Poem: "To Feel Safe and Warm"
May. 15th, 2021 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the May 4, 2021 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from nsfwords and librarygeek. It also fills the "teamwork skills" square in my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by nsfwords. It belongs to the Kraken thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"To Feel Safe and Warm"
[Thursday, September 1, 2016]
September blew in rainy and chill,
the damp making everything feel
clammy with cold, unpleasant
even in tropical Thalassia.
People huddled in the gyms
and cafeterias, reluctant
to brave the bucketing rain
and the salt-lashed wind.
Everyone just wanted
to feel safe and warm.
When Rainbow Zest spotted
one of her favorite helpers, Anvith,
she coaxed him into the kitchen.
"Let's make soup," she said.
"What kind of soup?" he asked,
looking around the space.
"All kinds!" said Rainbow Zest.
"I've been wanting to work up
a soup algorithm suited for
high-burn metabolisms."
"That would be useful,"
Anvith agreed. He could
manifest extra arms, and
that burned more energy.
Rainbow Zest herself had
Chameleon Hair as well as
Enhanced Senses, which
also ran up her fuel needs.
She had studied food science
in college, but upon discovering
that fine cuisine was riddled with
sexism and powertripping, she
bailed out and became an activist.
A Kraken spotter had found her
running the chuckwagon at
a protest, and shamelessly
poached her from them.
"Shall we cook fast or slow?"
Anvith asked. "There are
giant stock pots and also
a slow cooker in here."
"Let's do fast, average, and
slow," said Rainbow Zest.
"I'll take notes for each."
She sketched a quick outline
of possible timing for the soups.
Then she thought about
how to design soup for
high-burn superpowers.
There were other algorithms
for soup construction, of course,
but they tended to be simpler
and often low-calorie too.
Rainbow Zest wrote out
what she could remember
about superpowers and
related dietary requirements,
with which abilities needed what.
"Soup bases," she mused.
"Cream soups are richer
than broth soups are."
"Other creamy things,
too, for people who don't
want dairy," said Anvith.
"I like using coconut milk."
A lot of soups and curries
from southern India used
coconut, and the Maldivians
put it in almost everything.
"Okay, creamy soup ingredients,
and I should list stock because
that has lots of vitamins and
minerals," said Rainbow Zest.
"Start with aromatics, though?"
said Anvith. "Onions, ginger,
chilies, and ghee to cook them in."
"Good point," said Rainbow Zest.
"Aromatics first, except for cooking
in a crockpot where you can just
dump everything in together."
She made a list of aromatics,
including individual ingredients
and popular combinations.
Then she made a list of
popular cooking oils and fats,
sorted by their smokepoints.
"You put ghee." Anvith smiled.
"I love ghee," said Rainbow Zest.
"I haven't sautéed anything in
regular butter since you introduced
me to ghee, the stuff never burns."
Raising the topic of protein
left her scrambling to write while
Anvith listed dozens of pulses.
She loved his Dal Sarvesh.
Rainbow Zest added meats
and other protein ingredients,
then sorted them into categories
based on their nutrient profiles.
She also listed favorite combinations
of meat to maximize the flavors.
Anvith wasn't particularly excited
by listing grains for soups, but
he was fascinated by the pastas.
"So many shapes!" he said,
looking a tub of alphabet letters.
"Yeah, we have English, Cyrillic,
Greek, Runes, and Chinese alfabeti,"
said Rainbow Zest. "I haven't seen
them in Arabic or Hindi letters, though ...
I should ask if someone can program
those shapes for the pasta printers."
"We need all the vegetables to make
alphabet soup," Anvith said, grinning.
Rainbow Zest shook her head,
colorful hair flying. "No, not all
of them," she said. "To make
a high-burn soup algorithm,
we need the vegetables with
the most nutrients. Many of
them are too low in calories."
"Ah, so," Anvith said, nodding.
"Rich vegetables ... potatoes,
carrots, tomatoes, squash ..."
"Now you've got the idea,"
said Rainbow Zest. "I'll
sort these by cooking time."
She listed the soup vegetables
with the highest nutrition, making
a separate category for leafy greens.
"Shall I chop some?" Anvith said.
"Sure, grab a few things from the lists
and get started," said Rainbow Zest.
She watched him extrude another pair
of arms, deftly juggling vegetables,
cutting boards, and kitchen knives.
Meanwhile, she started collecting
spices, which made Anvith spew
a list of several dozen from memory.
Then, probably recalling what
she said about vegetables, he
listed the warming spices and
those for stimulating digestion.
"We should include world spice blends,"
said Rainbow Zest. "They're easy."
She cited some condiments,
like pesto and soy sauce.
For salt she recommended
sea salt or mineral salt.
"How do you feel about
seaweed flakes?" she asked,
shaking the small bottle.
"I love those," said Anvith.
"Dulse, kelp, sea lettuce --
they're really nice with sea salt."
Rainbow Zest added a note
about sea vegetables.
"What are some of
your favorite toppings
for soup?" she asked.
"Cilantro, a swirl of cream,
diced avocado," Anvith said as
he swept vegetables into bowls.
"I like cornbread, croutons,
those little cheese crisps --
almost anything crunchy,"
said Rainbow Zest.
She noted toppings
as a good way to add
extra calories and nutrients.
Rainbow Zest set up bowls
of dried beans and peas
to soak for tomorrow, when
she could make a slow soup.
For now, she used what
Anvith had been chopping
to start a regular soup and
the aromatics for a quick soup.
Then she brought out cans
of beans and vegetables that
would come together fast.
Anvith burrowed into the fridge
and found a big container of
leftover spiced lamb bits
to put in the quick soup.
Rainbow Zest browned up
some firm tofu cubes with
a splash of soy sauce
for the regular soup.
"That smells really good,"
Anvith said, leaning over the pot.
"In college I learned that a lot
of the people in food science
use their knowledge for evil,"
said Rainbow Zest. "I want to use
mine for something better than that.
I want to make healthy food irresistible."
"Well, it's working," Anvith said.
The whole kitchen smelled
fragrant and delicious.
They forgot about
the monsoon lashing
against the windows.
They felt safe and warm
making pots of soup.
* * *
Notes:
This poem's notes are long, so its character and content notes will appear separately. These include the soup algorithm.
nsfwords and librarygeek. It also fills the "teamwork skills" square in my 5-1-21 card for the Leaky Pipeline Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by nsfwords. It belongs to the Kraken thread of the Polychrome Heroics series."To Feel Safe and Warm"
[Thursday, September 1, 2016]
September blew in rainy and chill,
the damp making everything feel
clammy with cold, unpleasant
even in tropical Thalassia.
People huddled in the gyms
and cafeterias, reluctant
to brave the bucketing rain
and the salt-lashed wind.
Everyone just wanted
to feel safe and warm.
When Rainbow Zest spotted
one of her favorite helpers, Anvith,
she coaxed him into the kitchen.
"Let's make soup," she said.
"What kind of soup?" he asked,
looking around the space.
"All kinds!" said Rainbow Zest.
"I've been wanting to work up
a soup algorithm suited for
high-burn metabolisms."
"That would be useful,"
Anvith agreed. He could
manifest extra arms, and
that burned more energy.
Rainbow Zest herself had
Chameleon Hair as well as
Enhanced Senses, which
also ran up her fuel needs.
She had studied food science
in college, but upon discovering
that fine cuisine was riddled with
sexism and powertripping, she
bailed out and became an activist.
A Kraken spotter had found her
running the chuckwagon at
a protest, and shamelessly
poached her from them.
"Shall we cook fast or slow?"
Anvith asked. "There are
giant stock pots and also
a slow cooker in here."
"Let's do fast, average, and
slow," said Rainbow Zest.
"I'll take notes for each."
She sketched a quick outline
of possible timing for the soups.
Then she thought about
how to design soup for
high-burn superpowers.
There were other algorithms
for soup construction, of course,
but they tended to be simpler
and often low-calorie too.
Rainbow Zest wrote out
what she could remember
about superpowers and
related dietary requirements,
with which abilities needed what.
"Soup bases," she mused.
"Cream soups are richer
than broth soups are."
"Other creamy things,
too, for people who don't
want dairy," said Anvith.
"I like using coconut milk."
A lot of soups and curries
from southern India used
coconut, and the Maldivians
put it in almost everything.
"Okay, creamy soup ingredients,
and I should list stock because
that has lots of vitamins and
minerals," said Rainbow Zest.
"Start with aromatics, though?"
said Anvith. "Onions, ginger,
chilies, and ghee to cook them in."
"Good point," said Rainbow Zest.
"Aromatics first, except for cooking
in a crockpot where you can just
dump everything in together."
She made a list of aromatics,
including individual ingredients
and popular combinations.
Then she made a list of
popular cooking oils and fats,
sorted by their smokepoints.
"You put ghee." Anvith smiled.
"I love ghee," said Rainbow Zest.
"I haven't sautéed anything in
regular butter since you introduced
me to ghee, the stuff never burns."
Raising the topic of protein
left her scrambling to write while
Anvith listed dozens of pulses.
She loved his Dal Sarvesh.
Rainbow Zest added meats
and other protein ingredients,
then sorted them into categories
based on their nutrient profiles.
She also listed favorite combinations
of meat to maximize the flavors.
Anvith wasn't particularly excited
by listing grains for soups, but
he was fascinated by the pastas.
"So many shapes!" he said,
looking a tub of alphabet letters.
"Yeah, we have English, Cyrillic,
Greek, Runes, and Chinese alfabeti,"
said Rainbow Zest. "I haven't seen
them in Arabic or Hindi letters, though ...
I should ask if someone can program
those shapes for the pasta printers."
"We need all the vegetables to make
alphabet soup," Anvith said, grinning.
Rainbow Zest shook her head,
colorful hair flying. "No, not all
of them," she said. "To make
a high-burn soup algorithm,
we need the vegetables with
the most nutrients. Many of
them are too low in calories."
"Ah, so," Anvith said, nodding.
"Rich vegetables ... potatoes,
carrots, tomatoes, squash ..."
"Now you've got the idea,"
said Rainbow Zest. "I'll
sort these by cooking time."
She listed the soup vegetables
with the highest nutrition, making
a separate category for leafy greens.
"Shall I chop some?" Anvith said.
"Sure, grab a few things from the lists
and get started," said Rainbow Zest.
She watched him extrude another pair
of arms, deftly juggling vegetables,
cutting boards, and kitchen knives.
Meanwhile, she started collecting
spices, which made Anvith spew
a list of several dozen from memory.
Then, probably recalling what
she said about vegetables, he
listed the warming spices and
those for stimulating digestion.
"We should include world spice blends,"
said Rainbow Zest. "They're easy."
She cited some condiments,
like pesto and soy sauce.
For salt she recommended
sea salt or mineral salt.
"How do you feel about
seaweed flakes?" she asked,
shaking the small bottle.
"I love those," said Anvith.
"Dulse, kelp, sea lettuce --
they're really nice with sea salt."
Rainbow Zest added a note
about sea vegetables.
"What are some of
your favorite toppings
for soup?" she asked.
"Cilantro, a swirl of cream,
diced avocado," Anvith said as
he swept vegetables into bowls.
"I like cornbread, croutons,
those little cheese crisps --
almost anything crunchy,"
said Rainbow Zest.
She noted toppings
as a good way to add
extra calories and nutrients.
Rainbow Zest set up bowls
of dried beans and peas
to soak for tomorrow, when
she could make a slow soup.
For now, she used what
Anvith had been chopping
to start a regular soup and
the aromatics for a quick soup.
Then she brought out cans
of beans and vegetables that
would come together fast.
Anvith burrowed into the fridge
and found a big container of
leftover spiced lamb bits
to put in the quick soup.
Rainbow Zest browned up
some firm tofu cubes with
a splash of soy sauce
for the regular soup.
"That smells really good,"
Anvith said, leaning over the pot.
"In college I learned that a lot
of the people in food science
use their knowledge for evil,"
said Rainbow Zest. "I want to use
mine for something better than that.
I want to make healthy food irresistible."
"Well, it's working," Anvith said.
The whole kitchen smelled
fragrant and delicious.
They forgot about
the monsoon lashing
against the windows.
They felt safe and warm
making pots of soup.
* * *
Notes:
This poem's notes are long, so its character and content notes will appear separately. These include the soup algorithm.
