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Write a story in the form of a recipe, menu, grocery list, or product description.

Posted in Short Story on Jun 6, 2025

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✍️ 78 stories

SOULSWAP™: Starter Kit for the Existentially Restless or Just Simply Curious

Submitted to Contest #306

I told myself I wasn’t going to cry as I grabbed a new box of Kleenex. My Jeramie was off to college with his Boho girlfriend in her rusty VW bug. Our Suburu station wagon had tons of room but they needed to do it their way, unencumbered by the baggage of the youth they were in a hurry to outgrow. As I try for one final hug, Bethany yells something about the window being stuck. She lights a joint and smoke fills the Beetle as they flee their childhoods. Jees. They couldn’t wait till they were down the driveway? I wave till my carpel tunnel s...

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Home, Bath & Body

Submitted to Contest #306

Mariella Wilson Soy Wax Candle, Original Fragrance: Like a warm hug with a soft 80s soundtrack. All banana bread and suburban chic while driving the teen to swim practice. With subtle notes of a high school sweetheart main squeeze and summer vacations in Cabo, this neon pink Dodge Caravan has kept on rollin' since 1973. Mariella Wilson Soy Wax Candle, Quiet Desperation: For when you realize your teenage son would rather Jennifer from down the street drive him to swim practice. And your best friend Sasha announces at brunch that she's moving ...

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No Worries

Submitted to Contest #306

Are anxiety and/or depression interrupting your life? Millions of Americans suffer from these debilitating mental conditions. For generations, they have pushed forward and persevered, but now there is hope in a revolutionary new drug called BRAINEZE.Maybe you think you’d be better off dead, because no hope in this insane, cruel world continues to spin in the same old patterns, year after year, generation after generation, until the Apocalypse frees us from our misery and takes us home. Do you want to release the burden and live your best lif...

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MEAL FOR PRINCE CHARMING

Submitted to Contest #306

A MEAL FOR PRINCE CHARMING “ ! HEAR YE! WHO IS THE CLEVEREST KITCHEN MAIDEN IN THE LAND?EACH DAY FOR THE NEXT HALF FORTNIGHT, THE KING’S MEN WILL LEAVE A DIFFERENT INGREDIENT AT THE DOOR OF EACH UNMARRIED MAIDEN, AN INGREDIENT FOR THE PLATTER, THE KETTLE, THE FRYPAN. PRINCE MERVYN HIMSELF WILL BE BY TO SUP ON THE MEAL CREATED BY EACH MAID AT THE END OF THE 5 DAYS! ONE DISH PER MAIDEN. YOU MAY ONLY ADD SALT AND BUTTER FROM YOUR OWN PANTRY TO YOUR CRFEATION. THE WINNING DISH WILL WIN THE PRINCE’S PROPOSAL IN MARRIAGE.’“Since you can’t re...

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Cucumber Waffles with Buffalo Raisin Syrup

Submitted to Contest #306

Cucumber Waffles with Buffalo Raisin Syrup A new administration always means some degree of change; elections do in fact have consequences, even for the National Recipe Archive. Historically those changes have been largely ceremonial, subject to the particular tastes of the incoming prime minister. The outgoing minister, for example, had a fondness for cobblers, and they represented close to half the dishes added to the National Recipe Archive during his time in office. More health conscious ministers had focused on leaner, low-calorie repla...

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Baking Men

Submitted to Contest #306

This morning, I woke to the scent of home-baked goods—warm, rich, and promising, like the whisper of a long-lost romance. Perhaps it was the single life or the undeniable drought in the “men flow,” but my heart—and stomach—demanded something deliciously rebellious. “If love won’t find me today, I’ll craft my own sweet replacements!”With that declaration, I strutted into the kitchen, where fate had mischief brewing. Maybe it was just my imagination—or a wink from Cupid—but I swear tiny cherubs danced among my baking tools, sprinkling secret ...

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Original Soul Food

Submitted to Contest #306

Original Soul Food Our StoryWitch, Head Chef and Founder, Marina the Dreaded, started her humble beginnings as a young one hundred and thirty year old harvester of human souls in the underworld. After an apprenticeship with Hades God of the Dead, she asked herself: Why isn't there a convenient place to provide a gourmet experience for witches looking to suck the youth out of fresh and locally sourced humans? So it was. Founded in 1690 Salem, Massachusetts, Marina the Dreaded started our beloved “Original Soul Food”, a restaurant using only l...

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Grocery List

Submitted to Contest #306

Grocery List The harsh air from the ac blew strands of his hair loose as the sliding doors closed behind him. He glanced at the carts, but he wouldn’t need one. He was only here for a few things. But would a basket be helpful? The garbled song from the parking lot became recognizable as he entered the store, some country song from twenty years ago that never faded from the radio. He let the noise disappear into the background as he checked the list on his phone. Motor OilBurritosToilet paper A large family ran around him as he ...

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How to Make Sourdough from a Discard

Submitted to Contest #306

How to Make Sourdough from a Discard This easy no-fail sourdough discard bread is mixed together the night before, fermented overnight, and baked in the morning. It has a soft, chewy interior with a crusty exterior, and that delicious sourdough taste – without all the work! What is the difference between active sourdough and discard? Active sourdough starter has been well fed and allowed to sit until it is bubbly and almost doubled in size. Sourdough discard is what is left over after it has peaked and has started to come down. If you prefer...

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Jealist

Submitted to Contest #306

1.Contact SolutionI hated when I had to buy contact solution; it was just a reminder of how I couldn’t afford Lasik and then I would get into thinking about how it wasn’t right that Lasik wasn’t covered by insurance. It’s eyesight! So, what if everyone wanted to be able to see without glasses or contacts?Then I got to that feeling I really hated- the unwarranted jealousy followed by unwarranted guilt of having that jealousy of my associate, Brie, who had gotten Lasik for free because her dad is a Lasik surgeon. It’s not like she forced her d...

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How to make Meat Sauce for a Hundred

Submitted to Contest #306

In order to make meat sauce, you must start with a good pot. She needs to be big if she’s going to hold enough to serve a hundred people. A sturdy one with a thick, heavy bottom. This will protect your sauce from ruin in the long run. She doesn’t have to be new. Sometimes the older ones work better. But she has to be properly prepared.First, she must be cleaned and free of anything left over from previous uses, especially if someone has been careless with her and she’s been burned before. Anything left over in her will affect how your sauce ...

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Saline Coffee Calcium

Submitted to Contest #306

Saline Coffee CalciumThere were three items on the original grocery list. Saline, coffee, calcium. Jamie said these three words to herself like a mantra. Saline, coffee, calcium. Saline, coffee, calcium. She drove her sonic gray Honda Civic to the supermarket, breezed through the automatic doors confident in her mantra, her mind humming. Comfortable in her pull-on baggy jeans, black Sam Edelman sneakers, no socks, black tee and jeans jacket, she believed she belonged in the world, set her phone to the Scan It app, chose a shopping cart.TofuO...

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Recipe for a Dystopian Future Where Memory Is Owned

Submitted to Contest #306

Yields: 1 surveillance regime, 1 glitch in the archive, and a memory that fights backPrep Time: 42 cycles of neural calibrationCook Time: 7.3 seconds, repeated eternally Ingredients: 1 cloud-based government (non-optional, auto-updating)7 billion neural implants (firmware version 3.9.0)1 rogue archivist14 false memories embedded into each citizen at birth10,000 drones programmed for empathy simulation1 decaying moon (decorative, symbolic)3 backups of history (corrupted)1 fragment of original consciousness (smuggled)Electricity. Untraceable.1...

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Crushed teenager on a bed of tears with white wine reduction and chocolate swirl.

Submitted to Contest #306

Crushed teenager on a bed of tears with white wine reduction and chocolate swirl. Ingredients:Mixture of vinylMelange of hair and beauty productsA la carte of black outfitsMise en place of makeup and brushesMedley of Jewellery5 inch Winklepicker stilettosAssortment of alcoholic beverages1 packet of 10 Embassy number 1 Julienne of Swan Vesta 25 squirts of Anais Anais Method:1) Heat crimping irons to 230 degrees.2) Turn on Amstrad HiFi system, place 12 inch version of Transvision Vamp’s ‘Baby I Don’t Care,’ on turntable. With steady hand, appl...

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Screaming Lasagna

Submitted to Contest #306

Allowing my hairy paws to trample through the early morning dew on the spring grass. I'm used to it. Must be early May, feels like summer must be on the way. My golden coat of fur to warm my exterior wealth. Went by Jessie's she must of overslept. Not a chance of romance early today. I'll catch her a little later. She always needing a cat nap or two, three. I had to stop off at old Romone's though, Mr. Devineer, show star. Had a late niter out with the boys. Looks and sounds like I missed out on a real showstopper of a good time down by the ...

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