The Black & White Saga

Chapter 17 - Preparations (4)

Sam and Nebula went out to get bamboo, and Trey went to set the table.  The four wood spirits also dropped by the kitchen to grab bottles to collect their nectar while Lunette stayed in the kitchen to finish the remaining dishes.

“It smells yummy in here!” Lulu greeted Lunette, while she grabbed a few bottles from the cabinet.

“We can’t wait for dinner,” Cierra added.  Delos and Sue hovered near the pots on the stove and breathed in their delicious scent.

“Everything is almost ready,” said Lunette.  “The only thing left to cook are the noodles.”

“Catch!” shouted Lulu.  She then threw two bottles towards Delos and Sue across the island countertop in the middle of the kitchen.

Delos and Sue immediately flapped their wings and made a dive to snatch their respective bottles from the air.

“Owwie…” Lulu whined, rubbing the back of her head.  Then she looked at Cierra with her teary doe eyes filled with blame.  “Why did you hit my head?”

“Why did you throw those bottles?” Cierra asked back.  “What if you hurt someone?  Those are ceramic bottles, so when they fall to the ground they can shatter and cut someone.  You are not a child anymore, so stop being so mischievous….”  

As Cierra continued her lecture, Delos and Sue exchanged glances and came to an agreement.    They quietly snuck out the double doors leading to the backyard.  Once they left the kitchen, they glanced back at Lulu being lectured by Cierra, and made an apologetic gesture, before running quickly to the the flower garden.  Lulu glared at them accusingly and pouted.

Lunette saw their antics and quietly chuckled as she added the tomato quarters to the pot of oxtail on the stove.  After giving it a quick stir, she covered the pot with the lid again and let the dish finish simmering.  She gave the curry another stir, and turned off the heat for this pot.  It was ready.  She grabbed a big serving bowl and filled it with curry from the pot.  Then she covered it and placed it into the preservation box.

Cierra noticed that Lulu was distracted and was not listening to a word she was saying.  Following Lulu’s glare, she saw that the patio door was already opened, and Delos and Sue were already in the garden.  Cierra sighed and said, “Can’t you concentrate for a moment?”

Lulu looked back at her and sadly nodded, preparing herself for another lecture.  Feeling sorry for her, Lunette interrupted and said, “I’m sure she has already learned her lesson.  She was just too excited and wanted to go collect nectar quickly.” 

“Yes, let’s go collect nectar, Cierra,” Lulu quickly added.  She shot Lunette a grateful look and pulled Cierra towards the patio doors.

Lunette shook her head at their antics, and separated the remaining curry in the pot into individual serving containers.  After sealing them with lids, she put the individual portions of curry into her space bracelet for easy meals on the road.  She then grabbed the wok and started on the noodle dish.

After the oil in the wok became hot enough, she threw in the garlic and ginger slices, and tossed them around with a spatula to flavor the wok.  Once they began to brown, she added the mushrooms, sliced bamboo shoots, and sliced carrots.  She tossed them in the wok with the spatula and let them cook for a few minutes.  Then she added wood ear, sliced red pepper, and snow peas.  After mixing everything together with the spatula, she added some salt and pepper.  Giving the ingredients another toss, she then added some soy sauce and oyster sauce.  Once the seasoning covered all the ingredients, she added a little bit of water and covered the wok with a lid to let the vegetables cook.

While the veggies were cooking, she gave the pot of oxtail a stir and sampled the sauce of the dish with a spoon.  “Yes,” Lunette thought.  “This is the taste.  The tomato melted into the dish and gave the sauce just the right amount of tanginess to balance out the fatty oxtail.  With the additional depth from the blend herbs in the dish, it was the perfect blend of sweet, sour, and savory.”

Recovering the pot with the lid, Lunette turned off the heat under the pot of oxtail, and went back to the wok.  Seeing that the vegetables were almost done cooking, and the sauce had thickened, she added the noodles she cooked earlier back to the pot.  With a couple of swishes of her wrist holding the handle of the wok, and a couple of flips of the spatula in her other hand, the noodles were combined flawlessly with the vegetable mix.  She turned off the stove and started plating the noodle stir fry.  She filled two large serving platters with the vegetable noodles, and split the remainder into individual serving containers.  She also divided the oxtail stew the same way.  She immediately put the individual containers into her space bracelet after sealing them with covers, to maintain their freshness.  When she takes them out at a latter time, the dishes will still be as warm and fresh as they were when they were put into the space.

When Trey came back to the kitchen after setting the table, she passed him one of the large platters of noodles, and a big bowl of oxtail stew to bring to the table.  She put the other platter of vegetable noodles and bowl of oxtail in the preservation box to save for the others to eat after they leave for their mission.  She also took out a pan of vegetarian lasagna and meat lasagna, and also divided the pans into individual servings for the road.  When the timer went off again, she took the roasted eggplant and bread out of the oven.  She plated the eggplant, and put the bread into a basket.  Then she grabbed some of the pickled r****h from the jar and put them on a platter.  Trey helped her bring everything to the table, while she packed the rest away into her space bracelet.  When Nebula and Sam came back, they helped gather everyone, and the g**g enjoyed the rest of their evening over a scrumptious dinner.