Zaofan studied Kumara's expression, thumbing his chin with one hand.
Of course its sweetness paled in comparison to the chocolate cake. But its flavour profile is too strong, and the notes are equally earthy...
"Sometimes when the mind is occupied, it has a tendency to wander and leave the body behind," he mused, "a step too far, in my humble opinion. True, the spirit is strong when the flesh may be spongy and bruised, but it's also got to have somewhere to return to."
"What's first? Hmm...well, I guess for starters, how long's it been since you've cooked something?" Zaofan asked as he refined the edges of his knife on the honing steel. "Actually...you know what? Don't worry too much about it for this dish in particular. For our purposes, it's only really got to be perfect in one way."
He smirked as he flashed a thumbs up to their little client.
"Anywho, on this world the aubergine is the big, purple one. That'd be the highlight of the dish, but on its own it's sort of bland." Passing off a knife to Sarada, Zaofan took one and started cutting it lengthwise. "Cube that for me? Follow along...just like this."
If it were an emergency he'd have done this in no time. With the ease of how the knife passed through the flesh of the various vegetables and staying mindful of their own strength, if they'd gone at full tilt, they'd probably make mincemeat of it instantly...and for all the freshness and colour all it would result in would be a sludgy brown paste.
Boy was
that ever a three-day weekend when he overdid the pesto for Etrina.
At this moment, he slowed down the tempo, making sure she could follow along, exactingly. Onions were dehusked, capsicums and courgettes were cut and quartered.
"It makes up the majority of the dish, hence its name, but only
just so. The difference between just tossing everything over the firepit and bringing everything together-"
In no time at all, their first major step was done.
"-is harmony. Nice job!"
Propping a pot onto the element, Zaofan hit it with some oil, and when it heat up he poured in one ingredient at a time.
"Of course, it's not always about following the recipe exactly. Each dish is always a little unique in its own way, and you'll only get out what you put into it."
The kitchen had been filled with the sharp scent of raw onions and garlic. As the heat worked into the vegetative cubes, the surfaces browned, and the aubergine was the first to soften, and as steam began to rise the rawness slowly began to depart, ascending into something beyond freshness.
"And it'll only ever be as good as the taster. Like many things, food is a little conversation the whole way through."
The savoury sounds of sauteeing rose, and as Zaofan hit it with some salt and pepper a crackling rose from the pan that quickly gave way to soft bubbling.
"Give it a stir and a small taste. Chef's treat," he said, folding his arms. "You know the little one's tastes better than anyone. What else does it need?"