Cooking with Elann

by **Elann** on July 12th, 2015, 10:09 am

Timestamp 28th of Summer 515AV

Happily Elann moved down the hallway from the stairs. In her hand was an additional bag of spices, accrued at a decent price from some local vendors. Inside the bag were smaller bags containing each spice, and for some of them that stained she was given small tin or cloth tied bags. It overall wasn't very heavy, but it definitely smelled heavenly. She was so excited to cook with them and try out some Benshira dishes that her mother and her mother before her used to make. She knew the recipes to a point. It was part of their culture. It was even so much part of it that in one building of one of the rich mansions that was in the city, there stood a pillar of stone that had an inscription of a recipe upon it. While yes, they cooked in various simple ways, their spices that grew in hot climates or ones they traded for were very well used.

As she moved down the hall her eyes came upon her door. The rustic looking frame all the more held happiness in her heart as she was starting to make more and more friends here; purely by the blessing of Yahal too. As she went, she was singing a little uptempo Benshiran melody and continued singing it till she was through her door. With her foot she closed it behind her and then set the bag of spices near the hearth. It was not the best place for it and she considered where would be a better place for them. Maybe she needed a small cupboard near the hearth to hold them, though she wasn't sure how that would make the room look. She was a bit of a design freak and the way it looked now was definitely not complete, but she didn't want to mess it up more.

She observed how the hearth still put off some heat as she had not put it completely out before she left. With the windows closed and only hardly smouldering ashes she doubted it would cause any problems with a stone floor. Bending down, Elann blew lightly at the ashes till a glowing red could be seen. She then started to pile on more tinder while fanning it. Eventually smoke began to rise and before long her hearth was a lit again. With a singsong voice she bounded over to the hutch that held her dishes and pots. She even so boldly gave a spin-like dance as she went but quickly stumbled and had to stop so she didn't crash into the hutch. She was on the clumsy side when it came to dancing but she loved it so much. In taking out the pots she would need underarm, she returned everything else neatly and in its place before closing the windowed door to the hutch. With what grace she had, she danced back over to the hearth, all whilst singing praises to Yahal.

Once setting down the pots she took a bit of her water from the basin and went over to her plant where it sat in the corner and moved it into the light. She was trying to keep it alive, which fortunately for her it was full grown and had been treated well. Turning the basin over ever so slightly, she slowly let the water fall onto the soil, trying to let it absorb and then pouring a little more. She wasn't sure how much to put in the pot, so she guesstimated based on how the plant looked. Talking to various people about their plants as well didn't yield much information on how much to water her bush. Yet she figured it was a desert/temperate plant, so it would probably be on the lesser side of how much it needed.

OOCPurchased Cardamon, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Fenugreek, Salt, Dill, Garlic, Mint, Oregano, Tumeric all at 1oz. Pepper .2 oz, Animal Fat and Butter at 1/16th a lbs as reflected on CS Ledger

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on July 12th, 2015, 12:06 pm

After the plant had received enough water she opened the window, which was the whole point of coming over here due to the smoke trying to fill the room now. Having done so now she returned to the stove where she placed her basin of water next to it. Now it was time to cook. She lifted her pots on to the cooking portion of her hearth and mounted it in the hanger. A loud clanging noise protruded that hit an off key to the woman's singing and melodies. After a few chimes, a strange clicking could be heard as the iron pot began to heat up and slowly warp itself. More logs were then put onto the fire and a rush of warmth filled the room. This was not only to heat it up quicker, but she had to get the pot the right temperature and maintain it at that for an extended period of time. Knowing the recipe meant nothing with these variables, and she had never done this before. Hovering her hand inside she could feel the iron start to get warm on the inside. After a good three chimes she figured it was hot enough to maintain and put a small piece of long burning wood on. Generally she learned that Fir wood would last much longer than some softer woods, but the softer woods were kind of easier in getting her fire started, in the hearth anyways. In the wild it would be a much different story. Now she was cooking with fire and it was time to reach into the bag.

She felt for what she wanted and pulled out the container of it. It was a bit of animal fat, churned up like butter, a lard. Taking a cooking spoon from the hanger next to the hearth, she reached into it gently, trying to be clean and organized, and clanged the spoon on the edge of the pot. The lard slid down off the spoon slowly, resisting to leave its new home. She didn't feel like fighting with it and it had to heat up anyways so she stuck the long handled spoon in the bottom of the pot. It was a couple seconds later and all the lard started to fall off the spoon into a nice little puddle at the bottom. She couldn't tell because it was dark inside but the lard was heating up nicely. Eventually the smell of strong fat cooking filled the room. She knew her mother generally put some of the spices in now. Trying to think back she recalled it was the onions and cumin she would put in. Elann pulled out the container of cumin seeds she had just bought and popped open the tin carefully.

Soon she was taking a finger and pinching small amounts into the bottom of the pot. She remembered that it could burn though so she acted quickly. Now taking her small eating knife she grabbed one of her onions and cut it into small amounts, tossing in what she cut off as quickly as it was cut. She hoped this would prevent the cumin from absorbing all the heat and burning. Little to her knowledge, her unpreparedness had caused the cumin to burn and burn quickly. The heat was a bit too high, and while the onions absorbed the heat, it was too late for her spices. She continued to sing though as she cooked, hoping that the song would almost speak to her food and make it better.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on July 13th, 2015, 12:09 pm

The singing didn't make the food cook better. As she added water to the mixture she could see the black cumin seeds floating in the oily water that swirled about. With a bit of a pout she figured it was just one of the spices and shouldn't make it taste too bad. She began adding dill and various other spices from the bag to the mixture as according to the recipe in her head. She then poured in some rice. She took a cup from off of her shelf to measure it by and scooped through the falling grains. Suddenly fear came over her that this was not going to work. It looked so easy when her mother made rices and things for them all to eat, yet now what if she burned it or lit her home on fire? It would take a while for the water to boil as she only wanted the rice half cooked for what she was going to do with it. In the mean time she put the lid on top and readied a bucket to pour the water into that she used up. She now readied a bunch of her fresh herbs from the meals she bought for the week and salad so that if it all went south at the least she would have something to eat.

She cut up fresh tomatoes carefully, not wanting to make a mess, and dressed them on top of the lettuce in her bowl. Salad had a special quality to it in her culture. It was harder to get down in Eyktol because of the water it needed so most of their salads were made of heartier veggies from cooler areas of the deserts. Yet up here it was everywhere. The vast crops that were between the castle and the Mithryn Outpost was more than she had ever seen. Everything had so much water content to it as well, where as where she grew up it was though everything you ate was dry. Their goal was to make meals like hummus that took dry things and make it seem wet. Dates were common too, and while dry, they retained a fake moisture in them from the sugar. Getting to bite into an apple that filled your mouth with water was something she had not experienced till a few days ago and she was obsessed. They were so sweet and juicy. Sure there were things that grew down there that had some juice to it, but they were treasured and not available to her people very often. They were out in the wilderness with tents, not in the fancy city of Yahebah, and while close, they didn't partake of its goods but rather relied on their own production of things.

As she stood there singing and cutting veggies she drifted a bit in thought to back home. She longed for it. She missed her family. She missed her mother. Her sweet words would calm Elann and bring peace to her in the hardest of times. Her father was strong and able, and with her gone what would become of them? They were unable to have anymore children through her mother. Would her father take another wife? She didn't like that thought and she began cutting a little more fiercely. It was when she almost cut her finger she slowed down and focused on what she was doing. After a bit she had the salad all finished and now that the water had started to boil she figured it was time to add another little log. Doing so, she gave the mixture a good stirring and then put the lid on top so that steam could build up inside.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on July 14th, 2015, 7:32 am

It was hard to tell what time she needed to take off the lid, nor did she remember what her mother did next, but she began to cut up her meat for the pot, occasionally putting more logs onto the fire as time went by. The meat was freshly killed but a bit sticky for her taste. She was used to cutting up lamb or goat, this chicken was strange. Chickens didn't survive too well where she was raised.

Eventually worry started to grow in her heart because she knew the rice had to be half cooked. Taking a cloth she grabbed the lid, feeling if she could take it off. It was a bit too hot so she doubled it up and then reached down to remove the lid. A waft of steam arose from the mixture and it smelled good. She looked at the rice and it actually looked like it might have been a bit too early or just right; she wasn't too sure. Figuring that she might as well just pull it off she hooked it and set it down on the cool stone to cool. With a slimy grasp of her hand, she put all the meat into the pot with the rice. It made a soft plop sound onto the rice as she did and now she had a desire to wash off her hands; hating the feeling that the meat left on them.

Once washed, she returned to her pot wherein lay the mixture. She put some more of her spices into it from the bag, adding yet another layer of flavor to the mix. With careful hand, more rice measured out from the cup, taken, and then poured onto the new bed of spices. Now that all that was inside, she had to add a little bit more water. With grace and balance she stood and went to gather the basin. Carefully and slowly she tilted the water basin till some poured into the mix. Though she was careful some did spill onto the floor. While this made her heart skip, it didn't really matter since the floor was all stone. Now the mix looked somewhat similar to how her mothers looked, but she wasn't sure of taste, and even less certain it was right due to her failure with the cumin. Adding a little salt and pepper she figured that it would at least have some flavor to it. The girl was impressed with the Bazaar and how many things were actually available there. It certainly put the Yahebah's trades to shame. She even found some baubles people made back home to sell to people up here and ended up buying some herself just to feel more at home.

"eee oooo mmm" she harmonized with nothing but the voice in her own mind that kept singing the song normally. She was just practicing to train her voice to sound good. In her frame of mind, the better she sang, the better the praise she could give to Yahal for his faithfulness. Though cooking was not his domain, he cared for her and she knew that. If she was swimming in Laviku's domain she would still ask Yahal to watch over her, why? Because he loved her and protected her in all things. She truly believed this, especially after reading what she had read with Morian; so being able to reciprocate her feelings through a better and better voice to her made sense. Her hips started to sway once again to the music and quietly she went back to her song, stopping the harmonizing tune.

Now that things were set, she rose and hooked the pot, which was now much much heavier than it was before, and slowly brought it over the hearth to hang. Having finally hooked it, now her arms hurt. All the cutting, the lifting, the dragging; not to mention the errands she had to run before, all that began to drag on her. With a yawn she stretched and could feel the burn in her muscles. Her hands had been darting to and fro all day in the market like little vipers; grabbing various objects of fancy. Now she was lifting and trying not to spill water, it all took control and that meant muscle she didn't have. It made her wonder how dexterious her mother actually was. She spent all day either tying knots to make rugs, or cooking for them.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Elann** on August 7th, 2015, 5:44 pm

Time passed and it seemed to take forever, however the food began to smell divine, even if it was probably going to taste horrible for Benshiran spiced rice and meat. The spices did their job and made the room and probably the whole street smell delicious. It made her really hungry and she had to sit down patiently to wait for it to finish cooking. Unfortunately it probably made everyone on the street below her window and all her neighbors feel the same.

As time passed Elann continued to hum her song, realizing the tone was a little off, and wanting to perfect it, she sat up and tried properly to sing it. She had considered potentially going and singing for the children in the orphanage or perhaps in the Temple of All Gods for those who were seeking praise and worship to Yahal. Sometimes a melody could communicate so much to the heart she thought. Perhaps she was just being philosophical, but she believed even a melody would reach the ears of Yahal if sang in love.

Being a singer as she wove tapestries and rugs her whole life she was always absorbed into the song, however this did not go well in combination with cooking she quickly found out. A slight burn scent could be smelled coming from the pot and suddenly in terror she got up and quickly ran over to her pot. Elann raised it off the fire and quickly set it to the side, taking the lid off. She hoped some of it was salvageable or she was going without dinner tonight. It didn't look too bad inside, but the edges of the mix were burnt. After letting it cool she took a bite of it and made a sour face.

"Oh yuck...that is not Benshiran Spiced Rice hah" she chuckled to herself and realized she added too many spices, too little water, too much chicken, and burnt some of the spices. Hopefully next time would yield a better result.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

by **Plume** on October 2nd, 2015, 5:56 am

Elann

Cooking	+4 XP
Observation	+5 XP
Singing	+5 XP
Dancing	+1 XP
Endurance	+1 XP
Bodybuilding	+1 XP
Planning	+2 XP
Logic	+2 XP
Gardening	+1 XP
Wilderness Survival	+1 XP

Lores :

Notes :

Completed Cooking with Elann