional basil pesto. I wanted to use lemon because it's such an awesome flavor and in this recipe has that tart citrusy taste, which is perfect for fall.
It includes cilantro, garlic, olive oil, chili flakes, and basil. It's so simple to make and will be a great addition to your thanksgiving menu!

• Cup fresh cilantro leaves (leaves only) Cup fresh basil leaves (leaves only)
• Cup olive oil
• Cloves garlic
• Juice from one lemon
  
• A pinch of salt
  
• A few dashes of chili flakes
  

53. Lemon meringue pie

There is nothing more comforting or delicious to warm up with on Thanksgiving day than thanksgiving foods that start with L. Lemon meringue pie.
It has an airy, melt-in-your-mouth crust, creamy lemon filling, and a fluffy meringue topping that's baked to perfection.
You can make this dessert in advance and refrigerate it until you're ready to serve it. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line the pie crust with parchment paper or foil and fill it with pie weights or dry beans so that it doesn't puff up while baking.
Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven and remove parchment paper or foil along with weights and beans before adding the filling.

54. Lamb’s Lettuce

This type of lettuce is a cross between romaine and butterhead lettuce and has an overall soft appearance. The leaves are green or dark red in color and grow to be about five inches wide.
It features a mild flavor that blends well with most salad dressings, making it a favorite among chefs.
The leaves are crisp and can hold up to heavy dressings without wilting or becoming soggy like some other lettuces do when mixed with creamy sauces.
Conclusion
I hope this post has helped you with your search for new thanksgiving foods that start with L. It's important to keep in mind that only some dishes work for some families.
So be sure to make a list and try it out before you commit to anything. And, of course, if you have any occasion, please feel free to use thanksgiving foods that start with L. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey, Cooking!!
I am in desperate need of some recipe ideas for meals and snacks. I've had to change my diet almost overnight due to severe acute pancreatitis caused by severe candidiasis. I've been struggling for years, and finally found out why! However, the healing journey is long and hard, and I'm hoping someone will be able to give me some ideas.
Here is everything I'm allowed to eat, but it's pretty much it. I already feel starved and I know I'm not getting in nearly enough calories:
-Protein: Chicken, turkey, wild caught salmon, canned tuna, eggs -Flours: coconut and almond flour -Oils: olive, coconut, avocado, butter -Sauces: coconut aminos, coconut cream -Nuts/seeds: almonds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds -Milks: Unsweetened Almond milk -Fruit: avocado, tomato (limited tomato) -Seasonings/Herbs: garlic, parsley, cilantro, ginger (most others are ok) -Citrus: lemon and lime (fresh) -Vegetables: onions, shallots, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, zuchinni, cucumber, bell pepper, olives, bok choy, celery, cauliflower, artichokes, arugula, lettuce, asparagus, green onions -Broths: bone broth -Soy: Tempeh, tofu -Other: guacamole
Thanks so much for your help!!
*Edited to answer questions: 1. The diet I'm following is an anti-candida diet that restricts all carbs, breads/wheat, dairy, starches like potatoes and Peas, and no fruits (except the 2 I listed). It's a pure protein, veggie, and healthy fat diet.

1. Unfortunately, dieticians are not covered by my insurance so I'm kinda on my own. They are way too expensive for me to pursue.
   
2. I can't have pig or cow, but can also have fresh fish (all wild caught, no farmed).
   
3. No instruction for weight gain or loss, but because of this issue, I've gained over 40 pounds the past year and a half. I generally need 1400 calories, with 1200 at the absolute minimum.
   

I recently acquired a Scoby from a neighbor, as well as 2 cups of starter tea. I followed instructions using green tea and sugar, left it for 9 days before bottling with blended fruit etc.
The first batch came out amazing. Way better than when I tried this a few years ago. It really came out perfectly with the right amount of sousweet/fizzy.
Right away, I started the next batch. I used a lot of the tea for bottling so was left with one one cup of starter tea. To accommodate this, I only did 1/2 the recipe for the next batch. After 3 days I tried it out of curiosity and it was truly horrific. “Bitter” doesn’t even cover it. Beyond bitter.. acrid .. horrid.. cruel!!! I was repulsed. I decided to add more tea/sugar, following the exact recipe I did before, in hopes of diluting this toxic taste.
I just tried it again at day 5 and it’s just as horrible as it was before.
What went wrong? Is there any fixing? It’s undrinkably bad. It does not taste like intense vinegar, but something way more bitter (not sour). Any input is appreciated!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Servings: 4
Ingredients:
​

1. 250g boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced
2. 150g dried egg noodles
3. 1 large onion, thinly sliced
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6. Salt and pepper to taste
7. Water for boiling noodles

Directions:
​

1. 1. Prepare Noodles:

​

• In a large pot, fill it with water and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat.
• Once the water is boiling, add the dried egg noodles to the pot. Ensure that the noodles are fully submerged in the water.
• Follow the package instructions for cooking the noodles, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook the noodles until they are al dente, which means they are cooked but still firm to the bite.
• Once the noodles are cooked to your desired consistency, turn off the heat and carefully drain them using a colander or strainer. Rinse the noodles under cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent them from sticking together. Set the cooked noodles aside.

1. Cook Chicken:

​

• In a separate large pot or deep skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
• Add the minced garlic to the pot and sauté for about 1-2 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden.
• Add the thinly sliced onions to the pot and continue to sauté until the onions are translucent and softened, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
• Once the onions are cooked, add the thinly sliced chicken breast to the pot. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is fully cooked through and no longer pink in the center. The chicken should be tender and juicy.

1. Combine Ingredients:

​

• Once the chicken is cooked, add the cooked noodles to the pot with the chicken and onions.
• Using tongs or a wooden spoon, gently toss the noodles with the chicken and onions until they are evenly combined.
• Allow the noodles to heat through for a few minutes, absorbing the flavors of the chicken and onions. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.

1. Serve:

​

• To serve the Nepali Chicken Thukpa, ladle the hot soup into individual serving bowls.
• Garnish each bowl with fresh cilantro leaves or chopped green onions for a burst of color and flavor.
• Serve immediately while hot, accompanied by your favorite condiments such as chili flakes, soy sauce, or lime wedges for added zest.

Nutritional Value (Per Serving):
​

• Protein: 20g
• Fat: 6g
• Carbohydrate: 35g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sodium: 400mg

https://www.poultryrecipes.co.in/recipe-categories/immunue-boosting-recipes/nepali-chicken-thukpa-recipe/

100 Magic Items 1. Staff of lesser healing: This staff appears as a quarter staff with a heart shaped ruby on top. The staff can heal for 1d4 hit points. It can do so in three ways 1. If holding the staff 2. If holding the staff and touching another player with your hand. 3. At a range of 25 feet provided the the character holding to staff makes an arcana check of 15. If the arcana check fails it does nothing. The staff has 3 charges and recovers 1d3 charges at dawn.

1. Living Cloak (Requires Attunment): While wearing this cloak you can say the words “Living Cloak” as a bonus action and the cloak comes to life. The cloak has 1d4 hit points and an AC of 15. It can not attack and its main purpose is to give flanks. On your first turn the cloak has a flying movement of 25 feet. On every turn after that it has a flying movement speed of 100 feet. The cloak remains alive for 1 minute or until killed. On death the cloak flys back onto the character.
   
2. Potion of Mind-flayer (1d3): This potion is make from the tentacles of a mind-flayer. When a character consumes the potion it looks just like a Mind-flayer except their size does not change. The creature takes a -3 to Str, Dex, and Con but gains a +5 to Wis, Int, and Cha. The character also gains magic resistance. This potion last 1d4 hours.
   
3. Potion of Troll (1d3): This potion is made from the eyes of a troll. When a character consumes this potion they look just like a troll except their size does not change. The character takes a -3 to Int, Wis, Cha but gains a +5 to Str, Dex, and Con. They also gain dark vision up to 60 feet. This potion last 1d4 hours.
   
4. Forever smoking pipe: This pipe never runs out of pipe-weed and can be light by saying “Smoke” in halfling. You can only use this pipe if you know how to speak halfling. While smoking the pipe you have +5 to all charisma throws with halflings.
   
5. Staff of Webs: This staff appears to be made of rotten wood held together by spiders webs. The user can use the Staff as a bonus action to shoot a spider web in a straight line for 25 feet. It pulls the caster as far as it shoots. It has 1d5 charges and recovers 1d5+1 charges at dawn.
   
6. Staff of Light: This is a white wooden staff with a glass ball at the top. This staff can cast light 1d10 times. If cast overtop of the light cantrip the range changes to 40 feet of bright light and 20 feet of dim light. It recovers 1d10 charges at dawn.
   
7. Wand of Random Cantrips: This is a wand covered in ancient runes. Roll 1d50 and a Random Cantrip is cast. The wand has 1D3 charges and recovers 1d3 charges at dawn.
   
8. Bag of Magic Arrowheads (1D20): This is bag contains arrowheads that slightly glow. A character can try to make +1 arrows with this item. To do so they must make an arcana 13 throw for each arrow. If they fail the arrowhead stops glowing and losses all magical properties. If the character has Magical Tinkers Tools they gain advantage.
   
9. Bag of Hot Stones (1D20) This is a bag of small red stones. They can be used in a sling. They do 1d4 damage bludgeoning as well as 1d4 Fire damage.
   
10. Sack of holding: It appears as a bindle on a stick. The stick is caved with runes and the sack is made from fine silk. Works just as a bag of holding but can only carry 100 LBS and 25 Cubic Feet.
    
11. Ring of Detect Evil (Requires Attunment Cleric, Paladin, Monk): The ring is made of gold with a red crystal inside. When an evil creature is within 100 feet the red crystal glows.
    
12. Magical Sharpening Stone: This stone is made from a blue rock. A character can spend an hour to sharpen a weapon. Do do so they must make an arcana 15 check. A magically sharpened weapon becomes +1 on its first hit. If the attack roll misses it keeps its +1 magical properties. On a hit to weapon losses all its magical properties on the next turn. If the character rolls a natural 1 while sharpening a weapon the stone violently shatters doing 2d4 damage to whoever is using it.
    
13. Sleep Compass: This compass is sliver. It always points in the direction of your last long rest.
    
14. Tracking Compass:This gold compass comes in a small leather case. When removed from the case it allows points back towards the case.
    
15. Magical Sleeping Bag: This sleeping bag is made from owlbear hide that has runes branded into it. When a medium or smaller creature sleeps inside it on a long rest they gain one extra hit die in health back. It takes one turn to get in or out of the sleeping bag.
    
16. Fire Stick: This is a foot long stick of oak wood with runes caved in the side. You can rub your fingers against either end of the stick and it produces a small flame. This flame provides 10 feet of dim light and can be used to catch things on fire.
    
17. Potion of long sight(1d3): This potion is light blue. When a character drinks this potion they can see twice as far as they normally could. This potion last 1d4 hours
    
18. Potion of all sight(1d3): This potion is leaves off a strong glow of white light for 5 feet. When a character drinks this potion they can see under any light conditions. They also cannot be blinded even by magic. This potion last 1d4 hours.
    
19. Highland Cloak (Requires Attunment): This is a wool cloak made of Tartan fabric. It grants +2 to constitution.
    
20. Banner of the Firery Sword: This banner comes in a wooden tube with instructions for its use. The banner depicts a yellow sword with flames on a red background. When the banner is raised all slashing and piercing attacks are at advantage and can do an extra 1d12 fire damage. After a minute the banner erupts into flames consuming it.
    
21. Potion of Goblin(1d3): This potion is made of a goblin’s ears. When a character drinks it they gain +10 to Dex and a -3 to Str, Wis, Cha. They appear as a goblin however their size does not change and they gain dark vision for 60ft. This potion last for 1 hour.
    
22. Music Rocks: These two small rocks are shaped like the inside of an ear. They’re covered in music notes and come in a velvet case. When placed in a character’s ear music starts playing. The character must make a Wisdom 10 save or be deafened for 1d4 minutes. After the deafening wears off they can try the save again. After a successful save they gain advantage to performance throws for an hour. After an hour they must make another Wisdom saving throw. The character can tap the stones with their hand and say out loud the kind of music they wish to play with the stones.
    
23. Bag of Magic Coins: The bag contains 1d4 silver coins. Every day at dawn 1d4 silver coins appear in the bag.
    
24. Horn of Helmor: This is a brass horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in Horned instruments they have advantage. If successful a Veteran magically. After 5 minutes the Veteran magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
25. Gloves of Animal Handling (Requires Attunment Druid, Ranger, Fighter) These are leather gloves that fit only a medium sized character. When worn they grant a +5 to Animal Handling.
    
26. Magic Hat (Requires Attunment Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock) This hat once belonged to a powerful Wizard. When wearing this hat you gain a +5 to Arcana.
    
27. Magical Tinkering Tools: These tools allow you to tinker with magical items.
    
28. Mountaineers Arrows (1d20): These arrows when shot produce a magical rope behind them. The rope cannot be cut by non-magical means. The arrows sticks into the ground using magic and can hold 1000 pounds of weight. After an hour the rope dissolves into dust and the arrow loses all magical properties.
    
29. Cavaliers Horn: This is a silver horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in horned instruments they have advantage. If successful a white riding horse magically. After an hour the riding horse magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
30. Blood Dagger: This is a dagger covered in blood. No matter how hard the character tries to clean it the blood always comes back. When attacking with this dagger if you roll a 20 it also does 1d4 necrodic damage. You heal the amount of damage taken on this roll.
    
31. Fire Dagger: This dagger is always warm to the touch. If you roll a 20 it does an extra 1d8 fire damage but if you roll a 1 you take 1d4 fire damage.
    
32. Ice Dagger: This dagger is cold to the touch. If you roll a 20 it does an extra 1d8 cold damage but if you roll a 1 you’re frozen in place and Incapacitated for 1d4 turns.
    
33. Acid Dagger: This dagger is covered in corrosive metal. When attacking it has a 1d4 chance to have a -1 to damage. If you roll a 20 it does 1d10 extra acid damage.
    
34. Lightning Dagger: This dagger gives a tingling sensation when being held. In order to not drop it you have to make a Constitution 7 save. If you roll a 20 it does an extra 1d10 lightning damage.
    
35. Magical Cornucopia: This appears to be a normal cornucopia. However each day it produces enough food to feed 1d4 people.
    
36. Fishing Rod of Morn: When making a survival check to catch fish you have a +5.
    
37. Portable Raft: This is a small wooden carving of a raft. When you speak the words “Float” while looking at the carving it enlarges into a raft that can hold 500 Lbs. When looking at the raft and you say “Carving” it shrinks back into the small carving.
    
38. Lucky Clover (Requires Attunment): This is a small golden four leaf clover. While attuned to this item a character can reroll any skill check once a day.
    
39. Lucky Scabbard (Requires Attunment): This is a Scabbard made of gold and silver. It can fit a Shortsword, Longsword, Greatsword, Rapier or Scimitar. At the beginning of the day the character must chose a weapon to put in the scabbard. 1d4 times a day the character can reroll to hit with that weapon.
    
40. Lucky Quiver (Requires Attunment): This quiver is made of gold and silver. This quiver can hold Arrows or Crossbow Bolts. At the beginning of the day the character must choose what ammunition to put in the quiver. 1d4 times a day the character can reroll to hit with any weapon that takes that kind of ammunition.
    
41. Lucky Ammunition Pouch (Requires Attunment): This pouch is made of fine black silk and is pulled shut by gold strings. This pouch can hold either Blowgun Neddles, Sling Bullets, or Darts. At the beginning of the day the character must choose what ammunition to put in the pouch. 1d4 times a day the character can reroll to hit with any weapon that takes that ammunition.
    
42. Crystal of the Heart. (Requires Attunment) This small heart shaped red crystal gives you advantage on Insight checks.
    
43. Adventurers Boots (Requires Attunment): These boots give you advantage on savings throws against exhaustion while doing a Forced March.
    
44. Thieves Boots (Requires Attunment): These boots give a +5 to stealth checks.
    
45. Thieves Gloves (Requires Attunment): These gloves give a +5 to Sleight of Hand checks.
    
46. Boots of Jumping (Requires Attunment): These boots allow you to jump twice as high.
    
47. Bag of Waterproof : This blue 3x3 foot bag has a zipper on it. When closed any items inside remain completely dry even if completely immersed in water. The bag always floats as long as there is only 100 LBS in it.
    
48. Trusty Boots (Requires Attunment): You are not effected by difficult terrain
    
49. Barbarians Helmet (Requires Attunment): This helmet is made of iron and has two horns sticking out the top. This helmet allows you to rage once a day as if you were a 1st level barbarian. If you are a barbarian already you can rage one more time and do one more point of damage on this rage.
    
50. Scholars Robes (Requires Attunment): These robes are made of ancient fabrics. While wearing them you gain +5 to History checks.
    
51. Holy Crucifix: This item is made of Wood and Gold. Once a day the Crucifix can be held up. When this is done all undead within 100 feet run away. Every turn they start within 25 feet of the Crucifix they take 1d4 damage. The effects of the Crucifix last for 1d4 minutes.
    
52. Potion of Wildshape (1d3): This potion is dark green color. When you drink this potion you transform into a random CR:1 Beast. The effects last for 1d4 hours. If you die as the beast you return to the amount of HP you had when you drank the potion.
    
53. Potion of Good Looks: This potion is white skin colored. When you drink this potion you gain +5 to Charisma. The potion last for 1 hour.
    
54. Net of Restraint: This net can be thrown on a Small or Medium creature. The net automatically flys onto any target of the characters choice within 50 feet. The creature must make a Dexterity 15 save or be restrained for 1d4 turns. After the net is thrown it becomes magically tangled up. It’s becomes untangled the next day at dawn.
    
55. Horn of the Grave: This is a bone horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in Horned instruments they have advantage. If successful a 1d3 Skeletons magically appear to help you. After 5 minutes the Skeletons magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
56. Horn of the Undead: This is a rotten wood horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in Horned instruments they have advantage. If successful 1d3 Zombies magically appear to help you. After 5 minutes the Zombies magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
57. Rune of Instant Damage (1d2): This is a smooth rock about the size of your hand. When you raise it it does 2d20+10 damage instantly. After you raise it the rune crumbles to dust.
    
58. Book of Cantrip Knowledge: This is a leather bound book containing all the cantrips. A character can spend 1 hour studying the book. After doing so they learn one Cantrip from any class. After that the book magically vanishes. In order to cast this Cantrip they must make an Arcana 15 check.
    
59. Magical Scroll Case: This scroll case is made of wood that is cover in leather. The leather has runes branded into it. At the beginning of each day a scroll appears with a random level 1 spell. If the scroll is not used that day it magically vanishes. These scrolls can not be sold and if attempted magically vanish.
    
60. Scroll of ableism: This scroll can raise or lower an ability score at random. The character that reads this scroll picks an ability score. Then they roll 1d4. The effects are permanent. 1:-2 2:-1 3:+1 4:+2
    
61. Book of Halfling Culture: This book has a cover made of beautiful flowers. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Halfling language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Halflings.
    
62. Book of Elven Culture: This book has a cover made of wood. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Elven language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Elves and Half-Elves.
    
63. Book of Dwarven Culture: This book has a cover made of stone. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Dwarven language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Dwarves.
    
64. Book of Goblin Culture: This book has a cover made of crudely tanned animal hide. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Goblin language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Goblins.
    
65. Book of Draconic Culture: This book has a cover made of dragon scales. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Draconic language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Dragons and Dragonborn.
    
66. Book of Gnome Culture: This book has a cover made of gears. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Gnome language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Gnomes.
    
67. Book of Orc Culture: This book has a cover made of black hair. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Orc language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Orcs and Half Orcs.
    
68. Book of Underdark Culture: This book has a cover made of brains. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Deep Speach, Gith and Undercommon language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Gith and Aberrations.
    
69. Book of Hellish Culture: This book has a cover made of brimstone. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Abyssal and Infernal language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Tieflings, Demons, and Devils.
    
70. Book of Ocean Culture: This book has a cover made of sea shells. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Aquan language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all other Aquan speakers.
    
71. Book of Giant Culture: This book has a cover made of Granite. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Giant language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Giants and Orges.
    
72. Book of Heavenly Culture: This book has a cover made of white marble. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Celestial language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Clerics.
    
73. Book of Nature Cultures: This book has a cover made of Leaves. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Druid and Gnoll language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Gnolls and Druids.
    
74. Book of Fire Culture: This book has a cover made of obsidian. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Ignan language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all Ignan speakers.
    
75. Book of Sky Culture: This book has a cover made of glass. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Auran language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all creatures that speak Auran.
    
76. Book of Ground Culture: This book has a cover made of clay. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Terran language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all Terran speakers.
    
77. Book of Fay Culture: This book has a cover made of grass. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Sylvan language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Fey.
    
78. Box of Illusions: This appears as a small metal box with a crystal inside. When the box is opened the character must make an Arcana check of 15. If successfully the illusion of any small creature of the characters choice appears right above the box.
    
79. Potion of Inner Strength (1d3): This potion is a dark red color. When drank the character gains +5 to Strength. This potion last 1d4 hours.
    
80. Rainbow Quill: This is a Quill that has a rainbow pattern in the feathering. It never runs out of ink and writes in rainbow colored ink.
    
81. Wand Kit (1d3): This is a kit for making magical wands. A character can use the kit to imbue the wand with any level 1 spell they know. Doing so takes 3 hours and an arcana 15 check. Any wands made have 1d4 charges.
    
82. Wand of Tame Animal: This wand is made of beech wood. When this wand is used any beast CR:1/4 or lower is tamed. Has 1d4 charges.
    
83. Cloak of Magical Warmth (Requires Attunment): This cloak is made of a thick wool and is warm to the touch. It gives you +5 to saving throws against cold and 1d4 chance of resistance to cold damage.
    
84. Cloak of Heat Resistance (Requires Attunment): This cloak is made of thin fibers and is cool to the touch. It gives you +5 to saving throws against fire and 1d4 chance of resistance to fire damage.
    
85. Ring of Detect Magic (Requires Attunment Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock): This ring is made of silver with a blue crystal in it. When the ring is within 10 feet of magic the blue crystal glows.
    
86. Portable Tent: This item appears as a simple piece of fabric 1x1 feet. When looking at the fabric and the word “Enlarge” it forms a full size tent big enough for 4 people. When looking at the tent and saying the word “collapse” it collapses back down to a 1x1 foot piece of fabric.
    
87. The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch: A golden hand grenade with a cross on top. First thou shall take out the holy pin. Then shall thou count to three. No more no less. Three shall be the number thou shall count and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shall thou not count, neither count thou two. Excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number be reached, then lobest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch toward thy foe. Who being not in my sight shall snuff it. Range 25 feet. Must make an Intelligence save of 10 to use it or it blows up in the characters hand. 1d100 damage all creatures in a 15 foot radius.
    
88. Box of Rotten Cheese: This box is made of wood and contains a large chunk of stinky cheese. The box can be opened once a day. When the box is opened the character must make a Constitution 15 save and 1d3 Swarms of Rats come to the characters aid. If the Constitution save is failed they take 1d4 damage and are poisoned for 1d4 rounds.
    
89. Book of Lore: This book gives you a +10 to history roles related to identifying monsters.
    
90. Book of Nature: This book gives you a +10 to nature rolls related to identifying monsters.
    
91. Book of Peoples: This book gives you a +10 to investigation rolls related to Identifying monsters.
    
92. Book of Arcana: This book gives you a +10 to Arcana rolls related to Identifying monsters.
    
93. Normalcy Gloves: These leather gloves are covered in runes. While wearing these gloves you can hold hot, cold, electric, or acid objects that would normally deal damage to you.
    
94. Refilling Vile of Poison: This vile has 1d3 doses of basic poison in it. Every morning at dawn 1d3 doses are restored to it.
    
95. Bell of Alarm: This small golden bell makes a loud ringing noise when rung. The sound can be used as a signal for up to a mile.
    
96. Bag of many Potions: This Bag is perfectly shaped to hold a singular potion flask made of silver. Every day at dawn one of the following potions are in the flask. Potion of Healing, Potion of Climbing, or Potion of Water-breathing. Roll 1d3 to determine what random potion you get.
    
97. Brewing Stand: This is a set of Alchemical tools specially designed for making potions. If used in combination with Alchemist tools you get advantage when rolling to make potions. You must find or experiment to discover potion recipes.
    
98. Magic Map (1d4): This appears as a simple piece of parchment. However when you rub your hand against it a map of 100x100 feet appears centered around you.
    
99. Potion of Frost (1d3): This potion can be thrown 30 feet. The creature this potion is thrown at must make a Dexterity 15 save or be frozen in place for 1d4 turns. While frozen in place the creature is incapacitated.
    

(Edit: Fixed formatting)

Here are some homebrew magical starting items. Plan on letting my players get 1 each at random for the beginning of my homebrew campaign.
100 Magic Items 1. Staff of lesser healing: This staff appears as a quarter staff with a heart shaped ruby on top. The staff can heal for 1d4 hit points. It can do so in three ways 1. If holding the staff 2. If holding the staff and touching another player with your hand. 3. At a range of 25 feet provided the the character holding to staff makes an arcana check of 15. If the arcana check fails it does nothing. The staff has 3 charges and recovers 1d3 charges at dawn.

1. Living Cloak (Requires Attunment): While wearing this cloak you can say the words “Living Cloak” as a bonus action and the cloak comes to life. The cloak has 1d4 hit points and an AC of 15. It can not attack and its main purpose is to give flanks. On your first turn the cloak has a flying movement of 25 feet. On every turn after that it has a flying movement speed of 100 feet. The cloak remains alive for 1 minute or until killed. On death the cloak flys back onto the character.
   
2. Potion of Mind-flayer (1d3): This potion is make from the tentacles of a mind-flayer. When a character consumes the potion it looks just like a Mind-flayer except their size does not change. The creature takes a -3 to Str, Dex, and Con but gains a +5 to Wis, Int, and Cha. The character also gains magic resistance. This potion last 1d4 hours.
   
3. Potion of Troll (1d3): This potion is made from the eyes of a troll. When a character consumes this potion they look just like a troll except their size does not change. The character takes a -3 to Int, Wis, Cha but gains a +5 to Str, Dex, and Con. They also gain dark vision up to 60 feet. This potion last 1d4 hours.
   
4. Forever smoking pipe: This pipe never runs out of pipe-weed and can be light by saying “Smoke” in halfling. You can only use this pipe if you know how to speak halfling. While smoking the pipe you have +5 to all charisma throws with halflings.
   
5. Staff of Webs: This staff appears to be made of rotten wood held together by spiders webs. The user can use the Staff as a bonus action to shoot a spider web in a straight line for 25 feet. It pulls the caster as far as it shoots. It has 1d5 charges and recovers 1d5+1 charges at dawn.
   
6. Staff of Light: This is a white wooden staff with a glass ball at the top. This staff can cast light 1d10 times. If cast overtop of the light cantrip the range changes to 40 feet of bright light and 20 feet of dim light. It recovers 1d10 charges at dawn.
   
7. Wand of Random Cantrips: This is a wand covered in ancient runes. Roll 1d50 and a Random Cantrip is cast. The wand has 1D3 charges and recovers 1d3 charges at dawn.
   
8. Bag of Magic Arrowheads (1D20): This is bag contains arrowheads that slightly glow. A character can try to make +1 arrows with this item. To do so they must make an arcana 13 throw for each arrow. If they fail the arrowhead stops glowing and losses all magical properties. If the character has Magical Tinkers Tools they gain advantage.
   
9. Bag of Hot Stones (1D20) This is a bag of small red stones. They can be used in a sling. They do 1d4 damage bludgeoning as well as 1d4 Fire damage.
   
10. Sack of holding: It appears as a bindle on a stick. The stick is caved with runes and the sack is made from fine silk. Works just as a bag of holding but can only carry 100 LBS and 25 Cubic Feet.
    
11. Ring of Detect Evil (Requires Attunment Cleric, Paladin, Monk): The ring is made of gold with a red crystal inside. When an evil creature is within 100 feet the red crystal glows.
    
12. Magical Sharpening Stone: This stone is made from a blue rock. A character can spend an hour to sharpen a weapon. Do do so they must make an arcana 15 check. A magically sharpened weapon becomes +1 on its first hit. If the attack roll misses it keeps its +1 magical properties. On a hit to weapon losses all its magical properties on the next turn. If the character rolls a natural 1 while sharpening a weapon the stone violently shatters doing 2d4 damage to whoever is using it.
    
13. Sleep Compass: This compass is sliver. It always points in the direction of your last long rest.
    
14. Tracking Compass:This gold compass comes in a small leather case. When removed from the case it allows points back towards the case.
    
15. Magical Sleeping Bag: This sleeping bag is made from owlbear hide that has runes branded into it. When a medium or smaller creature sleeps inside it on a long rest they gain one extra hit die in health back. It takes one turn to get in or out of the sleeping bag.
    
16. Fire Stick: This is a foot long stick of oak wood with runes caved in the side. You can rub your fingers against either end of the stick and it produces a small flame. This flame provides 10 feet of dim light and can be used to catch things on fire.
    
17. Potion of long sight(1d3): This potion is light blue. When a character drinks this potion they can see twice as far as they normally could. This potion last 1d4 hours
    
18. Potion of all sight(1d3): This potion is leaves off a strong glow of white light for 5 feet. When a character drinks this potion they can see under any light conditions. They also cannot be blinded even by magic. This potion last 1d4 hours.
    
19. Highland Cloak (Requires Attunment): This is a wool cloak made of Tartan fabric. It grants +2 to constitution.
    
20. Banner of the Firery Sword: This banner comes in a wooden tube with instructions for its use. The banner depicts a yellow sword with flames on a red background. When the banner is raised all slashing and piercing attacks are at advantage and can do an extra 1d12 fire damage. After a minute the banner erupts into flames consuming it.
    
21. Potion of Goblin(1d3): This potion is made of a goblin’s ears. When a character drinks it they gain +10 to Dex and a -3 to Str, Wis, Cha. They appear as a goblin however their size does not change and they gain dark vision for 60ft. This potion last for 1 hour.
    
22. Music Rocks: These two small rocks are shaped like the inside of an ear. They’re covered in music notes and come in a velvet case. When placed in a character’s ear music starts playing. The character must make a Wisdom 10 save or be deafened for 1d4 minutes. After the deafening wears off they can try the save again. After a successful save they gain advantage to performance throws for an hour. After an hour they must make another Wisdom saving throw. The character can tap the stones with their hand and say out loud the kind of music they wish to play with the stones.
    
23. Bag of Magic Coins: The bag contains 1d4 silver coins. Every day at dawn 1d4 silver coins appear in the bag.
    
24. Horn of Helmor: This is a brass horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in Horned instruments they have advantage. If successful a Veteran magically. After 5 minutes the Veteran magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
25. Gloves of Animal Handling (Requires Attunment Druid, Ranger, Fighter) These are leather gloves that fit only a medium sized character. When worn they grant a +5 to Animal Handling.
    
26. Magic Hat (Requires Attunment Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock) This hat once belonged to a powerful Wizard. When wearing this hat you gain a +5 to Arcana.
    
27. Magical Tinkering Tools: These tools allow you to tinker with magical items.
    
28. Mountaineers Arrows (1d20): These arrows when shot produce a magical rope behind them. The rope cannot be cut by non-magical means. The arrows sticks into the ground using magic and can hold 1000 pounds of weight. After an hour the rope dissolves into dust and the arrow loses all magical properties.
    
29. Cavaliers Horn: This is a silver horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in horned instruments they have advantage. If successful a white riding horse magically. After an hour the riding horse magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
30. Blood Dagger: This is a dagger covered in blood. No matter how hard the character tries to clean it the blood always comes back. When attacking with this dagger if you roll a 20 it also does 1d4 necrodic damage. You heal the amount of damage taken on this roll.
    
31. Fire Dagger: This dagger is always warm to the touch. If you roll a 20 it does an extra 1d8 fire damage but if you roll a 1 you take 1d4 fire damage.
    
32. Ice Dagger: This dagger is cold to the touch. If you roll a 20 it does an extra 1d8 cold damage but if you roll a 1 you’re frozen in place and Incapacitated for 1d4 turns.
    
33. Acid Dagger: This dagger is covered in corrosive metal. When attacking it has a 1d4 chance to have a -1 to damage. If you roll a 20 it does 1d10 extra acid damage.
    
34. Lightning Dagger: This dagger gives a tingling sensation when being held. In order to not drop it you have to make a Constitution 7 save. If you roll a 20 it does an extra 1d10 lightning damage.
    
35. Magical Cornucopia: This appears to be a normal cornucopia. However each day it produces enough food to feed 1d4 people.
    
36. Fishing Rod of Morn: When making a survival check to catch fish you have a +5.
    
37. Portable Raft: This is a small wooden carving of a raft. When you speak the words “Float” while looking at the carving it enlarges into a raft that can hold 500 Lbs. When looking at the raft and you say “Carving” it shrinks back into the small carving.
    
38. Lucky Clover (Requires Attunment): This is a small golden four leaf clover. While attuned to this item a character can reroll any skill check once a day.
    
39. Lucky Scabbard (Requires Attunment): This is a Scabbard made of gold and silver. It can fit a Shortsword, Longsword, Greatsword, Rapier or Scimitar. At the beginning of the day the character must chose a weapon to put in the scabbard. 1d4 times a day the character can reroll to hit with that weapon.
    
40. Lucky Quiver (Requires Attunment): This quiver is made of gold and silver. This quiver can hold Arrows or Crossbow Bolts. At the beginning of the day the character must choose what ammunition to put in the quiver. 1d4 times a day the character can reroll to hit with any weapon that takes that kind of ammunition.
    
41. Lucky Ammunition Pouch (Requires Attunment): This pouch is made of fine black silk and is pulled shut by gold strings. This pouch can hold either Blowgun Neddles, Sling Bullets, or Darts. At the beginning of the day the character must choose what ammunition to put in the pouch. 1d4 times a day the character can reroll to hit with any weapon that takes that ammunition.
    
42. Crystal of the Heart. (Requires Attunment) This small heart shaped red crystal gives you advantage on Insight checks.
    
43. Adventurers Boots (Requires Attunment): These boots give you advantage on savings throws against exhaustion while doing a Forced March.
    
44. Thieves Boots (Requires Attunment): These boots give a +5 to stealth checks.
    
45. Thieves Gloves (Requires Attunment): These gloves give a +5 to Sleight of Hand checks.
    
46. Boots of Jumping (Requires Attunment): These boots allow you to jump twice as high.
    
47. Bag of Waterproof : This blue 3x3 foot bag has a zipper on it. When closed any items inside remain completely dry even if completely immersed in water. The bag always floats as long as there is only 100 LBS in it.
    
48. Trusty Boots (Requires Attunment): You are not effected by difficult terrain
    
49. Barbarians Helmet (Requires Attunment): This helmet is made of iron and has two horns sticking out the top. This helmet allows you to rage once a day as if you were a 1st level barbarian. If you are a barbarian already you can rage one more time and do one more point of damage on this rage.
    
50. Scholars Robes (Requires Attunment): These robes are made of ancient fabrics. While wearing them you gain +5 to History checks.
    
51. Holy Crucifix: This item is made of Wood and Gold. Once a day the Crucifix can be held up. When this is done all undead within 100 feet run away. Every turn they start within 25 feet of the Crucifix they take 1d4 damage. The effects of the Crucifix last for 1d4 minutes.
    
52. Potion of Wildshape (1d3): This potion is dark green color. When you drink this potion you transform into a random CR:1 Beast. The effects last for 1d4 hours. If you die as the beast you return to the amount of HP you had when you drank the potion.
    
53. Potion of Good Looks: This potion is white skin colored. When you drink this potion you gain +5 to Charisma. The potion last for 1 hour.
    
54. Net of Restraint: This net can be thrown on a Small or Medium creature. The net automatically flys onto any target of the characters choice within 50 feet. The creature must make a Dexterity 15 save or be restrained for 1d4 turns. After the net is thrown it becomes magically tangled up. It’s becomes untangled the next day at dawn.
    
55. Horn of the Grave: This is a bone horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in Horned instruments they have advantage. If successful a 1d3 Skeletons magically appear to help you. After 5 minutes the Skeletons magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
56. Horn of the Undead: This is a rotten wood horn with runes on it. When blown make a performance check of 15. If the character is proficient in Horned instruments they have advantage. If successful 1d3 Zombies magically appear to help you. After 5 minutes the Zombies magically vanishes. The horn can be blown once a day.
    
57. Rune of Instant Damage: This is a smooth rock about the size of your hand. When you raise it it does 2d20+10 damage instantly. After you raise it the rune crumbles to dust.
    
58. Book of Cantrip Knowledge: This is a leather bound book containing all the cantrips. A character can spend 1 hour studying the book. After doing so they learn one Cantrip from any class. After that the book magically vanishes. In order to cast this Cantrip they must make an Arcana 15 check.
    
59. Magical Scroll Case: This scroll case is made of wood that is cover in leather. The leather has runes branded into it. At the beginning of each day a scroll appears with a random level 1 spell. If the scroll is not used that day it magically vanishes. These scrolls can not be sold and if attempted magically vanish.
    
60. Scroll of ableism: This scroll can raise or lower an ability score at random. The character that reads this scroll picks an ability score. Then they roll 1d4. The effects are permanent. 1:-2 2:-1 3:+1 4:+2
    
61. Book of Halfling Culture: This book has a cover made of beautiful flowers. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Halfling language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Halflings.
    
62. Book of Elven Culture: This book has a cover made of wood. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Elven language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Elves and Half-Elves.
    
63. Book of Dwarven Culture: This book has a cover made of stone. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Dwarven language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Dwarves.
    
64. Book of Goblin Culture: This book has a cover made of crudely tanned animal hide. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Goblin language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Goblins.
    
65. Book of Draconic Culture: This book has a cover made of dragon scales. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Draconic language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Dragons and Dragonborn.
    
66. Book of Gnome Culture: This book has a cover made of gears. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Gnome language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Gnomes.
    
67. Book of Orc Culture: This book has a cover made of black hair. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Orc language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Orcs and Half Orcs.
    
68. Book of Underdark Culture: This book has a cover made of brains. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Deep Speach, Gith and Undercommon language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Gith and Aberrations.
    
69. Book of Hellish Culture: This book has a cover made of brimstone. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Abyssal and Infernal language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Tieflings, Demons, and Devils.
    
70. Book of Ocean Culture: This book has a cover made of sea shells. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Aquan language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all other Aquan speakers.
    
71. Book of Giant Culture: This book has a cover made of Granite. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Giant language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Giants and Orges.
    
72. Book of Heavenly Culture: This book has a cover made of white marble. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Celestial language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Clerics.
    
73. Book of Nature Cultures: This book has a cover made of Leaves. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Druid and Gnoll language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Gnolls and Druids.
    
74. Book of Fire Culture: This book has a cover made of obsidian. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Ignan language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all Ignan speakers.
    
75. Book of Sky Culture: This book has a cover made of glass. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Auran language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all creatures that speak Auran.
    
76. Book of Ground Culture: This book has a cover made of clay. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Terran language and get advantage on all charisma throws against all Terran speakers.
    
77. Book of Fay Culture: This book has a cover made of grass. A character can spend an hour studying it. Afterwards they learn Sylvan language and get advantage on all charisma throws against Fey.
    
78. Box of Illusions: This appears as a small metal box with a crystal inside. When the box is opened the character must make an Arcana check of 15. If successfully the illusion of any small creature of the characters choice appears right above the box.
    
79. Potion of Inner Strength (1d3): This potion is a dark red color. When drank the character gains +5 to Strength. This potion last 1d4 hours.
    
80. Rainbow Quill: This is a Quill that has a rainbow pattern in the feathering. It never runs out of ink and writes in rainbow colored ink.
    
81. Wand Kit (1d3): This is a kit for making magical wands. A character can use the kit to imbue the wand with any level 1 spell they know. Doing so takes 3 hours and an arcana 15 check. Any wands made have 1d4 charges.
    
82. Wand of Tame Animal: This wand is made of beech wood. When this wand is used any beast CR:1/4 or lower is tamed. Has 1d4 charges.
    
83. Cloak of Magical Warmth (Requires Attunment): This cloak is made of a thick wool and is warm to the touch. It gives you +5 to saving throws against cold and 1d4 chance of resistance to cold damage.
    
84. Cloak of Heat Resistance (Requires Attunment): This cloak is made of thin fibers and is cool to the touch. It gives you +5 to saving throws against fire and 1d4 chance of resistance to fire damage.
    
85. Ring of Detect Magic (Requires Attunment Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock): This ring is made of silver with a blue crystal in it. When the ring is within 10 feet of magic the blue crystal glows.
    
86. Portable Tent: This item appears as a simple piece of fabric 1x1 feet. When looking at the fabric and the word “Enlarge” it forms a full size tent big enough for 4 people. When looking at the tent and saying the word “collapse” it collapses back down to a 1x1 foot piece of fabric.
    
87. The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch: A golden hand grenade with a cross on top. First thou shall take out the holy pin. Then shall thou count to three. No more no less. Three shall be the number thou shall count and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shall thou not count, neither count thou two. Excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number be reached, then lobest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch toward thy foe. Who being not in my sight shall snuff it. Range 25 feet. Must make an Intelligence save of 10 to use it or it blows up in the characters hand. 1d100 damage all creatures in a 15 foot radius.
    
88. Box of Rotten Cheese: This box is made of wood and contains a large chunk of stinky cheese. The box can be opened once a day. When the box is opened the character must make a Constitution 15 save and 1d3 Swarms of Rats come to the characters aid. If the Constitution save is failed they take 1d4 damage and are poisoned for 1d4 rounds.
    
89. Book of Lore: This book gives you a +10 to history roles related to identifying monsters.
    
90. Book of Nature: This book gives you a +10 to nature rolls related to identifying monsters.
    
91. Book of Peoples: This book gives you a +10 to investigation rolls related to Identifying monsters.
    
92. Book of Arcana: This book gives you a +10 to Arcana rolls related to Identifying monsters.
    
93. Normalcy Gloves: These leather gloves are covered in runes. While wearing these gloves you can hold hot, cold, electric, or acid objects that would normally deal damage to you.
    
94. Refilling Vile of Poison: This vile has 1d3 doses of basic poison in it. Every morning at dawn 1d3 doses are restored to it.
    
95. Bell of Alarm: This small golden bell makes a loud ringing noise when rung. The sound can be used as a signal for up to a mile.
    
96. Bag of many Potions: This Bag is perfectly shaped to hold a singular potion flask made of silver. Every day at dawn one of the following potions are in the flask. Potion of Healing, Potion of Climbing, or Potion of Water-breathing. Roll 1d3 to determine what random potion you get.
    
97. Brewing Stand: This is a set of Alchemical tools specially designed for making potions. If used in combination with Alchemist tools you get advantage when rolling to make potions. You must find or experiment to discover potion recipes.
    
98. Magic Map (1d4): This appears as a simple piece of parchment. However when you rub your hand against it a map of 100x100 feet appears centered around you.
    
99. Potion of Frost (1d3): This potion can be thrown 30 feet. The creature this potion is thrown at must make a Dexterity 15 save or be frozen in place for 1d4 turns. While frozen in place the creature is incapacitated.
    

(Edit: Fixed Formatting)

This is a special occasion dessert where you are serving others who are not concerned about carbs. Per the nutrition info, if you make it as written it has 22 carbs per serving, with the cake providing 16 servings. (Not the biggest servings). It is easy to make, but you have to keep an eye on it in the oven. Once it starts to darken on top , it happens quickly.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/basque-style-cheesecake-tarta-de-queso-recipe
I have never tried it with less sugar, but I think it could be reduced a little.
PREP: 20 mins BAKE:25 to 30 mins YIELD: one 9” cheesecake
Ingredients
three 8-ounce packages (681g) cream cheese
1 1/2 cups (297g) granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
5 large eggs
3/4 cup (170g) heavy cream
Instructions
1.Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 500°F.
2.To prepare the pan: Take two sheets of 16 1/2" x 12 1/4" parchment and crumple each into a ball. If you don’t have parchment that size, you’ll need enough to cover roughly a 15” square.

1. Uncrumple the parchment completely and overlap the two sheets in a cross, pressing them into a 9” springform pan to completely cover the bottom and sides of the pan. The paper won’t lie flush with the sides, but crumpling it first will make fitting it into the pan easier.
   
2. Fold the overhanging parchment down over the outside edge of the pan to ensure that the top of the cake remains visible and open to the oven’s heat.
   

To make the cake: Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment (11-cup capacity is best; see "tips,” below, for alternatives).
Process the batter until it’s smooth and lump-free, about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl about halfway through.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and transfer the pan to the middle rack in the oven.
To bake the cake: Bake the cheesecake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is a deep-dark brown, the edges are just set, and the center is still quite jiggly. A digital thermometer inserted 1" from the edge and 1" down should just barely read 185°F. For best results, start checking your cheesecake at the 25-minute mark, and continue to check at 1-minute intervals until the desired doneness is reached. Taking this cheesecake out of the oven at just the right point is critical to its success; see “tips,” below.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it on a rack; cool the cake in the pan to room temperature before slicing. Unmold and serve the cheesecake at room temperature or refrigerate and serve chilled.
Storage information: Store leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator for up to a week.

2 weeks later Lauren and Greyson drove up to her new home with boxes and whatever she hadn’t sold. Lauren had walked through her empty home and said goodbye to each room wondering if she was making the right decision. The house was pretty much sold already and Lauren reminded herself to keep going.
“Audrey will come around Ma. She really will miss you and she doesn’t want to change. God forbid she tell you right out that she is going to miss you. “ Greyson said. Lauren hadn’t spoken to Audrey directly since she had told the kids she was moving. She had come over at one point to get some furniture and mementos and had been snarky the entire time that Lauren had been in the house. Lauren had had quite enough of it and went to the backyard to smoke until Audrey and her man of the week had taken off. They hadn’t even come out to tell her they were leaving. Lauren had had another good cry after that and then made herself margaritas with her mixer and called Natalie to come over for a good farewell bitch session. They had gotten tipsy and talked about ungrateful kids and sent nice little waves to Grace who huffed at them.
“Well, maybe she will and maybe she wont. She always favored your father and I never told her she had to pick sides but all the same she felt like she had to. The divorce was harder on her than it was you older two.She was only 8.” Lauren said lamely.
“I think Cora and I were just glad you guys weren’t fighting. Dad was great with us but he treated you terribly the last few years you were together and it was just so much easier to not hate him when you guys weren’t around each other. Audrey was definitely his favorite though and any time she came over he just made sure they did everything she wanted because he was afraid she’d hit puberty and would decide she didn’t like him anymore. Like Cora.”
“Well that makes sense. How’s you-know-who?” Lauren asked changing the topic.
“Miranda? Alright I guess. Her mom picked Liam up last night for the weekend so I could help you, says she called a month ago and sounded good. I don’t know if that means anything or not but I don’t think she is going to come back wanting to be Liam's mom. At least not any time soon. I don’t really care, she had him and that was the deal. That’s all I asked for. I’d have supported the other way too but I really hoped she’d just let me keep him. She told everyone who asked she didn’t want kids. Everyone. I kind of wonder if she’ll want to meet him and be afraid to because everyone will expect her to be someone to him.” Grayson drummed his fingers anxiously. Lauren couldn’t understand this arrangement that Grayson and Miranda had. She kept wondering if it wasn’t some form of depression or something but Grayson insisted it wasn’t. He’d had Liam all to himself from day one and never complained.
“You think taking this was too impulsive? The job? I didn’t even do a face to face interview. It was on that skype thing. Eric set it all up. It’s legit but maybe I should’ve driven up first to check it out. Maybe I’m just running scared.”
“Maybe it was but taking risks makes your life exciting. Besides, I hate thinking of you alone in the house waiting for something bad to happen.” Grayson patted her leg. “Besides you said there were discounts on cabins and I’d like that. Plus unlike the last job, if Liam gets sick he can hang out with you when he can’t go to daycare.”
“I would like that.”
They pulled onto a winding dirt road and drove another 10 miles. The woods on each side of the road pressed in on them. It was a nice feeling. It was quiet out here and Lauren appreciated it. She had thought she would be more scared to be alone out here but she found herself looking forward to it now. Settling down and maybe a beer.
The GPS took them toa large sign marked Camp Thellgar in front of a fork in the road, one marked OFFICE and the other marked CAMPING. They turned into the OFFICE fork on the left. A man sat on the porch at the first building they came up to. He shaded his eyes and stood as they approached. Lauren took a shaky breath.
“Does my eye still look weird?” Lauren asked Grayson.
“Nah, the makeup covers whatever is left. It looks a little off I guess but I don’t think anyone would guess why. You’re old, he’ll think you had a stroke more than likely” Grayson teased. Lauren let out a high pitched laugh and took a deep cleansing breath.
“Hi I’m Steven Connor, you’re Lauren Jackson I hope.” Steven stuck his hand out for her to shake.
“I am indeed. Nice to meet you, you look different in person.” Lauren said laughing. He did, he looked older than he had on the computer, tired maybe. Steven shrugged. “This is my son Grayson, he’s helping bring my stuff up for me.”
“Right, good of you to help your momma. Come right in here. This is the main office, just off of what will be your cabin. Initially they were one in the same but years back we decided the caretaker could use some more privacy when we added more cabins in. The cabins have only been part of the deal for about 15 years, before that it was just the tent sites. No electricity on those. They’re a little easier to maintain. This time of year we mainly get people who want to use the tent sites, families out for a day hike. Summer rolls around and you’ll be pretty busy. We hire help from the nearby towns, you’ll let them know what to do but you’ll need someone in the office most of the day. There’s an alarm here that will pop up on your phone, when synced with the app of course, that way you can be out on the grounds. There’s an ATV for getting around a little easier. You’ll be in charge of taking reservations and handling the payment, cleaning up the campsites when they leave, looking in on them to make sure they’re kept up. Same with the cabins. Do a thorough cleaning and dust once a week. Aspen Cunningham, that’s the girl from town, she’ll be up every other day to assist with cleaning out the cabins. Here’s the card for Aspen, the card for a maintenance guy we use, Roger, and my card if you need to get ahold of me.” Steven led her from the office which was a small front room with a storage room behind it. Off of that there was a door with a good lock that led into a small house. It came in by a small half bath and then stairs leading to 2 bedrooms upstairs and a full bathroom. Next to the stairs a door led into a small living room with a few bookshelves and a dated TV, past that a kitchen with a dining area. It was cozy and Lauren was in love immediately.
“The last guy was pretty organized, we have our own binder we put together for new employees, he made his own as well. I skimmed through it, mostly a heads up on common maintenance issues. There’s a copy of maintenance performed on each cabin and site that also goes in the main book that’s stashed in the office.” Steven handed her a heavy worn binder.
“I’ll go ahead and start bringing in your stuff mom.” Grayson said backing out the main front door that didn’t lead into the office. Lauren followed Steven into the office and he showed her where anything she could need to find would be. She watched a safety video that featured Steven’s family, made when Steven was a kid. His smiling face running around in the background.
Grayson hung out for a while after Steven left. Lauren was overwhelmed and felt exhausted. She wandered through her new house while Grayson made her spaghetti. She laid on the bed. It was firmer than she was used to but it was ok.
After they ate Grayson hesitantly left. Reminding her to call if she needed anything, asking if she was sure she wanted him to leave. Lauren had a feeling he would’ve spent the night if Miranda’s mom didn’t have Liam. There was a firepit in the backyard so she got a fire going and sat back watching the flames while she drank a beer. She thought about getting stoned but it felt too new here and she was afraid of freaking herself out. The noises of the woods were relaxing. It felt quiet. Quiet was exactly what she needed.
The next few months went quickly, Lauren got in a groove of checking all the sites in the morning and doing general maintenance. Aspen, the girl who cleaned, came up twice a week not every other day like Steven had said. She was a sweet girl and spent a few hours dusting and vacuuming the empty cabins. Lauren and her got along really well and Lauren was grateful for the company. Summer came and Lauren was busy, she barely left the office it seemed. If it wasn’t reservations, it was families asking for maps of the trails or information on the town below. It was a nice busy. Lauren had expected the cleaning to be worse than it actually was, most people cleaned up after the campsites before they left. Fall came and the people started to slow down, most of the people she saw were people hiking the trails and less camping By November she was slow again.
One day her phone went off alerting her to a visitor in the office. She jumped on her ATV and headed back up. There was a small run down car waiting when she pulled up. Lauren ran her hands through her hair as she entered the door. 4 middle aged women stood waiting patiently.
“Sorry, I was a little further out today, how can I help you? Cabin?” Lauren asked, coming around the desk.
“Where’s Jim?” One woman with darker hair asked.
“Jim? Was he the man before me? I’m afraid he doesn’t work here anymore. Just me, I’m Lauren. Regulars?” Lauren grabbed the binder from underneath the counter and flipped through until she came on regulars. Scanning the list she found a November regular, along with a few other months. “Ok, here we are. It says the Helgas, tentsite 42. Yes?”
“That’s right, what happened to Jim? I'm surprised to see that he’s gone.” The dark haired woman handed over her credit card and tapped on the table anxiously. The other women moved around like they were trying to look as if they weren’t paying much attention.
“Not sure. No one really told me and I didn’t think to ask. I’ve been here since late spring, right before the summer rush. “ Lauren felt like she was being judged by the women.
“We’re particular about our privacy.” One of the women from the back said, trying to sound casual.
“That’s no problem, I won’t need to come by until you leave.” Lauren assured them.
“Jim left the entire area alone. I mean, we prefer to be left completely alone.” She clarified. Lauren was taken aback but nodded. After they left and had driven off she looked back down at the binder.
Helgas
Camp site 42
November Full Moon
December 21
March 21
Require all sites in the area empty. 3 day reservations. Noise level low, some disturbances.
Lauren closed the binder. She’d flipped through it before but obviously hadn’t retained much information. It occurred to her that this wasn’t in the main binder. She picked up the company binder, flipped through until she found regular reservations. Nothing helpful from the last 10 years. She booted up the computer and pulled up the spreadsheet. There it was. Reservations, regular. A list of people and campsites and cabins. The program was designed to automatically block off the areas that were supposed to be reserved. Campsite 42 was not on the list for today. Maybe because it was a full moon reservation and not a specific date? Lauren flipped through December and it wasn’t in there either. She sighed. Lauren went to the main screen and added in the December reservation and it stopped her. Ok. So it's here somehow. Or it wouldn’t have stopped her. But it doesn't show up. It’s hidden. Lauren crossed her arms and dropped her head down. She wasn’t completely computer illiterate but she really didn’t know how to see this. The last guy, Jim? Jim. That guy must’ve done something to the computer system. Why would he have done that? He did all the reservations. Unless he didn’t want the company itself to see. They could log in through the main office and see what was going on up here. There was another location they owned and the computer program was designed to work with that one. Lauren shook her head and sighed. Maybe she could get ahold of Steven and ask about Jim.
Lauren opened Jim’s binder again. There were only a few regulars that didn’t have reservations that showed up in the company system. By the time she was done it was dark outside. Lauren sighed and shut everything down. She locked up the office displaying the note to ring the doorbell. The doorbell that alerted her phone to a visitor that would need checked in. Lauren wasn’t worried about it, not in November. It was warmish for November but still cold. No one hunted up here because it had too many people walking up the trails, further out maybe but they would rent a cabin ahead of time if they stayed up here and on the weekends.
Lauren went into her kitchen and got a jar of chili out of the fridge. Cora had made some and sent it home with her after Saturday dinner a few weeks ago. It was easy to heat up. She got a glass of wine and started a fire in the fireplace to warm the house up. She turned the tv on and laid across the couch until she could smell the chili. She’d had a bus day and found herself drifting off before she’d finished eating so she cleaned up and took herself to bed.
Lauren found herself awake in the forest. Barefoot. It was silent. Completely silent. Lauren cautiously spun around trying to get her bearings. She saw movement off to the right. Her heart stopped, she looked over trying to make sense in the dark. Something moved next to the trees, an animal? Lauren took a step toward it without thinking.
Someone or something stepped out wearing an animal skull. Deer? Lauren couldn’t think through her fear. The clothes were baggy and run down. Like a t shirt over loose black pants tied up with a rope and black cardigan. With a black long jacket.
“Who are you?” Lauren asked, dazed.
“I should ask you the same thing. Where is the keeper?” The thing asked, but it wasn’t said aloud, she heard it in her head.
“I-I don’t know. I just got hired here a few months ago. My friend's friend helped me get the job.”
“Then the Keeper sent you here.” The thing insisted
“I don’t think so, the man before me, I didn’t know him.”
“I see. What did they tell you about this place?” The thing asked, circling her. Lauren realized it was tracing her with a skeletal finger.
“How to take reservations and how to clean.” Lauren murmured, trying not to look as scared as she felt.
“I could tell you.” The thing offered. Lauren felt her anxiety rise up and suddenly felt like she needed to be gone. She shouldn’t trust this thing, whatever it was.
“Um, no thanks.You could-could tell me who you are though.” Lauren said instead
“I’m insulted is what I am. You’ll have to figure out who on your own.” With that he was gone and she was in bed sitting up breathing hard. The raspy voice still echoing in her head.
Lauren blinked. A dream. It was a dream. But it had felt real. She checked her feet and saw that they were clean. A dream.
Lauren’s whole day was off after that. Everything looked sharper almost and she found herself pinching her arm to make sure she was actually awake. She avoided the tent sites circling around with the Helgas but found herself inspecting the rest of them carefully, unsure of what she was looking for. After that she rode down to the cabins and did a quick inspection, checking the windows for torn screens and the doors for any sign of break in, double checking the lock. All good. Lauren was done early and decide to walk one of the trails to shake off the oddness. There weren’t a lot of trails she hadn’t already walked so she picked one of the harder ones and grabbed her backpack with snacks and water.
In the months since moving up here she had grown stronger from the work and the access to trails. Anytime she felt herself slipping into a depressive episode or started thinking too much she would go on a long trail and try to exhaust herself. At some point she had started running in the mornings although had stopped in the last few weeks because of the cold and how long it took the sun to rise. Lauren ran a few miles awkwardly with the backpack and then slowed. There was a not well used trail off to the side. She was certain she was still on the company's property but had not seen this one before so she cautiously went off the main trail and headed down it. It didn’t take long for it to grow darker with the trees overhead. There were still nature noises but they seemed almost muted. Lauren pinched her arm just to make sure, it definitely hurt. She was definitely awake. Lauren pulled her camera out of her bag and began snapping pictures of the area around her, partly to remember where she had come from and partly because she was in awe of the area around her. It was beautiful out here and the trees made her feel small and light. She checked her phone and saw that it was nearing dark. She stopped and drank some water before turning around. Lauren moved at a brisk pace as she headed back and almost missed the flash of light off to her left. But as such she had just managed to catch it and it stopped her in her tracks.
“Hello?” Lauren called out, if it was a hunter she had run into, which she didn’t think it was, not as close to the campgrounds as they were, but if it was she wanted it clear they were dealing with a person. No one answered her though. She hesitantly stepped off the trail and walked toward it. She couldn’t think of anything that would flash out here. Cameras? She wasn’t aware of any out here but it had never occurred to her to ask anyone. Regardless, she should check to see if it was a camera before she asked about there being any. She came to a massive tree. She craned her head back and light hit her eyes so that it was difficult to make out the top of the tree. The branches started low giving her a compulsion to climb upwards. Off to the side of it the roots rose up seeming to form a circle. Lauren took a few pictures of it without thinking. She got as many different angles as possible. She had seen roots that came out of the ground but had never seen one that formed a perfect circle. Lauren looked around and realized that it was dark now, she checked her phone and saw the battery was almost drained. She had been here for 3 hours. Lauren blinked and shook her head. 3 hours? That was impossible. She started shaking and spun around when she realized how silent it was, even for night time.
SNAP
Lauren gasped and took off running. She didn’t think about anything other than heading back in the direction she had come. Adrenaline coursed through her and she felt like she was running faster than she had before. It was dizzying how sharp everything was and how fast it seemed to go by her. She hit the main trail and kept running. She could feel her energy start to dip and she pushed herself harder. By the time she emerged from the woods she fell on the ground sobbing and gasping for air. She grabbed a fistful of grass with one hand and put her other palm to her mouth to stifle the sobbing, screaming sounds she was making. It felt like an hour of laying on the ground trying to collect herself. It was one of the Helgas that found her.
“Are you ok? Ma’am? Guys! She’s out!” Lauren heard the thinner of the group yelling for her friends to come help The 4 of them lifted her to a sitting position and tried to get her to respond. Eventually Lauren started to come to and her breathing returned to normal.
“What happened? “ The dark haired one asked firmly,
“N-n-nothing. I-I-I don’t know. I was in the woods and I heard… I don’t know. I’m so sorry, I have no idea what came over me.” Lauren stuttered. Trying so hard to reign her emotions back in. “Nothing, I just lost track of time there and I guess I got myself spooked. I have quite the imagination. What are you guys doing here? Was there something you needed?”
“We came up to see if you were ok, we were doing a little night hiking and saw you running and we followed you.” The dark haired one said. Lauren thought she was lying but didn’t know why she thought that.
“I could use some wine honestly, would you 4 like some wine?” Lauren felt like she was drunk as she walked back to her back door, the short one linked her arm in Lauren’s and walked with her steadying her.
“Wine sounds nice, we have some back at camp, we could get ours and bring it back.” She told Lauren in a soothing voice. A mom voice.
“Nonsense. I always stock up in town, I have plenty. I’ll get a fire going and-”
“We can get the fire, you get the wine and Addy here will help you bring out the glasses.” The dark haired one gestured to the short one who smiled and headed toward the door to open it for Lauren.
Lauren had 2 wine glasses and used regular glass cups for everyone else. She grabbed a couple bottles of red wine she’d gotten clearanced out after Halloween, the bottle had a blurry outline of trees and Lauren had felt it looked so magical she’d bought 6. Of course it wasn’t her favorite so now seemed like a good time to try to offload a little.
“I’m Lauren by the way, I know that’s Addy, who are the rest of you?” Lauren asked as she and Addy passed out glasses and poured wine in front of the fire.
“I’m Sara. “ The dark haired one said taking a generous drink from her cup
“I’m Therese.” The blond smiled and waved,
“I’m Rian.” The thin one said, pronouncing it Ree-ann.
“Is this a girls trip? I hope I didn’t mess anything up.” Lauren asked, pulling her blanket from the house tight around her. The fire was nice and warm but not warm enough to fend off the November chill.
“You didn’t mess anything up, honestly we were hoping to speak with you anyway. We knew Jim fairly well, I guess as well as you can know someone you only see 3 times a year. He had a pretty good idea of what he’d signed up for when he started but we got the feeling you didn’t and we were curious.” Sara said, watching Lauren’s face intently.
“I guess I don’t. I’m not sure what you mean.” Lauren said, wondering if they were crazy. The witchy types who came out here to dance naked in front of a fire and sing before going back home to suburbs and corporate lives with toddlers and teenagers. Lauren had dealt with those types over the summer but not very many.
“Well how did you get the job?” Therese asked, spinning the wine in her glass like she’d already had a few before they started.
“A friend of a friend. I was looking to make some changes in my life and he thought I would be a good fit here.”
“The Keeper?” Sara asked, leaning forward.
“I don’t think so. He just seemed like a regular guy. Who is the Keeper? “ Lauren asked nervously. The woods looked darker and it occurred to her that she didn’t know if she could beat them back in the house if she wanted to run. Then she remembered the Keeper comment from her dream, now hazy but still there.
“The Keeper doesn’t do a whole lot from what I can tell, not directly I mean. He just keeps information and contacts who he needs. He got Jim hired on, we don’t know much about him, we’ve personally not seen him ourselves. We’re not sure if he changes every so often but as far as we know it’s been the same person always. These woods are full of magic you see and not all of it is good magic. “ Sara explained. “We come out 3 times a year to make a blood sacrifice to Eglas. He or She, is a … something. Hungry mostly. Instead of one person we use 4 or 5 sometimes. Same amount of blood and no one dies. Occasionally one person will donate more for a favor but it’s not often.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Lauren said dumbly.
“He/She said they came to visit you last night. They said that you didn’t know much about your job. Eglas seemed very angry so we came to help you” Rian told her.
“There’s not much to your job. You keep the grounds maintained and then you make sure that we are able to do our work. I don't know what else is in the woods but I know about Eglas. My family has for at least a century come out and offered blood to keep Eglas satisfied. When they started settling the area, they disturbed a lot of spirits. Eglas was curious and found the taste of human blood to be… good I guess. Eglas would go into homes and take people, in the beginning it was a lot. Most families fled the area, but the ones who stayed came to Eglas one night and offered to give him what he wanted if he backed off. Or she, really Eglas has no real gender. It’s a fairy or demon, I’m not sure. Either way, Eglas was satisfied with a person a year but that got old quickly, not a lot of people lining up to do that obviously, they really weren’t getting a lot out of that deal back then, they could farm the land peacefully and that was it. One day a young farmer offered himself but when it came time he talked Eglas into changing the deal, a little from the strongest men in town. Eglas got the best there was and it was willingly. Eglas threw in the part about 3 times a year since the body wasn't included in the deal. That’s the lore anyway.” Sara told her story well, moving her hands and body, changing her pitch like a natural born storyteller.
“I think fairy because it makes the most sense with the woods and the deal making. You don’t have to believe us yet, you will eventually, but we come out here and do our ceremony and leave.” Addy told her.
“That sounds, nice.” Lauren said hesitantly. She drank more and could already feel the events of the afternoon fuzzing away.
“He’ll come to you again tonight, you’ll know who he is now. “ Therese said, smiling nicely.
“And you’ve done your ceremony already?” Lauren asked, trying to see if there were cuts visible. The girls nodded and Addy pulled her pants down showing off a long cut on her thigh. Lauren hissed through her teeth at the sight of it.
“Oh it’s not so bad. It hurts but it always heals quickly like it was never there. “ Addy assured her.
“Jim knew about this? “ Lauren asked, remembering a note in the binder about them being .
disturbing or something
“Yes, he did.. He knew before he started though. It kept him safe. We were a little worried that leaving you to the wolves so to speak, that you wouldn’t survive.” Rian explained.
“I’m afraid I’ve worn myself out. I think I’ll go to bed.” Lauren said, getting up carefully. The women were nice company and Lauren couldn’t think of the last time she had sat around the fire with anyone, but the conversation made her nervous. They looked at each other and nodded.
“We leave early tomorrow but I’ll leave my card on your door, you can call if you need anything.” Sara assured her.
Lauren didn’t get into bed as much as she collapsed into it. Her legs ached already and she knew that she wasn’t getting around much tomorrow. Between the wine and adrenaline wearing off, Lauren was able to fall asleep quickly.
She was out in the woods again. She must be dreaming because she wasn’t hurting.
“Do you know who I am?” The creature asked in her head again. Lauren couldn’t see the creature but didn’t feel the need to look for it either, just stood waiting.
“Eglas.” Lauren answered out loud. There was a chittering sound that somehow sounded pleased.
“Smart woman. I have been watching you.”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.” Lauren said dryly.
“You have questions.” Eglas stated.
“I can find answers.”
“I can give you answers if you ask me. It’s easy.” Eglas encouraged.
“Nothing is ever free and I have no intention of indebting myself to you. Accidentally or otherwise.” Lauren said, making herself clear. Eglas chuckled out loud and Lauren heard a swooshing through the trees. Lauren involuntarily shuddered.
“Have it your way, but you know where to find me.” Eglas said.
Lauren woke up the next morning as sore as she thought she would be. She managed to drag herself out of bed and to the bathroom and pulled on sweats that could pass as clothes. She thought that was the advantage of getting older, no one expected as much fashion wise. Lauren considered sitting on the stairs to go down but pushed through each painful step until she was in the kitchen. Ibuprofen and a freezer meal with a bottle of wine and she headed to the living room. She’d be close enough to answer any visitors if they came but she could sleep on the couch or watch tv. Lauren couldn’t find anything interesting on tv, or not enough to block out the clear dream she’d had last night that seemed to stick to her. When the ibuprofen kicked in she felt good enough to sit up, she looked around the room and noticed the bookshelf was getting dusty again. There were books on the shelf that had come with the place but Lauren had never really looked at them before. After flipping through movie selections and still not seeing anything she could find any interest in she got up and wandered over to the shelf. Reading the titles she figured out why she hadn’t wanted to read them before. History of the area mostly. Then a book about ghosts in the area, that sounded like it could be interesting. When Lauren was a kid she devoured books about ghosts. Next to it was a book without a title, it was slim and blended with the other books well. Lauren grabbed it as well, mostly curious. She settled back on the couch and pulled the blanket around her. The book was interesting, the usual ladies in the woods and drowned men, children warning of danger. Then there was a chapter that mentioned Elgas.
TRANCHLURE
He arose from the mud, hungry,ravenous.
He crept through the trees and on the strange mist observant first.
When the people came and Eglas fed He found a way to satiate the hunger and then slept for years and was awoken
He massacred the nearest town and those who lived in the woods found a way to drive him back into the caves, not dead but mostly sleeping until someone falls into his cavern, never to return.
Was it about Eglas? She didn’t think so.
Lauren went into the office and grabbed the binder that mentioned the Helgas. Even the binder was coded though obviously.
With her limited knowledge though she was thinking that they were groups of worshippers coming to celebrate differently. Lauren wondered if she could order some books on astrology to understand it better.
She opened up another book on fairies, but this had highlighted sections. A recipe for some kind of tea to see fairies. In the side there were some notes on things to leave out around the forest, offerings for the spirits. Lauren traced the handwriting and wondered if it was Jim who had written it or someone else. Apples was what it said.
There was a ring telling her someone was here. Lauren got up again carefully and headed in to the office. A man with a sleepy toddler on his shoulder stood waiting. He looked haggard and nervous.
“Cabin?” Lauren asked softly.
“Uhm, yes please.” He said.
“Any preference? You kind of have your pick this weekend.”
“Something toward the back.”
“Alright, cabin 15, more towards the middle honestly but it branches off so it’s a little more secluded?”
“Yes sounds fine. ‘
Lauren handed him his keys and a small map and sent him on his way, she then hobbled back to her couch. Sighing, she went back to the original book and started a story about a woman who had gotten lost in the forest and run into a sprit offering wishes. A wispy in between soul. Lauren noted that the spirit could be found by a landmark she knew. Slowly she started to doze.
Again she found herself barefoot in the forest.
“Hello again.” He or she whispered in her head
“Hello. Why am I here again?” Lauren asked dreamily.
“Because I am a generous soul. The man came today to ask for a favor from the fairies, he bought his offerings but he failed to realize he had put his daughter in danger. She’s gifted, she’s why he knows to come here. She’s also hit the magician and witches' radar, he needs protection.”
“Ah, and why do you care? There’s always a price.”
“I’ll protect her, for a price, obviously, just a little blood offering. From him if that isn’t clear. I need you to go and tell him my offer before his daughter is spirited away. Awaken now.”
Lauren woke up suddenly, she was annoyed and irate at being ordered around. But she got up and found a card that Sara had offered her the night before. Nervously she rang the number.
“Hello?” Sara answered.
“It’s Lauren, are you far away? “ Lauren asked, wondering how her rational world had changed in such a short span of time.
“Not far at all, maybe a mile.”
“Eglas, came to me, he wants to offer his services to a new camper here.”
“We’ll turn back around immediately.”
A few hours later Rian stood at the office smiling.
“It’s been taken care of, I didn’t realize what you being here meant. You’re the new Keeper.” Rian looked on at her with admiration.
“I don’t think so.” Lauren said firmly.
“You are, whether you know it or not, that’s why you’re here. Eglas might’ve told you that was why he was coming to you but he told us.” Lauren didn’t like the culty feeling she was getting off of Rian right now.
“Well, I don’t know what that means, I’m a caretaker, a well paid caretaker. Not a Keeper for things I don’t believe in. “
“I don't know much about the Keepers, but I have a very strong feeling that you should find the person who sent you here and ask some questions. I don’t know as much as the other girls about the magic in the forest but I do know that the fairies have an affinity for ceremony.”
After a few days of thinking, Lauren finally made a call to Eric. Eric was due up today.
Eric came to the regular front door instead of the office door.
“You’re the Keeper.” Lauren said without saying hello.
“Yes. Jim was a Keeper as well, but he… Well he isn’t anymore. You are up for the position obviously. I’m assuming you brokered a deal for someone out there if you figured it out. Which is accepting the position.”
“I don’t know about any of this. Eglas came and told me a girl was in trouble. I offered protection through another group that I know offers blood sacrifices. I feel like I’m too old to be any sort of Keeper. “
“Well it’s in your blood. That’s part of the reason you were chosen. The night you came to me I had a day of signs, then I heard about Jim. I was thinking of sending another established Keeper to this area and then I saw you. One big sign. I watched you for a few days and then I made the decision to send you up here. You have done very well so far. “
“Is there like a meeting for this? An instructional booklet? “
“I’m guessing Jim left a book of notes behind. He was good about notes in his day and when he realized he was coming to an end he told me he would leave things behind for whoever came next. I’d just look for books and binders.”
“But I don’t understand it.”
“Well you’ll have to learn fast”
“Rian said there was likely a ceremony.”
“There is an introduction. You’ll spill your blood by a great tree that connects all of the mountain. You’ll be recognized and the creatures will know to come to you.”
“What kind of fairy tale is this?”
“The kind that you’re a part of. “
“If it’s in my blood shouldn’t I know something?”
“I guess not.”
Lauren stood in front of the tree on the next full moon, freezing and nervous. The Helgas joined her for emotional support. Lauren held a sharp knife and sliced her hand to let the blood flow over the ground. Energy started from the ground and worked its way up her feet and through her body. With her feet firmly planted it felt as if she came up out of her body and rose above the trees, like looking through a microscope if she concentrated on a certain area she could see everything going on. At first she thought she saw people, but it was much too late for that. They were creatures. They roamed and played. I could see everything.
Welcome to Camp Thellgar

Hey there, author / chef here. While I was preparing something last night I had the thought of including an instruction in my recipe "mash the mixture while listening to ABBA's 1977 hit Take a Chance on Me, pressing the end of the whisk on each beat for the length of the song." It was mostly an amusing thought and something I'd put in my own recipe at the restaurant. Then it occurred to me that a whole cookbook based on singing karaoke versions of songs while preparing is a clever idea that's probably never been done.
Thus far in my writing I haven't had to deal with song rights at all. Brief googling says that mentioning songs or artists by name is generally okay as long as you're not quoting lyrics. I wonder though if a whole cookbook full of many song titles would run afoul. I figure I could sidestep including lyrics with instructions that mention "the beat" or "when he screams" or "when her voice goes really high" rather than including full lyrics, but I wonder if the sheer number of songs and them being an essential part of the work would push it over the edge.
Seeking the rights for a large number of songs all at once clearly makes trying to publish something like this well outside being reasonable unless I somehow struck a deal with a specific record company to only use songs they own or something. Anyone have some insights on this?

Hi everyone, I found this really good recipe if anyone would like to try. I will post the pic below. Instead of breadcrumbs for the meatballs I used whole wheat pita( literally found this at the store it only contains wheat flour). You will need to adjust or take out the salt according to your preference and what you’re doctor says.
Yield: 4 servings Serving Size: 1 bowl 1x 2x 3x Equipment Air Fryer sheet pan Ingredients For the meatballs:
▢ 1 large egg ▢ ¼ cup fresh chopped dill ▢ ¼ cup fresh chopped Italian parsley ▢ ¼ cup unseasoned panko breadcrumbs ▢ 2 garlic cloves, minced ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt ▢ Freshly ground black pepper, to taste ▢ 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey ▢ Olive oil spray For the bowl:
▢ 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided ▢ 1 1/3 cup dry pearl Israeli couscous, I used whole wheat ▢ 1 ¾ cup reduced-sodium chicken, or vegetable broth ▢ 1 cup diced tomato ▢ 2 cups Persian or English cucumber, diced ▢ ¼ cup red onion, diced ▢ 3 tablespoons Italian parsley, fresh chopped ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1/2 lemon ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt ▢ Freshly ground black pepper, to taste ▢ Lemon wedges, for serving ▢ ½ cup tzatziki or nonfat plain Greek yogurt, optional, for serving
Salad: Tomato, Persian or English cucumber, red onion, Italian parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper
Instructions For the turkey meatballs:
Crack the egg into a medium mixing bowl and beat with a fork. Add the herbs, panko, garlic, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Add the turkey and with the fork, mix to combine, being careful not to over-mix. Roll mixture into 16 evenly sized meatballs, about 1 ounce each, place on a parchment lined sheet pan and set aside until ready to cook. (Thoroughly wash your hands and work surface.) To air fry: Spray the air fryer basket generously with olive oil. Add the meatballs in an even layer, cooking in batches if needed, and cook at 400 degrees F for 8- 10 minutes, turning halfway through cook time. To bake in the oven, bake on a sheet pan 400F 20 minutes, no need to turn. Meanwhile, heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add ½ tablespoon olive oil and the dry couscous and sauté to toast the grains for about 3 minutes. Add the hot broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Add a pinch of salt, if needed. While meatballs and couscous are cooking, make the salad. In a small bowl, combine the tomato, cucumber, red onion, 3 tablespoons parsley, 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste. To assemble bowls: Add ¾ cup each of couscous to 4 bowls. Top with 3/4 cup salad and 4 meatballs. Serve with a lemon wedge, a dollop of tzatziki or yogurt (if desired) and drizzle of oil, if using.

I left the company on mutual ground I guess not really more like harassed and gaslighted out and got fed up with it.
I ran the Florida stores semi solo for 3 years I was with the company for 4 years. Even though I was making sure the company was running without really being the manager I was told by the ceo I was in a “gray area” and was an assistant manager to him in another state but wasn’t of much help for a year. Anything came up I would try to solve it myself and ask friends for advice since anytime I ask the ceo for help he would just ask me what I would do and to try it out, all he did was give me questions so I can help myself without much help from him and I get “think about it and try it out” I get the phrase in multiple different forms. We use to have weekly meetings when they were trying to kickout the fl owner from the company but when he fought to stay in the company the ceo decided to stop showing up the the meetings and kept making excuses to do it another day. They even excluded me from company meetings so I had no clue wtf what happening so I just maintained the stores as I was not the manager since to them a manager is the store owner. I’ve also was the one that devised the operation when we opened up our second store, I’ve asked for help from the ceo for coming up with a plan of action and how things should run but got hit with vague answers instead of trying to plan it together. The fl owner just goes with the flow and said “we’ll figure it out when the time comes”.
Ceo wanted me to launch drinks with barely any instructions in a 4 page recipe printout with handwritten notes everywhere. Where as all the actual managers went to a week long class about drinks and shown the step by step process for said drinks and how to operate everything needed. I’ve practiced and tried teaching but if I’m not fully confident in it how am I teaching it. I tried to do video calls to get them to teach me through video since I’m a visual learner but it failed on their end.
(we have stores in 3 different states; FL, Seattle, & Denver. FL has 2 store and is suppose to have 2 managers but they were trying to kick him out but he was just being an owner and didn’t do much for the company besides mediate less than a handful of things. Seattle has 2 stores and has 4 managers and became the headquarters because the ceo lives there so they also have a few upper management teams to help them in any and all things that are part of the business. Denver has 1 store and has 2-3 managers.)
All the managers(HQ workers too, HR and marketing) are friends and family of the ceo, I was the only one that wasn’t in that group I only knew the FL owner.
I didn’t have access to much, I didn’t know what I was allowed to do and would be able to spend on anything. Credit card kept declining because it wasn’t getting paid. The ceo said we didn’t have much in the account; no shit, one account was paying for 2 stores with different bank accounts. Rent and materials were being paid by one store for 2 locations when each store should be paying for their own finances but I didn’t have a checkbook or any type of card for the other store. They just send monthly invoices from one store to the other but doesn’t pay them and lets them sit there unpaid for “records”
I would say the ceo is really good at finessing what he says. I honestly have to take some time to process what he says most of the time so I can break down everything he says because “it’s all about the wording and the meaning of the actual word being said”
But when the ceo finally decides to come to Florida and help out. I was eager to learn whatever it is he was going to help out with but ended up excluding me and having me to home early here and there, having me take more days off. Which was cool, I just let it happen and thought nothing of it. But then when I came back to work a bunch of procedures changed and I tried to adapt to but wasn’t really sure of and also was asked about them and just said I wasn’t sure but would find out, when I asked about it I was given a vague answer and said okay. When they were going to teach the closest person I had as a lead and myself drinks we did a few steps on one drink and had my lead practice it and it was weird that they stepped in between my lead and I and was teaching her with their back towards me. I didn’t think much of it then too and just tried to be interactive asking questions and listening the best I could while taking notes. Then once she finished making a few drink components they stop what they’re doing and there was an awkward silence then the ceo ask if I’m busy and replied no just trying to learn. He asked me to go to storage and note everything down with the quantity. I did that and came back, they did all the drinks and practiced it. He ended up sending me home early so I said fuck it okay.
I did have a sit down with him, he said I was playing favorites by sending certain people to one location because the tips are better but I was given a formula when I took over payroll to make sure all the tips are equal within both stores moving hours from one location to the other. When I was going to say I was following the instructions/procedures given to me and about to pull it up on my phone he says sure but it doesn’t seem that way. He goes on about the employees talk about it, but the procedures they gave me are to split tips evenly by hours worked between 2 store where not everyone is in both systems.
There’s a lot more bs but I think I’m getting too heated talking about this. Maybe I’ll add on later idk

The "bother" is in quotations because I typoed in my initial post and decided to keep it (got a lot of questions about it in the second post I made about the cake) for this next related posts.
These are the recipes for each of the tiers! As a refresher for flavors: top tier was pink champagne cake with a champagne whipped cream, middle tier was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and a chocolate mousse, bottom tier was a strawberry dream swirl with whipped cream and strawberry filling. I used an adjusted American butter cream for the coating of the cake and for keeping the fillings inside the layers. The strawberry from the bottom tier did keep escaping from the buttercream, which was frustrating, but not the end of the world. I apologize that some of the 'measurements' were made based on how I felt about it (measure with your heart, a splash, a dash, etc). I'm afraid I didn't measure these things, so I don't have a measurement to give you. I do not use store bought eggs as I have chickens (Brahmas). I made sure to check with the bride beforehand that she was alright with that, as some people can be funny about their eggs. I'm based in the piedmont region of NC, USA, about 330' above sea level.
Pink champagne sponge: I used the mycakeschool recipe, though I did not use the Andre blush champagne, I used a sweet fruity rose champagne over a brut/dry champagne. I also did not use the buttercream recipe associated with that sponge recipe. I did use the Americolor Deep Pink coloring for the sponge, but I think I could have gotten away with natural coloring instead (if you have guests who are allergic to red food dye). I used Swan's Down cake flour and Heilala vanilla. It's a very light, airy sponge that would soak up any cake syrup very well (if you wanted to add a reduced champagne syrup to the sponge to up the moistness & champagne flavor, though it really doesn't need it), with a distinct, but not overpowering champagne taste. Using the sweet fruity champagne gave it a very late spring/early summer taste. Because I was making this tier in 6" pans, I cut the recipe in half and it gave me the perfect amount of batter.
Pink champagne whipped cream: heavy whipping cream 1 cup, granulated sugar 2 tbsp, vanilla measured with your heart, a tsp cream of tartar for stabilization, 2 drops of deep pink Americolor (again, I think natural colors could be used here effectively, if you're concerned about red dye allergies), and champagne added by tbsp until I liked the taste and whipped just past stiff peaks. I did not use the same champagne for the whipped cream as the sponge. I chose a dryer champagne with cherry and blackberry notes for the whipped cream. Having the contrast was very nice so that the cake didn't feel like one giant blob of the same champagne in cake form.
Chocolate sponge: This recipe was the same for my wedding cake and is the Add a Pinch Best Chocolate Cake recipe {ever}. It truly is the best chocolate cake recipe ever. It needs no modifications. I use almond milk for it because (allowed by the recipe, I just think it tastes best with the almond milk, but the recipe says buttermilk, regular milk, and coconut milk can all also be used). This recipe has never failed and is easily the most forgiving, fluffiest, most delicious chocolate cake recipe ever. I use a mixture of Anthony's Goods black cocoa powder and Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder (1:1 mixture) to give the cake a really deep chocolate flavor that *almost* borders on bitter, but once paired with sweet fillings makes the effect of it not being too heavy on the palate. It's very easy to make it a dairy free cake as it doesn't use butter, but do use caution when pouring the boiling water in - if you turn the mixer on too fast, too quickly, you will lose batter to sloshing and run the risk of being hit with hot, chocolatey water.
Chocolate ganache: 254g heavy cream, microwaved for 2 minutes to get it hot (you could heat it up on the stove top if you prefer, I was starting to get into a bit of a time crunch and needed it more quickly than that), add 250g Ghirardelli Intense Dark 86% Cacao chocolate finely chopped, a dash of salt, and a splash of vanilla. Let this sit for a couple minutes until the chocolate is melty. It may need some more heat, only heat it in 10 second increments in the microwave or you may break it. It is much easier on the stove top, I simply didn't have the time.
Chocolate mousse: so strictly speaking this is not mousse. It's a non-egg chocolate mousse, that I, quite frankly, think is more akin to a thick, chocolate whipped cream. I added 250g of chocolate ganache recipe (above) to 250g chilled heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar, stirred it just until incorporated and then put it in the refrigerator. After it had chilled, I whipped it just past stiff peaks and that was it.
Strawberry Dream Swirl sponge: I used the Savory Simple Strawberry Swirl Dream Cake as the basis for this recipe. I suspect, however, that the metric measurements didn't translate quite correctly as 58g of strawberry puree did not lend a strong strawberry taste. If I were to make this cake once more, I think I would double the strawberry puree and halve the orange juice. The way I made it, the ingredients were as follows: 75g strawberry puree (from frozen), 254g heavy whipping cream, vanilla measured with my heart, 30g freshly squeezed orange juice, 284g all purpose flour, 85g cornstarch, 14g baking powder, 4g kosher salt, zest of two large California oranges (about 4" in diameter, slight amount of give when squeezed lightly), 340g granulated sugar, 2 sticks (roughly 226g) of unsalted butter, 4 large eggs, natural red food coloring (I believe it's either beet based or berry based - it's nigh on tasteless either way). The instructions were followed as prescribed by the recipe. This sponge was a dense, sturdy sponge that was excellent as a base to the cake. I used one recipe to fill up the 12" pan and that was one tier. It needed minimal trimming to be flattened for frosting.
Whipped cream: heavy whipping cream 1 cup, granulated sugar 2 tbsp, vanilla measured with your heart, and a tsp cream of tartar for stabilization, then whipped just past stiff peaks.
Strawberry cake filling: I used the Front Range Fed Easy and Delicious Homemade Strawberry cake filling and did not make adjustments to the recipe. I do wish that I had simmered it for longer as it did not 'gelify' as much as I would have like and leaked through the butter cream as a result. This filling was the reason it took me so long to finish the cake when I got it to the venue Friday night.
Buttercream: 2 sticks butter, creamed at med speed in a stand mixer, 460g confectioners sugar, 55g heavy cream, vanilla measured by heart (should have used clear vanilla, but forgot to order it), dash of salt, 25g Americolor bright white, mix on low for 30 seconds until incorporated, then at high for a full minute
The support structure for weight were Boba straws trimmed to height, 6 in the bottom tier, 4 in the middle tier. They held up perfectly. The top two tiers were on clear plexiglass rounds with a hole in the center. I used those and plastic dowels to align the top tiers correctly

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Has anyone air fried Dominique Ansel Cronuts or any Cronuts? If so, could you please share the frying instructions and how they compare to deep fried donuts? Thank you.