fandomhigh | How to Survive Your Own Cooking, Class 5

"Good day, class!" Lulu said, smiling brightly. "Today's class is a little bit simpler than last week's. We'll be making soup rather than stew. You'll find everything you need at your stations. The principles are much the same, except that, as a broth-based soup, it will be much thinner than the stew.

"One thing to know is that, like last week, we'll be using lentils and rice. An important thing to know is that, even on their own, lentils and rice together form what is known as a complete protein -- that is, a source from vegetables that is equivalent to the protein one would normally get from meat. You can even make this soup in a vegetarian version by leaving out the chicken, and using vegetable bouillon instead, although I recommend using more garlic if you do so."

Recipe 1: Chicken Vegetable Soup
[Source: Personal.]

1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (or more to taste)
1 medium onion, diced
1 chicken breast, diced
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium turnip, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 cup lentils
1 cup rice
1 tbsp powdered chicken bouillon
1 stalk celery, diced
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
sage, rosemary, basil, salt, and pepper

Heat oil in a small frypan. Saute garlic and onion until translucent. In large pot, cover chicken, potatoes, turnip, and carrots with water. Bring to boil, and simmer for twenty minutes. Add lentils, rice, and bouillon. Bring back to boil and simmer additional ten minutes. Add celery, mixed vegetables, and seasonings (to taste). Bring back to boil and simmer additional ten to fifteen minutes.

Serve with country biscuits or a crusty white bread.

"Also," Lulu added, "if you have any questions about any of the cooking terms -- or about any cooking procedures -- please feel free to ask. That way leads to less... kitchen disasters."

[OCD ~~will be up in a moment~~ is up! I'm around for a couple of hours, then off working on a class project from about 2:30 to 8:30 Eastern. Although I should then be around for the rest of the evening!]

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Tamaki picked up a carrot and frowned at it. Commoner cooking couldn't be too hard, could it? Only one way to find out. He placed it on the counter before him and started to chop.

Liir cut up the chicken first. Then he started dicing the garlic, then the onions. He mixed them up and, after putting in a little oil, started to saute the bits and pieces.

"When you're done, put them in the pot there," he directed. "I'll put the chicken in right after."

He chopped caaaarefully, not wanting to slice off any of his fingers. Once he was finished, into the pot the pieces went! They were slightly non-uniform, but he hoped Liir wouldn't mind. Hey, look! He was cooking, just like a normal commoner!

Then he proceeded to take a knife to the potato, not realizing it had to be peeled first.

Liir noticed and reached out a hand to stop Tamaki.

"You have to peel it. I can do that if you're unfamiliar with it."

He shook his head.

"I should have thought of it, that you wouldn't know how. I'm sorry."

Tamaki appeared to be extremely nervous.

"Nononono! It's my fault!" He nearly flailed, but then remembered he was holding a knife.

What if everyone found out he wasn't a just like everybody else? What if Liir realized he'd never had to cook a thing for himself in his entire life because people had always done it for him?

Liir gave him an easy smile.

He liked this class, not just because he got to cook but because it was something he could show other people how to do. It felt like he could give back.

"Can you peel it? I'm good at it, since potatoes were pretty common. And these are almost done."

Tamaki looked from the potato to the knife and back to the potato, then decided to give it his best shot. Couldn't be too hard, right?

Unfortunately, being as unskilled with a knife as he was, his peeling job was very uneven.

"I don't think this is right," he laughed.

"You're doing all right," he said, trying to be kind. "But you want to get the most of the brown and the least of the white."

Determined to conquer the evil potato, he tried a little harder to be more neat. "Like this?"

"Much better," and he started moving the vegetables accordingly.

Feeling a bit more confident, he moved on to the turnip.

"Do these have to be peeled too?"

"Yes," he said. "Just the same way."

This cooking stuff may not have been as daunting as it seemed! He began peeling the turnip carefully.

"How did you learn to cook, Liir?"

"Nanny couldn't stand much, Sarima's sisters were gone, and if I didn't cook, no one would because the Witch didn't care to," he said. "Also, when Sarima's sisters were there, sometimes they'd give me treats for keeping them company in the kitchen."

Tamaki set the half-peeled turnip down and cocked his head to one side, blinking. "The Witch?"

"Elphaba," he said. Because he could. Because he had the right.

"The Wicked Witch of the West," he informed the other boy with a wry sort of smile. "I was her helper."

Fandom weirdness. That thing Tamaki always forgot about.

"A real, live witch?!"

"She's dead now," and there was something very careful to how he said it as he tipped the garlic and onion into the pot.

Deciding it was best not to ask any more questions, Tamaki nodded softly and finished peeling the turnip before chopping it up and adding it to the concoction.

"I-it looks really good so far! Haha..."

"It smells good, anyway. That's he important bit."

How to Survive Your Own Cooking, Class 5

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Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]

Re: Assignment: Chicken Vegetable Soup [Class 5]