Naiya nodded, the tough bones did make good stock, which is why she planned to toss the neck and tail and the other scrap bones into the large cook pot to boil. Still, there was hesitance in her posture, a lingering shape of not quite correct.
"You can use tough bones to make stock," mostly correct, "this part," she gestured to the thick fleshy loins, "is called the tenderloin, it is very soft, very rich meat. Boiling it in stock would not favor this meat." She tried to choose words that were positive, not wanting to darken the lightness that had filled the other woman. She turned to her work, raking the hot coals across the entirety of the fire pit, but when her eyes came back up, it seemed something had chased away the woman's good mood. She moved to the travois, pulling both of the large cookpots from their places, filling one with milk from a cask, the second with water from the extra wetskins. She placed them both on the fire and returned to seek a sack of oats from the covered wagon.
Naiya paused in her work, realizing that Seirei had asked to be told how the cooking was done. Perhaps Naiya's oversight had caused the change, she moved quickly to change that. She pointed to the meat strung high across the fire. "These will be cooked slowly, the smoke and very little heat will cook it over time." She looked to the herbs plucking a few sprigs of lavender and adding them to the milk. She hesitated, her hands seeking the signs she needed from the air but coming up with only an amused concern. "I used thyme, the small round leaves on the thin stem, and fireweed, the long grayish leaves. Thyme is good for meat, and fireweed... is slightly bitter and spicy" she shaped the last word with the lit of a question, not quite sure how to explain the flavor. "Lavender went in the milk, it's flavorful, but not savory or sweet alone, so I like to mix it into the grains." She offered the basket to the woman, a few of the dark leaves and a pink flower so she could taste the plants. She let Seirei sift through those while she added salt to the exposed flesh of the rabbit on the stone, recalling the time she had seared fish in a similar way. Last time she had browned the outside lightly on both sides, but the middle had been raw. She didn't want that to come of this meat, so she flipped the meat sooner, but planned to keep it on the heat of the stones longer. Her eyes on the meat, she decided it was time to start the oats, she tossed them in the pot of simmering milk.
They were moving away from things Naiya knew, she let the other woman know she was unsure. "Most herbs can be used to add flavor... My sister taught me some things, about which herbs to use, like thyme for meat, and mint goes well with goat." Different herbs, different meat, yes She shrugged, her cooking skills were nearly nonexistent. "Mostly I just put things together and hope they taste good. You can taste the herbs before they cook to see if they go together, but sometimes the flavor changes when they cook... But some of them seem to always be good. Thyme, sage, and rosemary always taste good, I imagine you could put them in anything."
"For butter and cheese, I usually just put one flavor. Salt and one herb or spice for savory, or honey and a spice or herb for sweet. It's hard to mess up simple flavors." She shrugged, a softly sketched apology in the air between them to make up for her lack of knowledge. She shifted the direction of their talk to the meat she cooked, "The stones is heated by the fire, so it can cook the meat quickly through contact, but sometimes the outside cooks and the inside stays raw, so I'm flipping and moving the meat to help make sure the outside doesn't burn before the inside can cook." She paused a moment to consider the last question, medicine lingering in the shaping of her hands.
She knew that tea carried the medicinal properties of the herbs used. So it made sense that the food should too. Medicine I think yes, the shaping of her hands was hesitant, unsure "I know tea caries the medicinal properties of the herbs used to flavor it, I don't see why food wouldn't too." She poked at the meat, moving the legs to a second stone. "The first stone might have cooled because of the meat, and I don't want it to cook too long and be dry, so I moved it to a fresh stone. It should be done soon."
She fetched bowl and spoons, serving them both a hearty helping of the oats and a leg of the rabbit. She ate hers quickly, thanking Seirei as she got up to clean things up, helping her move the large pot of oats, and tossing the scrap bones into the water for stock. She had stew vegetables in a pouch with the cooking supplies, so she added those to the stock as well, then turned to Seirei, ready to begin their next task.
"Animals still need grooming and milking, then we can turn that milk into cheese." She looked at the woman, trying to choose a phrasing that would sound less insulting.Have you groomed zibri before?" She asked, emphasizing the animal so that her question was one of specifics, and not one of ability.
She pulled grooming supplies from their temporary resting place beside the tent along with the separated bags of hair and the wide-toothed combs. Near those were the milk buckets and a small stool for milking.
She brought the woman over, and began to demonstrate. "Grooming a zibri is like combing your own hair, you start at the bottom to keep from tightening the knots." She lifted a segment of hair, and began to work at the tips, brushing out tangles, grass, and clumps of dried mud. When she had made some progress, she showed the woman the hair collected in the comb. "This hair is shed by the zibri, we save it to sell to the spinners, they use it to make wool thread." She pulled the hair from the comb and gestured to the bags of hair, "The hair is sorted by color, there is a bag for each pure color, white, red, brown, yellow, and silver. The brindle coats go into the mixed bag, those sell for less, because they are harder to dye."
She handed the woman a comb, and set her to work on Smala, she was a steady cow who enjoyed being groomed. Seirei could work on coaxing the gentle ones, while Naiya worked with the ones who needed more deference.
She waited until Seirei was settled before taking a milk pail and seeking Mantali, the beautiful white cow with a rather poor temper. She was grazing with the other shy zibri, and Naiya was careful in her approach to move slowly, not focusing on any one of the younger zibri for too long. Mantali for her part was happy to see Naiya, she nearly trotted over, and Naiya had to grab her horn and turn her head to keep from being impaled. She gave the cot a light tap on the nose in reprimand, but kept her voice soft as she spoke. "Be careful of me, Mantali, or we'll have to saw off those pretty horns of yours."
Naiya's show was more for the other zibri, they still scattered at a loud noise or a fast movement. She settled in beside the cow, setting to work on her grooming. Her comb was a bit more narrow than Seirei's , so she took smaller sections, hoping to keep from getting stuck with too much hair.
She quickly worked through the cow's hair, piling the loose strands in her lap so that she could add them to the bag when she was done. Her eyes often wandered to Seirei to check ow she was doing, watching as her focus on the task allowed the more shy cattle to come close and observe her.
"You can use tough bones to make stock," mostly correct, "this part," she gestured to the thick fleshy loins, "is called the tenderloin, it is very soft, very rich meat. Boiling it in stock would not favor this meat." She tried to choose words that were positive, not wanting to darken the lightness that had filled the other woman. She turned to her work, raking the hot coals across the entirety of the fire pit, but when her eyes came back up, it seemed something had chased away the woman's good mood. She moved to the travois, pulling both of the large cookpots from their places, filling one with milk from a cask, the second with water from the extra wetskins. She placed them both on the fire and returned to seek a sack of oats from the covered wagon.
Naiya paused in her work, realizing that Seirei had asked to be told how the cooking was done. Perhaps Naiya's oversight had caused the change, she moved quickly to change that. She pointed to the meat strung high across the fire. "These will be cooked slowly, the smoke and very little heat will cook it over time." She looked to the herbs plucking a few sprigs of lavender and adding them to the milk. She hesitated, her hands seeking the signs she needed from the air but coming up with only an amused concern. "I used thyme, the small round leaves on the thin stem, and fireweed, the long grayish leaves. Thyme is good for meat, and fireweed... is slightly bitter and spicy" she shaped the last word with the lit of a question, not quite sure how to explain the flavor. "Lavender went in the milk, it's flavorful, but not savory or sweet alone, so I like to mix it into the grains." She offered the basket to the woman, a few of the dark leaves and a pink flower so she could taste the plants. She let Seirei sift through those while she added salt to the exposed flesh of the rabbit on the stone, recalling the time she had seared fish in a similar way. Last time she had browned the outside lightly on both sides, but the middle had been raw. She didn't want that to come of this meat, so she flipped the meat sooner, but planned to keep it on the heat of the stones longer. Her eyes on the meat, she decided it was time to start the oats, she tossed them in the pot of simmering milk.
They were moving away from things Naiya knew, she let the other woman know she was unsure. "Most herbs can be used to add flavor... My sister taught me some things, about which herbs to use, like thyme for meat, and mint goes well with goat." Different herbs, different meat, yes She shrugged, her cooking skills were nearly nonexistent. "Mostly I just put things together and hope they taste good. You can taste the herbs before they cook to see if they go together, but sometimes the flavor changes when they cook... But some of them seem to always be good. Thyme, sage, and rosemary always taste good, I imagine you could put them in anything."
"For butter and cheese, I usually just put one flavor. Salt and one herb or spice for savory, or honey and a spice or herb for sweet. It's hard to mess up simple flavors." She shrugged, a softly sketched apology in the air between them to make up for her lack of knowledge. She shifted the direction of their talk to the meat she cooked, "The stones is heated by the fire, so it can cook the meat quickly through contact, but sometimes the outside cooks and the inside stays raw, so I'm flipping and moving the meat to help make sure the outside doesn't burn before the inside can cook." She paused a moment to consider the last question, medicine lingering in the shaping of her hands.
She knew that tea carried the medicinal properties of the herbs used. So it made sense that the food should too. Medicine I think yes, the shaping of her hands was hesitant, unsure "I know tea caries the medicinal properties of the herbs used to flavor it, I don't see why food wouldn't too." She poked at the meat, moving the legs to a second stone. "The first stone might have cooled because of the meat, and I don't want it to cook too long and be dry, so I moved it to a fresh stone. It should be done soon."
She fetched bowl and spoons, serving them both a hearty helping of the oats and a leg of the rabbit. She ate hers quickly, thanking Seirei as she got up to clean things up, helping her move the large pot of oats, and tossing the scrap bones into the water for stock. She had stew vegetables in a pouch with the cooking supplies, so she added those to the stock as well, then turned to Seirei, ready to begin their next task.
"Animals still need grooming and milking, then we can turn that milk into cheese." She looked at the woman, trying to choose a phrasing that would sound less insulting.Have you groomed zibri before?" She asked, emphasizing the animal so that her question was one of specifics, and not one of ability.
She pulled grooming supplies from their temporary resting place beside the tent along with the separated bags of hair and the wide-toothed combs. Near those were the milk buckets and a small stool for milking.
She brought the woman over, and began to demonstrate. "Grooming a zibri is like combing your own hair, you start at the bottom to keep from tightening the knots." She lifted a segment of hair, and began to work at the tips, brushing out tangles, grass, and clumps of dried mud. When she had made some progress, she showed the woman the hair collected in the comb. "This hair is shed by the zibri, we save it to sell to the spinners, they use it to make wool thread." She pulled the hair from the comb and gestured to the bags of hair, "The hair is sorted by color, there is a bag for each pure color, white, red, brown, yellow, and silver. The brindle coats go into the mixed bag, those sell for less, because they are harder to dye."
She handed the woman a comb, and set her to work on Smala, she was a steady cow who enjoyed being groomed. Seirei could work on coaxing the gentle ones, while Naiya worked with the ones who needed more deference.
She waited until Seirei was settled before taking a milk pail and seeking Mantali, the beautiful white cow with a rather poor temper. She was grazing with the other shy zibri, and Naiya was careful in her approach to move slowly, not focusing on any one of the younger zibri for too long. Mantali for her part was happy to see Naiya, she nearly trotted over, and Naiya had to grab her horn and turn her head to keep from being impaled. She gave the cot a light tap on the nose in reprimand, but kept her voice soft as she spoke. "Be careful of me, Mantali, or we'll have to saw off those pretty horns of yours."
Naiya's show was more for the other zibri, they still scattered at a loud noise or a fast movement. She settled in beside the cow, setting to work on her grooming. Her comb was a bit more narrow than Seirei's , so she took smaller sections, hoping to keep from getting stuck with too much hair.
She quickly worked through the cow's hair, piling the loose strands in her lap so that she could add them to the bag when she was done. Her eyes often wandered to Seirei to check ow she was doing, watching as her focus on the task allowed the more shy cattle to come close and observe her.
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Naiya space Pavi | Common | Tukant
other space Pavi | Common | Tukant
other space Pavi | Common | Tukant
