FIVE FOODS THAT WILL ALWAYS MAKE IANTO SMILE (AND ONE THAT MAKES HIM WEEP)

[tanarian5]

Characters: Ianto, Jack, Tosh, Lisa
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Ianto and Tosh friendship
Rating: Mild PG
Disclaimer: Not mine; they belong to the BBC.
Spoilers: General, for first season
Summary: As it says in the title

Comments

[holdingoff]

Wow.

Cawl

You've thrown me back to my Gran's with this. I can still taste it after twenty years if I think about it; but I've never been able to reproduce it. I can do okay, and everyone else thinks it's amazing, but something is still missing. Maybe it's the several decades of built up cooking from her old cast iron pot that can't be reproduced.

Alas, the Goffs and the Joneses would be at war over proper eating procedure. Goffs drink all of the liquid first, then eat the stewed solids with the extra sharp hard cheese and buttered bread (and maybe just a splash of vinegar).

Thank you for the great trip down memory lane. Except Mangoes make my teeth itch...

[tanarian]

I know exactly where you are coming from. My mother makes me cawl when I go home and can never understand why I go so mad for it, or why I have a hissy-fit if she hasn't made it. (So there's a heatwave outside. Your point?). And like you, I can never quite reproduce the taste. I blame the English water.

And shame on you for not leaving the potatoes until last! Cawl potch is the most delicious food on this planet, bar none. Love the idea of Ianto quarrelling with someone over the proper way to eat it. Or Jack correcting the Doctor because "Ianto says..."

[holdingoff]

Gran's Cawl didn't have potato, she used parsnips instead. Swede and parsnip potch isn't as good. I guess now that it's getting colder here (colder meaning 50F at night) I might make a pot. Problem is the Swede we get here in California (called Rutabaga?) has a different texture and doesn't mash well.

I agree with the water though. English water doesn't have that sharp iron tang I remember from Scotland or at Gran's on Anglesey. You'd hate our processed to death water here.

I imagine Ianto would snort in disgust as the Doctor shoveled Cawl down his yob without following proper procedures.

[tanarian5]

Parsnips! *reels back in horror* The one vegetable I can't abide is parsnips, so Mam knows better than to put them in the cawl. And no potatoes? *bottom lip quivers* Mind you, your Gran came from Anglesey. They're all mad up there. *runs away and hides, giggling*

I managed to go to San Francisco and Santa Barbara for a holiday once. (We will forget LA, yes we will.) I will never forget my first taste of tap water in Santa Barbara. It was.... an experience.

[squashedrosie]

Oh wow, this was great! I liked how each of the pieces was tied to one person who really affected Ianto.
My only problem was my apparent culinary fail. I had to google a few of the foods. Luckily, they were describes so well that I didn't feel lost at all!
I liked the one with Myfanwy best, I think. Or Lisa. Hmmm.

[tanarian]

Was it cawl that tripped you up? It's a traditional Welsh dish so I suppose it wouldn't be well-known. Oh, but the taste if it's done properly. Ianto's reaction is more or less mine. To come home to that is to be loved and cherished.

I've never really looked at dark chocolate in quite the same way since Myfanwy!

[squashedrosie]

Yeah, never had cawl. (though when you explained how he ate it, that kind of gave away what it was.) And actually, I had to look up Maltesers too. (And I've never actually had proper cheese on toast either, though the name is pretty self explanatory)
The problem with the cawl one is it sounds really good, but I'll never be able to have it be that awesome! :(
Dark chocolate is my favorite type of chocolate, so it really makes me hold Myfanwy in high esteem. (I really liked the part you added there about Ianto drugging Jack's coffee that morning, it really makes sense!)

[tanarian5]

*reels back at the thought of never having eaten cawl, cheese on toast or Maltesers* Mind you, I'd probably be a hell of a lot thinner!

Cheese on toast is pretty much one of the food of the gods. Sometimes I slice tomatoes and put them underneath the cheese so they're hot and juicy as I bite in... Oh god, now I'm starving and I have to go to work!

[cen_sceal]

Oh, this fic's left me hungry :D I just love the idea of having the food representing feelings and people for Ianto. The popcorn section pulled me back to Friday evenings, and the cawl reminds me of coddle a little. hmmm
Tosh has just become Malteasers for me, brilliant combination there!
And it's great to see new fic, yay!

[tanarian5]

I got really homesick writing the cawl section of this and had to go out and get some Maltesers. Really, I am an adman's dream. So susceptible! But yes, certain foods have a strong connection with specific things with me.

And Tosh and Maltesers just seemed to go together. She wasn't used enough, damn it!

[cen_sceal]

Oh, I read this just before I went to bed and spent the night dreaming of Malteasers... nom! I don't think I'll look at them for a while without thinking 'Tosh!'
She was one of my favorites - one of the things that anoyed me about TW was the way they teased us with potentially brilliant characters which were then completely under used *scowls at thatman* I like your Tosh, she's always such fun and a great mix of fragile and pure kickass

[tanarian]

Personally I think he didn't want competition for his precious Gwennie-poos. Tosh had so much damn potential and it was just wasted in a morass of geeky cliches. Since I am now completely ignoring Certain People I intend to have a whale of a time with Tosh!

[fide_et_spe]

This was so sweet. I think my favourite bit was the cheese on toast. I love the idea of it being a sex aid, although my mind boggles. Also I love the manners in bed thing, crisp packets under the pillow, hah.

[criccieth]

the ending is painful, but it's all good!

you know, I really should bug the little old ladies at the tots groups I go to for their (probably many and varied) versions of caul. I've only been here as a young adult and youngish mother and my husband's family moved from England, so on neither side is there a traditional recipe! And as little lass is about to leave tots groups (when the hell did she get pre-school age?) AND we might be about to leave for the other side of the pond, I DO need to get those recipes.