one of my favorite headcanons is skilled chef jason (it's burned into my mind at this point) alongside latino!jason and asian!tim.
tim can make enough basic dishes to hold himself over— really any vegetables that haven't wilted and jasmine rice in his instant pot. occasionally, he'll make the effort to get all of the ingredients for kimchi jjigae. if he really wants to take his time then he'll make yukgaejang. growing up he didn't need to make food for himself often. the staff the drakes hired made sure he had three meals a day. the food was delicious, but if tim had to admit it, it didn't compare to the times when his mother would make food. the food wasn't anything special either- she would made simple rabokki or instant noodles (with only the slightest squeeze of the sauce packet) when he would whine before bed.
jason on the other hand grew up cooking a variety of rice dishes in a well loved pot. rice in bulk was cheap and so he learned early on how to dress it up. most of his cooking knowledge he picked up from neighbors or his trips to the latin market. sancocho became a weeknight staple, especially in the hardest times for the todds financially, alongside arroz con gandules and picadillo de carne. the affectionate look catherine gave him when he served a hot plate to her was priceless. food was a necessity, but also a way a means of communication between them. catherine wasn't much of a cook, she preferred baking. the days when she had the energy she would make one of jason's favorite treats— quesitos.
it's become an unspoken rule between the two men; keep the places they occupy stocked with rice at all times. whenever either has a rough patrol, the other will start making rice. tim stays true to his instant pot and jason still prefers using a pot to this day, even if he's adapted his childhood recipes to a rice cooker.
it's been this way for so long neither of them can remember who started it first. somewhere along the line they began to learn each other's recipes. jason keeps a variety of sauces and vegetables for banchan stocked in his fridge; tim keeps sofrito, plantains, pigeon peas and whatever else he's managed to memorized from jason's pantry.
no matter who decides to cook at the end of the day, there is sure to be rice.
