"Sugar and Spice"
by Furor Scribendi
2008 Scribendi Productions
August 29th
The walk to Chizo's house was pleasant enough, despite the stifling weather. Still, it was getting towards the evening, so the heat was waning. As Mahoro trundled along, she was amazed at the amount of chatter those three were putting up. They were discussing what they were going to do that night, but it might as well be the cicadas talking for all the sense it made.
"Imenathatwecanhavealotoffunaswetalkanddon;tforgetallthefungamesthatwearegoingtoplayandIhaveneverstayedupthatlateeverandmakesureyouhaveenoughmusicandIcannotremeberthelasttimeIwasoveratChizo'splaceandIwonderhwhatMahoromightbecookingforustonightandIhopethereisn'taballgameontonightasyourfathercangetkindsinvolvedinthegameandwillbebepaintingnailsaswellanddoyouthinkyoucanstyleMahoro'shairintoadifferentsytleasIthinkbraidsmightlookgoodonwillyourmother…"
Mahoro shook her head and smiled. They were a lot of fun to be with. Still, she was concerned about Suguru, but, he was right: one night by himself wouldn't be a problem. Mahoro was also surprised as to how close everyone lived to one another. With school going back into session, perhaps they would be over to the house more often.
"Well, here we are!" burbled Chizo, as they arrived at her house. Rin and Miyuki stared.
"Say, when was the last time I was over here?" asked Miyuki. "I don't remember the house looking like this."
"Actually, it has been some time. The reason I haven't asked anyone over is that we were renovating and upgrading the house for almost a year. Note the second story? That is where the bedrooms are. Downstairs was reconverted to a home theater, a bigger kitchen and a better living room, with a flat screen plasma high-def TV in there as well"
"A year?!" puzzled Rin. "But your birthday was…"
"…was at the Panda Chop House, remember? Suguru spilled tea all over himself. Their chicken teriyaki was a bit off that day."
Mahoro gazed at the house. It was even larger than Suguru's home but it looked like a series of boxes stacked upon one another. The perimeter wall was very tall and left almost no space between the house and the shrubbery that went around two sides of the house. The lawn was the size of a postage stamp. Chizo led the way and opened the door. "Hi, everyone, we're home."
Suddenly, yelling could be heard. "What is wrong with you morons? You can't be trusted to do anything right! I am going to kick the snot out of you! You know better than that!"
Rin and Miyuki were scared and Mahoro was ready to go on the defensive. Chizo sighed. "Dad's watching baseball. Again. I hoped they wouldn't be broadcasting tonight."
More yelling could be heard. "My grandma could play better than that and she's been dead for years! Go back to the Little League, you slugs!" Chizo's mother then came into the hallway, giving them a big smile.
"I'm so glad you could all make it over." She looked to Rin and Miyuki. "I haven't seen you two over in such a long while and…"she peered over at Mahoro, "…I've heard so much about you. Call me Taso."
Another eruption came from the TV room. "Throw to the cut-off man. THROW TO THE CUT-OFF MAN! I am going to cut you in two!" Taso smiled, and then quickly left into the living room, where the game was turned off. "Hey, I was watching that!" was heard.
"No, you were yelling at that. Besides, Chizo and her friends are here for the Slumber Party and your actions are…"
"Mahoro? Did they bring over Mahoro?" Mahoro felt herself redden at the mention of her name. Both of Chizo's parents came into the hallway, father speaking. "Rin, how are you, and Miyuki. The baths doing well?" Then he focused on Mahoro. "We haven't been properly introduced. I am Hohoeuki, but everyone calls me 'Hokey'."
"And I am Mahoro Ando." She bowed politely.
"I hope this won't sound too forward, but could I convince you to…..cook dinner for us tonight?" Hokey smiled. Chizo nudged Mahoro.
"Hokey!" Taso yelled at him. "That is more than forward, that is practically blackmail."
"But…but…but…" sputtered Hokey.
"But…but…but…" sputtered Chizo. Rin and Miyuki snickered politely.
"I would not mind cooking dinner for you all. After all, I am a maid and that is my duty," said Mahoro, cheerfully.
"I will not have any guest treated in such a manner," countered Taso. She turned to Hokey and Chizo. "I am appalled that you would even think to…" Suddenly, she found both Chizo and Hokey, on their knees, pleading in front of her, grasping her legs.
"You have to, Mom. You just have to!" whined Chizo.
"You must. You have no other choice and….ohhh. There's a run in your stocking," noticed Hokey.
Taso stood there, looking mortified. She turned to Mahoro. "If it is not too much of an imposition, could I ask of you if you would make dinner tonight, please?"
Mahoro looked at Taso, and then looked down at Chizo and her father, on their knees, making pathetic, pleading faces. Hokey had his bottom lip out, almost ready to cry. Mahoro spoke. "I would be delighted to do so." Chizo and Hokey broke into cheering as Taso covered her face with a hand, muttering under her breath.
"Chizo, please take Mahoro's suitcase to your room. Mahoro, will you please come with me into the kitchen?" Mahoro followed Taso into the kitchen and gasped.
"What a magnificent kitchen!" Her eyes nearly popped from her head.
There was a huge center island, with a polished black granite top, plus a couple of utility sinks. Around the walls were professional grade cooking equipment: a huge six-burner gas stove, a large capacity oven and microwave, a walk-in fridge that could easily be a wardrobe, lots of pantry space, a mini wine fridge, a stand-alone freezer unit and two dishwashers, all lit with recessed ceiling lights.
There were miles and miles of cutlery, potentially every style of kitchen utensil ever made, and what Mahoro thought was a chandelier was actually a hanging rack with all kinds of copper-bottomed pots. She went over to a knife rack and pulled out a chopping knife. She was amazed at how well-balanced it was and made light chopping motions with it. After a few passes, she then realized she was being watched.
Turning about, she saw everyone was seated around the island, as there was enough room for that. Chizo sat at the closest stool, followed by Rin and Miyuki, then Taso and Hokey, who was having a glass of wine. "I hope you don't mind if we watch," said Chizo with much fervor. "I mean, the Roadshow was nice and all, but I was really far away and missed a lot of the action."
"Oh, that will be fine with me. What would you like for dinner?" Mahoro looked to them. They all looked at one another. With no one speaking, Taso stepped up.
"Well, you can cook almost anything you like. Go look in the fridge." Mahoro opened the door to see an excellently stocked fridge. She clambered through the meat drawer.
"Ohhh. You have such nice lamb here. Could I use this?" Mahoro peeked back at them.
"Sure, not a problem. Do you have an idea?" asked Taso.
"I will make a lamb dish: cumin lamb steaks with smashed potatoes, wilted spinach and red wine sauce."
"Lamb! Hooray!" cheered Chizo. Hokey smacked his lips in anticipation.
"Now, don't hold back, Mahoro," said Hokey. "I mean, what you did with that onion was fabulous." He made cutting motions in the air, adding in sound effects. "Chachachachachachacha." Hokey thought for a moment. "Red wine sauce." He went underneath and came back with the bottle of wine he was drinking from. "Use this, it's a wonderful Merlot."
Mahoro looked through the cabinets. "I would prefer to use new potatoes, but you have a lot of red potatoes, so I can use that as well...I am just impressed with how well stocked you are!"
"We like to dine, what can I say," burbled Chizo.
Mahoro laid out the lamb, ready to cut, but looked about. "Do you have a cutting board?"
Taso pointed towards Mahoro's right. "If you look in front of you, there should be a slot that has the cutting board slid into it. And the drawer at the bottom will have an apron for you."
Mahoro first put on the apron, then retrieved the cutting board, which was shaped like a pig. She proceeded to halve the potatoes and boil them. Getting out a saucepan, she melted the butter and minced the garlic, letting the aroma filled the room. Mahoro saw them all take a collective sniff. Chizo looked like she would pass out, her eyes fluttering as she spoke.
"That was the one bad part of the Roadshow: I couldn't take in any of the fragrances from the cooking. That is easily half of the cooking experience." Mahoro smiled and got right back to work.
So involved she was in her tasks, she sang one of her songs. "When it's time to cook potatoes, I leave them in their skins, as it adds a touch of flavor that can't be added later. It gives it a nice color, and such a lovely taste. I'd eat potatoes every day, except it's just too starchy."
Mahoro added the brown sugar and the wine and let that boil as well. Another pan came out to heat the oil as she worked on the lamb steaks, pressing cumin seeds into it on both sides, as well as putting on the salt and pepper. The potatoes were ready and taken off, as was the sauce, both kept warm.
Everyone stared on in rapt silence. "I am amazed at her fearlessness in the kitchen," commented Taso. "I sense no hesitation in what she does."
"I am flabbergasted as to how precise her cuts are. I mean, those potatoes are exactly in half," noted Hokey.
"At the Roadshow, she was amazing!" said Chizo. "Even Hanzo was stunned."
"And to think she does this for Suguru every night," added Miyuki. "Including the songs. I have never met anyone so happy to be cooking."
"I can cook, but sometimes, the kitchen just gets too warm for me," said Rin. "I don't think I have ever seen her burn anything or let a pot boil over."
"You should see the bentos she makes for Suguru! I mean, talk about a feast in a box. And the after-school snacks. She made a crab cake today that was sheer heaven!" Chizo smacked her lips as she recalled their delicate flavor.
"How close are you to being finished, Mahoro?" asked Hokey.
"I need another 10 minutes or so."
Hokey turned to everyone. "Let get the dinnerware ready." While still watching her, all the plates and cutlery were retrieved. A stack of plates was placed near Mahoro, while the rest sat at the island, silverware and glasses at the ready.
After Mahoro wilted the spinach, she mashed up the potatoes with a flourish and began to lay out the plates. A huge dollop of mashed potatoes went in the center, the spinach leaves laid to one side of it, the lamb atop that and the red wine sauce strained over it.
Everyone stared at the food. "It looks marvelous," said Rin, as Mahoro brought around the plates. Everyone began to eat.
Simultaneously, Chizo, Taso and Hokey rose to their feet. "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" they shrieked.
Miyuki leaned towards Rin. "And you wonder where she gets it." Rin snickered.
"Such wonderful potatoes," gushed Taso.
"Exquisite flavoring on the lamb; that cumin," remarked Chizo.
"This red wine sauce is superb!" concluded Hokey. They all stood up and applauded Mahoro, who blushed. She really wasn't used to these accolades.
"Better than the Australian Lamb Frontier restaurant," said Chizo.
"Better than the Kiwi Experience near the waterfront," said Taso.
"Better than the World O' Food Delights," said Hokey.
Miyuki leaned over to Rin. "How can they remember so many restaurants they have been to? I can barely recall what I had for dinner last week!"
"Some people know fine wines; these folks know the food and restaurants. Chizo will tell you that there are 293 dining establishments of every caliber in this town and they have been to them ALL," replied Rin
"Not all," chirped Chizo. "There is a new one that just opened up, 'Planet Raw'. But we usually wait about a month before we go, so they can have a chance to get used to things and get their cooking techniques in place."
When dinner was concluded, Mahoro began to tend to the dishes, but Taso quickly stood up, waggling a finger at her.
"You are still a guest. WE…" as she pointed to Hokey, "…will tend to the kitchen. You go have fun." They went upstairs while Taso and Hokey sat at the counter in the now-quiet kitchen.
"That Mahoro is something else, eh?" said Hokey, mopping up the last of the red wine sauce. "I will have to get that recipe from her."
"It makes me wish I could have gone to the cooking show," commented Taso.
On the second floor, Mahoro saw Chizo's room. It had been rearranged to accommodate all four of them. "You were expecting me to come over?"
"We were not going to take 'no' for an answer," said Rin. "If we had to kidnap you, we were going to do that."
Chizo went to a pile of DVDs stacked near her bookcase. "I have selected a series of movies for our viewing enjoyment. What would you like? I have comedy, I have horror, I have drama, I have musical, I have western, I have sci-fi, I have romance, I have comedy horror, I have animated sci-fi romance, I have western musical crime drama romance….." As Chizo spoke, the cases were piled up in front of them all.
"Besides, we have a little gift for you," said Miyuki, as she gave Mahoro a small box. Perplexed, she opened it to see a photograph.
"This….this is from that ghost hunting examination," said Mahoro, seeing the shot of the guys in full panic. "I knew it was you from the phone call. I recognized your voice, but decided to play along. That was a lot of fun."
Rin slid close. "Do you want to have some more fun?" Mahoro looked at her.
TO BE CONTINUED…
End Notes
I recently found myself looking at Season Two, Episode 11. This one is the aftermath of the beating she absorbed at the hands of Dr. Metherius, although it does take into account a lap-over from Episode 10.
As she is falling, Suguru is riding the Sylpheed up to catch her. She has this very strong desire to return to the life she had, at the house. Unusually powerful memories of a happier time (and if you have had the bejeezuz electrocuted out of you, you'd probably feel the same as well).
What I wanted to do with this story is give her a strong memory of that house and her friends and that happy life. Much like the ghost hunting episode, this is just some pure silliness and whimsical farce, which will become more evident in the third segment of this tale.
When Chizo starts reeling off the different genres of film she has, you will note a Western Musical Crime Drama Romance. I actually wrote that on a dare for a script. I didn't think it was that bad of an offering, but it got pasted in the reviews. So much for genre-busting films.
In regards to feedback, it has been a bit light (especially in regards to my blabberings at the end), so I never know if people even avail themselves of these little tales. I had some folks reading my notes for my Mermaid offering, but I just don't know if it reaches people. I bring this up, as I am uncertain whether adding these recipes is of any use.
I do it to show the caliber of research that I invest into these tales, and not just to show off. For me, the mechanics of how one gets creative can be just as fascinating as the story itself.
Planet Raw is a real restaurant that just opened up in my town, as they are trying things with raw vegetables. Strictly vegetarian. The funny thing is, they are taking over an old used book store location, so I am more curious as to how they are going to convert the layout to a restaurant.
Cumin Lamb Steaks with Smashed Potatoes, Wilted Spinach and Red Wine Sauce (note: this recipe is for two).
INGREDIENTS20 new potatoes, halved
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup red wine
4 (6 ounce) lamb shoulder steaks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 bunches fresh spinach, cleaned
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons softened butter
DIRECTIONSPlace potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and allow to steam-dry for a minute or two.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the aroma of the garlic has mellowed. Add the brown sugar and red wine, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and keep warm.
Meanwhile, season the lamb steaks with salt and pepper to taste. Press the cumin seeds into the steaks on both sides. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks, and cook on both sides until cooked to your desired degree of doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium. Remove the steaks to rest in a warm spot. Place the spinach into the hot skillet, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until the spinach has wilted.
Mash the potatoes with the sour cream and butter; season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, mound a serving of mashed potatoes onto the center of a dinner plate. Top with the spinach and a lamb steak. Strain the red wine sauce overtop.