Guess what's back! I kept starting other things for a minute there, but I decided to circle back and give this some love before doing more of my Battle Network Quest and Pokémon Stuff. Maybe some Harry Potter too, see how I'm feeling by that point.

Chapter 11: Dealers Choice

OR

Tradesies!

It is said, that somewhere in this world, lies a tree who's roots burrow deep into the planets mantle, encircling the core. These roots travel for countless miles in every direction, funneling the intense heat and metals upward into glorious, shining fruit. Behind these metallic shells of bronze, silver, and gold rest gentle fruit flesh as hot, sweet, and tender as any baked good. These, are the Core-Baked Pie-Fruit! You wish your mama could make this!

Months came and went in a blur of explorations and cultivation of ingredients. Some went according to plan, such as the small pack of Fully-Loaded Weiner Dogs we now had running around the fields that helped us deal with the smaller pests, while others didn't, like our inability to successfully transplant High-Sky Asparagus at anything other than above cloud heights. It was a shame, but the important thing was that the attempt was made, and anything that failed to take root we just resold or ate ourselves anyway, so it wasn't like it was going to waste.

The biggest thing going for us right now, however, was the last week of training for the Sugar Minks, and what it meant. As of now, they were completely functional to act as scouts, spend periods of time calmly waiting in their special harnesses, and able to distinguish their specific targets and partners instead of just defaulting to whatever person was around.

Most importantly, it meant they were ready for another breeding cycle, and easy transport, which meant it was time for the Beautiful Foods Organization to come and take a majority off of our hands. I was more than ready for that day to come as well, as dealing with all the Marshmallow Fluff they produced as a by-product of existing was already a daily chore to both deal with and then ship out to market. It was good stuff, without a doubt, but it was also backbreaking work to gather together due to its combined weight, and already had nearly caused some fatalities from narrowly missed falls.

That wasn't to say I wouldn't miss the furry little bastards, not at all, but there was a difference between having a few dozen around and a few hundred. The deal however, had changed since the first letter was sent to us and the lines of communication were opened.

Where originally we would be getting a lump sum of money in exchange for some of the current Minks we had on hand, diplomacy on both sides refined the deal into something much more effect, because while the money would be incredibly useful, it was still something that would run out fairly quickly in the search for adaptable super foods. Thus, we decided to cut out the middle man.

Instead of a one-time payment that we would use to research or attempt to retrieve ingredients in return for a small horde of Sugar Minks, we would fully train and raise the Sugar Minks with portions of the population each generation to be sent to Beautiful Foods in return for access to their achieves and access to small quantities of normally restricted or actively discouraged substances and ingredients. We pounced on this with a death-grip, because it was the ticket we had been looking for since before I was ever born.

E.T Rice.

Found only on the Moon, the Beautiful Food Organization held a sharp monopoly on it due to one of their members, Apollo, having made the journey himself in his attempts to push the boundaries of 'Space' Cooking. And by whatever God's watched this world, he succeeded, far more than I suspect even they knew.

The rice was delicious, fluffy, paired masterfully with any meat or vegetable, but all those were secondary to the true reason we, I, wanted that grain.

It could grow anywhere. No air, no gravity, no water, despite all these reasons for life to wither, still the grain survived and grew. If we could figure out how it came to be, even just a little, even with just enough to fill a single bowl, it would be worth it.

The future was looking incredibly- bright.

END OF CHAPTER

Alright guys, gonna be completely honest, I think I might be calling this story Complete in the next chapter or two. This whole thing was mostly a thought experiment for people to sink their teeth into regarding a world a lot of people tend to forget about or focus on the least unique parts of, but also a way to get some useful cooking tips out to a public audience that I know sometimes has issues with meals. Plus, its been amazing to see everyone add their own bits and treats to the world between these posts, it honestly makes me proud as both an Author and a person in general to see this kind of love and creativity being thrown around. Now, we do my little TTOD Corner.

Ramen And You: Yes Please

Ramen is a amazing no matter what stage of life you're in. It's chicken noodle soups cool, edgy older brother figure. It's affordable, can be bought most anywhere, and most importantly, you can make that shit into anything you want with so little work.

To make okay ramen, you just need a packet, a kettle, a bowl, and a microwave. You pop that all together for three minutes with its flavor packet, and its adequate. The REAL interesting thing's that you can do with Ramen come with the steps you can add between getting your noodles and adding your water. Here's where your mealtime choices skyrocket.

1. Don't bother with the flavor packets the noodles come with, it's rarely any good, especially if you're getting no-name. The trick? Buy Oxo, a type of soup stock that is generally useful to have around anyway, but it makes any soup you want to do delish. Chicken, Beef, Shrimp, it's all a nice step up even just on its own. Speaking of the former flavors however...

2. Meat of most any kind that's already been cooked can be added to your Ramen, and all of it is a great choice. Got some leftover chicken in the freezer? In it goes. Fish in the fridge? In the soup? Boiled eggs? A nice source of protein. Shrimp? Oh man, this ones the easiest. Buy some of the Pre-Shelled frozen shrimp at the store and dump those bad boys in, cause they only need 3 minutes to cook. And guess how many minutes you need to put that Ramen in the microwave for? I rest my case.

3. Meat isn't your thing? Just use Vegetables. Green onions, mushrooms, carrot or pea bits, it all can be added to make one hell of a pseudo-stew.

And there we go. Like most of this stuff, you'll either shrug it off as common sense, or it could vastly improve your quality of life. I can only hope for the latter. Have an amazing day guys, and I hope you all continue to keep this train a rolling till we reach its end.