The Loremaster Takes on Lore
by Falerin
When one gets as old as me celebrations of birth become fairly irrelevant. However, there is something about the tradition of gift-giving and festivity in and of itself that I am drawn to. For this reason I have, in fact, taken the habit of observing a date every year as my anniversary. The origin of that date is too convoluted to get into here, though suffice it to say it does not reflect my actual birth date in so far as I have such a thing, at least not really.
Lore is no stranger to the habit of celebration and festivity either, and some of the most interesting festivals and traditions can be found on the continents of Lore. From the ubiquitous Snugglefest to the rather prosaic celebration of Frostvale, festivity is part of the Lorian culture. While some of these holidays draw obvious and direct parallels to the festivities of other realities, Lore is unique in both its application and general approach to these holidays. Of course, such holiday celebrations vary extensively from one environment to another. Deren observes its own cultural holidays in a fairly different fashion then Battleonia, that locale in a different fashion then Vandar, and so on.
None-the-less, there are traditions endemic to all cultures. Among these is the much flaunted Elemental Championships. The cultural origins of the Elemental Championships are hard to trace though they in fact have analogs to similar global athletic competitions on Terra and Caelestia. They represent the gathering of the finest skill in the world of Lore in order to test their mettle and come out on top.
This sort of vying for supremacy is at its core intrinsically different from the normal elemental warfare that occurs throughout Lore. While it is unlikely that the Elemental Lords countenance that ordinary warfare, it seems obvious to me that they DO encourage the Elemental Championships, or at least they should.
Of course the biggest benefit of a global gathering is gustatory. When you bring together such diverse and practical minds from all over the planet something is quite definitely going to get cooked.
In celebration of fusion cuisine and in recognition of the coming harvest I offer you this tasty tidbit.
Thai Burritos
Serves: 8
4 pieces large Chicken breast, boned (about 1-2 pieces/guest)
2 med. red onions
1 med. green bell pepper
1 med. red bell pepper
1 med. yellow or purple bell pepper
2 lg. carrots
2” pieces ginger root or galangal, peeled and sliced thin
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 bunch broccoli
2 sm. zucchini
Flour
6 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick)
Salt
Pepper
1 tbsp 5-spice powder
2 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp garam masala
1 cup peanuts, unsalted
2 cups chicken stock
Flour tortillas, burrito size
Rice
Golden raisins or craisins
Shredded coconut
Thai chutney
Remove bone and skin from chicken; cut into thin slices (1/4”). Lightly coat with flour. Chop vegetables into bite-sized strips or chunks. In a small bowl, prepare spice blend by sifting spices together into a small bowl. Make chicken stock, then set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp butter in skillet and cook chicken slices over medium heat for 2 mins. They should be only just cooked. Remove chicken and set aside to cool; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Add remaining butter to skillet and stir in spice blend. Let cook over low heat for one min. Add onions and peanuts and saute until onion is transparent, about 3 mins. Start boiling water for rice. Add remaining vegetables (except sprouts), and saute for 1-2 mins. longer. Stir in chicken stock and ginger; cover and simmer for 10 mins., stirring occasionally. Start cooking rice. While simmering vegetables, flake chicken with two forks, or chop in food processor. After 10 mins., add chicken and sprouts to vegetables to warm up chicken, about 2-3 mins.
Serving suggestions: In a warm flour tortilla, mix rice with vegetables. Add in Golden raisins or shredded coconut to taste. Serve with Thai chutney, again to taste.
You may substitute 1/2 tsp ground ginger for the fresh ginger or galangal but the taste will be inferior.
