The Black & White Saga

Chapter 15 - Preparations (2)

While the others finished sorting out the packages, Lunette went to the kitchen to start dinner.  She checked on the beef and chicken jerky in the oven.  The meat was thinly sliced and marinated for a whole day.  Then it was slow roasted over a very low fire in the oven all day.  It was finally done.  Lunette put the trays of jerky on the kitchen counter to cool off.  These were great sources of protein while on the road.

Lunette went to the cooling box to take out ingredients for dinner.  She took out extra portions to make some ready to eat meals for the road.  Tonight’s menu would have pickled r****h, oxtail, noodles stir fried with vegetables, and roasted eggplant.  She’ll make an additional platter of lasagna and some curry to pack for the road.  But first, she has to make bread.

Lunette warmed up some milk, and added a couple of spoonfuls of yeast with a small amount of sugar .  She gave it a quick mix and set it aside to let the yeast activate.  Then she poured the flour in the middle of the clean countertop in a small mound, mixed in a couple of pinches of salt, and made a well in the middle.  She cracked some eggs into the well, and gently beat them with a spatula.  Once the the milk became foamy, she added the yeast mixture to the well, followed by the melted butter.  With a spatula, she mixed together all the wet ingredients in the middle of the wall of flour.  Once the wet ingredients were combined, she slowly moved the spatula in wider circles and incorporated the flour into the mix a little bit at a time.  When a ball of dough was formed, Lunette put aside the spatula, and dusted her hands with flour.  Sprinkling a little more flour on the countertop, she began to knead the dough.  When a smooth ball was formed, the dough was placed into a large greased bowl, and put into the oven for quick rising.  

Nebula came to the kitchen to help out after she nursed Gaia and Skye, and put them down for a short nap.  She took over washing and prepping the vegetables, while Lunette started cooking the oxtail.  Starting with trimming the excess fat, Lunette cleaned each piece, and then seared the pieces of oxtail in a large pot with a bit of oil.  Once the pieces were evenly browned, she added some salt, pepper, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and some herbs for flavor.  She stirred the pot with a spatula until all the oxtail was evenly seasoned.  Then she added water, brought the contents to a boil, and let the pot continue to simmer.  A rich, savory fragrance gradually filled the kitchen as the oxtail continued to cook.  

Lunette took the r****h and some of the carrots Nebula washed and peeled, and started slicing them in to thin slices.  She grabbed a big jar with a large opening and put the r****h and carrot slices inside.  Next she added vinegar, salt, and sugar to the jar.  She tossed everything together until all the ingredients were evenly mixed, and sealed the jar.  The r****h would continue to marinate on the counter and will be ready for dinner in a couple of hours.  While working in the kitchen, the ladies chatted about preparing extra milk formula for the baby pandas.  

“I made extra milk formula and left it in the cooling box next to the pantry,” Lunette told Nebula, as she started cooking the noodles for the stir fry and the lasagna in a pot of boiling water on the stove. 

“Thanks,” Nebula responded gratefully.  She didn’t know what she would do about her babies without the additional milk formula.  They certainly wouldn’t have been growing as quickly or be as healthy as they are now without Lunette, Savana, and Melinda’s help.

“Melinda also knows how to make the formula, so if you run out before we get back, ask her to make more,” Lunette said while stirring the pot.

“Hehe, luckily Melinda is still here, or I would be completely lost if I had to make the formula on my own,” chuckled Nebula.  “No matter how many times you teach me the formula, it always comes out wrong.  I guess pandas are not meant to dabble in alchemy.”

“You mean you have no talent in alchemy,” Lunette responded amused.  “If I remember correctly, Otium, the beast kin country, has an extremely well known alchemist who happens to be a high level enlightened panda.  Along with his partner, the strongest panda in Arcadia who excels in the healing arts, they are one of the most renown pairs in the healer community.”

Nebula stuck her tongue out at her.  “They are legends for a reason.  This humble little panda here also has her area of expertise.”

“Expertise in eating bamboo?” Lunette suggested while rinsing off the cooked noodles in cold water.

Nebula chucked the potato she finished peeling at Lunette and put her hands on her hips.  “Hey, don’t be jealous that I can eat 30 pounds of bamboo a day.”  

Lunette laughed while thinking, “where could you find humans who want to eat that much bamboo in a single day anyway?”

She tossed the potato back into the bowl of peeled potatoes in front of Nebula, and started assembling the lasagna.  A scoop of tomato sauce, which they previously made when they harvested the tomatoes from their fields last year, was poured in to cover the bottom of the ceramic pan, then a layer of pasta sheets, followed by dollops of ricotta cheese, and a layer of shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  This was repeated until the pan was full.  To finish it off, the dish was topped with a final layer of pasta, more tomato sauce, and a final layer of shredded cheese.  This was the vegetarian lasagna.  She made meat lasagna by adding panfried beef and sausage crumbles to the tomato sauce, and repeating the same process.  After completing two trays of each of the vegetable and meat lasagnas, she took the dough out of the oven, and placed the lasagnas in to cook once the oven reached the right temperature.