"All right, Naruto! Thanks for walking with me to the gates! I can take it from here!" I said cheerfully, maneuvering all of my groceries so the dried goods were safely in my backpack so I could carry the two raw chickens easier.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?"
"No, I'll be fine! I'll see you guys later tonight then!" I said with a wave goodbye and I started my trek back to my cottage, excited for the upcoming night.
I walked back to my cottage thinking of all the prep that I will have to do, like cooking the chicken until its's cooked on the inside, so I can shred it easier to put it in the soup. But, it was also close to around one thirty, so I had to hurry home to make sure the food is done by six. Maybe I'll make some bread to go with it. But still there was so much to do! I could feel my pace picking up at the thought at how much work needed to be done.
I returned home in record time. I unlocked all of the gates, not bothering to latch them shut and I dropped the chicken off on the picnic table out front. I walked to my storage shed, grabbed a large basket, and grabbed the freshest looking spinach that I had and grabbed two large bundled of it. I grabbed the mirepoix*, garlic, and oregano, dried parsley, and dried thyme and I threw them into my basket. I hurried inside to drop the backpack and the basket off on the table in the middle of the room and gathered a large pile of wood in my arms to make a fire pit out front. I dug a hole in the ground so the fire wouldn't be able to get out of control and threw the wood in. I grabbed my flint stones from out of the house so I could start the fire easily.
As soon as the fire was lit, I ran inside and grabbed my large pot, dumping about half a ton of chicken stock** to the pot to heat up to a boil. I set up my rotisserie over the fire in my hearth inside, stuck the chicken on the spit, and placed it so the chicken was directly over the fire. In about twenty minutes, I'll come back and turn it so the other side can cook. I can probably get the onions and celery cut in that time… I thought to myself. So I moved quickly over to my small counter space, threw an apron on, grabbed my knife, and quickly went to work dicing the celery and occasionally dicing an onion so they didn't burn my eyes as much. I started shredding the carrots when I had to run over to the hearth and check the chicken, I turned it 180 degrees, moved back to the counter and finished shredding the carrots.
I hastily moved outside to the simmering pot of stock with a significantly smaller pot in hand and removed the bones. I put the bones in the smaller pot and brought them back inside. I turned the chicken on the spit on the hearth 270 degrees so the sides would crisp up. Besides, who doesn't love chicken skin to munch on!?
I could feel the sweat dripping down my face and I swiped at it with my apron. In about twenty minutes, the chicken will be done and ready to be peeled and pulled apart. Once the pot outside began to boil, I tossed in the celery, carrots, and garlic. I let that boil and stew before I threw in a cornstarch slurry** to thicken the broth and make it into a creamy color. As the pot was boiling, before I threw in the slurry I ran inside and got the chicken off of the spit so it could cool and peel-able. I rough chopped** the spinach so it would be ready whenever the chicken was ready to be thrown into the pot.
Once the soup thickened up I threw in the spices and shredded carrots. I went inside to the now cooled off chicken. I summoned a clone to help me shred the chicken, because it could become a tedious task. As we shredded the chicken, the clone and I made sure to be extra careful with the bones and tossed them into another pot so I could make more chicken stock shortly after the get together.
Thinking of the get together, they were supposed to be arriving within the next hour or so, which meant I had very little time to get the chicken in the pot along with the spinach. So I let my clone finish the peeling the chicken as I ran the spinach outside to go into the pot.
"Oi! Sayuri!" I heard Naruto in the distance. I looked up and saw six people making their way out of the clearing on the road to my cottage. All I could manage was a large wave back. The clone soon ran out with the pulled chicken in a bowl and I dropped it into the pot. The clone brought out my extra-large stirring spoon along with the chicken. So I stirred up the pot, which had thickened up to a lovely stew-like consistency. Just the smell of the stew was enough to make a large smile break out on my face. The clone ran back into the house to grab the gnocchis.
"Sayuri, what're you standing there smiling like an idiot for?"
"You're the one to talk, Naruto. You're always smiling like an idiot."
"Hello everyone" I said with my back to everyone, still stirring the soup. The clone came hastily outside and handed me the gnocchis, much to Naruto's amazement.
"Whoa, you can summon clones? I didn't think you were a ninja!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I'm not. That's just about all the jutsus I can do." I sheepishly admitted, the clone poofing away. I added the gnocchis to the soup.
"Anyways, this is Ino, behind Naruto is Choji, and behind myself is Shikamaru."
When I turned around Naruto, Sakura, and Ino were standing in front of the other two, so I couldn't get that good of a look at them. Naruto wore his normal orange and black jumpsuit, however his headband wasn't gracing his forehead. Sakura wore her red vest like shirt with black tight shorts and a pink apron like skirt. She didn't wear her headband or any of her ninja tool pouches. Ino wore her hair in the same high ponytail with a large hunk of hair hanging out in front of her face as she did this morning at the flower shop. However this time she wore a purple button up halter-like crop top and matching mid-thigh split skirt with fishnet shorts on underneath. Her arms donned fishnets at her elbows and at her knees. She also didn't grace us with her presence of ninja tools. I shifted a bit so I could see Choji behind Naruto. Choji wore a red kimono looking suit with armor plates sewn onto his torso, arms, and legs. His long auburn hair being held back by his headband. My eyes shifted to the last person who was standing behind and between Sakura and Ino. My heart skipped a beat and I felt my whole body warm up. His hair was in a ponytail and it spiked up instead of falling down which made me think he had short hair if it was out of its pony. He wore a long sleeve black skin tight shirt with capri style loose black pants. He had a lazy expression on his face, like the thought of being here was boring.
"I brought fresh bread!" Ino exclaimed.
"And I brought barbaque" Choji said.
"I forgot about the rolls." I said to myself. "But if you got the pork, I can whip up the barbeque sauce!" I smiled.
"Actually, it's all barbequed up and ready to go."
"Well then, I'll go get my ladle and bowls!"
"And I'll help you!" Naruto shouted.
"This way, then!" I told him gesturing inside. "Ino, Choji, you can set those down on the picnic table."
Naruto and I went inside to get the bowls and a few small plates for the rolls and pork. I grabbed a large handful of silverware and Naruto counted out the plates.
"This is really small, Sayuri. How do you manage to live out here, alone and in such a small house?"
"Well, I'm comfortable. I like living here. I have my plants to take care of so it's not like I get bored or even have time to think that I'm alone. When I finish my yard work, I take a bath, eat dinner, and go to bed. I've got the responsibility of keeping all these plants alive so I can live here comfortably."
"Oh, well I thought you'd get lonely with no one else around."
"I don't ever feel lonely." I said with a big smile walking back outside. "All right! Let's eat!"
Hi, friends! Small authors notes if you don't know what I mean when I use fancy cooking terms.
Mirepoix- two parts onion, one part carrots, and one part celery
Chicken Stock- Homemade chicken broth made with the chicken bones to give off a rich flavor
Gnocchi- They're kind of like dumplings. If you've ever been to an Olive Garden they have a chicken gnocchi soup that is a signature soup.
Corn Starch Slurry- Corn starch mixed in with water. Corn starch is a thickening agent and if you're not able to make a roux (butter and flour mixed over a flame) then its a better alternative.
Rough Chop- Quick chopping. Not really any specific type of cut.
I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I am :)