As promised, a second chapter for the second day. I'm so glad you're all as excited about this story as I am too, nothing warms the heart of a writer more. Now, let's see if I can't make a few of you drool or ponder the wider implications of a world, shall I?
Chapter 2: Home Cooked Meal
OR
We Do It All
It is said, that high above the mountain tops, lies a cloud as light and sweet as a summers daydream. During mid-day, this cloud scrapes against the mountain peaks, leaving swirls of pure, delightful sugar around these treacherous peaks as they swirl in the crisp air! This, is the Cotton Candy Storm!
After obtaining another 20 bottles of Spice Bear drippings, I made sure to collect a large selection of different cuts and pelts along with them to be used either for Food Experiments, or to be sold for a bit of spare money. Then, I started on my way back home.
'Home', for me in this case, was a small town located near the edges of the Gourmet World, aptly named Hazard. When one thought of the Human world, the places that came to mind were Gourmet Town, home to chefs of every level of skill, or the World Kitchen where everyone met in relative peace to share their bounties for a fair price, but those were only two locations. The best, and brightest, while we were merely part of the rest.
In Hazard, we had more access to fresh ingredients than the average citizens, while also being able to benefit from some of the...stranger, environmental benefits of the Gourmet World. Because of that same benefit though, we also tended to be in direct conflict more often than the average person, as well as forcing us to restrict our living areas to close-knit and defensible building in apartment styles, with the rest of the 'town' being dedicated to green houses or fields.
It was here that my Mum first started trying to cultivate specific ingredients in other environments, both to see how it would change their flavors, but also to make them more than a once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy. So far, we'd even had some successes, such as with the Exploding Pineapples, or the Sausage Snakes. The former we found grew best individually on small islands with large amounts of sulfur and phosphorous mixed with the sand, and the latter required both a steady supply of smaller creatures to hunt, and small burrows under sources of intense heat. They were proof that what we were aiming for was possible, and part of what set me on my path to begin with.
My Mum, Alesa, was a hell of a parent. She was someone who had...really, done everything. Cook, Teacher, TV Writer, Builder, she'd had a hand in every bit of Hazard from its advertising to its continued existence. She always made time for people, and was ready with a hug and some kind of delish baking good that you could pitch in to help make for a slice or five.
"Yooo, Mum! I'm back! The trip was great, and I got some really good observation data back!" I called out as I walked through the apartment lobby. While the upper levels were housing, the first floor was a dedicated research kitchen/ communal computer lab.
"Oh? Oh, that's wonderful sweetie! Here, set the stuff up on the counter, I'll be through in a second, I'm just checking out some prices for Soda Watermelon seeds."
I gave a staged-gasp at the mention of my favorite fruit/drink.
"Are we finally going to try cross-breeding them with other fruits?"
Mum leaned over from the corner with a grin matching my own, her shock of long blonde hair waving back as she laughed.
"With the funding I'll be getting we will!"
Ahh, I loved my home.
After that we settled into our usual comfortable routine, us sitting down together with a nice show, me talking about my recent findings and what they could be used for, her talking about what's been taking root or had to be moved out when the suggested biomes weren't quite working. We even got word that we'd be allowed some cuttings of Fruit Parlor Trees to help feed the herbivorous creatures we kept around, and to see if we could crossbreed a version for more extreme biomes.
But even after all the work talk, it was time to relax. We tried battering and frying some of the Spice Bear cuts I brought back with delightful results. The final product was crisp and rich on the tongue, offering just enough resistance against ones jaws that it was a satisfying experience to chew from start to finish, and left behind a nice, crisp aftertaste on the tongue. The real thing I was looking forward to, was dessert.
To celebrate our recent successes, Mum was going to make her Merry Me Cheesecake. A sweet treat topped with Hide and Seek Cherries and a Marshmallow Pumpkin base.
Starting with a graham cracker and butter base with a third of a cup of sugar to spread across the bottom of the pan, I then got to work melting the Marshmallow Pumpkin while stirring it, working the sweet vegetable into a jet-puffed state, while Mum made her base.
A full liter of Moo Moo fruit cream was whisked together with three pinches of granulated sugar until it started to form peaks. Then, we added a full 16 ounces of cream cheese, a table spoon of Honey Lemon juice, and two tea spoons of Vanilove extract. After this, I added my melted solution of marshmallow to the mix, focusing my attention on chilling the base as the rest came together into an awe inspiring cake. A dish that existed without intense heat or cold.
After just a few minutes more of mixing it all together, we were pouring it into our pan, before literally putting the cherries on top, preserved in their syrup and spilling over the light orange cake as a delightful color and taste contrast. With another wave of my hands overtop it all, it was cool and ready to serve.
It didn't matter how many times I'd had it, it was still, my favorite dessert.
I didn't waste a moment, taking a spoonful with plenty of base and fruit, before chowing down. I had to fight back my tears of satisfaction, but that was just me talking. The cool cream contrasting with the light crumbling of the cookie base, all tied together with the subtle sweetness of the lemon-pumpkin mix paired against the cherries bursts of freshness when one was bitten into. It was delightful, it was my childhood, it was...a taste of home.
END OF CHAPTER
I say I'm going to do something, and I follow through god damn it. Here we have our actual first recipe that you all at home can enjoy just as much as I do. The No-Bake Merry Me Cheesecake, a recipe that takes about 20 minutes to actually make, outside of the time it takes to set afterword. This recipe is also intended for 9 by 13 sized pans. The ingredient lists in RL are:
1 and a half cups Graham Crumbs or assorted Cookie Crumbs
1/3 of a cup melted Butter
and 1/3 of a Cup White Sugar to make up the base of our cake.
Mix the above together to form your cake base, which you then pat firmly into your pan with your hands to ensure no loose crumbs go wild. If you use a metal pan with this, use a sheet of parchment paper to separate it from the bottom. If its glass, you're good to go as is.
After you finish this, put it in the oven for 15 minutes, and then you're done with that completely. Now we get to the No-Bake Part.
For the Actual Cheesecake itself, the ingredients are as follows:
16 ounces of Cream cheese, which is 2 bricks for the uninitiated of cooking
I cup of Whipping Cream (That fun guy that says 33% on him at the grocery store) but you can also just use the entirety of a large carton if you want it extra creamy
1 Bag of Mini-marshmallows, which you'll want to use about half of per cake, enough to fill a medium sized bowl
1 Table spoon of Lemon Juice, freshly shaken so to ensure you have maximum citrus content
And, 1 tea spoon of Vanilla Extract. You can also use artificial vanilla, because it's mostly there to add a lightly sweet after taste.
Now, for this part, you'll need two mixing bowls, one medium and the other large. This is also a part that will primarily be done once your base is out of the oven and resting in the fridge to allow it to set as its own portion.
In your Medium Bowl, section out about half of your Bag of Mini-Marshmallows, and put the bowl in the microwave for around a minute and a half. Watch it to ensure nothing burns or explodes if your microwave has a higher intensity. Once you see the marshmallows start to expand, take them out and whip them with a fork, where you'll see that they have combined and become Jet-puffed marshmallows! Congrats, now you know how to make that tasty treat as well.
After checking your marshmallows through, put them back in the microwave to wait for a moment, while we move on to the cream.
In your large bowl, pour your whipping cream and start at it with an electric beater, moving along the edges of the bowl towards the center to ensure nothing sticks to the sides. While the cream mixes, sprinkle pinches of white sugar into the cream, which will allow the cream to start solidifying and forming peaks. Once you see it starting to do this, stop mixing for a moment to add in your bricks of cream cheese, vanilla, and lemon juice. Then continue mixing until you see that the cream cheese has been properly integrated with the cream.
By this point, your marshmallows should be cool enough that they don't stick to the beater when added, but not cool enough to have resolidified. If they have resolidified, simply heat them again for another 20 to 30 seconds, and re-stir before adding to the mix.
This is the second last step of the cake, as the entire mixture will take on a cake-like consistency, Once this happens, try a sample of it to ensure it is creamy enough for your liking, or, if you feel adventurous, add a touch of other flavor extracts, such as orange or lavender. NEVER, however, add Pineapple, as the cream and high citrus DO NOT mix well.
Last up, simply pour your cake into your pan, use a spatula on the sides of the bowl to ensure no goodness is left behind.
This next bit is entirely optional, but I'll putting it here just to show you the option exists. You're Topping?
Any kind of canned fruit beside Pineapple. This can range from Cherries, Apples, Blueberries, so long as it comes in a thick syrup it makes an amazing topper for a treat like this. I'm most partial to Cherries and Blueberries myself, but I also caution those who wish to use Peaches or Mandarins. While they are absolutely possible, their syrups tend to be much more watery than my previous examples, and thus lend themselves better towards pies who cook off the excess moisture than cheesecakes, which absorb said moisture. Just something to keep in mind.
There we have it, now you too can make a delish dessert for you, your friends, or your loved ones! Never tell anyone you didn't learn anything from me. Next up, we learn more about the world, debate the ethics of Murder-Pickles, and possibly a recipe for Trail Mix! Look forward to that, and thank you all, so much for everything you do. We'll make amazing things together. And keep peppering me with the amazing things of Toriko! I just found out about the Parlor Trees an hour and a half ago.