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Post by Nako on Jun 19, 2009 9:45:38 GMT -5
Reading was a very difficult for a creature that had never been officially taught. Slowly, her eyes tread over the words she was unfamiliar with, lips moving wordlessly to work out the syllables. "T-t.. sampa. T'sampa. Gosh..." There was nothing worse than two consonants put next to each other. But Tsampa... with a silent 't'.. that made sense. She'd heard of this dish, and had even tried it once. The butter tea was by far the nastiest thing she'd ever tasted. Salty, greasy tea. It was a staple of the most mountainous of the Sorgaire. Well, Layla would have to find an alternative to the old recipe. Instead of having flour free floating in the noxious concoction, she instead made a dough out of the flour and tea. They would make wonderful little caffeinated biscuits, and after they were cooked, could be slathered in the pungent butter of the great, furry milk producing yak cows which were one of the few creatures that produced at this altitude. On the side, she already had a broth for vegetable noodles simmering. Hopefully this more traditional dish would go down well with the Warren. She'd struggled through quite a few new Sorgarian words she'd never heard of just to get it right. Finally the biscuits went into the oven, and she could hop away from the heat of the kitchen for just a little while. Her sister had wandered off, and with the other leveret busy with some other task, she was on her own in the kitchen, cooking for the whole lot of them. While Layla enjoyed the company, it was not necessary. Quite at home in the kitchen she had found a good pace to work at in order to get things done. No doubt today would be a busy day. She'd heard a whisper in the halls about how some of the Does may need some linens mended. Carefully, she smoothed the long apron that shielded her lowland rot and sat down on an empty chair. While she didn't feel particularly that her rot was.. well... disgusting, she was sure no one wanted to find a piece of hanging skin any more than they wanted fur in their food; she made quite a habit of staying well groomed to keep from shedding in the kitchen. |
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Post by Blue on Jun 24, 2009 21:38:39 GMT -5
 Cornflower hopped quietly along the passageways of the warren. She'd just finished putting away some of the laundry she had done earlier, and she thought she'd head toward the kitchen to see if anyone needed any help there. Albeit she wasn't very good at cooking, but she was willing to learn. She had managed to get along with Layla and Clara fairly well so far, and that was a plus in her book. It was nice feeling like she belonged somewhere. And maybe they could help teach her little things she hadn't already been taught. Finally she arrived at the kitchen. Just outside the door, she poked her head in to see if anyone was there. She noticed Layla stirring something in a pot on the stove. Seeing that no one else was in there with her, she hopped in. "Good evening, Layla. Is there anything I can help you with to prepare dinner?" |
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Post by Nako on Aug 30, 2009 11:13:10 GMT -5
Layla had been just about to sip the broth for the vegetable noodles, testing its saltiness and strength. The amount of edible vegetables had been running low, so much of the broth consisted of stems and end pieces of anything she could find in the cupboard. She'd been making a point to save any extra cuttings for broth making in case things went lean.
Ah. The Sorgaire girl. For all that her long tail was odd, she was a pretty thing. Layla assumed that her father was grooming her to become another one of his Does. He -did- miss their mother terribly. Of course, none of this was ever voiced to Cornflower by -her-. That was between her father and this leveret.
"Well... yes actually. Come here and tell me how this tastes." Carefully holding the spoon, the inclined it outward to the fellow leveret, inviting her to sample it.
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Post by Blue on Sept 1, 2009 14:43:47 GMT -5
After Layla beckoned her over to the large pot of whatever-it-was, Cornflower hopped quickly over the tile floor to her and the spoon she held. She saw that the spoon held some steaming broth and what looked like a bit of celery, so she sipped it carefully so as not to burn her tongue. The taste lingered in her mouth while the rest ran down her throat, and she quickly evaluated it. "It's pretty strong, but it has a nice flavor. You seem to have done a good job so far." she said giving the girl a bright grin.
She hopped up onto the counter to peer into the pot on the stove. It was only filled with the broth she had just tasted, as well as more cut up vegetables. Wondering what was going to be done or added to it, she turned back towards the Lowlands/Sorgraire mix to ask her just that. "What do you plan on doing with this broth? You've made quite a bit of it, and I'm sure it'll be a delicious dinner." Layla really did a wonderful job with her cooking skills, and Cornflower only hoped that she could attain these skills one day.
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Post by Nako on Sept 2, 2009 14:50:25 GMT -5
Whatever niceties that Cornflower had extended in her criticism was overlooked as Layla's expression twisted into that of concern, turning to take a sip herself before making a nose in her throat. "Yes, it's been cooking down a while. I'll add more water. She wasn't used to working with Cornflower in the kitchen, and nearly bumped into her on her way to the water spout. She muttered an 'oops' and danced around the Sorgaire to get by.
"It's for noodles. Those won't go in till a few minutes before dinner so they don't overcook. I didn't think the traditional 'tsampa' would go over well with the Does... you know, that tea where you dip powdered flour into it till it turns to clumpy stuff? I've never been a fan of it, and I'm half Sorgaire. The Does would probably find it deplorable. Instead, I made tea biscuits to suit Sir's taste. The noodles though.. yes, that should go over quite well, I think."
She paused, unsure, and then gestured to the oven. "Would you check on the biscuits? They must not get more than a light browning on top."
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Post by Blue on Sept 13, 2009 1:18:40 GMT -5
More water seemed like a good solution for the strong broth. Cornflower felt a bit in the way when Layla had to skirt around her, but was glad nonetheless to be able to help out.
Noodles. Mmm, yes. Those would definitely go over better than a real homemade tsampa. It wasn't exactly her favorite dish either, and she nodded in agreement as Layla continued to speak. The mention of biscuits made her ears perk up a bit, for that sounded like a delicious addition to the meal. "You really have thought this meal through. I wish I could be half as good as you when it comes to cooking." A little pink flushed her cheeks and her ears turned back slightly at the end of her statement. There was no point in feeling inferior. All she could really do to get better was to continue to help out like this. Then maybe one day she'd be able to conduct a meal on her own.
Upon hearing Layla's instruction, she hopped to the floor and hurried to open the oven door. Upon seeing the biscuits had indeed become brownish on top, she grabbed some oven mitts, placed them onto her paws, and carefully removed the tray without burning herself. Feeling quite accomplished, she called Layla over for her approval.
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Post by Nako on Sept 14, 2009 13:10:08 GMT -5
Layla did little more than give a soft smile at what Cornflower said. The girl was obviously embarrassed she'd let it slip out, and honestly it made Layla flush a little too. It wasn't as if she set out to be the 'best' cook, but rather wanted to work to her maximum usefulness.
Layla gave the broth one last sip before she heard Cornflower calling for her. Setting the spoon down, she came over to inspect them. "Yes.. that looks just about right. Just set them down and put a light cloth over them so they don't cool too quickly." Grabbing a mitt as well, she deftly shut the airhole that allowed air into the coals that stoked the stove's fire.
There. All done! The broth was now at only the lightest of simmers to keep it warm, the biscuits were done and the noodles would take mere minutes once thrown into the broth. That would be done right before they were served. "There! Now one can only hope that they want to eat sometime soon, that way I can take a bit of a rest!" Her lips curled up into a bit of a grin, sitting down on the stool she'd been using to reach things up high.
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Post by Blue on Oct 5, 2009 0:08:52 GMT -5
Cornflower didn't notice the small blush that crossed Layla's face as she was trying not to burn herself on the oven. She was glad that she'd done something right though, and proceeded to place a cloth over the biscuits, just as the other Leveret had asked of her.
Since Layla seemed quite happy with the meal, that made Cornflower gleeful as well. She was glad her opinion helped bring it all together, and that she could take some of the stress off the other Leveret's shoulders as well. She couldn't even imagine doing all this by herself! Just thinking about it made her want to flop over onto the cold kitchen floor.
Instead, she jumped up onto the counter so she could be more eye level with Layla. Seeing her grin made her smile as well. "Yes, we can only hope. I do think they'll enjoy it, though. And...thanks for letting me help out. I'm sorry if I got in your way, but maybe...if we work together more, that won't happen as often. That is, if you want my help. I understand that I'm not the best cook, but just tonight I learned something new. Anyway, I'm just rambling at this point...sorry. It's really up to you, Layla."
She cast her eyes down and away from Sorgaire/Lowlands Leveret. Why did she always do this to herself?
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Post by Nako on Oct 8, 2009 0:23:29 GMT -5
Ah, how... enthusiastic of her. Layla quirked a brow, watching the girl curiously before finally giving a small chuckle. She hadn't really thought that much into her cooking. Well, of -course- she was pretty good at it, but she never thought she'd get such... admiration for it! Sure, her father praised her for her abilities.. but it was most refreshing to hear it from a fellow worker.
"Well, yeah! I'm completely fine with that. In fact, I have no issue at all teaching you everything I know." Layla assured her with her most winning of smiles. I mean.. it wasn't as if her cooking skills were a -secret-! Well... a few guarded recipes perhaps. "I guess I really should teach someone like you the ropes in case I get traded away. I'm sure my father wants to make a Doe of me eventually." Which seemed quite a waste of her talents, in her opinion.. but she understood that the role of Doe was very important too.
After all, the thought of having children of her own filled her with a happiness that surprised her. After all... leverets shouldn't be thinking of such things as children.. right?
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