fandomhigh | Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques

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Beginning Gourmet Cooking Techniques | Tuesday, 1st Period

This week, the class met at Portalocity, where Hannibal handed out a list of fruits and vegetables. "The first lesson to buying good produce is whenever possible to buy things which are local, organic, and in season. It's healthier and tastes much better. That said, there are some foods it's more important for than others. Also please note that if and when you move elsewhere, you'll need to compile your own list, as growing seasons change."

He held up one of the lists, drawing a line down it with one finger. "This will tell you what we can expect to find here in September. I've also listed some simple reminders about choosing each, and will go into more detail once we arrive. Instead of cooking today, you will each be choosing your own produce to purchase and bring back." Which did not involve heat, and hopefully some of the more hopeless students — Isabelle — would manage without too much difficulty.

He frowned faintly at them all. "I expect you to stay close and pay attention while I'm speaking. If you have questions, please see me, Sparkle, or Zhari."

He waved them toward the portal and hung back with Anna. "If you're unable to come, I'll use the video so you can do your best to choose; it goes directly to the classroom." He smiled gently. "I won't hold against you what you have no control over."

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He’ll mostly be going over the things in the handout, but will also answer questions.

Feel free to not listen and/or to bug the farmers, but only if you want to get in trouble!

Pick out one head of spinach, one bunch of grapes, one eggplant, several tomatoes, a few onions, several apples, a couple parsnips, and one other of your choice. (You’re not paying for your own.)

After his run in with Dr. Lecter yesterday, Flick was doing his level best to avoid the man today. That didn't mean he was off acting out but he wasn't going out of his way to noticeable (as if he ever did).

He wandered around, looking for fruits and vegetables that looked ripe and not rotted. He wasn't a great judge but he figured looking for something colorful without bruising would be the best bet.

Emma started poking through the fruit and vegetables, trying to remember what a parsnip was actually supposed to look like.

Her fingers mightn't have been as sticky as those of some people in the class, but she still knew opportunity when she saw it, and a couple of stray items began to migrate towards her pockets instead of her basket while a farmer was otherwise occupied.

The farmer might not have been looking, but the teacher was.

Hannibal stepped casually next to her. "You do know we can afford whatever you like?" he asked curiously.

Crap. Emma did a very good job of not starting, if not as great a one looking like she had no idea what Hannibal was talking about.

She put the pear she was holding down as if she'd only just noticed the bruise on the side instead of choosing it for that reason. "It's not my money so it's not really 'we'," she said, her tone matter of fact.

"In that case," Hannibal amended, "I can afford whatever you like. Though if you prefer, I'm sure I could find something for you to do to earn a bit of money."

He picked up a better pear and handed it to her. "What you do on your own time is none of my business. What you do while with the class reflects on the school and on me. If you can't be good, be much more careful, please."

Emma weighed the knowledge that older men who offered kids like her ways to make money were always something to be suspicious of against the fact kids like her often needed that money. "What kind of something?"

Emma, no, fairy tale princesses and cannibals were not a combination that ended well.

Was it sad that Hannibal was probably safer than a lot of older men in that respect?

He thought for a moment, having not really expected her to take him up on it. "Are you at all good with plants?"

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

shippedtomaine - 2013-09-10 18:19 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

never-dull.livejournal.com - 2013-09-10 18:51 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

shippedtomaine - 2013-09-10 19:08 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

never-dull.livejournal.com - 2013-09-10 20:06 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

shippedtomaine - 2013-09-11 03:41 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

never-dull.livejournal.com - 2013-09-11 05:03 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

shippedtomaine - 2013-09-11 08:04 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

never-dull.livejournal.com - 2013-09-11 21:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

shippedtomaine - 2013-09-12 04:58 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

never-dull.livejournal.com - 2013-09-12 13:49 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

shippedtomaine - 2013-09-12 16:39 (UTC) - Expand

Rilla's mother was an obsessive gardener who had on more than one occasion vocalised the dream to sleep outside among the pansies (but only where family could hear, of course. It wouldn't do for the neighbours to talk), and that was before the war had caused the front lawn to be plowed under to grow food. Rilla was quite at home out here and was filling her basket with the freshest vegetables and fruits she could find. She'd be happy to help out any ~~Yankees~~ ~~city folk~~ Yankified city folk who couldn't tell an eggplant from a parsnip.

This was the first time Alana had been off the island, and the farmer's market was overwhelming at first. Sure, they had farmer's markets on Landfall, but the vegetables were a little different. Plus it was weird that the crowd was entirely human.

The fact people kept eying her wings and snorting about "Renn faire girls" didn't help, either.

She squared her shoulders and filled her basket with vegetables nonetheless, using the signs to pick out the things she wasn't familiar with. For her free choice, she went with kale. It was selling a lot, so it was probably okay, right?

Hannibal jonied Alana when he noticed her discomfort. "Those who don't live on the island have never seen non-human sentient beings before," he explained. "Most don't believe they exist." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Fortunately, they are also very good at denying the evidence of their eyes. Try not to take it personally," he advised.

Alana smirked back at him. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm kind of enjoying being the freaky chick of the day. I think most of them figure the wings are fake anyhow."

"Very likely," he agreed.

He nodded at the kale. "High in a number of vitamins and beneficial chemicals. I find it to be best steamed or lightly sautéed, but it can also be boiled or baked; lately some people have taken to eating it as chips."

Or it could be microwaved. Hannibal was never going to admit that, though.

Sparkle wasn't even sure what parsnips were, but after some wandering, he figured it out, and spent five minutes just poking through them to find the smallest, most ivory-looking ones he could find.

And then he grabbed some swiss chard, just because 'chard' was fun to say.

Hannibal chuckled at Sparkle eyeing the chard. "When it's young, you can eat it in a salad," he explained. "Otherwise, it's best to sautée, like spinach."

"... You sautée spinach?"

This was news to Sparkle, who always kind of figured you just boiled the shit out of it or something.

"Sometimes. It makes it more tender and cuts down on the natural bitterness." He pinched off a mature leaf and offered it to Sparkle in demonstration. "I doubt you'd want to eat it like this if you had an alternative."

"But people do, don't they? In salads or things?"

Hannibal was totally shaking the foundations of Sparkle's cooking knowledge, here. He took the leaf of lettuce, tore off a piece, and popped it into his mouth, mostly out of curiosity.

... Bleh.

Hannibal chuckled at the look on his face. "Yes, but the younger leaves. Much less bitter, and less prickly." He found one and passed a bit of that to Sparkle. "Taste the difference?"

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

myownface - 2013-09-10 17:33 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Listen to the lecture (or not) and choose your fruits and veggies!

never-dull.livejournal.com - 2013-09-10 18:02 (UTC) - Expand

Isabelle was not going to manage to mess this task up. The narrative was just as surprised as you were. Guess she only had trouble executing recipes, not so much with picking up ingredients.

She also looked content enough to be doing just that, but then again, she also always looked like she enjoyed herself while she was cooking, so that wasn't saying much about the end result.

"Much better." Hannibal nodded at her, just as surprised as the narrative.

Maybe last week had been a fluke. He could hope.

Billy had been to enough farmers markets to have a good idea of what made decent produce, and if he used his choice to get a variety of apples, well, it was almost autumn, right?

"A fan of apples?" Hannibal nodded at Billy's selection.

"It's September food," Billy explained. "Apples and caramel and that sort of thing, you know?"

"Food for autumn." Hannibal nodded. "Though as you see, apples are available much of the year, foods can come to have many powerful associations."

Some more than others.

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